Introduction to Astrology

Most people know their sign already, and it's a pretty common thing to be asked "what's your sign?". It's simple for the most part. If you're born between March 21st and April 19th, you're an Aries, between April 20th and May 21st makes you a Taurus, and so on. Most of us grew up seeing those little sign tables in magazines and such, and some of us may have even kept up with our horoscope! But most people don't realize that your actual horoscope is more than just that one sign. There's an entire practice of astrology that goes much deeper than the typical "your birthday is in August, so you're a Leo and that means you're loud and vain" that you'll see most of the time. (And that isn't usually true, Leos!!)

The sign most people refer to when they ask about your sign is actually called a SUN sign because it's based on the sign that the sun was in when you were born. Astrology actually includes ALL of the planets in our solar system, the sun and the moon, and some even study asteroids! This alone makes astrology a much bigger subject than most people know about, but there's even more to it than just the planets and signs! Everyone has what's called a birth chart, which shows what signs all the planets were in when they were born, along with things called houses, aspects, calculated points, and much more.

So, what's a birth chart?

A birth chart (you may also see it called a natal chart, a horoscope, a nativity, etc.) is basically a 2D map of where all of the planets were from the earth's perspective at the moment you were born. Your birth chart can tell you about your characteristics, your behaviors and overall personality, life events, and even sometimes about the people in your life! You can easily look this up online, there are LOTS of free chart calculators online!

**A word of caution: Some chart calculators online are inaccurate! They may calculate your moon sign or rising wrong, so be careful about which sites you trust! Most astrologers' favorite is astro.com .

To find your chart on astro.com :

On the home page, there's a tab titled "Free Horoscopes", so click or hover over that.
You can click either "Chart Drawing, Ascendant" or "Extended Chart Selection", both of them will take you to a screen that has you either log in or continue as a guest. You can sign up or continue as a guest by clicking "continue to data entry page", it's up to you.
The page that comes up has you enter your name, birthday, birth time and birth location. A lot of people don't know their birth time, and that's okay. The chart that comes up without a known birth time will give you less information and possibly less reliable information, but you can still see most of the important stuff.
Once you've entered all that in and clicked next, a wheel with a few tables will come up. This is your birth chart!

You'll see something that looks sort of like this:

To learn how to read a chart like this, click here

It looks like a mess, but it can give you a lot of important information!

I know it looks overwhelming, but it all has meaning and you can learn what it all means. If this is your first time ever looking at your chart, I'd stick to just the table off to the left side of the wheel chart (underneath on the mobile site) that lists your placements plainly for now. It'll tell you where your sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, and all other planets are. The signs are abbreviated in that little list, so "Ari" means Aries, "Tau" means Taurus, "Gem" means Gemini, and so on. The little symbols next to the names of the planets are the glyphs that represent the planets, and you'll find those glyphs in the wheel chart.

So what does all of this mean? This means that you're not JUST your sun sign! Your sun is only 1/10 of the placements in your birth chart, so it only makes up 10% of your horoscope if we're only talking about the planets and luminaries (sun and moon). This is partially why a lot of people don't fully relate to the traits of their sun sign. Say your sun is in Virgo, but you have your moon in Aries, ascendant in Gemini, and Mercury in Libra. Of COURSE you wouldn't see only Virgo traits in yourself, because you have a lot more going on in your chart than just that one sign. Some people relate more to their sun sign than others, and that's okay too! There may be something in your chart that reflects that.

So how do you find out what all of this means? The best way to start is just by googling what each of your placements mean, reading some beginner books, and checking out some blogs to see their interpretations of them! I simply started out searching "moon in Gemini" when I wanted to learn about my moon sign for the first time, and then I ran into astro Twitter. There are lots of astrology accounts and astrologers that are extremely helpful on Twitter! If you're not sure where to start, you can check who I'm following on Twitter (@gemeauxlogy) to find astrology accounts to keep up with.

The BEST way to find out what you birth chart says is to get a reading or a consultation done by an astrologer. Self-teaching is perfectly fine, and there's nothing wrong with it! Most astrologers even start out self-teaching and then decide to study it long term to be able to do it professionally. But what astrologers do is tailor your reading for YOU and YOUR chart specifically. The odds of one single person on earth having the exact same birth chart as you is EXTREMELY slim, so reading generic descriptions of your placements may not resonate completely with you because it's not taking into account the rest of your individual birth chart. An astrologer will interpret your chart as a whole, not just list out traits that every person on earth with one similar placement as you will have. Each placement means something different to each person, and an astrologer will discuss what your unique chart means for you.

For now, at least, I'll give you some basic information to start you off!

Here are some VERY short meanings of the planets:

Ascendant (also called Rising): Your view and approach to life. This ONLY shows up in your chart if you entered your birth time.
Sun: Your ego, outward expression, your will power, the general "outline" of you.
Moon: Your emotions, your inner expression and sentiments, your private life.
Mercury: Your thoughts, how you communicate and think, your intellect and logic.
Venus: How you interact with people, your social needs, your values, your tastes and preferences, how you are in your relationships.
Mars: Your drive and ambition, how you go about getting things done.
Jupiter: Your moral compass, your philosophies, your beliefs, abundance and growth, your joie de vivre.
Saturn: Your limitations, insecurities, fears, self-discipline and discipline from others.
Uranus (a generational planet): The need to break traditions, revolt, rebel, evolve.
Neptune (generational): The need to blend in with society, connect with others, imagine, dream (also represents illusions)
Pluto (generational): The need to transform and take control, upheavals, can represent obsession, possessiveness, need for power over others.

Here's a full post on the significations of the planets.

Here are some keywords for the signs:

Aries: Direct, blunt, quick, passionate, headstrong, assertive (possibly aggressive), could be impulsive.
Taurus: Patient, but also headstrong, strong-willed, not as assertive, slower to start but gets things done (on their own time), resistant to change.
Gemini: Adaptable, talkative, very social, fast learner, gets bored easily, jack of all trades, master of none, lighthearted.
Cancer: Sentimental, nostalgic, compassionate yet guarded and reserved, can be passive-aggressive, protective.
Leo: Very openly expressive, outgoing, normally confident, extravagant (possibly over the top, dramatic).
Virgo: Analytical, logical, practical yet nurturing and caring, likes improvement, detail oriented, willing to adapt when it suits them or makes sense.
Libra: Social, easygoing, can be very concerned with social graces and their image, adapts relatively easily, prefers to remain fair and neutral, prefers harmony.
Scorpio: Secretive, stubborn, strong willed but not as loud and aggressive about it as Aries can be, reserved but forms deep emotional attachments to the few they trust.
Sagittarius: Spontaneous, passionate, loves to learn and understand (rather than memorizing facts like Gemini tends to), adventurous, can be preachy sometimes.
Capricorn: Cautious, practical, similar to Scorpio in that they let very few in on their personal lives, responsible (usually), plays it safe, reliable, realistic.
Aquarius: Concerned with individuality, not afraid of breaking rules or going against the grain (and probably prefers it), willing to think outside of the box, but is still very structured (possible stubborn).
Pisces: Receptive, caring, compassionate, adapts easily to their environment, hopes for the best, reserved but enjoys connecting with others, trusting (sometimes to a fault).

The signs are also divided up into different categories that you'll probably run into a lot. Here's a link to another post of mine that shows those general divisions: Sign division

The houses will only show up in your chart if you entered your birth time. Here are brief summaries of what the houses represent:

1st house: Self, health, personality
2nd house: Resources, income, self-esteem.
3rd house: Siblings, immediate environment, the intellect.
4th house: Home, parents, heritage, culture.
5th house: Children, entertainment, romance.
6th house: Illness, work and coworkers, service, pets.
7th house: Partnerships, relationships, others.
8th house: Death, taxes, inheritance, others' belongings.
9th house: Philosophy, religion, advanced education, morals.
10th house: Reputation, career, status, authority figures.
11th house: Hopes, dreams, social recognition, friends.
12th house: Seclusion, hidden enemies, secrets.

Here's a full post on the significations of the houses.

The main part of your birth chart is the planets. They represent different principles, needs, and types of expression. The planets in the signs tell you how you express the things that planet represents, how you go about fulfilling the "needs" of that planet, so they're mainly different traits and characteristics. The houses represent different areas, things, and people in your life. Each birth chart has a different combination of the planets in the signs and houses, so your chart is very unique and personal! Even if someone has the same moon sign as you, they may not have their moon in the same house as you, or the same aspects, so it could mean something very different even with that one thing in common.

If you want a generic reading just to see what the general placements in your chart mean, here's astro.com's free reading link: Psychological Horoscope, just remember that these generic readings aren't always very detailed or personal to YOUR chart unless you order one from an astrologer.