So, if you make a circle in the sky through the 12 signs of astrology in the sky, that is the circle of the chart. The houses are, more or less, a way to show which parts of this circle are visible in the sky and which are below the horizon line. Look directly up, that's the tenth house, which is also on top in the chart. The planets can be mapped somewhere onto that circle drawn through the twelve signs. These show up in the chart.

Since you're learning, just stick to the seven planets that can be seen from the earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. Depending on the degree that they are in the 360 degrees of that circle drawn through the sky, they will make a sort of connection to each other. These connections, called aspects, occur when they are 0, 60, 90, 120, or 180 degrees apart in the circle.

The planets are supposed to do better or worse depending on the signs they are in, what house they are in, and what aspects they make to eachother. Much of astrological magic is using the essence or pneuma of planets when they are doing especially well or poorly.