Foundations
The building blocks: planets, signs, houses, and aspects.
Astrology rests on a surprisingly coherent symbolic alphabet: ten planets, twelve signs, twelve houses, and the geometric angles that connect them. Before interpreting any chart, you need fluency in these building blocks -- not as rigid definitions, but as living archetypes that combine and recombine in every horoscope.
This section walks you through each element in turn. You will learn how planets represent core psychological drives, how signs color the expression of those drives, how houses map them onto concrete areas of life, and how aspects describe the dialogue between different parts of your psyche. We also cover the elemental and modal groupings that reveal a chart's overall temperament, as well as specialized topics like decans, retrogrades, and lunar phases.
Think of Foundations as the reference shelf you return to whenever a more advanced technique raises a question about first principles. Whether you are just beginning to read charts or revisiting basics after years of practice, grounding yourself here makes every subsequent layer of interpretation clearer and more precise.
Browse Sections
Lilith
Houses
The twelve houses and the areas of life they govern.
Aspects
How planets relate to each other through geometric angles.
Planets
The celestial bodies and their archetypal meanings in the chart.
Zodiac Signs
The twelve signs and the qualities they express.
Elements
Fire, Earth, Air, and Water — the elemental building blocks.
Modalities
Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable — the three modes of expression.
Decans
The 36 ten-degree subdivisions of the zodiac.
Patterns
Stelliums, grand trines, T-squares, and other chart configurations.
Chart Shapes
Bundle, bowl, bucket, locomotive, splay, and other chart patterns.
Moon Phases
The eight lunar phases and their significance at birth.
Retrogrades
When planets appear to move backward and what it means.
Asteroids
Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, and other minor bodies.
Empty Houses
Degrees
Sabian Symbols
Harmonic Astrology
Astro-Genealogy
Concepts
Generational Astrology
Guides
History
House Systems
Practical Guides
Articles
1 article
Frequently Asked Questions
- What should I learn first in astrology?
- Start with the planets, since they represent the fundamental drives in every chart. Once you can name what each planet wants, move on to the twelve zodiac signs (which describe how those drives express themselves), then the twelve houses (which show where in life those drives play out). Aspects -- the angles between planets -- tie the whole picture together.
- Do I need to memorize all the symbols before reading a chart?
- Memorization helps, but understanding matters more. Focus on grasping the core archetype of each planet and sign first. With regular practice, the glyphs and shorthand become second nature. Many students find that working with their own chart accelerates the learning process because the symbols connect to lived experience.
- How do elements and modalities differ from signs?
- Signs are specific -- Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on. Elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) and modalities (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable) are the two classification systems that group signs by shared qualities. Learning them gives you a quick way to assess the overall balance and temperament of any chart without analyzing every placement individually.