Elements of Astrology

What is Astrology?

This is going to be a brief and introductory answer to that question, as to fully answer to my heart’s content might take too long. One of my favorite teachers, Chris Brennan, says astrology is “the correlation between celestial events and events on earth.” He calls astrology “inherently predictive” whether that means future predicting or predicting clarifying answers about the present. I enjoy his analogy of a clock: a clock tells us what time it is without actually causing it to be that time, and astrology by many is considered to be like a clock, displaying for us patterns and correlations and tendencies without necessarily causing those patterns and tendencies. We don’t actually know for sure what the causation behind astrology is, but we have an abundance of observational data to show that it is a phenomenon that works, has worked, and can be expected to continue to work. Astrology makes me quite curious about the nature of time, and the seeming knowledge that while we experience time as linear, we know it isn’t quite that. And I wonder if astrology is an observation of a phenomenon of time that we just haven’t been able to quite access through the senses just yet. Astrology uses a geocentric chart because, while we know the Earth is not the center of the solar system, we do notice patterns based on our perception of the solar system from here on Earth, so we chart the skies from our perspective.

Generally speaking we have 10 planetary bodies, many different asteroids and points in our solar system, 12 zodiacal signs (zodiac is not the same as the constellations), 12 houses, aspects, many timing techniques, and thousands of years of different approaches to gathering and interpreting these patterns from Vedic astrology in India, Hellenistic astrology from ancient Rome and Egypt, to modern astrology which has taken on a more psychological bent over the last 60 or so years.

The 10 planetary bodies are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, with Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto being discovered more recently and not as incorporated in longer standing ancient and traditional astrology. We are in somewhat more of a research phase with them than with the other planets, but looking throughout history has given us so much depth into their behavior and of course we are always researching and learning more about every part of astrology as history unfolds. Each planet has its own unique significations and influence. Most commonly known is the Sun, but many are becoming familiar with their moon sign and their rising sign as well. The Rising Sign is not a planet but rather it is the point on the horizon the moment you were born, which is why knowing your birth time is quite an important part of astrology, although not absolutely necessary.

Every planet at any given moment and in any given chart can be found in one of the twelve zodiacal signs which are based on 12 of the many visible constellations in our night sky. Each sign of the zodiac also has its own significations. They are generally grouped by element and quality. Fire signs, known for their energetic quality, are Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Air signs, considered to be thoughtful and intellectual, are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. Earth signs, known for stability and material experiences, are Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. and Water signs, typically more emotionally driven, are Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Cardinal quality signs, Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, are initiators, starters, good at creating new adventures and possibly a bit impulsive. Fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, are consistent, hard workers, good at staying the path and possibly stubborn. Mutable signs, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, are adaptable, changeable, able to hold many ideas at once or multitask.

We also have the 12 houses of an astrological chart. My favorite analogy for the houses is state or country lines. They don’t really exist, but we drew them because we noticed collections of people grouped together with their own patterns and tendencies, so grouping them together helps us organize existence in a way that can sustain itself. There are many housing systems that have been used throughout time, but essentially what astrologers have noticed is in certain parts of the zodiac in relation to the horizon, there are patterns and tendencies that we have drawn lines around to create the houses. For example, related to a natal/birth chart, the first house deals with the personality and direction of the person’s life. The second house may deal with finances and material possessions. The third house may deal with communication, local travel, and siblings. I will elaborate on all the houses in a future blog.

Each planet has it’s own cycle relative to its revolution around the Sun and it’s cycle in relation to Earth from our perspective. These cycles create various kinds of relationships between the planets that also have their own significations called aspects. Trines, easeful aspects, are 120 degree separations between planets or points. Squares, tense aspects, are 90 degree separations. Sextiles, opportunistic aspects, are 60 degrees. Inconjuncts, challenging aspects, are 150 degrees. Oppositions, conflicting aspects, are 180 degrees. Conjunctions, intensifying aspects, are 0 degrees, or when two planets are very close together in the chart. There are some other minor aspects as well that I will detail in a future blog.

So to demonstrate the beginning of this complex web of astrology, if you were to take one of those planets and ask what is it’s signification in your birth chart, you would start with the planet’s significations, then blend those significations with the sign it is in, and then blend those with the house significations, and then look at the aspects that planet is making with other planets and points in the chart. And that’s just one planet! Astrology is much like everything else, interconnected, holistic, nothing stands alone, but as humans we have to organize and look at the pieces intimately and in depth before we can put them together and with practice begin to see bigger picture.

In the next few series of blogs I will be diving deeper into all of these elements and far more than what I have mentioned here. I’m excited for the adventure! And I hope I learn far more by doing it.

Image: from Doyle for download on Etsy

Sara Marie