Astrology is the ancient art and study of the movements of the planets, the other celestial bodies and the impact (due to aspects) they have on our lives. The word Astrology comes from the Greek word Astrologia, which means star study. Various modes of Astrology have been used by man for over 5000 years. In ancient times people of royal status had their own live-in personal Astrologers and history tells us these Astrologers had dual roles of Scholars and Priests. In fact it was considered to be a privilege to study the "Godlike science" of astrology for the priesthood. This was the case in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the oldest of civilizations known to us.

The oldest astrological document in existence (668-626 B.C.) includes astronomical observations and calculations of solar and lunar eclipses combined with astrological predictions. The oldest surviving Horoscopic charting (birth chart) pertaining to an individual is dated April 29, 410 B.C.E. in Babylon. Documentations reveal that Astrology was practiced for the needs and benefit of daily life. According to the belief of the early civilized races of the East, the stars were the source and the messengers of everything that happened. There is compelling evidence that the Magi (Wise Men) who visited Jesus at birth were Astrologer-Priests from ancient Persia.

Astrology is the term widely used for calculating the positions of the planets at a specific time. Using your exact birth time and location, an astrologer can erect a natal horoscope chart that no one else has. You took ownership of your natal chart the moment you took your first breath and it is filled with information personal and unique to you. Astrology is used to pinpoint and interpret your unique characteristics, potential and strengths. Astrology is a complex system that encompasses more than what sun sign you were born under.

Each planet has its own unique characteristics and energy that it projects. Each planet has its own rulership over the different zodiac signs and influences your birth chart as well as your progressed chart as your life develops through growth and change. Individually, the zodiac signs are also associated with elements of Water, Air, Earth and Fire; they have qualities that are cardinal, mutable and fixed and relate to each of the twelve houses in your personal horoscope.

The word Horoscope comes from the Greek word Horoscopos, which means hour watcher. Today the word horoscope is used to describe the forecast made based on the chart that has been erected. With the use of Astrology, a horoscope can be erected for a person, a business, a city, or a nation. In fact, a horoscope can be erected for just about anything.

People often ask whether or not we actually have free will given that the birth chart and our horoscope show so much about our lives and who we are. Naturally, we do. We may not be able to stop a train, but we can certainly get off the tracks! Most of us at some point and time have come to a place of understanding that there are many things in life over which we have no control. These are our boundaries. Often we push the limit of those boundaries and circumstances do not change. Whether we like it, or not, we have to learn to live within those boundaries. Once we overcome the difficulties of being confined by limitations, we grow in maturity. How we react to them is a direct result of the impact of our emotions.

Our emotions are governed by the moon's placement in our chart. We can learn to control the moon's influence, though sometimes with difficulty. Reactions are emotional impulses, therefore, we can suppress our emotions and handle issues in a controlled manner, or we can just let them go and react with explosive energy. We have the right to decide how we will conduct ourselves, right or wrong and whether we will act for the good of ourselves and the good of others. That is our free will.

It's not what happens in our lives that shape us, but our reaction to those events that give our lives meaning. Again, we can't stop a train, but we can get off of the tracks!