Over the last couple of months, I’ve really started to delve into the astronomically huge subject of astrology!

I’ve been fascinated by astrology for ages and I wanted to learn more, but it was so daunting and overwhelming to know where to start learning about it!

So, in today’s video, I want to share my experience with learning astrology, and the resources, books, websites, and apps that have really helped me. I hope it will help anyone who is curious to learn more about astrology!

The way I see it, astrology is an amazing tool that can help us to understand ourselves and the world better. There are so many videos I’d love to make talking more about it too!

For now, though… Get yourself a cuppa, and let’s get started with astrology! 

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Hey everyone! Welcome back, or if you’re here for the first time, nice to meet you! My name is Ebonie and this blog (and the YouTube channel) is here to help you reconnect to your intuition, so you can manifest in the real world! If you’re interested in all things self-development and mindset, I hope you’ll enjoy today’s blog post (and/or watch the video), and consider subscribing to my YouTube channel linked above!

 Astrology is a massive subject, and even making a video about getting started with astrology is tricky. There’s no one right way to go about it, and everyone’s experience of learning is different. I hope that this video will inspire you to try learning a little bit more about astrology, even if it’s just for yourself! All the resources and suggestions I make will be linked in the resources section below.

First, let’s just cover a few basics of astrology, briefly. I’ll go into all of these things in more detail in future videos, and if you have any questions please do let me know in the comments below!

To help explain, I’ll refer to Madeline Gerwick’s book, ‘Astrology: An Enlightening Primer for Starry-Eyed Beginners’. This book has been an amazing resource and she certainly explains things better than I can!

“Put simply, astrology is based on the relationships between the planets, the Sun, and the Moon; 12 zodiac, or Sun signs; and 12 areas of a person’s life, called houses. Astrology began as the study of the “wandering” stars (or planets, as we know them today). …astrology uses the harmony of the Universe to observe the possibilities of human behavior and experience.

• The zodiac is the name of the elliptic pattern Earth follows in its annual revolution around the Sun. This path is always the same and always passes through the same 12 signs.

• Signs are the “how” of astrology. The signs of the zodiac are: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. All zodiac signs appear in every person’s chart. (More on charts in a moment).

• Planets are the “what” of astrology. They represent the various energies of a person, including your mental and emotional nature, desires, vitality, soul, will, consciousness, and subconscious, as well as the people in your life. …we include the Sun, the Moon, and the North and South Nodes, even though they aren’t actually planets.

• The houses are the “where” of astrology. Each of the 12 houses encompasses a specific arena of life and is the stage where the drama of the planets unfolds.” (Gerwick, Pg. 5)

Okay so all those terms somewhat briefly explained, how do you know how the different signs, planets, and houses impact us individually? That’s where your astrological Birth or Natal Chart comes in. Your birth chart is your astrological map of the skies at the exact time and place of your birth. It shows you where all the planets and signs were when you came into this world, and it looks like a wheel, just like this…

Looking at a birth chart can be very intimidating at first, but every symbol and line has a purpose. Every aspect of a birth chart has meaning and represents who you are as a unique person living on this earth, at this moment in time.

 So naturally, I believe that step one in learning astrology has to be – look at your birth chart! 

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Astrology Websites

Astro.com (Astro Dienst)

The first suggestion I have for you today is to go to astro.com, which is reportedly the most accurate resource for calculating your birth chart. This website will do all the work for you in figuring out your birth chart – all you need to know is the date, exact time and place of your birth.

The time of your birth has to be exact, down to the precise minute, as it can be the difference between a planet appearing in one sign over another, and so on. For the most accurate birth chart, your time has to be correct. This can be a little tricky to find out, and if it’s not written on your birth certificate and you have absolutely no idea what time you were born, there are a couple of options.

You can consult an astrologer and request a ‘rectification’, which essentially means you tell the astrologer all about you and your life, and they estimate your birth time based on that information. The other option is to use noon as the time of your birth – what’s called a ‘noon chart’. It’s less accurate, and so you have to bear that in mind as you interpret it – but it will still give you something to work with, and that’s better than nothing!

Hopefully, you can find out your exact time of birth, but if not, you have your estimate. You will also need your location of birth. On astro.com, simply type in the town you were born in and the website will determine the latitude and longitude of that place for you.  Based on this location information and along with the date and time of your birth, astro.com will then generate your very own, unique birth chart using an algorithm.

Now you have your birth chart, what next?

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Cafe Astrology

Just like on astro.com, for this website you’ll also have to type in your birth information, and it will give you your birth chart in the form of a wheel too.

This website is fantastic for breaking down all the different elements of your chart and explaining what it means to you in your life. It’s not perfect, and I always like to think of anything you read in regard to your chart as being on a scale of possibilities. It’s only ever going to give you a broad overview of your potential, likes, dislikes, personality, experiences, and so on. At one end of the scale is the minimum potential – where you’re likely at naturally, without making any growth or improvements in that area of your life. At the other end of the scale is the maximum potential, should you choose to work towards it. Your chart essentially maps out your personal growth journey – it gives you the blueprint for your success and happiness in life.

Astro cafe may seem like a lot of reading to do, but it’s a good place to start as it gives you a rundown of every aspect of your chart, all on one handy website.

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Labyrinthos

This website is so good! It even goes into Tarot and Lenormand card meanings too. If you click ‘learn’ then ‘astrology’, you’ll find so much information, with really handy infographics too!

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The Horoscope

This website is packed with so much astrology goodness! Every element of your chart can be found here. I’d suggest going to café astrology because it writes it all out for you, which may be easier while you’re still learning all the symbols on your chart! So you can scroll through, find a particular aspect you’d like more information on, for example my North Node is in Capricorn. So if I take that piece of information and head over to the horoscope website, I’ll be able to read more about what it means to have my North Node in Capricorn.

It gives you more to work with and relate to, and at the end of the day, it’s all guidance and suggestions that might be helpful for you!

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Google!

I’ve found some really great websites simply by googling specific aspects of my chart. You just never know what might come up that will click in a different way! So I could google Moon in Taurus for instance, and so much will come up! It’s very easy to get lost down the rabbit hole of astrology! 

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Astrology Apps

There are some really great apps I recommend too. All of these will require you to put in your birth information and they’ll also use an algorithm to work out your birth chart. All of these apps are available on Apple and Android.

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Time Passages

I recommend this one to start with to everyone! Not only is it awesome to see your chart, it’s similar to café astrology in that it gives you a breakdown of what each aspect of your chart actually means for you. It also shows you the current chart, in this moment, and what that means. I’ve barely scraped the surface on what this app includes! The daily horoscope goes far beyond just your sun sign, and there’s an entire learning section which seems to cover all you’d possibly need to know about astrology!

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Sanctuary

The Sanctuary app is really wonderful too. It has really great graphics and it’s very interactive and user-friendly. You can have psychic, astrology and tarot readings through this app too, but I haven’t done any. While I love Time Passages, Sanctuary is really easy to understand and very to-the-point. Their Instagram account is awesome too!

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Co-star

This app is possibly one of the more well known, and I do enjoy it and find it accurate for me. However, apparently it isn’t the most accurate in terms of generating your chart, and it actually doesn’t give you all of your birth chart information. It simply gives you a table with the basics, but there’s so much more to your chart than that! I’d still suggest checking it out, but I recommend checking the information it gives you to ensure that it’s accurate.

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Astrology Books

‘Astrology: An Enlightening Primer for Starry-Eyed Beginners' by Madeline Gerwick’ by Madeline Gerwick

 There are so many books on astrology, and I’ve read many books that talk a little bit about it too – but this is my absolute favourite go-to, and I can’t recommend it highly enough! So much so that I’ve been carting it around everywhere while I’ve been travelling, reading and taking notes from it any chance I’ve had!

Gerwick explains everything so well, and the way the information is structured is really easy to follow, too. It’s easy to find anything in particular that you’d like to learn about too, so while I’ve been reading it from the start, it’s a great text to refer to. It’s in-depth but not overwhelming – exactly what I need in an astrology textbook!

There are a few more really great astrology books that I have packed away cos I’m currently in the midst of travelling, but I think for the sake of keeping today’s video not too long, I’ll maybe do another video in the future discussing those too. If there are any astrology books you’d like to know more about or that you suggest, please comment on them below!

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So, now I'd love to hear from you! What do you think about learning astrology? I hope you’re feeling more confident to delve a little deeper on the subject, and that the suggestions I’ve shared today will help you get started!

If you’d like to learn more, you’ll find everything I mentioned linked below, along with more info, resources, and recommendations — simply scroll to the bottom of this page!

As always, please let me know in the comments, if you have any questions or requests, or find me over on Instagram @eboniehyland, I’d love to see you there too!

I truly hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s blog post and video. Thank you so much for reading this blog and supporting my YouTube channel, it really means the absolute world to me!

I create spiritual and self-development videos and blog posts here, every Thursday. So, if you’re curious, please consider subscribing to the channel, and be sure to ring the little bell to turn on notifications, so you never miss a video!

I hope you’re having a wonderful day, wherever you are in the world, and I can’t wait to see you here again next week!

So much love,

Ebonie xx

 Resources and Recommendations

Astrology Websites:

✧ Astro.com (Astro Dienst) — https://www.astro.com/horoscope

✧ Cafe Astrology — https://astro.cafeastrology.com/natal.php

✧ Labyrinthos — https://labyrinthos.co/

✧ The Horoscope — https://i.thehoroscope.co/

Astrology Apps:

✧ Time Passages — Apple: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/timepassages/id488946918 — Also available on Android

✧ Sanctuary — https://www.sanctuaryworld.co/

✧ Co-Star — https://www.costarastrology.com/

Astrology Books:

✧ 'Astrology: An Enlightening Primer for Starry-Eyed Beginners' by Madeline Gerwick — Available from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fc59BP

*Disclaimer: Please note that any recommended products from Amazon may be affiliate links. If any purchases are made through these links, I may receive a small commission - at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!