Astrology: Expert Guides and Resources

A full astrological chart with its web of planets, signs, houses, and aspects, is as complex and confounding as an actual human being—and just as hard to understand. To get a sense of your chart without drowning in detail, concentrate on these factors: ‍The sunThe sun reflects your basic identity — your motivations, needs, will, and individuality.

Leaf through a pile of birth charts, and you may notice that in some the planets are huddled together in one part of the circle, while in others they’re scattered around the wheel like numbers on a clock. These groupings can be revealing regardless of the signs and planets involved. Astrologers have developed two main ways of assessing the configurations of an astrological chart:Hemisphere analysis: This one is easy.

What's your sign? A zodiac sign is the portion of the zodiac occupied by the Sun at the moment of your birth. Because the Sun resides in each sign of the zodiac for about a month, those signs are also known as Sun signs. The following table shows the 12 Sun signs — along with their astrological symbols, their

If you want to use astrology to understand yourself and others, you need to know the astrological basics and what they represent: the 12 signs of the zodiac; the sun, the moon, and the planets; and the 12 houses of the horoscope.Signs of the zodiac: symbols, dates, traits, and planetary rulersWhat’s your sign?

Where do extraordinary qualities come from? What goes into the astrological chart of a world-class beauty, a groundbreaking artist, a celebrity, or a billionaire? These people obviously have something special . . . and maybe you do, too.Athletic prowessA Mars/Midheaven conjunction appears in the charts of Muhammad Ali, a Capricorn with said conjunction in Taurus; Tiger Woods, a Capricorn with the same conjunction in Gemini; and Lebron James, a Capricorn with a Mars/Midheaven conjunction in Pisces.

An astrological birth chart can easily have dozens of aspects in it. The aspects that deserve the closest attention are those that are the tightest, those that involve the Sun or the Moon, and those that weave three or more planets into a single pattern, as in these configurations: The Grand Trine: Three planets, each at a 120°angle to the other two, form a giant good-luck triangle called a Grand Trine, shown in this figure.

Every astrological chart includes the Moon, eight planets, twelve houses, and more. But the core of almost every horoscope is the Sun, which is why we are beginning with the signs of the Zodiac that begin in Spring. ©ollomy/Shutterstock.com The signs of Spring: Aries, Taurus, and Gemini The Sun begins its journey through the signs and the seasons on or about March 20, when it enters Aries.

Just as the band of sky where the Sun, the Moon, and the planets can be found is divided into 12 signs, an astrological chart is divided into 12 houses. Each astrological house influences different areas of your life, as shown in this table: House Area of Influence First House Appearance, outward personality