Astrologers are stoked about this Sunday’s Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Tropical Capricorn, but Astronomers and Jyotishas alike are equally as eager to see the same conjunction in Sidereal-Sagittarius.

Precession moves the tropical-seasonal zodiac by the vernal equinox, but the slow movement of precession is guilty of slowly shifting this equinox point of 0 degrees Aries at march 20th away from the Sidereal-fixed star zodiac by 1 degree every 72 years.  Multiply that out by about 26,000 years and that is how long it would take for the two beginning points on the zodiac to return the same position.

As of now, the two zodiacs are approximately 24 degrees apart – making this venus/jupiter conjunction tropically occur at 20 degrees Capricorn, and Sidereally (astronomically) at 16 degrees Sagittarius.

Both Zodiacs are equally as valid, as astrologers use both tropical and sidereal, but astronomers use the argument that the tropical zodiac is invalid due to it’s movement away from the astronomical fixed point.  The yearly cycle of the Sun’s movement throughout the seasons creating zeniths and nadirs in daylight and 4 very distinguishable seasons along with a traceable analemma.

Regardless of the audience, on the evening of November 30th and December 1st, come outside in the cold with a friend or family member to witness the syzygy of the night sky’s two most luminous bodies.