Astrology: Your Cosmic Blueprint

Astrology is a technology of the mind and has evolved from an ancient art to a modern tool. No matter our background, our birth chart provides profound insights into our dominant archetypes, deeply entrenched behavioural patterns and unique potentials for self-expression. Understanding your cosmic DNA is a tool for self-empowerment and self-knowledge that transforms your perspectives and ripples out into the reality you inhabit. In other words: change yourself to change your life! Gain an introductory understanding of the most important birth chart components — the signs, houses, planets and angles — below to make sense of the most prominent energies you express. For even deeper explorations of your birth chart, advanced astrological studies and information about the role of astrology in our collective human evolution, head to the Blog  section.

The Houses

The twelve houses symbolise the central life areas that human existence entails. These thematic zones include establishing security, investigating our immediate environment, cherishing a sense of rootedness, expressing our uniqueness, refining our skills, engaging in relationships, deepening our connections, expanding our horizons, establishing our place in wider society, sharing our vision, and merging with something greater. As compartments of the self, the psyche and the environment, the houses describe where we meet certain experiences and where we act out our most prominent energies. Planets residing in a particular house in your birth chart indicate that this life area is of particular focus and importance for you, and show where most of your energy is directed.

The Angles

The four angles —Ascendant (AC) and Descendant (DC), Midheaven (MC) and Imum Coeli (IC) — are calculated based on your precise time of birth and are what truly make your personal chart unique. They can be viewed as points of incarnation which anchor your birth chart in space and time and provide key insights into your personal evolutionary trajectory and self-expression. The Ascendant describes your outer persona and integrated Self and lies at the opposite end of your Descendant, which portrays your Shadow Self and your significant relationships with the Other. The Midheaven indicates your greatest aspiration and societal achievement and lies at the opposite end of your Imum Coeli, your inner sense of rootedness and home environment.

The Signs

Each zodiac sign has a unique set of qualities, traits, and tendencies that define our core essence and dominant archetype, providing hints about our greatest lesson. A good analogy is to imagine the twelve zodiac signs as twelve onions: although each onion has different layers and each of these layers have different shapes and sizes, the layers remain unique and distinct to each onion. Similarly, each sign has different expressions of its dominant energies, but these inevitably function within the constraints of that sign’s archetype. The core of the onion is symbolic of the zodiac sign’s highest spiritual meaning — your life lesson and point of deepest self-liberation. All of your planets and houses are placed within or ruled by different signs, and shape the expression of these respective energies.

The Planets

Each of the planets express a distinct facet of our personality, symbolising the inner core of the ego and the archetypal energies which drive us on the most personal level. The Moon describes our style of feeling, Mercury is our ability to communicate, Venus constitutes our urge to relate, and so on. Oftentimes, the planets’ astronomical qualities are tied to their astrological meanings — Jupiter is the largest planet and describes the principle of excess and abundance, Saturn was long known as the outermost planet and became associated with the idea of boundaries, death and finality. The planets’ ancient associations with Greek and Roman mythology provide further insights into their functioning. The word ‘planet’ derives from the Greek word planetes meaning ‘wanderers’, and their eternal movement in the sky makes aspects to our fixed birth chart, which is known as a planetary transit.