The Liberating Power of the Sidereal Zodiac

I’m assuming you’re here because you are looking for resources on sidereal astrology and the sidereal zodiac. Yes?

The biggest challenge you face looking for information on the sidereal zodiac is that there aren’t many resources (published books + online content.) Why? Up until now, no one has created a framework for using the sidereal zodiac that doesn’t duplicate the one used with the tropical zodiac, or without appropriating the cultural and religious framework of Vedic astrology (Jyotish, astrology of Indian religion and culture.) So, when you search for books or other content on the sidereal zodiac, you’re directed to Vedic astrology resources, or to content that mysteriously sounds identical to what you’d read in tropical zodiac resources.

I faced the same challenge that you face now: where can I find content that helps me understand how and why the sidereal zodiac works, that answers how and why is it different from the tropical zodiac?

The Liberating Power of the Sidereal Zodiac by Dayna Lynn Nuckolls, The People's Oracle. Image of a monarch butterfly flying toward freedom from a dark whole. The sky is in view, blue with white fluffy clouds.

Some basic facts up front:

  • Zodiac sign =/= constellation. There is a constellational “zodiac.” But I would argue that it’s not quite a zodiac;
  • There aren’t 13 signs. NASA is NOT the National Astrology and Space administration, so don’t defer to them as an astrological authority;
  • Since neither the tropical zodiac, nor any of the sidereal zodiacs align precisely with the constellations, we can reject that idea as a reason why you should use the sidereal zodiac over the tropical zodiac.

I could say that the sidereal zodiac works consistently and more accurately than the tropical zodiac. But I don’t think that’s a good reason either, though it is a legitimate reason for me, someone who spent 7 years working exclusively with the tropical zodiac.

Something Ain’t Right?

Studying the techniques and reading the work of Firmicus Maternus and Vettius Valens is what led me to the sidereal zodiac. They never mentioned that they exclusively used that zodiac in their writings, nor did they make any case for using one zodiac over another. Either way, I was able to see the logic in some of the techniques they wrote about. I started applying it to charts. But, I couldn’t make them work consistently.

Both authors wrote about what is analogous to the yogas in Jyotish: configurations between planets that have specific and consistent meanings. After my failures with the tropical zodiac, I intuitively started experimenting with those techniques and configurations using the sidereal zodiac. [Actually, I first thought I must have the wrong birth time. But then I realized that everyone’s birth time can’t be wrong!] But a freaking light bulb came on when I started to apply Maternus’s and Valens’s techniques on charts using the sidereal zodiac. My mind was blown! But then I was stuck. I couldn’t find anything on the sidereal zodiac. Nothing! Nada! (Except what I mentioned above, copycat tropical or Vedic resources.)

Then What?

That was in 2014. I spent the next 2 years revisiting all of the charts I had in my library and hundreds if not a 1,000 more, trying to tease out a logic or framework for how this zodiac worked and why it worked. But, It really took me until 2017/2018 to be able to articulate a framework for the sidereal zodiac that isn’t a duplicate of tropical logic, not about math or astronomy, and isn’t Vedic/Jyotish.

What does that leave us with? If I can’t say that the sidereal zodiac is more astronomically accurate in relation to the actual stars or some mathematical calculation, then why? If I don’t appropriate the cultural and religious framework of Jyotish (Vedic Astrology) then what do I have left?

I have my identity and experiences that uniquely inform my approach to astrology. I have me, a Black woman, born and raised in 20th century America, come of age in 21st century America. The specificity of my identity isn’t exclusionary. It makes me especially qualified to develop a unique astrological framework for using the sidereal zodiac that speaks to the legacy of what it means to be a Black woman. In fact, it is because of who and what I am that I am able to see what the sidereal zodiac has to offer us all.

(I would offer up the possibility that whiteness as a social construct and identity has inhibited the ability for other astrologers, up until now, to see the logic in the sidereal zodiac. It’s not just another zodiac, an alternate measurement. The sidereal zodiac is an entirely different worldview and way of seeing oneself in the world, in relationship, and in community. In fact, in sidereal astrology there is no self outside of relationship and community!)

First, I had to understand how the tropical zodiac was being used. I had to observe my peers and try to see their logic. And what I observed was that as with all things appropriated by modern western thought (read: white and male), the tropical zodiac has become an instrument of oppression.

Astrology is a discipline dominated by white men as gatekeepers. They have established themselves as the authority on what is legitimate and accurate. That means the rest of us conform or be seen merely as “brands” who try to capitalize on our uniqueness. You put anything in the hands of white men and it inevitably becomes a tool of oppression that furthers the cause of white supremacy. Astrology and the tropical zodiac included. And if you find non-Vedic resources on the sidereal zodiac, they are copying tropical frameworks.

(Even as I’ve shared these thoughts on social media, I’ve had men, both black and white, question my legitimacy because my work hasn’t followed the trajectory similar to that prominent white male astrologers .)

Divination for Liberation

The more and more I observed how the tropical zodiac was being used, the more I saw the use of the sidereal zodiac as tool for liberation. That’s why I call my work #DivinationForLiberation.

Astrology is fundamentally and essentially a language. All languages are a cultural phenomenon that shape perceptions and reinforce established power dynamics. You can think of language as embodying cultural doctrine.

I need my astrology to radically dismantle existing power structures that subjugate and oppress me for my ethnicity/race, class, and gender. That’s what was missing from the tropical zodiac and the worldview it proposes.

#DivinationForLiberation reclaims astrology as a tool for political, emotional, economic, and spiritual liberation via exclusive use of the sidereal zodiac.

#DivinationForLiberation reminds me of the way my ancestors cultivated ritual that allowed them to bypass power structures they were excluded from. They created religious practices that engendered agency as a gateway to spiritual and economic liberation and empowerment.

#DivinationForLiberation reminds me of the discipline and strength of will required to surrender to the truth that there is a time and a season for all things. I am at my most powerful when I subject my individual will to the Divine Will which articulates that time + that season.

If you are looking for a liberating astrological doctrine that sees your blackness, your queerness, your non binary expressions, the oppression you face, your non-whiteness, your womanhood, your suffering, and your power, then you’ll find it here in #DivinationForLiberation.

Sidereal Zodiac/ Sidereal Astrology Resources

  • Learn the basics of how to read a Sidereal birth chart with my workshop Reading Your Sidereal Birth Chart. It includes a 90 minute audio presentation, slides, and a workbook I walk you through completing in the audio presentation. Take your time. It’s a lot!
  • I have a webinar called an Intro to Sidereal Astrology (I’ll likely offer another one that includes insights I’ve gained since 2017) orcle.me/siderealweb
  • Astrology software is expensive. Another barrier towards learning and using astrology. That’s why I create iCal’s that contain sidereal transits you can import into your phone, computer, and other devices existing calendar. https://shop.thepeoplesoracle.com/collections/2019-calendars-guides
  • It takes years to learn astrology, but that should never be a barrier to you taking advantage of its liberating power. That’s why I create content that requires no prerequisite knowledge to use. My favorite is my Monthly Horoscope Workbook orcle.me/scopeworkbook
  • Use this guide to cast your sidereal birth chart: orcle.me/chartguide

More Jupiter in Scorpio themes…

In my original post laying out themes for Jupiter in Scorpio I offered a list of keywords, concepts, and themes that would be prominent for that year long transit. Here are some additional themes. 

  • Rogue
  • Rebellious
  • Army
  • Navy
  • Marine
  • Police
  • Soldiers
  • Guns
  • Surgery
  • Weapons
  • Bombs
  • Knives
  • Bullets

I’ll probably add another list sometime before the transit begins, as well as aggregating manifestations of my predictions.

Jupiter enters Scorpio October 10, 2018

July 2018 Sidereal Astrology Forecast & Horoscope

July 2018 is one of the busiest months of the year, and it only gets busier through the rest of 2018. July is when it really starts. The last week of June 2018 ushered us in to an unprecedented time governed by a rare Mars retrograde in Capricorn.

View the July 2018 Sidereal Astrology Forecast & Horoscope on YouTube.

July 2018 Astrology

Now, in July we have Mars retrograde for the entire month, and a Mercury retrograde that starts at then end of the month. There are TWO eclipses and Jupiter stationary direct. So much is happening!

That is why I live stream a video forecast for each month on my YouTube channel. The July 2018 Sidereal Astrology Forecast & Horoscope video is now up. Let me know what you think. I added some of my political forecasting at the end. Enjoy

Sidereal Astrology Forecast – May 2018

Here is your monthly sidereal astrology forecast for May 2018. We are well under way, but there is plenty in this video to help you navigate the rest of this month.

Watch the video forecast for May 2018 on YouTube.

Major sidereal astrological configurations for the month of May, 2018.

  • May 2 – Mars in Capricorn (View the video horoscope for the 6 month Mars in Capricorn Transit on YouTube.)
  • May 8 – Sun OPPOSITE Jupiter
  • May 9 – Mercury in Aries
  • May 12 – Mercury SQUARE Mars
  • May 14 – Sun in Taurus, Venus in Gemini
  • May 15 – New Moon in Taurus
  • May 23 – Mercury OPPOSITE Jupiter
  • May 25 – Venus OPPOSITE JUPITER
  • May 26 – Mercury in Taurus
  • May 29 – Full Moon in Scorpio

 

Mercury Rx in Pisces 2018: Anchored at Sea

All transits calculated using the sidereal zodiac. Use this guide to cast your sidereal birth chart and see if any planets have changed sign. And if you’re ready to learn how to understand the changes, check out an Introduction to Sidereal Astrology.

Yes, you read that correctly. We’ve reached our 2nd of 4 Mercury retrogrades this year. Mercury takes a trip in reverse 3 or 4 times each year. This year we get 4 for our pleasure.

Mercury will travel from 10°-22° Pisces between March 8 and May 3. Mercury normally spends 3-4 weeks in each sign, but it will spend about 8 weeks in Pisces due to this retrograde.

Important dates to note for Mercury Retrograde during March and April 2018

PISCES

When planets are in Pisces they are under the command of Jupiter, they must undertake their tasks and execute their agendas with reverence to:

  • Escaping the confines of identity;
  • Transcending the awareness that defines the way one experiences and sees the world;
  • Shedding the uniquely identifying aspects of the persona
  • Disregarding the biases of perception in order to merge with something bigger and greater;
  • Surrendering one’s individual will to the Divine Will.

With Pisces somewhere in all of our charts, we each have an urge to give ourselves over to an experience that overrides our own will and desires. We want our feelings to have purpose greater than self gratification and emotional satisfaction. We want our actions to further a cause larger than what can be encompassed within our own lives and lifespan. And so, we craft narratives that contextualize our feelings and give them the power to devour our self serving predilections. We make our feelings holy, our desires sacred.

MERCURY IN PISCES

In Pisces, Mercury is a land bound creature anchored at sea. It prefers the evidential and predictable paths of Virgo, or the height and breadth of airy Gemini’s way. Instead, words swim like jellyfish shifting in and out of schools when they’d rather come together like a gaggle of geese and take flight.

Language is a tool meant to confer meaning. Words are ideas, symbols in place of the object or person to which it’s meant to refer. And symbols are tangible in the sense that we can grasp onto them (their function and meaning) in predictable ways. Yet, in Pisces these symbols can be a confining prison to the meaning one intends to convey in their use. They can also be an exercise in improvisation and possibility as we fashion a variety of ways to use them.

Those are excellent concepts to consider during this retrograde—improvisation and possibility. How shall you re-fashion the tools you possess in order to work with the medium at hand? You must improvise and explore the possibilities.

Of course, with everything in life, nothing is simple or straightforward. So, it is here where we meet the complexity of this Mercury retrograde.

PISCES SQUARE SAGITTARIUS

The most recent Mercury retrograde was also in a Jupiter commanded sign, but it was fiery rather than wet. During that retrograde, Mercury in Sagittarius made 3 separate conjunctions with Saturn in Sagittarius.

Now, Mercury in Pisces will make 3 separate squares with Saturn in Sagittarius.

  1. 13° Pisces/Sagittarius – March 11
  2. 15° Pisces/Sagittarius – April 4
  3. 15° Pisces/Sagittarius – April 25

How do water and fire coexist without destroying each other? Fire is kept in check by water, and water is warmed, inspired, by the heat of fire. Action is checked by consequences, and feelings are aroused by passion.

Still, this is a square. And squares bring conflict. Pisces insists that knowledge needs no evidence and wisdom needs no experience. But Sagittarius thrives on action. Knowledge comes by doing, and wisdom is a process of distillation. Mercury in Pisces via its multiple squares to Saturn in Sagittarius magnifies this conflict.

How shall we articulate the embodied, intuitive knowings of Mercury in Pisces when Saturn in Sagittarius demands we make our lives a living testimony of what we say we believe? It’s not enough to feel it, we must do it. And if you say it, does that mean it’s true? Compassion will help manage the compulsion to do. Sometimes, you’ve got to let that compulsion pass.

But yes, improvise with the possibilities. The convictions we swear to demand our time, energy, money, and other resources. Of all the possibilities and forms circumstances can take, which ones allow us to make our lives a living testimony of what we believe?

Both Mercury and Saturn will be under the command of Jupiter in Libra. And so their agendas are secondary to that which Jupiter in Libra says they must undertake.

UNDER THE COMMAND OF JUPITER IN LIBRA

Jupiter in Libra has been crystal clear about its focus. Libra’s rationality, nuance, and objectivity can find the common ground between even the most disparate people and things. It enforces reconciliation. And so equality, fairness, and justice are shining emblems of Jupiter’s transit through the sign. Additionally, Jupiter being in a Venus commanded sign means that this trend is under the command of women, as Venus is a general significator for women.

It seems that despite Mercury and Saturn’s differences they both are working for the equality, justice, and fairness that Jupiter has commanded since September 11, 2017. Mercury articulates knowings that need no evidence to be true for the sake of justice, fairness, and equality. And Saturn works within the confines of social, political, and moral convictions for that same cause. It’s time to get righteous!

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