There is so much more to astrology than the run-of-the-mill horoscope you read in magazines. They’re usually too broad to have any real impact on your life, but that doesn’t mean astrology is a bunch of hocus-pocus. The signs all carry different meanings and you have twelve of them in your birth chart. Not to mention there are planets, houses, and aspects too. Here’s a comprehensive beginners guide to astrology.
The Zodiac Signs: There are twelve signs of the zodiac, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Each sign embodies it’s own characteristics and changes monthly, depending on the path of the sun.
Elements: The zodiac signs are broken up into the four elements, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.
Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. Fire signs are enthusiastic, passionate, and inspired people. They’re very intuitive, but tend to overlook the small details.
Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius. These signs tend to lead with their minds. They may appear detached, but they are great communicators and natural-born leaders.
Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn. Earth signs tend to be wait-for-it kind of people. They are attentive to the five sense, and have the ability to blend into many different habitats.
Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces. These signs as susceptible to waves of emotion. They are sensitive in relationships and are good at bringing people together. They are very empathetic and feed off of the emotions of others.
Qualities: The qualities represent the seasons of the signs and is how they express their element.
Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. These signs are associated with the start of the seasons and signify new beginnings.
Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. Fixed signs are the middle of the seasons and represent stability and permanence.
Mutable Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces. These signs correspond with the end of seasons and signify transition to something
Polarity: This is the duality of the signs, yin versus yang, light and dark.
Yin: Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces. These signs are indirect, passive, introverted, and traditionally associated with the feminine and negative.
Yang: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius. These signs are direct, extroverted, active, and traditionally considered masculine and positive.
Planets: The planets are the strings that guide you through life, the different voices that you embody, and each planet represents and influences a different part of you. The planets are constantly in motion, and astrologers study their transit, where they will be in the future and how that impacts energies. Planets can also move in retrograde, or appears to be moving backwards. When you have a planet in retrograde in your chart, emotions are felt on a much deeper level.
Sun: Basic personality
Moon: Mood and emotions
Mercury: Mind and communication.
Venus: Love and attraction
Mars: Drive and energy
Jupiter: Growth, luck, and wisdom
Saturn: Disciplines, fears, and challenges
Uranus: Change and originality
Neptune: Dreams and healing
Pluto: Transformation and power
Houses: The houses are the sections that the birth chart is divided into. It is based on Earth’s 24-hour rotation. The houses are places, not energies; they are where the energies are most likely to manifest, acting as “fields of experience,” rather than the experience itself.
House I: This is the house of the self. It has significant influence over your personality and how others perceive you.
House II: This is the house of money and possessions. It dictates what you value and how you value yourself. It is your material possessions and how you gain and spend money.
House III: This is the house of communication. It is how you communicate others. It also governs intellect, short journeys, local movement, and siblings.
House IV: This is the house of the home. It is your family, your roots, and your upbringing. This house is your consciousness.
House V: This is the house of children, creativity, and pleasure. It is being yourself and enjoying it. This house deals with affairs of the heart.
House VI: This is the house of daily work. It determines the quality of work, quality of jobs you do. It is the daily tasks you complete, not your career.
House VII: This is the house of marriage. It deals with all one-to-one relationships, including marriage and business partnerships. This is the house of permanently binding relationships.
House VIII: This is the house of joint possessions. It encompasses all things owned in a partnership. It is transformation and healing.
House IX: This is the house of philosophy. It is religion and education. This house is about discovery and understanding, attaching meaning to ideas.
House X: This is the house of status. It concerns success for the sake of honor and social status. It is the public areas of your life, including your career.
House XI: This is the house of the community. It is the friends you make, the hopes and goals you have for the future, and the realizations that you make.
House XII: This is the house of the subconscious. It is the hidden self, set apart from the physical reality. It is sometimes considered the collective subconscious of humanity.
Aspects: Aspects tell the story of how your signs and energies will play out. They are a connection or relationship between two or more planets. The Major Aspects are the most influential for your sign.
0°/Conjunction: This is a very dynamic aspect and has the potential for expression and direct action. The planets work together in this aspect, and can be good or bad depending on the planets that are involved. Venus and the moon work well together, but Mars and Neptune do not.
60°/Sextile: This aspect is the easy flow of opportunities or ideas. It is the realization of goals and talent. This is a harmonious aspect, where the planets work well together.
90°/Square: This aspect offers restrictions and challenges at every corner. It is negative and inharmonious. Tremendous effort must be given for goals to be realized.
120°/Trine: This is the most fortunate of aspects. It is flowing energy, luck, and opportunity. However, it is also traditionally associated with laziness because talents are taken for granted.
180°/Opposition: This aspect is the yin-yang, dual personality. Each side must work with the other or it will break. This can lead to tensions.
The signs, the planets, the houses, and the aspects create a unique birth chart. To remember all of your parts and how they work, think planet = what, sign = how, and house = where. It’s important to read your birth chart as a whole – you are the sum of ALL of your parts, and your chart should be read that way.
To learn more about your birth chart and planetary influences, you’ll need to figure out your birth chart. You’ll need your date, time, and place of birth for the reading to be accurate. This website is a good resource for natal readings http://www.horoscopeswithin.com/birthchart.php because they’ll break down your chart for you into signs, planets, houses, and aspects, everything you need to know about you.
