What is the reason for having two sun signs for each zodiacal sign? Is this accurate or not, and why are there two of them? "What is the reason for having two sun signs for each zodiacal sign? Is this accurate or not, and why are there two of them?" is a question I answered on Quora . Your question is confusing. You cannot have "two sun signs for each zodiacal sign." A sun sign IS a zodiacal sign occupied by the Sun. But, what I think you are asking is why are there two zodiacs - which can provide two sun signs. Well, you see there are two. And in the words of Michael Caine, "Not a lot of people know that!" I'll come onto answering your question below but first a bit about the two zodiacs... There is the sidereal zodiac and there is the tropical zodiac. The fact that not many people know of this isn't surprising really, especially as pop astrology gets the two confused in its simplistic representation of Western astrology. Sidereal Zodiac The sidereal zodiac is drawn from the constellations of stars around the ecliptic belt - or the path the Earth takes around the Sun. This zodiac is mainly used in Vedic astrology. Some Western astrologers also make use of it. Tropical Zodiac The tropical zodiac is based upon the seasons of the Earth to the Sun. The spring equinox marks the beginning of the cycle of twelve 30 degree signs. Cancer begins at the summer solstice, Libra at autumn equinox, and the winter solstice at the beginning of Capricorn. You could say that the only star involved in this zodiac is the Sun. This zodiac is mainly used in Western astrology. Precession of the Equinoxes At one time there was just the one zodiac. Everything lined up. The cause of there being two zodiacs is due to precession of the equinoxes. This was discovered over two thousand years ago. What it means is that our spring equinox is gradually moving backwards against the background stars (of the sidereal zodiac) and it takes around 26k years to complete one cycle. The two zodiacs are now out of line with each other to the tune of around 24 degrees. Our spring equinox is currently passing through the sidereal sign of Pisces - and heading towards Aquarius (hence the anticipated Age of Aquarius - which some will argue we are already in) So, to answer your question: A person with their Sun at say 10 degrees of Scorpio (Scorpio Sun sign) in the tropical zodiac, will also have their Sun at 16 degrees of Libra (24 degrees back) in the sidereal zodiac. They therefore technically have two sun-signs across different systems. If the same person had their Sun at say 25 degrees of Scorpio in the tropical system, they would still have their Sun in Scorpio in the other - at 1 degree. This can all get confusing, so if you want my advice, it is stick with one system. I hope this helps. You might also like: Do astrologers go through an astronomical report ? Why does the same natal chart play differently ? Why do people believe in astrology ?

The Truth about Astrology and Horoscopes

This is my reply to The Truth about Astrology and Horoscopes according to the teaching of The Masters of Light. You’ll see that I was so incensed by the misrepresentation of astrology in the article that I sent the medium involved a long email – and then decided to place it here for anyone to read who might be getting the wrong impression of astrology.

Astrology is a false science because our destiny is not written in the stars. We have free will, we can choose. What Astrologers don’t even know is why they sometimes get it right. In addition, the underlying truth about the Zodiac is unknown to many people who believe in horoscopes as well.

The title of this post, and the above quote are taken from the website Unveiled Secrets and Messages of Light. The medium Jorge Raul Olguin is channeling Master Ruanel.

Quote from Ruanel on the matter:

We can change our destiny, we can choose. Then, Chiromancy and Astrology are false in the sense that they cannot give fixed guidelines in our destiny, this is just the way it is because you have free will to determine it.

The exchange is a series of questions by Jorge Raul Olguin and answers by a Master called Ruanel. For example Olguin asks:

Do the birthday and hour of birth of a person have some connection with the stars? Do they have some influence?

And Ruanel replies:

It might be an influence at physical level of energy characteristics, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the planets, but with energy.

Visit the website to read more…

My reply

What became clear to me from the exchange is that the astrology they are talking about is at the level of newspaper “stars” and “horoscopes,” or at best Sun-sign astrology as written by Linda Goodman (who gets a mention in the transaction).

I decided to reply to this exchange against astrology. I couldn’t leave a comment on the website – it didn’t allow me to – so I wrote to Jorge Raul Olguin as follows:

I happened on your website and discovered that you have a lot of articles/discussions on topics that interest me.

But one has incensed me – albeit, if I’m right, written a number of years ago. This is your exchange with regards to astrology and the assumptions made in THE TRUTH ABOUT ASTROLOGY AND HOROSCOPES, ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE MASTERS OF LIGHT

Meanwhile, the truth about The Masters of Light take on Astrology is that it is nothing like the astrology that I am familiar with.

Clearly neither of you have studied the matter in any depth. It has certainly taught me something: Just because a soul is a “master of light” doesn’t mean that soul knows everything about everything.

And you don’t call something “False” unless you know what you are talking about. And let me say from the bat that astrology is not a science, it is an art that draws on science. It depends upon the skill of an astrologer to interpret the outcome. And let me add too that astrology is not about always being “right.” Simply, it is not all about prediction.

Having studied astrology for over 40 years I know a little bit of what it is and what it entails… Let me try to enlighten you.

Too generalised

However before one even begins talking about the topic philosophically one has to decide which version of astrology one is refering to. Is it for instance Chinese, Tibetan, Hindu, Aztec or perhaps Western astrology? There are different approaches to astrology across the globe – and there are different applications of it too, this should not be overlooked.

This exchange with Ruanel is in English so I think it fair to assume it is aimed at an English audience, or in other words it is “Western” astrology that is being discussed.

Tropical zodiac – and one star only

The first important thing to note about Western astrology is that it is based upon the “tropical zodiac” – not the sidereal zodiac. This means there are no star constellations involved. The only star is the Sun. The tropical zodiac is simply the Earth’s path around the Sun that is divided into twelve 30 degree segments, starting from the Spring Equinox.

It obviously does not therefore claim “our destiny is written in the stars.” It would be inaccurate for it to say so. It could say our potential destiny is written in our birthchart.

Free-will, that old chestnut

And take it from me, natal astrology (certainly the psychology orientation of it) does not deny free-will. Indeed it supports each individual making the best of their free-will in context with the symbolical challenges their chart presents.

And let’s not pretend there is no such thing as “destiny” – that it is all in our gift, in our free-will, in our choosing. If you accept we live in meaningful circumstances then we have a destiny. We are here for a reason, a purpose. A purpose that in my belief links back to the soul’s journey towards consciousness and love.

The Earth is a planet with limitations. And at this vibrational level, we have restrictions/limitations placed upon us. We are limited in our free-will.

Can you for instance change the shape of your body – say decide to be another foot taller today? I doubt it, unless you decide to wear stilts but that’s not changing your body.

If you fell off a high building would you be able to defy gravity and land safely? I doubt it.

Can you stop your body, your Earthsuit, from ageing and eventually dying? I doubt that too – okay you may find a way of slowing it down for a short while.

Can you change the core of who you are and become a different person? I say you can, at best, reconfigure the outcomes of your core potential through conscious effort, by working with your pattern differently – but the pattern remains fixed for the TIME one is in. I’m the same core personality now that I was in, for example, my thirties, though I have gone through changes in my experiences and perspective on life.

It is a given, when out of the body we no longer have these restrictions.

Where did the TIME go?

There was one big oversight in your discussion on astrology, and that is you, or Ruanel, failed to mention the issue of TIME. If astrology is about anything it is about time. As physical beings we exist in a linear space-time continuum. Astrology, put simply, provides a means of capturing linear time and putting it onto a template, that can be then interpreted – better than any modern psychological template I know of.

The acausal time template

I call the birthchart an “acausal time template.” Acausal because astrology – the planets, the signs, the houses, the aspects – do not cause anything. They provide a symbolical and meaningful pattern, when, in a moment, they are frozen onto the birthchart template. The birthchart represents a moment of Earth time and place.

And like a pebble that is dropped into a calm pond, the birth moment of starting causes ripples that naturally span outwards – simple cause and effect. It is natural. Regardless of what either of you say, the starting point does provide the potential for our linear time destiny.

The opportunity is to work with our natural direction of travel and make the best of it. To be in touch with our “preplanned life journey” on the Earth. We do have milestones that it is hoped, and/or indeed necessary that, we link up with while here.

Astrology denies our Free-will – my foot!

Using the astrology template is better than what most of us interpret as free-will. That is to follow the pathways given to us by our name, our upbringing, our education, our religion, our environment. Most of us don’t follow free-will, more like conditioned sleep-walking is what we follow. We can remain ignorant of any spiritual intention behind our lives from the time or our arrival to the time of our departure from the planet.

Find something else to rubbish – that you have actually studied/researched. This goes for both of you.

I rest my case…

Francis O’Neill
SomeInspiration.com

Associated links:

Get Real About Astrology Part 1
Get Real About Astrology Part 2 – 6 myths/misunderstandings of astrology