Astrology for Everyone (What it is and How it Works)

This book attempts to tell in simple, untechnical language what astrology is and how it works.

It will help to refresh our memory, I believe, if we think of the heavens as a great circle, divided into equal parts, just as the face of a clock is divided by the numerals which mark the hours, or as a wheel is divided by its spokes. Each of these twelve divisions may be said to represent one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac: Aries the Ram, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins, Cancer the Crab, Leo the Lion, Virgo the Virgin, Libra the Scales, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Archer, Capricorn the Goat, Aquarius the Water-bearer and Pisces the Fishes.

Astrology teaches us that there are also twelve types of individuals corresponding, roughly speaking, to these twelve signs. If you were born when the Sun was in Aries, the first sign, you are one kind of person; if you were born when it was in Scorpio, the eighth sign, you are another. Of course, there are other and finer distinctions. Not all of the hundreds of thousands or millions of people born strongly under the influence of one sign are the same. That would make life too easy, and too uninteresting! But it is true that each of these signs has definite characteristics, and that persons born under a certain sign take on a good many of the characteristics of the sign.

For example, if you were born between March 22nd and April 20th of any past year, you are an Aries person, a “native” of the first sign, Aries the Ram. Aries people are leaders, pioneers, idealists, the Sir Galahads of the world. Consistency is not their virtue, and they are inclined to start new things before they finish the old. They are, however, ambitious, high-spirited, generous and chivalrous- they have great possibilities, if only they know enough about themselves to realize them.

If you were born between April 21st and May 21st, you are a Taurus person. Taurus is the second sign of the Zodiac and is symbolized by the Bull. Taurians like the good things of like, especially the good substantial things like food and drink and creature comforts. They are very fond of the home. They adore children. In love they are inarticulate and undemonstrative. In business they have force rather than finesse. In their domestic life, they are agreeable and usually calm and self-controlled – but don’t take the latter trait too much for granted. It is never safe to wave the red flag in front of the bull!

If you were born between May 22nd and June 21st, you are a Gemini person. Gemini is the third sign of the Zodiac and is symbolized by the Twins. Its natives are often brilliant, versatile, flexible and changeable; sometimes dilettantes, often flirts, Gemini people are in truth twins- Castor and Pollux. The two sides of their character war with each other. They have turbulent minds; they make sudden digressions; they are annoyingly unexpected. But they are charming and stimulating. Their own mental agility generates mental agility in others. Their social success is assured. Their business success depends on their cultivation of self-control and concentration.