How to Read Your Horoscope in 5 Easy Steps: Stop Reading Books and Start Reading Charts

INTRODUCTION

The cosmos speaks to us in mysterious ways. Astrology is a language to interpret these cosmic mysteries. The solar system is our college; the planets and constellations our teachers; the horoscope our syllabus and examination paper. When we graduate we will live more fully and travel beyond the stars.

You are unique and your horoscope proves it. There is not one other person anywhere on else on earth who has a horoscope quite like yours. Your horoscope is a gift you were given at birth and is your guidebook for life.

The word astrology is derived from Greek, Astron (Star) and Logos (talk). It’s Star Talk – in other words it’s a language. Astrology is the influence of the planets on human behavior and its language describes this influence. It is the language used by the cosmos to speak to us, which it does every second of every day. It is not a language of words but a visual language of symbols that communicate at a deeper level than words. This is why it’s better to read your horoscope than just to read books about it. Symbols are powerful and deeply rooted in the collective unconscious. The reason why international corporations like McDonalds and Mercedes Benz use globally recognized symbols is that they evoke certain feelings and associations more directly than the words themselves.

When you look at your horoscope what you are actually seeing is a slice of the cosmos. If you could take a tuning fork to your horoscope you would find that the energy of that cosmic slice vibrates to your own personal energy pattern. Your horoscope is you, from an energy perspective.

Anna is a clairvoyant who can read your aura just by looking at you. It’s uncomfortable at times because you can’t keep any secrets from her, especially when she’s on form! Just by looking at you, Anna can tell your mood and your health, as well as give an interpretation of your personality and what is happening in your life. In a similar way an astrologer looks at the energy pattern of your horoscope to give an interpretation. Just as a clairvoyant is employing her psychic powers so too does an astrologer, though in a different way. The clairvoyant reads your aura through the patterns and colors she sees while the astrologer reads the energy pattern of your horoscope through the planets, signs, houses and the relationships these make with one another.

Your horoscope, the chart drawn up for the moment of your birth, is a blueprint for your life and destiny. It is a guide or a road map through the highways and byways of life. It is also your karmic pattern and shows what your soul has agreed to take on before you were born.

It may seem difficult to believe that even a tiny baby is an emerging soul with lessons to learn. It’s not for us to say whether this innocent child was Jane Doe or Joan of Arc but, by reading her horoscope, we can see her potential and what she could achieve in this life. After all, who you are today is more important anyway than who you might or might not have been in the past.

Astrologers don’t believe we’re here for just one life before we go to heaven. We believe life is a long journey through many lifetimes. Reincarnation and karma are, therefore, twin concepts used in astrology. These laws of the cosmos govern our thoughts and actions. This is not a new thought. It has been said in different ways by different people throughout the ages. Newton said in his Third Law of Physics: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Lord Buddha gave a similar teaching over two thousand years prior to Newton. In the New Testament we find the teachings of Jesus as: … whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. In these modern times, the Beatles summed up karma when they said: The love you take is equal to the love you make."

The karma we are constantly creating every second of every day is worked out over lifetimes. If you take an honest look back over your life now, you will probably agree it took you a long time to learn something and to change in the light of it. Sometimes we literally get knocked over the head before we realize what we are supposed to be doing with out lives. An old college friend, Michael, was about to embark on a lucrative investment career when a car accident landed him in hospital for several weeks. It gave him a chance to rethink his plans and his life. He realized his heart wasn’t in his previous career choice and he later became a doctor and joined Medicins san Frontieres where he now works saving lives in war-torn areas.

We are gods in the making, unaware of our divinity. Our home and school is the solar system and Mother Earth our current classroom. Everything we do takes place within the beautiful mystic backdrop of the cosmos. Even our thoughts will delicately touch the remotest star in the galaxy and that remote star will also touch us.

In astrology, we are concerned with the influence of the planets in this solar system. The touch of these magnificent living entities is beneficent, urging us to evolve on our journey back to God. As we have free will, we can choose to ignore the planets’ subtle, delicate energies and move out of sync with the natural flow and order of life. If we do we move away from our destiny.

Instead of blaming the planets for our misery we can use them as marvelous tools. Once we learn the mystical language of astrology as portrayed in our horoscopes, our path is revealed. We can unlock our potential, understand our karmic relationships and learn how and when to act. Astrology is a tool not a crutch. Once you develop an active, reliable, high intuition you will no longer need it. However, for most of us, it’s extremely helpful.

Although you may hear otherwise, astrology is not fatalistic. The planets incline but they do not compel and nothing is inevitable. You can choose to overcome difficulties and limitations rather than succumbing to them. You can use astrology to help you manage your negative karma and use your positive karma more powerfully.

One great thing about astrology is that it works whether people believe it or not. Ironically, the people who scoff at astrology are the ones who are more or less ruled by it. When I first started teaching astrology a student attended my classes with his wife. I felt his main reason for coming was to scoff; he seemed to think his endless verbal jousting made him look clever. In fact it had the opposite effect. You could almost hear the silent groan that emanated from the class when he spoke, especially from his embarrassed wife. Because I was new to teaching I put up with his rude remarks which I would not do today.

I could see from this poor man’s horoscope that his relationship was about to break up. Had he given astrology a chance he could have taken steps to avoid this painful split. As he didn’t, he ended up losing his twenty-year marriage. I must admit I felt relieved that he no longer attended but also felt bad that I hadn’t been able to convince him of the efficacy of astrology.

The more we understand astrology, the more we can avoid apparently inevitable results. Let’s look at an example with the Sun and Saturn. The great life-giving luminary, the Sun, warms us. In astrology the Sun represents your vitality and is your fuel. The mighty planet Saturn has a different effect. Astrologers of the past called Saturn The Grim Reaper. Today, astrologers take a more enlightened approach, referring to this wonderful planet as The Great Teacher. While it does bring limitation and discipline, this helps us to learn.

My strict schoolteacher taught me Latin through limiting my desire to daydream with a quick, sharp blow of her ruler to the back of my head. This would not happen in a classroom today but I can assure you it did when I was at school in England many Moons ago. I don’t believe I ever would have learned Latin without it. (Not that it would have mattered too much, but that’s another subject). Saturn’s effect in your horoscope is rather like this, although it’s more compassionate than my ruler-toting teacher! The limiting effect of Saturn may come in the form of ill health, or a restriction of some type that causes you to ‘toe the line’.

When Saturn today is in that same little piece of the cosmos as the Sun was when you were born, it affects you. (These movements of the planets today over the planets in your horoscope are called transits). Astrologers can predict future possibilities by looking at your transits. One effect might be that Saturn, by sitting on top of your Sun energy, could deplete your vitality and cause ill health. A good astrologer would alert you to this potentially difficult period and recommend you take remedial steps such as healthy diet, exercise, positive affirmations and/or spiritual practices. If you do this you can then avoid or alleviate a patch of ill health. You are then working with the Saturn/Sun energies. The practical, concrete energies of Saturn incline you to work rather than to dream. If you work with Saturn transits, you can in turn build strong foundations in your life. If you ignore them, you will then experience the limitation of Saturn’s transits head-on.

As well as helping you to be forearmed, astrology also helps you take your blinkers off. It’s easy to see other people’s faults but hard to see your own. It’s also the same with your talents. Very few people recognize just how many skills they have at their fingertips. Self-knowledge is a