Zodiacal Systems - True Constellation
The True Constellation Sidereal Zodiac system is based on the actual asterisms as they appear in the sky and include a thirteenth constellation, Ophiuchus, which does fall across the ecliptic. In fact, there is more of the asterism Ophiuchus on the ecliptic than there is of the asterism Scorpio. This entry will be a little longer than the previous ones, as there is more here to explain for you to have even a cursory understanding of this system, and how I make use of it in reading charts.
To begin with, a little about how I became acquainted with the real constellations. I began training in astrology with a teacher in the mid-1990s. By 1997 I had discovered that the constellations in the heavens are not any longer aligned with the 'signs' of tropical astrology. I asked my teacher about this and she confirmed that this was in fact the case. I had so many emotions about this, ranging from feeling like I had been deceived by tropical astrology, to feeling like I had been taught a false system, to curiosity about the actual placements to a weariness at the thought of having to learn a whole new system, but there was no way I could proceed with astrology without understanding this glaring discrepancy.
My teacher recommended I read 'Astrology 14' by Stephen Schmidt and that I look into the work of Walter Berg from the UK, who had recently introduced a true constellation system. I also bought software for astronomy and used that to do my own calculations concerning what day each of the real signs start and how many degrees each contains. I then set out to study how tropical charts translate into the real constellational system, how the planets can be interpreted in the real constellations, and compare how the two systems work and interact. That was two decades ago, and I have found that they both can work, and each works in different ways, detailing different aspects of life.
Later I found the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) constellational boundary definitions, established in 1930, and these matched very closely to my own estimates. Through the years I have also found a handful of people who have posted about their work with the real constellations online, and when they have also posted their calculations for the degrees, these have consistently been very close to my original calculations, so I have only become more confident, since I and others have been coming to the same conclusions independently of each other. You can find links to some of these resources in my links list, and I highly recommend them if you are interested in this zodiacal system.
There are a couple of things I want to point out about the real constellations. First, there are thirteen constellations that fall on the ecliptic, and second, none of them are the same number of degrees. Further, none are actually 30 degrees, and they are sidereal, so they are up to a full sign behind the tropical zodiac. The different sizes make some 'signs' last much longer, through planetary transits and such, than others. As the sun moves approximately 59 minutes (just under 1 full degree) per day, one can figure the number of degrees per 'sign' by the number of days the sun spends in that constellation. I will list them, using the IAU boundaries, with the days each constellation spans and how many degrees that equals, so you have a better understanding of the real constellations, their timespan and their sizes.
Aries: April 18 - May 13 = 25 days/degrees
Taurus: May 13 - June 21 = 39 d/d
Gemini: June 21 - July 20 = 29 d/d
Cancer: July 20 - Aug. 10 = 21 d/d
Leo: Aug. 10 - Sept. 16 = 37 d/d
Virgo: Sept. 16 - Oct. 30 = 44 d/d
Libra: Oct 30 - Nov. 23 = 24 d/d
Scorpio: Nov. 23 - Nov. 29 = 6 d/d
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29 - Dec. 17 = 18 d/d
Sagittarius: Dec. 17 - Jan. 20 = 34 d/d
Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16 = 27 d/d
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11 = 23 d/d
Pisces: March 11 - April 18 = 38 d/d
Now, the first thing that always happens is that someone who is a given sun sign will see this and immediately announce that there is no way they are the alternate sign. I have experienced this a lot with Aries who fiercely and loudly proclaim that they are NOT a Pisces! :-) And in a way, they are right, because the tropical sun signs are seasonal, and not constellational. Its just a shame that the 'signs' (seasonal sections) and constellations have the same names!
It is my observation that the planets between earth and the Sun are most heavily influenced by the solar, seasonal influences, so that Sun, Moon, Mercury and Venus all will correspond very strongly to the tropical 'sign' they fall in. Those planets beyond earth show less influence from this seasonal cycle the further they are from earth. So Mars can have heavy tropical influences, and Jupiter and Saturn are often an even blend of their constellational and tropical 'signs'. The outer planets though seem to be most strongly aligned with the constellational background and are much less influenced by the seasonal tropical zodiac, in my experience. All the planets will have some influence from both systems though, because the two systems are different things, even if they started as one thing, in a particular place and time. I just wish the ancients had have known they were dealing with two different phenomena, so that these two things would not have spent recorded history being confused for each other.
It is my belief that the 'seasonal' influence of the tropical zodiac derives in some way directly from the sun. In other words, I suspect some influence deriving from the sun itself. Science will tell us that the movement of earth, as it tilts back and forth through its yearly circuit around the sun, causes the seasons, and I agree that this is true, but I also suspect that something about the particular energies of various parts of the sun itself, and the energies it produces, creates the quadrants, and their triune sections, and that those are in fact an emanation (perhaps literally, perhaps not...) of the star we rotate around, which we call 'the sun'. I would also suggest that none of the planetary placements in any chart are as strongly aligned to the tropical seasonal sign as is the sun itself. By this theory, the further a planet is from the sun, the less that emanation is being directed back to earth from the planet, and the more the pure constellational energies are able to 'radiate' to the earth through those planets.
Before we proceed to a discussion of how I use this Zodiacal system, I want to take a moment to mention that I suspect there have always been astrologers who have been aware of the real constellations, their sizes and number, on the ecliptic. I don't think there is some vast conspiracy to "hide" Ophiuchus. It doesn't seem practical to me to hide something that hovers in the sky every night for nearly half the year. I would suggest that the alternate zodiacal systems arose because they were easier to make calculations, and we can't expect that everyone who made it into the priesthoods and secret societies where astrology was taught (and held as secret knowledge) was a mathematical genius. I also suspect that there were always high initiates who knew exactly what the score was. I would bet that if the Library of Alexandria and other libraries and collections of knowledge from the Ancient world hadn't been assiduously destroyed by the early Christians, we would have a much wider knowledge about ancient astrology and there would be some references (perhaps from libraries hoarded by ancient priesthoods such as the Egyptian priests in Sais, as one example) to a deeper awareness of the real constellations. It is so important to remember that it was standard procedure amongst the ancient priesthoods, secret societies and mystery schools to have inner teachings and outer teachings. Most ancient astrology that survives to us looks to me to be the outer teachings, while the inner teachings, often not written down and passed on orally, likely passed out of human knowing as those priesthoods and mystery schools were wiped out by the fanatics of the new religion.
So how do I make use of this True Constellational Zodiac? Well, to me it is the most important of the four charts I will look at in a typical reading. To me, it reveals the real personality and the true life path, potential and destiny, but it can only be reached if we are willing to lay aside the superficial, the expectations of family and society, and the moral traps laid for us by religions and spiritual philosophies. My observation is that walking the path of the True Constellational birth chart takes an act of courage. Some people will do this naturally, others might be able to choose it, while others simply can't break through the walls of societal conditioning to find their true self and purpose.
Some people are naturally very aligned with their True Constellational chart. An interesting phenomena is that, in some instances, a person will have planets that fall in the same 'sign' in more than one of the charts. A person who has a lot of planets and placements in the same signs between the various systems will tend to be much more aligned with their true self and true life path. They may be a very successful person, but just as often, they may be a black-sheep, outsider or work on the fringes of society in some way. Our culture doesn't tend to reward those who are true to themselves, except when that aligns with the values of society.
While degrees can be calculated for the True Constellational placements, I don't put a lot of emphasis on degrees in this system, and I make no attempt to apply degree rulerships, Sabian symbols, or anything else of that nature, to this zodiacal system. I use the Placidus house system for the True Constellational zodiac, as Whole Sign houses are pointless and just don't fit, as none of the constellations are the same size. I do pay attention to the house and the quadrant that the planets and points fall into, and this usually won't change much from the Placidus Tropical system, but it can in some instances, though, of course, the signs on the cusps usually change, though not always.
I then apply standard interpretation techniques to these charts, using the traditional planetary rulerships. I do use the Outer Planets, astroids, etc. in these charts. When used, this chart will determine the basis of the reading, while the other styles of zodiac/house system charts that I look at will be to determine alignment with this chart, and to deduce the layers that either support or hinder the activation of the True Constellational Chart.
We will consider this Zodiacal system more in future posts.
Back
to
