Learn Astrology

In this coming weeks we will be releasing learning modules e-books to make it possible for you to gain a basic understanding of astrology.

Introduction: The phenomenological and historical background of astronomy

Astrology and awareness:
It is always said that people used to look up at the stars and saw about the same as we do. With the understanding that they were more dependent on the natural environment and primitive.
This is not correct.
The intellectual level of such scholars around Harun el Rashid, in the late 7th century Persia after christ, was incredibly high. The astrological knowledge was a part of that level.. In comparison, the court of Charles the Great from the same time, who himself could not write, was very primitive.
The arabic world was influenced by the scientific writings of Aristotle (b. 348 BC.) .
Only later via Spain, these writings came back to the west, where until that time only his philosophical writings were known .
But these scientific writings caused an overly one-sided and premature awakening of intellectualism.
One must imagine that the people were more connected with the cosmos and less physical than we are now and were led by priests and initiates
Initiate kings, with more (self) consciousness in the spiritual world led the people.
This situation began to change with the advent of Greek philosophy, which heralded the end of the mythic-religious era. In the Middle Ages there was as a kind of intermediate step in this process, to emerge again in the Renaissance as a strong impulse acting in the foreground.
In this time the task of our spirituality began to be more confident and self reliant beings.
The gods of Olympus were for the people at that time a sort of intermediate phase and a reel experience similar to archetypes, as gods also begun to exhibit human traits.

Similarly, the planets and the sun were gods. Mercury is the messenger of the gods with his cunning strokes. The sun as the sun being in Egypt, Isis, was honored as Apollo in Greece.
For example anthroposofical medicine links between the metals and planets. Sun, gold, relates to the heart, jupiter, tin, to the liver, mercury, mercury tot the the lungs, mars, iron, to the bile, the moon, silver, relates to the genitals, venus, copper to the kidneys.

In the 15th century it was Tycho Brahe who actually provided the material for the still more famous astronomer Copernicus, who published the revolutionary astronomical laws on the orbit of the planets, he who still was in this world of astrology a transitional figure.
John Dee, the astrological consultant to Queen Elizabeth of England in the same century, was probably the last western astrologer who had a strong direct awareness of this cosmic link.
From the 16th century, there existed a decline of astrology only to return in the 19th century with renewed interest..

It is known that pyramids in ancient Egypt were designed according to particular stars configurations. Here astrology was important, but not as a tool for the common people. Statements were made about how the Pharaohs had to rule the country on how the harvest would expire or when battle should be held. And the people lived by, what looks to us as prescribed rules.
They were the leaders of the people, deputies of God, and their welfare depended on the asstrolgical reading of the chart of the king.
Also in early Babylon astrology was important. Venus, was called Ishtar and Jupiter Mardat (from 4000 BC, the influence of the moon existed here even much earlier)

Essential for the foundations of astrology was very likely the mysterious Egyptian god / man, demigod Hermes Trismegistus, the thrice great. It seems that this was a title of one being that probably incarnated a few times in the culture of ancient Egypt between 3000 BC and 300 AD. A lot of writings over several periods, are attributed to him. Papyri which inter alia deal with the training of priests, astronomy and astrology, calendar, agriculture, medicine and architecture.
Another name for him was Thoth, it was he that accompanied the building of the pyramids in Egypt.
According to Plato, the so-called Hermetica (his writing) had been kept for thousands of years in the temple at Sais in a secret storage place. In medieval and Renaissance writings he was popular among alchemists and magicians.
The Sur-Kitab al-Asar a sort of Aristotelian compendium for rulers from 880 BC., mentiones for the first time the essential text on the famous green stone called Tabula Smaragdina (emerald table), stating: that what is above, is also down or "as above, so below.
According to both R. Steiner and Edgar Cayce the medium, Hermes Trismegistus brought knowledge from Atlantis into the post-atlantic culture.

Externally it is true that in Egypt the mathematical and astronomical knowledge was at a much lower level than that of Persian -Mesopatamie Babylon. However, the signs of the zodiac originated in Egypt. There is always a distinction between secret information and knowledge in the culture that is brought out immediately.

It is complex matter that we will not investigate here, how exactly the Chinese astrology, or Indian or has been developed. It is more likely than apparantly to be seen that for example, Buddhism and the Vedas had access to a secret knowledge that directly or indirectly applied in the culture.

Stonehenge, which is seen as the start of the English culture dates from around 2000 BC and gives indications of star positions in the seasonal rhythm of the year.
In Greece from about 600 BC, the knowledge through the development of philosophy (especially 400 BC) became more exterior. And this was a phenomenon generally available, every individual could in principle develop their own thinking, where previously the gods, possibly mediated by initiates, thought for him. Where thought systems are also connected with concrete observations, arises modern science and hence in that sense a beginning of a recognizable astrology.

Fascinating and highly developed was the Mayan astrology which is currently in the spotlight, known by the end of its calendar in 2012. This indicates a major leap in the evolution of consciousness, and probably means that it is very relevant for people to have done something substantial in spiritual development before that time.
In the Middle Ages their calendars were also much more precisely than in the West. Characteristic of this astrology is the cyclical element.

Astrology means literally, the doctrine of the stars, and zodiac comes from horos, hours, and scopein. To look. So considering the hour, time and course of events. Astrology has always had a strong connection with the lot, we want to know the future in order to make wise choices.
Astrology moves between fate and self-determination. Indeed by this knowledge it
is possible to creates a positive future, but a mixed set of constraints and opportunities is given.
We see it as a blueprint of karma, and by understanding this can create freedom. Fixation can be removed but has first to be lived and experienced. To ultimately create the freedom to do what you really want and had planned to do in this incarnation.
In more psychological terms: understanding the complexities and nuances of character and being aware of this, gives you the possibility of making the most of the of the potential.

The chart as an image.

A horoscope is the picture of the planetary positions against the background of the zodiac at the time of the birth of that special person.
Most people, who are not astrologers, identificy with their sun sign, Capricorn is conservative and you're career oriented. If you are Aries this makes you go for the first impulse not thinking of any consequenzes.
Of course, the sun sign is quite relevant in determining the goal of your efforts, what you want. Very important also is the rising sign at the time of your birth, where the sun rises, called the ascendant. This determines how you experience the world and comes across to others.

For example ascendant Cancer reacts emotionally to the world that is sometimes a little threatening and makes these people determined by feelings for which they build a shield, and can thereby be held in an emotional reaction pattern.
It is interesting to look for a first image of yourself to your Sun, Ascendant, and Moon-position- which says something about your emotional reactions and needs, in order to make you feel at home and what you have inherited in such patterns.

The zodiac is a three-dimensional disk of a certain bandwidth (ecliptic), not very wide, about 8 degrees, where the earth and planets circulate around the sun in a particular angle and speed.
In that disk with the mentioned bandwidth, the constellations: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pices are to be found. A cycle that can been interpreted as: initiative, materialization, communication, inner / feeling, self-awareness; servitude, find balance with the environment, investigations / transform, to bring out, the ultimate form, give to the other, resolve / unity feeling.

Karma and mission:

The essential building blocks for the overall look to the horoscope and more specifically to your mission.

The "horoscope wheel" is a projection of the planets in the zodiac divided into 12 zones called houses. That we characterize briefly.
A planet in a house gives a substance that manifests itself in that particular area of life.

The three main astrological elements for finding and describing your mission are: Pars Fortuna, black moon, the so called moon-knots. Together with Chiron and Pluto which are also important in this context.
Chiron we characterize briefly as the wounded healer, which heals itself.
Pluto is a force that evokes, really forces us to transform the field of its influence.

Pars Fortuna is where is your natural ability lies but was snowed in at childhood in its individual house by accompanying specific conditioning.
You could say that any education attacks the inner child through conditioning while growing up. It is true that if one is not in a mode of natural behavior it (pars fortuna) is not working and that's why only through a non-calculating natural behavior is one to reach this state.
So if your pars fortuna is in the first house in Leo, then eventually you can very easily stand your ground in the world. If your pars fortuna is in the 4th house, Cancer, you feel very strongly emotionally involved with your family-your parents and possibly your own family.
This energy is also a prerequisite to come to the Black Moon, which represents the direct access to your soul. Initially an area that inspires some fear, and which operate as a place causing avoidance behavior. It is important to see if anyone takes up this confrontation. The reality of the soul is really not very familiar ground in our society. In essence it is your specific initiation.
The South Node represents what you learned where you come from, the north-node where you go, your life direction. It shows us the areas that all energy from the horoscope can focus on, for new creation.

Very important are the axes of the signs, who form a cohesive opposition.
According to ancient Egyptian knowledge, if you wanted to get in touch with the mission of your sun sign, you first had to experience and integrate your opposite, that at first impulse, you really wanted to avoid. So Capricorn who just wants to hit target, first has to acknowledge his/ her own feelings of the opposite Cancer. The Gemini in order to connect with everyone, has to first find the vision within from Archer, so as to not get bogged down in superficiality.

Brief summary:

Aries-Libra: action-harmony (relationship-axis, behavior / attitude, others)
Taurus-Scorpio manifest-transform (material-spiritual, possession, norms and values)
Gemini-Sagittarius communicate vision (communication, thinking)
Cancer-Capricorn-sense, form , presence in the world ,( parent-axis)
Leo-Aquarius-focused self-expression, the other (awareness)
Virgin-Pisces, purity and precision, sacrifice, inspiration (service, health, type of work)