Interpreting my 1st House

I'm starting to read my natal chart, and would like to know if I'm doing right the first basis, and this would be:
Uranus in Scorpio on House 1, in oposition with Chiron, conjunction with AC y square with MC.
That would be the right begining from which I can start to read it?
And now start to analice what is uranus in scorpio in house 1, and what influences become from Chiron, AC and MC. Right?
Thanks for your guide!!!

I wouldn't start there

Uranus might be important but Chiron is at best peripheral. You're focusing in too closely.

Whether you're using a traditional approach or a modern approach, the key planets to start with are Sun, Moon and Ascendant Ruler and the Ascendant itself (or for most moderns just the Ascendant itself). But first get an overall impression of the chart by noting where things lie. Take particular note of any angular planets, they will be important (the first, tenth, seventh and fourth houses are the most important houses in the chart).

Many modern Astrologers at this stage will do an element count, sometimes giving the Sun Moon and Ascendant extra weight (for example scoring them 2 and the remaining planets 1 and possibly the MC as 1 as well). This gives an overall balance between the four elements and shows if one is missing or under represented and whether there's an excess of one of the others.

This is a rather crude version of the late medieval temperament calculation which looked for a balance between the four humours of Choleric (Fire) Sanguine (Air) Melancholy (Earth) and Phlegm (Water) which still give us psychological descriptions today.

Then Take a look at what planets are in the Ascendant (Uranus) and where the Sun and Moon are placed by house and by sign. I'd use the Ascendant ruler (Mars) and see where that planet is placed by house and sign. Then have a look at planets aspecting Ascendant Sun and Moon. The tradition places far more weight on the rulers of the various houses than does the modern approach. So I'd look at the Sun's ruler and the Moon's ruler, as well as their house position.


Then take the other planets in order of of importance, that's the remainder of the classic seven and then Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (assuming you want to follow a modern approach). Introducing Chiron or other bodies at this stage will end up confusing you with too much information There are a raft of these other bodies that you could use but if you read for the classic 7/modern 10 that will give you most (some would say all) you need to know. At this stage you're beginning to look at putting together a brief (and keep it brief) description of the meaning of the planet in the sign and house it is placed in. Traditionally this will tell you whether the planet is able to perform as you would expect - that is realising its natural signification, or whether there are going to be difficulties.


Look at the aspects joining the planets. Use the major aspects to begin with.
If you want to use the minor ones, add them on after the major ones. I'd say add them on after your first chart assessment. Personally, I'd only use the two classically Averse or inconjuct relationships of 150 degrees and 3 degrees - the modern quincunx and semi-sextile. The meanings of these are rather similar in both the tradition and modern Astrology, but in the tradition they actually break the rules for being aspects. Of the two the quincunx is the more important but both carry some weight.

I must admit that I always found the Modern approach rather confusing, because there were too many bodies, too many aspects and not much in the way of a structured approach (at least in general though I know quite a few Modern's who are very structured. They tend to practice event driven Astrology rather than a psychological approach). However there's a reasonable book by Tracey Marks on chart interpretation from a modern perspective.

The traditional medieval approach would start with the temperament calculation, which relates to Ascendant, Sun and Moon (and planets and signs associated with them) and follows up with an Assessment of Mind - based on the Moon and Mercury. Thereafter it's a look at the key areas of life - the sort of things I get horary questions on. Personal health and well being, Profession/career, Marriage and children, Home and family, Income and substance the remaining houses can then be filled in.

So to get started, go with your overall impression of the chart and then do an element balance. That will actually tell you a surprising amount.

Thank you for your answer.
I'm finding very difficult to integrate all the information I have and be able to do a step by step natal chart reading.
I have a couple of books, the 3rd and last one for a while will arrive today, and I have a mess of information about planets, signs, rulers, aspects, and so on.
I have discard using minor aspects, and I already made the element count, as well as the study of the planets on cuadrants and hemispheres, the sun, the moon and the ascendant.
Well, I realised that I forgot to consider the rulers of the ascendant, sun and moon, so I will check it this evening when I'm at home.
After that I started to see the planets on the houses, and 1 started on the 1st one, because is the first one

I have to do an exercice on my magical studies in which I have to take a brief meaning about what is happening on each house, so this is why I started on the first one, and was wondering about if the statement "uranus in scorpio on first house with opposition with bla bla bla, was well made.
Now I see maybe is too much for a brief reading, so I may start with:
Uranus in Scorpio on First House, and stop here. Just focus on the planet, the sign, the house, the ruler, and where is the ruler located.

The exercise that I have to do is apparently simple, just take a very briefly meaning about what is happening on each house, and stop it. A very brief natal reading to start with. But I felt my first attempt very poor (and wrong), so I have read 3 books and tried to understand how does it works on a very basic level.

What I find is that every book covers well the exlanations about signs, plantes, aspects, and so on, but when is time to start and try to read your natal chart, I miss a guide for dummies. I mean, something like that:

1. Do an element count. This will give you an overall balance, what lacks, what is in excess.
2. See where the plantes are (north, south, east, west). This will tell you if you are more introverted, extroverted, so on.
3. See where is the Sun, house and sign. Find the ruler of the sign in which is the Sun and see where is on the cart, this will tell you bla bla bla
4. See where is the Moon, house and sign, find the ruler...
5. See where is the Ascendant, bla bla bla
And so on.

Do you know if this guide exists, and where I can find it?

Thank you!


I'm finding

The best one might have been by a man called Jean Baptiste Morin de Villefranche, or Morinus in Latin. He wrote a huge encyclopaedia of astrology called the Astrologia Gallica, and some of the books have been translated into English. Book 21 tells you a lot about reading charts.

Things like: the good or bad of a house comes from the situation of the house's ruler - for instance, if Saturn rules your fourth house, your family and home environment will have a Saturnine cast to it - look to Saturn and its aspects to see just how it will play out. Or that the effects of a planet in a house are felt more immediately than the ruler of the house - so that Mars in the third will give a lot of argument, strife, and divisiveness and accidents involving siblings, even if Venus is the house ruler but it's located elsewhere.

Or that while the moon may have universal signification for, say, mothers, if it rules your second house, it's going to have a whole lot more to do with your money than your mother (or it could show that your mother is all tied up with your money), because the specific, house-related meaning of a planet is the one that's going to out in your chart.

It may not be the book for novices, but Morin was a really logical guy.

If you take the traditional approach to delineation, you could go through your chart by topic - the ascendant, its ruler, and planets within for you, your life, and your body generally, the second house for your money, the third for relatives of your same generation, the fourth for fathers and homeland, the fifth for your children and pleasures, the sixth for illness, servants, and bad fortune, the seventh for marriage, and so on. Look at the ruler of the house, its dignity, where it lies in the chart, and its aspects.

If, for instance, you have Mars on the seventh house cusp squaring Saturn, and Saturn rules your tenth house, business partners could be a very bad idea for you - seventh house is partners, tenth is your mastery or profession, and the two planets are at loggerheads - there will be problems here.

Pick one house or topic at a time - it feels less overwhelming! It takes a while to get fluent at this, but if you keep at it, it will become more comfortable for you.

Whilst I agree with Channah, I have to second his comment about Morin not being easy for beginners. The problem is that there's not a book written for the modern novice that explains how to go about chart interpretation using a traditional method. I say, 'a' rather than 'the' because there's nearly 2,000 years of 'traditional' Astrology and the approach of a Medieval Arabic Astrologer, differs from that of William Lilly in the seventeenth century or Vettius Valens in the second century.

Apart from Morin Book 21, there is Abu Ali Al-Khayyat's The Judgement of Nativities, a slim volume which indeed does go house by house as well as giving a 'crib' guide to planets in houses. There is a translation by James H Holden, which runs to 104 pages, including the introduction and appendices. However for the modern novice, it includes terms and approaches that you will also find a challenge, as there's no detailed explanation of these.

For modern approaches things are very different. There are several books that attempt to discuss chart interpretation, often using the current psychological approach.

Some of the factors that you mentioned are modern ones, such as the hemisphere analysis and attempts to identify introvert or extrovert tendencies. If that is either what is required for your course, or is something that interests you, then I can mention one or two that you could seek out:

Stephen Arroyo's Chart Interpretation Handbook
The Art of Chart Interpretation by Tracy Marks
Chart Synthesis by Roy Alexander

The first two are still available on Amazon, the third is available second hand through Amazon UK (£0.67), though this is the most demanding of the three to work through, as it's more directed to professionals than beginners.

I don't use the approaches of any of them and I see more use in Morin and Al-Khyyat, than any of them but they are accessible and they may be more what you are looking for.

If all else fails

If you want to avoid books, because of the cost, then try:

First House: You - your general personality and physical appearance pluse general health (from the condition of the ruler). The Ascendant ruler position by house will give some indication of the area of life you become most associated with. If you're using Uranus, then how does that modify your personality from simply the sign and it's ruler.

Second House: Your material possesions and income. Are there any planets in it - they will effect how you earn or dispose of your income. The position of the ruler will give an indication of the area of life you're likely to spend your income on or earn your income from. Aspects to planets in the second will modify the situation, as will aspects to the ruler of the second. Be prepared to think a little more laterally rather than literally. Your Second house ruler is Jupiter in your ninth house - your income is connected to travel in someway. In your case you are earning money quite some distance from where you were born.

Third House: Siblings, communications, travel, non standard belief systems. Same thing. Look for planets in the house and any aspects to them to modify the meanings. Look for the ruler and it's location by house and sign. Aspects to benefics will usually enhance the house, aspects to malefics will bring difficulties. Planets in houses tend to be more noticable early on but the fruition of the house's area of life is more down to the ruler. That applies to all houses.

Fourth House: Father, family, home, real estate. Approach as before. Are there any planets in it. What is the nature of the sign and what and where is it's ruler. What aspects are there, to planets in the house and to the ruler.

Fifth House: Children, Leisure activities, hobbies. Children is the key one. You might not have any now but the chart can give an indication of whether you will. One indiator would be the nature of the sign on the cusp. Water signs are seen as fruitful, Jupiter or Venus either ruling or in the house adds to fertility. Bad aspects may reduce it. The Hellenisitic Astrologers considered this the house of Good Fortune.

Sixth House: Illnesses or health problems. The sign and ruler can indicate the part of the body most at risk, Planets in the house will modify this as will aspects to the planets and the ruler. So Aries on the cusp would indicate possible problems related to the head, Mars ruling it would indicate such problems as susceptibility to accidents, cuts, fevers, problems relating to over expenditure of energy.

Seventh House Marriage and marriage partner. Again you might not be married yet, but the chart gives some indication as to whether you will (or at least enter a long term relationship). It can even indicate the number of marriages (for example through a 'double bodied' sign on the cusp, such as Gemini. Fixed signs tend to indicate single long term relationships.

Eighth House The principle meaning is death but the more everyday meaning is the partner's money or income from inheritances. Bear in mind, we all die at some point, so don't take planets in the eighth indicating that you're going to die tomorrow or die young. At a more fundamental level the eighth is an 'Idle' house. Planets here tend to have difficulty expressing themselves. So a planet in the eighth is more likely to indicate problems in the area of life it rules and difficulties of pursuing that area, than acutual physical death.

Ninth House: Travel, higher education, the law, established religions, the search for your higher self. The principle meaning is Travel but the other may be appropriate. For example the 'magic' course is evidence of your pursuit of a higher self. As with the other houses, consider briefly the planets in it and the ruler.

Tenth House: Career and public actions. It also signifies the mother but unless she is especially prominent in your life go for career. The sign and ruler can give an indication of the type of career. Leo is the classic indication of a King or ruler but obviously all people with Leo on the tenth don't become King or Prime Minister. But they may become very prominent in another way. Mercury could indicate a career in writing or accounts, or communications . Venus can signify fashion, clothing, jewellery, entertainment and leisure industries, Saturn can indicate manufacturing. Again explore the possibilities and be prepared to think widely rather than literally.

Eleventh House Friends, sponsors (as in people who help you get a job) hopes and aspirations, The planets in the house may indicate something about your friends. For example the ruler of the seventh in the elventh may indicate that you either marry a friend or a friend is instrumental in bringing you and your future partner together. The Ascendant ruler in the eleventh might indicate you make friends easily or that friends become important in some way (not necessarily a good way).

Twelfth House: Enemies. You will find that most modern texts treat the twelfth as being hidden things. However 'enemies' is it's original meaning. This is enemies as a collective. Specific opponents are seventh house and that evolved into the distinction between open enemies and hidden enemies. By Lilly's time it came to signify institutions such as prisons and hospitals. It's another idle place and it has some associations with less fortunate travel activities. The location of the ruler may give indications of how this house will show up. For example the ruler of the twelfth in the eleventh could indicate that people you thought of as friends, let you down badly, or work against your interests.

Edited to add:

You might find it easier to use Whole Sign Houses for this exercise. This stops issues such as intercepted signs or signs that contain the cusp of two or even more houses. It's not a cheat. If you are asked why point out that they were the original system, are geared to handling the topics of life and are making something of a comeback. You can mention Rob Hand, Chris Brennan and the poll in the professional astrologers group which showed it was the second most used system. There's even no reason why it can't be used for a psychological approach, or indeed any approach to reading the chart.

Of course it has it's limitations but they lie more in the realm of forecasting and prediction, where quadrant houses have always had a major role to play. You can, of course, combine both topics and predictions with quadrant systems, and that may be something that you will graduate to.

I'll mention a book I've brought up before. I've largely quoted myself from an old post, so pardon any repetition.

Rod Suskin's The Rules of Chart Interpretation might be worth checking out. It's a slim little booklet (only about 1/4" thick), and he seems to have a traditional outlook and he was Robert Zoller's student. (ETA: he cites Bonatti, Morinus, Lilly, and Zoller as his strongest influences.) What caught my attention about it is that it's short, and with a clear step-by-step approach to charts. It's what I bought when I was desperate for the imaginary book that should exist as a Part II of Benjamin Dykes' Traditional Astrology For Today: An Introduction, (which I loved so much for its clarity, if you remember me gushing about it.)

I've attached a photo of the outline of his method so you can get the gist.

Minderwiz and Chanah, you have finally inspired me to pull the trigger on both Morin's Book 21 and Al-Khayyat's The Judgments of Nativities. They're been in and out of my Amazon cart for years now, and I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to buy them. Thanks for the gentle push.

(ETA: And that's a nice overview you give above, Minderwiz.)

Looks interesting Kalliope and I do remember you posting it, now you have jogged my memory. So it might well be the 'missing' book I mentioned in my previous post.

Whilst I'm not a fan of Karma in Western Astrology, I liked the introduction in the 'Look Inside'. I'll probably buy this myself and see if I'd use it as a standard text for people who are interested in a traditioal book on chart interpretation, written by a modern author.

I'm going to have a look at that Suskin book, too. Thanks for mentioning it, Kalliope.

Had a quick look at Google Books, and there are some decent previews there, with 30-50 pages you can read online. So if you want to have a look at Abu Ali Al-Khayyat, click here: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=rR8iTR5hfbsC&num=14

One of my personal favourites is Sahl ibn Bishr's Introduction to the Science of the Judgment of the Stars, also translated by James Holden, and you can find it here: https://books.google.co.in/books?id...CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=sahl ibn bishr&f=false. It's a horary text, but I love Sahl for his clarity - and signs, houses, planets, and aspects mean pretty much the same things in both horary and natal.

The big gap in interpretation I think is because way back when if you were studying astrology, you learnt horary first - it's easier, because you're only dealing with a few planets and houses in a given chart, pertaining to one question. You got a chance to really see how astrology operates by focussing on only a few things in any given chart. Then you picked up natal, already having a background in how a chart works generally.

Horary fell into disfavour for mostly religious and political reasons, and hasn't really started to see a revival until very recently, so now students of astrology are thrown into an entire birth chart to start with, and no background to understand what they're seeing.

Minderwiz has given you a very good outline of how to approach a reading, let me give it a think and see if I can add anything. It's important to have a system, as it lets you find your way into a horoscope and gives you a clear direction for navigating it.

I don't know what your course is teaching, but if at all possible, even if you're doing modern astrology, I'd encourage you to stick with traditional rulerships, at least at first. It just works better. Add in the outer planets if you must for extra information, but they shouldn't contradict anything you see using the classical seven. I won't say that they're worthless (though I haven't used them in years in my own work), but I've seen so many modern chart readings completely derailed because it's all blamed or credited on some obscure aspect or transit of Pluto, which seems to be responsible for all things, ever. And that's just bad astrology.

Chanah said:

One of my personal favourites is Sahl ibn Bishr's Introduction to the Science of the Judgment of the Stars, also translated by James Holden, and you can find it here: https://books.google.co.in/books?id...CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=sahl ibn bishr&f=false. It's a horary text, but I love Sahl for his clarity - and signs, houses, planets, and aspects mean pretty much the same things in both horary and natal.

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An excellent work. I've got both the Holden and the Dykes translations. Holden to me sacrifices literal accuracy for clarity and that makes him a great translator Dykes ends up with a host of footnotes in his translation of Sahl's On the signification of the time for judgement most of which boil down to he doesn't know what Sahl means. Holden is readable and makes some sense.

Chanah said:

The big gap in interpretation I think is because way back when if you were studying astrology, you learnt horary first - it's easier, because you're only dealing with a few planets and houses in a given chart, pertaining to one question. You got a chance to really see how astrology operates by focussing on only a few things in any given chart. Then you picked up natal, already having a background in how a chart works generally.

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Oh so true! It should be the case now but that dead hand of psychology makes it so difficult.

Chanah said:

Minderwiz has given you a very good outline of how to approach a reading, let me give it a think and see if I can add anything. It's important to have a system, as it lets you find your way into a horoscope and gives you a clear direction for navigating it.

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Thanks Chanah and I'd appreciate you adding anything you think of. I did that on the spur of the moment for a house by house analysis and I'm sure there's things I missed out (some quite important as you will see from the edit).

Chanah said:

I don't know what your course is teaching, but if at all possible, even if you're doing modern astrology, I'd encourage you to stick with traditional rulerships, at least at first. It just works better. Add in the outer planets if you must for extra information, but they shouldn't contradict anything you see using the classical seven. I won't say that they're worthless (though I haven't used them in years in my own work), but I've seen so many modern chart readings completely derailed because it's all blamed or credited on some obscure aspect or transit of Pluto, which seems to be responsible for all things, ever. And that's just bad astrology.

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Alan Oken wrote Rulers of the Horoscope which does make an attempt to use house rulers in a modern context. Whilst I don't use it these days it was one of the books that edged me towards the traditional approach. So rulers and a modern approach can be done. Though again use the traditional rulers, the basis of assigning the outers to 'sign rulership' is totally different from the underlying princples of the original system and even contradicts the underlying rationale that was used to justify those outer rulerships.

In beginners courses the expectation (sadly) is that the outers will be included and few beginners have the necessary knowledge to challenge that presumption. That certainly applied to me, when I did courses in Astrology. The follow on course was more willing to accept dissension and did have units on Horary and Medical Astrology. Needless to say, it wasn't recognised by the various Astrology bodies who were wedded to the Psychological approach.

Rant

Yes, the almost religious worship of Pluto by the Modern crew is amazing. Coupled with a belief that Pluto is an irresistable force of fate, and you wonder about the criticisms of the tradition as being over concerned with fate. I've not seen anything in a traditional text to rival that belief in Pluto's omnipotence. The trouble is these ideas continue to be passed on by Astrologers who either don't know about the traditional challenge or who are so sure of the rightness of their approach that they ignore it.

End of Rant