I got into astrology cause my grandmother day a tin filled with sewing supplies that I used to use back in the days. The tin was designed with the 12 signs of the Zodiac, and I liked the fact that my sign, Virgo, was meant to work in literature.
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As years went on, I wasn’t really feeling it. Neurotic virgin. Not a hot look. Yea, there were things that sounded like me (analytical, critical, organized) but I was an emo mess, whereas Virgo was cool and unbothered. I was an exhibitionist, whereas Virgo was ever-so modest. I was like, this some ol’ BS.
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But that’s because I didn’t know about birth charts, houses, and aspects as well as the transits of the planets that were happened every moment I am on earth. I just read 30 words in the Daily News (back when people touched newsprint), and I was like, “This is meaningless.”
But then I started getting these amazing astrology books at Unoppressive Non-imperialist Bargain Books over on Carmine Street (a West Village institution still in business!). I got sucked in. Then the Internet happened, and I did my chart. I found astrologers to read. I felt exposed. But also informed. I immediately began to see results, so I kept going.
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What drew me in is that it’s based on astronomy. The Western* zodiac is drawn from Greeks and Babylonian astronomy dating back to 1000 B.C. It refers to an elliptic coordinate system of the sky 8 degrees north of the earth, that the moon and all planets orbit as the earth revolves around the sun.
The zodiac is divided into twelve 30-degree sections and the signs refer to specific constellations within each section. Their shape of the constellation suggests the form they take: the ram, the bull, twin boys, the crab, the lion, a woman, a pair of scales, the scorpion, the centaur, the goat, a man, and the fish. Each of these signs has a healthy and unhealthy manifestation, which is why they are easily loved and loathed.
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That’s just the start of the story. Each planet refers to a specific aspect of our internal self that can work for us – or against us. The Sun is the self as “I” – the essence. The moon is the personal self, laid up at home, who they are in privacy. Mercury is the way we communicate. Venus is the feminine: love and beauty. Mars is the masculine: lust and aggression. Jupiter is good fortune through operating principle. Saturn is strategy, structure, and defense.
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Then the last three are generational, and more abstract. Uranus is rebellion and transformation. Neptune is trippy: dreams, psychic powers, illusion and confusion. Pluto is renewal and rebirth.
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Lastly, your Rising (the zodiac sign on the horizon the moment you were born) indicates how you appear and respond in public. Click here to get your birth chart.
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The moment you were born, each planet was in a specific sign, at an exact degree. This is your birth chart. It has all the coordinates you need. It will tell you about yourself: how and why you function, the source of strength and weaknesses, habitual behaviors and beliefs, the source of your inner conflicts, and how to resolve them. Then there are the Houses, which speak to aspects of your life (Home, Health, Family, Relationships, Work, etc), which are determined by your Rising sign.
But there is way more to astrology than reading your chart. A lot has happened since you were born. These planets stay in transit, creating new energetic relationships that you can tap into if you so desire. I look at it as a flow of information at my disposal.
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For example, tonight at 11:49 pm EST, Saturn moves into Capricorn. Each sign has a planet who rules it, and when Saturn for three years, until December 2020. This is a kick ass period for anyone who is down to step their game up.
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Once you know your birth chart, you can investigate other placements and planetary transits to investigate your conflicts and maximize your potential. Here, finding an astrologist or two is helpful. They put out tons of free content online and on social media, and you can get a personal reading, if you’re so inclined.
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I prefer to do it myself. I get more out of it this way. You don’t have to do much to get something out of it, provided you keep an open mind and ask questions you want answers to. And, what’s more, when you get comfortable, you can read other people. Got me feelinn like I’m at the Regal Beagle talking about, “Hey, what’s your sign?”
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*The zodiac we use is the Western version. There are also ancient Chinese, Mayan, Egyptian, and African versions that I know little to nothing of.