Introduction To Astrology 1

This is the start of a collection of articles that are posts for Facebook for astrology beginners. It is my attempt to try and frame my approach to a birthchart.

Some of this will obviously be found in other articles, particularly Learn Astrology Quickly but these pieces will expand on the themes raised in them.

“Many people believe that astrology is just about their star signs (or Sun signs). This is not true, we all have a unique astrological chart which can tell us a great deal about our character and also the major themes of our lives.

A birthchart is a snapshot of the heavens taken at the exact moment and from the place that we were born. It is drawn from the perspective of the Earth and it focuses on the planets of the solar system and their angular relationships as seen from the Earth.

The planets in a birthchart represent different parts of ourselves, so the way the connect with each other can show how we function in the different areas of our lives.

This is the birthchart of Napoleon Bonaparte, the great French Emperor and military leader.

You can think that the very middle of the circle is the Earth at the moment he was born seen from the Island of Corsica, his birthplace.

The narrow outer ring contains the signs of the zodiac.

The wider middle ring is divided into 12 sectors called the houses and the planets are placed around this ring.

This chart is drawn for a birthtime of 11.30 am

The most important symbol in any chart is the Sun.

In the chart this is the gold circle with a dot in the middle and is near they top of the chart, because Napoleon was born near midday.

The Earth rotates right around in 24 hours, from the perspective of this chart, this movement would give all the planets the appearance of moving clockwise.

If Napoleon’s chart had been drawn for midday (half an hour later), the planets would have all moved round a little so the Sun would be right at the top.

If it had been drawn for midnight, the Sun would be right at the bottom.

If it had been drawn for sunrise it would be on the left, sunset on the right.

The point at the very top of the chart is called the Midheaven.

This is the career point in a birthchart. If someone has most of the planets in this area, particularly if that includes their Sun, it means that they will be mostly focused around career and their place out there in the world.

Napoleon has his Sun in that area, together with from left to right Mars (red), Neptune (turquoise), Mercury (purple) and Saturn (brown).

This means that he would be very focused on achieving success out there in the world.

His Sun is also in the sign Leo, one that will often assume leadership roles, particularly if it is near the top of the chart.

The point at the bottom of the chart is called the Nadir or the IC.

If the top of the chart is the area of out there in the world, the bottom part is the home and and family.

Someone with the major planets and particularly the Sun at the bottom of the chart would be more focused on family themes than career ones.

This chart for Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, and it shows that kind of focus. She was born half an hour after midnight with the Sun down near the IC.

When you have some sense of the top and the bottom of a chart you can begin to look at themes like this one.

King Charles has his Sun with Mercury, Venus and Neptune down at the bottom of the chart, because he was born late in the evening in November.

This means the major focus of his life is home and family themes, his inheritance and the issues that arise from that. You also get the impression that he would be happier pottering around in his garden chatting with his plants.

Unlike Sun in Leo at the top of the chart Napoleon, Charles is not a natural ruler.

He also has the Sun in Scorpio, a sign that likes to keep things to themselves, and isn’t naturally outgoing.

However Charles’ Moon is up at the top of his chart, so he also has to get involved out there in the world, something that despite his protestations to the contrary, he isn’t naturally comfortable with.

In the centre of the charts you will see lots of different coloured lines that link planets together. These are called aspects and denote the angles between them.

Some are easier blue lines, some are more challenging red ones.

The red ones can denote parts of ourselves that want different things creating a tension that we have to resolve in our lives through action.

If you look at Charles’ chart you can see a thin red line between his Moon at the top of the chart and his Mercury at the bottom.

This shows that he can’t just stay at home and talk to his vegetables, he has to go out and shake hands with the plebs.

The Sun rises in the East, this is shown by the left hand side of the chart.

At midday the Sun is at the top, at midnight its at the bottom, the sunrise point is the line between house 12 and 1 (about 9 on a clock face).

This point is called the Ascendant or rising degree.

An emphasis on the left hand side of a chart, indicates a person who is generally self motivated, initiating and assertive with a strong drive to be the centre of attention.

Self determination and one’s own path in life are the most important themes. In simple terms the 1st house is the house of the self.

A great example of this type of chart is Madonna.

Madonna was born at 7.00 am so the Sun in her chart, is on the left just above to the horizon.

Note that her Moon is also on that side, reinforcing this type of character.

The Sun sets in the West. The point in the chart between houses 6 and 7 is called the Descendant.

The Sun signifies our individuality. When it’s rising the drive to assert the self is very strong, when it’s setting the person has to put their own themes to oneside in order to focus on or at least include those of another.

So if the left hand side is the side of the self, the right is the side of marriage, of cooperation and relationship with another.

One example of this is Barbara Bush, the wife and mother of 2 ex US Presidents both called George.