The Basics

  
The Zodiac


The cycle of life is never ending, but we mark the beginning at the spring equinox with the sign Aries , located on the left side of the circle just below the horizontal line.  Next, below Aries, is Taurus , then Gemini .




The fourth sign, Cancer , begins on the summer solstice, followed by Leo , then Virgo .  Libra comes on the autumnal equinox, then Scorpio , Sagittarius , and at winter solstice Capricorn .  The last two signs are Aquarius , and Pisces .


The Planets


 With glyphs, names, associations and approximate cycles:

  Sun             Spirit     1 year
                        The flame of life- when we die, it goes out

  Moon         Soul   28 days
                        The river of life- when we die, it is released from the body

     Earth         Cross of Existence    24 hours
                         We can only be in one place at a time 

  Mercury      Mind    3 months
                         Earth and sun rising up through the river of life
                               Soul ruling over spirit and existence
 
    Venus         Plant   7 months
                         Earth rising up through the light of the sun
                              Spirit ruling over existence

   Mars          Animal    23 months
                         The light of the sun rising up through earth
                               Existence ruling over spirit

   Jupiter        Faith    12 years
                         Existence rising up through the river of life
                         Soul ruling over existence

   Saturn         Tradition    29 years
                          The river of life rising up through existence
                                Existence ruling over the soul


   Uranus         Revolution    84 years
                            The sun’s light rising up through souls divided in existence                               
                            

      Neptune       Social Movement    165 years
                            Existence rising up through souls united


    Pluto            Exile    248 years
                            Existence rising up through souls united in spirit
                           

  Mechanics of the Chart


The chart has an inner stationary wheel  divided into twelve parts, called houses, and an outer wheel (bottom figure) which rotates clockwise around the inner wheel once every 24 hours.

The outer revolving circle is the zodiac.



The twelve signs of the zodiac cross the ascendent every 24 hours


 Every time we see the ecliptic make one complete revolution from east to west (about 24 hours), we see the sun step one degree in the opposing direction.  (There are 360° in the zodiac; twelve signs of 30°each.)   We are looking up at the southern sky instead of down at the earth, so, unlike road maps, east is on the left and west on the right:  the Sun rises on the left side of the horizon, ascends through houses 12-10 to the mid heaven at noon, and sets on the right side of the chart (west) in the evening.




Think of all the planets as being attached to the outer wheel (zodiac) as it rotates around the inner wheel of houses.

In the hand drawn chart above, 4°45 is coming up on the eastern horizon and the Sun is at 25°58’ in the 8th house.  If I had made the post 4 hours later, the Sun would have been about to set (followed by Neptune, the Moon and Venus). When I did publish the post at 1:44pm, Pluto was setting. 

Pluto has been in Capricorn since 2009 and will not cross into Aquarius until 2023; it's a very distant object that takes a long time to orbit the sun.

A 5:44 publishing time would have put 24°43rising, and Mars, instead of being in the first house, would have been above the horizon in the last house.




 

In the four hours after I published my first post, Mars rose, Mercury set, the Sun advanced to two minutes behind Neptune, and the Moon went from 3°09to 5°♓07’ and overtook Venus.
                         
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The Zodiac with Elements, Modes, Rulerships and Exaltations



This is the basic wheel of the zodiac with the planet symbols shown in their signs of rulership and exaltation.  Planets are in detriment when in the sign opposite their sign of rulership and they are in their fall when opposite their sign of exaltation.  For a list showing planets in detriment and fall as well as rulership and exaltation go to this link: Rulerships andExaltations





Fixed Houses 

The fixed houses refer to the order in which sections of the zodiac become visible on the Eastern horizon.  The Houses page has more about fixed houses and houses in general.