Solar Eclipse

An annular solar eclipse took place today. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, totally or partially the sun as viewed by us on earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the sun, causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring), blocking most of the sun's light - also known as “Ring of Fire” (the image at the bottom of this post shows that effect best.)

Astrologically eclipses are powerful times, and if you are in any way sensitive or intuitive you may have felt either a sharp increase or decrease in your energy levels over the last few days as it approached. Sometimes also accompanied by vivid dreams and restless sleep. As in this annular eclipse the moon fits just inside the sun revealing only a ring of fire, it speaks of revelations in life or relationships. If you want to see how it may affect you personally you can look for where it occurs in your birth chart – it happened at 0 degrees Gemini, so for example if that’s in your 10^th House, there might be a revelation at work, or your Mum might tell you something you didn’t know before. If its next to or “conjunct” a planet or angle in your chart it might have very strong personal resonance for you. Eclipses always hint at new starts and change. If you want to harness the current energy, now is the time to think of where you are planning change in your life, where you need to let go and move on. The universe is supporting you today in making that wish a reality! If not, then you can just enjoy the images and the beauty of this natural phenomena, and I personally will be glad to hopefully get a good nights sleep tonight now it's taken place (as I am one of those sensitive types that suffers from all of the above!)

Calculate your own birth chart!

To start understanding astrology to a deeper level than just the Sun sign the first thing you will need to do is calculate a birth chart, in most astrology courses, the first thing you are given is your own chart to study, and then it's fun to run charts for close family and friends, and then as you learn what all the different planets, signs and houses mean you can look for different formations amongst people you know, and consider if they are manifesting those traits - and that's what makes it all really come alive and makes it easy to learn. As part of my examinations at the Faculty of Astrological Studies I had to learn to calculate a chart by hand, using only an ephemeris and lots of paper (and blood, sweat and tears!) But now there are now many websites that will run your birth chart for you for free (hooray!) My favourite is Astrodienst - they let you set up a number of charts for free and you have a whole catalogue of charts you can then run and it's full of great articles and forums as well. To run a chart you will need a persons date, time and place of birth - that's it! In many countries time of birth is recorded on birth certificates, but not always in the UK, so this might be the hardest part to find out. If you really don't know, common practice is to set it for 12 noon, all the planetary positions and angles between them will be correct, but the angles won't be, and neither will house placement, and these are some of the really important parts of a chart. If it's a person I know, I will ask them to do some detective work to try to narrow down the time, you commonly hear "tea time" or "just before lunch" which then narrows the band of time down for you. I then will run a few test charts out at different intervals throughout that time period and see what "fits" best in terms of what I already know of the person. Since the Ascendant and any planets in the first house or conjunct the ascendant are easy to see, this can often work well. But lets assume you have all the data you need, you go to the right hand side and click on My Astro (in red type on the print screen below) and then follow the instructions to set up your chart.

You will then get a beautifully presented birth chart, also known as a natal wheel or horoscope! And even before we go into the depths of how to read it, you will be able to refer to the box on the top left which will show you which planets you have in which signs, like this one below:

So already you can start seeing if you are a "typical" sun sign person by having more than one planet in that sign, or you might have several planets in a totally different sign! Keep this chart to hand as we work through all the elements in a birth chart, and maybe start collecting the charts of your nearest and dearest too :) Hope you got your chart - let me know in Comments if you have any questions or problems at all! 

So why Sun Signs?

Perhaps the easiest and most heard criticism of astrology is “How can it be true when it’s written for one twelfth of the population?” This is of course referring to the popular sun sign columns you can find in almost every newspaper or magazine you pick up. Once you start learning a bit more about astrology one of the first “revelations” is that the sun is by far NOT the most important part of the birth chart at all (cue lots of astrological debate as to what IS :) ) I guess the answer is that the calculation of a birth chart is quite a complex set of calculations and the “average man on the street” would find it easier to at least know their sun sign which only changes once a month as opposed to any other planet which either changes way too often / not regularly enough year on year or at all for a long amount of time, to make identification easy without an ephemeris (more on these later) However what I always find amazing that is even with the rough “typing” whereby in theory one twelfth of the population falls into each group (in practice more babies are born in set months every year) and the fact that most columns in newspapers or popular astrology sun sign books are fairly tenuous in astrological exactitude, that there is STILL enough truth in them to make them enduring parts of cultural tradition still surviving today across most of the world. I mean who doesn’t know what sign they are? Sceptic or believer we all know… In case you don’t know -  here’s the chart for you.....

So most of us know the general attributes of our sun sign, if you don’t this is a great link but what you might not know is that every sun sign is full of mythology and stories passed along and down for generations, nearly every culture has similar myths and stories, and this is how moral traditions were carried from generation to generation before the printed word and today’s technologically "ever connected" world.

Once you dive behind the front door of the Sun sign of a person though (although this applies more as a description of the Ascendant – again more on that later!) you begin to realise that the sun is just one of the planets astrology looks at in the overall map of a persons psyche or personality. Here’s part of my chart, the Sun is the round circle with the dot in it, you can see it’s in Aries, but plenty of other planets are in other signs. So how does this balance out? If I have Sun in Aries but Venus and Jupiter in Pisces with a Capricorn Moon, am I more or less Arian? How do these energies all blend together? Are there some areas in life where, rather than the “bolshy / enthusiastic / cheerful Aries ram” I am actually quieter, more subdued, careful to show my feelings? Once you start asking and answering questions like these….. that’s it! You are hooked and have to find out more! Also every sign and planet like everything in life has a positive and a negative side, a yin / yang aspect. So even the cheeriest of Arians, can get a little despondent, the unselfish fighter for the underdog, can be a petulant spoilt little child, and so on. It’s a complex set of sometimes conflicting drives that make up a person, and a birth chart, which means its not easy to interpret – but hey – nothing good worth knowing or having is ever easy, right? 

So what does the sun mean to professional astrologers, once you move past the “Born in May? You are a Gemini!” stage? The sun is actually not the easist part of a person's chart to read on casual aquaintance, you are much more likely to be able to identify other parts first. The sun is the real inner core of the person. The inner self, and something which we often strive to become through our lives and experiences. Its an underlying “flavour” or theme of a person, their overall vitality or energy make up and the way they assert themselves. But just like the base of a cake or a recipe might be something that on first taste you miss, so the sun can easily be missed by other stronger and immediate flavours, the icing on the cake so to speak. When interpreting a chart generally the Sun, Moon and Ascendant are the most important central themes. But then you can often find a cluster of planets in a totally different sign to any of these, meaning that what you think you will find in that person is hidden by other more forceful energies.  That being said most people DO get on very well with, and “click” or connect with members of their own sun sign. Probably you tend to feel most comfortable with people that have a general “flavour” or energy consistancy most similar to your own. I can recognise an Aries at about 5 mins into a conversation usually, so clearly although not always dominant, sun signs are forceful and recognisable traits in their own way. And I do find that the daily sun sign predictions are often spookily accurate for where I am in my life, I can't recommend enough Jonathan Cainer's predictions, he really is the best!

As to me and my sun sign? I LOVE being an Aries, we are  number one and the best! Woo! Which kind of sums up both the positivity of the sign and the childish need to be number one and get the most attention. There’s no doubt I am an Aries, and there’s no doubt that of all the qualities I like in myself, often it’s the Arian ones I want to develop and promote the most. I like the fearlessness, the “sunniness” the cheerful,  enthusiastic, bombastic, “nothing is impossible” energy. I am proud of the competitiveness and the fighting spirit, the need to stand up for the underdog, the will to never give up! I also recognise the spoilt child, the “What about ME!” whining / demanding brat, and the fact that sometimes the bouncy ebullience can be SO annoying to others (and me!) Sometimes the energy is too much, I get easily bored / restless / fed up with people, situations, myself. It’s not an easy sign to be, certainly not quiet, it takes some handling, but I can’t imagine being any other sun sign. It truly is the core of me, and when people describe me they usually do describe the sun in me “Fiesty, fun, sunny, kind, loyal” (as well as sometimes “brat, baby, centre of attention!”) Which parts of your sun sign do you identify with?

So what is astrology?

The dictionary says astrology is "The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs." Astrology literally means "the Science of the Stars", from the Greek astrologia: astron (constellation; star) and logia (study of; ordering principle; utterance) Astrology is a very ancient, but still living discipline, it seeks the meaning and application of the influences of the planets, stars and other celestial phenomena in our lives. Astrology and astronomy have in modern times become separate studies, though for most of human history they were studied as one. Exploring ourselves, our relationships and our place within the world, astrology has found that the symbolic relationships between the heavenly bodies are significant, and can be seen as a map to human destiny. Astrology can give us insight into all manner of situations, from the personal to the political and from the most intimate to the most mundane. Many astrologers take a holistic view of the world, and believe in a spiritual connection between all things, even the planets, stars and us. The first thing to do when looking to interpret these influences is to run a horoscope or chart for the person / relationship / event etc. Filled with symbols, this symbolic map of the heavens is like a snapshot of the cosmic influences at work on that specific place or person at that particular moment in time. These influences will be expressed in whatever person or event is being born right there and then. Drawn in a map as unique as your fingerprints, these influences find expression in the course you take throughout the whole of your life.The astrologer's job is to then interpret the meaning of the symbols in the chart and to place these influences in an appropriate context, with relation to its subject. 


Personally for me astrology has always been relevant in my life, and at times of turmoil, or unexplained relationships and situations I have turned to astrology for answers and never been disappointed. It's helped me understand myself, understand how others work and how and why certain events have come into my life and equally have left. I believe astrology can be fun and whimsical like the daily sun sign columns in newspapers or online. Or it can be the foundation of a serious look into the components of personality, upbringing and events that make up an individual's personality. I also love the work that can be done into looking into relationships by synastry and composite charts. Looking at that unmeasurable chemistry that happens when two people meet and spend time together. So hold on for the ride, we will be looking into all of these aspects and more! And the picture above? Well that's me! :)

Then my new blog is for you!

I have been a fan of astrology since I was old enough to know that I am an Aries and that the three sentence paragraph in the local newspaper was more often than not pretty accurate about me and my life. As I grew older I realised there was more than just the sun sign part, and discovered a few books that gave more insight, into moon signs and ascendants and at the age of 12 had a personal horoscope as a birthday present. As soon as I saw all those glyphs and squiggles and the net sum of the results was a highly perceptive picture of me as a child (and which has only become more accurate as I have grown older) I knew I had to find out how this all worked! I bought more and more books and eventually studied part time at both the Faculty of Astrological Studies where I achieved my Certificate with Distinction and the London School of Astrology, also being a member of various local study groups along the way. I’ve had a few last years where my ephemeris has lain dusty on a shelf, but have decided to get “on it” and back into it, and along the way share and develop my astrological education and application :)

So what am I planning? LOTS is the answer! How to calculate your own chart, how to read it. Explain what all those symbols mean, and how to apply astrology to everything and everyone in your life. To run series of posts on things like Astrology 101 (or basics) the different types and applications of astrology, famous astrologers, current planetary transits, and their effect in your life, book review, and MUCH more! Please join me on my journey, I would love it if you did! *grin* Jules

Have you ever wondered.....?

Have you ever wondered why it is sometimes you react to certain situations in life so well, but others nearly always present a challenge to you?

Are you the sort of person who “wears their heart on a sleeve” does everyone know how you feel? Or do you find it hard to let your emotions out?

Do you sometimes meet new people and feel the instant buzz of a connection? Or feel pushed back or repelled in some way by their energies?

Have you sometimes had things happen to you in life that were hard to cope with and life changing, but afterwards felt that it was what you needed to move on in some way?

Have you ever looked up into the night sky and wondered…....