So, what does Mercury Retrograde really mean? Here’s everything you’ve ever wondered about or wanted to know about Astrology.
Birth charts, horoscopes, and retrograde- what does it all mean?
Learning the language of Astrology has become a leading trend and is recently breaking ground all across social media. From Instagram accounts to TikTok videos to specialized applications, everyone is looking to gain knowledge and insight on how to understand the language of Astrology, in regards to how it functions and what it ultimately means.
However, learning about Astrology can be a complex task if you don’t have access to the right resources. The language-learning app- Babbel – has an article in Babbel Magazine dedicated to the language of astrology, and is the perfect place to kick-start your journey. With the New Moon in Leo coming up on August 8, there’s no time like the present to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Astrology!
Let the learning begin! Below, you can check out Babbel’s astrology terminology and some upcoming significant astrological dates, which will help propel your journey into discovering and learning about the language of Astrology.
Planetary Basics
Season – When the sun enters a new sign, it’s the start of a new astrology season (ex. It’s Cancer Season when the sun enters Cancer)
New Moons – Symbolize new beginnings, setting intentions, seeds being planted
Full Moons – Symbolize things coming to fruition, heightened emotional state, and awareness
Retrogrades – Because of differences in orbital speeds, planets regularly appear to stop, go backwards for a while, and then resume forward motion again from our perspective here on Earth. Every planet (besides the sun and moon) goes retrograde from time to time. Not all retrogrades are as chaotic as Mercury Retrograde, but in general, these periods represent a time when the outward manifestation of that planet’s function is inverted, reversed, or slowed down, inviting us to reflect and reassess
Understanding the Astrology “Language”
House — Each chart has 12 houses, which are those pie-slice-looking things you see when you look at a circular chart. These are not to be confused with the 12 signs. Those are 12 equal divisions of the zodiac, which you can think of as an imaginary “band” that coincides with the ecliptic, or the sun’s apparent path around the Earth (in other words, the path the sun appears to be tracing around us from our perspective). The houses are a visual representation of what it would look like if you stood from your vantage point on Earth and created a sphere around you, with the top half representing what’s visible or above you in the sky, and the bottom half representing what’s “below the Earth.” Houses represent various fields of experience — like our love life, career, and finances — where the astrological activity takes place.
Cusp — In theory, this would be a transitional zone between two signs where their significations are blended, but guess what? You’re not a cusp sign! Planets can only be in one sign at a time. Some astrologers would agree, however, that houses have cusps (read about houses below) — or that a planet that’s 5 degrees away from the next house cusp theoretically belongs to that house.
Midheaven — The Midheaven is a critical degree in the birth chart, except instead of falling on the Eastern horizon, it represents the highest point in the sky (kind of like “high noon”). Your Midheaven represents your career, reputation, and legacy because it’s conceptually the most “public-facing” or “visible” part of the chart.
Saturn Return — A planetary return is when a given planet (doesn’t have to just be Saturn) returns to the same degree in the zodiac that it was in at the time of your birth. Things come full circle, you’re confronted with the relevant issues, and you begin a new cycle. The Saturn Return is the most notorious because it’s a rite of passage that marks the onset of true adulthood. Saturn takes 29.5 years to complete a full cycle, and people often experience some sort of hardship, trial, maturation, or call to responsibility around the ages of 28, 29, or 30. The nature and severity of this hardship depend a lot on how Saturn is configured in your natal chart, but the purpose of this experience is often to a) force you to get your act together and b) turn an area of deficiency into an area of mastery.
Synastry — A branch of astrology that deals with relationships and compatibility. When you compare your chart to another person’s and draw inferences about how well you mesh together, this would be an assessment of your synastry with that person.
Upcoming Astrologically Significant Dates:
August 08 — New Moon in Leo
An invigorating lunation that encourages us to dream big and summon the courage to live more on purpose and more authentically. This new moon activates some of the ongoing themes of change and upheaval that have been in play this year.
August 19 — Uranus goes retrograde in Taurus
Initiating a five-month period where disruptive forces become more internalized and integrated, allows time for review and reflection of all that has happened so far, as well as understanding the internal source of our restlessness and need for change.
August 22 — Full Moon in Aquarius
This year’s rare second Aquarius Full Moon tops up our cups with a more generous serving than we were dealt during the first one in July. The initial results are in for the major undertaking we’ve been working on in 2021, and July’s full moon was about acknowledging where we were still falling short. On August 22, we might be able to enjoy the payoff a little more.
If you’re interested in learning more, be sure to check out www.babbel.com.
Published by HOLR Magazine.