This is one of the best tools for self-discovery that I know of...get ready to make lots of connections and be blown away!
A little bit of an Explanation...
The planets in black inside the ring are how the planets were situated in the night sky the moment you were born.
The blue and red lines that connect your natal planets show the dynamic tension and challenges (red lines) and the easy, harmonious (blue lines) energies at play in your chart.
I always describe how these aspects work as being related to music and water. You know how there are dissonant chords that sound harsh and difficult together? Or how when two speed boats are moving at odd angles to one another they create a difficult, choppy wake? Those are the red lines. The blue lines are the harmonious notes that flow beautifully and easily together and are the waves that slip together in a gentle dance.
If you see a lot of red, challenging lines in your chart, don't panic! It makes you interesting! (smiling) If you only had blue, harmonious lines you might be very passive with not much dynamism going on (or it might be your turn for an easy life after difficult one!) We all need a little dynamic tension in our lives, it's what makes it interesting....
Now take a look at the green planets circling the outside of your chart. They are moving counter-clockwise and represent where the planets are right now. Although you can't see it in this chart there are invisible red and blue lines connecting the outer planets that are doing their thing right now with the planets you were born with. Get it? Some are interacting with the energies you were born with in a harmonious matter and others are interacting with the energies inside you in a challenging manner.
Even when we're under going challenging times there's always a reason for it and we can always choose to use the energies available at the highest vibration possible. One of the things that I found that I loved almost the most about astrology was that if I was experiencing something difficult I'd identify which two planets (at least) were the culprits and then, to test my intuition and knowledge and self-knowledge (because it's a great self-awareness tool!) I'd check my ephemeris to see if I was correct. Then, I could see that, phew, it was only a short transit OR, if it was longer (say a year or two, off and on, as the planets retrograded and went direct) that at least I would know that it wasn't going to last forever. Ya know? It just takes you out of your subjective mood just enough so that you can get objective about it. Then, you can begin to work with the energies instead of feeling rather helpless.
I don't use astrology as a tool that is going to 'tell me my future'. Nooooo I use it as a tool to help me work with the energies available at the most productive level. Co-Creation!
It really is a remarkable tool for self-awareness, too. And, once you begin to see how it really does work, it opens up a whole new set of wonderous implications! I remember the first time I went to see an astrologer at the end of 1998 how, when I walked out of his office, I felt like the top of my head was like an open lid and the magic of the Universe and Life was streaming in and out in a very exciting manner! It was the kind of magic that I'd yearned for my whole life but had been too 'rational' to think could exist. (I was 32 in 1998) If you have the opportunity to go to a really good astrologer, do it!
One very fascinating thing about western astrology is that, back in the day, scientists discovered and then named the planets. Through their naming of the planet (usually after a god in a myth), the planet actually took on the energy of the god in the myth. Even in our modern day we've got 'rational scientists' naming our 'newer' planets: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (still a planet, believe me!) How does this work? Don't you think it's kind of mind-boggling? Wellllll....for me, it seems like real proof that all of us are, indeed, co-creating the world we live in. We're all in agreement. The collective consciousness is at work here as each of us participate and help co-create this dream we call Life on Earth. I think that's pretty amazing and very empowering!
Here are some Astrology Basics
The Planets
Ascendant (1st house) - the lens through which you see the world. how others see you.
Sun - who you are and who you are becoming. your life force. your father.
Moon - your emotional life. what makes you feel safe and secure. how you feel. your mother. your habits.
Mercury - how you conceptualize. how you communicate.
Venus - your values. who and what you like. for men: the kind of woman you like.
Mars - how you get what you like! where you put your energy. your ego. libido. for women: the kind of man you like.
Jupiter - where there is abundance in your life. your belief system. where you expand and grow.
Saturn - your life lesson. your challenge and your gift. what you fear. past life indication. authorities in your life.
Uranus - your unique spark. where you might be rebellious. personal freedom.
Neptune - your spiritual self. higher vibration of love. acceptance. intuition. dreams. poetry. music. but...also drugs, drinking, self-delusion, fogginess. Neptune is not of this world!
Pluto - where your power lies. transformation. intensity. past life indication. healing.
North Node - this looks like the 'eye' in the 'hook and eye'. I love the north node - because it shows you where your soul wants to go, in this life time. If you look exactly opposite the north node that is where the south node would be, if it were shown in the chart. This is where your soul is coming from (past life indications) and where it feels comfortable. But...you can't rest there in this life - you must leap towards your north node. Steven Forrest has an excellent book called, "Yesterday's Sky" that's all about the South and North nodes and past life indications. You should check it out.
The Houses
Ascendant and 1st: the lens through which you see the world. Your Personality. Persona. How others see you.Any planet in this house is extremely important to you.
2nd: Self-value. Money and posessions. Resources (both inner and outer). Body
3rd: Communication, writing, short journeys, neighbours, siblings.
IC and 4th: Your past (even past lives), childhood, family, home. Your 'inner home' within.
5th: Fun, pleasure, love-affairs, self-expression, creativity, children.
6th: Service, day to day work, employers, the feeling of 'duty' and being talented and useful.
7th: Relationships. Any one-on-one relationships business or romantic. Marriage. Contracts.
8th: Sex, death, other people's money. Strange house, I know! It belongs to Scorpio/Pluto. (there ya go!) All the 'mysteries' and taboo subjects that people don't usually want to talk about. Deep psyche stuff.
9th: Long distance travel, foreign places and ideas, philosophy, religion, law, consciousness expansion, publishing.
MC and 10th: This is the absolute top of your chart....imagine that you're climbing up a mountain: the mountain of Awareness.....Freedom. Or....Career. For other, perhaps an Avocation: your Calling, Life Objective, status and respect in the outer world. Your reputation. Your desire for status or respect.
11th: Hopes and Dreams for the future. Groups. Community. Friends. Business. This house is hard to pin down - ruled by Aquarius/Uranus, it's no wonder. 'Expect the unexpected' is the motto here. Soooo...it's as unique as you are. Imagine a 'community' that works together and is comprised of highly individualistic people that have a deep appreciation for personal freedom..
12th: Deep, dark well: sink or swim in it. It's the 'other-worldly' house. Non material. On a positive level shows you where you're plugged in to your Higher Self. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to just not get what's going on here (indicated by the planet that is in there). Hard to see through the veil or darkness. You need to TRUST in the energies represented by any planet inhabiting this house. Unfinished business from past lives.
The Signs
Aries: Courageous. Youthful. Energetic. Action-oriented. Initiators. Competitive. Pioneer. Can sell anything to anyone! Create/Love Battles. Immature. Egotistical. Willful.
Taurus: Stable. Good-natured. Interested in art, music and love. Need material security. Money-oriented. Stubborn. Passive.
Gemini: Communicative. Loves ideas and facts. Quick-minded. Charming & Charismatic (will tell you what you want to hear). Needs variety or will become bored. Rational. (very few Gemini males believe in astrology or metaphysical stuff. If you can't taste, see, feel, hear or smell it, it doesn't exist!) They've got that Twin/Two Sides to themselves thing going on.
Cancer: Sensitive. Empathic. Nurturing. Moody.Great memory. Sometimes puts up a protective shell so that they don't have to feel so much - which can make it hard for them to feel or for others to feel them. They need to work on the permeable shell idea. Feelings go straight to their stomach.
Leo: Good-natured. Natural Leader. Warm. Well-developed sense of Self. Expressive. Likes attention. Like glamour and prestige. Ego can get out of control.
Virgo: Orderly. Analytical. Practical. Detail-oriented. Creative. Likes ideas but only if they are good for something in the real world. (unlike Gemini who likes ideas for ideas sake) Designers. Modest. Sincere. Anal. Health conscious. Sometimes insecure. Critical (of Self and Others)
Libra: Charismatic. Attractive. Loves harmony and harmonious and beautiful surroundings. Beauty-lover. Peacemaker. Likes to be in relationships. Doesn't feel whole unless in relationship to an 'other.' Cerebral when it comes to love. Fair. Talented. Dislikes disharmony so much will create harmony for harmony's sake (even if it's superficial harmony)
Scorpio: Intense. Deep. Secretive. (like to keep things to themselves for a few days to process it before revealing it) Magnetic. Can be jealous and possesive. Stings like a scorpion when provoked. If you make it into a Scorpio's inner circle you're in for life. Unless, of course, you do something so hienous that they have to X you out of their life completely! It's all or nothing. Sexual - transcendent sex!
Sagittarius: Idealistic. Optimistic. Adventurous. Needs Freedom. Opinionated and judgemental (unless evolved!). Truthful. Lucky. (Astrologers say that if you get to be a Sagittarius this time around it's due to work well done in a past life :) The horse part can be very sporty and physical and the man aiming at the stars very philosphical and bookish. Curious Jovial. Very black and white. Pedantic at times.
Capricorn: Patient. Ambitious. Likes to stay busy. Likes to Accomplish. Masterful. Climb the mountain to Success. Conservative. Perfectionist. Hard-working. Cautious. Fear of change.
Aquarius: Eccentric and original. Hard to pin down - every Aquarius is different and unique! Needs to be separate from the 'group' in order to be an example of stepping-away-from-the-box but feels left out when not part of the group. Needs personal freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it. Unconventional. Rebel. Equality. Cool and Aloof. Indpendent.
Pisces: Sensitive and Idealistic. Dreamers. Brilliant but sometimes find it hard to bring it into the real world, make it a reality. Truly good-hearted people. Loves music. Mystical. Loves children and animals. Moody. Adaptable.
A little something on Aspects
Trines and Grand Trine's
are harmonious, flowing, easy, positive reinforcement of both or all the planets involved. Take place between signs in the same element.
Fire | Aries | Leo | Sagittarius |
Earth | Taurus | Virgo | Capricorn |
Air | Gemini | Libra | Aquarius |
Water | Cancer | Scorpio | Pisces |
All signs in the same element 'get along'. In fact, if two signs in the same element make an aspect to each other we say they are trine each other. For example, my Sun in Sagittarius at 9 degrees is trine my Moon in Leo at 4 degrees. Or you could say that, right now Mercury in Leo at 9 degrees is trine (exactly!) my Sagittarius Sun at 9 degrees. (in fact, that might be why I have the energy and spark to write this right now!) It works when you interpret your natal chart and when you look at the transiting planets right now.
Astrologers usually give a 6 degree 'orb' for aspects.
So, if, natally you have a Scorpio Ascendant at 9 degrees and a Pisces Saturn at 22 degrees they are not going to be trine. There will be compatibility between them but not an energetic display of 'trine-ness' :)
Now, if all three of the signs in the same element are aspecting each other we say it's a Grand Trine! It makes a perfect triangle. A harmonious, positive, easy flow of energy. You can just rest on your laurels with trine's and grand trine's since they feel so easy and nice...but you can also consciously use them so that you gain the greatest benefit.
Sextile's
are another positive, aspect that some astrologers describe as a 'creative opportunity' between the planets involved.
All the Fire signs sextile all the Air signs and visa versa.
All the Earth signs sextile all the Water signs and visa versa.
So, an example of this would be that my Mercury and Neptune in Scorpio at 19 degrees and 22 degrees respectively sextile my Pluto and Uranus in Virgo at 20 degrees and 24 degrees respectively.
Square's, T-Square's and Grand Square's
are challenging aspects and create dynamic tensions between the planets involved.
Cardinal | Aries | Cancer | Libra | Capricorn |
Fixed | Taurus | Leo | Scorpio | Aquarius |
Mutable | Gemini | Virgo | Sagittarius | Pisces |
All the Cardinal signs create either square's to each other or oppositions.
All the Fixed signs create either square's to each other or oppositions.
All the Mutable signs create either square's to each other or oppositions.
Square's exist between two planets and represent tension and challenge.
T-Square's exist between three planets and indicate more tension and challenge!
Grand Square's exist between four planets and create even more tension and challenge! (You knew that was coming eh?)
I was taught that with T-Square's, which are highly unstable three-legged square tables, if you will imagine it, you should leap over to the 'missing leg' energetically, in order to try to stabilize the T-Square. Like, right now there is a T-Square between Pluto in Capricorn, Uranus in Aries and Mars in Libra. The Missing Leg is in Cancer. We could, theoretically, look at the Cancer portion of our chart and see what positive symbolism we could create in order to create more movement within the unstable T-Square. Self-nurturance, being kind and good to yourself, nurturing others might be a good way out of the crisis.
Grand Square's create a lot of dynamic tension - but at least it's a closed loop so the energy can really get going. I have seen very powerful people have Grand Square's in their charts. It's not debilitating - it shows that the individual can handle these challenges and rises to the occasion.
Conjunctions
are when planets are sitting right beside each other, usually within 6 degrees.
I like to all my little conjunctions 'pods'. Planets in conjunction influence each other. For example in my natal chart Mercury and Neptune are conjunct. This gives my Mercury (the way I communicate and conceptualize) a rather Neptunian cast. Words just flow out or they stop, I don't feel like I have much control. I day-dream. My ideas have rose-coloured glasses (remember that Neptune is highly idealistic and sometimes deluded!). My mind-self feels very connectded to my higher self.
Oppositions
are when planets are directly opposite each other.
Oppositions in transit often bring up relationship issues, too.
These opposing energies often are very magnetic to each other because they live on the same axis. They are just seeing things from the opposite ends. If you have oppositions in your natal chart it is an indication of two opposing forces within yourself that you project out into the world on all your relationships. Oppositions are always about relationships and relating to an 'other' across from you. A person with many oppositions in their chart is definitely here to work on how they relate to others.
These are the opposing signs.
Remember that the sun-signs are often magnetically attracted to each other:
Aries | Libra |
Taurus | Scorpio |
Gemini | Sagittarius |
Cancer | Capricorn |
Leo | Aquarius |
Virgo | Pisces |
Often people who are attracted to each other will have one or more of these planets in opposition: Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Ascendant, Uranus.
