How Your Chart Changes in Sidereal Astrology Compared to Tropical

Look, anyone who knows even a tiny bit about astrology knows that Sun signs are not the whole story. Not even by a mile - or rather, more appropriately, not by a light year. Nonetheless, the Sun is the main source of light in the chart, casting its rays and illuminating the "Planetary Party." So it's still a big dog. And it's important that we use a system of astrology that helps us understand our Sun in the right sign, along with all the other planets in our charts. That's where sidereal astrology comes in. 

Western sidereal astrology, though far less common in the modern era (and grossly misunderstood and derided by many tropical astrologers, unfortunately), is actually the originally form of astrology in the West. Rooted in the ancient sky culture of Babylonia, it predates the Hellenistic system you are more likely familiar with. Yet Babylonian sidereal astrology is also the foundation upon which much of Western tropical astrology was built - albeit, by Greeks who had a less sophisticated understanding of astronomy than the Babylonians.

As with Vedic astrology, Western sidereal astrology properly accounts for the precession of the equinoxes. This means that all of the signs along the zodiac are 23.5° further back in the zodiac than what you are used to. Now, if your Sun sign is in a later degree in the tropical system (towards the last third of the month to the first week of the following month), your Sun is also most likely still in that same sign in sidereal time. But if you're anywhere around the middle of the month or earlier, get yourself ready for a little identity crisis! But don't worry, we're here to help you understand your sidereal chart and make it all make sense! 

Here's a helpful tip: Often, aspects that we are most attached to or identify with the most in our tropical chart can often be "explained" by other planets or aspects being in those signs, or configurations related to planets that rule those signs, in the sidereal chart. It's one of the ways in which these two systems are distant cousins - one who went off to grow up in a totally different environment where the idea of the sky was more "symbolic" and they forgot how close to the sky they used to be, and the other who stayed more firmly rooted in their origins. But still, they both share many traits. And you, like us and many expats from Western tropical astrology, might also find that the "old ways" - the Westerns sidereal way - is significantly more accurate. This is especially true when viewing the chart with an holistic lens, with a focus on the larger pattern and purpose of the chart. And it is even more especially true - if that's grammatically and logically possible and perhaps it is not but we're going with it - when looking at predictive astrology. Also, sidereal is simply more equal opportunity; it does not skew with favoritism towards the seasons of the Northern hemisphere. It adheres to the actual, observable phenomenon in the sky - for everyone on the planet.

For those of you who might be recent converts to sidereal, or for the sidereal-curious, it can feel tedious to subtract any planet or point in the chart by 23.5° all the time. To help ease the transition from tropical to sidereal, Soul Figures has created our handy wallpaper for your phone. Download it to help memorize the dates when the signs shift if you want to - but you don't have to! Because now you have this guide. (It's pretty easy to memorize though: The Sun changes signs at about the mid-month mark, with a little variation for leap year.)