Idea of Shifting Zodiac Questioned in India

AP, India (CHAKRA) – Weeks before many Americans and Europeans were set aflutter by the recent news story stating that the dates for the signs of the zodiac have changed due to the ‘shifting’ constellations; American-born cosmologist Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet, strongly advised a congregation of all-Indian astrologers and astronomers, against their propagation of the very same idea at the First National Conference of Panchanga Ganitam held at the revered Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh, December 24-26, 2010.

Norelli-Bachelet, director of Aeon Centre of Cosmology in southern India and the aunt of Chile’s ex-President Michelle Bachelet, cited verses from the Rig Veda as proof that the 12 zodiac months or signs [rasi] are inseparable from the Earth’s four-fold year as marked out by the Equinoxes and Solstices. The basic message she tried to get across to those present and those listening via a live webcast of the event was that the error of associating the signs of the Zodiac to the uneven and ‘shifting’ constellations began in India and needs to be finally corrected by Indians.

As if foreseeing the current debate sparked by Minnesota astronomer Paul Hunkle, Norelli-Bachelet explained, ‘… Science introduced the idea that there had to be a separation between [the 12 zodiac months] and the fourfold measure of the ecliptic plane where the planets including Earth circumambulate the Sun … This is an aberration that persists until today. … the ‘accuracy’ this new method introduced is fictitious. … You cannot use [the ‘shifting constellations] for temple purposes and for horoscopy. It is actually incorrect to do so. That [cycle] is describing thousands of years. We are dealing with the yearly phenomenon and you have every verse in the Rig Veda that confirms this.’

According to R. Srinivasaga Sidhaiya (Sai Srinivasan), Assistant Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu, 60 temples in southern India celebrated entrance into the sign of Capricorn on the 2010 December Solstice, demonstrating that the Earth-based Tropical Zodiac is gaining ground in India.