Astrology for Beginners
Astrology is the magical study of how the movement and the energy of the various celestial bodies in our solar system impact us spiritually, physically, and emotionally. We can view it as a divine roadmap for our individual and collective paths.
Everything in the Universe comprises energy, from our human bodies to the celestial bodies in the heavens. Energies collide and intertwine in marvelous ways, all pointing towards a greater purpose.
Astrology helps us understand the symbolism and impact behind planetary movements, shedding light on the deeper meaning to our personality traits and life events. And the historical events of society (past and current).
While not currently recognized as an “official” science, astrology has been an integral part of many cultures around the world for thousands of years. Methods of calculations have improved over the centuries, making astrological patterns more meaningful and obvious.
Most people are familiar with their sun sign, but there is so much more to your personal astrology than that!
The beauty of astrology is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Please take whatever resonates from this post and leave behind what doesn’t fit in with your life right now.
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Natal Chart
Your natal chart (or birth chart) is a snapshot of the skies above the Earth the moment you were born. It depicts the location of the planets, the moons, the houses, and the asteroids in our solar system. All of which play an astrological role in your life.
Everyone’s natal chart is completely unique. Even if you’re a twin, your natal charts will probably vary slightly because of the several minutes that will pass between births. Especially if the births took place on the cusp of any planetary movements.
The best place to get a free natal chart online is Cafe Astrology. Create an account to save your natal chart, then bookmark it so you can always refer back to it. This site provides loads of information and interpretations for your chart, so it’s a fantastic place to start.
Below is a screenshot of my natal chart that I got from Cafe Astrology to give you an idea of what natal charts look like:
Each planet and each zodiac has a special symbol located within your natal chart. The outermost ring is divided into twelve equal sections, representing the zodiac itself. The central ring is where all the planets lie. Follow the legend on your natal chart to determine which symbol is for which planet.
The innermost ring shows the twelve houses, illustrated by roman numerals. On the left side, you’ll see the symbol AS, which stands for ascendant sign (aka your rising sign). Going counterclockwise, this is the first house, and the second house is right after, and so on.
You’ll also see a bunch of lines criss crossing all over the place—these are the aspects or angles of each of the planets compared to each other. These angles add yet another layer of meaning to the planets in your natal chart.
How to Read Natal Chart
Each planet, zodiac sign, and house carries meaning and symbolism. To read your natal chart, start with the zodiac signs each of your planets are in. Once you’re comfortable with those, look at which house those planets fall in.
Then, marry all these meanings together to create an interpretation for a particular planet. This will provide more than enough information to illustrate your entire life. And perhaps even connect some dots that may have seemed random to you until now.
I’ll use my personal natal chart as an example, pictured above via Cafe Astrology. The box in the bottom right corner is the best place to start, as it shows each of the planets, as well as your ascendant sign.
We’ll start with the planets, which represent different facets of our personality. The zodiac sign the planet is adds a bit of flavor to the planet. Below I’ve listed them out so you can compare to the chart pictured above:
- • Sun in Libra
- • Moon in Pisces
- • Mercury in Scorpio
- • Venus in Scorpio
- • Mars in Cancer (aka Moon Child)
- • Jupiter in Virgo
- • Saturn in Aquarius
- • Uranus in Capricorn
- • Neptune in Capricorn
- • Pluto in Scorpio
Next, we’ll add on the houses each planet lives in. The houses represent various parts of our lives. When a planet occupies a house, its energies strongly influence that area of our lives:
- • Sun in the 7th House
- • Moon in the 12th House
- • Mercury in the 8th House
- • Venus in the 8th House
- • Mars in the 4th House
- • Jupiter in the 6th House
- • Saturn in the 11th House
- • Uranus in the 10th House
- • Neptune in the 10th House
- • Pluto in the 8th House
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Now, we can put all this information together to know exactly where all the planets are located in the natal chart.
- • Sun in Libra in the 7th House
- • Moon in Pisces in the 12th House
- • Mercury in Scorpio in the 8th House
- • Venus in Scorpio in the 8th House
- • Mars in Cancer in the 4th House
- • Jupiter in Virgo in the 6th House
- • Saturn in Aquarius in the 11th House
- • Uranus in Capricorn in the 10th House
- • Neptune in Capricorn in the 10th House
- • Pluto in Scorpio in the 8th House
I think this is more than enough information for beginners to interpret their natal chart. The next stages would be aspects, degrees, ruling planets, and more, but we will save that for another blog post!
Now that we have put together the zodiac and houses of each planet, it’s time to learn about their symbolism.
Zodiac Signs
The famous twelve zodiac signs add an energetic twist to each planet and house in astrology. They apply to much more than just your sun sign! Also known as your star sign.
In this section, you’ll find each zodiac’s symbol, its element, its ruling planet, and a few commonly associated traits. By no means are these lists exhaustive.
All energy has “positive” and “negative” traits. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but leaning too far in either direction could do much more harm than good.
The goal is always balance, which is something we all should consistently work towards. These are part of the grand life lessons we all came here to learn as humans on Earth.
- • Aries: Confident, leadership, perfection, assertive, enthusiastic, unfocused, apathetic.
- • Taurus: Loyal, stubborn, indulgent, grounded, patient, routine, capable.
- • Gemini: Intelligent, duality, honest, blunt, social, overbearing, hyper-focused.
- • Cancer: Supportive, healing, compassionate, reserved, indirect, people-pleaser.
- • Leo: Vibrant, warm, playful, proud, guarded, controlling, protective, dramatic.
- • Virgo: Pure, logical, organized, rational, obsessive, planner, detailed, judgemental.
- • Libra: Loving, romantic, charming, superficial, balancing, indecisive, authentic, trusting.
- • Scorpio: Sexy, alluring, mysterious, manipulative, resentful, powerful, confident, firm.
- • Sagittarius: Rambunctious, optimistic, all-in, joyful, philosophical, tactless, enthusiastic.
- • Capricorn: Structure, harsh, responsible, business savvy, goal-oriented, competitive, cynical.
- • Aquarius: Unique, refreshing, inventive, rebellious, distant, harmonious, collective.
- • Pisces: Intuitive, emotional, dreamy, artsy, creative, impractical, tenacious, leisurely, dependent.
Astrology Planets
Because of the predictable orbits of the planets/celestial bodies in our solar system, certain times of the year are always associated with certain planetary movements. Especially our Moon and Sun.
For example, “Aries season” is always between the end of March and the end of April, because the Sun is always passing through the Aries portion of the sky during that time.
In this next section, we’ll go through each of the meanings of the planets in astrology. These are the core concepts that represent each planet before we begin to factor in the “twists” that the zodiac adds.
- • Sun: Our core personality, our life force, what motivates us, shining our light, authenticity, who we are in this life.
- • Mercury: Communication, inner thoughts, technology, learning processes, life skills, logic.
- • Venus: Love, beauty, romance, sensuality, arts, pleasure, harmony, how we behave in relationships.
- • Moon: The subconscious mind, emotions, calmness, existentialism, imaginative, mysterious, rhythms and cycles, adaptability.
- • Mars: Determined, action-oriented, aggressive, movement, power, sensation, impulsive, motivation.
- • Jupiter: Joy, abundance, happiness, life purpose, beliefs, hope, optimism, expansion, guidance, career.
- • Saturn: Tough, life lessons, adversity, strength, responsibility, boundaries, reflection, inner work, resistance.
- • Uranus: Family karma, past lives, freedom, innovation, insight, growth, uniqueness, intuition, technology.
- • Neptune: Personal karma, spiritual destiny, mysticism, hidden truths, alternate realities, Divine connection, escapism.
- • Pluto: Power, rebirth, transformation, change, destroying what doesn’t work to make way for the new.
Astrology Houses
Because of our personal wheelhouse on our natal chart, we tend to experience similar emotions or life events during the same times of year. Recognizing these patterns can bring major relief and predictability in your life, which can help you make better decisions for your future.
For example, I realized I’m in a pattern of consistently finding a new day job around the time of the September New Moon in Virgo, which falls in my 6th House of work, health, and routines. Do you see how each element in astrology adds a new layer of meaning?
In this next section, we’ll go over the areas of life each house represents. Remember, we all have all twelve houses in our natal chart, even if there are no planets in one (or more!) of the houses.
By the way, if you have empty houses in your natal chart, don’t even sweat it. That typically means you don’t have a specific energetic focus in that particular area of life right now. Doesn’t mean that area of life isn’t important, it probably means you’ve “mastered” it, more or less.
- • First House: Self and Personality
- • Second House: Self Worth, Values, Abundance
- • Third House: Communication and Childhood
- • Fourth House: Roots, Home and Family Life
- • Fifth House: Fun, Pleasure, Creativity, and Self-Expression
- • Sixth House: Routines, Habits, Self Care, and Health
- • Seventh House: Relationships, Love, Commitments, and Contracts
- • Eighth House: Joint Ventures, Death and Transformation
- • Ninth House: Beyond Ourselves, Travel, Education, and Personal Growth
- • Tenth House: Career, Reputation, Material Things and Societal Rules
- • Eleventh House: Friends, Social Life and Goals
- • Twelfth House: Unconscious Mind, Existentialism, Spirituality and Emotional Triggers
Take the Next Step
This single blog post is just scratching the surface. Astrology is a huge topic, one that could be studied for an entire lifetime. But I hope this post gave you a starting point to better understanding your personal natal chart.
If you’re itching to learn more about astrology, I have a proposition for you. I’m currently in the process of writing my next book all about astrology!
Would you like to be notified when the book (and the additional resources that come with it) are officially published? I would be so excited to share with you! Sign up below to be put on the waitlist. It won’t cost you a penny, and it will give us a chance to connect before the book comes out. Thank you so much!
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