What is Western astrology?

The significance of planetary positions and alignments relative to the Earth and its apparent effect on human affairs has been with us throughout the ages. This is evidenced by Stonehenge in Britain and the Mayan architecture of Central America whose positioning takes into account solstices and equinoxes.

Astrology as we know it and practiced in its current format with its familiar zodiac signs and precise mathematical calculations came to us by way of the earliest civilisations of Babylonia and Mesopotamia, with additional Classical Greek and Islamic Arabian influences along the way.

It’s important to remember that in those days it was believed that the Earth was the centre of the solar system—a geocentric as opposed to a heliocentric viewpoint. To the ancients, the planetary bodies transited in an ecliptic (circular motion) across a band of twelve distinctive constellations or signs. These signs form the zodiac and appear fixed from the perspective of the onlooker. The term zodiac, used by Western astrology, is derived from Latin and Greek sources and literally means circle of animals (think of zoo).

Practitioners of Western astrology believe in an old maxim: As above, so below, and therefore the nature of a person, along with their fate, can be discerned by plotting the position of all the visible planets relative to the signs and to each other. This creates a kind of snap-shot of the solar system at the exact point of birth and is referred to as a natal chart.

Different planets represent different aspects of the personality. And how they align with the zodiac reflects the full personality of an individual. Astrologers believe a mosaic composite of personal characteristics can be revealed by examining the natal chart. By comparing the planetary alignments at birth with current and forthcoming configurations, an astrologer may suggest future events or determine auspicious occasions. And a comparison of one natal chart with another—that of a potential lover or business partner, say—can reveal the degree of compatibility and so on.

The astrology in tabloid newspapers tends to focus only on the sun-sign, or the star-sign as it is more commonly known. Someone born when the Sun is transiting the constellation of Taurus, for example, would refer to themselves as a Taurean. But this offers only a partial picture. The Sun is associated with the persona but doesn’t necessarily account for the subconscious or the emotional interior of an individual which is more closely influenced by the Moon. Nor does it govern the sexuality and animal instincts which is believed to be the province of Mars.

A key to the nature of the planetary rulers can be found within the Greek myths which narrate the stories of the gods—their words and deeds.