Astronomy will tell you that the zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky; that its center is the celestial equator – the projection into space of the Earth’s equator; that its width extends approximately 8° north or south of this center; and that the planets travel within this belt as they wander the heavens.
What it doesn’t tell you is that the zodiac is a field of energy that encircles the Earth which the first astrologers discovered in the distant past; that each zodiac sign has its own distinct vibratory quality which has an astral influence on life; and that the influence of each sign which is easily observed has not changed throughout the ages.
Hermetic astrology teaches that the Earth has its own electromagnetic and gravitational field of force and is divided into a north and south polarity and that the Sun’s relationship to this division determines the Earth’s relationship to the various sections of its field of force.
It teaches that the zodiac is divided into 12 equal 30° segments called zodiac signs which owe their astral vibratory (thought and feeling) qualities to the Earth’s field of force.
The 12 zodiac signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces.
They’re commonly associated with the constellations which are groups of fixed stars that occupy a varying number of degrees in space. And even though the zodiac signs and constellations have the same name tags they are not one and the same and should not be confused.
The constellations appear to have little or no astrological influence but merely picture in universal symbolism the traits and characteristics of their corresponding zodiac signs.
They have no place in scientific Hermetic astrology although they’re commonly used as divination influences by fortune-tellers.
Their symbolic pictures – a ram, lion, bull, fish, set of scales, goat etc. – are mostly animals; and each sign’s symbol is a conventionalized form of its constellated pictograph.
These symbols or glyphs provide critical information that by association take you from the material plane into the astral plane and all that it encompasses.
The word zodiac is derived from a Greek term meaning a circle of animals.
Because the zodiac is fixed and the planets are wanderers it acts as a reference point for locating a planet’s position at any moment in time; and as the Earth spins in its orbit around the Sun its relationship to the zodiac is continually changing.
The planets are the chief sources of astrological energies and the zodiac signs are sounding boards that influence the planetary tones being transmitted to Earth.
A planet’s resonance, not its pitch, is influenced by its sign location.
The distinctive tone quality of each planet is the most permanent astrological effect and the zodiac signs change their resonance.
No sign is better or worse than any other. Observation and experience show that a planet is more or less harmonious or discordant in particular signs.
The signs, in themselves, like the planets are impersonal forces that are only given power when animated by human consciousness.
They’re the key to using the planets to their most beneficial degree.
An ideal symbolical focus unites the zodiac in a concept of universality and similar threads of principle run through the signs but each sign in itself is a unique point of focus.
To overrate any one sign is to deny the potentials contained in the others.
The zodiac signs do not have cusps. They appear to be divided by abrupt partitions so the traits and qualities of adjacent signs do not overlap or blend.
The signs do not indicate natural aptitudes. They indicate the particular approach and handling of the work for which the prominence of certain planets and the activity of certain houses show the qualifications.
Ten planets and twelve signs function in any chart, regardless of the reason for the chart’s construction including a mundane or weather chart.
Their influence is critically important to understanding astrology.
The zodiac signs
The zodiac signs are grouped according to their element – fire, earth, air and water – and they’re responsible for the element, quality, triplicity and degree of emanation that defines each planet’s expression.
Dominant fire: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius emphasize an adventurous motivation and the need for activity and enterprise which satisfy the adventurous needs.
Dominant water: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces emphasize an emotional motivation and the need for family and social contacts which satisfy the emotional needs.
Dominant air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius emphasize a mental motivation and the need for intellectual experiences which satisfy the mental needs.
Dominant earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn emphasize a practical motivation and the need for logic and practical work experiences which satisfy the practical needs.
The Sun sign
The raising of awareness in regard to astrology commenced over a hundred years ago with the zodiac signs and they’ve now attained a level of popularity never before seen.
But the popularity of generalized Sun signs has seen many people relying strictly on their Sun-sign for all or most of the information about themselves and this is a very unfortunate trend.
It’s highly likely that your astrological journey commenced with an awareness of your Sun-sign – the sign in which the Sun was located on the day you were born – but you’re selling yourself short if you’re relying on your Sun-sign to provide you with a full account of your character.
Your Sun-sign is the focus of the qualities, abilities, attitudes and ideas that define your individuality. And it affects your personal description, temperament, stature, disposition, mental ability, and a particular portion of your physical anatomy.
The Sun is assuredly the most important planet and your Sun-sign is a keynote marker but the other nine planets are just as critical to the harmonious development of your character and ability.
Your Sun-sign does not eliminate or significantly reduce the importance of the other nine planets and their attendant signs.
You’re a complex organization of many factors and your birth chart details all the complex interactions that affect your inner plane existence.
So, you’re looking to the keynote signs in your chart to learn about your attitudinal behavior; and Hermetic astrology provides you with the most reliable data relative to the nature of each sign and their functional status as harmonious and fortunate or discordant and unfortunate.
The attitude-motivation mapped by your keynote signs is easily observed.
Your Sun-sign defines your individuality and deep-seated traits that most resist change; your Moon-sign maps your mentality; your ascendant sign maps your personality; and your Mercury-sign maps your mode of expression.
This data is grounded in the science of the zodiac – its natural phenomenon – and observation.
Astrology is astronomy brought down to Earth and each planet is a raw energy that is given its particular focus by all the variables of astrology.
The zodiac signs are the true sounding boards from which planetary tones are sent to Earth.
You can call your birth chart a map of the heavens that depicts the twelve zodiac signs and the Sun, Moon and 8 planets of our solar system. It allows you to learn and understand how these variables affect the shadings and nuances of your character.
Chart discord, indicating the destructive expression of energy, is a major challenge as you have to use your emotions and thinking to redirect energy into more beneficial channels.
Your birth chart with its discords and limitation is only an affliction if you let it.
This article contains words written by Stanley Kustesky.
Astrology for Aquarius – sharing our knowledge
