Zodiacal Systems - Sidereal
The Sidereal Zodiac is a twelve-sign, thirty-degree system that is corrected for precession, making it about 25 - 27 degrees behind the Tropical System. This is the Zodiacal system used in Indian Vedic astrology (Jyotish). This Zodiacal system can be used with any house system. I tend to use it with a Whole Sign house system.
While the Sidereal Zodiac system comes much closer to the actual sky than the Tropical Zodiacal system, it is still artificial in the sense that the constellations are divided into twelve signs of thirty degrees each, which is not the case with the real constellations. However, this system gets closer to the actual heavens than the Tropical system.
While I use the Sidereal Zodiacal system, I must stress that I am not practicing, nor am I trained in, Jyotish. I use the Sidereal Zodiac to look for a specific set of information, another layer of the onion of the overall personality. What I have found is that the Sidereal Zodiacal system (especially in conjunction with a Whole Sign house style) is an excellent window into the spiritual nature of the native. However, I want to stress, that as I am using this term, I do not necessarily mean 'spiritual' in some saintly manner. In fact, what I find the most is how people might make a pretense of their professed spiritual beliefs.
It seems that there is a layer of spirituality that most humans can experience that is more for show and social status, standing and recognition, than for real evolution and enlightenment. We might call this the "professional spiritual person", and this seems to be especially prominent for people who make a living through anything spiritual, and they will often have had a 'conversion event' wherein they 'left behind' some behavior, personal expressions, addictions, career or cultural traditions in order 'to become' whatever they are expressing themselves as now. Conversely, we may also find where people can bring more spirit and spirituality into their own lives, and especially how they might find more fulfillment in their life by aligning with these impulses, as well as how they might bring their work into greater alignment with their spiritual inclinations.
What I would say about the Sidereal Zodiacal system is that it can take a person to a slightly more real layer of their being, peeling off an overlay of impulses implanted by the culture; notions of status, possessions, familial desires and how they want their life to be seen by others, in the context of the modern Western cultural style that is the dominant world force at this time. The Sidereal Zodiac, in my experience, doesn't peel one down to their absolute base; the soul level with its destiny, fate and karmic needs. What it does do is get one out of the most shallow pursuits of material appearances and allows one space to perhaps go further, though many do not and for them, this chart can dictate their life path, which may be more dilettante than master, more professional seeker than one who has found truth and resides permanently in that place.
We will continue to look at systems and influences in further articles in this series.
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