Tag Archives: talents

What to Keep, What to Give Away: Personal Assets of the 11th and the 2nd

22 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by in 11th House, 2nd House, Assets and Talents, Astro Lessons, astrology

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‘The Gift’ By Ángel Zárraga 1910 {{PD}}

This originally appeared in ECLIPSE, and has a second part that will follow.

We start by defining the difference between these two Houses in terms of assets and output; in both Houses we find qualities and talents inherent to the individual, gifts, abilities, and in each House the question is, What should be developed, shared, given away, or used to earn? In the 2nd we find material assets, including those earned through personal effort; we also find inborn talents, those things about us that can be considered a kind of natural asset—this is typically something that can be seen by material application: singing, artistic sensibilities that can be applied in multiple arenas, intelligence that takes a specific form. Our actual property falls in this House, as well (unless it is shared with others, then it is in the 8th).

Any talent we carry in or that is related to the 2nd is something we should rightfully expect remuneration for. These are things we value in ourselves, and that others value about us, and so are willing to pay for expression or sharing of—and these are things or talents with which we can do what we will, develop them or not, share them or not—others can’t really take them away from us, we must let them go (in the case of cash) or ignore or ruin them (in the case of talents or assets), for us to experience their loss—otherwise we can sing (Venus in the 2nd, perhaps) or write great speeches (ruler of 3rd or 9th in 2nd) our whole lives.

The 11th has a much different asset character, though in many instances there may be a little (or a lot) of overlap between 2nd House talents and what we find in the 11th, namely What We Have To Give The World. Rather than purely talents or assets, this House describes very particular inclinations, abilities, and gifts that we have specifically designated as not just worthy of sharing, but that we alone can provide with a special combination of ability, viewpoint, experience, and talent—and we have promised this, in some form, to the world. We are obligated to present these things; we may see fame from this, or give unrecognized, and we may experience very little of the actual asset we are sharing on a personal level. What we share from the 11th flows away from us, and there’s nothing that promises we will receive anything in return. When people say, “That’s what she came into this world to do” they are often referring to this 11th House offering; instinctively others know when it is manifested.

You’ve heard the saying, “Everybody has a story”? The 11th House assets are the equivalent of this in the form of talents, lessons, information, and gifts we have promised to share indiscriminately and on a large scale. When we share 8th House assets, we have an ‘us and them’ mentality, with awareness of how the assets are being distributed, who has what, and so on, while 11th House sharing goes one way, out from us, and we may only partially choose recipients or an audience; these are meant for everyone to partake in if they choose, and can be regarded as gifts to the Collective/ group.

Does that mean we always give away what’s in the 11th? Not necessarily, as the 11th is also the income House of the 10th of career or vocation. The 11th can be tricky to define in this asset sense, as it covers the spectrum from what we wish for, to our goals, to those things that are much more ephemeral, like our attitude toward groups and organizations (and toward the world, by extension), our prayers and intentions, and our hopes—but in with all those things are factors we will share in the course of pursuing our goals, dreaming and hoping, and through interactions with alike others.

The elements can give us a general idea of our proclivities, with Earth signs suggesting material manifestations or a focus on earning for what we do, Air signs implying the world of thought, the intellect, and ideas is the focus, Water suggesting we may appear to others to be more passive or receptive, almost offering the impression that we don’t generate anything, but the Water signs will have a direct link to, and often have the expression of talents shaped, by the emotional experiences, and Fire signs give an activist-orientation no matter what the talent or abilities.

Where do we Find our Talents? (Reprint from April ’08)

15 Thursday Oct 2009

Posted by in aspects and placements, Ceres, Chiron, Venus

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I thought this might be a good subject for contemplation during this Dark of the New Moon in Libra–I think many of us are feeling the need to re-focus on talents and assets; too much energy scattering and distraction of late have left many feeling just a wee bit ragged.

In assessing talents I go straight for Venus and Chiron in the natal chart. Venus represents our assets, sometimes quite literally; these are traits and abilities we can pull out of our pockets and use, the best examples being Venus-ruled gifts such as singing ability or artistic talent. Venus attributes always carry an undefinable je ne sais quoi that shines through and designates the result as talent, rather than mere effort. Venus is like ability currency we can spend as we like; it draws admiration, and marks us as naturally skilled, whether we work to develop that ability or not.

Chiron is another kind of attribute entirely, a much more subtle ability that is highly unique and personalized to our Beingness and experience. The Chirotic skill has the quality of being channeled through us, and because of this it’s an asset we can freely offer to others, while this specific aid remains unavailable for our own use. We can profit from Venus; the profit we derive from Chiron is personal and spiritual, for the most part, with the goal being to take the Chirotic experience from a personal to a transpersonal level.

We can make the most of our total assets and abilities when we find a way to make Chiron and Venus work in concert; this doesn’t necessarily involve them working together in the same area–in fact that rarely produces success, instead fostering a confusion of purpose and values–but rather calls for each to be prominent in its proper domain, dictated by placement and aspects.

We have a fine, subtle example of the two working in concert in actress and activist/ ambassador Audrey Hepburn (4 May 1929, 3:00 AM, Ixelles Belgium). She began life drawing strongly on Venus, studying ballet, but after a move to the Netherlands in hopes of sheltering from the Nazis, she and her mother weathered the occupation, where young Audrey carried messages, hidden in her ballet shoes, to resistance fighters. This duality of gifts continued throughout her life, as she became an international movie star and UN goodwill ambassador, visiting and advocating for those experiencing some of the harshest conditions on earth.

She has Venus in Aries retrograde in the 1st; the 1st spans from the 28 Aquarius ASC to 26 Aries cusp of the 2nd, and also contains Pallas and the Moon in Pisces, and Uranus in Aries. Venus rules the communication 3rd and the 8th of support from and resources of others/ life and death issues, and she has six Taurus placements: Ceres, Chiron, the Sun, Jupiter, the North Node, and Vesta. Her Chiron, as mentioned, is in Taurus, and thus concerns the Venusian outlets of Taurus, in this case perhaps the food supply, as that was the focus of the UN activity. Her wound in this regard may have shown in the circumstances of the occupation, with food scarce and stability and security non-existent, and her gift may have been the appreciation of these very things–many of her movie roles show a woman who moves her focus from appreciation of the material to appreciation of the fabric of human relationship.

Venus in the 1st in Aries suggests a personal leadership role that has value to herself and to others. She was out front as both a fashion icon (and lifelong friend of designer Givenchy) and as a celebrity advocate–she was one of the first to visit the places in need of aid and interact with the inhabitants for the camera, in the hope of inspiring the world–this in itself says she was able to elevate Chiron from personal to transpersonal, as a world stage (depending, of course, on the size of your world) where one’s actions have a large ripple effect is one of the signs Chiron has been maximized.

Venus ruler Mars is in Cancer in the 6th–this was everyday work for her, suggesting she was living her values, very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ position. Mars ruler Moon is in the 1st in Pisces, giving the personalized connection to the Collective welfare. Moon ruler Neptune is in the 6th in Leo, just at the DSC–helpful for an actress–and Neptune ruler Sun is in Taurus in the 2nd of talents and Self-worth–and we’re back to Venus.

We see Chiron swept up in the Venus energy flow in this chart, and get a further hint as to how it works in concert as Taurean Ceres sits at the midpoint of Chiron/ Venus; this draws a picture of how important nature and personal authority would be in this life, suggesting that these areas would bridge the manifestations of both Venus and Chiron as she sought to bring aid and comfort, by using her personal authority, to others.

See my books on Chiron and on personal relationships here http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com

A Mega Installment of ‘What You’re Asking’

31 Wednesday Dec 2008

Posted by in 6th House, aspects and placements, astrology

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Now, let’s talk a little first about what I have to sort through to put ‘What You’re Asking’ together. I’m not talking about searches using keywords that don’t make an explanatory concept; that’s understandable, and an efficient way to look for connections. No, I’m talking about queries that show unclear thinking, and perhaps an imperfect understanding of what’s being sought. In fact, these show such a lack of clarity (for instance, “Cancer in Leo”–huh?) that I have to skip considering them altogether. I guess what I’m saying is that if one doesn’t have a clear idea of what is being asked for, then one has little hope of finding anything that makes sense–and if one is trying to learn about astrology, nothing beats establishing a firm foundation (such as the difference between planets and signs, what planets rule what signs, what an aspect is) before chasing concepts that are in essence nonsense. Of course, it’s no matter to me if these searches continue–just thought I’d offer a word to the wise. As well, searches such as “When will the Moon be in the 7th House” leave me mystified–do they mean their natal 7th, in which case they should be looking for the dates when the Moon will be in that sign, or is there a misconception that the 7th House in place at that spot in the current moment means something to the individual? Again, a thought that your best results come from knowing precisely what you’re asking for in the first place.

Now, on to what we’re here for! There were lots of queries related to the meaning of particular Moon positions and certain subjects; here are the best of these:

What does the Moon in the 1st say about the mother?

Excellent question, as the symbol for the mother falling in the House of Self as we present to the world naturally suggests she may have a big influence on our personality, and our way of conducting ourselves, especially upon first encountering someone or something, in life. What we tend to see, in the most general terms, is a confusion of mother’s issues with our own; with some maturity, we may begin to ask ourselves, does Mom feel that, or is that what I feel? Emotional closeness to the mother is definitely present; it can be debilitating or even destructive if we are unaware of the influence she has exerted, or if we are enmeshed and are being used, one way or another, to provide emotional sustenance to Mom. We can get a lot of information from the sign this falls in, and as well, we can see how Mom views the 1st House Moon offspring by inspecting that sign in her chart. A 1st House Moon in Pisces, with Pisces on Mom’s 7th, might hint that there is a lack of appropriate emotional boundaries, and that the mother feels it’s quite natural (even a right) to fuse her own emotional state with the child’s. In another instance, a Taurus Moon in the 1st, with Taurus on Mom’s 3rd, could say that the emotional sharing the mother engages in with the child is a form of communication, likely imparting values and material standards (Venus rulership, Taurus). With a 1st House placement I have often seen the child feel they must provide emotional security or ‘happiness’ to the mother, sometimes at cost to their own well-being, though with this manifestation there is no suggestion that the mother asks for this, unless sign and House relationships say otherwise–it is offered by the child, who sees it as appropriate. Aspects will also have some say; for instance, a 1st House Moon in Capricorn square Saturn in the 4th says quite clearly that Dad probably plays a big part in Mom’s emotional life, and also in that of the child, perhaps to the point of being overwhelming, with the square suggesting that the influence might have been repressive in some way for mother and offspring, with the potential to put up barriers between mother and child, for the comfort of the father. In any case, 1st House Moon is sensitive, and often begins life with the emotions showing ‘on the sleeve’; and it usually takes some time for differentiation of the emotional state from the mother’s influence to occur.

Are health professions connected to Moon in the 6th House?

Usually I refuse to draw such simplistic assessments as equating any single placement with a particular talent or professional area, but 6th House placements in relation to the health professions are the exception that proves the rule. Consistently I’ve noted 6th House placements tieing the individual to the helping professions in some form; with the Moon, obvious manifestations are nursing, caregiving, dietician, therapist, social worker, and less obvious (and, as with everything, relying on other supportive indicators) such as psychic, manufacturer or preparer of dairy products or dairy farmer, addiction counselor, child advocate (such as those who represent children in the courts), or stylist (the quick changes of the Moon suggesting an ability, when in the 6th, to read and respond to everyday trends).

With other energies in the 6th, we can also look for the ways these connect to health and helping professions, and consistently we will find some kind of link. Uranus, for example, might suggest one who helps/ guides with the intellect, aids by or using technological or social innovation, or who works with the healing or function of the nervous system and brain; the Sun might be a heart specialist, symbolic or otherwise. So, yes, I do see a connection between Moon in the 6th and health, healing, and helping professions, but the forms this can take are numberless, and the essence of the helping individual, a caring attitude, can literally fit any profession existing.

 And, with the 6th House still in mind, we see another query: What indicates ability to heal others after a near death experience?

This, of course, would be a very specifically individual signature, largely shown by particular natal placements triggered by Solar Arc or tertiary progression, or possibly secondary progression–and again, there’s no special placement that shows this potential, but I have described the ability to heal in the chart of one who could (Ellen Yoakum) and in one who portrayed this in the movies (Ellen Burstyn), both of whom have 6th House Moon https://juliedemboski.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/natal-moon-in-the-6th-house/

One thing I would say about healing ability and a near death experience: a near death experience does not change who we are, it changes how we see things, our viewpoint, our perspective–so potentials were there all along, or not at all, one is not suddenly endowed with special abilities or powers because of an event. There is also the danger in just that, in seeing an ability, any ability, as special–not only is this inaccurate, it promotes a doctrine of ‘betterness’ and a mentality of separation, neither of which is present in a true healer.

I had a number of searches that centered on music, such as What indicates musical talent in astrology?

With any talent or ability, we must understand that expression of potentials occurs because of an auspicious confluence of interest, opportunity, ability, persistence, all of which may or may not converge with a ‘right place, right time’ that allows one to concentrate on and develop the talent even further. So, talents are often best delineated from their life expression back to the chart, as many potentials that exist in the chart may never see the light of day. That said, traditionally Neptune is associated with music, so we would perhaps start our search, in a very general way, there. We might also look to Neptune in contact with Saturn (giving form, and perhaps showing performance or recording), Venus (beauty), and Mercury (writing), a connection to the Sun (suggesting Neptune as part of the Soul plan), and connections to the 7th House might be appropriate, for featuring the audience and connecting the Neptune to a public or open forum/ expression. And of course, there are all the other sensibilities that might come into play, such as Pluto with ‘Death Metal’ and Chiron with the torch song genre.

And someone searched simply Opera Voices + astrology, and for this we would likely look for big, dramatic expression, and a classic connection to Taurus (voice) would be in order. See a consummate professional’s chart and assessment here https://juliedemboski.wordpress.com/she-finds-her-voice/

Have a wonderful and safe New Year celebration–see you next year!