The basic tool of a personalized astrological forecast is an individual’s natal horoscope, composed for a person’s exact time, date and place of birth. These charts are pretty easy to obtain at bookshops that have special books on metaphysics or over the Internet. For a small fee, or sometimes free, if you want to get a chart, you will be asked for this data. Then a set of mathematical computations will reveal the following: The sign in which each planet plus the sun and moon is placed: and the zodiac signs which are on the 12 houses of the chart.

A horoscope is really a wheel, which resembles a clock, giving you the key, technical information that a professional astrologer would use to delineate and forecast for you. This chart is unique to your time, date and place of birth and will be used in making your personal astrological projections for your entire life.

With this information, the persistent student can decipher even the most complicated astrology book. The secret to learning about astrology is that – with your unique chart – you are not just learning the art of prediction but the art of predicting your very own future. Thus study produces instant insight. Learning astrology has many of the same problems and satisfactions of learning a new language. And it is a language – a language of the heavens. In olden times the language of astrology was used when different people did not speak the same tongues, but wanted to share insights and information.

Before you start looking at the data in your chart, remember the chart displays mathematical calculations needed to “read” your chart. The chart is the final product of all these processes. It is not a substitute for an astrological reading, which is what an expert gives, based upon this chart information. I explain what goes into “drawing up” your chart for two reasons: First, in learning Astrology, many very talented and gifted astrologers are discouraged by learning all the mathematics required in doing this type of chart. Since computers can do this, I thought, why should people with the interpretive astrological abilities be sidetracked and put off by the difficult math? And, although serious astrologers should eventually learn how to do these calculations themselves, I feel that it is not necessary to do this at the beginning of your studies. Secondly, these charts can be expensive, and explaining how you can get one on your own will help defray your costs so that you can concentrate and put your money into astrological books and services that will be more practical now. After all, I assume that you are interested in interpretations and forecasts, and not the ins-and-outs of professional astrology? Not yet, anyway!

ONE NOTE: For any but the practiced astrologer, completely focusing on forecasting from your chart is difficult; not because it can’t be done, but because thinking that one can “read” a horoscope immediately is like assuming that someone who is accepted to medical school would be ready to perform surgery. I say this because I do not want you to become discouraged. What may seem like an unnecessary, uninteresting bundle of information will become increasingly meaningful. And, as you read astrology books and start applying the astrological principles, you’ll gain more appreciation of how knowing your special chart can make predictions even more personal and applicable to your way of life.

READING YOUR CHART

The first point to look for when first reading your chart is the RISING SIGN. The rising sign is the astrological sign rising on the eastern horizon at your time of birth. (On your chart it would be in the 9 o’clock position.) The sign describes your personality: How you look, impress others, and how others think of you. This is the way the world sees you. If your rising sign and sun sign are the same, you have few personality conflicts, as your inner and outer natures are similar. The degree of the rising sign is only meaningful in advanced astrological studies.

PLANETS IN THE SIGNS

This information is vital for reading astrological texts of all kinds, and tells the astrological sign that the sun, moon and planets are in. For brevity in astrology, the sun and moon – obviously not planets – are grouped under the generic term “planets” for ease in communication. As with the rising sign, the degree of the planets has to do with their placement within the sign, and has no bearing upon how they affect you. A person with their Venus in 1 degree Scorpio has no more luck or advantage (or less, for that matter) than someone with Venus in 29 degrees Scorpio.

There is a NORTH NODE depicted in many horoscope charts. (This looks like a horseshoe.) It is a point in space that has to do with the moon. Astrologers interpret this position in space (it is not an actual celestial body) as showing where a person is most confident or comfortable in life. If the North Node was in Gemini at your time of birth, you would be most at ease and successful in Gemini types of situations or occupations, such as teaching, writing, family groups, or at intellectual or artistic gatherings.

There is a SOUTH NODE shown in many horoscope charts. (This symbol looks like an upside down horseshoe.) This point is always opposite the north node and suggests areas in life where you may be least confident or secure.

You may also see on your chart that one or more planets are said to be “retrograde.” RETROGRADE means that a planet’s apparent effect is far more subtle and internal than it normally is. If you have any planet(s) with this designation, it means that you are especially adept at using this talent, skill or asset in ways, which are not immediately recognized, and that there is an introverted side to your nature in regards to this planet’s energies. This has nothing to do with the degree of luck, just the direction that the luck seems to come from.

NATAL ASPECTS

Natal aspects are the ways the sun, moon and planets relate to one another. There are many terms used, the most common being semi-sextile, sextile, trine, square, opposition, conjunction, and inconjunct. The ways these planetary, lunar and solar bodies react to one another is very important in any delineation and in future studies becomes very helpful in making crucial choices. At the beginning of your astrological studies it is enough to just become familiar with these terms. The number of degrees apart is only for advanced students, and should be kept for future reference. If you’d like to go further into what the astrological interpretations mean, read a book about astrological aspects. These are very important in interpreting an astrological chart.

ELEMENTS AND MODES

In astrology there are 4 elements: FIRE, EARTH, AIR and WATER, and each sign of the zodiac falls into one of these groupings. Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius), Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn), Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) and Water (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces). Then there are the MODES, which are CARNINAL (Car.), FIXED (Fix.) and MUTABLE (Mut.); and once again each of the 12 signs fits into one of these three categories. Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) are forceful; Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are dependable, and Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are flexible and changeable. Breaking down the signs into these two sets of groupings provides further insights into their meanings, and again, is especially helpful when studying astrology books.

PLANETS IN THE HOUSES

This compilation of data is just a shorthand way of writing down in words what the natal chart calls “The Zodiac at Birth” shown in diagram or “chart” form. The sun, moon, and each of the planets are situated in one of the 12 houses of a 12 part pie-shaped chart. They are numbered from 1 to 12, and show the areas of life from which your good luck emanates. Not every house will have a celestial body in it; after all, there are 10 bodies and 12 houses. Having, or not having, a planet in a celestial house is neither a good nor bad sign, just another aspect of your astrological interpretation.

SIGNS ON THE CUSPS OF THE HOUSES

Cusps are those sign names and numbers that are on the outer rim of your astrological horoscope (i.e. the clock). They are meaningful when delineating a chart, and tell the type of luck, which each house of your chart will bring you.

To explain anyone’s basic natal horoscope would take many sheets of data, and this is why each chart is so unique. However, there are ways to shorten this process without going to a professional astrologer. There are several excellent books available that can help you decipher this information so that you’ll come to understand a bit more about yourself.

BOOK LIST

Here is a list of books that will help you more detail about your astrology chart.

THE A-Z HOROSCOPE MAKER AND DELINEATOR by Llewellyn George, published by Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minn. 55165.

ASTROLOGY FOR ADULTS by Joan Quigley, published by Holt, Rinehart, Winston. Also available in paperback.

ASTROLOGY – A COSMIC SCIENCE by Isabel M. Hickey, published by Fellowship House Bookshop, Watertown, Mass. 02172.

ASTROLOGY FOR THE MILLIONS by Grant Lewi, published by Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minn. 55165.

Linda Goodman’s SUN SIGNS by Linda Goodman. In various format.

SYNCHRONICITY by Carl Jung.

PLANETS IN TRANSIT: Life Cycles for Living by Robert Hand. All books by this author are classics.

ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations often used in computer or mass generated horoscopes are as follows:

Sun = sun
Moo = moon
Mer = Mercury
Ven = Venus
Mar = Mars
Jup = Jupiter
Sat = Saturn
Ura = Uranus
Nep = Neptune
Plu = Pluto
N.N = North Node
Ari = Aries
Tau = Taurus
Gem = Gemini
Can = Cancer
Leo = Leo
Vir = Virgo
Lib = Libra
Sco = Scorpio
Sag = Sagittarius
Cap = Capricorn
Aqu = Aquarius
Pis = Pisces
Asc = Ascending or Rising Sign

WHAT PLANETS REPRESENT

Sun = Ego
Moon = Emotions
Mercury = Communication
Venus = Love
Mars = Ambition
Jupiter = Good Luck
Saturn = Career
Uranus = Creativity
Neptune = Intuition
Pluto = Personal Transformations

SIGNS

Aries = I am
Taurus = I have
Gemini = I think
Cancer = I feel
Leo = I will
Virgo = I analyze
Libra = I balance
Scorpio = I desire
Sagittarius = I seek
Capricorn = I use
Aquarius = I know
Pisces = I believe

HOUSES

House # 1 = Personality
House # 2 = Money & finance
House # 3 = Communication
House # 4 = Home life
House # 5 = Creativity
House # 6 = Well-being
House # 7 = Relationships
House # 8 = Transitions
House # 9 = Personal growth
House # 10 = Achievement & career
House # 11 = Social life
House # 12 = Secret activities

To further improve your own astrological skills, combine the meanings of your individual suns, moon and planets with the signs therein.

Example: Sun in Leo (Sun = Ego; Leo is symbol of creativity. Therefore, creativity is of tremendous importance to your self-confidence.)

Then combine the meanings of the sun, moon and planets with the houses therein.

Example: Sun in the 10th House (Sun = Ego; House # 10 = Achievement and career. Therefore, your ego is best expressed in the area of achievement.)

Following this simple procedure gives you an emerging picture of yourself, and is really the first step in becoming your own astrologer.