Ingredients of Astrology –
Signs and Planets
© 2001 by
Melanie Lichtinger
What is a
Horoscope?
A horoscope
or birth chart is a 2-dimensional map of our Solar system at the time of birth (or at the start
of an event or project), as seen from the Earth, exactly: from the vantage point
of the
place of birth / event. Time and place are therefore crucial.
It shows the eight known planets of our solar system, including the Sun (not
technically a planet, but a fixed star) and Moon (not technically a planet
either but our Earth’s satellite) - Sun and Moon are called Luminaries -, Mercury, Venus, Mars,
(in my program also Lilith) Jupiter, Saturn, (in my program also Chiron), Uranus, Neptune and Pluto,
as well as the North Node of the Moon, in relation to the Zodiac belt.
The Signs of the Zodiac
From Earth perspective, the planets (‘planets’ always include Sun and Moon)
travel along the belt of the 12 Zodiac signs.
In order, these are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio,
Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. Each Zodiac sign has 30°, each
degree 30’. Until the Gregorian calendar was adapted in the 16th century in
England (and in the 18th c. in North America), the new year began when the Sun
entered Aries at the Spring Equinox and ended with Pisces. An astrological year
still begins with 0° Aries and ends with 29° 59’ Pisces. Each sign has a
glyph associated with which you find below.
There are different ways to categorize the signs. No one sign is ‘superior’,
more 'evolved', or more desirable than any other. All of them are necessary and complementary
parts of the whole. Here is a systematic overview for you:
Modalities: Seasons:
|
Cardinal initiating,
leadership |
Fixed consolidating, organization |
Mutable alternating, adaptation |
Spring |
Aries ^ |
Taurus_ |
Gemini ` |
Summer |
Cancer a |
Leo b |
Virgo c |
Fall
|
Libra d |
Scorpioe |
Sagittarius f |
Winter |
Capricorn g |
Aquarius h |
Pisces i |
energetic, ambitious, involved, active, never bored/boring, project oriented, meeting challenges, managing crises, ‘doers’
Lack of Cardinal: observing, being without doing, passive, or: substituting with external challenges
Fixed Signs:
strong-willed, focused on goals and values, powerful, inflexible, resisting change, refuse to be pushed / pressured, slow starters but ‘powerhouses’ once determined
Lack of Fixed: difficulty developing structure and stability, following through and pursuing their goals, or: obsessed with organizing
Mutable Signs:
versatile, changeable, flexible, indecisive where to go, easily influenced, going with the flow, adapting to people and circumstances
Lack of Mutable: unwilling to compromise, insisting that other people accommodate them, difficulty making changes, forcing change in the outside world.
The signs are also associated with the four elements / temperaments:
Fire: Aries ^ Leo b Sagittarius f
enthusiastic, energetic, passionate, impulsive, spontaneous, inspirational, intense, stimulating, creative, self-motivated, confident, idealistic, optimistic, subjective, dominating, activity oriented…
Lack of Fire:
Earth: Capricorn g Taurus_ Virgo c
sensual, practical, materialistic, down-to-earth, realistic, security oriented, productive, methodical, thorough, orderly, patient, persistent, enduring, dependable, stable, attuned to physical body, comfort and pleasures…
Lack of Earth:
Air: Libra d Aquarius h Gemini `
intellectual, conceptualizing, objective, detached, indecisive, cooperative, socially interacting, questioning, synthesizing, unrealistic, communicative, sharing thoughts, living in the mind/brain, seeking knowledge and understanding…
Lack of Air:
Water:
Cancer a Scorpio e Pisces i
sensitive, artistic, moody, empathic, responsive, vulnerable, dependent, emotionally intense, sentimental, flowing, nurturing, protective, imaginative, intuitive, psychic, lost in feelings, compassionate…
Lack of
Water:
unresponsive, out of touch, impersonal, emotional vacuum, closed…
The Planets
The planets are the celestial bodies in our Solar system which are constantly moving, according to their specific orbit and speed, and are from our Earth perspective always seen as projected in front of the Zodiac belt with its 12 signs.
The Moon takes
27 - 28 days for its journey through the Zodiac (and 29 days from New Moon to
New Moon)
The Sun 1 year
from Earth perspective (is 1 month in each Zodiac sign)
Mercury
88 days
from Sun perspective (1 year from Earth perspective, due to vicinity to the Sun)
Venus
225 days (1 year from Earth perspective, due to vicinity to the
Sun)
Mars 2 years (average 2 months in each Zodiac sign)
Lilith
9 years (9 months
in each Zodiac sign)
Jupiter 12 years (1 year in each Zodiac sign)
Lunar
Nodes 18
1/2 years - always moving retrograde (18 months in each Zodiac sign)
Saturn 29 years (average 29 months = 2 1/2 years in each Zodiac sign)
Chiron
50 years (average
4 - 5 years in each Zodiac sign)
Uranus
84 years
(average 7 years in each Zodiac sign)
Neptune 165 years
(average 13 1/2 years in each Zodiac sign)
Pluto 248 years
(average 20 years in each Zodiac sign, less since the mid-20th century, due to
orbit)
These
speeds are average. Due to the elliptical orbit of most planets, they seem to
move at times slower (creating retrograde effects from Earth perspective), and to 'speed up' at others.
Sun |
The Self, our core, vitality, life-force (chi in Eastern cultures), |
Moon |
Our sense of belonging, roots, emotional life, habits, home, security, nurturing,
womb; the ‘child/mother' archetype |
Mercury |
Our way of communication, information processing, thoughts and words, mental interest, manual skills and
craftiness; the ‘messenger' archetype |
Venus |
Love, (especially feminine) beauty, harmony, peace, pleasure, art, values, money, attraction and connection, erotic,
intimacy; the ‘beloved' or ‘muse' archetype |
Mars |
Action, assertion, drives, passion, sexuality, energy, aggression, going for what you want, fight, conflict,
competitiveness; the
'warrior' archetype |
Lilith
|
Wild
and free instinctual, uncontrollable feminine power, the bitch/witch,
powerful female sexuality, vamp and spider woman, 'running with the
wolves'; the 'wild
woman archetype'
|
Jupiter |
Expansion, optimization, growth (physical material or spiritual), trust, belief, philosophy, bigger picture, luck, gifts, wealth, generosity, excess,
inflation; the ‘mentor'
archetype |
Saturn |
Contraction, concentration, tests, teachings, fear, control, discipline, authorities, planning, boundaries, protection, experience ‘in the bones', maturity,
age; the ‘sage' or ‘teacher' archetype |
Chiron
|
Our vulnerability and awkwardness
leading us to higher wisdom, our own
initiation into healing and understanding, turning us into a wise teacher and
'elder'; the 'wounded
healer archetype'
|
Uranus |
Revolution, breakthrough, freedom, invention, intuition,
avant-garde, eccentricity, surprises, the unexpected, newness, liberation,
rebellion; the ‘awakener' archetype |
Neptune |
Spirituality, mysticism, compassion, ideals, dreams, infinity and eternity, heaven, oneness, dissolving and merging, surrender and forgiveness, the void, confusion,
addictions; the ‘transcendence' archetype |
Pluto |
Transformation, destruction and reconstruction, purging, cosmic change, regeneration, death and rebirth, fate, evolutionary
power; the ‘shadow' or ‘magician' archetype |
Home | Why Astrology? | Synchronicity | Journey through the Zodiac| Signs and Planets | Lilith and the Asteroids | Ascendant and Houses | Planetary Aspects | |