Hi. I would recommend initially using the idea that each planet is like a character in a play, and the sign in which that planet is placed is like the role the planet is playing - the values it is trying to honour. The house of the planet shows in which areas of life the character will most likely come up, as do the houses which begin on the signs ruled by the planet. The aspects can then be seen as showing which planets in the group tend to interact with which other planets. The hard aspects show that the characters may antagonise one another and compete for expression, but also that they generate energy between them which can be put to good use if an appropriate channel is found for this energy. The easier aspects suggest that the characters are just happy with one another, with no need to exert themselves or struggle against each other - but this can also mean that they can get stuck in a rut in the way that interact.
This I think is a good way to start looking at charts. As you get into the symbols more you'll see how its a bit more complicated though, because some characters are happier in some roles than others, and that some pairs characters are better able to get along than two others might be because of their inherent differences.
Its also worth looking into the elements, which symbolise functions of consciousness, or ways of adapting to the world, because the human mind is set up to choose to develop one or two at the expense of the others. This affects which parts of the chart are consciously identified with matured through use, and which are more unconscious and therefore remaining in a relatively infantile state.
It is important to remember that you never, ever know how the chart manifests until you know something about the actual person. One could right innumerable scripts for the same set of characters. You can never know what has been written so far, by a combination of choice and environmental factors, for that set of characters - or what will be written in the future. You only know that those characters will be in it.
John Gacy probably shares his chart with others who were born at the same time near his location, or others may have the same placements that are cited, but they are probably perfectly decent people.
