Astrology 101: Printable Astrology Cheat Sheet PDF

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by stars and space. As a teen, I used to flip through my mom’s magazines just to read the horoscopes. We had only one astrology book in the house—Sun Signs—and I practically memorized it. Back then, I never imagined my on-and-off curiosity would one day grow into something more serious. But over time, that interest turned into a full-blown passion. Now, I’m taking a two-year course in professional astrology.

Starting out, though, wasn’t easy. There’s a huge amount of information to absorb before anything starts to make sense. You have to learn all the symbols, the modalities, the energies of each planet, sign, and house—and how it all connects. It can be completely overwhelming, and an overwhelmed brain isn’t great at learning. To make progress, you need structure.

When I first dipped my toes into astrology, I felt lost more often than not. I learned the glyphs first. Then a bit about the signs. Then the planets. Then the houses. But because I jumped from one topic to the next without a clear system, I kept forgetting what I’d learned. It was hard to build a solid foundation or see how the pieces fit together.

So, I made something for myself. While going through the basics, I started creating an astrology cheat sheet to organize the information I was picking up from my lectures. It helped me stay focused, and over time, it grew into a full seven-page guide.

My Astrology Cheat Sheet is designed for beginners who want the key information—signs, planets, houses, aspects—presented in a clear, structured, and visual format. It makes learning astrology less confusing and a lot more intuitive.

If you’re just starting your astrology journey, these pages can save you time and frustration. They’ve helped me learn faster and stay more confident while reading charts. I still use them when studying my own chart or looking at those of my family.

Just a heads-up: this is a paid resource. I don’t want you to waste time if you’re looking for something free to download. But the price is small—only €4.50 (around $5.50)—and it’s packed with everything you need to start reading natal charts. As one person who bought it said: “So informative & helpful!! Worth the purchase! 😄”

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What’s In The Astrology Cheat Sheet?

The Astrology Cheat Sheet consists of 7 pages packed up with all the basic information you need to read a birth chart. It comes in two sizes: A4 and US Letter.

Page 1: Astrology Symbols

The Astrology Symbols page is a newer addition to the Astrology Cheat Sheet, created to make learning and remembering the most common glyphs easier. If you’re just starting out, recognizing these symbols can feel like learning a new language. To help with that, I’ve also created a free astrology symbols quiz available on my new astrology website.

This page includes:

• Zodiac symbols – All 12 signs, from Aries to Pisces
• Planet symbols – Including the Sun, Moon, and all traditional and modern planets
• Aspect symbols – From conjunctions and oppositions to quintiles and quincunxes
• Chart point symbols – Such as Ascendant, Midheaven, North Node, and more
• Elements & modalities symbols – Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and the Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable modes
• Main asteroid symbols – Featuring Chiron, Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and others

This page works great as a quick reference or study companion while learning how to read birth charts.

Page 2: Astrology Chart Cheat Sheet

This is the first page of the full seven-page Astrology Cheat Sheet, and it’s one of the most essential for beginners and amateur astrologers. It brings together the core building blocks of astrology in one visual layout, making it much easier to understand how the zodiac signs, planets, and houses connect.

On this page, you’ll find:

• The Four Elements – Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, along with a quick guide to how each one shapes a sign’s personality. (I’ve just started covering the elements in more detail on my new astrology website, with more deep-dive articles on the way.)
• The Three Modalities – Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable signs, showing how each group expresses its energy.
• Planets and Their Rulerships – A clear overview of which planet rules each zodiac sign.
• The 12 Astrological Houses – Lined up with their corresponding zodiac signs, offering a quick reference to house meanings.
• Key Chart Points – Including the Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven (MC), Imum Coeli (IC), and the Lunar Nodes (North Node and South Node).

This page is perfect for getting a clear overview of how all the main parts of a birth chart work together.

Page 3: Planets Cheat Sheet

Page three focuses entirely on the planets—and it’s packed with the key details you’ll want close by when reading a chart or studying astrology. This page covers all 10 core planets: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Everything is laid out in two clear tables, making it easy to find what you need at a glance.

Included on this page:

• Planetary Rulerships – A complete list of which signs each planet rules.
• Planet Meanings – Keywords and themes each planet represents in a chart.
• Transit Speed – How quickly each planet moves through the zodiac per year, per sign, and per day.
• Planetary Strengths and Weaknesses – Including exaltation and fall (with degrees), detriment, and notes on which signs each planet aligns with harmoniously or inharmoniously.

This page is especially helpful when learning how planets influence personality traits, timing, and energy in a natal or transit chart.

Page 4: Zodiac Signs Cheat Sheet

Page four brings together all the key information you need to get a deeper understanding of each of the 12 zodiac signs. It’s designed to give you a clear overview of what makes each sign unique—perfect for beginners who want to quickly learn the core traits and associations.

This page includes:

• Zodiac Signs and Their Ruling Planets – A quick reference to which planet governs each sign.
• Keywords for Each Sign – Descriptive phrases that capture the essence of each zodiac sign.
• Elements, Modalities, and Dualities – Showing how each sign expresses energy through its element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), modality (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable), and duality (Masculine or Feminine).
• Body Parts Associated with Each Sign – A traditional link between zodiac signs and areas of the body.
• Zodiac Dates and Core Traits – Birth date ranges and a few words that sum up each sign’s personality.

This page is a go-to reference when learning sign meanings or identifying patterns in a chart.

Page 5: Astrology Houses Cheat Sheet

Page five covers the foundations of the 12 astrological houses, making it easier to understand how each area of life is represented in a birth chart. Along with the basics, this page also includes an overview of the four quadrants—a detail that often helps beginners grasp how the house system is structured.

This page includes:

• The 12 Astrological Houses – Lined up with their corresponding zodiac signs.
• Ruling Planets – Each house is paired with its traditional planetary ruler.
• Main Characteristics – A short summary of what each house represents in a chart.
• House Quadrants – An overview of the four quadrants and what each one relates to in terms of self, others, and society.

This page works as a solid reference for learning what each house means and how it contributes to the bigger picture in chart interpretation.

Pages 6-7: Astrology Aspects Cheat Sheet

The final two pages focus entirely on astrological aspects—one of the more challenging but essential parts of reading a chart. These pages are designed to help you understand how aspects work, how to spot them, and what kind of energy each one brings.

On page six:

• Aspect Meanings – A clear explanation of both major and minor aspects.
• Angles, Power, and Impact – Including how many signs apart each aspect occurs, its energetic strength, and overall effect.
• Orb Ranges – A guide to acceptable orb degrees for each aspect, depending on how tight or loose the connection is.

On page seven:

• Quick-Reference Table – Organized by element and modality to help you identify patterns more easily in a chart.

• Major Aspects by Sign – A practical guide showing where to look for oppositions, trines, squares, and sextiles based on each zodiac sign.

➡️ If you like this Astrology Cheat Sheet, you can purchase it in my Etsy shop.

Let me know if you have any questions/suggestions. Scroll down to the comments section below to get in touch with me.

📝 This article was originally published on July 6th, 2021. It has been thoroughly updated, and the publishing date has been changed to reflect the new version.