Astrology Basics

Astrology has many different layers to it, which is why I remain so drawn in, but why so many can feel overwhelmed by the topic. To assist, I've created an Astrology Basics post (below) as well as the same information in a file you can download so that you can feel more grounded in the primary essence of this incredible field.

Basic Astrological Principals

Cyclicality – While eternity is the capital T Truth of things, in the intervening stages of time, cyclicality rules. The astrology chart, a circle, shows that every month, every season winds around and around. We will have another Scorpio season, another new moon in Aries, another round of eclipses and so on. But, rather than being a “flat circle” as Rust Cohle supposes in True Detective Season 1 (can I get a hell yeah?!) it’s better envisioned as a spiral. Every full journey brings us onto the next loop of that spiral, to repeat the same energetic themes. However, while things are cyclical, that is not to say that every Pisces season is the same. The position of the outer and inner planets, asteroids, other points of interest make every moment a unique one, astrologically.

Dynamism – Unlike other systems of personal understanding, astrology doesn’t allow you to stay static for even a second. You’re not just an INFJ or an Enneagram 1, you’re born under a particular planetary configuration and then those planets and stars just keep right on moving. As a result, while your natal chart remains the same, the conversation the universe is having with you is always shifting, morphing, allowing for deeper understandings and even opportunities to revisit areas of life, again and again.

Archetypes – The planets and the energy of the astrological signs are archetypal. Archetypes are defined as a pattern of behavior or the fundamental characteristics of something. I think of them as base energetic building blocks, that when combined in different forms can create every story ever written. When you combine the archetype of Venus with the archetype of Scorpio and then throw in a few aspects, you create a unique energetic signature that hums inside. When you know which threads your tapestry was woven with, it’s much easier to inhabit yourself and your life.

Aspects – These are the conversations the planets are having amongst themselves. These conversations can be jovial, adversarial, or neutral. These inner dialogues are always alive in you and can tell you a great deal about the themes and recurring patterns you experience in life. It also tells you which planets have the most affect on one another, for example, if you have Mars square to your Sun, other aspects Mars and the Sun make to each other throughout the year will have a greater impact on you. For example, when Mars crosses over your sun or when Mars is in opposition or sextile. This will help you home in on which conversations of the moving sky are most relevant to you.

Elements – In Western astrology, the elements are fourfold: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Each element has its own needs and correspondences. Within each element there are three signs, creating the 12 astrological signs of the zodiac.

• Air: Analyzes, connects, synthesizes
• Water: Feels, evolves, intuits
• Fire: Asserts, purifies, creates
• Earth: Grounds, manages, builds

Luminaries and Planets

• Sun – Sanity meter, centerpiece, orbital glue, the light that shines over your kingdom, consciousness
• Moon – Heart, the ebb and flow of emotions, your first form, what makes you tick, unconscious
• Mercury – Mind, inner dialogue, synthesizer, weaver of worlds, comms director, practical skills
• Venus – Your feeling set point, values, sense of beauty, what you attract, how you love
• Mars – Strategy, drive, what gets you out of bed each day, where your ambition leads
• Jupiter – Gift giver, faith leader, the fun lessons of life, where you are protected, expander
• Saturn – Limits, the hard lessons of life, where you are dedicated and methodical, the restrictions you must integrate and overcome to succeed
• Uranus – Revolution and uprising, sudden change, uncovering new truths, new paths for progress, the unconventional, the path less traveled
• Neptune – Dreamy and veiled, deals in illusions, can obscure facts and prefer fantasy, embodiment of divine love, realms beyond the known
• Pluto – Transformation, death and rebirth, a ransacking and complete undoing that has the potential to inspire growth and lead to healthier outcomes

Points of Interest

• Ascendant – Your starting point, not only the avatar you incarnated in and ruler of first impressions but also where you begin all new processes, your season of rebirth
• Chiron – Wounded healer, the wound you can work through in this lifetime but never leave behind, where you are meant to teach and guide others to healing, something you instinctively protect
• Black Moon Lilith – Repressed feminine, where your instincts feel caged, the taboo desires you dare not share with anyone, the power to lure and vanquish, often unconscious and more hidden than Chiron
• North Node – Your personal trajectory, exploring and ultimately developing mastery in this energy and area of life is the fastest path to your soul’s true destiny
• South Node – Your comfort area, your karmic baggage, the skills and understandings you have a soul-level PhD in, a place your energy can get stuck if you’re not consciously evolving

Houses

Just as there are 12 zodiac signs there are 12 houses. Using these in tandem, you know both the psychological lens (sign) and area of life (house) where all the astrological energy takes place.

• 1^st House – Avatar, incarnation, physical appearance, early environment, self-awareness, how you’re perceived initially
• 2^nd House – Value and resources, what matters to you, what you work toward, your physical possessions and how you earn money
• 3^rd House – Communication, early learning, thinking patterns, siblings, reading and writing
• 4^th House – Home, family, your ancestors and the legacies you’re born into, the foundation of your chart and thus base of your consciousness
• 5^th House – Creativity, passion, children, play, short term love and trysts, pleasure, self expression, drama
• 6^th House – Daily work, your health and healthcare routine, chores, pets and livestock, service to others, your relationship with time, exercise
• 7^th House – Committed relationships, 1-1 relationships with others (to include spouses, best friends, and enemies), cooperation and sharing
• 8^th House – Death, sex, other people’s money (inheritances, etc), joint resources, occult studies, regeneration, taxes
• 9^th House – Higher education, philosophy, faith and religions, global affairs, legal matters, ethics and morals, the house of big ideas, house of meaning
• 10^th House – Career, public face, your reputation, the legacy you leave behind, lasting structures and processes, honor, social status
• 11^th House – Large groups and community, the future, innovation, liberty, humanitarian interests, memberships
• 12^th House – Collective unconscious, secrets, institutions, karmic patterns, mental illness, self-deception, escapism, self sacrifice, grief, tribulations, spiritual realizations

Signs

• Aries (ruler: Mars) – Leader, what you see is what you get, spark of life, comfortable in conflict, few reservations about life, a pioneer
• Taurus (ruler: Venus) – Dependable, hard-working, stubborn, able to enjoy the luxuries and niceties of life, appreciator of beauty and the sensual
• Gemini (ruler: Mercury) – Chatterbox, curious, avid explorer of media, adaptable to all social settings, prefers practical knowledge
• Cancer (ruler: Moon) – Moods move with the moon, private, nurturing, soft on the inside, loving spirit, ambitious, gentle, fiercely protective
• Leo (ruler: Sun) – Charming, warm, sociable, enjoyer of limelight, playful, exaggerators, dramatic, courageous, leaders, natural administrators
• Virgo (ruler: Mercury) – Precise, analytical, service-oriented, process guru, thoughtful and attentive, straightforward, hilarious, ability to simplify and organize
• Libra (ruler: Venus) – Diplomatic, graceful, aesthetically tuned in, easily able to understand two sides, advocate for justice, relationship oriented
• Scorpio (ruler: Mars) – Secretive, deep emotional currents, driven by what’s underneath and hidden, fiercely loyal, strong, unbreakable will
• Sagittarius (ruler: Jupiter) – Philosopher, world-traveler and cultural maven, prefers lived experience to textbook knowledge, interested in faith and spirituality
• Capricorn (ruler: Saturn) – Prone to tradition, ambitious, thorough and relentless, motivated by achievements in public life, do it right or don’t do it at all
• Aquarius (ruler: Saturn) – Inventive, drawn to community, progress oriented, future thinkers, intellectual, detached, learns the rules to break them
• Pisces (ruler: Jupiter) – Loving, wise, seer of great truths, tuned into humanity’s oneness, affectionate, poetic, come alive in more dreamy, less linear spaces