In decoding the cryptic symbolism of an astrological chart there are four aspects that need to be taken into consideration: planets, signs (zodiac), houses, and aspects.

Planets can be thought of as energetic bodies where ideas and archetypes exist. The zodiac signs show us how these influences operate on the micro and macro levels; in short the character and style in which they reveal themselves. Houses show us where these influences operate as in the environment and circumstance the ideas surface. Aspects are the flow of force between the planets showing us the use and abuse of these energies operating your magnetic field.



The Planets (and other large bodies)

Sun
The core of beingness. Energy, will, determination and desire. Consciousness and Identity. Ones character and vitality. Masculine.

Moon
The matrix of being. Source of luminosity within the encompassing darkness. Feminine.

Mercury
The planet that rules technology, movement, communication, and ideas. The messenger.

Venus
Capacity to attract and be attracted. To love and be loved. Beauty, desire, lust. Archetypal woman.

Mars
Principle of energetic force. Capacity to assert. Values precision and order. Archetypal man.

Jupiter
That which expands, grows, evolves in order to improve and magnify. Thought to be the planet of optimism and good fortune.

Saturn
Constrained by it's rings the planet of tradition, structure, limits, maturity, and morality. Oppressive at times. The archetypal father.

Uranus
One that invokes revolution and liberation. The shattering force that breaks up old forms. Lightning like floods of insight. Technological Innovation. Cultural and spiritual awakenings. The archetypal rebel, revolutionary, and individualist.

Neptune
All that transcends the limited, literal, temporal, and material world. Attempts to dissolve boundaries in favor of underlying unities. Merging that which is separate. The philosophical, ideal, symbolic, and mythical. Dreams and visions. Illusions and delusions.

Pluto
The biological struggle for existence: sex, birth, death. Primordial instincts. The will to power. Compels, empowers, and intensifies that which it touches in a violent purgatorial discharge of pent up energies. A purifying fire.

The Bull. Slow, steady, wins the race. They adjust to new ideas and concepts in their own time. Attracted to physical pleasures and material goods.

The Zodiac

Aries
The Ram. Embodies the untamed fire of impulse. The original idea people, great at getting projects started. They want to do what they want to do when they want to do it. Spilling energy in every direction.

Taurus


Gemini
The Twins. Here today and gone tomorrow. Represents the dual force. Moves from one situation to the next in order to gain a collection of varied experiences.

Cancer
The Crab. Carries its home on its back and retreats into it when threatened. Psychic sponges absorbing the atmosphere around them with out even realizing it. Possessing the interior of all things: emotions, secrets, the home.

Leo
The Lion. A leader who does not delegate authority to others yet loyal and virtuous. Possessing ancient kingly wisdom. Either constructive or destructive in the condition that ones values are realized.

Virgo
The Virgin. The perfectionist and the analyst. Quiet and gentle demeanor, possessing more power than willing to show.

Libra
The Scales. Social creatures. There is desire to be liked and relationships prove to be of the utmost importance. Values cooperation, union, and a balance between opposing forces.

Scorpio
The Scorpion. Much lies hidden beneath the surface. Vindictive and sarcastic. Passionate and sexual. Embodies transfiguration and resurrection.

Sagittarius
The Centaur. Free spirits, the gypsies of the zodiac. Innate understanding of people they are optimistic and whimsical.

Capricorn
The Sea Goat. Solitary and alone yet values public prestige. Patient, persistent, and practical in worldly affairs. On the flipside the sea goat is a mythical creature and therefore a silent dreamer.

Aquarius
The Water Bearer. Mental Pioneers who are inflexible in their ideas and dislike restraint. They go their own way and learn their own way.

Pisces
The Fish. Deep, introspective, and sensitive. Hard to understand. They can be self indulgent and wallow in the senses becoming submissive in attempts to lose the feeling of separateness.



The Houses

1 Public Image
The window through which you view the world. In return the mask you show the world.

2 Resources & Values
What you own, what you stand for. Repository of the strongest desires.

3 Environment & Perception
Ability to relate to your environment. Observation, analysis, translation, writing, speech, email, and memory.

4 Foundation
In the physical world your home in the metaphysical your soul. That which is hidden in the depths of the self. Your past.

5 Sex
The effort you put forth to distinguish yourself from others. Creation, Procreation, and recreation.

6 Of the Everyday
The domain of self adjustment. Service, work, duty, and health or lack of.

7 Opposition & Co-operation
Of relationships and the "we" consciousness. Access to a shared brain. Resistance, competition, and synergy.

8 Death & Birth
The house of generation, degeneration, and regeneration. Rules the psychic level. Letting go, starting a new.

9 The Philosophical & The Foreign
Realm of the superconscious mind. How you seek the meaning and purpose of life. Intuition, Inspiration, and vision. Expansion and travel.

10 Calling, Will, & Public Standing
Life's project. Career ambitions and goals. Fame.

11 Social Relationships
Ideals you seek to live by or achieve. How you hope to change the world. How you break the rules. Desires, dreams, philanthropic efforts, and political ideals. How you remain an individual while being part of a group.

12 Secrets
The house of drawn shades; that which is hidden. Limitations, Institutions, Initiation, and understanding. Fear, guilt, resentment, and the past. How you deal with the unknown. How you seek hidden knowledge. How you surrender your self (ego) to a greater good or finding the result of disillusionment.