Back Again to Basic Astrology

Over the next few posts I’m going to deconstruct some charts and give some tips for those who are interested in learning the art of astrology better. I will do this hopefully, as clearly as possible and also talk about transits and how they effect us and our charts. The subjects will be anonymous for their privacy. I’ll start with this chart:

Picture 18Let’s start with the basics. On the far left, the symbol that looks like a Roman number II but joined together is the symbol of Gemini. The house it rules is the first house, meaning at the time this person was born Gemini was the constellation rising in the east. The glyph that is a circle with a dot inside is the sun and this person’s sun is in Libra in the 5th house.

The house systems can be difficult to understand so I’ll break it down into very practical easy to understand mechanics. Each house represents a different time of day, always.

At the top of the chart, the culmination point or 10th house, represents, the mid-point of the day. Here’s where charts seem counter-intuitive; the sun actually rises from the east or 1st house and then goes into the 12th house, the 11th house, 10th, 9th and so on. Why the western chart was set up like this, I have no idea.

So the 12th house actually represents the period of time just after dawn for about 2 hours, the 11th house the morning and the 10th from approximately 10AM to 12 PM, the 9th house is usually from about 12-2 PM, the 8th 2-4 PM, the 7th 4-6PM, 6th 6-8 PM, 5th 8-10 PM, 4th 10PM – Midnight, 3rd Midnight – 2:00 AM, 2nd house 2-4 AM, the first house 4-6 AM. These times are approximate depending on the time of year and the exact time the sun rises that day. So if it rises at 6:11 AM then the 12th house is from about 6:11 AM – abouy 8:11 AM and the rest of the chart of course adjusts accordingly.

So an astrologer, based on the time of year, place and date of your birth should have a pretty good idea of what house your sun will fall in and a narrowed down idea of what your rising is. For example if  a client was born at 11:00 AM on February 3rd you would know immediately their sun was in the 10th house because the houses in the chart revolve around the placement of the sun. Meaning, depending on where the sun was in the sky, it will fall into a particular house, like this fake client who has sun in the 10th near the culmination point of the day. The signs or constellations in general move through a house in approximately 2 hours, hence the breakdown of the houses. The closer a person is born to the equator the more equal the houses will be, meaning each sign will move at about the same speed through the sky therefore making the houses fairly equal in size (by degree). However the closer a person is born to the north or south pole the more unequal the signs move, and they actually sort of pile up on each other causing what is known as an interception. An interception is when more than one sign occupies the same house or place in time/space at once. This creates uneven houses where some houses are very large and others small in a person’s chart. For example someone with Virgo at 0 degrees intercepted in their 2nd house will have an opposite interception on the other side at 0 degrees of the 8th house as these two houses are mirror opposites of one another in the sky or to put it simply; the 2nd house is 2-4 AM and the 8th house represents 2-4 PM. The second house occupies a parallel place below the horizon of the rising as the 8th house above the horizon of the rising.

So to get back to the fake client born 2/3 at 11:00 AM we know they have a 10th house sun and if they were born in Central America they you count backwards 2 signs and they would have an Aries rising. If however they were born far North or South it becomes a bit trickier to tell right off the bat. However if someone was born on the equator in winter, or summer or anytime of year it would always be the 2 hour interval. This is what makes astrology complex mathematically. All I can say is I’m happy to use a computer to do the calculations, it’s a million times faster. I used to do them many years ago and it was fatiguing. But it did help me understand the basic dynamics of how the stars, constellations and planets fall in a chart and see the patterns in it rather than it being a crazy bunch of glyphs that had no relation to one another. So enough super technical stuff, let’s dissect the chart a bit and I’d love it if other people would use their intuition and knowledge of astrology to point out things and explain them in the comments section. 

Even though there is no birthdate or time on the chart I posted we know immediately this is a young person because he/she has the outer planets in a configuration only seen during the 1980s. The outer planets are Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. They are generational planets. Some astrologers have argued because they move slowly and effect such large groups of people they are not relevant to individuals. I however completely disagree with this notion. People are products of the time they grow up in and are just as influenced by their peer group as they are by their families. We are complex beings. Especially when a person has an outer planet making either intense aspects or rules the sun, moon or rising, this intensifies the individuals connection to their peer group. 

Some basic explanations here readership’s are the planet that rules the constellation. So:

Mars rules Aries and the 1st house

Venus rules both Libra and Taurus and the 2nd and 7th houses

Mercury rules Gemini, Virgo and the 3rd and 6th house

Moon rules Cancer and the 4th house

Sun rules Leo and the 5th house

Pluto rules Scorpio and the 8th house

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and the 9th house

Saturn rules Capricorn and the 10th house

Uranus rules Aquarius and the 11th house

Neptune rules Pisces and the 12th house

This means that the 12th house has Piscean qualities and so does Neptune, same with all the other associations given above.

So back to the chart above we see a strong grouping of planets in this persons 5th and 6th house. This means these areas of his/her life will be more emphasized in this person’s chart then in most. This person needs a creative outlet as the 5th house rules Leo things like children, hobbies, creativity, the arts, drama, acting, theater, performing and gambling. The 6th house is more practical and has Virgo elements in common such as: service, a person’s job, health, health care, nutrition. With Mercury and Venus in the 6th house (Mercury is the natural ruler of this house although in this person’s chart Pluto rules it as Scorpio is on the cusp) making a trine or positive aspect (approximately 120 degrees apart makes a trine) this person has good communication with their mother who is likely to be from a foreign land (not born in the same country as the child) and with Venus conjunct Mercury in Scorpio also included in this trine to the Moon Jupiter conjunction, this person is likely to be very intuitive, perhaps psychic especially in relationships with women and their mother. This person is likely to be highly sensitive to his/he environment and this sensitivity because it is in the 6th house can lead to health problems. Ok, I’m going to go more into this tomorrow, it’s getting really late and this is going to take awhile to explain…

Best wishes and many blessings to all you kind souls,

Denise

Back Again to Basic Astrology

Astrological Recommendations… Learning Astrology. Where to Start?

For those of you interested in taking the leap into the study of astrology. There are some basic things you’ll need. One is an ephemeris, this is a list of the planets, what degree and sign they are in. You will find ephemeris that break down as little as a year or as much as 100 years. I suggest you have one handy to look up transits which I’ll explain a little later.

Now the main thing is understanding the basics. My first book was the A to Z horoscope maker and it’s great for reference but a little confusing. A great series of books that break down everything into an easy system and walk you through the process, allowing you to develop your own style of interpretation are by Marion March and Joan McEvers. The series is called “The Only Way to Learn Astrology.” A bit hyperbolic but none the less a really great group of books. I have listed links to the first few basic ones, as well as links to some ephemeris. I suggest buying an ephemeris for this century and the last for quick reference. Also I like the little yearly calendar/ephemeris for a quick look when on the go. I also like calendars for the home that have astronomical info on them but then again I’m a bit obsessive. You can follow the links to find the series and starter book as well as different ephemeris and calendars.
Llewellyn’s 2009 Daily Planetary Guide: Complete Astrology At-A-Glance (Llewellyn’s Daily Planetary Guide)

Llewellyn’s 2009 Astrological Pocket Planner: Daily Ephemeris & Aspectarian 2008-2010 (Planner)
Llewellyn’s 2009 Astrological Pocket Planner: Daily Ephemeris & Aspectarian 2008-2010 (Planner)
American Ephemeris for the 20th Century: 1900 to 2000 at Midnight/5th Revised
American Ephemeris for the 20th Century: 1900 to 2000 at Noon
The New American Ephemeris for the 20th Century, 1900 to 2000 at Midnight: Michelsen Memorial Edition

Astrological wall calendar:
Llewellyn’s 2008 Astrological Calendar: With Horoscopes for Everyone (Calendar)
The best book on the fundamentals of astrology: This is the first volume in the excellent series:

The Only Way to Learn Astrology, Vol 1: Basic Principles
The second book is about the math, which you don’t need. You can get free charts run on Astro.com
Volume 3 helps you synthesize the information after you learn the fundamentals of the first book.
The Only Way to Learn Astrology: Horoscope Analysis Vol. 3 (Only Way to Learn Astrology)
Volume 4 focuses on predictive astrology:
Only Way to Learn About Tomorrow (Only Way to Learn about Tomorrow)
A basic, go to, concise book on astrology and another good place to start:
Llewellyn’s New A to Z Horoscope Maker and Interpreter: A Comprehensive Self-Study Course

An interesting aside, and just plain fun. Sabian symbols are based on the degree of each planet or house in your chart. I haven’t found then to be amazingly accurate but they are interesting and there is no interpretation skills needed. All you have to do is have your chart in front of you and look up the degree and sign of each planet and get a mini-reading.
Sabian Symbols:
The Sabian Symbols in Astrology: A Symbol Explained for Each Degree of the Zodiac

Best wishes and good luck!

Astrological Recommendations… Learning Astrology. Where to Start?