If you are following the instructions of these blog entries, you should now possess a copy of your birth chart from Astrodienst using the Whole Sign system. And you should have purchased and now have copies of:
- Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George
- Asteroid Goddesses by Demetra George
- Take Charge with Astrology by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma
- Astrology for Beginners by Joann Hampar
- Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand (if you want to do charts for others as well as look at your own)
- Astrology of the Moon by Amy Herring
- Spiritual Astrology by Jan Spiller and Karen McCoy
- The Sabian Symbols by Marc Edmund Jones
Before we get started make sure you have pencil or pen handy, you will be writing in your books. The best way to learn astrology is to personalize your books by marking information that pertains to your chart in each of your books. Then you expand by marking the information of your significant other(s), your children, your other family members, and your friends. This practice is the "magic trick" to learn deeply what you need to know.
You can set Asteroid Goddesses, Horoscope Symbols, Astrology of the Moon, and Spiritual Astrology aside. They are the second tier books of the first tier of your studies. As to the rest, you can select one to plow through completely or use all four simultaneously. If you decide you want to go book by book, then I actually recommend you begin with The Sabian Symbols instead of one of the beginner cookbooks (Astrology for Beginners or Take Control with Astrology) and here's why. When you look at your chart, you will see that each energy point is placed on the wheel at a specific degree and minutes. I will use my chart as an example (be sure to click on the image to see it at a large enough size to see the information clearly, a new tab will open and you can toggle back and forth between the blog and the image).
Let's start with my Sun, which is at 23d14m in Aries. I grab my Sabian Symbol book and my pen and I look up 24 Degrees of Aries. Always round up, no matter how few the minutes. 23d01m is still 24d in the Sabian Symbol. If your minutes for an energy point are less than 15, go ahead and read the preceding degree. In my case, I would also want to glance at 23 Degrees of Aries. In the book there is the imaginative description and then the interpreted meaning. 23 to 24 Degrees of Aries is "Blown Inward By The Wind, The Curtains Of An Open Window Take The Shape Of A Cornucopia." The keyword is Munificence and "when positive, the degree is an irrepressible genius for capturing the richer rewards of life and providing a wider distribution for the higher realities, and when negative, a smug and petty self-importance in dispensing favors to others." (Sabian Symbols 172)
Every energy point in your chart has a Sabian Symbol and you do not need to associate the meaning of the symbol with the meaning of the energy point at this time. Simply go down the list of energy points in your chart legend at the bottom of your chart page and go to the Symbol in the book and WRITE your NAME and the ENERGY POINT. So, in my Sabian Symbol book I have Philip/Sun next to the 24 Degree of Aries. I have Philip/Moon next to the 22 Degree of Libra, Philip/Mercury next to the 11 Degree of Aries, and so on. Once you have gone through all your energy points see if you notice any themes in the keywords. Mine tend to reflect a life of spiritual growth while my partner's, Betsy, consistent theme is the care of others. Once you familiarize yourself with the meanings of your energy points you can refine your knowledge of the Sabian Symbols to reflect the interrelationship of the Symbol meanings and the Energy Point meanings.
In the case of your Moon, you will blend your emotional state into the Sabian Symbol and in the case of your Mercury, you will interpolate the Sabian Symbol through the energy of Communication. Learning astrology is a process of building complexity out of discrete information and then building complexity on top of complexity. The meanings of the Sabian Symbols and the Energy Points are discrete and separate. Your task to unlock your chart is to combine the two to derive a more nuanced meaning. From there you will add on more and more discrete pieces of information, constantly refining and individualizing the general meanings into a coherent narrative about yourself.
Perhaps you would rather start out with all of the books and jump around a bit, just to see where the journey takes you. That's a fine approach as well. Keep your pen handy and follow the same steps as before. Get your chart out and note which sign and house your Sun is in and then open one of the beginning astrology books to the section on signs and houses and write in your name and the energy point. In my case, I would put Philip/Sun next to Aries in the signs and the 6th House in the houses. Do this process for all your energy points and you will get a very quick grasp of your chart. It will still be a bit raw; after all, roughly 10 million people are born each month currently and as many as 355,000 are born on the same day! (Census Bureau) Just keep in mind that each sign and house cover a central theme with a lot of territory. One manifestation of Aries is adventure and another independence and these are both affected by your family, culture, and socio-economic status and many, many more factors. The Aries born on the same day at the same time who has repressive parents will manifest his or her energy differently than the one with supportive parents and the outcomes may not be what you anticipate.
So get your books out and your pens/pencils and mark up your books. Look up and read about all the information specific to your chart. Don't worry so much about reading the books straight through. You can do that after you "make the books your own." Get the raw data down and next we'll talk about synthesizing!
Every energy point in your chart has a Sabian Symbol and you do not need to associate the meaning of the symbol with the meaning of the energy point at this time. Simply go down the list of energy points in your chart legend at the bottom of your chart page and go to the Symbol in the book and WRITE your NAME and the ENERGY POINT. So, in my Sabian Symbol book I have Philip/Sun next to the 24 Degree of Aries. I have Philip/Moon next to the 22 Degree of Libra, Philip/Mercury next to the 11 Degree of Aries, and so on. Once you have gone through all your energy points see if you notice any themes in the keywords. Mine tend to reflect a life of spiritual growth while my partner's, Betsy, consistent theme is the care of others. Once you familiarize yourself with the meanings of your energy points you can refine your knowledge of the Sabian Symbols to reflect the interrelationship of the Symbol meanings and the Energy Point meanings.
In the case of your Moon, you will blend your emotional state into the Sabian Symbol and in the case of your Mercury, you will interpolate the Sabian Symbol through the energy of Communication. Learning astrology is a process of building complexity out of discrete information and then building complexity on top of complexity. The meanings of the Sabian Symbols and the Energy Points are discrete and separate. Your task to unlock your chart is to combine the two to derive a more nuanced meaning. From there you will add on more and more discrete pieces of information, constantly refining and individualizing the general meanings into a coherent narrative about yourself.
Perhaps you would rather start out with all of the books and jump around a bit, just to see where the journey takes you. That's a fine approach as well. Keep your pen handy and follow the same steps as before. Get your chart out and note which sign and house your Sun is in and then open one of the beginning astrology books to the section on signs and houses and write in your name and the energy point. In my case, I would put Philip/Sun next to Aries in the signs and the 6th House in the houses. Do this process for all your energy points and you will get a very quick grasp of your chart. It will still be a bit raw; after all, roughly 10 million people are born each month currently and as many as 355,000 are born on the same day! (Census Bureau) Just keep in mind that each sign and house cover a central theme with a lot of territory. One manifestation of Aries is adventure and another independence and these are both affected by your family, culture, and socio-economic status and many, many more factors. The Aries born on the same day at the same time who has repressive parents will manifest his or her energy differently than the one with supportive parents and the outcomes may not be what you anticipate.
So get your books out and your pens/pencils and mark up your books. Look up and read about all the information specific to your chart. Don't worry so much about reading the books straight through. You can do that after you "make the books your own." Get the raw data down and next we'll talk about synthesizing!
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