So, the internet is kind of obsessed with astrology. I mean, horoscopes have always been a pop culture phenomenon and I definitely remember being obsessed with the monthly love-scope section of magazines when I was a teenager. BUT the amount of astrology meme pages dedicated to telling you what kind of donut you are based on your sign have reached an all time high (I’m an Aquarius, which means I would be a chocolate eclair btw). You may engage from time to time, but a lot of people may be asking themselves just what the big deal is. What exactly is your sun sign, and what does it say about you, if anything? Why is that person you’re DM’ing asking for your birth time? If you’ve found yourself having some of these questions, don’t worry we’re here to help. Here’s our quick and easy Intro To Astrology!
What is Astrology, Even?
Astrology is the study of the effects that cosmic objects (like the stars and the planets) have on human lives. So, you look at the placement of certain planets and you can (theoretically) make certain assumptions or predictions about the way human people present themselves, or interact with other people. Astrology works mainly with archetypes (patterns of behavior), so while a reading can get pretty specific the more in-depth you get, the kind of stuff you see casually on social media usually deals with sun signs (the “main” zodiac placement) . For some, this can be a spiritual practice, so despite any skepticism you might have, it’s important to offer the same respect you may offer to any other spiritual practices/ways of life.
And Now For The Fun Part: The Big Three
When you see those “the signs as X” posts, they usually deal with sun signs, but the poster might say something like “check your venus/mars too”. What they’re referring to is some of the other placements that make up a person’s birth chart, based on when and where they were born. Let’s focus on the Big Three for now: Sun sign, Moon sign and Rising sign. Your Sun sign is the sign of the zodiac where the sun was located (which explains the name). This is usually what people are most familiar with. The sun is basically your “I am” sign. It’s what you present to the world, and it influences the way all the other signs in your chart play out. So, if you have a Leo Sun, you might be a performer, the kind of person that knows how to draw attention to yourself.
Your Moon Sign, on the other hand, is your inner world. It’s your emotional self, it’s how you act when there’s no one else around. Let’s take that Leo Sun from before and add a Pisces Moon: you may still be the life of the party, but emotionally you’re more introspective, more dreamy. Finally, there’s the Rising sign (the sign you need your exact birth time to calculate).
Your Rising sign is the way other people see you. Your sun may be the core of your true self, but before people can meet that version of you, they have to get past the mask of your Rising sign. So, a Leo sun with a Capricorn Rising might seem more reserved, because you haven’t gotten close enough to see underneath the mask.
What About The Rest?
Astrology really is a practice, and like any other practice, it requires time and effort to become truly familiar with. There’s a lot more to your birth chart, like your Venus sign (how you behave in love, your love language), and Mars sign (how you take action, the way you express yourself when you’re angry). Then there’s the houses (from 1st house to 12th house), which can tell you a lot more specific details about your chart, and don’t even get me started on the asteroids…but this wouldn’t be an Intro to Astrology if we got into all that extra stuff, so for now, go forth with your new astrological knowledge. And always think twice before you tell someone your exact birth time…do they really need to know all that?
