If you ever feel overwhelmed by astrology, you’re in good company. From trying to decode esoteric glyphs to making sense of phrases like “planetary ingress,” it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. But at its heart, astrology is a practical system. It provides grounded, healing, and useful insights that can immediately elevate your daily experience. All it takes is a little translation. Now, let’s break down how the CHANI app can help you demystify the stars and work with this ancient wisdom. 

Making magic seven days a week

The first way to invite astrology into your everyday life is to simply note whether it’s a Wednesday or a Saturday. Why? Because each day of the week is ruled by one of the seven traditional planets. Timing certain events in accordance with each day’s planetary ruler gives your efforts a boost of celestial support. For example, scheduling your sweaty exercise routines, fierce negotiations, or therapeutic vent sessions on a Tuesday will bring help from Mars — the warrior planet. But if you’re redecorating your bedroom, planning an opulent dinner party, or seeking inspiration for your next art project, choose Friday. That way, you’ll court Venus — the planet of connection and beauty.

For extra credit, use planetary colors on their corresponding days. Sunday, which is ruled by the Sun, would be an auspicious time to paint your nails gold, for instance. But if you’re wooing magnanimous Jupiter, burn purple candles or wear your lavender watch on a Thursday. Working with planetary rulers throughout the week doesn’t have to be difficult. It just takes a little forethought to rally the planets to your side.

Here’s a cheat sheet for the planetary days (and their corresponding colors): 

Reading your daily horoscope

Your daily horoscopes are the short and sweet paragraphs that refresh each morning at the top of the “Today” section of the CHANI app home page. These horoscopes pinpoint the most potent transits occurring on a given day and take into account which house in your chart they’re activating. Because your house placements are unique to your rising sign, you and your friends will likely receive different messages each day. Sometimes your daily horoscope invites you to prepare for upcoming shifts or slow down and take stock of how longer-lasting transits are impacting you. But generally, these bite-sized astrological reports help you temperature-check the current moment.

Why is this important? Reading your daily horoscope gives you a feel for what’s in store for you over the next 24 hours. Think of it as a celestial weather bulletin, reporting on what areas of your chart — and therefore your life — are likely to experience sunshine, showers, or wind gusts that day. By regularly checking your daily horoscope, you’ll never find yourself without an umbrella when you need it.

Syncing up with the Moon

As the Moon journeys around the zodiac, its relationship with the Sun changes, reflecting different amounts of Sol’s light. It hollows to a crescent during the Balsamic phase, disappears completely during a New Moon, and eventually fills back up again to form a Full Moon. The whole journey from New Moon to Full Moon to New Moon again takes about a month. And Working with the lunar phase each day clues you into when it’s time to push and strive, and when it’s time to let go, as we’ll unpack below.

• During a New Moon, Luna is conjunct the Sun — meaning you can’t perceive it in the night sky. This is an optimal time to set intentions for the month ahead. Remember, just because the seeds you’ve planted aren’t yet visible doesn’t mean they’re not growing.
• After the Moon has separated from the Sun enough to be witnessed in its own light, we meet the Crescent Moon. This time of the month delivers a burst of energy, energizing your effort to move forward with something new. 
• The First Quarter Moon offers a further adrenaline shot, encouraging you to take action on your dreams. This is also a time when you may encounter blocks or obstacles. Finding the savvy and resilience to navigate them will equip you with tools you can lean on in the long term. 
• During the Gibbous Moon, Luna is almost full. Similarly, your projects and spells are reaching a potent moment of culmination. This is a time to rally your resources for one more push.
• At the Full Moon, intentions and actions finally bear fruit. But Full Moon energy can feel pretty dizzying. This is a time to celebrate your efforts, but also take breaks and allow your system to rest. 
• The Disseminating Moon occurs as Luna starts to wane once more. This is the time to release what you’ve gathered and share what you’ve learned with others. 
• In the Last Quarter phase, we’re supported in shedding anything extraneous. We’re prompted to break down systems or structures that no longer work for us and set down any burdens we no longer need to bear. 
• The Balsamic Moon is an opportunity to distill our efforts down to a tiny seed of potential, which can be replanted during the next cycle. This is a time of deep rest and reflection. Don’t be surprised if you naturally crave more sleep or solo time during this lunar phase.

When you trust in the flow of natural cycles, Luna acts as a wise midwife, aiding you in birthing your dreams into the world more smoothly and on their own organic timeline. You can find out what phase and sign the Moon is in every day on the “Today” section of the CHANI app home page. Just scroll past your daily horoscope to the “Moon Phase and Sign” section below.

Understanding the latest planetary shifts with your Current Sky horoscopes

Your Current Sky horoscopes break down how the planets, points, and nodes are currently impacting you based on your rising sign.

When a planet switches signs, the themes associated with the planet appear in a new guise. When expansive Jupiter enters Libra, for example, it brings its growing power to matters of equality and justice. But when Jupiter holds court in Capricorn, it amplifies material gains and successes.

Because your Current Sky horoscopes are written for your rising sign, they’ll tell you where in your life you can expect these changes to occur. In the above example, if Capricorn corresponds to your 7th House of committed relationships, you’d notice more ease in your 1:1s. By contrast, Jupiter in your 10th House would boost your vocation or public roles.

To find out which sign corresponds to each house in your natal chart, check out the Me tab of the CHANI app. (Just remember: Your Current Sky horoscopes do this work for you, as they’re automatically set for your rising sign.)

The beauty of  Current Sky horoscopes is that they inform you of what’s in store for you and the world over the longer term, beyond the blink of 24 hours. And understanding the timing of these shifts alerts you to new threshold moments in your life, reminding you to honor your own beginnings and endings.

You can check your Current Sky horoscopes in the CHANI app by selecting the button in the “Today” section of the home page that reads “Your Current Sky horoscopes” (located right below the “Moon Phase and Sign” area).

Getting personal with your transits

Your natal chart is a snapshot of how the planets were positioned at the moment and location of your birth — it never changes. The sky, however, is constantly evolving. And as the planets in the sky shift, they interact with your natal placements.

Enter: The Transits tab of the CHANI app. This section of the app  is tailored most personally to you. While your Current Sky horoscopes are written for your rising sign, your Transits are based on your specific birth chart — from your Venus at 7° Sagittarius (just an example) to your Midheaven at 19° Libra. No one else will have the same breakdown of transits — unless you happen to have a twin with a very similar chart to your own.

We recommend checking your Transits daily in the app because they update in real time. Whether you’re experiencing the boon of a Jupiter transit or the growth edge of Saturn work, you’re going to want to know how to make the most of it.

Your Transits are the clearest celestial mirror of all, reflecting the specific details and storylines running throughout your experiences back to you. They all last for different durations of time, so they offer both short- and long-term lessons, and you’re always in the midst of many. When you work with your Transits, astrology shifts from being a conversation with the collective to a one-on-one discussion about the most pressing issues in your world — from health to work to relationships to creativity. To find out more, click on the “Transits” button on the bottom of the CHANI app.

Grounding it all down

To take it further, the CHANI app provides other tools to help you integrate the wisdom of the stars more deeply. Your weekly journal prompts, found under the “This Week” section of the app’s home page offer thought-provoking reflection questions to spark clarity about prominent astrological themes that are being activated in your life. And your weekly ritual, also found under the “This Week” section of the app, offers enchanting instructions for working with the current astrology through DIY ceremonies, spells, and offerings.

Astrology is a two-way street. The sky isn’t just speaking to you; you’re free to talk back. And in doing so, you form your own relationship with the cosmos.

Looking for more intel? Read your daily horoscope:

Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra 

Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces

Then download the CHANI app on iOS or Android for additional horoscopes, meditations, affirmations, readings for the current Moon phase and sign, and more.