What IS a Horoscope? -- Part 1

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Your "Sign" is your Sun Sign.

Whether you "believe" in astrology or not, components and words contained in the discipline are part of everyday life. Most people know their sign. Many people also know the qualities of their sign.

What they may not know is that when someone says he is a Capricorn or a Scorpio he's actually giving information about which zodiacal constellation contained the Sun when he was born. And, indeed, there are certain qualities that the natives of a sign -- as astrologers call them -- seem to share commonly with others born under their same sign.

But it's also true that not all Leos, or Libras, or Pisces people are alike beyond the range of certain general characteristics and broad "soul themes" that do seem to describe them.

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Your Moon Sign adds depth and details.

Perhaps the second most important component in describing a person's character will be the Moon sign ... or, obviously, the zodiacal constellation that contained the Moon at the time he was born.

Because the Moon changes signs approximately every two and a half days, this is an impossible piece of information to know without access to special books and charts. But a Leo with a Moon in Capricorn is a very different creature from a Leo with a Moon in Gemini.

Right there you can begin to see the outlines of the wonderful complexity that makes all people, regardless of the pigeon-hole of their Sun sign qualities, uniquely themselves.

And then there's the Rising Sign ...

A third crucial addition to the mix -- when describing a person's character by means of his astrological components -- is something called the Ascendant, or the Rising Sign. Those are synonyms for the same thing -- and astrologers use them interchangeably.

This thing -- which sounds so esoteric and mysterious -- is literally the zodiacal sign that was rising or ascending on the Eastern horizon at the time of birth in the place of birth ... and that's why those pieces of information are absolutely crucial in casting a valid (called a "radical" ) horoscope when doing an astrological reading -- for a person, an event, a question, a forecast ... whatever.

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The Zodiac

Think of the Zodiac as a large belt of star constellations encircling the earth, and as the earth turns, the procession of constellations moves across the sky. There are 12 signs of the Zodiac, and one circle is completed every 24 hours.

Obviously, therefore, every two hours -- the sign "rising" on the eastern horizon changes. And, a person born with the Sun in Aries, the Moon in Scorpio, and Sagittarius Rising is different from a person with the Sun in Aries, the Moon in Scorpio, and Cancer Rising.

So, you ask, how does an astrologer keep all this stuff straight -- to say nothing of the positions of the other eight planets that have bearing on a person's natal reading? It's easy, actually. We cast a horoscope.

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So ... what is a horoscope?

Back in the bad old days before computers did all the work for us -- and much better in fact than the done-by-hand method -- we had to do the math calculations ourselves, and look up information in about four different tables and books. The process could take about half an hour -- and it was pretty darn tedious, I promise you!!

Which brings me to the answer of the title of this article: What Is A Horoscope?

This is what today's horoscope looks like.

It may not mean what you think it means.

I suppose most people think a horoscope is the little four line piece of advice based on your birthday that you can find in virtually every newspaper in the country. OK, that's one definition of it -- and a dreadful example, usually, of what the craft of astrology can accomplish.

But a horoscope is also what astrologers call "the chart" ... and if any of you have ever had a natal reading from a competent astrologer, you probably received this strange circular picture with funny signs and symbols -- none of which made any sense to you, but, for the price of your reading, this was one of the goodies.

In reality, a horoscope -- that circular picture -- is really a map of the sky, a snapshot of the positions of the constellations and astrological ingredients as they existed at the instant you were born. The map is contained within the circle, and there are some things astrologers can tell at a glance -- literally -- about the circumstances in the life of the person they are reading.

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Like the face of a clock

First of all, a horoscope is divided into twelve segments (or "houses") exactly like the twelve numerals on the face of a clock except that everything is backwards from everything you normally know about reading a map. East is to the left, West is to the right, North is to the bottom, and South is to the top.

The Rising sign -- the sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth -- is at what would be the 9 o'clock position of the clock.

That sign, with its qualities, characteristics, outlook, and concerns, blends with your Sun sign and Moon sign ... to create the personality you use when you meet the world ... the traits and attributes you show to people in general. Obviously, this is both important and revealing about the first impressions you may make on other people.

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Three different inner selves

You've probably known people who were very different when you got to know them better (got to know their Sun sign qualities) than they appeared in the early part of your relationship (when they were projecting their Ascendant sign qualities for you to see.)

And when you really get to know a person well, get to know the person inside ... you are most likely being shown their Moon sign qualities, the elements they share only with very close friends and intimate companions.

Part 2

Thank you for stopping by!

If you've always known there was more to Astrology than Sun Sign material and the three line daily horoscope in the newspaper, climb aboard and follow this blog. You'll find a world of wisdom detailing how you were designed to work with life ... and why you are the way you are -- all in quick-to-read, easy-to-digest-and-remember, written-in-plain-English essays that offer plenty of food for thought.

Little by little, I'm doing a set of articles that talks about all the elements in your horoscope and what they have to say about you. If you "know something" about Astrology -- or know something about your chart placements, that will help you get more from this material.

If you don't ... well, this is one place you can learn. We all have to start somewhere ... because we aren't born knowing this stuff. Meanwhile, if you've never seen your horoscope ... and don't have a clue how to work with it, maybe it's time to find out. There are lots of "chart services" on the internet -- some of whom produce decent, readable charts "for free" and some are so awful and confusing that even I can't read them easily -- and I've worked with charts for decades.

One extremely user-friendly chart site is here: AstroLabe. I recommend them if you want a simple, easy-to-read chart. I think they even give a reasonable little interpretive reading of your horoscope as part of the package. You'll need to know your birth information -- day, month, year, time and geographical place. Without all that your chart will have limited accuracy.

Or, if you want to get serious and really talk about this, upvote this post and start a conversation in the comments section sometime in the next six days from the time of publication. We'll go from there depending on what you want to know.

Questions about any of this? -- Upvote this post and talk to me in comments. It's a terrific way to build value for yourself and the community ... and it will give me ideas of what to write about in future posts. Believe me there is lots to say about the way The Sun, The Moon -- and all the other elements in a horoscope, all the other components of Astrology -- work together to interpret you and your story -- and what it all means to the person you've become.

This is who I am.

About the art in our visual essays ...

Although sometimes the background pictures in our visual essays support the topic and text, they don't always. Sometimes the connection is clear. Sometimes it's symbolic and subtle. Sometimes, there's no connection at all.

The scenes depict landscapes and natural features, buildings and wildlife. They were chosen because they show something lovely or interesting ... or simply because the photo appealed to me.

Our spectacular and remarkable planet is changing at astonishing speed. Rarely are these changes for the better. Few people seem to know ... or care ... or have the will and power to do anything about this. It may not be long before the world humans have known and lived in for centuries is forever lost. We certainly won't be able to make repairs as fast as we destroyed it.

So a few years ago I began collecting pictures of the way things were ... and still are for now, a record of the beauty we have while it is still ours to love and honor.

The photos here are part of that collection, with sincere thanks to the artists who saw these moments ... and with their cameras ... preserved them. All of us at Enchanted Spirit are profoundly grateful to them for their generosity and skill ... and for the added grace, depth and dimension their art brings to ours.

Original images used under this Creative Commons license or this Creative Commons license and modified by added text.

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