Understanding Astrology

Will the stars align for you, and if so, in what aspects of your life and when? Who are you likely to vibe with? When is the best time to try something new? One way to gain answers to these questions and more is to study astrology. Understanding astrology begins with charting the position of celestial bodies at the time of your birth in order to gain insights into your personality traits, career path, life challenges, love compatibility, and more.

About Astrology

Astrology is the study of planets and other celestial bodies. Astrologers have long believed that the position of these objects in the sky, both at the moment of your birth and at any specific point in time throughout your life, imparts energies that present you with traits, interests, challenges, and opportunities.

The alignment of celestial bodies at the moment and place of your birth is called your natal (or birth) chart. The celestial positions in your natal chart are fixed at birth, and these affect many things about you, such as personality traits, compatibility with others, interests, aptitudes, and more. And while the position of these celestial bodies in your birth chart remains fixed, the planets and celestial objects continue to move through the heavens inifinitely. Their position at any moment in time creates energies or energy archetypes that affect your day-to-day life, the challenges you face, and the successes you enjoy. Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and long-term horoscopes share things that might occur based on how the positions of the celestial objects at a given time interact aspects in your birth chart.

Various Aspects of Your Zodiac Chart

Most people can tell you what their sun sign is; that is, what sign of the Zodiac the sun was in at the moment and place of their birth. This is only one small aspect of a natal chart, however.

Signs

When someone asks you "what's your sign?" they are asking the position of the sun when you were born. Your natal chart is displayed as a circle representing Earth's orbit around the sun, and each of the 12 zodiac signs makes up a 30° sector of that orbit. In Western astrology, which is the most common type of astrology used in Western cultures, the 12 zodiac signs begin in Spring and move clockwise around the natal chart. Each 30° section represents one month of time, although the signs don't directly align with the months but rather with seasons. The 12 signs in order are:

• Aries
• Taurus
• Gemini
• Cancer
• Leo
• Virgo
• Libra
• Scorpio
• Sagittarius
• Capricorn
• Aquarius
• Pisces

Your zodiac sun sign represents your basic personality traits and the core of who you are. The zodiac signs are further divided into three modalities with four signs each: cardinal (the start of a season), fixed (the middle of a season), and mutable (the end of a season/transition into the next season), and four elements with three signs each: earth, air, fire, and water.

Houses

A natal chart is also divided into 12 sections called astrological houses, which represent various aspects of your life (such as communications, creativity, health, partnerships, and others). Where celestial objects fall in each house will show you the influences in those areas of your life.

Planets and Celestial Objects

The position of the planets in zodiac signs and houses are also important in astrology. Each influences different parts of who you are and what occurs in your life, such as who you love or what you choose to do for a living. Celestial objects that affect your life in astrology include:

• Sun
• Moon
• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune
• Pluto

Ascendent

Your ascendent is also called your rising sign, and it is the astrological sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the specific time and place of your birth. It represents your worldview. To calculate your ascendent in your birth chart, you must know the exact time and location of your birth.

Different Types of Astrology

While Western astrology can provide a ton of insight into who you are, what drives you, and the challenges and opportunities you face, it isn't the only type of astrology. There are various other astrological models, such as Mayan astrology, Celtic astrology, and Chinese astrology. While they are different from Western astrology, each looks to the sky to discover more about individuals and influences.

Understanding Astrology Is Understanding Yourself

Learning more about astrology and how the planets and celestial objects influence you can help you gain greater insights into yourself and others. Each person's total astrological chart involving all aspects of astrology creates a unique picture of who they are. So, if you want to learn more about yourself or someone else, get to know their astrological chart and increase your understanding of astrology.