Pennies for Thoughts
New Member
"What's your sign?" used to be a bane of party conversations before I became an Orion. The antique notion that rocks and gas balls in space would care about one's birthday strikes most rationalists as having a disproportionate sense of self-importance. Orion is a counter-offensive. Call it a little white lie, setting the hook, having a wind-up, or whatever. It provides a clean escape from an awkward, if inevitable, conversation which, as an Orion, becomes entirely predictable.
The next question will be, "When is your birthday?"
"February 30th"
"So, that's in Pisces?" hearing late February but missing the mythical "30th" entirely. Not to worry. We'll catch up.
"No, February 30th is in Orion. I'm an Orion. February 30th is a rare date, rarer than February 29th which occurs every four years. February 30th takes place every 114 years. The year I was born was the last time it happened, and of the 367 days that year, I was born on February 30th. I can explain if you know about February 29th."
They know about it, but not why it happens. In any case review the Earth orbiting the Sun in approximately 365.25 days, pointing out that it's not exactly 365.25 days, but a little more. Of course it's really a little less, so rare leap years will skip February 29th, but reality needs to take a break and this tale needs an extra day to get into Orion.
Next is to explain why, out of the 88 astronomically-recognized constellations, 12 make up the zodiac. Be prepared to be shocked if an armchair astrologer knows anything about the plane of the ecliptic. http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/lessons/indiv/beth/beth_intro.html
"One's sign is determined by where the sun rises 'in the house of...' various zodiac constellations as the Earth orbits the Sun. Orion [a constellation I picked because it's one of the few non-zodiacal constellations that most people recognize] is in the plane of the ecliptic, but not much of him. Just his left ankle really, and the Sun rises in Orion's ankle on February 30th which is why there are very few of us Orions, but I am one."
Okay, so maybe there's more than one white lie here. Still, this yarn gets one through the astrology portion of an evening on good terms. By establishing oneself in a sign that an armchair astrologer has never heard about, there's nothing more he or she can say concerning an Orion's personality and destiny so it's on to a new, hopefully less inane, topic.
Any more Orions? Memberships are free.
