No Birth Time? What can the poor astrologer do?

“…and the Chaldeans say that from eternity there has been a divine and intelligible stream through the eastern/rising part of heaven. And this stream both moves and turns the cosmos, and brings to life everything in it by sending them their own soul… And every degree, when it came to be around this eastern/rising place, which is the gate of souls and the spiritual inlet of the Universe, is made powerful.”     
Porphyry: Introduction to Ptolemy (3^rd century)

The importance of a birthtime in natal astrology, cannot be over stated. While there are ways to work around the lack of an accurate birthtime, we are restricted. In this article I will present a method I fortuitously stumbled across, which has yielded some astounding results. I want to be clear up front that this is not a method of rectification. If the birth occurred within a window of time, then rectification can be successfully used to refine the ASC degree. The narrower that window, the more accuracy we can achieve. However, when all we have is a date, then rectification becomes fraught with pitfalls, not the least being confirmation bias.

Without rectifying a chart, the most common ways to deal with an unknown birth time would be to set the chart for noon, create a solar or sunrise chart. These options result in valid charts that can be useful, albeit with limitations. With out a time we may have a chart, but since we cannot identify the ASC, we do not have a horoscope. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ōra ‘time’ and scopos ‘observer’. Horoscope also referred to the ASC itself; the ‘marker of the hour’. By definition we cannot have horoscope without a time.

Traditional astrologers placed much importance in identifying particular planets (or points) that were responsible for different area of the life. The planet that ruled the sign on the cusp of a house was understood to govern the affairs of that house. As well as its universal signification, a planet’s nature and condition would provide information as to how things would fare in that area of the life. Without an ASC it is impossible to identify houses or their rulers, so we are reduced to drawing information sole from the planet’s universal signification.

In the tradition the Hyleg; the giver of life was one of the most important planets or points to identify. It was considered to have the greatest influence upon vitality and life. There were only five points or planets that could serve as the Hyleg; the Sun, Moon, Ascendant, Lot of Fortune & the syzygy¹.

Without a time, we have no ascendant, and without an ascendant, we cannot calculate the Lot of Fortune². With out a time the degree and potentially the sign of the Moon is uncertain. Only the Sun’s position and the syzygy degree can be relied upon. We are unable to access some of the most important information that a horoscope can provide. Many technics like Solar & Lunar returns, primary direction will be made void and others will be limited.  The most reliable tools we are left with are transits and to a lesser extent progressions.

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The Prenatal Eclipse

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For years I have used the pre-natal eclipse chart with my clients. I cannot recall when I began to do so or for what reason. I do not differentiate between solar or lunar eclipse. I simply use the one closest to the birth date. Once I identify the eclipse, I locate it to the birth location. Over the years I have found that the degrees on the angles of these relocated pre-natal eclipse charts are sensitive and important. These degrees are so often highlighted in synastry, that I now expect them to be.

Eclipses are true syzygy, which is defined in astronomical terms as: a roughly straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system. An eclipse occurs when there is a lining up of the three main bodies in our astrological cosmos: Sun, Moon and Earth. These three bodies equate to spirit, soul and body. The moment of an eclipse is a moment of opportunity, as the three aspects of man, the three levels of existence align; allowing an exchange between them. The light of spirit can enter the soul/psyche and be received into the body, and vice-versa.

The moment of an eclipse is anchored to the location from which it is experienced. This results in its manifestation being unique to both the location and the individual to whom the eclipse is connected. While everyone born in a location within a particular time frame will share the same pre-natal eclipse horoscope, the location of the planets on the day of their birth will be different.

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Discovery on a Whim

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George Perry Floyd woke up on the morning of May 25, 2020 an ordinary man, black in America; he did not wake up with the intention of making a mark on the world; nor did he wake up that day to die on the street under the knee of Derek Chauvin.

Through his tragic death the importance of George Floyd’s life was elevated beyond his individual human experience, to become a powerful symbol, a talisman for change. The cruel and heartless criminality of his death held a mirror to all that is unjust and corrupt in our world. In death George Floyd left a mark on the world. I was intrigued as to what astrological signature might be in his chart indicating such exaltation in his death.

George Floyd was born on October 14, 1973 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There is no recorded birthtime for him. Frustrating as this was, I decided to explore his chart nonetheless. Setting it for noon confirmed that he had a Moon is in Taurus, but I could not identify any angles/houses meanings.

I decided to look at the pre-natal eclipse chart which would have active angles and see if it might shed light on the manner of his death. The eclipse occurred on July 15, 1973; in Fayetteville NC it was at 7:56 am. It was a Lunar eclipse at 22 Capricorn. With 13’06” Leo on the ASC and 5’35” Taurus on the MC. I noted that the ruler of the eclipse degree, Saturn at 27 Gemini, was trining the USA (Sibley) chart’s Moon at 27 Aquarius, and was on the antiscia of the USA Venus at 3 Cancer.

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As I started delineating this chart; on a whim I wondered if I could use these pre-natal eclipse angles degrees on his natal chart. I rectified his birth chart to these PNE angles and this is the resulting chart.

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George Floyd PNE Angles

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George Floyd’s Death

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Transits:

• Uranus was on his natal MC & Mars (echoing the Mars/Uranus sextile)
• Mars on his natal 8th cusp & POF
• Saturn on natal 8th ruler, Jupiter
• Sun opposite natal Lord 10 Venus/Neptune.
• The MC (7 Libra) was very close to his natal Pluto.

Profection:

• Profected ASC was at 13 Gemini on the death charts 7th cusp (the portal of death)
• Profected Lord 8, Jupiter at 2 Sagittarius comes to Venus/Neptune.
• Profected Venus/Neptune 5 Libra comes to natal Pluto; and death chart’s MC
• Profected Saturn 4 Taurus, comes to natal MC and Mars
• Profected Moon 18 Pisces, close to transiting Neptune

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1. Syzygy is a traditional astrological term that refers to the pre-natal lunation degree. Considered very important in delineation of a natal horoscope. ↩︎
2. The Lot or Part of Fortune is a calculated point found by taking the distance between Sun and Moon and projecting it from the ASC. I personally use the fixed formula. ↩︎
3. Planets in each other’s sign or exaltation, but not making an aspect. Sometimes falsely referred to as being in mutual reception. These planets are really in mutual disposition. ↩︎
4. Each planet is in fall when in the sign opposite the sign of their exaltation; they also have a specific degree that is said to be their degree of fall, which is opposite their degree of exaltation. Jupiter’s degree of exaltation is 27 Cancer, so 27 Capricorn is its degree of fall. ↩︎