Astrology and You
An Opportunity to Discover Your Authentic Self
by Patricia Sereno

Since the dawn of civilization, mortals have turned their eyes towards the heavens following the movements of the planets, and gazing upon the stars that shine beyond our solar system.

Our ancestors paid close attention to changes in the sky. The Sun and Moon were particularly important to early cultures, as their movements dictated and regulated their activities. Animal bones, dating back to 15,000 BC, are engraved with the phases of the Moon.

As ancient communities evolved from hunting and gathering to farming, they noticed that they had the best crops when they sowed and reaped at specific periods during the year. They recognized that these periods or “seasons” came at the same time every year, when particular constellations rose in the heavens. Our ancestors noticed that the stars and planets had cycles. Some cycles occurred each year and agriculture was structured around these times. Others cycles were much longer. These cycles showed patterns for scarce or abundant crops. With this information, our ancestors were able to store food from abundant years to support them through the scarce years.

Some of our ancestors saw that certain planetary formations coincided repeatedly with certain events on Earth. Wars, pestilence, floods, prosperity and peace were somehow reflected in the stars.

Astrology gradually became more directed towards interpreting events, although it still had a strong connection with agriculture. Planetary alignments and their association with events on earth were recorded and then passed on to future generations over hundreds and then thousands of years. With time, the collected observations were finally formulated into general principles.

Over thousands of years, astrology has been used by the wealthy and people in power as a tool to govern with awareness for their personal lives, their people, and resources.

At the beginning of the 20th century, astrology became available to the masses for the first time. This has given us a tool to understand ourselves and those we love better, and to better direct the course of our lives.

Our birth chart, based on our birth time, birth place, and birth date, contains the ingredients of who we are as individuals. Although our chart can appear to be flat and only a two dimensional tool, it is in actual fact a four-dimensional star map, which represents movement in time and space. Our chart represents that moment in time for a particular place on the planet and as we take our first breath of life, we become a physical representation of that moment in time. Like the acorn that can become the oak tree, by learning the contents of our chart we can then activate our potential and thereby have the opportunity to live a fulfilling life.

Astrology works with four basic factors that lay the foundation for everything else in astrology: the planets, the 12 signs of the zodiac, the 12 houses of the horoscope, and planetary aspects. It is the specific permutations and combinations of these four essentials that make us the individuals that we are.

The planets in our chart represent the different desires, needs, and drives of our personality, while the signs of the zodiac show us how we express a particular desire, need, or drive. The houses of the horoscope provide the environments or areas of our life where these desires, needs, or drives are best expressed whether they be in our career, relationships, home and family life, or through our creativity. Planetary aspects technically represent the angular distance between the planets and symbolize the dynamic of relationship between our different desires, needs, and drives. Whenever we have an important decision to make we can become acutely aware of which parts of us are in agreement and are willing to cooperate with each other and those parts which are needing or wanting something different. Inner stress and conflict can be directly related to the planetary aspects in our charts.

Our charts are not only a map for who we are, they are also a life clock that can show the timing of events for our life. In our every day world we use wrist watches, clocks, and alarms to tell us when it is time to do a particular activity—time to get up, go to work, eat a meal, attend a meeting, etc. Our charts can tell us when its time to begin a relationship, change careers, or move house.

Although our birth chart is a freeze frame for a particular moment in time, the planets themselves conti­­­­nue to move and their relationship to where they were when we were born changes over time. This symbolizes our own growth and evolution as an individual. When planets come into specific relationship with their own positions for when we were born or when they are in a critical point in their cycle around our chart, it signifies time to make a change in our life. These are referred to as planetary transits. Although transits can sometimes represent change that can be difficult, it will ultimately be for our good and offers us the opportunity to express more of our potential.

Whether we are aware of these moving planetary patterns or not, we still evolve and grow through opportunities, challenges, and imposed change from our external environments and circumstances. Whether we judge these as good or bad, we will be given the opportunity to either leave behind something that is no longer working for us or activate a quality within us that has remained dormant until we are offered the chance to change.

In our modern day with so much external stimulus, astrology can bring us back to ourselves, back to who we are before our learned behaviours, conditionings, or acquired beliefs—back to our authentic selves. Working with our chart we are provided with a map for us to be—not whatever we want to be—rather, who we are in our fullest potential. This knowledge and self-awareness can bring us inner peace, joyful living, and the ability to navigate our challenges which can result in a rich, meaningful, and fulfilling life.

Patricia Sereno is a Certified Astrologer empowering clients nationally and internationally for over 20 years. She lives in Vancouver, BC. You can visit her website www.patriciasereno.com or call (604)732-5134.