What's Your Sign? It Depends on the Zodiac

by Jessica Girija Jewell

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If someone, somewhere in the western hemisphere asks you, "What's your sign?", you will answer with one of the twelve signs of the zodiac — Aries, perhaps, or Taurus, or Gemini — sharing the Sun's heavenly location when you were born — based on the tropical zodiac.

The tropical zodiac is a map of the constellations, paired with the precession of the equinox, and set by seasonal shifts.

Did you know, there's another zodiac? There is. 

The sidereal zodiac is widely used by Indian astrologers and practitioners of Jyotish, the science of light. This sidereal zodiac is in the same sky as the tropical zodiac but it uses the fixed stars as its anchor.

This pivot of perspective — looking at the same sky but orienting to it in a different way — changes, often significantly, the planetary placements in an astrology chart.

For example, if your answer to that opening question is Cancer, you might be taken aback when the sidereal zodiac places your Sun in Gemini. 

You see, the sidereal zodiac places the planets in their observed position. Let me explain. 

If you looked into the night sky this past Wednesday, you likely saw the radiant pairing of the Moon and Jupiter. If you were able to peer deeper into the background, you would see that they were in the constellation Gemini. This physical reality is what is recorded in the sidereal zodiac. However, those using the tropical zodiac would report that the Moon and Jupiter were in the constellation Cancer — a consequence of the 23ish degree difference between the two systems.

Now, let's return to that original question — what's your sign — and consider what your Sun sign reveals about you.

When you share your Sun sign, you're sharing the state of your soul. The Sun's orientation describes your soul's agenda, the overarching theme of this lifetime — the current chapter in a very long story. 

If you have an exalted Sun in Aries, you likely step forward naturally, lead, and shine visibly in the world — for better or worse. Your soul’s agenda is to have an experience of leadership and independence. 

If you have a debilitated Sun in Libra, you're likely to get a bit confused around leadership and being in the spotlight. Your soul’s agenda is about learning humility and placing others’ interests before or adjacent to your own.

The house placement of the Sun shows in what area of life you shine most brightly, where you naturally bring light.

The Sun in the first house of a chart often produces someone with a strong orientation toward the physical self, a need to express their light through the body whereas a Sun in the twelfth house shines in secluded places, away from the chaos of crowds. 

The Sun’s condition in your chart also describes your father — the qualities you inherited from him and his lineage, his persona, and the nature of your relationship with him.

No placement is better than any other. They're different plans, different karmas, different periods of soul development. All essential.

Now, back to the zodiac.

The zodiac you use to calculate planetary placements can significantly change where the planets are, how you’re oriented to life, and what you experience.

The first astrology book I ever read was an oversized paperback edition of Linda Goodman's Love Signs. It showed up on a bookshelf in my teenage home, a gift from someone my mother was helping through hospice.

I was immediately drawn to it — as though it was neon-lit among the over-full shelves in our home. I calculated my chart and the charts of my family and friends, and spent long afternoons browsing astrology sections in the many bookstores of New York City.

But something wasn't right. The descriptions of personality, of life circumstance didn't match my lived experience or the experience of the people close to me.

Intuitively, I sensed astrology was worth studying, that it was a way to understand life, the universe, and everything. But the books I found were often surface-level, lacking philosophical depth, and frequently wrong in their predictions. 

For several years, though my interest remained strong, I wondered if astrology was trivial at best, outright delusional at worst. Maybe, I mused, it was nothing more than a panacea for anxious souls.

Finding Jyotish was like finding a bird nest — work I did for several years as a field biologist. To find a nest, you have to have a strong intuition that it exists, patience to wait for a bird to peek out or pop in, and attention for the moment of revelation. The reveal often happens unpredictably, subtly, surprisingly. You finally see it. And then you can't unsee it.

I don't remember the moment I discovered Jyotish. It was shortly after I took up yoga, another gem from India. But all of a sudden, it was there. I recalculated my planetary placements using the sidereal zodiac, began reading the interpretations, testing the techniques, and — wow — this was it, this was what I was looking for. This astrology had philosophical depth — and described the secret and not-so-secret aspects of my personality, revealed the quirks and quagmires of my relationships, predicted the ups and downs of my work world, and revealed the longings of my heart.

What would change if you calculated your chart using the sidereal zodiac? You might see yourself and your loved ones more clearly. You might feel guided in becoming more aligned to your soul path. You might discover a real tool for self awareness and growth. If you're curious, or maybe you already know and want to have a conversation or receive guidance, I offer astrology readings. Find out more HERE.

If you're an astrology lover and would like to explore the monthly movements of the planets, please join me for the Sun and Moon Astrology Circle, which meets on the fourth Monday of each month from 7:00–8:30 p.m. Our next meeting is today, April 27th.

Thank you for reading or listening and I hope this sparked a little curiosity about the different zodiacs. If you have any questions or comments, please feel very welcome to reach out to me. I hope to see you soon!