Chapter Two

ASTROLOGY BEYOND YOUR SUN SIGN

In this chapter, we will first get a glimpse of the background of astrology, and then look at a few basic astrological principles. Don't feel it necessary to swallow the whole of astrology at once. Just begin to familiarize yourself with the concepts. You can always refer back to this chapter for details or reminders later. Astrological concepts and terminology will also be reintroduced and further explained in later chapters. This brief introduction to astrology is all you need to explore the themes of our lives in America today and discover how these themes are reflected in the stories of Bill Gates, O.J. Simpson and Oprah Winfrey.

When most people think of astrology, they think only of their birth signs. These birth signs, also known as Sun signs, are what many people think is all there is to their horoscopes (if you are born on December 19th, you are a Sagittarius; if your birthday is August 24th, your Sun sign is Virgo, etc.). Horoscope columns in newspapers and magazines are based solely on these Sun sign analysis. However, Sun sign astrology scratches only the surface. This is why when you read about your "sign" you may or may not feel that the descriptions fit; sometimes they may apply, sometimes they don't. There is a good reason for this. True astrology is much more complex and has a long historical tradition.

THE STUDY OF CYCLES

Astrologers study planetary cycles and how they correlate with human affairs. Everyone is accustomed to measuring our days by the rotation of the Earth, our years by the changes of the seasons. Few question that the force of the moon pulls the tides, or that the eleven-year sunspot cycle and solar flares affect the earth's atmosphere. Astrology extends these principles by showing that we as individuals also resonate to the rhythms of the solar system.

Astrologers correlate these planetary cycles with significant "passages" and stages of life. Some of these cycles are common to all of us, and some are idiosyncratic. We all study at school, become teenagers, fall in love, and work at something. However, each of us also has individual periods of crisis and growth with unique timing and circumstances.

SOME BASICS OF CHART SIGNS, PLANETS, HOUSES & ASPECTS

To create horoscopes and analyze their meanings, astrologers combine certain principles of astronomy with some basic astrological concepts and tools for interpretation. We will now introduce these essentials of astrology: Planets and Signs, Houses and Aspects, how they all blend together in a chart, and how astrology interprets their meaning.

An astrological chart is like a snapshot of the heavens, a freeze-frame of the sky, from the perspective of a particular place on Earth and at a specific time and place. It is a two dimensional picture, showing the positions in the sky of the Sun, Moon, and eight known planets. The chart marks the beginning of something, whether it is the birth of a child, the incorporation of a company, or the founding of a nation. The child, corporation, or nation each carries with it the characteristic imprint of that first moment of independent existence. That imprint symbolizes the potential which will unfold over time. The astrological chart serves as a blueprint for growth and development.

The chart is like a road map showing the general terrain, as well as possible paths of opportunity and difficulty along the way. There are many different ways in which any life, represented in the chart, can develop.

A chart represents only a pattern of possibilities, not a definitive destiny. A chart reveals the forces that are descriptive of what is happening; these forces do not necessarily "cause" what is happening. The heavenly clock tells time; it doesn't make time. A chart reveals the correspondence between Heaven and Earth, and shows how we are connected to the rhythms of nature.