What is Astrology?

Astrology has been defined as the science and art of discerning and applying the significance of celestial influences.

Evidence suggests that mankind has made use of the celestial sphere since before the dawn of history. Celestial navigation across water and trackless land, and the use of celestial configurations to mark important seasonal events (such as flood times, planting times, harvest times, etc), were primary among such uses. The processes of observing and recording such information led to the construction of some of the ancient sites such as Stonehenge, the development of calendars and ephemerides, and the customary divisions of time (minute and hour for the day, and week and month for the year).

In these ongoing processes, two powerful concepts emerged. The cyclicity of nature could be accurately and precisely measured and predicted, and there was an observable correspondence between the positions of the heavenly bodies relative to one another and the affairs of man and the state of his environment. The mechanics of the first concept are well understood, but the second not at all. Modern astronomy, which concerns itself with the laws governing celestial reality, therefor conditionally acknowledges the first and categorically rejects the second.

Astrology, however, retains the original practical purpose of using the heavens to assist our efforts to gain insight into the nature of man and his environment. The history of astrology is that of a process of rigorous investigation, testing and refinement of the second concept, that of observed correspondences. In that regard, it compares well to the modern "soft sciences", especially sociology and psychology; indeed, we now find astrology overtly included in the practice of many modern clinical psychologists.

Modern astrology applies these two concepts according to a well-developed theoretical construct, which, in its basic form, is represented in the modern horoscope. This construct is founded on a set of assumptions, the understanding of which is important to the worth of this tutorial.

We begin with the first assumption as the basis of what we are about here; it is the heavens with emphasis on the changes observed there which is the object of our interest.

The second assumption is the essential statement of the basic tenet of astrology down through the ages.

The third assumption rests on the first two and is the specific statement of genethliacal (natal) or person oriented astrology.

On the basis of these assumptions, the modern astrological construct defines the matrix that is the horoscope on the basis of the Earth's movement in the Solar System. These two motions are the orbital revolution that produces our year, and the axial rotation that produces the day. These motions produce separate matrices in the horoscope, and are seen as representing different aspects of our environment.

The orbital revolution produces our year, with which we are familiar in the context of the natural cycle of the seasons. This can be seen as the primary matrix of the natural environment of the Earth, which provides for us the opportunities for experience and development. The traditional measure of this cycle is the band of constellations that fall on the path of the planetary orbits (the plane of the ecliptic), and are known by their animal names and comprise the Zodiac. These are the basis for the astrological Signs of the Zodiac; they are twelve in number and each occupy 30 degrees of the ecliptic.

The axial rotation produces our day, with which we identify the primary periods of personal experience: periods of waking activity alternating with periods of sleep and either waking or dreaming reflectivity. This can be seen as the primary matrix for personal experience, which provides for the arenas wherein we may respond to our environment and thereby contribute to our own growth and destiny. The traditional measure of this cycle is that of the Hours of Watch (two hours in modern terms), and so the day and night is divided also into twelve parts called the astrological Houses.

Thus, as we are a microcosmic manifestation of our environment, we can draw an objective model of ourselves using the archetypes of being based on the planets (which we call the Planets and include the sun and moon as well) and find them placed within two interwoven matrices; the Signs which define the environmental forces that mold each aspect of us, and the Houses which define the arena of life wherein that aspect of us can most naturally be expressed. Planets in Signs and Houses form the basic Horoscope.

The fourth major component of the modern horoscope is the Aspects, which are the geometric relationship between two Planetary positions as they are placed in the Signs. There are many of these; in general, they are derived from the division of the circle of Signs (360 degrees) into from one to twelve equal parts. These Aspects define the working relationship between the various components of the microcosmic entity for which (whom) the chart is drawn. Complexes often emerge as three or more Planets are found mutually Aspected, and the complexes are often seen functionally similar to the sort of phenomenon described by psychology with the same term.

It remains to observe that both matrices are divided into twelve parts. These parts are also identified by archetypes. For the Signs, these archetypes are expressed by Element (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth) and Mode (Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable). For the Houses they are expressed by Quadrant (Intuition, Feeling, Sensation, and Thought) and by Placement (Angular, Succeedent, and Cadent). Because these are derived from the same archetypal sequence, they are related. The first House resonates with the first Sign, the second House with the second Sign, and so forth.

The following sections discuss the various astrological components and the archetypes which comprise them.