Using Astrology to Create Characters
This article was originally published in the anthology Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Guide To Publishing and Beyond. (Note: Article has been edited and updated for Medium. © Juneta Key)
Using Astrology to Create Characters
Creating 3-Dimensional Characters
Characters need to feel real to the reader. The reader has to be able to relate if we want them to keep reading.
The character has to touch us on a human level.
People have both good and bad qualities. A villain is not always a bad guy or evil in reality. He has his own story that powers his psyche and motivates his choices and actions.
Sometimes the villain thinks he is fighting for the right reasons. He is just as passionate about his cause and desires as the protagonist.
Maybe it is the law of duality that comes into play, they are both wrong and right. Sometimes the bad guy is not really a bad guy at all. The bad guy might just be someone in opposition to the hero’s agenda, both right with opposing desires.

What if the villain is someone the hero calls a friend. There are so many shades of gray in the human equation.
The scariest villain is the one that feels like the guy next door. Or the guy with the uncanny understanding of the human psyche, which is why he gets away with it. My favorite example of this is Thrawn from the Star Wars Universe.
This type of deep deception can be terrifying. That is why I look to the Zodiac and personality typing to help provide ideas for creating characters that are not like me.

Signs of the Zodiac:
Aries March 21st-April 19th, Taurus April 20th-May 20th, Gemini May 21st-June 20th, Cancer June 21st-July 22nd,
Leo July 23-August 22nd, Virgo August 23rd-September 22nd, Libra September 23rd-October 22nd,
Scorpio October 23rd-November 21st, Sagittarius November 22nd-December 21st, Capricorn December 22nd-January 19th,
Aquarius January 20th-February 18th, Pisces February 19th-March 20th
Character Traits via Zodiac
Negative & Positive traits
● Aspects to consider for conflict-Energy of the sign e.g confrontational (Aries element is fire)
● Consider the polar opposite sign to contrast hero vs villain — Example using Aries & Libra: Aries vs Libra, Fire sign vs Air sign, sign (Traits=Self-interest vs Shared-interest.)
● Positive Aries qualities: Curious, energetic, enthusiastic, action oriented, adventurous, risk-takers, like the Adrenalin rush, courageous, versatile, lively, and there are few more.
● Negative Aries qualities: Arrogant, insensitive, stubborn, impulsive, scattered, confrontational, tend to leave things unfinished.

Associations, Conflict & Personality Using Elements & Traits
Think of all the associations you can make to fire and apply that to the character in terms of energy, personality, and character thought process. The symbology of the elements can expand your ideas and the dimension of character growth potential.
Generate conflict for your characters using the elements and traits of the zodiac.
Spark your ideas by comparing your protagonist traits and elements to your villain’s. This can find conflict potential and opposition for the characters and sometimes overall ARC of the story.
Excavate Info in Astrological Houses, Aspects, Minor Planets & Asteroids, South & North Nodes

Get inspired in a more general sense by mining astrology for more characterization traits using the zodiac houses, different aspects ratios, minor planets-asteroids, the rising sign, and north-south nodes to expand a character’s world.
The possibilities are endless for conflict, external and internal when searching for ideas to write about. They work for the good guy, bad guy, and your whole cast of characters.
Tack any of those descriptions or elements, especially lumped together, on a character to get a snapshot into their psyche, what that person might be like, and why they do the things they do.
Whether it is protagonist or antagonist both should have qualities from each category to make a more rounded personality.
You can slant the traits and element more to the negative than positive or vice versa, depending on the character type you want to create. e.g., good guy, bad guy or something in between.
Using Astrology Software
I like to use astrology software for quick report generation of the different signs, which gives me a more detailed analysis of each.
There are lots of free sites you can use to find basic astrological information.
If you plan to keep using the zodiac for character creation than you may decide to invest in software that does it for you generating an unlimited in-depth astrological profile for every character.

Using Personality Testing
For myself, I like knowing the psychology of my character and often use personality typing tests to glean understanding.
A personality test is not about whether someone is good or bad, but about strengths and weaknesses.
When I write a character that is not like me at all this information can help form a clearer picture of why the characters makes the choices they do and/or hidden motivations that the character might not be aware of themselves.
My personal favorite test is the Myers-Briggs personality test and Keirsey Temperament test. For core motivations the Color Code test.
Don’t take the test yourself, let your character take the test. He may surprise you triggering the best kind of writing.

In conclusion, this is not how to create a character so much, but a presentation of how astrology and personality typing might aid you in the creation and generation of ideas, conflict, and characters that are not like you.
Using Astrology to Create Characters
PERSONALITY TYPING FUN LINKS
- ColorCode Personality Typing Specifically geared toward your CORE motivation = driving force = why deep down you do the things you do. (My Color is Blue)
- Personality Typing–MYERS-BRIGGS-JUNG TYPOLOGY This one is more about strength and weakness which change with time. You can change types. I have tested ENFP, ENTP, ENFJ, INFJ, INTP over the years. (My Type: INFP)
- MY ARCHETYPE: ( 38% THE CREATIVE, 38% THE VISIONARY, 24% SPIRITUAL) What ARCHETYPE are you? Take the QUIZ.
We are all on the hero’s journey.
What’s my sign? Sagittarius.

Element: FIRE Quality: Mutable Moon: Gemini Rising Sign: Leo Chiron: Pieces
Below is a character profile I have adapted for my own use with astrology and personality typing of characters with links to helpful resources.
Basic Extended Character Profile Cheatsheet
Click on the gray button below Basic Extended Character Profile Cheatsheet, as my gift to you, a writing resource, to help with creating character basics with astrology and personality typing.
Once you in the Google Doc, which I have set to view only if you click on FILE in the top menu (left) it gives you the option to making a copy.
That will save it to your Google Doc with an editable copy, OR you can just copy and paste into a text program of your choosing. It was created to be reusable.
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Portfolio Appearances & Articles By Juneta Key - Juneta Key
August 25, 2022 @ 21:10
[…] Expansive Mini-Guide for Structuring Your Short Story on Insecure Writer’s Support Group BlogUsing Astrology to Create 3-Dimensional CharactersYou can find this article in my Publication The Art of Fiction on […]
June 26, 2019 @ 13:31
Heh, I’m an Aries, but I’m not a risk-taker nor am I confrontational. Leaving things unfinished, though… yeah, that’s me.
I haven’t looked at Astrology for my characters, mostly because they live in a world with a different calendar and star system. I did take a personality test for my main guy, and he came out as an ENFP, the exact opposite of my ISTJ personality. I think my favorite source of starting characterization is the character Archetypes listed in a book I picked up 12 years ago from the Barnes and Noble bargain rack: 45 Master Characters. There’s usually some gender-bending in the roles they play, for instance my main male is most often The Maiden (idealistic and needs other people to help get him out of a jam) and my main female is The King (she likes to manage everything and puts her people foremost in her concerns).
June 24, 2019 @ 15:43
I love astrology, but I’ve never actually used it as a character development tool. Now I’m trying to remember when Beth’s birthday was in Flaming Crimes. It was April, like when the fire happened in my real life, so she must be an Aries like me. 🙂
June 24, 2019 @ 11:03
That is clever, Juneta. I never thought of that. You get an entire banquet of related characteristics.