1st December: Ophiuchus, the 13th zodiac sign

If you have a birthday today, or indeed yesterday, or tomorrow or any day up to December 17th, your zodiac sign may not be the one you always thought it was, because according to some astrological systems there is a 13th sign – Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, which the sun passes through between 30th November and 17th December. Here are 10 facts about the extra zodiac sign.

1. It's pronounced 'o-few-cus'.
2. It is also known as Serpentarius.
3. It's the only sign to be associated with a real, historical person, namely Imhotep, who lived in the 27th Century BCE in Ancient Egypt, who is also known as Aesclepius by the Ancient Greeks. Aesclepius was the ship's surgeon on the Argus, who performed a few medical miracles in his time, like bringing the son of king Minos of Crete and Orion back to life. Pluto, god of the Underworld, wasn't happy about this and complained to Zeus, who had Aesclepius banished to the sky so there would still be people in the Underworld.
4. The signs of the zodiac we're familiar with each have their opposite signs (eg Aries and Libra). Ophiuchus is unique in that it doesn't have an opposite.
5. It's not a new idea by any means – even the Babylonians, who invented the idea of a zodiac in the first place, recognised thirteen signs. More recently the idea was put forward in 1995 by Walter Berg and by Mark Yazaki; also by Stephen Schmidt in 1970, who went as far as to suggest that there were fourteen signs, including Cetus (the Whale), in effect around June.
6. So, if you're born under this sign, what are you supposed to be like? Perhaps unsurprisingly, you're likely to have a mixture of Scorpio and Sagittarius traits. Ophiuchans are passionate, jealous, sexually magnetic, seekers after knowledge and wisdom, curious, open to change, impulsive, visionary, lucky, secretive, have a good sense of humour but also an explosive temper. They are likely to leave home at an early age and have big families.
7. Ophiuchans are said to have a natural affinity with Snakes.
8. Careers Ophiuchans might be attracted to include architects, builders or doctors. After all, Aesclepius was a doctor, and serpents are often associated with medicine.
9. The birth stone of people born under this sign is topaz and their lucky number is 12.
10. One out of twenty people in the world are born under the sign of Ophiuchus. Celebrities born under it include Ben Stiller, Bette Midler, Britney Spears, Jeff Bridges, Jay Z, Tyra Banks, Donny Osmond, Taylor Swift and Jamie Foxx.

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