ASTRONOMIC ZODIAC
an overview for the year 2008


Copyright © 2008 by Klaudio Zic, all rights reserved. http://www.lulu.com/astrology


ASTRONOMIC ZODIAC


The astronomic zodiac1 as presently defined is based on the IAU2 resolution dated August 2006. The present zodiac hosts 22 IAU constellations in all.
Since Pluto is no longer a planet3, we lose several interesting zodiacal constellations4 like Serpens Cauda5, which may nevertheless be included in astrological work, much as Pluto is secretly treated as planet in many astronomic program updates.
What is the Academic Zodiac? It is a set of zodiacal constellations that are very illustrative as well as scientifically observable in the real sky.
As an example of the position of the Sun it is notable that the Sun is in Libra on November 23rd.
The implications deriving from the study of the real sky are that the errors as made by popular astrology are not “one sign”, as someone thinks, but two constellations.
The Sun can be tracked through 15 constellations, where two are special and one is standard. Every planet goes through Cetus, Orion and Ophiuchus, but the Sun goes near to Orion and very near to Cetus as IAU defines it.


PRECESSED ASCENDANT


The ascendant is a separate topic, as subject to precession, to which the zodiac is not. In our works we normally refer to the local zodiac for planet earth and its present set of eastern ascendants.
More or less the same error appears in comparing the real sky with superstitious program output. On checking an alleged “Capricorn” ascendant, we discover that Pisces were rising at east in the natal horoscope.
The 16 eastern ascendants for the current epoch are constellations observable at east in all parts of the planet. Thus the precessed ascendant set is the real situation in the natal sky.
Sometimes a zodiacal position coincides with the ascendant, thus we have e.g. Venus rising in Hydra or Moonrise in Cetus.
Some positions have national value such as Moon in Orion for the WTC, Serpens rising for the U.S.A. Or Canis Minor rising in the case of president George Bush.
The ascendants can be advantageously classified as subconscious and subconscious, thus Orion is a subconscious ascendant and lord of the underworld.