A Picture of the Universe

Your birth chart is a picture of the whole Universe as it looked from where you were born at the time you were born. Of course, there is a lot up there, so we have to be selective, including only those parts that have shown themselves to be most significant. We call those parts archetypes - fundamental organizing principles. Primarily we include the planets of our Solar System. There are a couple of reference grids we impose upon the picture to organize it; these are called the signs of the Zodiac and the houses. We draw in lines that represent the (angular) distance between the planets - aspects. And finally we add a few other significant points from the sky. The result is a symbolic representation of the pattern we observe in the universe around us. At the same time this pattern reflects the fundamental structure of any entity or event on Earth that emerges at that moment.

A Picture of our Self

The nice thing about a birth chart is that it is both tangible and specific. While spiritual traditions offer us a general model of the universe and description of our path as human beings, astrology's guidance is tailored to our individual self. In our birth chart we can see the archetypes we share with all entities on Earth, and at the same time we see their particular pattern that gives rise to our unique self.

As an astrologer the concreteness of the pattern is both comforting and challenging. It adds an aspect of objectivity to my subjective perception of a person. I can study the archetypes, learning their fundamental natures and how they affect one another. The knowledge transcends any particular chart, and serves as a solid foundation for my understanding. The challenge is to grok the whole - to see the specific pattern of archetypes manifesting as an individual human being. This is the creative act that separates a computer printout from a personal encounter.