Astrology has been practiced for centuries. It’s a type of divination that has been deeply rooted in almost all cultures, to help provide direction, to help know oneself, and often dubiously, to tell one’s future.
Astrology discerns us, our traits, and our potential, as things not only influenced by our genes and environmental factors, but also by the positions of planets and stars at the moment we were born. It assumes that everyone is hugely impacted and connected with the universe. Astrology outlines our psychological attributes, and in my opinion, both psychology and astrology are connected, which the famous psychologist Carl Jung would agree with.
Astrology is very misunderstood. Basic horoscopes and memes about one’s sun sign have ruined its true essence. One cannot divide 8 billion people into just 12 categories, every human is far more complex than that. So, it is high time that you go find your birth certificate and see your birth time, fill in your details on a birth chart website, and be ready to deeply relate and understand yourself better. Astrology is a great approach to improving ourselves. Our birth or natal chart is data about the position of planets, luminaires, asteroids, and stars from the moment we were born. By knowing the qualities of all zodiac signs, areas of influence of the planets, and the basic gist of all houses, one can easily analyze their birth charts.
The signs are divided into 4 elements-
1)Fire Signs are bold, creative, confident, and intense. fiery
2)Water signs are sensitive, intuitive, artistic, and emotional. flowing
3)Earth Signs are practical, dependable, grounded, and stable. Down to earth
4)Air Signs are intellectual, social, analytical, and curious. drifting
These are the 12 basic zodiac signs based on constellations that the sun passes through at different times.
- Aries (March 21-April 19)
Element: Fire
Ruling planet: Mars
Basic Traits: Initiator, leader, courage, impulsive, efficient, arrogant, competitor, bold, enthusiastic.
- Taurus (April 20- May 20)
Element: Earth
Ruling planet: Venus
Basic traits: Sensible, patient, sensual, stubborn, reliable, determined, patient, materialistic.
- Gemini (May 21- June 20)
Element: Air
Ruling planet: Mercury
Basic Traits: Clever, curious, social, thirsty for knowledge, witty, restless.
- Cancer (June 21- July 22)
Element: Water
Ruling planet: Moon
Basic Traits: Caring, loyal, nurturing, secure, emotional, protective, intuitive, cautious, moody.
- Leo (July 23- August 22)
Element: Fire
Ruling planet(star): Sun
Basic traits: Charming, confident, most expressive, dramatic, attention seekers, proud, ambitious, generous.
- Virgo (August 23- September 22)
Element: Earth
Ruling planet: Mercury
Basic traits: Practical, perfectionist, hard-working, pure, observant, helper, analytical, reliable, productive.
- Libra (September 23- October 22)
Element: Air
Ruling planet: Venus
Basic Traits: gracious, honest, fair, social, charming, loves pleasing others, elegant, unreliable, changeable, harmonious.
- Scorpio (October 23- November 21)
Element: Water
Ruling planet: Pluto
Basic traits: Deep, passionate, intense, aware, focused, narcissistic, resourceful, steadfast.
- Sagittarius (November 22- December 21)
Element: Fire
Ruling planet: Jupiter
Basic traits: Adventurous, optimistic, straightforward, careless, reckless, blunt, eager, fiery, friendly.
- Capricorn (December 22- January 19)
Element: Earth
Ruling planet: Saturn
Basic traits: Disciplined, steady, cool, hardworking, caring, responsible, careful, pessimistic, and calculating.
- Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
Element: Air
Ruling planet: Uranus
Basic traits: Deep thinkers, intellectuals, helpers, rebellious, detached, friendly, humanitarian, opportunists.
- Pisces (February 19- March 20)
Element: Water
Ruling planet: Neptune
Basic traits: Compassionate, romantic, sensitive, dreamy, creative, intuitive, escapist, indecisive.
These are the inner planets and their areas of influence.
- Sun: Why we act the way we do, personality, ego, expression.
- Moon: Our inner self, emotions, habits, unconscious acts.
- Rising: How we appear to others, daily tasks, our reactions, façade.
- Mercury: How we express things, communication, thought processes, hobbies, and learning.
- Venus: How we love or show affection, fashion sense, aesthetics.
- Mars: What our passion in life is, anger, ambitions, art, sports.
We also have outer planets that change in longer periods of time and may affect generations as a whole.
There are 12 houses in a birth chart. These are emphatic fields where the energies of the planets and signs operate, and aspects of one’s life can be easily seen. These start from our rising sign. So, for example, my rising is Libra, so my 1st house is libra and the 2nd house would be Scorpio, and so on.
The houses and what they represent.
First house: Ego, self, first impressions, appearance, defense mechanisms.
Second house: Things, values, possessions, self-worth.
Third house: Expression, communication, thought process.
Fourth house: Home, family, roots, sense of security, connection to past
Fifth house: Pleasure, inner child, playfulness, joy, creativity.
Sixth house: Health, habits, rules, mindfulness, choices.
Seventh house: Partnership, relationships, business partnerships, friends, enemies, family
Eighth house: Transformation, life’s complexities, sexuality, money, death, rebirth.
Ninth house: Purpose, higher learning, spiritual/philosophical understanding, exploration.
Tenth house: Social status, legacy, reputation, achievements, father figure, power.
Eleventh house: Aspirations, evolution of ourselves, humanitarian and personal goals, social groups.
Twelfth house: Subconscious, hidden traits, emotions, dreams, transcendence, spiritual insights, afterlife.
Personally, I resonate a lot with my birth chart, and I have been able to make improvements in my life due to it. My sun and moon signs are both Virgo, in the 12th house. So even though I am very detail-oriented and practical (Virgo traits), many times I am swayed by my intuition and I have to introspect a lot to understand basic things going on around me, all of which are 12th house things. My rising sign, also known as the ascendant, is Libra, so I do come off as a people pleaser and tend to be indecisive. So, I try to work on getting more mental clarity and being more confident in my decisions.
You can delve more into things like the house system, the aspects, predictions, etc, on websites such as https://www.astro.com/horoscope, https://astro.cafeastrology.com/, and https://astro-charts.com/