How granular should you get with quality of a sign in combo with a planet/angle and the house? How do you weigh all that stuff in your interpretation?

Really good question. First you should never lose sight of the sign a planet is placed in, even if you’ve got some problem with the sign. This is very common. “Hey! I don’t want to be a Virgo. I’ve got Pluto in Virgo  and blah, blah, blah, so really I am not a Virgo, I am a….”

That’s a load of crap. If your Sun is in Virgo, you are going to have to serve, make others look good, fix messes and so forth so this is the first thing to consider.

Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: How To Make Heads Or Tails Of A Planet In A Sign, In A House, With Aspects

Traditionally, trines and sextiles are considered, “good”, squares and oppositions, “bad” or at the very least, “challenging”. Conjunctions are judged on a case by case basis.

For example, a conjunctions to Jupiter or Venus (considered benefices) are “good”, conjunctions to Saturn or Mars (considered malefic), “bad”.

You have to start somewhere and this is a likely place to start but I would not take this information too literally because the idea there are “no bad aspects” in astrology is more than a sign of our politically correct times.
Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: “How can you tell if your aspects are good ones?”

This seems too simple but obviously it’s not…

When you hear, “Venus is in aspect to Mars” this means there is a mathematical connection between the two planets. We are talking about standard geometry here. A 90 degree angle is a “square”, a 180 degree angle is an “opposition”… etc.

You can see cheat sheet on aspect here. I urge beginners to focus on the Major aspects first (Conjunction, opposition, trine, square, sextile… plus the inconjunct or quincunx, terms which are interchangeable) and now we are going to think.
Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: What Is A Orb? What Is An Aspect?

Every Gift Is A Curse In Exact Proportion

That is a strong statement, I say it all the time and I believe it’s true. I wrote about having a Venus Mars sextile in chart that provided me with a good deal of satisfaction (Little Things Mean A Lot). Whatever love or money I get, I tend to feel satisfied with it and while this brings me much pleasure, what do you think this does to my drive?

If I am satisfied… a fed dog as I say, I am not apt to go out and hunt as a hungry dog surely will. Consequently I may not achieve as much as a person with those planets in hard aspect.
Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: Every Gift Is A Curse In Exact Proportion

I wrote this in layman’s terms for a client:

“You have a chart and he has a chart. They show your characteristics as individuals. The composite charge merges the individuals together and shows the relationship.

To understand this think of “K” and the couple “K and P”. “K and P” is an entity that is different from either K OR P…”

It’s possible to have a composite chart that is much easier or stronger, or whatever, then your chart as an individual. That’s why some people function better with another then they do alone. Art Garfunkel comes to mind.

When it comes to your partner, are you better together…or apart

Buy a composite report

Want to learn astrology? See all beginner posts

Rule number one in astrology – never make a blanket statement about an aspect or and empty house or anything else you see in a chart. If you do, you’re sure to be made a fool eventually. The 7th house is concerned with partnership and marriage but having no planets there does not mean you will not marry, you have simply got to look at the chart as a whole.

Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: There Are No Planets In My 7th House, Does This Mean I Will Never Marry?

People tend to look for horror in their chart. Fine with me but don’t forget to note the little things less you’ll drop the plot.

For example, I have Venus (love and money) sextile Mars in my chart. No biggie, right? Wrong. What that shows or what it provides is satisfaction in relationships. In other words, I am not a hungry dog, I am a fed dog.

I am satisfied with money (Venus) too, even when I don’t have any! If I have a lot of money? Satisfied. If I have a little money? Satisfied. If I have no money at all, guess what? I am still satisfied.
Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: Little Things Mean A Lot

Sometimes the planets bunch up together in the sky. When this happens, you usually hear about it on the news. Babies are born during these times and if you are one of them, then you have a “stellium” in your chart.

People who have stelliums in their charts have a lot of focus on one sign or house and this explains how you can meet a Pisces who acts like a Leo.
Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: What Is A Stellium?

Because I am so oriented towards relationships, oppositions are by far the most interesting component of astrology. If you get me started I can go on ad infinitum but I will try to be concise:

If a person has an opposition in their chart is is impossible for them to act both sides of it simultaneously. Reason is the energies are opposite each other so this would be akin to being generous and cheap at the same time. It can’t be done!

Continue reading Demystifying Astrology: How Do Oppositions Work?