After completing the Relationship Handbook series in June of 2007 with the publication of Astrological Relationship Workbook and the Astrological Relationship Workshop, I was ready for my next project. I was inspired to go back to the natal astrology, and to revisit Astrology: Understanding the Birth Chart.

As good as this book is (and it is considered one of the best books on chart interpretation available), it’s still a tough read. More to the point, while it teaches how I approached a natal chart in 2001, it doesn’t speak to how I work with astrology now.

I’ve learned how to use only the bare essentials of astrology in my practice. What’s ironic is that the fewer techniques that I use and the more I focus on the absolute fundamentals—the planets and the Essential Dignities—the richer, more detailed, and more specific my interpretations have become.

That inspiration has been fueling my work since then. It first took form as the fundamentals of Archetypal Astrology. Then, in mid-2009, it manifested as the Astrology & The Law of Attraction workshops. Hopefully in the next year, it will show up in book form, as well. The book, however, isn’t specifically designed to teach astrology.

That’s why I’m offering this series of articles and tutorials to members of The Real Astrology.com. If you’re new to astrology, these articles will get you up to speed with remarkable speed and almost no memorization. If you’ve been studying astrology for years, these articles will add a new dimension to your experience of astrology—and take your interpretations to the next level.

This is an ongoing series, and although I have a very clear objective in mind, I’m creating it as I go. I hope to have at least one major update added per month.

We’ll begin at the beginning—the very beginning—with a question.

Why Do You Want To Learn Astrology, Anyway?

As strange as this question may seem, it’s a critical one. This question helps establish your intentions and your objectives. If you don’t ask (and answer) this question, you won’t have a clear understanding of where you would like to go and you won’t know when you’ve arrived. Even if you’ve been studying astrology for years, this question can bring about profound insights.

Ultimately, the only reason that we want anything is that we believe that when we get what we want, we’ll be happy. This is worth remembering. We often get confused, focusing on the form rather than the experience. What matters is happiness.

It’s safe to say, then that you want to learn Astrology because you believe that Astrology will help you get from where you are now to “Happy.” You may believe Astrology can help you to become happy because with Astrology you can predict and prepare for future events. You may believe Astrology can help you become happy because Astrology can help you to better understand yourself or other people in your life, explaining events and behavior. How you expect Astrology to help you become happy doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s all about you and your happiness.

So now, you have a choice. You can take the long, winding road to happiness, and learn everything there is to know about astrology. Or you can take the shortest, most direct route to happiness and learn the essentials, the things that you can immediately use and experience to improve your life.

If you would rather be happy now, you’ve come to the right place.

A Simplified Approach to Real Astrology

Before you even get to anything that is specifically astrological, you’ll start by exploring and mapping Human Consciousness. This material creates the context and the foundation for everything that follows. It’s so important, in fact, that it’s one of the few articles in this section that is available to everyone, not just to members.

There are two reasons why it’s essential that you begin with an introduction to the Kingdoms of Consciousness. The first and most important is that the reason that you want to learn astrology is to be happy. The only way to truly become happy is to raise your vibration and expand your consciousness. The map of consciousness is how you will navigate your journey. It is how you will chart the shortest possible path from where you are to Happy. Plus, if you’re a guy, if you follow the map you won’t have to stop and ask for directions.

The second reason is that the map of consciousness, and specifically the model of the Kingdoms of Consciousness help to provide narrower and more specific context for the astrology that you will learn. This, in turn, makes it easier to understand, integrate, and remember.

The actual curriculum is divided up in different levels. Everything you need to know in order to use astrology to improve your life is contained in Level 1. That’s what makes this approach so revolutionary. Each subsequent level builds on the level before, allowing you to go deeper into the chart and explore more specific, nuanced questions. However, the application of every answer is contained in what you will learn in Level 1.

Level 1—Archetypal Astrology: Meet the Planets

Despite popular misconceptions, Astrology is not about signs. Astrology is all about the planets. Everything in Astrology comes back to the planets. Signs, houses and aspects can only be interpreted in relationship to the planets. To simplify things even more, the only planets you need to know are the seven inner, or personal planets: The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

These seven planets are the seven Astrological Archetypes. They are energies that live inside you. They are, in fact, the committee of voices in your head. Rather than simply knowing about these Archetypes, you will learn to know them. You will discover how to encounter each of these Archetypes, and see how they show up in your life. You will begin to move into Right Relationship with each Archetype through spiritual practice. As you improve your relationship with each of the inner planets, you will experience profound and wonderful shifts in your life, including a dramatic increase in happiness.

You may be wondering why we seem to be ignoring the outer planets. We’re ignoring the outer planets at this time because the outer planets are, well, “outer.” They don’t live inside you, and you can’t get into Right Relationship with them. We only experience the outer planets through the lens of the personal planets. Until you’re thoroughly familiar with the personal planets, there’s no point in introducing the outer planets.

In Level 1, you will meet each of the Archetypes in turn. You will learn the spiritual practices that will help put you in Right Relationship with them. And you will explore how you experience each Archetype from the different Kingdoms of Consciousness.

Level 2—Dignities, Signs and Houses

Now that you know the seven Astrological Archetypes, you’re ready to move to the next level. It’s one thing to understand what Saturn cares about; but what does your Saturn care about? Whatever Sign your Saturn is in adds an additional layer of complexity to your experience of Saturn.

One thing that you will fully appreciate is that Saturn is always Saturn, no matter what sign Saturn is in. The signs do not change the nature of the planets. The signs merely influence how a planet expresses and what motivates that planet.

In Level 2, you’ll learn about the Signs and the Essential Dignities. Specifically, you’ll learn about Rulership and what it actually means. Instead of memorizing the “meanings” of the signs, you’ll learn how to use the planets to discern the essence of a sign. This means you’ll have less to memorize and you’ll feel confident very quickly about interpreting planets in signs.

You will then learn about the houses in the chart and how to work with them. The houses represent the “where,” as in what area of life is involved in a given situation.

You now have the ability to use astrology to answer any question or address any issue in your life. Simply pick an issue and determine which house it belongs in. Look at the sign on the cusp of that house. The ruler of that sign is the Astrological Archetype that is in charge of the situation. You can now gain a deeper understanding of the situation by exploring it from the context of the Astrological Archetype. You can then improve the situation by applying the spiritual practices move you into Right Relationship with that Archetype.

Level 3—Essential Dignities and the Board of Directors

In Level 3 you will build on everything you have learned so far, and begin to consider not only the ruler of a sign, but all of the planets on the Board of Directors. This is the secret of coming up with your own, specific, precise interpretations of any planet in any sign.

The Essential Dignities and Board of Directors can also help unravel more complex issues. Occasionally, we may be in perfectly healthy relationship with the planet that is in charge of a given issue, and yet something is still not right. The cause may be that we are out of alignment with one of the other members of the Board of Directors. Understanding the dynamics of the Board of Directors can also reveal additional options for resolution of a pressing issue.

Level 4—Aspects, Outer Planets, and Predictive Astrology

Finally, in Level 4, you can begin to incorporate the remaining tools of Natal Astrology, while keeping them in their proper perspective. Aspects can reveal additional connections between the planets (and intrigue behind the scenes on the Board of Directors). Aspects are also the way that we experience the energy of the Outer Planets.

Finally, I’ll briefly address how to incorporate Transits and Progressions into this system of astrology. As always, the focus will be on how you can use astrology to get you from where you are to Happy.