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Western astrology

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Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. In Western horoscopic astrology, it is based on an exact moment in time, such as a person's birth, in which various cosmic bodies are said to have an influence. In sun sign astrology, only the location of the Sun is considered. Most western astrologers use the tropical zodiac beginning with the sign of Aries at the Northern hemisphere Vernal Equinox always on or around March 21 of each year. Some Western astrologers use the Sidereal zodiac which uses actual star positions.

1 Origins
2 Horoscope
- 2.1 Interpretation
3 Sun-sign astrology
4 Western sidereal astrology
5 Elements of Western astrology
- 5.1 Planets
- 5.2 Signs
- 5.3 Houses
- 5.4 Aspects
- 5.5 Other
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

Origins

Western astrology originated in Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC, from where it spread to much of the world. Other systems of astrology were developed independently in China, in the Americas, and elsewhere. Premodern observers noticed that the annual patterns of the movement of the stars coincided with such events as the advent of springtime, changes in weather, and the migration of birds every year. Without knowing why these phenomena occurred together, other events were said to be affected by the cosmos as well. In medieval Europe, important political and military decisions were often made in consultation with astrologers. Believers in astrology use it primarily for making personal decisions or attaining information about an individual through natal astrology. Today, astrology has become distinct from astronomy and mainstream scientists in general dismiss astrology as a form of pseudoscience.

Horoscope

Main article: Horoscope

A horoscope or chart is based on a moment in time and shows where planets and various other cosmic bodies were positioned in relation to each other at that moment. The most prominent of these features is the position of the sun in relation to the signs of the zodiac. The signs used in Western astrology are based on the tropical zodiac and thus bodies are not in the actual constellation. From these planetary positions astrologers draw conclusions about the moment.

Interpretation

In Western horoscopic astrology the interpretation of a horoscope is governed by:

The angles formed by planetary bodies relative to each other, called aspects
Major planetary bodies' positions relative to the astrological signs of one of the zodiac systems,
Major planetary bodies' positions in one of the systems of houses,
Planetary positions relative to the horizon line (namely the ascendant/descendant axes, zenith/midheaven and nadir/imum coeli axes),
The position of deduced astronomical entities, such as the Lunar nodes.

Some astrologers also use the position of various mathematical points such as the Arabic parts.

Sun-sign astrology

Main article: Sun sign astrology

Newspapers often print astrology columns which purport to provide guidance on what might occur in a day in relation to the sign of the zodiac that included the sun when the person was born. Astrologers refer to this as the "sun sign", but it is often commonly called the "star sign". These predictions are vague or general; so much so that even practising astrologers consider them of little to no value. Experiments have shown that when people are shown a newspaper horoscope for their own sign along with a newspaper horoscope for a different sign, they judge them to be equally accurate on the average.^{[citation needed]} Professional astrologers claim that a more complete, personalized horoscope is more effective, but critics claim that this is not the case (see external link to "The AstroTest" below).

Western sidereal astrology

There are two camps of thought among western astrologers about the "starting point", 0 degrees Aries, in the zodiac. Sidereal astrology believes that the starting point is at a particular fixed position in the background of stars, while tropical astrology (which is adopted by the vast majority of Western astrologers) believes that the starting point is when the position of the Sun against the background of stars coincides with the Northern hemisphere vernal equinox (i.e. when the Sun position against the heavens crosses over from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere) each year.

As the Earth spins on its axis, it "wobbles" like a top, causing the vernal equinox to move gradually backwards against the star background, (a phenomenon known as the Precession of the equinoxes) at a rate of about 30 degrees (one Zodiacal sign length) every 2,160 years. Thus the two zodiacs are aligned only once every 26,000 years, with the most recent alignment being about 2,000 years ago when the zodiac was principally established. This phenomenon gives us the conceptual basis for the Age of Aquarius, whose "dawning" coincides with the movement of the vernal equinox across the cusp from Pisces to Aquarius in the star background.

Elements of Western astrology

Planets

Main article: Planets in astrology

In modern Western astrology the planets represent basic drives or impulses in the human psyche. The planets used in astrology are as follows:

Classical Planets These are the seven planets known to the ancients and are believed to represent the seven basic drives in every individual (the sun and moon are considered planets for astrological purposes). For this reason astrologers call them the 'personal planets'.
Image:Sun-symbol.png - Sun
Image:Moon-symbol.png - Moon
Image:Mercury-symbol.png - Mercury
Image:Venus-symbol.png - Venus (Female Sign)
Image:Earth-symbol.png - Earth
Image:Mars-symbol.png - Mars (Male Sign)
Image:Jupiter-symbol.png - Jupiter
Image:Saturn-symbol.png - Saturn

Modern Planets These are the three planets discovered in modern times, which have since been assigned meanings by astrologers. They are considered to be 'impersonal' planets, representing broad trends and impulses in society rather than in the individual.
Image:Uranus-symbol.png - Uranus
Image:Neptune-symbol.png - Neptune
Image:Pluto-symbol.png - Pluto

Signs

Main article: Astrological signs

In modern Western astrology the signs of the zodiac are believed to represent twelve basic personality types or characteristic modes of expression. The twelve signs are as follows:

How important a zodiac sign is for an individual depends on the placement of planets and the ascendant in that sign. If a person has nothing placed in a particular sign, that sign will play no active role in their personality. On the other hand a person with, for example, both the sun and moon in Cancer, will strongly display the characteristics of that sign in their make up.

Houses

Main article: House (astrology)

The houses are interpreted as spheres of life or activity. There are various ways of calculating the houses in the horoscope or birth chart. However, there is no dispute about their meanings, and the twelve houses are usually interpreted as follows ^[1] :

1st House: The self, one's appearance, the body, physical characteristic etc. The Ego. The start of anything.

2nd House: Money and Possessions, values and priorities. Growth of anything.

3rd House: Communications, siblings, neighbors and neighborhood matters, local travel and transport, education, everyday matters.

4th House: The home and family, the mother or mother figure, caring for someone or something. Conservation. The beginning and end of life.

5th House: Pleasures and leisure, holidays, games and gambling. Children. Creativity. Love affairs and sex for fun rather than a deep relationship.

6th House: Work, duties and chores. Employers, employees and one's job. Health and well-being.

7th House: Relationships, marriage and business partnerships. Agreements and treaties. Also open enemies and war.

8th House: Birth, death, beginnings and endings. Sexual relationships and deeply committed relationships of all kinds. Joint monies, taxes, legacies, and corporate finances. The occult and psychic matters.

9th House: Foreign travel and foreign countries and cultures. Religion, the law and higher education. All things which seek to expand one's experience. Freedom.

10th House: Aims and ambitions, direction in life. Your status in society, your career. The house of celebrity.

11th House: Detached relationships such as friends and acquaintances. Groups, clubs and societies, especially with a charitable or humane aim.

12th House: Mysticism, the occult, psychic matters. Places of seclusion such as hospitals, prisons and institutions. Retreat and reflection and self-sacrifice.

Many modern astrologers assume that the houses relate to their corresponding signs, i.e. that the first house has a natural affinity with the first sign, Aries, and so on.

Aspects

Main article: Astrological aspects

Other

Image:Ascendant-symbol.png - Ascendant
Image:Midheaven-symbol.png - Midheaven or medium coeli
Image:Northnode-symbol.png - North or ascending Node
Image:Southnode-symbol.png - South or descending Node
Image:Retrograde-symbol.png - Retrograde

References

^ Sasha Fenton, "Understanding Astrology" Aquarian Press, London, 1991