--- title: "Exploring the Fusion of Tropical and Sidereal Astrology: Vic Dicara’s Journey and Insights" url: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/post/exploring-the-fusion-of-tropical-and-sidereal-astrology-vic-dicaras-journey-and-insights/ date: 2024-12-16 modified: 2026-07-03 lang: en author: "Perseus Arcane Academy" description: "Introduction Vic Dicara's journey into astrology began through his immersion in alternative subcultures and spiritual practices, eventually leading him to Vedic astrology. Over the years, he has developed a unique..." categories: - "Astrology" - "Interviews" tags: - "Astrology" image: https://staging13.perseusarcaneacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Vic-Dicara-1.jpg word_count: 1904 --- # Exploring the Fusion of Tropical and Sidereal Astrology: Vic Dicara’s Journey and Insights ## Introduction Vic Dicara's journey into astrology began through his immersion in alternative subcultures and spiritual practices, eventually leading him to Vedic astrology. Over the years, he has developed a unique approach that bridges tropical and sidereal astrology, offering fresh insights into the relationships between planetary positions, nakshatras, and the zodiac. In this post, Vic shares his personal path, philosophical evolution, and how he integrates these two systems to deepen astrological understanding. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments and if you like the post, share it with others. --- **PAA: Please introduce yourself, your training, how you learned and how you found yourself involved in Astrology.** Finding the beginning of any situation is impossible, because everything is a chain of cause and effect which stretches back infinitely. But we can start by saying that I was into alternative music, which put me in contact with alternative subcultures, which put me in contact with the Hare Krishnas, back in the later 80s. Which took me to India, got me living in Ashrams, practicing sādhana, learning śāstra, etc. Fast forward to 1997 I got married to someone with a similar background. Fast forward to 2007, since I hadn't yet found a career that really suited me, she suggested Vedic Astrology. Fast forward 3 days and I knew it was the perfect idea. ## Foundations of Astrology **PAA. Your work bridges tropical and sidereal astrology. How do you define the relationship between these systems, and what insights have you gained from integrating them?** Siderus means star. Sidreal means stellar. Sidereal space is stellar space. Like when you look at the night sky and see stars, you are seeing sidereal patterns. So all of those constellations (they are called "nakshatra" in Sanskrit) are best mapped using stellar (aka. sidereal) coordinates. Because they are all based, literally, on stars. The zodiac is NOT something you look up and see in the sky. Of course, some people might think that the constellations name after the zodiac ARE the zodiac, but on even the briefest examination we can easily see that they are only a very abstract approximation of the 12 zodiacs of 30° each. The zodiac is not about stellar space, it is about solar space. It is a measure of light/dark, and its anchor are the milestones (lit. "tropos") in that cycle of light/dark. There are four: 2 points where light and dark are equal (equinox), and 2 where the difference between them is the most extreme (solstice). Every single classical text, including and especially the Sanskrit texts of Vedic astrology, define things this way. So, when referencing the 12 zodiacs, we should anchor the coordinates to the equinoxes. And when referencing the 27 constellations (nakshatra), we should reference them to a useful star (most commonly, Spica / Citra). **PAA: What was the pivotal moment or research that made you question the traditional use of the sidereal zodiac in Indian astrology?** When I took the time to read what is taught in the actual texts that form the foundation of Vedic Astrology, instead of just playing follow the leader and listening to what the current trusted voices were saying. ## Tropical Vedic Astrology Methodology **PAA: The idea that the Vedic zodiac is solstice-based is groundbreaking. Can you elaborate on how this influences the interpretation of planetary positions?** Well, its only "groundbreaking" in an archeological sort of motif. Like if you have to break the ground and dig to find an ancient civilization. Its not a new idea at all. Its not "groundbreaking" in that sense. It is the simple, straightforward concept of all classical astrology, including Vedic / Sanskrit astrology. **PAA:** **What role do nakshatras play in your tropical Vedic framework, and how has your interpretation evolved over time?** There is the basic approach that anyone would probably think of, which is basically to treat them like signs and therefore try to interpret planets occupying them. This approach is useful enough, and I have programmed a report people can get, to see how their planets would be interpreted in Nakshatra, rather than in zodiac signs. But, I feel, much more interesting and natural is an entirely nakshatra-based technique called "Tārābala" (lit. "Star Strength") which is a system of using 9 "houses" (so to speak) relative to any particular nakshatra. I also programmed a report for people to see what this technique would tell them about their planets. I am particularly happy with this report and think it is a fantastic, extremely useful technique. **PAA:** **Ayanamsha is a central concept in sidereal astrology. How do you reconcile its historical role with your tropical perspective?** The term "ayanāṁśa" is a compound with two roots: ayana+aṁśa. "aṁśa" means "partition." In the context of math it refers to denominators. In the context of geometry and astronomy (and hence astrology) it refers to a collection of degrees - a "part" of a circle. "Ayana" means solstice! Ayana is a measure of how many degrees are between a sidereal point (a star) and the tropical anchor (a solstice). The purpose of ayanamsha today is to leverage the precision of zodiacal calculation to the relatively appromimative visual calculation of stellar coordinates. In other words, the exact theoretical borders of nakshatra are more accurately determined using ayanamsha from the zodiac borders than by directly estimating by eye from the anchor-star itself. Originally, ayanamsha had the opposite purpose. To improve and perfect the mathematics involved in zodiacal calculations, the scientists of the day needed something visual they could reference to check if their calculations were correct. For example, if their calculations said that 0° Libra should be rising, they needed some way to visually confirm if it was accurate. Or if the Moon should be at 2° cancer, they needed to check and see if they had got it right. So they correlated stars to zodiacal points (hence the seed of the confusion about the sidereal zodiac). Ayanamsha was used for this. **PAA:** **When working with clients, how do you address questions or skepticism about tropical** **Vedic astrology compared to more mainstream approaches?** I don't address it. If you have come to me for a report or some advice or guidance, I expect you to trust me. If you are unsure, then you should first study and conider all the info I have made about the subject (for example, see [http://vicdicara.com/tropical](http://vicdicara.com/tropical)), and ask or, if necessary, debate me first, before becoming a querent.  **PAA:** Your courses cover both foundational and advanced astrology. How do you integrate tropical Vedic concepts into your curriculum without overwhelming students? Its not overwhelming at all. The tropical zodiac is very logical, and all the quadruplicities, triplicities, and rulerships involved are very easy to memorize and comprehend in reference to their relationship with the four cardinal directions, established by the four cardinal tropos. **PAA:** What common misconceptions do your students have about tropical or Vedic astrology, and how do you help them understand these complexities? People tend to not realize that nakshatras and zodiac are different ways of looking at the sky. They tend to think that nakshatras are like another navamasha, another zodiac subdivision. So it takes them, sometimes, a few talkings-to before they even start to realize that YES sidereal things ARE valid, IN RELATION to the nakshatra. And NO sidereal is NOT valid IN RELATION to the zodiac. They tend to think it is either yes or no, good or bad. But really sidereal is correct for nakshatra and incorrect for zodiac, and conversely tropical is incorrect for nakshatra and correct for the zodiac. **PAA:** **What advice would you give to someone looking into the modern abundance of astrological systems and interpretations?** If it wasn't broken, why would it have gotten "fixed"? All the modern proliferation of systems is just a panic of people trying to fix the things that werent working / that they diddnt comprehend. Instead of just being humble and realizing they didnt understand, and trying to get deeper and see if they had missed something very basic. Also, people need to opt-out of the very pro-modern mindset that is pretty Greek, and certainly flourished since the renaissance: that we are "moving forward." Instead, if we entertain the idea that maybe the ancient people know at least a few things much better than we did, we might stop so greviously undervaluing the ancient and classical schools of astrology. My advice, which is radical, is to ignore all the modern stuff, and seek the classical roots. **PAA:** **Astrology often faces skepticism. How do you deal with the critiques or defend its relevance in today’s world?** I did a short series on this, "astrology vs. science": https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqnDwobT_2hDRHUcLBWVzxe4b7sy2aZzG&si=lFhh-OStR4EcjimB **PAA:** **How has your understanding of astrology deepened as you’ve integrated the tropical framework into your personal and professional practice?** Honestly, I did that in 2012, so its been 12 years. So if my understanding of *anything *using *any approach* hadn't deepened after 12 years of trying, I would have just given up a long time ago. =) **PAA:** What challenges have you faced in advocating for tropical Vedic astrology within the larger astrological community? I didn't set out to advocate for it. But people opposed to the idea attacked it. They are intolerant. I defended, and then they claim that my defense was an attack. This is typical politics of a person who lacks in actual content. All I do is explain what is and isn't really in the classical texts; and explain what is and isn't logical and systematic. It tends to catch on right away with people whose own minds are oriented to notice the difference between genuine and disingenuine, and the difference between rational and irrational. People say this is a very arrogant attitude I have. I can see how it sounds arrogant. Strangely I don't feel arrogant. Its just that the position is so strong, and I am just saying what I say with such bluntness and little tact. Because, honestly, that's not my forte. **PAA:** **What long-term changes do you hope to see in the astrological community regarding the acceptance or exploration of tropical Vedic astrology?** If people would value authenticity, rationality, logic, system, and scientific process more - the rest would happen automatically. **PAA:** **Are there any upcoming projects, books, or courses you’re developing to further explore or explain tropical Vedic concepts?** Soon, I will release a new report exploring the Vedic subdivisions and subcharts ("aṁśa" like "navāṁśā"). **PAA:** **Looking ahead, what legacy do you hope your work leaves for future astrologers and students of this field?** I hope I am setting (or helping to set) a precedent for the value of being systematic, rational, honest, and scientific in process. I hope that people who are very talented in astrology will pick up on the doors that my systems and techniques are opening. I devote most of my time to opening those doors, and I don't have much left over for fully exploring what is on the other side of each, and the many, many ways that the content of those techniques can be beneficially used to help people in general. If several excellent practicing astrologers can pick up the torches there and run with them, I think we may see a significant improvement in the quality of astrological guidance and information that becomes available to the population in general. I really hope for that. **PAA: Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us.** --- ## Further Information ##### Vic's Website ##### Vic's YouTube ---