Astrology 101

A Perfect event for our queer BIPOC hobby astrologists, to gain more knowledge in the basic of Hellenistic astrology and more!

Ever looked at your birth chart and felt completely lost? Or met with the 'Ah, yeah, like a [insert sign]'?

If you want to move beyond pop astrology, join the 'Astrology 101: Workshop Series'. We get to the basics of Hellenistic astrology and make sense of the cosmic chaos together.

Each week there will be different themes and we’ll cover:
- The 12 Archetypes and Signs: more than just your birthday.
- The Planets: characters in your personal story.
- The Houses: Where the magic (and the mess) happens in life.
- Aspects: How the different parts communicate

No experience needed. Just bring your curiosity (and your birth time)!

Just a quick reminder that this event is for QTIBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Inter people who are also Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) only.

Week One: The Signs — The “How” of Astrology (The 12 Archetypes and Signs: more than just your birthday.)In the first week, we are getting familiar with the signs themselves. After a short introduction, we will dive into the 12 signs of the zodiac. In astrological tradition, the signs are understood as categories of “How”: they describe the style, quality, and flavour through which everything else in the chart expresses itself. Each sign carries its own characteristics, elemental nature, history, mythology, and tools at its disposal. For example, Aries approaches life differently than Taurus; Libra processes the world differently than Scorpio. By exploring each archetype through some input and exercises, we begin to understand how the planets and points in a birth chart take on distinct personalities depending on the sign they occupy. In this session, we will furthermore focus on the categories the different signs have, namely element, modality, and decans. By the end of this session, you will not only know the key traits of each sign, but also understand the framework in which they operate.

Week Two: The Planets & Angular Points — The “What” and the “Who” (The Planets: characters in your personal story.)In the second week, we turn to the areas of experience and reality symbolised by the planets and the angular points. If the signs are the “how,” the planets are the “what”: each planet rules a different part of your experience and the connected core drives, urges, and functions. For example, the Moon rules over one’s emotions and subconscious, while Mars denotes what truly motivates us and gives us a sense of determination. We begin with the personal planets; from there we touch on the outer planets as generational contexts. But before we place these planets anywhere, we must first meet the most important angle in your chart: the Ascendant. Often described as the mask you wear or the first impression you give, the Rising Sign is actually far more: it is the lens through which everything else in your chart is filtered. It sets the entire stage and defines the other angular points of your chart. By understanding your Rising Sign and how your planets respond to it, you begin to grasp why you encounter the world the way you do. By the end of this session, you will understand the difference between all of your planets, their respective areas, their sect, their nature, their rulerships, dignities, as well as the rising sign, its meaning, and calculation.

Week Three: The Houses — The “Where” of Your Story (The Houses: Where the magic (and the mess) happens in life.)In the third week, we explore where the action unfolds: the 12 houses. If the planets are the actors and the signs are their costumes and mannerisms, the houses are the stages upon which they play out their roles. The houses represent specific departments of life, from your identity and personal resources to your home, creativity, partnerships, career, and spirituality. In this session, we will walk through each of the 12 houses, understanding them not as random categories but as a natural progression from one to another. The first house asks, “Who am I?” The fourth asks, “Where do I come from?” The seventh asks, “Who do I choose?” The tenth asks, “What do I contribute?” We will explore how planets land in these houses and what that means for you. In this session, we are going to start to use your own personal birth chart, and you will begin to identify which areas of life are most activated and what that might reveal about your journey. By the end of this session, you will understand the area each house represents, the quadrants, the rejoicements, and orientation; you will gain an understanding of the different house systems and have a quick look into derivative astrology.

Week Four: Aspects & Synthesis — The Dialogue (Aspects: How the different parts communicate.)In the fourth and final week, we discover how it all connects. We have met the signs, the planets, and the houses. Now we explore the relationships between them, called aspects. Aspects are the angles planets make to one another, revealing conversation, tension, harmony, and complexity within your chart. A trine (120°) suggests natural flow; a square (90°) suggests creative friction; an opposition (180°) suggests polarity and relationship; a conjunction (0°) suggests intense blending. These relationships can answer questions such as, “Why do you feel pulled in two directions?” or “What keeps showing up as a pattern or challenge?” After introducing the major aspect patterns, we move into the heart of the workshop: the chart reading lab. In small groups and with guided prompts, you will begin practising on your own chart and see how the different houses, signs, aspects, and angles come together in your life experience. By the end of this session, you will be able to not only understand the aspects but also have laid the groundwork to interpret your own chart, and hopefully leave with a living language for who you are becoming.