Our monthly astrology series, featuring guest editor and astrologist Indigo Witt, is here to help you feel more aligned with the universe, more grounded in your timing, and more connected to what’s happening above and around you.

I’m so honored to kick off Sunnie Forecast as your guest astrologer. Whether you’re a total beginner or already deep into your birth chart, I’m excited to start with the basics and help you connect with astrology in a way that actually makes sense for your everyday life.

I’ve always felt drawn to the mystical side of things, but astrology really found me during a big transitional moment in my life. I was questioning everything, and craving something that helped me understand my internal world and the illogical world around me.

Reading my chart for the first time felt like someone turning on a light in a room I didn’t know I’d been sitting in. What I love most is how validating and revealing it can be. Astrology gives language to emotions, patterns, and experiences we sometimes struggle to explain and in doing so, it brings us closer to ourselves and each other.

Astrology is not about putting people in a box. Your sun sign doesn’t tell your whole story. Your birth chart is an energy map. It’s layered, complex, and constantly evolving. Astrology itself is actually a very logical and accurate system, but it’s also interwoven with myth, intuition, spirituality, philosophy, divination, and magic.

Another big misconception is that astrology is “predictive” in some kind of fixed fate kind of way. It’s not about telling the future. It’s about understanding cycles and timing. Astrology doesn’t hand you a script. It reveals things you may already know about yourself but haven’t had the words or tools to express yet.

It’s not about saying, "Oh, being a Gemini absolves me of any guilt or responsibility." Astrology is actually about owning and embracing every dimension of who we are, including our gifts and struggles. The auspiciousness and invisible energies of it all become quite fascinating when you let go of limiting beliefs and approach it with sensitivity, openness, and curiosity. Astrologers are like translators, communicating people’s connection to the synchronicities and energies that exist around us.

Your birth chart is a snapshot of the sky at the exact moment you were born. It’s your personal cosmic blueprint. Every planet, every sign, every aspect of your chart reflects different parts of your personality, your experiences, and your potential. It doesn’t put you in a box. It invites you to understand your contradictions, your cycles, and the deeper themes running through your life.

The chart is a living thing. It evolves with you. When you study it with openness and curiosity, it helps you meet yourself with more compassion. You start to see your patterns more clearly and understand what actually works for you. And when you know how your energy flows best, you can start working with it instead of against it.

If you’re just getting started, all you need to generate your birth chart is your date of birth, the exact time you were born, and the city or town where you were born. The more precise your birth time, the more accurate your chart will be, especially when it comes to placements like your rising sign. You can plug that info into a site like Astro-Seek or TimePassages to pull up your chart and start exploring. (More on that below!)

Your sun, moon, and rising signs. These are often the first placements people learn, and for good reason.

Your sun sign is your essence. It represents your core identity and your life force. It’s what energizes you and helps you feel aligned. When your sun energy is blocked or ignored, you might feel disconnected from yourself.

Your moon sign represents your emotional world. It’s how you process feelings, how you give and receive care, and what makes you feel safe. The moon is where your inner child lives. It’s intuitive and vulnerable, and it holds so much wisdom.

Your rising sign is the energy you carry into the world. It’s how others perceive you, how you move through new situations, and how you begin your personal journey. Your rising sign often speaks to your life path and who you’re becoming over time.

Each of these the placements tells a different story. Together, they give you a fuller picture of how you show up in the world and what you need to feel whole.

Here are a few of my favorite resources to start exploring your chart:

☆Astro-Seek and TimePassages are great for beginners
☆Astro.com offers deeper dives and accurate calculations
☆Astro Gold is perfect for real-time transit tracking

Some books I love and return to often:

☆The Stars Within You by Juliana McCarthy
☆You Were Born for This by Chani Nicholas
☆Cosmos and Psyche by Richard Tarnas
☆Astrology for the Soul by Jan Spiller
☆Chris Brennan’s The Astrology Podcast is an inexhaustible place for those who really want to seek their teeth into the rabbit hole of the history of astrology and countless methods and perspectives

Until next time!

^{*This article is intended for general informational purposes and reflects the personal views of our guest editor. Any resources or recommendations mentioned are shared for exploration and inspiration and are not endorsed or vetted by Sunnie.}