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The Tropical and Sidereal Zodiacs
A Discussion


Introduction
Unless they are astrologers, not many people know that two “different“ zodiacs are the basis of the two major forms of astrology being practiced in the world today. One, called sidereal astrology, is used, in general, in eastern countries, like India. It may be referred to as “Eastern” astrology. Hindu astrology is one form of sidereal astrology. Older, “ancient” astrologies--Chaldean, Egyptian--were also sidereal.

The other, called tropical astrology, is practiced in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa. We could call it “Western” astrology.

The most obvious difference between them today is that the tropical zodiac is about 25° degrees ahead of the sidereal one. Since each sign is only 30° long, it means these two astrologies are almost a whole sign apart. So, for instance, if you were born in the West and your tropical sun is at 15° Cancer, in the East, that is, sidereally, it is at 20 Gemini.

The same thing happens to all the planets in your chart--in the East, they drop back almost a whole sign. Ditto for signs on the cusp of Angles and houses.

Two conditions remain the same in both systems. The planets themselves stay in the same houses, and they retain the same aspects, that is, their relationship to each other remains the same. Everything has just changed signs.

Considering that signs play a prominent part in astrology (see footnote 1, at bottom), this situation deserves more reflection. How did the West end up with a different system than the East? Is their difference one only of sign, or is more involved? What implications does the co-existence of two different systems have on astrology as a whole? Is astrology so flexible that both systems can be equally valid?


Are you so flexible you can be a Cancer in the West and a Gemini in the East?

In order to better understand how this split came about, let’s start with a short tour of past astrological habits.