Sidereal Astrology Might Change The Way You Read Your Birth Chart
When you think about astrology—i.e., when you put your sun, moon, and rising in your Instagram bio, or look up your daily horoscope online—you’re likely thinking about tropical astrology. Yes, you read that right. There's more than just one kind of astrology. In fact, there are tons of countless different branches of astrology, from dozens of cultures and periods and for hundreds of unique uses and functions.
A brief history lesson: Astrology is the study of the sun, moon, planets, and constellations as a means to understand ourselves and the world around us. Tropical astrology originated with Claudius Ptolemy, a prolific mathematician, geographer, and astronomer to whom we owe a ton of our culture and practices today. Based on Hellenistic and Babylonian forms of mapping the stars as a method to keep track of the seasons, Ptolemy wrote a text called the Tetrabiblos, thus setting the twelve zodiac signs of today and their dates into stone.
Just because tropical astrology is the most mainstream or popular form of astrology, though, doesn’t necessarily mean it has all the answers. Truth be told, tropical astrology may not even be the most accurate form of astrology in use today. Don’t panic: Nobody is trying to tell you that you’re not actually an Aries, or that the natal chart reading you paid the big bucks for was a scam. As a lover of all things astro, it’s just important to recognize that the sky is impacting you in more ways than you know.
Meet the expert: Athen Chimenti is a sidereal astrologer, educator, and founder of Mastering the Zodiac.
Enter, sidereal astrology—the ancient form of reading the constellations that predates even tropical astrology and, therefore, rewrites everything you think you know about the stars.
What is sidereal astrology?
Sidereal astrology is not necessarily a lesser-known form of astrology, but the reason this might be your first time hearing about it is simply because it is lesser known in the West. It is the predominant form of astrology in the Eastern world. Indian and Hindu astrology, or Vedic astrology, utilize the sidereal system.
So, what is it? The main thing that separates sidereal astrology from tropical astrology is that it factors in the concept of axial precession. “The sun does not come back to the same point in the sky every year,” explains Athen Chimenti, an astrologer, educator, and creator of Mastering the Zodiac. “What was an Aries 2,000 years ago is now a Pisces. The earth is doing a wobble motion where one full rotation of the wobble is 26,000 years. This changes our vantage points of the sun and planets at certain times of the year.”
With axial precession being a scientific fact, why doesn’t tropical astrology factor it into its system? Well, in all honesty, precession makes things complicated. Tropical astrology's foundations came amidst the Babylonian-era need to create things like calendars and clocks, explains Chimenti. Their original intent was never really to use the system for astrological purposes.
“Tropical is a seasonal-based system which has locked in the zodiac around the seasons so that every spring equinox, it’s 0 degrees Aries,” he says. “It's convenient, it works great with our Gregorian calendars,” and most importantly? It’s simple.
Now, just because tropical astrology is simplified doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its merits. “[Tropical astrology] still makes sense,” says Chimenti. “If we are living in seasons then certainly being born during spring is going to have you exhibit certain qualities.” If one wants to get down to the astrological nitty-gritty, however, this is where sidereal comes in.
It’s important to recognize that even sidereal astrology has been simplified over time, too. As with tropical astrology, sidereal astrologists decided to divide the sky into even 30-degree segments for each of the signs. This removes a layer of accuracy, however, considering that not all of the constellations are the same size. For example, Virgo is a very large constellation whereas Cancer is rather small. This is why some sidereal astrologers, like Chimenti, practice what is called true sidereal astrology, a method that factors in the actual size of the constellations and axial precession.
It’s also important to note that in true sidereal astrology, there is an additional sign—a constellation that is not represented in tropical astrology or even traditional Vedic practices. Found on the celestial equator, this 13th zodiac sign is known as Ophiuchus, or the forgotten constellation. Folks born under this constellation (between December 7th and 18th) are said to be insightful and passionate, and therefore have healing and social justice-oriented tendencies.
Whether you’re looking at tropical, sidereal, or true sidereal astrology, your sign is likely going to change. You can use a calculator to find your true sidereal sign, or take a look at the calendar below. If you’re born on the cusp of a sign, true sidereal suggests that you will exhibit traits of both signs.
Sidereal Aries: Apr 14 - May 14 | True Sidereal Aries: Apr 21 - May 12
Sidereal Taurus: May 15 - June 15 | True Sidereal Taurus: May 13 - June 19
Sidereal Gemini: June 16 - July 16 | True Sidereal Gemini: June 20 - July 16
Sidereal Cancer: July 17 - Aug 16 | True Sidereal Cancer: July 17 - Aug 6
Sidereal Leo: Aug 17 - Sep 16 | True Sidereal Leo: Aug 7 - Sep 14
Sidereal Virgo: Sep 17 - Oct 17 | True Sidereal Virgo: Sep 15 - Nov 3
Sidereal Libra: Oct 18 - Nov 16 | True Sidereal Libra: Nov 4 - Nov 22
Sidereal Scorpio: Nov 17 - Dec 15 | True Sidereal Scorpio: Nov 23 - Dec 6
True Sidereal Ophiuchus: Dec 7 — Dec 18
Sidereal Sagittarius: Dec 16 - Jan 14 | True Sidereal Sagittarius: Dec 19 - Jan 19
Sidereal Capricorn: Jan 15 - Feb 12 | True Sidereal Capricorn: Jan 20 - Feb 13
Sidereal Aquarius: Feb 13 - Mar 14 | True Sidereal Aquarius: Feb 14 - Mar 9
Sidereal Pisces: Mar 15 - Apr 14 | True Sidereal Pisces: Mar 10 - Apr 20
What kinds of astrologers use sidereal astrology?
Most of the astrologers you come into contact with in your day-to-day astrological deep-dives will be practitioners of tropical astrology. That being said, there are astrologers out there who focus on sidereal and true sidereal astrology. Chimenti suggests that siderealists tend to be a bit more naturalistic. Why not use what is actually visible in the sky? Other times, these astrologers often see true sidereal astrology as a means to return to humankind’s roots. “If you trace it back far enough, this is what astrology was intended to be,” he says.
Whether sidereal astrologers are taking the naturalist or fundamentalist approach to their practice, their methods are going to be that much more rooted in astronomy as well. Because true sidereal factors in the actual size of the constellations and axial precession, it will be inherently more science-based.
Is sidereal astrology more accurate than tropical astrology?
Nope! It's just different. Tropical astrology can still be extremely accurate, notes Chimenti. The important thing to recognize is that tropical astrology is technically a derivative chart, one that’s just “showing a piece of the pie.”
Here, the fact that tropical astrology is an off-shoot of true sidereal astrology isn’t a bad thing. “Because it’s derivative, we’re able to focus in on it, we’re able to get more specific,” Chimenti suggests. For example, “the rising sign in tropical is really good at determining people's personas and how they present to the world, which is very difficult to get from the true sidereal chart.”
Sidereal astrology is specific on a whole different level. “True sidereal is showing the fundamental self because it is the fundamental sky,” Chimenti explains. “Some may call it the more spiritual self, or the true self–but it is, I believe, a more holistic view of the self.”
So really, one isn’t more accurate than the other, you just might seek them out for different things. While tropical astrology tends to be used for more practical, day-to-day happenings, “those coming to true sidereal are seeking more personal development, a deeper understanding of themselves,” says Chimenti. “They’re more spiritually inclined, perhaps. They’re trying to get to the fundamentals of who they are and what their life path is about.”
You could also seek out a true sidereal reading simply because you want a new perspective. A second astrological opinion, if you will. “The same thing people come to me for is the same thing people come to any astrologer for, they want to get clarity on who they are, get clarity on their lives, and know more about their past,” says Chimenti. “To look at the future, and see what the weather looks like.”
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