astrology 101 🪐

what is astrology? what are my big 3? how can I learn more?

This is only the beginning of me talking about astrology. Astrology is one of my personal favorite tools to use to learn more about myself and to understand the people and world around me. Yes, if you’re my close friend or close family member, I have likely looked into your birth chart. 😂 So, I want to explain a little bit about it without sounding like a Wikipedia page or using too much jargon to share this wonderful tool.

Photo by Josh Rangel on Unsplash

What is astrology?

Astrology isn’t to be confused with astronomy. Astrology is the study of the influence of celestial bodies on human lives and events. Unfortunately, since the 18th century, it is largely considered pseudoscience. Astronomy is the study of everything outside the earth’s atmosphere and a natural science. But I believe we can’t have one without the other. Astrology use dates back many, many centuries and the lack of use in later centuries was due to, you guessed it, the church and Emperor Constantine declaring Christianity the legal state religion in 323 AD within the Roman Empire.

Astrology has different systems that you have likely heard of such as Western astrology or Chinese astrology. I use a system that dates back to the late Hellenistic period, the whole house system. In other house systems, the signs overlap with each other. With whole sign, the sky divides them up into 12 equal parts of 30° and each part is a sign. There is, of course, way more to it but the way I talk about astrology is with that system.

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much history information at first since it is a super long, complex history. It will be easier to see how astrology works together when I explain my own birth chart in the next section.

Sun, Moon, and Rising

In case you don’t know what a birth chart is: it is a snapshot of the sky at the very moment you were born into the world. Because of some aspects, like the moon and rising sign, of your chart and the fact the position of the stars change so quickly, it is important to have your exact time of birth (if known) and birth location. Without the exact time, there is a good chunk of your chart that will have to be estimated but even a close guess is better than using the default time. Below is an example of what that looks like using my own chart.

If you’ve been on the internet long enough, or in recent years, you might have seen posts asking about your “big 3” or maybe even had someone ask you that directly. Whenever someone refers to the “big 3” in astrology, they simply mean your sun, moon, and rising sign.

Your sun sign, also called star sign, corresponds to the date you were born. This is the part of astrology that you are likely most familiar with even if you don’t know exactly what it means. There are 12 signs. In order, they are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. The sun goes through all 12 signs every 30ish days.

So, my sun sign is Capricorn because I was born on December 22nd. Your sun sign is your personality, the ego, and aspects of self-expression and creativity. It is our identity and face in this world. This vital energy within you is built upon and shaped by the way other planets fall in the chart. The sun is the life giving force in your chart.

The moon sign is the constellation the moon was in at your birth time. The sign the moon is in changes roughly every two and a half days. It makes it’s way through all twelve signs about every 27 days. The moon cycle alone is powerful and mystical, often lining up with menstrual cycles too. My moon is Aries. Your moon sign is your emotional powerhouse and intuition. It shows you how you connect with others. It is everything below the surface.

Your rising, or ascendant, sign is the sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the time you were born and the location you were born. The ascendant sign changes every two hours with the earth’s rotation and gets even more specific when you move around the two hemispheres. My rising is Aquarius. Your rising sign has a couple different takes depending on who you talk to. Some think of it as the outward persona you have for the world or your “mask”. Other people think of it as the lens through which you view the world. I believe it is more of your world lens. Your rising sign sets up your chart. Your rising sign is the beginning essentially which is why I don’t believe it to be the “mask”. Basically, I believe that your rising sign is more “you” than your sun sign may reflect.

How do I start learning myself?

I recommend starting with learning some deeper astrology history! That is the best starting point without getting overwhelmed with chart details like I did. Learn about the Babylonian and Egyptian astrology. Learn about Greco-Roman and Indian astrology. Learn about the people who practiced this ancient art and who shunned it. This will help you appreciate and understand what you are interpreting chart wise.

After you learn a bit about the history, start learning to read your own chart. Start simple with your sun, moon, and rising. Dive into what each celestial body represents. Read deeper into what sign they are in. Learn what each sign means, represents, and what planet rules the sign. The layers are piled on with astrology for sure.

There is a wealth of astrology information online, of course, but I recommend starting with books if you have access to a library or bookstore. Digital books are just fine too! Articles and websites can get confusing. You have to make more of an effort to comb through information rather than searching an author and if they are a good source.

I am not currently taking on any in depth paid birth chart readings. But I would love to still share my own knowledge with you so please feel free to message me with any questions you may have! I will let you know when my readings open back up.

That’s all from me. Take care and let the stars guide you!

xo, Brenna