the way Capitalism has commodified zodiac signs into brands... people can’t read a chart for what it is behind the manufactured desire to identify with generic archetypes.

when people see a chart, regardless of which zodiac they use, they tend to focus on the signs first. because their knowledge of zodiac signs is informed by personal anecdotes, real astrological techniques get completely lost or ignored behind people’s need to preserve identity.

the signs are only meant to establish hierarchy between the planets and luminaries. the planets are the living, breathing, actors in a chart. the signs are more like a script.

no matter what script a planet reads, the planet maintains a certain type of energy. casting The Rock to portray a soft-spoken poet will look different than casting him to play a bodybuilder, but he’s still going to be The Rock.

The Rock as a poet seems like he’s acting out-of-character because it’s so contrary to who he is at his core. Doesn’t mean that he can’t do it, but there must be some kind of incentive for him taking on this role, so he’s going to find a way to get it done.

This can look like putting Mars in a Venus-ruled sign. Mars is the personal will. Mars wants autonomy. Mars will sever relationships in order to preserve the self. But Mars in Taurus or Libra answers to Venus, and Venus wants to magnify commonalities and preserve relationships.

Though this goes against the intrinsic nature of Mars, sometimes Mars exists in a context where strictly behaving in full Mars-like fashion isn’t beneficial.

This is why I prefer to use the Sidereal zodiac. This system requires me to acknowledge that I am a product of my environment, community and personal relationships.

I am not an individual with a pre-determined set of personality traits that inform how I “should” engage with the world. I am both a consequence and active participant of the society and reality I was born into.