I've been learning Astrology through "self-teaching" methods for several years, now. I've accumulated quite a database of my friends/family's birth data, and imported them into 2 professional Astrology software programs, that I own. Through extensive charts and numerous reports everyone becomes a case study, for me. I am a very visual learner with an outstanding quality of water. So far, my method(s) of combining written data with personal observation has allowed me to push forward into somewhere in the neighborhood of beginning advanced amateur ;) Astrology is my biggest passion. With my natal chart having, Intuition, Communication and Growth as 3 strong themes, it's obvious why Astrology fits me like a fine pair of designer Jeans (Leo sun).
That's how I learned Astrology too - over a period of 10 or so years. I'm still no expert at it. But I don't know of a better way to understand people than by learning their astrology. Thanks for sharing.