Western Astrology, practiced for thousands of years in Arabia and Europe, is based upon a system, which uses the path of the sun through the heavens, as seen from planet Earth. It looks at the constellations, which used to lie along this path, now called the Zodiac. Western astrology is geocentric, that is, it considers the Earth as the centre around which the Sun revolves.

According to western astrology, the horoscope is made on the basis of the time of the birth of a person. The sun sign represents the sign of the Zodiac that the Sun passed through at the time of the birth of a person. The Sun rules the essential personality, ego and willpower of a person. It represents the core of the potential and distinctiveness of an individual.

The Origin

Modern astrology has as its roots the ancient celestial omen reading of Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians lived in the area of modern-day Iraq betwen the Rivers of the Tigris and the Euphrates. They included the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians. The Babylonians (Chaldean Astrology) began to interpret the celestial cycles rather than random events, which developed into astrology proper.

But it wasn't until the Ancient Greeks that the ecliptic (Sun's path) was measured against the Earth and an exact solar calendar could be drawn up. Planets could now be fixed relative to the solstice and equinox points rather than simply relative to the four compass directions and the zenith and nadir points relative to the observer.