by Mary W. Matthews

Created on: July 18, 2008

Thousands of years ago, people believed that planets and stars were actually gods and goddesses. For example, the Romans worshiped the second planet from the Sun as the goddess Venus, while the ancient Hebrews called it Khazaz-El (Satan). The Romans identified the fourth planet from the Sun with the war-god Mars, while the ancient Hebrews worshiped the same planet as Mikha-El (the war-god Michael, who later evolved into an archangel and the representative of Judaism).

In today's world, astrology is based on the theory that if the Sun and Moon can have observable, sometimes dramatic effects on the world (for example, hurricanes and tides), so can the other planets of our solar system. The bigger or closer the planetary body, the more noticeable are its effects. Your Sun Sign governs your most obvious characteristics. Your Moon Sign governs your emotional life. Mercury governs your brain and thinking; Venus governs your love life; Mars governs your temper. Jupiter governs the parts of your life that always seem to go well, while Saturn governs the times when difficult life lessons are learned. The outermost planets — Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — are so small and so far from the Earth that they tend to govern influences that affect large numbers of people for years and years.

(Note: Because this is "Astrology 101," the information in this brief article is very general, and professional astrologers will tell you it's way too superficial. If you're interested, there are literally THOUSANDS of books available to teach you more.)

Astrological charts come in two basic forms, natal and progressed. Both are based on dividing the sky into twelve "houses," and both show you where the Sun, Moon, and seven other planets of the Solar System were or will be at a given moment of time. Your natal horoscope shows you a picture of the moment of your birth. Your progressed horoscope compares your natal horoscope with a horoscope cast for, say, tomorrow, or the day on which you're thinking about getting married.

You are probably familiar with the entertaining "horoscopes" printed in newspapers and magazines, which supposedly predict things that might happen to you that day or month. These are kept deliberately vague, for two reasons. First, there are literally millions of people who share your Sun Sign; "You will meet an exciting stranger" might apply to you, but will it apply to Sister Mary Elizabeth locked away in her convent, or a prison inmate, or someone stuck in a

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