Astrology fundamentals

s_lone

Council Member
Feb 16, 2005
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For any of you that are truly interested in the subject AND/OR interested in discussion and debate.

An Introduction
to
Archetypal Astrological Analysis

Richard Tarnas, Ph.D.

A birth chart or natal chart is a portrait of the heavens at the moment of one’s birth. The Sun, Moon, and planets are positioned around the chart to reflect their positions around the Earth when one was born. For example, where the symbol for the Sun ( ) is located in the chart reflects the time of day one was born: thus if one was born at noon, the Sun would be at the top of the chart (called the Midheaven), while if one was born at dawn the Sun would be shown rising on the left side of the chart near the eastern horizon (called the Ascendant).

The main difference between the natal chart and the astronomical reality it portrays is that the natal chart has two dimensions rather than three, and it does not reflect the varying distances of the planets from the Earth. What the birth chart does convey is the exact pattern of angular relationships existing between the planets and the Earth at the time and place of one’s birth.

The basic principle of astrology is that the planets have a fundamental, cosmically based connection to specific archetypal forces or principles which influence human existence, and that the patterns formed by the planets in the heavens bear a meaningful correspondence to the patterns of human affairs on the Earth. In terms of individuals, the positions of the planets at the time and place of a person's birth are regarded as corresponding to the basic archetypal patterns of that person's life and character.

Astrology makes possible a further understanding of one's life-- its cycles, its ups and downs, the crises and the breakthroughs, the periods of major change and transformation--through the study of transits. Transits occur when the planets currently in the sky form certain geometrical patterns with respect to the planetary positions at one's birth. The nature of those patterns--which planets are involved and how they are positioned--appears to correlate in a strikingly consistent way with the archetypal character of the experiences one tends to have at that time.



Three Preliminary Issues

To begin, I would like to address three important matters that people usually need discussed when approaching astrology. The first concerns the nature of archetypes, the second involves the question of determinism vs. free will, and the third concerns the nature of astrology's causal mechanism, or why it works. These three issues are closely interrelated.

To read it all...

http://www.gaiamind.org/AstroIntro.html