ASTROLOGY IN A NUTSHELL (written by me!

What is Astrology?
There are 12 signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius,
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces). These are constellations in the sky. When you were born, each of the
planets were literally INSIDE sections of the sky nearest to these constellations. These are the only 12
constellations that the planets travel through. Most people are only familiar with one sign (their sun
sign) - but they dont realize that you have to look at each and every position of the planets in order to
get a full representation of your personality! No one can be defined by one sign alone! The planets are
constantly revolving around the sun, some faster or slower than others. If you looked at the sky at the
moment when you were born, the planets were each individually inside one of these 12 sections of the
sky, each designated to a constellation. Also, the lines of the earth line up in these 12 constellations the horizon line as well as the vertical line dividing the earth in half. The sign that is lined up with the
horizon line on the left side of the earth is called your rising sign, or ascendant, which is considered just
as important as a planet position. Astrology is a snapshot of what the sky looked like when you were
born. Somehow - miraculously - the planets and angles appear to affect your personality based on
where they were positioned at this time as well as their position in relation to each other. Astrologers
over the years have collected data to determine what each of these placements mean.

How does this work? There are many theories, but the most widely accepted one has to do with
gravitational pull. It is scientifically proven that the moon affects the tides. Weirdly enough, it affects
our emotions, too, as it goes through its phases in the course of one month! Astrologers generally
believe that the gravitational pull of the planets at the time of our birth affect our personalities. Dont
believe it? Well, you could say the accuracy of astrology is just a coincidence. However, after a while
there are too many coincidences and you start to wonder if something more is going on. From looking
at a chart, professional astrologers can do things such as determining what career you have - and they
nearly always guess it right.

In astrology there are 4 main parts: the planets, the signs, the houses, and the aspects. The planets are
the force behind everything. The signs alter the way in which the planets affect a chart. The houses

show where energy is directed. The aspects show how the energy is dispersed. Everything works
together to create an individual. Energy in astrology isnt really a term, its more of a way of defining
someones personality. Every person has a different kind of energy or aura around them, and this is
explained via astrology.

THE PLANETS (and rising sign)

Each planet in astrology has a purpose. Astrology revolves around the planets - without them, it
wouldnt exist! No matter what, each person has every planet in their chart. The thing that makes us
different is that everyone has them in different signs and houses! Also, the rising sign is so important
that its right there with the planets (even though its not technically a planet, its a line).
Here are the basic meanings of the planets (without taking specific signs or houses into consideration).
PERSONAL PLANETS
These planets move quickly through the sky. For the rising sign and the moon, you even need the time
of birth to figure them out! The sign and house they are in are VERY relevant to you because they
move so quickly that no one else your age will have the same placements as you (unless they were
born within a month or two of you)! Here is the order, going from most important to least important in
your personality.
Rising sign/Ascendant (the sign that was on the horizon of the earth when you were born) = how you
come across to other people, how you show yourself to the world, your "shell"
Sun = central personality, ego, identity, role in life
Moon = emotions, inner thoughts & feelings, your habits, what you're like at home when no one's
around
Mercury = how you communicate/talk, how you think
Venus = your style in love, what kinds of beauty you appreciate (such as clothes, furniture, art), how
you create harmony with other people (the receiving or non-dominant part of love)
Mars = energy, anger, assertiveness, how you approach day to day things (also is the dominant part
of love)
OUTER PLANETS
These planets move very slowly through the sky, so most people your age are going to have them in
the same sign as you do. However, the house which they are placed in is very specific to you even
though the sign is not. For example, everyone born in the late 90s has Pluto in Sagittarius. But,

everyone has Pluto in a different house in their chart. So, the sign isnt specific to them but instead to
their whole generation. But, the house they have it in IS specific to them as well as any aspects it forms
to their personal planets (will cover aspects later).
Jupiter = luck, optimism
Saturn = commitments, serious things, structure, usually where you have your difficulties
Uranus = the unexpected, sudden changes, all that is out of the ordinary
Neptune = dreams, psychic things, imagination, the unconscious, fantasies
Pluto = intensity, obsession, control, major rebirth or change

Here are the symbols for the planets.

Remember: The PLANET is WHAT you're expressing.

Got all that? Hope you did, because

THE SIGNS
Every heard of the zodiac? Yup, there are 12 signs. Each sign represents a certain style of
expression. What youre expressing depends on the planet, but the signs show you how you go about
it. Example: Want to know how you communicate? Look at the sign your Mercury is in. Is it in Leo?
Scorpio? Pisces? Depending on the sign, it will mean different things. If its in Leo, your communication

might be boastful and proud. If in Scorpio, intense and secretive. In Pisces, sensitive and dreamy. Take
the sign, and apply it to the planet. But we can look at specifics later. Here are the 12 signs - each one
has a specific nature and manner. They always follow this order.
Aries (the ram) = independent, impulsive, impatient, energetic, a leader
Taurus (the bull) = stubborn, laid-back, dislikes action, likes security, lives through the senses
Gemini (the twins) = talkative, changeable, intellectual, mind-oriented, social
Cancer (the crab) = emotional, caring, needs safety, values home & family
Leo (the lion) = bold, proud, generous, creative, likes to be the center of attention
Virgo (the virgin) = analytical, precise, a hard worker, a thinker, a helper, usually organized
Libra (the scales) = seeks balance and harmony, sees both sides, indecisive, relationship-oriented
Scorpio (the scorpion) = intense, passionate, delves deeply into everything, controlling, private
Sagittarius (the centaur) = positive, restless, free-spirited, likes travel & worldly exploration
Capricorn (the sea-goat) = ambitious, serious, goal/career-oriented, efficient
Aquarius (the water-bearer) = humanitarian, unique, an individual, everyones friend
Pisces (the fish) = kind, sensitive, reserved, compassionate, an escapist, a dreamer
Note: these descriptions above cannot be used as interpretations. These are only a broad list of
common characteristics. So, you have to know which planet these characteristics are being applied to
and interpret that accordingly! Otherwise, they might not seem accurate at all.

Each sign also has an element.

Fire signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn
Air signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
You may notice that people with lots of planets in fire signs in their chart will be excitable and literally
fiery. People with lots of earth in their chart will be, well, down-to-earth. People with lots of air
may be more social, and they also might seem like theyre literally floating off into space sometimes.
Lots of water would indicate emotion - the tears may fall just like water. No matter the sign, elements
matter, too.

Here are the symbols for the signs.

Remember: The PLANET is WHAT you're expressing, and the SIGN is HOW you express it.

Got that?

THE HOUSES
Here are the houses. Each planet is positioned inside their respective house. Think of it like lots of
different slices of pie splitting up the sky when you were born. Each house represents a different part
of life. If you have one or more planet(s) inside any of the houses this house will be more emphasized in
your life. However, it depends on which planet and what sign it is in.
You will also notice that each house is ruled by a sign. Dont worry about that yet, but Im putting it in
for future reference.
1st house (ruled by Aries) = the self - if a chart has any planets located here, their meanings are
magnified and present in the personality
2nd house (ruled by Taurus) = money, material possessions, security, values

3rd house (ruled by Gemini) = communication, talking, writing

4th house (ruled by Cancer) = home, family, traditions, upbringing
5th house (ruled by Leo) = romantic "flings", self-expression, fun, games, hobbies, entertainment
6th house (ruled by Virgo) = work, service, routine, health
7th house (ruled by Libra) = close relationships, harmony and peace, compromise
8th house (ruled by Scorpio) = dark things, the taboo, rebirth, death, sex, shared finances
9th house (ruled by Sagittarius) = philosophy, religion, education, politics, travel, "worldly" things
10th house (ruled by Capricorn) = career, goals, success, planning, the public
11th house (ruled by Aquarius) = friends, groups, organizations, making connections
12th house (ruled by Pisces) = the inner self, fears, thoughts, things closed-off from the world

Remember: The PLANET is WHAT you're expressing, the SIGN is HOW you express it, and the HOUSE
is what AREAS IN LIFE it applies to.

BUT. BUT.

Not only do you have to look at these things, but also the aspects. Confused yet? Its ok.

THE ASPECTS
The planets interact with each other. Its kind of like they have their own relationships with each other
within your chart. It just depends what kind of aspects they make!
This can get a bit complicated. In your chart, each planet lands at a certain degree in the sky. Each sign
has 30 degrees that a planet could be placed at. For example, an Aries moon is still an Aries moon
whether its at 1 degree Aries or 29 degrees Aries - and it could be anywhere in between.
Remember that each sign is a certain number of degrees away from every other sign (for example:
Scorpio is 60 degrees away from Capricorn).
Some examples: Gemini is 90 degrees away from Virgo in the sky. This is a square. Gemini is also 120
degrees away from Aquarius in the sky. This is a trine. Gemini is also 60 degrees away from Aries. This
is a sextile. I could go onbut hopefully you understand a little. Here are the aspects.
Trine = two planets 120 degrees apart - harmonious and pleasant aspect

EXAMPLE: Her Sun at 2 degrees Gemini is trine her Venus at 2 degrees Aquarius (orb = 0, they are 120
degrees apart)
*NOTE HERE*: In this example, because it is 2 degrees Gemini and 2 degrees Aquarius, this is an
EXACT aspect. This will make it a very important aspect in this persons chart. However, say this person
had their sun at 2 degrees Gemini and 12 degrees Aquarius. Its still a trine, but it makes the planets
actually 130 degrees apart! This still counts as a trine. What?! How can that be? Well, astrologers take
ORBS into consideration. Orbs are basically how exact an aspect is. A trine with two planets at 2
degrees Gemini and 2 degrees Aquarius has an orb of 0 (making them exactly 120 degrees apart). A
trine with two planets at 2 degrees Gemini and 12 degrees Aquarius has an orb of 10 (making them
130 degrees apart). A trine with two planets at 2 degrees Gemini and 5 degrees Aquarius has an orb of
3 (making them 123 degrees apart). The smaller the orb, the more powerful the impact the aspect has
in your chart. Theyre all still trines, whether an orb of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. It just depends
how exact they are. Keep in mind astrologers rarely use orbs bigger than 10. This can get confusing
because of all of the numbers, but basically it means that aspects have different strengths depending
on how many degrees apart they are. Ready to move on?
Square = two planets 90 degrees apart - creates friction and possible difficulties
EXAMPLE: His Mercury at 5 degrees Taurus is square his Mars at 10 degrees Scorpio (orb = 5, they are
95 degrees apart)
Conjunction = two planets really close together in the same sign, 0-5 degrees apart - can be good or
bad but it intensifies both planets and makes them closely related
EXAMPLE: Her Sun at 25 degrees Libra is conjunct her Neptune at 26 degrees Libra (orb = 1, they are
1 degree apart)
Opposition = two planets 180 degrees apart - since they're opposites the two energies don't
understand each other, they create an opposing or see-saw effect in your chart
EXAMPLE: His Ascendant (rising sign) at 10 degrees Cancer is opposite his Uranus at 16 degrees
Capricorn (orb = 6, they are 186 degrees apart)
Sextile = two planets 60 degrees apart - similar to trine but not quite as powerful
EXAMPLE: Her Moon at 29 degrees Sagittarius is sextile her Jupiter at 27 degrees Aquarius (orb = 2,
they are 58 degrees apart)
There are other aspects but these are the major ones.

Ok, so now we have the final equation.

Remember: The PLANET is WHAT you're expressing, the SIGN is HOW you express it, the HOUSE is
what AREAS IN LIFE it applies to, and the aspects show any positive/negative ENERGY or
INFLUENCES in the chart.

Here is a blank, unspecific astrology chart without any

planets on it to help you visualize this. As you can see,
the constellations rotate around the edge. The circle in
the middle symbolizes the Earth. The line cutting the
circle horizontally in half is the Ascendant/Descendant
line. In case you got confused there, your Ascendant is
the cusp line (or marking line) of the 1st house, and
the Descendant is the cusp line of the 7th house. The
line cutting the circle vertically in half is the IC/
Midheaven line. Your IC is the cusp line of the 4th house,
and the Midheaven is the cusp line of the 10th house
(dont worry about the meanings of the Descendent, IC,
and Midheaven yet). Depending on your own unique chart, the chart will be rotated so that a certain
sign will be on the Ascendant line. This will make the rest of the houses be rotated and match up with
the other signs.

Now, here is a random persons astrology chart. If

you look carefully, you will see that this person is a
Scorpio rising (the AC line is the Ascendant). Their
Sun is in Sagittarius in the 2nd house. Their Moon
is in Leo in the 9th house. Their Mercury is in
Scorpio in the 1st house. The lines in the middle
look complicated, but they really just represent
the different aspects. For example, their Mercury

is trine their Saturn, and their Moon is conjunct their Jupiter. Each of these placements has a meaning.

When you read a chart, be sure to look at it as a big picture kind of thing and dont get hung up on
specific details. Were one whole person, and little pieces make up the whole. There will definitely be
conflicting messages! One aspect may conflict with another aspect and say something completely
opposite. We react differently all the time depending on the situation. Some things you read may even
be hidden in your personality, and you have yet to discover them. People tend to grow into their
charts over time. Our personalities are complicated! Remember that the rising sign (ascendant), sun,
and moon tend to be the 3 most prominent figures in our personality.

TO SUM IT UP
No chart will ever be the same. One of the biggest mistakes anyone can make with astrology is by
saying Oh, youre a Gemini, and Im a Gemini. So, we must be similar, right? Using the phrase Im a
____ is describing your sun sign only. Although that is a big part of your personality, a Gemini with a
Scorpio moon and Virgo rising is going to be very different from a Gemini with a Capricorn moon and
Libra rising. People all over the world seem to think they can be defined by their sun sign alone, but
this is not the case. This goes for compatibility, too. Youve probably heard someone say something
like, Hes an Aries and Im a Cancer, so were not compatible. This isnt how it works. Say one person
is an Aries sun with a Cancer moon. The other person is a Cancer sun. The fact that their signs are
incompatible makes no difference - they will definitely have a strong connection! Anytime you have
any personal planets (rising sign, sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars) in the same sign as someone else
you feel a connection - or at least youre similar to them in some way. You have a Sagittarius Mars and
the other person has a Sagittarius Venus? Thats a match made in heaven. Even if you dont have any
connections, many people can come to understand and accept others personalities regardless.

APPLICATION
You might be wondering, how does this all transfer to real life? How do I see astrology in action? How
could I possibly even guess someones chart? Here, Im going to go deeper into all of the personal
placements in order of importance.
When you meet someone

1. Their rising sign will be the mask that they present to people. This is your initial impression of
them. Did they seem soft, caring, and comfortable to be around? You probably just met a Cancer
rising. Did they seem put-together, professional, and serious? Theres a Capricorn rising for you.
You have 12 options, narrow it down.
2. What is this person like as a whole? How do they express themselves, and what are their goals in
life? This determines their sun sign. All Sagittarius suns have an upbeat enthusiasm for life like no
other. Pisces suns seem to be dreamy, and have a distinct compassion for others. Sun sign is the
most stereotypical part of astrology, so most people are familiar with it. Dont discount it just
because those tumblr posts you read never sounded like you. Chances are youre more like your
sun sign than you think. Dont get this confused with rising sign, though - the extent to which you
show your sun sign to others can be masked or toned down depending on certain aspects or
placements, whereas your rising sign cant.
3. What makes this person cry? What makes them feel secure? What are their emotional habits?
These are all questions that you could discover the answer to based on their moon sign. A Virgo
moon needs to micromanage and make sure that everything is up to their standard of perfection.
An Aries moon says: who has time for details?! They want things to happen NOW! Moon signs are
often the part of the chart that people identify the most with. This is because it is the closest to
them, and means the most as far as their own emotional happiness. One common mistake people
make with astrology is to assume that any placement other than the moon sign can determine how
emotional someone is. However, that is not the case at all. For example, maybe people assume that
Cancer suns are very emotional, and cry a lot. BUT - that is how a Cancer moon would react
emotionally - not a Cancer sun. Say you have a Cancer sun with a Scorpio moon. Oh, they might be
emotional, but are they going to show it? No way! Scorpio moons like to keep their emotions
hidden, no matter how deep they are.
4. Mercury is quite underrated in the world of astrology. However, I consider it to be especially
important with first impressions because its how you communicate! Is someone talking to you in an
abrupt, energetic way? Theres an Aries mercury! Is someone excitedly blabbing on and on about
an intellectual topic that you dont care about? Its probably a Gemini mercury! (I have this
placement, and if you get me started on astrology, you might have to plug your ears. I wrote this
mini-book so I could have an outlet for all of this information floating through my brain.) Mercury
can only be placed in the same sign as your sun, or the sign next to it. Thats why people who have

a different mercury sign from their sun sign dont come across as much like their sun sign! Mercury
is also how you process information. Virgo mercuries have to analyze everything that goes through
their brain, whereas Cancer mercuries prefer to feel it out.
5. Venus is the placement everyone seems to want to know about. Am I his/her type? Will he/she love
me? When I first got into astrology, I was very confused when I was reading a description of Gemini
in love. Flirty, changeable, doesnt want to settle down. It didnt sound like me at all! Thats because
Venus is the sign to look at for love, not your sun sign or anywhere else. Only a Gemini venus would
behave like that. As it turns out, I had a Cancer venus, which is quite different! Cancer venus prefers
to be committed and caring towards their partner. Venus can also determine aesthetics and what
you find beautiful. For example, almost all venus in Pisces people dont like wearing bright colors
and prefer plain clothes in colors like black or navy blue! Venus in Sagittarius might consider
something more beautiful if its from a foreign place, or if it has an adventurous feel to it.
6. We all get angry, and no one can deny it. Yes, even people with mars in Libra. However, Libra mars
people seem to prefer to keep the peace, or even be the mediator! Their anger is expressed by
avoiding it? Mars is how people assert themselves and how they take action. An Aries mars is the
first to jump into a situation impulsively. A Scorpio mars would rather boil on it for a while first, and
then bring back their grudge a year later. Mars can tell you a lot about the energy surrounding a
person.
Thats it for the personal placements! I could tell you all about the different house placements, but that
gets a bit in-depth for right here.

Are you an astrology expert yet? I hope so.

Want to know more? Contact me at @geministereo on tumblr. Ill be happy to talk to you about
specifics relating to your chart or answer any questions.