I want to begin this series by introducing you to the concept of an energy approach to astrology.
The idea of an ”energy approach to astrology” was proposed by the author Stephen Arroyo in his book Psychology and The Four Elements, which was first published in 1975. Arroyo was one of the great astrological thinkers of the late 20th century and was key in helping to develop the modern, personality-based astrology that we practice today.
So the energy approach is this: everything is energy. That’s what we’ve learned from quantum physics, from metaphysics, from yoga and meditation. Everything is energy, everything is a vibrational pattern. Including us. We are pure energy, we are pure vibration. And how we use our energy determines our experience of life.
Energy and experience—two key concepts.
Over the course of this series, we are going to use these two concepts in our approach to gaining a comprehensive understanding of astrology.
That’s the first thing.
Next, I want to show you how energy and experience can be understood in terms of 5 basic principles of astrology.
These five principles are:
- Elements
- Signs
- Houses
- Planets
- Aspects
This is the “Big 5” of astrology. If we can gain a thorough understanding and working knowledge of these basic principles, and frame them in terms of energy and experience, then we are on our way to becoming adept at reading our own birth chart.
So let’s define these 5 basic components in terms of energy and experience:
The SIGNS are our primary energy patterns and indicate specific qualities of our experience.
The ELEMENTS are the energy substance of our experience.
The HOUSES represent the fields of our experience where our specific energies will be most easily expressed and directly encountered.
The PLANETS regulate the flow of our energy and represent dimensions of our experience.
The ASPECTS reveal the dynamism and intensity of our experience as well as how the energies within us interact.
Now, don’t feel like you have to memorize these. Over the course of this series, we’re going to unpack all these concepts in greater detail, but I just want to give you a general overview of the territory we’re going to explore here.
We can also begin to simplify the definitions above by distilling each of these principles into one “keyword” as follows:
ELEMENTS = substance
SIGNS = qualities
HOUSES = fields
PLANETS = dimensions
ASPECTS = dynamics
OK, so this is a little easier to digest. And again, we’ll keep referring back to these basic concepts over and over as we build up our foundation for understanding this “language of astrology.” But this is an excellent start.
In the next episode, we’ll start to dive into the first of the 5 Principles—The Signs.
