Hindu astrology (or Vedic astrology) is based on the sidereal zodiac, while Western astrology (or Greek astrology) is based on the tropical zodiac. Every astrologer has a tendency to champion “their own zodiac”, but it is more helpful to transcend these disagreements and look concretely at what each one can bring to the table…
Which zodiac should we use ?
This is a question that people unfailingly ask themselves when they start to study astrology, with both systems being supported and critiqued by different people. There are often people who seek to discredit tropical astrology using this simplistic set of seemingly logical statements :
precession of the equinoxes = discrepancy between constellations / tropical zodiac = wrong zodiac
I will not repeat now all of what other astrologers have said in magnificent responses to this argument, for example Dane Rudhyar, nor will I repeat what I have already explained in my article on different zodiac signs, but to summarize :
- the tropical zodiac is directly and exclusively the result of the relationship between the Earth and the Sun, a geometric and temporal relationship based on seasons of the year, and so it is “fixed” and regular
- while the sidereal zodiac provides this same relationship, but on the scale of the cosmos in relation to the constellations and fixed stars, so it is “mobile” and “drifts” to accommodate the cyclical phenomenon of the precession of the equinoxes.
In my readings, I work mainly with the tropical zodiac because it does a very good job of allowing us to analyze the realities of our daily lives in a detailed and relevant manner.
The tropical zodiac is the sphere that surrounds the Earth and separates it into twelve archetypal energies of the human psychological reality that result from its process of Individuation, along with some possible Sub-personalities.
But what about the sidereal zodiac ?
The sidereal zodiac is, in my opinion, a other reading grid that should be used for a complementary reading. Although it is not generally very accessible at first glance, it sometimes provides a surprising viewpoint for a particular situation or psychological reality, especially in a more spiritual setting (see Karma in astrology).
In situations where the tropical zodiac is more oriented towards straightforward psychology, the sidereal zodiac is generally more karmic (also including notions of reincarnation) : it describes an in-depth internal reality with more hidden parts. It is possible to understand certain things with the sidereal zodiac that are not expressed in the same way in the tropical zodiac, and it is in this context that I use it, especially for Return charts (solar and lunar), which the sidereal zodiac may shed new light on in terms of the “realization” of possibilities in a birth chart.
As I mention in my article on astrological Interpretation, different astrological techniques should tell the same story, even if they tell it differently. It is up to us to try to decipher and understand this language, subjectively, with the tools that we have and despite how confusing it might be : it is not up to the stars to change themselves for us.
I believe that it is a mistake to try to bring the two zodiacs into opposition with each other, since they are two techniques of the same astrology, of the same “algebra,” two ways of seeing the same reality.
Its ease of access and comprehension for average people leads me always start with the tropical zodiac, but that does not mean that I do not frequently look at the sidereal zodiac. An empirical and individual analysis of all of the charts is always the best thing to do.
Followers of a more scientific or more “astronomical” astrology often attempt to find a semblance of credibility by subscribing to some form of “scientific exactness” which they find at first glance in the sidereal zodiac, believing that they will have the good graces of some sort of superior school of thought.
In my opinion, this is a huge mistake, usually in part because of these people’s simple lack of understanding. Astrology is an analogical and symbolic art which by definition cannot be quantified or measured. We cannot put it into a statistical or scientific framework (even though it is of course part of an “astronomical framework”). It simply does not work that way, and we would never get anything useful out of following that path.
By pursuing this search for science, the intellectual elite would only laugh at our submission to science and “disavowal” of astrology anyway.
But never mind that : Try out the two zodiacs yourself ! See for yourself the nuances that they give to your birth chart and your predictions.
I suggest starting with the tropical zodiac and moving to the sidereal zodiac. Not everyone is “receptive” in the same way to the sidereal zodiac, so do not worry if you have a harder time seeing yourself in it (also see my article on interpretation and the notion of “timing”).