Astrologicalmind

The magic of astrology explored

Tag: astrology

  • Horary on the fly:  where is Elio the cat?

    Where is Elio, the cat?
    Oct 24, 2025 ay 8:00:44 Melbourne, Australia


    Oooops!


    Where is Elio, the cat?
    Oct 24, 2025 ay 8:00:44 Melbourne, Australia
    Regiomontanus Houses


  • Would this property be worth it financially?

    Would this property be worth it financially?
    Oct 17, 2025 at 16:43 AEDT -11:00 Melbourne, Australia


    The question was asked after the querent and her husband saw a property that interested them. The property would need quite a bit of work, but had great potential. They had renovated several old properties so were aware of the work involved. They loved unique properties and this one seemed to tick all the boxes. They were drawn to the creative challenge & potential that this property offered them.

    There were two building on the property: a small three bedroom circa 1839 cottage, classified by the National Trust, with heritage overlay; and a small double story ‘studio’ that could be converted into a one-bedroom maisonette. The property promised a two-income stream, once works were completed.


    CONSIDERATIONS



    SIGNIFICATORS


    • Querent/husband –Pisces ASC (double bodied sign: querent & her husband, they are one relative to the question); and its ruler Jupiter in Cancer on the 5th cusp, as well as the Virgo Moon in the 6th.
    • The Property – Gemini IC and its ruler Mercury in Scorpio in the 9th house conjunct Mars. We could also look at the Moon.
    • The querent’s finances – The Aires 2nd house and its ruler Mars in Scorpio.
    • Debt/ money owed – Libra 8th house, ruler Venus in Libra and Libra Sun in the 8th house
    • Potential profit – Sagittarius MC/10th and Jupiter in Cancer.


    JUDGEMENT


  • Charlie Kirk: Words have Consequences (part 1)

    Wikimedia commons


    Oct 14, 1993 in Arlington Illinois – PNE angles

    General Observations



    The Chart in Detail



    Mercury in Crisis



    Conclusion



    1. See article by Eve Dembowski https://astrologicalmind.wordpress.com/2025/10/23/no-birth-time-what-can-the-poor-astrologer-do/ ↩︎
    2. It is to be noted that the USA (Sibley) chart has 1 degree Aries on the IC. ↩︎
    3. The word inspire means; “to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural influence or action”.  The meaning is a metaphorical extension of the word’s Latin root: inspirare meaning “to breathe or blow into.” The metaphor is a powerful one, with the very breath of a divine or supernatural force asserted as being at work. ↩︎
    4. Having no essential dignity. The planet has no connection to that part of the zodiac. It is like a person that is lost in a foreign land. ↩︎
    5. Via Combusta is Latin for “the burning way”; it refers to the last fifteen degree of Libra and the first fifteen degrees of Scorpio. Considered to be particularly afflicting to the Moon at those degrees. ↩︎
    6. Lee Lehmann, Essential Dignities, Whitford Press 1989 Chapter 5, p. 127 -136 ↩︎
    7. In 2012 at the age of 18, Charlie met Bill Montgomery with whom he founded TPUSA (on June 5 2012) and Foster Friess who financed it. ↩︎
    8. It would not be until March 2016, that by progression, Jupiter would emerge from the beams of the Sun. The same year that he made his appearance at the 2016 Republican convention on July 18, 2016. On that day progressed Mercury was on the degree of his natal Mars. ↩︎
    9. The significator of the mind is the compound almuten of the ASC, Moon and Mercury ↩︎
    10. Kirk repeatedly stated that women should prioritize motherhood over careers, asserting young women are suffering because they are encouraged to focus on jobs over families. He criticized birth control, claiming it makes women “angry and bitter” and that females over 30 “aren’t attractive in the dating pool.” 
      Discussing news of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement on The Charlie Kirk Show, 26 August 2025  He said:
      “Reject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge”. Responding to a question about whether he would support his 10-year-old daughter aborting a pregnancy conceived because of rape on the debate show, “The answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.” published on 8 September 2024 ↩︎
  • 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 (3rd century)


    The Prenatal Eclipse


    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.


    Discovery on a Whim


    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.




    George Floyd PNE Angles


    Oct 14 1973 in Fayetteville NC
    PNE angles giving a 1:58 AM time

    George Floyd’s Death


    May 25, 2020 at 21:25 CDT in Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Transits:


    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. ↩︎

  • Saturn: the great malefic or the astrologer’s friend?

    Traditional astrologers viewed the planets quite differently than how we understand them today. They understood the planets to be living conscious beings, or as 12th century Guido Bonatti called them: superior beings.

     “…On those things which move a man to pose a question. The first is the motion of the soul, when someone is moved by his intention to pose a question. The second is the motion of the superior beings, namely when someone asks what they are impressing into the quaesited thing, what will come of it…”1

    Planets were not owned in the way we speak of them, when we claim some authority over “my Saturn” or “my Moon” … In the past each planet was understood as having a fundamental nature that dictated its specific function, promise and associated chain of correspondence. Depending on their condition at a particular moment in time, they would express the best or worst of their nature and fulfill their promise to a lesser or greater degree.

    The notion of some planets being “malefic” and others “benefic” is one that sits uncomfortably with contemporary norms. Our world promotes the notion of equality and neutrality, to the detriment of natural order. Each of the seven classic planets was understood to govern an aspect of the divine order which dictated that everything in this world must be born, grow, sow their seed and die. The benefic planets were life promoting, initiating growth, birth and expansion; whereas the malefic planets functioned to restrict and destroy, ensuring that no one out stayed their allotted time. Each was crucial in maintaining balance in the world.

    The human experience tends to judge one side of this balance more favorably that the other. We want to avoid the pain that comes with lose, grief and death; and to seek out that which promotes life, joy and happiness. One is brought to us via the malefic planets Mars and Saturn, while the other by the benefic Jupiter and Venus.


    Who is Saturn?


    Saturn rules time and the restriction this imposes on our earthly existence. As astrologers, we deal in time and are prone to get caught in its apparent, but deceptive forward momentum. However if we are to look honestly into our past, we can recognize that we have not moved far. The cycles of life, the movement of the planets and stars, mark our experiences, but time stands still in a forever present moment that is re-experienced over and over and over. 

    Traditional astrology understood the importance of Saturn, not only as the significator of time but also as the ally of the astrologer. For it was only through hard study and serious application to this sacred Art that any relationship with the “superior beings” (the planets) is possible.

    Saturn is encountered at the beginning and at the end of all endeavors, including life. He provides the body that allows us this earthly experience, and at the appropriate time, he takes it away. It is for this reason that he is associated with the ASC and 1st house, the beginning point that marks our birth; and the 8th house of death.

    Saturn is the first planet in the Chaldean order, the first planetary gate through which the Soul must pass on its journey into incarnation. Encountering Saturn, the soul takes on structure and authority as well as the limitations of the physical body, matter and time. Even as modern astrologers we are well aware of the association of Saturn with restriction and limitation. The reason for this becomes obvious when we consider that Saturn exists at the outmost edge of our visible solar system, and defines our natural limits. Saturn is the border between our known world and the Divine sphere of the fixed stars.

    The basic qualities that make up Saturn’s temperament are cold and dry to the extreme. Cold constricts and dry limits movement. Saturn is of a melancholic temperament; he is stern, serious and authoritative. He is a masculine and diurnal or day planet. Saturn’s extreme cold nature needs the warmth of the Sun to function in a more balanced manner, therefore though he may like and feel at home in the cold darkness of night, he functions better in the heat and light of the day.

    Saturn’s extreme cold and dry nature is what accounts for his reputation as a malefic planet. The absence of warmth and moisture is antagonistic to life and growth. Yet it is these qualities of Saturn that allows matter to crystallise and take physical form. It is the discipline and structure of Saturn that allows life to exist and ideas to take shape. From a human psychological perspective, it is only when we engage with the discipline and structure of Saturn that we accomplish anything.

    The tears of grief are another of Saturn’s gifts to the soul. Hidden deep in Saturn’s strictness and authority lays the impossible longing for the return to the divine. The grief of Saturn is the knowing that one must pass through incarnated life, with its pain and joys and that one’s authority is fleeting and illusionary. The ruins of the past, the laws of old, and the desolation of yesterday are all part of Saturn’s cold and dry rule; and so, his association with melancholy and in its extreme form, depression.

    The great malefic demands hard work and is associated with death and the inevitable end to all beginnings. Interestingly he is also connected with births, to which death is always a close possibility. This is illustrated by the fact that the birthing process is called “labour”, for it is indeed hard work to give birth and hard work is Saturn’s territory.

    From a traditional medical understanding Saturn governs the memory function of the “animal spirit” which resides in the brain. Without Saturn our individual thoughts and knowledge could not be retained. Saturn is the storehouse of wisdom.

    Saturn is associated with the hardest, heaviest and oldest things. He is associated with old age (from 70 to 99 years old) and the seventh age of man, the age of resignation and ideally, wisdom. Saturn is associated with the metal lead, the heaviest and most poisonous of all the metals. Saturn corresponds to the most toxic and poisonous plants, including hemlock and belladonna.

    Saturn is said to rule the bones, teeth and skin of the body, that which defines the structure and limits of the physical body. All boundaries are under the rule of Saturn. At the borders of our travels, we encounter Saturn in the form of immigration and border authority which demands that we present our documents, our right to passage, or we can go no further.


    No need to fear the great malefic?


    Once we enter the world of traditional astrology our view of life and reality changes. Once we open our minds to the wisdom of our lineage, it is very difficult not to be influenced by the great astrologers that came before us. However, it is the incredible commonality between human experience of the past and our own that takes us by surprise. The emotional and psychological needs of the everyday person have not changed over the centuries, even though our technology has.

    We live in a linear world that is imbued with the ideas that promote evolution and progress. Whilst everything on earth is born, grows, withers and dies in the endless cycle of life, giving rise to the illusion of a forward movement of time, it is but that; an illusion.

    Saturn is the path less taken, because it is the path of greatest hardship; the path of blood, sweat and tears. Saturn provides us with challenges and obstacles that in the end force us to confront the inevitable transient nature of life. Saturn teaches us that this life is an illusion to which we are not meant to get attached. But by making the effort to befriend Saturn and do the hard work he requires, we are rewarded by the awe-inspiring storehouse of ancient wisdom that is his domain; and by making friends with Saturn the door is open to the other superior beings in our cosmos: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus and the Luminaries.


    1. Guido Bonatti Book of Astronomy – Treatise 5: 146 Considerations  translated by Benjamin Dykes ↩︎

  • Void-of-Course Moon

    On March 20, 2023 the WGA (Writer Guild of America) began negotiations on new contract with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers), which represented the major film & television studios).  One month later, on April 18, 97.85% of WGA  members voted to take strike action if a satisfactory agreement was not reached. The concerns of the WGA included: loss of financial residuals due to streaming media, the move towards a ‘gig economy’ model that threatened member’s financial and career prospects, general working conditions and the threat posed by AI.

    Six weeks after negotiations began, they broke down and the WGA downed pens at midnight on May 1, 2023 beginning a strike that would last 21 weeks. It would take 5 months before the two sides could reach a deal that saw the strike officially end at midnight on Sept 27, 2023.


    Pens Down


    May 1, 2023 at 3:59 PDT Los Angeles California


    Course of Events


    • For the first two month or 8 weeks nothing happened. (Moon is VOC for 7 plus degrees)
    • Ten weeks into the strike, on July 12, it was reported that the AMPTP would not return to the negotiation table till late October when the writers would be suffering financial strain and be willing to accept whatever the studios proposed. Naturally this enraged the WGA. (Moon 8 degrees Libra, now in orb of Mars – but Mars is not yet in orb of Moon4).
    • Thirteen weeks into the strike, on Aug 4 WGA & AMPTP leaders meet face-to-face for the first time since the start of the strike, with little apparent progress. Even the government of California wrote to the companies represented by the AMPTP (on Aug 30) imploring them to return to the negotiations as the strike was having a devastating effect on the economy as a whole. (Moon 13 degrees – Mars and Moon were now in each other’s orb. Moon has now entered into orb of her aspect to Venus).
    • On Sept 14, nineteen weeks after the start of the strike, the two sides agreed to restart the negotiation in earnest (Moon at 20 degrees – aspect with Mars has perfected.)
    • A deal is reached on Sept 24 and the strike officially ended on Sept 27 at midnight and the WGA go back to work.
    • The deal is ratified on Oct 9 (Moon 23 degrees – aspect to Venus perfects)

    The timing of the strikes ending is shown by the movement of the Moon to Mars, but also by Mercury who would travel just over 5 degrees before going direct (stationing at 5 degrees 51 minutes Taurus) equating to the 5-month duration of the strike. This was actually what I used to tell my daughter that the strike would last till roughly Sept 25th. I was off by a couple days.

    In real time the strike ended at the moment when the ASC/DES degrees were reversed almost to the minute; and the Moon was conjunct Saturn – the Moon being almost at the degree of Saturn in the strike chart; and the Sun close to the degree of the Moon in that same chart.



    1. The Moon is Void-of-course as she is not within her 12 degree orb of making any aspect. ↩︎
    2. Much of the dispute surrounded the issue of streaming content throughout the world without the creators (writers) being compensated for this new manner of delivery that had been extremely profitable to the studios. ↩︎
    3. All water signs are said to be mute, as water creatures make no sound. ↩︎
    4. The orb of Mars is 8 degrees ↩︎

  • ADOLF HITLER a Study in Evil


    Looking at Hitler’s chart we find that the Almuten of the Ascendant is Saturn 13 Leo in the  10th house, because it has both exaltation and triplicity dignity over the ASC degree of at 21 Libra in this day chart.

    Finding the compound almuten over the degrees of the Moon 6 Capricorn, Mercury 25 Aries, and 26 Libra ASC we find the significator of Quality of his Mind to be Mars 16 Aries with 13 points, closely followed by Saturn 13 Leo with 12 points.  These two planets would function very much as a team especially as they are aspecting each other by square as well as by a very tight, almost to the minute antiscia1 conjunction. This antiscia allows these two planets to function far more cooperatively than their stressful square aspect would indicate.

    Finally, we must find the Pilot of the Soul. In this chart the search is difficult because Mars, Saturn and Moon are all in detriment, Sun and Mercury are peregrine which means they have no essential dignity whatsoever and Jupiter though he has face dignity is in his fall. Of the seven classical planets only Venus in Taurus has any dignity and she is retrograde, conjunct Mars as well as being very close to the 8th house cusp. Yet by default she wins the position of Pilot of the Soul. This would have been the ideal planet for Hitler to follow…But did he? Let us review.


    His Lord of the Ascendant is Saturn in Leo in the 10th house. The planet signifying his Quality of Mind  is Mars in Taurus in the 7th house with Saturn in Leo a close contender. Finally the Pilot of the Soul is Venus in Taurus in the 7th conjunct Mars.

    Lord of the Ascendant, Saturn in the 10th house, is debilitated in his sign of detriment, in other words far from his (Saturn’s) essential best nature. Saturn was seen as the great malefic by the ancients. Debilitated malefics function in extremes, their nature is amplified and exaggerated. This planet could bring great misfortune in one’s life unless it was on his best behaviour. At its best Saturn is patient, responsible, disciplined and holds authority. But in this chart, he is not at his best, he is at his worst and yet he is positioned in the 10th house to act and act strongly. So, he will act in a strongly malefic manner.

    As Lord of the Ascendant, Saturn represents Hitler’s corporeal desires; being in the 10th house, he desires power and authority. Saturn in Leo, he probably wants to be king. Saturn’s dispositor (and MC ruler), Sun is peregrine, he has no ability to keep Saturn in check. Saturn disposits Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn conjunct the south node. Moon in Capricorn is in detriment and would feel insecure unless in control. Jupiter is equally debilitated in his fall, though he has a bit of face dignity this is more to do with fear than an actual strength2.  Both being with the south node only adds to their debility and sense of weakness. All this would give Saturn more justification to take control and not let go (Leo fixed).

    The significator of the Quality of the Mind is Mars working closely with Saturn. Here we find Mars equally debilitated in detriment squaring his ally Saturn.  One of the main meanings of the quality of the mind is conscience, knowing that an action is right or wrong because we are conscious of a higher and broader perspective than just that of our individual ego. Mars is a mutual reception with the Moon; both are peregrine and in detriment, but are trining each other with reception by exaltation. Unfortunately this will not bring the promised support usually associated with reception; the only thing they can provide the other is the insecurity of their debility.

    Mars also rules Mercury in Aries. Mercury being peregrine was easily enlisted to do Mars (and Saturn’s) bidding. Hitler was a great orator who was able to stir the emotions of the masses and lead them into war. As an aside, Germany is said to be ruled by Mars and Aries. Hitler became Germany’s mouth piece. So Hitler’s Quality of Mind was not going to tame or soften his Saturn’s drive for power and authority. On the contrary the two would work in tandem together and both bring with them the insecurity of the Moon and fear of Jupiter.

    So far, we have a dire situation, but was it absolutely necessary for Hitler to become what he became? The Pilot of his Soul may have helped him steer a different path. As Venus in Taurus, we see fertility and creativity, but it is retrograde, conjunct Mars and square Saturn. The good nature of Venus is over shadowed by the strong malefic energy working together and feeding off the long-term fears and insecurities (Moon, Jupiter conjunct South Node). The two malefics used the veneer of Venus to camouflage their indent, presenting a more benign face of Hitler to the world.

    Remember that Hitler’s first aim in life was to be an artist and then an architect. Unfortunately, he was rejected by the Vienna Academy of Art in 1907 and 1908 and didn’t have the educational qualifications to apply for study of architecture. We can only speculate how history may have turned out differently if he had been accepted by the Academy. So, his Pilot of the Soul was not given a chance to take the drivers seat. Does this mean that Hitler was inherently bad or evil? I do not think so, he was insecure and angry, so the odds were stacked up against him. He needed to overcome an awful lot to turn his life towards goodness.

    Astrology is about time and we can not look at Hitler’s life or chart without regards to his time. Hitler’s fate was that of Germany’s. Looking at the chart of the man I would conclude that this was a man who was essential weak with little choice then to be carried by the forces of the times in which he lived. Picking two events that seemed to have been pivotal in Hitler’s life; one mundane and one personal and, we may trace the growing dominance of Mars & Saturn’s influence in Hitler’s life.


    The Weimer Republic


    November 9, 1918 at 13:30 CET in Berlin Germany

    In 1918 on November 9th the Weimer Republic came into being, shortly followed by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. This perceived public humiliation of the German nation coincided with the period of Hitler’s Saturn return and marked a turning point in his life. This event planted the seed of his nationalistic and racial fervour that germinated into the Nazi Party and lead the world down the road to holocaust.

    On that day the Sun 16 Scorpio was directly opposite Hitler’s Mars, Venus conjunction at 16 Taurus and in contra-antiscia to his Saturn 13 Leo. The event chart’s North Node was at 13 Sagittarius, conjunct its MC and was on the antiscia degree of Hitler’s South Node 15 Capricorn, whilst the event charts Jupiter 15 Cancer was transiting Hitler’s natal North Node; his 6 Capricorn natal Moon was being opposed by the obsessive and at that point unknown, Pluto at 6 Cancer. On a more personal front his progressed Moon 8 Aquarius was moving to oppose his Saturn 13 Leo.

    The fate of his nation evidenced by this charts MC, Sun and North Node triggered the worst of Hitler’s horoscope promises: deeply malevolent Saturn and Mars in positions of extreme power, fed by the insecurity of his foundations (Moon, Jupiter and South Node). 


    Geli Raubal


    Another incident that was very pivotal in the development of Hitler’s persona was the death by gun shot to the heart of his niece, Geli Raubal on Sept 19th 1931. Rumored to have been his mistress, Geli and Hitler had an unusual relationship which in many ways played out the symbolic configuration of his Mars conjunct Venus in Taurus in the 7th house square Saturn.

    Hitler, twenty years her senior, found happiness with Geli, her presence subdued and relaxed him and yet he was totally controlling and fanatically jealous of her. There were questions as to whether Hitler was in any way involved in her death. The rumours and innuendos were never proved, but her death was to have a profound effect on Hitler.  became suicidal and never regained the public joy he had exhibited in Geli’s presence.

    Her body was discovered at approximately 10:00 am on the 19th, by the landlord. It is believed that she died sometime on Sept 18, 1931.

    Body discovered Sept 19 1931 at 10:00 in Munich Germany

    On the day her death was discovered, Saturn was 16 degrees Capricorn trining Hitler’s natal Mars, Venus and conjunct his South Node; and transiting Jupiter at 13 degrees Leo was on his Saturn. Mars, ruler of his 7th house was transiting his 1st house, at 1 degree Scorpio applying to square his MC (5 Leo) and oppose his natal Mars, Venus conjunction. His progressed Moon sextiled natal Mars, Venus and was conjunct his North Node and on its way to conjunct his MC on the day he took the control of the newly formed Third Reich (January 30, 1933).

    Hitler’s highly afflicted Saturn and Mars were triggered by this event. It is said that after Geli’s death Hitler threw himself ever more into his public life. Having enough political influence to ensure that his involvement surrounding the suspicious circumstances of her death never came to light, must have empowered his sense of invincibility.  The ambition of his Lord of the Ascendant, Saturn coupled with the ruthless and destructive Mars, devoid of the balancing force of Venus (possibly symbolized by Geli herself, her death being the final death of Hitler’s Venus) allowed the evil that was festering below the surface to be given full expression.   

    We can not judge a chart in a vacuum. Hitler’ fate was linked to the circumstances of his era, culture, nation and birth. Hitler did not act alone in perpetrating the evil that was the Third Reich. Yet as the figure head for this movement he became the focal point of its manifestation. Was Hitler an evil man? The answer is that he was a weak man who through fateful circumstances yielded a huge amount of worldly power (symbolized by his celestially weak planets in terrestrially strong placement). What could have been done with this power need not have been so destructive, but it takes a strong individual to resist the allure of the ego.

    The 13th century Saint Thomas Aquinas expounded the truth that: “The stars may incline, but do not compel.” 3 Yet even Thomas Aquinas conceded that only when a man’s soul was in communion with God, was his will freed from the bondage of his corporal nature – with his physical body and its appetites, needs and desires. The stars may only incline, but your spirit needs to be in touch with a higher power to resist their inclination. Clearly this was not the case with the individual Adolf Hitler.

    1. Antiscia – From the Greek, meaning “opposite shadow”. A degree and its antiscia are equidistant from the summer-winter solstice axis (Cancer/Capricorn). Planets related by antiscia have the force of a conjunction.  Contra-antiscia (the opposition to the antiscia degree) has the force of an opposition. ↩︎
    2. The Faces supply some intriguing leads about those areas where the individual has fear or problems. The point is that most people don’t like fear and would rather cloak fear with hatred”.  From Lee Lehman “Essential Dignities” page 136 ↩︎
    3. This is a paraphrase of a Latin saying: “Astra non compellunt, sed inclinant”, translating to: “the stars do not compel, but they do incline”. A concept that Aquinas frequently used to explain how astrological influence may suggest a course of action, but because of human free-will, a person is not forced to follow it.  ↩︎

  • Where is Pukka?


    Where is the cat?
    This is a horary question that has almost become cliché. Why do these loveable creatures seem to get into so much trouble? Maybe it is our love and dedication to them that is the real problem. In any case it is wonderful when a chart can alleviate the stress and worry of an owner.

    November 4 2007 at 16:48 AEDT Melbourne Australia

    BACKGROUND

    The querent showed up at my house very distressed; she was making the rounds of all the neighbours looking for her cat, Pukka, who she thought may have hidden in someone’s garden after an incident 2 days prior. Pukka had followed her to the milkbar (in Australia this is a small corner store) and as the cat followed her across the street she appeared to have been hit by a car. Pukka ran under a parked car, but when the querent went looking for her, she had she was not there and she didn’t respond when she called to her.

    SIGNIFICATORS

    The Querent is signified by the Aries ASC and its ruler Mars. Mars is in fall in the 4th house trining and receiving the Sun in the 8th. The querent was thinking the worse; her significator was in the house of the grave and trine a planet in the 8th house of death, anxiety and anguish of mind. She strongly feared for Pukka’s safety. Luckily Mars is receiving the Sun by trine, indicating that the querent will get some benefic and joyful light on the matter.  The Sun rules the 5th (of children and pleasure) and she spoke of Pukka as being her baby.

    Pukka the cat is signified by Lord 6 Mercury and the Moon. Mercury has dignity by term and has accidental strength being angular and free from the Sun’s beams. He is also helped by his sextile aspect to Jupiter. Mercury is also favoured by his conjunction to the lucky fixed star Spica; a fortunate omen!

    As Mercury has only just gone direct, he was moving very slowly, under 30 minutes. A fitting description of a cat having just been injured and hiding away somewhere, probably sleeping and not being very active. As Mercury is now starting to pick up speed, we have yet more positive testimony that Pukka’s fate is improving, not getting worse.

    The fact that  neither Mercury nor the Moon are applying to, or making an aspect to either Lord 8, Venus or the turned Lord 8 (the 8th from the 6th being the radical 1st) Mars, as well as the mutual reception between Venus in Virgo and Mercury in Libra show us that Pukka is still alive.

    The Moon is on the cusp of the 6th, indicating Pukka is very close by, possibly somewhere behind her house. The Moon’s last aspect was to Saturn 2 degrees before indicates the incident with the car; which had occurred 2 days before. Saturn rules the turned 6th house, so this fits in well with the cat being hurt. The Moon’s next aspect is to Mars Lord ASC in 3 degrees, suggesting the cat will be back in 3 days.  And she was!

    WHERE WAS PUKKA?

    As to where Pukka was hiding, the testimony in this chart suggests that she was inside or under something, close to a dry and even ground, (L 4 Moon in Virgo, Mercury in Libra); maybe a garden shed (Moon with Saturn) that was old and abandoned. There was such a shed just behind the querent’s apartment block. The elderly woman who owned the property would not let the querent go into or near the shed as she feared it was unsafe and might collapse. It was an old wooden shed, grown over and totally abandoned; a perfect place in which a cat could hide and recuperate.

    The important thing is that Pukka returned in three days as evidenced by the chart, she seemed to be fine though rather hungry. She was probably a bit shaken and sore by the encounter with the car and so hid away to sleep and heal.


  • The Wrong Chart

    Every astrologer has done this at some point in their career; given a really good reading to someone and then realized that the chart was wrong! It happened to me just the other day and I could of course blame Mercury for being combust and having turned retrograde (on my Uranus none the less), but maybe I should just admit that I was just careless. Now it wasn’t the birth data that I got wrong, but the consultation chart.

    I have been using consultation charts for a long time now. I always set the chart for the time that the appointment is made. I have found that coupled with: solar return, profections, progressions and naturally the birth chart itself, the consultation chart is a mine-full of information.

    So last week I set the consultation chart for a regular client; I knew about the issues and situation she had been dealing with in recent times.  Looking at the consultation chart I could see many connections between it and my client’s natal and solar return charts; including its IC and her solar return ASC being on the same degree and its ASC being my clients profected ASC for the year. I expect to see these types of connection between consultation charts and my client’s charts; this confirms the validity of the consultation chart to me.


    Wrong Chart

    July 24 2012 at 11:47 am AEST Melbourne, Australia

    In blissful ignorance I continued analyzing the chart. Scorpio was rising; its ruler Mars was in the 12th house in Libra, between Saturn and the Moon. Mars was in a separating trine with Jupiter, sextile with Mercury and moving towards a trine with Venus. Both Venus and Jupiter were in Gemini and the 8th house. In fact Mars was in a partile trine to the cusp of the 8th.

    I knew that my client’s mother had died some 18 month earlier and that there were issues with her brothers relating to the inheritance, her assets and property. Mars being with Saturn Lord 3 (her brothers) and the Moon Lord 10 (her mother) and the emphasis on the 8th house, particularly as Jupiter was by profection, Lord of the year and exactly transiting  her natal IC, I concluded that the whole situation surrounding her brothers and her mother’s estate was foremost on her mind and that she was finding it difficult; having problems taking action or making a stand on the issue  as her significator, Mars was in detriment in the 12th house.

    Sure enough that first thing out of my clients mouth when she arrived was about her trip back home and the dilemma she was having feeling caught between her brothers; whichever way she went would alienate one or the other, yet she felt that both were looking to her to resolve the situation. In  fact  she really didn’t want to deal or even think about the whole issue, but knew that she could not continue to ignore it.

    The situation like all family disputes is complex and her brothers relationship is intense (Pluto is in the 3rd house). The appointment went very well as we explored many options related to her ability to figure out which approach to take. When she left I felt that it had been a very insightful and productive session, and then I looked at the consultation chart; it was not only the wrong date, but also the wrong time!

    How could I do this? Yet the chart “worked” in guiding us to the core of her issue, through which she found a possible course of action for her to follow. This was to take a more “spiritual” approach which is suggested in the chart by the partile sextile between the Moon (ruler of the 9th) and the Sun in its own sign in the 10th.


    Correct Chart


    July 25 2012 at 10:00 am AEST Melbourne, Australia

    Going back and setting the chart for the correct date & time, I could not see the situation nearly as clearly, though it could probably be extrapolated.  There are few connections between this “correct” chart and my client’s natal and/or solar return charts. Had I looked at this chart I would not  have been drawn to conclude that she was dealing with her family’s inheritance issues. However Mercury’s aspect to Jupiter and the 9th house cusp, as well as his conjunction to the Sun does point to my client’s conclusion of taking a more spiritual approach to her situation.

    I am left with a sense of awe at the mystery of astrology! How can such specific information be drawn from a seemingly random chart?  There is obviously some force at work which is beyond our control and that “knows” best.


  • Easy Horary “Will I benefit from being involved in this project?”

    I love horaries that are quick and easy to judge!


    July 2, 2012 at 20:22 AEST, Melbourne, Australia

    Background


    The querent is a young woman trying to establish herself as a stylist in a competitive field. Initially she asked me whether she; should be involved in a project she had committed to? After a bit of probing we came to understand that what she really wanted to know was whether there was any benefit for her in being involved. So the question became “Will I benefit from being involved in this project?”

    The project was a fashion runway show for some young emerging designers and included the shooting of a promotional video. There was no money involved, though it promised to be a creative and possibly good networking opportunity. As her focus of interest is photo and props styling, she was made responsible for all props. She was now having second thoughts about the project as she had a lot of paid work on and felt that it was going to take up far more time than she first had anticipated. She also had a sense that the woman in charge of the project had subtly manipulated her into getting involved and was very vague as to the time commitment it would involve.


    Simple Judgement


    The chart has Aquarius rising giving Saturn exalted in Libra as significator of the querent. Saturn is being sextiled by the Moon in Sagittarius who could also be taken as a significator for the querent. The project, being a creative project that falls into the category of entertainment, I gave to the 5th house and therefore was signified by Mercury in Leo in the 6th house. Mercury is disposited by the Sun in Cancer in the 5th house, which I took as the “Boss” of the project, the woman who was putting the project together and had asked my client to be involved.

    Both Mercury and the Sun are in the signs of Saturn’s detriment. The answer was clear. She would not benefit from this project, in fact it was likely to be to her detriment.  Mercury in the 6th implies that she will be worked like a slave and the Sun’s position in Cancer shows us how the Boss could manipulate the Moon, our querent to do whatever it wanted.

    The promise that this would be a good opportunity to network and make contacts, was not going to happen as Mercury, the project was already separating from Jupiter, the ruler of the 11th house who signified these contacts. However, Saturn being in a partile sextile with the Moon on the cusp of the 11th house indicates that the querent is already making contacts.  A fact that the querent conceded.