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Astrology 101

Your Friendly Familiar

A Beginner’s Guide

There’s so much involved with Astrology that it would be almost impossible to cover it all in detail in a single post.  So I thought I would try to give a very brief overview on some of the main subjects covered in Astrology.  I hope to write posts that can describe more of these topics separately and more extensively, so if one of the subjects “call to you,” you can learn more about them.  But for now, this is simply an outline of what all Astrology generally covers so you can start thinking about them and see if you would like to learn or explore one or more of these topics.  Who knows?!  Maybe your secret, hidden calling, gift, or talent is in one of them!

Now then, let’s have fun exploring!

Table of Contents

    Strictly Speaking: What is Astrology?

    Astrology can be roughly defined as a way to use the positions and movements of stars, planets, moon, sun, etc. to predict and understand events and human personalities/behaviors.  It’s been used for literally thousands of years and many different cultures, such as Chinese, Hindu, Mayan, ancient Greek, and ancient Roman.  Throughout its history, it was oftentimes seen as a science.  But nowadays it has been mainly labeled as pseudoscience since modern Western science seems to disprove its accuracy with their research findings and theories.  But hey!  Even if it’s not proven accurate by the scientific community, we can still have fun and benefit learning about and practicing it, right?!

    Zodiac Signs

    One very popular component of Western astrology involves Zodiac Astrological Signs that everyone possesses.  Your Zodiac Sign is determined based where the Sun was located at the moment of your birth (or conception for some followers).  There are 12 Zodiac Signs (well, 13 if you add Ophiuchus, but that’s another story).  These signs also have their corresponding element (Fire, Water, Earth, Air), season, color(s), planet, etc.   I hope to make posts dedicated to each sign individually, so everyone gets the attention they deserve, hahaha!  But for simplicity and overview’s sake, one can learn their Zodiac sign from this following handy-dandy quick chart for you to reference:

    Phew!  That may seem like a ton of information, huh?  I was overwhelmed the first time I saw this, so it’s completely ok if you feel a little intimidated by it all.  If you want to learn about these Zodiac signs, I recommend to first start with your own sign then slowly build from there.  For example, after you learn your sign, how about you learn about the sign of someone close to you, like a partner/relative/friend?  I find it easier to learn about the details of the signs if you associate them with someone you know.  Even if you or the person you know may not match the sign perfectly by personality, you can still learn the Zodiac details by association or knowing the general idiosyncrasies.  

    Like I mentioned before, I hope to do future posts that explore each sign in detail.  Also, I hope to do posts on other Zodiacs, such as those found in Indian Astrology (which has 5 elements, which adds ether) and Chinese Astrology (which uses animals to represent a whole lunisolar Chinese calendar year).  I’m looking forward to it!

    Planets

    Ok, we all hear something along this line every year: “Ugh, I’m having the worst luck right now, it’s because Mercury is in retrograde.”  With Astrology, Planets and Celestial Bodies play a very important role.  They can impact how events will turn out, how we feel and act, and can impact our personality when we are born based on their positioning in the sky at the time of our birth.  When a planet is Retrograde: if we were to look at the planet from a telescope, the planet appears to be moving backwards.  Of course, this is an optical illusion and the planet is not really going in reverse in its orbit around the Sun.  However, during these times of Retrograde, many astrologists and followers believe it makes an impact on our daily lives.

    Continuing with our earlier example, Mercury is a planet that represents communication.  Around 3 or 4 times a year there is a Mercury Retrograde.  When this happens, people claim to experience travel delays, scheduling problems, and arguments/disagreements or miscommunication.  Many people feel anxious or “brain fog” since daily life seems to be going “backwards” and, as a result, are experiencing what feels like more misfortune than usual.    This is merely an example of how planets can influence our experiences.

    It’s very common that “Planets” is an umbrella term that encompasses more than just planets (for example, you’ll find information on the Sun, the Moon, and Pluto).  Like the Zodiac, Planets have their own symbols that you may come across often if you decide to pursue further study into Astrology.  Each planet has their own basic meaning and their meaning for when they go into Retrograde (except the Sun and Moon, of course).  Also, each planet “governs,” strongly controls, influences, or regulates one or more Zodiac Signs.  Below I made a quick and general description of the Planets for your viewing pleasure!  

    Now that we have Zodiac Signs and Planets covered, we can proceed to another element of Astrology that many people follow, which are Astrological Charts which combines these two and other elements together!  Here we go!

    Birth Charts

    We can take various information about how planets, signs, and luminaries are aligned at a precise date and time to determine a person’s personality or aspects of an event.  To do that, we can make a map or a natal chart of a person’s birth or an event (such as a marriage or business opening) to determine the person’s personality or the event’s characteristics.  To make things “easier,” for the purpose of this overview, I’ll just discuss about the maps of a person’s birth chart.  Your birth chart is unique and special to you and only you.  Not a lot of people were born on the same exact date, time, and location as you!  These minute details can make a big impact on your chart and, thus, can make differences on the influences in your life and your personality.


    There are many free websites available out there were you can input your birth information (date, time, and location) and it will automatically draw up your birth chart for your fun and convenience.  So go out there and give it a go!  For now, I’ll provide a student of mine’s birth chart to briefly describe what you can see and learn: 

    **Many thanks to “Café Astrology” (https://astro.cafeastrology.com/natal.php)
    for providing this free service!**

    With your special birth details in hand, your chart will have its interpretation based on your ruling planet, your zodiac sign, and your house.  For beginners, it is helpful to find your Sun Sign, your Moon Sign, and Rising Sun (a.k.a. Ascendant).

    (As a gentle reminder, I plan to go over these more in a future post where I’ll try to describe everything in more detail.  This post is just an overview of different parts of the very broad subject of Astrology.  So please hang in there since a lot of this may not make complete sense, but I’ll do my best.)

    (1) The Sun symbolizes your identity or core personality, vitality, and creative energy.  For my student, the Sun can be found in Capricorn (bottom left in the wheel chart).  So their personality would be that of a Capricorn (honest, ambitious, sometimes bitter, etc.).  

    (2) The Moon symbolizes your soul or emotional self-image, unconscious pre-destination, or how a person expresses themselves when relaxed, comfortable, at ease, or at home.  This student’s Moon is located in Aquarius (bottom left, near the Sun symbol).  So, in theory, they are smart, original, social, but can experience mood swings through eccentricity.  

    (3) The Rising Sign (a.k.a. Ascendant) how you experience things, like your attitude towards life, and what you project to others on a surface level, such as a first impression.  From my personal experience, it also plays a part in romantic compatibility to a fair degree.  My Capricorn student is with Ascendant Virgo (center left in the wheel chart, the purple arrow labeled “AS”).  For them, it may mean that they are somewhat shy and/or appear intelligent yet reserved.  This aura may be seen as stand-offish or critical, but they are sensitive to things that make them uncomfortable.  They may be picky eaters and get anxious when put in unfamiliar situations.  

    I hope this gives you a basic idea of how planets and signs are used together to create a personalized map of a person at their time of birth.  It can be quite overwhelming with so much information.  But do not fear!  If you are interested in birth charts, I’m confident you can learn over time, one step at a time!

    Horoscopes

    Chances are you’ve seen these in magazines or newspapers.  It’s an astrologer/psychic’s prediction as to what you experience based on the positions of the celestial bodies and your Zodiac Sign.  You can find many daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly horoscopes out there.  Usually, it’s a short prose of what you can expect and what you should/should not do at that time.  However, the term “horoscope” also covers various charts (natal charts, sky-map, etc.) and not merely a written prediction.  As we covered earlier, Western Astrology tends to use the Sun (Zodiac) Signs, Houses, placement of the Planets, Angles, etc., to give horoscopes.  For Chinese Horoscopes, it’s based on the animals/element found in the Chinese Zodiac.   

    It’s awesome when you find someone or a place that provides pretty accurate horoscopes.  But even if you find a horoscope was not accurate, I think it’s still fun entertainment and a good opportunity to look within yourself and ask, “Why was this not accurate for me?”  “How did my day/week/month/year turn out versus what was predicted for me?”  “Is there somewhere or someone else I can try?” 

    Well,  I think I should conclude my Astrology 101 right about here.  I know this is a ton of information and we only scratched the surface of all that is in the big, wide world of Astrology!  Please remember, Astrology is a lifelong study process and many experts in the field have to refresh their memories from time to time.  Many people, including myself, who have been doing Astrology for years still end up learning something new and exciting quite often!  It’s a field full of wonderful surprises and provides many opportunities for you to look introspectively to learn more about yourself.  So, what do you think?  Are you interested in learning more about it and maybe even motivated to become a master in the field?  Keep an eye out for future posts and we can have fun learning together!  If it’s not your thing, that’s ok, too!  Maybe there’s something else out there that I’ll cover that is your calling!  

    “Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.”

    – Ken Poirot

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