Western Astrology

Western Astrology

What is Western astrology

Western astrology is that system of astrology which is most popularly in practice in Western countries. In a Western horoscope, the exact moments in time, such as a person’s birth, in which different cosmic bodies are said to have an influence are considered. In sun sign astrology, only the location of the Sun is considered. Most western astrologers apply the tropical zodiac beginning with the sign of Aries at the Northern hemisphere-vernal equinox. Some Western astrologers use the Sidereal zodiac which uses actual star positions.

Western astrology

originated in Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC, from where it has spread to other parts of the world. Other methods of astrology were developed independently in China, Americas, and in many other places.

A western horoscope or chart is based on a moment in time and shows where planets and various other cosmic bodies were positioned in relation to each other at that moment. The most prominent of these features is the position of the sun in relation to the signs of the zodiac. The signs used in Western astrology are based on the tropical zodiac and hence bodies are not in the actual constellation. From these planetary positions, astrologers draw conclusions about the moment. In Western the interpretation of a horoscope is governed by

1) the angles formed by planetary bodies relative to each other,
2) major positions of planetary-bodies relative to the astrological signs of one of the zodiac systems,
3) foremost planetary bodies’ positions in one of the systems of houses,
4) planetary positions relative to the horizon line (namely the ascendant/descendant axes, zenith and nadir axes), 4) the position of deduced astronomical entities, such as the Lunar nodes.

There are two camps of thought among western astrologers about the “starting point”, zero degrees Aries, in the zodiac. Sidereal astrology believes that the preliminary point is at a particular fixed position in the background of stars, while tropical astrology (which is adopted by the vast majority of Western astrologers) believes that the starting point is when the position of the Sun against the background of stars coincides with the Northern hemisphere vernal equinox (i.e. when the Sun position against the heavens crosses over from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere) each year.

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