Astrologicalmind

The magic of astrology explored

Tag: Questions and astrology

  • 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.

  • “Where are my glasses?” Beware of Saturn in the 7th house.

    Barbara Waters wrote in 1973 “Horary Astrology and the Judgement of Events” (page 14):  “Saturn in the 7th house, the astrologer’s judgement is clouded…the reason for his blindness hardly matters because his judgement is clouded and cannot be objective.”

    This chart has  Saturn in the 7th house and I, the astrologer got it wrong.  I even jokingly told the querent after giving my erroneous judgement that: “since Saturn is in the 7th house I am probably wrong”.  On that point I was right. Looking back at the chart the answer seems obvious, however at the time “my judgement was clouded”.

    “Where are my glasses?” (21 Jan 2012, 12:52 PM, Melbourne Australia)

    The querent had a trade table at an astrological conference. While setting up she had misplaced her glasses which were a new pair of designer prescription glasses. I was speaking with the querent, a friend and fellow astrologer, joking around as one does at a conference surrounded by colleagues and associates. When she told me of her lost glasses I offered to find them with a horary.

    Only having the querent’s computer at hand I set the chart, but when I first saw it, I was shocked to find a chart filled with a million aspect lines and various asteroids and other points. To me the chart looked a confusing mess and I said: “I can’t see anything!”… I asked to change the settings and finally “saw” a chart as I am use to; clean and simple with few lines.

    She, the querent is signified by the ASC and its ruler Mars in Virgo (working at a marketing table at a conference), the glasses are signified by the  2nd house ruler, Venus in Pisces, exalted (being designer glasses), but this placement also indicated that they are not in a totally foreign place, but rather a place where they are being “honoured”. There were a number of indications that the glasses would be found: the Moon in Capricorn is making a trine to Jupiter a planet in the first house, both luminaries are above the horizon.

    But the only thing I saw was that there was no aspect between, Venus and Mars or the Moon and Venus (or Mars). I also saw the peregrine Mercury was on the MC, and I concluded that someone had found them, picked them up and walked off with them.  Not a thief so much as an opportunist.

    I could not get beyond the fact that the Moon would first hit Pluto before he could complete his sextile to Venus; which I interpreted as a prohibition.  (This chart adds to my growing understanding that the outer planets do not function in the same manner as the seven classical planets do).

    The fact that the Moon was in a partile trine with Jupiter in the ASC and had just separated from a sextile with Saturn (after which it ingressed into a new sign) shows that the glasses were probably in the possession of someone in authority, as Jupiter rules the 9th (the conference was being held at a University) and Saturn rules the MC (also both Jupiter and Saturn tend to suggest a person with authority). The glasses were found at the front desk of the conference and the querent was reunited with them a couple days later.

    As for the astrologer, she learnt a valuable lesson; never try to read a chart without giving it due reverence.

  • Should I direct this film clip?

    As a rule, I normally do not think that “should” questions are able to be answered with horary, but every once in a while I get a chart that is just so clear, the answer so obvious that it defies this “rule”.

    The querent had recorded a song and wanted to get it released but was told that without a video clip this would never happen. He has been trying to get someone to “direct” the clip as he felt totally unqualified to do so himself, though he had lots of ideas about how he wanted it to look.

    This chart shows the significators of the querent highly dignified and fortified, while the significator of others (7th ruler, Mercury) or employees (6th ruler, Sun) are both in bad zodiacal condition and in weak positions, giving us the answer.

    The querent is signified by Lord of the ASC, Jupiter in Sagittarius is on the MC. Venus being on the ASC would also signify the querent. Both are dignified benefics and on the major angles clearly providing the answer; yes he should direct the clip. The Moon also in the 10th close to the MC and conjunct Jupiter, is about to sextile the Sun (Lord 6), and Venus sextile Mars ruler of the 2nd (the money) and 9th (the vision), on the 11th cusp. With the help of friends (11th house) and hiring others (Lord 6) the job will be done.

    The sextile of the Moon and Sun can be understood asbringing the vision to light, as the Moon is ruler of the 5th house which could signify the creative project, especially relevant as the Moon’s last aspect was a sextile to Neptune (conjunct the Sun) and universal significator of film.

    Mars being exalted the vision and the friends assisting will be of a good quality.

    It is also interesting that the Nodes are conjunct the ASC/DES axis, showing a fated quality to this question. Having tried to find someone to direct this clip for quite a long time with no success; signified by the Sun (Lord 6) in detriment on the 12th cusp opposite Saturn in detriment retrograde, being let down by others promising one thing and not coming through. These others could also be signified by Lord 7 Mercury in Pisces and with Uranus in the 12th, very unreliable. Neither Sun nor Mercury engenders any sense of reliability and trust.

    The querent did go on to direct the clip with the help of friends and others. The exalted state of both Venus (the querent) and Mars (the vision and friends) show us that the querent was not 100% comfortable doing this but he was capable. It was a successful project whichsaw his vision realised.

    In fact you can check out the final result here.

  • Will My Man Win?

    I was recently asked to sit on a panel of astrologers to discuss and give our predictions on the upcoming US presidential election. Being billed as the “classical astrologer” as distinct from the mundane, modern, cosmobiological and Chinese astrologer, I decided that rather then sift through natal, ingress, eclipse and all other possible event charts I would simply ask a horary. I waited until both candidates had announced their running mates before setting out to ask my question.

    In horary the most important point is the asking of the question. The resulting chart reveals far more then a simple answer and is a good example of the “magic” of astrology.

    I  am very clear as to my biases both political and personal in this election.  I spent 10 years living in Hyde Park, Obama’s home turf in Chicago. I moved away at the age of 22, but my family  still live there and I visit regularly. When I set the question I was very clear that this was a contest question (therefore a 1st/7th house question) and that my team or in this case man would be signified by the 1st house.

    Obama, my man is Jupiter in the 2nd house, in his fall and retrograde. Looks bad, but Jupiter is actually station and in roughly eight hours going direct. His opponent McCain is Mercury who is peregrin in the 11th house. The prize would be the MC and its ruler appropriately the Sun.

    I wondered and pondered how to identify the VP running mates and finally decided they had to be “with” the significators of the presidential candidates. Jupiter is in partile trine to Saturn as well as being received by him. Saturn seemed a perfect significator for Biden, an older man who is a longtime Washington politician. Saturn is conjunct though  separating from the Sun, the Sun is the prize but as 10th house ruler  can also be seen as the seat of government. The trine aspect and reception between Jupiter (Obama) and Saturn (Biden) indicates that these two can work well together and Saturn especially helps and supports Jupiter.

    Finding the running mate of McCain was pretty easy. As Mercury closely conjuncts two planets Mars and Venus, we have a choice. Venus may seem the obvious choice as Governor Pallin is a woman, but Mars in Libra is so close a symbol of a “pit bull in lipstick” that she has described herself as, that I couldn’t go past it. Besides Mercury is in partile conjunction with Mars and separating with Venus. Mars in Libra is a pretty aggressive Mars, being in his detriment, and his exact square to Jupiter indicates the verbal (Libra is an air sign) attacks that Pallin had been directing at Obama.

    The question is who gets to the prize first? There are no applying aspects or reception between the Sun and Jupiter. Nor will Jupiter make any aspect to the MC. Mercury on the other hand will be sextiling the MC in just under 2 degrees and will also oppose the Suns antiscia degree of 14 Aries 16. These are both somewhat weak testimony, but they are stronger then the nonexistent testimony indicating an Obama win.

    I reluctantly had to conclude that the election will be close, but that McCain will win. I will happily forgo my reputation as an astrologer and be wrong. But there is more to this chart, consider the Moon.

    The Revealing Moon

    The Moon in horary charts is very important. She is a secondary significator for the querent, in certain questions she can be a universal significator for “the people”, as well as plotting for us the course of events. Here as a significator for the querent, that is me, she shows my bias towards Obama.  Moon(I) “love” Jupiter (Obama), I am in his sign, he receives me and has power over me. All true!

    As the people this Moon shows their powerlessness through its peregrin state. The Moon also rules the 9th house of foreigners and as an American living abroad I can state that most non Americans see Obama as a shining hope for the future. Moon in Sagittarius ever optimistic but maybe not so realistic….just wait until it moves into Capricorn, that will be a reality check.

    So what does this Moon reveal to us about the course of events?  From a traditional perspective when a Moon is Void of Course, meaning it will not make any Ptolemaic aspects to any planet before changing signs, it is said that nothing will come of the question or that nothing will change. In this chart the Moon at 20 Sagittarius is classically VOC, but there are mitigating factors at play here. Moon is in partile trine with Uranus, she then applies to square Neptune and finally will conjunct Pluto before her ingress into Capricorn where she will fall into her detriment.

    It is difficult to predict using the outer planets because unlike the other planets, they do not rule any particular part of the chart. What we can say is that there is likely to be an unexpected and shocking event (Uranus) trine, followed by a period of confusion (Neptune) and finally some show of power (Pluto).

    Shortly after asking this question the massive financial crash and fallout from the sub prime fiasco exploded. With Venus, the planet associated with money on the antiscia of Uranus this could be the event that this trine foretold?  As more is revealed confusion and uncertainty is gripping Americans and the world (Neptune square). There is a feeling that the truth is not being fully told or that the “expert” actually have no idea how this will play out.

    So have we seen Pluto yet?  Remember that Pluto is associated with hidden treasures and very LARGE sums of money; a “bailout” of some $700 billion perhaps? Pluto is also associated with power. Will the Moon, as significator of the people, joining Pluto mean power to the people? Or will the power that be, reinforce their grip? I leave it to you to ponder that one.

    The revealing magic of astrology forever amazes!

  • Horary: Beaconsfield Gold Mine Disaster

    Horary astrology can reveal and illustrate the most mysterious and paradoxically the most practical and verifiable aspects of astrology. All horary astrologers have examples of charts that “speak” so eloquently the truth that they want to share them with anyone capable of understanding. There is no denying astrology when a horary chart works; the answer is clearly visible, the story behind the question symbolically illustrated in detail and the magic of astrology validated.

    Some say that a horary question can only be asked by someone who has a vested interest or relation to the thing being asked about, but as long as there is a genuine desire or need for the answer a horary can be asked. Here is an example of a chart that illustrates its validity regardless of the lack of direct relationship between the querent and the thing being asked about. Ultimately this chart is an outstanding example of the power and beauty of astrology.

    Everyone in Australia would be aware that on Tuesday April 25th, 2006 a seismic event triggered an underground rock fall at the Beaconsfield gold mine in northern Tasmania. Three men were trapped below ground: Larry Knight, Brant Webb and Todd Russell. Two days later (April 27 at 7:22 am) the body of Larry Knight was found. Miraculously the other two men were found to be alive on April 30th at 5:45 pm when rescuers heard them singing. The news of their survival created euphoria in the small mining community of Beaconsfield and an international news media frenzy.

    The next day this horary question was asked by someone unrelated and unknown to anyone associated with this event: “Will these men get out alive?” (May 1 2006, 5:16 pm, Melbourne Australia AEST) The querent was motivated to ask the question because the initial reaction to Brant and Todd’s discovery was overshadowing the fact that they were still trapped deep underground in a very dangerous situation. At that point in time the media was reporting that the men would be out within 48 hours. The querent felt strongly that their rescue far from being a certainty.

    Will these men get out alive?

    In horary the most important thing is to identify the significators of the question. The most common way of identifying a significator is to use the ruler of the house in concern. The other way is to use the planet which is the natural ruler of the matter.

    In this question we need to find significators for the trapped men, the rescuers and death. The rescuers are workers to whom we can give the 6th house and therefore they are signified by Jupiter in Scorpio retrograde. Death would be the radical 8th house, Mercury in Aries, as well as the turned 8th house once we have identified the trapped miners.

    Because the querent has no connection with the question or its outcome we need not be concerned with her. The question is what signifies the trapped men?

    We could use the 7th house, being the house of “strangers and others”, giving us Venus in Pisces conjunct North Node, albeit in the turned 12th house. The exalted nature of Venus with the benefic North Node doesn’t seem to describe two men trapped underground with a lot of loose rock over their heads. We could use the 1st house, in which case we get Mars in Cancer, receiving both the rescuers (Jupiter) and death (Mercury). At first this seemed a good choice, but when we consider the natural ruler of miners, Saturn, we find a much better candidate for significator.

    Saturn (the miners) is in detriment in the 10th house, at 4 degrees 58 minutes of Leo. He also rules the 4th house of the chart which is mines and his dispositor the Sun rules gold, this seemed appropriate; they were trapped in a gold mine!

    Though underground they are very exposed through the media. Interestingly Saturn was nearly 5 degrees into Leo and the men were found almost 5 days after they became trapped. Also the Sun receives the miners into his rule and is separated from a square with Saturn by 6 degrees, at the time of the question the men had been trapped for 6 days. Both of these facts give us a clue as to the timing in this chart.

    Now the question is about the men’s survival or lack of, therefore their possible death. Looking at the ruler of the radical 8th house of death we find Mercury at 22 degrees of Aries. There is no aspect between the men and significator of death. Expect for Saturn receiving Mercury into his fall (which could indicate the men’s understandable fear of dying), there is no reception between the two. Nor do we find any antiscia connection. This bodes well; they will come out alive, but when? Can this chart tell us?

    Digging further (no pun intended) we look to the rescuers which are signified by the ruler of the 6th house of workers, Jupiter in Scorpio retrograde. Jupiter is moving back into the via combusta (15 degree of Libra to 15 degrees of Scorpio), seen as a malefic part of the zodiac and is in opposition to the Sun (gold mine) in Taurus (earth) both indicating their dire situation. The rescuers certainly were facing opposition to a lot of earth down in the mine. The retrograde condition of Jupiter tells us something about the slow progress the rescuers were having in getting to the trapped men. Jupiter will perfect a square with Saturn at around 9 degrees Scorpio/Leo, possibly indicating 5 days (degrees) time frame.

    Looking to the Moon for the timing of events we find that she separated from a sextile with Mercury (significator of death) 3 degrees ago. This fits in roughly with the timing of the finding of Larry Knight’s body. The Moon will next square Venus in Pisces before ingressing into Cancer. Her move into her domicile is another promising sign for a positive ending to the situation.

    In mundane astrology the Moon represents the people. If we take the Moon to indicate the people, her position in Gemini indicates being in two minds; exhilaration at Brant and Todd’s survival, worry at their continuing state of danger and grief at the death of their colleague Larry. The Moon’s antiscia degree is 4 Cancer 23, squaring the Nodes, a clear picture of the people’s future, hanging on the balance of fate. This is interesting but doesn’t give us any timing for the men’s rescue.

    Going back to the question, we see that it is about their death or rather their escape from it. Looking at Mercury (death) we see that he is Saturn’s FALL, therefore is being received by Saturn in a negative way. Once he moves into Taurus, the situation will be changed and (death) will have no connection with Saturn.

    The miners were under the threat of death (receiving Mercury into their fall) until the moment they walked out of the mine, and they would have been aware of all the possible dangers. There could have been another earth tremor that would have killed them or their rescuers …So once the miners (Saturn) no longer receive death (Mercury), they are no longer under its threat or power, they are free. Mercury will ingress out of Aries and into Taurus in seven and half degrees or 7 and half days; could this be our time timing?

    On May 9 at 5:58 am Todd and Brant walked out of Beaconsfield mine. This was exactly 7 days, 12 hours and 42 minutes after the question was asked. Mercury was 7 degrees and 21 minutes from its ingress out of Aries. Not quite exact, but pretty close. In fact Brant & Todd were freed from the mine at 4:47 and 4:54 respectively making it 7 days, 11 hours and 31/38 minutes, making it even closer. When Mercury moves out of Saturn’s fall, death (Mercury) ceases to be a threat to the men. And so it was!