The Thellid Horoscope
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The Thellid Horoscope

What Has Gone Before

A "horoscope" is a means of divination based upon the time of the person's birth. A large part of this is the grouping of people into a fixed set of personality types based on specific time periods. These are usually monthly or yearly periods. To give the essential "magic" to the idea each month or year is generally anthropomorphised into a specific animal. Each such animal has a specific personality which is then applied to the person in question.

Traditionally there are 12 periods and 12 animals and since they are arranged in a circle they were called the "zodiac" by the ancient Greeks; meaning "circle of little animals".

The Mediterranean system using months was developed by the Babylonians around 9600T, (400BC), and is still in use in the Western world to this day. It also spread to India via the Greeks. It was based on the stellar constellation the sun was in at the time of the person's birth. Since the sun appears to move around the ecliptic the 12 constellations on the ecliptic are the 12 signs of the European zodiac each approximately 1 month long.

Extra detail about the person can be found by the position of the planets at the precise time of their birth and which constellation was on the horizon at the time.

Of course it is impossible to see most of this as the sunlight prevents astronomical observation during the day so it was all done using tables and mathematics, then, as it still is today. The ancients loved the stars and devoted much time and ingenuity to predicting their patterns and their results were admirable to say the least.

The Chinese zodiac which is used to this day across East Asia is entirely different. It uses 12 years and there is no connection with astronomical constellations. It also uses 5 nature elements based on 60 year cycle to give extra detail.

To produce daily divination it also employs a complex system involving seasons, phases of the moon, fortnights and more. The resolution goes down to hours. The Four Pillars system was in place by 9800T, (200BC), and refers to the birth time of the person by year, month, day and hour.

A Modern Perspective

It is, of course, absurd that a person's personality should be determined by the time of their birth. There is no mechanism by which this could possibly occur and the fact that the Chinese work in years and moon phases and the Europeans in constellations and planet positions, both of which are contradictory should demonstrate that the whole business is a load of poppycock! There have been numerous object studies done and there has been no correlation found between a person's personality and their horoscope.

Furthermore, due to the precession of the equinoxes the constellations of the Mediterranean zodiac have been drifting forward since it was laid down by the Babylonians 2500 years ago. Aries is traditionally assigned to people born from 21 March to 20 April yet the Sun is in that constellation these days from April 18 to May 13. The other signs have likewise drifted by the best part of a month. It also turns out, in fact, that there are 13 constellations around the ecliptic, not 12, as Ophiuchus is there as well, sandwiched between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Basically most of the adherents to the Mediterranean system have been in the wrong sign for their whole life and never realised it! You can read more about it here.

Despite the obvious stupidity of the systems on offer, the various zodiacs and horoscopes remain popular to this day and there are many people who actually BELIEVE the drivel that they are fed in this matter by the many unscrupulous charlatans who exist to feed the demand. Hell, there are even those so gullible that they actually BASE their lives around such nonsense!

Having said all that, since people like the magic of a zodiac and like reading some innocent spurious predictions in the daily paper why shouldn't I just update the whole business in the light of modern psychology and the beautiful structure of the Thellid Calendar?

One other thing before I begin: If you are going to anthropomorphise you should do it entirely from animals, which is one advantage the Chinese system has over the European one. The European zodiac has non-animal signs like Libra, Sagittarius, Gemini, Aquarius etc which have no useful animal personality traits.

The other advantage the Chinese system has is that it does not depend on the position of constellations in the sky. On the other hand it does depend on the phases of the moon which is a pest. The best illustration of the problems this creates is the fact that the Chinese New Year does not coincide with the standard New Year: A confusing and unnecessary mess!

The Thellid Zodiac Time Periods

The beauty of the Thellid Calendar is that all 13 months have the same length and every day of every week occurs at the same date each year. This allows for a beautifully simple, yet highly functional horoscope:

There are 13 months and each month embodies one specific animal and its personality. These are the strongest features of the personality of the person born in that month.

Each month has 4 weeks, each embodying further personality details of a person born in that week.

Each week has 7 days, each embodying the character of a given profession. This provides the final layer of detail of the personality of the subject which enables the exponent to drill down to the exact day of the subject's birth.

Due to the simplicity of the Thellid system everyone can be expected to know their horoscope down to the exact day and every day of the year will be a different personality from every other day of the year. You can still match your month with other people and compare animals but now you can go much further without much trouble.

Yes, there is also Old Year's Day each year and Leap Day on average every 4 years, which needs to be dealt with separately. For the purposes of this horoscope these days are each given their own vestigial month, week and weekday. The two vestigial months are combined into one animal. The two weekdays and professions are allocated to suit the most plausible characteristic.

Personality Traits

Every horoscope works by assigning specific human personality traits to specific time periods and then assigning an animal to embody those traits. This is a great idea but to do it justice we need to answer the questions:

  1. What are the human personality traits?
  2. How can we assign these to time periods such that they are all represented as equally as possible?

Answering these questions is not as simple as you might think and I shall deal with each in turn, starting with the first:

The matter of precisely what are the various human personality traits is something that research psychologists have been pondering since the advent of Psychology. To cut a long story short: There are roughly half a dozen well known trait sets, none of which agree with any of the others.

I broke this deadlock by combining the most popular sets and adding a touch of my own to produce a set of 12 traits, each with a high pole and a low pole. Each pole can also be viewed in a positive or negative aspect. I called my set "The Sparkling 12" and you can read all about how I arrived at them here.

The Sparkling 12

Trait Name Subdomain High Pole Positive Aspect Low Pole Positive Aspect High Pole Negative Aspect Low Pole Negative Aspect
Expectation How we see things optimistic, hopeful, trusting pessimistic, resigned, wary gullible, naive, dreaming depressed, hopeless, cynical, kill-joy
Organisation How we think ordered, efficient, reliable, disciplined chaotic, extravagant, unpredictable, impulsive anal, mean, boring, robotic confused, wasteful, dishonest, unstable
Abstraction How we think abstract, inventive, idealistic, playful conventional, grounded, realistic, practical unreal, fanciful, impractical, childish basic, unimaginative, boring, humourless
Rationality How we think dispassionate, guided by the head, cool, objective emotional, guided by the heart, warm, subjective indifferent, boring, cold irrational, temperamental, sentimental
Daring How we tackle problems bold, curious, rebellious cautious, fixed-minded, obedient reckless, obsessed, trouble making timid, dull, slavish
Tenacity How we tackle problems persistent, loyal, firm disenthralled, changeable, flexible stubborn, irritating, incessant, staid infirm of purpose, disloyal, unstable, yielding
Motivation How we tackle problems driven, tense, ambitious, impatient relaxed, loose, content, patient obsessed, strained, over-zealous, discontented, frustrated lazy, complaisant, limp, facile, meek
Toughness How we tackle problems resilient, tough, confident, stress tolerant delicate, sensitive, nervous, stress intolerant thick, insensitive, callous, presuming, heedless feeble, touchy, shaky, overwrought
Extroversion How we act socially extrovert, outgoing, social introvert, inward-looking, solitary show-off, forward, incomplete narcissist, shy, sheepish, aloof
Abnegation How we act socially group focused, looking after others, compromising, humble self focused, looking after #1, uncompromising, proud slavish, poor, weak, undignified selfish, greedy, quarrelsome, egotistical
Self-reliance How we act socially self-reliant, autonomous, resourceful dependent, subordinate, susceptible insular, arrogant, disobedient defenceless, slavish, incompetent
Dominance How we act socially dominant, forceful, assertive, aggressive, competitive submissive, docile, deferential, cooperative bossy, demanding, violent, antagonistic, restless cowering, tame, boot-licking, servile, lifeless


It is The Sparkling 12 that provides all the traits that are used in the Thelid Horoscope. I will deal with how they are allocated to the days of the year later but first I will look at how they compare to the traits of the traditional horoscope systems.

The Mediterranean Zodiac

Animal Positive Characteristics Negative Characteristics Sparkling 12 Equivalents
Aries - The Ram adventurous, energetic, pioneering, courageous, enthusiastic, confident, dynamic, quick-witted selfish, quick-tempered, impulsive, impatient, foolhardy, daredevil bold, confident, selfish, chaotic, driven
Taurus - The Bull patient, reliable, warmhearted, loving, persistent, determined, placid, security jealous, possessive, resentful, inflexible, self-indulgent, greedy relaxed, ordered, selfless, stubborn, selfish
Gemini - The Twins adaptable, versatile, communicative, witty, intellectual, eloquent, youthful, lively nervous, tense, superficial, inconsistent, cunning, inquisitive flexible, extrovert, abstract, nervous, driven, chaotic, bold
Cancer - The Crab emotional, loving, intuitive, imaginative, shrewd, cautious, protective, sympathetic changeable, moody, overemotional, touchy, clinging, unable to let go emotional, abstract, cautious, stubborn, selfless, flexible, dependent
Leo - The Lion generous, warmhearted, creative, enthusiastic, broad-minded, expansive, faithful, loving pompous, patronizing, bossy, interfering, dogmatic, intolerant selfless, emotional, abstract, optimistic, stubborn, selfish, dominant
Virgo - The Maiden modest, shy, meticulous, reliable, practical, diligent, intelligent, analytical fussy, a worrier, overcritical, harsh, perfectionist, conservative selfless, introvert, ordered, cautious, nervous
Libra - The Scales diplomatic, urbane, romantic, charming, easygoing, sociable, idealistic, peaceable indecisive, changeable, gullible, easily influenced, flirtatious, self-indulgent selfless, emotional, extrovert, abstract, relaxed, submissive, nervous, flexible, selfish
Scorpio - The Scorpion determined, forceful, emotional, intuitive, powerful, passionate, exciting, magnetic jealous, resentful, compulsive, obsessive, secretive, obstinate stubborn, dominant, emotional, extravert, driven, pessimistic
Sagittarius - The Archer optimistic, freedom-loving, jovial, good-humored, honest, straightforward, intellectual, philosophical blindly optimistic, careless, irresponsible, superficial, tactless, restless optimistic, bold, jovial, abstract, chaotic, selfish
Capricorn - The Goat practical, prudent, ambitious, disciplined, patient, careful, humorous, reserved pessimistic, fatalistic, miserly, grudging practical, cautious, driven, ordered, relaxed, extravert, introvert, pessimistic, selfish
Aquarius - The Water Carrier friendly, humanitarian, honest, loyal, original, inventive, independent, intellectual intractable, contrary, perverse, unpredictable, unemotional, detached extrovert, selfless, optimistic, stubborn, abstract, self-reliant, selfish, chaotic, dispassionate
Pisces - The Fish imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, kind, selfless, unworldly, intuitive, sympathetic escapist, idealistic, secretive, vague, weak-willed, easily led abstract, nervous, selfless, chaotic, bold, selfish, flexible, submissive


Most of these characteristics are in the Sparkling 12 and there are only 4 contradictions within a star sign which isn't too bad an effort from people with little understanding of maths. There are a number of categories that are over-represented however: (abstract, selfless & stubborn for example), and some that are under-represented: (pessimistic, self-reliant & dispassionate for example). The other problem I noticed is that the number of characteristics per star sign is quite variable.

The Chinese Zodiac

Animal Positive Characteristics Negative Characteristics Sparkling 12 Equivalents
The Rat wise, unique, intelligent, crafty, determined, inventive, intense greedy, ruthless, nervous stubborn, abstract, selfish, nervous
The Ox honest, contemplative, observant, determined, cautious, loyal self-righteous, stubborn, petty, egotistical, judgmental, overly cautious optimistic, stubborn, cautious, dominant, selfish
The Tiger outspoken, adventurous, unconventional, enthusiastic aggressive, arrogant, short-tempered, anxious dominant, bold, selfish, nervous
The Rabbit intuitive, even-tempered, gentle, faithful, compassionate, clever pessimistic, insecure, vain, overly cautious, finicky relaxed, submissive, stubborn, selfless, pessimistic, nervous, cautious, abstract
The Dragon courageous, intelligent, charismatic, passionate impetuous, inflexible, brash bold, extravert, emotional, chaotic, stubborn, selfish
The Snake wise, enigmatic, intuitive, sympathetic, mesmerizing, sensual, beautiful hedonistic, vain, malicious, overly materialistic, duplicitous selfless, extravert, selfish, flexible
The Horse virile, easygoing, witty, honest, outspoken impatient, impulsive, self-centered relaxed, optimistic, extravert, driven, chaotic, selfish
The Goat intelligent, romantic, charming, compassionate, gentle disorganized, lazy, pessimistic, timid, indecisive, anxious, gullible emotional, extravert, selfless, submissive,
The Monkey confident, charming, humorous, exuberant, popular distrustful, arrogant, opportunistic, erratic, manipulative, dishonest confident, extravert, chaotic, pessimistic, selfish
The Rooster charming, witty, honest, blunt, capable, talented, brave, self-reliant controlling, insensitive, narrow-minded, selfish, reckless extravert, optimistic, practical, bold, self-reliant, dominant, tough, cautious selfish
The Dog animated, likable, witty, sincere, cooperative, protective, helpful pessimistic, cynical, paranoid, overly aggressive, stubborn extravert, optimistic, selfless, pessimistic, dominant, stubborn
The Pig intelligent, thoughtful, creative, responsible, curious, noble gullible, materialistic, insecure, hot-tempered abstract, stubborn, bold, submissive, selfish, nervous


At first glance these seem like a pretty comprehensive list of personality traits but dig a little deeper and you will see that they are nothing of the sort. Right from the top "wise, unique, intelligent, clever" etc are not personality traits, they are other things.

Apart from this, again there are contradictions within categories and a highly variable number of factors per animal. Again, numerous factors are under-represented as well.

The Chinese zodiac reads like the arbitrary construction it is. There is even less in the way of even distribution here than there is in the Mediterranean zodiac and that was not particularly even...

Assigning Personality Traits To Time Periods

The biggest problem with traditional zodiacs is that nearly all of the possible combinations of factors are unrepresented. Consider a 12 factor list: If you want to select 7 factors for a given animal there are 12C7 = 792 possible combinations of factors. Each of the 7 factors chosen for each combination can be positive or negative so each combination has 2^7 or 128 variations. So the total possible range of personality traits for a given animal is 792x128 or 101,376. Since only 12 animals are provided the great majority of personality types are not represented.

You might think that judging from this it is clearly impossible to represent all personality types in a given zodiac of manageable size. You might think that if you are not a mathematician but you would be wrong!

There are ways to keep a zodiac to a manageable size and still get a complete array of personality types represented:

By following this strategy, a complete set of personalities using the 9 most useful traits from the sparkling 12 would only be 2^9 or 512. By reducing the 16 set 1 combinations to 14 and the 8 possible set 2 combinations to 7 we get our zodiac down to 366 which is the maximum number of days in a year and less than half the possible personalities have been discarded. By discarding only the rarest traits we can ensure that nearly all the personalities you may come across in the real world will be represented.

Problem solved!

Personality Subdomains

Having decided on the Sparkling 12 as our personality axes, we then need to consider how these will be combined to give us our 9 trait horoscope and zodiac. If we group our 12 dipoles into subdomains this may help us decide which to allocate where. These subdomains are:

In order to choose an animal or some other object to embody some of these factors it is best to choose at least one from each of the main 3 subdomains. This gives a more rounded set, similar to a real animal. It also avoids the problem of non-orthogonality as only factors within a given subdomain can overlap each other.

If 2 traits are required for a given object (say an animal) from a given subdomain make sure that you only select one of dominance, self-reliance and abnegation and one of organisation and abstraction. This will minimise non-orthogonality.

We now have all the pieces we need to design our Thellid Zodiac!