Astrology

Robert Aldo DiVirgilio

It is a Scientific Fact that everything in our Physical World is made up of Atoms and that Atoms are themselves Frequencies, or Energy. I believe Einstein was quoted as; " There is no matter as such." So our Solar System can be easily thought of as an Energetic System. Where our personal entry into this system, our Birth here happens when our energetic frequencies align.

Our Birth Chart or Natal Chart is a snapshot of the Heavens as they appeared at the Time and Date of our Birth, from the place of Birth, placing us at the center with the Sun, Moon , and Planets, arrayed all around us in our visible Zodiac. The Planets symbolize What is Happening. The Houses in what Area of Life it is happening. And the Signs, How it is Happening.

Astrological Signs

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

Celestial Bodies

Sun

The Sun tells us of the actual core of a person, the inner self, of that which is of central concern. It also shows us the general vitality and the ability to assert oneself, it describes a general tone of being which colors everything else.

Sign equivalent: Leo
Diameter: 1'390'000 km.
The Earth's orbit from Sun: 149'600'000km
Period Earth - Sun: 365.25 Days

Moon

The Moon represents our feelings and emotions, the receptivity, imagination and basic feeling tone of a person. It also has an effect on the sense of rhythm, time and timing, it influences our adaptability to change, our mobility and versatility.

Sign equivalent: Cancer
Orbit from Earth: 384'000km
Period: 27.32 Days

Mercury

Mercury represents reason, reasonableness (common sense), that which is rational. It stands for the spoken and written word, putting in order, weighing and evaluating, the process of learning and skills.

Sign equivalents: Gemini and Virgo
Orbit from Sun: 57'910'000 km
Period: 88 Days

Venus

Venus gives us a sense of beauty, the enjoyment of pleasure, aesthetic awareness, love of harmony, sociability, taking pleasure in relationships and eroticism.

Sign equivalents: Libra and Taurus
Orbit from Sun: 108'200'000 km
Period: 225 Days

Mars

Mars represents the energy and drive of a person, their courage, determination, the freedom of spontaneous impulse. It also describes the readiness for action, the way one goes about doing things as well as simple aggression.

Sign equivalent: Aries
Orbit from Sun: 227'940'000 km
Period: 1,9 Years

Jupiter

The search for individual meaning and purpose, optimism, hope and a sense of justice are represented by Jupiter. So also faith, a basic philosophy of life, the striving for spiritual growth and expansion.

Sign equivalent: Sagittarius
Orbit from Sun: 778'330'000 km
Period: 11,9 Years

Saturn

Saturn shows how we experience "reality", where we meet with resistance and discover our limitations. It represents the conscience and moral conviction, the laws and rules which we choose to obey. It also tells us about our powers of endurance and the ability to concentrate, it lends qualities like earnestness, caution and reserve.

Sign equivalent: Capricorn
Orbit from Sun: 1'429'400'000 km
Period: 29,5 Years

Uranus

Uranus stands for intuition, it transmits sudden inspiration and lightning insights. An openness for all that is new, unknown and unusual. A sort of wrong-headed contrariness is also associated with this planet. It is said to be characteristic of astrology as such.

Sign equivalent: Aquarius
Orbit from Sun: 2'870'990'000 km
Period: 84 Years

Neptune

This planet gives us the super-sensory, opens doors to mystical experience and the transcendental. On this level it is hard to discern where perception moves into deception, illusion and false appearances, and so Neptune is associated with all of these, with drugs and all kinds of pseudo-realities.

Sign equivalent: Pisces
Orbit from Sun: 4'504'300'000 km
Period: 165 Years

Pluto

Pluto describes how we deal with power, personal and non-personal, be it through suffering the power of others or exercising it ourselves. It describes how we meet the demonic and magical, our regenerative powers and our capacity for radical change and rebirth: the cycles of dying and becoming.

Sign equivalent: Scorpio
Orbit from Sun: 5'913'520'000 km
Period: 248 Years

Houses

1st House (Ascendant)
The individual personality

Together with the Sun and Moon the ascendant is one of the most important single factors in a horoscope. The sign at the beginning of the first house tells us a lot about someone's personality, temperament and constitution. It typifies our immediate, instinctive reaction and shows how we present ourselves to the world. The planet ruling the ascendant sign is of particular importance for the interpretation.

2nd House
Values and Possessions

The second house and its occupants tell us about the material circumstances, the acquisitive urge and how we deal with possessions and material means. This includes the relationship to our own body.

3rd House
Communication

The third house and any planets occupying it tell us of our siblings, the manner in which we communicate on an everyday level and the relationships which determine our daily life.

4th House
Roots and Origins

This house describes our origins, the parental home and the circumstances influencing childhood and youth. It describes how we relate to "family", our attitude towards "hearth and home". The father image and the relationship to the real father are also to be found here.

5th House
Pleasure and Creativity

Sexuality and eroticism are at home here, along with play in general and all types of creative expression. This house also describes how we relate to children, pleasure and simple fun.

6th House
Work and Routine

The sixth house describes the circumstances surrounding us in our daily lives, including the work environment and daily routine. This includes our behavior towards subordinates. Bodily hygiene and care also belong here, as well as tendencies to certain acquired illnesses.

7th House
Relating

The descendant sign and planets occupying the seventh house tell us about how we select our partners and describes the partnerships and relationships we seek. Often we are involuntarily attracted to people whose horoscopes carry a strong emphasis of the sign in our seventh house.

8th House
Loss and Common Property

The eighth house shows how we relate to communal goods and how we deal with material loss. The taxes levied on us each year are a good example for this and show how closely related these areas are. Traditional astrology maintains that this house has an affinity to death and all things metaphysical. Death would then be the ultimate material loss. Amongst other things, the study of metaphysics can be a very differentiated way of dealing with this loss, which inevitably comes to us all.

9th House
Philosophies and Far Countries

The ninth house describes our spiritual leaning, life philosophy and our world view. In fact, these are often influenced by journeys to foreign countries. The attitudes cultivated and formed in this house can greatly influence matters of the 10th. (see below)

10th House (MC)
Occupation and Calling

This house is of particular importance, since it affects not only our choice of profession and our sense of calling - it also has a bearing on our general development, what we become. This continues throughout our lives. According to tradition, as well as more recent experience, this house describes the mother image and the relationship to the real mother.

11th House
Friends and Acquaintances

The eleventh house describes how we relate to friends, benefactors and teachers - people who wish us well or from whom we can learn. It also shows us in these roles. This house shows how we relate to the society in which we live.

12th House
Beyond the Personal

This house represents those spheres of life in which the individual no longer plays a part, where we step back for a greater whole or lose ourselves in one. Traditional astrology sees hospitals, prisons and psychiatric institutions in this house. It is also associated with monasteries and any other retreats.

Aspects

The angular relationships between the planets in a horoscope, measured as angles within the ecliptic circle, are termed "aspects". Usually this includes angles to the ascendant and MC. Only certain angular relationships are regarded as aspects, and these are said to have intrinsic qualities - they are said to be "harmonic", "dynamic" or "neutral". These relationships influence how the planets work together. There is also a certain amount of "play", which means that an aspect is said to "work" or be operative within a few degrees either way of being exact. This margin of "play" is defined by the orbs. (see below)

Here are some of the major aspects:

Conjunction - 0°
The conjunction tends to be a harmonious aspect. Its quality depends greatly on the planets involved, as well as on how close the aspect is. For example, a conjunction between the Sun and Mercury is generally regarded as harmonious. If, however, the distance between them is less than a few degrees, Mercury is said to be "burnt" or "in combustion", with corresponding results. In general, the conjunction shows an immediate connection which usually works in one way or another.
Opposition - 180°
Although the opposition is generally regarded as "disharmonious" or dynamic, it often has quite a motivating and energizing effect. Here too, the quality of the aspect depends on the planets involved, and on what one makes of it. On the whole, an opposition between two planets creates tension between them, often with positive results.
Square - 90°
The square is regarded as a disharmonious aspect, the planets involved seem to be "blocked". The problems that arise from the square keep on turning up, like a bad penny. The difficulty lies in trying to reconcile two forces that are trying to move in completely different directions. Usually this takes the form of desires and needs which are mutually exclusive.
Trine - 120°
The trine is a harmonious aspect, the planets involved work together in a complementary fashion, enriching one another. Trines show where our natural talents lie, whether we actually make use of them or not is up to us.
Sextile - 60°
The sextile tends to have a harmonious effect, depending of course on the planets involved.

The Moon's Nodes

Astrologers use a colorful collection of "points". These derive from points within the horoscope and are of symbolic significance, such as the "part of fortune" or the "Age Point". At present there is very little agreement amongst astrologers on the importance of these points, or on how meaningful they actually are.

The Moons Nodes are points based on astronomical data. The moons nodes, which are always exactly opposed, are those points where the paths of the moon and the earth cross. Most astrologers see these points as being of karmic significance: The ascending or northern node is said to represent the spiritual development called for in this life, while the descending or southern node represents experience gathered during previous lives.

Elements

Tradition sees the entire universe as consisting of the elements fire, air, water and earth. When we apply this system to personalities, the elements represent certain basic traits and give a certain "temperament". This varies according to the emphasis of the elements in the horoscope. Any placement of planets or personal points in a sign constitutes an emphasis.

The four elements can be regarded as four basic principles of life. These can be applied to all sorts of things through the principles of similarity and analogy. C.G. Jung has opened the door to a modern understanding of these categories by developing a system of types, in which the elements correspond to four basic functions of the psyche. The emphasis or non-emphasis of the elements in the individual horoscope reveals fundamental aspects of the personality.

Fire
People with a strong emphasis of the fire element are spontaneous and impulsive, they apply their energies wholeheartedly. Their emotional response is quick and they have a lively imagination.
Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Air
Airy people are quick and animated. They apply their energies in very diverse ways. They tend to intellectualize their feelings and expectations.
Air signs: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini
Water
People with a strongly emphasized water element are feeling types and are very sensitive. Their imaginative and emotional lives are deep and rich.
Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Earth
Earthy people react quietly and slowly. They apply themselves with endurance. Emotionally they are deeply rooted and slow to change.
Earth signs: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo

Elementary states or Qualities

Each of the four elements occurs in three states or qualities, respectively named the cardinal, fixed and mutable or common states. We can consider the physical properties of water as an analogy: Here too, chemical elements can occur in various states. Water, for example, is liquid in its usual, real state. Seen astrologically this would be the cardinal state. When frozen it takes on a solid form, astrologically this would correspond with the fixed state. When heated, it becomes vaporous steam - comparable to the mutable state in astrology. In the individual horoscope, the placement of planets in cardinal, fixed or mutable signs also reveals basic traits of the personality.

Cardinal
People with an emphasis on cardinal signs have an urge to take the lead and to shape things. They are initiators and act according to their aims and goals.
Cardinal signs: Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn
Fixed
People with an emphasis on the fixed signs have a desire to build on what is already there and to organize it more efficiently. They tend to preserve a "status quo" and act in response to given circumstances.
Fixed signs: Leo, Aquarius, Scorpio, Taurus
Mutable
People with an emphasis on the mutable or common signs tend to seek change and renewal. They can easily replace one thing with another and align their actions with unfolding processes.
Mutable signs: Sagittarius, Gemini, Pisces, Virgo