Goddesses & Gods

Celtic Tree & Moon Sign

Sacred Animal Guardians

Flower Remedies

The Zodiac

The Four Elements

Gemstones & Crystals

Angels

Here is some background to the Information found in your chart and how you can use it. These ideas are only suggestions and there are no limits to the way you can use and combine the elements in your chart in daily life and for special rituals. There are many magical books available which will tell you more about correspondences and give you ideas on using them. The more you do so, the more you will come into balance with the natural and spritual world!

The Zodiac and Magical Correpsondences
The Zodiac or 'Circle of Animals' and the ancient art of Astrology are believed to have originated around 2000 BC in Babylonian times and up until the 18th century when Science truly eclipsed more ancient ways of viewing the world, Astonomy & Astrology were practiced hand in hand. Astrology is based on a holistic belief system in which celestial bodies, human beings & events on earth are not separate entities, but mirror each other in their actions and effects. As the old magicians say: whatever is born of a single moment in time, whether person, animal or event, will share something in common ~ so a baby born when Mars was rising over the horizon will be strongly influenced by the nature ofthe planet Mars, whether it be in its reddish hair, an abundance of energy or a fiery (Mars -like) temper! The ancient wisdom in your ZodiacGifts chart explains which sacred objects are linked to your particular time of birth, and comes from the Astrological system of Correspondences where earthly treasures like gemstones and plants, celestial planets, and sacred beings such as angels and gods were all linked by ancient rules of magical lore. This system used to form part of the knowledge taught only to Initiates in secret Mystery Schools in places such as Alexandria in Egypt or Athens in Greece though of course the Wise-women and Countrymen knew it all along! At last this this wisdom is being reawakened and is now available for us to use in our everyday life to increase our health, prosperity and awarenss of the natural world. Below is an introduction to some of this sacred knowledge & ways to use it.

Zodiac Information
For a complete horoscope interpretation, it is best to have a full astrological consultation. However a lot can be detected from knowing some basic facts about your horoscope.
Most people are familiar with their Sun Sign: 'I'm a Taurus' means this the Sun was in the sign of Taurus when we were born. What isn't so often mentioned, is that all the other planets listed on your chart were also in various signs of the Zodiac at your time of birth. Each planet symbolises a different aspect of our character, for example Mars governs our energy and the drive to go out and get what we want. Once you know which of the twelve signs Mars for example, was in at your birth, you can get a much fuller picture of your personality than from just knowing your Sun Sign. You can then discover what sort of Mars you have: a Mars in Aries should be strong and powerful, whereas in Pisces it may be more gentle in its approach or in Virgo you may work from behind the scenes! Knowing where the 10 planets are plus your rising sign can help you understand more about the way you tick and how to make the most of your natural strengths! Your ZodiacGifts chart will do this for you - all the positions of the planets are given in the ZG chart. Look at where your strengths are & concentrate on making the most of those qualities. This will come clear when you see the information in the chart. but it is always fun to find out more - from astrology books or the internet.

The Moon in your horoscope gives an insight into your emotional and instinctive nature & can be found in any of the 12 Zodiac signs. It is your 'hidden, mysterious' side in contrast to the outward, more recognisable 'Sun' side of your nature that shines through in daily life. Just as the Moon waxes and wanes in its phases, so we too have our changing moods & times of activity and rest. You may find that your inner nature reflects the Moon's phase at the time of your birth: if it was full, you may be more extravert and dramatic, if it was waxing, very creative and optimistic, if waning, more thoughtful, reserved and self-contained. There are many factors that make up our character but this can give another small insight into our nature. We may feel more at ease when the Moon moves into its phase of our birth. There are many ways we can attune to the Moon's phases and plan our activities to match hers!
Also it is useful to remember that the Days of the Week are named after the 7 traditional planets. For any day of the week, you can focus on the corresponding planet and use the energy of the planet on its right day. For example Wednesday, Mercury's day is a good day for writing, having meetings, creative projects and communication of all kinds. The other days are:

Monday = Moon = Nurturing/HomeActivities/Cooking/Family Tuesday = Mars = Outward/Purposeful Activities/Sports/Competition
Thursday = Jupiter = Studying/Broadening Horizons/Charity Friday = Venus = Shopping/Art/Romance/Love
  Saturday = Saturn = Finances/Long-term projects/Putting things in Order
  Sunday = Sun = Celebration/Gatherings/Thankfullness/Creativity

Your Elemental Balance
We all have our unique balance of the Traditional four elements of Earth, Air Fire and Water in our Chart and this is often highly accurate in determining our personality type. Earth is seen as Practical and down to earth in its approach, Air as cerebral and thoughtful, Fire as spontaneous and inspirational and Water as emotional and intuitive. To determine our balance we can count up how many planets are in each sign-group in our chart. However, we don't always demonstrate the Element with the most points in the chart. Sometimes without realising we work hard to make up for the signs we lack and to someone who doesn't know us well, we can come across say as an Airy person, extremely focused on learning and ideas, and yet may have little or no Air in our Chart; or we may have Airy friends or marry an Air type! Once you know your balance, you can see if the elemental qualities match the way you see yourself or ask other people if they fit! You may want to take up specific activities to redress an imbalance or you may be perfectly happy with the way the elements are playing out in your life. Simple things like lighting red candles as we work to increase our fire balance can really make a difference. There are 4 Elementals or nature spirits that we can call on to help us with our elemental balance: Salamanders for fire, Gnomes for earth, Sylphs for air and Undines for water...They are mysterious creatures, and often mischevious and tradition tells us they should always be treated with veneration and respect so they don't decide to give us any naughty surprises!

Gemstones and Crystals
Gemstones and Crystals have a long association with astrology and they have been used for adornment and healing for thousands of years. Each Gemstone is ruled by a particular planet and this will be due to a similarity in its colour, texture or place of origin: different classifications can be found. There are many ways to use the Gemstones listed in your chart: you can wear them as jewellery, place them around your home, in your bag, car or office. Keeping a secret one in the pocket and occasionally holding it during the day can bring comfort and balance. You can build up a collection of different crystals for protection, confidence, for healing and specific ailments and for spritual attunement. There are many good books which will help you decide which to use but often its best to use crystals you are naturally drawn to or that come into your life by chance. Crystals need to be charged if they are to work at their best and cleansed regualarly to keep their energy clear. Run them under Spring water or a tap, and then charge them under the Sun or Moon for a few hours and hold them to your heart aksing them to work for you in whatever way you need. Each crystal has its own Elemental or natural spirit (deva) which is usually invisible but may appear to your 6th sense!

Angels
Angels have been with us since the dawn of humankind. They exist according to the traditions of Judaism & Christianity and winged-angels evolved from the Greek Goddess Nike. They are radiant creatures, androgynous, superhuman, embodying pure innocence and love. Spirit messengers, they offer guidance, solace and protection. Incidents have been recorded throughout history of miraculous rescue by strangers who were actually Angelic presences, arriving out of the blue, delivering their help and disappearing again. Angel comes from the Greek word Angelos meaning messenger. The four Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel are the most familiar to us, but there are many others we can call on for specific purposes and there are traditional associations between Angels, ruling planets and crystals. The more we call on Angels the easier it will become to sense their presence in our life. Angles were created purely to help us evolve, and to assist us on our life's path. They always hold our best interests and are selfless but it is said they will only come if we ask. All we need is a quiet space and a heartfelt wish for their presence and assistance. Perhaps to start, light a candle, call upon your Guardian Angel, be still and eventually (or quickly!) you will sense him/her around you. You can ask help for family, friends, and all sentient beings across the world, living or in spirit. They don't just deal with emergencies - they assist with every-day matters too - even parking spaces or finding birthday presents!

  Lunar Hare by Niclola Slattery
www.nicolaslattery.com