Course Offerings:

Foundation Course in Western Sidereal Astrology

Advanced Course in Western Sidereal Astrology

What is Western Sidereal Astrology?
Sidereal astrology, from the Latin, sidus, (star) or sidereus, (starry), is the type of astrology that reckons celestial longitude from the positions of the stars rather than the vernal equinox. Western sidereal astrology is the rediscovery and revival of ancient Babylonian astrology, the original form of the art.

Through centuries of observation, the Babylonians discovered and refined the central pillar of astrology: the zodiac. The zodiac is an exclusively Babylonian device later adopted by the rest of the world. There is no hard evidence extant that any culture has a body of zodiacal lore older than the Babylonian material. By mid-first millennium B.C., after many centuries of documented observation, the Babylonians constructed mathematical models of planetary motion that led, in the fourth century B.C., to the first ephemerides. This development wasn’t duplicated until the Greeks adapted Babylonian methods to their own scheme in the second century B.C. The earliest record of astrological advice given to a Babylonian king is from 709 B.C. The earliest eclipse record available to Hipparchus, the likely inventor of the tropical zodiac (whose last works are from 127 B.C.) was from the first regnal year of the Babylonian king Nabonasser, 747 B.C.

Babylonian astrology was introduced to the West in 1944 by Cyril Fagan, an Irish astrological scholar, after he had examined the ancient astronomical materials excavated from the Near and Middle East.

Why Study Sidereal Astrology?
Sidereal astrology is the pure unadulterated form of the art. It is the nexus of signs, aspects, planets and houses without a philosophical, psychological or New Age overlay. Sidereal interpretations are clear, concise and succinct.

In the ancient world, astrology and astronomy were combined. The western siderealist becomes familiar with the sky and coordinate systems, as well as the history of the art itself. Although western sidereal astrology is a bit more technical then tropical astrology, a strong math background is unnecessary.