astrology for personal development

So, basically, astrology is the shit.

Before I started studying astrology this year, I was under the impression that I was an Aries and that was it. I was born on April 9th, and Google told me that made me an Aries. So, that’s what I believed- despite not always feeling represented by the horoscopes I read in high school. Aries were supposed to be strong and aggressive, and most of my life I struggled with standing up for myself and speaking up. I just figured maybe I was a defective Aries and moved on. Since then, I never paid astrology much attention, until I was at my breaking point at the end of 2020. And even though I had never been a religious person, I turned to spirituality to get me out of my dark times. Organized religion was never my thing, but I did feel a connection to the forces of the universe and had always been interested in other forms of divination. I struggle to remember what initially prompted me to check into astrology again, but once I took the time to do so, I’ve been hooked. Unbeknownst to me at the time, astrology is a sacred art and science that is extremely complex. I’ve been able to pinpoint the things that had me so baffled before, and it has given me a tool to quell my anxiety and even given me a sense of purpose, which I’d so desperately been seeking.

I’ve always been a detective type (now I can chalk that up to Jupiter being Scorpio in third house,) always wanting to find the deeper meaning behind literally everything. I wanted to know the secrets, the truth. I learned that astrology was a tool that could help me find the answers. So, I dived right in.

The first step to understanding yourself with astrology is to look at your natal, or birth chart. Your birth chart is basically your celestial roadmap.

Your birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the very moment you entered the earth. It shows us where all of the planets were aligned within the constellations of the zodiac and their relationships to each other. So, if you’re a Sagittarius, that really just means that the sun was in the constellation of Sagittarius when you were born. But the sun only represents one piece of the puzzle that is you. There are 11 planets (including the sun and moon) that represent the rest of the pieces. And then there are asteroids! But, I digress. Just like a fingerprint, your birth chart is unique to you.

To get a basic understanding of your birth chart, you must understand that there are three main components: the planets, the houses and the signs.

Planets: Duh, you know what planets are! But like I mentioned before, they represent different parts of you. For example, Mercury represents your thoughts and communication. The moon represents your inner world and your emotions.

Houses: As you can see, the birth chart is like a pie divided into 12 pieces, or houses. They all represent different areas of life that you will experience. For example, the first house represents your physical body and your outer personality- the personality you default to in new situations and the first impression people will get from you.

Signs: You probably know what this one is too! The 12 signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. The signs are actually constellations in the sky, each with their own unique energy. For example, Cancer is intuitive and emotionally-driven, while its opposite Capricorn is practical and realistic.

A lot of literature I’ve read metaphorizes these three components as a play. The planets represent the actors, the houses are the set and the signs are the costumes that the planets (actors) wear.

These are just the baby stepping stones to self-development and self-understanding through astrology, but these three key pieces can already give you insight to different personality traits and characteristics. Once you grasp the meanings of these pieces, you can begin to study the aspects or angles the different planets make to each other to give you an even deeper and richer understanding of yourself.

After putting the pieces together for myself, it was confirmed that while I am an Aries sun, there are so many more parts to me. For example, my Mars is in Pisces, which explains why in the past I’ve had such trouble standing up for myself. Mars is the planet of action and aggression, and Pisces is a water sign that is relaxed and nebulous. Fire and water don’t mix! And although having that dynamic can kind of suck, I at least know it’s something I can work to improve, and to a Virgo rising like myself, that prospect is very exciting.

-

Thanks for taking the time to read my article! Did you enjoy what you read or find it helpful? Comment down below and let me know what you thought. If you all are interested, I will make some more in-depth astrology articles so that you can use it as a personal development tool as well!

Cheers,