Understanding the Roles of Uranus, Neptune & Pluto Simply and Easily in Horary and Natal Charts

Traditional astrologers erroneously believe that outer solar system planets and bodies are not personal, and therefore irrelevant for horary (and sometimes even natal) interpretation. The belief is based on the exceedingly irrational idea that the further a body is from the Sun, the less personal relevance it has. (And yet they will consider fixed stars important, which aren't even part of the solar system.) Many astrologers still think in terms of cycles, and dismiss the outer body symbolism as generational, if they take it into account at all.

They couldn't be more wrong on all counts.

These are the astronomically accurate zones of the solar system:

To be fair, ancient astrologers didn't have the technology to be aware of anything beyond the naked eye. To be honest, there's no reason to continue to utilize such an outmoded system in astrology, because there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that it yields more accurate horary or natal interpretations. In fact, the evidence indicates otherwise, as modern astrologers have demonstrated repeatedly in their case studies.

The astrological reality, horary or otherwise, is that if a body revolves around the Sun—a person's symbolic life force (natal) and occasional significator or dispositor in horary—it's a part of the querent's life. As such, below are simple explanations of how the major outer zone bodies operate in a chart—and their deeply personal symbolic effects.

Uranus—Whatever you think will happen, won't. Or as Michael Lutin often puts it, if you count your chickens when Uranus is involved, they are sure not to hatch. It is something which happens that you absolutely never even considered, because you were so sure it was going to be something else.

Neptune—Hope, with its eternal twin, disappointment. Disillusion often helps us find ourselves again, and gets us back on track. 

Pluto—Not a planet, but a Kuiper Belt Object. Pluto's symbolic effect is to embody the thing(s) you are positively, absolutely sure you can't live without, and then are grateful to be rid of when said thing(s) are inevitably annihilated from your life.

Eris—Another Kuiper Belt Object, bigger and as important as Pluto in a chart. Eris shows long-term strife and discord based on the house, aspects and sign it occupies, and especially when affecting a significator (horary/electional) or the Sun and Moon (natal) or an angle (both). Eris is very different from Neptune's apathetic discontent; Eris is an active and fiery agitator of the chronic issue (based on house and aspects) that just won't go away.

Chiron—A Centaur that shows where in life the person feels most like a leper. It is a person's own deep and personal inferiority complex, either real or imagined. Especially pay attention to Chiron in relationship horary charts, and particularly now, since it's conjunct Neptune, which drives the wound(s) deeper. 

Why Beginning Horary Astrologers Should Read Doris Chase Doane's Text If They Really Want To Get Good At Horary Quickly

While writing Open Source Modern Horary Astrology, I deliberately did NOT read or refer to Doris Chase Doane's classic work, Modern Horary Astrology  for one simple reason: I did not want anyone to accuse me of stealing her ideas or technique. Now that I've gone through her book meticulously, it turns out great minds really do think alike, as my text ended up covering all of her material—and more. I guess you could call mine ULTRA-Modern Horary Astrology. :)

For a Sun/Aries, Moon/Pisces, ASC/Cap, Doane covers the material with the most efficient, Virgo-like methodical, detailed, and organized approach. Horary, so simple with its 1st house/Moon=Querent and House=Quesited structure, is ridiculously easy if you follow Doane's approach. (For, the record, her book is geared more toward the absolute horary beginner, while my text is more advanced by assuming the reader already possesses a fundamental knowledge of astrology.) The two texts complement each other perfectly.

Here's the top ten reasons I absolutely LOVE Doane's "Modern Horary Astrology" book, and you will too:

1) She NEVER ONCE mentions William Lilly, or pays boot-licking obeisance to ancient horary astrologers. This reason alone is why the book is worth buying, because you will learn something new, rather than regurgitating antiquated and outmoded nonsense. This book contains NONE of the traditional horary dogmas, superstitions, complexities and contradictions—a major plus of any horary text—and works with her numerous case studies to demonstrate and provide supporting evidence for each piece of her methodologies.

2) Doane (with some credit to C.C. Zain) pioneered the use of transits to and progressions of the horary chart for more accurate timing. No more of the traditional, clunky cardinal/fixed/mutable=days/weeks/months box from the ancients, along with its inaccuracies.

3) She pioneered the use of all the major and minor aspects (18 total, including septiles, quindeciles, semisextiles, etc.) in horary charts, not just the ancient Ptolemaic set. This is important when interpreting a chart where the Moon quincunxes Pluto before going void of course. Traditionalists would ignore both the quincunx and Pluto altogether, missing important information about dominance and coercion affecting the matter's outcome.

4) Shows that horary questions can be asked repeatedly about the same matter, and still produce accurate results (in one example, the horary questions were asked within 1.5 hours of each other).

5) Shows the connection to and links of horary charts to the querent's natal chart. I can think of no other horary astrologer who has demonstrated or explained this correctly besides Doane.

6) She shows, as I did in my text, that the traditional strictures against judgment—i.e., Saturn in the 7th house, early/late degrees rising—are bogus excuses for not interpreting a chart, and provides examples of how the traditionally "unradical" charts were interpreted correctly just fine.

7) Since proper house placement is what makes or breaks a horary astrologer more than any other factor, Doane goes through horary charts by dedicating a chapter to each of the twelve houses, listing both its personal and mundane qualities, and providing numerous examples of house-specific charts. This book structure alone will help millions of horary students get things right the first time.

8) She does NOT perceive horary astrology as a crutch in life, magic or superstition, or encourage astrologers to give this impression to querents, or lionize themselves as the purveyor of the solutions to all of life’s problems. "Make sure your clients never grow dependent on you," she says.

9) She gives plenty of examples of complex questions and their subsequent charts, showing how to approach derived houses and multiple rulerships of a question. For example, for the question "Will my friend's business succeed?", Doane dissects the derivatives and rulerships: 11th/Quesited Friend, 12th/Her Money, 2nd/Her Land & Property, 4th/Her Health Affecting the Matter, 5th/Her Partner, 8th/Her Business, and 9th/Her Friends Helping Her. And she shows how to synthesize all if it into a nice, simple and accurate answer.

10) This text fully integrates the full astrological spectrum while synthesizing with natal astrology concepts.

The only cons to the book are that it's poorly edited (tables referenced by the author as appearing elsewhere in the book are missing, sometimes a wrong chart is displayed for a case study, etc.), the cover design is definitely one of the worst ever, and some of the charts discussed are truly from another era (post-WWII and through the early 80's). These don't diminish the quality of the material; they are merely a nuisance that for the most part could be easily remedied by AFA. She also tends to occasionally wax metaphysical about why horary works, with no evidence to support her mystical theory. But for the most part, she sticks to common sense and reality, a hallmark of any great astrologer, horary or otherwise.

Modern horary astrology is effective, easy, and readily substantiated by contemporary case studies. If this book had been in existence when I began learning horary astrology decades ago, it would have saved me a lot of time, error and aggravation that took years of hard-won experience to correct. Don't let that happen to you. Read this book if you are a beginner, and get good quickly. Then read mine and go to the next level—ULTRAMODERN. :)

A Few Brief Moments of Planetary Levity, or, a Holiday Gift Guide for Astrologers

From the current issue of Lapham Quarterly, http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/preamble/kingdom-come.php

Let's face it: a Uranus-Pluto square is personally intense no matter how you look at it (horary, natal, etc.). And in astrology, with people so desperate to try to control the unwritten future, things can get taken way too seriously. Sometimes, you just have to come up for air.

I've already written extensively about the upcoming election, the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception, and Uranus-Pluto square, to the point that there's nothing more to say. So in the interest of mirth during these dark times of plutocratic dominion, here's a few unique astrology- and astronomy- themed items to behold just for fun. 

1) Chocolate Planets: Need to give a gift to your favorite astrologer, who has stood by you without fail throughout the tough transits of this past year? Look no further. 

A hotel in Japan has created these confections, but a little more is needed to do the full Solar System right. Going the extra mile to procure an astronomically accurate dessert layout, you would need the following in addition to the chocolate planets:

The Sun: Lemon Meringue Pie. It has to be a large pie for size and scale, and because the Sun is a star and not a planet, it's going to made of different, and less dense material than the chocolate planets.

The Moon: Marzipan dipped in white chocolate. Not sure how you'd make the craters, but I'd bet there's an easy way.

The Asteroids & Centaurs: Chocolate covered seeds and raisins.

Kuiper Belt and Trans-Neptunian Objects: Probably the easiest would be a bag of plain and peanut M&M's mixed together to account for size discrepancies. Haumea can be a mini Cadbury egg.

2) Just when you thought you've seen it all, some artist comes out of nowhere with something hopelessly original.  A Norweigan fine-art photographer named Chris Jonassen has discovered that worn-out cookware, photographed in the proper light, are dead-ringers for planets!  His interview is earnestly down-to-earth and you can check out the full spectrum of PAN-etary images in his book. 

3) Okay, so if chocolate and cookware aren't your cup of tea, then ice cream has to be.

Alan Richman of GQ magazine shows how much the simple childhood treat once acquired by chasing after trucks in your neighborhood blaring xylophone tunes a la pied piper has grown up. Kudos to photographer Levi Brown, and especially stylist Victoria Granof for their originality. The sprinkles of Saturn are priceless.

And since the Moon is ready for its close-up, check out these cake and ice cream-filled orbs by Haagen-Dazs. 

4) No longer available, but interesting to look at nonetheless, these planetary lollipops inaccurately consider Pluto a planet. (No wonder they were discontinued.)

In consolation, the candy maker has astrology lollipops instead. 

So with Ceres currently in Cancer, and less than 30 degrees away from Jupiter, you have astrological permission to play with your food like this. 

(All images are copyright their respective owners and are used here for education purposes only.)

The Saturn in Scorpio-Pluto in Capricorn Mutual Reception: Part II

(Read Part I here.)

By now you've seen (and will continue to see) the harbinger of the next two and half years of Saturn-Pluto mutually recepted courtesy of Mars' current transit of Scorpio.  It's going to magnify what any progressive has known for years: corporations and their profits are more important than people, and you get to live the harsh consequences of that in your own life, whether it's higher taxes, low-wage jobs, debt, etc.

The SuperPACs created by the Citizens United vs FEC decision (basically, corporations are people with free speech rights and can contribute anonymous and unlimited donations to a fund backing a specific candidate), and who are funding the 2012 election, are only the tip of the corruption and democracy-gone-haywire iceberg. Thomas Frank of Harper's magazine describes the process intelligently and intricately in his excellent article, "It's a Rich Man's World: How Billionaire Backers Pick America's Candidates." Saturn in Scorpio mutually recepted with Pluto in Capricorn goes way beyond the November 2012 election, by the way. The election will likely be the first full-scale, formal, gross example of money and power corrupting absolutely.

Further, Elizabeth Warren, in her DNC speech said the unspeakable truth progressives have also known for years, right there on live, prime-time television: the system is rigged against you. Only the U.K. trails the U.S. in industrialized nations in upward mobility. Lewis Lapham in his May 2012 Harper's article, "Ignorance of Things Past," is far more clear: 

"But, but, but..." you say. "Occupy Wall Street stated all of that long before Saturn and Pluto mutually recepted each other." Yes, but #OWS was a Uranian response to Pluto in Capricorn a la the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square. When Saturn ingresses into Scorpio, it entrenches the power and corruption of the goverment-corporate alliance even deeper and more absolute. Lapham again:

Saturn represents justice (even when it's not in Libra), and so you will see over the next couple of years enormous examples of injustice, where bad behavior gets rewarded repeatedly, and money and power—Saturn and Pluto hallmarks—will be able to do as it pleases without regard to consequence. So the basic Saturn/Pluto mutual reception theme, with apologies to Lord Acton, is that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and no institution is going to help you when it's your world that gets stomped on by the heel of the plutocracy.

One microcosm example is an article I came across about a wealthy retirement home (old people vote in substantial numbers, remember) that didn't like their corporate overlords of a holding company bleeding them dry (no, it wasn't Bain Capital), and filed suit to gain their independence. The judge struck it down immediately (a deal's a deal, and we own you, so we can do whatever the hell we want to you, was basically the gist of the decision) and the corporate overlords proceeded to fire most of the board of directors who sympathized with the residents, as well as the executive director. 

So under the Saturn-Pluto mutual reception, the plutocrats will continue their bad behavior of crushing people and property under their boot heel not only unabashed, but with even more backing and complicity by government (this will not by any means be limited to the United States, by the way, nor limited to one specific political party). Their financial orgies and looting and pillaging the country, to your detriment and at your expense, and with the government's ample help, has only just begun to kick into gear. You will be too busy trying to hang onto your home and your job (homelessness and food stamp use has skyrocketed the last four years) to do much about it anyway. And when someone does (Uranus in Aries), the plutocrats will crush it. For awhile.

But in 2.5 years, when Saturn enters Sadge around Christmas of 2014, it will eventually move up to trine the rebel planet Uranus at 12 degrees Aries (with Uranus inching closer to its conjunction to Eris), and as always, the pendulum will swing the other way. As for reform and restitution, well, you'll have to wait for Pluto in Aquarius for that. 

-----------------------------
9/9/12 Update: With the Uranus-Pluto square in the middle of all this, you can only expect the plutocrats to double down on the crazy. It would be funny if it didn't actually, you know, affect people's lives.

9/13/2012 UPDATE: The one year anniversary of #OWS will be #S17. See this flyer for details (http://s17nyc.org/files/2012/08/trifold0911201201.pdf) and the website (http://s17nyc.org/schedule/s17/) and the event chart below:

With the mix of late degrees rising (and on the angles) and a critical cardinal degree significator, the movement is starting Phase II while trying to hang on to some of its former glory.

Mercury ruling the ASC/protestors, is harshly aspected and still combust the Sun, and also moving up to T-square the Uranus-Pluto square, with the outlet leg in the 10th house of government/elections. So the pressure will be on as the candidates won't be able to ignore the movement so easily. The T-square will also coalesce the usual violence and inability to generate concrete change immediately. 

Mercury disposits Venus and the Sun, with Mercury as the final dispositor in the chart, so while better cooperation and organization will work in their favor, the plutocrats, as expected, still hold the upper hand. They are represented by Neptune retrograde with an out of sign trine to Saturn, and sextiling Pluto, so the status quo remains for now and they can sit back and watch with amusement and without consequence.

Makemake right on the ASC with the Sun in the 12th shows the movement is resurgent (Mercury at a 0 Libra is a critical cardinal degree) after a lengthy period of dormancy, ready to re-emerge to prominence (Gemini MC). The regenerated movement is going to have an effect on the U.S. election from here on out, as with the Moon trining Jupiter, people are still connected with the core themes the group stands for, which remain absolutely unaddressed by the Coke-Pepsi candidates running for president. Moon conjuncts Saturn before going void-of-course, so the candidates will have no choice but to listen, even as they quash the movement yet again.

Pluto is stationing direct in the chart as well, so watch the media's tightly controlled message and coverage (ruler of the 3rd in the 4th and intercepted) as they scrutinize the protester's motivation and question their relevancy yet again.

Horary Charts Can Show Much More Than The Specific Question Inquired About

Some horary astrologers claim that a horary chart can only answer the question exactly as asked, and no further information can be gleaned. This is completely untrue. 

In Joan McEvers' horary text, The Only Way to Learn about Horary and Electional Astrology, Vol. 6, she calls several questions asked at the same time about the same matter compounded questions, while describing questions about different subjects gleaned from the same chart as multiple questions. Both types are valid and return reliable answers, and she provides case studies of each in her text.

Always be on the lookout for details in a chart that give information about matters unrelated to what the querent is asking. They will literally jump out at you in spite of the storyline of the main question.

Below is an example of what McEvers would call multiple questions, though technically only one question was asked. The querent asked if her co-worker would take over the legal messenger business they both worked at, as the husband and wife co-owners were dealing with health issues due to advancing age. Since the subject of the question is about the co-worker, not the business, the eleventh house would be used as the co-worker's significator. 

With the Sun/Leo rulership as the co-worker's significator applying to sextile the Mars-Saturn conjunction in the derived 3rd house of contracts, and with Venus ruling the derived 3rd and derived MC, the deal was as good as done. The icing on the cake is the Moon's applying sextile to the Sun, and then its applying trines to the Mars-Saturn conjunction before going void-of-course. The only real complications were that the co-worker did not have the money to buy out the owners at that point in time (Venus-Pluto-Uranus T-square with the outlet leg in the derived 2nd house.) But with the Sun and Moon both in excellent shape, the co-worker would eventually be the business' successor.

Ooops. But wait a minute <sound of vinyl record being violently scratched>. Look at the ASC and the 1st house. The situation of the querent is literally screaming at the astrologer. While all looks well and good and profitable for the co-worker, THE QUERENT IS IN IMMINENT DANGER OF BEING FIRED! So who cares about who is going to run the place when the querent is in trouble!?!?!

The cardinal grand cross between  MC-Venus-Pluto-Uranus-ASC spells immediate trouble, as does Haumea applying to the ASC and on the Mars-ASC midpoint—something is about to be shattered. Makemake in the twelfth shows a time of repose after the damage is done. Eris in the 7th house (opposing Mars/1st) and Uranus retrograde on the 12th house side of the 7th house cusp shows she is likely to be abruptly dismissed by the wife/co-owner. 

So what was the outcome? Two days after the horary question was posed, the querent was fired. Why? Pluto and Venus/Querent in harsh aspect almost always involves triangles. It turns out the wife didn't like a comment (Pluto in the querent's 3rd house) the querent had made while joking (Jupiter-ruled 3rd house cusp) with the co-owner's husband about health issues during a company lunch (Mercury rules the derived 3rd of the wife/7th house, with Mercury in fall in Leo).  But with the Mars-Eris opposition forming a T-square with Varuna, and Jupiter and the Moon in Gemini in the wife/co-owner derived 3rd house, the joke wasn't the real reason given for the dismissal (to avoid a lawsuit, of course). The wife stated that the querent's work was flawless (Virgo ruling the derived sixth of employees), but her personality wasn't a good fit for the small Mom & Pop shop (Mars/7th house ruler/wife in detriment in Libra in the querent's first house.)

Shortly after the termination, the owners began leaving the co-worker inquired about in charge, as medical appointments and subsequent treament increased their absences. 

But, but, but...what about those lovely Moon aspects co-ruling the querent? And exalted Saturn ruling the 4th house? Wasn't all's well that ends well for the querent? Well, the querent joined some of her friends (Sun/11th) and volunteered for a high school summer program (Gemini/9th; Sun sextile the Moon) that the querent thoroughly enjoyed and wouldn't have been able to do had she not been fired. She also confessed that she didn't like the job or the co-owners, and stated she would have quit anyway if she hadn't been fired. 

So the bottom line here is that if a chart is screaming more information than the question asks for, pay attention and relay the information to the querent, especially if an unpleasant surprise (Uranus/Eris) awaits.