Astro Mind Maps & 101 Astrology Questions

Quick Reference Guide: Key Principles

Sun – Self • Becoming • Core • Identity • Importance • Wants • Will • Father

Moon – Needs • Feelings • Reactions • Security • Home • Past • Mother

Mercury – Perceptions • Education • Connections • Language • Siblings

Venus – Love • Relationships • Pleasure • Beauty • Values • Tastes

Mars – Drive • Action • Assertion • Competition • Daring • Desire • Anger

Jupiter – Growth • Abundance • Exploration • Meaning • Beliefs • Wisdom

Saturn – Definition • Limits • Fear • Authority • Structure • Duty • Reality

Uranus – Rebellion • Breaking Through/Away • Difference • Shocks

Neptune – Transcendence • Fusion • Compassion • Sacrifice • Longing

Pluto – Transformation • Taboos • Burial/Unearthing • Power • Intensity

• The Sun rules Leo • The Moon rules Cancer

• Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo • Venus rules Taurus and Libra

• Mars rules Aries (and Scorpio ) • Jupiter rules Sagittarius (and Pisces )

• Saturn rules Capricorn (and Aquarius ) • Uranus rules Aquarius

• Neptune rules Pisces • Pluto rules Scorpio

Aries – Dynamic • Impatient • Bold • Independent • Pioneering

Taurus – Steadfast • Pragmatic • Stoical • Sensual • Stable

Gemini – Adaptable • Intellectual • Interested • Restless • Sociable

Cancer – Sensitive • Nurturing • Tenacious • Protective • Home-orientated

Leo – Proud • Playful • Dramatic • Romantic • Enthusiastic • Self-centred

Virgo – Practical • Modest • Discriminating • Critical • Skilled • Observant

Libra – Conciliatory • Fair • Harmonious • Relationship-orientated • Elegant

Scorpio – Unflinching • Suspicious • Subtle • Secretive • Insightful • Deep

Sagittarius – Questing • Sincere • Optimistic • Generous • Nomadic

Capricorn – Disciplined • Responsible • Industrious • Careful • Controlled

Aquarius – Humane • Detached • Friendly • Eccentric • Independent

Pisces – Unworldly • Elusive • Impressionable • Idealistic • Imaginative

Fire Signs (Spirit) Self-generating, ardent, enthusiastic, idealistic, visionary, inspiring, open, intuitive, dramatic, subjective. At best: confident, warm, optimistic, spontaneous, generous, trusting, playful, faith-orientated. At worst: attention-seeking, irresponsible, insensitive, immature, bombastic, unrealistic, domineering, out of touch with body and material world; needs containing and grounding. Lack of: may be apathetic, detached, unmotivated, lacking beliefs or meaning; in need of play.

Earth Signs (Body) Practical, productive, sensual, constructive, persistent, realistic, grounded, dependable, instinctive. At best: stable, disciplined, living naturally in accordance with the limitations of life, placid, enduring, organic. At worst: materialistic, overly security-conscious, bogged down, lacking vision, out of touch with intangibles; needs ideals/magic/play. Lack of: may be disorganised, compulsive, disconnected from body and material world; in need of routine/ritual.

Air (Mind) Ideas-orientated, sociable, curious, analytical, logical, observant, rational, communicative. At best: reasonable, objective, cooperative, fair, tolerant, aware of alternatives. At worst: cold, overly abstract, lofty, disconnected, out of touch/has difficulty with emotions/empathy; needs soul/feeling situations. Lack of: may be irrational/illogical, gets overwhelmed, distrustful of own voice; in need of study/reason.

Water (Soul) Subtle, responsive, sympathetic, imaginative, fluid, impressionable, private, emotional, subjective, healing. At best: nurturing, sensitive, compassionate, in touch with gut instincts. At worst: overly vulnerable, dependent, boundaryless, unreasonable, insecure, difficulty being separate; needs containment and rationality. Lack of: may have difficulty empathizing and be unresponsive or inhumane; in need of feeling/cleansing situations.

If an element is missing or greatly under-represented in the horoscope, it may function in an unstable/creative/neurotic fashion. We can deny, repress, project, sublimate or overcompensate in this area, with correspondingly interesting results.

Cardinal Signs Hinges of the year (equinoxes and solstices) and the day (dawn, noon, sunset, midnight) • Initiation • Doing • Challenge • Externalization • Dislikes or undervalues passivity • Action • Gets on top of things

Well-developed Self-motivated, a ‘doer’, able to initiate, goal-directed, good in crisis, in touch with ‘here and now’ Over-developed Starts but doesn’t complete, can’t cooperate, focus is only on the here and now, crisis-junkies Under-developed Lacks initiative, needs kick start, avoids crisis at all costs, dodges ‘real life’

Fixed Signs Beltane, Lammas, Halloween, Candlemas • Security • Stabilization • Sustaining • Concentrating • Preserving • Loyalty • Power • Determination • Stamina • Satisfaction of Desires and Values • Dislike of change or letting go • Attachment

Well-developed Determined, self-willed, reliable, enduring, sticks at things, has great reserves of energy, resists change Over-developed Obstinate, inflexible, wilful, implacable, overly rigid or tenacious, stuck in ruts, unable to adapt, inert, conserves rather than uses Under-developed Vacillating, without staying power, irresolute, inconstant, lacking willpower, sticks at nothing and gets blown every which way

Mutable Signs Bridging seasons • Adaptability • Adjustment • Transition • Maintenance • Gaining learning and experience • Service • Flow • Impermanence • Inclusiveness • Process • Restlessness • Meandering/wandering • Going around things

Well-developed Flexibility, willingness, co-operation, co-existence, adjusting with ease, orientated towards inclusion, often a seeking/searching quality Over-developed Very yielding and malleable, unable to exclude, adjusts inappropriately, difficulty saying no, possibly scattered/lacking in direction Under-developed Uncooperative, can’t adjust or accommodate and usually has a problem with moving goal posts

1st House – Identity • Approach • Image • Persona • Lens • Surface • Beginnings

2nd House – Values • Security • Possessions • Money • Self-worth • Tastes • Resources

3rd House – Mind • Communications • School • Siblings • Networking • Environs

4th House – Home • Roots • Foundations • Privacy • Retreat • Ancestry • Parents

5th House – Creativity • Recreation • Romance • Children • Fun • Self-expression

6th House – Work • Rituals • Health • Service • Daily Life • Mind/Body Links

7th House – Partnerships • Relationships • The Other • Projections/Attractions

8th House – Shared Resources • Death • Sex • Inheritance • Mystery • Occult

9th House – Higher Education • Beliefs/Meaning • Law • Principles • Morality • Travel

10th House – Career • Profession • Authority • Status • Public Role • Parents

11th House – Groups • Friends • Projects • Kindred Spirits • Community

12th House – Seclusion • Institutions • Threshold of individual/collective subconscious

Exploring the Components of the Birth Chart