Animal Astrology

Your Cat Has a Chart Too

Your cat has a chart too, just not the way you might think.

Now the hook is over, will you allow me some nuance? Astrology, as I’ve explained before, is a complex series of connections and patterns associating the movements of the stars with cycles on Earth. Most cultures have some form of this, and their respective customs and beliefs inform the nature of its outcomes, as well as how people used this knowledge. Its safe to say they likely all started ways of timekeeping in order to farm the land effectively, and understand the rhythms of their environments.

Animals are not particularly focused on in astrological discussions, outside of their associated symbologies as omens and portents, sacred beings to worship or sacrifice in service of a deity. This is very common in Vedic astrology, which prescribes religious significance to animals, like the cow being sacred to the Hindu practitioner. In other Eastern branches (Chinese, Tibetan, etc.), animals are the foundation of their metaphorical understanding of peoples’ lives, making up the whole zodiac and representing different elemental modalities—yet the curiosity is still in describing humans.

Now, I don’t claim to be the first person to think of this, you can find dozens of posts on Quora or Reddit suggesting ways to do it, but I am interested in taking animal astrology to the next level. To really starting to understand their places in our lives and both senses of identity in relation to each other. As a disclaimer, I want to be clear this is still about describing humans, as any judgements or interpretations made will occur through a lens of personal bias and projection, even if someone else were to be reading for the querant. In fact, in my practice, I want to lean into this, because it’s like how tarot cards tap into a level of the reader’s own subconscious they might not normally have access to, providing a lexicon of archetypes to give a new perspective to the question at hand. When understanding a pet, or even a wild animal, there is always going to be a level of human effect. Obviously this is more true for pets, as we grow and change with them by our sides, sometimes for their whole lives.

What I propose is a slight alteration to the normal natal technique in the case of animals. Instead of having to figure out when an animal was born—since that is not often recorded, especially if they are perhaps a rescue, and certainly not if they are some wild animal—I like to read a chart for the moment you met this animal, or the moment you believe your fates became entangled. By no means would this be an exact science (and don’t get all riled up about me using the word “science” in an article about astrology, that will have to be a conversation we have another day) but relationships rarely come down to that. There’s a good deal of fun you can have in the meantime understanding these creatures in your life in a different way than you might have expected, or confirming certain things you think are true in how you imagine them.

Perhaps its a vanity, but does it really matter if “real” or “accurate” from a data standpoint? If it helps you feel closer to an animal, and perhaps take more reverent care of them, it appears as a net good to me.

This was something I discovered when, last summer, two ~fourish week-old kittens appeared on our doorstep. Well, they were actually under the car in the dirt parking lot of my partners’ unit before we lived together, but regardless, they sparked a determination in me to make something meaningful out of the chart I pulled up for the situation. We had two cats (and two dogs) already but we instantly fell in love; what else were we supposed to do?

I was instantly amazed at the accuracy of how the chart of the moment describes the situation of discovering them, and what we would come to know of their preciously budding personalities. Scorpio ascendant conjunct the moon expresses the mystery of their arrival; the fact that we found them in Gemini (the sign represented by twins) season is too cheeky a coincidence. In the Cancer ninth house, Venus and Mercury are conjunct, exemplifying their initial transience (ninth house ruling travel) and, it would become apparent, Venus and Mercury in the kitten’s temperaments themselves. Meeyra as Mercury—curious, mischievous, quick—and Beef as Venus—gorgeous, moody, materialistic. Photos below for evidence.

It’s not a traditional method by any means, but I think it could bring a lot of joy and attention to special connections we have in our lives. Animals are not subject to human mores or customs, or at least not to the same extent we are, but that doesn’t mean they don’t participate in our culture or act as beings in themselves. I believe there’s a way to have fun with the application of astrology in general without sacrificing ethics or accuracy, and looking at it through this lens of circumstance and relationship rather than stereotype is one way I do that.

Join me as every Monday I bring you delicious astrological morsels and the potential for more. Check me out on TikTok, Instagram, or my website, www.theponderfoxobscura.wordpress.net, where you can also purchase services like pet readings (which come with art!). And thank you for reading!!

twins-tiny (lower left), twins-huge (lower right), Beef (upper left), Meeyra (upper right)