Adding in the Pictures

Astrology Lesson 5 - Basic Chart Interpretation

by Tim Wilson
guest writer

This completes the explanation of the chart sections and pieces. It is now time to revisit the pictures in the chart. In order to understand how these pictures work in a chart interpretation it is important to understand that each picture gets its "keyword" from an area of the chart. There are only two cases in which one picture gets its "keyword" from two different chart areas. gets its "keywords" from both the "Physical" and "Relationships" chart areas. And gets its "keywords" from both the "Thinking" and "Daily Work" chart areas. (The graphic above shows how the "keywords" relate to the pictures and areas of the chart).

A few astrological terms now need to be learned because another type of picture needs to be understood. The pictures which have been mentioned up to now are called "planets" (planets are the pictures on the inside of the circle in the above graphic). The new pictures which need to be understood are called "signs" (signs are the pictures on the outside of the circle in the above graphic). Each planet and sign also gets their "keyword" from an area of the chart.

The final piece of astrological information to learn is that the "chart pieces" of the chart are called "houses." The graphic above shows how the 12 "keywords" relate to each of the signs, planets, and houses: there is one "keyword" for each sign/planet/house combination. In the above graphic the signs are listed on the outside of the circle, the planets are listed on the inside of the circle, and the meanings are listed between the sign and planet, and in the house where the sign/planet/house "keyword" applies. Write down the "keyword" for every sign and planet in your chart next to the signs and planets in your chart.

Signs can be confusing for people new to astrology since there are many signs shown in the chart and we only need to look at a very few of the signs. In this case we are only looking at signs that are right next to planets such as . If there is no sign next to the planet in the chart, more help is needed to read the signs of the chart. In looking for the signs next to planets do not look at the sign that is on the edge of a house, such as the sign shown on the Ascendant, the sign shown on the Descendant, etc. Only look at the sign that is right next to the planet or that the chart shows to be in the area of the sign (see "help" link above for more information). One sign will be next to or in the area of each of the ten planets, although it might be the same sign is next to or in the area of more than one planet.

Now use the "astro-sentence:" "sign" modifies "planet" focused on "house". First write out part of the "astro-sentence": "planet" modifies" house for all ten planets (remember two of these planets will have two keywords for the one planet). Then go back and add in the "sign" keywords at the front of the "astro-sentence" for all ten planets. You will now have ten "astro-sentences" for all ten planets in your chart.

For those who are unclear about the meaning of "modify": "modify" is a word used to describe the relationship between an adverb (which describes an action) and a verb (the action the adverb describes). According to the rules of grammar, an adverb "modifies" a verb: for instance, in the phrase "quickly walking", "quickly" (adverb) modifies "walking" (verb)...we learn more about how the person was walking by describing it as "quickly". Similarly, in an "astro-sentence" sign "modifies" planet: for instance, in the phrase a "Virgo Pluto," "Virgo" modifies "Pluto"...we learn more about how the person is using their Pluto energy by describing it as "Virgo".

Up to now we have been using the astrological chart as a learning device to understand the "keywords" of the chart. In reading an actual chart the signs and planets will most likely not be focused in their "keyword" house, but instead will be scattered around the chart in completely different houses. In order to get familiar with this, let's take a look at an "astro-sentence" sign/planet/house combination that is not in a "keyword" house.

To read the chart in this example use the "astro-sentence": sign modifies planet focused on house. So in this example the person who has this chart has a home (sign) modifying transformation (planet) focused on the physical (house).

There are many ways this energy could actually appear in a person's life: perhaps this person is continually rebuilding their home to make it bigger and more solid, maybe this person continually adds to their home to make sure it is always increasing in value, or another possibility is this person has domestic transformations of some sort which have resulted in a need to be secure in the value of the home.

One more example of the same idea. To read the chart in this example again use the "astro-sentence:" sign modifies planet focused on house. So in this example the person with this chart does thinking (sign) which modifies their being (planet) focused on expansion (house).

There are many ways this energy could actually appear in a person's life: perhaps the person is continually thinking of new ways to exist that make them wiser (expanding their awawareness), maybe this person plans parties all the time (expansive being), or another possibility is this person thinks about things they can learn.

If you want to get even more information for your chart interpretations, add back in the two word combinations in place of the keyword. For example, if looking at planets and signs in the 1rst house of "being", remember that the 1rst house is also about "Identity Action". This gives you another level of information about how the 1rst house works in the chart. But only do this if you are looking for more depth in your astrology: you can get the basics of any chart interpretation using the one word "keywords" in your astro-sentences.

If some of these "astro-sentences" still don't quite seem to "fit" or to make sense, that is normal and you need to do some "adjusting". Create all 10 of the "astro-sentences" (since there are 10 planets there are 10 "astro-sentences"), go to the "Extended Keywords" section and find some "extended keywords" that are a better "fit" for how the energy works in this person's chart.

For example, if the person has "confusion" in their life, instead of using the "keyword" "spirituality" in the "astro-sentence" use the "extended keyword" "confusion" instead. And then interpret the "astro-sentences" using "confusion". So the "astro-sentence" "spirituality" modifying "thinking/daily work" focused on "being" becomes "confusion" modifying "thinking/daily work" focused on "being". Take a look at all the different "extended keywords" and use the ones which best fit the person's life experience of their "astro-sentence".