INTRODUCTION

The interpretation of a horoscope or natal chart is a complex matter and the interpretation given makes no pretence at being complete. It is rather an analysis of the various chart elements and is left to the person whose chart it is to synthesise the various factors involved.

Interpreting a horoscope is like interpreting one's own dreams; all is written in symbols which are flexible in meaning and very often the best analyst is yourself. However, the objective insight provided by an outsider to the situation is quite revealing and can open up new avenues of thought for you to pursue. Hopefully, your interpretation will open up a new world of your own inner dynamics, leading to conscious awareness and the possibility of developing your hidden potential.

THE SIGNS

The interpretation for the planets in signs will be seen to be rather short compared to the houses or the aspects. The reason for this is that I look on the signs as a background to the general painting of the person's characteristics. Most sun sign books and magazines give quite good interpretations of these positions and anybody who has read them will know their own signs quite well. These characteristics are, however, general in nature and are overlaid to a greater degree by the aspects between the planets which are the pointers or "principles of motion" of the signs - the planets show where and how the effects of the signs are most likely to manifest.

THE MEANINGS OF THE "PLANETS"

THE SUN

The sign the Sun is in is sometimes said to be the mode of expression to which we are consciously working towards. If you do not express all the attributes represented by the Sun as described in your Sun sign book or magazine then this is why - you have not yet achieved it.

The Sun is also considered to be your conscious behavioural characteristic, thus it is that part of your personality that is attempting to seek expression by using all the other chart factors. It can be said to be the path of fulfilment through which all the other chart elements are released or repressed.

All the other chart elements - the Ascendant, Midheaven, planets and the aspects they make to each other are attributes or endowments which you carry with you (just as a joiner would his tools) and in some way or other they are all creating a pressure to come out or become manifest. These endowments are as it were cast under a spell or bewitched and the Sun is the mode of behaviour or the path of self- fulfilment which has to be followed to set free the bewitched element; you have to learn how to use the tools! To misquote from a German astrologer called Dobereiner, "It's like in fairy tales; somebody is cast under a spell, or is charmed, or grows a long nose or scales or a hide of hair, or whatever. And then there is a certain task they have to perform to free themselves from the enchantment." The Sun is the task, the planets, Ascendant and Midheaven the bewitched elements.

The house in which the Sun is found shows the field of activity in which your path is to be found or the disposition realised. This sphere of activity will be of major consequence in your life in that it is emphasised.

THE MOON

The Moon is significant through being the building block of your past which may come from early childhood or some form of early life conditioning. It gives the foundations from which you now work and refers particularly to your instinctive behavioural patterns. That is, the way you tend to react without thinking - your habits. The sign and house in which the Moon is found shows how and where you can most easily express yourself, modified in reaction by any particular aspects made to it from other planets.

For men the emotional self may be particularly difficult to tune into - feeling states being something of an enigma to most men. The emotions can be projected onto your partner which eventually helps to bring them alive. Women are usually more in harmony with emotional self-expression and find it easier to express what they feel.

The Moon also refers to the women in your life no matter what sex you are and can often reflect your opinion of your mother. It can also show your attitude to life at home because at home you can feel safe and secure and are able to express that most sensitive part of yourself - the emotions and feelings.

It is suggested that the zodiac sign the Moon is in (your Moon sign) was in a previous life Your Sun sign but whatever it is, it definitely refers to your past and is the foundation upon which you have to build this present existence usually with some modification to allow the solar impulse (your Sun sign) to reach full expression.

MERCURY

Mercury is how you perceive the environment that surrounds you, how you interpret everything that comes within your ken. The sign it is in indicates the method by which it interprets these sights and sounds. For example if in Virgo, it will tend to be nit-picking and feel a need to analyse everything around. Meditation is not easy with this position as all perceptions are put through a fine sieve. It is the messenger that communicates between the various functions of your personality and the sign it is in shows how these various parts of your personality work together. It can also show how you will react to outside stimuli.

Altogether it is one of the most important planets in your horoscope as it is the means by which all the other planets communicate their own independent assessments of any given situation to each other. For example if you have a poorly aspected Mars (which would indicate that you may have difficulty coordinating your reactions to a situation) a well aspected Mercury would be able to compensate for these deficiencies.

The house in which Mercury is found shows the sphere of activity in which your thoughts are primarily directed.

VENUS

Venus takes it meaning from the two signs of which it is ruler - Taurus and Libra.

The Taurus part of Venus symbolises a system of feeling orientation in relation to the world in contradistinction to intellectual orientation. Through the medium of the feelings you evaluate what you like and don't like. Attraction and repulsion are thus due to sympathy and you tend to associate with groups to whom you can empathise with. It shows the need or otherwise to belong to a "herd" or group - the need to find harmony between between yourself and the environment you inhabit.

The Libra part of Venus seeks the complement to oneself through the process of encounter - by meeting what is out-with yourself you can bring to consciousness the inner content of your feelings; you become more aware of them. This is not only the seeking of harmony but also the unconscious search for the violent encounter which brings to the surface the warlike nature of your inner being. Only by dealing with the disharmonious contents of the imagination in this way can the opposites within yourself be resolved. Love is basically the force that unites and resolves opposites - it is the glue that holds the Universe together.

Venus is often thought of as the image of the beloved and may show the type of person to which you are attracted (in certain respects). Being the IMAGE it does not really show the type of person you might marry but the sort you are romantically attracted to.

Venus shows where you get pleasure and what you like doing.

It is the VALUE you give to something or someone - it's weighting.

The sign in which Venus is found shows how you tend to express your wants and desires. For example, if in Aries you tend to want things quickly and spontaneously and in matters of love and the affections will pursue the loved one enthusiastically.

The house in which Venus is found shows the sphere of activity in which this function is most easily used. It can also show where romance (the image of the beloved) can be found and where one can find greatest happiness.

MARS

Mars is the function that is related to motive force; not the motive but the pure force by which you attempt to achieve the motive. Desire can be seen working through your actions but the desire is not the action itself, it comes more from the principle of Venus which dictates your wants and needs. Mars is pure unadulterated energy which supplies the drive to go out and get what you want.

The sign position of Mars shows how you can best do things. If in an air sign (Gemini, Libra or Aquarius), then your energy is most easily expressed in some form of communication. If in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn) then performing practical actions best suits you.

The house position of Mars indicates the sphere of activity in which you find it easiest or most difficult to express your energy. If you do not use the energy then you might find that this energy is used against you or it erupts out of control.

JUPITER

Jupiter stays in the same sign for about 1 year and therefore affects all those of your age - the same social group.

The Jupiter principle is to do with expansion, but why does one expand - there must always be a reason or motive behind a principle and with Jupiter it is UNDERSTANDING. Consciously or unconsciously the drive to expand your experience of the world is basically the urge to increase the sum total of your concepts of the world thus giving a conceptual landscape. This jig-saw you have pieced together lets you see how and where you fit into the picture. Having a map of where you're at is helpful in finding out where you're going and how to get there.

The expansion takes place on all levels of being - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, thus Jupiter is one of the most expansive planets of all and operates in the fields of relationships (personal and environmental), material possessions (security and the need to belong "to the herd") and philosophy and knowledge.

Curiously Jupiter can work by frustrating the achievement of your objectives, this should force you to review your approach to the subject by making you take a different tack. Seeing things in a different way enlarges your experience of whatever it is that you are tackling - you gain in experience. Although you may not realise it, achieving your ideals may not be the purpose of the exercise in the first place!

SATURN

Saturn stays in the same sign for about 2.5 years and will affect those who are about the same age as yourself - the same social group.

Saturn represents your Achilles' heel; it is that part of the personality that doesn't work very well. It can make you defensive in that area of life by blocking these energies or overact to compensate for your deficiencies.

It shows the area of life which is going to require some hard work to develop. The sign it is in shows its method of working and the house it is in determines the field of activity in which you will experience limitations and sustained effort.

URANUS

Uranus remains in a SIGN for approximately 7 years, thus will be a generational effect and shows how you will attempt to express your original and independent attributes.

The HOUSE Uranus is in at birth indicates the sphere of life or area of activity that you will find easiest expression for the display or use of your original and independent attributes.

NEPTUNE

Neptune stays in the same sign for approximately 14 years thus will have the same effect on a whole generation.

Neptune is primarily a refining influence - it gives sensitivity to whatever it touches. It is a spiritual influence and gives, compassion and the appreciation of the finer things in life.

To achieve its objectives, however, it has to work against the gross nature of matter and can often bring loss and disillusionment where you are attached to materialistic objectives that are not good for your evolutionary development.

The house in which Neptune is found at birth shows where you are most likely to experience spiritual values, refinement and the loss of material attachments that you do not "need".

PLUTO

Pluto by sign shows how you attempt to bring about transformations in your life and how profound experiences occur to bring about "freedom from bondage to forms and substances no longer useful to the individualised spirit". Pluto releases the more enduring from the transitory thus freeing developmental potential and brings about growth.

Pluto by house shows the area of life in which these changes and in-depth transformations are likely to occur. As Stephen Arroyo succinctly puts it; Pluto has to do with an old identity from the past which is still subliminally active but now has to be purged to allow freedom of development for the new solar identity in the making.

ASCENDANT

The sign on the Ascendant shows your primary disposition or natural endowment which is seeking expression. It is the main characteristic or "tool" which the Sun sign has to work with and often shows the "spell" under which you are cast. It may not manage to manifest positively if the Sun sign doesn't like it and it can be used by the Sun sign in negative ways to mask character defects.

It is that part of your personality with which you meet the world and the part that the world sees of you (the persona).

MIDHEAVEN

The sign on the Midheaven shows that which has been effected or that which is significant beyond yourself - the EFFECT of the horoscope in total. The house position of the ruler of the sign on the Midheaven shows the field of activity or the level of life in which the effects will be seen and which will lead to fulfilment and happiness.

THE PLANETARY ASPECTS

The aspects are particular angles that the planets make between each other and are measured in degrees of longitude around the zodiac. The main aspects are 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 degrees. The angle does not need to be exact (up to about 8 degrees and is called the orb) but the closer it is the stronger its effects are felt. This is shown on the interpretation by the number which follows the astrological significator or in some cases by moderate, strong or weak. It does not mean that this is a bad aspect to have being "weak".

Sun conjunct Pluto 6

The number is 6 and shows that the planets are within 6 degrees of an exact aspect. 1-2 very strong, 2-4 fairly strong, 4-6 quite noticeable 6-8 weak.

The aspects show how the planetary energies combine as a single unit, i.e. how they work together. A brief introduction on what the aspects symbolise are given below.

1 Conjunction 0

The functions of both planets blend together even if inimical to each other. You are directly faced with the issue of combining both functions and if you refuse to do so end up precipitating events that by their very nature point your attention to resolving any conflict if present.

2 Opposition 180

The planets diametrically oppose each other which makes their resolution difficult causing a see-saw type effect; attention is focused first on one planet then the other. The usual burning ground of oppositions is in the field of human encounter; through conflicts with others you are faced with the internal and usually subconscious behaviour symbolised by the planets. That is you "project" your complexes onto others.

3 Trine 120

Both functions work in harmony and can have a creative output. Because there is no pressure to resolve any conflict of energy these aspects can be used as "escape routes" allowing the avoidance of problematic issues from other planets. Effort and a motive needs to be applied to use these energies successfully.

4 Square 90

Neither function "likes" the manner in which the other works producing discord and friction as attempts are made to bring either or both into manifestation. You are probably unaware of any inner conflict until the discord precipitates an outer crisis or event that forces you to face the reality of your actions or deeds.

5 Sextile 60

Both functions work in harmony usually in a perceptual mode. That is, the energies combine at an intellectual level where you know or can "see" the probable outcome of any situation generated by these energies and take steps to actuate the most favourable.

Note:-

The aspects following are normally called the minor aspects but this is not to say that they are any less effective. They don't, however, tend to produce events as such but are usually associated with internal or psychological adjustments that are necessary to get the best out of them.

6 Inconjunct (quincunx) 150

This implies that the functions represented by the planets combine in a way that drains their resources and suggests an incorrect use of these energies. Problems (which you can normally avoid) then build up to a degree that an event is drawn to you which forces you to handle the incompatible energies in a more conscious and creative

fashion.

7 Semi-sextile 30

You are urged to work with the values and assets as represented by the planets, bring them into harmony and express them in your own particular fashion. They will not work together very well at first but time and experience can show how to use the energies creatively. By themselves they are not usually problematic but only give rise to a feeling of discomfort or unease.

8 Semi-square 45

This is termed as mildly frictional and pushes you to resolve the conflict between the two functions. If not attended to, can result in minor upsets and conflicts that give rise to irritation with oneself, others and things. Moderation of instinctual response to situations is being instructed, so that you can function more effectively in trying situations and create something worthwhile.

9 Sesquisquare (sesquiquadrate) 135

This is termed as mildly frictional and pushes you to resolve the conflict between the two functions. If not attended to, can result in minor upsets and conflicts that give rise not only to irritation with oneself, others and things but to a significant if childish display of emotional feelings. Moderation of instinctual response to situations is being instructed, so that you can function more effectively in trying situations and create something worthwhile.