essentials: how astrology works

as I practice it 🙂

astrology, as I practice it, is matching up celestial events with events on earth and communicating those matches. it’s paying attention to synchronicities between macro and micro experiences.

on a personal level, when someone is born, the sky is arranged in a certain way, with the sun, moon, and planets all being in various positions relative to that person and their location on earth. an astrological chart (a.k.a. birth chart, natal chart/, nativity) is a recorded snapshot of this setting.

as we move through time, and as time moves through us, the planets, sun, and moon move in their predictable patterns, all at varying speeds. their predictably changing positions appear to activate specific themes depicted in the original chart.

these themes have various origins:

• principles of the four elements (earth, water, fire, air),
• physical qualities of the planets (speed, direction, visibility, colour),
• geometric relationships (degrees of “harmony” between three points)
• ancient traditions

individual astrological consultations provide insight as to what sorts of events or themes we can expect to encounter, when we can expect these themes to activate, and how long we can expect them to last. of course, at any given moment, we all experience a variety of overlapping themes and/or seasons of life. humanity as a whole has at least as much in common as what distinguishes us as individuals. still, our uniqueness exists. if you are looking for a deeper and broader understanding of yourself and your unique situation, an astrological consultation could be a good fit.

zooming out from the personal level, let’s talk about horoscopes — as they’re generally understood. horoscopes, like the ones you find in public articles online or in print, are written for a general audience. they describe the current celestial energy, and they sometimes share how this energy is connected to the current alignment of the planets, sun, and moon. they tend to be written in more generic terms. this type of work is not necessarily so location-based, or precise to the minute, but it can be quite enlightening regardless. this is especially so if it happens to touch on personally activated points in our own charts or lives.

it doesn’t take an astrological understanding to recognize that there is wisdom we can glean from gazing up at the stars, the sky, the ocean. this wisdom points to the wisdom that already exists within us. it’s this wisdom that provides aid for us wherever we are… here and now.