Astrology 101 – An Introduction to the Astrological Signs (Part 1)

In our last lesson we learned about the astrological planets and now is time that we move on to the second ingredient to prepare for interpretation which is the astrological signs.  Additionally, everyone can get a copy of their horoscope which you can get for free on my website.   If you do not understand the chart, you can always check out the tutorial that I created to help you understand your horoscope.

The section on the Astrological Signs will be divided into 4 parts.

The Agenda:

Part 1: Gender – Do signs have sexes?

Part 2: Element – What are the astrological elements?

Part 3: Orientation – What are the three astrological orientations?

Part 4: Putting it All Together

So, grab your coffee, tea, or a nice beverage and get ready because there is a lot to cover.  I would suggest reading over these sections slowly as we begin to add layers and nuance to your astrological knowledge.

The Gender of Astrology

Yes, believe it or not astrology does have gender.  There are signs that are considered masculine and others that are considered feminine.

I will admit the gender assignment in astrology is rather crude and they were assigned in a society that is much different than ours.   So, if you wish to call them something else such as yang signs and yin signs then you can do so based on your particular preferences.  But, before we get into the often argued sexist debate, let us explore what gender from an astrological perspective really means.  In order to do this, let’s look at how psychology defines it.

Jung’s Typology:

Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung developed a method through which he could analyze the particular psychological makeup of an individual.  Rather than try to typecast people into certain groups though, Jung’s intention was to understand types as types of consciousness.  In fact, Jung warned about the dangers of typecasting and felt that type changes (astrology reflects this as well through the technique of progressions which we will get into in Astrology 201) over time.  However, due to popularity of such tests such as Myers Briggs, many people continue to see type as a “static” rather than fluid means of understanding the psyche.

Jung divided the types into two categories:  attitudes and functions.  In this post, we will deal with attitudes, which Jung felt were the most important.  (In the next blog post we will focus on functions)

Why?

It’s simple, psychological attitudes explain how we relate to the outer world.  Jung had two terms for attitudes these are called extroversion and introversion.  In essence, if one understands how they adapt or relate to the outer world, then the rest of the psyche is understandable.  This is also true of astrology – if you can understand how an individual relates to the outer world, then the rest of the chart is more understandable.

Liz Greene in her book “Relating” (kindle version) states the following:

“The first statement that astrology has to make about life is at the same time childishly simple and utterly profound:  everything stems from the relationship between two polar opposites, whether we call these male/female, active/passive, or yin/yang.”

Greene is making the same statement as Jung yet in astrological language.   Whereas Jung is referring to extrovert and introvert, Greene is referring to masculine and feminine.

How does this work astrologically?

Astrology consists of 12 different signs.  The 12 signs are divided into two groups:  Masculine signs (Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius) and Feminine signs (Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces).  Like introverted and extroverted, masculine and feminine signs have different methods of organizing the consciousness of the individual.

A Critical Dictionary of Jungian Analysis has this to say about introverts and extroverts:

“Some individuals are more excited and energized by the internal world and others by the external world; these are introverts and extroverts respectively.” (pg. 153)

Astrologically, Kim Rogers Gallagher in her book, “Astrology for the Right Side of the Brain” uses similar language to describe masculine and feminine signs.

“Masculine signs are linear energies.  They are outgoing and assertive.  They push, pursue, and assert themselves.  They go after what they want, speak their minds, and prefer offense to defense.  The feminine signs, on the other hand, are receptive and magnetic.  They are circular energies.  They hold, absorb, and pull energy in.  They attract, rather than pursue.  They wait to see what will happen” (pg. 62)

Exercise 1:   Get out your chart.  If you use the chart service on my page make sure in the blue box you select “Display List of Aspects and Positions of Planets” and then hit redraw.  If you are using your own program, please print a page that gives you the signs that your planets are placed in.

Now, you are going to use the list above and discover whether or not your planets are masculine or feminine.   However, you will give 2 points rather than 1 to the Sun, Moon, and ruler of the Ascendant.  Just ignore all the asteroids except for Ceres.

Sign Rulers:

Aries – Mars
Taurus – Venus
Gemini – Mercury
Cancer – The Moon
Leo – The Sun
Virgo – Mercury
Libra – Venus
Scorpio – Pluto
Sagittarius – Jupiter
Capricorn – Saturn
Aquarius – Uranus
Pisces – Neptune

Here is an example:

Let’s go over the planets.

The Sun is in Libra – Libra is a Masculine Sign – It gets 2 points for being the Sun
The Moon is in Scorpio – Scorpio is a Feminine Sign – It gets 2 points for being the Moon
Mercury is in Scorpio – Scorpio is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Venus is in Scorpio – Scorpio is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Mars is in Leo – Leo is a Masculine Sign – It Gets 1 point
Jupiter is in Cancer – Cancer is a Feminine Sign – It gets 2 points because Jupiter rules the Ascendant
Saturn is in Scorpio – Scorpio is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Uranus is in Aries – Aries is a Masculine Sign – It gets 1 point
Neptune is in Pisces – Pisces is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Pluto is in Capricorn – Capricorn is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Chiron is in Pisces – Pisces is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point
Ceres is in Virgo – Virgo is a Feminine Sign – It gets 1 point

(If the Sun or Moon rules the Ascendant it is possible that either luminary will receive 3 points)

In this chart we have 4 Masculine placements and 10 Feminine Placements.  Feminine planets highly dominate the Masculine planets.

So, what does this mean?

Masculine Keywords:  active, extroverted, positive, electric, logical, individualistic, outgoing, expressive, light minded, activity, the objective world, the future.  Above all else the masculine signs seek freedom and the ability to be themselves.

Feminine Keywords:  receptive, introverted, negative, magnetic, instinctive, empathic, collective, passive, shy, inward, feelings, sensuality, stability, the subjective world, the past.  Above all else feminine signs seek security within themselves and their inner world.

Exercise 2:

It’s time to write a little interpretation based upon your astrological gender.  Let’s look at an example first.   I will use the chart of pop star Katy Perry her birth data is October 25, 1984 at 6:59 AM in Santa Barbara, CA.  Her data rating is B and comes from biography/autobiography.

Katy has 10 feminine planets and 5 masculine planets.   Now for a little interpretation.

Katy is a highly instinctive, receptive, and empathic individual.  She has a need to feel secure and connected in a deep way to her feelings and her relationships with others.  Further, she is magnetic and attracts people to her based on her sensuality and expression of her subjective world.

Keep in mind, there is much more to Katy Perry than just her gender polarity.  We will continue to visit her chart throughout the course so that you can see the nuance and highlighted areas based upon the rest of chart.

It’s now your turn.  Write a short paragraph based upon your astrological gender polarity.  You can put this in your astrological notebook and if you feel inspired you can leave your comments below.  Further, if you have any questions regarding the material addressed in this post, please leave them and I will get back to you.

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Need answers to life’s pressing questions?  You can contact Storm for a reading today!