Since ancient times, the stars, planets and this vast universe have amazed us – which has given birth to the study of them called – “Astrology”. Astrology, considered as the ‘Mother of all Sciences’, is one of the earliest studies conducted by mankind, and is founded on ancient theories of energy patterns, like feng shui, acupuncture, and yoga.
Believers and non-believers alike, almost everybody know their Zodiac Sign. The Zodiac Sign, and their traits, is the broadest term in astrology. The Zodiac Sign (like Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Cancer etc) merely indicates the position of Sun at the time of an individual’s birth, and thus called “Zodiac Sun Signs”. In astrology, there are 10 planets – apart from pseudo-planets and points. The Sun is only one of them.
As a matter of convention, the Sun and the Moon are considered planets, despite being a star and a satellite. Many modern schools of thoughts refer them as “luminaries”. However, it makes little difference, and is only a matter of nomenclature.
The Sun – being the most massive of influences, and the Moon – being the closest of influences, are very important considerations. However, the other planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc) complete the picture. For example, if you are a Cancerian, it means: at the time of your birth, the Sun was in Cancer. The Sun provides some pre-defined traits to your personality. But are all Cancerians the same? The position of the other planets at the time of your birth completes the picture to provide: What kind of a Cancerian are you?
Thus, the Zodiac Sign is a very broad term, and the complete personality can only be gained from a Natal Chart, also known as a Birth Chart.
The Natal Chart, or the Birth Chart, is the snapshot of the sky at our time of birth. It records the exact positions of all the planets at the exact date and time of our birth, relative to the place of our birth. This includes the exact position of the Sun, too. In other words, the Natal Chart or Birth Chart is the record of the moment of our birth, with respect to the “Celestial Clock” of the Universe. It is the most meaningful information in astrology, and truly identifies the personality of an individual.
The planets, including the Sun and the Moon, continues to move along their own orbits. This movement is known as “transit”. During these transits, they enter and exit Zodiac Signs, exhibiting certain properties. For example, when Mercury (Quick Thinking, Sense of Reasoning) transits Cancer (Sensitive, Emotional), you could interpret that “thinking would be influenced by emotions”. But how and what? and whether the “thinking” would do any good or harm are provided by different parameters.
The “how and what” are interpreted with the position of your “House”, where the event (Cancer, in the above example) is occurring. And how the resultant influence (energies) will play out will depend on the relationship (angle, or “aspect”) that the transiting planet (Mercury, in the above example) forms with your Sun and other planets – both transiting and fixed in your Natal Chart.
In simple understanding: Each “planet” has its own function; The “zodiac signs” extend how the planets will function; The “houses” show where the extended functions will take effect; and the “aspects” indicate the nature of the effect – whether neutral, favourable, or challenging.
For example, the Moon (Emotion) in Aries (Action oriented) will be extra active and fiery – in the 5th House (Pleasure and Creativity) would affect Love & Romance. In other words, the planets provide you with the pleasures of fiery romance, and extra active love life.
This forms the basis of predictions in astrology, also popularly known as “Predictive Astrology”.
Although this sounds simple, the real interpretations are far more complex, when all planets and their resultant energies, are taken into account. However, this is a good place to start understanding the basics of astrology.
Sources:
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-astrology-206723
https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/understanding-astrology-basics/
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