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Sure. The Best way to see a "learners chart" is to go to astro.com, use or create an account (if you have not done so already, but most people who do astrology has been here.) Then insert your birth info, proceed on the top menu and hover under free horoscopes then go to the Astroclick travel. I like to use the scaleable google world map w harmonus and disharmous boxes checked so you can see everything going on.

What this map does is create planets lines by longitude and latitude using your birth info. These lines have strong influence according to how your chart is relocated when you change locations on the globe. As you move around the globe your planets will change houses and different aspects will be more relevant based on your physical location.

My best advice to get start is click your birth city. You'll see of course all your aspects listed in your natal chart because that's where you born. Now you have a taste of it how it works a little.

Start clicking cities or areas around the map that you have been to. Click on places that you have memories or experiences with. Make sure you click show details on the right side so you can see all of the aspects in a location instead of one. Now you will see all the crossings and planets on cardinals points in your AstroMap and how they impacted you in a certain location.

An example of how this works for me is I live in Phoenix, AZ and all I have is a mercury/pluto line. I was not born here and I feel my energy is not pleasant here. Feels kind of neutral.

My favorite place to live was Portland, Oregon. When I lived there I had venus, mars and jupiter lines in my favor (where my birth place lacks.) I was happier, more competitive and feel people respected me more as a teacher of astrology. When I was forced to move to Phoenix I feel like I went into isolation and study was all the energy of the area supported for me.

If you want to read probably the best book on the subject; try this one called the psychology of astrocartography by Jim Lewis
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Astro-Carto-Graphy/dp/0984428003/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=astrocartography+jim+lewis&qid=1556873829&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0

>Primary progressions (a prediction technique, which dates back to Ptolemy, 150 AD) are when the astrologer moves the chart forward by assigning 1 MC degree to 1 year. For instance, if you want to know something about what happened, when you were 7 years old, you move MC 7 degrees forward.

More correctly. There is no such technique as "primary progressions", it is called "primary directions". So-called because it moves planets and points in a clockwise motion following diurnal rotation (sunrise moving to noon moving to sunset is an example of this motion) which is commonly referred to as "primary motion" since all planets and points are swept up into it. As a technique, it does not originate with Ptolemy but we have evidence of it being discussed as early as 1st century BCE, but the first complete method of it originates with Dorotheus of Sidon who came before Ptolemy. Not to say that Ptolemy was not instrumental in primary directions becoming part of common practice in the later Latin tradition, but he did not originate the technique.

The description given of its calculation is also incorrect. Primary directions do not really work in a 1 year = 1 degree system. 1 degree of right ascension = 1 year, certainly, but these rarely overlap and 1 degree of motion in primary direction can equate to anywhere from 6 months to 1.5 years of symbolic time depending on the sign that the point is being directed through.

Primary Directions: Astrology's Old Master Technique is a really great book on the subject. I have my own work on primary directions coming out...eventually. <.<'

>Secondary progressions is when the astrologer moves the planets forward by equalizing 24 hours with 1 year. For instance, if you want to know something about what happened, when you were 7 years old, you move the planets forward 7 days after your birth.

Indeed. Secondary progressions (so called because they follow the secondary motion of planets through the zodiac) are more common today, popularized by Alan Leo who famously could not do primary directions. In response, he kind of made up his own system after mashing together primary directions and the secondary progression system of Placidius de Titus (as he learned them from AJ Pearce). Though calling them secondary progressions in his own work, Placidius's system bears little resemblance to what Leo eventually popularized. Placidius's system being more akin to synodic, monthly profection. But yes, the x days = x years is the correct method.

>Primary and secondary progressions are usually combined in the progressive chart.

I've never see anyone do this before. The progressed chart is usually only secondary progressions.

>Tycho Brahe improved primary progressions; instead of exactly 1 degree being equal to 1 year, he said that the chart would be more precise if you used the distance which the Sun made in 24 hours on the date you were born, i.e. he used the so-called Sun key. Sometimes the Sun moves 57' in 24 hours, at other times 1 degree 1', it depends on the season of the year.

This actually sounds a bit like solar arc directions which are actually not related to primary directions in concept or calculation. In solar arc directions, the motion of the Sun through subsequent days is added to the position of natal planets as well. So, if at 30 days after birth your Sun has moved perfectly 30° (just as an example), all of the points and planets in your chart move forward 30° as well in forecasting the 30th year. Though these points also move through secondary motion like secondary progressions, the secondary progressed points move forward (or backward if they are retrograde) at their own speeds. In solar arc directions, everything moves the speed of the Sun, and only forward so that even retrograde planets move opposite their actual motion. I think this method is conceptually really silly compared to the previous two.

>Tertiary progressions can be divided into Tertiary I and Tertiary II. I would have to look them up in a book to explain them, but what I do know for sure is that they deal with the Moon's movement - like 1 Moon orbit around planet Earth equals 1 year.

Yes. I had always understood it as one day after birth is equivalent to one lunar month. So you would look to 240 days after birth to see what your 240th month would be like. I think that may be the T1 system though.

There's an Astro physicist who worked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (now retired) named Dr. Percy Seymour who wrote 3 or 4 books concerning the science of astrology. Here's the link to one of them if you're interested. Read the description and some of the reviews just for an overview. Since I doubt you'll read the book, here's a great article with an interview of Percy that is a nice summation of his work. I haven't read the book either, as I just recently discovered it, but I can tell you that it really all boils down to electromagnetism. There are electromagnetic currents emitted by the sun and amplified by the planets that interact with earth's magnetic field and subsequently with the electromagnetic field of each biological organism on the earth. You have to realize that the true golden nugget at the heart of Astrology is buried beneath years and years of crud. I'm sure you can imagine that these giant--GIANT--bodies of mass that are very near to us (when you put the solar system into perspective and take into account the fact that the nearest star to us is 4 light years away, i.e. very far compared to the distance between the planets) have some affect on our bodies and, therefore, minds? I really don't think that the basis of Astrology is even that wild of an idea.

The problem is that horoscope, magazine, cookbook Astrology is the lowest of the low and a distortion of the well thought out multi-dimensionality of true Astrology. Astrology does not predict events, it postulates dynamic themes for individuals and the entire globe based on the positions of significant bodies of mass--each carrying a signature electromagnetic vibrational identity that acts in a unique way on the body and minds of humans to create a specific archetype within our minds--moving through the zodiac and interacting with each other based on geometrical angular aspects to create unconscious complexes within the mind which arise to the level of personality.

The Zodiac has nothing to do with the constellations in the sky. The Zodiac is a 360 degree cyclical process of evolving and geometrically defined archetypes based on the times of the equinoxes and solstices. 0 degrees of Aries (the first sign of the zodiac) is not defined by the beginning of the constellation Aries in the sky, it is defined by the moment of the vernal equinox, whether Neil deGrasse Tyson knows this or not ;). Tropical and Sidereal Astrology differ on this point, the Zodiac of Tropical Astrology being based on the moments of the equinoxes and solstices and the Zodiac of Sidereal Astrology being based on the positions of the physical constellations in the sky. Sidereal Astrology is an older form of astrology that is more popular in the East.

There really is something to Astrology if you are willing to look into it. But, that's just the thing, you have to look into it. The true functioning of Astrology will not be found on the surface, but neither will any field of study, for that matter. It is ancient; it is wise; it has outlived every single religion, culture, and scientific dogma; it is based on physical laws; and it will blow your F'ing mind by showing you that you are a condensed model of a moment of time in the solar system.

>can someone explain the meaning of houses and how the planets/signs being in them define you?

Houses represent areas of your life. The houses are like an overlay over the zodiac, and where your houses fall depends on what time of day you were born, where as your sun sign depends on what time of the year you were born. You may have heard of your "rising sign", which is a big part of your personality, and may even outshine your sun sign in some cases. There's a lot to know about houses, and honestly one of the best things you can do to learn more is get a book to look at. The internet has a lot of resources, but it's nice to have it all in one place. The way you figure out what it all means is to study the significations of each planet, the qualities of each sign of the zodiac, and the significations of each house, then blend them together basically to figure out what it all means in your chart.

Kevin Burk's Understanding the Birth Chart is a nice overview of what each basic thing means. He explains things easily for beginners and it's thorough. There is, of course, much more to learn past this book, but since there is so much to learn, this is a decent starting point.

As far as what house system you should use, there's not really one you should use. Research the rationale and history behind the different systems, and see what makes the most sense to you, or which one you feel drawn to. Try them out and see what happens! The whole sign house system probably "easiest" to start with, but I recommend you understand quadrant house systems as well. It's a lot to take in, so for now as you learn, I would suggest just reading up about house systems and picking one to start with as you get the basics down. Maybe search Skyscript for info on houses.

This was long but I hope it helps!

Keep looking. Head, heart and body all have to agree. If you let just one side of you make the decision and drag the rest of you along with it, you'll end up miserable.

Also, I suggest reading books by Pluto experts to start telling yourself a new story about that Pluto in/Scorpio on the descendant. You're right that magnetic, sexy guys with a troubled past are one manifestation of Pluto/Scorpio. But they're not the only one. Learn more about Pluto so you can start creating a mental image of the type or wavelength of Scorpio that you would actually be happy with.

Here are some good books on astrological Pluto:

Jeff Green - https://www.amazon.com/Pluto-Evolutionary-Journey-Llewellyn-Astrology/dp/0875422969

Jeff Green - https://www.amazon.com/Pluto-Souls-Evolution-Through-Relationships/dp/1567183336

The chapters on Scorpio and Pluto in Steven J. Forrest's The Inner Sky - https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Sky-Wiser-Choices-Fulfilling/dp/0979067715

And if you're a reader of novels, look for Plutonian men in books. Characters that fit that description can help you know what you're looking for and not looking for. A really nasty version of a Plutonian man is Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. No woman could be with him and be happy. On the other hand, Matthew Clairmont in Deborah Harkness's massively entertaining and interesting A Discovery of Witches trilogy is also a very Plutonian man--he's a vampire, a geneticist, incredibly wealthy, and has a deep trauma in his past--but he's also a strong person who can and does make his woman very happy.

Ah ok. I don't know of any online resources for that, but there are some books available for calculating charts by hand. The main one I would recommend is "Simply Math: A Comprehensive Guide to Easy & Accurate Chart Calculation". Here is the link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Math-Comprehensive-Accurate-Calculation/dp/0977433218/ref=pd_sim_b_3/177-0192596-3793036

Also, Astro.com has a free 6000 year ephemeris: http://www.astro.com/swisseph/swepha_e.htm

As far as websites, I'm not sure why you're averse to astro.com. Check out their intro.

I don't know too much astrology, but my greatest resources come from Robert Hand books (I know, not a website):

Planets in Transit - covers relationships between transiting planets
Horoscope Symbols - In depth analysis of the meaning behind planet symbols. I don't know what /r/astrology thinks of this one but it helped me develop an intuition for understanding chart symbols.
Planets in Aspect - Explains relationships between planets; sextile, square, opposition, etc...
Planets in Houses - Relationship between houses and what it means when a planet is in one.

I'd say I've only really read through the Horoscope Symbols one and use the others as references while examining charts. Unfortunately I haven't found a parallel resource online.

Best of luck!

First things first, spend $16 on this book because it will be money well spent. The book is essentially a workbook that teaches you to construct your natal chart from the ground up; I think this approach is great for people that have little or no experience with astrology. When you're done, not only will you have a complete birth chart that you crafted yourself, but you'll have a much better understanding of the basics of astrology.

While I think there's plenty of great information online, I also tend to think that there's TOO much info - and it grows every day. It may be better for you to stick to a single path at first and expand your reach as your experience and familiarity with the system does, too.

I got my first big introduction to astrology from this man, Tony, I met at an Easter lunch/dinner party. He asked if I knew anything about the topic and I didn't quite hear him correctly and thought he said astronomy. After correcting me, he gave me the intro about needing a natal chart and luckily I knew all of my information he needed to go through my chart. After looking over my chart and giving me a good overview of me, I was blown away and wanted to know how I could do the same. He suggested the book "The Only Way to Learn Astrology" Volume 1. I've since been reading that book a lot after dabbling with it for years.

To help me learn the stuff a bit easier, I got the idea to start turning that book into flash cards, which I've been doing slowly over on Duolingo's Tiny Cards site. Check out the Planets collection I've made, which I labeled "Astrology 1" that'll get you started learning about the planets and their effects. After that, I also have Astrology decks 2-4 which deal with the signs, the houses, and the aspects. I'm currently working on the next deck for the Astrology 4 dealing with all of the aspects the planets make in the chart.

Just take your time, learn a little bit at a time, and let your intuition point you in the right direction.

I think astrology is one of the best ways to understand yourself, so you are on the right track! Astrologik is probably one of the best books I recommend to beginners (although you can probably find it cheaper if you look around... hot damn Amazon! I know I didn't pay that much for it! Maybe it's out of print right now or something.) I would suggest learning to read your whole chart as the other planets placements and their relation to each other (known as the aspects) can shed a ton of insight (best book to learn with is this Chart Interpretation Handbook by Stephen Arroyo). Astrology is like most things in life... you will only get out of it, what you put into it. So read some books and learn to make your own interpretations. Strangers on the internet can look at your chart and tell you some stuff, but nobody has the potential to know YOU better than yourself!

“The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need” seems like a fit.

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Astrology-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/1589796535/ref=nodl_

“The author gives an easy, logical way to integrate the interpretations of the sun signs, moon signs, planets, and houses in any given chart, something not easily done or often seen in general astrology books”.

I loved it. There’s downloadable software that comes with the book so you can input info to get your house, planets, etc.
Plenty of information if you’re just starting out.

I don't know where you are with astrology anymore because this is an old post, but I'm self-instructing astrology starting with this book. I've got a Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon, and I managed to snag Virgo in Mars, too, so if you want to hear Virgo's opinion of anything I've got that pouring out in spades :D

I hope you're still interested!

Your Cancer Ascendant is huge. Everything in the chart is filtered through the Ascendant, aka the rising sign. Cancer is an ocean of emotions. Shifting with the tides and all that. Sensitive (not in a bad way, that's just the way Cancer is). Look up Cancer Ascendant. My favorite and in my experience, the most accurate author on this stuff, is Robert Hand. Robert Hand - Planets in Youth on Amazon is an amazing book.

You've also got Saturn square a few things. Saturn is rules, laws, control, constriction. Saturn square Planet X shows places in your life where you'll probably want to focus more energy on growing. Squares aren't bad. They can bring creativity and energy to the subject. You've also got Saturn opposite your Ascendant, so I'd look that up, too. As well as Sun, Mercury and Venus square the ascendant. Something else, it's probably fairly rare to see the Sun, Mercury, and Venus all exactly on top of each other like that. Conjunct, they call it.

Also, I see Uranus conjunct Saturn. Uranus can be unexpected and drastic change, but to have it conjunct Saturn, which is a fairly different type of energy, would be something to read up on, too. It's not unusual, considering they were conjunct for a few years like that (Saturn takes about 2.5 years to move through a sign, and Uranus is even slower, so lots of your peers would have it, too).

I reccomend Martin Ganstens book on primary directions.

https://www.amazon.com/Primary-Directions-Astrologys-Master-Technique/dp/1902405390

Best there is.

It will walk you through all you need to know to practice in a simple way using clock time and in the back you have the formulas to do it by hand.

If you want to learn about them in depth you should take his course.

http://www.martingansten.com/pddc.php

Astrology for Yourself: How to Understand And Interpret Your Own Birth Chart https://www.amazon.com/dp/0892541229/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZlIiDbGF9SFXJ

I've found this book really helpful.
It recommends you order a birth chart from their service but that isn't necessary, you can get it for free on astro.com

i highly recommend this one.
I bought it a couple of years ago and i love it.

https://www.amazon.ca/Only-Astrology-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/1589796535

On the Heavenly Spheres: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0866906096/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T2_A3EBzbYNYRKVX

Will give you a good foundation in traditional astrological concepts minus modern psychological interpretation

Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand is a classic. I highly recommend it!

I thought this book ( "All Around the Zodiac" Bill Tiernay ) was really useful when I started. You may also like "The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need".

Awwww u/ryhanb we have the same first book haha

First Book Astrology for Dummies

Best Book TIE between Demetra George's Astrology & the Authentic Self or Rob Hand's Horoscope Symbols

Current Book - errrrr I'm shifting towards reading a LOT more about Myth and symbol than Astrology itself. I tend to revisit and re-read some of my current Astrology books. Just finished Moon, Myth & Image for research on the lunar cycle course I'm teaching.

Anything titled "All you need to know about..." + I recommend starting out with the Arab, Greek and Roman classics...no one can take the basics away from you then :) Here's a list of books I'd recommend for starters - it's not everything but definitely something:

http://www.amazon.com/Astrology-Ancient-Babylon-P-G-Maxwell-Stuart-ebook/dp/B00AY1Z8Y8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418994883&sr=8-3&keywords=history+of+astrology

http://www.amazon.com/Manilius-Astronomica-Classical-Library-English/dp/0674995163/ref=sr_1_19?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418994991&sr=1-19&keywords=classics

http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Astrology-Books-1-2/dp/1933303026/ref=sr_1_26?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418995025&sr=1-26&keywords=classics

http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Astrologicum-Dorotheus-Sidon/dp/193330314X/ref=sr_1_88?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418995154&sr=1-88&keywords=classics

http://www.amazon.com/Ptolemys-Tetrabiblos-Quadripartite-Vol-Influence/dp/B008742OMS/ref=sr_1_100?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418995188&sr=1-100&keywords=classics

http://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Astrological-Terms-Explanations-Partridge/dp/1434470148/ref=sr_1_23?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418995936&sr=1-23&keywords=dictionary

http://www.amazon.com/Introductions-Traditional-Astrology-Mashar-al-Qabisi-ebook/dp/B00AUXSIEC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418996163&sr=1-2&keywords=introduction

www.amazon.com/Twelve-Houses-Howard-Sasportas/dp/1903353041/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418996299&sr=1-9&keywords=liz+greene

http://www.amazon.com/Insights-Modern-Astrology-Stephen-Arroyo/dp/0916360474/ref=sr_1_22?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418996341&sr=1-22&keywords=liz+greene

http://www.amazon.com/Planets-Transit-Life-Cycles-Living/dp/0924608269/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418996416&sr=1-1&keywords=transits

i used this workbook when i was starting out, it was an excellent resource

This book

https://www.amazon.com/Only-Astrology-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/1589796535

Houlding's book is required reading and if you find it useful you should purchase a copy. I'm pretty sour on stealing other people's work.

I'm going to piggyback onto your comment because per usual it's the most useful in the thread. The theme that recurs in all the houses is how adequately they access the light of the ascendant and where the planets/luminaries appear in the sky based on their placement. A lot of the nonsense that's sprung up with houses has to do with a wrong conception of the chart as a pie chart of life that has no connexion with/conception of the chart as a literal picture of where the objects are in the sky. You can't blame people when major population centres blot out the night sky such that they can't witness for themselves the drama that unfolds, but astrology without astronomy has caprice as it's foundation.

If I had to pick one word to describe the 12th it's restriction. There is no access to the light of the ascendant by aspect, the ascendant does not "see" the 12th (or the 8th, 6th, & 2nd) and of the unfortunate it's the worst. Everything that exerts effort here is ineffectual, as the celestial objects enter the 12th house their light is subject to distortion by the atmosphere and, as Ptolemy said, afflicted by the miasmatic exhalations of the earth (it's misty n shit over yonder). By nature of its physical location in the sky the free expression/light of the object is obscured and it is only through toil that it succeeds to the 11th where it shines without obstruction and gains momentum towards the 10th.

Manilius says anything in the 12th is "doomed to climb" and I understand this as a Sisyphean sort of effort. As Houlding observes the 6th/12th axis has as a theme servility, small animals like dogs are in the sixth but anything large enough to be ridden in the sense of a "beast of burden" is in the 12th. Domestic servitude is in the sixth but slavery is in the 12th. 6th is "You do as I say" (Sit, doggo!) and implies a degree of freedom and choice in performing labor, usually for recompense (employees), whereas 12th is a chain gang in a mine or the hobbled horse who performs a task for no reason other than to avoid the bite of the whip.

It's self-undoing, if we were to take some of your posts as an example while you have useful contributions you express them in a way that's exclusionary, derisive, and divisive. It's also the worst sort of addiction, it's not the pleasurable merry-making of wine bibbing and good food of the 5th but a hunger that cannot be denied, it is practically compulsory and as in the case of Mr. Creosote very likely leads to our demise but usually not in such spectacular fashion. It's spending ourselves into the slavery of debt.

I've read that "God" is attributed to the 12th in modern astrology and agree with Houlding that this is misguided but if we're to consider Moore's work Facing the Dragon he makes a compelling argument that the roots of our self-undoing is mistaking "made in the image of God" as self-as-God which leads to a poisonous pride and grandiosity. This is another facet of the restriction of the 12th, self-as-God is a restriction of the divine principle insofar as it fuels our narcissism and self-importance in contrast to submission to God which recognizes individuals as co-equal in the body of God producing an wholesome humility. The 12th only represents God in this negative aspect.

The personal positive or, more accurately, remedial message of the twelfth is that of the myth of Sisyphus. This requires some more astronomy because it is the difference between secondary and primary motion. Primary motion being the clockwise motion of the sphere of the fixed stars that sweeps up all the celestial objects in their daily traversal of the sky from east to west while secondary motion is the counterclockwise struggle/progression of the celestial objects through the belt of the zodiac. The sphere of fixed stars being most superior and closest to the Prime Mover/Unmoved Mover/God/whatevs you want to call it aspires to its motion (primary, east to west) and despite the backwards motion of the celestial objects (secondary, west to east) the celestial objects are carried up out of the 12th by its aid.

So like Sisyphus who was only freed from his labors by Ares we are only freed from our own self-undoing and the restriction it imposes on us by a power outside of ourselves. We are powerless in the 12th and oddly enough 12 step programs got this right save I would revise the first step to "we are powerless over the 12th", that is we must recognize the ways in which we restrict ourselves and accept the help of others to liberate us out of this area so our light can shine unobstructed.