We had a request in the comments of the blog from Ryoin’s, Do it yourself love horarys, for him to do more examples.  Ryoin immediately threw me under the bus and suggested that I do that…. Funny Ryoin. >.<  I do alright with concrete horarys, where the outcome will be seen, but the subjective emotion ones…. Yeech!

Okay, I will follow his guide on the blog and we will see what I come up with.  For those that would prefer to do their own charting, the info is:  November 22, 2009 at 3:31 PM in Security, Colorado (104w45, 38n46).  The question is “Will we be a couple?”  The background is this is my own horary about a man that I have gone out with a few times.  After a few years have gone by, we acknowlege deep feelings, but circumstances and who knows what else have keep distance between us.  With all the aspects of the last few years having played out, situations have changed…. and I wondered where it will end up.

Ryoin said: ” Just like in any horary question, the person who asked the question is shown by the First house, its lord, and the Moon.  The person they are asking about is represented by the Seventh house and its lord. “

Okay that makes me Venus (lord of the first) found in the 7th house in Scorpio.  I am also the Moon in Aquarius in the 10th house.  He would then be Mars (lord of 7th) and found in Leo  right on the 5th house cusp.  Ryoin also says: “Planets that are in the Seventh house can also be used as co-significators and can generally give some good description as to what’s going on behind the scenes.  The Sun can also be used as a general signification for men, while Venus is can be used in the same way for women.”

So, Venus would be his coruler?  Nah, I already took that one for myself and how rightly I would be stalking his turned 1st… haa! And the Sun in the 7th turned 1st works, as he is concerned about himself and noting the sign change and current changes going on in his life, seems appropriate.  Oh and me Venus again… gah that planet is busy in this being everyone.

Then Ryoin said a whole bunch more stuff….  And yes, I am probably the awe struck one as Venus is in the 7th house.   We are going to check receptions and aspects now…. hmmmm
Venus is residing in Scorpio so that tells us that Mars recieves her.  Venus has moved ahead from a square at about 3ish degrees.  So we can see that…. it is a stretch here kids, that pulling away from a percieved negative, as we see Mars recieves Venus and Venus is in the sign of triplicity of Mars.  Venus is charging to the Sun, and again note the sign change, things appear to be in motion that were negative or stalled before…. um right Ryoin?  Here comes the tricky stuff.  The Moon in Aquarius will next aspect Mercury… Hm?  Who is Mercury?  and such a nice aspect it is…  I really suspect Mercury is just being Mercury, and that being communications.  The Moon will then travel to an opposition aspect to the Quested and then re perfect the square to the Querent.

Wrapping up the dignities and such…
Venus at 18Scorpio43 is in her detriment.  She is in the Triplicity of the Quested, Mars.  She is also in her domicile by house location.  Venus is in Venus Term and the Sun’s Face.

The Moon is at 9Aquarius30 with Accidental dignity being in the 10th house and in Saturns rulership.  She is in Mercury’s Term (the next aspect for her before opposing and then squaring the Quested and the Querent)      Mars is at 15Leo19 and applying to the 5th cusp.  The Term is Venus (Woot) and the face is Jupiter.  Mars is loving the Sun too I think.

Note the Nodes are on the MC/IC axis.  POF in the 3rd (Mercury’s house!) I will keep to myself that Venus is applying to Juno/Uranus   23 degree Pisces is his natal Venus and my Solar Arc Venus… so it is mentioned cause it made me feel all warm and fuzzy though noted after a nasty square to Jupiter…. but then again, Venus and Jupiter are long time buddies.  Notice the Moon has and will aspect almost everything by the time the Moon changes signs?  I can milk this folks…. the Antiscion of the Moon is 19 Scorpio and Venus is about on top of  it.   We can also notice the Moon is applying to the Asc and Desc in less than 5 minutes.

And this is why I say I can’t do relationship horaries.

My take is that it is a yes, eventually, after much difficulty and the key being Mercury and the POF in the 3rd in Cancer…. keep the communiction open and be supportive.

Okay, draw your arms and aim, I am ready.  Wow, and I didn’t even confuse this with fixed stars.

I was surfing on the web other Astrology blogs when it finally dawned on me …

OMG ANYONE CAN JUST START AN ASTROLOGY BLOG!!!!  No tests, no background, no sense required either it seems.   I was just reading how a new student was “convincing” everyone to change rulership of a sign to a make believe myth… a myth, no planet to even chart…. a myth, and the myth quoted also incorrect…..

So good readers, I ask if you see this blog go off course or in dire need (or not so dire) of direction, please, please say something and knock some sense back into us, so we don’t encourage the cross of scientific and historic study with fancy poof powder, cotton candy Gee wouldn’t that be swell opinions of those not even serious enough to learn yet expect to shout off the roof tops and call foul if you press them.

Pluto Transit is now Conjunct my Sun in orb… wow, I am finding out I have some issues.

I have had a couple of months  now that have involved the cutting down or trimming of trees that exists/ed between different property owners.   The first round happening with my elderly neighbor to the  South.  One day she saw I was doing some lawn work and started yelling at me…. that has been how we always have communicated.  She is a retired school cafeteria lunch lady and still falls back on intimidating everyone.  After a few days of battling and providing legal proof that I was not responsible for the branches of my tree over hanging her property, I just gave in and trimmed them anyway… it is how the rest of the world deals with her, we give in to her obstinate stances.  Straight up, I went looking at my 8th house for what was happening.   All is in check.  At the time, the Sun was transiting my 8th conjunct Saturn in Virgo.  Lilly in “Christian Astrology” gives trees the Sun for rulership.   The 8th house is that of shared property, which tree branches overhanging in someone elses property would more than qualify.

The neighbor to the North is much more pleasant to work with.  I approached him about removing the line of trees that have grown between our houses and braided through a shared fence. (His fence when I investigated further)  Now, before any Druids out there shake their fists at me, these are Chinese (or Siberian) Elms, and in Colorado are equivalent to the weeds of trees…. they propagate quickly, become infested easily, and are shallow rooted, so they fall with severe  weather and can cause considerable damage.   Our trees seemed to have delighted in trespassing on each others property.   We talked about it, we agreed, and then waited… and then the trees came down, Astrologically, Mars moved from Cancer (in its fall) to fiery Leo, and within moments, the chainsaw started.  Trees fell from his side on to mine and back and forth.  We discussed the clean up and mentioned different options like have it mulched or use as firewood… and it dawned on me, this was so incredibly 8th house stuff.  Look at the trees like if they were people…. trespassing (8th), plotting their demise/murder (8th again), cutting them down/murder (8th) and then discussing how to get rid of the corpses (mulching, firewood, ect…)  and the reason, the 8th house shared property and we were worried about damages and again 8th house issue of insurance.

8th house or 5th house, that is an argument for another day, but the time released arrow Cupid sent a few years back when I first met him, activated… bleh, at least on my side.   He has an additional agenda with the trees coming down, he is building a privacy fence to keep his dog in the yard, and the trees would be in the way.  Privacy around the house could be many different houses to look at, such as the 4th and the 12th.  So naturally, I became curious what was happening in his chart that would have spurred all the action.

I mentioned to him briefly that I was an Astrologer some days earlier, though I think he heard (or wanted to hear) that I was an Astronomer…. that would have been easy to explain…  So, I went there, the scary place, asking someone for all of their birth information.  He really didn’t seem reluctant, yet something didn’t look like it was clicking as I pressed on…. time? City?  He gave the information, but I could feel the giant question mark hanging in the air.  I will give him the link to this blog, but I don’t know how much sense it will make.  My sister who has listened to my Astrological ramblings for decades still refers to it as my “crazy Moon man talk”.

So what did I find?  Well, we appropriately have our Moons in each other’s 8th house.  His Progressed Mars is conjunct my Natal Mars and Mercury.  The transit Saturn has been Conjuct his Moon for awhile (yikes) and that is seen in my 8th and his 10th (lol, maybe this is all stress relief from work situation) Transit Mars is applying to the cusp of the 8th in his Progressed chart. Transit Pluto is going through his second house (property) OK… that may be the privacy fence   ooooh and Pluto, the death of the trees.   The Solar Arc Moon is lined up with Natal Neptune in the 12th house, hmmm The Moon representing the home, the privacy of the 12th, and Neptune often wanting for seclusion…

The moral of the story is that it is never coincidence.  Every moment is there in the charts, just look for it.

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.

In astrology, there is nothing more interesting and fun than the thought of doing the natal charts of the people you know and are close to in your life.  This is something you should probably not do on a whim as the consequences could be dire!  Now that’s somewhat overexaggerated as obviously the world won’t end upon you doing an indepth natal reading for someone you’re close to, but you understand the general idea.

I recently decided to sit down and seriously go over my boyfriend’s horoscope with Lilly’s Christian Astrology Volume III as my guide.  Now, this is a big step because I haven’t even done my own horoscope as extensively as I’ve gone over his so far.  Probably a bit of a weird thing to admit, but it’s true.  His chart was an interesting challenge, mostly because of not having an accurate birthtime but thanks to Ptolemy, I did the best I could in fixing that problem and so far the reading seems to be going pretty well.  The problem being that the chart is mostly referencing things that are still further along in his future, so really the jury is still out, and it may be a big egg on my face if we ever do really find out his real birthtime.

While I’m still not finished (I’ve still got the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth houses to do, and then after that I’m going to try my hand at following Lilly’s directions on progressions), what I have gotten out of his chart so far seems to be pretty interesting, and in some aspects it’s changed my way of thinking about him in little ways.  According to his chart, he’s going to get married twice.  That’s right, you heard it, twice!  Wouldn’t that make you think and get a bit concerned about your future with someone?  Lilly says Venus in the second house argues that the native marries for money.  Lord knows I don’t have any money (you should see the pathetic state of my second house lord), so I’m wondering who he’s marrying for money, because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be me.  Another red flag for the collection.

Now, in this particular case, everything checks out okay.  Don’t tell anyone, but my boyfriend has actually been married already, and yes, it was technically for money for college.  So, that means only one marriage left, and I’m pretty sure I already called it.

Continuing the marriage trend, his nativity also suggested that his spouse would outlive him.  That makes me a little sad already, and it’s not like death is knocking on our front door.  On the positive side of that, maybe it’ll make me take my time with him a bit more seriously, since I know I’m the one who’s going to run out of time with him.

I also learned all the diseases and injuries he’s going to get throughout his life.  Besides the weak eyesight shown, the other interesting diseases were apparently bladder and urinary tract infections.  Now, I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure cranberry juice helps against that kind of stuff.  So bottoms up, you’ll thank me for it later.

Something else I forgot to mention is that his father may not be his real biological father, because apparently his mother slept around. :S  I know, right?  Well, I don’t think his father is his real father, and I’m a little concerned on if I should tell him or not.  He’s got a night chart, so his father is signified by Saturn in Capricorn in the Twelfth and Venus in Aquarius in the Second (Lady of the Fourth).  Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve always seen significators of parents in cadent houses as showing a removed parent either physically or emotionally or whatever.  The Twelfth house especially having significations over those things that are secret or kept hidden.  Hm, a hidden father?  Suspicious…

Doing the horoscopes for someone you’re close to can bring about some interesting inner conflicts.  Do you tell them this or do you keep it to yourself?  How do you keep what you learned from influencing how you interact with them?  You probably really can’t, as it’s always going to be in the back of your mind.  In my case, I was lucky.  I could have seen three marriages, I could have seen him inclined to have affairs, I could have seen an untimely death, but I didn’t.  I could have, but I didn’t.  Things to consider before you dig too deep.

And just why did the chicken cross the road?  Well duh…. he was experiencing Uranus transit opposed Uranus natal (midlife crisis time), Hey, how about why was the chicken run over crossing the road?  Saturn return during a Mercury RX period and the Moon in the Via Combusta under the beams of the Sun (the Sun obviously, in fall being in Libra).  I just crack myself up. And hopefully, give a snicker to the reader versed in Astrology. As I had noted in an earlier blog, an Astrologer really does need other friends that are also Astrologers…. we speak a different language than the rest of
the world, including our humor.

Last night I found myself in a fit of giggles. http://horoscopicastrologyblog.com/2009/10/23/rob-hand-wins-lifetime-achievement-award-kanye-west-interrupts-acceptance-speech/ I saw a visual joke that was both timely and steeped in Astrological references.
I tried to explain the joke to my children and a friend of theirs… all have
an elementary understanding of Astrology, but the joke fell flat, and got less
and less funny the more I tried to explain it.  From trying to convey the
importance of the contributions made to Astrology by Rob Hand, to the basic
history of Ptolemy and mixing it up with current events the kids ended
up putting the reference to Kanye West as the important element,
missing the joke entirely. Author Chris Brennen did a wonderful job providing links to all of the players, so none of us would be left in the dark….
wouldn’t life be easier if we could use links when speaking out in person?
I had a great antidotal story that took place about a year ago.  My son is
a Gemini with a Sag rising… so even if the Gemini winds down, the Sag takes
over and he is constant noise and movement.  I had just arrived home and getting out of the car when I see him whirling around in a clockwise circle.  He suddenly comes to a stop and then starts the same frantic circling in a counter clockwise orientation.  I hadn’t seen him do that before so I ask (in retrospect I see I was set up),”What are you doing?” to which I get the answer, “I am retrograde.”  Proud parent that I am, I tell Grandma and the Aunts and Uncles and I get blank looks back.  One call to Ryoin and I get table slapping, and laughing that produces both tears and snorts.Astrology Weekly has a collection of Astrological Humor located at http://www.astrologyweekly.com/humour/ both anecdotal and
the plain silly how many blanks does it take to change a lightbulb.  I know
there are those out there that will say that the stereotypes based
on Sun Signs are detrimental to the study of Astrology, but they are fun and
help those newer to understand the essence of a sign.  And having lived
under a roof so far with 3 Sag Suns, 2 Sag Moons, 3 Sag risings and my afflictedJupiter… I think it takes one Sag and a crew of Virgos to clean the mess and to call 911 after applying the tourniquet, really funny.

oh, I have another happening…  a while back, the entire family had a place
we all had to be.  My daughter (Leo with Libra Moon) was unruffled while
the rest of us were running around trying to get everything ready.  At the last
moment, we are about to leave and my daughter announces that she doesn’t
know where her shoes are.  That starts another round of rushing aroundup turning the house.  In desperation her Uncle yells at her, “would you get up and help these are your shoes”.  To which she very innocently blinks and turns the computer screen to show a horary chart labeled, where are my shoes… and says, “I am looking”.  I laughed, the rest of the family could have killed both of us. BTW it was a late Ascendent and the shoes found by her brother a few moments later ( and that did show in the chart including timing).

So thank you my friends and all of you readers.  It is nice to  have a place
to share gems that would otherwise be lost.  I invite all of you to please
share your stories or jokes.

Ever since its release, the movie Zeitgeist has been making waves on the psychology of western society, but having just recently watched it myself, I wondered how real the claims the film made were.  While I really have very little interest in if the U.S. government was behind the plot of 9/11, nor do I have much interest in the banking system’s inherent flaws, as an astrologer I do have some stake in some of the claims made in the first part of the film.  The section titled “The Greatest Story Ever Told” talks about the development of Jesus and Christianity in general and touches on several astrological and astronomical phenomena and significations to convince the audience that Christianity is simply a personification of the sky.  As an astrologer, I was curious as to how accurate some of their statements were, and here’s what I found.

1.  Horus and Set represent the Light and Dark in eternal battle, at morning Horus conquers Set, and at evening, Set conquers Horus.

This statement made by the film is half true, but the half that is true is something that astrologers find today in the story of the astrological houses which are themselves given form due to the same solar myth.  Firstly, it must be stated that the Egyptian sun god isn’t Horus, it’s Ra, so the film is flawed on that remark.  As the sun rises over the Ascendant, it gives its warm and life-giving rays to the world, and so this house has always been seen as fortunate and strong.  Conversely, when the suns sets on the Descendant, it is often thought of as “dead” and must begin its journey through the underworld before rising again the next morning.  This simple myth accounts for the tale of the horizons and their signification, since the Seventh house hides the life force given by the sun, that house evolved into showing our enemies and people who wish to do us harm.

2.  Jesus’ birth is entirely astrological.

Excellent, now the fun can begin.

3.  The Star in the East is Sirius, the brightest star in the night-time sky.

While Siruis is the brightest star in the sky, there is no compelling argument as to why Sirius would be considered the Star of the East described in the biblical story.  The film also makes no attempt to explain why Sirius is the suspect in being the star of the east.  Sirius would probably be considered more of a northern star, as it resides in the area of the sky where the Sun reaches its highest point, but there is really no reason to put it as an eastern star.  A better argument could have been made of Aldebaron who was one of the four royal stars that lined up with the equinoxes and solstices in the ancient year.  Specifically, Aldebaron was called the Watcher of the East, but the film doesn’t touch on this.

4.  On December 24^th, Sirius aligns with the three brightest stars in Orion’s Belt called the Three Kings.  These four stars point to the position on the horizon where the sun will rise from on the morning of December 25^th.

The three stars in Orion’s Belt were indeed known as the Three Kings, however, the rest of the quote is a bit disingenuous.  Saying that Sirius lines up with these three stars only on December 24^th is completely untrue as they draw the same line every day of the year.  The film claims that the four stars all line up to point to the sunrise, but it doesn’t go into much detail about when this occurs because the line drawn by the four stars changes to point at different places on the horizon as the night goes on and they move across the sky.  It could be argued that Sirius and the Three Kings can point at the sunrise of any day throughout the course of any night where the stars are visible.

5.  Mary is the constellation Virgo.  Virgo’s glyph is a stylized ‘M’, and is why several mythical Virgin’s names begin with the same letter.

I find this claim a little bit off the wall since it references several mythological virgins from several different cultures; some of which have no cultural notion of either the modern day ‘M’ or the constellation Virgo and its assigned glyph.  Such is the case of Buddhist China who neither had an ‘M’ as we know it in the English or other Latin-based languages or a constellation seen as Virgo the Virgin.  Chinese astrology was using completely different constellations.  While I have no doubt that Mary is seen in Virgo through the glasses of Christian iconography, the fact of the matter is that as the only human female in the Zodiac, Virgo was associated with several female deities some of whom were virgins and some of whom were not such as Aphrodite, Demeter, and Ishtar.

6.  Bethlehem literally translates to House of Bread and is a direct link to Virgo who is associated with the season of the harvest and is often depicted holding wheat.

The translation is true, however there is an alternate translation that the film ignores that translates the name into “House of Meat”.  Maybe a small thing, but I just thought it was interesting that the film didn’t even attempt to reference the alternate translation.  Virgo being represented with wheat is also true, you’ll find several artistic depictions of such a thing, but it wasn’t ever something that was considered especially significant in astrology.  This isn’t meant to be taken as attempting to undermine the sign’s connection with the harvest or even wheat, simply pointing out that the film’s focus on the wheat is a bit strange as there is no star or group of stars that specifically form a shaft of wheat, however the brightest star in the constellation, Spica, represents an ear of corn.  I find the attention paid to the connection between the artistic inclusion of wheat and the city of Jesus’s reported birth while the obvious astrological corn connection was omitted to be strange.

I also find the reference to Virgo to be completely irrelevant to anything that happens in the sky around the time of December.  Sure it can be said that Christian iconography superimposed Mary over Virgo symbolism and pointing it out makes for some interesting thought, but what does that have to do with December 25^th and the story of his birth?  How does Virgo connect to the rising of the sun on that morning to constitute it symbolizing the mother or city in any way?  The film doesn’t talk about it.

7.  Jesus (the Sun) died on the cross (the constellation Crux) and was resurrected three days later, with the three day period symbolzing the sun’s apparent lack of motion for three days upon reaching the winter solstice point.

The film is pretty much correct when it discusses the duration of the death of the solar deity.  It is indeed connected to the three day still period where the sun appears to not move.  It’s not a far throw for the imagination to make, linking the still sun to the mythological death of the person who symbolizes the sun.  This is reflected a lot in ancient mythology and several neo-pagan religions continue to use the three day reference in their year myth.  However, the film completely misleads the audience with the idea that the sun is anywhere near the constellation of Crux during the winter solstice.  The images that the film uses couldn’t be farther from the true positions of the sun and Crux during this time.  Below are the actual images of the Sun on December 24^th in relation to the constellation Crux.

The snap shot taken was calculated with the skies on December 24^th of the year 0 so as to account for precession.

As you can see, Crux is a long way away from the Sun during the solstice, so the film presents a mischaracterized and skewed depiction of what actually occurs.

8.  Easter is celebrated as the rebirth of the sun because of the conquering of the darkness.  The Spring Equinox marks the time of the year when the daylight hours last longer than the night, showing the sun’s rise to power.

All true.  Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox symbolism is mixed together and separated oddly in several religions revolving around solar symbolism.  A good example would be the Neo-Pagan religion Wicca which holds that while the God (often represented by the sun) is born again on the Winter Solstice, he doesn’t really take an active role until the Spring Equinox when he leaves his infant state behind and takes on the symbolism of youth and growth associated with Spring as he ages into a young man.  A parallel can instantly be drawn to Jesus who having been born a mortal man on the Winter Solstice, becomes a god during the Spring Equinox.

9.  The Christian Cross is a shorthand Pagan Cross to represent the cross of the zodiac and Jesus is depicted with a cross in art due to this association.

This is more or less true, I just don’t think the image shown with the cross having the bottom line the longest is a very honest representation.  The lines would all be the same length and may or may not be accompanied with a circle.  Nitpicky perhaps, but something that bugged me nonetheless.  I don’t, however, agree to the notion that Jesus is depicted in art with a cross due to these associations between himself and the sun and the cross and the zodiac cross.  It’s probably more of a reference to the instrument of his death, but that’s probably more of an opinion than a fact of any kind.  Can’t think of a way to prove or disprove it.

10.  Jesus’s twelve disciples are directly connected to the twelve signs of the zodiac.

This is something that several people choose to believe, but the film doesn’t give any reasoning behind the assertion.  It just says it and expects us to take it on face value.

11.  When the Bible references “Ages”, it is speaking about astrological ages which occur when the Vernal Equinox point occurs in a different sign of the zodiac.

Completely possible, but really no evidence to show that this is what it is referring to,  however, I don’t think it’s a bad conclusion to draw.

12.  The Bible narrates through three astrological ages while alluding to a fourth.  The first being represented by the Gold Bull (signifying Taurus), Moses represents the second (Aries), Jesus represents the third (Pisces), and allusions are made to a fourth (Aquarius)

We’ll tackle this one in a few parts. The video presents the idea that the Golden Calf was a symbol for Taurus, which it very well could have been as bull worship was a pretty far-reaching form of worship and it wouldn’t be inconceivable for it to be written this way.  Moses is said to represent the Age of Aries, but no real reason is given as to why except for that Jews blow the ram’s horn, which may or may not have anything to do with anything. Many more ideas are offered up to connect Jesus with the Age of Pisces, his miracle involving the bread and fish, his recruiting fisherman near the sea of Galilee, his symbol of the Jesus Fish, and even his supposed birth date being around the start of the Age of Pisces.  All the fish symbolism aside, there is just as much, if not more symbolism available that links Jesus with lambs and thus Aries.  Jesus is often called the “lamb of God” and the “sacrificial lamb”, being “washed in the blood of the lamb” is the metaphor behind baptism in most Christian denominations.  However, the abundance of lamb and thus Arian associations to Jesus are omitted.  Also, I find problems with the idea of Jesus being born around the start of the Age of Pisces; it’s too clean cut.  There’s no way the Age of Pisces started around 1 A.D., it’s a childish estimation at a calculation that several respectable associations disagree about.  Case in point, one calculation says the Age of Pisces began around 498 A.D., another says 1 A.D., and a third says around 90 B.C.  Jesus representing Pisces, the age supplanting Aries represented by Moses does make sense in some theological instances however, such as the doing away with old Jewish law.  The book of Galatians tells us that we no longer have to follow the laws written in Leviticus, and this is a perfect example of a “new age” of Christianity beginning.

After this statement, the film goes on to draw parallels between Christianity and Egyptian mythology and Old Testament and New Testament characters, subjects I have no interest of getting into as they are outside of my bounds as an astrologer.  Hopefully this has been as fun to read as it was to think about and write.

Perhaps the most common questions asked in horary astrology are questions concerning relationships.  How a relationship will go, when we’ll meet someone new, if an ex will get back with us, and anything else that has to do with the budding, blooming, and withering of romances are all questions that burn into our brains and keep us up late at night.  These are the questions that oftentimes end up anonymously in e-mails and internet forums, whether those forums be for astrology, tarot, i ching, or any other sort of divinatory system.  This may also be a good way for some newly budding astrologers to learn something of horary astrology that they may be able to apply to their own lives and practices, since these types of questions come up a lot.

So, you’ve gotten your first relationship question and you’ve got the chart in front of you, but where do you start?  Just like in any horary question, the person who asked the question is shown by the First house, its lord, and the Moon.  The person they are asking about is represented by the Seventh house and its lord.  While many modern texts will assert that you should look to the Fifth house and its lord to find the person they are asking about, this is not true.  The Fifth house is what you’re [i]doing[/i] with the person, not the person.  The only people usually signified by the Fifth house are children, and that might be a little bit awkward.  Planets that are in the Seventh house can also be used as co-significators and can generally give some good description as to what’s going on behind the scenes.  The Sun can also be used as a general signification for men, while Venus is can be used in the same way for women.

So, now that we have significators assigned, we need to figure out what they are doing for one another.  Let’s say the question is “Will we be in a romantic relationship?” with a man asking.  So, we have the First house, its lord, the Moon, and the Sun showing as the querent, while the Seventh house, its lord, and Venus are the questied.  There are a few tell-tale signs that will suggest whether the relationship has any likelihood to grow from a current situation.  If the First house lord is in the Seventh house, then it shows the querent is the one who is the most interested, should the Seventh house lord be in the First, then it suggests that the queisted is the most love-struck.  Another way to tell is to see who is signified by the faster planet as they are the one who are the most interested in developing a relationship.  However, if the Seventh house lord is in the Seventh house then it shows the quesited has little thought of the querent and is more concerned with themselves.  Should the Seventh house lord also be in their own dignities, it may suggest a disinterest in a relationship.

Receptions are another sign.  If the significators are in each other’s signs, then it’s a good bet that there is a mutual interest in the other.  Receptions are not enough to bring about any kind of relationship as receptions simply show a willingness to get along, aspects show action and they must be considered.  Sextiles, conjunctions, and trines show a greater chance of things going smoothly while squares and oppositions show more obstacles and challenges involved.  The chances are again increased or decreased based on receptions.  If Jupiter and Mercury serve as significators with Mercury being in Pisces and Jupiter is in Virgo, even though the planets are in opposition with one another, the reception between the planets makes it much easier for the opposition to be overcome and the relationship to grow.  If there are no aspects between the significators, then check for collection of light or translation of light.  This can bring about a relationship as well, but often shows the work of a third party.

None of the above means no relationship.  No receptions?  No want to get together.  No aspects?  No action in getting together.  Bad aspects with no reception?  Bad things will happen before you decide to take the advice and discontinue the relationship.  Is a significator going to go retrograde before the application is complete?  The person whose significator is turning around is going to change their mind.  Is another planet going to get to one of the significators before the other?  Then it seems like something else is going to come up .

While this is in no way a complete list of things to look for in relationship horaries, it is a good checklist for simple things and following it should lead to reliable results.  However, all charts are different, and positions and circumstances in the chart can change the outcome.

Think of the splintered broom in Fantasia and see the correlation of those professing knowledge in Astrology and are here to help (their own egos usually).   This is one of those fields…. I myself do not care for the need of certification, as I am skeptical off any and all facilities that offer such, no offense to them, it is my skepticism.  But I am considering embracing them now as the litmus test of when someone is indeed an Astrologer.  In other fields, you don’t go out and buy a stethoscope and say, “hi, I am a Doctor” with out professional schooling.  I unfortunately live in a state that thinks anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves a councilor.  But does the average person looking for help know that is our state law?  Are they expecting a more rigorous  standards and protection by the state than, sure if you can buy a business card, you can be a counciler too.  Now applied to Astrology, how does the average person know anything?

I frequent a forum (not for much longer as the one Ryoin and I started I am hoping takes off…. see the link to the right of this article) and lately have been just appalled by what is allowed to take place on there…. and honestly, this is the kind of stuff that has made it impossible to convince the scientific world of the value of a legitimate look at Astrology as a scientific principle.   I have had to intervene on the behalf of a child that was reported to be abused and all grandma wanted was to have someone look at the chart so she would have ammunition to fight with the child’s mother on the behalf of the child’s health…. EXCUSE ME???  Grandma said and described the abuse.  Even after my posting to report the parents and worry about Astrology later, the follow up postings were in giving the grandmother sympathy and advice…. Poor Grandma, old enough to escape a deadly situation, lets coddle her and further victimize her granddaughter….. This wasn’t one or two “astrologers” it was about a dozen or more postings after that.

Who would turn to strangers for their children’s mental health?  Apparently, there are plenty of parents out there doing just that.  Not just in Astrology, but that is the place I am focused on with this blog.  I was just dealing with another ( Neptune, Chiron conjunction rx… there have been many) flair up.  Mom writes in wondering where to find the place in the chart that would make a child clairaudial.  But what is written really warrants a quick trip to the medical field before preceding.  What a blow up that was!!!   Immediately out of the woodwork came those claiming it was spiritual voices, or ghost other dimension voices… and I am not saying that wasn’t the case… I was saying, go get it checked… there are various reasons that audible hallucinatory impulses happen and they are not all psychotic…. check that out first.  You would think that I was the messenger from Hell’s pit for suggesting it.  It got ugly in places, we have a member that is part of a few different professional organizations and holds some very important positions within them, and bless his heart, he came out to say how it is unethical for anyone to diagnose over the internet and the medical issues need to be taken up with medical professionals.   (yay, he is my hero) and immediately came the back lash…. all spiritual and religious rhetoric.  The sad thing is I know most of the individuals, and I would be weary to take advice from them on how to trim my toe nails…. yet a desperate person will listen and feel justified when one of the flakes agrees with their assumptions and then run with it.   We all want to be special and want those in our lives to have special talents and gifts, so it is easy to believe what we want to hear.

Personally, this has given me motivation to work harder on the forum we had created last year.  I am sure nothing is perfect, but  I can’t imagine a time where I would be okay with the forum being used to promote spiritual agenda against common sense.

Oh, and if I see one more person suggest to another Clinically Depressed person that yoga and a nice walk will fix it all …. or to shake it off, man… I will blow up!