Most people grow up knowing their star sign (sun sign). When I was a teenager, I would read my horoscope every now and then in the newspaper, just for fun. But a lot of the time it didn’t mean anything and it lacked relevance. Perhaps it was because I was still a kid.
Recently, I’ve crossed paths with tarot. Eventually, the curiosity factor led me to watching my first ever tarot reading on YouTube. It turns out there’s a lot of tarot content on YouTube, which introduced a whole lot of new words into my vocabulary as well – manifest, pentacles, synchronicity. But tarot was just the gateway to my true destination, astrology.
I guess you could say I’ve been a “student” of astrology (western astrology) for the past several months. I’ve acquired books on the subject and watched an embarrassing amount of videos. However, astrology became more spiritual and meaningful for me once I had my birth chart (natal chart) drawn up.
The birth chart
It’s possible to calculate your birth chart using a calculator and tables but the process is fiddly and time consuming. I’ve found a really good website (the first link in the resources section below) where you input your date, time and place of birth and within seconds it produces a comprehensive birth chart, completely free of charge.
Placements
Once you have your birth chart, you’ll be able to see what your placements are. For instance, which constellation/zodiac the moon was in when you were born. The placements include your sun sign, moon sign and each individual planet except for Earth, rising sign (the rising sign sets the order of your houses 1 through to 12). These are the building blocks for your astrological understanding of yourself.
There are many series on YouTube about the interpretation and meaning of the different sun signs, moon signs etc. (refer to the resources section below for some suggestions). If you have any prior knowledge of the zodiac, the characteristics and traits of the sun signs will possibly be somewhat familiar to you. But as you start to dive a bit deeper into moon signs and the signs of the other planets, you’ll open a portal into a new level of knowledge and insight.
A word of caution, however. Everyone will have strengths within their chart, as well as weaknesses. There may be stuff that you hear about that will trigger you. My advice is to go slow and exercise moderation.
A bit about my chart (without giving everything away)
I’ve discovered that I have a lot of water in my chart, with several placements in Scorpio. The archetype of Scorpio is one of a tough exterior (outer shell) but soft on the inside. Relating this to my everyday life, I tend to give the impression of being cool as a cucumber on the outside, but there are a lot of emotions stirring on the inside and some of these emotions can be buried very deep.
On a lighter note, I’ve always been a big softie when watching movies, even crying during comedies (I might have been 7 or 8 years old and the whole movie theatre was laughing hysterically at the main character but I was in tears because I felt sorry for the character). I have always known myself to be emotional (usually in a very controlled way) and sensitive, but to see these character traits being reiterated through astrology and my placements is astonishing.
Final thoughts
So to answer the title of this blog post – Could Astrology be the ultimate form of personal development? I don’t want to discredit other practices and/or belief systems because there are so many out there and I’m no expert on them, but astrology has so far given me, a relative beginner, so many answers … the why. Why I am the way that I am. It is tailored to the individual and almost offers a bespoke roadmap to understanding and accepting not just oneself, but others too. Discovering astrology has been one of the best things that has happened to me this year!
Useful resources
Computer generated birth chart – https://www.astro.com
Esoteric Sky YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@EsotericSkyOfficial/videos (tip: sort videos by popularity)
Marisa LaBlue YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@MarisaLaBlue/videos
Parkers’ Astrology (book published by Penguin Random House). It’s a comprehensive reference book with lots of information on the zodiac signs, placements, how to calculate and draw a birth chart, and astrological tables.
Depending on your placements and maybe even your personality, some readers will resonate with you more than others. Currently, the tarot/astrology YouTube channels that I keep coming back to are:
Minnow Pond Tarot – https://www.youtube.com/@MinnowPondTarot/videos
Scorched Earth Tarot – https://www.youtube.com/@Scorched_Earth/videos
Universal Intuition – https://www.youtube.com/@UniversalIntuition/videos
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