You’re new to this. You have come to the fascinating conclusion that astrology is not really reading your daily horoscope. Well here it is, one method of getting down to business with astrology and one's birth chart. For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume it is your own horoscope.
1. Find out your time of birth
Make sure it is the right time of
birth. What does this mean? Hospital statistics are the best, your
parents’ combined reassurance the second best, and something collected
from that nostalgic piece of cloth knitted by your grandmother...well the
third best. Time of birth doesn’t mean between 2 and 3, it means
something like between 2.35 and 2.40. Astrology can in a sense be done
without an accurate birth time, but not done very well.
2. Draw up your horocope
Unless you’re a big fan of calculations and
tables, there’s not really any need to do it manually – use a computer
program or a free service on the internet, such as
http://astro-software.com/cgi-bin/astro/natal.
This will give you the
positions of all the planets and, given that you have a pretty exact
time of birth, the sol called ascendant and house cusps. Print a list
of all this, or better, print the graphic horocope wheel that you will
see, with the planets all spread out over the circle, as well as a
list with positions. (Such as: Moon in Scorpio, 21.20 degrees).
3. Planetary patterns, overview
Now, interpretation. What you see in front of you is You. Yes you,
astrologically speaking, in the form of a wheel representing the
planets orbiting around the sun (or around the earth, because that’s
the perspective we use in astrology. Take a look at the structure, the
patterning of the planets – how they are spread out. This gives the
backbone, the ”frame” of opportunity, character and motivation. Are
there planets grouped tightly together in a few places? These are
usually known as stelliums and will indicate important concentrations
of energy or characteristics. Late great astrologer Marc Edmund Jones
deviced 7 general figures in the patterning of planets. I highly recommend
his books, for example Guide to Horoscope Interpretation. You can also find info
on planetary patterns with celebrity examples here: http://www.astrotheme.com/files/planetary-patterns.php
4. Elements and hemispheres
In astrology, we use the four elements of
classic greek thought, fire, air, earth and water. These were and are
believed to correspond to four basic psychological temperaments that
are somewhat connected to the so called choleric, sanguine,
melancholic and phlegmatic personality types. Anyway, what is highly
important is to determine what or which are your own dominant
elements. This is done by checking what signs most of your planets are
placed in. Especially the Sun, (star sign) Moon (moon sign),
Ascendant. Every sign belongs to an element, as the following shows:
The dominance of one or two elements in your horoscope will be highly important and determine the basic temperament and ”matter” of the personality, a deep and fundamental, instinctive perception and ”feel” of the world. You can read about it here, and get a comprehensive idea about the dominance of one or two elements: http://astrology-numerology.com/elements.
Or at this very site:The hemispheres are the upper, lower, left and right parts of your horoscope. A gathering or many planets in one or another will also give a big, general idea of how you go about your life and so on. Check here: http://cafeastrology.com/articles/hemisphereemphasis.html for a short summary, but beware, a single planet alone in one hemisphere is sometimes believed to make that whole hemisphere dominant.
5. Zodiac signs
Yes, the ”Star sign” is important. But its real name
is the Sun sign. Of about equal importance is the Moon sign and
”Rising” sign, or Ascendant. Then follows the personal planets: Venus,
Mercury, Mars. Jupiter and Saturn have less weight as private influences,
but are still important. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are generational
planets and their sign placement matters less for the personality of a
single individual. You should read carefully about the meaning of
every sign placement in your horoscope (i.e. Mars in Taurus makes a
person…etc) after seeing where the planets are placed. A fun and not
very heavy website that appears to be new (to me at least) is
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/index.html
It focuses on planets in signs (Mars signs, Moon signs, etc).
Otherwise there is always the comprehensive cafeastrology:
http://www.cafeastrology.com/natalastrology.html
6. Sun/Moon combination
This is of super importance. It represents
the synthesis of the actual bulk of your inner personality. There are a few good books on the subject of
the 144 Sun/Moon combinations, but you could go to
http://astrology-numerology.com/sun-moon.html
and get yourself a very good approximation completely free.
7. Rising sign / Ascendant
The zodiac sign that rose to the eastern horizon at the moment of
birth is typically known as the rising sign, (or, a little
misleadingly, the ascendant). This is a pivotal point or part of the
horoscope, since it indicates the external persona, the face to the
world, the intuitive projection and expression of the personality.
This may not represent the inner being, but
in the world that we live in it determines a whole lot of how we
function. The exact rising point of the ascendant is a very important
and personal ”point of view”, that works sort of like a lens for the
rest of your personality, guiding it through a certain stance or
attitude to the world. And thereby forming a good deal of the self’s
limits and potentials. Check out interpretation of your rising
sign here:
http://www.astrologycom.com/asc.html
8. Aspects
The aspects are absolutely essential for any astrologer or student in
understanding the dynamic patterns of thought, emotion and action in
the life of a person. However, for the beginner, it may be a bit much
to take in, especially without the knowledge of what aspects are the
strongest and most important. Hence it only makes it to number 8,
whereas it otherwise may have been much higher. If you feel motivated,
check it out, but try to find out what aspects are the strongest. It is
those that are most exact and involves at least one personal planet
(Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars). As always, astrology-numerology.com
can be counted on.
http://astrology-numerology.com/aspects.html
9. House postions
As a beginner I would probably leave this one out, since the houses
introduce another substantial level of confusion. The houses are like
the signs, yet different. There are twelve houses, just like signs, but
the houses indicate not so much personality as form, or area of activity.
If you have the Sun in Leo you are an expressively dramatic and proud
person. But if your Leo Sun is in, say, the twelfth house, this creativity is
somehow likely to take place in the hidden, or along less conventional
paths, or subtly, suggestively. Well you get the point, interaction between
signs and houses is complex. If you like, here is an in depth resource:
http://www.cafeastrology.com/natal/planetsinhouses.html
10. Perspective, summary
You can relax. For this doesn't concern you. Only an experienced
astrology student can put things together and create a synthesized
and unified image of a horoscope. Persons are highly complex and
we all know it. But you will have to do with the pieces and parts until
you know much more, or hire a good astrologer.
© 2007 David Nilsson Link partners Contact: info@astroroom.com Resources - Link Exchange