The main problem with tropical astrology

The problem with tropical astrology is that the vernal point is no longer in the constellation of Aries. (The vernal point has been in the constellation of Pisces for more than 1,000 years.) This means that all the tropical signs are out of alignment by about 23 degrees with the constellations in the sky.

This leads to certain paradoxes. Whenever someone says their 'star sign' is Aries, in more than two thirds of cases, the Sun was in the 'star sign' of Pisces at the time of their birth. And so on for all other signs.

More seriously, take for instance a period when Mars is close to Antares, the star which is the heart of the constellation of Scorpio. If you look at the sky and tune in, you will perceive something very strong. The planet is 'scorpioed out', saturated with the forces of Scorpio. It is a sharp experience; even third eye apprentices in the first stages of their training receive clear impressions when tuning into it. But if you were to look in a tropical ephemeris, you would see Mars listed in Sagittarius.

How do tropical astrologers cope with that? It usually does not disturb them much. This is because astrologers in general (even the sidereal ones) very rarely look at the sky. They practice their art on paper and on computer, and rarely spend time learning to identify the constellations. When you talk with tropical astrologers, many are actually quite surprised if they hear that Mars (for example) is in the middle of the constellation of Scorpio when they believe it to be in Sagittarius.

All this is related to the precession of the equinoxes and the fact that the position of the Sun at the March equinox moves slowly over time, all of which is discussed at the beginning of this section of the manual.

Houses and aspects in sidereal astrology

In the sidereal zodiac, most planets end up in a different sign than the one they occupy in the tropical zodiac. However, planets all remain in the same houses. And the aspects between the planets remain exactly the same. (View a Tropical/Sidereal chart to check for yourself.)

Thus, if you base your astrological interpretation on aspects and the position of planets in houses, then what you say will remain valid both in tropical and in sidereal astrology. If you base your interpretation on the position of planets in signs, then what you say will be absurd in the other system – whichever system you may have chosen.

This is why, in the method of learning astrology we offer you, the signs are not introduced first. And the essentials of interpretations are done without them. This way, whatever system you decide to adopt, what you will have learned will remain.

Tropical astrology – the basic premises

How do smart tropical astrologers answer when you question them about the fact that their zodiac is 23 degrees (i.e. more than 2 thirds of a sign) away from the constellations in the sky?

One of their main arguments is that the zodiac is a purely symbolic reality, for which the stars in the sky are just some kind of analogy. The tropical zodiac, in their mind, exists independently of all association with the constellations, and thus will remain valid even in 12,000 years, when the 0° Aries of the tropical zodiac will have arrived somewhere in Libra – more than 180 degrees away from the constellation of Aries.

They also often argue that ancient astrologers were tropical astrologers too. This last argument seems to us completely unsustainable, because ancient astrologers, unlike modern ones, did spend a lot of time and energy watching the constellations at night and meditating upon them. But to understand all the whereabouts of this matter, we must go back to Ptolemy.