A few days ago I was wandering around Facebook, as one does, when I came across a rather interesting comment. In fact, it was simple and to the point:
western astrology is bullshit
I posted a reply, and soon enough I got to understand the reasoning behind the comment. The Zodiac used by Western astrologers is a complete fiction. And to be more specific, the signs of Western astrology don’t line up with the real constellations.
This is of course true. As I write, on March 20, the Sun is in the last degree of Pisces, on the verge of moving into Aries. However if you look at the Sun against the background of the constellations you’ll see that it is towards the beginning of the constellation of Pisces, and is still a very long way from the constellation of Aries.
So what’s going on? Why the mismatch?
Well, around two thousand years ago there was a reasonable correlation between the Western Zodiac and the constellations. However because of a phenomenon known as ‘the precession of the equinoxes’, the Western Zodiac slowly lost touch with the constellations.
In Eastern astrology there’s an attempt to correct the problem, by moving the sign positions back. At the moment, the most common correction is around twenty-four degrees, so if your Sun is twenty-five degrees Virgo in the West, it’ll be one degree Virgo in the East. And very often there’ll be a sign change. So Barack Obama is a Leo in the West, a Cancerian in the East.
But which is right? Surely Western astrology really is bullshit, because the signs bear no relationship to the constellations?
At this stage I must be honest with you. From the point of view of Western astrology, the constellations are completely irrelevant. The Western signs of the Zodiac are instead based on the seasons.
The Sun moves into Aries not when it enters the constellation of Aries, but instead when it crosses the Equator, on around March 21, the first day of the Northern Hemisphere spring, when the hours of night and day are equal. It moves into Cancer at the Summer solstice, around June 21, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. It moves into Libra on the day of the Autumnal Equinox, which is the beginning of Autumn, and it moves into Capricorn at the Winter Solstice, which is the Northern Hemisphere’s shortest day.
Once your know where the four signs of Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn start, it’s an easy matter to interpolate the other eight signs.
This means that an Aries has the personality of an Aries not because of the constellation the Sun was in when they were born, but because they were born in the month following the Spring Equinox.
Of course that still leaves some uncomfortable questions for Western astrologers. The Spring is a dynamic time, when the emphasis is on new growth, on stepping out into a brand new world. Very Aries. But what if you’re an Aries born in the Southern Hemisphere? Late March and early-mid April are the beginning of the Australian Autumn, so shouldn’t your personality be completely the opposite to a typical Aries?
All I can say is, that I have encountered Aries people born in the Southern Hemisphere, and they show the typical attributes of this star sign just as much as their Northern Hemisphere counterparts.
Finally, as I tried to tell the guy on Facebook, it’s not about being right or wrong. Different astrologers use different Zodiacs, and provided they understand the logic of what they’re doing, their different approaches should be respected.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hi!
thanks for the post (:
you should put more up about
the eastern zodiac.