3 lessonsHow astrology works
Light through a prism, the three building blocks of every chart, and how to pull up your own chart for free and count your houses.
Astro 101 · A self-paced course
Read the sky you were born under.
Your birth chart is a picture of the sky at the moment you arrived. In 34 video lessons, I’ll show you how to read it yourself, the Vedic way: the planets, the signs, the houses, and how they come together in your own life.
Start Astro 101$29 with the PHASESHIFT code, already applied · normally $50
Why read your own chart
Light, through a prism.
The simplest way I’ve found to explain astrology is light passing through a prism. The planets are the light, each one a character with its own personality. The signs bend that light, like landscapes with their own weather. The houses are where it lands in your life: your body, your home, your love life, your work.
Once you can read those three layers, a chart stops being a wall of symbols. It becomes a way to look at your life from new angles. It won’t tell you who to be. It helps you see who you already are.
And the next time an astrologer describes the weather in the sky, you’ll know where it touches your own life.
In the Rig Veda’s hymn of the Cosmic Person, the whole world is made from one great being. The Moon is born from his mind and the Sun from his eye. His breath becomes the wind, his head the heavens, his feet the earth. Vedic astrology still reads the Moon as the mind and the Sun as the soul, because in this old story you and the sky are made of the same parts.Rig Veda 10.90, the Purusha Sukta
What’s inside
Everything you need to read your own chart.
3 lessons
9 lessonsThe planets
Nine planets as a cast of characters: the Sun as the sovereign at the center of the court, Mercury the messenger carrying the news, Saturn sweeping the castle floors, and Rahu and Ketu, the shadow planets of eclipses.
13 lessonsThe signs
Twelve signs, each a landscape with its own weather, learned the easy way: as six pairs of opposites, with the elements and rhythms that tie them together.
2 lessonsThe houses
Twelve houses, the areas of life where the light lands, from your body and your home to your work, your friendships and your sense of meaning.
1 lessonPutting it together
A simple way to read any placement in your chart, with me reading my own chart as the example.
4 lessonsBonus lessons
Western and Vedic astrology compared, eclipses, the chakras in your chart, and a two-hour workshop on reading the quality of a single day.
The heart of the course
Three questions, then a reading.
Every reading in the course comes back to these. Ask them of one planet, and you’re reading your own chart.
- 01
Who is the character?
The planet. What role does it play at the court: warrior, messenger, lover, sage?
- 02
What’s the scene?
The sign. A king acts one way on his own throne, and another in the marketplace without his crown.
- 03
Where does it show up?
The house. Which part of your life does it light up: your home, your relationships, your work, your inner life?
- 04
Then, a reading.
In my chart, Mercury the messenger and Jupiter the teacher sit together in Aquarius, the sign of the people and new ways of doing things, in my 10th house of career. A talkative teacher, offering wisdom in new ways. Does that fit? You tell me.
Me and Rigby
Your teacher
I’ve been reading the sky since 2009.
I’m Telfer, a Vedic astrologer and Wild Mind Guide, and the founder of Ecotone Academy. I teach astrology the way I’d explain it to a friend over tea: with stories, pictures and your own chart open on the table.
For me, astrology is a structured way to look at your life from new angles, a universal map for getting to know the different parts of yourself. There’s nothing fatalistic about it. It’s a tool for knowing yourself.
You can’t do it wrong. You are the expert on you.
Good to know
Do I need to know any astrology first?
Not a thing. We start at the very beginning, with how astrology works and how to pull up your chart. If you’ve only ever known your Sun sign, this is where you meet the rest of the cast.
What if I don’t know my birth time?
You can still begin. Without a birth time you’ll see which sign each planet is in, just not your houses. A birth certificate or a family member often has the time.
Is this Vedic or Western astrology?
Vedic, also called Jyotish. It uses the sidereal zodiac, which is tied to the stars, so many of your placements sit about one sign back from the Western ones you may know. A bonus lesson walks through the difference. Both systems are accurate. They just measure different things.
Will it predict my future?
That’s not what it’s for. A chart is a structured map for reflection. It shows the weather you were born into and the weather moving through now, and you decide how to walk in it.
How long do I have access?
It’s yours to keep. One contribution, no subscription, and nothing renews on its own.
Where does the course live?
In the Ecosystem, Ecotone Academy’s online community. At checkout you make a free account, and the course is waiting when you log in.
Astro 101 · Self-paced
Learn to read your own chart.
One contribution, and the course is yours to keep. Go at your own pace, rewatch anything, and come back whenever an eclipse or a curious question sends you looking.
- 34 video lessons in eight sections, each with audio for listening on a walk
- How to pull up your chart for free and find every planet and house
- The planets, the signs, the houses and four bonus lessons
- Slides and PDFs on select lessons
- Questions welcome: comment on any lesson and I’ll help you fine-tune your reading
- A free place in the Ecosystem, Ecotone Academy’s online community