this box iscalled an *aspect grid* and is VERY important

astro.com has a free 'personal portrait' interpretation of a natal chart in the free horoscope section, you simply put the cursor on a planet and it brings a pop up box to explain what it means to have a planet in that house and any other aspects it has to natal planets. plus a six month free transit report in 'short report' Robert Hand gives a valuable in depth explanation of transits here –

Basic astrology
Now basically your sun sign is your 'core beliefs, values, ego' and Asc is your physical body, mode of expression and mask and persona that we all wear and hide behind, but definitely not what's going on underneath. What's going on underneath is your Sun sign. Moon sign, house placements and aspects describe your emotional and intuitive responses, also describes your view of your mother, as saturn describes your father by sign and house position.

So, think of a glass milk bottle the bottle is your Asc and your sun the milk, but the milk still has to 'come out' through the glass neck of the milk bottle....

Now aspects within a natal chart represent 'facets' of our personality, because we are all multifaceted beings. What these do is 'break down and compartmentalise' these facets into smaller bite size chunks. This does take quite a lot of self analysis and objectivity to 'see yourself' and why you do certain things and behave in certain ways. Actually it can be quite good therapy...

Remember back to your school days an opposition is 180', square 90', trine 120', and sextile 60' Now challenged aspects are conj (depending on the planets, cos some like each other and some really don't) squares and oppositions. Easy aspects are conj (if the planets get along) eg: Jupiter conj Moon, sextile and trine. Quincunx is inbetween (depending on the planets) causes health strains and unresolved or hard to balance planets/energies.

Natal chart aspects
http://www.skyscript.co.uk/sunaspects.html
http://www.skyscript.co.uk/aspects2.html
http://www.cafeastrology.com/natal/planetsaspectsastrology.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_aspect
http://www.astro.com/astrology/in_aspect_e.htm
http://www.skyviewzone.com/astrology/aspectsreference.htm
http://www.skyviewzone.com/astrology/aspectssun.htm
http://astrologynotes.org/wiki/Sun_aspects
http://www.astrologyindepth.com/Special:Prefixindex/category:
http://www.bobmarksastrologer.com/TOClessons.htm
http://www.theastrologicalaspects.com/
http://www.strangehouse.com/natal-aspects/index.php

planets in houses
http://www.horoscopeswithin.com/planetsinhouses.php
Houses/signs are like the backdrop of a stage/theatre, planets in houses behave like actors on a stage, the *aspects* show how these planets/actor behave in a house