I would like to take this opportunity to take a break from the planetary information I have been writing for you, to compose an article for you about how Astrology can be used to help you on your life path.

Every planet, and many stars and asteroids, has an effect on you, your life path, your daily life and how you perceive all of this. But we are not here to use astrology as an excuse for not learning and growing. Astrology is here to be used as a tool to understanding, as I believe the key to anyone’s success in life has got to be through understanding themselves and why they are the way that they are.

When you are born, a map of the heavens is made and this shows us where every planet is sitting in your Chart and how you can then use that energy to grow.

Through the articles I have been writing for Cosmic Lighthouse since its “birth”, I have endeavoured to give you an understanding of the energies of the planets and how you can use this energy to help yourselves in life. There are no miracle answers to anything in life, but there is always the miracle of awareness. From awareness you can then define your intent, and from that intent is where you can then take action.

When you are born, a map of the heavens is made and this shows us where every planet is sitting in your Chart and how you can then use that energy to grow. This in itself is the most powerful tool you can possibly have, as it is your blue print, it is the YOU you chose to be before you arrived on the earth plane in this particular incarnation, and within it can be found your past lives and what energy you have brought with you to re-learn and explore, as well as the new choices you have made for this lifetime.

To be able to study the Chart of your child as soon as they have been born for instance, gives you the invaluable ability to then understand how you can direct and guide this precious new soul on his or her own journey. It will allow you to know how to develop the shy child to come out of their shell, and the extroverted child to channel their energy constructively. The Natal Chart can also show the talents and gifts each and every person has brought with them into this lifetime, and parents can therefore steer their child from an early age towards what they have chosen to be.

Just as there are negative and positive aspects to all things in life, so there are also these qualities with the planets and the signs of the zodiac. It is therefore very easy for any of us to get stuck in the negative qualities and not see how by just taking a different perspective all these can be changed to positive qualities. For instance the over-sensitivity of the Cancerian means that they prefer to care for others more than themselves and have a great depth of compassion and creativity because of these emotions. However, once they learn to turn this compassion inwards and put themselves first, they can discover an even greater depth of understanding and love, which can only come from honouring who you are and what you have to offer.

By choosing to be born under the sign of Cancer they have chosen to learn how to use this energy in a positive way to love themselves as much as they love others, and not get stuck in the negative qualities that can result in them being moody, possessive and controlling. Too often people look at their star sign and can only see what is not good about it, when if they can just change their perception of this energy, they can grow on a deep soul level from all the experiences that this energy brings them.

As another example of this, those born under the sign of Virgo can be so incredibly hard on themselves as this energy demands perfection on every level. Yet if they could see that this energy that they have enables them to always give 110% to everything that they do, they can enjoy the fact that they are here to succeed in life, and that that success does not have to come at a price. By letting go of all the pressure and unrealistic expectations they put on themselves, the success will be all the sweeter.

As the planets move through the heavens they go through a process of being Direct, generating their energy in an outward and usually active way, to going Retrograde, generating their energy more inward and in a way that is designed to process often what has been learned from the Direct approach.