The Meaning Behind Your Birth Chart: A Beginner’s Guide

In traditional astrology, you are given an interpretation of your birth chart that decrees certain fixed, “fated” qualities, as determined by the planets, signs, and houses. But in the more dynamic, interactive use of astrology we encourage at Soul Figures, we zone in on specific aspects of the chart that are the “loudest,” as determined by the axes and planets primarily, and find their archetypal equivalents. We teach you to then actively engage with your personal archetypes using the power of your creative imagination. This is a practice that both novices and astrologer experts can use; for beginners, you will rely on your intuition and creativity to absorb complex concepts through symbols and archetypal relationships. This can be a great foundation for further study in astrology, or just provide you with a more solid understanding of the themes discussed in an astrology horoscope.

Approaching astrology with a focus on the archetypes is inherently creative instead of passive; the natal chart is seen as a sort of “communication,” a freeze-frame of a conversation between our innermost self (our psyche), and the Planetary Archetypes that are most influential in our experience. We now enter back into this "conversation," in order to create new agreements with the archetypal energies of the causal realm.

Not every aspect in your chart needs to be “improved” - not even the difficult ones! Some squares and oppositions actually work quite well for us! Whether or not you want to work on an area will depend on how it relates to the rest of the chart. However, it is a good idea to at least meditate on each major chart aspect or grouping for the sake of getting to know them, to understand how their themes resonate in our lives. This can help a lot with smoothing out the “Why me?” “What’s this all about?” 

A good place to start is a personal natal chart reading, for an interpretation of the major themes of your chart which will also set you up with some archetypal images to study and get more familiar with. You can also learn our archetypal meditation technique in our Self-Guided Course, or, simply study the archetypes that are linked to the significant planets in your chart in our Archetype Warehouse Guidebook.