Astrology 101 or Signs of the Times by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

Imagine my chagrin when I discovered the ‘fun’ and ‘easy’ course I signed up for to balance my tough semester in college turned out to be  astrophysics (astronomy) instead of celestial configurations and zodiac signs (astrology)? With no aspiriations to be an astronaught, the bottom line is that I still find birth astrology more interesting than physics. Unfortunately I had to education myself in Astrology 101 for dummies.

For your own crash coarse, here’s a chart of the zodia signs, symbols and the basic traits and planets under which people are born:

 

Take a look at your birth sign and the traits. Can you see anything about yourself in your sign? If you’re not sure, it may make more sense if you look at the ‘ruler’ or heavy influencer on your personality and character traits. Match your ruler to the chart below.

I saw some clear truths about my own personality and motivations when I compared this. However, I think if your influence is North node, South node, or Chiron (an asteroid), it may be more difficult to understand. Maybe this will help: The nodes are also known as the nodes of fate and destiny, and they are actually lunar nodes that guide you toward your most fulfilling spiritual life path. To further explain, they symbolize the position of the moon and sun at the time of your birth, where the moon’s monthly path crosses the sun's annual path near the time of your birth. These are theoretical, not literal, which makes the fact that they represent your spiritual realms clearer.

They also help you understand what baggage you must leave behind to get there. A South Node stands for where you’re coming from, your birth baggage such as past life lessons not yet learned or gifts and qualities you have already mastered and possess. The North Node indicates what you are learning in this life, your destiny. It may not be easy, but if you do you will be more fulfilled.

Chiron, on the other hand, is actually an asteroid that orbits our solar system somewhere between Uranus and Saturn, though some feel that like Pluto it is a dwarf planet. If this is your influencer, it’s providing an opportunity for healing. Is there some area of your life in which you seem always to struggle? Perhaps it’s finance, or family relations. Focus on this area and find ways in which you must deal with these issues, ways to solve problems and release baggage. Now is the time to seek spiritual healing. Some feel it’s past life healing that needs to be addressed and worked through. But whether you believe it’s past baggage or current issues, you need to face and deal with these things that are holding you back from achieving spiritual growth and healing.

Each ‘sign’ is also represented by a ‘house’. Your birth month reveals your house number, like your astrological address. They are as follows:

 

House	Area of Influence
First House	Appearance, outward personality
Second House	Money, possessions, values
Third House	Communication, immediate environment, brothers and sisters
Fourth House	Home, parents, roots, circumstances at the end of life
Fifth House	Romance, children, creativity, fun
Sixth House	Work, health, service
Seventh House	Marriage and other partnerships
Eighth House	Sex, death, regeneration, other people’s money
Ninth House	Higher education, travel, religion, philosophy, publishing, law
Tenth House	Career, status, reputation
Eleventh House	Friends, groups, goals, aspirations
Twelfth House	Seclusion, secrets, spirituality, self-sabotage, institutions

 

There is some disagreement in how to calculate houses. Some astronomers use noon or midnight to calculate a birth house if the exact time of birth is unknown. The mapping of these houses relates to the position of the sun’s orbit. For your purpose of understanding, these houses refer to probable physical settings as well as life experiences.

Anyone who’s taken existentialism (the study of self as it relates to each person's individual free will to make life choices and the impact personal setting and cultural influence or rules has upon free will and human potential) understands the cultural and social differences experienced in various locations. So settings do influence life experiences as well as our perceptions and emotional responses to them. Our experiences are often relative to our setting, and our world views are influenced by that diversity or lack thereof. This is why excellent universities refuse to hire their own graduates for tenure-track positions until they have worked a number of years in a different environment. They want to ensure a diversity of thought and influence so students can achieve their highest potential.

The same holds true for astrological houses. If you know and understand yours, you probably understand your comfort zone, but you should also understand areas that need further development or exploration.

Using these houses, along with birth signs, horoscope astrologers achieve those popular “daily” predictions of influences for your present days, upcoming weeks, and future.

Believe it or not, but at least now you should have gained a general understanding of Astrology VS Astronomy.