SOUTH NODE (this may not be shown on your chart but will always be in the opposite sign as the North Node): Old patterns, past-life experience, inherited traits, innate talents, cultural conditioning
The Signs
Remember! Your chart will be influenced by ALL the signs to some degree—so no simply looking at your Sun sign and going: “Oh yeah, that’s me.” The traits of each sign show how you direct the energy of the planet it holds in your chart.
| ARIES: Self-starting, outgoing, active, forceful, entrepreneurial, self-confident, strong | |
| TAURUS: Stable, persistent, productive, deliberate, wealthy, practical, reliable | |
| GEMINI: Communicative, witty, adaptable, curious, many sided, variety seeking | |
| CANCER: Sensitive, feeling, receptive, nostalgic, security oriented, emotionally perceptive | |
| LEO: Expressive, self-aware, entertaining, playful, warm, childlike, creative, dramatic | |
| VIRGO: Analytical, logical, intelligent, detail oriented, sensible, methodical | |
| LIBRA: Balanced, just, tolerant, relationship oriented, sociable, cooperative, diplomatic | |
| SCORPIO: Intense, determined, thorough, energetic, secretive, passionate, forceful | |
| SAGITTARIUS: Enthusiastic, optimistic, jovial, friendly, generous, expansive, honest | |
| CAPRICORN: Organized, serious, practical, ambitious, hardworking, disciplined, realistic | |
| AQUARIUS: Friendly, intuitive, original, independent, unique, inventive, experimental | |
| PISCES: Imaginative, sentimental, sympathetic, compassionate, artistic, dreamy, escapist |
The Houses
FIRST HOUSE: Personality, physical body, self-image, personal self-expression
SECOND HOUSE: Finances, personal possessions, talents, earning ability, values
THIRD HOUSE: Communication, learning, information, discussions, siblings, transportation
FOURTH HOUSE: Home, family, the mother, nourishment, emotions, habits
FIFTH HOUSE: Creativity, love affairs, play, pleasure seeking, entertainment, art
SIXTH HOUSE: Daily work, health and wellness, diet, medical treatment, cleanliness
SEVENTH HOUSE: Relationships, partnerships, cooperation, social awareness, justice
EIGHTH HOUSE: Transformation, power, death and rebirth, sexuality, inheritance, taxes
NINTH HOUSE: Travel, philosophy, learning, aspirations, religion, spiritual teachers
TENTH HOUSE: Career, reputation, ambition, responsibilities and duties, the father, politics
ELEVENTH HOUSE: Friends, group activities, humanitarian interests, insights, rebellion
TWELFTH HOUSE: Healing, the subconscious, ideals, meditation, spiritual development
So once you’ve dug into your own chart … it’s pretty much a given that you’ll want to start looking at the charts of all the most important people in your life. Your family members, your lover, your boss. That irritating friend you can’t help loving to death. There are specific ways to interpret how two charts interact with each other, but that gets kind of advanced to go into here. Suffice it to say that comparing the traits of, say, your Cancer Moon and your mother’s Gemini Moon will begin to give you some insight into why, when it comes to certain basic needs, it can be difficult for the two of you to relate.
Yes, this is an example from my own life, and being able to “see” this in our charts was actually the first step on what has been an incredibly healing journey for my relationship with my mum. There’d never been a lack of love between us, but I was always frustrated by what felt like a fundamental inability to communicate on a soul level. I think one of the reasons I left home so young is because I spent a lot of time feeling guilty for not being the kind of daughter I thought she wanted: a.k.a. one who wanted to share every detail of my emotional life with her.
Following a checkered path juggling various jobs to try and make ends meet, she has actually found her calling as a psychotherapist (she studied the work of Carl Jung among others, the Swiss founder of analytical psychology who, by the way, was deeply invested in astrology as a tool for analysis). Makes sense, then, that her focus has always been on airing your feelings to heal—whereas I have always been deeply private about my emotional life, preferring to keep my feelings close to my chest until it feels safe to share. That’s some not-so-friendly Gemini (her)/Cancer (me) Moon-sign friction right there.