The Tropical/Sidereal Zodiac crisis is making its rounds again...
Don't panic or have an identity crisis. If you were a Pisces last week, you are still a Pisces this week, not a Ophiuchus or whatever.
The Sidereal Zodiac is used by Hindu Astrology. For them, the houses are aligned with the Sun's position against constellations, so ... they do need to deal with zodiacal date changes as the procession of the equinoxes proceeds.
The Western Astrology system - which I am betting you are more familiar with - is aligned with the Tropical Year, so Ares is defined starting at the vernal equinox, and Libra at the autumnal. The others are more or less evenly spaced between. Their dates do not change in relation to the Gregorian calendar or the seasons.
So think of it this way:
You have a Tropical sign, which is the one you'll see written up as horoscopes in the daily newspaper, which most astrologers have been using for a couple of millennia, and if you go get a tattoo, that's the one you'll likely ink onto your flesh.
You also have a sidereal sign, which may be different from your tropical sign, and might be that weird 13th Snake one, and which no one'll understand unless you're Hindu, Indian, Vedic, ie they're in to "Jyotisha" Astrology.
Feel better now?
