Heliocentric Model
Most astrology practiced today is based on a geocentric model which depicts the earth as the center of our solar system, as it appeared to both ancient astrologers and people today gazing at the heavens.
A heliocentric model places the sun at the center of the solar system, in accordance with astronomical principles developed by the German-Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) five hundred years ago.
The Copernican World-View
Although the Greek astronomer Aristarchos postulated the idea of a heliocentric solar system in the third century BCE, the concept remained in relative obscurity up until the Middle Ages. The church as well as scientists supported the geocentric model, although speculation concerning the heliocentric model never completely disappeared.
The astrologer Regiomontanus (1436-1476) left some unpublished manuscripts suggesting he discovered the principle of heliocentrism. The research of Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and James Bradley subsequently confirmed the heliocentric model.
Astrologers today continue to work with the geocentric model, not through ignorance of the sun-centered solar system, but because planetary movement as seen from a human, earth-based standpoint forms the basis of their calculations. A geocentric horoscope is simultaneously a stylized version of the heavens and a symbolic depiction of an earth-based human character or an event. Astronomers today also use a geocentric model for particular purposes, such as calculating how far a distant star is from the earth, or the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth's surface. With exploration of the solar system and beyond, it is also possible to construct charts centered on a space station or another planet.
The Heliocentric Horoscope
The heliocentric chart differs from the geocentric chart in that it does not show the sun, since the sun is the vantage point for the entire chart. The Earth is shown as a planet, in a position always 180 degrees opposite the sun in the geocentric natal chart. The planets may appear in different signs, because the backdrop of a planet varies when viewed from a solar perspective. There are no chart Angles and no houses in a heliocentric chart, since the earth is the basis for house division.
Because so few astrologers work with heliocentric horoscopes, there is little agreement as to their interpretation. Philip Sedgwick, in one of the few books published on heliocentric astrology, takes a soul-centered, evolutionary approach. Apart from the earth, the other planets would have the same meanings as in a geocentric horoscope.
See also
Weblinks
- Ptolemy and Copernicus on their cosmological postulates (Starry Messenger, 1999-2000)
- Swiss Ephemeris for the year 2017 heliocentric (PDF)
Bibliography
- Nicholas Campion, 2009. A History of Western Astrology, Vol. II: The Medieval and Modern Worlds, Continuum
- Sedgwick, Philip, 1990. The Sun at the Center: A Primer of Heliocentric Astrology, Llewellyn Publications