SIDEREALASTROLOGYWHATISITREALLY? byDanicaJankovicVukajlovic http://siderallia.blogspot.com/p/siderealastrologywhatisitreally.html IfyouwereaskedWhatsyoursignandyouansweredCancer,thiswouldimply,intheusual, popular,tropicalastrologyunderstanding,thattheSunatthetimeofbirthwouldbefoundinthatsign (thesignofCancerinourexample).However,ifweweretolookattheskyatthatexacttime,we wouldntactuallyseethestarsfromtheCancerconstellation!Whatwewouldmostlikelytosee(ifit happenstobepossibletoseethestarsatthemomentbecauseofthebrightnessoftheSunsoearly dawn,orjustaftersunset)istheGeminiconstellation. Howisthispossible? ThetermZodiacreferstothe12constellationsoftheEcliptic,each30,whichtheancientEgyptians notedlongagobyobservingthepositionsoftheSunandMoonagainsttheconstellationsandthe relationtophenomenaoccurrencesonearth.Thisishowastrologycametobe.Throughthispractice ofobservationandmakingrecords,itcontinuedtoevolve.

. Therelativepositionofthestarstoeachotherhasbeenstaticforthousandsofyearsfromthepointof viewofEarth,sincewecanbarelynoticetheirgiganticmovementhereontheEarth.Buttheposition betweenthevisibleconstellationsandthehorizon,themeridian,andtheseasonsgoesthroughacycle. ThisphenomenaisknownastheprecessionoftheEquinoxesandisduetothetheslighttiltofEarths axis,whichcausesacyclingshiftofthealignmentofthevernalpointtotheEcliptic.Onewholecycleof thismovementofthevernalpointthroughconstellationslastsabout26,000years.Aboutevery2,000 yearsthevernalpointthedegreeoftheeclipticthatrisesontheeasternhorizonatthemomentofthe vernalequinoxpassesfromoneconstellationtoanother.WearenowattheendofthePisces constellationandthevernalpointisslowlymovingtowardsenteringtheconstellationofAquarius(the sequenceofthismotionisinthereverseorderoftheannualmotionoftheSunthroughthe constellations). SinceancientEgyptiansworkedintermsofstellar,siderealzodiac1 ,precessiondidnothaveany influenceontheircalculations. SpreadingofastrologyintheWesthappenedduringtheearlycenturiesB.C.bytransferoftheEgyptian andBabylonian(Chaldean)knowledgetotheGreekcities. ItwasduringthisearlycenturiesofWesternastrologythatthefamousHellenisticastrologer astronomer 2 ,Ptolemy,livedandworked,andwhosework(especiallythebook,Tetrabiblos)became
1 2

seeC.Fagan,AstrologicaloriginsLlewellynPublications,Minnesota1973 therewasnodistinctionbetweenthesetworolesthen;therewasonlythetermastrologer,whichincluded aspectsofwhatwewouldseparateasastrologyandastronomybytodaysdefinitions

thefoundationforthefurtherdevelopmentofastrology.Asallofhiscontemporaries,Ptolemywas convincedthatthecelestialspherewasrotating,andthattheEarthisfixed,soobservationsregarding thechangedpositionofvernalpointwereatributedtothismotionofthecelestialsphere.Buthedidnot considerthisphenomenontobeofimportance(hadhebeen,hewouldhavegiventheinstructionsfor thereadershowtocalculatetheprecession),becausehisownworkwasdoneinreferencetothestars, nottheseassons 3 .Hismostimportantworks,theTetrabiblosandAlmagest,whichareacceptedasthe greatestauthoritiesinastrologytodate,werewrittenbetween127.C.E.and151.C.E.;duringthistime thevernalpointwasmovingbetween0111and0051Ariesofsiderealzodiac. NotlongagoafterPtolemaictime,duetotheChristianoverrun,alltheimportantastrologicalwritings, includingthetwomentioned,weremovedtotheMiddleEast,andtherehadbeentranslatedinto Arabicduringthesubsequentcenturies,inordertocomebacktotheWest.TheMiddleAgesPtolemys translatorsandstudentssimplycopiedhisstatementthattheZodiacbeginswiththevernalequinox 4 . Whilethiswasactuallytrueduringhistime,itwasanobservationoftheconstellationsinrelationto seasons(thebeginningofspring),notadesignationaboutwheretheZodiacbegins! 5 ThusanastrologicaltraditionwhichispopularintheWesternworldtodaycameabout:thesocalled tropicalastrology.Whileitpurportstobeastrologicalbasedonthestarsitisactuallybasedonthe seasons! IntheWestthisdivorceofastrologyfromthestartshassurvivedforcenturies. Thesurprisingthingisthatthiskindoffixatingontheequinoctialpoints,andunderstandingthestarry clustersasthosethatrotate,didnotstopevenafterCopernicus16thcenturydiscoverythattheEarthis theoneactuallyrotating! Onapracticallevel,thisastrologicalmisunderstandingowesmuchofitscontinuedexistencetothefact thatahugeamountofpractical,detailedastrologicalworkhasbeenbased,notontheZodiacperse,but ontheanalysisofplanetaryprinciplesandtheirangularinterrelations(aspects),aswellastheir positionsinthehousesofthehoroscope. Well,ifpracticalresultsareobtainableeitherway,whywoulditmatteratallwhatwecallthetool? onemightask.Thequestionisnotwithoutmerit. First,Ihavetoassertthattheyarenotobtainableeitherway! Siderealastrologycanpredicteventswithaninfallibleaccuracytoaday,usingonlythesimplest techniques,suchastransits,SolarandLunarReturns,andtheirprogression.Usingtropicalastrology,

manyplacesinTetrabiblospointtothefactthatheusedthewordssignandconstellationassynonymous, alwayshavinginmindthereal,physicallyobservableconstellations 4 TetrabiblosI,11 5 theZodiac,accordingtotheancientEgyptians,beganwiththeconstellationTaurus,theBull,andthat observedfromthemidstofthisconstellation,whichtheydeterminedinrelationtothefixedstarAldebaran

theSolarReturn(duetothediscrepancyoftheZodiacherebeingorientedtowardtheEquinoxes,and nottheStars)completelylosesitsmeaning,asdoalltheprogressionsbasedonthisandrelatedcycles, whiletransitsintimeshowdiscrepancyindaysfromtheexactmomentofrealtransition! Innatalastrology,wherewehandlethemoresubjective(andthuslesseasytoprove)facts,the advantageofreal,stellarperspectiveisalsodisplayedinpractice:whilecontemporarytropicalastrology isfloodedwithinnumerabletechniques,inafoggyattempttoexplainphenomenonwithtrivialfactors, subdivisionsofdivisions,Arabicparts,insertedhouses,etc.,siderealastrologybasesitsinterpretation uponafewessentialfactors.Asimpleanalysisgivestheinterpreteraclearandcomprehensivepicture ofthecharacterwithoutanyneedtocontriveorincorporatetheevernew,additionaltechniquesthat compromisethechart. Second,thereisamatterofmeaningfuluseofnames,andthefactthatconsistentuseofparticular conceptsandterms,aswellasprecisedefinitionofthetermsused,isanimportantaspectofthatwhich wecallscience. Thetrueproblemofholdingtothetropicalframeofastrologicalthinkingisthatitpreventsastrology frombecomingestablishedexperientially,basedonempiricaldata,andthusfrombeingusedinthe mostfruitfulwaypossibletotheadvancementofmankindasatoolthathelpshumanbeingsbecome intunewiththemselvesandeverythinginNature,withtheUniversethatsurroundshimandofwhichhe isanintegralpart. TherediscoveryandrevitalizationoftheknowledgeofastrologyasitreallyiswiththeZodiacof12 constellationsontheEcliptichappenedintheWestatthebeginningof20thCentury,thankstothe modernpioneersofSiderealastrology,CyrilFaganandDonaldA.Bradley(akaGarthAllen).Theirwork hasbeencarriedontothepresentdaybyahandfulofauthors,whomostlybytheirownindividual effortsandinvestigationscontributedbitbybittothegrowingelucidationofthisimportantastrological problem:http://home.comcast.net/~siderealwest/biblio.htm Weastrologersandeventhosewhoarenotaregreatlyindebtedtotheiropenmindedness, persistence,andcourage. **************************************