What Does This Mean For Me?
A Guide for Beginners
by Jenny Yates
Okay, you’ve just been to the Aspects Now page on this site, and you’ve read
about the aspects that affect everyone, including you.  But which aspects
influence you most?  This page will tell you how to figure that out.  

The first thing you need to know is that you don’t have just one sign.  When
you say “I’m a Taurus”, or whatever you are, this means that you have the
sun in Taurus.  But you also have a sign for the moon, Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.  Some of these will be the
same as your sun-sign, but many of them will be different.  

So your basic tool – not just for this website, but for anything to do with
astrology – is a list of your planets, a list which tells you the sign and degree
that each one occupies.  Here is what this list would look like for Gertrude

Sun 14° Aquarius
Moon 7° Virgo
Mercury 14° Aquarius
Venus 9° Aquarius
Mars 25° Pisces
Jupiter 1° Libra
Saturn 6° Aquarius
Uranus 8° Leo
Neptune 26° Aries
Pluto 19° Taurus

As you can see, Stein was very Aquarian, with four planets in this sign.  But if
somebody had asked her what sign she was, she could just as well have
said, “Virgo”,  for her Virgo moon.  Everyone is more than just one sign.  

So you need a list of your planets, arranged in a similar way to the list above.
The degree is just as important as the sign, when it comes to figuring out
what’s affecting you.   

Where do you get this list?  Go to the
free horoscope page on Astrodienst,
and fill in your date, time and city of birth.   

Once you fill in the data, and click on "Continue", you’ll find yourself on a
page with a wheel.  On the left side of the wheel, there’s a list of your
planetary positions, starting with the sun.

For Gertrude Stein’s chart, it looks like this:    

First comes the glyph for the sun, then the word "Sun", then the glyph for
the zodiacal sign, then the position in degrees, minutes and seconds.  (See
Then on the next line, the glyph for the moon, the word "Moon", then the
symbol for the moon's sign, then the degrees, minutes and seconds.  And
so on.  Each line begins with the symbol for the planet listed.  

As you can see, this looks a lot like the list I made above. The difference is
that, in the list on the Astrodienst site, you have not just the degree but the
minutes and seconds (divisions of a degree) so you have more precise
locations for each planet.  But just ignore the minutes and seconds at this
point.  You really want to know the sign and degree, and that’s all for now.  
Stein’s sun is at 14 Aquarius, her moon is at 7 Virgo, and so on.  

Okay, so now you have your list of planets. These are your natal positions.  
The planets occupied these positions at your birth, and this will never

You can use this list to explore your own chart – try googling on “Moon in
Virgo”, or whatever sign your moon is in, for example – or to figure out what’
s going on in relationships – or to figure out how current aspects affect
you.  The latter is what I’m going to show you how to do.  

Now go to the
Aspects Now page.   Here, I’ve listed all the transiting
aspects, and these affect everyone.  They’re called transiting aspects
because they’re in transit;  they keep moving.  I update these every week or

Now you're going to see if any of these are happening in the same sign and
degree as your natal planets.    

On the
Aspects Now page, underneath each heading, you’ll find the
degrees and signs of the planets in question.  For example, it might say
“Mars trine Jupiter”, and then underneath that, in parenthesis, “9
Virgo/Taurus”.  This means that when Mars is at 9° Virgo, and Jupiter is at
9° Taurus, they will be in aspect to each other.  (They will form a trine.) It
will happen during the time listed in the white box above.    

It will affect you, no matter what.  But it will affect you more if you have a
planet close to either 9° Virgo or 9° Taurus. It’s not enough just to have a
planet in the same sign.  It doesn’t have the same pull unless it’s close to
the same degree.    

However, allow a 2° leeway on both sides.  In other words, your planet
doesn’t have to be at 9° Virgo;  it can be at 7° Virgo, 8° Virgo, 10° Virgo or
11° Virgo, and still have an effect.  

So go through the rectangular colored boxes on the
Aspects Now page,
and look at each transiting aspect in turn.  Is anything happening at the
same degree and sign as one of your natal planets?

What you’re looking for now are conjunctions, the strongest aspect.  This is
when your natal planet is in the same sign as one of the transiting planets,
and close to the same degree.  As you find them, look at the natal planet in
question.  The energy of this aspect will filter through that particular natal
planet.  This is how you’ll experience it.  If it’s a high-energy transit, you’ll be
energized by it, but you’ll be particularly energized in the area of life that
relates to that planet.  If it’s an aspect that slows you down, it will slow you
down in that particular area.  

Check out the box to the right to see how each of your natal planets will
experience the aspect.     

After you’ve found all the conjunctions, then move on and look for the
oppositions.  This is only slightly more complicated.  What you want to do is
make another list, but this one with the oppositions to all your natal
planets.   Check the red box below to see which signs oppose each other.    

If you have something in Aries, write down Libra, and vice versa.  And so
on.  Write the same degrees as before.   For example, in Stein’s chart
above, this is a list of all the oppositions to her natal planets:

Now you want to go back to the Aspects Now page, and look for aspects
happening close to these signs and degrees.  For example, suppose you’re
looking at the listing for Mercury conjunct Uranus, and underneath it says, in
parenthesis, 3 Aries.  This means that Mercury and Uranus are both at 3°
Aries when they form this aspect.   Now look down your list of oppositions.  
See anything close to 3° Aries?   

If you see Saturn, for example, listed at 3 Aries (or anywhere between 1 and
5 Aries), then you’ll know that both planets involved in this transiting aspect
are opposing your Saturn.  This means that the aspect will affect you more
strongly, and that you’ll experience it through the lens of your Saturn.

Another example:  suppose one of the transiting aspects is Sun square Pluto,
and underneath it says, in parenthesis, 9 Aries/Capricorn.  This means that
the sun is at 9 Aries and Pluto is at 9 Capricorn when they form this aspect. If
the opposition to your moon happens at 7° Aries, then the sun will oppose
your moon at the same time it makes this transiting aspect.  (Remember,
you're allowing a couple of degrees leeway.)

This will make the transiting aspect more intense and more personal.  You’ll
experience it through the filter of your moon – i.e. emotionally.  

How is an opposition different from the conjunctions we found earlier?  An
opposition is experienced as a time of high tension.  You feel a basic conflict
between the transiting planet and some part of your own psyche.  It’s
energizing, challenging, galvanizing,  but also more prone to conflict and

Keep these lists – the list of your natal positions, and the list of oppositions to
your natal positions.  Now that you know how to find conjunctions and
oppositions to your natal chart, you can use this for lots of things.  

Make a list of the natal positions of all the important people in your life, and
see what conjunctions and oppositions they make to your planetary
positions.  If any of their natal planets are in the same sign and close to the
same degree as your natal planets, there will be a conjunction, and you’ll
share some energy with that person.  If they are in the same sign and close
to the same degree as something on your oppositions list, you’ll feel some
conflict around that part of your psyche.  

The conjunction and opposition are the most important aspects.  They are
the ones most likely to manifest in immediate and dramatic ways, so when you
can spot them, you’re way ahead.  

The next installment tells you how to figure out trines.  Go to
Guide, Part II.  

If you have questions, feel free to write me at
If your sun is affected:  it’s about
your sense of identity, your vitality,
your pride, your independence,
your ego, and your main priorities.

If your moon is affected:  it’s
about your feelings, your
vulnerabilities, your body, your
family and domestic life, and your
relationship to your immediate

If your Mercury is affected:  it’s
about your mental framework, the
way you process information, the
way you learn, and the way you

If your Venus is affected:  it’s
about your relationships, and your
pathways to beauty, love and

If your Mars is affected:  it’s
about your physical self, your will,
your energy, your desires, and
your temper.

If your Jupiter is affected:  it’s
about luck and privilege, about
your opportunities for growth and
success, and about your social

If your Saturn is affected:  it’s
about structures, limitations,
responsibilities, old karma, and the
need for discipline.

If your Uranus is affected:  it’s
about sudden change, creativity,
innovation, freedom and instability.

If your Neptune is affected:  it’s
about spirituality, mysticism, magic,
confusion, illusion, and all altered

If your Pluto is affected:  it’s
about your inner demons, your
unconscious fears and desires,
and your movement towards