No one today questions that our conception of the Creator of the universe depends on the era and culture into which we are born. The form the Creator may take in our imagination and worldview is often shaped by the various interpretations that different cultures and civilizations have made of this figure over the centuries.
Today, we are able to put into perspective the concept that different people and religions have constructed of something as abstract as God. And this is possible because humanity has already gone through various phases and philosophical currents, such as 19th-century free thought, 20th-century relativism, or 21st-century postmodernity and globalization, in which any stance or theoretical framework is susceptible to being relativized, even further, if that is possible.
Knowledge moves fast, but understanding takes time. Here is where astronomy, psychology, identity, and ideas converge—examining how we shape the world and how it shapes us. To understand our present and our future, we cannot forget our past. Mythology and legends explain our archetypal world and how we see ourselves today.
On this page, we will talk not only about how we see ourselves through psychological and sidereal astrology, but also how we see our current society. We therefore aim to offer a contemporary and open perspective on the approach to self-knowledge and predictive technologies, such as astrology in the West or Kabbalah in the Middle East. We must not overlook the fact that most cultures and civilizations on the planet have created their own forms of divination and predictive systems.
The Mayan civilization had its own calendar with corresponding horoscopes. The Jewish people, as we mentioned, developed Kabbalah as a technique for prediction and self-knowledge.
In China, they rely on the lunar calendar to chart twelve lunar horoscopes with animal names determined by the individual’s year of birth. Less well-known in the West is their own astrological chart, which they call the Bazi chart.
In India, Vedic astrology, which they call Jyotish, is studied in universities and is based on calculations of actual motion, according to an ayanamsa different from the tropical one, based on the current positions of the fixed stars and the current movement of the constellations in the sky.
Western sidereal astrology, which is a development of Western tropical astrology, considers that currently the signs and planets of the tropical zodiac are out of phase by about 24° with respect to the sky; it also uses an ayanamsa based on fixed stars, such as the Vedic (Lahiri) ayanamsa or the Fagan-Bradley ayanamsa, among others.
The most current schools of astrological thought advocate a midpoint sidereal astrology, based on the actual measurements of the constellations. This system of sidereal astrology, based on the actual measurements of the constellations according to the IAU (International Astronomical Union), highlights their varying sizes along the ecliptic. In tropical astrology, each sign is assigned exactly 30 degrees, which is incorrect. In reality, as seen in the sky, the constellations have different sizes; for example, Virgo measures 44 degrees, Pisces 37 degrees, Aries 24 degrees, Taurus 38 degrees, etc. There is also a constellation, Ophiuchus, which gives rise to a thirteenth sign, known in the sidereal zodiac as the sign of Ophiuchus.
Similarly, within tropical astrology, which interprets the zodiac as a representation of the sky based on the seasons (and taking into account the onset of the seasons, the equinoxes, solstices, etc.), alternative models of birth charts such as Draconic birth charts, etc., are considered today.
In Argentina, for example, some astrological schools advocate the use of a southern tropical astrology that takes into account the fact that the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere. This new astrological school of thought considers that the chronological distribution and interpretation of the tropical signs was conceived and created in and for the northern hemisphere; therefore, it makes no sense in the southern hemisphere if we take the tropical zodiac based on the seasons, given that, obviously, in the southern hemisphere the cycle of the seasons is reversed compared to the northern hemisphere.
However, by taking sidereal astrology as our starting point, we bypass this inconsistency because, as we mentioned, the sidereal zodiac uses the constellations and fixed stars as its reference. Therefore, starting from a sidereal ayanamsa, when drawing up a birth chart, both the beginning of the zodiac and the chronology of the signs will be the same anywhere on the planet.
Logically, for most of us, it is not possible to master each of these predictive systems to a level that truly serves us, whether for personal self-knowledge or for the purpose of counseling. And the fact is that each of these systems is also embedded within its own “cultural framework” of resonance.
We are determined to make this blog an open space for self-knowledge and the healing that stems from it. And in the face of this diverse landscape—which may be confusing to some—we aim to advocate for a more universal astrological system that is better adapted to today’s globalization: the sidereal zodiac. Without prejudice, however, toward any other predictive system that may be useful to the person using it.
TROPICAL ASTROLOGY VERSUS SIDEREAL ASTROLOGY
As we mentioned, we created this blog with the aim of offering an alternative perspective to the thousands of pages on tropical astrology that do not take into account the actual current positions of the constellations. It is estimated that the signs and planets of the tropical zodiac are misaligned by about 24° relative to the current sky.
The fundamental difference lies in the reference point used to calculate the signs: tropical astrology uses the seasons (solstices/equinoxes), setting 0° Aries at the spring equinox, while sidereal astrology uses the actual astronomical positions of the constellations. Taking into account the problem we mentioned—that the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere—we see that if we base ourselves on a tropical zodiac, then a Capricorn born in winter in the northern hemisphere is, however, born in summer in the southern hemisphere.
As early as the 19th century, this misalignment in calculations with respect to the actual precession of the equinoxes began to concern astrologers such as Cyril Fagan (1896–1970), who promoted Western sidereal astrology in the 1940s and 1950s. In that decade, Fagan, together with the American astrologer Donald A. Bradley, created the calculation system known as the Fagan-Bradley ayanamsa to adjust the sidereal zodiac.
Fagan realized that the calculations of certain aspects, and especially of solar returns, did not yield consistent and accurate predictions. He therefore argued that modern tropical astrology had deviated from the actual positions of the stars due to the precession of the equinoxes.
Although it is true that most websites dedicated to psychological astrology are based on tropical calculations, on this blog we believe that the two systems are not mutually exclusive. Here we will attempt to offer our vision of astrology, always from a psychological and self-knowledge perspective, but based on sidereal calculations of the actual planetary positions.
Since astrology is a symbolic language with multiple levels of depth, much like a hologram or a fractal image, the most important thing is that we recognize ourselves within the system we have chosen to calculate and interpret our natal chart. If a system—whether tropical, sidereal, or Vedic—does not “resonate” with us, it is always better to adopt a different point of view.
ABOUT WORLD ASTROLOGY
In this blog, we also want to offer insights into the current global situation, which will undoubtedly differ greatly from traditional tropical approaches that view Pluto as transiting the sign of Aquarius.
There is a movement in the cosmos that is not taken into account in tropical astrology; this movement is called the “precession of the equinoxes.” What does it consist of? It takes the Earth 25,900 years to complete a cycle through the zodiac. Every 72 years, at the spring equinox, the Sun is observed to move 1 degree backward along the zodiac (precession); this is where the term comes from. This precessional movement determines the so-called “ages.” Each age lasts approximately 2,160 years, since we move backward by about one degree every 72 years.
We’re sorry to disappoint those who believe we’ve already entered the Age of Aquarius, but that’s not what actual astronomical calculations indicate. Currently, we are in the Age of Pisces, which is why we see the constellation Pisces rise at dawn during the spring equinox. It is said that in the year 2150 AD, Aquarius will rise at the spring equinox. Other astronomical software programs indicate the year 2646 as the dawn of the Age of Aquarius. All of this actual astronomical data highlights the question of the actual movement of the planets in the sky.
Real planets movement in the sky: https://theskylive.com/pluto-info#ephemeris
According to astrology and sidereal ephemerides (including Vedic astrology, which is believed in by over 1 million people in India), what Pluto has actually been doing over the past decade is entering Capricorn. Pluto’s entry into and transit through Capricorn is driving the rise of the far right in most Western democracies around the world.
This page offers Swiss sidereal ephemerides in PDF format.
If Pluto had actually entered Aquarius, we would in fact be witnessing an increase in equality and solidarity in the world, and not the opposite.
As we know, the discovery of Uranus in 1781 runs parallel to, and is intrinsically linked with, the rise of the Enlightenment and its focus on scientific observation, reason, and technological advancement. This technological advancement brought about a democratization of society beginning in the 19th century and greater access for the working classes to goods and participation in the social decisions that concerned them. A phenomenon that over time has led to today’s “globalization” and greater solidarity between more privileged nations and those less so, although there are undoubtedly still many conflicts to be resolved.
And the fact is that “Uranus,” in general, signifies democratization, equality, and solidarity, as it views the human being less as a separate individual and more as part of a planetary network that connects us all in one way or another. In fact, today, “knowledge” is constructed collaboratively. And this is very important for understanding the current “connected” world, in which it is practically impossible to make progress—including technologically—when attempting to do so outside the global internet.
Because, as explained in this link, “Aquarius is a promise of brotherhood, unconditional love, and fraternity.”
Do you really believe that Pluto is currently transiting Uranus, given the problems the Western world is facing today due to wars, dictatorial regimes—which have intensified in recent years—and the shift to the right among the most established and powerful democracies on the planet?
We will continue to discuss this sensitive topic in future posts.