How did you learn astrology?

How did you learn astrology best? Are you a visual learner? All the reading doesn't stick? learn when things are put in a spiritual, artistic way?
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I tend to be a visual learner, but I don't think the amount of reading is in itself an obstacle, I think it's when the author is disorganized and rambling that things are harder to process.

zoetic said:

I tend to be a visual learner, but I don't think the amount of reading is in itself an obstacle, I think it's when the author is disorganized and rambling that things are harder to process.

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I agree. Getting straight to the point is really helpful to keep me involved in the text.

I began by making a chart for everyone I knew, family, friends, coworkers, bosses, anyone. Then I would be with them, observe them, and refer back to chart. Learned TONS that way. Also read every book in the field of my astrological interest that I could get my hands on. I suspect I did not remember much, but I did remember some, and it is nice when you are reading them because they are pretty interesting...
So there are many ways to go about it, but looking at the charts of people you actually interact with is really helpful.
Wishing you the best in this undertaking.

I was just wondering how you each chose to structure studies. Did you start with a particular house system, genre. Or did you try and get an all encompassing method of study? I want to know a lot, as I have lots of areas of interest but I also want to do it the right way.

I started learning astrology around 1990, basically reading everything I could get my hands on. Since it took a while for astrology to get on the Internet, this was basically books and magazine articles plus a few audio-tapes. At that time, most of the materials were in modern western ("psychological") astrology,.

Late in 2007 I started reading charts for people on-line. Highly recommended. I learned as much in a couple of years of chart-reading in real time as I did during my prior 17 years of study.

There is no one "right way" to learn. Some people take a correspondence course, or study with a teacher. Some people use Placidus, others swear by whole signs. Today traditional western astrology has made a come-back.

I would just suggest that you be a connoisseur of what you read. There is a lot of pop-schlock astrology out there. See if you can distinguish between the good and the ignorant.

If you're just starting, you might want to pick up a For Dummies or For Idiots. I've read them both and they aren't bad. Either one will give you an idea of planets, signs, houses, aspects. Learn it, but don't get married to everything it says.

There are so many types of astrology today that you will at some point decide what you want to go into, but it's good to get a very basic idea of things first.

Maybe you'll like psychological, or western trad, or jyotish, or cosmobiology will tickle your fancy, or maybe horary seems more interesting than birth charts. I encourage anyone to go into horary first because it's the easiest and most practical form of astrology, and it will really show what the planets do. Then graduate to natal, or just stick with horary if you like. But a lot of people don't fancy horary, so...

Do your chart, but do the charts of people close to you, too, or any historical figures you like who have a well-documented birth time and life events. Some people get so obsessed with their own charts that they start to gloss over anything else - and that's going to give patchy learning at best.

or1000 said:

I was just wondering how you each chose to structure studies. Did you start with a particular house system, genre. Or did you try and get an all encompassing method of study? I want to know a lot, as I have lots of areas of interest but I also want to do it the right way.

Click to expand...

or1000 said:

I was just wondering how you each chose to structure studies. Did you start with a particular house system, genre. Or did you try and get an all encompassing method of study? I want to know a lot, as I have lots of areas of interest but I also want to do it the right way.

Click to expand...

I did not choose to structure my studies. I just went where my interest took me. I learn best what I am interested to learn. And one subject definitely led to new astrological subjects.

I began using Placidus since that appears to be the default house system. But in years of late I have added the Whole Sign house system, partly because it has been advocated by some currently living traditional astrologers and also because it eliminates a host of problems that the other systems may present, like intercepted signs and houses. At times, if useful, I use both Placidus and Whole Signs on the same chart.

There is no one right way. Just pick a house system or set of astrology parameters you want to examine for a while and see what you observe. Be a light unto yourself!