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Astrology at Astralogos
THE ASTROLOGER'S CHART - and how exactly it is put together
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Astrology at Astralogos THE ASTROLOGER'S CHART - and how exactly it is put together |
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All astrological charts begin with what's going on at the time in the sky. In the illustration to the right here you can see a situation around about the time of sunset. The Sun is just dipping below the Western horizon, while the Moon is right up high in the sky. Already, we can see a few stars coming out - though of course the stars are there all the time, whether or not the sky is light or dark. Some of what we think of as stars are actually the planets. Several of these are visible with the naked eye - such as Venus or Jupiter. The planets appear over the course of several nights to change their position against the background of stars.
The chart begins to take shape by drawing in the band of stars called the Zodiac, against which all the planets, Sun and Moon, tend to move. The positions of these bodies are of great importance in forming a judgement of the chart. As most people know, the zodiac is divided into twelve equal sections - the celebrated star signs, or sun signs of popular astrology. The planets are now shown in the familiar glyph form in the sign in which they are found - for instance you can see Venus in Virgo, or Mars in Aries. Those located beneath the horizon are included, of course, making up the whole circle of the heavens
The place where the local horizon intersects with the zodiac is an important place in any chart. This is called the Ascendant and the sign in which it falls has a big influence on interpreting the astrological make up of the individual concerned. The southern-most point in the sky, meanwhile, called the Mid-heaven axes, is also important, having a strong bearing on the public, visible sphere in which the individual operates. You can see both these points drawn in as lines, one horizontal, the other near-vertical in this chart.
By this stage we have something
approaching the finished chart. Some added features have appeared
here, namely the twelve Houses of astrology. The House system
is a further 12-fold division of the Zodiac, and each one relates
to a different sector of influence. Those Houses beneath the
horizon tend to be associated with personal areas of life, while
those above with the more external world. Opposite the Ascendant,
for instance, we have the Descendant and what is termed the cusp
of he 7th House. This place, opposite the personal degree of
the Ascendant, signifies the 'opposite number' in life, the partner. |
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