The way I was taught VORs was like this.
It's very basic, but it may give you an understanding.
Imagine the VOR station being a lighthouse with a normal rotating light but also a flashing beacon on top. The beacon only flashes when the rotating light is pointing north. It takes 360 seconds for the rotating light to turn full circle. So you're flying along, see a beacon flash and start counting. 90 seconds later you see the rotating light. you now know that you are east of the station. Do the same with another station and you have a fix. As long as you know where the stations are you now know your position. Of course the rotating light is a radio signal and in reality it takes a millisecond to rotate.
Well I said it was basic!!!
