Western astrology

Where it comes from. Its earliest known traces appear in Mesopotamia, in the second millennium BC, as omens for the king and the kingdom. The twelve-sign zodiac was born in Babylon around the fifth century BC. The synthesis took place in Alexandria, then was set down in the second century in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos; it returned to Europe through Arab scholars in the twelfth century. Kings, emperors and presidents have long consulted it to choose the moment to govern, to crown or to go to war. In the twentieth century, it turned toward psychology: the chart describes a personality rather than predicting events.

What it draws on. The exact date, time and place of birth, which give the position of the Sun, the Moon and the planets at that instant. A planet's sign tells a manner, its house an area of life, and the aspects between planets tell of tension or ease. The time gives the Ascendant, the Midheaven and the twelve houses, divided from the horizon of the place: without it, part of the chart stays silent.

What it is for. To map the character's inner functions and their frictions: what drives, what holds back, what works in harmony. It also dates the great passages of life, such as the Saturn return around age 29. Overlaid with the transits of the day or the month, it points to the right moments for each action, according to the character's nature.

The zodiac used here follows the seasons. Vedic astrology follows another one, set by the stars: the two charts do not contradict each other; they do not measure the same thing.