Tag: astrology horoscope

The actual drawing of a horoscope is very simple in theory, but carries a variety of complex calculations. The horoscope chart can be considered a two-dimensional snapshot of a four-dimensional concept—because the horoscope is meant to not only track the locations of the planets in space, but to tie them down to an exact time, also. It’s a snapshot of the solar system at the moment a person was born.

First, and most important, we need to know the exact place and time that a person was born. Obviously, not every detail will be known, but the more accurate the better. The time has to be calculated against GMT, or Greenwich Mean Time, and the location has to be translated into latitude and longitude.

Why is location important? Because one of the most important aspects of the horoscope is the Ascendant, or the constellation that was rising at the birth. That constellation is different depending on where the birth happens. Two people born at the exact same moment on opposite sides of the planet will not have the same horoscope.

Next, the astrologer draws a circle (or, in a more modern setting, hits the “print” button). This circle represents the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the Houses they rule.

The last thing needed is an Ephemeris. This is a chart that tells the locations of the planets on a given day.

With all of these pieces in front of the astrologer, he or she is now ready to create the chart. Using the Ephemeris, the location of each planet is calculated and noted. The Sun and Moon, though not really planets, are still counted as such for purposes of the chart. Each planet will fall into one of the twelve Houses.

After that, lines are drawn to connect the planets so that their angles (called Aspects) can be measured. Close aspects—the Conjunctions—have an amplifying effect, making their influence stronger, and wide aspects, called Oppositions, have a countering effect.

Once all of the drawings are done, the astrologer can write out the results, in language like “Mercury is in your house of Health, conjunct to Venus in the house of Children.”

Eight in the circle of Chinese Astrology is the Sheep. Some cultures refer to this sign as the Ram or Goat.

Whichever you call them, people born to this sign are creative, interesting and emotionally sensitive.

Sheep have a flair for the artistic. Their innate sense of drama and rhythm make them great actors and musicians. In fact, almost the entire list of “famous Sheep” is comprised of well known actors, cartoonists and musicians. These are beautiful people, who enjoy creating beautiful things.

Sheep people should gift themselves with a career or hobby in the creative arts. Painting or fashion design, or crafting will provide a terrific outlet for all that wonderful Sheep energy.

On the same token, Sheep people need to surround themselves with beautiful things. They can not function when their environment is in disarray or just plain ugly.
Those for whom the Sheep rules are considerate and respectful They will never dream of intentionally hurting your feelings, and being sneaky or manipulative is against their very nature. If a Sheep injures in any way, they will quickly step up and do all within their power to make amends.
The Sheep can be needy and dependant. They need the approval of their family and friends and can sometimes demand a lot of reassurance.
Sensitive and loving, Sheep oftentimes have trouble coping with the harsh realities of our modern world. They cry while watching the news and ache for the crime or war victim. It doesn’t matter that they have never me this person, or that they are half a world away. The pain and level of caring is the same as if it were themselves or their best friend.
Sheep tend to avoid confrontation. Tense situations pull at their natural love of all things. Sheep thrive when they feel protected and loved.

The last symbol in the circle of Chinese Astrology is the Pig. In western culture, this sign is often renamed the Boar in order to avoid any negative association with some of the slang definitions of the word pig.

Trustworthy, dependable, peaceful, and reserved, these are the cornerstone traits of the pig.

People born under the sign of the pig are quiet and reserved. To strangers a pig person will come across disinterested and aloof. They make acquaintances easily, and usually seem to have many friends. However, true friendship is a matter that must be closely guarded. You must earn the trust of the pig to be granted the honor of close friendship. They share their feelings with precious few.

Once you have won the trust of a pig, you will find them to be open and giving. They cherish their friends and enjoy finding ways to show how much they care.

Their natural honest and dependable nature allows others to trust them easilly, and they would never even dream of breaking that trust.

Pig people are usually shy. Pigs are content to work behind the scenes, away from the limelight and they typically do not seek credit or recognition.

Quiet and introspectful, pig people are at home with nature. They would much rather go for a quiet hike than hang out at the mall. At the same time, they prefer to be homebodies. They feel secure close to home and do not like taking risks or exploring new territory.

Pig people are very concerned with what is socially acceptable. They are not trendsetters, preferring instead to follow rather than lead.

Reflective in nature, pigs will withdraw from a problem or disagreement to consider the situation. When they return, it will be with an eye to solving the problem to make both parties happy.

Imagine riding in a speeding train, and passing a slower train. Both trains are moving straight ahead, but as the trains are passing, the slower train appears to be moving backwards, at least from the point of view of the riders on the fast train.

This same effect occurs with the planets. As the Earth passes (or is passed by) other planets in the solar system, for a while, they appear to slow in their path across the Zodiac. Then they stop altogether, and backtrack against their paths for a short while, and stop again. Finally, they get back up to speed again, and return to where they started.

The entire period—from the point where the planet started to slow down, through the backwards motion, until the planet “catches up” to itself and passes the point where it started from—is called Retrograde. It’s a fairly common and straightforward event in astronomy, but it takes on a whole new meaning in astrology.

Retrograde periods are traditionally regarded as times when humans have little control. This is when things that are fated to happen actually happen.

Mercury, for example, turns retrograde three times a year. From February 14th, 2007, to March 28th, 2007, Mercury is in retrograde. On March 8th, 2007, it finishes the backwards motion and begins moving forward again.

Mercury rules information—conversation, communication, thinking and education. When Mercury is in retrograde, these things will have “glitches” thrown in—disrupted communications, collapsed negotiations, and general misunderstandings, usually because some vital piece of information has been lost.

Venus turns retrograde every eighteen months. During this period, emotions—which Venus rules—become muted. Venus in retrograde is the wrong time of the year to redecorate, start a relationship, or get married.

The planets beyond Venus have longer retrograde periods, that are further and further apart (Saturn, for example, is in retrograde from December 6th, 2006 until August 7th, 2007).

The history of Astrology begins around 2000 BCE, in ancient Babylon.  There, they began to develop a complex system of celestial omens.  The priests used the positions of the planets and the stars to state the desires of the gods.  They would document the movements in the sky and the earthly activities that followed them, and build a list of good and bad omens.  For example, if a full moon and a cloudy sky were followed by a great victory over an enemy the next day, then “full moon with clouds” would be recorded as a good omen.  Over time, this system spread across the ancient world.
The Egyptians were very focused on astronomy, with good reason.  The Sun and Sirius were used to predict when the Nile would flood.  Traditionally, Rameses II is known for defining several of the signs of the Zodiac.
Horoscopic Astrology made its first appearance in Alexandrian Egypt.  This new version of Babylonian and Egyptian astrology focused on the positions of the planets and constellations at the time of a person’s birth.  Ptolemy codified the system in his work Tetrabiblos, and very little has changed to this day.
Through the middle ages, astrology and astronomy were almost interchangeable.  The majority of the early astronomical observations of sun, moon, and planets were all done by astrologers.  Where much of astrology was forgotten in Europe during the dark ages, the Persians kept the knowledge alive, and returned it to Europe with the Renaissance.
With the Scientific Revolution starting in the 17th century, however, the two began to split apart, with astronomy becoming a science and astrology viewed more as occult superstition.
In the twentieth century, astrology became popular in the United States around 1900 to 1950.  Astrology writers also tried to simplify some of the more confusing parts, which made astrology more available to the general public.  As a result, today there is a market for astrology books and “sun-sign” predictions.

The White Tiger of the West is the third symbol of Chinese constellations as used in astrology. It represents the West and the season of Autumn.

The White Tiger is made up of seven Mansions. They are the Legs, the Bond, the Stomach, the Hairy Head, the Net, Turtle Beak, and the Three Stars.

The Legs mansion is made up of the following Asterisms: Legs, Outer Fence, Celestial Pigsty, Master of Constructions, the Southern Military Gate, the Flying Corridor, the Auxiliary Road, Wang Liang, and the Whip. Those in the West would recognize these stars as the constellations Andromeda, Pisces, Cetus, and Cassiopeia.

The Bond Mansion is made up of six Asterisms: The Bond, the Official in Charge of the Forest, the Official in Charge of Pasturing, the Square Celestial Granary, the Ricks of Grain, and the Great General of Heaven. The starts that make up this Mansion lie in the modern constellations of Aries, Pisces, Cetus, Fornax, and Andromeda.

The Stomach Mansion contains the following Asterisms. The Stomach, the Celestial Foodstuff, the Circular Celestial Granary, the Mausoleum, the Celestial Boat, Heap of Corpses, and Stored Water. All of these stars can be found in Aries, Taurus, Cetus, and Perseus,

Next in line for the Tiger Mansions is the Hairy Head, made up of the Hairy Head, Celestial River, Moon, Yin Force, Hay, Celestial Meadows, the Rolled Tongue, the Celestial Slander, and the Whetstone. These stars are in the constellations Taurus, Aries, Cetus, Perseus, and Andromeda.

The Net Mansion is one of the largest, comprising the Net, the Whisper, the Celestial Street, Celestial Tally, the Feudal Kings, the Celestial High Terrace, the Interpreters of Nine Dialects, the Five Chariots, the Pillars, the Celestial Pier, the Pool of Harmony, the Celestial Gate, the Banner of Three Stars, the Imperial Military Flag, and the Celestial Orchard.

The Turtle Beak Mansion is made up of the the Turtle Beak, the Deity in Charge of Monsters, and the Seat Flags asterisms.

Finally, the Three Stars mansion contains the Three Stars, Punishment, Jade Well, Screen, Military Well, Toilet, and Excrement asterisms.

“Hey, the constellations don’t line up anymore!”
When the ancient Babylonians first started tracking the motions of the heavens, they divided the sky into 30 degree increments and gave each section over to the rule of a constellation.  This is the Zodiac, the band of the sky that all of the heavenly bodies move through.  It’s a strip of sky about seven degrees across.  But they didn’t count on precession.
The Earth is slightly tilted on it’s axis.  Because of this, the constellations don’t stay in the same place.  Over time, the North Pole slowly points to a different star, and as this happens, the circle of the Zodiac slowly spins around the planet.
In a nutshell, the constellations move, but astrology doesn’t.  Astrologers measure the sky based on their positions on the Vernal Equinox, and not by what stars are actually in the sky.  So, they might say “the Sun was in Aries when you were born,” knowing full well that the sun was really in Pisces.
This has caused quite a stir in the astrology community.  On one side, you have the astrologers who have adjusted their charts to account for the drifting constellations.  Some of them have even corrected an ancient mistake and added a thirteenth sign, Ophiuchus, to their Zodiac, who shares his slice of the sky with Scorpio.  These astrologers follow what’s called a Sidereal system, focusing on the positions of the stars themselves.
On the other side, you have the Tropical astrologers.  They believe that the constellations are irrelevant, because they were merely place-holders or handy symbols that were used to mark the divisions in the original system.  Their view is that the horoscope is designed to measure the influence of the planets in regards to earth, and not the influence of the stars behind the planets.  The horoscope is built from the Vernal Equinox, after all, and not from one of the stars in Aries.

The ninth position on the Chinese Zodiac is held by the ever contradictory Monkey. The monkey is known across China for honesty, justice, sorrow and adultery. At the same time, the symbol of the Monkey is worshiped as a “Great Sage, Equal with Heaven”

Honesty and trust are the top features of this sign. You can trust a Monkey person with your deepest, darkest secrets and those secrets will go to the grave with your Monkey. In business, your money, ideas and the very company itself is well protected in the hands of the reliable Monkey.

People born under the sign of the Monkey are especially adept when it comes to taking stock of a situation and making good snap decisions. And, the Monkey person always knows what’s going around her. She can hear and absorb information from others’ conversations, making that emergency decision even easier.

Of course, the flip side is that the Monkey remembers everything you ever say to them. Of course, that can come back to bite you later.

Intelligence, quick thinking, creative genius make this sign well suited inventing new ways of doing things and new items. Of course, monkeys are good at creating trouble, too.

This combination of traits also means the monkey will hold you accountable if you commit a wrong against them. Their reputation is very important to monkey people, and they will not stop until they even the score. To outsiders, this tends to make them look like master manipulators, but really they’re not.

The monkey is usually content with themselves and their lives. They have morals, but they tend to change with the circumstances. This usually has the tendancy to make a mess of things, but in true monkey form, the monkey person doesn’t stick around long enough to help clean up the mess.

Capricorn is the workhorse of the Zodiac, working his way up the ladder of success, slowly and steadily.

Goats have a strong sense of tradition and structure, and make excellent teachers. They respect history and believe in passing on an inheritance. Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, which means that they take the long view on things. Like the tortoise racing against the hare, they know too well that “slow and steady wins the race.”

Capricorns are probably the most far-thinking of all the signs. Where Sagittarius and Leo are partying for the moment, Capricorn is planning his schedule four years in the future. But this focus on the future comes with a price.

Capricorn can get so preoccupied with the future that he starts to focus on death, and then becomes easily and deeply depressed. It’s very easy for a Capricorn to fall into a “woe is me” attitude, worrying about the never ending series of bad things that always seem to hit them at their most vulnerable. Thankfully, because of their long-term views, most Goats can overcome this handicap by just putting their head down and working even harder.

Capricorns understand the meaning of sacrifice, because each of those hurdles that force them into the long and slow path to success means sacrificing something to overcome them.

Capricorns tend towards black, which is perfectly suited to their depression. They also lean to the traditional in home and style and especially food. Goats tend to eat plain and straightforward meals rather than something exotic.

Capricorns tend to do well in large corporations, where their work ethic allows them to work their way up a long ladder. Capricorns are also uniquely suited to handling numbers and data.

Finally, because of their traditional outlook and innate teaching skills, Capricorns make excellent parents. Children give them an heir, someone to pass along the family legacy to, which is one of the core pieces of the Goat’s makeup.

The element of Wood represents the direction East. Those who are born with this element tend to yearn for stability and tradition.

In China, wood is also associated with bamboo. Bamboo, of course, is a strong, flexible, and long shoot which grows in marsh areas. If follows then, that wood people are flexible, emotionally strong and dependable. A wood person will stick with you through good and bad times, unwavering of their support.

Wood people are interested in social issues and strive to leave the poor and helpless of our world with a sense of independence and change. Although, they can be idealistic and that trait can be the cause of emotional angst when plans don’t follow the perfect path.

Wood people do well in social work or working with children.

Working with others is easy for wood people, as they truly enjoy the process of cooperation and compromise.

Like trees, wood people seek to expand their roots. They enjoy learning and thrive in social situations. Wood people do not do well as hermits or loners, lack of interaction with other people will lead to unhappiness.

Spring is the season of growth and newness. Represented by browns and greens, spring is the season when life begins and flourishes. The same is said of those with the wood element. They are sensual, and are able to see the beauty in every day situations. Wood people will be productive in all they strive to accomplish

Generous and warm, wood people spread happiness, confidence and joy where ever they go.

However, wood also carries with it anger. Wood people are prone to temper.

In the body, wood element rules the liver and gall bladder. Yin people must take great care to keep the liver in top condition, for this is their week point. Those with Yang orientation, the gall bladder is the point of concern.