‘The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.’ Erik Erikson, developmental psychologist
We’d all like to know our reason for existing. We’d like to know our purpose and understand why we do the things we do. It helps if we realise, we are an expression of the energy signature created at the moment of our birth, at that particular time and place in time. How we nurture this expression will determine whether we strive or thrive in life.
Ancestral Inheritance
Our ancestral line is predetermined at the time of our conception. So too is our genetic potential and any karmic links. While our potential starts to form at conception, our uniqueness and individuality are anchored at the moment and placement of our birth, underpinning who we are at any given moment in time. If our true nature is unhindered and fully nurtured, then we grow and evolve into our full potential.
In her book, Journey of The Soul, psychiatrist, Dr Brenda Davies explains how the etheric body of the foetus enters the mother once the vital essence of the father and mother has united. Thus, begins the cosmic formation of a soul purpose in line with the Divine Plan in human form. And so, the journey begins. As the foetus develops in the mother’s womb, it takes on its destiny and its inheritance from its forefathers.
Neuroscience tells us that we’re carrying the epigenetic inheritance of up to 14 generations. While we’re shaped by the genes we’ve inherited from our parents and grandparents going back roughly 14 generations, new research reveals their experiences of hardship or violence can leave their mark too.
Astrological Aspects Influence Personality Aspects
In psychology, personality refers to the differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving; believing that our behaviour is connected to our inner feelings and self-image. The study of personality focuses on understanding our particular individual character traits. It also looks to understand how our various aspects come together to create the ‘person’ we’ve become.
When looking at the personality, psychology has identified five main aspects. These include agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism and openness. Several theorists have expanded this to include emotional aspects, mental aspects, moral aspects, physical aspects, social aspects and spiritual aspects.
In astrology, an aspect is an angle the planets make to each other in the horoscope, and also to different points of astrological interest. The more exact an aspect is in our chart, the stronger or more dominant it will be in shaping our character or in manifesting change in our lives – both good and bad.
We Can Be The Change We Want To Be
I was exhilarated by the new realization that I could change the character of my life by changing my beliefs. Dr. Bruce Lipton, developmental biochemist
It’s worth reminding ourselves that we all have free will in how we play the cards life has dealt us.
- Neuroscience tells us ‘as soon as we change our perceptions, we rewrite the chemistry of our body’.
- Humanistic psychology views us all as unique and individual, believing we have the free will to change at any time in our life.
- Astrology helps us to go with the flow in life, encouraging us to know our strengths and challenges in life and we can do this by being aware of the influences the planets have on our human affairs and the natural world.
- Astrology teaches that we all have free will in how we play the cards we’ve been dealt in life.
Potential Awaits
For me, a birth chart is a map of our karmic credits and deficits, the life plan to our present incarnation and the potential for spiritual evolution.’ Judy Hall, Astrologer
Astrology recognises that as individuals, every one of us has our own unique, individual potential. As this potential grows and develops within us, it influences the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How we evolve through life. Every experience in life helps shift us energetically and guide us into form.
If our potential is nurtured and encouraged, it brings an empowered sense of inner knowing and self-fulfilment in life. If, however, our potential is blocked, it leaves us cut off from our internal navigational systems and leaves us vulnerable to the influences and control of others.
Birth Charts
In western astrology birth charts are circular, representing the wholeness of who we are. Birth charts are seen as a wheel representing movement through life, indicating the many cycles and phases of our growth. According to astrology:
- The planets play out the active energies of the birth chart; they show us what is happening.
- The zodiac signs depict the characteristics of these events; they show us how things are happening.
- The aspects, these are the interactions between the various planetary energies, help us to understand why things are happening.
- The houses of the horoscope show where in our lives these things are played out.
It’s easy to obtain a free copy of our personalised birth chart online. While numerous sites offer free charts, I use www.astro.com. This website provides a whole host of information relating to astrology. All that’s required is our date, time and place of birth and the online programme will do the rest. Reading through this information helps give a broader perspective on our true potential. For some of us, it may provide us with the validation that we are just ‘being’ who we’re meant to ‘be’. For others, it may help us identify our ‘point’ of ‘being’.
Journey Through The Houses
In astrology, the aspects of our personality are divided into 12 different houses. Each house represents a different area of our lives. Our birth chart shows the position of the planets at the exact time of our birth; it shows which houses these planets fall into in our birth chart. It also explains the relationship between the planets and the significance of the houses they fall into.
- 1 st House:- Represents awareness of ‘self’; this is about our appearance and the side of our personality we demonstrate to others.
- 2nd House:- Represents our values; this includes such things as money, possessions and skills.
- 3rd House:- Represents how we think and communicate; this includes our mental activity, learning, and communication. It also relates to our siblings.
- 4th House:- Represents what we nurture in our inner world; this includes our home, roots, internal security, and links to our parents.
- 5th House:- Represents how we serve our creative expression; this includes romance, relationships with children, our creative abilities and our ability to have fun in life.
- 6th House:- Represents how we serve and heal through our daily life; this includes work, health, service, and self-improvement.
- 7th House:- Represents our partnerships; this will consist of marriage and other alliances.
- 8th House:- Represents sex, death and letting go, it also includes any inheritance and other people’s money, even how we utilise our resources, how we share.
- 9th House:- Represents our ideals, higher education, philosophy, religion, travel and law.
- 10th House:- Represents what we achieve, this looks at our careers and work; it includes status, reputation, vocational purpose, and also power and control.
- 11th House:- Represents what we aspire to; it looks at our wider community, friends, groups, goals, and our aspirations.
- 12th House:- Represents our dreams, our spiritual life, also solitude, transcendence, and how we self-sabotage.
According to Astro.com, ‘there is an analogous relationship between the houses and the signs of the zodiac. The first House is analogous with the sign of Aries, the second with Taurus and so on. Likewise, the ruler of the sign of the zodiac is also the natural ruler of the House. For example, Mars is the ruler of the 1st House, Venus of the second and so on.’ Astro.com’s free Astro Click Portrait explains this in more detail.
Uniqueness
Each one of us is unique in our energy signature. Therefore, your point of being will be different to my point of being; this is what sets us apart from each other. When we learn to embrace our uniqueness, we’re more accepting of other people’s individuality and their point of being; this makes for a beautiful world built on tolerance and acceptance – namely, equality and diversity.
Looking up our children’s birth charts, or our partner’s chart is a great way of understanding what makes them unique too.