i think that its so important to understand that its not that abstract, you cant say that one is 100 times more important than others- its not like that, its not some assignment of one aspect of astrology being more important than another, i feel like everything works together and you cannot simply state that aspects are of greater importance to understanding someone- again as GemwDepth mentioned- house positions, disposition, rulership, exaltation, the element the planets are in, wether they are on top of the chart or deep in the 4th house, i would even say i personally also always even make sure to check what kind of phase the moon was in! was it balsamic or on the eve before a full moon? this all MATTERS
and why does this ALL matter and not one thing can be more important than the other
because we are essentially dealing with a very complex subject, without any doubt the most complex one there is in the entire universe- which is the human life.
Well yes, why do you think I'm trying to simplify it down to aspects? Much easier, concise and accurate.
But I understand where you are coming from.
it has so many layers, it has so much depth, it has so much DATA, it has so much intelligence, it is- something both spiritual and material, something that is tangible but also has so much that isn't easy to grasp- everyone has a life but no one has the same life- its truly a riddle of a million years- i cannot even find the right words here to describe it which is something my gemini moon never has any trouble with so let that just illustrate the complexity of it all.
but understanding human life, the human mind, the human psyche is what its all about isnt it
essentially that IS what astrology is about- understanding the human psyche, the human life, understanding the essence and the entirety of it all- and what is most interesting and complex of all is that we ourselves, meaning our minds, are trying to understand itself- which is a paradox- as so many things are.
saying that aspects are the one thing that defines a personality, a life- making them 100 times more important and basically claiming other important astrological factors are mwah..just not as important , is an insult to not only human personalities- making them out to be something so simple a mere understanding in aspects would grant you all the knowledge you need. its not like that. everything works together- for such a complex subject as human life- we need to look through a similar complex lens- and that means using ALL the astrological knowledge we have- making our own assumptions through our work and research, testing out everything we can to see what happens- its an ongoing process is it- it will never end with just aspects and there ya go thats that- the more we study, the more we search for answers- the more we will know, the more we will understand. and that would certainly require a more complex approach than mere..you know...aspects. thats all.
Well, I often find myself trying really hard to justify or make excuses for the poor validity of zodiac signs. Especially when I talk to normal people about their astrology charts. If their sun is in cancer, and I say they are caring and empathetic when they are simply not that, it's frustrating to try and explain or make up some BS to make it fit.
But the aspects are so much easier to make sense of and to explain to the average person who has no idea of astrology.
Like three people that I really admire: Jordan Peterson, Ayn Rand, and Peter Schiff ALL have Jupiter-Mercury aspects to tight degrees. Rand has her mercury in Capricorn, Schiff in Pisces, and Peterson his in Gemini. I don't understand how their mercury in the signs really help. I can see them giving a kind of flavor, but even then it still doesn't work for me. Peter Schiff is an economist, not something that would make sense for a mercury in pisces person.
But what all these people have in common that is very obvious is that they all have really strong opinions, very interesting thoughts, and dominate conversations with ideas, which are all traits of the mercury-jupiter aspect.
And then the houses are just even more confusing...
I found a really awesome astrologer on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidCochrane100/featured
He actually takes a more scientific and evidence-based approach to astrology that I really appreciate because most astrologers kind of just say a bunch of stuff without really being able to prove it or truly understand it.
One of his videos on the zodiac signs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u67OQS0DgFU
It really changed my opinion on the zodiac signs. He ultimately said that the zodiac signs really have nothing to do with character. And that the zodiac signs have a lot more to do with the lens that we look through. He says that zodiac signs are seen as archetypes or characters and its just difficult to try and force someone into an archetype. So Leos are not necessarily kingly and charismatic and dignified, but they take a Leo approach to life.
He also said mentioned that aspects were more important for understanding one's character, and when he said that it really solidified my belief that aspects are way more important than anything else going on in the chart.