When it comes to understanding ourselves, where can we find an independent portrait of who we are and how we were made? We can try and understand ourselves through self-analysis by deeply looking into ourselves and how we act, but this is tainted by in a way, being too close to our object of study, ourselves! We can turn towards psychotherapy and get the advice and opinion of an expert in the field. However, different psychotherapists may have different opinions depending upon their training or interests. Perhaps we can ask the opinion of friends or family but once again they will be skewed in their thinking according to their views and personal biases. One person may see us as generous and kind while another lazy or untidy. It very much depends upon the person giving the opinion and the things that concern them. We can answer scientific questionnaires but these will only reveal a small part of the answer that which the questionnaire is intended to understand about the person.
Fortunately there is one timeless tool for self-understanding, self-reflection and self-development that has quietly stayed with us throughout history, largely forgotten in the last centuries and the age of reason and science, that is our Birth Chart. In ancient times people turned to Astrology and a horoscopes analysis to understand their birth chart and thus themselves and indeed to reveal possible events in the future. With the rise of science this technique has been widely forgotten and in many areas even vilified. We live in an age where many of our basic needs have been met, yet many are still profoundly searching for meaning and understanding and happiness in our complicated lives, fortunately the birth chart is making a comeback to aid us along this difficult path.
Astrologers understood, as Science is now coming to the conclusion, that the world and it’s many parts are all inherently linked. What happens in the very large, the cosmos is also reflected in the very small, people. At the time of our birth, the planets and their positions in the zodiac were understood to reveal the nature of a person born at that very moment. All of the planets in our Solar System do not exist by coincidence but represent a different energy which is also present in us when we are born. By understanding in which zodiac sign the planet were when we were born, so too can we can understand how this energy will express itself in us the human being and our nature.
To understand this we first need to draw up our astrology chart and then we can perform a horoscope analysis. Fortunately with computers drawing up a birth chart is a quick and easy procedure these days. We simply need to know the date, time, if available, and place that someone was born and it can be calculated. The birth chart will show in which location each of the planets was at the time of our birth. Each planet can lie in one of the twelve Zodiac signs. That is, if you were looking at the planet you would see the stars of the zodiac sign behind it.
Now why is the birth chart useful to us and our self-development? Well, the planets; The Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto all represent different traits of our nature. The zodiac signs they lie in; Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces indicate the different ways those traits will express themselves in us. For example Mars, the fiery red planet, indicates our personal will or drive, the force that is needed in us to overcome challenge and difficulty and propel us to achieve our goals and surmount the many challenges in life we will surely encounter. Remember the planets are not just ‘out there’ but ‘in here’ also. Now if Mars was in Cancer, the sign of the home and family, we would understand that our primary drive and personal will would be expressed around the area of the home and family. We would understand that any threat to our close family or surroundings would likely activate all of our strength and fighting abilities. We would literally fight for our family. If Mars was in a different sign, say Sagittarius, a sign of broadening our horizons, our personal will and energy would be directed at activities such as learning, travelling and new adventures. All of which satisfy the placement of our Mars for expanding our personal horizons.
However, Saturn represents a completely different force, our capacity for hard work and discipline and our ability to set boundaries and maintain authority and adhere to correct standards of behaviour. While Venus represents our ability to love and be loved, what we are attracted too and where we are blessed with beauty and talent. Indeed each planet represents a different force and area of our life. The planets as a whole show all the different aspects of our nature and their placement in the zodiac signs in our birth chart show the ways in which they express themselves specifically in us.
Therefore if we can understand our birth chart through a horoscope by date of birth analysis, we can understand ourselves. What makes us tick so to speak, once we understand ourselves, such as what is likely to anger us or motivate us, cause us to work hard or cause us to love we can take a step back and literally see our tendencies and not act on them unconsciously without understanding but express these tendencies in a controlled and conscious and coherent manner.
As an analogy one can imagine a very large carriage of olden times pulled by many horses each horse with it’s own tendencies and specific nature and likes and dislikes. If we can somehow understand the nature of each horse, their likes and dislikes, so we will be able to look after them better and steer them as a whole better and thus reach our destination in a quicker and easier way. So it is with our natures if we can understand our many parts and inherent tendencies so we can control them and not be controlled by them and lead a happier and more productive life and go on to achieve all of our many goals in life. The