How to Apply Astrology to Life and Relationships

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the signs, planets and houses, and know how they work together in a birth chart to provide a deeper understanding of personality traits, you may find you want to create birth charts for everyone you know: your parents, significant other, siblings, children, even coworkers. It can be very validating to learn that the reason why you never got along with your old boss was because your rising sign opposed their Sun sign, for example, or that you and your spouse share a Moon sign, which explains why you relate so well emotionally.

But astrology goes beyond birth charts, too. We can apply our newfound knowledge to learning more about what’s going on right now with the planets, and become aware of how the current activities of the planets affect our moods and experiences.

Transits

Astrologers look at transits, or the movement of planets through the signs, to forecast trends and developments. We can learn about transits from a global perspective through reading about them online or watching daily and monthly horoscopes from Planet Pulse on YouTube. To understand how transits may personally affect you, a transits chart, which compares the current location of the planets to the planets’ locations in your birth chart, can provide greater insight. Many astrology websites offer transit charts and interpretations for purchase; you can also consult a professional astrologer for this service.

Planetary Returns

When a transiting planet returns to the same point in the sky that it was in at the moment you were born, it’s called a planetary return. This marks the beginning of a new cycle in your life; the nature of the cycle depends on which planet has returned. A solar return happens every year on or about your birthday; the location of the planets in a solar return chart can provide an excellent overview of what you may expect over the course of the year. A Jupiter return happens approximately every 12 years and calls forth a new phase of growth and development. The Saturn return happens every 29 ½ — 30 years and offers new opportunities to learn responsibility.

Eclipses

You may have watched solar or lunar eclipses at various times in your life and been fascinated by the process. But did you know that eclipses are also astrologically significant? A solar eclipse acts like a supercharged New Moon: the New Moon is a time for starting new projects or activities, so new beginnings that happen during a solar eclipse may become even more important at a later time. A lunar eclipse is a supercharged Full Moon: the Full Moon is a time for completion or releasing what doesn’t work anymore, such as breaking a bad habit.

Retrograde Planets

When a planet appears to be moving backward through the sky, it is considered to be retrograde. All planets except for the Sun and Moon have retrograde periods, and all retrograde planetary cycles have astrological significance. The one you may hear about most often is Mercury retrograde, which happens 3-4 times a year. The planet Mercury rules communications and travel, so during a Mercury retrograde cycle (which lasts approximately 4 weeks), you may experience difficulties with your computer or phone, find it hard to make yourself understood, or have troubles while traveling. (Author note: Mercury is retrograde in Gemini as I write this Snippet, so every time my Internet connection goes bad or I have challenges in uploading files, I shake my fist at Mercury!)

​Retrograde planetary cycles offer us an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the nature of that particular planet. For example, when Venus, the planet of beauty, love and values, is retrograde, it’s a time to re-assess our finances, relationships and social life. During Venus retrograde, creating a budget is a good idea, but getting a new hairstyle may not be wise.

Reading Horoscopes in a New Way

Now that you know most online and print horoscopes are written with Sun signs in mind, you may wonder if there’s any point to reading them anymore. You can still read them, but you may want to read horoscopes for up to three different zodiac signs now. Why? Because you’re reading for your Sun sign to get a broad overview, your Moon sign for the emotional side of things, and your Ascendant/Rising sign for the impact on your personality. Combine the three and you’ll get a much better perspective.

For a truly personalized daily horoscope, find an online resource that uses your birth chart to calculate how planetary transits impact you. Astro.com provides this service for free.

Even with all this information, there may be times when you want to consult a professional astrologer for more advanced astrological questions.

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“How to Apply Astrology to Life and Relationships” is an excerpt from Beyond Your Sun Sign: An Introduction to Astrology, a Snippet by Corinne Litchfield. Corinne is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well as a social media manager specializing in authors/writers and nonprofits. Click here for the full version of Beyond Your Sun Sign: An Introduction to Astrology, which includes engaging audio and visual content that will enrich your understanding and appreciation for why Astrology matters.