An Astrology Report contains information about each of the planets that symbolize parts of your complex personality. If it is calculated for the exact time of your birth, rather than just the date, it also includes the Ascendant or Rising sign that was on the Eastern horizon at your birth. This key factor sets the stage for a backdrop of 12 divisions of the 24-hour day into something called houses. A chart for the date but not the time is like knowing the city and state in which you were born but not the exact address.

Learning about the way you approach family, your attitudes about just who you are and how much you value your self, the way you see your family, (brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.) the kind of life you would like to lead, (education, career path, reputation, and fulfilling relationships), are all subjects that are revealed to the experienced, professional, Astrologer.

But armed with a few guidelines, you can gather a lot of insights into the way you function just by studying several important factors in your report. The first paragraph of your report describes the meaning of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars.  Each one is important. However, every sign except Leo (ruled by the Sun) is modified by a ruling planet. The planet that modifies your Sun, Moon, Mercury and Ascendant sign (all key factors) will add a very personal and unique flavor to your way of viewing life. I will use the Sun as an example, but the same rule applies to the other planets when they occupy a key place in your chart. 

In the section describing your Sun sign, you will learn the name of your ruling planet. For example: If your Sun sign is Capricorn, your Sun’s ruler is Saturn. It will be necessary to read the section about Saturn to learn more about this influence. In the next paragraph following Saturn, you will read where Saturn is by sign. It is quite a different matter to learn that Saturn is in Leo than to learn that Saturn is in its opposite sign, Cancer. Your report will indicate the meaning of the ruling planet in its sign. In another part of the report you will be able to study the relationship of the Sun and it’s ruling planet if there is one.

In our example it is important to study each connection in the report that refers to Saturn. If you were born with the Sun in Taurus, you would be studying each connection to the planet Venus that rules Taurus. When a harmonious relationship exists between the Sun and any key planet in your chart, you will find that it is easier to advance your plans and gather support for the goals you set for yourself. Conversely, if the aspects between key factors are conflicting in the manner that they function, many struggles and roadblocks will be encountered. It is well to consider that challenges often strengthen your courage and willpower. We all have conflicting parts of our personality that we learn to adjust over time.

So why is it so confusing to pick out that information from an Astrology Report? First of all it takes practice and careful study of the most important factors. The most important factors are repeated several times in the interpretation. For example: You will read that your Sun is in Leo and then read that the Sun is in the 5^th house. The meaning is very similar because the 5^th house is the “Leo” house or section of any chart.

Another example: Suppose you were born in the sign Virgo at 10 degrees, and Mars is only a few degrees away at 13 degrees Virgo. When you read the Sun in Virgo conjunct (very near) Mars, it sounds very much like the interpretation for you Sun in the 1^st house. That is because the Sun/Mars connection is a repeated theme in your chart. The first house is the Aries house or section and is ruled by Mars. Even though you were born in the sign Virgo, it will be helpful to know what the Aries, Mars, 1^st house principle is all about. Just click on Aries on the web page and see if you can recognize some of the reasons for your impatience and how difficult it is to believe that your first impression is occasionally mistaken.

When you read about your planets and the connections they make: conjunctions (close by), squares, (90 degrees apart), and oppositions, (180 degrees apart) hold the thought until you have read all about the Sun, for example. You will learn that it’s meaning is modified by a number of other factors in your chart. The Sun square the Moon (ego needs in conflict with emotional needs) but in a harmonious angle to Jupiter will have an added optimism that helps to overcome the feeling that you are at war with yourself. Each factor standing alone is not a complete picture. It becomes much more clear when you look at the key factors as just parts of your complex method of getting your needs met. It also begins to be apparent that when you try to hang onto conflicting drives that stress and failure to get what you want will be the result.

The last key that I will stress is the importance of the “ruling house”. If your Ascendant is Scorpio, the planet that “rules” Scorpio is Pluto. This becomes the ruling planet. Pluto might be in the sign Leo and be in the 10^th house. The issues of the 10^th house become the focus of many important issues that arise in your life pattern. Your relationship with your father and other authority figures, your reputation and career interests will surface again and again. In order to study these key factors in your chart you need only to follow the planets that modify your key factors: Sun, Moon, Mercury and the Ascendant sign’s ruling planet.

All of the planets and the connections they make are a vital part of your total personality. By first focusing upon the key points, it will be easier to see how the other factors play a supporting role. Following is a list of each sign and it’s ruling planet. Have fun as you uncover the many subtle meanings that only you know.

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