Of all of the stereotypes that plague lesbians, queer women, and non-binary folks—U-hauls, pets we consider biological children, the uncontrollable urge to date our exes’ exes—my favorite trope is our obsession with astrology. The (totally consensual) chokehold that horoscopes have on our community is strong and it can feel a little alienating when the topic comes up if you don’t know the traits of every sign.
But that ends today. If you can’t differentiate an Aries from an Aquarius, we’ve got your back. For the next six weeks we’ll be schooling you in everything astrological. So grab an iced coffee and scroll on while we dive into the basics.
Simply put, astrology is the practice of looking at the stars, moons, and planets to make sense of the world around us.
The zodiac is the most popular tool we use to do that. Long before astronomers realized that we are not the center of the universe, people believed that the sun orbited Earth. The path that the sun took every year contained twelve constellations. Today, those constellations are the twelve houses, or signs, of the zodiac.
When it comes to signs, you really should know more than one. The three most important ones are your sun, moon, and rising.
☀️ The sun sign is the most popular and what people are typically referring to when they ask about your sign. The sun sign speaks to the essence of who you are. It’s based on your birth date, as that dictates where the sun was in the sky when you were born. In the same way that the sun radiates heat, your sun sign reveals what you radiate to the world around you.
🌙 Your moon sign tells you where the moon was when you were born. Like the moon illuminating the dark night, this sign tells the world who you are inside, where others can’t see. This is the sign that speaks to your vulnerabilities, emotions, your mushy truths, and the needs of your inner child.
⬆️ Your rising sign is determined by which sign was rising over the eastern horizon at the time of your birth. Similar to a sun rising into view, this sign reveals what others see as they get to know you. It’s sometimes called the “social mask” and it can help you understand how you come off to others.
If this feels like a lot to take in, don’t worry! This is where we’ll wrap for week one. Next week we’ll dive into the four fire signs, as they start the astrological calendar. In the meantime, a little homework before we meet up again:
If you have questions or requests for information to be included during this six-week series, don’t hesitate to jump into the comments. Class dismissed!
