The orgins of astrology date back to possibly somewhere around 2,000 B.C.
with the Babylonians. Astrological references can be found in many
cultures: The Chaldeans in South Mesopotamia, in Egypt, Rome and Arabian
civilizations.
What is Astrology? Most people's perceptions of astrology have
more to do with how the media has portrayed it as - a method of fortune
telling. However, astrology is not a method of fortune telling at
all. Astrologers determine tendancies and predispositions of
characteristics of persons and events. A very astute and talented
astrologer can often amaze clients by almost startling "predictions".
What the astrologer is actually doing is carefully looking at the chart
constructed - most often the natal chart. A natal chart,
sometimes called a birth chart, is a map of the heavens at the time of
birth. This includes the day, month, year, time as well as the place of
birth.
By looking at this chart, an astrologer can deduce how a client is likely
to react to situations. By comparing the planets transiting the natal
chart and they aspects they make, it can also be deduced some of the
likely situations that will arise in different areas of the client's
life. By combining the astrologer's knowledge of the tendancies if the
client's actions with the likelihood of types of events, it can certainly
seem like fortune telling. Many astrologers are also highly intuitive or
psychic as well, adding to the accuracy of the astrological
reading.
Most of us know our sun sign, i.e. being a Capricorn or a
Virgo, etc. Astrology is so much more than that! After
all, with sun sign astrology approximately one-twelfth of the population
is the same sun sign as you! An astrologer prepares a chart that is
based on your individual birth data: month, day, year, time
andplace of birth. This chart, called a natal chart, gives
the positions of the sun and moon and the planets uniquely for you.
The planetary positions are calculated and drawn on a horoscope chart
wheel, which is a circle divided into twelve pie-like sections, called
houses. Each house represents different areas of a native's life. The
astrologer also takes into consideration the relationships the planets
make to each other, called aspects. Other features are utilized,
such as asteroids, arabian parts, midpoints and
their relationship to the planets and each other. Therefore, much more
detailed information can be derived than just generalized information
from one's sun sign.
Throughout these pages, we will explore and learn more about astrology.
