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Genastro

Lesson 11 of 12

Tropical and sidereal

There are two ways to fix the zodiac in place. Which one a chart uses decides the sign of most placements, and neither one matches the constellations.

Two ways to anchor the ring

The is anchored to the seasons: 0° Aries is where the Sun stands at the March . The is anchored to the stars: it is the tropical ring shifted back by the . The ayanamsa itself is a choice, since several definitions exist, and Genastro uses the Lahiri one.

The two start aligned and drift apart, because Earth's axis wobbles in a cycle of about 26,000 years. That slides the equinox backward against the stars. Western astrology mostly uses the tropical zodiac. uses the sidereal one, usually with Whole Sign houses, so its Ascendant and its houses shift as well.

Turn the ring

Switch zodiacs. The planets do not move. The ring underneath them rotates by the ayanamsa, and each body picks up the sign that is now beneath it.

0° Aries is the March equinox.

0° Aries is the March equinox.

Each body in both zodiacs
BodyTropicalSidereal
Sun23°25′ Pisces29°38′ Aquarius (a different sign)
Moon14°50′ Aries21°03′ Pisces (a different sign)
Mercury26°18′ Aquarius2°32′ Aquarius
Venus7°01′ Aries13°14′ Pisces (a different sign)
Mars5°20′ Pisces11°33′ Aquarius (a different sign)
Jupiter14°22′ Scorpio20°35′ Libra (a different sign)
Saturn5°19′ Pisces11°32′ Aquarius (a different sign)
Uranus25°25′ Capricorn1°38′ Capricorn
Neptune22°52′ Capricorn29°05′ Sagittarius (a different sign)
Pluto28°02′ Scorpio4°15′ Scorpio
Ascendant24°48′ Aquarius1°02′ Aquarius

marks a different sign in the sidereal zodiac.

Sidereal: Lahiri ayanamsa. Marta is a fictional person; her chart is computed from 14 March 1994, 06:42, Lisbon, Portugal.

Neither is the constellations

A sign is always a 30° slice, in either zodiac. The constellations the signs are named after vary in width, and the Sun crosses thirteen of them, not twelve. So "the Sun is in Pisces" means a slice of the ring, not that the Sun is in front of the stars of Pisces.

The two zodiacs measure different things, and neither is wrong. The frequency figures on this site were simulated in the tropical zodiac. They describe tropical placements only, and Genastro says so whenever the sidereal switch is on. In a sidereal chart the ring is shifted, so a share measured for the tropical sign does not carry over to the sidereal one.

Try it on your chart

Switch zodiacs on your chart

The zodiac switch sits above your wheel. Your chart shows both readings of every placement.