The Condition of Sect

Sect, as a concept, is something that has largely been overlooked or misunderstood.  Ironically, it is generally one of the first things looked at to get a general overview of what is going to be helpful or more disadvantageous to the native.  Please note that sect considerations are only used for natal techniques and don’t generally translate over into other branches (though they can be used as testimony for strength in horary or electional).

 The philosophy behind sect is essentially that planets in sect are more helpful than those out of sect.  This means that sect as a method can alter a planet’s benevolent or malevolent nature and it changes based on what time of the day you were born.

 The diurnal sect is led by the Sun and includes Jupiter and Saturn, while the nocturnal sect is led by the Moon and includes Venus and Mars.  Mercury can be in either sect depending on his location from the Sun.  If Mercury rises before the Sun, it belongs to the diurnal sect in that chart, but if it rises after the Sun, it belongs to the nocturnal sect.  Mercury belonging to either sect is not a significant consideration in itself, if there’s a chart where Mercury is a member of the nocturnal sect it does not give the nocturnal sect more “weight” due to outnumbering the diurnal sect.  Sect doesn’t work in this way, the number of planets in either sect is not important in and of itself.

 The sects were chosen based on the temperaments of the planets and share a common philosophy with the triplicities.  The basic idea behind the sect assignments is to make planets nicer by making them more temperate or to increase the beneficial status of a planet by accentuating the more helpful part of its temperament.

 The Sun takes lordship over the diurnal sect since he’s the chief light of the day, but the natural warmth of the day accentuates his natural warmth and makes him more giving.  The same can be said of Jupiter who is a warm and moist planet, being in the natural warmth of the day makes Jupiter warmer and more giving.  Saturn is the oddball in this as he is placed in the diurnal sect to make him less malevolent.  Saturn destroys due to his excessive coldness from being the furthest planet from the Sun, so if we put him in the natural warmth of the daylight, we decrease the excessiveness of his cold and make him more temperate.

 The nighttime sect follows a similar strategy, the Moon takes ladyship because she’s the chief light and the moisture of the night makes her natural moisture more giving.  Venus is naturally moist as well, and the night makes her more beneficial.  Mars is excessively hot and if we place him within the naturally cold and moist setting of the night, we’re evening out his heat and making him chill out.

 Sect and Triplicities seem like the oddballs in the dignities scheme because their basic philosophy seems to run at odds with the philosophy of the other dignities.  Typically, the idea is that planets are nicer when they are in stations that are more naturally like them.  The familiarity or assistance of the area makes them more helpful to people.  It’s the basic idea of why Saturn Trine Jupiter is good (Jupiter’s benevolence decreases Saturn’s malevolence) or why a dignified Mars in Aries tends to be more beneficial than Mars in Libra.  However, sect turns that on its head by forcing Saturn and Mars into stations they are uncomfortable with in the hopes that it will counter their naturally excessive qualities.

 Based on what sect a particular chart belongs to, you will be able to pick out what planets need more attention than others or what areas in life a native needs to be less reckless in.  Always pay attention to the out of sect malefic (Saturn if you’re born at night and Mars if you’re born during the day).  The out of sect malefic will not have its temperament altered and will always be a consistent problem.  The same can be said with the out of sect benefic who tends to try to get you into trouble by doing things that aren’t in your best interest, but feel good to the native.

 There are some other forms of sect related dignity that are used to help planets who may not be in sect.  These are called rejoicing conditions and there are two of them.  The first is that planets prefer to be in their appropriate hemisphere, and the second is that planets prefer to be in signs that match their sect.

 For the first, in a diurnal chart, the Sun is above the horizon (in the 7^th-12^th houses) and the other diurnal planets want to be there too as they can then bask in his light.  The opposite is true at night, where the diurnal planets want to be under the earth to avoid the cold of night.  The opposite is true with the nocturnal planets who want to be in the hemisphere opposite the Sun.  Basically, in a diurnal chart, Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn want to be in 7^th-12^th houses, while Moon Venus, and Mars want to be in 1^st-6^th houses.  The opposite is true in nocturnal charts, where the Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn want to be in 1^st-6^th and the nocturnal planets want to be in 7^th-12^th.

 The second rejoicing condition is that diurnal planets want to be in diurnal signs and nocturnal planets want to be in nocturnal signs.  Diurnal signs are masculine signs and nocturnal signs are feminine.  It’s unclear how much the two rejoicing conditions mitigate planets that are out of sect, but it is known that the most significant consideration in sect was the diurnal/nocturnal consideration.

So, how’s your out of sect malefic messing up your life?

The Lives of the Presidents

Happy President’s Day!  Unfortunately, you probably won’t be celebrating it unless you’re a government employee or you work for a bank.  The rest of us will still have to go to work.  This post actually comes from a suggestion by Wintersprite, who suggests that I show my patriotism by testing out a technique with past presidents.  This technique, length of life calculations using the hyleg and alcocodon, is something that many different authors have different criteria for, which only adds to the confusion.  I’m going to be using/comparing Bonatti’s and Lilly’s.  It’s interesting that Lilly has a separate calculation from Bonatti, in many ways Lilly’s Christian Astrology can be seen as a translation of Bonatti’s book on horary.

The hyleg is a planet that grants life in a horoscope and the alcocodon is the planet that represents the number of years you have to live.  There are many different ideas as to how this works and people tend to face a philosophical brick wall when they learn of this technique.  Is it right to look into this?  How do you stop yourself from looking into people you care about after you learn the technique?  There are a few different ideas on what the alcocodon’s years really mean, though very few people tend to accept that the alcocodon is an expiration date.  The most prevalent theory is that the alcocodon represents how many safe years you have, and once these years run out you can face difficult health related incidents from transits and directions to your natal chart.  So, in this respect the alcocodon is said to serve more as a guarantee, shielding you from health complications until its time is up and after this point is when the native is supposed to take their health more seriously.

I’m still somewhat of a newbie when it comes to this technique, so if someone sees a place where I’ve messed up, please correct me.  All examples will show Bonatti’s technique first, then Lilly’s.

• For Bonatti’s method, you ascertain if the chart is diurnal or nocturnal, and if it’s preventional or conjunctional (full moon before birth or new moon before birth).
• In a day chart, you check to see if the Sun is in the First, Eleventh, Tenth, Ninth, or Seventh house, if he’s not, check to see if the Moon is in one of those houses, in a night chart you reverse this order, but check for the Sun in the Second house, or in the Fourth or Fifth houses in a masculine Sign.
• If neither of those and the chart is conjunctional, check the Part of Fortune to see if it is in the First, Eleventh, Tenth, Ninth, or Seventh house.  If it is, see if any of its lords aspect it, if so, PoF is Hyleg.
• If PoF is not in one of those houses, take the lord that aspects it as hyleg.
• If none of its rulers aspects the Hyleg, check the degree of the prior lunation, see if its almuten is in a hylegal place (First, Eleventh, Tenth, Ninth, Seventh), take that planet as Hyleg.
• If none of those, you can take the degree of the last lunation if it aspects one of its rulers.
• If none of those, the hyleg is said to be frustrated and the native dies young.
• A hyleg must aspect either its domicile, exaltation, triplicity, face, or term lord, as that planet will be the alcocodon.

Lilly’s method is a bit more straightforward.

• Diurnal charts- Check for the Sun in a hylegal place, if not, check for the Moon there.
• If neither Sun nor Moon, check the rulers of the previous New Moon
• If not, check the PoF and its rulers.
• If not, check the Ascendant and its rulers.
• If not, the Hyleg is frustrated.
• The only difference between nocturnal and dirunal charts is you check the Moon first, then the Sun, then you check the degree of the previous Full Moon.

Our first presidential test subject will be Woodrow Wilson (also requested from Wintersprite).  All of these charts will be done in Bonatti’s technique first, followed by Lilly’s.  I’ll outline the technique as we go and make points about it towards the end.

Woodrow Wilson 12-29-1856, 0045, Staunton, VA

Woodrow Wilson has a nocturnal chart, and there was a New Moon prior to his birth, making his chart conjunctional.  His Moon is not hyleg because it’s below the horizon at night, his Sun is not hyleg because it’s in a feminine sign and in a cadent house.  Bonatti then tells us to check the Ascendant.  We see the Ascendant makes a Trine to its domicile Lord Venus, so we take his Ascendant to be his Hyleg and Venus to be his alcocodon.  Venus is peregrine and succeedant, so we’ll take her middle years of 45.  She is unafflicted by Mars and Saturn, and is not assisted by Jupiter, so there is no calculation necessary.  Wilson’s years are 45.

Lilly takes us down a different path.  Neither the Moon nor Sun are hyleg, so we check the degree of the prevention since it’s a night chart.  The last full moon fell on 21° Gemini.  Mercury and the Sun do not aspect this point in Wilson’s natal chart, but Saturn does.  Saturn is our hyleg and he makes an opposition to Mercury who is his face lord, and thus becomes our alcocodon.  Mercury has 48 years as its middling, but it receives the full force of that opposition from a debilitated Saturn which would have us subtract 30 years, leaving us with 18.

Woodrow Wilson passed when he was 67.

John F. Kennedy 5-29-1917 1500, Brookline MA

John Kennedy has a diurnal chart, so we start with the Sun who is not hyleg in the 8th house.  The Moon though, can be hyleg since she’s in a feminine sign and in the Eleventh.  The Moon is forming a tight Square with its triplicity and face lord Venus who will then serve as our alcocodon.  Venus is unaspected by any malefic or benefic planet, and so signifies her middle years of 45.

Likewise, Lilly concurs with the above.  Moon is hyleg, Venus is alcocodon.  45 years.

JFK passed when he was 46.

Gerald Ford, 7-14-1913 0043, Omaha, NE

Gerald Ford has a nocturnal chart conjunctional chart.  The Moon can’t be hyleg because it doesn’t aspect any of its rulers.  The Sun can’t be hyleg in a feminine sign under the earth.  The Ascendant, then, is hyleg and aspects Mercury who is its term ruler and then becomes the alcocodon.  Mercury suffers a Square to Mars.  We take Mercury’s middle years of 48 and subtract Mars’s minor of 15, which gives us 33.

Lilly’s method gives us the almuten of the prevention (Mars) as his hyleg and Jupiter as his alcocodon.  Jupiter forms no aspects to a benefic or malefic planet and so gives us his middle years of 45.5

Gearald Ford passed at the age of 93.

James Garfield, 11-19-1831, 0200, Orange, OH

James Garfield has a nocturnal and conjunctional chart.  His Moon is his hyleg and and Jupiter is his alcocodon.  Jupiter receives a Trine from Venus and a Square from Mars.  So we take Jupiter’s middle years of 45.5 and add Venus’s lesser years of 8 which gives us 53.6, but then we must subtract Mars’s lesser years of 15 and gives us 38.

Lilly’s technique gives us the same results.

James Garfield passed away at age 49

William Taft; 9-15-1857, 2000, Cincinnati, OH

Taft has a nocturnal and preventional chart.  His Moon isn’t hyleg under the earth, Sun isn’t hyleg, and the PoF isn’t hyleg either.  So we’ll check the degree of the Full Moon prior to birth, and that was at 11° Pisces.  That degree does sextile his natal Jupiter, so we’ll take Jupiter to be his alcocodon while his preventional degree is his hyleg.  Jupiter does take a Square from Mars, though, and we’ll take the middle years of Jupiter (45) and subtract from then Mars’s lesser years (15), and get our length of 30.

Lilly takes a different road and instead suggests taking the almuten of the prevention as the hyleg.  Jupiter is in the first house and can serve as hyleg.  Jupiter closely squares its domicile lord Venus who will serve as our alcocodon.  Venus aspects a benefic Mercury (taking on the nature of the planet it is closest in aspect to) and so we’ll add 45 + 20 (Mercury’s lesser years) and arrive at 65.

William Taft passed away at 72.

Ulysses Grant, 4-27-1822, 0547, Point Pleasant, OH

Ulysses Grant has a diurnal and conjunctional chart.  The Sun can’t be hyleg in the 12th, but the Moon can be hyleg in the Fourth in a feminine sign.  The Moon receives a Trine from Venus who serves as her triplicity ruler.  So the Moon is hyleg and Venus is the alcocodon.  Venus has no aspects to a benefic or malefic.  So we’ll take her middle years of 45.

Lilly’s technique concurs with Bonatti’s exactly and gives 45 years.

Ulysses Grant lived until he was 63.

Warren Harding, 11-2-1865, 1430, Blooming Grove, OH

Warren Harding has a diurnal and conjunctional chart.  This one is a really tricky one.  His Sun, Moon, and Ascendant are all not eligible to be hyleg, so we have to go with the prior lunation degree which was a New Moon at 26° Libra.  Natal Jupiter aspects this place, so Jupiter becomes our alcocodon.  Harding has a wonderfully strong Jupiter, so we’ll take his greater years of 79.

According to Lilly’s technique, Warren Harding would not have a hyleg and it would be considered frustrated.  This would typically mean that the native wouldn’t live to be an adult.

Warren Harding passed away at age 57.

Rutherford Hayes, 10-4-1822, 2130, Delaware, OH

Rutherford Hayes has a nocturnal preventional chart.  The Moon cannot be hyleg in the 12th house.  The Sun cannot be hyleg because it does not aspect any of its rulers.  The Part of Fortune has a similar tale.  So we’ll go with the last lunation which occured at 7° Aries.  The Sun opposes this point, so we’ll take him to be our alcocodon as exaltation lord of the syzgy.  The Sun’s middle years are 69, and he trines Jupiter to get an additional 12 years which makes our total 81.

Lilly’s technique would agree, but arrive at the prior lunation at a sooner step.

Rutherford Hayes passed away at 70 years old.

Lyndon Johnson, 8-27-1908, 0500, Hye TX

Lyndon Johnson has a nocturnal and conjunctional chart. Luckily, the Moon can be hyleg in the first house and she is closely conjoined to her domicile and exaltation lord, so no need to look far for our alcocodon.  Mercury is wonderfully strong, so we’ll take its greater years of 76, and it does not receive aspects from any of the benefics or malefics.

Lilly’s technique concurs with Bonatti’s.

Lyndon Johnson passed away at 64.

Chester Arthur, 10-5-1829, 0607, Fairfield VA

Chester Arthur has a diurnal and conjunctional chart.  This one is pretty slam dunk.  Sun is hyleg on the Ascendant, it aspects its exaltation lord Saturn, who serves as our alcocodon.  Saturn is in detriment, but accidentally fortified, so we’ll get his middle years of 43.5.  Saturn also trines Jupiter, who will then add his lesser years of 12 into the equation which gives us 55.5 years of life.

Lilly’s technique would give us much the same answer.

Chester Arthur passed away at 57.

Of the ten examples, John F. Kennedy and Chester Arthur were pretty spot on while others were quite off.  Lilly himself expressed displeasure at this technique, so I guess it’s no surprise that it didn’t come out so well.  The ones who outlived their alcocodons would probably be the norm, but the ones who didn’t outlive theirs are the ones to be concerned about as far as technique applications go.  Modern medicine is a wonderful thing, so it’s really no surprise that people would live longer.

On The Likelihood of Children: An Astrologer’s Tale

There are many uses for astrology, but most people aren’t aware of them until certain circumstances present themselves in their lives.  One of the more popular areas of life that lead people to astrology is when couples are trying to conceive a child.  There could be any number of reasons for this, perhaps there was an interest in astrology beforehand, but never any real want to get into it.  It could be that emotions are generally running high when there’s been no success after a handful of tries and so the urge to go into less orthodox methods takes hold.  There may be some logic behind astrology and fertility, after all, both the female menstruation cycle and the lunar cycle are about 28 days, so maybe there’s something behind it after all.

Astrology generally has very simple rules when it comes to fertility and the likelihood of childbearing.  Signs and planets are divided into either fertile or barren and basically the more you have of one the more or less likely you are to have a child or have many children.  There are several different astrological methods to have a child, perhaps by using electional astrology to find a good time to have sex to conceive the child, or perhaps through the use of an astrological talisman to help increase the person’s natural fertility.  Generally, though, it’s all there in the natal chart.

You can do a quick glance at your natal chart to see if you’re likely to have children or not, or just how much effort could go into the ability to conceive naturally.  First, we have to have a rundown of the planets and the signs:

Venus and Jupiter are the two most fertile planets.  Being the benefics, it’s their natural job to nurture and grow things to their full potential.  On the other side of the line are Mars and Saturn who are naturally barren due to extreme heat and extreme cold, neither of which are conducive to proper growth.  Mercury sits in the middle offering nothing of himself, but is described as either or depending on what planet he has the closest contact with.  The Sun is more inclined to barrenness due to his heat, whereas the Moon plays a half-and-half role.  Generally fertile, but it is mostly dependant on her phase; waning is barren, waxing is fertile.

The water signs Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are the three fertile signs.  Pisces is the most fertile sign of the zodiac, being the domicile of Jupiter and the exaltation of Venus, Cancer is in the middle being the sign of the Moon and the exaltation of Jupiter, and Scorpio is the least as the domicile of Mars, the fall of the Moon, and the detriment of Venus.  A warning comes with Scorpio, while pregnancy may be more likely in Scorpio than other signs, there is a risk of harm to the fetus or complications during pregnancy when Scorpio is involved.

Taurus, Libra, and Sagittarius are described as signs being more inclined to fruitfulness.  While not the fruitful signs discussed earlier, these are a good second to have if you can’t have the water signs.  Taurus is the domicile of the fruitful Venus and the exaltation of the often-but-not-always fruitful Moon.  Libra gets this classification as the domicile of Venus, and Sagittarius gets in this group through being the domicile of Jupiter.

Going the other direction, the signs more inclined to barrenness are Aries, Capricorn, and Aquarius.  All three of these signs are here because of their association to the barren planets.  Aries is the domicile of Mars, and Capricorn and Aquarius are both domiciles of Saturn.  Aries could have been saved by being the exaltation of the Sun, but even he is more inclined to barrenness.  Capricorn is probably the worst of the semi-barrens as it is also the exaltation of Mars.  Now, there does appear to be some arguments about where Aquarius really belongs, either in this group or the semi-fruitful group.  Aquarius is home to some very fortunate fixed stars and the stream of water that pours from his urn is a depiction of fertility that manifests in the February rains washing the land and getting ready for the spring growth.  However, I feel Aquarius more easily fits in this group as the domicile of Saturn and fall of the Sun, also, men can’t bear children and I bring this up because it is this similar logic that is used for a sign in the next group.

The worst of the worst, most barren signs in the zodiac are Gemini, Leo, and Virgo.  Many modern astrologers consider Gemini as a fruitful sign and consider its placement in this group as counterintuitive.  After all, you’ve got to be pretty fruitful to have twins when you were only trying for one!  However, this isn’t the logic used.  Gemini is the domicile of Mercury, who Lilly says “Discerns nothing of himself”.  Meaning that since Mercury is neither barren nor fruitful, it makes it difficult to call, however the real breaker here is that men can’t bear children.  Leo being the house of the rather barren Sun gets put in this group with the added argument that lions “bring forth young rarely”.  Finally, Virgo also gets put in this group being the domicile and exaltation of Mercury, and if that double-whammy wasn’t enough, consider for a moment that virgins don’t have kids.

You can take these special considerations as well as the basics of horoscopic astrology and figure out the likelihood of having children yourself.  For instance, I’ve got Cancer on my fifth house which is a good argument for fertility and having many children, the Moon is also waxing in my chart, adding another testimony on that side.  However, the Sun in Leo is in the 5^th and the Moon is in Leo as well.  A barren planet occupies a barren sign in the fifth house, and the lady of the fifth occupies a barren sign as well.  What makes matters worse is that the Moon is combust of the Sun.  Unfortunately, there are no aspects helping the Moon out in this situation or aspects to the Fifth house cusp.  So it’s either I’m going to have no children or only one.  Wintersprite on the other hand has two children, a boy and a girl.  Her chart has Gemini on the 5^th with Mercury in Capricorn conjunct Mars. So far it’s a barren sign and a barren planet (Mercury takes on the attributes of the planet it’s most closely connected with, this being the aforementioned conjunction with Mars, and Mars is barren) in a semi-barren sign.  There are no planets in the fifth house, and Mercury’s dispositor is none other than Saturn (barren) in Aquarius (semi-barren).  There’s a saving throw by a very close Trine from Venus (fertile) in Aquarius (semi-barren).  Had Wintersprite been a client of mine I would have told her she’s likely to have one son, but she has a firstborn daughter as well, which means she has some explaining to do.

The Four Qualities: Breaking the Elements

The four elements and their qualities

Water, Earth, Air, and Fire; as astrologers, we’re told that these four basic elements make up the world and the relationship between the four gives us the foundations for every chart reading we’ll ever do.  Ptolemy even hypothesizes that the planetary movements directly affect these four elements and the undulating movements of the elements on the world are what usher in the influence of the spheres.  However, even atoms – the building blocks of the universe – can be broken down into their basic parts of protons, neutrons, and electrons.  The four elements are much the same, “basic” parts that can be broken down one step further to reveal something fascinating right in front of our eyes.

There are four different qualities; moisture, dryness, heat, and cold and the mixing of two of these four qualities give us the humours and the elements which in turn give us the rest of astrology.  Each quality has its usefulness – heat expanded, coldness condensed, dryness resisted, and moisture absorbed – and they are all essentially equal.  Equal in power and use, but not equally desired.  Ptolemy calls heat nutritive, moisture prolific, coldness destructive, and dryness noxious.  So, the qualities of heat and moisture are active and thus helpful in initiating growth, whereas the qualities coldness and dryness are passive and conducive to decay.

Heat and dryness meet to make fire and the choleric temperament.  While heat is active, dryness is passive, and so the growth is somewhat stunted by this element.  However, fire was arguably the most attractive element according to traditional astrology.  Fire naturally rises, and so people who are of the choleric temperament are naturally driven and do things because they should and are driven by honor or some similar notion.  The natural rulers of this element are Sol and Mars.  Sol represents a pure and noble expression of fire/choler as his heat and dryness are equal and rather temperate since he generates both himself.  On the other hand, Mars doesn’t produce his own heat and since it is naturally dry, the heat overwhelms it and so Mars suffers from excessive heat, making it more irrational, spontaneous, and – in the worst case – violent.  Summer is the season that corresponds with fire and choler, the growing season is pretty much over by the time of the summer solstice and all that is left to do is mature, much like humans reaching adulthood (which also corresponds with these this combination of humours).

Heat and moisture come together to make the air element and the sanguine temperament.  As stated above, these two qualities are the most conducive to growth and – in traditional astrology – seen as one of the most beneficial elements as the air easily rises, but it must be hot first.  This means that sanguine types are a bit harder to motivate than choleric types, but they are motivated by curiosity.  Jupiter is the natural ruler of the sanguine temperament as Jupiter’s humour is exactly the same – hot and moist – this combination of the two active qualities is part of what gives Jupiter its greater benefic status as it naturally gives and assists in growth.  The Springtime season corresponds with air and sanguine as it represents birth, youth, and new growth, the humours most conducive to growth reach their height in this season which brings about all the new growth of the year.

Coldness and dryness add together to make the solid element earth and the corresponding temperament melancholy.  These two qualities are the most passive – coldness condensed and dryness resisted – and thus the most destructive.  Melancholic types were not favored so much by traditional astrologers as they tend to resist direction and motivation and so would not naturally rise up in an attempt to better themselves.  However the image most associated here is a boulder that is rolling down a hill.  The boulder doesn’t just decide it wants to move down a hill and roll itself, someone else has to give it the nudge to get started, but once initiated on a goal, melancholics rarely stopped before it was accomplished though it may take much time for that to occur.  Saturn and Mercury ruled over this element and temperament with Mercury being a more balanced representation.  Cold and logical, Mercury takes in everything equally as long as it is rational.  Saturn’s extreme cold helps him retain his title of the greater malefic as the two most resistant qualities staunched out growth and author decay.  Earth is represented by the season autumn, as all the matured growth from the previous season dies off and decays back to the earth.

Finally, coldness and moisture collide to create water and the phlegmatic temperament.  Growth is similarly stunted with these two qualities like it is in fire/choler, but since water does not naturally rise, it is on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to attractive elements.  Water is difficult to direct as it tends to go everywhere, and so too is the phlegmatic temperament.  Water is not driven by reason, personal responsibility, or determination; instead it is driven by desire and gratification.  Water really only does things because it wants to or because it feels like it and this is how the lives of phlegmatics plays out procrastination is all too real and prevalent.  The Moon and Venus are the representatives of this element and temperament.  There is no better image for water than two emotional women.  Water is represented by the season of winter.  Most people generally think of winter as the most destructive season because of its extreme cold, but it’s really no different than summer’s extreme heat.  Autumn kills the plants while winter simply hinders growing until the Spring.

As stated above, the elements are essentially the building blocks of the world and one of the hypothetical vehicles for the very influence of the stars, however, by breaking down the elements into their own basic parts, we’re able to take a better look into how they operate and what effect being exposed to too much or too little of an element or humoural quality can have on us.

Birth of the World

In Hellenistic astrological literature, there’s a chart that’s said to be set for the creation of the world.  A planetary nativity that is much more than what it seems or is claimed to be floated around in the Hellenistic world and was a wonderful tool for anyone who could learn to interpret it.  This chart was called the Thema Mundi.  It should be obvious that no chart could really claim to be set for the beginning of the world, as logic dictates finding the moment for when the Earth was created would take some pretty awesome powers.  In truth, the chart was a completely made up concept, however, this is one of those rare occasions when something being made up isn’t useless.  The truth behind the Thema Mundi is that it was used as a teaching tool for certain Hellenistic principles.  First, though, we should discuss the structure of the Thema Mundi itself.

 

As you can see, the Thema Mundi looks like a pretty decent horoscope, aside from the fact that some of its placements can’t really exist.  The Ascendant on the chart is 15° of Cancer, which might seem like a random placement, but there is a logic behind it.  One of the more obvious ones would be that it’s linked to the beginning of the Egyptian New Year.  The New Year started at the helical rising of Sirius, and while that star is obviously the alpha star of Canis Major, it is zodiacally placed in Cancer.  Another interesting correlation is that there’s a Hellenistic belief that all souls descend to earth through the Gates of Man which is said to be located in the nebula in the middle of Cancer.  It would seem only logical that the soul of the world would descend from the same gate.

The Thema Mundi was used as a Hellenistic teaching tool, the first thing it teaches is obviously the planetary domiciles as the planets within the chart are all set in one of their domiciles.  Something else the chart teaches are domiciles, with differing rules depending on the sect of the planet.  The nocturnal planets all sextile their sign of exaltation, while the diurnal planets trine their exaltations.  Luna in Cancer sextiles Taurus, Venus’s domicile of Taurus sextiles to Pisces, and Mars’ domicile of Scorpio sextiles Capricorn, in the diurnal sect Sol in Leo Trines to Aries, Jupiter’s domicile Pisces trines to Cancer, and Saturn’s domicile of Aquarius trines to Libra.  Mercury gets to be the oddball here – as Mercury usually is – already being within its sign of exaltation and domicile.

The chart also teaches aspects based on the concept of planetary natures of benefic and malefic planets.  Saturn opposes the Moon, so the opposition aspect is of the nature of Saturn, the greater malefic which by the law of association makes the opposition the most hostile of the aspects.  Jupiter – the greater benefic – trines the sun, which makes the Trine share in Jupiter’s benefic nature.  Mars Squares the sun, making the square share the conflicting and lesser malefic nature with Mars.  Venus performs a sextile to the sun, and the sextile echoes the helpful attitude of the lesser benefic.  The oddball nature of Mercury is reflected in the semi-sextile – which it performs to the sun – which is described as “minorly helpful”.

Unfortunately, these were the only things that I could decipher about the Thema Mundi, but I feel like there’s a lot more in it that I haven’t found yet.

 

The Roaring Summer: Leo the Lion

The modern day Leo is a figure that is considered to be strong and powerful.  The perfect leader, Leo has a natural magnetism that draws others to his cause and the determination to see the cause through to fruition.  The downside with Leos is like anyone in power, too much of it can go to their head and they can come off as arrogant, self-centered, and power hungry.  Leos are easy to get along with, everyone loves Leo, after all, there’s not much to hate about it.  It’s this easy going nature that contributes to Leos natural magnetism and makes Leo such a popular sign.  Not popular in the sense of everyone wants to be a Leo, but popular in the sense that everyone wants to be Leo’s friend.  Things seem to come easy for Leo because people are willing to do a bit extra to help it out, knowing full well that Leo would probably do the same.

Astronomy

Leo contains several bright stars and has a notable reputation of having even some of its dimmest stars named as opposed to having just a nomenclature.  Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac to contain an asterism (basically a mini-constellation), Leo’s asterism is called the Sickle, but in reality, the Sickle represents Leo’s head and mane.  Deep inside Leo is a star called Wolf 359, this star is one of the closest stars to earth.  Gliese 436 is a star that has one of the smallest exo-solar planets ever discovered orbiting around it.  Leo also contains many galaxies like Messier 65, 66, 95, and 96.  Also, left over from Creation, the Leo Ring contains a cloud of hydrogen and helium gas from the Big Bang.

Mythology

Leo has been represented as a lion by numerous civilizations, including the Persians, Turks, Syrians, Jews, Indians, and Babylonians.  While this connection has permeated the different cultures, there is surprisingly little mythology behind it.  In Babylon, the lion is often a representative of the goddess Ishtar (Greek equivalent would be Aphrodite).  However, the Greco-Roman tradition holds Leo is the Nemean Lion which served as Hercules’s first labor.  Now, the lion could not be hurt by weapons, having such a thick hide, so the struggle came as one of sheer might where Hercules had to strangle the monster with his bare hands.  After the struggle, Hercules himself would wear the lion’s thick hide.

Traditional Associations

In William Lilly’s Christian Astrology, he says of Leo:  “Is the only house of the sun, by nature fiery, hot, dry, choleric, diurnal, commanding, bestial, barren, of the east and firey triplicity, masculine.”

Masculine signs are those that are said to be extroverted.  Leo is a very extroverted sign, everyone knows what’s on Leo’s mind one way or another.  Even when he tries to keep his emotions and thoughts hidden, it doesn’t work.  Leo loves the limelight and loves being the center of attention and often expresses himself as if he were on stage.

Fixed signs are those that take place during the middle of the season, as is the case of Leo, which marks summer at its full strength.  The good side of this is that Leo is persistent and has the staying power to see long projects through to the end.  The bad side is that Leo is stubborn and it takes a lot of persuasion to get Leo to do anything he doesn’t want to do.  Stubborn in action and mind, once he’s made his mind up about something, he usually doesn’t change it.  The same goes for forming opinions on matters, which may take awhile.  After the initial gathering information and thinking, the conclusion that follows is one that is going to stay for awhile as Leo will usually not except new facts on the matter for one reason or another.  Leo is often called simple-minded, as he usually only responds to things as they appear on the surface, failing to find the hidden and deeper meanings of things.  The battle continues, though, after the underlying messages are pointed out to him, Leo will often dismiss them as contrived or pointless.  This detailed orientation is not for Leo, who prefers to see the whole picture and draw conclusions from that.

Leo is one of the three fire signs, exemplified by spontaneity, creativity, intuitive responses, and an infectious way of relating to others.  Leo wants to be the center of attention, and is a fire that wants moths to circle it.  Being a big fan of drama, Leo will use dramatic gestures and hyperbole like it’s no one’s business in a conscious or unconscious attempt to get attention.  Like all fire signs, Leo can be roused to seemingly easily (note that Leo is the least angry of the fire signs due to the fixed quality of the sign) and will either outwardly show anger through a raised voice and other angry characteristics, or will show it inwardly through the throbbing temple vein and flushed face.

The sun rules Leo, and as such, Leo embodies a lot of solar qualities including courage and an unconquerable optimism.  Traditionally, the sun signifies the boss, whether it be the president, king, commander, or general, this carries over to Leo, who strives to be that boss.  The sun has its ecliptic, and as such, so too is Leo extremely territorial.  This territory is different for every Leo, it could be the home, the work environment, an interest or hobby, or just about anything else.  They put their entire heart and soul in this one area of life, and their pride for their accomplishments in that area is just as extreme.  Severe heartbreak can befall Leo should he ever be one-upped in that area.  Another planet that plays a part in Leo is Saturn and its weakness in the sign.  As such, limitations and depression don’t work well for Leo who has a natural optimism.  Leo is poor with money and budgets, seeking to spend when they should  be saving as their natural optimism tells them money is just on the horizon.

Leo is also given the title of bestial and feral.  While he is very well known for understanding his own emotions, he is also well known for not being able to understand the emotions and thoughts of others.  Leo responds more with animalistic instincts rather than reasoned logic and is not very well gifted in social graces despite the popularity.  Leo’s feral association manifests itself through insensitivity for other’s feelings.

Fixed Stars

The stars that make up constellations have an effect on shaping the early significations of the sign.  Ptolemy likened the stars in the head of Leo to be of the nature of Saturn and to a lesser degree Mars.  The stars in the neck were of the natures of Saturn and Mercury.  The chief star of Leo, Regulus, was given a distinct association with the natures of Mars and Jupiter.  The stars in the loins and tail of the lion are of the nature of Saturn and Venus, and the stars in the legs are of the nature of Venus and Mercury.

The alpha star in Leo is Regulus, who is of the nature of Mars and Jupiter.  This star is one of the four royal stars that ruled the south and signified the power of the sun.  Regulus shows a civil disposition, ambition, and a will to lead.  The star is generally beneficial due to the Jupiter nature and the brilliance of the star, but there is a danger through sickness and fevers due to the Mars influence.  The star in the tail of Leo named Denebola is of the nature of Saturn and Venus and while it does have the ability to show a rise to fame and fortune, it is not near as a fortunate star as Regulus.  Denebola is generally seen to show a sort of fall from grace such as the happiness turned to anger signification given to it by Robson.  Another Saturn and Venus natured star in Leo named Zosma is considered an unfortunate influence and is said to bring disgrace and melancholy.

Dignities and Degree Influences

The sun is the ruler of Leo, due to the sun reaching its height in the sign and the heat and dryness that accompanies it showing the raw power of the solar energies.  Saturn is in detriment in this sign as he does not do well in the extreme heat and dryness of the sign.  No planet is in exaltation or depression in this sign.  Leo is part of the fiery triplicity which is ruled by the sun during the day, Jupiter at night, and Saturn as a participary ruler.

0° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn

1° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn, Increasing Fortune

2° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn

3° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn

4° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn, Masculine, Increasing Fortune

5° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn, Deep

6° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mercury, Increasing Fortune

7° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mercury, Feminine

8° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mercury

9° Leo:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mercury, Dark

10° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury

11° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury

12° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury, Deep

13° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus

14° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus, Masculine, Deep

15° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus

16° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus

17° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus

18° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Venus, Increasing Fortune

19° Leo:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Jupiter, Smokey, Lame

20° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter

21° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter, Deep

22° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter, Feminine, Deep

23° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter

24° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter, Void

25° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Mars

26° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Mars, Lame

27° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Mars, Deep, Lame

28° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Mars

29° Leo:  Face of Mars, Term of Mars, Masculine, Light

Clutching the Sea: Cancer the Crab

One of the more obvious cases of astrological misconstruction is the case of Cancer who has become an almost carbon copies of her ruling planet the Moon and her alleged house of rulership, the fourth.  With such outspoken connection between Cancer and the home, family, and motherhood, it’s no wonder we haven’t just thrown two of the three out and called them super-Cancer as the significations are apparently simply repeated all across the board.  This does not undermine the emotional feelings and deep-seated memories Cancer holds, but is intended to undermine connections between the fourth house and Cancer who have very little in common in the astrological tradition.  Perhaps the most annoying trait of Cancer is the ability to withdraw emotionally from situations that get too difficult to handle, that’s of course not counting the possible emotional manipulation by this sign as well as the ‘crybaby’ syndrome that Cancer seems to possess.  No other sign in the zodiac can cry at the drop of a hat like Cancer can!

Astronomy

Cancer is the dimmest constellation in the zodiac with its brightest stars being just third magnitude, however, despite this faintness, there are some interesting things in the constellation itself.  Firstly, there’s a planetary system in the constellation around the star 55 Cancri which has four gas giant planets and one terrestrial planet.  Cancer is also home to the open star cluster called Praesepe which is also called the Beehive Cluster and in ancient times referred to as the Gate of Men.

Mythology

The Greek tradition holds a very minor place for Cancer only showing up during the tales of the twelve labors of Hercules.  During Hercules’s fight with the Hydra, Hera sent a crab to interfere.  Unfortunately, the crab did very little, only grabbing onto his toe which eventually led Hercules to crush the creature.  The deed earned the crab a quick death and an eternity in the heavens.  In Egypt, Cancer took on the appearance of a scarab, the sacred symbol of immortality.

There’s an almost universal connection between the constellation of Cancer and shelled, shore-inhabiting creatures, Cancer having been associated with tortoises, crabs, and lobsters which connects the constellation to the idea of the emergence of life from the Primordial Ocean.

Aside from the connection between Cancer and the Primordial Ocean, there is a genuine life-giving aspect of Cancer that sets it apart from the rest of the signs of the zodiac.  Namely, the Gate of Men which is said to be the portal where new souls arrive into the world just before birth.

Traditional Associations

In Christian Astrology, William Lilly writes about Cancer saying “Is the only house of the Moon, and is the first sign of the watery or northern triplicity, is watery, cold, moist, phlegmatic, feminine, nocturnal, moveable, a solstice sign, mute and slow of voice, fruitful, and northern.”

The even numbered signs of the zodiac are given the title “feminine” which basically translates into internalized energy.  Cancers are very introverted, often pondering on their current moods and those of others.  This introverted manner makes Cancer seem even more moody than she really is because of how unapproachable the introverted, feminine quality makes her appear.  Feminine signs like Cancer also have a disdain for fame and the public eye as they are uncomfortable at the center of attention.

Cancer is one of the three water signs, which are phlegmatic or cold and wet in humour.  Wetness or moisture is the manner in which people connect with others and experience emotion.  Ancient astrology holds moisture as being the condition which allows for empathy, sympathy, and shared or collective experiences.  One of the easiest ways to connect with people is through emotional bonds which are fostered through the condition of moisture and those signs that contain that quality like Cancer have an easier experience connecting with people.  Moisture’s abilities of passivity, absorption, and reflection are all very central to Cancer, however, there is a bit more to the watery sign, that being the second half of water, coldness.  That coldness does not translate to unfeeling, it simply means a delayed reaction time.  Coldness makes the water signs passive and allows them to wait before acting, this is what makes them stay out of debates or heated arguments, as well as to reflect on the best course of action.  This waiting period has given Cancer a reputation of weakness, being unable to apply solutions to problems in a timely manner due to the lethargy of phlegm which seeks to retain itself.

The sun’s ingress into Cancer marks the beginning of summer, and it is due to this that the sign is called cardinal.  Cardinal signs are changeable, and Cancer’s moods, opinions, and views are subject to change on a daily basis.  Perhaps as a grand paradox by design, Cancer has a hard time handling change within their environment as they tend to be clingy to things as they remember them.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and as such Cancer has an interest in the past and a pride in the home that is unseen in other signs.  Cancer has a deep interest in cultures of the past, especially if that past is her own.  By researching family history, Cancer finds fulfillment and a deeper connection to her past.  Due to the Moon’s association with tribal instincts, Cancer has an “it takes a village” approach to family and children, understanding the importance of having several adult role models for children to experience as opposed to just being limited to their mother and father.  As a result, Cancer is likely to draft their friends and siblings when it comes to childcare.  Cancer has strong parental instincts as the Moon is directly associated with young children, and is likely to be very protective of their children, bordering on suffocating.

Cancer is represented by the crab, a creature with a tough outer shell protecting a soft inner core which is appropriately shown by the ability to withdraw emotionally to protect oneself.  This highlights the sign’s want to avoid issues as opposed to facing them, however, when Cancer does decide to face issues, she still doesn’t.  Like the crab, Cancer confronts issues from the side, making decisions that defy logic after much hesitancy to make those decisions in the first place.  Due to the sideways thinking, the fact that the sun seems to stand still for three days after entering Cancer, and the darkness associated with the sign due to the femininity and faintness of the constellation, Cancer is anything but transparent and the motives behind decisions often lie behind confused and inconsistent logic powered by emotive responses.

Anatomically, Cancer is associated with the breasts, stomach, and chest and all ailments targeting those areas, most notably, bad coughs and digestion problems.  The sign is one of overall poor constitution.  As is standard among all water signs, Cancer relates to places that are near sources of water.  This includes everything from the ocean, rivers, brooks, streams, the seashore, and marshy land.  Inside it represents cellars, bathrooms, and places near water.

Fixed Stars

The stars that make up a constellation are a good indication of what a constellation is likely to end up signifying.  In his work Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy likened the stars in the eyes of Cancer to be of the nature of Mercury and Mars, the stars in the claws to be like Saturn and Mercury, and the nebula in the breast to be like Mars and Luna.  The star Asini is specifically said to be of the nature of Mars and Sol.

The cloudlike cluster in Cancer is called Praesepe which comes from a word meaning multitude.  Today it is often referred to as the beehive cluster, but astrologically, this cluster is a weak, vulnerable area that often manifests itself in blindness or sickness.  The two stars on either side are called the Northern (Borealis) and Southern (Australis) Ascelli (Asses) which are said to give a charitable nature and caring responsibility, however, there is a danger of violent death, accidents, and burns.  The alpha star of Cancer is called Acubens (the Claws) which is said to show malevolence and poison as well as making its natives undesirable in the manner of liars and criminals.

Dignities and Degree Influences

The Moon is said to be dignified in Cancer due to the agreeable gender and warmth of the sign and corresponding brightness of the planet, for these exact same reasons, Saturn is in detriment in Cancer.  Jupiter is said to be in exaltation in Cancer due to it being the northernmost sign and Jupiter loving the northern winds, whereas Mars is depressed in Cancer, as Mars loves the southern winds.  Cancer is a member of the watery triplicity, which is ruled by Venus during the day, Mars at night, and Luna as a participary ruler.

0° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars, Increasing Fortune

1° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars, Masculine, Increasing Fortune

2° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars, Increasing Fortune

3° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars, Increasing Fortune

4° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars

5° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Mars

6° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Jupiter

7° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Jupiter, Feminine

8° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Jupiter, Lame

9° Cancer:  Face of Venus, Term of Jupiter, Masculine, Lame

10° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Jupiter, Lame

11° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Jupiter, Feminine, Light, Deep, Lame

12° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Jupiter, Lame

13° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Dark, Lame

14° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Lame, Increasing Fortune

15° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury

16° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Deep

17° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Void

18° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury

19° Cancer:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Smokey

20° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus

21° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus

22° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus, Masculine, Deep

23° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus

24° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus

25° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus, Deep

26° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Venus, Feminine

27° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Saturn, Light

28° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Saturn

29° Cancer:  Face of Luna, Term of Saturn, Masculine, Dark, Deep

Astrology: I Quit Smoking; The Charts Involved!

I was something that I didn’t plan on doing…. I knew I was going to be quitting soon, but no date in mind.

There was a moment…. I said, “that is it… I quit”… and being a good little Astrologer, I noticed the particulars to erect a chart at a later time.  I have tried to live life in such a fashion that I don’t try to meddle with aspects and transits, I figure we do what we do and sort it out later.  Amazingly (is it really?) the story is told in Astrology charts anyway, seeming we can’t pull the wool over the eyes of “fate”.

A common error I have noticed when working with event charts, is that the birth of the event is the only date and time looked at.  It is important to look at transits (the event chart) while running it up the  other charts of those involved.  Example, a wedding event chart should ideally match up well in synastry with the individuals natal charts (a synastry of the event with each person) a synastry of the composite chart (the composite overlaid with the event chart) and if you are very serious about perfection or as close to as possible,  Bob Mark’s speaks of creating composite charts with the event and the person’s natal.   I would also add in you can do the same with progressed charts matched up with the event.  Wow, no wonder everyday is different for everyone…. even with just 12 Sun signs….. the combinations are huge when you keep digging and looking.

What was it that made me quit?  I made a dozen or so charts that I am about to look at.  I am also aware we may just miss the important factor…. really, what if the quit smoking aspect involves a progressed asteroid we haven’t even named yet and their contra antiscion aspecting a natal house cusp lord…. we have no way of knowing.  (This is where Ryoin’s preference for using Traditional Astrology makes more sense…. though I am not sure even then we can pin point the event that triggered the success…. it would be a much shorter list to look at than infinity)

Having looked through the different charts that I made, I am going to say that it was a combination of the progressions and current transits and the Natal…. again, it is a guess… but a well supported one… and I didn’t quite have time to look into the infinite possibilities.

My Progressed Sun, Mars, and Saturn are at 24/25 degrees of Aquarius… the progressed Moon is at 28 Aquarius, all in the progressed 12th house.   We know we have that triple conjunction whammy going on that is now rx… Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune at the same degrees of Aquarius.  In my natal chart they are going through my first house.   The progressed Saturn, Mars, and Sun conjunction can probably withstand anything thrown at it… it looks like raw will power.  The transits have to do with healing, addictions, over indulgence, psychological factors….  I couldn’t have imagined a better combination unless Pluto was in there somewhere.  But wait, he is.

That is the day that transit Saturn(limitations)  was at 15 degrees Virgo (health) RX…. and coming back into a direct conjunction with my Natal Pluto in the 8th house (losses… considered house of death)…

So I don’t know which or if both events had to happen for the trigger or if one was enough… or like I said before, a chart we haven’t even discussed, like a Draconian, or an unnamed piece of space gravel orbiting a Venus Moon having a say so.    I think that Electional Astrology is bigger than imagined and we would do a great service to go back after the fact and look at events and what may have been the triggers other than that day’s birth chart.

Talking to Myself: Gemini the Twins

Arguably the most interesting sign of the zodiac, Gemini is in a constant state of communication with something.  Modernly described as chatty and intellectually-inclined, there is a certain disconnect with a sign that likes to engage everyone.  As the life of the party, Gemini picks up a little bit of everyone and sorts it out in their own way.  Often thought of as shallow, Gemini doesn’t really seem to have a lot going on in their heads, more often being concerned with who’s seeing who and whatnot than anything deep, but that’s where they get you.  Gemini is more of an intellectual sign, but is not as connected as other signs, in fact it’s been said that Gemini is the single proponent of the one-night stand.  This is a metaphor that works out very well in that Gemini seeks to get a little bit of thought and understanding from everyone before moving on to someone else.  As a result, Gemini has the ability to understand things from multiple perspectives and get a better feel of it than most who only come in from one angle and fail to get the same amount of understanding.

Astronomy

The most notable stars in Gemini are the stars Castor and Pollux, both first magnitude stars whose brightness dwarfs that of the competing stars in the constellation.  Aside from these bright stars, Gemini holds several deep space objects like M35 which is a star cluster and also holds the Eskimo (or Clownface) Nebula.  Two other popular nebulas in Gemini are the Medusa Nebula and the planetary nebula NGC 2371.

Mythology

Most will think of the twins Castor and Pollux from the Roman tradition when asked about the source of the Gemini constellation.  These two twins represent the inherent opposition in the Gemini structure; Castor being mortal and gifted with logic and reason and Pollux being immortal and gifted with great strength.  Castor and Pollux were part of the journey by the Argonaut crew to find the golden fleece.  After Castor’s mortal wound as a result from the cattle raid, Pollux opted to give his brother half of his immortality, so they spent alternating shifts in Hades and the Underworld.  There is also a Greek tradition that likens the Gemini tales more to Apollo and Hercules.

In Babylon, the constellation of the Great Twins was signified more as the friendship between the legendary figures Gilgamesh and Enkidu.  We today understand a connection between the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh and his twelve labors and the twelve labors of the Greek hero Hercules.

Traditional Associations

In his astrological text titled Christian Astrology, William Lilly says about Gemini:  “It’s an aerial, hot, moist, sanguine, Diurnal, common or double-bodied human Sign; the diurnal house of Mercury; of the western triplicity, western, masculine.”  In previous pages, Lilly also adds the titles “barren” and “humane” to Gemini’s list of terms.

Signs that are said to be masculine are those odd numbered signs of the zodiac.  These masculine signs are very active and reactive to situations around them and are often said to wear their hearts on the sleeve in that they are very open and oftentimes outspoken.  Case in point, Gemini exemplifies the masculine trait in their willingness and ability to start conversations and interactions indiscriminately.  This opens the way for the main themes of the Gemini constellation, but the masculine signification behind Gemini makes them more active in their world and more expressive of what they want which is normally to talk.

Gemini is an air sign and so represents easily flowing communication skills and the sense of curiosity that comes along with those skills.  Air signs are also focused on logic and as such Gemini usually lacks emotional depth and so is difficult to empathize with other people around them.  Gemini has a strong respect for mental fortitude and intelligent independence while and in order to feel fully relaxed with someone, they must have a full mental rapport with that person.  There are some blessings with the gift of air, such as being able to keep one’s heart out of controversial, emotionalized topics and see the topic through multiple angles, the problem comes during personal moments where Gemini lovers are generally detached from their partners, causing frustration and broken-hearts for the more emotional lovers.

Signs that are said to be mutable are those that take place when the seasons are changing.  Such as in the case of Gemini whose solar transit takes place during the time when the season is changing from the hot and moist spring to the hot and dry summer.  Like the seasonal time in which it happens, mutable signs can easily flow between things, but don’t stick to much.  Case in point, while Gemini is very curious, they are not know for depth in any particular subject.  Gemini is fascinated by many things, and so may look into them, but then get just enough information about these subjects before moving on to something else that catches their fancy.  They are willing to discuss and trade ideas, and as such their opinions are hardly fixed and in politics they are generally referred to as the swing vote.  This mutability also gives them easy negotiation skills, flexible language skills, and quick thinking which is useful for several career tracks covering pickpockets and conmen to journalists and athletes.

Gemini is also called a humane sign due to the fact that the constellation of Gemini is represented by two humans.  Humane signs are blessed with social graces and are the life of the party in the sense that everyone wants to talk to them.  They are kind, generous, sociable, graceful, intelligent and charming.

The imagery of the two twins in the constellation are part of an important theme of Gemini; duality.  Gemini and the mythology surrounding it show us how time and time again opposite forces must be brought together.  It symbolizes the rectification between night and day, left and right, and the beautiful and the ugly so that they may both exist.  As such, Gemini is often seen as being two things as while they are extremely intellectually based, they are also inexplicably moody and can be both mental and emotional at the same time when perfected, however that rarely happens.

The relationship between Gemini and their ruler of Mercury is an important one when considering significations of the sign.  Understanding communication is imperative to Gemini, but by associating it only with the Roman Mercury, we lose a bit of depth.  While the Roman Mercury gets his god powers due to the speed of the planet from which he is named, the Greek Hermes is more closely connected with the Egyptian god of knowledge Toth and emphasizes the importance and magic behind language.  Words were thought of as a supernatural gift, the correct tone and pronunciation were said to be able to summon the gods themselves, and the written words and symbols were used to enchant anything from objects to houses.

Anatomically, Gemini rules over the hands, arms, lungs, shoulders, and all illnesses and injuries that could befall those areas of the human form.  Aside from this, Gemini is also prominent in the cases of mental health patients.  Like all air signs, Gemini signifies places that are off the ground such as shelves and hills, but Gemini also has signification of enclosed places like drawers, chests, and bins and near windows.

Fixed Stars

The stars of a constellation have an effect on shaping the early significations of that constellation and inspection of the stars usually brings up old significations.  In his work Tetrabiblos, Claudius Ptolemy likened the stars in the feet of Gemini as being of the nature of Mercury and Venus, whereas the stars in the thighs were attributed to the nature of Saturn.  However, the two main stars were given individual natures; Castor is of the nature of Mercury, and Pollux is of the nature of Mars.

The mythological connotations between Castor and Pollux has already been discussed but the stars are said to have special protection for military men and women especially sailors.  Aside from that, though, the stars also have a love of arts and science and often inspire such ideas into their natives.  Castor, who is of the nature of Mercury, gives logic, wisdom, promotes intelligence, and offers bonuses in studies.  Pollux, of the nature of Mars, gives courage, ferocity, and strength.  The final significant star in Gemini is Alhena, who resides in Pollux’s left foot.  Alhena is a brilliant white star who is associated with weaknesses like the wound in Achilles’s heel.  This star gives brilliance in art, literature, and science.

Dignities and Degree Influences

Gemini is ruled by Mercury due to the relationship between this sign and the signs of the luminaries.  Jupiter is said to be in detriment in this sign as it lies opposite from the sign of its domicile Sagittarius.  No planet is exalted or depressed inside of Gemini.  Gemini is apart of the airy triplicity, and as such is ruled by Saturn by day, Mercury by night, and Jupiter as a participary ruler.

0° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury

1° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury, Deep

2° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury

3° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury, Light

4° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury, Feminine

5° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury

6° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Mercury, Dark

7° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Jupiter

8° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Jupiter

9° Gemini:  Face of Jupiter, Term of Jupiter

10° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter, Increasing Fortune

11° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter, Light, Deep

12° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter

13° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Jupiter

14° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus

15° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus, Masculine, Void

16° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus, Deep

17° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus

18° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus

19° Gemini:  Face of Mars, Term of Venus

20° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Venus

21° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Saturn, Feminine, Light

22° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Saturn

23° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Saturn

24° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Saturn

25° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Mars, Masculine, Deep

26° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Mars, Dark

27° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Mars

28° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Mars

29° Gemini:  Face of Sol, Term of Mars, Feminine, Void

Bringing the Horns: Taurus the Bull

Taurus is said to be of the world, the material world, that is.  Taurus is colored in a very decadent and gluttonous light, being said to be all about reward and not much about working for it.  Being all about the senses, Taurus want something that looks, feels, tastes, sounds, and smells good.  Now, that all seems rather boring and bland, but there’s a lot more to Taurus and for a sign that is said to be all about reward, Taurus is actually a pretty hard worker.  Being both persistent and patient, Taurus is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to pushing an agenda and getting what it wants done.  It would seem the hard-working Taurus does what it wants to get the goods, but there’s a much deeper meaning to the sign that’s based on the hard-working bull, and the ever-giving cow.

Astronomy

The constellation of Taurus does have a few noticeable features that set it apart from the other constellations.  Firstly, this constellation contains the star cluster known as the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters and is perhaps the most noticeable star cluster in the night sky.  There is another group of stars within Taurus; this group is the V shaped Hyades that represent the bull’s head.  Aside from the notable features in the constellation, it does contain a couple bright stars that make it even more noticeable.  Also, it does contain a deep space object called the Crab Nebula which the remaining gasses and dust after a star supernovaed in 1054, it was so bright it was even visible during the day.

Mythology

The mythological connections of the bull and cow are very deep and span a long history.  Taurus (more specifically the Pleiades) marked the spring equinox from around 4000-1700BC and by having such an important position in the ancient world, was very famous with its own myths.  Taurus has its start in Babylon where it was known by the name the Bull of Heaven.  In their myths, the bull was created by Ishtar (the Babylonian equivalent of Venus) to defeat Gilgamesh.  In Egypt, Taurus was seen as the sky representative of Isis.  In Greece, Taurus is found in the myth of the abduction of Europa.  In this tale, Zeus transforms himself into a great, white bull in order to abduct the legendary Phoenician princess Europa.  After this, Zeus put this form of himself into the heavens.

It’s also interesting to note how Taurus is connected so strongly to women and is still referred to as a bull which is an obvious solar – and thus masculine – animal.  The Pleiades and the Hyades are both connected to groups of mythological women and they both make up the constellation of Taurus.  It is connected with strong women figures in its own mythology, whether it be Ishtar, Isis, or Europa and astrologically it is the only sign that is ruled exclusively by feminine planets.  In Japan, the sign Taurus is called kingyuukyuu or golden cow sign, not golden bull sign, but places a specific feminine word in the name drawing away from the perceived solar and masculine qualities of the bull.  In the Vedic tradition, the main star of this constellation Aldebaron is referred to as Rohini, the mother-cow goddess who is based on several lunar and venisian themes.

Traditional Associations

In William Lilly’s Christian Astrology, he says of Taurus “Is an earthly, cold, dry, melancholic, feminine, nocturnal, fixed, domestic, bestial sign, of the earthy triplicity, and south, the night house of Venus.”  With some explanation, these terms translate pretty easily into words of interpretational usefulness.

The feminine signs of the zodiac like Taurus mostly keep to themselves.  Taurus doesn’t like to draw unnecessary attention to herself and has a tendency to run from any sort of limelight time.  Not wanting to be the center of attention, Taurus often pushes things off on others in an attempt to get out of it.  Taurus is also known to keep things to herself, not being an emotional sign, Taurus keeps her personal thoughts personal and isn’t one to bring up personal discussion or even controversial topics.  Taurus has her “no” zones which covers topics that she does not want to go into, which makes her a very uncommunicative sign and is rarely open or honest about her emotions.

Fixed signs are defined as the signs that occur when the season is firmly in place.  In other words, when the sun is in Taurus, spring is strong in the air.  Spring isn’t ending, spring isn’t beginning, it’s simply enduring, and that’s a major part of what fixed signs are.  Rigidity, resilience, and endurance are key to Taurus’ nature.  This can be good and bad, it gives the sign staying power and enables them to get otherwise difficult and time consuming projects done as they have the patience to wait for it to get done.  This can also be bad as Taurus will often dig in her heels and not budge from her positions, this is seen as stubbornness by others, but Taurus is quick to justify this as having already gone through the decision make process with all of the information, so she’s right.  Of course, that only furthers the stubbornness as now you must convince them that they don’t have all of the information they think they do…and it just keeps going.

Taurus exudes the earthy energy of the cold and dry humor.  Taurus is very mellow, having neither the steam nor want for the rampant emotions of others, Taurus is in control of herself and how she feels and is not impressed by illusions of grandeur, preferring to focus on the reality of situations.  Unfortunately, this earthy approach to life often creates problems for Taurus as she has difficulty grasping abstract ideas and the prospects of modern, abstract art hold no real meaning for her as she sees what they are as opposed to what they are supposed to be.  Whereas art isn’t her true passion, history is and the earthy sensibility comes out when history is brought up.  More likely to look to precedent before making a judgment than simply making one on her own, Taurus is known to do her research.  Taurus is also quite the gardener, seeking spiritual solace from the ground and that which grows from it, and being one of the few signs with the patience to wait for the plant to grow, rather than try to stretch it out of the ground through force.

Unfortunately, even the heaviest dose of mellow earth can’t keep this bull’s rage down.  Bestial signs are said to respond in an animalistic manner to their emotions, and when Taurus gets mad, Taurus comes out and anger is perhaps the only real weakness in the bull’s armor.  Charging head-on, Taurus will take on all comers when she feels threatened or violently opposed and she’ll meet that opposition with violence if necessary.  After this initial rage is a period of shame where Taurus seeks to close herself off emotionally in an attempt to harden herself so as to not bring out the raging bull again.  This is less about dealing with the problem than it is about bottling it up.

Relationships are important to Taurus, thanks to the intervention of her ruling planet Venus.  Of course, the earthy nature of the bull makes her less likely to get involved in sloppy, short-lived relationships as she prefers some staying power in those relationships.  This also gives them a lean towards the arts wherein scenery and nature are their best inspirations.  Taurus is thought to be a bit boring and bland, as she gravitates mostly towards the conventional and stays away from fads and quickly shuns things that are outside of her normal ensemble, it’s not usual to see Taurus trying something new.

Fixed Stars

The stars in the sky have long caught the eyes of the population, and these stars have been used to tell stories in the sky.  It’s no surprise that these stories become central to these stars and various significations are assigned to them throughout the years.  In the Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy says the Pleiades are of the nature of Luna and Mars, the stars that make up the body of the bull are of the nature of Venus and Saturn, the Hyades are of the nature of Saturn and Mercury.  The star Aldebaron is specifically of the nature of Mars, as are the rest of the stars that make up the horns of the bull.

The chief star of the constellation is Aldebaron – the Follower (of the Pleiades) – a first magnitude fiery red star that is located in the eye of the bull.  This star is completely of the nature of Mars and is said to make its natives fierce and full of courage, its Martian essence is made clear in the delights of martial engagement that its natives seem to possess.  This star is said to give honor to the native, through means of violence.  Aldebaron is found in a the cluster of stars known as the Hyades that make up the V shape of the bull’s face.  In mythology, the Hyades were the daughters of Atlas and the rising and setting of these stars with the sun marked the wet periods of both May and November.  In fact, the Hyades were such prominent soothsayers of rain that for it to not rain during their rising was indicative of a barren, unfortunate year.

The Pleiades (in the picture they are marked as the name by their brightest star, Alcyone), is a prominent star cluster that once marked the beginning of the ancient year as their rising marked the spring equinox.  As with the coming of spring, the Pleiades marked the start of the rainy season, this is echoed in mythology as the Pleiades are said to be seven other daughters of Atlas (albeit by a different mother) who committed suicide due to the grief over their father’s punishment after the Titans lost the war between the gods.  Due to the associations between rain and tears, the Pleiades were said to have a strong influence over the water.  Regardless of being the nature of the Moon and Jupiter and having a slightly beneficial influence over the growth of food, this star cluster has been able to obtain a mostly unfortunate signification; such as positions of the Pleiades in the nativity and in directions are said to lead to rash violence, misfortune, violent death, damage to the eyes and blindness (as is all nebulous star clusters) and when setting they are also said to be linked to death through sexual diseases, there is also a tendency towards the effeminate due to the overwhelming female associations of the cluster.

The star in the tip of the northern horn, El Nath, is a 1.65 magnitude star that is said to be of the nature of Mars, even though it has this association with the lesser malefic, it is known to have a better reputation than most stars in the Taurus constellation.  El Nath is said to give eminence and honor as well as bestowing a sharp wit (horns, you know) onto its natives, unfortunately it is also a tad bit violent due to the martial and horn nature of the star.  The star at the tip of the southern horn – Al Hecka – is said to have a more unfortunate influence being associated with violence and suspicious, as well as being indicative of poor health, especially when concerning the health of the respiratory system, it also shows domestic troubles and separations.

Dignities and Degree Influences

Venus rules over this Sign due to the friendly sextile between this Sign and the cusp of the signs of the luminaries, as such, Mars is said to be in detriment in this sign as it opposes his sign of domicile in Scorpio.  Luna is in exaltation in this sign, as the relationship between her position here and Sol’s position in his exaltation is akin to her waxing phase.  Taurus is part of the Earthy triplicity which has Venus as the ruler during the day, Luna at night, and Saturn as the participary ruler.

0° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus

1° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus

2° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus, Dark, Increasing Fortune

3° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus

4° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus, Feminine, Deep

5° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus, Lame

6° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus, Light, Lame

7° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Venus, Lame

8° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Lame

9° Taurus:  Face of Mercury, Term of Mercury, Lame

10° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Mercury, Masculine, Deep

11° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Mercury, Void,

12° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Mercury

13° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Mercury

14° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Mercury, Light, Increasing Fortune

15° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Jupiter

16° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Jupiter, Feminine

17° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Jupiter

18° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Jupiter

19° Taurus:  Face of Luna, Term of Jupiter, Void

20° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Jupiter, Masculine

21° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Jupiter

22° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn

23° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn, Feminine, Deep

24° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn, Deep

25° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Saturn

26° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mars, Increasing Fortune

27° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mars, Light

28° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mars

29° Taurus:  Face of Saturn, Term of Mars, Masculine, Dark

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iVillage. Taurus: Understanding Your Sun Sign.. . <http://www.astrology.com/allaboutyou/sunsigns/taurus.html>.

Lilly, William. Christian Astrology. : Astrology Classics, 2004.

Ptolemy, Cladius. Tetrabiblos. : Astrology Classics, 2005.

Robson, Vivian. Electional Astrology. : Astrology Classics, 2005.

Wikipedia. Taurus (Constellation).. . <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_(constellation)>.