A brief overview to familiarize yourself with the components of a Western astrology chart.

THE NECESSARY PIECES

HOUSES

The 12 sections of the chart are called houses and reflect how we’re able to bring out the energy of a particular planetary influence in our daily lives. There are several methods for calculating house cusps, such as Placidus, Equal, Koch, etc. The method I learned and use is Regiomontanus. It’s important to know that the Ascendant and Midheaven degree remain the same under each, but the intermediary house cusps can change, resulting in different interpretations.

The starting point of the house by sign and degree is called the Cusp. The cusp is considered a sensitive point and the sign on it or a planet making an aspect to it is very influential to the affairs the house governs. A planet within 5 degrees of the next house cusp is usually considered working for the following house. For example, the cusp of this chart’s 9th house is 15° 01’ Libra.

•1st House/Ascendant (ASC) – Personality, outward behavior, appearance, life

•2nd House – Our possessions, including earned income, self-esteem, talents

•3rd House – How we communicate and learn, our immediate community, brothers and sisters, teachers

•4th House – Home and family, our background/heritage, our foundation, the end of life

•5th House – Love, hobbies, children, creativity, speculation and competitive drive

•6th House – Health, daily habits, service and the use of our talents

•7th House – Partnerships (professional and romantic), marriage

•8th House – Sex, death, debts, legacies, the money and possessions of others

•9th House – Our outlook, adventure and freedom, philosophy and higher learning, foreign travel

•10th House/Midheaven/MC – Future, career, honors and undertakings, our standing in the community

•11th House – Friendships, affiliation with groups and organizations, mass media, networking

•12th House – The unconscious, spirituality, suffering, limitations, hospitalizations

PLANETS

There are five traditional planets, two luminaries (Sun + Moon), and three modern planets. Modern planets are sometimes called breakaway planets, and when they dominate a chart, can indicate someone who goes against societal norms.

Traditional Planets + Luminaries:

• Sun – The will, volition, honors, the father/men in general

•Moon – Instincts, memory, the mother/women in general

•Mercury – Cognition, communication, reflexes

•Venus – Love, beauty, harmony and partnerships

•Mars – Muscle, force, action, aggression

•Jupiter – Expansion, faith, ethics, optimism, abundance

•Saturn – Constriction, discipline, concentration, foresight

Modern Planets

•Uranus – Originality, higher mind, sudden change, rebellion. Believed to be the higher octave of Mercury.

•Neptune – Dissolution, fantasy, illusion, eroticism. Believed to be the higher octave of Venus.

•Pluto – Destruction and rebirth, violent upheaval, intensity. Believed to be the higher octave of Mars.

SIGNS

The Signs represent the twelve 30° sections that comprise the full 360° circle of the horoscope and are named after constellations the Sun passes through in its yearly orbit. Each sign is comprised of a unique combination of Polarity (masculine or feminine), Quadruplicity (cardinal, fixed, mutable), and Triplicity or Elements (fire, earth, air, water). This combination leads to a specific expression of attributes for each sign and a few keywords are associated to each below.

Aries - Masculine, Cardinal, Fire. Independence, leadership, aggression. Natural sign on the 1st house of the Archetype.
Taurus - Feminine, Fixed, Earth. Stability, connection to the material world through the senses, stubbornness. Natural sign on the 2nd house of the Archetype.
Gemini - Masculine, Mutable, Air. Logical, flow of ideas, curiosity, superficial. Natural sign on the 3rd house of the Archetype.
Cancer - Feminine, Cardinal, Water. Home and family, sentimentality, clinginess. Natural sign on the 4th house of the Archetype.
Leo - Masculine, Fixed, Fire. Organization, creativity, self-centered. Natural sign on the 5th house of the Archetype.
Virgo - Feminine, Mutable, Earth. Analytical, purity, meticulous, anxious. Natural sign on the 6th house of the Archetype.
Libra - Masculine, Cardinal, Air. Partnerships, art, harmony, beauty. Natural sign on the 7th house of the Archetype.
Scorpio - Feminine, Fixed, Water. Emotional intensity, mystery, sex, death, and rebirth, obsessiveness. Natural sign on the 8th house of the Archetype.
Sagittarius - Masculine, Mutable, Fire. Exploration and freedom, higher learning/philosophy, bluntness. Natural sign on the 9th house of the Archetype.
Capricorn - Feminine, Cardinal, Earth. Obligation, foresight, discipline, self-survival. Natural sign on the 10th house of the Archetype.
Aquarius - Masculine, Fixed, Air. Altruism, visionary, rebellious, detached. Natural sign on the 11th house of the Archetype.
Pisces - Feminine, Mutable, Water. Emotional dissolution, sensitivity, psychic abilities, suffering. Natural sign on the 12th house of the Archetype.

Polarity: Refers to whether a sign acts on its environment or reacts to it.

Masculine: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, Aquarius
Feminine: Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, Pisces

Cardinal/Fixed/Mutable: This refers to a sign’s motivation.

•Cardinal signs are goal-oriented, pushing to move forward and gain momentum over time – Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn

•Fixed signs resist change. Their motivation is to protect the status quo – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius

•Mutable signs dissipate energy in multiple directions and aren’t strongly motivated towards a specific goal – Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces

Earth/Air/Fire/Water: The Elements refer to the fundamental drive of the sign.

•Earth signs are literally “down to earth” in that they value practicality, security and anything they can hold in their hands – Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

•Air signs value intelligence and ethics and allow for the exchange of ideas (communication) – Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

•Fire signs value freedom and are dynamic, enthusiastic, and impulsive – Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

•Water signs value emotional connection and are connected to the drive to continue life – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces

RULER

In astrology, rulership refers to the planet that is associated with a particular sign. Each sign has at least one ruler, but sometimes two. It can be expressed in different ways, such as the Mars is the ruler of the 3rd house with Aries on the cusp.

Aries - Mars Taurus - Venus Gemini - Mercury

Cancer - Moon Leo - Sun Virgo - Mercury

Libra - Venus Scorpio - Mars + Pluto Sagittarius - Jupiter

Capricorn - Saturn Aquarius - Saturn + Uranus Pisces - Jupiter + Neptune

DISPOSITOR

Similar to rulership, it refers to the relationship of a planet in a sign. For example, Mars is the dispositor of this Saturn because it rules the sign of Aries. Or you can say the Saturn in Aries is disposed by Mars. The planet and its dispositor work as partners, but like human relationships, they don’t always have the same goals.

ASPECT

These are the mathematical relationships between the planets in the chart and how the energies combine. Some astrologers include a variety of smaller aspects, but I only focus on the major ones listed below. There is an allowable “orb” for aspects and I use a range of 5 to 8 degrees.

•Square – 90 degrees apart, denotes a push or speeding up. It tends to force an action or outcome. It can motivate or be aggressive.

•Opposition – 180 degrees apart, denotes a delay or avoidance

•Trine – 120 degrees apart, denotes an easy flow of energy

•Sextile – 60 degrees apart, also denotes an easy flow of energy, but it’s not as powerful as the trine. A little work is needed.

•Conjunction – 0 degrees apart, denotes a combination of the joined planetary energies

CHART PRIORITIES

The method of interpretation I learned starts with prioritizing a few specific places and planets to get a clearer sense of the person’s motivation and drive. The remaining factors, like aspects, rulers and dispositors, shape and refine it further.

The Ascendant (ASC): This is the cusp of the 1st house, in this case shown as 18° 47’ of Capricorn. The 1st house represents life and how we appear to the outside world. It has to do with our vitality, appearance, mannerisms, motivations, etc.

The Midheaven (MC): This is the cusp of the 10th house, shown here as 13° 41’ of Scorpio. The 10th house represents our future, our honors and undertakings, career, and our position in the community.

The Sun: Referred to as a planet or luminary in astrology, the Sun has to do with our vitality, our drive and our volition. The sign and house placement represent how you organize your life to achieve what it is you want. This Sun is at 24° 11’ Capricorn.

The Moon: Referred to as a planet or luminary in astrology, the Moon is our emotions, memory, how we learn, and ultimately, what it is we crave. The Sun/Moon relationship is important because it shows how effectively we can organize our lives (the Sun) to achieve what we crave (the Moon). This Moon is at 02° 35’ Sagittarius.

The Angles: This refers to the 4 cardinal points on the chart, which are the cusps of houses 1, 4, 7 and 10. They are considered most important because they represent the goals of life as represented in the Archetype. You (1st house) and a partner (7th house) coming together to build a shared home (4th house) and future (10th house). The strength of the angles, and ultimately the Ascendant of a chart, orient the person and show whether or not the person can achieve their goals.

Anything Unusual: This includes noticing what’s missing as well as what’s overwhelming. These factors can change the overall expression of the chart for better or worse. A few examples include, 4 or more planets in one sign, a majority of planets in one section of the chart, intercepted houses, an abundance of one aspect form, or a complete lack of one element.

Anatomy of an Astrological Chart