Medical astrology, or health astrology, is the branch of astrology that deals primarily with health concerns. Whereas most astrologers seek to glean the deep truths of a person's psychological makeup from an individual's natal chart, medical astrologers look at a person's natal chart to determine which, if any, health issues they are likely to experience throughout the course of their life.
Uses of Medical Astrology
Medical astrology should not be used to diagnose illness. However, a competent medical astrologer can analyze a person's birth chart to determine:
- Periods of stress or lowered vitality when one could have health problems
- Bodily strengths and weaknesses
- Proneness to various disease states
- A tendency toward various types of illnesses
- Nutritional deficiencies
- The severity and duration of the disease
- The course of a disease by the use of a medical astrology chart called a decumbiture chart
- The best date(s) and time(s) for an elective procedure, such as surgery
How Zodiac Signs Relate to the Body
A good way to begin understanding medical astrology is to gain an understanding of how the astrological signs of the zodiac relate to the various parts of the body. In medical astrology, each sign of the zodiac is associated with an anatomical location in the body. The specific indications of each sign in terms of parts of the body are derived from the sign's position within the wheel of the zodiac, as well as the sign's basic symbolism and archetypes.
| Sign | Sign Association |
| Aries | Head, brain, skull, cranium, eyes, pituitary gland, and the adrenals |
| Taurus | Neck, mouth, jaw, throat, medulla and brain stem, larynx, thyroid, vagus nerve, and vago-parasympathetic nervous system |
| Gemini | Chest, lungs, respiratory tract, and nervous system |
| Cancer | Stomach, uterus, and female breasts |
| Leo | Heart, circulatory system, major arteries, and thoracic spine |
| Virgo | Intestines, especially the duodenum and small intestine |
| Libra | Kidneys, lower back, genitourinary tract, and lumbar spine, as well as the hair, skin, and all aesthetic body parts |
| Scorpio | Eliminative organs - colon, rectum, and bladder - as well as the sexual organs, gonads, and genitalia |
| Sagittarius | Locomotor apparatus - the hips, loins, thighs, and buttocks - as well as the liver |
| Capricorn | Knees, bones and joints, the skeletal system, and the structural connective tissue |
| Aquarius | Shins, calves, and ankles, as well as the sympathetic nervous system, the peripheral vascular system and the pituitary gland |
| Pisces | Feet and lymphatic system |
The Planets in Health Astrology
Generally, the astrological signs are the anatomical correspondence, and the astrological planets correspond to organ systems, individual organs, and other parts of the body. However, the astrological planets can sometimes have a similar meaning to the signs in that if a planet is unfavorably aspected, it affects the sign the planet rules.
A Medical Astrological Planetary Example
Sometimes a difficulty with the Sun (no matter what sign the Sun is in) can indicate a heart problem because the Sun is the ruler of Leo, and Leo rules the heart. However, this would need to be confirmed by other planetary indications.
Planetary Disease States
A medical astrologer must know how each planet reacts or acts to indicate a possible disease state in the body. The disease states that follow are descriptive of a planet involved in a hard planetary aspect with another planet.
| Planet | Disease State |
| Sun | Inflammation, infection, fever, and energy problems |
| Moon | Emotional disorders, water retention, allergic reactions, mucous formation, altered body rhythm, acute ailments, or female disorders |
| Mercury | Mental or nervous disorders, respiratory disorders, possibly speech disorders and hormonal problems |
| Venus | An imbalance of bodily energies, benign growths, a blood sugar imbalance, problems with the venous circulation, and a lack of tone |
| Mars | Inflammation and infection, fever, blood ailments, wounds, acidosis, burns, surgery, sudden illness, and muscular disorders |
| Jupiter | Problems with arterial blood circulation, disease caused by excess, obesity, difficulty in fat assimilation, or problems with the function of the liver |
| Saturn | Chronic disease, hardening, crystallization, obstruction, malignancy, atrophy, skin disease, and under activity of the organ ruled by the sign Saturn tenants in the chart |
| Uranus | Incoordination, spasm, sudden illness, convulsions, seizures, stress-related ailments and heart palpitations, and accidents caused by electricity or explosion |
| Neptune | Drug addiction, alcoholism, coma, poisoning, malignancy, hidden illness, a drug overdose, drug sensitivity, lowered immune system, and misdiagnosis |
| Pluto | Malformation, malignancy, massive infections, bacterial infections, or amputation |
The Brain and the Body Are Intimately Intertwined
It's important to keep in mind that most hard aspects in a natal chart or by transit will express themselves at the level of psychological issues or events only. However, a psychological issue or an event, such as a minor accident, can be the background of physical or health problems.
Sun Square Saturn Example
Sun square Saturn indicates that a person's life force is held back in some way. Psychologically, this is an individual who feels unworthy, has a lot of inner tension, and feels restricted or weighed down by duties and responsibilities. This is also a person who is also motivated to push through those feelings, work harder, and never give up. Healthwise, this is an individual who can suffer from overwork and exhaustion. This can result in all sorts of health issues, including chronic fatigue, chest pain, and heart palpitations. These health concerns are likely to be exacerbated by difficult transits or progressions. This is where the predictive aspect of medical astrology comes in.
Preventative Medical Astrology
The predictive aspect of medical astrology advances preventive medicine to an entirely different level. No longer is prevention limited to nutrition and health maintenance, but it can be targeted at strengthening specific areas of the body against upcoming health challenges, as indicated by future transits and progressions to the natal horoscope.
Medical Astrology History
Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine and one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine, said, "A physician without knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician." Medical astrology was, for thousands of years, an essential part of medicine.
Medical Astrologers
Although medical astrology is a complex astrological discipline that requires years of study and a keen, analytical mind, as well as knowledge of the body, there are many astrologers who specialize in medical astrology. Additionally, most medical astrologers are also practitioners of some kind of alternative medicine or therapy, be it herbal medicine, nutrition, homeopathy, or others, and most will frequently refer clients to therapists and therapies they can't provide.
Significance of a Medical Astrology Chart
Certainly astrology itself is far more than the daily horoscopes found online or in magazines and newspapers. This brief overview only scratches the surface of medical astrology. Astrology is a complex study, and medical astrology is an even more complex and specialized field. Though in the postmodern era, a medical astrologer might seem to be the doctor of last resort, this type of astrology done by an expert in the field can complement your consultations with a physician or alternative health care practitioner by leading you to ask the right questions.
