Astrology Cheat Sheet - How Do You Know Where To Focus?
This is for newbies and novices to Astrology and all Astrology nerds in general.
It can be a massive undertaking to stay informed regarding the daily changes to the planets through Astrology. They are constantly moving, and it can be confusing where to put focus. I have some thoughts about this, as I too am still learning what is genuinely worthwhile information. I can guarantee it’s not in a daily horoscope. We each have such complex charts, there is no way to know based on your zodiac (Sun) sign alone, how you’ll be influenced by the planetary movements from month to month. I consider horoscopes to be like pieces of hard candy: sweet, a short enjoyment, but hardly of any substance.
I generally encourage those interested in horoscopes to consider the more meaningful ways to work with the information and insights the amazing tool of Astrology provides.
First of all, Astrology assumes several truths. The planets that move through our solar system and the vast variety of dances they do with one another directly influence our lives, and impact the evolution and changes in humanity. Our inner universe is directly linked to the movements of energies through the cosmos. How those energies hold us, work with us, and move us to embrace the ebbs and flows of our lives is different from person to person, but the slower planets tend to have a stronger hand in determining outcomes for all of humanity and the greater society.
If you are interested in astrology, it can be a lot to absorb and track. Here’s a cheat sheet, to help break it down. Hang in there, by the end – I will provide guidance on where to put your focus.
ON TRANSITS: it’s actually too much to try to track and utilize ALL the astrological energies, and so I tend to take the route of focusing on the planetary movements that are the MOST impactful for the MOST of us. Our personal charts change daily, the transits can move so swiftly in and out, we can blink and they are gone. It really doesn’t work to try to track it all. However, if you know you have an important life changing event upcoming, the daily transits can help you plan more rigorously to utilize the planetary energies to your benefit. For example, if you are selling a home, Jupiter well placed may tell you how that sale will go, and when it is ideal to be packing and moving. If you are changing jobs, 6th and 10th house planets will tell you how likely you are to be successful at shifting your career path, or where you may be met with resistance. I honestly don’t encourage waiting for daily transits to inform you what to focus on. Instead, intentionally use that ever-evolving information to guide your own decision-making during times of transition.
Certain transits and aspects are worth noting, especially the slower moving planets such as Pluto and Neptune. Also Uranus and Jupiter. When they move into prominent placements in the sky, collectively it is definitely a big deal, their gigantic influence more like a tsunami completely wiping out old ways, patterns, and reshaping the landscape of humanity and our world. Nothing can really hide from their direct and potent influence. Those powerful giants can have a similar effect on us personally.
The faster moving planets such as, Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars hit us more like a nice neat and tidy ocean wave crashing on the shore. Difficult to ignore no doubt, but not as exacting or cataclysmic. They can even feel like a passing trend. Not necessarily of substance, nor even deeply personally impactful. Astrologer Steven Forrest says of the planetary transits, “slow-moving Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto take years to ask us the big questions, while fast-moving Mercury, Venus, Mars, Sun and Moon create – and time – the daily dramas in which those big questions gradually get answered.”
ON RETROGRADES: Mercury in Retrograde has basically become a household naughty term for anything that goes wrong. I find it awesome that an astrological concept has gained so much ground in recent years. I don’t mind it, as I tend to feel this can drive awareness and open doors to other things to explore in Astrology. That being said, are retrogrades really all that? The main problem with hinging life decisions on whether or not a planet is in retrograde, is that they are all retrograde every year, or every other year, and some quarterly depending on the planet. I consider retrogrades to be the great teachers. They tend to hold us to task, provide opportunities to look at things we have left undone, and to gently force us into dealing with things we have ignored, avoided, or resisted. I see the retrogrades as similar to the changing of the monthly moon cycles: they change regularly, and not every single time a planet is retrograde will you personally feel it’s sting. I prefer to relate to retrograde cycles as teachers rather than as a disruptive hindrance, and I fully embrace their support. Use retrograde periods to get shit done and clean up your inner house and relationships.
ON PROGRESSIONS AND SOLAR RETURNS: I find planetary progressions fascinating! While our basic natal astrology chart stays the same from birth to death, the planets actually move by degrees through our charts as we age, and change signs and houses. The most powerful planetary progression to track is the Sun. The Sun represents what you are here to experience and focus on throughout your life, as your own personal basic foundational characteristics, traits, and motivations that move through you and guide you. When you are born one sign based on your date of birth, roughly every 30 years your Sun progresses into a different sign. You can have as few as 3 or as many as 6 different progressed sun signs throughout your lifetime, which represent milestones and areas of compelling focus. I find progressions to be much more accurate in their “predictability” than daily transits, and you should totally ask your astrologer to offer you a Progressed Sun reading. It’s fascinating to track. In addition, the Sun makes a complete return once a year, and with it comes often a massive change in direction guided by the shifting of the rest of the planets and houses. Each year I get a Solar Return Report, so I can see what major themes I may be faced with for an entire year. Again, it’s a way to “predict” what might be popping up. In predictive astrology, it’s easier to choose one or two areas of life focus, and actively look for those areas in progressions and solar arcs.
ON MOON CYCLES: And then there are moon cycles and eclipses. These definitely provide much more spiritual, intimate effects to our monthly lives and experiences, and can be utilized to inform spiritual practices, guide ceremonial and ritual healing, and are meant to be invoked as supportive energies to ignite a much needed shift. I tend to find the moon the constant guiding mother. The Moon offers us a cyclical rhythm to our otherwise chaotic lives. Although some practices assert a more fatherly quality to the moon, I’ve always felt a motherly energy with the moon – the kind of mother who is steadfast, nurturing, always there watching over us, ready to assist, comfort and guide. The Moon is also fluid and changeable, but those changes are the same from month to month, and so much more predictable in terms of their direct influence on our lives. To keep it simple, I encourage the tracking of the monthly New Moon, the Full Moon and the sign they are in. Keep a moon journal. At the New Moon is the time to begin new things. The Full Moon is the time to release. Our Mother Moon is there to assist!
When considering working with astrology, you may personally benefit from choosing one or two areas of focus above, rather than all of them. ASK ME based on your interests what I would recommend. I love discussing.
Astrology enthusiasts like myself do ongoing deep diving into the content, because it’s a passion, a love language, and is so much a part of the fabric of life that I couldn’t imagine it without. It’s just how my brain and heart interweave with my life experiences now. However, even I can’t possibly track and utilize every single change, aspect and cycle. I tend to alternate areas of focus, and shift when there is something really BIG that I know will impact the most of us greatly.
I hope this helps you consider your own relationship to astrology, and how best to work with it. I’m always here to chat and visit more, please grab a virtual coffee chat to discuss more! chandaparkinson@yahoo.com
Peace,
Chanda