You’ve probably noticed by now that different astrologers use different systems and that can be confusing for people who are trying to understand astrology. Which astrology system is the best? I have my own opinion on that but I’m going to layout the information for you so you can make an educated decision for yourself.
There are many different kinds of astrology, the biggest/most popular ones to choose from are: Tropical, Sidereal, Vedic, Real Sky, Draconic and Hellenistic. Because I don’t know much about Vedic, Draconic or Hellenistic astrology I will not be discussing those within this post because I don’t talk about things I’m not educated on.
Tropical astrology is also considered, “Western Astrology” and is the most popular astrology used. In every magazine horoscope or popular astrology post you’ll most likely find, “Tropical Astrology.” Huge warning here that not everything that’s popular is correct, and this astrological method has a lot of inconsistencies. It was considered to be valid at one time but is no longer, let me explain.
Astrology and Astronomy used to be linked up. What I mean by that is that astrology used to match the actual sky. The method of tropical astrology has been getting more and more inaccurate over time as our planet, earth’s, position shifts. Unfortunately with the tropical method, that was not accounted for making their current interpretations of planetary positions off by about 20-24 degrees of where they actually are in the sky, which, in astrology, that’s a huge miscalculation and inaccuracy.
Tropical astrology is based off of the year 0 A.D. which if you think about it isn’t even a real year, lol like they (the catholic church) just decided to start time over and now here we are 2022 years later and tropical astrology is still on a loop on that same timeline even though earth’s position has literally changed, A LOT, since the year 0 A.D. I’d go into it deeper but it’s honestly math and science that the majority of people don’t care to look deeply into. This dude does an okay job explaining the science but some of his other info is incorrect so read it if you need more info.
Long story short: Earth’s position shifted. Tropical astrology is a time loop of 0 A.D. even though things have changed and now their calculations are off about 24 degrees and will continue to get even more out of alignment with the real sky the further time goes on.
To be fair to tropical astrologers, even I started as a tropical astrologer because it’s “what everyone else was doing” so I don’t necessarily think tropical astrologers are purposely misleading people, I think they are stuck on that system and don’t know how to get off of it and/or don’t know any better (for the most part).
Once I realized tropical astrology was bullsh*t *insert crying emojis* (no like for real it was a mind f*ck because I used it from like age 13 - 31, but I downloaded an astronomy app and the planets were not where tropical astrology said they were within the sky, and you should too to see for yourself), I started looking into other methods of astrological interpretations that DID align with what was happening in the sky. I found Sidereal astrology and was like, “omg! amazing! this is it!”… which was, partly true. Let me explain.
In tropical and sidereal astrology, they break up the constellations into equal sections that are 30 degrees each. There are 12 zodiac signs (constellations) in these two systems: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
So, for example: Aries would take up 30 degrees (out of a 360 degree circle), Taurus would take up the next 30 degrees, Gemini - 30 degrees, and so on.
When we determine where the sun (or any other planet) is within a constellation, what we are really looking at is where the sun is from our vantage point on earth in relation to the fixed constellations in the sky. So, if it’s “Aries Season” we can expect the sun to be seen within the constellation of Aries from our viewpoint on earth (see above image where the sun would be in Leo - and no as a Leo I didn’t plan that lol it just happened, I swear!).
Sidereal matched what was happening in the sky! Or… so I initially thought. (insert 84 second deep sighing noise). When I compared the sidereal chart to what was happening in the sky, it was still slightly off in some cases. This was upsetting because like wtf. My Virgo rising and Gemini Jupiter did NOT LIKE NOT HAVING THE INFORMATION CORRECT, so, I kept digging and what did I find?
Well, I found that the constellations actually vary in sizes, like, a lot. They are NOT all 30 degrees making sidereal interpretations ALSO incorrect. Then I was really like, “well f*ck what do I even do with THAT?”
Which brings us to…
In astronomical/real sky astrology, we go off of the actual position of planets within the sky, completely and totally linking astrology back up with astronomy and not depending on charts and overlays of planets to show us what’s happening in the sky. Charts can be extremely helpful to understand the interactions (aspects) between planets but not when they are incorrect and don’t take into account the actual and real sizes of the constellations!
This system realigns you with nature. It shows you your natural energies. You get to see truly what energy you were born with/under. This can be especially helpful if you haven’t fully related to your tropical or sidereal charts or always felt like something was a little “off” and unaligned. (Also read the FAQs!)
These are the approximate (I’m not perfect and things might still shift) degrees of Real Sky astrology, keep in mind they may change a bit year to year:
Aries - 18°
Taurus - 41°
Gemini - 29°
Cancer - 20°
Leo - 38°
Virgo - 50°
Libra - 18°
Scorpio - 10°
Ophiuchus - 14°
Sagittarius - 34°
Capricorn - 22°
Aquarius - 25°
Pisces - 42°
Want to know what your real sky planets are in your natal chart? Download an astronomy app (I like “Night Sky” personally) or use this website and create a free account and type in your birthdate, time, and location and literally look and see where the sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune and pluto are within the real sky. Write it down! Learn it! Your “rising” or “ascendant” can be found by looking over to the eastern most (look to the east and look at which constellation is there) part of the sky and seeing which constellation was there when you were born.
If you’d like a copy of your real sky natal chart, click here to get yours.
Personally, my shifts looked like this, as an example:
Tropical Sun = Leo
Real Sky Sun = Leo
Tropical Moon = Aquarius
Real Sky Moon = Capricorn
Tropical Ascendant = Libra
Real Sky = Virgo
and so on. Some of your placements will stay the same, others will change dramatically!
Let me know your shifts in the comments! I’m super curious.
Frequently Asked Questions:
“I feel like my tropical chart is more accurate than my real sky chart, why is that?”
People feel like this for a few reasons!
1. You’ve been used to living life as the placements you know and have embodied. Belief is a major part of everything in life and if you believe you’re a Capricorn and not a Sagittarius and only read about Capricorn energy your entire life, you might only know to embody that energy.
2. We have what are called chart progressions where your placements change over time taking on new influences. So for example in real sky astrology. I was born under a Virgo ascendant BUT in my progressed real sky chart, I’m now a Libra ascendant which matches my TROPICAL ascendant.
”Why should I switch to Real Sky?”
It’s your actual true nature and true power. And that’s a big deal!
“Why do you include Orion and Ophiuchus?”
In astrology, the sun travels on a path we call the sun’s “ecliptic” and we look at which constellations the sun is physically moving through. I include both of these constellations in my interpretations because the sun literally moves through them so I feel morally obligated to include them even though that’s not what the “popular” astrology accounts and people are doing.
Where can I get a Real Sky Astrology Chart?
I’m finally creating them for people! You can get yours here.
How do we know which degree planets are at?
Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly without an accurate model to go off of and until someone magically deposits $40k into my account for accurate research and people to help me build this system out, I’m going off of apps and the sky.
How can we determine transit information like squares, trines etc?
I still use sidereal charts for this tbh because just because the constellations are incorrect doesn’t mean the actual aspects are wrong. So for example, if Jupiter is square Neptune in tropical or sidereal it will also be like that in real sky transits, the things that change are the constellation they are in. Retrogrades are also the same, again, what changes is which constellation the planet is moving through.
The biggest things I’ve realized overall is that astrology interpretations have been hyper-masculine meaning very rigid, full of math and doesn’t take the flow of things into account. There are some transits of planets where they can be in two constellations at once. It’s way more of a flow than a harsh “it begins here and ends here” type thing and I fully believe as we move foward over the next 1 - 20 years people will start to realize and embrace that more and more. It’s basically up to you where you want to fall, behind or get ahead and into true and real alignment with the universe. The choice is yours, although, I am clearly extremely biased at this point and won’t even pretend to hide that fact!
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