Part 4

Welcome back to my intro to astrology series! Last time I went over the planets and today I will be diving into natal chart structure and a little bit about houses. This series is here for people who are clueless about astrology and would like to develop a working knowledge of it. So please, do not use my series to administer astrological consultations to other people, as this will not prepare you to be able to ethically do that. This is to empower you to understand your own chart and understand what astrologers are talking about when you consult them.

We are now ready to start exploring charts. The components of a natal chart depict what positions the planets occupy in the sky relative to the zodiac and then divide the zodiac into houses. Houses are where deep astrological analysis is able to take place. We know there are 12 zodiac signs, and these also make up 12 houses in a natal chart. This is the part of natal astrology where people’s heads tend to start spinning. There are all kinds of different chart styles and housing systems and it can be difficult to understand what is being represented in a chart. To really understand what we are seeing in a natal chart, we need to start with the sky.

Above is a screenshot I’ve taken in the free stargazing application, Stellarium. This application allows us to observe a simulation of the sky outside. I’ve chosen a random location near the equator so that the ecliptic cuts as straight across the sky as possible. Then, I zoomed out so you could see the entirety of the sky. In red you can see the compass directions. When you look to the eastern horizon, you are looking towards a point in the sky that is referred to as the ascendant or lagna (Sanskrit) in astrology. The ascendant specifically is the point where the eastern horizon meets the ecliptic, and thus the zodiac. This point shifts around depending on how close or far away you are from the Earth’s equator. The zodiac sign where the ascendant falls is commonly called the rising sign because it literally rises above the horizon and across the sky throughout the day, just like our Sun. Opposite this point is called the descendant, at the western horizon where the sun sets. Between them lies the midheaven, which sits opposite the imum coeli – through the ground to the opposite side of the earth where you are located. In terms of natal astrology, these four points represent the cardinal houses (1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses).

Before we get deeper into houses we need to briefly go over chart design and components. A chart shows us the position of the zodiac signs and which of the 12 houses they occupy. There are many styles for how to draw a natal chart. The Western tradition typically uses a circle, while the Vedic tradition uses a couple different shapes: the “diamond chart” (North Indian Style), and the “square chart” (South Indian Style). All three are pictured below:

While they look vastly different from each other, these chart styles are all able to accomplish the same thing: giving us a pictorial representation of the positions of the planets, zodiac, and houses across the sky. Your chart style preference is largely going to come down to whether you prefer the houses to be stationary (Western Chart Style and North Indian Style), or the zodiac to be stationary (South Indian Style). I prefer the former, so I tend to use the Western and North Indian styles in my practice. The movement of the zodiac in these two styles is consistent with the way it looks in the sky, which is part of why I like it.

Circling back to before, now that we know about the cardinal points and chart styles we can start understanding how a chart relates to the sky. In any chart style, the ascendant or the 1st house always represents the eastern horizon, while the descendant or 7th house always represents the western horizon. The midheaven or 10th house always represents the highest point up in the sky, while the imum coeli or 4th house always represents the lowest point beneath the ground from where you are located. Therefore, houses 7 through 12 are “above ground” and visible to us in the sky, while houses 1 through 6 are “below ground” or not visible to us.

Now we are ready to dip into houses. In natal astrology, the zodiac is divided into 12 houses in addition to the 12 signs. There are many methods of calculating houses, but since this is meant to be an introductory level series I am going to focus on whole signs houses. In the whole signs scheme, each astrological house is the full 30 degrees of a sign, starting with the ascendant. The houses begin where the signs begin, which means the ascendant can fall anywhere within the 1st house.

Let’s cast a chart for the positions we captured in Stellarium. Note that since we are using the positions of the constellations themselves, this is going to be a sidereal chart. Using the image from before, we can see that the ascendant is located at the very end of Taurus in the sky, which makes Taurus the 1st house. This defacto makes the 7th house Scorpio. The midpoint between the two falls in Aquarius, the 10th house, which makes Leo the 4th house – which we cannot see in the sky because it is “beneath” us. Here is what such a chart would look like in the Western style:

You’ll find the ascendant, called the AC, is located at the very end of Taurus. The line that represents the ascendant-descendant axis is the plane from which we can observe the sky. Planets above this line are visible to us in the sky (depending on whether it it night or day, etc.), and if we were to look up at the night sky represented in this chart we would see Jupiter and Saturn among the stars. The other planets in the chart would not be visible because they are on the other side of the earth. If you remember, the lunar nodes are fictitious points in the sky, so we cannot see them regardless of where we are. You’ll also see a point in this chart called the MC; this is the true mathematically calculated midheaven in the sky, which doesn’t always fall in the 10th house depending on where on the globe you are located.

Beside the planetary glyphs you will see numbers. These numbers tell us what degree of a zodiac sign the planet occupies. Zodiac signs are measured in degrees and minutes. Degrees represent the angular degrees of a circle – the zodiacal wheel being a 360 degree circle divided into 12 sections. Minutes are a single degree divided into 60 parts. Each zodiac sign is 30 degrees long, starting with 0 degrees and 0 minutes going up to 29 degrees and 59 minutes. In this chart you will see that the Moon is located at 9 degrees and 59 minutes of Leo – this Moon is in the very end of the 10th degree of Leo. Meanwhile, Mercury is located at 21 degrees and 01 minutes of Virgo, meaning Mercury has just entered the 22nd degree of Virgo. Degrees can carry some meaning, but it is not necessary to know in great detail at this stage. A general rule of thumb for degrees is that the higher a degree is, the more “mature” that planet is considered to be. A planet such as Mars at 0 degrees and 48 minutes Gemini is considered a very “young” planet, just getting started in his journey through Gemini.

By now, you should be able to look at a chart and be able to tell what was going on in the sky at the moment for which the chart was cast. Now we can look deeper at houses and what they represent in a chart, in the next article. See you next time.

I am currently studying to become a professional astrologer and if you are interested in receiving a brief consultation please check out my rates and services page. I am grateful for opportunities to practice my skills and increase my experience.

Part 3, Part 5

Welcome back to my intro to astrology series! Last time I went over the zodiac signs and their attributes. Today I will be diving into the planets and their various attributes. This series is here for people who are clueless about astrology and would like to develop a working knowledge of it. So please, do not use my series to administer astrological consultations to other people, as this will not prepare you to be able to ethically do that. This is to empower you to understand your own chart and understand what astrologers are talking about when you consult them.

The Planets

In sanskrit the planets are referred to as grahas, which means “to grasp,” in the sense that these celestial objects are regarded as representations of universal truths that grab hold of us. As human beings, we are grabbed by the influence of the planets – and this is reflected in the rich tradition of stargazing and mythmaking that has been present throughout the history of humanity as we covered in the history of astrology. Humans have always been gripped by the heavens.

In astrology when we talk about planets, we include the Sun, Moon, and the two lunar nodes even though they are not technically planets. The Sun and the Moon are known as luminaries because they give off light. The lunar nodes are mathematical points in the sky where the paths of the Sun and the Moon meet – meaning eclipses happen when the Sun and Moon come in conjunction with these points. They are not true planets, but for the purpose of astrology it’s convenient to refer to them all as planets.

In traditional astrology we use the 9 planet scheme (the 7 planets and the two lunar nodes) primarily for natal readings. The 7 planets are what’s visible in the sky to the naked eye: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. We see the Sun during the daytime (and sometimes the Moon!), and during the nighttime we can observe the Moon and the other planets in the sky. They appear as bright shining stars – but unlike the stars, which remain stationed relative to each other, the planets move across constellations. Ancient astrologers used to study the night sky to track the movements of the planets, using the data they gathered to calculate their trajectories and predict their movements.

The outer planets Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto can be used but they are often interpreted more as generational planets because they are so slow-moving. It takes between 7 and 20 years for these planets to travel across a single zodiac sign – so their placement in the natal chart is not particularly distinguishing to the individual as they will share the placement with everyone else who was born in the last two or so generations as them. Exceptions are made when an outer planet is closely associated with one of the other 9 planets, but for now it is not necessary to go into detail about them. Below is a table of the 9 planets and their attributes.

Each planet is commonly associated with a deity or mythic character depending on the region where the astrological practice originates. These associations carry archetypal experiences that inform the significations of the planets. In Hindu mythology, the planets themselves are deities and are also associated with more central deities such as Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Parvati, and so on. In Greek mythology, the planets are heavily associated with the Olympian pantheon. It is worthwhile to explore the mythological associations with the planets to get a clearer understanding of the archetypal themes they represent in the natal chart.

Additionally, the traits that I have listed in the above table are influenced and sometimes intensified or impaired based on the zodiac sign that a given planet occupies. We will be going over this in the following section.

Dignities & Compatibility

The planets are good at being themselves, and the zodiac signs essentially represent the environment in which a planet is trying to express itself. Some environments are more compatible with the traits expressed by the planets than others. When a planet is placed in a compatible or supportive environment, its traits are able to bear fruitful results to the native. Likewise, when a planet is placed in an environment that is incompatible or unsupportive, we can see the planet struggle to achieve its purpose. We know what zodiac signs are harmonious for a planet by assessing that planet’s dignities and its compatibility with other planets that rule the zodiac signs.

As a general rule of thumb, planets that own fire and water signs get along with other planets that own fire and water signs. Likewise, planets that own earth and air signs get along with other planets that own earth and air signs. It makes sense, because the elemental qualities are in part related to the kinds of traits and themes that are represented by a planet. The fire and water signs are owned by the Sun, the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter, while the earth and air signs are owned by Mercury, Venus, and Saturn. The Moon is a bit of an exception to this rule, and is friendly towards all other planets. Again, this is a rule of thumb, so there will be nuance that can be discerned by more experienced astrologers.

Dignities, on the other hand, refers to a given planet’s preferred signs to be in. First and foremost, planets like to be in signs that they rule, known as domicile. We learned what signs the planets rule in the last article. Additionally, each planet also has a sign that they especially like, and when a planet is in that sign it is considered exalted. A planet in its sign of exaltation is able to embody the highest expression of its natural gifts. The opposite of exaltation is debilitation and the opposite of domicile is fall or detriment. As a rule, the sign of a planet’s debilitation or detriment is opposite its sign of exaltation or domicile, respectively. Why is that the case? It is because the sign that is opposite a given zodiac sign exhibits qualities which are in a polarizing relationship to the given sign. That is why we considered the signs as pairs in the last article – they form opposites that resist each other, but also benefit from learning from each other. When a planet finds itself occupying a sign which is opposite its domicile or exaltation, that planet is out of its element, where its natural traits are challenged or inadequate for the environment. A person who has only ever known warfare and violence, for example, is going to have under-developed empathy and compassion for others. Take this person out of a warzone and place them into a children’s nursery and they are going to find that all the skills and traits they’ve learned through war are wholly inadequate for tending to babies and children. Below is a table of the planets and their dignities:

You’ll see that the lunar nodes are missing from this list – that is because they don’t rule zodiac signs. There are some schools of thought that do assign rulership of some signs to the nodes, but I do not think that is helpful for developing a working knowledge of astrology and can create some confusion. In my opinion it is best to start out with the very bare basics before adding in more nuanced takes on astrological theory.

Know that there is no cause for panic if you have any planets in their fall or debilitation. It simply brings challenges to the areas of life those planets represent; the native generally has to work harder to practice and feel confident wielding the under-developed attributes of a fallen or debilitated planet, which has its own benefits. Even though it can take a long time to learn such lessons, often the people who have had to struggle the hardest to learn something end up mastering it in ways that others with natural acuity do not or take for granted. It takes more conscious effort to become good at something that doesn’t come naturally to us, so please do not despair. Likewise, there are some drawbacks that can be experienced with planets that are in exaltation or domicile – it all depends on context.

If you’ve been following along this far, then I would like you to challenge yourself with the following question: Why is a given planet exalted in the sign of its exaltation, and not some other sign? Choose your favorite planet and use the knowledge you’ve learned from the previous articles so far, then comment below with your answer. Next time we will be learning about the housing system and house lords. Take care.

I am currently studying to become a professional astrologer and if you are interested in receiving a brief consultation please check out my rates and services page. I am grateful for opportunities to practice my skills and increase my experience.