Which zodiac type to use is a huge topic for folks in the astrology community; a debate that holds a lot of passion on both sides. This debate has been going on for years, to the point in which insults are hurled, feelings are hurt, and beefs are started. Of course, I understand having passion for a subject- I am Leo Moon after all- but this Leo Moon is in the 7th house. Beefing over something subjective is silly. So I am hear to explain both sides (the 7th house moon is really jumping out) so one can understand both sides of astrology. What I am hoping is that you can at least understand both sides- at the most, I want you to pick a zodiac that best fits you.
Sidereal Astrology followers love using the argument "we are literally looking at the sky". Okay, you got that siderealists, lol! Sidereal astrology uses the current placement of the cosmic bodies in respect to earth's positioning. Literally, where you see the planets and stars in the sky. So for these folks, if the moon is in Sagittarius, the moon is at a position in the sky in which the constellation of Sagittarius is the backdrop. They use this reasoning with every cosmic body in the sky. It's a very straight forward, no nonsense approach to astrology- one can just look at the sky to see what is going on with people or the world. But there are people who don't fully connect with their sidereal charts. This also opens the debate if we should include Ophiuchus into the mix- some sidereal astrologist do and some don't. There are viable points on both sides of the argument. I get it, if you're going to be a purest, be a full purest and include the 13th sign. Another thing to take account of is that the universe is ever changing, even if we do not see it. Every 72 years, these "fixed stars" of the 12 constellations move one degree. That's why the Aries date range now in sidereal astrology is not the same as it was 2000 years ago. Tropic and Sidereal Astrology is at a 23-25 degree difference, depending on what Ayanamsha sidereal astrologers use. For example, in tropic astrology, I'm a Capricorn, but in sidereal astrology I'm a Sagittarius. This is one of the big arguments between sidereal astrologers and tropical astrologers- should we change with the universe in respect to Earth's view of the universe or should we have fixed sign dates- expressing that a 0 degree Aries will always be born around the same time, no matter what year it is. It truly is something to think about!
Tropic Astrology is based off the seasons-the position of the sun in what I like to call the "ecliptic belt". I'm not sure if other people use this phrase but I call the the ecliptic belt the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn (with the equator in the middle). Depending on where the sun is on the ecliptic belt determines what season it is but it does matter what which tropic line you are closer to. If the sun is on the Tropic of Cancer and you're in the northern hemisphere, its the beginning of summer but if you're in the southern hemisphere, its the beginning of winter. This is where the phrases Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, Fall Equinox, and Spring Equinox comes from.
In Tropic astrology, each of the 4 seasons are divided into threes and each of those thirds are named after the the original 12 constellations/their archetypes. These thirds APPROXIMATELY have fixed dates. Each phase is expressing the progression of the seasons. Because Earthings are greatly affected by the seasons and where our source (the sun) is positioned- a lot of astrologers rather use tropic astrology. This is why the argument of whether we should include Ophiuchus is never an issue with tropic astrology because Ophiuchus was never involved in the development of these approximate fixed dates in the first place. What Zodiac astrologers do is view where the cosmic body is in respect to its positioning in that ecliptic belt I was speaking of before. So while Sidereal astrologers are looking directly at the sky for cosmic answers, tropic astrologers are figuring out the position of the cosmic body in terms of that ecliptic belt. Many people feel that this is bonkers but a lot of people relate more to their tropic zodiac rather than their sideral zodiac. But there are also some people who side with sidereal astrology completely. So at the end of the day, who is right?
The truth is every one is right. Yeah, I know you didn't want to hear that but its true. I've literally have heard amazing readings and predictions from sidereal, vedic, lahire, tropic, all of them! I cannot deny it at all, it is what it is. The reasoning for that is that energy bleeds through and comes together. There is an obvious connection between the progression of signs.That's why each season ends with a mutable sign, to help us transition between one season or the set of signs to the next. All signs have that essence but of course mutable signs fully expression the transition of seasons. So you will be able to find truth in all types of zodiacs and in all types of Ayanamshas. The Universe is funny like that.
Personally, I've found more truth in tropic astrology. I'm not going to front, the way sidereal astrologers look at astrology is very logical but I have to go with what is more accurate to me. Even as a woman who is tropically Sagittarius dominant (second to Aquarius) there is no way I embody Sagittarius sun qualities. There are some qualities I would love to have that they do have but it ain't there, b. LOL! Even for other people I know who were born in the sideral/tropic cusp of two signs- they usually express themselves more like the tropical sun sign than the sidereal sun sign. I have a niece and a nephew who are tropical Aries and sidereal Pisces- they do not, I repeat, DO NOT expression the Pisces archetype- not by a long shot lol. They are very much connected to the Aries ego. However, there have been some tremendous accuracy with world predictions by sidereal astrologers. As an astrologer of 17 years, I've made some predictions myself but I cannot deny, sidereal astrologers are on it. I remember during the 2016 election with Hilary vs. Trump- a lot of tropic astrologers swore Hilary was going to win but a lot of sidereal and vedic astrologers called Trump and he ended up winning. But with tropic astrology, I was able to predict the scenario with the mega million lottery winner in October 2018. I have a theory about this and a number of astrologers share this theory. Because with sidereal we are viewing the stars in respect to earth as a whole, we will be able to read for the collective better and how the cosmos directly affect the earthly collective. Because us earthlings are very connected to the seasons (even folks who are on the equator are move by the seasons) tropic astrology can read people on an individual level in a more clear way. But again this is just a theory based off of my personal experiences.
At the end of the day, the choice is yours. Pick what you resonate with the most and go with that. For me, tropic works the best but maybe you connect with sidereal and fagan/bradley ayanamshas and your friend likes Vedic's sidereal astrology. Tropic got its drama too- we fight each other on what House system to use which is a whole other subject for a whole other blog post. lol! Sidereal astrologers don't argue about that as much, most use the whole sign system. We also fight on traditional tropic astrology vs modern tropic astrology. But even with the house system argument, you have to use what you resonate with the most. There is no right or wrong answer. There's truth in it all. Very reminiscent of Pisces energy.... i'll save that for another blog post as well... hehehehehe
Tropical astrology is the only astrology I know. I really need to learn more before I look into the others. I find it really interesting that there are so many different types of astrology.
I definitely lean towards tropical astrology too. I do have some close friends who only believe in sidereal astrology. They continually try to show me their way. I do want to learn more about sidereal but for now I'm focusing my learning on tropical.
Very interesting! I've only heard of tropical astrology as well. I'm pretty excited that I found this website because I've learned a lot already. I can't tell you which one I will go by, I've got to learn more about the others!
I didn't know there were different types of astrology until I read this. I think most of us are most comfortable with tropical astrology because it's what we hear the most about - most people base horoscopes and such off tropical astrology. Now that I've learned a little about sidereal astrology, I'd like to learn more about it.
<3 <3 <3