I am not an astrologer, but if I understand things correctly, in western astrology, the signs refer to 30-degree segments along the ecliptic (Sun’s apparent path across the sky over the year at the same time each day). These increments originally referred to the constellations present at that location many years ago. But due to Earth’s slowly wobbling axis, the 30-degree increments no longer exactly align with the constellations; the segments still retain the original names, however. I believe that a planet’s sign refers to the location in relation to the ecliptic.
The dates listed in parentheses in the article above next to a sign are the sign that the Sun is in, not Mercury. We will revise the page so that this is clear—sorry for the confusion! I checked an ephemeris, and, if I am interpreting it correctly, it seems to agree with your data. However, the sign that Mercury is in won’t always agree with the sign that the Sun is in. You’d need to check an ephemeris each year for the particular planet that you are interested in. Mercury will be in the sign of Aries during March 23 through April 15 (actually, early March through mid May). Mercury will be in Scorpio from about mid October through the end of that month, then it goes into Sagittarius for November, then (due to retrograde motion that started in November) back into Scorpio in early December before going back into Sagittarius in mid December after it resumes direct motion. So from November 17 through about December 1, it is in Sagittarius, then goes to Scorpio around December 2, then back into Sagittarius around Dec 13 through the rest of the month. Hope this helps!
I am not an astrologer, but if I understand things correctly, in western astrology, the signs refer to 30-degree segments along the ecliptic (Sun’s apparent path across the sky over the year at the same time each day). These increments originally referred to the constellations present at that location many years ago. But due to Earth’s slowly wobbling axis, the 30-degree increments no longer exactly align with the constellations; the segments still retain the original names, however. I believe that a planet’s sign refers to the location in relation to the ecliptic.
The dates listed in parentheses in the article above next to a sign are the sign that the Sun is in, not Mercury. We will revise the page so that this is clear—sorry for the confusion! I checked an ephemeris, and, if I am interpreting it correctly, it seems to agree with your data. However, the sign that Mercury is in won’t always agree with the sign that the Sun is in. You’d need to check an ephemeris each year for the particular planet that you are interested in. Mercury will be in the sign of Aries during March 23 through April 15 (actually, early March through mid May). Mercury will be in Scorpio from about mid October through the end of that month, then it goes into Sagittarius for November, then (due to retrograde motion that started in November) back into Scorpio in early December before going back into Sagittarius in mid December after it resumes direct motion. So from November 17 through about December 1, it is in Sagittarius, then goes to Scorpio around December 2, then back into Sagittarius around Dec 13 through the rest of the month. Hope this helps!