With a traditional, geocentric chart, the viewer (astrologer) identifies with the physical environment of the individual concerned. The most evident level of existence is the material level, represented by the planet Earth. What qualifies the particular existence of the individual is the structure of the Sun centred chart, where each planet signifies particular levels of existence. There can be no more qualifiers to the very essence of being. The philosophy behind heliocentric astrology is that the Spirit is undivided and cannot be reduced by the above mentioned qualifications. In traditional, geocentric charts, this spirit is qualified by sign placement, house placement and aspects. In astrology, the Sun ultimately signifies the spirit. What does the heliocentric chart, with all its differences compared to the geocentric one, actually mean and why should we use it? Answering this question is addressing the objection about the loss of the Sun in the chart. Not only does the Earth appear instead of the Sun, the whole structure changes significantly with different angles forming between planets and often even totally different sign placements, especially in the case of Mercury and Venus. The change of perspective however does change the chart in many ways. However, if we take a broader look at the matter, we soon realize that changing a perspective does not change the real position of the planets, just as taking a photograph of an apple from one angle instead of another does not change the essence of the apple. What astrologers really mean by this is that the planets (including the Sun) have an influence on us due to their position in the sky as seen from Earth. The horrified exclamation "we don't live on the Sun" usually implies something more profound than the self-evident factual statement. Let's attempt to address each of these issues one at a time. Giving up these points appears also to imply the loss of the 'house wheel', which gives so much meaning to any chart interpretation and forecasting. These points of reference are of course the angles of the geocentric chart: the ascendant and the midheaven, with their counterparts the descendant and the imum coeli. There is also the question about the meaning of the Earth, since the Earth appears in the chart instead of the Sun.Ī third objection is related to the inevitable loss of certain points of reference which we are so accustomed to in astrology that it makes us dizzy at first.
The second objection is related to the 'loss' of the Sun in the chart and its symbolical meanings. This is the first common objection to the idea of a Sun centred astrology. The difference with traditional astrology lies in the map's viewpoint: heliocentric derives from the greek word helios, which means sun, so the heliocentric map has the Sun instead of the Earth at the centre. This map contains the positions of the planets within the reference frame of the twelve signs of the zodiac. What is heliocentric astrology? To put it simply: it is an astrology which uses a map (the astrological chart) in much the same way as traditional (geocentric) astrology.