Astrology is the study of the cycles of movement of the Sun, Moon, and Planets. From Egypt and Babylonia through Ancient Greece, to modern day, Astrology has been used to gain a better understanding of how mankind in general, and people as individuals fit into the Universal Cosmos.

An Astrological sign is determined by the Sun's position at the time of birth. A Horoscope is a map of the heavens, showing the exact position of the Sun, Moon, and Planets, calculated using the exact date, hour and location of birth. Interpreting the locations and relationships of the planets in a Horoscope can provide insight into an individual's personality traits. Every four-minute interval results in a slightly different chart, and no two individuals have the same Horoscope.

Strictly speaking, newspaper and magazine Astrology columns do not practice true astrology. They practice "Sun Sign Astrology." Each individual has a completely unique birth chart, and each individual will respond to that chart, in his or her own way because we all have free will and ultimately can determine and choose what we make of our lives. Sun Sign columns look at only one factor in the chart—the sign placement of the Sun. While there is no question that the Sun is very important in the chart, you can only tell the most general things about a person based on their Sun Sign alone, and all of these only relate to how they want to express themselves in a conscious way. Most of us, however, do not use our Sun the majority of the time; most people express their Moon sign far more than they do their Sun Sign.

In order to be able to get a useful understanding of ourselves using astrology, we have to consider all of the different contributing factors. The Sun only represents our conscious sense of self; the Moon is our emotional and feeling nature; Mercury rules the communication and reasoning functions; Venus governs how we relate to others; Mars shows how we defend ourselves, and how we take action based on our desires; Jupiter shows how we seek to grow and expand our understanding of the world; Saturn shows where we need structure and limitations, and how we feel about authority and responsibility. Sun Sign columns are unfortunately how most people perceive astrology. Sun Sign columns are only useful as entertainment. True astrology, however, is a powerful tool for self-knowledge, healing, transformation and spiritual growth.

The relationships or aspects between the planets in a Horoscope influence an individual's nature and temperament over a lifetime. In the same way, as the planets appear to cycle or transit across the sky, the aspects they form with the planets in an individual's Horoscope influence day to day life.

Other types of Astrological Forecasts look at the theoretical changes or progression of the birth chart, taking one day to equal one year (e.g. 30 days after you were born = your 30th year of life) and interpret these to gain insight into the major internal changes we experience.

Solar and Lunar Returns take a chart cast for the exact moment that the sun or moon returns to the place that it was in the birth chart, to get a picture of what the next year (Solar Return) or month (Lunar Return) looks like.

The Rising Sign or Ascendant is the sign that is on the eastern horizon at the exact time of birth. It is also the sign that rules the first house of a person's chart. The houses are relative divisions of the heavens, depending on the birthplace and birth time of the individual, and each house represents a basic field of activity. The meanings of the houses are modified when they are occupied by a planet. The rotation of the Earth causes the signs and the planets to pass through all twelve houses each day, one approximately every two hours. The houses relate to conditions, while the signs tell us about character traits. If we were to compare Astrology to acting, we would say that the planets are the actors, the signs are the roles that they play, and the houses are the settings or situations in which the cast portrays its roles. The first house, and in particular the Ascendant or Rising Sign, shows an individual's personality, natural disposition and tendencies, individuality, and the way they express themselves. It shows how people see us, and the way we want others to see us.

Rulerships or dignities are a rather thorny subject among Astrologers. What is meant by saying a planet "rules" a sign is that when positioned in that sign, a planet expresses its energy more naturally, with greater strength and expression. Another term for planetary dignity is saying that a planet is at "home" in a sign, and that pretty much describes it. There are actually four categories of planetary dignity: rulership, exaltation, detriment and fall. Traditionally, planets in their dignity (rulership or exaltation) were considered to be strong, and positive forces in a chart, and planets in detriment or fall were considered to be weak and ineffective. (Then there are the minor dignities of Triplicity, Term and Face, but I won't get into these here!) I tend to work with a more spiritual approach to planetary dignity based on the teachings of Plotinus, Anthony Damiani and Astronoesis. When a planet is in the sign that it rules, it is working on the level of pure Being; in the sign of its exaltation, on the what we would call the Soul level, but what the Greeks called "Nous"; in the sign of its Detriment, on the Mental/Emotional level (what the Greeks called the "Soul" level; and in the sign of its Fall, on the Physical level. Now: as to why dignities are such a thorny subject among Astrologers. There is no real agreement as to what planets rule what signs. The original system for planetary rulers, developed by the Greek astrologers assigned the rulers this way:

This worked out very nicely until 1781 when the planet Uranus was discovered. (All of the other planets are visible to the naked eye). In an typically Uranian way, this discovery threw the Astrological community into an uproar that still hasn't been resolved. Neptune and Pluto only added to the confusion. The upshot is this: Uranus got "assigned" by modern Astrologers to rule Aquarius, Neptune to Pisces, and Pluto to Aries and Scorpio, and only recently has Scorpio edged out Aries in this dispute. Now. Ask me what system I use? I use the ancient rulers when I work with them. The Trans-Saturnian planets do fit into the scheme of things, in a rather esoteric and complicated way that I won't go into here (unless people really want to know about it). Personally, I think Uranus has very little to do with Aquarius; Neptune and Pisces are a much better fit; Pluto and Scorpio I'm still undecided on. Rulerships are one of the subjects that, as Kim Rogers-Gallagher puts it, you don't want to bring up at an Astrological cocktail party.

For more detatiled information, see the FAQ page on Classical Astrology

I'm glad you asked! What follows is a legend that shows all of the glyphs, and their meanings. For more information on their definitions, see the pages on the Planets, Houses, Signs and Aspects.

Astronomy is exclusively concerned with observing and studying the physical properties of the celestial bodies. Astrology observes the movements and cycles of the celestial bodies and interprets the meaning of these cycles. Although today Astronomy goes to extreme lengths to distance itself from anything vaguely Astrological, up until the 18th century, there was no difference between the two fields. An Astronomer was an Astrologer and vice versa. Whereas today Astrology is derided by science as being without merit, for thousands of years, Astrology was the fundamental science.

The astrolgocial signs share the same names as twelve constellations that cross the band of the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth). The signs of the zodiac follow the same sequence as the constellations. That, however, is where the connection ends.

Constellations are shapes imposed on groups of stars. Signs are units of measurement equal to 30 degrees of arc. Thousands of years ago, 0° of Aries, the moment of the Spring Equinox, more or less coincided with the constellation of Aries. However,the Earth's axis is on an angle, and because of this "wobble" the equinoxes have precessed or moved backwards through the signs. The Tropical Zodiac no longer has even a passing connection with the constellations. This is one of the specious arguments often used to "disprove" astrology. The fact is that the constellations have never been used to measure the position of the planets.

For a more detailed explanation, see the FAQ on the Tropical vs. Sidereal Zodiac.