With the increasing popularity of astrology due to social media, people are constantly on the lookout for information on the topic. As someone who has been into astrology for a while now, I will be writing about the basics of it.

To start off, there are twelve different zodiac signs, three for each element.

Earth: Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus

Water: Scorpio, Pisces, Cancer

Air: Aquarius, Gemini, Libra

Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius

And each of those signs fall into the category of cardinal, fixed, or mutable.

Cardinal: Aries, Capricorn, Libra, Cancer

Fixed: Leo, Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio

Mutable: Sagittarius, Virgo, Gemini, Pisces

Each planet in your birth chart has a certain sign ‘assigned’ to it when you are born. For example, my Sun is in Aquarius, my moon is in Libra, and my Ascendant (not a planet, but an explanation of this isn’t necessary yet) is in Aquarius. The three things I just listed are called my ‘Big Three’ because they are three of the most important parts of my chart. If I’m talking to someone who is into astrology, I would ask them what their Big Three is so I can get an idea of who they are.

If someone asks you your zodiac sign, you will most likely respond with your sun sign, because it’s what most people are familiar with. For example, I was born on January 23, so I am an Aquarius Sun. Every year on January 19, the sun moves into Aquarius until February 18. Typically the sun stays in each sign for thirty days before it moves into the next sign.

You may be wondering what the Sun represents in astrology, and why it’s basically the most important planet in astrology. Well, the sun represents the Self, one’s way of being in the world. It represents both the ego and the higher Self, as well as one’s will and sense of vitality. The sun rules Leo (each sign is ruled by a different planet).

When reading about astrology, people tend to look at the traits of their sun sign and if all the traits do not resonate, they tend to discredit astrology even though it is so much more than that. Astrology takes years and years to learn, and even the most experienced astrologers are still learning. Looking into your whole birth chart can reveal a lot about you and your past/ present/ future.

Besides the planets themselves, each planet is in a different house, at different degrees, all in different signs, which all have different aspects. Because of this, it is safe to say dismissing astrology based off your sun sign isn’t the best idea as there is so much more to it. If you are interested in getting a deep analysis of your chart, Time Passages is an amazing app to download as it provides a lot of information.