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Change Your Stars? by Lisa Poirier
Also, Sidereal Zodiac's reference is fixed to the stars, which means it is affected by precession unlike the tropical system. Because of this, the only time to two zodiac systems have ever been aligned was during the time of Greek and Indian cultural contact. Since then, the two systems have gradually separated. In the sidereal system, the names of the sign sound very different from those in the tropical system because they are in sanskrit; however, the names correspond to the Greek names and meanings. For example, dhanu means 'bow' which is the equivalent of the Greek sign for Sagittarius. Many sidereal astrologers are highly critical of the tropical system. Their main point is that the system does not make sense because it does not align without the actual stars. In addition, they argue that tropical zodiac does not make sense for the entire planet because it is based on the seasons of the northern hemisphere. Mixed into the confusion over the two zodiac systems was the addition of the 13th zodiac sign, Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus does not and has never had a place in the western tropical astrology system; however, it has occasionally been obsereved in the sidereal system. It is situated behind the sun between November 29 to December 17. Most of the time, sidereal astrologers recognize the 12 signs that westerners are familiar with, but they use Ophiuchus as an extra-zodiacal indicator, also known as an astrologically significant celestial phenomena lying outside of the 12-sign zodiac proper. In short, Ophiuchus does not influence the Tropical Zodiac and only affects the Sidereal Zodiac if those who follow it choose to acknowledge it. As well, precession only matters to the Sidereal Zodiac, where the dates that the sign correspond to will change every few years. So, whether or not the zodiac is as important in your life as the Electoral College, at least now the western world knows that two zodiacs rule the sky. Sidereal Zodiac Dates: Capricorn - Jan. 20 – Feb. 15 Tropical Zodiac Dates: Aquarius - Jan. 20-Feb. 18
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The
main difference between the two systems would be that the Sidereal
Zodiac uses the sidereal coordinate system, while the Tropical Zodiac
uses the seasons of the northern hemisphere as a reference point.
