2004-01-16 - 4:56 p.m.

This Is Why I'm Special

I never realized that the zodiac has 13 signs, instead of the 12 you commonly hear about. Apparently Scorpio and Sagittarius share their slice of the sky with another constellation: Ophiuchus. This constellation transects the zodiac belt just the same as the other 12 do. Ophiuchus corresponds to children born in late November and early December. Like me.

The mythologies of Ophiuchus are as varied as the rest of the constellations, but it is agreed that Ophiuchus once was a man (though on Earth he had a different name), and was a physician who had the power to cure the dead or kill the living with one of two vials of snake poison. One story goes that he saved so many lives that the ruler of the underworld had him killed, but being the son of a god, he was sent to the heavens. Ophiuchus is the hidden 13th sign of the zodiac. It is the balance between life and death.

I'm not really into astrology, but it is fun. And to a degree, I do believe that children are the product of their environments. To a large degree in fact. Having a birthday and a family that celebrates that birthday during one time of the year can have a different impact on a child than having a birthday in a complete different part.

Sagittarius children are considered to be active and festive. This of course is logical if you consider that a child born in December was usually celebrated and showered with constant attention, because there was less of a need to be outside tending to dead fields. This tradition of course continued.

My first Christmas was spent in Butler, PA. My mothe'�s great aunts had a huge house there and apparently as a newborn I spent my first Christmas dinner in a drawer. The family did not have a crib or place to put me, so they took a dresser drawer and dumped out the table linens. Then my great great uncle put a big pillow in the drawer and put me in it, so I could have dinner with the rest of my family.

They all loved me, because in addition to being the first of my generation it was the holiday season and being around family was all about that. I'm sure I was spoiled for the most critical years, until I had a kid sister (cousins never came from that side of the family). But since it is these early years that count, and since my family was festive around December, I'm always most comfortable in December. This trait of the archer has been passed down to me.

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