How to get into astrology

The average person's grasp of astrology usually doesn't go beyond knowing their own zodiac sign. Perhaps some of the more inquiring minds have found out the signs of their friends and family or even co-workers. They might read their daily and weekly horoscope but shrug it off as nothing but an amusing little pasttime. While this is the natural way to begin, with curiosity and scepticism, it's unlikely by itself to spur a deeper interest in the field of astrology, which holds amazing depth and carries an ancient history on its shoulders.

As a teenager I was presented with a computerized version of my natal chart, complete with in-depth interpretations. This is what began my journey into an ever-fascinating, completely new territory. I discovered the route, and later came to believe in the great power of astrology as means to self-knowledge. Not only did I learn about new facets such as Moon sign, Ascendant and houses; I was also amazed by the richness of horoscope symbolism and the intricate nature of astrological aspects.

I would recommend anyone who is the least bit interested to get their natal chart done. There are many free or cheap alte
atives on the internet, as well as shareware programs that provide the service for a limited time. Very well worth a mention is "World of Wisdom", by Adrian Ross Duncan. Don't think of astrology as mainly a way of fortune-telling. The greatest part of it is the dynamic analysis of personality, temperament and behaviour.

However, as much insight as these kind of tools and programs offer, there is a catch. Automated software and web-services will provide a list of all the important elements in your horoscope and interpret them separately. After this is done, there is hardly any way for a program to connect and unify the different aspects of personality into a whole. Only a human being (if astrologers are comfortable with that definition), is able to. This is also why the output of astrological software often seems to be contradictory. One influence may appear as the opposite of another, whereas in reality their effect might be a balancing of energies.

But leaving out the actual utilization of human astrologers for now, another route to your natal chart is that of curious exploration. Find a service online that will calculate your entire birth horoscope (you need a relatively accurate birth time for it to be really interesting). Then gather the positions of your planets in signs and houses, as well as the aspects, from this horoscope drawing. After that it is a matter of diving into the huge source material on the world wide web. You will find interpretations of just about everything that can be imagined if you devote some time to it.

The beauty of this approach is that you will be able to get many different perspectives on the same influences. Even though astrology rests on tradition that stretches several thousands of years back, the modern take on astrology comes with a lot more variation and different viewpoints on what is important.

So, what are you waiting for? Make your journey into that vast cosmos of planets, zodiac signs and stellar configurations!