Perhaps each of us has read an astrological forecast in a magazine or horoscopes on the internet at least once. For example, something like this: “Staying in touch with a love partner could be difficult today for Taurus” or “This could be a very busy day for Cancer.” Would you like to know more about astrology? This is astrology for beginners.
Even those who know nothing about astrology understand that there are millions of people born under the Taurus or Cancer sign. And, according to these forecasts, all people born under the Taurus sign will have problems with their love partners today. It is clear that such horoscopes have nothing to do with real astrology.
This post was updated on:
November 27, 2020
Someone born, for example, on June 10, may often not feel the traits of Gemini in themselves—you may dislike changes, communication and prefer to spend most of the time at home. Looks like home-loving Cancer rather than restless Gemini…
Popular horoscopes only take account of the location of the Sun in birth charts. However, in addition to the Sun, there are 9 other planets that have no less influence on the character and life of a person, not to mention a large number of other astrological objects such as stars, asteroids, fictitious points that professional astrologers take into account. Sometimes, the Sun plays very insignificant role in the natal chart.
And it is not surprising that a solar Gemini may not live up to stereotypes, because most of planets at the time of birth were not in the sign of Gemini, but in the sign of Cancer.
Only comprehensive analysis of the birth chart can give a complete picture of the character, abilities and life trends of a person. Don’t jump to conclusions about astrology and its effectiveness based on magazine horoscopes only—they are often written by journalists themselves.
But what is it, real astrology? I have created this guide so that you can understand astrology basics and create your birth chart.
Astrology for beginners
First of all, to analyze horoscopes and make a forecast for a person, you need to know the exact time of birth (up to minutes) and the geographical coordinates of the place of birth. Then, the birth chart is built (natal chart). This chart shows where astrological signs, the Sun and the Moon, planets from Mercury to Pluto, stars, asteroids, and other objects are located at the time of birth.
Planets and houses are connected by angular distances called aspects. The chart is a zodiac circle divided into 12 sectors, which are called houses. Each house of the horoscope symbolically describes one of the spheres of human life. The location and length of houses depends on the latitude and longitude of the person’s birthplace. Every 4 minutes, the sky and the astrological map are rotated by 1 degree, and all objects and 12 houses are shifted accordingly. That is why it is so important to know the exact time of birth.
This is what a natal chart looks like.
Signs of the Zodiac, planets, houses, aspects between planets have their own meaning and symbolic interpretation in astrology.
Planets (astrology basics)
Below is a brief description of the planets and their meaning in the horoscope:
Sun (☉): will, life force, heart, father;
The Sun represents the consciousness and will; however, the question of what is actually the personal will of man, and what is dictated by various other influences subjectively experienced as personal will, is far from simple. A person can take initiative under the influence of various factors. More information can be obtained by studying the position of the Moon and planets in signs and houses.
Moon (☾): the subconscious, emotions, instincts, mother;
The position of the Moon in the horoscope reflects the state of mind and the system of values of a person, describes desires and ways to meet them. The Moon sign is the basis of the flow of events that we form and the foundation of current situations. The Sun sign shows the general rhythm of a person’s life. And the Moon sign— the ability to act and react in this rhythm. The Moon represents our subconscious.
Mercury (☿): mind, speech, thinking, intelligence, contacts;
One of the main functions of Mercury is perception, processing and transmission of information. Depending on Mercury’s position in the horoscope, you can judge whether a person grasps information on the fly or needs time to assimilate it, how smart the person is, how successfully the person can convey his/her thoughts to other people. Mercury is closely related to human thinking and shows what its features are: whether it is figurative or analytical, whether a person prefers to deal with numbers, facts, or general ideas and vague concepts.
Venus (♀): feelings, beauty, love, art, women;
In astrology, Venus is naturally associated with love, beauty, ability to establish mutual understanding with other people on the level of feelings, but also with values and, in particular, money. Venus can tell you about a person’s preferences, tastes, likes and dislikes; what is beautiful and valuable to him/her; how he/she treats a loved one; how he/she prefers to dress and decorate himself/herself. Venus shows how much interest is expressed in the opposite sex and what is most important for the person in a relationship.
Mars (♂): energy, struggle, aggression, passion, man;
In the human character, Mars manifests itself as activity, independence, initiative, energy, passion, and courage. Mars shows how much energy a person has, and what kind of energy it is. How the person feels about what is happening around—actively, aggressively, or vice versa, prefers to wait and be careful. Mars can tell you how the person feels about physical activity. In addition, it will tell you about sexuality.
Jupiter (♃): virtue, ideals, religion, optimism, patron;
Jupiter, like Mercury, is associated with the human mind, the intellect. However, the knowledge of Mercury is facts, details, various information, Mercury’s mind means intelligence, dexterity, cunning. The knowledge of Jupiter is a worldview, philosophical concepts, and religious beliefs. Jupiter allows you to understand the general essence, grasp the idea behind the phenomena, so it has long been considered the patron of science. Mercury is the process of knowledge, and Jupiter is its purpose and meaning.
Saturn (♄): restrictions, obstacles, fears, discipline, old man;
Jupiter symbolizes expansion, development, while Saturn—compression, inhibition; Jupiter seeks to go beyond the boundaries, while Saturn sets these boundaries, Jupiter gives optimism, Saturn—pessimism and depression. Saturn with its lessons keeps people on the path of Fatum, but it can also be an invaluable assistant, giving the ability to concentrate, the ability to create order, arrange everything, and also patience, consistency, seriousness, and longevity.
Uranus (♅): freedom, surprise, change, revolution, electricity, astrologer;
Uranus is a symbol of enlightenment, overcoming existing conventions. It gives originality, unwillingness to take into account existing norms and traditions, and a desire for freedom and independence. The house of the chart, where Uranus is located, helps us understand in which area of life we should feel free from conventions.
Neptune (♆): dream, fantasy, meditation, illusion, deception, mystery, alcohol, mystic;
The sphere of Neptune will include ideology, religion, intuition, the supernatural and the unknowable. Neptune indicates a tendency to idealize, as well as inspiration, which serves as a source of creativity. It gives a person a special inner need that some people satisfy by writing poetry, others—by meditating, and someone else—by using alcohol or drugs.
Pluto (♇): fate, crisis, magic, power, transformation, masses of people, hypnosis, magician.
Pluto points to areas of life and personality traits in which huge energy is concentrated, which causes various difficulties—a person is deprived of something, but instead there is something new, completely unknown before. Pluto influences complex, hard-to-control feelings of other people.
Houses (astrology basics)
Astrological houses describe various spheres of human existence:
Appearance, character, temperament of a person
Money, valuables, property
Close environment, neighbors, contacts, school education, short trips
Parents, home, family, real estate, end of life
Creativity, love, children, childbirth, entertainment, art
Work, service, health and illness
Marriage, partners, obvious enemies
Sex, other people’s money, psychological crises, death, inheritance, occultism
Worldview, religion, philosophy, higher education, long-distance travel
Career, recognition, honors, goals in life, bosses
Hopes, friends, ideals, surprises
The secret in life, isolation, prison, monastery, severe illness, mysticism
Aspects (astrology basics)
The meaning and name of the main aspects (in degrees):
0 (conjunction)—active interaction;
60 (sextile)—good opportunities for interaction and development, choice;
90 (square)—obstacle, contradiction, acute conflict;
120 (trine)—harmonious interaction, talents from birth;
180 (opposition)—opposition, internal conflict, the need for cooperation.
Once we have built the natal chart, we need to analyze and interpret the planets in the Zodiac signs, aspects, elements, houses, hemispheres, strengths of the planets and many other factors.
So, we have 10 planets (the Sun and the Moon are called planets in astrology), 12 houses, and aspects between them. The analysis results in a complete picture of the psychological characteristics, abilities and inclinations of a person, and events of the person’s life.