Astrology

Astrology is the study of the relationship between the sun, moon, planets, and their relationship to human behavior. But that is just a definition- astrology covers many more indepth aspects and is more complicated than that definition suggests. Most people are aware of their Sun sign- which determines what horoscope you are tempted to read in the newspaper. But Sun sign astrology is only a small portion of the big picture. Here are some brief basics of astrology:

Birth Charts
Your birth, or natal, chart is a map that reflects the exact second you were born- when you first drew a breath. The positions of the sun, moon, and planets all play a symbollic role in your life. There are twelve Zodiac signs and twelve houses which play a part in our birth charts- all determined by the position of the celestial bodies at our birth. The Zodiac signs, connection between the planets, the house the ruling planet is in at the time- all effect a person's personality and life journey. The Sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (for reasons unknown to all) have a mystical connection and correspondance to each human's psyche.
Planets are the energy, the Zodiac signs are the patterns of energy, Aspects are the different connections between each planet, and the Houses are where these energy patterns take place (from Lorna Stevenson's Astrological Signs in the Ages).
There are many points that play a role in determining a birth chart.

Ascendant, or Rising Sign- this is not an actual celestial body, this is the Zodiac sign that was approaching, or rising in distance, at the moment you were born. This Ascendant reflects who we are, how the world sees us, and affects the behavior that others see- our personality as seen by the world. The reason you need to know the exact moment of your birth is to determine the Ascendant, which is the actual guide on your quest in life and also determines the house of your birth chart.

Moon- the position of the moon represents our instincts and how we find emotional security. It reflects what emotions we rely on and how we use these emotions when in trouble or even when in pleasant situations. It determines what emotional gifts we use when we are in need, and what emotional weaknesses can destroy us. The moon is important during the time we are "finding" or searching for our true selves.

Sun- represents our actual identity, ways of self-expression, from what place we draw our creativity. The sun is most important in our lives after we discover our "true selves" and understand who we are. It reflects our inner being, our psyche, and who we are destined to be.
The Ascendant is our guide, the Moon is our instincts, the Sun is our identity.

The planets are also important in determining your birth chart. Each of the planets are actually located in several different Zodiac Signs at the time of your birth- not just one. The Zodiac signs of the planets will reflect what roles the energy of those planets play in your life. The Signs of the Zodiac are then divided into different elements and modes. The mode cycles are Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable. The elemental cycles are Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.
Below are a few correspondances related to the different Zodiac signs:

Aries the Ram- fire, cardinal, masculine, Mars, Tuesday, red
Taurus the Bull- earth, fixed, feminine, Venus, Friday, blue
Gemini the Twins- air, mutable, masculine, Mercury, Wednesday, lavender
Cancer the Crab- water, cardinal, feminine, Moon, Monday, silver
Leo the Lion- fire, fixed, masculine, Sun, Sunday, gold
Virgo the Virgin- earth, mutable, feminine, Mercury, Wednesday, grey
Libra the Balance- air, cardinal, masculine, Venus, Friday, blue
Scorpio the Scorpion- water, fixed, feminine, Pluto, Tuesday, red
Saggitarius the Archer- fire, mutable, masculine, Jupiter, Thursday, purple
Capricorn the Goat- earth, cardinal, feminine, Saturn, Saturday, green
Aquarius the Waterbearer- air, fixed, masculine, Uranus, Wednesday, blue
Pisces the Fishes- water, mutable, feminine, Neptune, Friday, turquoise

The aspects are degrees of separation between all the planets, which act as connections between the planets. The aspects are opposite, conjunction, trine, square, or sextile. When two planets share a connection, they exchange energy and can either be compatible and blend, or can be opposites and conflict. These aspects reflect the myths (or plots) that define our lives- our actions and beliefs.

The Twelve Houses are what determine the the situations of life that we enjoy the most and are naturally most focused on throughout our lives. These houses are ruled by the twelve Zodiac Signs and are like twelve rooms- all of which you are familiar with, but you are most likely to spend more time in particular rooms. The Twelve Houses hold energies very similar to the Zodiac Signs- the First House being similar to energies of Aries, and so on...

First House- Aries, "I am"
Second House- Taurus, "I possess"
Third House- Gemini, "I communicate"
Fourth House- Cancer, "I feel"
Fifth House- Leo, "I rule"
Sixth House- Virgo, "I analyze"
Seveth House- Libra, "I balance"
Eighth House- Scorpio, "I desire"
Nineth House- Saggitarius, "I teach"
Tenth House- Capricorn, "I build"
Eleventh House- Aquarius, "I plan"
Twelfth House- Pisces, "I care"

The Twelve Houses are a difficult concept to grasp- they are the most confusing to me. It might take some time to fully understand what they really are and their true importance.

Well, that's a very basic introduction to astrology for you. If you are completely new to this, I probably confused the heck out of you, and I'm sorry. I really wish I had time to type out everything I know and explain things better, and I might add to this in the future. Thing is, I'm forced to read my own notes and grimoire in order to present this page to you (which I hate, I prefer to write what comes to mind in the moment). For instance, I don't know each Zodiac correspondance by heart, don't always remember each aspect of the 12 houses, etc. So maybe you don't need a novice like me trying to teach you in this area!
If you are truly interested in astrology and want to delve into it deeper, please find some books and learn all you possibly can. It's not a good idea to just learn a brief rundown of the aspects of a subject- even the amount of astrological knowledge I have is not enough, and I intend to continue to learn. A nice book for beginners is Astrology For the Light Side of the Brain by Kim Rogers-Gallagher. I think it's still in print, and you can probably find it on amazon.com.