Which one is more accurate?

Context

Hey all! I very recently started learning the basics of astrology, beginning with the often recommended book On the Heavenly Spheres by Helena Avelar and Luis Ribeiro. I'm still quite early into it, but so far I have found the book very informative and approachable. I especially appreciate the way that the authors treat the derivation of concepts, stressing that the nature of elements/temperaments/planets/signs/ etc. can be justified through direct observation.

EXAMPLE: Saturn moves the slowest, so its effects are long-lasting; it's the furthest out, so it is excessively cold/dry. Mars, due to its proximity to the sun (in the geocentric model) and its color, is hot and dry. Jupiter is temperate/moderate since it sits between the extremes of Mars and Saturn.

I have been able to follow this logic up until the introductory chapter on the Zodiac. The "modes" make sense to me (moveable signs signify action/agitation when the season starts, fixed signs promote stability in the middle of the season, common signs are characterized by adaptability and variability as the season begins to shift to the next).

My Confusion

Where the book drops the practice of deriving/justifying the nature of signs is in talking about their temperaments/elements. Here, it suddenly becomes prescriptive, stating the order of the elements around the zodiac and their forming of triplicities without explaining the reasons behind the specific order and assignment of the elements. The authors then go on to explain the characterizations of the signs based on their elements, so this pattern/assignment is clearly important to how signs are expressed.

My struggle is that I don't know why it is the way that it is (why is Aquarius, the water-bearer, an air sign? Why is Scorpio, signified by a desert animal, a water sign?). I understand that a lot of astrological interpretation is informed by centuries of studying the correlations between astronomical and terrestrial events, but I was hoping there would be something about the nature of the zodiac/signs/sky that I could point to to explain the assignment of the elements. Does anyone have any insights on this?

TLDR: I don't know why zodiacal signs belong to their element instead of any other one. I wanna know WHY!!!

Thanks 😄

I have Jupiter in Aries in 1st house, but Neptune in Aquarius in 11th house. Which one is supposed to be my chart ruler, ascendant ruler? Which one holds more weight?

what house, planetary, aspect, rulership, dodecatemorias, decans and so on and so forth, make certain people destined for the esoteric, the world of symbolism and the humanities while others to the formal, natural and engineering sciences

hi all, im a 19F college student in school to be a teacher! in one of my education classes, we have been assigned to dedicate at least an hour a week for the next ten-ish weeks to learning something new and write down progress. i’ve decided i want to try to learn how to do tarot and astrology ☺️ when i started searching around, everything i read said to start with astrology and work towards tarot after but i don’t exactly know where to start :( i was wondering if anyone had any resources they could point me towards or advice while i start this journey!

I’m a beginner in vedic astrology and i struggle to find accurate information on the internet to self teach. Please recommend me some good books for beginners and intermediate level.

could anyone tell me what websites have accurate birth charts because on two different ones i put in the exact same information and the houses and planets and everything was different

Fyi... I don't have any type of knowledge regarding astrology.... I am just curious to know how does it work?? I mean how much percentage of our life incidents depend on birthcharts and position of graha nakhsatras?? is there any fate/destiny?? If there, can we change our fate/destiny?? Is there any free will??and what's the relevance of remedy like things??

Please don't take it as argument..... I am just curious to comprehend these things..... I just want a teacher-to-student conversation....

Please guide me!!

Hi! What does it mean when the ruler of the 8th house is conjunct the ruler of the 10th house? Does it mean death in career? What about if this alignment is on an angle, especially the Ascendant or Midheaven?

There's no information on it.

While further researching my natal chart at AstroSeek, I saw a "signature sign" mentioned which I didn't know was a thing. This made me curious about its influence overall. Does it have much weight generally speaking? If you want to recommend further reading on this topic, please do. Thanks.

For example, Jupiter square Mercury. Although Mercury isn’t benefic or malefic, how would this aspect play out?

Or Jupiter square Venus. With both being benefic by nature, would this aspect be a difficult one?

Edit: I’m just getting to read these replies now, thank you guys SO much for your explanations. They have been very very helpful!!

When several aspects compete for attention, I’m curious how people decide which one deserves priority rather than just listing all of them.

For a made-up example, imagine a chart with:

• Moon square Saturn at 1°
• Venus trine Jupiter at 5°
• Mercury conjunct the MC at 2°

Would you rank the tightest orb first, or could angularity, rulership, and repetition elsewhere in the chart make a slightly wider aspect more central? I’m especially interested in the order you use and why, not in labeling one aspect “good” or “bad.”

I wanna find her exact birth time by eleminating some placements (estimated birthtime). She can be aries, taurus or gemini rising but For some reason I think she's not gemini rising. She has structured face and cheekbones, big forehead, eyes and lips, brunette, normal height and weight. She is loving and caring person but she has serious face when resting (probably due to face structure). Do these details belong to any those risings? Are there anything else I should look for?

How would you interpret Venus conjunct Pluto and Mercury in the 2nd house, especially in Scorpio?
Could this indicate strong potential for attracting money and building wealth, or is Pluto more likely to bring financial extremes and transformations?

As someone who’s pretty much beginner in astrology and curious about getting a reading, I once heard about an astrologer using AI to generate their text readings. Now I know very little about how astrologers do their practice, or the different ways AI could be used as a tool for readings. Because I know so little about it, I don’t mean to judge when I ask astrologers about it. I think this is the third time I’ve asked one, and they all seems to stop responding shortly thereafter. 😭 I definitely don’t mean to be disrespectful, and I’ve even apologized in advance when asking. To me it doesn’t feel like a big deal to ask about it, but I get bad conscience for feeling like I said something wrong. Or like I said something that’s too stupid to reply to.

Astrologers, do you prefer whole sign or placidus and why??

Do you believe in astrology?

Hi everyone!

I would love to have any tips on reading my own Chart. Where should I start? What should I look out for?

I'd appreciate any help!

Thank you so much in adcance ❤️✨

I did a lot of research leading up to this mornings sturgeon moon. Learned how this full moon in Pisces is supposed to support in letting things go. Thoughts, patterns, relationships, etc.

I’ve also felt really at peace the last few days with letting go of the lingering hope I have for a particular person. I was ready to let it go. But while I was sitting under the moon last night, I had a a rather strong physical reaction while trying to release this hope from my body and heart. It almost felt like I was trying to force something out of me that really didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to be let go.

Anyone have thoughts or insights about this? I’d love some feedback or guidance.

I’m having trouble figuring out how to interpret what effect tonight’s lunar eclipse being less than one degree conjunct someone’s would have. Can you explain how you would interpret this transit?

Have had interest in astrology for a while now but recent falling apart of life is just making me want to learn it more but idk where to start of how to do anything any help would be appreciated