Astrology Basics: The Client Booklet
Chapter 1: The Basics
The twelve Zodiac Signs
Overview of the Zodiac
The zodiac is a celestial belt divided into twelve sections, each corresponding to a constellation and a zodiac sign. These signs are influenced by elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), modalities (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), and ruling planets, which shape personality traits, behaviors, and life tendencies. The zodiac also divides signs into masculine (active) and feminine (passive) energies, with masculine signs being Fire and Air, and feminine signs being Earth and Water.
The Elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) determine whether one’s personality is extrovert (Fire & Air) or introvert (Earth and Water).
Fire Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius – energetic, passionate, and action-oriented.
Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn – grounded, practical, and reliable.
Air Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius – intellectual, communicative, and social.
Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces – emotional, intuitive, and nurturing
The Modalities (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable) determine the tendency at which the person behave in life. Cardinal signs act upon a set of principles, which may make them look flexible but in fact are not. Fixed signs are mostly unwilling to change, while Mutable signs adapt to the environment very quickly but sometimes may look as if they have very flexible moral values.
Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn – initiators and leaders.
Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius – stabilizers and persistent.
Mutable Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces – adaptable and flexible
The Twelve Signs
Aries (March 21 – April 19) – Fire, Cardinal, ruled by Mars. Bold, energetic, pioneering, and sometimes impulsive.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20) – Earth, Fixed, ruled by Venus. Loyal, sensual, patient, and determined.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20) – Air, Mutable, ruled by Mercury. Adaptable, curious, communicative, and versatile.
Cancer (June 21 – July 22) – Water, Cardinal, ruled by the Moon. Intuitive, nurturing, protective, and emotional.
Leo (July 23 – August 22) – Fire, Fixed, ruled by the Sun. Confident, charismatic, creative, and loyal.
Virgo (August 23 – September 22) – Earth, Mutable, ruled by Mercury. Analytical, practical, detail-oriented, and modest.
Libra (September 23 – October 22) – Air, Cardinal, ruled by Venus. Charming, fair-minded, social, and diplomatic.
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21) – Water, Fixed, ruled by Pluto and Mars. Intense, passionate, resourceful, and secretive.
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21) – Fire, Mutable, ruled by Jupiter. Adventurous, optimistic, independent, and philosophical.
Capricorn (December 22 – January 19) – Earth, Cardinal, ruled by Saturn. Ambitious, disciplined, responsible, and practical.
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18) – Air, Fixed, ruled by Uranus and Saturn. Innovative, humanitarian, independent, and intellectual Astrology.com+1.
Pisces (February 19 – March 20) – Water, Mutable, ruled by Neptune and Jupiter. Compassionate, intuitive, artistic, and empathetic.
The twelve houses
Astrological houses describe where planetary energy manifests in your life. They are calculated from your exact birth time and location, beginning at the Ascendant (1st house).
1st House — Self: Identity, appearance, first impressions, physical body.
2nd House — Resources: Money, possessions, values, self‑worth.
3rd House — Communication: Thinking, speaking, writing, siblings, short travel.
4th House — Home & Roots: Family, ancestry, private life, foundations.
5th House — Creativity & Pleasure: Romance, children, hobbies, creativity, play.
6th House — Work & Physical Health: Daily routines, service, co‑workers, health habits.
7th House — Partnership: Marriage, committed relationships, contracts, open enemies.
8th House — Shared Resources: Debt, inheritance, taxes, intimacy, transformation.
9th House — Philosophy: Higher education, travel, law, worldview, faith.
10th House — Career: Public life, reputation, vocation, authority.
11th House — Community: Friends, networks, groups, hopes, future plans.
12th House — The Subconscious: Solitude, dreams, hidden enemies, endings, spiritual release.
House Categories
Angular (1, 4, 7, 10): Most powerful, action‑oriented.
Succedent (2, 5, 8, 11): Stability, resources, accumulation.
Cadent (3, 6, 9, 12): Learning, movement, adaptation.
These twelve houses form the structural framework of every birth chart, defining where life events and psychological themes unfold.
The ten planets in Signs and in Houses
Overview of the 10 Planets
Astrology counts ten planets, even though the Sun is a star and the Moon is a satellite. They are grouped into three categories based on their influence and speed of movement:
Personal planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars – shape individual personality and daily behaviors.
Social planets: Jupiter, Saturn – influence how we interact with society and broader life lessons.
Outer planets: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto – govern generational trends and deeper transformative forces.
Individual Planet Meanings
Sun – Represents core identity, ego, vitality, and life purpose. It shows how you express yourself and your conscious self.
Moon – Governs emotions, instincts, and inner world. It reflects how you respond emotionally and your subconscious patterns
Mercury – Symbolizes communication, intellect, and reasoning. It influences thinking, learning, and expression
Venus – Represents love, beauty, relationships, and values. It governs attraction, harmony, and pleasures
Mars – Associated with drive, ambition, energy, and assertiveness. It shows how you take action and handle conflict
Jupiter – Signifies growth, expansion, optimism, and wisdom. It influences opportunities, learning, and personal philosophy
Saturn – Governs discipline, responsibility, structure, and limitations. It teaches lessons and perseverance.
Uranus – Represents innovation, change, rebellion, and originality. It brings sudden insights and unconventional approaches
Neptune – Symbolizes dreams, intuition, spirituality, and imagination. It governs creativity, illusions, and higher consciousness
Pluto – Associated with transformation, power, regeneration, and deep psychological change. It governs endings, rebirth, and profound growth.
How Planets Influence a Birth Chart
Zodiac signs: Each planet expresses its energy differently depending on the sign it occupies. For example, Mars in Aries is direct and impulsive, while Mars in Libra is diplomatic.
Houses: The house placement shows the life area where the planet’s energy manifests, such as Venus in the 7th house emphasizing love in relationships.
Aspects: Geometric angles between planets indicate interactions between energies, like a trine between Sun and Jupiter creating ease, or a square between Moon and Saturn requiring effort.
Understanding these ten planets provides a symbolic map of personality, emotional tendencies, and life patterns, helping individuals gain self-awareness and insight into their personal and generational influences.
There is no fate, but what we make for ourselves
Last but not the least, I would like to emphasize that there is no fate, but what we make for ourselves. The astrology is a secular study of how the movements of the planets in solar system will influence our lives. The stars contain no goods and bads; it is human’s responses and virtues that matters and influenced the outcomes. Determinism does not exist in human form. The fate might be deterministic in God’s eyes but not us. The future is not ours to see. It is common in Astrological predictions that its accuracy will diminish through time, as people move around the globe and their ‘fate’ is changing rapidly. I would recommend the client to understand this point that astrology is a decision support tool, rather than a fortune teller. It is always our actions that matters, we choose who we would like to be.
Chapter 2: The big threes: Sun, Moon and Ascending
One’s personality is shaped by three largest components: the Sun sign, the Moon sign and Ascendant sign. The sun sign is what is usually used in the horoscopes. Usually when you say you are a Cancer, or Scorpio, people meant to say their Sun sign. However, in reality, Sun signs only represent around 30-50% of the personality. People’s personality is also influenced by its Moon signs (how I feel towards life events), and Ascendant signs (What I believe I should do, my life approaches). This means that there are 12 x 12 x 12 = 1728 personality types and MBTI is not able to summarize them.
Please go to an astrology chart website, there are a lot of them (e.g. Free Astrology Birth Chart Report, Free Astrology Birth Chart Calculator). You will be able to read your Sun sign and Moon sign, or luckily if you know your birth time, you will find your Ascendant sign.
For example, in this chart, the Sun is in 5-degree Cancer, Moon is in 28-degree Scorpio, and Ascendant is in 1-degree Leo (Left horizon).
When you interpret the personality, all three needs to be considered. Therefore, this is a person that has mom-like innate personality (Cancer), feels strongly towards others (moon Scorpio) but is quite proactive in life (Asc Leo).
You need to create your own chart, find the Sun, Moon and Ascendant (do not worry, I can help if you cannot do that yourself). This is the first step to know yourself better.
Chapter 3: The five chart readings
When we talk about Astrological chart reading service, it is not very clear to most clients the type of services it consists of. There are mainly 5 chart types, and 3 types of readings.
The five charts are:
birth chart: created using birth time,
synastry chart: looking at how person 2’s planets falls on person 1’s chart, to see which area did person 2 influenced person 1,
comparison chart: compare the aspects of the two people’s planets to each other,
composite chart (mid-point or time-space mid-point): the likely inclination of their relationship evolvement, and
Marks chart: a psychological chart which tells us how the two persons will feel about each other.
The three types of readings are:
Birth chart readings (purely information from birth charts in all aspects),
Relationship chart readings (including reading of all five chart types above, but only briefly on birth charts)
Personalized Horoscopes (including secondary progression and solar returns of the birth chart)
Chapter 4: How to read Horoscopes
Most people like to read the horoscopes and act accordingly. However, as I discussed above, the determinant of the person is Sun, Moon and Ascendant. It is also the case for horoscope reading. If you only read the horoscope of one sign, it is likely not accurate. In order to achieve around 70-80% accuracy, you need to read the horoscopes of both your Sun sign, and Ascendant sign. e.g. if I am Sun Cancer (normally people refer to sun sign), and Ascendant Leo, I need to read the Cancer and Leo sign in order to achieve a better understanding of my horoscope.
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