Studying astrology had been a large part of my life for a very, very long time. It's clear now as to why, that being along the lines of — that I was never around people consistently enough growing up due to frequent moves and isolation. It allowed my autistic ass to connect with and attempt to understand people in a systematic way.

It's been over 15 years since that began, and so my approach to the subject also matured. The metaphorical rabbit hole goes pretty deep, and admittedly there's still so much more about it that we don't really understand. But honestly I don't think we ever will, and that's part of the fun of it! I feel like, in ancient times it was used more as a time-keeping system than anything. Humans do love a good pattern.

For me, my approach was a lot more scientific, like it was a study.

I'd read everything I could about it, from books I'd find, to random articles on the internet of questionable validity, to endless YouTube videos of people infodumping about their insights. Sometimes it would be them regurgitating the same information I'd already read about without much discernment. But every now and then, I'd find people with very interesting observations. I'd also have ways of getting people's birth information, whether that be asking or otherwise, and just, getting to know them. That's all there was to it for several years.

Overall, I gathered that there's this foundational idea that there are several parts of the self, that correspond with different processes that happen inside of us, whether that be physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and so on. And thus, I learned that studying different placements in a birth chart and the study of psychology very much go hand in hand. Sociological factors also play a big role in the individual interpretation of these charts as well.

For example, the moon sign in a chart rules one's emotional self. It is the "part" of them that process what the ego (the sun) projects inwards, and in turn, reflects that back out, however that might look like for them.

It's emotional intelligence and how you've learned to regulate yourself.

It's often correlated with how one's mother raised them, but I believe that's also due to the expectation that mothers are the ones exclusively responsible for a child's emotional well being. But that also doesn't mean that it's *not* a reflection of one's mother, because despite that, it would be blind to not factor that women (especially afab folks) are pressured to, and often take that responsibility. But also, not every case will fit that mold either. There's ✨ nuance. But I digress.

Nowadays, it's more interesting for me to hear other people talk about astrology,or anything pertaining to the mind or occult for that matter, whether that be predictive, karmic, intrapersonal or pertaining to relationships with people or spirits. My own understanding of it still rings true to me, but of course that's because I formed my insights around the way I perceive structures outside of myself, through the way I experience my own functions. I like seeing how other's worlds are structured and I'd like to keep working to widen those perceptions or break down the ones that inhibit a more comprehensive understanding.

When they say "as above, so below", it's not just about the earth and stars.