Zodiac Signs
What are zodiac sign placements?
The zodiac is a division of the space around the earth into segments called
'signs'. It is centered in a band of space called the 'ecliptic', which
is the projected 360º circle around the earth in which the sun, moon and
planets appear to circuit relative to the earth. In reality, of course, the
earth and the planets are all orbiting around the Sun on this plane, but in
astrology we are interested in what affects us here on earth, so what matters is
the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets relative to the Earth! The ecliptic
is demarcated in degrees longitude; and whatever method may be used to
divide it up into signs, it is worth bearing in mind that it is equally a
continuum, and that when astrological influences are being assessed much more
precise degree-specific calculations frequently have to be made. For any given
person, at the moment of birth, the Sun, Moon, planets and various other factors
will each be located in one of the signs of the zodiac.
There are two completely different methods for dividing up the ecliptic into
zodiac signs: the sidereal method and the tropical method. Both
sidereal and tropical astrology have been practiced for thousands of years, and
each has its own observable validity. The signs of the sidereal zodiac,
also called the fixed zodiac, are located in different places from those
of the tropical zodiac (or 'moveable zodiac'), though at certain
points in history, most notably around 221 A.D., they have happened to coincide
with them temporarily.
The astronomical bases and astrological effects of the sidereal signs are
entirely separate from those of the tropical signs, although confusingly they
have inherited a matching set of names. These names are those of the most
obvious constellations of stars that lie behind the ecliptic as viewed
from earth.
The sidereal zodiac is carved out in accordance with the positions of those
constellations; and its supposed effects are based on their positions. In some
sidereal traditions, upwards of 12 sidereal zodiac signs have been in use,
including additional constellations; but 12 equal signs is the most usual.
The tropical zodiac is based instead on the interface between the ecliptic and
the earth's equator, a principle bearing no relation to the positions of the
constellations; but its 12 signs were named after 12 of the constellations to
reflect the fact that, when these signs were named about 2,000 years ago, their
locations approximated to those of the constellations in question,
although the two zodiacs have since mutually drifted apart by 24º. The cyclical
revolution of the tropical zodiac about the fixed zodiac does not compromise or
weaken the astrological influence of the tropical signs, which at any point in
history operates independently of the positions of the constellations sharing
their names.
It is important not to attempt to interpret placements of the planets etc. in
the signs of the tropical zodiac using sources on their placement in the signs
of the sidereal zodiac that bear the same names, or vice versa. They are
fundamentally totally different and cannot be mutually substituted. The vast
mass of western literature on astrology refers to and interprets placements in
the tropical zodiac.
The earth revolves once a day around its lateral axis, known as the equator.
The ecliptic is angled at a considerable slant relative to the equator, and
intersects it twice, one point of intersection being exactly opposite the other,
and these points being called the 'equinoxes' while for the rest of its
path it is inclined to the north or south, in equal measure; and its most
extreme northern and southern points are known as the tropic of Cancer
and the tropic of Capricorn respectively. The equinox where the Sun, Moon
and planets are heading generally northwards is known as the vernal or Spring
equinox, while the one where they are heading southwards is known as the
Autumn equinox.
At certain times, all planets from Mercury to Pluto move temporarily in the
opposite direction from normal within the ecliptic as viewed from Earth; this
apparent retrograde motion results from the fact that the Earth itself is
really moving too, but they make up for it by moving in direct motion at
2-3 times their average speeds at certain other times, and always complete their
circuits of the ecliptic in a fairly uniform length of time or period
ultimately.
The incline of ecliptic relative to the equator is most obvious to us in the
seasons caused by the movement of the Sun through the ecliptic. The
unit of time we all know as a year is simply the amount of time the Sun
takes to complete one circuit of the ecliptic. In the northern hemisphere, when
the Sun reaches the tropic of Cancer, around June 21st, we naturally experience
the longest and strongest hours of sunlight, because it is at its furthest
northward inclination in the ecliptic; this time is known to us as the summer
solstice; while when it reaches the tropic of Capricorn we experience the
shortest and weakest sunlight because it is at its furthest southward point;
this time is known to us as the winter solstice. When it reaches the
Autumn and Spring equinoxes, since it is directly over the equator, we get
average sunlight and day length for the year.
The two equinoxes and two tropics are the most basic four points on the tropical
zodiac. These four points naturally divide the full 360º ecliptic into four
quadrants of 90º each. Each quadrant of the ecliptic is further subdivided
by astrologers into three equal zodiac 'signs' of 30º each, numbered from
0º to 29º.
The Spring equinox is taken as being the beginning of the tropical zodiac, and
the first quadrant embraces the path through the ecliptic from the Spring
equinox to the northernmost point, the Tropic of Cancer, and corresponds exactly
to the season we call 'Spring', as far as the path of the Sun is concerned. This
quadrant is divided into the signs known as Aries, Taurus and
Gemini.
The second quadrant, from the Tropic of Cancer through to the Autumn equinox, is
divided into the signs Cancer, Leo and Virgo, and
corresponds to the season we call 'Summer' when the Sun passes through it.
The third quadrant, from the Autumn equinox to the southernmost point, the
Tropic of Capricorn, corresponds in Sun terms to the season we call 'Autumn',
and is divided into the signs Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.
The fourth quadrant, from the Tropic of Capricorn back to the Spring equinox, is
divided into the signs Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and
corresponds to the solar season we call 'Winter'.
Each of the three signs in each quadrant of the zodiac is known as being of a
different 'mode', quality or constitution from the other
two. The first of the three signs in each quadrant is known as being 'cardinal';
the second in each is known as being 'fixed'; and the third as being 'mutable'
- as shown in the table above also. These three groupings each of four signs of
a particular mode are sometimes known as the 'quadruplicates'. Thus, the
cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, the fixed ones are
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, and the mutable ones are Gemini, Virgo,
Sagittarius and Pisces. Signs of the same mode are always located three signs
apart from each other.
The zodiac is also divided for sign classification purposes into three sections
of 120º, as shown in the table below, again starting from the Spring equinox,
otherwise known as Aries 0º. The first section therefore encompasses the signs
Aries, Taurus, Gemini and Cancer; the second encompasses Leo, Virgo, Libra and
Scorpio; and the third encompasses Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
Each of the four signs in each of these sections is known as being of a
different 'element' from the other three in its section. The first of the
four signs in each section is known as being of the element 'Fire'; the
second in each is known as being of the element 'Earth'; the third in
each is known as being of the element 'Air'; and the fourth in each is
known as being of the element 'Water'. These four groupings each of three
signs of a particular element are sometimes termed the 'triplicities'.
Thus, the Fire signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; the Earth signs are Taurus,
Virgo and Capricorn; the Air signs are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius; and the Water
signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Signs of the same element are always
located four signs apart from each other.
Having expounded the astronomical derivation of the tropical zodiac, we now can
revisit the question of how and why it moves in relation to the sidereal one
(fixed by the backdrop of the stars). This is caused (in simple terms - to avoid
delving into advanced physics) by a slow oscillating movement of the Earth
called nutation that results from the gravitational pull exerted by the
Sun and Moon on its equator.
A given point in the tropical zodiac will move in retrograde direction through a
complete circuit of the fixed (sidereal) zodiac in a period of time that itself
varies in length significantly over the course of history as our Solar System
moves relative to other stars in the Milky Way, but is currently scientifically
estimated to be about 25,770 years. This unit of time has been named
the Great Year.
The fixed (sidereal) zodiac, like the tropical zodiac, has been carved into
twelve signs each of equal 30º arc. By taking the vernal point (i.e. 0º
Aries in the tropical zodiac) as our primary reference point and observing how
it coincides with the backdrop of the fixed zodiac at any point in time, we can
declare that we are in a Great Age corresponding to the name of the
sidereal sign in which the vernal point is currently found. According to the
model of the sidereal zodiac popularized by Fagin and Bradley, the vernal point
last crossed 0º Aries in the fixed zodiac around 221 A.D.. The Great
Year, divided into the twelve sidereal signs, works out to about 2147.5 years
per sign. This means that by Fagin and Bradley's measure the Earth has have been
experiencing the Great Age of Pisces since 221 A.D. and will continue to do so
until about 2368 A.D., when the Great Age of Aquarius will commence.
However, it is worth remembering that the sidereal zodiac, while supposedly
fixed against the constellations, is an arbitrary device, rounded up into
thirty-degree signs, when the constellations themselves are not. Therefore,
depending on where they choose to draw the boundaries between the
constellations, astrologers frequently depart from Fagin and Bradley's model and
arrive at variant views of the time at which the vernal point should be held to
pass from one sidereal sign to the next. A fine example of this is found in the
practice of stellar astrology, a model of sidereal astrology which
instead of rounding up the constellations into equal signs delimits their starts
and ends individually, in accordance with their exact boundaries, allowing thus
for their differing natural arc coverage.
Robert Hand noted that if the dawning of the Age of Pisces was referenced from
the time when the first star in the constellation Pisces was passed
through by the vernal point, the Age of Pisces could be said to have begun
around 111 B.C.. If 2147.5 years were added to this year to represent the
standardized duration of a Great Age, we would have a projected date of around
2036 A.D. for entry into the Age of Aquarius. Yet, Hand also noted that
the vernal point would pass through the last star in the constellation
Pisces in 2813 A.D.. On that measure, the inhabitants of the Earth will
not experience the Age of Aquarius for the next eight centuries.
It should be borne in mind that there has been much hype and speculation with
regard to the influence of the Great Ages on cycles of human history and mass
consciousness in the last fifty years, but that prior to the 19th century the
precession of the equinoxes was not regarded as a phenomenon of any noteworthy
astrological impact at all. From the point of view of tropical astrology, the
only significant factor to take into consideration with precession is the
gradual displacement within the tropical zodiac of the individual major fixed
stars which, when closely conjunct a point in the birth chart, are believed to
have a bearing on the life of the individual.
If there is any generalized influence exacted by the passing of the vernal point
through the sidereal signs, or more accurately the constellations, then it is
likely to relate in character to the qualities ascribed to the constellations
being transited by it, but certainly not to the tropical signs of the same name.
Thus the Age of Pisces would be influential in accordance with the meaning of
Pisces as a sidereal sign, which is altogether distinct from Pisces as a
tropical sign; and the same principle applies to the Age of Aquarius, many
popular speculative attributions of characteristics to which betray their
derivation in preconceived notions of the nature of the tropical sign
Aquarius, which in the context of the Age of Aquarius is both astronomically and
astrologically immaterial. A thorough grounding in sidereal astrology, and, more
specifically, the influences ascribed by it to each sidereal sign, as distinct
from the liked-named tropical sign, is surely needed for the Great Ages to be
astrologically interpreted with any authority or accuracy.
Fortune |
The Twelve Houses |
Ascendant | Zodiac Signs Part
II |
