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Tag Archives: real life astrology

13 November 2018 Finding Lost Objects, Part 2

12 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in astrology, Horary

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Not an object, but good that he was found! ‘The Finding of Moses’ By Lawrence Alma-Tadema 1904 {{PD}}

Please see yesterday’s post for the initial part of the article. Today is also bare of perfecting aspects, with only a semi-square from the Sun to Saturn suggesting we may be keenly aware of obstacles and rules–try to see that they seem larger than they are, and that’s because our attention is naturally drawn to them right now–and that can make problems appear much bigger than they are.

Our example in the article was drawn with Placidus Houses, but the rules apply to any House system–I only note it because of a mention of intercepted signs, which don’t happen in Whole Sign, which I use now.

We need to note some particular conditions applicable to finding lost items:

·         If we are asking about something ourselves, we are designated by the 1st House, but if we are asking for someone else, we will cast the chart, then ‘turn’ it so that the House that represents that individual from our point of view becomes the 1st. For instance, if we ask about a lost item for our daughter (“Where is my daughter’s passport?”) the 5th House, representing our child, becomes the 1st, and so the significator of the lost item is found in the original 6th, which is the 2nd from the 5th. If, however, we ask and refer to our daughter by name (“Where is Hildegarde’s passport?”) we would designate her as the 7th in the original chart, and so the 8th becomes the house indicating the lost item. This is part of why in all Horary the framing of the question is of such importance. As an astrologer, one frames the question and reads the chart from the question-asker’s point of view. Example: If the person asking the question is named Chloe, the astrologer asks, ‘Where are my (Chloe’s) keys?’ and places Chloe in the 1st House.

·         The first place to look for an object is indicated by the House where the significator of the object is found (so, if the ruler of the 2nd is Mars and it is posited in the 3rd, we would look in those areas represented by the 3rd: a sibling or neighbor may have taken it or know where it is, or it may be in their home, it may be in the garage or in the car, at a store or market, in or on a desk or other place where writing occurs or written materials are kept, in the TV or media room or on one of these appliances, in a hallway, stairway, or other passage, including out in the road or driveway, at a local school or park, or left on a bus or taxi) ; the sign of the significator, as well as its dispositor (ruler) can also give clues, as can the House where the dispositor is found. The House of any indicator often names the physical place (on a shelf, at the dump, in bed) while the sign describes the conditions (Scorpio= wet, marshy, low lying areas, humid places, near plumbing; Aquarius=uneven terrain, dry, literally in the air or hanging somewhere, where it’s breezy–near a window, for instance)–this isn’t a hard and fast separation, though, and lots of variation occurs (the sign pointing to location, for instance, rather than atmosphere). There are lots of possibilities for a significator–part of our job in reading the chart is to think logically about the object, and try to build a picture or three of where it might be from those many possibilities.

·         Directions can be judged from the actual directions in a chart: ASC is due east, MC north, and so on, for charts drawn in the Northern Hemisphere. For the Southern Hemisphere, please see the link in the comments.

·         The signs are of course associated with colors, the most famous probably being Aries’ Martian red. Sometimes colors can help with location, but as with direction, it may not be particularly helpful or necessary in finding a lost object.

·         The Part of Fortune can be useful for locating lost objects. Its location can be read just as are those of the significators and their dispositors, though I find that it will give the most useful information when it is in the same number degree, regardless of sign, as one of the significators. Use the Part of the original chart, even if you turn it to accommodate someone else’s viewpoint.

·         A retrograde planet as significator of the item suggests it will be found or return.

·         If the significator of the lost object is in Virgo, Pisces, the 6th or 12th, or is conjunct Pluto or Neptune, the item is probably tucked out of sight, is hidden, obscured somehow, must be dug for or ‘revealed’, in some way, and sometimes may not be findable.

I decided to use a chart I’d just drawn for a real-life problem: I asked, “Where is my book?” The book I was looking for is the exceptionally useful Horary volume in the March and McEvers’ ‘The Only Way to . . .’ series. I’ve learned a great deal from other volumes on Horary, but theirs is the cleanest and most direct methodology, and never fails me. Though I know what I’m doing in terms of reading the chart, with lost items it helps to have a comprehensive list of possibilities for what a planet, sign, or House might represent, and these are included in their volume and I use those lists as references frequently–the last thing I wanted to do was overlook something useful in explaining things to you, and now the book I needed was nowhere to be found!

The chart is drawn for 27 November 2012 at 10:47 AM PST Seattle, Washington USA. The Ascendant is 18 Capricorn 27, and certainly reflects my serious attitude! Also accurate are the intercepted sign in the 1st (Aquarius, my natal ASC) and the placement of Neptune and Chiron therein, with Neptune signifying my distress and confusion at having looked for two days and not finding it, and Chiron in Pisces probably relating to the fact that I’m trying here to relay my unique skills (Chiron) to you! That Ascendant is safe to judge (though my significator does fall in the ‘fiery way’, perhaps reiterating my stress), the 7th is clear, but uh-oh! The Moon is Void, at 26 Taurus 57, though it is less than 1 degree past conjunction with the South Node. Now this is where the personal discretion of the astrologer comes in: the Nodes are not bodies but points where the Moon’s path crosses the ecliptic–the Nodes identify the most extreme points on this path at any one time–so does this count as the Moon being Void, and so should we abandon the chart right now as unreadable? Not every astrologer uses the Nodes in Horary, and though I do note that they often appear in a House significant to the question, and point in the inevitable direction that the question will evolve (the North Node) I still don’t consistently pay attention to them in Horary–but sometimes they become prominent, as here.

When I hit something so iffy that I end up not being sure what to do, I usually proceed, with the idea that if anything else is unclear then it’s over, but also open to the chart being legitimate if everything else tells a coherent story. Ruler of the 2nd, significator for the ‘lost object’ of the book, is Neptune, which sits in the 1st. This suggests I either know where it is or I’m the one who put it where I can’t find it–certainly descriptive of the situation and common to my difficulties! In its own sign of Pisces, the significator suggests the book is hidden or obscured from view, and as a location the 1st suggests that the book is in the area where I spend the most time–that makes sense–but where to now? The significator is its own dispositor, and the entire house is where I spend my time! We might now inspect the Moon, though it mostly says that it may be in a place I’ve stashed it before (Moon conjunct the South Node). The 2nd itself hold Pallas in Pisces (describing the esoteric wisdom contained in the book) and Uranus in Aries (suggesting perhaps that I need to aggressively continue looking, and that it might be found suddenly), and in Aries we might find a hint as to the location or circumstances under which it will be found: discarding the outside possibilities, we have somewhere near a heating source, somewhere not frequented often, possibly near the ceiling (because heat rises?) in or near something metal.

So, we go to another possibility, inspecting the ruler of a House where the object would naturally be found, in this case, a book would fall in the 3rd of written materials (yes, it’s been published, but the 9th would be more appropriate for Jupiterian items, like a horse or TV). Aries is on the cusp, with ruler Mars in the 12th conjunct Pluto with only 1 minute difference–the location says hidden, the sign (Capricorn) says in something solid, a box, perhaps, maybe black or dark brown, behind closed doors, something wooden, or made of cement or rock, contained, or maybe under a pile of other things, but put there with the idea of staying organized that is inherent to Cappy. Pluto hints that it might have been re-cycled (yikes!) or destroyed–but close as Pluto is to Mars, it’s not necessarily a player. Pluto does rule the 10th, implying that where it’s been put might have to do with my career, someplace I store professional papers–okay, but I thought I’d already looked in all those places?

Let’s review the clues: the book is hidden or obscured from view, placed somewhere I’ve put it before and where I spend a lot of time, probably in pursuing my career, in something solid, near metal or a brown or black Capricorn material (wood!) behind a door of some kind, placed there trying to stay organized–and then it hits me! This describes the seldom-used, re-finished to show its natural brown wood, drop-down desk that holds astrology papers and books, most of which I seldom access or need–unlike the book I’m looking for. I had looked in the drawers of this desk, and even opened the drop-down door, but somehow missed the book which, Eureka! I find tucked under some papers in one of the desk’s cubbies–oh, and there’s a large copper planter on top of the desk, and the hardware is black metal. This desk is located right next to the desk where my computer sits–it is the corner of the house I frequent the most, no question–however, the location doesn’t correspond to directional indicators–unless I imagine myself literally standing in the place of the ASC, facing in to the chart, as I’m sitting at my computer desk–then the book would lie physically to my left, where we find Mars in the 12th.

Horary can be extremely complicated, and it does take a long time to become comfortable making discretionary judgments about which clues to follow, but it’s a rewarding branch of astrology that can deliver some amazing and highly practical results. Good luck with your explorations!

Here’s another example I tackled on the blog, and see here if you’d like a Horary done for you–thanks!

 

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12 November 2018 Let’s Find It! A Straightforward Lesson in Locating Lost Objects Part 1

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in astrology, Horary

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‘Hide and Seek’ By James Tissot c1877 {{PD}}

Nothing new perfects today, as we breeze along under the light of the waxing Moon. Instead of a forecast, I offer a re-print from the pages of ECLIPSE:

Misplacing an object is one of the most common mini-upsets we can experience. After all, we wanted that thing right now, and somehow it is not where (we think) we put it! Astrology can be exceptionally helpful in locating what’s gone missing, living or inanimate–though right now we’ll concentrate on a simple method for finding objects, rather than people, or even pets, as finding the living can get a little complicated.

We start, not with the moment we begin looking for the object, but in the moment when our minds form the intent of drawing a horary to ask the location of the object. So, after 45 minutes of digging through couch cushions and going on hands and knees around the room, searching for our keys, we sigh and say to ourselves, looking immediately at the nearest timepiece, ‘Where are my keys?’ We proceed to the computer with the time in mind, draw our chart for that time, and then inspect it for a few matters that can affect its reading, before we actually approach the question.

There are four classic indicators that a chart will not deliver a reliable answer (or that the astrologer shouldn’t judge the chart). Please keep in mind that there can be much variation in method from astrologer to astrologer, largely through each person’s own trial and error to find what works best for them, or in their dedication to horary from a specific perspective (such as following ancient proscriptions). Do not think that comparing methodologies will get you any closer to definitive rules! But, there are some rules about when it’s safe to judge a chart that can be considered Universal. Here they are:

·         An Ascendant that precludes learning anything new from the chart. This arises when the Ascendant for the question falls in the first 3 degrees of a sign, or in the last 3. With the 3 early degrees of a sign, we are looking at a matter that is in its infancy. The situation or circumstances are not developed enough to get a clear handle on–we can’t read what hasn’t yet taken shape. With the last 3 degrees of any sign on the Ascendant, we are notified that the matter is, in some essential way, already settled or formed. We can find out in what way by reading the chart, but in my experience these are always circumstances we are already aware of, and so the chart can add nothing to our store of knowledge about the issue. And as we know, should the Ascendant fall in the 29th degree, the querent (person asking the question), if not the situation itself, is under extreme stress (in fact, everything in the 1st House will describe the person asking the question. For example, if Mars is here, they are likely driven by anger, if Neptune, they are confused or distraught).

·         The Moon is Void of Course. This is when the Moon will make no major Ptolemaic aspect before leaving the sign: conjunction, sextile, square, trine, or opposition. For horary we look at applying aspects only, though the wonderful March and McEvers suggest that if the contact is less than 1 degree past exact it can also be counted–and my experience supports this. I also use the quincunx, as it’s telling of the need for change or modification to the situation in question before a final answer is available; it can often suggest the possibility of a desirable outcome, or conversely the denial of fulfillment, dependent on the querent’s choices and actions from that point forward–in short, it tells you that something can still be done to affect the question. A good way to think of the results of a Moon Void of Course chart is to say, ‘Nothing will come of it,’ based on the idea that the Moon drives the action. March and McEvers also note that, if the answer to the question can be obtained without referencing the Moon, then a Void doesn’t matter–this is in my opinion true.

·         Saturn in the 7th House, Capricorn or Aquarius on the 7th House cusp. Saturn in the 7th indicates that the one judging the chart (the astrologer) will miss something relevant and likely then come to a mistaken conclusion, make mistakes in calculation, or judge incorrectly some relevant part of the equation. Capricorn and Aquarius are both ruled by Saturn in ancient practice, hence the rule about these two signs on the 7th cusp suggesting the chart should not be read. I have read charts with those signs on the 7th House cusp, but with mixed results, and I have never read with Saturn in the 7th–both rules are worth noting and respecting–I follow about Saturn’s placement consistently, as well as when Cappy is on the 7th cusp, but since I use Uranus I don’t include a prohibition when Aquarius is 7th cusp ruler.

·         Moon in the Via Combusta. This rule is the one most likely to be ignored by modern astrologers. It’s based on the passage of the Moon through 15 Libra to 15 Scorpio, the claws and body of the Scorpion, and which area at one time held several malefic fixed stars. The stars have since precessed (moved forward) in the zodiac, but the area of ‘the burning way’ or ‘fiery path’ is still held to be itself malefic by some astrologers. This is one rule I don’t follow, but have caught myself more than once checking it out in cases where it might provide the answer to why a chart isn’t working!

Now we have the basics as to when one should just throw up one’s hands and walk away from a reading. If none of these circumstances occur when we draw a chart, then we have the go-ahead. What we need to remember is that a horary chart is, just like a birth chart, a snapshot of a moment in time and space that contains information–and in this case, because we are focused on a specific question/ set of circumstances, we don’t read the entire chart, we only read the elements associated with the question–that trims it down quite a bit, and makes lost objects a good place to begin to learn about horary astrology, because they typically involve only two parties, the person looking for the thing and the thing itself.

Some astrologers only use the planets visible to the naked eye, in the tradition of those who first formulated horary rules (which gives us Saturn as ruler of Uranus and Jupiter as ruler of Pisces), and many modern practitioners use the higher and lower octave method i.e. for Aquarius on the cusp of the 1st and so representing the querent, for example, the astrologer might examine both Mercury (lower octave) and Uranus (higher octave), and some argue against using the outer planets at all as they move so slowly. I find that the outer planets are indeed usable, as they can often represent a certain sluggishness, impermeability, or static quality of the matter or person they represent, though those who stick to the ancient rules do not agree, and I also often examine both higher and lower octave, and ancient rulers, for corroboration of an outcome.

To find a lost object we look at the ruler of the 1st, which stands for the querent (the person asking the question), the ruler of the 2nd, which is the usual House used to represent a lost object, and the Moon, which is always co-representative of the querent (except when another part of the question commandeers this significator) and also acts as an indicator of the passage of time, and so can weigh in on expected events or help us discern how long we might have to wait until we once again have the object in our hands. As well, the planets that rule the significators are important for what they might convey. One important thing to note which seems to be very true: we should not ask questions idly–some emotional impetus is necessary to bring the ‘urge to know’ forth at just the right moment in the mind–this way the timing of a question has some rhyme and reason behind it.

Tomorrow I’ll post the second and final part of the Horary lesson on finding lost objects.

 

‘No Fear of Perfection’ An Astro Portrait of Salvador Dalí

07 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Inferior Conjunction, Mercury retrograde, Natal Delineation, Sun/Mercury Inferior Conjunction

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By Carl Van Vechten – Van Vechten Collection at Library of Congress, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1316978

Another re-print from ECLIPSE, this time on the wildly original Spanish artist:

Born with Mercury retro, just after an Inferior Conjunction, Salvador Dalí (11 May 1904 8:45 AM Figueras Spain) spent his life as an innovative artist, so we might expect a prominent Neptune and Uranus, but the Merc retro natal point, at 23 Taurus 28 Rx, plays a big part as well. If Merc is our ability to communicate, Dali’s ability was shaped as a sense of anticipation. This is what we have in the post-Inferior Conjunction phase of the retrograde: a subliminal excitement, a shadowy coalescence of ideas and concepts, and we are willing to try things that are new and perhaps considered unusual for us—and somehow Dalí was able to translate this into his creative life, probably through the 29 degree Uranus in Sagittarius, a placement requiring expression of the individuality (and creating tension with the individuality!) perpetually.

Neptune is in the Whole Sign 1st, above the Ascendant, sextile Venus, trine Black Moon Lilith, and squared by the natal Aries Moon and Midheaven. He may have identified with being creative, but not entirely consciously. A great deal of his creative ‘fuel’ may have been women, relationships (he had many with both men and women, and met his wife Gala, 9 years older than he, when she and her husband, a poet, and daughter came to visit him—she remained when they went home). Dalí excels at delving into the material others avoided—as seen in his penchant for eyeballs, melting clocks, and the disturbing dreamscapes of his Art. The contact to Moon-MC is puzzling, until we consider that though the social sphere (Jupiter in the 10th in Aries) found him disruptive and odd (10th, ruler Mars conjunct Mercury—he was communicating), his parents, especially his mother (10th, Moon) encouraged his Self-indulgence and unusual creativity. This undoubtedly affected the emotional perceptions, with the Aries Moon emphasizing Self-Will as the way to feel emotionally nourished—and coupled with the MC, probably made him equate emotional satisfaction with fame and professional accomplishment.

Interesting to note that he was born 9 months and 10 days after the death of his older brother; given the same name and told he could never replace him, Dalí came to believe he literally was his brother’s replacement, his reincarnation. Mercury, the natural representative of siblings, is conjoined his Sun (in this case perhaps both suggesting the melding of identities and, as Merc is moving away from conjunction, the effort toward individuality and freedom). Merc rules his 3rd, representing his siblings, with Virgo there; it may have been the childhood criticism that made him who he was in a significant way—it certainly figured in his thinking.

His wife Gala may be key to so much here, in particular the extreme sexual nature, represented by Pluto opposed Ceres. This suggests his deepest sexual energy may have been at odds with what he considered ‘natural’, and yet Gala, an incredibly strong Mother Earth figure, came along and negotiated his own sexual nature with him—she was his Ceres, adjusting his sense of Self (Ceres quincunx the Sun) as well as becoming a foil for his passion (Ceres opp Pluto). Also interesting, this amazingly original and unique artist died in the period of his Uranus Return at the age of 84, at the point of a symbolic, and very real, completion of a cycle.

By Promomonster – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45094742

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.”– Salvador Dalí  This from a man who wielded the most perfect brush strokes in his oil paintings I’ve ever seen.

Click here for this week’s outlook

Chiron Into Aries and A Life Lesson in Astrology

24 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Chiron, Transit Effects Explored

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Chiron has recently entered Aries (and later today the Sun will semi-sextile it from 00 Taurus, offering a solid, real-world glimpse of Chiron in action in your life). A change of sign for Chiron is like a change of sign for any other body: there’s the slightest shift to related energies in the air, but nothing changes for natal placements in Aries (or by hard contact to other Cardinal placements) until Chiron is within aspect orb, and of course, it doesn’t assert itself in general until there is contact between the asteroid (or is it a comet?) and other bodies. There, I’ve said it. Quit hyperventilating about how a body changes sign and the angels sing and fire falls from the sky and everyone gets a kitten–they don’t, it doesn’t, and we have to go out and find that kitten like every other time we’ve gotten one.

So what changes? Every time Chiron aspects some other transiting body, or is aspected by one, we have the chance to see Chiron in Aries in action–and that might be quite literal, in this Fire sign–so that we may notice how our own actions, or the aggressive choices of others, have caused wounds or healed them. The emphasis is on the individual responsibility for hurting and healing. During the transit of Chiron through this sign, we are bound to discover our own role in things, as well as the best actions we can take to make use of our Chirotic skills (indicated by Chiron’s position and contacts at birth). This may also foster expectations that alone we can move mountains–we may feel the hurt of trying to remedy something on our own, without assistance–but that is likely an illusion, created by too much attention to our own wounds. Handling this transit well requires enough humility to see that others are wounded, too, and that being responsible sometimes means recognizing the validity of others’ injuries, stepping out of the Aries box that says, ‘I, I, I, me, me, me’ and recognizing our likeness to and ability to partner with others (the reciprocity of opposing sign Libra).

Will this affect relationships? Yes! Especially early in the transit, before Chiron has made many contacts to other bodies or to individual natal ones, we may be prone to see ourselves as more separate than is real, to laundry list the ways others have hurt us–but perspective on our own role in things should be the goal, and when achieved will work wonders to illuminate all that’s right about what we and others do.

A Life Lesson in Astrology

You can skip this unless you’re a practicing astrologer or want to get the most out of your astrologer in your role as client–and even then, you have a choice 🙂

I once consulted for a corporation that was entering delicate negotiations; understandably, they wanted guidance that would result in them attaining their goals (yes, I’m being unusually vague here–though it happened almost twenty years ago, I still believe discretion is required). They filled me in on what they thought I needed to know, which resulted in a delay in understanding the charts, as I had to ask them multiple questions in order to sort it all out. So, lesson #1: astrologers, like physicians and lawyers, need to know the truth (or at least the actual conditions), if they’re going to be most effective in helping you.

Once I received answers what was showing in the chart became clear, and I provided a detailed assessment of the situation with the other side, and how to approach things in order to get the desired result. They went into the negotiations, came out three hours later, and immediately contacted me: they had chosen not to follow my recommendations, instead taking a radically different tack, and had not gotten their desired results–could I tell them what to do to get what they wanted now?

Dutifully I set about outlining conditions responsive to the present negotiation point. Things had ‘narrowed’, so to speak; by taking the actions they had, they had lost some of the options open to them initially, and I made that clear: the approaches they’d chosen in-the-moment had shut down certain options the opposing entity had originally been open to, meaning that the opposing side had seen demands and an attitude they didn’t like, right off the bat, and my clients were paying the price for that now. I did emphasize that it could all be saved, if they followed ‘x, y, and z’.

By Margret Hofheinz-Döring/ Galerie Brigitte Mauch Göppingen, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4278292

Negotiations resumed the next day, and my client contacted me at lunchtime. They hadn’t really liked what I’d recommended, had followed their own inclinations, and now wanted to know: could I tell them what to do at this point to get what they wanted? I understand that it can be tough to accept that someone many miles away has given you a battle plan that doesn’t seem the right thing to do when you’re in the room hashing it all out. Clients get spooked all the time, unable to believe that the advice they’ve paid for might actually see something they don’t, but that’s exactly it: if their own perspective was completely effective, they wouldn’t need someone else to weigh in, to provide guidance.

Of course, I outlined the present options, noting that several previous potentials had now been actively eliminated by the opposition (it seemed to me they were becoming more and more untrusting of the very aggressive and demanding tack my clients had taken and continued to take). Yet, there were still possibilities, and the whole thing could be salvaged, and I told them to the best of my ability how that could be accomplished–but they chose not to follow my recommendation, and when they showed up the next day to resume negotiations they found that the other side had terminated the interaction.

My client berated me: why didn’t I know they wouldn’t continue negotiations? If they’d known that they would’ve approached them in the evening, hoping to forestall a shutdown to talks. I apologized, saying there’d been no indication at our last point of contact that they would refuse to continue negotiations–and then it came out that my client had contacted them in the evening, and that’s what blew the whole thing up!

So here’s the point of this shaggy dog story: What you do with the information you receive from an astrologer (or any other individual offering life advice) is entirely up to you, and it should be–my judgment isn’t meant to replace yours, it’s meant to enhance it, to inform it with another viewpoint, to reinforce what’s working and minimize (hopefully) the effect of contrary forces. And as an individual, I don’t care what you choose to do–I can’t care, because if I did that would enmesh me emotionally in a way that would make my advice far less effective, as it would be far less objective.

But, and this is a massive one, to repeatedly return to a source for advice and repeatedly to then ignore that advice just doesn’t make sense; it instead suggests some kind of magical thinking is going on. Maybe there is a belief that simply contracting for services guarantees you get what you want–and then when you ignore the advice and don’t get what you want, you blame the astrologer, reasoning that they would’ve given you some kind of magic recipe or formula, or invested in persuading you, if they had been any good! Or you don’t blame the astrologer, but then feel justified in continuing a ‘poor me’ scenario, or maybe one of ‘confusion’, telling yourself, ‘Well, I tried to fix it’. Or maybe it’s the kind of thinking that can’t or won’t admit that current reasoning isn’t cutting it; a vanity that so distrusts contradictory input is bound to lead the individual astray, because that mind can’t learn. Or maybe it’s this: that in the end, each of us believes soundly that we know best for ourselves, and we do–but that works to our benefit only when we are honest enough to see that where we are is because of how we think and the decisions we’ve made, so that asking for help becomes genuinely looking for assistance by exposure to another point of view, not looking for a reason to continue a reckless and Self-indulgent ride.

See the answer to the Aspect article and see more ‘What You’re Asking’ here, and have a lovely day!

Aspect Expectations, What You’re Asking, and Chiron Bites Back

20 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, aspects and placements, astrology, Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Chiron, T-Square, What You're Asking

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‘Pythagoreans Celebrate Sunrise’ Presumably, they’ve already done the math. By Fyodor Bronnikov {{PD}}

We have a print in our house by the artist Julie Dillon. It’s called ‘Sleeping Giant’, and depicts an enormous ‘robot’, long ‘dead’, being worshiped as if it were a god, robed supplicants in attendance, votives and offerings placed before it. I love the way the picture tells a story, all at once: stripped of its original beingness, its purpose and point, the human mind sees this incomprehensible entity and fills in a scenario of what it must’ve been. The reverence is supplied by the observer; the thing itself is just what it is, and holds no sense of the sacred beyond what it’s given.

When we stop knowing what something is, we inevitably forget what it’s for; that seems obvious, but really isn’t. It’s easy to overlay our ability to perceive with expectations, judgments, assumptions, and beliefs, to the point where we not only don’t see what’s before us, we forget the original intent or purpose behind both the thing we’re observing and our decision to observe.

In astrology we transgress in this way when we see an aspect and think we know its meaning, devoid of context or other contacts; it’s why I’m so loathe to talk about aspects outside the landscape of a chart. Without House placement, rulerships, and other bodies or points aspected as part of the picture, what we see may be highly skewed, our own judgments and suppositions superimposed on the aspect; in reality, that aspect is a framework that gains full and nuanced meaning only when seen as part of a whole.

A brief example: if I say to you, assuming this is found in a natal chart, “Moon conjoined North Node in Aquarius”, and the conjunction is close, with only a seven minute differential, what characteristics spring to mind? Someone forward-thinking, intuitively inventive or innovative, a ‘free feeler’ with an emotional nature that embraces the intellect, and intellectual methods–and so may be a tad disconnected from the feeling nature–but we can’t be sure how this presents itself with so little info. To draw many conclusions about someone from this alone could be highly misleading–so what if we add more info?

“Ascendant conjoined Pallas in Taurus, only seven minutes past perfection, with this combo square that Moon-NN in Aquarius”. Now what might you think? Pallas rising suggests the individual meets the world in a practical or smart way, and that that’s what others see, someone wise beyond their years, especially when it comes to material matters, worldly things, survival and comfort. The square introduces the idea of conflict, and describes a smart personality at odds with an intellectual approach to feeling–which definitely doesn’t mesh with the Taurean predisposition to soothe through the senses. So, we have someone who presents much differently than they feel.

Now we add this to the picture: “Fixed T-square, NN-Moon as the arm (placing this combo at the top of the chart, in the individual’s 10th) to an opposition of ASC-Pallas to Jupiter and a stationary Mercury in Scorpio, roughly four degrees apart”. A T-square alerts us to the fact that all those seeming positives (wise presentation, progressive attitudes, keeping an eye on the future, strong connection among emotions, intuition, and intellect) might be part of a tense dynamic, one that could bring out their less positive sides. Jupiter-Merc in Scorpio suggests a deep, intense, almost cutting mental emphasis on knowledge, but whether that’s based in belief or actual facts we can’t determine outright, and exaggeration may be both a communication style and a way of thinking/ perceiving. But we do know that Mercury is stationary in a Fixed Water sign, which implies, just like the Moon in Aquarius, a mixing of feeling and thought, and possibly the emotions and mentality stubbornly ‘stuck’ at a particular phase, outlook, or level of development, and we get a glimpse of this through that ASC-Pallas picture: this individual is keyed to comfort and survival in whatever way the childhood environment dictated as practical or smart.

So what do we think now? Since our first aspect description, we may have decided this individual is much more emotional than we first suspected, and that they may be prone to use the mentality to justify what they feel–and that may be accompanied by the danger of presenting as very wise to others, which can be persuasive to those who may accept hyperbole as facts (as may the individual). We might think that spiritual or religious beliefs could permeate the mental faculties (and that beliefs, feelings, what’s smart, and the mental faculties could be in constant conflict or under tension), and that part of what this individual may do is bring these beliefs to others through the effectiveness of the personality. There’s also that cutting edge to Merc, Jupiter, Sun, and Venus all in Scorpio, that urge to destroy as much as to re-make, and the tension presented by the personal emotional make-up, that could clash and cry out for expression.

Two more factoids: Sun and Venus are closely conjoined in Scorpio (but not conj Jup-Merc), and Mars and Neptune are only 35 minutes apart in Virgo. How do these bolster either positive or negative impressions for you? What profession would you imagine this individual would choose–and what do you think life might choose, for them? Check back in a day or three, when I’ll present the chart these aspects come from, and you can decide how much or how little you really can glean from the one-aspect-at-a-time game.

Just to let you know: there’s a Russian language (scratch that, I think it’s actually Ukrainian) page offering Eclipse subscriptions–when Eclipse is no longer being published! So don’t give them your money, okay?

People are wondering . . .

. . . why so many astrologers got the US election ‘wrong’:

I think this is due to faulty assumptions underlying their interpretations. It seems to me they saw more positive/ ‘easier’ aspects in Hillary Clinton’s chart, and more challenging ones in Trump’s, and so assumed that meant a Hillary win; the problem with that is the belief that positive aspects imply winning a contest–but what they really imply is that what occurs is positive for the individual, from the individual’s point of view.

Centaur of Lefkandi, 1050 – 900 BCE, identified as Chiron, found in two pieces in two different tombs at the site of Toumba. It’s the first 3-D sculpture of a centaur ever. Archaeological Museum of Eretria. Photo By Jebulon CC0

. . . about an unaspected Chiron

Like any chart energy, an unaspected Chiron will generally function in one of two ways: either the wounded nature takes over the chart (and so the individual) becoming the most prominent thing within the psyche, or it floats around, disconnected from the individual psyche, so that when that wound is ‘touched’ the person reacts and doesn’t know they’re reacting. In both cases, the Chirotic nature has not been integrated with the other energies, impulses, and traits, and so either consumes the processing and perceptive functions or is completely denied by them–that is, the individual claims to carry no wound at all, or to have processed and dealt with wounds so completely that no psychic injuries remain–and that’s just not possible, for a human. It’s like an unaspected energy takes a bite out of our ability to comprehend the world and our place in it–Chiron (along with Mars and Pluto, and possibly others) is the kind that, as we try to reclaim it by consciously incorporating its energy and intents, just may bite us back, discouraging our efforts and making acceptance and absorption that much more difficult.

Check back in a bit for a new post that will give the answers to our aspect-reading example, along with more ‘What You’re Asking’, and have a lovely weekend!

Orpheus, Or A Voyage to the Underworld

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Asteroids, astrology, Dreams, Spiritual Considerations

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Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot – ‘Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld’ 1860 {{PD}}

Like everyone else, it seems, I’ve been having some highly unusual dreams of late, so I decided to run down some of the associated asteroids and other bodies, just to see what this might spell out by contacts to my own natal chart. I’ll offer my interpretations, and invite you to see where these might fit in your own chart–I’ll keep details of my nighttime adventures to a minimum; as author John Green (and a lot of other people) have said, “Nothing is as boring as other people’s dreams.”

First we look at asteroid Orpheus, named for the poet, musician, and prophet (that last not until after death, when his still-singing head was thrown into the sea, landing at Lesbos where an Orphic oracle was established). He was known to enthrall and charm (in an almost magical sense) others with his creations and performances; even the animals, trees, and rocks were said to have moved when Orpheus played. He learned his Arts from Calliope, the patron of epic poetry and likely his mother, while his father is said to have been either the King of Thrace or the god Apollo.

Orpheus voyaged with the Argonauts and saved them by blasting his boom box (or however they did it in those days!), drowning out the Sirens’ seductive call. Upon their return, Orpheus married Eurydice; the honeymoon had scarcely begun when she was bitten by a snake and died. Naturally, her husband mourned her with song. He charmed all who heard him, including Charon, the boatman who transports Souls across the river Styx, as well as Hell’s guard dog, Cerberus. His grief was so affecting that Hades chose to grant the disconsolate musician an exception: you can lead your bride out of the Underworld, Orpheus, on one condition, that you will not look back at her until you’re both completely above ground–and Orpheus readily agreed.

We all know what happened: Orpheus had almost reached the surface, and had managed not to look behind him, when he suddenly turned; some versions claim he heard a noise, some that he saw the Sun and wanted to share the moment with his wife, but in any case, she vanished, his mission ending in failure. So what does this have to do with a dream of mine? I was told that I was an Orpheus-like individual in a dream world that was supposed to be the 1920s. There were a number of people in a large, gold-walled room, and I was to round them up and lead them out–and that’s all I remember.

On the day of the dream, the asteroid Orpheus (3361) was at 19 Capricorn 53–within orb to both Pluto 21 Capricorn 11 (another version of Hades, which asteroid was at 5 Cancer 53) and Charon, the boatman, which is a moon of Pluto and travels with it, and asteroid Cerberus at 27 Aquarius 9, with Eurydice (also spelled Eurydike) at 9 Libra 28. The agent of dreams, Neptune, was at 15 Pisces 01.

Orpheus, Pluto, and Charon are all passing through my 12th, sextile my Moon and opposed my Ceres=this suggests an Underworld journey, in the spiritual or emotional sense, one that is meant to re-make the individual, or to be seen as part of a larger, life-death-life cycle–a winter experience, one of loss as part of a larger pattern, or of death or what’s beyond this life, perhaps? Hades is square my Mars=again, the trip to the Underworld, the result of my actions, or because of them?! Hades is the one who offered Orpheus the deal, that O couldn’t see through out of impatience, folly, impulsivity? The dog that guards the Underworld, Cerberus, is square my Venus and sextile my Sedna–maybe being ‘guarded’ keeps out love, or money, but allows the instincts and deep knowing to function without distraction–necessary for such a journey. Eurydice, a stand-in for what’s rescued from the darkness, sits conjoined my Mars=is passage through the Underworld a kind of retreat, necessary to save the Self, or perhaps to save the ability to act autonomously? Maybe. And finally there’s Neptune, in wide quincunx to my Sun=dreams that may disturb, just a bit, in order to reveal something of the Soul. And I’ll throw in one more, Hekate, the way-shower, which is at 23 Cancer, conjoined my Ceres=Mother Nature as guide–I hope she’ll show me more.

A Question of History: Was England’s Richard III a Victim of Ceres?

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, Asteroids, astrology, Astrology and Health, Astrology and History, Ceres, Finger of God, Transit Effects Explored

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This is another ECLIPSE re-print, this one with updating and a significant amount of historical and astrological information added.

Periodically I like to inspect historical personages and events taking an astrological perspective, so when I ran across an article (no longer available, but see a similar one here) on England’s Richard III and a potential allergy, I had to check it out. Considering the way Ceres has shown herself to be a prominent factor in instances of allergy, sensitivity, and in autoimmune diseases of all kinds, I wanted to see if Richard’s famous change of demeanor after excusing himself for a strawberry feast  during a council meeting of 13 June 1483 was possibly related to just such a reaction. If so, it may have had history-altering consequences, as Richard’s fear that he may have been poisoned or the victim of witchcraft (there is even a suggestion that ingesting a massive number of strawberries may have caused the withering effect to one arm that we heretofore had believed through eyewitness description was a birth defect) led him to lash out against those who might take the crown—including his nephews, better known as ‘The Princes in the Tower’, Edward V of England, for whom Richard was acting as Protector, and his younger brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. (At the time the Tower of London was not yet used exclusively as a prison; the boys were lodged there, under guard and for their protection, so the story goes). After the strawberry incident, Richard announced he was taking the crown for himself and the boys ‘disappeared’; his suspicion of even his closest allies planted the seeds for his difficult reign and the horrible reputation that follows him to this day.

Richard III is believed to have been born 2 October 1452 Julian Calendar 9:02 AM LMT (time is certain) Northhamptonshire England. Times of 9 AM and 7 AM have also been put forward, but the time of 9:02 was deduced by astrologer Martin Harvey in the British Astrological Journal Spring 1967, “Time deduced from a 1452 account in Latin, October 2, 1452 OS, 9:15 AM LAT ” as per Astrodatabank.

Could these have been the culprit? ‘Wild Strawberries on a Ledge’ 1703 By Adriaen Coorte {{PD}}

Right away we notice the Scorpio Ascendant sextile Juno (which body I’ve conjectured before may in a man signal a sense of Self-completion, as in not feeling the need for complementary energies, which means the psyche has no room for another–he’s a partner to himself—it’s a placement, then, of total Self-empowerment that claims the right to do as he pleases—because no one, and so no other viewpoint, figures in). The apex to the Finger created is the Earth-retro Mars conjunction in Aries—certainly easy to associate this vanity/ ego uncertainty/ identity as a man as it manifested through the personality resulting in the death Richard suffered, as a Warrior at the Battle of Bosworth Field, with blows to the head (Aries) so hard that his crown was driven into his skull (and we know this as his remains, verified by mitochondrial testing of two of his sister’s descendants compared to the DNA found, identified the skeleton discovered under a UK parking lot in 2012 as definitively his). This also, of course, catches the Sun at the sextile midpoint, implying the Soul itself might have felt ‘caught’ by the dynamics of the Finger.

The Ascendant is also square Black Moon Lilith and Sedna, and with a sextile to Mars-Earth BML-Sedna forms the base to another Finger of God with apex Juno. The Will, the ego, and the way they are so closely related to the material environment gets played out through the empowerment situation and the sense of personal completeness–and yet much of what drives the ego and material situation is hidden, ignored, denied, or enraging and then buried, in the instincts or in the ‘blind spot’–a terrible connection for a leader to have.

But was he susceptible to Mother Nature? Wow, was he ever! Ceres sits at 29 Libra 11, under stress and hidden just at the end of the 12th and a hair above the start of the 1st House (Whole Sign); it’s the T-arm of a wide Vesta-Uranus opposition, suggesting that stress from Nature shows up in erratic and sudden behaviors that are contrary to the highest values, and yet those rebellious or erratic choices may be justified in Richard’s own mind as sacred (the Vesta effect–see my book for much greater detail). Ceres is the body of latest degree; it implies that all matters end in some sort of ‘reaction’, in relation to his sense of authority, his boundaries, his negotiating power, or his interaction with Nature.

Ceres is quincunx the natal Taurus Moon in the 7th; the Moon is another indicator of sensitivity, in Taurus implying a sensitivity to the environment and particularly to food and atmosphere (and of course the meeting where the impressive change to his demeanor occurred was in mid-June, a high point for strawberries and every other blooming thing!) Placement of the Moon in the 7th suggests that Richard may have had a very reactive personality, emotionally and intuitively hypersensitive to others, and this is reiterated by the Moon’s opposition to Venus–relationships–in the 1st.

The Moon is part of yet another Finger, this one with base of Moon-Uranus, apex the North Node, and one apex Moon, base of Ceres-North Node, which latter also catches Venus in Scorpio in the 1st at its midpoint, with this little detail opening a whole other avenue for health affects–kidneys, blood sugar, venereal diseases–that could’ve weakened the constitution quietly, without anyone necessarily being aware of it.

Richard’s Ceres is also conjunct a 00 Scorpio Mercury (lungs, nerves, highly sensitive to what’s communicated, and at 00 he’s just learning to deal with this in a Scorpionic fashion–that is, one that may retaliate lethally). The asteroid also trines Jupiter, ruler of the 2nd (the Ceres nature affects his relationship with the social sphere, his knowledge—indicating potential for the mind and reasoning to be affected by any reaction—and his grasp of the ‘Big Picture’, and suggesting the potential for exaggerated effects from Ceres instruments), and is widely conjunct Saturn, again emphasizing the impact of Ceres and health on the reality picture, and in stoking fear, another Saturnian element.

As previously noted, we see his Mars in Aries conjoined Earth, both in the 6th of health, yet again showing the importance of the environment and his own choices and actions on the health picture. This is not to mention the Grand Trine of Ceres, Jupiter, and the South Node, which does suggest that knowledge from the past, lessons learned, would guide ‘reaching out’ efforts and attempts to widen his authority and influence—and this is something that probably initially went very right for him, getting him to the position he enjoyed in June of 1483.

A look at the transits on the day of Richard’s strawberry feast include the Sun fresh in sensitive Cancer trine his Ceres-Mercury, and Saturn at 00 Scorpio conjoined his Mercury, highlighting nervous sensitivity to the material world; transiting Zeus is exact conjunct his Pluto (destructive desires!), transiting Ceres trines his Saturn (again, the influence of Nature made manifest), and there were not one but three transiting bodies at 29 degrees during the day, if we include the Virgo Moon (so perfect for an allergic reaction, conjoined transiting Jupiter, opening up potential for both massive consumption of the allergen, and a massive reaction to it), as well as Pallas in Cancer (implying that what was sought as nurturing or soothing was questionable), all impacting natal Ceres and natal Moon, expanding the potential for sensitivity and reaction, and this in turn having an impact on the common sense and wisdom of the individual—and with Jupiter in the mix, we might consider the reaction could’ve been a fatal one.

There is one other thing: a natal aspect of the 24th Harmonic of 105 degrees (popularly termed the Squine, as it’s halfway between a square and a trine!) between Richard’s Zeus and his Ceres and Mercury. Though some feel there’s no reliable interpretation to be applied to this aspect, I believe that’s generally so because enough astrologers haven’t observed it in action for a long enough time to find consistent characteristics. We must keep in mind, too, that Ceres is not just about one’s interaction with Nature; it’s also about one’s sense of authority and interaction with those who hold authority, concerns boundaries and the propensity to overstep them, and applies to one’s negotiative abilities.

And we should add that natal Chiron in Cancer is also in the picture, trine Merc-Ceres and suggesting a primal wound possibly both figurative (to the thinking and communications) and literal (through allergies and sensitivities) that may involve an emotional reaction (Cancer). On the day of the incident, transiting Chiron was square natal Chiron (a moment of reckoning concerning wounds) and created a T-square by opposing natal Neptune, the ultimate obscurer of facts and sources, and the kind of response that can occur with the mental state (t Chiron quincunx n Mercury) in an allergic reaction: one can become ‘foggy’, losing orientation and even time, feeling physically irritated and uncomfortable–short of actual respiratory distress or anaphylactic shock, thinking unclearly, and perhaps prompting the imagination to set off on its own.

If Richard’s Ceres was ‘triggered’ by strawberry consumption, and this affected the thinking (Mercury), then too it could’ve affected the ambitions and desires (Zeus)—and as we know, when the ambitions are touched by fear such as may have occurred with a biological reaction interpreted as poisoning or an occult attack, then it wouldn’t be surprising for the ‘victim’ to have grabbed as much power and control for himself as possible, leading to the ominous and still unanswered disappearance of two little boys, and changing the course of a kingdom “

As to the Princes in the Tower, though we still can’t be sure what was the fate of the two princes, the story is that the bones of two children were discovered in the Tower in 1674; these were re-buried in Westminster Abbey. Some examinations have been done, but with questionable results according to modern forensic scientists, and the Church of England and its head, the Queen, continue to refuse to allow exhumation of the remains. And so the mystery continues.

Inner ring is Richard’s birth data; outer ring is the day of the strawberry incident, set at noon.

A RePrint on Eros and Hugh Hefner

01 Sunday Oct 2017

Posted by in astrology

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Aphrodite, Pan, Eros, Photo By Jebulon – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44154701

Since Mr. Hefner has been in the news with his passing, I’ve seen mostly sentimentalized ideas of what he did and how he affected things–here’s my take, from March of 2008:

Eros as an energy that carries one away on a wave of passion outside the individual’s judgment and control is an idea I keep seeing put forward, and I feel compelled to poke some holes in such a Self-serving definition–it brings to mind those who say, when confronted with their highly un-loving choices, “But we’re in love!” Disloyalty, betrayal, or lacking respect for existing relationships is not a foundation of love, but of Self-indulgence, and it seems that these same people are the ones who want to point the finger and say, “Eros made me do it!” Well, all I can say is, that excuse doesn’t fly. (And in case you’re wondering, my vehemence doesn’t come from my own experience, as, even with a Venus/ Pluto natal square, it’s never happened to me; it comes from watching others feel that they are good, honest people who wouldn’t ever do anything to harm another, justifying causing others hurt in the name of love–and not seeing that what they are doing can’t be love when it’s perpetrated before extrication from existing relationships, causing pain based in duplicity.)

I thought a good way to show this is to illustrate an Eros that is being sold (literally!) as a combination of lust fulfillment, objectification, and the ‘appropriate’ expression of sexuality, defined as within a heterosexual Universe where the male is the aggressor and the female is a two-dimensional supplicant. You may recall from previous articles that in my view Eros is more of a projection than anything else, an eroticization of someone or something; as such, you choose the object; keep that in mind as we look at the chart of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner (9 April 1926, 4:20 PM, Chicago IL USA). Eros is involved in what could be considered a definitive complex for this man, with Eros at 18 Capricorn in the 4th, conjoined the South Node–already we have an indication that his concept of the erotic is at the least drawn from a past era or experience, as this was as true upon the founding of his magazine in the ’50s as it is today–already upon his publication’s inception the objectification of women as passive sexual objects was on the way out as an acceptable idea within the Collective. Here’s the real heart of things, though: his Venus sits at 3 Pisces in the 6th (“Women are my job!” is perhaps the perception?) at the midpoint of Eros/ Sun. We can say that his Soul intent and his erotic nature meet in his ‘ideal woman,’ who, ruled by Neptune, is either malleable, illusory, or whatever his imagination says she is! His Eros is also opposed Pluto, putting an almost mythic spin on things–he may strongly feel that he is in actuality defeating thanatos by expressing his idea of eroticism, and he may feel it was imperative this express materially (sextile to Saturn)–certainly his lifestyle choices, unchanged through the decades, supports this.

Venus is sesquiquadrate Earth and semi-square Sun and Eros–this suggests that he felt compelled to deal with his Venus issues (and to make money from it, as they’re intertwined here), in order to succeed in both material and Soul purposes–and yet the aspects themselves say that the challenge was in doing this in a positive way–I think the Collective jury’s out on whether what he’s done has any worth beyond the exploitative. Venus also trines a Vesta/ Pallas conjunction, adding points for truly admiring women as wise and a part of the sacred–but a Jupiter/ Juno conjunction in the 5th implies he thinks women have far too much power, in romance and likely through the ability to bear children (wow, that’s an ancient concept–and we’re idea-wise back to the South Node/ Eros conjunction).

How does he see himself? His Mars is in Aquarius, so his idealized Self is likely an intellectual–this has certainly always been one of the most grating of the Playboy pretensions–and it is quincunx Pluto (see thanatos, above), semi-sextile the Moon in Pisces in the 6th (remember, the 6th is also the House of those who serve us, and his Venus is there, too–I’ll let you parse that out on your own!), and lastly, his Mars opposes Ceres, perhaps implying that he sees Mother Nature and the inherent authority of the female as ‘against’ him somehow. What little we’ve talked about draws a relatively unflattering portrait of a man who in many ways created his empire more out of fear than a true ‘philosophy’–but is this really surprising? More on Eros is available in my book, THE ASTROLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP, at Dog and Sunflower Press, and if you’d like to look up your Eros http://www.astro.com/swisseph/eros.htm

I’ll be posting for the Full Moon of the 5th in a day or two. Have a great week!

 

For Those So Inclined, A Horary Puzzle, And My Solution

12 Friday May 2017

Posted by in Horary, Something For You

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On May 3rd I realized that a gift card I thought was in my husband’s wallet was not there, and no where to be found. There was some question as to whether I’d ever actually given it to my husband, whether I may have taken it back, and whether it may already have been spent. After turning the house upside down, then sitting down with a glass of wine (because hunting is thirsty work!) it occurred to me to draw a Horary to ask, ‘Where is my gift card?’ The chart had an early Ascendant, technically suggesting it is not safe to judge–that is, won’t deliver a reliable answer–though the meaning of a Horary Ascendant in the first three degrees of a sign should be read as, ‘It’s too soon to tell’, implying the matter is in some way not yet developed enough to provide an answer. I read the chart anyway, as an early Ascendant in a lost item case may simply mean that even with the info provided in the chart, it may be some time before conditions are ripe for finding the item. I’m posting the chart, and anyone who’d like to take a crack at reading it may–you can leave your interpretation in the comments if you like–then next week I’ll post my reading of it, and the outcome of the matter, which happened today, the 12th.

Hints for successful interpretation: Keep it simple–lost items are signified by the ruler of the 2nd and potentially by any bodies located therein, with placement and dispositor of the ruler often being helpful in obtaining a correct answer; the Moon is important in how things will progress; ignore anything not directly related to the question–that helps give a ‘clean’ answer and keeps you from being distracted by irrelevancies. After quite a bit of experimenting, with obtaining a clear and informative answer to a question the goal, I’ve used the methods outlined in March and McEvers ‘The Only Way To . . . Learn About Horary and Electional Astrology Volume VI’ with the best and most consistent results, and that’s what I used here. Happy Interpreting, and have a great weekend!

Hello! I’m back to fill you in on how the chart worked for me. As mentioned, the Ascendant is considered too early for a clear answer (in this case, 2 Scorpio 04, within the first three degrees of the sign). Though this is considered ‘unreadable’, it doesn’t prevent gleaning info, it only says that things have not developed to a definitive point yet–and as it turned out, this was right, as it took me until the 12th to find the lost card, even having the chart info.

For those curious, there are four main proscriptions against reading a Horary chart: an Ascendant that is either in the first three degrees (too early to know) or in the last three degrees of a sign (the matter is already settled, so you can find out the particulars, but you must be aware you can’t at this point change the outcome); Saturn in the 7th–this suggests that the astrologer who’ll read the chart doesn’t understand it, or may miss something; if the Moon is Void–that is, won’t make anymore major aspects before leaving the sign; and if the Moon is in the Via Combusta, the real estate between 15 Libra and 15 Scorpio. This latter is an ancient rule which was based on this section of the sky containing a number of malefic fixed stars, but I don’t use this, as experience has shown me it doesn’t seem to apply anymore.

For a Horary, we state (and write down!) the question as clearly as possible, in this case, ‘Where is my gift card?’ I am the querent as well as the astrologer; my significator is Mars (and in a pinch, Pluto) since it rules the House that represents me, the 1st. Mars is in Gemini in the 8th, hinting at involvement of my husband, especially since I had asked him to carry the card in his wallet, which from my POV is definitely the 8th! The Moon is always co-ruler of the question, and as such can be considered as also repping the querent (unless another entity in the chart is ruled by the Moon). Luna always shows how the rest of the matter will progress by what it will aspect while still in the sign–applying aspects (or ones not yet formed) show the future, while aspects already formed by the Moon to other bodies while in this same sign show the past (unless the Moon is making a separating aspect to a relevant significator and it is one degree or less past exact). In this case the Moon’s at 25 Leo 53, late in the sign but not Void, suggesting that we’re close to the end of the matter, just not quite there yet.

Lost objects are generally represented by the 2nd House; here the ruler is Jupiter, located in Libra in the 12th, and the 2nd House holds Black Moon Lilith and Saturn. That Libra, the sign of partnership, is involved, added to the placement of my sig in the 8th, at first made me think my husband might still have possession of the card, or at least knew where it had been hidden or disposed of (12th)–but, we’ll soon see why these ‘hints’ that echoed my own thinking turned out to be red herrings.

In lost objects we look not just at aspects, but at the directions signified by the Houses, and locations related to signs, even at associated colors, in some instances, to help find the object. We start with Jupiter, ruler of the 2nd, which is in Libra in the 12th. In lost object Horaries, or in any Horary where we are asking about the return of something or where a change of mind may come in, we note retrogrades, and in this instance, we have retro Jupiter as significator of the item, suggesting it will turn up, one way or another. We also look at dispositors of the object ruler, in this case Venus (ruler of Libra) which is in Aries, ruled by Mars, which is in Gemini, ruled by Mercury, which is in Aries, with final dispositor Mars, as the line turns back on itself (and just happens to be my significator, pointing toward me being responsible for where the object is).

With lost items, there is a general assertion that if the ruler of the object is in Virgo or Pisces, or the 6th or 12th, it is not readily visible and will be found in a ‘closed’ place, like a drawer, pocket, chest, or other enclosed area. The 12th placement of lost item sig suggests something thoroughly hidden, possibly undetectable, virtually invisible! And its final dispositor reinforces that, as sitting in the 8th it suggests totally hidden, as well. Now here’s where I need to mention that there are specific places listed as potential spots where the item will be found that correlate to sig placements, but as the reader of the chart, we must use logic and our own discretion in following leads. With 8th and 12th there is an uncanny correspondence in both Houses to laboratories, hospitals, and plumbing, wet areas, etc., which just don’t add up in this case, but which must be peripherally kept in mind, in case the more logical locations don’t pan out.

We also look at signs, with Libra suggesting attics or bedrooms–and the bedroom being exactly where I’d been looking for the card. Gemini, as sign of the dispositor, names a number of potential spots, but the ones that stood out are, per March and McEvers, “Near a wall, wainscoting, in a chest or trunk”. Air signs denote a spot ‘high up’. This indeed led my original search when I first did the chart, sending me to a pair of purses leaning against the wall on the top shelf of the closet in our bedroom, in the south by west corner of the room, corresponding to the dispositor. The southeast was suggested by the significator placed in the 12th, which seemed to point to the bedroom, which is in that corner of the house (and there is no furniture in the southeast corner of the room). I did not find it at that time, in spite of a thorough (or so I thought) search.

I couldn’t let it go; I was sure the chart was telling me where the card was, and I just wasn’t (yet!) seeing it, which from the early Ascendant was to be expected. I looked at some more obscure references, such as Venus, ruler of Jupiter, in the 6th in Aries, which offered several suggestions along the same vein: in a place of work or office, in a box, pocket, drawer, or cabinet (and I had searched all the coat and jacket and sweater pockets I could find), with Aries offering one helpful suggestion: in places not often accessed. I looked too at suggested colors, which I usually don’t use, though I will sometimes read through them in case something jumps out. This time Libra, location of the lost card significator, listed ‘pastel colors’. Nothing immediately came to mind.

This dresser was the culprit. Notice how innocently it hides things.

Though I thought I’d already searched it completely, I decided to go through a dresser that sits right next to the closet, in the same direction/ part of the room. I was sure I wouldn’t find anything–until I’m looking in one of the drawers, and something clicks. It was the ‘thoroughly hidden’ facet, plus the ‘not accessed frequently’ facet, plus the Libran pastels–which lead me to lift up a pile of neatly folded, pale-colored scarves in a section of the drawer I hardly use–and lo and behold, there was the card!

So, it was found (retro status of the ruler), was essentially where it had been described as being, but it took some time going by to ‘let things develop’ (the early Ascendant). In looking at the chart after the fact, hoping to see where the timing for finding the item might’ve been indicated, I found the only correspondence between the Moon (which shows issue progress) and Saturn, found in the House indicating the lost object. It showed roughly and just under 1.5 degrees to perfection of a trine in Fire. Time to act! and corresponding to approximately 9 days later (1.5 weeks) when the object was found, just as the transiting Moon was within orb of conjoining the object’s significator. And, not to be forgotten, we saw a developing trine between me (Mars) and lost object sig (Jupiter), promising that Yes, I would find the card.

I know that’s a long explanation–thanks for your patience, and your interest–and have a great weekend!

Why Are They Together? Bill and Hillary

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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Bill and Hillary Clinton Natal Wheel

Here’s a reprint from 2008, for the curious and the bemused, on this lazy Sunday:

Sometimes the attraction between partners is lost to onlookers. No other modern couple has caused the puzzled scrutiny and armchair analysis of their relationship more than Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton; now I’ll add my astrological take on the ‘whys’ of their relationship, using techniques featured in my book, THE ASTROLOGY OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP. There’s just not room here to do an exhaustive dissection of the relationship astrologically, but in any case I find that’s rarely needed; not to shortchange any relationship on its complex nature, but the interaction between two individuals can typically be outlined fairly with a few strokes, and there are always a small handful of contacts that describe the relationship’s essence, and thus satisfy our goal without getting lost in minutiae. Conjunctions often spell out the core of the interaction, and in significant relationships there’s usually no shortage of these.

In many ways, the ‘star’ of this relationship in terms of attraction is the meeting of his 1st House Venus to her 12th House Neptune.  Venus in a man’s chart shows his ‘ideal partner,’ and in Bill’s case this is someone who probably literally embodies his anima (1st House placement); posited in Libra, his desire is for someone gracious, partnership oriented, and lovely as seen through his eyes, and conjoined Hillary’s Neptune, this may be precisely what he sees. In what’s likely a combination of projection of his Venus and the naturally obscuring and inspiring qualities imparted by contact with another’s Neptune, Bill may be genuinely confused by the polarized reactions others have to his wife. In the other direction, she may find his anima expresses certain more Universal qualities for her; he may carry to some extent her more empathetic qualities. He feels (and perhaps expresses) her pain, as well as that of the Collective.

Her Sun at 2 Scorpio is widely conjoined his Libra Juno, again referencing the strength of the Venus connection, as he will see Libran energy as ‘wifely.’ With this contact her very Soul essence expresses not just this ‘wifely’ role to him, but the power of the Scorpio placement is supported by him; he expects her to show a strong, empowered Self. What’s more, her Juno at 29 Sag (and we know what those 29 degree placements mean–they must express!) is conjunct his Pallas–he sees her as highly empowered and his own role as lending wisdom and skill to this.

His Earth conjoins her Pallas, suggesting that he grounds and supports materially the expression of her innate wisdom and skills. His Ceres squares her Sun, likely allowing her to carry his anima authority figure (though not without some conflict between them)–he may feel she’s something of a force of nature! And her Fire Jupiter fills in a Fire Grand Trine cross-chart with his Saturn and Vesta, painting a dynamic picture of real-world service to the social sphere as important to them both.

Bill’s Sun falls in Hillary’s 10th, conjoined her Zeus and Saturn–not the most romantic of placements, but she may feel she has a true supporter in him, and that her ambitions can be fulfilled through him, while her Sun falls in his 2nd–considering some of the already discussed contacts, he may identify with her, especially with her talents, very strongly–something that would probably surprise a great many people.

His Sun is conjoined her Saturn, a bit of a danger position. Even though strong, direct Saturn contacts in both directions (each person’s Saturn contacting something of the other person’s) are necessary for a relationship to be both lasting and serious, this is one of the tougher interactions, as she will spontaneously, and almost in spite of conscious feeling desire to repress his very essence (the Sun). He will sense this, and, considering the other contacts, will both remain in the relationship and seek to avoid her control at every turn; with his Saturn square her Sun, however, he may do the same to her, but more obliquely (square) likely through methods of open conflict.

Finally, we should backtrack a bit and look at general partner preferences for each. We’ve talked about Bill’s Venus, but what about Hillary’s? It sits in Scorpio; ‘ideal Hillary’ would have all the sexy, mysterious, stinging Scorpio attributes. Her ideal partner would have Leonine qualities, as shown by her Mars in Leo, and Bill has five placements there, including the Sun. As to his ideal view of himself, his Mars is in Libra, again aiming for partner-oriented, gracious, and sharing qualities with an aesthetic bent, just like his ideal woman.

We could go on with many more features, but I’ll close with this: her Ascendant squares his Sun-Zeus. This suggests that her personality rubs him the wrong way, at least in terms of what he believes will fulfill his Soul intent, ambitions, and desires; but her Midheaven, Saturn, and Zeus are widely conjoined that Sun-Zeus, suggesting her public persona, her sense of restraint and stability, and her ambitions complement his and help fulfill his wants. His Midheaven to her Vertex only reinforces the ‘destined’ feeling. No interaction is without its negatives, but when the aspirations of each individual connect so cleanly, they can remain together in spite of events that would break others apart.

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