Learn Astrological Psychology

Foundation chart for the UK Astrological Psychology Association
8.6.1983, 12.30, London

If you've ever wondered how I can interpret charts and write the articles on this blog, you too can learn how to interpret charts like this yourself and really know what you're talking about when you talk astrology! Here's how:

Astrological Psychology, as taught in Astrological Psychology Association’s modular home study courses, can set you firmly on the path to becoming the kind of person you want to be. Starting at beginner level with our newly updated Foundation Course or joining our well-established Diploma Course, here are just some of the things you will learn about yourself:

• You’ll understand your true motivation and what drives you from deep within.

• You’ll discover where your energy can best be directed, whether towards working with others or towards your own individuality.

• You’ll understand your most familiar behaviour patterns so well that you’ll be able to choose whether or not you want to fall into them.

• You’ll be able to identify and focus on your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs so you can nurture them and give them attention and expression.

• You’ll learn how to be more aware of your strengths and weaknesses and how to use this knowledge in your everyday life.

• You’ll learn about your life path and life journey, where you are right now and where you’re heading.

• You’ll explore how the family you grew up in could affect your behaviour and the way you relate to others.

• You’ll understand how the influences of your upbringing and environment could impact on your life now.

• You’ll be able to assess and improve on how you approach everyday tasks at home as well as problem solving and working as a team in the workplace.

• You’ll learn which direction to take on your personal path of self-discovery and improvement.

You can also see me talking about this here:

Many people study with the Astrological Psychology Association for their own personal development, and some study the modular courses as part of their career development. A few of our graduate students give feedback here on the effect our courses have had on their life:

It has changed my life, it helped me know myself better, be kinder to myself and to be more accepting of the cycles in my life, the ebb and flow of energies. It has also helped hugely in my relationships, especially with my partner and my children and when the going is tough I can look at what's happening in our charts and it almost always raises a smile, a sense of "oh I see now" and provides some options for getting through and seeing the positive. HL, Manchester

Studying for the Diploma with API did help me grow and develop because I took my time and was able to assimilate things gradually. It was incredible how my chart reflected my life and allowed me to discover things that I may not have been consciously aware of. I studied mainly for personal interest, although it does help me to understand the motivations of family and friends, which increases understanding of their behaviour and leads to a more relaxed attitude and acceptance. JB, Cheshire

Studying the Diploma course has certainly helped me to understand difficulties within my relationship with my partner; it has taught me how to put more direction into my life, how to follow my own personal goals and aspirations, and how to find a deeper meaning to life's difficulties. Studying with API has really given me deep insight into what makes people tick and this has been invaluable in understanding the dynamics of all my relationships especially within my own marriage and extended family. Family relationships can be very challenging at times and having this knowledge has really helped me to deal more effectively with conflicts and disagreements. PS, Western Australia

For information on all the home study courses on offer visit
the APA web site

Planetary Directions

No, I'm not writing a post about predictive astrology, where the future configurations of the planets are studied in order to glean some insight into what the future might hold for a person. The planetary directions I'm talking about here involve two places I know about which have a walk through the countryside along a marked path which has placed, at appropriate intervals, models and information about the planets in the solar system.

The first time I encountered this novel walk was in Zurich, when attending a seminar at the Astrological Psychology Institute where Bruno and Louise were teaching the Huber Method. They suggested taking a stroll along the Planetenweg, walking from the Sun to Pluto along the top of the ridge of hills which surround the city. Interesting, fun and right on for a group of astrologers!

Then earlier this year, whilst staying in York, I found another planet walk, which doubles as a cycling track, but this was was slightly more dilapidated than the smart Swiss one I walked years ago. However, it does have a certain charm, with signposts pointing to various planets along the way and a bit of graffiti to add to the overall picture. You can see some of the York planet way in the slide show below.

Astrology and astronomy were taught as twin sciences in the universities of the Middle Ages; it is only latterly that astrology has fallen from grace and astrologers can find themselves the butt of the scorn of astronomers...BUT...in the Foundation Course taught by API (UK) we teach some simple astronomy so that students, if by no means near expert on this subject, do have some understanding of it.

Most readers will be aware that Pluto has been demoted as a planet by a group of astronomers. This happened a few years ago, but I wonder how many astrologers have stopped using Pluto in natal charts? I haven't. And I'd be interested to hear if any readers have, or not. Comments please - let's hear it for Pluto!

Can you name the planets in the solar system in their correct order from Sun to Pluto? Now for the slide show, which is not very educational and is meant to be enjoyed in a light hearted way.

Stephen Fry's Small Talent triangle

If you're reading this because you're interested in finding out more about the aspect patterns used the Huber Method, click on the tabs at the top of the page, see my book Aspect Patterns in Colour and take a look at the Astrological Psychology Association's website, where you can learn about these on one of our courses for yourself, under the guidance of a fully qualified tutor.

Actor and presenter Stephen Fry was born on 24th August 1957 in London. Best known in both these roles either side of the Atlantic, Fry is also very popular amongst the Twitterati who follow his thoughts and witty musings.

No time of birth is available so his chart is set up for Noon. This makes for some interesting speculation as the overall aspect structure is small, tightly packed and only fills one of the four quadrants of the chart. Which one this would be, had we the correct birth time, it would be interesting to see. Whichever quadrant is emphasised, this will always leave the remainder of the chart a wide open space where Fry could well feel vulnerable to the inrush of environmental pressures and expectations.

The chart image I see is of a small conical hat, in this particular orientation set at a jaunty angle. The dominant shaping and aspect pattern is the triangular Small Talent triangle pinned by Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter/Venus at the apex. The overall chart shaping/motivation is triangular with several linear aspects making Fry adaptable and flexible but with some strong restless traits too. He comes across as laid back, polite, friendly - almost the quintessential Englishman - but he's also likely, with these linear aspects, to take off at a whim and do his own thing. It's no secret that he is bi-polar, with mood swings, nor that he went missing in 1995 when appearing in a stage play in London, raising concern over his whereabouts. He'd had a breakdown and took off on his own. Aspects of his bi-polar condition could be attributed to the linearity in his chart, but that is purely my own speculation and shouldn't be taken as anything other than that.

Of his ego planets - Sun, Moon and Saturn - his Sun is weak by Sign (Virgo) at just over 1 degree into the Sign, but this may be offset to some extent by its conjunction with Pluto (even weaker by Sign, but with considerable "oomph" to boost his Sun/sense of self when needed). His Leo Moon is strong by Sign and is possibly prone to erratic and inspired responses via the weak conjunction to Uranus. Saturn is by far his strongest ego planet at almost 8 degrees Sagittarius, and it is strongly aspected.
As part of the Small Talent triangle, Fry's Saturn can be instrumental in grounding and making manifest the still-developing talent this figure embodies. The creativity brought by Uranus as the other corner of this triangle, and in conjunction with the Moon, may be significant in his acting roles. However, I've watched Fry acting on TV and in films, and feel he brings a lot of himself to his acting roles, which directs my attention to the Jupiter/Venus conjunction at the apex of this figure. The Hubers, in Aspect Pattern Astrology, say "The apex of the triangle is always a kind of goal direction"; Jupiter/Venus in Libra would certainly want to be liked! They also say of people with this figure "These are happy people who enjoy life without over-extending themselves. They plan their energies, are careful and selective in their goal setting. Once they have decided on something and it has captured their interest, all goes smoothly". All-blue figures do have a harmonious approach to life; Fry's Small Talent triangle is no exception - the potential is there for harmony and creativity and this is supported by the overall rather blue chart.

It's interesting to note that, now aged 52 and with his Age Point in the 9th house of his chart, Fry's latest programme for TV in the UK was a documentary about travelling across and up and down the US in a black cab. It wasn't that good because he had so little time to spend in each place, but it was a fitting topic for the 9th house!

For more information on all topics mentioned in this post visit the APA on-line Book Shop.

Astrology, Family, Relationships and Health

At last! The book that has been some time in the preparation by yours truly and spouse has now been published and is available from the APA Book Shop.

Who could fail to have an interest in topics covering the Family Model, and the effect our upbringing has on us as children and as adults; or in how we can understand more about our relationships, including the Huber Method of "Clicks" in horoscope comparison; and in how using the natal chart can bring greater awareness to our health and well-being. There really is something for everyone in this book. Here is the description from the back cover:

AstroLog II: Family, Relationships & Health

Paperback, 306pp, Cover price £15

This is the second volume of articles from the German-language magazine AstroLog to be published in English, following on from the first book Astrolog I: Life and Meaning. The articles are by a variety of authors, including Bruno and Louise Huber and API tutors Wolfhard König and Ruth Schmidhauser.

The book is in four parts, each containing articles related to a specific theme:

Part 1: The Family - astrological psychology related to developmental psychology and family counselling.
Part 2: Children and Upbringing - how astrological psychology can help with upbringing, from theoretical and practical perspectives.
Part 3: Relationships - the psychology of relationships and the use of various types of 'click' horoscopes, and a particular perspective on mother/daughter relationships and the story of Snow White.
Part 4: Health and Therapies - the use of astrological psychology in the context of health issues and the alternative therapies of Bach Flower Remedies and Tarot.AstroLog II: Family, Relationships & Health is available from the APA on-line Book Shop

Astrology for Babies: What makes your baby tick?

I've always been interested in the charts of babies, but having recently become a grandmother for the first time, I now have a personal interest in not only looking at my new grandchild's chart, but in looking at the charts of other babies and toddlers that I know.

One of the first things that people notice and comment on when looking at Huber style charts is the colours that are used for the aspects, and these colours offer information about the inner, unconscious motivation of the person:

• Red aspects have initiatory, "doing" energy
• Green aspects have sensitive, searching, questing, "thinking"qualities
• Blue aspects bring the need to maintain the status quo, preserve and simply "be"

It's comfortable and desirable to have these coloured aspects in a ratio of 4 red: 2 green: 6 blue, but it doesn't always work out this way! Some individuals will have an excess (by ratio) of one colour and a lack (by ratio) of another, creating an imbalance of the energies of that particular colour. When this happens, the person will draw on the surrounding environment - in the case of babies and young children, the family and significant others - to provide the qualities/energies of the "missing" colour. How might this be helpful for new parents?

5 red:4 green: 2 blue

This young baby born in 2009 has a high ratio of red/green in the chart, and a lack of blue. This baby could be energetic, busy, always wanting to do something, but this will be laced with a strong degree of sensitivity, perhaps leading to touchiness as the child grows older. There is a lack of blue aspects indicating less interest in sitting back and enjoying life. Parents here could help by ensuring enough emphasis is placed upon resting, "being" and enjoying the moment to offset the high activity.

2 red: 6 green: 4 blue

This baby, also born in 2009, has a high ratio of green and a lack of red. This baby could grow up asking many, many questions! There is potential for much searching, questioning, and a strong motivation to discover and explore ideas. With this comes a heightened sensitivity and the possibility of not always being able to be decisive as, by ratio, the lack of red could make it more challenging to find ways of expressing and acting on the ideas generated within. Parents here can help by encouraging the child to express the ideas, perhaps (drawing on the blue energy) in some tangible form.

4 red: 3 green: 8 blue

This is the chart of a young child who is well past the baby stage and was born in 2006. In terms of Age Point, this child is still in the 1st House of the chart and is gradually separating from the intense closeness of being a baby and is asserting more individuality. This is a very blue chart; by ratio the balance between red and blue aspects is reasonably balanced, but "blueness" may dominate this child's motivation. There is a natural motivation to enjoy and be able to rest and relax, not worry too much about things - the potential is there at an early age to be laid back. Parents could help here by being aware of this and could gently guide the child towards using this energy constructively rather than allow habits if laziness to become ingrained. This chart shows the capacity for developing a specialised talent (there is a Small Talent triangle) so encouraging this as the child grows up would be beneficial.

For more on colour in charts see The Cosmic Egg Timer and The Living Birth Chart, both available from the APA on-line Book Shop.