Sidereal Astrology
Get to know sidereal astrology
What is astrology?
According to Wikipedia, astrology is "a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects".
What do astrologers do?
Astrologers use your
natal chart (also called your "birth chart") to study the position of celestial objects (such as the
sun, moon, venus, etc.) at the time of your birth.
Have you ever read your horoscope in your local newspaper or a magazine?
This horoscope refers
to the
position of the sun at the time of your birth. For example, if you look for Aries in your local newspaper's
horoscope, this means in your natal chart, the sun was in the
sign of Aries at the time you were born. Depending on what part of the world you are in, astrologers from
different cultures may use different systems to interpret your natal chart. Two of these systems are
Sidereal (also known as Vedic) and Tropical (also known as Western)
astrology.
An example of a natal chart astrologers use in consultations
What is sidereal astrology?
Your local newspaper or magazines published in the United States and Europe will likely use the Tropical
astrology system to determine which zodiac sign the sun was in your birth chart at your time of birth ("I am
an Aries because I was born on 30th.").
According to the New York Post, the primary difference
between the Tropical and Sidereal systems "is where those signs are placed in the sky. The sidereal system
is based on the current position of the constellations while the tropical system is based on where the stars
were around 0 AD. In essence, the dates of the sidereal zodiac change over time and the dates of the
tropical zodiac do not."