The Basics of Astrology

What is a Natal Chart?

If you look at the words 'natal chart' you could read them another way 'birth map' - this may help you understand what is being talked about. Basically, the natal chart is a map of the sky including the positions of the planets for the time that you were born. Where you are born has an impact on what is seen in the sky, e.g., if two people were born on the same day and at the same time but in a different city and country, what is seen overhead would be different. This would mean that their natal charts showing planetary placements would be different from each other.

So, the first step in using astrology is to draw a map of the sky for the moment a person is born. This map includes all the planets, plus a few other points of interest such as the horizon and the middle of the sky directly over the birthplace. The time of birth is important for detailed work because it affects the position of the various parts of the chart, in particular the zodiac sign on the eastern horizon (this gives the Rising Sign/Ascendant) and position of the point over the birthplace (this gives the position of the Mid heaven).

If the time of birth is unknown it can be worked out through major life events by an experienced astrologer who specializes in this branch of astrology: this is known as rectification. To do this you would need to give the astrologer as many major life events as possible such as: marriage; birth of children; major moves; divorce; death; new business ventures or jobs; and/or any other significant changes to your life.

Another way of finding out what time you were born is to contact the hospital you were born in. In the majority of cases they have this information recorded on the mother's file. I know this is the case in Australia but I'm not sure about other countries but it is still worth a try!

Natal Chart Interpretations

Once the natal chart has been prepared, the positions of the planets in different zodiac signs (ie, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc) can be 'interpreted'. This is an area that people interested in astrology usually become a little skeptical about the validity of astrology because the interpretations can vary greatly from one astrologer to another. One way to understand these differences in interpretation is to understand that the planets and other points in the natal chart are used as symbols: as such, they have quite a broad ability to represent different qualities depending on the age, sex, marital status, belief system, etc of the person whose natal chart is being interpreted.

Interpretation is also affected by the particular areas of interest of the individual astrologer. For example, some of the areas of specialization include psychological, past-life, medical, child-based, and the list goes on!

The type of information gained from the natal chart includes understanding the early home life, relationship with parents and how these affect adult relationships. There are many others areas that can be looked at in quite a comprehensive way such as how you are perceived by the people around you, emotional needs, how you express love and affection, etc.

The information found in the natal chart can also provide an insight into what talents a person may possess that have not yet been realized or used to full potential.

Natal charts offer the benefit of self-understanding which may give a person a whole new perception of themselves, direction in life and open up possibilities for new directions in life; both in the physical and psychological sense. Read more!

Basis of Zodiacs signs and Horoscopes – How truthful it was?

Zodiac horoscopes signs are quite distinctive in a way that the presence of this traditional prediction still exist nowadays. Read this article's paragraph to learn their existence and meanings.

Many of us never really believe on zodiac signs and horoscopes, simply because most of people thinks that the reports comes up are baseless and inconsiderable. But the basis and evidence of astrology including zodiac horoscopes are already presents during the humane civilizations of mankind.

Astronomers and astrologers are comes up to the believes that the destiny and life of a person can be seen through the movements of stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies that are present in the galaxy. The astrological aspects and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moments of a person's birth and life events that are being charted is a peculiar stages which can be the basis of the human destiny's. Zodiac signs and horoscopes are already develop at the late 2000 BC by the Egyptians and Mesopotamians and marked the seasons by the constellations we now call Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, Aries and etc. which also represents the twelve equal segments or divisions of the zodiac. Many believes that celestial phenomena reflect human activity on the principle of “as above, so below”, so that the twelve signs at the same time are held to represent the twelve basic personality or characteristics of expressions.

A very strong link exists between the time of year you were born and your personality type. Everyone born under a particular zodiac signs will have at their core, basic personality characteristic that they share with other people born on the same sun-sign. The twelve signs of the zodiac form a kind of "clock" that relates directly to the sun's journey through the heavens, a orbit or cycle that takes one year to complete.

The zodiac also is broken down into smaller cycles, and each cycle has an effect on personality. The primary astrological indicators in the zodiac are, starting with the most common, Sun signs, moon signs, the ascendant and mid-heaven. The moon cycle takes just 28 days to complete, so while the sun is making it's trek through one sign, the moon will have passed through all twelve. There is another basic cycle to consider, it is related to the sign rising over the horizon as the earth rotates on it's axis. It is these particular cycles that provide the basic astrology sun-sign profile.

The following are the twelve constellations with their Latin names which gave their names to the zodiac signs, which are still used by many astronomers today

1. Aries (The Ram)

2. Taurus (The Bull)

3. Gemini (The Twins)

4. Cancer (The Crab)

5. Leo (The Lion)

6. Virgo (The Virgin)

7. Libra (The Scales)

8. Scorpius (The Scorpion)

9. Sagittarius (The Archer)

10. Capricornus (The Sea-goat)

11. Aquarius (The Water-bearer)

12. Pisces (The Fishes)

Read more!