Solar Arc Directions How To Read Life's Roadmap by Carole Devine [PDF]

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SOLAR ARC DIRECTIONS How to Read Life’s Roadmap Carole Devine

Copyright © 2000 by Carole Devine All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means whether electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or other, without the prior written permission of the author. Cover Illustration by Kenneth DeMott First published by: L.A.B. Professional Publishing P.O. Box 4130 Woodbridge, Virginia 22194 Website: www.labpublish.com First printing - December 2000 Second printing - July 2001 ISBN: 0-9700696 -0-X Printed in U.S.A.

For my sons, Joseph, Gregory, Ralph and Kenneth DeMott, who are my inspiration, and for Duane Urban, my literary mentor, for interminable encouragement.

Acknowledgments No book is a one-person effort. I want to extend special appreciation to those clients who were so gracious to anonymously let me use their stories, and who took the time to write them in their own words. It helped to give their histories more immediacy. Very special thanks to the meticulous expertise of Lora Blackburn, whose work produced the final design of the whole book. Thank you to all my friends (too numerous to mention by name) who were encouraging and patient with me as I bounced ideas off them. Especially, I thank Maureen Demot, a very well-known South African Jungian Astrologer transplanted to Culpeper, VA, who was the most inundated with it all and wrote the foreword. I bless the day she emailed me and said she believed she lived just down the road from me. And thank you to my son, Kenneth DeMott, who painted a cover that was exactly what I wanted and even exceeded my expectations. Thank you to Jeff Jawer for reading and commenting on the manuscript, and to Joe Anne Bridge, a psychologist, who also read the manuscript and added her special expertise. All charts are derived from the Solar Fire v.5 computer program available through "Astrolabe" (www.alabe.com).

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION Chapters 1. Basic Principles 2. As the Twig is Bent 3. Introduction to Cosmobiology 4. The Mid-Life Shift Into Reverse 5. Charts That Affect a Nation 6. Solar Arc in Composite Charts 7. Counseling the Client 8. Rectification Using Solar Arc

FOREWORD In true Aries fashion, Carole is a pioneer. In my almost twenty-five years as a counseling astrologer I have seen many new ideas surface in the astrological field. But this book is truly a breakthrough. A long time ago, when she first told me about this new way of examining a chart I was excited. As astrologers we know that life, [our growth, development, and the situations we experience] operate in cycles. With her unique way of tracking repetitive situations in our lives, Carole has introduced us to a wonderful tool to help our clients understand why “history repeats itself”. Not only is this an innovative work on solar arc directions, it is also a very practical and valuable tool for both astrologers and their clients. Carole is a certified professional astrologer. Not only is she a superb teacher, who brings a dynamism and vitality to her lectures, she also provides a highly acclaimed correspondence course for students. In addition, she has an innovative mind and is a fine writer. As a woman, Carole is full of fun, and a warm and vital person, whom I consider a wonderful friend who has made my life richer for knowing her. She has tolerated my wildly outrageous sense of humour, and has been kind and understanding in times when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Her awareness of the human condition makes her a rare human being and an excellent astrologer. It is with honour that I call her friend and professional associate. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed watching it grow, develop, and come to fruition. Further, my wish is that you derive the benefit of Carole’s many years of knowledge and this exciting technique.

Rev. Maureen Demot, Ph.D. August 2000

Sadly, Maureen Demot made her passing on February 17, 2001 in an automobile accident. She owned Galaxy House, a thriving astrological center which was the hub of astrological activity in Johannesburg, South Africa in the 80's. Although well-known in South Africa and throughout Europe, she was only beginning to share her wealth of knowledge with us in the USA.

INTRODUCTION Imagine an Anasazi Indian in Chaco Canyon, NM watching the sky year after year, first noticing a rhythm to solar cycles and then laboriously recording it with rocks, sweat and probably blood so accurately that today those rock carvings are still reliable. To these people, compared to many things in life, the Sun was stable. Along with the Moon, it was the one thing they could count on to continue a cyclic pattern year after year no matter what else was unpredictable around them. As they came to depend on these annual rhythms, a culture developed around them. Planting schedules, religious rites and surely many other observances were tied with this reliable pattern. It had to have given them a sense of stability, security and connection with the universe. In our understanding of Astrology today, the Sun is a major factor in a chart. In secondary progressions, it is the most powerful indicator of change, and with the eclipses added, the scaffolding of a lifetime can be built. As we grow in understanding of the laws of quantum mechanics, chaos theory and fractal geometry, we learn that there is order in everything, and all of reality is interdependent. Therefore, it is not hard to reason that the planets could be given a solar rhythm that is just as valid as their own. The planets are reliable too, but from a geocentric point of view, their cycles are not as smooth as the Sun's steady, forward, predictable apparent motion. When we use the transits of the planets to trigger dormant and waiting progressed aspects, some points are triggered several times due to retrograde periods. This makes it very hard to time anything precisely. Furthermore, the outer planets remain in orb of contacting a point for many years due to their slow orbital motion. Granted, they are effective for as long as the orb is in range, but much is happening within that time frame that is important. Taken together, these methods of prediction are accurate enough when examined after a drama, but are hard to pin down before events unfold. The one body that seems more dramatically accurate

than the others, when progressed, is the Sun. Since all secondary progressions are based on the premise that one day equals a year, it is not so far-fetched to move the planets the same motion as the Sun's daily increment for each year. It is also hard to see life as a pattern using progressions and transits. We have the reliable Saturn cycle to build a lifetime structure, and along with it, other outer planetary cycles and the most reliable progressed Moon. But these are still cycles. They are repetitive for the same number of years for everyone. There isn't a great deal that is personally unique about them except the order in which they contact the various components of the chart and the houses being affected at a given time. No life unfolds in quite that orderly a manner. Further, it is interesting that one contact from a planet at one time in the life may be far less important than an identical contact at another time. It is the combination of other factors occurring simultaneously that makes the difference. Solar arc directions have been around for a long time and are commonly used by many Astrologers. There are even books with lists of what various planetary combinations mean when they are activated by solar arc directions. However, as far as I know, there is no body of work that shows the pattern of a life, as shown by the unfolding of solar arc contacts, in quite the way this book does. In fact, I’m not sure that anyone has even noticed that there is a pattern at all. There is one, however, that is quite unique for each person; in fact, there are patterns within patterns. The main theme of this book is to explain these patterns and show examples from the lives of ordinary people so that we can use solar arcs more effectively in guiding our clients through a seemingly endless maze of events that seem to have no common thread. The thread is there and not really so hard to discover! The first couple of chapters of this book contain simplified example charts; i.e. they will show the traditional components of a chart, and mostly solar arc contacts will be used. I am primarily a teacher and have found that the most effective way of teaching anything is to isolate each part of a new study to see it in its purity

without confusing it with too much information too soon. Solar arc directions do not stand alone, but I wanted to demonstrate that they do, indeed, provide a life outline that is quite valid. In some of the examples later in the book, asteroids are added, and in others transits and secondary progressions are included. I did not include secondary progressions in any great detail in this book, although I use them in my practice. Again, it is for the purpose of simplicity. Cosmobiology is introduced, but since it is a major subject in itself, and because there are numerous books already published about it, it is not examined in great detail here. However, solar arc is so much a part of Cosmobiology, no book about one would be complete without mentioning the other. I would encourage students to pursue that topic more thoroughly. Carole Devine September 2000

SOLAR ARC DIRECTIONS

Chapter One Basic Principles Mainstream psychology is valuable and has taught us much about the human condition. We have gained enormous insight into the subconscious, behavior mode ls, the importance of childhood experience and a host of other fascinating theories. It has, however, been treating the human being as a limited-to-the-five-senses creature whose behavior could be explained by this lifetime’s experiences alone. It has, for the most part, except through rare, exceptional practitioners, ignored the soul. If a person has a phobia, s/he might go to a doctor to heal it. Some times the phobia is cured, but often another might take its place somewhat symbolic of the first one. Many years ago I met a university professor who was terrified to go through a tunnel or be in an elevator. I suggested therapy. He answered that he could live with staying away from small enclosed places, but from experience, he knew that if he “cured” that phobia, another would take it’s place, and he wasn’t so sure he could live with the unknown replacement, whatever that might be. He had built his life around his claustrophobia and had gotten used to it. With all his knowledge and years of therapy prior to this time, he had no idea where the phobia originated. In all fairness, though, psychologists use a technique called implosive therapy that often has positive results for this kind of problem. Gary Zukav, in his bestselling and ground breaking book, The Seat of the Soul, tells us that in a specific lifetime, the soul clothes a portion of itself with a personality that will serve its purposes in that lifetime in order to attract the experiences it needs to grow. The personality that is chosen is based upon past life experiences, which are very much a part of the current life. Edgar Cayce’s work has shown that again and again,

people are expressing the results of past lives’ experiences because there is a thread, a theme, that is prevalent in the soul’s history that needs to be healed. To address the problem and ignore the concept of karma is like leaving the verb out of a sentence! Astrology is an incredible tool to provide that verb. After over twenty-five years of consulting using this grand system of wisdom, I’m still awed by its power, insight, beauty and unerring accuracy. But, I believe its potential is still in its infancy. We are still discovering that there is more than we ever dreamed possible in its intricate symbolism. In Jan Spiller’s recent book, Astrology for the Soul, the past life issues, as shown by the Moon’s nodal axis, are so clearly defined, it leaves one awestruck. We are learning by leaps and bounds that there is so much more in a natal chart to be discovered. What we need to do now is to determine a productive way to relay information to our clients that will empower them to make the most of this life they have chosen. The chart not only gives us a description of the personality and past life conditioning with clear instructions about our sojourn in this lifetime, it also gives us a road map of where the life is going and when we can expect to meet crossroads along the way. Our journey is planned, the detours marked, and the options listed. All we need to do is read the map. On my path to learning about Astrology, I had no problem with the concept of its defining personality. After all, with a little study and observation, that part was obvious. It was the predictive part that had me skeptical.

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First Exposure to Solar Arc I was still having trouble accepting the concept of forecasting with Astrology when I settled into a chair at Gina Ceaglio’s On The Way Astrology School in San Diego in February of 1973. I could see, in theory, what would be expected with different planetary cycles, but I couldn’t quite identify with it all. And symbolic concepts like secondary progressions? No way, I thought, could hypothetical phenomena affect people! The other students at the round table had studied elsewhere, as I had, but had concentrated on different branches of the subject. To pass the time before class began, we looked at each others’ charts. Phyllis, the lady looking at mine, suddenly commented, “It looks like your mother deceived you when you were about 17”. She had my full attention. While I was visiting my aunt in Florida during the summer before my senior year in high school, my mother moved the family to a new school district without telling me. In her defense, she didn’t want to spoil my vacation, and wasn’t even sure I’d have to change schools. Since I was slated to be on the staff of the school newspaper and in the Honor Society, I was looking forward to my senior year, which would be totally different if I had to go to a new school. Nothing could have been done about it, but I mostly remember not being told that the family was even planning to move, much less to a new school district. How did Phyllis know? She then showed me the short cut version of solar arc. It was quite a revelation! Since solar arc is roughly a degree a year in motion, then when a planet moves a number of degrees to contact another planet, one would be about the age equal to that number at the time of contact. I had the Moon (mother) at roughly 4 degrees Virgo and Neptune (deception) at 21 Virgo. Twenty-one minus four is seventeen. Amazingly simple, isn’t it? Well, not so fast. There’s a lot more to it than that! After all, the

Moon is much more than “mother” and Neptune is far more than “deception”. Further, they are posited in particular houses in the chart, and possibly rule other houses. Plus, other contacts could be going on by transit and progression at the same time that would further modify that event. So there are many layers of interpretation that is possible to relay depending upon how knowledgeable the interpreter is. In this particular example, the drama continued. Later in the school year, my father was transferred to Germany, and I actually graduated from an American military school that I only attended six weeks. Those last weeks were very confusing (Neptune) because there were new friends from extremely diverse backgrounds (Neptune rules my eleventh house), plus new concepts that I didn’t understand (Moon rules my third house) in some of the classes, especially Chemistry (also Neptune). Therefore, as you can see, the symbolism for the year was quite appropriate for various facets of experience. The Neptune/Moon solar arc conjunction occurred in the fifth house, and I even had an unrealistic romantic relationship with a young man I met in Germany. So, from that one conjunction of Moon to Neptune, a very complex tapestry of experience emerged. It somehow managed to involve everything in the chart that they symbolized! A solar arc direction lasts a long time, often as long as a year, being triggered several times along the way by other factors such as lunations, eclipses, transits or even the progressed Moon. It will never be a simple, one dimensional drama for the owner of the chart.

Stretch your imagination! Astrological forecasting has long been done with no provable explanation of how it works. We only know that it works. In his book, Interpreting the Eclipses, Robert Carl Jansky explains theories in the first chapter based on electromagnetic fields, addressing a phenomenon of direct cause and effect of a physical nature. This

would apply to an explanation of transits, but Astrologers use symbolic mathematical systems, of which, solar arc directions is one. Secondary progressions, another symbolic system, using a ratio of "a day for a year," has been explained as originating with the Biblical formula found in Ezekial 4:6 (“a day for a year, yea, a day for a year I have appointed to thee.”) and Numbers 14:34 (“Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes; one year for each day.”). In the case of solar arc directions, the formula is even more arbitrary. Simply move all planets and other points the motion of the progressed Sun. Since the whole idea of progressions is based on a hypothesis that does not apparently occur in nature, it would seem we are building a hypothesis on a hypothesis! One factor that is permeated in forecasting is the concept of time. It is really relative, and there is evidence that time, as we know it, only exists here. However, time is perhaps based on what can be perceived at once. For instance, because we live in a three dimensional world, we can see a house with height, width and depth all at once. If we lived in a two-dimensional world and could only perceive flat planes, it would take us “time” to construct a three dimensional house, and we would be unable to perceive it all at once. Hence, time would be different in that dimension. Who is to say that psychics are not just tapping into a fourth dimension where one sees more all at once than we can, where time is altered? Psychics do seem to have an ability to be free from the constraints of time as we know it. Perhaps when we peer into an astrological chart we are tapping into that dimension where a whole lifetime can be seen all at once. The most astounding thing about time, though, is that dimensions may have nothing to do with it at all. Hermann Minkowsky, one of Albert Einstein’s teachers, worked extensively with space/time concepts and came to the conclusion as early as 1908 that all time, past, present and future, exists at one point in space at one

time! This concept is even in the Bible. Ecclesiastes 3:15 states, “What now is has already been ; what is to be, already is.....” Astrological forecasting methods demonstrate this. Mathematical techniques in Astrology show cause and effects at the moment of birth, before the causes have even been set into motion. A good Astrologer can see from a birth chart at what age an automatic response trigger will activate, what it is about, and in adulthood, when it will be triggered again. When you have examined hundreds of charts and verified that this can be done, you will have an entirely altered concept of time. The solar arc direction technique of forecasting is simple and powerful. It is so simple that it can be done with a reasonable degree of reliability in your head since all points move roughly one degree per year. But, as with anything that is seemingly simple, it has potential complexities to satisfy the most discriminating Virgo. Just add a few Cosmobiology techniques, and the math whizzes are in Heaven. For the rest of us who may not be so inclined, solar arc can be used with equally satisfying results revealing much-needed information about the life script a person has chosen without painful exercising of the grey cells. In fact, from my experience, this information has packed more punch in getting a person's attention than the most painstaking secondary progression with transits forecast, although I would not do a chart without them, as well.

The Very Simple Math Before being able to work with solar arcs, it is necessary to calculate them, which is easy. Just calculate the motion of the secondary progressed Sun for any given year and add that motion to every other planet, points, such as the Moon's Nodes, and angles. If you do not know how to calculate this incremental motion, here are some instructions. It is helpful if you are familiar with the arc conversion table, but if you are not, that table just converts each degree of each sign into a degree of a complete circle. For instance, Aries is 0 to

29, but when you come to 0 degrees of Taurus, use 30 instead of 0 and assign each degree the following number on to 59 which equates to 29 degrees of Taurus. Then Gemini would start at 60 degrees and so on around the Zodiac. This makes it easier to add and subtract signs. If you do a lot of this work and do not use a computer, it would make things simpler to type this table for reference. To calculate the position of the solar arc Sun (which is the same as the progressed Sun) start with the birth position of the Sun. Then count the number of days from the birth date in an ephemeris for the birth year equal to the age of the person whose chart you are using. If a person is born on May 10, and you want the solar arcs for age 20, then add 20 days to May 10 (making it May 30) and use the Sun position for May 30th. After refining it for the time of day your subject was born, this is the progressed Sun position. One common mistake that students make when doing progressions is to use an ephemeris for the year the person was the age in question, in this case, 20. The formula for secondary progressions is "a day for a year" so naturally, you use the same ephemeris as the birth year. Refining for the time of birth can be done several ways, but if you are not familiar with short cuts, just calculate the progressed position from the ephemeris for the birth time. If you are familiar with the limiting date or adjusted calculation date concept for secondary progressions, that is applicable to solar arc positions, as well, because the solar arc Sun is identical to the progressed Sun. When finding the Sun's motion, it is easier if you use the above-mentioned arc conversion table. For example: If a person was born on May 10, and the birth Sun was 18:49 degrees of Taurus, we would convert that to 48:49. Twenty days later, the Sun could be 8:04 Gemini for that year. Convert that to 68:04. After we subtract them, we get 19 degrees, 15 minutes. That is easier than trying to subtract degrees from the next sign. Then simply add 19:15 to every other body in the chart, including the MC, ascendant and Nodes. If natal Mercury is at 19:20 of Gemini, then after adding 19:15, the result is 38:35. We know there are only 30 degrees in a sign, so subtract the 30

degrees, and the solar arc position of Mercury is 8:35 of Cancer. It had moved into Cancer when it went over 30 degrees. Just about every computer program that I know of has a solar arc option, so most people will not need to calculate this by hand. However, sometimes we hit a wrong key or some other glitch occurs, so it is good to know how to do this in order to spot errors. If you have no idea how to calculate them, you will not recognize mistakes when they occur. There are other solar arc methods of calculation. One, the mean motion, simply averages the motion of the Sun over a year and uses the same increment for every chart. The siderealists adjust for the apparent precession of the Sun’s position. Those are not included in this treatment of the topic.

Solar Arc Directions Are Calculated. Now What? I use a triple wheel for prognostication, placing the natal chart in the center, the secondary progressions in the second wheel and the solar arcs in the outer wheel. Anyone attempting to use solar arcs, should already be familiar with progressions and transits, and therefore should also be familiar with concentric chart forms. After placing the planets, angles and points in position, look for aspects between the solar arc planets and the natal chart. Locate not only the conjunctions, but also the squares, oppositions, trines, and even the minor aspects. Look for aspects only between the calculated solar arc positions and the natal chart. Theoretically, solar arcs do not trigger progressions, though I’m not so sure about that. They do not, of course, affect each other, as secondary progressions do. After all, the planets and angles are all moving at the same speed and therefore, hold their natal aspects and patterns. Transits, however, trigger everything—natal, progressed and solar arc directed positions. Looking at the chart you are directing, determine what is being activated. For instance, if there are two planets that are 20 degrees

apart natally, they are not in contact at birth, but when one has moved 20 degrees, then there will be a conjunction of the two. What house are they in when this contact occurs? What houses do they rule? How are they both aspected to other planets in the natal chart? What does the natal chart show about how the native uses these ene rgies? These will give you clues as to what the event is about, and above all, what the life script (the natal chart) has to say about the lesson involved. It is impo ssible to forecast for a client if you do not know how to interpret a natal cha rt. The cha rt is the basis for the forecast. It could be compa red to the unfolding of a play. The later acts do not make sense unless you have a basic idea of what the play is about from the beginning. And, more impo rtantly, an event does not make sense unless you know why it is happen ing. All this is the job of the natal cha rt. We all have the same factors in a cha rt. But, we all lead completely different lives. There is no such thing as an interpretation of one planet making an aspect to another that will fit every person. Not only will a specific planet contacting another specific planet mean different things to different peop le, but they may mean different things at different times to the same person! It depend s on the age of the person, choices that have been made in the past, other techniques that are in effect simultan eou sly and above all, the natal indicators of tempe rament and the free will and determination of the person involved. A person with a strong Jup iterian tempe rament will hand le a Moon/Saturn contact far differently than one with a Saturnian tempe rament.

10 It takes time and practice to develop the skill of forecasting, but to begin with, one need s to know what forecasting really is. It is not a prediction of a specific event that is bound to happen no matter what is done . It is, rather, an oppo rtunity to heal or address an issue that is needing attention, as shown by the natal chart. The soul comes into material man ifestation to learn what it needs to become whole, to become one with the Father. The event, which is the teacher, is only a scene from the play of a life orchestrated by the owner of the chart and peop led by other souls who have chosen to reflect facets of the native back to himself. So, in the case of a Moon/Saturn contact, one could say that the person need s to look seriously (Saturn) at emotional responses (Moon) to ......, and then go to the natal chart and see what houses, signs, etc. are involved. What dilemm as and problems do the Saturn and Moon natal configurations symbo lize? There is no formula. Every chart is different. Again, the way to learn to forecast is first to learn to interpret a natal cha rt thoroughly and well. Solar arc directed planets all move at the same rate of speed , so the whole cha rt moves at once. Therefore, the cha rt's patterns move in unison as well. If there is a grand square in a cha rt involving several planets, all of them will be involved at a time in the native's life when even one planet in the grand square has moved to contact planets that are not in the grand square pattern. It is absolutely necessary to unde rstand what the pattern means in that person's life in order to interpret what kind of events are likely to occur at the time of any contacts. Always go back to the natal chart to see what life script lesson is being addressed. Even if a grand square were contacting a grand trine, the natal configuration of the grand square is the prima ry concern. If the grand square is spea king of a painful childhood with direct ramifications on the na tive's ability to earn a living, then every time that grand square contacts anything in the cha rt, there is another oppo rtunity to heal that pa rticular problem. Being able to "perform" by telling a person that s/he will fall down

11 the stairs next week is not healing the wound s with which the na tive has to deal at that pa rticular time. Being able to address these issues at the right tim e, however, is invaluable. We are suppo sed to address and heal pa rticular dramas in a timed sequen ce, and that is what solar arc provides — a timing device. Further, the energy (planet or pattern) being contacted is being combined with the directed planet(s), and in effect, they are now able to be blended . In the case, for instance, of a grand square contacting a grand trine, the trine configuration's natal promise of being hab itually comfortable in what it represents can be used directly to heal the grand square's man y dilemmas. It may have been somewhat inaccessible to these particular dilemm as before that time if there was no natal contact between them. It is like having an unseen teacher within oneself (the grand trine), but ha ving no access to that teacher, or at least the ability to app ly its wisdom to a specific pa rt of the soul’s growth, until a configuration moves to ene rgize it and introdu ce it to you! When the grand trine is activated by solar arc (or any other technique for that ma tter) it is like ma king a discovery that you can learn how to hand le the problems you have at that time from within your own store of wisdom, which, of course, was always there. Solar arc directions point to turning points in the life because they indicate times when we must address the issues we were born to resolve. The natal cha rt shows these issues clearly, but what we do about them is entirely up to us. Minute-by- minute, according to the choices we make, we are accumu lating either more issues to deal with in the future (karma), or we are hea ling the dilemm as we have. Using a list of “mean ings” of aspects between this planet or that, rather than helping a client to make hea ling choices, will inhibit creative reasoning ability in interpreting them. It is better, again, to have a thorough ground ing in the basic mean ings of houses, planets, aspects and signs. One can always write more eloquen tly with a good vocabulary. The same is true for interpretation of a chart. The

12 more you know about natal interpretation, the more eloquen tly you can forecast.

Jack C.: An Awakening When planets contact each other by solar arc, it is not always an overt event. Often it is a profound internal experience. Note the following example. Jack C. says: “When I went to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) right after high school at age 18, I met a Hungarian who was Jewish. We imm ediately liked each other. From him I found that foreigners were very trustworthy and non- game playing. We freely exchanged ideas, and even if arguments got heated, we would always eventually come back as good friend s. It seemed to be stronger. At last I found someone with whom I could be myself and be okay. He told me that in 1944 the Nazis swept into Hungary where he was still living. They continued their extermination of the Jews. Only they didn’t ship them off to cam ps. Instead they took them down to the Danube and shot them. There were so many, that the river ran red. He told of the loss of many of his friends. One day his entire family (he was an only child) was captured. Somehow he and his father escaped, but his mother was executed. Later he met the German officer respon sible. I asked if he hated him, and he said no. He was a proclaimed atheist, and it was a profound lesson for me to find out such forgivene ss was possible.

Forgivene ss cuts across all spectrum of beliefs, or in this case non-belief. How my narrow world opened !” This gentleman’s chart, solar arc directed for age 18 at the time he would have started college, is shown in Figure 1-1.

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Figure 1-1

14 He has a T-square configuration between Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus in his natal chart. Uranus rules the third house, so this pattern has a lot to do with how he thinks and expresses himself. Since Uranu s squares Pluto, there is pa ssiona te intensity behind his expression, and the oppo sition to Jup iter in Libra shows this pa ssion is often motivated by a desire for justice and fairness (Jup iter and Libra). With Mars conjunct Mercury, as well, there is an unde rcurrent of anger when confronted with injustice. This T-square is of major impo rt in his life because Pluto, the focal planet, is not only in the eighth house (the unconscious mind), but it rules the twelfth (the subconscious mind). Much of his decision-making processes and ways of expressing and commun icating come from a deep ly entrenched past life array of unpredictable (Uranu s) injustices. We attract what we expect at a subconscious level, so naturally, this man will attract events that will help him heal this expectation. These events can be vicarious, as in this case, but many were not. (See the same example in Chap ter 2) First, the friend ship, itself, is shown by solar arc Mercury and Mars in sextile aspect to natal Venus, ruler of the eleventh. Jup iter by solar arc was at that time just about exactly sextile natal Neptune, the planet that we associate with compa ssion. Althou gh Pluto and Uranu s are not directly in classical aspect with Neptune at that time, they are still affected because of their association with Jup iter natally. Ergo, some of his in-born attitudes were being softened . The sextile, however shows an oppo rtunity to learn something about himself at that time; he could have chosen to ignore it. It is interesting that he chose the words “How my narrow world opened !” Quite appropriate for Jup iter. That wasn’t all that was going on in this man ’s life at that time. He further says of this period, “At the end of my first semester in my sophomore year at MIT (I was 19), I flunked out,

15 or rather withdrew before it actually would have happened . I had no idea what my parents thought because this was strictly my decision. So they didn’t know until I cam e home at Christm as vacation. I just wasn’t MIT material. I gave it my best shot. On the one hand I felt very bad about it, but on the other, I figured it was tim e to move on.” In Figure 1-1, in the third house, Saturn has moved to conjunct the Sun (ruler of the ninth, higher education) in his freshman year. It is clear that school that year would not be easy. Sun is natally oppo site Neptune, one of the signatures of low self-esteem, but more importantly, pertaining to education, an indicator more of a music major than a scientist. Saturn rules the second house which is the house pertaining to how we value ourselves in regard to getting a return in the form of material income. In this case, he was coming to an awareness (the oppo sition) that his worthiness was not to be found in his current circumstances. He was feeling his lack of success in schoo l keen ly. With Saturn (conflict, pain and doub t) contacting the Sun/Neptune oppo sition, the possibilities of letting this incident "get" to him were enormous. An Astrologer could have helped him to see this during that time, which would have eased a lot of grief. He was in a critical dilemm a about life direction pertaining to career as it was man ifesting in the arena of education at that time. By the time he was well into his sophomo re year, solar arc Saturn was oppo site Neptune. You can move solar arc positions ahead mentally by 5 minutes a month to determine when upcoming contacts will be made . A decision (Saturn in the third house) had to be made about the very founda tion of his life (Neptune rules the fourth house) in terms of his education (natal Neptune in the ninth). To add to this, the Moon, ruler of the eighth, is conjunct natal Neptune in

16 the ninth, showing that his educationa l choices would have been confused by other peop le’s values (eighth house). But, was he a musician? Well, yes and no. He ultimately became a compu ter programmer. After all he has Virgo on the MC, but his love of music was awakened at this time as evidenced in his own words: "My father played the violin. He loved to play for other people's enjoyment — dancing, singing, even conversation. Wheneve r he took out the violin, it seemed like the room became brighter, the conve rsations livelier. He had a loving expression with the bow in his hands. I took a picture of that. My son has the same expression. Howeve r, he did not like classical music, thinking it was too pretentious. When I met my Hungarian friend in college, he played classical music for me during our lunch period at the college's music library, and on Friday afternoon we listened to live concerts of the Boston Symphony . It took perhaps a month of hearing before I really listened . The music that turned me to it was Beethoven 's S ixth Symphony , "The Pastoral." It "took" me to the countryside, woods, to the songs of the birds, all things of nature. It was a very spiritual expe rience. From then on I was in love with music. Even though I could never convince my father to hear classical music, neve rtheless, we still shared the forms of music I grew up with. I just expanded my interest. Think of what that did for me when I went to Europe."

A curious footnote: he said that most of the compu ter programmers he worked with were music majors!

17 Stud ent Exercis e: Using September 30 , 1952 as a starting date, examin e the transits for this chart throughout the fall and all of the next year.

A Shoc king Disco very Three months after Cherry was born, her mother ended her abusive ma rriage, and as pa rt of the divorce, had the father agree to have no privileges of seeing his child in exchan ge for having to pay no suppo rt for her. When Cherry was two years old, her mother was ma rried again to a wonde rful man who was the only father Cherry had ever known, and she assumed he was her biological father. Cherry knew he had other children from a previous marriage, and in her desire to be loved equally, she needed constant re-assurance that she was just as important to him as they were, but it had never really been a problem. One day she found out the truth, as she says in her own words: "My mother was away on one of her trips, and my dad and I had been having a really good tim e. I seem to remember it being vacation time for me, as I’d spent the days playing at my dad’s work. Dad and I had a really good relationship, and it was very easy to spend time with him, and I really enjoyed being with him. When my mother was away, those times together seemed more special as we shared a comm on pain—m issing mom! It was a Sunday and we had spent the day at my grandparents’ house. During the afternoon I’d decided that I wanted to spend the night. Dad had said no, and that he’d prefer to have me at home. Now, on retrospect, I can understand that the

reason he said no was purely emotional — he didn’t want to be alone. Unfortunately, being a child, I didn’t recognize his need and simply acted on my own.

18 Typical of a spoilt child, I stormed into the house, told my Gran that Dad had said no, and proceeded to tell her that he acted just like a mean old stepfather! Her answer came as a complete shock. To this day I canno t remember her exact words. The only thing I do remember are the two words I heard that ultimately changed my life: real father and stepfather, and the ice-cold feeling of shock that swept over me. I felt abandoned and alone . I couldn’t run to my mother and ask her if it was true, and I was too scared to ask my Dad for fear that he would confirm what I had just heard, and in some way change our relationship and his love for me. I don’t really remember what happened after that. I did go home with him that night, and I do remember telling him every few minutes how much I loved him, and I remember the tears, both of ours. Being a child at the time, I don’t know the ram ification of my Gran’s declaration on the “adult world”, but it definitely changed the way I saw the world. I no longer felt sure of anything. And it took awhile before I felt totally secure about my place in our family. In time, I believe the truth actually brought my Dad and I closer, and in some way cemented our father and daughter relationship, but if I’d had the choice to know, or not know, I think I’d much rather never have known ." Through pa ssport records and the fact of the time being a vacation from schoo l and a Sunda y, we have surmised that this event took place on Janua ry 2, 1972 . In Figure 1-2, we’ve included the seconda ry progressions in the second wheel as a point of interest. Notice that althou gh solar arc Uranu s has pa ssed natal Pluto by 40

minutes of arc, solar arc Saturn is approaching a square to the MC by 34 minutes of arc. Often when more than one solar arc contact is imminent, which indicates a potent time in the person’s life, the event(s) will not

19

Figure 1-2

20 occur when exact, but wait until they are both almost equidistant from being exact and then be triggered by a transit or luna tion. Pluto rules the fourth house. In the ongoing discourse of whether the fourth is the mother or the father, I learned from Patricia Petty Munns that she believes the tenth is the parent of the same sex. I have found that to be true thus far. In this case, the father would be the fourth. From the time Cherry was born, any astrologer could see that around age ten she would have a surprise (Uranu s) about her father when Uranu s moved by solar arc to conjunct Pluto. Uranu s is often called the planet of sudden awakening, and that is precisely what happened here, a sudden awakening about her father. Likewise, one can see that when Saturn moved to square the MC, and simultan eou sly the fourth cusp, of course, she would have severe doub ts about emo tiona l security (fourth house) and how much she could trust authority figures (MC). Solar arc Sun was quincunx the Moon within 7 minutes, which would show an adjustmen t with her mother and a separation forever from her old values (Sun rules the second) about her very self (Moon rules the first). Seconda ry progressed Mercury had just chan ged signs and was approaching a square to Uranu s, and that square was triggered that day by transiting Saturn at 0 degrees Gemini. Saturn was moving very slowly and made a station at 29:34 Taurus late in Janua ry, keeping this experience very raw for a few months. Transiting Neptune was conjunct Mars, showing her confusion about what to do. That contact also continued for weeks. And last, solar arc north node is quincunx natal Jup iter with 2 minutes orb, indicating a re-assessmen t of what love is. Jupiter rules the fifth house. This was a karmic event, since the nodes are involved, which is shaping her attitude s about the kind of man she will ma rry (Jup iter is in the seventh) and her attitude toward her own children (Jupiter ruling the fifth). This was a profound event that was mean t to happen . There is more about this father/dau ghter relationship in chapter six.

21 Stud ent Exercis e: Loo k at the ec lipses that occ urred in August 1971 and those just following the event, and notice how profoundl y they affec t this chart.

Chapter Two As the Twig is Bent

A baby is born with a Moon /Uranu s conjunction in Cancer only 22 minutes in orb of being exact. Moving at 5 minutes a month, Uranu s will conjunct the Moon by solar arc at approxima tely four and a ha lf months of age. His family has repeated the tale all his life about the event at that time. His mother went on a trip and took him along. For a few da ys on the trip she left him with a couple of aunts while she went off alone. The aunts said he cried the whole time his mother was away. It was his first separation from her. Who knows why it affected him so strongly? Perhaps there was an abandonm ent in a pa st life. Suffice to say, he sees women as unpredictable and independen t. Since we make our own reality by the way we perceive things, you can bet your life women will fulfill his expectations! A girl has the Sun square Mars (Sun rules the fourth) with an orb of 4 degrees, 44 minutes that is exact by solar arc at age 4 years and 9 months. She also has Saturn conjunct Mercury in the twelfth house, 5 degrees and 39 minutes orb, that will become exact at age 5 years and roughly 8 months. Saturn rules the ninth house, and Mercury rules the second and fifth. At age four and a ha lf to five years, there is a memo ry of anger and violence. Then at age five and a ha lf to five and three quarters the parents divorced. She saw her father again

23

24 only once, by acciden t, and that was all. Expectations of men are not high. Persona l value and ego (second and fifth houses) are strongly affected when a child is not sought out nor obviously thought of again. There was no emo tiona l nor finan cial suppo rt. Will this affect her marriages? Absolutely! The pattern will repeat again and again until she unde rstand s that she can evaluate herself differently. This kind of synchronism goes on in every birth chart. There is no argumen t that childhood trauma s set up responses that become automa tic by the time pube rty sets in. If there is no hea ling process implemen ted for these responses, they continue into adu lthood . We all pretty much concur that it is necessary to unde rstand the origina l triggers in order to transform our adu lt dilemm as. However, there are two things that are amazing. One, the birth chart prom ises the events that evoke responses in childhood at the moment of birth before the infant has even shaken hand s with mom and dad ! And, two, because of the surround ing maze of suppo rt in the chart conne cted to those triggers, positive or negative, each child reacts differently to the same potential trauma s. A Sun/Mars conne ction, for instance, will be perceived differently, and therefore evoke different responses, according to each child's tempe rament. Good que stions are "Where does the ‘game plan’ come from?", "Who wrote the script?" and "How does one get the temperament shown in the cha rt?" Hard to answer, but perhaps the concept of reincarna tion holds a clue. The que stion we can answer, with a little investigation, is "How can we tell when in adu lt life the childhood trauma s will surface and beg for hea ling?" That is valuable information that peop le need to make sense of wha t's happen ing to them at any given time. The average birth cha rt is full of aspects. Some are singular, mean ing they are not part of a pattern, such as a T-square or grand trine. Some are wide in orb, others tight. We can assign a kind of hierarchy based on this. The tighter the orb

25 of an aspect in the birth cha rt, the earlier in childhood the aspect will become exact by solar arc motion. Therefore, it is most likely to be deep ly buried and an instinctive response. The more conne cted the aspect is with a pattern of other interlocking aspects, the more complex the childhood events are. We could say that a life is compo sed of two main dramas. The first unfolds before the age of ten when all aspects in the natal cha rt will have "closed." That is, by solar arc motion they will have become exact. The ages at which these occur can be determined quickly since solar arc motion is roughly one degree a year and five minutes a month. Therefore, if a Neptune/Venus square is 4 degrees apart in orb, then it will "close" at age four. If it were 4 degrees 30 minutes in orb, it would do so at four and a half years. It doesn’t matter if the aspect is app lying, separating or retrograde. The planet in the lower degree is moved forward to contact a planet in a higher degree at the age shown by the amoun t of the solar arc incremen t. Transits will trigger these closures earlier or later than the exact pa rtile time, but most dramas unfold over a period in excess of a month anyway. There can be several events conne cted to one drama tic time period. There is usually a strong conne ction between events that coincide with the closures of aspects involved in a pa ttern, such as a grand square or a T- square, and are therefore, unde rstanda bly, more important. The second drama is the rest of the life as these origina l natal aspects and patterns move on to aspect each other. A single oppo sition involving only two planets may eventua lly move to a position where it will interact with a T-squ are for a while. The interaction will initiate and unfold a drama lasting until the whole pa ttern has finished its mutua lly ene rgizing process. The longer the interaction lasts, the more impa ct there is on the life. It is especially dynam ic if there is more than one such drama unfolding. This is when peop le usually experience profound change. You can be sure

that each time this happen s, it is an oppo rtunity to heal the child within, to make a conne ction

26 to the childhood drama that initiated an automa tic defense mechan ism that pre-disposed the child to react in a way that is protective of itself in the future. Most of the time, if not all the time, this response is purely subconscious. It has a life of it’s own. But, we are not only containing subconscious reactions from this life. We are also carrying around with us unfinished business and auto response mechanisms from past life dramas. The childhood events, themselves, could be, and most likely in all cases are, situations we have chosen in order to set the wheels of the life lesson in motion. Ga ry Zukav tells us in The Seat of the Soul, that there is really nothing unfair happen ing in the world, and that we set it all in motion by the choices we make. Choices are not just what we pick out, like a suit of clothes or a life partner, but more importantly, they are the way we choose to respond to any event or situation at all. How we choose to perceive and react to each event is more impo rtant than anything else we do in life, and it actua lly sets up the future for us. Is that response self-dep recating or is it self-empo wering? A little child respond s in the way his or her tempe rament is inclined , and the natal cha rt tells us what this inclina tion is.

A Frightening Experience Our friend from chap ter one, Jack C., remembe rs a trauma from childhood that took place at age 8. When an event is etched in memo ry as vividly as this one, it most likely will have an impact that triggers an auto-response mechanism. Jack C. tells us: “At eight, I remember going out of schoo l in second grade and a teacher handed me over to a policeman. He took me into the police car while kids

lined up on both sides of the road. He accused of breaking windows in an

me

27 abandoned house. I told him I wasn’t there, but playing with my friends. No matter what I said, he refused to believe. I was scared out of my wits. Here I am telling the truth and not being believed. I was certain in my mind, he would drive off with me, and I would never see my family or friends again. So to get it over with, I confessed, naming my friends and some schoolmates that were with me. Finally, my brother came along and told the policeman it was he. But my father, as a S ing S ing guard, knew all the local police and gave him ‘what for’ in no uncertain terms. This made me have good feelings toward him as a fair person (my brother got the razor strap). To this day policemen make me nervous at times. I am very concerned about people being wrongfully convicted and leery about “confessions”. If that is the only thing the prosecution has, then as a potential juror, I would tend not to be persuaded unless the defendant confesses at the trial. I am a firm believe r in the Miranda rights.” This took place in April or May 1942 . Solar arc directions for Ja ck’s cha rt at that time (Figure 2-1) show that an important closure of natal aspects was taking place. The Sun/Neptune oppo sition was within a degree of activating natal Mercury, which is conjunct Mars, and adds the impa ct of anger. Neptune is separating in aspect; the Sun is app lying. Mercury rules the MC (authority figures) and the seventh house (public). This took place in the third house (elemen tary school and siblings). The Sun rules the ninth house, which is where we find attitudes about ethics, hone sty, the law, etc., and Neptune is located there. It is easy to see what this event would be about.

Remembe r that these contacts will remain active for the larger part of a year, and so there were probab ly several instances in his young life, when the issues of truthfulness and

28

Figure 2-1

29 the power of authority over ‘smaller’ peop le (justice) were brought to his attention that year. A Neptune/Sun/Moon/Asc. configuration like this one can often indicate a person who feels like a victim some times. The nature is sensitive, and sympa thy is easily aroused both for oneself and others who appear to be unde rdogs. A person with this much sensitivity has no problem empathizing with the less fortuna te but can become a martyr.

Injustices Revisited Ja ck C.’s cha rt has two main themes of concern. One is the sensitive T-square between the Sun/Neptune/Moon/ Ascendant, which also includes the nearby Mercury/Mars conjunction, and the other is the intense focus of the Jupiter/ Uranus /Pluto T-square. Because of the childhood experience described above, we can expect an innate response to situa tions that subconsciously remind him of that time. From roughly 1977 through 1991 , the Jupiter/Uranus/Pluto T-square moved over the Neptunian configuration by solar arc. This doesn’t imply that all the events of the period will be trauma tic. After all, in the childhood event, his brother confessed to the crime, and the outcome was positive. He has a rather strong faith that “good guys win.” One of his first memo ries of the late 70's and 80's is a positive experience. “In August or September 1979 , I was approached by my boss, who wanted to give me a major promotion. I would be the second in the company with such a position, a very pleasant surprise. In order to get it, I would have to appe ar before a board. It comprised my boss’ boss, some senior managers of the support group, technical

support people from the field, field service (hardware group ) and enginee ring. I was to be asked both technical and support

30 issues questions including how to handle customers. In addition, I was to make a presentation on a support issue that needed attention. Surprisingly, I took it rather nonchalantly, sailed through the board presentation smoothly and was awarded the promotion. Perhaps there was a spiritual message that if one is not anxious or attached to a desire, things may come out for you if you deserve them.” In Figure 2-2, there is a reciprocal formation of these two Tsquare configurations. That is, both patterns had moved by solar arc to contact each other. Persona l recognition is shown by the reciprocal contacts of Jup iter and the Ascend ant. Solar arc Moon had just pa ssed a conjunction with Jup iter, and Jup iter is approaching a square to the Moon . There is only a 16 minute separating orb of the solar arc Sun conjunct Uranu s in the fifth house, and solar arc Uranus was only 2 minutes applying to a square to natal Sun, demon strating the sudden attention he was getting. Above all, though, there was a conjunction of solar arc Pluto to the natal Moon, and a separating square from solar arc Moon to natal Pluto that tells us what a profound transforma tion on a subconscious level this was providing. Pluto rules the twelfth, and the Moon rules the eighth houses, which are related to the subconscious and unconscious minds. These are, however, T-squares, which aren’t all sweetness and light. There are lessons to be learned here as well. The configurations were active for more than a decade. He says of the mid-80's: “One set of very disturbing m atters occurred with my daughter. She had very difficult teen age years, especially from 1980 -1987 . She was so shy

that she wouldn't answer the phone , go shopping, and barely left the house

31

Figure 2-2

32 except as necessary. I felt helpless in not being able to do a "father knows best". She didn't date during her high school years. When she met someone in college in 1983 it was a disastrous relationship. He was a former Army Ranger, real macho (not like me or my two sons). She wanted to marry him badly. But, thankfully, he hesitated. He was so bad that his own mother warned her of him. He could be abusive. All I could think of was her someday knocking at my door with a couple of young kids, and he would be stalking her. When she talked about him, and that wasn't very often, I told her, ‘I don 't see you are happy with him’. No response. So I knew the answer. Eventually, she took the time to grow up and found out what he was like in reality, even though it took a long time, six years, to finally break it off.” Ja ck’s cha rt shows an easy commun ication with his children. Mars, ruler of the fifth house, is conjunct Mercury in the third house, and both trine Pluto in the eighth house. He has a close conne ction to them. But, in 1983 , (Figure 2-3) solar arc Mercury and Mars had moved to square his natal Venus. Mercury conjunct Mars in the third house is a very nervous ene rgy anyway, and at this time it was beginning to affect his health, since Venus rules his sixth house. His confusion about what to do about the situa tion is clearly shown by the solar arc Jupiter/Pluto square contacting his Neptune, where it had been active for quite awhile. It doesn’t take too much ima gina tion to see a conne ction between his anxiety about his daughter and his own anxiety about being at the mercy of the police who didn’t believe what he told them. The macho boyfriend could symbolize his own policeman image, and his daughter was his off-spring, a pa rt of himself. His

own father had interceded for him, and so he subconsciously felt he ought to be able to make it ok for his dau ghter.

33

Figure 2-3

34 In 1985 , his mother died, and he says of that experience: “That was the year I wished never happened , but there are those and can’t be avoided. That was the year in which my mother died. One of the most disturbing matters about it was the way she was treated at the hospital, the attitude of the place, and the people who worked there were totally in opposition to the way it was when my father died in 1966 . They seemed to care less in their treatment. The doctor was not responsive to inquiries and perform ed what he called a “procedure” relating to kidney failure (my mother was 81). Spiritually, it was difficult to unde rstand any caring God who would let a perfectly wonde rful person die in such agony. Only in reading and hearing Rabbi Kosher (When Bad Things Happen to Good People) was I able to have some understanding. That was the year I fell into the depression. Had a nightmarish new manager to work for. One person, who had a laid-back personality, was going to punch him out, and it took several others to restrain him. The onset of the depression had its beginning in late fall of 1985 . I remember losing so much weight that I got down to about 135 pound s. Gaunt. Went into the hospital in March 1986 for about five weeks. I was put on an anti- depressant and lithium. Turns out I was m is- diagnosed as a manic-depressive. A couple years later, I dropped the lithium as I felt I didn’t need it and was concerned about the long term side effects, such as possible uncontrollable

twitching (didn’t have) and damage to the liver (didn’t happen).” The solar arc directions for April 1986 (Figure 2-4) shows a turning point approaching. Solar arc Mars and Mercury are in

35

Figure 2-4

36 trine to Neptune, an indication of spiritual hea ling possibly taking place. Venus, Moon and Ascend ant are shortly going to change signs, so a new attitude is evolving. The Uranu s/Jup iter/Pluto T- square is still going to contact Mercury and Mars in a few years, but for now, quite a bit of stress is behind him. Through a study of Astrology and Metaph ysics, Ja ck has come to unde rstand his pa tterns clearly, and instead of feeling victimized, sees now why the events happened as they did to teach him what he needed to know about himself in order to heal those portions of his soul that needed integration. Stud ent Exercis e: The promotion in Figure 2 -2 occ urred in S eptember 1979 . Loo k at the ec lipse of S ept. 6th that year, and note the transits in effec t that month, as well.

A Child ’s Unusual Famil y Life Laura H. had a very unusual childhood that did not appear at all dep rived if one were looking at it through an outsider’s eyes. It was obvious she was loved and well-cared for. So why did she grow up ha ving a fear of abandonm ent? Her natal chart (center wheel of Figure 2-5) shows that her early home life (fourth house) had a bit of irritation and instability about it (Mars in the fourth oppo site Uranu s), but it was pleasant enou gh (Jupiter in the fourth sextile Venus, Mercury and Neptune in the second). But, Mercury and Neptune in the second house of worthiness are oppo site Saturn. There is a vivid ima gina tion at work with an inclina tion to be critical of one ’s worthiness (Virgo placemen ts in the second house) in a negative (Saturn) way. Her father was a Scorpio, and liked his privacy. Saturn (father) is in the eighth house. Regarding her childhood , Laura says,

37

Figure 2-5

38 “When I was six years old, in the summ er of 1941 , my father decided to sell our home in Newpo rt News, VA and move his wife and three little girls to the coun try. Up until that point, life had been fairly typical except for World War II, and the fact that my dad had to work at night at the shipyard for the war effort. My paternal grandparents already lived in the country in the old homestead, and my father soon built a building with a small apartment over it that was just large enough for my mother and father. During the summ er, that wasn’t so bad. We ate our meals with my parents and went over to my grandparents’ house to sleep. When cold weather arrived, it was not fun anymore. We got up in a cold room and ran over to my parents home to get dressed, eat breakfast and get ready for school. Some mornings my mother would drive us to the head of the lane to catch the bus, but other times we walked the half m ile. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but the months turned into years, and it became obvious that my dad was very comfortable with the arrangement and had no intention of changing it. These were the years when I first learned about rejection. My grandparents were not too happy with the arrangement and complained loudly to each other when they didn’t know we could hear them. My dad was always anxious to have us go over to my grandparents so he could be alone with my mother. I felt very much like I was in everyone ’s way, and the longer this went on, the more I began to depend on myself. They were never mean and seemed to love us, but we did not seem to be

conven ient. My father never did build a house for us, and I never spent a night under the same roof with my parents until 1978 , when my father had a stroke.”

39 Laura’s cha rt, directed by solar arc for age 6 in Figure 2- 5, clearly shows this major change in her life. At first, it was looked upon as a good thing (solar arc Moon was trine natal Venus), and the summe r was fun. The shake up in the daily routine is shown by solar arc Ascend ant in quincunx to Saturn. Saturn rules the sixth house, which, amon g other things, represents the daily chores and maintenance we must perform to keep life mana geable. I’ve found the quincunx aspect to be quite prevalent in situa tions where we are adjusting to new circumstances, leaving the pa st behind or dea ling with a separation of some sort. The semi-sextile aspect is the “other side” of the quincunx. In other words, if aspects are viewed in terms of their relationship to an oppo sition, then the complement of the trine is the sextile, the complemen t of a square is another square, and the complemen t of the quincunx is the semi-sextile. It stand s to reason that it must behave similarly. After all, the two signs are not in harmony, and as with the quincunx, are too different to even have a basic conflict, and are therefore, separative. The solar arc Sun is semi-sextile the ascendant, giving us much the same message as the Ascendant/Saturn aspect. Natally, Sun is semi-sextile Pluto, promising this kind of disjointed home life at some time since Pluto rules the intercepted fourth house, and the Sun rules the ascendant. At the same time that the Sun has moved to semi-sextile the Ascendant, Pluto has moved by solar arc to conjunct the Ascend ant. This spea ks of physical strain, but more impo rtantly, the demise of her sense of persona l emotiona l security in the home . Pluto (death) co-rules the fourth, which represents emotional security issues. Because Pluto is natally conjunct the ascend ant, the Sun is in the first house, and because it is all clothed in Leo energy, she need s much more attention and reassurance than the average child. “...I began to depend on myself...” is very telling. That is promised by natal Uranu s

40 square the Ascendant, a strong indicator of independen ce learned at an early age. The natal chart also promises that there would be stress between daughter and father since Pluto natally squares the MC, and quite tidily, the MC has moved by solar arc at this time to close the square showing that this strain is beginning at this age. In roughly seven months, it would be exact. What would normally happen eventually unde r these circumstances? In most cases, a young lady would find an early oppo rtunity to leave, and that is just what she did. In Figure 2-6 we see that solar arc Saturn has moved to trine natal Pluto. So we have a beginning contact between the second/eighth house oppo sitions and the MC/AC/Pluto configuration. Again, there is a depa rture from the da ily routine shown by solar arc Saturn quincunx natal Sun. Solar arc Sun has moved to a conjunction to Neptune which had been exact the year before when she gradua ted from High School. Interestingly, when solar arc Sun was exactly conjunct Neptune, she went to college for a brief time but was suspended because of being accused of something she didn’t do. Neptune rules the ninth and also represents deception. It affected her sense of worthiness profound ly since Sun rules the first and second houses. Her parents simply didn’t believe she was innocent. Her ego (Sun) was dissolved (Neptune). After that, in her own words.... "I got a job and met the man I would m arry. After a courtship of only three months, I was married in August 1954 to a man I knew I did not love. I was looking for an escape from home and someone to love me. On the honey moon, it was obvious that I had made a serious m istake. I thought maybe if I stuck with it, I could learn to love him. I tried to convince myself that I could. In the fourth month of marriage, I found out I

41

Figure 2-6

42 was pregnant and accepted my fate. My son was born prematurely on May 28, 1955 .” In August 1954 , (Figure 2-6) solar arc Neptune is trine the seventh house cusp, indicating a ma rriage. The Sun will sextile Jupiter, ruler of the fifth house, in a year. That is the signature of the birth of a child, although, it could have been a love affair. Her son has been the greatest pleasure of her life. But, it is obvious that the soul has been presented with a challenge for growth by looking ahead a few degrees. Notice that the solar arc Moon/Jupiter oppo sition is approaching a square to Saturn. This is a classic example of childhood issues being brought to bear on adu lt circumstances. This contact will occur in three years. Note also, that the solar arc Uranus will square the natal Sun in three years, as well. In the first instance, solar arc Moon square natal Saturn operates on several levels. The lack of emo tiona l fulfillmen t and security is beginning to be a hea vy burden, and a feeling of guilt arises at being unab le to fulfill another’s needs. Solar arc Jup iter square Saturn shows the lack of love in the relationship (Jup iter rules the fifth house) and the inab ility to keep on striving. The Moon/Jup iter oppo sition by solar arc would be in square aspect to natal Mercury the year before, so perhaps an exaggerated sense of optimism would be prevalent, or preoccupa tion with the baby would make it easier. When finally Uranus by solar arc moved to square the Sun, the urge to be free would have been most pressing. It is an awakening to ego needs not being met, and is a classic indication of breaking loose from whatever seems to be tying one down. In add ition, the solar arc noda l axis, three years after the ma rriage, was square natal Mars, an indication of stress and irritation in the environmen t. It might be worthwhile injecting here, it is a theo ry that when the node s are involved in any solar arc activity, there is a good chance that it is particularly karmic in nature. Meaning it is the result of prior action and/or choices from past lives. Newton’s

43 third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and oppo site reaction. That is all karma is. If one ma rries a person one does not love, in order to receive love, then there has to be a reaction that will teach the person that love is, by nature, reciprocal and uncond itiona l. Karma is set into motion by the choices we make, whether in this life or some other. The divorce was final in 1958 , four years after the marriage. Note the MC by solar arc had moved, by that time, the four degrees necessary to oppo se Mars. Mars rules the MC which is the prima ry indicator of status in the world (ma rried, single, divorced, etc.) as well as the career. Laura H. had her most intense experience starting in 1966 . She says of this time: “In 1966 , I met my second husband, and we seemed to click from the first date. I fell very deeply in love, and he did too. This was a miracle to me, and I thought that I finally had found my place in the world and my love. My wedding day, March 25, 1967 , was the happiest day of my life, right up there with the birth of my son in 1955 . My happiness was short-lived , howeve r, due to my husband’s illness. He had his first heart attack in 1970 and seve ral more after that, then open heart surgery when they found he had congenital heart disease, and all that was left was scar tissue. They said he could possibly live five years. It was the things that came with the disease that hurt me most. He suffered severe depression from the blood not getting to his brain. He became a Dr. Jeky ll and Mr. Hyde, and his frustration was taken out on me. My life became hell, and the feelings of rejection

were deeply entrenched. He finally took his own life on December 8, 1975 , and I was destroyed. S ince that time, I have had years of agony and trying to get past the feelings of rejection. When I think I am there, there comes something

44 else thrown in my path to bring me up short and tell me I’m not there yet. I have never been able to have another romantic relationship. It is just an instinct of self-preservation. No love; no pain.” Figure 2-7 is a cha rt directed for the wedding date of Laura’s second ma rriage. The Sun and Pluto had been interacting with each other. The year before the wedding, when they met, the Sun was sextile Pluto and Pluto was conjunct the Sun, certainly indicating a profound ly intense conne ction that affected her on an emotiona l security level (Pluto co-rules the fourth house). If you were an Astrologer, however, and were trying to determine how the future several years would go, you could easily see that there was another oppo rtunity coming up that would further her soul growth. The natal Ascendant/ Uranus /Mars pattern has moved by solar arc to begin activating the natal Mercury/ Neptune/Saturn configuration, and solar arc Venus was on the way to square Pluto in roughly three years, and then would square the natal Ascendant a few years after that. What does one say to a client on the happ iest day of her life when such a drama is about to unfold? First, the natal configurations have to be explained in such a way that she will unde rstand what her innate conflicts and life lessons are. We are in a schoo l here, not a playground . Every life has a curriculum. Most of us can accept our life course syllabus, if we only knew what it was. Start with the Moon ’s node s which is the hea rt of the life course. In this chart, the south node is in the twelfth house in Cancer. In pa st lives there has been much time spent in spiritua l developmen t and isolation (twelfth house). Perhaps, because the South Node is in Cancer, it was because of family ties for some reason. Family dependen ce has assumed a role of major importance, almost too much so. In past lives there was too

45

Figure 2-7

46 much expectation developed on what a family provides, especially emotional security dependen cy. With the North Node in Capricorn in the sixth house, the task is to become more service oriented herself, but also to learn to be in control of her own destiny. Essentially, the problem is one of dependen cy on being nurtured versus the need to learn to be independen t and strong enou gh to provide nurturing for others. Usua lly, when the south node is in Cancer, the family the person is born into does not provide the emo tiona l suppo rt that the soul has come to expect, and this forces self- reliance. No matter where the person looks for this emotiona l dependen cy, it will not be found , because it would keep the person in the past rather than contribute to growth. Ironically, once a soul starts to take respon sibility for developing the north node requ iremen ts, the old hab its and expectations drop away, and life becomes much more mana geable. When it comes to ma rriage, Laura’s cha rt promises, at least as long as needed , relationships that force her to take an independen t stand . Uranu s rules the seventh house, is oppo site Mars and squares the ascendant. It is quite eloquen t in it’s simplicity. But, from past life habits, she would prefer the Cancerian/twelfth house life of being nurtured and cared for in a private, secure (Moon is in Taurus), idea listic environmen t. One of the Astrologer’s jobs is to point out to clients that what they want may not be what they need. If one does not voluntarily accept the circumstances of the life curriculum, it will still be present, but just not in harmony with the desire nature. As A Cou rse in Miracles says, we can “look at things a different way.” There is no law that dictates how we must perceive a situa tion. We have total free will to respond in any way we wish, and it is in the way we choose to perceive things that makes all the difference in how the world respond s to us. In Laura’s case, it would have been impo ssible for me to tell her that her husband would ultimately take his own life. In the first

place, it was his choice, and he didn’t have to make that

47 particular decision. If we were destined , withou t having a choice, to do something like killing ourselves or another person, then what is the point of the Ten Commandmen ts? It wouldn’t make sense. Secondly, even if it were possible to tell that it was a probab ility, it would have been irresponsible to plant such a seed. But I would have told her, in detail, that she had a life lesson about learning to be independen t within the structure of a family, and that the best way to approach any problems that might arise in her upcoming ma rried life would be to avoid feeling like a victim (south node in the twelfth house) and to realize she would soon be asked to take charge and be the one giving suppo rt rather than receiving it. I would have made it clear that it didn’t necessarily mean there would be a crisis, but in sma ll ways from the beginning, if she voluntarily took that attitude, it would make a huge difference in the outcome of things. I would have further pointed out the times when she would need to make impo rtant decisions in this regard, which would have been the months that solar arc directions made exact aspects to natal planets. ( I use seconda ry progressions and transits as well, so this is just one technique used, albeit the major one.) It is also impo rtant to note that Laura has a tenden cy to become overly emo tiona l when faced with eviden ce, as she sees it, of rejection. That is a north node in Capricorn trait; plus she has Moon oppo site Jup iter, which also indicates over-reaction, not to mention being a dramatic doub le Leo! If she could be made aware that many times her reactions were not appropriate to the circumstances, it might help to convince her to stop and think before reacting strenuou sly, taking things too persona lly, or interpreting behavior incorrectly. In Figure 2-8, which is for the date of her husband’s suicide, notice that the solar arc Sun is quincunx Uranu s. Again and again, I’ve noticed separations occurring with the quincunx aspect. Literally, separation from her husband is being shown; Sun rules the ascend ant (self) and Uranu s rules the seventh (legal

48

Figure 2-8

49 pa rtner). It is only 5 minutes separating and so could have occurred at any time in the previous month. It did not have to be the event that happened . Separations can be effected many different ways, even emo tiona lly while physically being in the same space. Solar arc Venus is only minutes from squaring the ascendant, and the MC is about to chan ge signs, which is a strong indication of one ’s status chan ging in some way. Solar arc Neptune is semi-sextile the natal Venus, which also acts like the separative quincunx. Interestingly, solar arc Pluto is trine the natal Uranus, which indicates that shortly before this event, she had taken control of the marriage, but things were reaching a critical point where something had to be done . There were probab ly several avenue s. Her profound self-ana lysis and obsessivene ss about this for the next few years is shown by solar arc Pluto activating the Mercury/Saturn oppo sition. She was being asked to examine, unde rstand and change her thinking hab its. Laura eventua lly grew through all this. She says now: “I have been through therapy and with a lot of help have overcome my family issues by taking my own journey to the past in November 1995 to release my inner children. I now know that my husband did not reject me because he didn’t love me; he could not help what happened to him because of his illness. I also realized my parents were dealing with their own issues. My only desire is to have peace and enjoy what life I have left, and I enjoy my home, my dog and my own company. I have learned to love and respect myself and know that I am worthwh ile.” Laura was blessed to have found a therapist who knows a technique of getting in touch with inner childhood issues. In much the same manne r of a Shaman retrieving soul fragmen ts,

50 she went on an inward journey and re-integrated her past in a way that healed her life course. Her chart for that time, Figure 2-9, shows a profound awakening with solar arc Mercury oppo sing Uranu s, solar arc Neptune conjunct natal Mars and solar arc Sun and Pluto again approaching mutual aspects. The most hea ling indication for those years of therapy is shown by solar arc Mars and Jup iter ma king an ongoing grand trine configuration with her Taurus and Virgo placemen ts. She was able to activate her innate wisdom and app ly it to her past events fruitfully. Stud ent Exercis e: Loo k at the transits and ec lipses affec ting the time of her marriage, March 25 , 1967 , and the time of her husband ’s suicide, Decem ber 8 , 1975 .

51

Figure 2-9

Chapter Three Introduction to Cos mobiology

With the translation from the origina l German of Reinhold Ebertin’s The Combination of S tellar Influences, the English spea king world had access to a more scientific approach to Astrology, which was coined “Cosmobiology” by the Austrian physician, Dr. Feerhow. What we call a horoscope was dubbed “cosmogram” in this schoo l of thought. They origina ted the use of midpoints, some times called “ha lf-sums,” midpoint structural elemen ts, sometimes called “trees,” and made use of ingenious devices like the 45 degree epheme ris and the 90 degree dial. With these tools, complex diagrams and combinations were made more simple and mana geable. The above reference is a good starting point to become acquainted with this magnificent branch of Astrology. In this chap ter we will examine only midpoint theory and its structural elemen ts. The 45 degree epheme ris and 90 degree dial (and other similar tools) can be studied in a plethora of Cosmobiology books already in print. Midpo ints are the degree positions that are ha lfway between two bodies, points or angles of a cha rt. For instance, if a planet were positioned at 5 degrees of Cancer, and another planet at 25 degrees of Cancer, then we would know that the midpoint between them is 15 Cancer. It could be called a half sum because if we add

5 and 25, and then divide it in ha lf, we would get the midpoint position, 15 Cancer. Most of the time 53

54 however, the planets for which we calculate midpoints are much further apart than that. Hence, again, the arc conversion table (chapter one) is hand y if you don’t have a good compu ter program. For a chart with the basic planets, node s, MC and Ascendant, there are around 78 to 80 midpoints! Not all midpoints are equal in strength. Midpo ints should be treated like any other point in a chart, such as the Part of Fortune and other Arabian Parts, and viewed as capa ble of receiving aspects. One midpoint may be in a position where it has no interaction with many other planets or angles, whereas another midpoint may be quite strong because it is in a place where nearly everything in the chart energizes it by aspects. Conversely, a planet, point or angle of a chart may be strengthened considerably by being involved in a pa ttern where it is aspecting many midpoints. The planet could be very weak otherwise, but take on much more importance because of this phenomenon . With so many midpoints and aspects with which to work, it is to our advantage that the origina l Cosmobiologists devised the tool of midpoint structural elemen ts or “trees.” The Solar Fire compu ter program diagrams these the way Ebertin did, so it is a good source for a visua l representation of them. In Figure 3-1, note that at the top of each vertical set of planets is one planet, point or angle. Sometimes there is more than one topmo st planet, but it will be placed directly below. This mean s that they are so closely conne cted, they share the same set of midpoint trees. Below it is a list of planets in pa irs with a line between them. Included are points and angles, but for simplicity, we will refer to all of them as planets. Each pair represents the midpoint between those two planets. The planet at the top is in aspect to each of the pairs below it. Beside some of pairs, you will notice a lower case “d,” which stand s for “direct.” That mean s that the top planet is directly conjunct the midpoint of the pa ir. All the others are “indirect,” mean ing that the top planet is in aspect but not in conjunction. This pa rticular

55

Figure 3-1

56 list designa tes all aspects of the eighth harmon ic. That is, it is based on multiples of 45 degrees, and there are eight 45 degree segmen ts in a circle. Any aspect that is a multiple of 45 degrees would be included . The Ebertin school further developed mean ings for combinations of three planets together, and they pa rticularly concentrated on hea lth and med ical issues. They assigned a pa rt of the body to each degree of the zodiac, which has been remarkably accurate, and they have cited case histories showing certain diseases associated with pa rticular midpoint combina tions. Although I had known the techniques of Cosmobiology since 1974 , I became even more interested when I personally experienced an event that was a graphic confirmation of its principles. In designating degrees, whether for Cosmobiology or for Sabian Symbo ls, the first degree is 0 to 1, then the second degree is 1 to 2, and so on around the circle. In Cosmobiology, the 22nd degree of Virgo, and only that degree, is the gall bladder. Conversely, it represents only the gall bladder and no other part of the body. As you all know, Pluto represents “death” among other things. Natally, I have Neptune at 21:27 Virgo, the 22nd degree. When Pluto by solar arc reached that degree, it foretold the “death of the gall bladder” literally. That doesn’t mean that everyone who has a planet at 21 of Virgo will necessarily have a gall bladder problem, but it is possible if one ’s diet and hab its have been indicative of the probab ility, which will be shown by other factors in the chart. Surgery to remove the gall bladder was the morning the World Trade Center was bombed , February 26, 1993 . Figure 3- 2 shows the solar arcs in the second ring, and transits in the outer ring are for approxima tely the middle of the surgery process. The solar arc Pluto had been conjunct Neptune for a few months, but it was from Valentine’s Day onward, that the trouble was acute. (I had been given a lovely box of chocolates.) Notice that transiting Mars had been oppo site natal Mars da ys earlier, and that Mercury in transit (the dispositor of Neptune) had been

57

Figure 3-2

58 triggering the solar arc Pluto conjunction to Neptune just da ys earlier as well, but interestingly, the transiting MC was conjunct the transiting Mercury during the time that surgery was taking place. Trad itiona lly, we look to the sixth house, Saturn and the ascendant to tell us about health issues, but without Cosmobiology, these positions and rulers don’t appear to be represented here. However, if we study the midpoint structures, we’ll find they were all represented and even spell out why the probab ility of this pa rticular 22nd degree Virgo planet ended up requiring attention. Figure 3-3 shows the midpoint trees. Neptune is the focus of our attention. It is natally exactly oppo site Jup iter, one of the indications of over-indu lgence, made stronger by Neptune being in the fifth house and the dispositor of Jup iter. But, add the fact that Jup iter is directly conjunct the midpoint of the Sun and Venus (ruler of Ascend ant and the sixth house), and there are additional tenden cies to overindulgence and love of rich food and conne cted to a hea lth indicator. Ebertin also points to Sun/Venu s and Jup iter/Venu s conne ctions as ha ving to do with gland s and glandu lar tissue. Since the gall bladder stores secretions of bile, then it fits in this category. Solar arc Pluto brought with him a midpoint tree of his own. Under Pluto in the midpoint tree listing, you can see that there was an indirect aspect of a square to the Sun/Ascendant midpoint, and a direct aspect to the Saturn/north node midpoint. Saturn is closely associated with hea lth. So, obviously, there was not only a tenden cy to overindu lgence that was destined to affect the gall bladder, but it did so at the time that solar arc Pluto triggered the whole pattern. Not only does Cosmobiology give us a wealth of information for natal interpretation, but it also has broadened the scope of forecasting by showing that when a planet, point or an gle is directed by solar arc, that planet, etc., brings with it the entire midpoint tree it aspects, and when it aspects a position, it affects all the midpoints that are conne cted with that position as

59

Figure 3-3

60 well. The more midpoints involved in the contact, the more profound the experience.

A Rebellious Year Madeline W. was always a well-beh aved child. She has Taurus rising, and those folks usua lly are non -confrontationa l, preferring a peaceful life to the stress and strain of argumen t and uphea val. Her chart is not overwhelmingly difficult, and until this pa rticular year, she had been a happ y, obedient and delightful child. Then came the winter of 1957 -58. She says of this period, “For my sixteenth birthday party my mother gave me money to buy a party dress. I went to town to shop and found a beautiful pale blue organza with lots of petticoats and a wide blue silk sash. It cost more than I had in my purse. But, I really wanted it. Knowing that I would get into troub le, I neve rtheless decided to place the money my mother gave me as a depo sit, and opened an accoun t for the balance. I was in school and only had a Saturday morning job, which didn’t pay too much. How was I going to pay it off? But, that was not on my mind – only the beautiful party dress. Needless to say, there was “hell to pay,” and this also caused friction between my parents. The night of the party brought its own problems. I had a young fellow that I was crazy about, but my parents had forbidden me to see him. They did not approve of him because they did

not think he was the right “type .” In spite of this, I had invited him to the party. I took the chance, thinking that my parents would never make a fuss in front of all my friends. But, that was not to be. The party was going great, when

61 my boyfriend arrived, complete with stovepipe pants and “ducktail” hairdo slicked down with Brylcream. In those days, this “look” was a parent’s nightmare! My father hit the roof. He stopped the music and told all my friends that the party was over, and they had to go home. I was dev astated, but knew I had brought it upon myself. Another time, even having been forbidden to see this fellow, I lied about visiting a girlfriend in order to see him. I said I was going to sleep over at my girlfriend’s house. Instead, I took a bus to meet my boyfriend, and we went to a party. But, when the party was over, I didn’t know where I was going to sleep. I went to the bus stop and sat down wonde ring what I should do. A man on a motorbike stopped and asked me where I was going at that time of night. S ince I was a little frightened , I told him I was on my way home. So, at midnight I caught a bus back home and thought I could sleep under the hedge in our garden until morning, then tell my parents that I had been dropped off early. Howeve r, as the bus approached my bus stop, I saw my father at the gate! Because the interior bus lights were on, he saw me sitting there. When I got off the bus, I was once again in deep trouble. This whole period of time, I was always doing what I knew I should not do. I also knew the trouble it would cause, yet I went ahead and took chances to get, or do, what I wanted.” This drama took place in a coun try in the southern hemisphere where the seasons are reversed, so the date of Februa ry

1958 was not too cold for sleep ing unde r a hedge in a garden. Remembe r that a person cannot act out of character, so rebellion would not be possible if it were not promised in the natal chart. In Figure 3-4, the natal chart (center wheel) shows a twelfth house Mars in Aries and Moon in Aries. Under certain

62

Figure 3-4

63 cond itions, she is capable of being rebellious. But, in order to do so, those positions of the cha rt would have to be activated. This period of rebellion went on for several months, so it had to be more than a mere Mars transit. We associate Uranu s with rebe llion, and just as one might suspect, there it was by solar arc just minutes away from a conjunction to Jupiter which rules the eighth, other peop le’s power and values. Solar arc ascend ant was conjunct natal Uranus, as well! Plus, seconda ry progressed ascendant was conjunct natal Saturn, which must have felt particularly stifling at that time. But the real rebe llion was shown by first, the solar arc Moon in Aries within a degree of a conjunction to the natal Mars, and second ly, progressed Moon oppo site the solar arc Mars and both square natal and progressed Pluto! This is one of those examples of why I think progressions do activate solar arc planets. The key players here are Uranus, Mars and Moon, so those are the midpoint trees we will examine. Figure 3-1 lists Madeline’s midpoint trees. (Inciden tally, trad itiona lly, Cosmobiologists refer to a midpoint conne ction like an equation. Thus, Uranu s conjunct the midpoint of Jup iter/Ascend ant would be expressed: Uranus = Jupiter/ Ascendant. I am forgoing that in this book so that aspects will be recognized. Once studen ts unde rstand the concepts, then the jargon is easier to use.) Madeline does have a natal Uranu s conjunction to the Jupiter/Ascendant midpoint which is a happ y sense of humo r and expectation that everything will work out all right. So when Uranu s came to the conjunction to Jup iter, it brought a pa ttern in its midpoint trees that bestowed a kind of fearlessness. She believed nothing terrible would happen . The same goes for the solar arc Ascendant conjuncting natal Uranus. Under the Ascendant midpoint tree, there is a Moon/Neptune contact, a semisquare/sesqui-quad rate in the natal cha rt, which can be emotionally delusional. This could be the source of the infatua tion with the young man.

64 The Moon midpoint tree is very complex, but especially notable is the Moon square the Uranus/Pluto midpoint. That is emotiona l rebellion taken to extremes. When the Moon is making a contact by solar arc, or being contacted by solar arc (or really any mathema tical method), this willfulness will have an oppo rtunity to express itself. And last, the Mars midpoint tree, althou gh sma ll, shows willfulness as well, since it is semi-square the Moon/Pluto midpoint. That emph asized the progressed Moon and solar arc Mars square natal and progressed Pluto, which activated the natal promise and brought out potential expression, if she chose to do so. Stud ent Exercis e: Loo k at the transits during the winter of 1957 /58 and obse rve how they interacted with the progress ions and so lar arc direc tions of Madeline’s chart.

Chapter Four The Mid-Life S hift Into Reverse

Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living. But what is an examined life? Most of us probab ly feel it is one in which the individua l independen tly reflects upon his or her pa st behavior against the implacable mirror of some philosoph ical ideal. The majority of us also probab ly think this is a free will choice we have. After all, the only time one hea rs of an imposed retrospection is from someone who has seen the grim jaws of death and has lived to tell about it. Many who survived such an out-of-body experience reported that during the perceived final momen ts, they saw their lives flash before them — but in reverse order! The Rosicrucians teach that for three and a ha lf da ys after death, before the "silver cord" is severed, one reviews his or her life as if it were a movie being rewound — hence, the reverse order. Then, they tell us, we again view this retrospective (still in reverse) in onethird the time it took us to actually live it. Because the progression of events is in reverse order, we become aware of "cause and effect" factors at work. We are able to see how we were instrumen tal in causing the events that affected our history. Also, we feel intensely all the joy and pain we caused others — three tim es more intensely than they did — to teach us empathy. It would seem that we begin to learn from our life only after death — or is that necessarily so? Oh, how we might bene fit

65

66 ourselves and others if we could derive some of this "reverse order" information before death! Well, listen up; I think we can. Many years ago, while working with Cosmobiology and the 90-dial, I noticed that after an incremen t of 45 degrees solar arc motion, which equals about 45 years of life, the planetary contacts reversed themselves and made the same contacts that were present in the first 45 years, but in reverse order! In other words, if Venus by solar arc direction came to a conjunction with Saturn one year before the 45th degree of solar-arc motion, then one year after that point, Saturn would square Venus. The mathema tics of this hypothesis is straightforward. Since all aspects of the fourth harmon ic (ninety degree dial) are divisible by 45 degrees, the sequen ce of planetary aspects by solar arc — as well as midpoint structures affected by them — will ma rch away from 45 degrees with the same precision as that with which they approached it. Those aspects activating the chart at 40 degrees will do so again at 50 degrees, and those at 36 degrees will do so again at 54 degrees, and so on. The degree of 45 is equidistant between 40 and 50 as it is between 36 and 54. The second contact would probab ly elicit or evoke the same kind of response in an individua l that it did the first time around and activate the same componen ts of the chart, since they still rule and are posited in the same houses natally, triggering the chan ce to re-live, to bring into a person's consciousness, the same kind of experiences as the first contact and activate the same parts of the chart, thereby giving the person another chance to re -live pa st experiences unde r different circumstances and another oppo rtunity to learn from them. Because it is in reverse order, the cause and effect process is clearer. Thus, a whole life plan eme rges, giving us greater insight into the events we experience — especially after age 45. Naturally, because of changed life circumstances, one would not expect to see iden tical events, but surely the essence of the events’ purposes would be there.

67 It is hard to relate to anything withou t experiencing it. At the time I noticed this phenomenon , I was not yet 45, and didn't feel confident enou gh to mention it to anyone. Now, after observing it in others and in myself for over a decade, I can see its effects quite clearly. Events are a result of choices we make — choices colored by internal pressures for satisfaction of various desires. The natal chart displays the desire nature, and shows us what the prima ry motivation for choices will be in differing circumstances. Since these are many and some times contrad ictory, solar arc contacts nea tly reveal them in orderly sequen ce so that we may grow one step at a time. It brings to the surface pressure to fulfill these need s and urges us to make choices. These mathema tical directions seem to app ly consistently to the houses ruled by those planets making solar arc conne ctions and, seconda rily, to the houses they occupy natally. Each choice we make sets into motion natural consequen ces, and often we don 't consider that some recent event was actua lly the result of a choice we made perhaps years earlier. It may take one an entire lifetime to perceive conne ctions. A lady, (Figure 4-1) let's call her "Natalie," is now 79 years old. Since she is a Sun in Cancer person, her solar arc incremen ts have gradua lly slipped behind her actua l age due to the Sun's slower motion in the summer. To avoid confusion, we will refer to Natalie's solar arc incremen t rather than her age. When Natalie's solar arc directions reached the 21st degree, it activated Jup iter square the Sun. At that time, her husband found a good job in another city, they moved and invested in a new home , which she describes as "a good deal." Her natal Sun is in the eighth house (investments), Jupiter co-rules the fourth, which has Pisces on the cusp, and Jup iter is conjunct the midhea ven in the natal cha rt. Definitely a move up in the world! At the 21st degree, this took place 24 degrees from our turning point of 45 degrees.

68

Figure 4-1

69 When her solar arc directions had traveled 69 degrees, they were at a point 24 degrees after the 45-degree mark, and at that time the Sun moved to conjunct Jupiter. What happened ? She found another "good deal," of course. She bought a time-sha re condom inium, which was too attractive to pa ss up, and it was another step up in self-esteem . The life lesson in this is something Natalie will have to examine, but there were similar events. Natalie has a real issue with emo tiona l security, which she easily equates with circumstances surround ing partnerships and basic necessities. At the point of 25 degrees solar arc, which is 20 degrees before the magical 45th degree, Uranus squared the Sun. During this time, Natalie had her one and only experience with fear of hunger, which to her is a form of emo tiona l insecurity. Her husband was out of work, a child was seriously ill, and neighbo rs gave them food. Natalie felt isolated and very insecure. It is the basic reason she is so active in distributing food to the need y now. Later, after being widowed, she remarried. When the Sun opposed Uranu s, it was at the 65th degree of solar arc, which is, of course, 20 degrees after the 45th ma rker. Natalie realized that this ma rriage was not in any way going to provide emo tiona l security, and that same feeling of being isolated returned. At the 34th degree (11 degrees before 45), the Moon squared Pluto, and Natalie's father-in-law died. This was important to her, and took a heavy toll. At the 56th degree (11 degrees after 45), Pluto oppo sed the Moon, and her first husband died — another devastation. At the 37 degree mark (8 degrees before 45), Natalie and her first husband bought a farm. Mars was conjunct Neptune, and remembe r, Neptune rules the fourth. It was hard work (Mars) and confusing (Neptune) since they knew nothing about farming. When the Neptune squared Mars, at 53 degrees of solar-arc (8 degrees after 45), they sold the farm but were unsure (Neptune ) if that was the best thing to do (Mars is action). Both dilemm as involved buying/selling the

70 farm, and both involved a lack of confiden ce in what they were doing. Natalie could probab ly gain a lot of insight and have an incredible tool for examining her life, by delving into the feelings and reactions she had to these pairs of events. Then, perhap s she can determine what the lessons were. We cannot tell a client precisely what their lessons are. We can only facilitate self- discovery. Another lady, (Figure 4-2) let's call her "Hope ," has examined this theo ry and is able to extract quite a bit of comfort from it. She has a propen sity to attract peop le who are quite deceptive. The Moon in Pisces in the eighth, ruled by Pisces, is oppo site Neptune in the second house. She has experienced sudden unexpected changes in her status in life. Her MC, ruled by Mars, is in a grand square with Uranu s, Pluto and Jup iter. One of her most difficult times with this was when the oppo sition began to affect the Grand Square. As the solar arc incremen t came to 43 degrees, Neptune squared Mars. She was a popu lar and successful newspape r reporter but much resented by a superior who began to accuse her of deceptive practices. The theme of reputation (MC) against a backdrop of career, also MC, in the context of another's power over her (Neptune rules the eighth and we must remembe r that Mars is oppo site Pluto in the natal chart) was being brought into focus. Four years later, when the solar arc incremen t was at 47 degrees, a point as equidistant from 45 degrees as the above example, she discovered that the gentleman she had recently ma rried had been ma rried three times before and not two, as he claimed. Also, they bought a house on the basis of a trust fund which, after a court battle, went to his ex-wife. Mars was oppo site Neptune, and Pisces also rules the ninth house in the natal chart. With the first aspect, a newspape r career and her reputation were in que stion and another person's evalua tion of her was bewildering (eighth house). This time a trust fund (eighth house) and court battle (ninth) were the focus. In both cases there is a

71

Figure 4-2

72 theme of misplaced trust, which is beautifully illustrated by a Mars/Neptune contact. When a chart shows this theme of attracting such sad circumstances, it is imperative to examine childhood experiences to determine why a person would do so. In this case, Hope clearly has developed a perception of herself as being a sacrificial lamb (Moon in Pisces oppo site Neptune, which is positioned in the house of self-worth) and has someho w been cond itioned to feel she must give a tremendou s amoun t to be considered worthy of love. It is easy to see that with the rulers of the fourth and tenth involved in a tension-ridden grand square which include s the MC and IC, the beginning stages of her life were not the most ideal for fostering selfconfiden ce. She was born into a family were alcoho lism was prevalent, was essentially abandon ed by her mother and raised by grandpa rents. Then later she lived with her father, to whom she played a mother role, rather than that of a daughter. With the ruler of the fourth, Venus, conjunct Saturn in the seventh, expectations are not high in regard to ma rriage. This thumbna il sketch is just scratching the surface! The most spectacular illustration of the 45 degree "shift into reverse" in Hope 's life was the drama surround ing the dissolution of her two marriages. Thirteen years before 45 degrees solar arc movemen t, one marriage broke up. Thirteen years after the 45 degree point, the other marriage dissolved. I had interviewed her withou t trying to fit events nea tly into a time frame — just asked for a list of major turning points. I fully expected to see a neat arrangemen t for the 13-year before-and-after degrees. There was nothing. However, I had been working more with asteroids then, and when I put those in the 90-degree dial and did the midpoint tree structures, voila! There it was. At the 32-degree point on the dial — the time of the first ma rital break-up — the Moon was conjunct Ceres, and the MC was conjunct Chiron. Pallas in her natal seventh

house, is pa rt of the Chiron structure and would be pa rt of this drama. Both aspect the Sun/MC, certainly impo rtant

73 in a status chan ge. The direct MC/Mercury/ Neptune midpoint picture helps to describe the deception that surrounded the event. The husband went on a trip leaving her at home unaware of where he had gone. When he returned, he only stayed long enou gh to pa ck. He deserted her withou t explana tion. The most devastating detail of this abandonm ent was that Hope was pregnan t at the time, and months later, had to go through childbirth withou t the emo tiona l suppo rt of her former spouse — typical Ceres/Moon drama, especially considering the attend ant midpoint structures. Under the Luna r midpoint structure, there is a Uranu s/Pluto contact. That, coupled with the dome stic nature of both Ceres and the Moon, certainly describes a sudden , forced uphea val in the home or, more impo rtan tly, one 's emo tiona l security base. At the 58-degree mark by solar arc direction, the patterns were reversed, and this time Ceres squared the Moon and Chiron squared the Midhea ven. It happened all over again. The deception was different, but the basic scenario was the same. A husband left abruptly. In my own chart, two of the most significant events of my life occurred unde r these reverse circumstances. The first (Figure 43) centered around August 1, 1975 . That was the final day of living with my first husband after a brief reconciliation. Note the Uranus by solar arc square the Jupiter/Neptune oppo sition. Also, Sun had been conjunct Uranus the day the divorce was final, the previous December. In 1995 (Figure 4-4) there was a similar split with another relationship that was just as impo rtant as the first marriage. The same planets are active but in reverse. This time Jup iter is conjunct Uranu s instead of Uranu s square Jup iter, and Uranu s is square the Sun instead of the Sun being conjunct Uranus. Even minor events are present. For instance, in the late sixties I had a job with the hea lth depa rtmen t, and later, at a time equidistant from 45 degrees as that event occurred, I had

74

Figure 4-3

75

Figure 4-4

76 another job with the hea lth depa rtmen t doing a similar task. Both were for three months. Most remarkable. This 45 degree phenomenon appears to be effective with other harmon ics. The eighth harmon ic is valid, as one would expect, since it is based on 45 degrees, but curiously, at equidistant positions from 45 degrees, a quincunx between any two pairs of planets becomes a sextile and vice-versa. Finishing a motion from quincunx to oppo sition will equal 30 degrees, and the addition of 60 degrees for the sextile will add up to the 90 degrees we need to fit the fourth harmon ic. This just isn't visible on a 90-degree dial. Sometimes the quincunx can be followed by a trine. One of my studen ts worked out a formula for all the possibilities, but I don ’t want to comp licate things for beginne rs. It is, I believe, impo ssible to determine what the lesson is for each person's life script in these instances. Indeed , these lessons may be multi-layered and integrated with others in a magnificent pattern of midpoint structures. We can suggest the direction a client might look (i.e., house rulerships and positions involved — both directed and natal) in order to discover similarities and determine the feelings and attitude s that were prevalent and possibly altered. Being objective brings clarity to the fore — enables us to make sense of these patterns hitherto thought of as just random repetitions. There is really nothing random about them.

Chapter Five Charts That Affec t a Nation

World War II was obviously a major turning point in our history. Figure 5-1 is the USA cha rt, as rectified by Barbara Koval, and directed by solar arc for D-Day, June 6, 1944 . Since solar arc directions move at about a degree a year, we can see what had been contacted just prior to this date. Notice the drama tic conjunction of Pluto to the Sun now separating. It spea ks powerfully of the stress of the previous several years as it was approaching and exactly conjunct the Sun. The Sun rules the ninth, foreign countries, and Pluto rules the twelfth, private sorrows. The conjunction takes place in the eighth house, which need s no explanation. We had black outs, loss of young lives, women going to work for the war effort — a dark time. We found out about covert genocide going on in Germany (twelfth/eighth houses). Mars (arms) by solar arc was conjunct the ascend ant four to five years earlier, the beginning of the war. Jup iter is approaching an oppo sition to Mars in the natal seventh, and since it is the ruler of the cha rt, a good indication of our predom inance in the outcome during the year following. Our pa triotism, at the time, was very idea listic. Seventh house, by the way, is "open enem ies" and associated with war. Note also that Jup iter is close to squaring the natal Neptune. Less than two years later Pluto will square natal Saturn. Clearly, the USA's natal chart configurations of Mars square Neptune and

77

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Figure 5-1

79 Sun square Saturn are being activated by Pluto and Jup iter, mean ing that there is an oppo rtunity to use these energies and heal ourselves in some way by app lying Pluto and Jup iter principles. Mars square Neptune can get carried away with idea lism. It does indicate "acting on spiritua l principles" but a square norma lly man ifests in a somewhat distorted way, perhaps being too idea listic or too maud lin. It can also indicate deceptive behavior or hidden agendas. Or, our spiritua l beliefs are one thing (Neptune), but what we do (Mars) is quite another. Most often, we are unaware of our squares and for a time project their effects in our lives onto others — "They are the ones with the problem, not me!" In this case, keep in mind that we espouse a creed of "brotherly love." (Jup iter conjunct Venus, Jup iter ruling the chart and Venus ruling the 11th. Plus this pair is conjunct the Sun which rules the ninth — our philosophy.) We were appa lled by the outrages of the Hitler death camps. But, what were we doing back home with a full-blown segregation policy, which is a direct contradiction of the creed we are known for?! We left England to end oppression and find freedom for ourselves. But what did we do when we were still a new country? We started enslaving Africans, not to mention adop ting atrocious policies concerning the American Indians! That is one way the Mars/Neptune square is man ifesting. There are probab ly hund reds of others. Sun in the eighth is square Saturn in the eleventh, and they rule the ninth and second houses respectively – another way of singing the same song. Or values (second house) are in conflict with our espoused philosophies (ninth house). Further, we have a history of taking respon sibility for foreign coun tries' affairs. We get involved. Althou gh Saturn square the Sun can be hardworking and the mark of a "self-made " man, certainly a USA characteristic, it can also be a bit authoritarian and unyielding. How often have we heard of the Ugly American who comes to a foreign country and expects peop le there to just "know" and

80 respond to our tastes. We impose our values (authoritarian Saturn rules second) on the rest of the world (Sun rules ninth). But at the same time, we also take on excessive respon sibility for it. By D-Day, solar arc Pluto was pa st the Sun and on its way to square Saturn. Clearly an oppo rtunity to use these energies positively. Figure 5-2 shows this same energy being activated during the Civil War. The date chosen is just arbitrarily in the middle of the war. You will note that the Sun/Saturn square had begun activating Jup iter (which is conjunct Venu s) a couple of years earlier at the war's beginning. Jupiter rules the ascendant – ourselves. We were imposing our values and philosophies on ourselves. Very graphic and another oppo rtunity to heal these conflicts. Back to Figure 5-1, a year and a ha lf later, in late 1945 , solar arc Uranu s moved to square the USA Moon. After the war, ideas flourished (third house ruler square third house planet), and we had a "baby boom " sudden ly (Moon is associated with fecund ity). There was an electric excitemen t in the air. Certainly indicative of a Uranu s square Moon ene rgy. Now let's move up to June 17, 1972 , the day of the Watergate break-in. Figure 5-3 indicates that a very serious covert ethical or philosoph ical event is about to unfold. The solar arc Sun is approaching a conjunction to Pluto. If one knew this at the time of the break-in, then it would be obvious that this or some other unde rcover event was about to break forth. Pluto, besides being a symbo l of subversion itself, is ruler of the twelfth. Sun rules the ninth bringing in the ethics symbo lism. Inciden tally, the eclipses during the whole time of the Watergate affair were phenomena l in Nixon's chart, but for the USA, the previous eclipses before this date were at 25 Capricorn and 25 Aquarius, activating appropriately sensitive points in this cha rt, Pluto and the Moon. Note also that Uranu s (which is oppo site the ascend ant in the natal USA cha rt) by solar arc has aligned with the

81

Figure 5-2

82

Figure 5-3

83 Mars/Neptune square. Since this square is also involving the MC, there is promise here of one of our own (ascendant) doing something covert (Mars/Neptune). Remembe r that solar arc moves roughly one degree per year. The MC is the president, amon g other things, and he did leave abruptly. By that time, solar arc ascend ant had reached the square to the MC. We must remembe r that since the ascendant and Uranus are oppo site each other in the natal chart, they will be involved together in unfolding events. Inciden tally, solar arc Mars was oppo site natal Jup iter, showing a gamble, or action with too much confiden ce. Until that aspect was separating, Nixon appeared to have thought he was above the law. Stu dent Exercis e: Compare the so lar arcs of the Vietnam Conflict years to the USA chart and see if you can find the signatu re of that drama, including the lack of idealistic patriotism that was so prominent in the S eco nd World War. Those years are simultan eo us with the above period of time so can be adjusted easily using the formula, a degree for a year, five minut es a month.

Another Drama tic National Event Another spectacular event was the infamou s O.J. Simpson trial. Figure 5-4 is the USA with solar arcs directed to June 12, 1994 . Another compu ter program I used at that time had calculated the solar arc Mars as being exactly conjunct Pluto on that day, but this one (Solar Fire) places it one minute app lying. A remarkable symbo lism is here. This combina tion is classic for violence. I had expected an assassination to occur and predicted that in my newsletter prior to the event. However, no ma tter who is killed violently,

whether a political figure or sports star's wife, it is still an assassina tion.

84

Figure 5-4

85 In O.J.'s cha rt (Figure 5-5), which include s four popu lar asteroids, note that solar arc directed Saturn was separating from a square to Uranu s at the time of the murder. That indicates that he felt there was nothing he could do about his marriage (Uranu s rules the seventh) and was depressed about it. The north node was conjunct the Sun — a very karmic time in his life — and this was reinforced by the solar arc Sun squaring the natal node s. This also tells us that he was in the middle of his 45 degree shift, explained in the last chap ter. However, he was born in the summer, when solar arc directions are the slowest, and so his age was not as congruen t with the shift as it would have been had he been born in the winter. By solar arc, his Saturn/Pluto conjunction was poised oppo site the natal Moon, and in fact, the natal Moon was at the midpoint between the two solar arc positions, and the solar arc Moon was conversely squaring his natal Saturn/Pluto conjunction. Since the Moon rules the twelfth, this was bringing out enormous subconscious feelings of passion, inadequa cy and guilt. (Ebertin interprets these three together as "the tragic destiny of a woman .") Above all, it was triggering his natal Moon square Uranu s, which is indicative of erratic emo tiona l behavior. The solar arc Venus was squaring natal Jupiter, presaging the enormous expenses to follow. In the twelfth house, Uranu s was closing a conjunction to Saturn. I don 't know how many times I've seen this aspect when a prisone r is released from jail. It literally mean s that limitation (Saturn) is released sudden ly (Uranu s). So, naturally, I predicted he would walk or at least be so loosely confined that it wasn't limiting. In all these cha rts, added informa tion is there when the seconda ry progressions, eclipses and transits are examined, but we are concentrating only on solar arc directions. I also am aware of converse solar arc, ha lf solar arc, doub le solar arc, and planetary arcs, but in this book, they are not examined. Once a studen t unde rstand s the main principles, the other app lications can be easily employed.

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Figure 5-5

87 Back to Figure 5-4, notice that the USA solar arc ascend ant was separating from a conjunction to Jup iter, and Uranu s was separating from an oppo sition to the Sun. That include s their respective app lying and separating squares to Saturn. A lot was going on in the na tion besides the Simpson trial. This was indicating our concern about the budget and the need for legislation to control it. Gene rous Venus and Jupiter had been trining Uranu s by solar arc for several years. The solar arc Uranu s square natal Saturn had not made it easy to balance the budget.

Simpso n Murder Pos tsc ript I’ve published a little newsletter for my clients since 1986 , which is now available on my website. After the Simpson murder, I re-examined the Mars/Pluto solar arc conjunction that foretold it because it had to have some kind of larger mean ing to have captured the imagination of a nation for over a year, and to have been so ‘destined’ as to have shown up in the symbolism of both the USA and Simpson cha rts. Here is a transcript of the article published in the fall of 1994 : In the last newsletter and in my taped forecast for 1994 , I mentioned the significant solar arc conjunction of Mars to Pluto in the USA chart, which represents pressures coming to bear with a possibility of something like war or assassina tion. The conjunction of these two particular planets represents a catharsis, like a bursting boil, where things come to a head and erupt with force. In a country’s chart, representing millions of peop le in a group consciousness, it can man ifest in various ways, usually simultaneously, often privately, just

unde rstood by each of us in our private lives. It will also man ifest as problems the society is grapp ling with at the momen t, which is a

88 collective of each citizen’s frustration. And, almost always there will be a pub lic figure who will symbolize the country’s struggle by man ifesting it in a way that galvanizes the public’s awareness of the collective’s current lesson in evolution. Mars and Pluto, since they represent erupting force, also represent murder, armed conflict, and rebellion in the extreme. Thus, war or assassina tion is not an unreasonab le forecast. Our country always seems to be having a crisis of some sort, but in 1994 the drama was intense. The conjunction was exact in mid-June and remained so for over a week. On June 12th, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife and her friend were brutally murdered, and this was in the media all summe r, since the sports star, himself, was accused. It has galvanized us as a na tion to focus on spousal abuse. And what have been the subjects of other deba tes most of the summe r? The crime bill. Gun control. Very fitting for a Mars and Pluto conjunction. Let us look more closely at the Simpson murder, the USA chart and other peripheral events. Adding asteroids and using midpoint structures in the USA chart reveals some interesting insights. There is a grand square involving Pluto, Mercury, Juno and Chiron. Juno represents the ma rried woman , the female of a one-on-one relationship. Not the mother, but the helpmate appreciated for herself in an equal partnership. Chiron represents the “wounded healer,” the idea list ever striving optimistically for better results. When these two are in stress formation, it is probab le that, as a coun try, our expectations of ma rriage are too idea listic. Mercury reflects how we think collectively, and

Pluto adds forceful obsessivene ss to whatever planet it aspects. It is oppo site Mercury, and they both square Juno and Chiron. We are a na tion that thinks

89 obsessively about idea listic relationships. Transiting Uranus, the planet of sudden awakening, was activating this grand square all during 1994 and will continue through 1995 . In fact, it was squaring the midpoint of the USA Mercury and Pluto on June 12th. Further, O.J. Simpson’s Mercury and Sun are conjunct the USA Sun and Mercury. He fits America like a glove. (Ironically, this was written before the fam ous trying on of the glove in the courtroom !) His ascendant is oppo site the USA Moon (the common peop le in a coun try’s cha rt) within one degree; we identify with him! The USA Pluto does not aspect any midpoints, and therefore, does not have a midpoint structure or “tree.” Mars, however, when it moves by solar arc, or any predictive formula, brings its midpoint structures with it, and gives us more detail about what kind of energy it is bringing to the Pluto. Among other things, Mars is prima rily aspecting the midpoints of Saturn/ Pallas, Moon/Saturn, and Venus/Uranus. Pallas is the symbol of the creative, compe tent working woman ; Saturn is respon sibility and seriousness. The Moon/Saturn combination is the responsible mother, and the Venus/Uranus combination is the fickle femme fatale. Haven’t you noticed that in America the women feel they must be all those things to keep their relationships in good shape ? Haven’t the complaints been increasing lately about the necessity of being “supe rwoman ?” The coun try is a Cancer nation, a mother and family symbo l.

Yet, we are right now extremely concerned about family values. What has caused the erosion of the family? Unrealistic expectations about marriage perhaps? Most of the men and women I see who are thinking of leaving their spouses simply feel “unfulfilled” or say that they don ’t have those “roman tic

90 feelings” anymore. Very few are leaving for life and death reasons. A solar arc direction stays in effect for two years – a year app lying and a year separating from exact contact. It will man ifest the most when there is a transit of significance over the solar arc contact or over the natal position of the planet that has moved to make the contact. Furthermore, as men tioned before, the planets involved also bring their midpoint structures with them. Let’s concentrate on a few mentioned before with Mars. According to the Ebertin book, The Combination of S tellar Influences, the Mars/ Pluto combina tion alone mean s, “to proceed in a brutal manne r... violent assaults... injuries.” With the Moon and Saturn, “... an injury caused to a woman ... desire to overcome difficulties and obstacles at all cost...” Since Uranu s is transiting and part of the midpoint structure, its involvemen t adds, “sudden disasters or calamities of great consequen ce.” It has been a summe r of extremes. On the news, there have been reports of more acreage destroyed by fire in western states in history, the most rain to fall in Geo rgia ever, July 3rd – the greatest numbe r of fatalities in auto acciden ts in one day in Texas ever, the greatest exodus from Cuba ever, and on and on... FEMA representatives say their agency canno t fund another disaster. Don’t forget we also have Haiti and Cuba to deal with. The transits unde rscoring all this in the USA cha rt are ama zing. Just looking at June 12th alone,

we find that the Sun was exactly conjunct the USA Mars at the time of the Simpson murder, and Venus was exactly oppo site Pluto within one minute of being exact if the murder occurred at 11:00 p.m. which is the approximate time. It could have been right on the mone y! Uranus and Neptune were

91 transiting in close range to all the planets in the grand square, and Pluto was within a degree of squaring the USA Moon and O.J. Simpson’s ascendant. All through the weekend, Mars was transiting square O.J.’s progressed Pluto/Saturn conjunction – an extreme ly frustrating, obsession indicator echoing the solar arc contact of Mars to Pluto in the USA chart. With such close conne ctions to the United States’ cha rt, it is obvious that Mr. Simpson was destined to be a prominent figure in its history. Whether or not he is guilty is not at issue here, but he is bringing to our awareness several impo rtant areas that need attention. First, growing inciden ts of violence as a way to solve problems; second, society’s attitude toward ma rriage and women; and third, the deplorable cond ition of our justice system. One last note. Uranus by solar arc conjuncts Mr. Simpson’s Saturn about seven months after the murder. In every case I’ve studied, it has been man ifested as freedom (Uranus) from restraint (Saturn). Looks like he might walk, or at the very least, feel he has more freedom than he did previously. S tu dent Exercis e: O. J. S impso n’s birth data is July 9 , 1947 at 8 :08 AM in San Franc isco , CA. Calculat e the seco nda ry progress ions for June 12 , 1994 and add transits, as well. How do these pos itions add to the drama ?

Chapter S ix S olar Arc in Compos ite Charts For a long time, I would only forecast compo site charts using transits because the math was so formidable with other methods. By hand , one would not only have to find the midpoints of all the bodies and points between two natal cha rts, but also find the midpoints between every progressed and solar arc placemen t. With the advent of compu ter programs, it has become so task-free, all three methods can be used with ease. Since this is a book for relatively advanced studen ts, it is assumed that the principles of compo site cha rts are alread y known, but briefly, compo sites are relationship charts that are created by finding the midpoints between all the placemen ts in the charts of the two peop le involved. It is also valid to have a compo site between a person and a place, a person and a compan y, or even two nonhuman entities. Anything that had a birth, and therefore a cha rt, is eligible for being combined with another entity. The compo site chart is the chart of the relationship between the two (or more) subjects, and as a cha rt, it can be used as a starting point for forecasting. Calculating by hand , one would just find all the midpoints as described above, but even that has different schools of thought. Some Astrologers calculate the midpoints between the planets of the two charts, and then find the MC and ascendant by other methods related to birthplaces. Some even determine the midpoint date between the two birthda ys and cast a cha rt of that day including alterations to accoun t for the birth times and

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94 places. But, the most common method, which I use, is the one calculating the midpoint between all placemen ts in the charts, including house cusps. If done by hand , the work is enormous, since it has to be done three times: once each for the birth charts, the progressed charts and the solar arc cha rts. Solar Fire has a special function for this task which works quite nicely. Once the midpoints of all three have been determined, they are displayed on a three-ring wheel as we have been doing with regular charts. However, remembe r that it is impossible to distinguish between individua ls from the compo site; i.e. it is not possible to know who did, or will do, what. The only things possible to determine are the ene rgies affecting the relationship, itself. Also, remembe r that there is a possible compo site chart between everyone and everything on earth, so if two peop le (or subjects) are not relating, haven’t met, and have no contact, their compo site is only potential.

Father and Daughter Revisited Our step-father and dau ghter from chap ter one were unusually close, and the event that had such a strong impa ct upon the daughter also had an impa ct on the relationship, itself. For that reason, it should have been appa rent in the compo site’s progressed and directed chart. Figure 6-1 shows the seconda ry progressions (second ring) and solar arc directions (third ring) around the compo site chart for the day she made her fateful discovery. Keep in mind, as before, when there are several contacts, it seems that the event happen s when they are all within range, with some alread y ha ving made a contact and others about to do so. This event did not dama ge the basic relationship, but it did have an impa ct at that time. First, in the compo site, itself, notice that Venus

is just about at the midpoint of the Sun and Neptune. A very idea lized love. Moon in Cancer sextiles Mercury showing

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Figure 6-1

96 ease of commun ication. Pluto conjunct the ascendant, both trining Jupiter in the eighth house, further emph asizes the unbreakable bond between these two. Humo r is even present as represented by the Jupiter sextile to Uranus. There was, however, a promise that there was something involving marriage, legalities and commun ication that was out of synchronicity. Venus quincunx Mars shows this. Venus rules the third and tenth; Mars is in the seventh and rules the ninth. It could just have easily (and even ma y) indicate difficulty in reconciling philosoph ies concerning relationships and commun ication therein. At the time of the event discussed in chapter one, solar arc Mercury (this was something commun icated) was separating from a conjunction to Venus by only six minutes, activating the quincunx. Mars, pa rt of the quincunx, was approaching a square to compo site Uranus (shock and surprise about “truth”; Mars rules ninth house), and Uranus was separating from an oppo sition to compo site Saturn in the fifth (children). Uranu s rules the compo site seventh, so this can indicate a surprising turn of events regarding ma rriage and children. An oppo sition symbolizes awareness. Even the MC is equidistant from approaching a conjunction to Uranu s and having been in square to the Sun deno ting a sudden change in how iden tity is perceived. I canno t help but be struck by the solar arc Pluto contacting the progressed Ascendant, which is why I question whether or not these two have interaction, as well. They are each, however, quincunx Chiron in the secretive eighth house. This combination, with Pluto ruling the fourth house, does indicate the shaking of the founda tion of trust concerning the relationship. Last of all, the solar arc Moon has just changed signs less than a month before. Since this happen s only every 30 years, it is significant in symbo lizing a major shift in the dynam ics of how these two would relate in the future.

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O. J. and Nico le The violence and the drama tic ending of this relationship raises que stions about its astrological signa ture. Was it that each one might have had a similar experience with anyone in an intima te setting, or was it the combina tion of their individua l chemistry patterns that was unique? Nicole’s chart (Figure 6-2 - bottom) shows a woman who was used to being a victim. Pisces rising, Mercury, ruler of the seventh, oppo site Neptune, and a Saturn/ Venu s/ Moon T-square all point in this direction. She didn’t value herself very highly and would not expect anyone else to do so. Therefore, she would probab ly have tolerated abuse from anyone she attracted. O.J. (Figure 6-2 - Top) is not necessarily a terribly violent man . He does have sudden mood swings with Moon square Uranu s, is very proud and can be quite determined. Mars in his chart is wellaspected for the most part. But, Nicole’s Mars, at 22 degrees Cancer, was conjunct O.J.’s Sun and Mercury. Her Pluto and ascend ant squared his Mars (quite volatile and obsessive). Her Mercury squared his Saturn/Pluto conjunction. Her Saturn oppo sed his Venus, and her Venus squared his Neptune. Her Uranu s was conjunct his Pluto and Saturn. There are other contacts, but this is enou gh to show that despite the lovely conjunction of her Moon to his Neptune, they brought out the worst in each other. In the compo site (Figure 6-3 - center ring) this volatility is obvious. First house stellium include s Mars conjunct Sun, Mercury and Venus. These also show an overwhelming attraction, but they are all oppo site the Moon in the seventh house. So much of their relationship was defensive and unconscious. On June 12, 1994 , there were a few things worth noting. At first glance, it would not seem that they were experiencing

anything bellicose at all. Mars doesn’t seem to be contacting anything by progression or by solar arc. There is a conjunction

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Figure 6-2

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Figure 6-3

100 within one minute of Neptune to the seventh cusp, which is an indication of the dissolution of a ma rriage, especially when Neptune rules the MC. Saturn had contacted that point a year earlier which clearly shows their problems of the previous year. The Sun had changed signs more than a year earlier showing further permanen t change in the relationship. Seconda ry progressed Venus, separating from a conjunction to natal Pluto, is approaching one to progressed Pluto, and that can show a private stalemate over details in negotiation. Venus rules the sixth and intercepted private twelfth. Pluto also rules the sixth (details) and is in the third. That is not enou gh to deno te rage. Solar arc Jup iter is approaching a conjunction with the Moon, and the progressed Moon is square the progressed MC, both indicating excessive emo tion, but still not murder. Solar arc Pluto, however, is in range of squaring the Moon and is only one minute from having squared seconda ry progressed Chiron. Note that prior to chan ging signs, solar arc Pluto had been in square aspect to Mars about two years earlier. That would have been an extremely intense time and was probab ly the event that led to the break up. Obviously it was not over yet. Remembe r that patterns have to be completely finished being activated before the life drama is over. Pluto has not yet contacted the Moon exactly, and the Moon is involved in the stellium in the first house. The details are in the midpoints. Solar arc Mercury, seconda ry progressed Mars and ascendant are all around 25 to 27 degrees of Cancer. The Mars/Pluto midpoint, (see Figure 6-4) which we associate with brutality, is 25:32 Cancer. The Moon/Pluto midpoint (extreme emotiona l expression) is 26:56 Libra (Figure 6-4). Note that solar arc Mercury is 26:57 Cancer, square that point within one minute. Look in an epheme ris at June 12, 1994 , and you will note that Uranu s was tran siting at 25:37 Capricorn that evening, and Venus was tenen ting 27:26 Cancer.

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Figure 6-4

102 The solar arc Uranus is occupying 27:16 Leo, and the Moon/Saturn midpoint, which we associate with depression, is 27:17 Scorpio. A solar arc square within one minute of arc, would be a sudden and disruptive attemp t to alleviate depression. Since the Moon and Saturn rule the second and eighth finan cial houses, and Uranu s rules the ninth, it is possible there were some surprising legal disruptions concerning finan ces at that time. But, most interesting, is the fact that Nicole’s Sun/Jup iter oppo sition is 27 degrees of fixed signs, which mean s they are tied into the compo site Moon/Saturn midpoint and the solar arc Uranu s of the compo site. Tran siting Pluto was occupying 26 Scorpio that day. Remembe r that when a planet is activated or when it is doing the activating in a cha rt, it brings its midpoint tree with it. If a midpoint structure is pa rticularly close in orb, it is a powerful force. In Figure 6-5, you can see unde r the tree for Uranus the Mars/Node midpoint is only one minute of orb. These three together show several things. First, in the compo site, itself, it is eviden ce that this was a physical attraction that happened quite sudden ly. It shows that their environmen t was prone to uphea val, and last, because Uranus had moved by solar arc, bringing the pa ttern with it, to contact the Moon/Saturn midpoint, the depression that was always there was violently addressed. This does not mean that we can, without doub t, accuse Mr. Simpson of murder, but it does show he was capable of it that day. Stud ent Exercis e: Find the ec lipses that occ urred before June 12 , 1994 , and including all the midpoints and trees , co rre late the transits with them to find further co rroboration of rage or violence on that date.

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Figure 6-5

Chapter S even Counse ling the Client ..With a Little Help from A Course in Miracles

“When a person comes to an Astrologer for advice, he has been everywhere else; the buck stops with you!” Lione l Day’s impa ssioned statemen t in 1971 still rings in my ears toda y. His heartfelt exhortation to be of service – not to perform, not to stroke one’s ego, not to give them pablum to satisfy what they want to hear, but to tell them what they need to know in order to heal – was profound ad vice that I never forgot. I went forth with a vow that I would not mislead a client just to make him or her like me. I was determined to do my best to interpret a cha rt accurately. I soon learned some very hard lessons. Sometimes unvarnished truth can do a lot of harm. Some times the client canno t possibly accept it if the time isn’t right. Later, some courses in psychology helped me enormously in unde rstanding the principles of projection, transference and denial, among other things. I found out the mean ing of the Biblical pa ssage in Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is an appointed tim e for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.” But, at first, in the early to mid-seventies, when I started my practice, in my zeal to “help”, I got a reputation for “telling it like it is” and probab ly left some clients rather wilted. I still refuse to compromise integrity, but I do have a different way of

relaying informa tion and have learned to address only the issues that are pertinen t at the time. 105

106 An entire lifetime of lesson material is hard to swallow in ninety minutes! There are man y philosophies about consulting with a client in a counseling setting. I’ve never subscribed to the idea of drawing informa tion out of the client, as is done in psychological consulting, because, as Astrologers, we have specialized informa tion that the client is asking to know. S/he is paying the Astrologer to interpret his or her chart. A psychologist can use a cha rt, of course, in conjunction with his or her methodo logy, but I don’t believe an Astrologer who is not a psychologist should pretend to be one. However, I do believe that Astrologers should be informed of psychological principles to aid in his or her technique of relaying this specialized knowledge. The two disciplines combine very well. The whole idea of interpreting a chart is to assist a client in healing the dilemmas shown there. All problems come from within one ’s self, so naturally, it is necessary to help him or her to recognize this. One of the first obstacles I encountered when I was starting a consulting practice was most clients’ insistence that if only the peop le with whom they were in a relationship, whether familial, fraterna l or roman tic, would be different, then s/he, the client, would be happ y. It seemed at the time, that getting them to see that one canno t chan ge other peop le but only one ’s self, was nea rly impo ssible. I also refused to interpret a chart in a way that gave someone an advantage in vanquishing an enem y. So man y wanted to know a good time to get even with a perceived wrong-doe r. That just felt wrong to me. I didn’t feel I was helping much, and it didn’t seem that my clients were healing, either. After years of groping in the dark for answers, I found A Cou rse in Miracles. Actua lly, a friend had given me a set of the course’s original form of three books, and they sat on a book shelf for a decade before I read them. I didn’t start to app ly the principles until the early nineties! I know it is not the only positive perspective for relaying informa tion to peop le, but

107 for me, it was a Godsend and made a great deal of sense. Just as with psychology, it was a dynam ic blend with astrology.

The Course is Born It is interesting that the same dilemm a of “there must be another way” to relate to peop le was the key desire of Helen Schucman and William Thetford just before they began their collaboration of scribing A Cou rse in Miracles. They were both associated with Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center as psychologists and were working on a project together as consultants to an interdisciplina ry research project at Cornell University Medical Center, Bill’s former employer. They were ha ving a very difficult time getting along as colleagues to the extent that the work was suffering, and they were getting little done . In June 1965 , Bill decided to suggest that they approach their relationship a different way, and from that time on, one thing led to another to produce A Cou rse in Miracles which is said to be channe led directly from Jesus Christ through the scribe, Helen Schucman. Bill Thetford worked with her daily to transcribe her hand written noteboo ks into a manu script, which was fina lly pub lished in 1975 . The most basic principle of A Cou rse in Miracles is: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” Another basic idea is that all behavior is based on love or fear. If one is not coming from love, s/he is coming from fear. I also love the course’s thought, “We can look at this a different way.” It took me back to 1969 when I had a part time job with the hea lth depa rtmen t on Long Island in Brentwood, NY. I had a supe rvisor who made an inde lible impression when I listened to her at board mee tings. Whenever the subject of violence, lying, chea ting, etc. came up in our case studies, she would explain to us possible

scenarios of what might be the fears of the person. She never, ever criticized anyone. Always, she tried to “look at it a different way.”

108 The first thing I had to do in my consulting practice was to look at cha rts a different way. Instead of seeing difficult Saturn, Pluto, Neptune and Mars aspects as negative indictmen ts of a person’s flaws, I had to learn to see them as fear indicators. Even violence is a protective measure against some fearful outcome . It doesn’t mean one should put one ’s self in the path of it or to indu lge in that behavior, but surely it would help to unde rstand why it is happen ing. As soon as our perspective chan ges about an unde rlying philosophy, the words chosen to relay informa tion changes. Instead of saying one is “sharp- tongued, aggressive and rude,” we can say one is “quick to verbal defense because ....etc.,” and then explore why that method of defense was chosen. Going further, we can explore “a different way of looking at it,” or alterna tive methods of hand ling the ene rgy. The objective is to replace fear with love, especially love of one’s self.

The Many Faces of Fear One of my teachers referred to Saturn as “conflict, pain and doub t”, which is an eloquen t definition of fear. Saturn is the classical embod iment of fear, and the easiest to unde rstand and recognize in the character. We think of fear as “withdrawal, hesitation, inhibition, etc.” All these are characteristics of Saturn. Similar to this are the signs Capricorn and Virgo. Whatever houses hold these signs, there will be doub t and fear about the affairs they represent. The idea of Saturn and these two signs being representative of low self-esteem and insecurity is so universally unde rstood and accepted, there is no need to examine them extensively. Suffice to say, the parents and early upbringing would be most impo rtant in unde rstand ing the source of fear. Helping a client to see another’s viewpoint is so very impo rtant. Assisting him or her to unde rstand why a parent (or anyone

else) may have made the choices that were made , and above all, helping to facilitate forgivene ss is a hea ling tool.

109 Saturn also represents guilt. The course says that guilt is insane. It doom s one to live in the pa st where change is impo ssible. The pa st is done and gone. It is a deb ilitating waste of time to dwell there. Once one has asked forgiveness, made any amends that are possible, and forgiven one ’s self, then what else can be done ? This idea, alone, can be an enormously hea ling relief. Whenever we interact with anyone, each of us has free will in choo sing how we will respond , and each of us is responsible for our choices. Respond and responsible come from the same root word. If we respond with love and forgiveness, choosing to unde rstand why a person may be projecting something negatively, then we stop the karmic wheel of cause and effect. It can go no further. The course also teaches that anger is an attempt to make another person feel guilty. It’s a form of projection. When we cannot face taking respon sibility for our own choices, then we need to find a scapegoa t. Here is Mars in action. In a woman ’s chart, for instance , if Mars is stressfully aspected to the Sun, she may project anger toward men in general. If she can be shown that it is her free choice to do that, and that it can be changed to another attitude , much hea ling can take place. By discussing life events that she perceives as being the reason for this projection, a creative Astrologer can guide her to assess the situation from another viewpoint, help her to unde rstand why her defensive mechan ism (Mars) was viewed as need ing to be activated, and suggest different choices so that she may release the anger. There is also a practical reason for doing this. According to the course, illness is “anger taken out on the body.” We know that emotions have an enormous impact on health. Mars rules adrenalin, amon g man y other things, so when we are in a fighting mood , excessive chemicals are released, and therefore, just for physical reasons we can see how illness can result. Anger takes many forms, and expresses in myriad ways, stressing parts of the body and setting us up for illness.

110 Pluto is also a fear indicator. Anything to which Pluto is stressfully conne cted brings a need to be in control of that energy at all costs. Why would anyone need control over anything? Fear of losing control suggests fear of being vulnerable. More than likely a client with strong Pluto issues felt out of control early in life. One acquaintance I have was shuttled from one aunt to another during all his childhood from the age of two while his mother worked a long distance away. He has a Capricorn ascend ant oppo site Pluto. Since he has a couple of personal planets in Cancer, home and emotional security are basic need s for him, but there was hardly a feeling of ha ving it supplied while he was young! Even after 50 years, he was still quite emo tiona l when talking about it. One of his basic character traits, which the natal cha rt promised would be a coping mechan ism through the Pluto placemen t, is the need to be absolutely in control of all facets of his life. It is a human characteristic to compen sate for what we perceive to be lacking. What the compen sation will be is shown by which of the fear indicators is most prominent. Pluto is one of the most difficult to “get through to” since it is associated with Scorpio, a fixed sign, the eighth house and the unconscious. Neptune is another face of fear. This one is most prominent in cases of denial. When one canno t cope with a dilemm a, or doesn’t wish to, it is often easier to dissociate from it and deny it exists. This can become so extreme that multiple persona lities can eme rge. Neptunian characteristics can be present even if Neptune in the chart is well-aspected. A twelfth house emph asis or stressfully placed planets in Pisces can just as easily show this coping mechan ism. In Figure 7-1, (natal cha rt in the center circle) there is a twelfth house emph asis and Neptune is rising, which would certainly indicate a Neptunian way of dea ling with fear. In this case, Mars is also rising, and so Neptune has doub le duty as a way of dea ling with anger, as well. There is a Virgo stellium, Saturn square the ascend ant, and a Capricorn Moon, all

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Figure 7-1

112 deno ting low self-esteem issues. This is a fearful person! Even Jupiter conjunct the Sun will not be enou gh to overcome this deep-seated insecurity, but her disposition is cheerful! As men tioned earlier, timing is everything. Before this year, I might not have been able to convince her that she was in a habit of den ying anger and possibly displacing it. This year, however, it was possible to deal with it. In the second ring, in the second house, seconda ry progressed Mars is exactly trine natal Saturn; she can take respon sibility for her behavior. Solar arc (third ring) Uranu s is semi-sextile the same place, and therefore, an “awakening” can take place about what those responsibilities are. More impo rtantly, however, solar arc Pluto had just finished contacting the natal Mars, Neptune, Ascendant conjunction. I asked her if she had been seriously ill a little over a year earlier. That would have been about the time Pluto was conjunct the Ascendant. I also asked if she had been ha ving ma rital problems about three years ago. Pluto had been conjunct Mars, ruler of the seventh at that time. She said that a little over three years ago, her husband ended their ma rriage, and about the time I had indicated, she was seriously ill and unde rwent surgery. We discussed anger, or more impo rtantly, her total denial that she was ever angry. All this went back to early childhood , since Mars squares Saturn, which rules the fourth, is posited in the tenth, and disposits the Moon, which is in the fourth. She learned at an early age, or in a past life, given the twelfth house emph asis, to control (or den y) any indication of anger. But, the anger is there, none theless. When she suffered rejection, it expressed through hea lth issues. The cure would be total forgivene ss of her husband and to look at the situation from a completely different perspective. She needed to unde rstand that before anyone else can love her, she must first love herself. Naturally, this is simplistic, and we discussed far more than we can cover here, and more than this outline is requ ired to interpret a cha rt fully, but it is easy to see

113 how this would be the right tim e to address these particular issues. A Cou rse in Miracles teaches that a miracle is a “correction.” The correction is shifting from perceiving anything as truth or illusion, real or unreal. If the premise “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” mean s that the only things that are real are those that canno t be threatened , then very little that we see in front of us is real. It reminds me of an internet anecdote that was being circulated awhile back concerning judgment. A grocery check-out clerk was highly appa lled that a mother on welfare was using food stamps for a birthda y cake, but she later was most remo rseful to discover the cake was for a termina lly ill child’s last birthda y. Judgment withou t knowing all the facts, which is always impo ssible unless you’ve lived the other person’s life, is an ugly, most harmful thing. Many peop le only need to make a correction of their assessmen ts of what is real and what isn’t, and it would produce a profound change in their lives. For instance, we know that we “teach” other people how to treat us. In the cha rt example, can you ima gine how this person would exude the message that she will allow herself to be treated unfairly because she doesn’t see herself as worthy of better treatment? If she perceived herself as highly valuable and deserving of being loved and appreciated, which is possible, she would receive it, because we always ask for what we receive in direct propo rtion to our expectations, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

De press ion: Another Res ult of Fear The Course says that depression comes from feeling dep rived of something we desire that we do not have. Desire is a decision that we make about what we want and insist on where it must be found . It implies that we canno t be happ y unless external desires are met. It is a blessing, though, because desire

114 drives us to find answers and fulfillmen t, so there is a positive side to it. The problem is, until we find out what is real, there is never enou gh. As soon as one desire is met, up pops another one! In the recent best-seller, The Poisonwood Bible, the missiona ry’s wife makes a profound statemen t about what is valuable (desirable) and what isn’t, when she lays her dead child on a table and then emp ties her house of all possessions for the people in the village to divide among them. Everything, after all, is relative. Thoughts, alone, cause pain. It is the way we choose to respond to every single momen t of our lives that determines whether or not we are fulfilled and happ y. Often a client will ask, “Will I ever be happ y?” My stock answer is, “Anytime you decide to be.” Each of us comes into life with Mars and Venus in our cha rt. Mars reveals the desire nature, and Venus shows what is valued. Sometimes they are in conflict, sometimes one or both are challenged with stressful contacts from other planets promising frustration in attaining these desires. This does not condemn the person to a life of deprivation; it merely shows where hea ling is needed so that the person can change his or her perception of values or desires to attain peace of mind. The very fact that these two planets are in stress with each other or other planets in the cha rt, shows an imbalance of their ene rgies. It is the Astrologer’s job to facilitate recognition, both of what is real and what isn’t, as well as another way of perceiving the stress. Most values and desires, if not all, are brought over from past lives and are hab its. It is not the Astrologer’s job to impose his or her own values on a person, but in the context of the client’s life to facilitate a more satisfying way of looking at these ene rgies.

Additi onal Conce pts

Some other helpful concepts from A Course in Miracles are just common sense, but resona te within each of us as truth when we hear them. One is that fear is not in the present, but

115 only of the pa st and future. It is so reasonab le when stated that way. However, if we are living in the pa st or future, that is, feeling remo rseful of what was and fearful of what might be, we are not in the present. Yet, the pa st and future do not exist; the present is all there is. Therefore, if we dwell in the past or future, we are living in an illusion, an unreal place. The definition of illusion in the course encompa sses much, much more than this, but this is an example of one way we sabotage ourselves. We all know and agree, in this age of enlightenmen t of the power of the subconscious, that the future is made from the thoughts we think toda y. If we are in the past or the future in a negative state of mind, we are not in control of the present, and therefore, not in control of the future, either. This is how we fulfill the premise that everything that happen s, we have asked for and received as we have asked. But, what I’ve learned that is most valuable in reading a chart is to take a stance of non-judgment. We canno t know our brothers if we have alread y judged them as “good”, “bad”, “stupid”, “deceitful” or whatever. It is only when we approach every single relationship with no reference to the past, making no judgmen ts, that we give ourselves a chance to learn about each other anew . . . and that includes the client in front of you.

Chapter Eight Rec tification Using S olar Arc The time a person is born is everything. Even twins have different lives. One of the most exasperating things about popular Astrology that is contributing to keeping it misunde rstood and disrespected is the insistence on some Astrologers to ignore this vital fact and try to do cha rts based on something other than the correct time of birth. Basing it on noon or sunrise is no better than any other fictitious time. It will still not be that person’s chart. Many times clients will have no way of ascertaining a time of birth, and for those peop le rectifying the chart might be in order. Even then, however, there is never an absolute guarantee that the rectified cha rt is correct. It is more like an educated guess. Sometimes the real chart might have an angle in the exact position of a planet, and in that case, the person rectifying the chart might miss the correct angle altogether, attributing the events to the planet rather than to an angle. It is necessary to be able to interpret a chart very well in order to rectify, since one can tell if the event did or did not fit the planet or angle in question. There are four times a day when aspects can affect an angle because an angle can be activated by conjunction, oppo sition, and upper or lower square. Therefore, there are four valid times that a person could be born, and still have the events “fit”. Therefore, I like to have a client be able to determine his or her time within six hou rs to elimina te three possibilities. However, that is not always possible. Since it would be quite a

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118 mathema tical feat to find the right quarter of the day, I like to use more creative methods. The first thing is to just look at the person and note physical characteristics. Dimples can be indicative of Libra rising, sharp angular features and an impa tient manne r can deno te Aries. Large watery, fish-shaped eyes can be attributed to Pisces. Every sign has physical characteristics associated with it. However, this is tricky. If a planet is rising, it can mod ify the sign considerably. For instance, if cha tty Gemini is rising, but Pluto is conjunct the Ascend ant, there will be a hea vy influen ce of Scorpio characteristics. Therefore, this is not always the best way to approach the problem. It’s just a starting point. My most successful method of determining the rising sign is to gather the birth data of other family membe rs. Signs are inherited, and often one of the parents’ (or other relatives’) prominen tly represented signs will be rising in the subject’s chart. By examining the subject’s parents’, siblings’, spouse’s and children’s cha rts, there will usua lly be a sign that is prominent in most of them that is not represented in the client’s untimed chart. That is most likely the rising sign in the subject’s chart. Sometimes it might be the MC, but most of the time it seems to represent the ascending sign. Only testing of events will determine which is which. Once a sign has been selected to test, the real fun begins! Rectification is so difficult because a sign can be represented by polarity, i.e. the oppo site sign, a prominent ruling planet of a sign, or a house position. For instance, Aquarius can be strong in a chart or family and be represented by accented Uranu s positions, planets or angles in Leo, or planets in the eleventh house. All are equally valid. Using an example of a male born on May 23, 1932 in Newton, MA, we’ll go through a rectification step-by-step. This gentleman had no idea what time he was born, and both parents and

older siblings were all deceased. In fact, only the month of each parent’s birthda ys is known, not the dates. After

119 considering three siblings’, three wives’ and four children’s birth charts, with only the children’s and current wife’s having a correct time of birth, it was appa rent that the signs recurring in their cha rts, that was missing in his, were Libra and Aries. Since they are a polarity, this fit nicely. His persona lity and appearance is quite Libran. Before starting to retrace his life with a list of events I was given, I picked a starting point based on a recent event, his wife’s illness, which started quite sudden ly very late at night on May 22, 2000 . His solar arc Saturn was 9 Aries on that day, so I assigned the ascend ant 9 degrees of Libra as a beginning point. That would put solar arc Saturn conjunct the seventh cusp. His wife is wheel chair bound currently, and his responsibility for her is enormous. Figure 8-1 shows seconda ry progressions and solar arcs for this tentative potential chart. Note also that solar arc Uranu s is conjunct seconda ry progressed Mars. The illness was a sudden stroke. Uranu s, in this tentative cha rt, is in the seventh and Mars rules it. (Again, I’m forced to wonder if these two methods of prognostication interact with each other.) The first event to check is the death of the mother on Dec. 13, 1943 . This was a pivotal event that is basic to his entire life. In Figure 8-2, the solar arc MC and ascendant are both activating the Moon/ Pluto/ Uranu s T-square which would point to a potential sudden event around this time with a parent. I’m reluctant to chan ge the conjectured birth time because there is also a progressed new Moon at 13 Gemini, indicative of a new beginning. The next month’s eclipse at 4 Aquarius would conjunct the natal fourth house Saturn, further corrobo ration that we’re on the right track. The previous eclipses were at 8 Leo and 22 Aquarius. The first one squared Mars on the cusp of the eighth house. The second event, August 1946 at age 14, was when his father abandon ed him and he was on his own. He moved into the YMCA. Now I’m tempted to try an altered birth time because the solar arc node s are 7 of Aries/Libra, and since this is a major shift in his environmen t, I will make the ascend ant 7 Libra and

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Figure 8-1

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Figure 8-2

122 check the events just done against that time. Figure 8-3 shows this event with the altered birth time. Note that the solar arc Moon is conjunct Saturn in the fourth, a profound indication of this event, the nodes are conjunct the ascend ant/descend ant axis, and the solar arc ascendant and MC are triggering the Moon/ Uranus/ Pluto T-square. Let’s now check this new time against the mother’s death event. In Figure 8-4, the MC and Venus conjunction are both activating the Moon/ Uranus/ Pluto T-square. Furthermore, Venus rules the eighth house so there is clearer indication that this is a death event. This new time fits both events. The hardship of the next couple years is clearly shown by the MC’s continued activation of the T- square and the solar arc Uranu s/Moon square activating Saturn. In the chart for 1946 , his sudden ly being trust into the world is poignan tly shown by the progressed MC squaring the progressed Uranu s and the solar arc ascendant square the natal Pluto. But, what about the current wife’s cond ition and solar arc Saturn at 9 Aries? In this chart it is square the MC/Venus conjunction, and the marriage has had some hardships for the last couple years. It also fits this new time. At this point, I’m rather satisfied with this time of birth, but it need s to be tested against further events. He married for the first time on April 12, 1952 . When there is a chan ge in status, the MC or ascend ant must be involved. They can either be ma king or receiving aspects. In this case, Pluto is at 9 Leo, and there do not appear to be any major aspects involving the angles. Therefore, I’m going back to the 9 degree Libra ascend ant as an equal possibility. The second ma rriage was on Dec. 1, 1973 . Figure 8-5 is dramatic in showing this event. He had divorced his first wife only the month before, so obviously he had known the second wife for some time. The solar arc Sun is separating from a conjunction to Venus and MC. Naturally, we can wonder if the Venus is the operative here, but the seconda ry progressed ascendant is trine the Venus and the

progressed MC is going to conjunct the progressed Jup iter in a little over a year

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Figure 8-3

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Figure 8-4

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Figure 8-5

126 which is when a child was born. It would trine the natal Uranu s, ruler of the fifth, a few months after the ma rriage. Mars, in a little over a year, would also trine the ascendant, further giving creden ce to this birth time. There are man y other contacts a studen t would find interesting to discover. Retiremen t is always an impo rtant time to consider when verifying time. His retiremen t was November 30, 1988 . This (Figure 8-6) is an extremely corrobo rative chart. Solar arc Jup iter is conjunct the ascendant. The MC and Venus are conjunct Neptune, ruler of the sixth, and Neptune by solar arc is about to change signs. After checking out all the other events I was given, one last test was a nervous breakdown suffered in April 1990 . Figure 8-7 shows the ascend ant (impo rtant in hea lth issues) by solar arc is square Neptune, ruler of the sixth, in mutable signs. Progressed Moon is square the Sun, also both mutable, and both Neptune and Saturn by solar arc are chan ging signs. Neptune is confusion, mutable signs are the most prone to nervous conditions, pa rticularly Gemini. This was the last corrobo ration I needed to put this chart to rest and determine the time of birth to be 3:30 pm. When I began this chapter, I had not rectified this cha rt, nor did I have any practice with it. Usua lly, rectifications are much more difficult with sometimes five or six attempts at a workable solution. Stud ent Exercis e: Other events in this man’s life were: High sc hoo l gradua tion, June, 1949 ; Father died, March or April 1964 ; First child, Feb. 23 , 1954 ; Seco nd child, May 24 , 1955 ; Third child, Dec . 9 , 1974 ; Fourth child, April 9 , 1979 ; Third ma rriag e, Oct. 26 , 1996 ; Seco nd divorce , April 15 , 1988 . Do follow-up tes ts with those events.

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Figure 8-6

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Figure 8-7

Epilogue Forecasting with astrology is controversial. Many astrologers do not forecast at all, others try to be too specific and discount the power of free will. After almost thirty years as a professiona l astrologer, I have come to the conclusion that the old quote from dusty textboo ks, “The stars do not compe l; they impel.”, is the truthful middle ground . I have had clients who go through a tangle of difficult aspects and come out better off than before, but they do adm it that they were tempted to make other choices at the time that would have been much more negatively consequen tial than the ones they made . Therein lies the difference – choice. We have free will, and when we stand at a fork in the road where a choice has to be made , it is a blessing to have a roadmap in the form of our cha rts, wherein we can assess what the lesson is about in Planet Earth University at that juncture and the length of time it will take to travel through the course. Astrologers have the hono r and privilege to help others to arm themselves with knowledge of the terrain so they can travel through life with more wisdom and spiritua l awarene ss. Nama ste.

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Bibli ography The Se at of the So ul Ga ry Zukav As t rology for the So ul Jan Spiller The Holy Bible

Confraternity-Douay Version

Inte rpret ing the Eclipses

Robert Carl Jansky

The Comb ination of Ste llar Influences The Dancing Wu Li Maste rs Co nside rations Magazine Cosm ic Views

Reinhold Ebertin

Ga ry Zukav vol. VIII, # 4 and vol. IX, # 1

(newsletter), Carole Devine

A Co urse in Miracles , The Founda tion for Inner Peace, 1975 , 1985 , 1992 Abs ence from Felicity, Wapnick, Kenne th, Ph.D., Founda tion for A Course in Miracles, 1991 , page 93

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