Secrets of the Zodiac

by Robert P. Blaschke

1. The Living Zodiac

Prior to the relatively recent emergence of psychologically oriented astrology during

the 1970s, which has resulted in planetary archetypes assuming the dominant voice
in this celestial language, the Zodiac was historically known to be the living spiritual
force and power in this divine science. What exactly happened in the last 35 years,
and has it been a positive development?

The baby boom generation, comprised mainly of souls born into the collective
influence of Pluto in the sign of Leo (late 1930s until mid 1950s), has evolved a
highly narcissistic and individualized approach to astrology, dwelling primarily on
self-development, self-understanding, and the use of the astrological language to
articulate and clarify one's interior world and one's innermost self. This predilection,
of course, has resulted in some spiritual benefit to many in this generation who have
pursued personal growth as their primary life goal. But, has there also been a
downside?

As with all well intentioned activity, a shadow side eventually emerges that erodes
the effectiveness of the original approach. This appears to have happened with
modern astrology. Forgetting that the Spirit and Soul of astrological science lies
within the splendid powers of the Sun and the Zodiac, a modern day astrologer is
more likely to attribute the working forces of astrology to the planets. As an
astronomical fact, and also as a spiritual metaphor, planets are helpless without the
gravitational pull of the Sun, the central star of our solar system. And the planetary
rays must pass through the Living Waters of the Zodiac in order to reach humanity
and to affect its earthly experiences.

It is this writer's thesis that this historical development in astrology has resulted in

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the formation of somewhat of an illusion, a deviation from truth supporting an
unconscious need for personal control in a world that is becoming more
technologically complex, violent, and frightening all of the time. Whereas, a century
ago our astrological forebears marvelled at the Soul of the Zodiac, and saw the
Hand of God revealed through astrology, today, at the dawn of the 21st century,
modern astrologers and consumers of astrology sadly have lost sight of the real
spiritual forces within this ancient science, and have cast their pearls before the
supposed sovereignty of the planetary gods. What is this Living Zodiac, and how
can one reconnect with its truth and beauty?

2. Competing Zodiacs

The Zodiac is a celestial belt of energy surrounding our Earth and extending about
nine degrees on either side of the Ecliptic, which is the apparent path of Sun. The
Twelve Signs were originally perceived by early mankind as patterns of grouped
stars, or constellations, through which the Sun (by day) and planets (by night) move,
and were associated by early astrologers with mythological and archetypal figures.
The Zodiac signs have been divided into these three groupings:

INDIVIDUAL SIGNS RELATIONAL SIGNS UNIVERSAL SIGNS

ARIES the RAM LEO the LION SAGITTARIUS the ARCHER/CENTAUR

TAURUS the BULL VIRGO the VIRGIN CAPRICORN the MOUNTAIN GOAT

GEMINI the TWINS LIBRA the SCALES AQUARIUS the WATER BEARER

CANCER the CRAB SCORPIO the SCORPION PISCES the FISHES

In the years after World War II, a movement began in astrology to use a different
Zodiac other than the one calculated at the Vernal Equinox (the first day of Spring
in the Northern Hemisphere - and resulting in the commonly used Tropical Zodiac).
This fledgling group of Irish astrologers, led by Cyril Fagan, began to employ the
Sidereal Zodiac, a calculation of the twelve signs based on the fixed constellations.
This Zodiac has been used for centuries in India by Vedic, or Hindu, astrologers, and

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starting in the early 1990s a now sizable contingent of American, British and
European astrologers have begun to study and practice Vedic Astrology, using the
Sidereal Zodiac based on the constellations.

The usage of these two Zodiacs, Tropical and Sidereal, has resulted in public
confusion about the validity of astrology, with the man on the street questioning
how a system with two seemingly contradictory methods of calculation could be
accurate and meaningful. This point of confusion has, alas, even been further
worsened by professional astrologers themselves. Dividing into two camps over the
last fifteen years, the users of the Tropical and the Sidereal Zodiacs often employ a
black or white rationale for their preference of one Zodiac over the other.

Is it possible that each Zodiac has relevance and symbolizes a different plane of
consciousness? Yes, and let us now review the astronomical dimensions of the
different Zodiacs. Besides the Tropical and Sidereal, two additional Zodiacs exist in
astrology - Heliocentric and Draconic - and all four of these will be shown to be
part of a unified field theory linking different levels of reality. The reader should
remember that, when using the Tropical or Sidereal Zodiacs, the positions of the
Sun, Moon and planets are calculated geocentrically, or as measured from Earth.

The Tropical Zodiac commences from the Vernal Equinox, which is where the
Ecliptic intersects the Equator and thus is a point in time. The Sidereal Zodiac is
measured from the star Spica (Virgo 30), or from Aldebaran and Antares (Taurus
15-Scorpio 15), which are points in space. Because of the gravitational effect of the
Sun and Moon on the Earth's polar axis, a slow, swinging motion of the Earth's axis
of rotation occurs. This has the ultimate effect of moving the point at which the
Vernal Equinox occurs by one degree each 72 years.

With Zodiac signs being comprised of thirty degrees each, an Astrological Age thus
lasts for 2,160 years (72 x 30). A Great Cycle through all twelve signs lasts for
25,900 years. Presently, mankind is in the Age of Pisces which began with the birth

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of Jesus Christ. The Age of Aquarius will not be commencing until the middle of the
22nd century. It is also of note that at the birth of Christ, the Sidereal and Tropical
Zodiacs were close to aligning for the only time in the Great Cycle of almost 26,000
years. When Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the
Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13), He was referring to the simple fact that
He was the One who incarnated at the beginning and the end of the Great
Precessional Cycle of 26,000 years. At the present time, there is about a twenty four
degree difference between the Tropical and Sidereal Zodiacs.

The Heliocentric Zodiac is a Sun-centered model measuring the orbits of the planets
from the heart of our solar system. The position of the Earth in these charts is 180˚
opposite the position of the Sun in a Tropical nativity. As there are no retrograde
planets in a Heliocentric chart, its life force only goes forward into the future. Since
there is no Moon in these charts, no memories from the past can affect the present.
Because of their relative distance from the Sun, the superior planets of Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto are just a few degrees off from their counterparts
in a Tropical nativity. However, the personal planets of Mercury, Venus and Mars
can be found in different signs than in the Tropical chart; and in the case of the
inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, these two can be opposite their Tropical
positions, if geocentrically retrograde at birth.

The Draconic Zodiac transfers the North Node of the Moon (the point in the lunar
orbit where it intersects the plane of the Ecliptic) to 00˚ 00' Aries. A chart cast with
this zodiac then computes the differential arc between this Aries point and one's
Tropical North Node, and adds this arc to the Luminaries, planets and angles in any
nativity. The result is a chart that retains the identical gestalt, or pattern, of the
Tropical horoscope, yet now has different Zodiac degrees for everything. The
Draconic Zodiac is thus lunar based, whereas the Heliocentric Zodiac is a solar
based calculation.

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What now emerges when the spiritual astrologer contemplates the intertwining
reality of these four Zodiacs is that one is time based (Tropical), one is space based
(Sidereal), one is lunar based (Draconic), and one is solar based (Heliocentric). Do all
four Zodiacs represent different planes of reality? Can the astrologer now produce a
unified field theory to explain their interrelationships?

3. The Four Zodiacs and Different Planes of Reality

In his fourth book, Astrology: A Language of Life, Volume IV - Relationship

Analysis, this author outlined these four Zodiacs and linked them with the karma of
the space-time continuum as they pertain to human relationships. His research found
that when comparing the nativities of family members, for example, there were
exact conjunctions between the Tropical Zodiac planets in one chart with the
Draconic Zodiac positions in the second chart. The premise here is that an ongoing
soul contract exists between parents, children and siblings who reincarnate into the
same family system from lifetime to lifetime. This Zodiac is lunar based, thus relating
to the karma of ancestral blood lines.

He also found in his research that when two souls end earthly relationships through
either divorce, death, or a parting of the ways, significant links were found between
the Tropical Zodiac angles in one horoscope and the Sidereal Zodiac position of the
planets in the second nativity, or vice versa. Because karma can only manifest on
the Cross of Matter where time and space intersect, and these two Zodiacs are
either time based (Tropical) or space based (Sidereal), the premise here is that a
completion of karma between two souls can be seen through the comparison of the
charts using these two different Zodiacs.

A recent example of this occurred during the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The
Tropical Zodiac Sun of President Barack Obama is found in 12˚ Leo 32'. His
challenger for the presidency, Senator John McCain, has his Sidereal Zodiac Sun
precisely in 12˚ Leo 32' (and conjunct his Descendant in that same degree).

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 John McCain Second Chart Natal Chart
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The Heliocentric Zodiac is infrequently used by astrologers. This Sun-centered

model generates a horoscope that symbolizes one's Christ Consciousness, or one's
Higher Self. This chart, without a Sun position, operates at a level of reality where

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there is no individual ego, but only one's Higher Self serving a larger purpose, such
as Love, Truth or Beauty. This writer recommends viewing the Heliocentric nativity
as representing all that is virtuous within the individual, as if he were operating from
pure Spirit. These horoscopes are calculated using Natural Houses, where 00˚ Aries
is rising, and as such, house positions of the planets are transcendental in nature, as
they are not bound by an earthly Ascendant or Midheaven. The position of the
Earth in these charts is 180˚ opposite the position of the Sun in a Tropical nativity,
as if it were a reflection of Spirit.

The following table illustrates this multi-dimensional model of the four Zodiacs:

SOUL LEVEL ZODIAC ORIGIN PLANE OF REALITY

4 HELIOCENTRIC SOLAR CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS
3 SIDEREAL SPACE COMPLETION OF KARMA
2 TROPICAL TIME PRESENT INCARNATION
1 DRACONIC LUNAR ONGOING SOUL CONTRACT

In this table showing a four-level model for the different planes of reality, the
sequence goes from a lunar-based Zodiac to a time-derived one, then to a space-
based level, and finally to one that is solar-derived. It is this author's thesis that multi-
dimensional relationship analysis, involving the Draconic, Tropical, Sidereal and
Heliocentric Zodiacs, is not only accurate for determining past life soul contracts
between family members, but also for ascertaining any completing relational karma
between two souls. At the highest level of human attainment is one's Christ
Consciousness, seen most clearly through the Heliocentric Zodiac nativity. What
would be a practical approach for the astrologer to take when working with the four
different Zodiacs?

4. Working with the Different Zodiacs and Degree Symbols

When employing the Draconic Zodiac, the astrologer can understand the individual's
experience at a family or hereditary level. An astrologer using the Tropical Zodiac is

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ideally suited to delineate the individual's experience at a personality level, and to be
able to perceive the life purpose of the present incarnation. When using the Sidereal
Zodiac, the astrologer can clearly see the individual's experience at a soul level, and
can also understand the completion of karma occurring during the present
incarnation. When utilizing the Heliocentric Zodiac, the astrologer can identify the
Christ Consciousness operating within the individual, as well as identifying particular
strengths of virtue that any soul possesses.

This practical application of a multi-dimensional model of the four Zodiacs comes

even more alive when comparing the horoscopes of two souls during relationship
analysis. In this way, astrologers can see the interaction of forces operating between
different planes of reality and consciousness, and help clients to understand the
specific purpose of their important human relationships.

Because the Draconic, Tropical or Sidereal Zodiac calculations only change the signs
and degrees of the Sun, Moon and planets in any given chart, while the horoscopic
gestalt, or pattern, remains identical, how can the astrologer describe to the client
the differences between his or her various nativities? In some cases, for example, this
could be accomplished by the astrologer explaining to a client how her Tropical
Venus in Scorpio would produce painful losses in relationship that are evolving her
personality and character; while at the same time her Sidereal Venus in Libra shows
that on a soul level, she has a deep, innate understanding of how her karma is being
balanced by going through these relational endings during the current lifetime.

Another technique that astrologers can use to describe and define the distinct
birthcharts calculated from the four different Zodiacs is by using a method known
as degree symbol analysis. In astrology, the meaning of each of the 360 degrees of
the Zodiac has been clairvoyantly channeled, and these metaphysical pictures, or
symbols, have been recorded in book form for the benefit of professional
astrologers. The most commonly used sets of the 360 degree symbols are:

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 a. The Sabian Symbols - brought through by the clairvoyant, Elsie
Wheeler, in collaboration with the renowned American astrologer,
Marc Edmund Jones, in 1925 in Balboa Park in San Diego.

b. Charubel's Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolised, clairvoyantly obtained

by the Welsh mystic and astrologer, John Thomas, in the 1880s and
popularized by Alan Leo in London in the 1890s and the early 1900s.

c. Sepharial's translation of La Volasfera, a set of symbols dating back

to the Italian Renaissance and clairvoyantly channeled by Antonio
Borelli in the 16th century.

To illustrate the different systems of degree symbols, along with the four different
charts produced by the Tropical, Sidereal, Draconic and Heliocentric Zodiacs, let us
examine the nativity of one of the world's most beloved and revered spiritual
leaders, the 14th Dalai-Lama. Born Saturday, 6 July 1935 at 4:44 AM (rectified) in
Takster, Tibet (36N32; 101E12), this great soul arrived on Earth with a highly
spiritual Grand Water Trine and Kite formation in his birthchart. His Tropical Sun in
Cancer trines retrograde Jupiter in Scorpio and also trines retrograde Saturn in
Pisces. The Moon and Neptune oppose Saturn and sextile the Sun and Jupiter, thus
forming the beautiful Kite pattern.

The astrologer knows that a Jupiter-Saturn trine in water signs can only form a few
times each century, and when both planets are retrograde at birth the soul brings in
much spiritual wisdom from past lives. To have both the Sun and Moon and
mystical Neptune configured with this special trine would produce a highly
advanced soul. Would the degree symbols also confirm this?

The most significant degrees in any nativity are the rising and culminating degrees,
as each changes about every four minutes of clock time. For the Dalai-Lama, using
a rectified time of 4:44 AM, the 12th degree of Cancer is rising. Remarkably, the
1925 Marc Jones Sabian Symbol for this degree is:

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 A slant-eyed Chinese woman is nursing a baby,
and about the child is the glorious nimbus of divine incarnation.

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In the Sidereal Zodiac nativity for the Dalai-Lama, the reader will notice that the
planetary pattern remains the same, but that each heavenly body is now about 24

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degrees earlier in the Zodiac. This differential is called by Hindu astrologers the
Ayanamsa, and computed from a baseline differential of 24˚ 44' 12" for the Sidereal
Vernal Point as of 1 January 2000. It must also be said that there are several
competing Ayanamsas; the one used in this article is the Fagan/Bradley calculation.

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When the astrologer examines Dane Rudhyar's Sabian Symbol for the culminating
degree in the Sidereal Zodiac chart for the Dalai-Lama, he finds the 30th degree of
Aquarius to be:

Deeply rooted in the past of a very ancient culture, a spiritual

Brotherhood in which many individual minds are merged into
the glowing Light of a unanimous consciousness is revealed to
one who has emerged successfully from his metamorphosis.

And from Sepharial's translation of La Volasfera, for Aquarius 30, we find:

A sceptre surrounded by a crown.

“This symbol denotes one who will rise to distinction and offices of great
power and influence. He will display capacity for government and rulership,
and, however humble his origin, will speedily attain to a foremost position in
his own sphere and may successfully attempt even greater heights than many
of his predecessor and contemporaries. In mind he will show himself to be
rigid, strict, upright, and unbending in his integrity. His affections, although by
no means warm, are yet sincere and constant, and his ambitions are
compassed by the one word AUTHORITY.”

It is well known that the San Francisco Bay Area has the largest aggregation of
Tibetan Buddhist practitioners in the U.S.. When the astrologer examines the 1925
Sabian Symbol for the rising degree in the Sidereal chart for the Dalai-Lama, he
finds that the 18th degree of Gemini is:

Standing apart from the passing stream of well-dressed shoppers,

two Chinamen in San Francisco are talking Chinese.

In the following Draconic Zodiac horoscope for the Dalai-Lama:, the reader sees
that the North Node of the Moon has been transferred to 00˚ Aries. The degree

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difference between the Dalai-Lama's Tropical Zodiac North Node (22˚ Capricorn
00') and this Aries point is 68 degrees. This difference arc has then been added to
the Tropical position of the Sun, Moon, planets and angles in order to compute the
Draconic horoscope.

th DalaiLama

Draconic Chart
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Since this Zodiac relates to one's ancestral lineage and hereditary influence, akin to a

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DNA transfer taking place between biological parent and child, one would therefore
expect to find relevant symbolism in the rising and culminating degrees for this
chart, the 20th degree of Virgo and the 2nd degree of Gemini, that would describe
attributes that he received through his family blood lines.

From The Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolised, for Virgo 20, we find:

A lion whose head is the only part exposed.

The meaning of this degree, which appears to speak to his contentious relationship
with the Chinese government, is described by Charubel as:

“Denotes one who is ever on the defensive, and being on the alert, is always
prepared for any attack. One void of fear, ever living in the consciousness of
his superior strength. Thus, instead of shunning an opponent, he prefers to
wait, or rather to provoke the onslaught. He may not be the first in the arena
but he will be the last to quit it.”

And again from The Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolised, for Gemini 2 we find:

A narrow vista of considerable extent, resembling a square tube,

the interior of which is luminous, rendered so by some means I do not understand.

“Denotes much power of concentration. The native will discover some one
thing, some force in nature, perhaps, according to the bent of his, or her,
genius. It may be connected with optics or some new phase of electricity, or
he may find his way in chemistry. It is possible that this may apply with equal
truth to the metaphysical or the transcendental.”

This fourth horoscope is the Heliocentric Zodiac nativity for the Dalai-Lama. The
reader will observe that there is no Sun or Moon in this birthchart, nor are any
planets retrograde. One also observes a cross placed within a circle; this symbol
shows the Zodiac degree for the Earth, as calculated from the Sun. For this 13th

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degree of Capricorn, which represents the Christ Consciousness of the Dalai-Lama,
one finds the 1925 Sabian Symbol refers to a Yogi meditating in the Himalayas:

Back against the mountains towards the East,

which fringe the roof of the world, a fire-worshiper is meditating.

  t h D alai  L am a
Jul  
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Takster Tibet
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Jul  

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And from Sepharial's translation of La Volasfera for this 13th degree of Capricorn,
we find further evidence of the Dalai-Lama's Christ Consciousness:

A tripod with flames of fire issuing from a brazier

(a brazier is a metal container that holds burning coals or charcoal).

“This is the index of a nature that is aspiring and active, disposed to lead a life
of adventure and hazard, but honourable in the pursuit of lofty ambitions. He
may become attached to the military service, or in some other form will be a
representative of the fiery and devouring element. He has a restless and
aspiring nature, such as will impel to action upon a wide scale. He will travel
and explore, lighting up dark places and devastating ancient sites in the quest
of new food for the mind. Chastity and purity of life will mark him as of
singular temperament, and his efforts will thereby become concentrated and
highly successful. Alive to all the higher ambitions of this world, he will
nevertheless be zealous in the conquest of worlds that are beyond normal
ken. He may be an ambassador, consul, spiritual researcher, or explorer. It is
a degree of ASPIRATION.”

5. Conclusion

It is hoped that this article awakens the reader to a unified field theory that views the
four different Zodiacs as representative of planes of consciousness underpinned by
lunar, time, space and solar-derived measurements, rather than as competing
systems that have wrought division, strife and disagreement amongst astrologers.

When astrologers contemplate the secrets of the Zodiac and also research different
sets of degree symbols in order to obtain insight into the human experience, they
are expanding their interpretive repertoire into vaster dimensions of understanding.

Humanity is rapidly evolving toward a comprehension of the holographic universe

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that surrounds our Earth, and the theoretical refinement of these interrelationships
between the four Zodiacs, and the planes of consciousness that each symbolizes, will
continue to evolve in astrological writings during the decades ahead.

© 2005-09 Robert P. Blaschke

Bibliography
Dane Rudhyar, An Astrological Mandala: The Cycle of Transformations and Its 360 Symbolic Phases,
New York NY: Random House, 1973
Charles E.O. Carter, The Zodiac and the Soul, London, England: Theosophical Publishing House Ltd., 1928
Jeff Mayo, The Astrologer's Astronomical Handbook, London, England: L.N. Fowler & Co. Ltd., 1965
The Holy Bible; New International Version, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973
Charubel, The Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolised, London, England: L. N. Fowler & Co., 1898
Marc Edmund Jones, Lecture~Lessons, Stanwood, WA: Sabian Assembly, 1931
Robert P. Blaschke, Astrology: A Language of Life
Volume I: Progressions, Lake Oswego, OR: Earthwalk School of Astrology, 1998
Volume II: Sabian Aspect Orbs, Portland, OR: Earthwalk School of Astrology, 2000
Volume IV: Relationship Analysis, Santa Monica, CA: Earthwalk School of Astrology, 2004
Volume V: Holographic Transits, Port Townsend, WA: Earthwalk School of Astrology, 2006

Biography
Robert P. Blaschke, in practice since 1979 and founder of Earthwalk School of Astrology in 1992, is an internationally
respected full-time professional consulting, lecturing and teaching astrologer. He has lectured at regional and international
astrology conferences in the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Serbia and Romania. Mr Blaschke has been a guest
speaker for over fifty different U.S. and Canadian local astrological associations in twenty-five states and provinces. He is
the author of the critically acclaimed Astrology: A Language of Life series: Volume I - Progressions, Volume II - Sabian
Aspect Orbs, Volume III - A Handbook for the Self-Employed Astrologer, Volume IV - Relationship Analysis and Volume V
- Holographic Transits. www.earthwalkastrology.com

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