Astrology Lesson Part 2 – The Signs and What They Symbolise
About our astrology lessons
Last time, we began a series of astrology lessons to help you better understand how astrology works in your life. You can find Lesson 1: “What Is Astrology, Anyway?” here.
We’ll be working with Western, or Tropical Astrology.
Where do the symbols come from?
We use the same symbols in astrology as you’ll see in astronomy. This is because, in antiquity- those who practiced one, also practiced the other. Originating in medieval Byzantine astronomy, the symbols you see today are mostly from the European Renaissance.
Your Natal Chart
You may not know this, but your natal chart is also called your horoscope. Historically, such things were not drawn up for people, but rather, important events. For the most part, only nobility was allowed to have a chart done up for them. Though you may now know the word “horoscope” to mean your prediction based on your sun sign- that wheel you have is your actual horoscope. It must be drawn up using your day of birth, month of birth, year of birth, in addition to both your time and place of birth.
For basic natal astrology, we look at a few key factors:
- The Zodiac Signs
- The Houses
- The Planets
- Aspects
So, your natal wheel is actually a wheel within a wheel. The outer circle tends to be the zodiac wheel, whereas the inner is the houses. Each of these are divided into 12 sections. Take a look:
The basics of the natal wheel-
Each of these segments measures 30 degrees and the entire circle measures 360 degrees. Each of the slices in this are house divisions, not the signs. You’ll note that they don’t line up with the houses. This would only happen in very rare cases. The House wheel is only ever laid out like this- though the Zodiac wheel rotates according to your unique birth data. The numbers around the outer edges of the zodiac wheel, then, are the degree measurements of the house cusps as they relate to the zodiac wheel.
The Planets
The planets, then, are in there, with the degrees in which they fall and the Houses go counter-clockwise. We’ll go more into both of those things in a later lesson. Each dividing line, then, is the house cusp and if you’ll look, you can see a horizontal line going left: the line between the 12th and 1st house. That’s the 1st house cusp: this is also your Ascendant. Give it a shot. Look at your chart and …oh? You’re not sure what that symbol is? Well…let’s go into that.
The Signs
Now, looking at the sign in which your first house cusp falls- can you name your Ascendant? That’s also known as your Rising Sign. As you can see- mine is Libra.
Now, the rising sign- or ascendant, is fairly simple to find. It’s always going to be the sign directly left of center, there.
What do these signs mean?
Of course, you probably know that each one of those above zodiac signs has significance. You probably know all about your sun sign and what that means. Well, the zodiac wheel begins at 0 degrees of Aries to the Spring Equinox. This wheel is aligned the same as it was back when the Greeks first assigned it as the first day of Spring- and is aligned with our seasons. You may occasionally see rumors or otherwise that the zodiac wheel isn’t properly lined up, but this is untrue. This is because the Earth’s axial precession does not change the Zodiac wheel.
Another thing you’ll often see is people talking about other constellations and wondering if they change the zodiac. This is also untrue- they do not. Your sign will not change and it has not changed. This is because when the zodiac was created, in Babylonian times- they used those constellations that they could see as placeholders of sorts. The truth is, the signs came before the constellations- which also then became 12 archetypes. You’ve got each of the 12 in your natal chart, so learning what each of these means is important. You are simply NOT just your Sun Sign! If you’ve ever felt like perhaps your Sun sign just didn’t resonate- well, there are reasons for this. The biggest being: there’s much, much more at play, here, as you can see.
In astrology, each one of these 12 signs represents some sort of tendency, a character, of sorts and tells us how things happen. The Houses, well, they tell us what part of our lives or personalities is being effected. The planets, on the other hand- tell us what is happening. Each planet will move through these signs at its own pace and will change, based on whatever sign it’s in. These signs, then, change the character of the planet, in a sense. Your Sun Signs are a great example- your Sun in Aries is most certainly different from someone else’s Sun in Virgo. The same holds true of the way planetary energy manifests, from sign to sign.
Your Turn
Of course, we’ll talk about what these things mean more later on, but, knowing these cusps can help you find other parts of your chart, as well.
If you’ve got your own chart, try it with yours, if not- you can look at mine for this exercise.
Four of our house cusps have got certain designations. You’ve already learned the Ascendant. The next, is the 4th house cusp- which is the imum coeli, or the IC. Then, there’s the Descendant on the 7th house cusp and the medium coeli, or MC/midheaven on the 10th house cusp.
Find each cusp and list the signs you see.
Victoria Reinertsdatter is a well- respected professional astrologer. These astrology lessons are written especially by her for Psychic Today readers.
Victoria also offers psychic and astrology readings along with the rest of our fantastic psychic email reading team. To find out the choice of email readings available, so why not call the team on 0333 335 0297 or simply email us at [email protected] for details.
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