The Fundamentals of Horoscope Making

If you had been able to take a picture of the skies the moment you were born, that photograph would be your horoscope. Lacking such a snapshot, it is still possible to recreate that picture and this is the basis of the astrologer's art. In other words, your horoscope is a representation of the skies with the planets in the exact positions they occupied at the time of your birth.

The year of birth tells an astrologer the positions of the distant, slow-moving planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The month of the birth indicates the Sun sign, or birth sign as it is commonly called, as well as indicating the positions of the rapidly moving planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars. The day and time of birth will locate the positions of our moon. Moreover, the moment, the exact hour and minute, of birth determines the houses through what is called the Ascendant, or Rising sign.

With this information, the astrologer consults various tables to calculate the specific positions of the Sun, Moon, and other planets relative to your birthplace the moment you were born. Then the astrologer locates them by means of the Zodiac.

The Zodiac is a band of stars (constellations) in the skies, centered on the Sun's apparent path around the Earth, and is divided into twelve equal segments, or signs. What we are actually dividing is the Earth's path around the Sun. However, from our point of view here on Earth, it seems if the Sun is making a great circle around our planet in the sky, so we say it is the Sun's apparent path. This twelvefold division, the Zodiac, is a reference system for the astrologer. At any given moment the planets-and in astrology both the Sun and Moon are considered to be planets-can be all located at a specific point along this path.

Now where in all this are you, the subject of the horoscope? Your character is largely determined by the sign of the Sun it is in. Therefore, that is where the astrologer looks first in your horoscope, at your Sun sign.

The Cusps:

There are twelve signs in the Zodiac, and the Sun spends approximately one month in each sign. However, because of the motion of the Earth around the Sun-the Sun's apparent motion-the dates when the Sun enters and leaves each sign may change from year to year. Some people born near the cusp, or edge, of a sign have difficulty determining which their Sun sign is.

The twelve signs of the Zodiac and their ancient zodiacal symbol are given below:

1. ARIES-The Ram

2. TAURUS-The Bull

3. GEMINI-The Twins

4. CANCER-The Crab

5. LEO-The Lion

6. VIRGO-The Virgin

7. LIBRA-The Scales

8. SCROPIO-The Scorpion

9. SAGGITTARIUS-The Archer

10. CAPRICORN-The Sea Goat

11. AQUARIUS-The Water Bearer

12. PISCES-The Fish