Most magazines and newspapers feature horoscopes. Some are written by professional astrologers and some are penned by staff at the newspaper/magazine. It is understandable that most of us associate horoscopes with those columns. We also tend to deduce that our Sun sign is what astrology is about. Horoscopes came into being in the 1920's in Britain, where astrologers wanted to popularize astrology to the masses. The easiest division is the Sun signs; twelve in all. These days we can read our horoscopes on line from all over the world. The dates given for the signs tend to reflect the time zone where they are published. The Sun changes at a specific time; the date is somewhat predictable. The issue that these dates bring up is that if you happen to be born on the day when the Sun changed signs, we don't know without a birth time, which sign your Sun is in. Read about cusps.
In astrology, the astrological charts cast for inviduals are also called horoscopes. We are all more than Sun signs. Sun sign astrology is a very simplified form of real astrology. After all, there are more than twelve kinds of people. In order to get a more detailed description of an individual and his/her nature astrologers need a date of birth, a time of birth and a place of birth. In order to forecast how we experience life astrologers use predictive tools such as transits and progressions. That is natural because we change in the course of our lives and we don't continue to do things the same as we did as babies, toddlers, teenagers, young adults and so on.
The word horoscope refers to the Ascendant in the chart. A specific degree of a zodiacal sign was rising at the time you were born. Someone born in Australia with the same birthdate than someone born in Canada will have a different horoscope. Someone born on the same day as you and in the same hospital have many factors common, however, the time of birth changes how the chart (horoscope) looks. The changes define the differences in the two individuals. The adjacent graphic shows a part of a horoscope. It is filled with symbols, lines and divisions.
Each symbol yields information; if we take the symbol for Venus and the symbol for Mars and place these on two doors indicating toilets. As a woman you'd know to pick the one with Venus on the door, because it is also a symbol for woman. Mars is the symbol for man. When astrologers look at Venus and what it represents, they note the sign Venus is in, which one of the twelve segments in the chart it falls into and how it is connected to other planets in order to interpret what it means for the owner of the chart or horoscope.
Most of us know a fair bit about astrology, we have learned things by observing people in our lives. We tend to make statements such as I like Leos and I cannot stand Capricorn. Each one of us has signs that we value and signs that we don't understand.
There are twelve signs of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Our Sun might be the only thing in our Horoscope that is in the sign we read in a weekly, monthly or annual horoscope column. The signs give us the adjectives to describe the way something is. Aries is energetic, pioneering, impetuous, and loves to begin new things.
Taurus is
In the horoscope, in addition to the Sun, we have the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Many astrologers also use the four major asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta as well as Chiron. In addition, there are a variety of calculated points such as the Nodes of the Moon, Lilith associated with the dark side of the Moon, the part of fortune, the part of marriage, etc.
The chart is further divided into twelve segments, called houses. The houses represent our experiences in life. There is a house for personality, family, work, health, marriage, career, relationship, children, etc. In the horoscope, in addition to the Sun, we have the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Many astrologers also use the four major asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta as well as Chiron. In addition, there are a variety of calculated points such as the Nodes of the Moon, Lilith associated with the dark side of the Moon, the part of fortune, the part of marriage, etc.
The adjacent image is a personal horoscope. In the small image it is difficult to see the individual components, but if you click on the image you can see a bigger version of this astrological chart.
Find the spot that would represent three o'clock, just below that line you can see a circle with a dot in the middle--that is the Sun. The Sun has a symbol next to it. That squiggly is the symbol for Leo. When writing a horoscope column that is all the astrologer can address. If you are looking at the bigger version of this chart you can see that the Sun is at a specfic degree, which expressed in degrees, minutes and even seconds should we wish to have more detail. For readers interested in learning the glyphs, here is the link to another page.
The Moon travels the fastest and can be in any sign of the Zodiac. Meaning that let's say your Sun is in Taurus, your Moon can be in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces. The Moon changes signs every 2.5 days, I have a listing for the Moon for the current year on my website. The Moon shows us your emotional responses and what you need in order to feel safe.
Mercury is never too far from the Sun, which means that your Mercury can be in the same sign as your Sun or the two adjacent signs. (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces). Let's take a Leo Sun, Mercury will be in one of these three signs: Cancer, Leo, Virgo. The list of signs is in the brackets, just look at the two signs on either side your Sun sign. Mercury shows us how you think and communicate.
Venus is also close to the Sun; Venus can be in one of four signs in addition to your Sun sign. A Leo Sun can have Venus in Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo or Libra. A Scorpio Sun can have Venus in Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Capricorn. It becomes easy to see how much variance there can be between individuals, who share their Sun signs.
Banner Graphic by, Warwick J. Massey, www.silentw.com
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is a certified astrological professional. who has maintained an astrological practise since 1988. To learn more about Anne read her bio and to learn about consultations click here. To book a consultation with Anne call her office at 1.604.888-9552 or send an email.
If you'd like a more detailed horoscope for your personal year, check out the Order Reports on line section. You can get birthday reports that cover your year in great detail.
Photograph: Ritva Sillanmäki August 2007
Anne is the the founding president of the Fraser Valley Astrological Guild, an International VP for ISAR in Western Canada (International Society for Astrological Research), a member of the Finnish Astrological Association, and a member of the Canadian Association for Astrological Education and of the National Council for Geocosmic Research
