May is a time of flowering, don't you think? The uncertain month of March is gone. The rain and wind of April have passed. Now the warm radiance of the earth, and the brilliant green of new grass are in full flare. This is the time when my family gets out the telescope and begins to observe the stars on clear, warm nights. My absolute favorite formation is the big dipper. I can always find it!

Then I saw a star program at the planetarium that showed me the night time sky in my area. And I remembered all those Greek and Roman myths I had studied in school. It was time to learn more about the stars on my spiritual journey. On the recommendation of six different individuals, I went to see Rick and Linda (not their real names). Although they have wonderful reputations, and their accuracy is well known, they choose not to be identified in such a wide-spread medium.

It is noteworthy that I knew basically nothing of astrology, except what I would read in the Sunday newspapers. Occasionally, I would even buy a "StarScroll" and only read it three times during the month. I was a skeptic about astrology and its predicting capability. I even laughed with the rest of my incredulous family when it was revealed that the President and Mrs. Reagan used astrology to assist them in selecting dates for important events and decisions. Little did I know why man continually looks to the stars for answers!

I first had to overcome the puzzle of my birth time. Although I had seen my birth time somewhere, it was not on my birth certificate nor on the hospital records (I had to call out of state). I knew it was similar to my children's birth times of 5:30, but was in the morning instead of the afternoon. After a long, fruitless search, I kept getting a mental picture of 5:32 brightly lit, with a 5:29 as a shadow. What did this mean? Back to Suzanne (see February's article) I went to find out my exact birth time. Her cards confirmed it. I was born at 5:32 am. Someone suggested that perhaps I had come out at 5:29, but had not begun to breathe until 5:30. After this effort, I waited excitedly, but laughingly, for a whole month to see the results of my chart (Rick and Linda only work part time at this and are very popular).

I don't know what I expected an astrologer to be, but Rick was a little bit of a surprise. He was a tall, nice-looking, middle aged man. Quiet and proper in behavior, his way of talking about my chart included terms such as reincarnation, spiritual guides, and mystical karmic work. Somehow these terms didn't jive with a traditional religious background. Linda, who is petite with a lovely smile, was also very quiet, but very knowledgeable. She was sure to add tidbits of interpretation where she felt necessary. We sat at their kitchen table, and reviewed my one page astrological chart. It was filled with symbols and numbers. I was lost already. I hadn't realized that astrology has its own language!

The chart is made up of 12 segments known as houses. The houses are named after legends about the constellations, such as Leo and Sagittarius. Each house represents certain aspects of our lives, such as romance and marriage, or career and finances. The sign on the cusp (or left edge of each house) is the ruling energy of that house. The planets, such as Mars and Venus, the Sun and the Moon, and other astral bodies are located somewhere within these houses based on our place, day, and time of birth. The congregation of the heavenly bodies within the houses (groupings) provide information about our toughest life lessons or our greatest blessings.

The messages I received from chart seemed very familiar. Rick told me that I was an ascending Leo, with the sun in Leo's house. The sun represented both the closet I was hiding in and my escape route (I forgot to ask what I was escaping to or from). The sun also represented my power and my father. Therefore I had issues with my father that needed to be resolved to see me reach my fullest potential. The issue turned out to be abandonment as he has passed away when I was barely three. My sun being in the 12th house indicates both self-undoing and self-realization.

My moon was located in the eighth house which represents other's values and what others value - usually those closest to you. The moon is known as "the cave" and is the focal planet of my Yod. The moon also indicates one's mother and nurturing influences. My South Moon Node also is near my moon in this house, and represents something I have done over and over in my lifetimes. The proximity of the moon and South Node indicate heavy Saturn karma with my mother. The North Moon Mode is in the opposite house (in my case the 2nd house), and indicates where my karma will take me (to my own self-value). My issue here was my total acceptance of my mother's values in early life. Understanding my mother's values, where they stemmed from, and why I chose to accept them will give me a better understanding of my own values and what I truly believe. I will be stronger as I get older, and I allow myself to practice my own beliefs rather than someone else's.

Indicated by the degree locations of the planets, I have a Yod in my chart. It's a Y shape made by the houses with planets at certain degrees. It is known as "The Finger of God," "The Ultimate Destiny," or "The Celestial Pointer". As I learn my own life's lessons, and learn to communicate more honestly and openly, I will develop a practical life philosophy that I will pass on to the world to help others. It will bring regeneration and a new direction. It will also give me a new attitude toward abundance and wealth.

A Yod will spring (come to completion) during specific periods in your life. If you have not learned the lessons necessary to become aware of this gift, you will probably have to wait for several years to see a positive completion of this cycle. Mine is due to spring in about 2 years. This means I am entering a time of potential power in my life, and I should be grateful for all that the universe has given me, focus on my goals, and be ever vigilant in looking for opportunities presented.

I also have a Stellium, which is three or more planets in close proximity. These are many types of energy concentrated in one part of the chart, and they function as a unit. What affects one, affects them all. Mine are Pluto, Venus and Mars. Mars and Venus represent masculine and feminine energies, and Pluto is a strong, discerning energy. This represents digging, delving, and searching. All of the energies must be made to balance in order to be effective. Basically, these three energies, in my situation, represent my need to continually learn and answers questions, plus my need to release the feminine and masculine energies to fully express themselves in my life.

Other shapes are the Grand Trine (a D that indicates good, strong energy that allows one to move through many areas of life easily, problem is escapist tendencies), the T-square (a T shape where several energies oppose each other and cause stress in other areas, everything seems hard to work through, maturity and awareness of these energies are necessary to succeed), and a Grand Cross (a + shaped sign that indicates a strong person with a cross to bear, and one must rise up to another level of consciousness in order to overcome problems). Linda was especially good at explaining these relationships in a chart.

How the planets are loaded on your chart provide a general shape. The Bucket indicates a gift to throw out to the world (this is what I have). A Bowl is shaped when all planets on one side and indicates lack of balance. A Splash shows planets in many houses and is a sign of scattered energy. A Fan is energy that is narrowly or widely focused energy. A Seesaw represents indecisiveness, and the Locomotive shows a driving force that takes a lot to put into action, but will run a life once started.

The midhaven mark indicates my destiny. It was in the ninth house, which is money and finance. I am to develop a very practical, aesthetic world view or philosophy and give it to the world. When I do this, I will satisfy my spiritual goals and also make money.

Rick calculated my energy emphasis. For instance, I am mainly fixed fire with no air elements. This means I am a strong willed, passionate person who likes stability, and finds it hard to detach myself from emotional involvement. I have more planets in areas of the chart that represent summer and fall, so I enjoy long, hot days and I like reaping and gathering in preparation for closure of plans, events, and activities.

Next is calculating how many planets are in each hemisphere of our sky, and how many planets are negative and positive. I am slightly more self-directed (as opposed to being directed by outer sources), and I am balanced in my outlook and judgment, equally subjective and objective, since more of my planets are in the northeast. My male, aggressive nature is fairly equal to my feminine, passive nature, which means I can go out and get what I want, or wait for it to come to me.

One curious note about my chart is that my father/male energy is hiding in the closet, and my mother/female energy is deep in the cave. They are easy energies with each other, but I am hiding them from each other. Another way of putting it, is that my rebellious side is fighting against my traditional, conforming side. Also, I came into this world when I had no oppositions. Therefore, in my early life, I had no oppositions to toughen me up or create barriers I had to overcome. Therefore, as an adult, I have had a more difficult time accepting the realities of my situation. Children who do not learn from their barriers or trials, but seem unaffected by them, are known as 'invulnerable' in psychology. There are parallels between astrology and other sciences if one looks for them.

There is so much one can learn from a birth chart, that it is hard to relate all of it in one article. If you would like to know about your career, or where it is best for you to live, or when the most successful time in your life will be, you can have those questions answered by other types of charts. Other types of charts can help you make important decisions by comparing your birth chart to that of a potential boss or spouse, or to world event trends. The charts can get fairly specific and can be either long or short term in predictive ability. They are only as accurate as the choices you make after you have the information, as are all other formats.

Rick and Linda will tell you that astrology is a timing device that represents the cycles of the universe and humanity. It is all about oppositions that need to be brought into alignment. The real benefit to each off us in astrology, is learning about our own cyclical natures, our strengths and weaknesses, and new possibilities.

I asked Linda and Rick what their education and experience have taught them, "Every human being is so special and unique, that we must use every avenue to bring out our uniqueness, and that each of our spaces in life are very important. If we can give people awareness and insights, and make them aware, then it changes their reality. We do not dwell on the predictive ability or the negative side of astrology. We are honest and give as many potentials as we can."

If you want to become familiar with astrology, reading and attending seminars are the best ways. It takes time, sometimes years, to fully understand the concepts and intricacies. You can even read more about astrology and what the signs and houses mean in the monthly Weaver workshop section! Then, you might check out a software package that does the mathematical calculations for you, and will print out charts. One thing that you should not do is to pay a lot of attention to the Sun Sign predictions, StarScrolls, or your periodic horoscope in publications. They only talk about trends for a particular sign. They do not deal specifically with you as an individual according to when and where you were born or where you live, etc. My chart cost $25, although prices range from $10 to $500 depending on who is doing it, and for what purpose.

The best way to find a reliable astrologer is by word of mouth. Those who are accurate and insightful will be recommended to you by more than one person. You can always try the phone book or newspaper, but one never knows what kind of work one will get.

I found out that an acquaintance of my, Jeri Cartwright, here in Salt Lake is an astrologist. She spoke to me about her skepticism toward astrology during her youth. She saw over several years, however, how accurate her chart predicted some of her life events. This led her to study astrology for a year with a mentor. She now does her chart daily, and will look at world trends to assist her in her job (in PR and news media). She has studied various types of charts to help her determine her career path, living place, and many other issues. She was a great help in broadening my understanding of what people use astrology for.

After all of her experience with astrology, she has no doubt that it is a research format that is reliable. "I can't explain how it works," she said, "but, I know it does! I have accurately predicted the outcome of health issues for myself and others….." I asked Jeri what she would like to tell the world about her experience, and she replied, "Nothing matters. I know that sounds strange, but in all the things I have learned throughout my life, astrology being one of them, I have developed the philosophy that nothing really matters. Just Being is the only thing that really matters." I don't find it strange at all, Jeri, if we look at the universe as an exploration on the physical plane. We are here to learn and grow, and if that is the only goal, then nothing really matters because life is all experience and learning. No two living organisms go through their life cycle the same way! Each and every way is valid.

Remember, astrology is just another format from which to gain insight and focus on one's life. You may or may not believe the information you receive. There is not a lot of guess work in astrology since all of the information is written in a multitude of books, and is based on some of the scientific concepts of astronomy. My chart reaffirmed my strengths and weaknesses of previous readings, and also the fact that my gift to the world will be relayed in my writing. The chart confirmed the fact that I am a bridge for the universe through teaching others. It also confirmed that my major karmic work has to do with my mother. This information was previously relayed to me in the formats of cards, palm reading, channeling and aura reading. It's fascinating isn't it?!

My research led me to meditation, and some wonderful experiences. It also led me to a musician and artist team who created a wonderful music CD that assisted me on my journey. Join me next month and see who they are.

About Astrological Houses