What’s Your sign?

“What’s your sign?” used to make me think of a cheesy pick up line.  Now, decades later, I genuinely am interested in knowing people’s zodiac signs and I’m not only talking about the sun sign. There is so much more to astrology than most people probably realize because it is not only about your main zodiac sign but all the planets, houses and other celestial bodies like asteroids and their precise placement in the universe the minute you were born in direct relation to the exact location you were born.  Then on top of that, I had no idea that there are 80 different branches or schools of astrology, which could mean that all those aspects are actually calculated a little differently resulting in varying interpretations!

I’ve been intrigued by astrology since I was young, with one of the first books I ever bought being a birthday book that described every day of the year from a very high level generic astrological perspective.  Aside from Western astrology, which most people would think of when speaking of zodiac signs, I also knew a little about Chinese astrology, which is completely different from Eastern astrology. Only after hanging out with some new people last year who were much more knowledgeable in the subject did I learn that a birth or natal chart even existed, which maps where all the planets were at the exact moment you were born and reveals a lot about you as an individual.

I got back into this topic as one way I wanted to get to know myself better, but it was shocking how complex it is and the rat hole I found myself in when researching it further.  After seeing how many different schools there are and knowing I wouldn’t be able to finish learning all of them in the remainder of my lifetime, much less even one of them fully, I’ve decided to narrow my focus to Western or also known as Tropical Astrology. There are actually different house systems within that, that I won’t go into until later posts.  Eventually I would like to dip my toes into Eastern (otherwise known as Sidereal or Vedic) Astrology, which is the one that indicates I am a Libra, so that I can compare that to what I learn from my Tropical natal chart. One person said Tropical reflected their younger self and Sidereal explained their more mature self.  Also I have not yet decided if I want to learn more about my Chinese astrology. 

For those that are skeptical about astrology to begin with, they may think I’m wasting my time trying to find myself by studying where each planet was during my birth.   I’ve actually heard people laugh at and mock how I think a giant hunk of rock hundreds of millions of miles away can affect my personality or predict my future with horoscopes.  To that I say, they are entitled to their opinion, just as I am to mine. As a Scorpio, my sign actually should make me one of the most skeptical signs and dismiss that astrology applies to me.  But since I have read a copy of my natal chart, read a couple of astrology books and watched several videos of the various planetary placements that I have, I could not simply write it off.  What I read shockingly resonated with me a lot.  Granted there were probably a handful of things that did not, but I can confidently say that a majority did and in a way that I could not have described myself better. I have a generally open mindset and prefer to utilize my relentless inquisitive nature to research things until I can prove there is validity to it or the results prove me wrong.  My initial research has already shown there does seem to be something accurate to it.  

I also graduated with a psychology degree and recently learned that Psychological Astrology or astropsychology exists through one of the books I read called “Use Your Planets Wisely” by Jennifer Freed.  In it, she states, “Your birth chart reveals at least ten times more about you than you might have thought.  And while some of these additional insights are echoes of your Sun sign, others are likely to reflect parts of yourself that represent radical departures from that sign.” This answers the questions I had when reading about generic descriptions about Scorpios, because I always felt not everything ever seemed accurate to me. As an example, Scorpios are supposed to be very competitive. I hate competition and will find any way to avoid being in competitive type situations, even if it is something small and fun like playing a board game or an impromptu game of billiards or bowling.  I can’t help but wonder if something in my birth chart explains that aspect to me. 

Interestingly, a degree can be obtained in the Psychological Astrology field through the Academy of AstroPsychology. The premise of this study is using both psychology and astrology concepts to achieve greater self knowledge, so that one can better achieve their own potential and appreciate others.  Basically it is looking at the nature inherent through our astrological features and nurture through our psychological and astrological development during our life.  What it does not do is predict the future like typical horoscopes.  Instead it is learning and utilizing the knowledge of self to best maneuver life’s challenges.  This is done by making the most of our innate strengths while overcoming weaknesses, such as being more cognizant of my tendency to bring my Scorpio stinger out and instead taking a moment to pause and consider a more positive action instead.  Supposedly by applying AstroPsychology with others around you, it empowers you by understanding them better and how best to interact with them, even if that means accepting that is how their sign lends them to be. It may also help with making decisions by understanding how planetary placements impact your values and your place in the world overall.  

I have already experienced first hand how psychology has helped me better understand where others are coming from and consider the best way to deal with various personality types. I can see how by understanding other’s signs and birth charts can basically do the same thing. That is if you are aware of it to begin with and that person agrees that it resonates with them as a person. This is the part that I hope to see for myself with analyzing my own birth chart.

I would be very curious to see someone who strongly believes that astrology is pure bullshit, carefully analyze their entire astrological chart from at least two different schools and let me know if they still think there is absolutely no link between astrology and who they have been in the past or evolved to the person they are today.