some beginner-to-astrology questions

Hullo

I have some questions I'm wondering about, having just worked out my natal chart - they're probably very beginner-ish, but if anyone could shed light, it'd be much appreciated.

* I have a stellium, I think - mercury, sun, venus and jupiter all in scorpio & 2nd house, with uranus also in 2nd house but in sagittarius. I've only been able to find out what a stellium (or satellitium) *is*, not how to interpret it.

* Aspects - there are millions of these! How do I start to work out which are more significant than others?

* I'm a little confused with progressions and transits, could anyone explain the difference?

* Interpretation generally - do think its best to go by established definitions or more put-it-together-yourself, for instance how I use the tarot, isn't necessarily the accepted definition of a card more how I see it - can this be applied to signs, planets, element etc in astrology? Basically, is there room for intuition in astrology?

Ok thats it for now (because some other questions I thought I had I've realised were silly!). Astrology seems to get more complicated the more I look into it!

fv x

Hi funkyvixen,

Your questions are very good and ones that all of us have met when starting out in Astrology.

Working backwards:

It's worth starting with a standard book for interpretation, there's not quite the stimulus of looking at a picture as in Tarot. A good starter is Stephen Arroyo's Chart Interpretation Handbook, though there are many other good introductory texts.

To begin with simply keep your interpretation to a matter of a couple of sentences or so for each planet giving most attention to Sun and Moon and then Mercury and Venus, next Jupiter and Satrun and finally the three outer planets. The Ascendant should get a weighting similar to Sun and Moon. As you get the general idea of the planetary energies you can draw out more.

Also get the basic feeling for the signs in much the same way, with a brief interpretation of how they modify the planetary energies. keep it simple to begin with and flesh out as your knowledge and intuition develop.

Don't bother with transits and progressions, or other prediction methods till you feel at home with the planets, signs and aspects. The difference is that Transits occur in real time (they reflect current planetary movements) wheres progressions are more esoteric, the most common being secondaries based on the planetary positions in the days after you were born - and treating each day as equivalent to a year. So if you were born on 1st January 1980 the 20th January 1980 gives your progression for your 20th year.

On aspects keep to the major ones at first - conjunction (not strictly as aspect), Opposition, Square, Trine and Sextile. You can bring in the minor aspects later, though many good professionals may simply keep to the major aspcts and the quincunx (150 degrees). Use the minors to flesh out the interpretaion of the majors, once you are used to them. Indeed as you practice your intuition will begin to replace the book and you will take on your own colour to the planetary meanings.

Finally, stelliums should be treated as a major influence in an area of your life - in your case your second House, which relates to your material and physical resources. The interpretation depends on the planets involved, how far apart they are and the sign they are in. The Sun and Mercury are often in the same sign and as Venus doesn't stray that far from the Sun, it too is frequently in the same sign. All three together is not unusual, though not common. With Jupiter as well you do have a fair concentration of energy in that area - Your vitality, creativity, mind and communication, the way you relate to others and how you expand your horizons are all linked - possibly very closely if the planets are close together and all focused on your interelationship with the material world.

Also if you have any queries as you go, simply post your question. Unfortunately like tarot , there are a variety of approaches and these can be confusing to begin with but we'll be happy to help you in your new quest!

funkyvixen writes:

* Aspects - there are millions of these! How do I start to work out which are more significant than others?

*************************************

In a heavily aspected chart, it might help to sort through the aspects and see which ones have the closest orbs. The closer to exact they are, the more their presence is felt. This is a good way to see what is truly operating most strongly in a person's life.

Good luck in your studies!

O.

Aspects

Aspects are everywhere -- they are like trees in a forest. When you look a lot of trees, what do you see. What stands out.

For aspects you might start by looking for 1) conjunctions of two or more planets, 2) oppositions between two planets, 3) squares or t-squares (two planets in opposition and both square to a third planet). These will get the primary challenges clear in your mind.

After identifying these most-important aspects you can choose any of several paths: 1) do any of these planets aspect or rule the Ascendant or MC, 2) Is the sun or moon involved in any aspect pattern, etc.

That is enough to start with. Chances are these aspects, when found, will paint a broad theme to help you focus on other stuff in the chart. Dave.

Hi funkyvixen,

Welcome to astrology! As Minderwiz says, we're always happy to answer any queries. His post pretty much covers the basics, but just to add in my 2 cents:

- aspects. On top of focusing on the classic aspects and the ones w/the tightest orbs, try to look for aspects from the strongest planets (ie, chart ruler - ruling planet of the Ascendant sign).

- intuition. It takes experience to get a feel for astrology. It's not as fluid as tarot however. Saturn will never be nicey nice about his affairs for example. That's for Venus. The meanings in astrology are far more fixed than tarot.

Also, as Dave says - you need to find a focus. Themes in a chart. It's crucial I think, to understand what motivates a person - what their desires and fears are, when interpreting a chart.

Thankyou very much for all that some things are clearer now!

After I've had a while to work on my birth chart, is there anyone more experienced who'd be willing to give it a quick look over and tell me what they think, so I can compare with what I came up with?

Some things are scarily accurate, only based on the beginner's book I'm using. I've worked out my partner's and mum's charts as well as my own, and am now working on translating all the funny symbols and signs into english!

fv x

funkyvixen,

If you post your natal details, I'll give it the once over when you are ready for a second opinion - and no doubt some others may have comments as well.

We are more than pleased to help someone with their interpretations and help you gain an overview. We can also help answer to any more questions that you have thought of, comment on what you have found and give some help in exploring some of the significant features of your chart.

Good luck with your interpretation !!

PS your natal details are important - it helps if we can feed the stuff into our computers and check calculations etc.

Funkyvixen

I appreciate your willingness to post your questions and I have enjoyed reading the responses. Like you, I am new to astrology and am struggling with synthesis... putting it all to gether into a coherent story. Often I feel like a child learning to read... painfully sounding out the letter of each word! I seem to lack overall comprehension as each part of the chart seems to remain stubbornly isolated...when I so want to make it make sense!

Have you (or anyone else who may be reading this!) come across any sort of resouce which shows a 3-D view of the planets and their movement relative to the zodiac? Perhaps I could gain a greater understanding if I could only see the planets move in relation to the signs. For now the natal chart looks so still and I know there is a story to tell, I just can't seem to lift it off the page.

I'll keep on keepin' on!

Thanks for you honesty!

Nimbus

Nimbus said:

Have you (or anyone else who may be reading this!) come across any sort of resouce which shows a 3-D view of the planets and their movement relative to the zodiac? Perhaps I could gain a greater understanding if I could only see the planets move in relation to the signs. For now the natal chart looks so still and I know there is a story to tell, I just can't seem to lift it off the page.

Click to expand...

Most astrology programs have this built in somewhere; Astrolog, the freeware program, lets you do this by selecting these options in the "Extra" choice on the menu:

Constellations On
Bonus mode (this shows planets)
Show Globe

Astrology using the planets is only slightly 3D - whereas stars are indeed all around a 3D celestial sphere, the planets are restricted to a small band called the ecliptic. In fact, that's the reason that it's possible to represent planets on a 2D chart! Some planets are slightly above or below the ecliptic, but not by much.

I've got a "Getting Started" article at http://www.bristolastrology.net/chrismitchell/getting_started.html and there's a link to my astrology primer there. That explains the basics of how the planets and the zodiac signs relate.

Thanks, Fluffmeister, for the reference and direction to your site!
I have bookmarked it under "Favourites" and will spend some time going through the primer.

I like your suggestion to simply "just do it"! Practical experience may be just the ticket to show me what I know and to highlight areas where I need to learn more.

I have plenty of people who will give freely of their time for me to practice... so now I will try!

Thanks again!