The exact moment you are born offers such important information about who you are and what this lifetime entails for you. We get this information through a snapshot of all of the planets and where they are located in the sky! This snapshot is your birth chart, sometimes called your natal chart. The birth chart gives us the exact signs and degrees of where each planet was when you were born, as well as which house they’re in in your chart AND what aspects the planets are making with one another. Each of these details helps you understand your strengths and challenges in this lifetime. This post will likely be the first of many on how to truly understand your chart and what it means.
The first and most important thing to understand is that the ascendant degree, also called your rising sign, is like a portal or a doorway into your soul and body. The exact degree of your ascendant represents you! Your body, your soul, your identity, and much more. The rising sign and degree are dependent on your birth time, so it’s important to have an accurate time of birth before you put too much weight on your rising sign. The rising sign is exactly what it sounds like: the sign rising on the horizon at the moment you were born. And, therefore, your descendant sign (the sign on the cusp of the seventh house) is the sign setting on the horizon the moment you were born. These are always opposite one another. Your rising sign and ascendant degree mark the start of your chart. This point is the start of your first (of twelve) house. You can see in the picture that the ascendant and first house are in the 9 o’clock position if you are looking at the chart as if it’s a clock.
The houses continue along counterclockwise in order until you get to the 12th house, which falls just above the first house. Each house has a specific meaning and association with a certain area of our lives. You can see the keywords for each of the houses in the picture included!
In terms of the houses, it can be helpful to look at any planets placed within the house as well as the sign on the cusp of the house. Quick note: the word cusp is used to describe the exact point at which the house starts.
In this example, you can see that the second house cusp starts with 22º Aries 54' so therefore we know that the sign on the cusp of the second house is Aries. Now, let’s continue with this example: what might it mean if Venus was in your second house? Or Saturn? Venus, the planet associated with love, values, and aesthetics in the second house, can suggest someone who spends carelessly or impulsively, buying whatever it is they want in the moment. This person may struggle to save their money. That said, if someone had Saturn in the second house, the relationship to money would be much different. Saturn is a rule-follower and prides himself on structure and responsibility. He also tends to make things hard to teach us a lesson. This person’s relationship with money may be a negative one; they may have felt like they’ve really had to work hard in order to get paid or have enough money to meet their needs. These people usually find financial success later in life after working hard for what they’ve earned. This placement reminds me of the saying “pull yourself up by your bootstraps."
Let’s talk a little about the planetary meanings now.
Sun - ego, identity, life force
Moon - emotional habits, more private and intimate parts of yourself, emotional expression
Mercury - how you communicate and process information
Venus - attitudes towards love and relationships, values, material belongings, and aesthetics/style
Mars - how you make decisions or take action; attitude towards anger or aggression
Jupiter - planet associated with expansion, higher thought, philosophy, and religion.
Saturn - structure, boundaries, rules, time, transitions, and responsibility
Uranus - unpredictability, electric, spontaneity
Neptune - confusion, rose-colored glasses, spirituality
Pluto - the underworld, trauma, fear, death, and transformation
Having an understanding of the meanings of each planet can be helpful in interpreting your chart and what it means for you! Taking this interpretation one step further, we can also look into the conversations your planets are having with one another to further learn how they will manifest for you in this lifetime. There are five major aspects, which are all described in the pictures below. In general, the hard aspects are conversations between planets that are tense in nature and offer an opportunity for learning over the course of your lifetime. The soft aspects, however, tend to be strengths that you can use and tap into to support you throughout this lifetime.
Let’s talk about an aspect between Venus and Saturn. A hard aspect between these two planets might manifest as someone who struggles to let their guard down in relationships, someone who struggles to trust their partners, and, in general, puts a lot of pressure on themselves to find the perfect person. Hard aspects between Venus and Saturn are typically associated with avoidance and avoidant tendencies. This could be an avoidance of conflict, communication, or dating altogether. These hardships are a theme for this person over their lifetime and a consistent challenge for them. They will need to work hard on letting their guard down, letting partners in, and being vulnerable. On the contrary, aspects between Venus and Saturn that are soft tend to offer a much more supportive attitude towards dating. This aspect may translate to having the ability to stay in relationships, especially when things get difficult. This is someone who is willing to have tough conversations and do the work that is needed to have a healthy relationship. Having healthy relationships is much more of a strength for them and not something they have to put a significant amount of work or effort into.
Now, when looking at aspects, it’s really important to look at the degrees that the planets sit at. The closer the aspect is, the more prominent it is in this lifetime. Two planets that are within a degree of each other will have much more significance than two planets that are 8 or more degrees apart. In my personal practice, I use an orb that is less than 8 degrees. An orb is a term used to describe the net that is cast from one planet to another to decide whether or not it’s close enough for it to be significant. You can see in the pictures there are examples of planets that are at varying degrees.
I think this is a really great starting point for now and as I mentioned this will be an ongoing conversation! I am also hosting a live webinar in February that takes this much more in depth. We will meet on February 8th at 7pm EST to dive into more examples of all of these. If you are interested in joining (or accessing the recording) please email me at astrologywithlauren@gmail.com! This is a donation based webinar so pay what you can :) I want this to be accessible for all so I trust your judgement of what you feel you can pay right now. Donations are payable through Venmo (laurenwestmoreland2). I look forward to seeing you there!
Xoxo,
Lauren
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