Astrologers: Pluto's Recently Discovered Moons Need Your Help!

Just for fun...

Voting is underway to name the two recently discovered moons of Pluto (quick--can you name the other three?). One of their discoverers, Mark Showalter, is accepting suggestions via online voting, which will then be tallied and presented to the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Help Us Name the Moons of Pluto!

Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2011 and 2012 revealed two previously unknown moons of Pluto. So far, we have been calling them "P4" and "P5", but the time has come to give them permanent names. If it were up to you, what would you choose?

By tradition, the names of Pluto's moons come from Greek and Roman mythology, and are related to the ancient tales about Hades and the Underworld. Please pick your favorites on the ballot below. 

Go to http://www.plutorocks.com/home and vote early and vote often, because voting ends at Noon EST on Mon., Feb 25, 2013. And then read this to find out the names of Pluto's three other moons. Not because there's a quiz, or because you should use them in your charts, but because the more you know and understand the solar system, the better an astrologer you'll be.

For what it's worth, the two names I voted for because they made the most symbolic sense for Pluto were the two top vote-getters at the time I voted. Great minds (astronomical and astrological) think alike? :)
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UPDATE 2/25/2013: No fair! William Shatner skewed the vote with his Twitter lobbying! The fix is in! :) 

Here's the official results, from the plutorocks.com homepage:

Meanwhile, take this 10-question Pluto quiz on Space.com's coverage of the naming contest results (scroll to the bottom of the article for the quiz. If you go 10-for-10 like I did, send me a screenshot of your results, and I'll pick a random winner on March 15th for a free copy of Open Source Modern Horary Astrology.

Modern Electional Astrology 101: A Perfectly Engineered Fundraising Chart

A querent needed to raise funds for a charity and wanted to know the best time to make the funding request public. The only caveat was that she only had 30 days to raise the funds. She needed astrological help because she knew that early in a new year was the worst time to fundraise, as people are tapped out financially from the holidays, and not so willing to open their wallets.

Electional charts are reverse-engineered from a horary chart (where you take what you get at the time you ask the question), because the intent of electional astrology is to put the planets in the best possible houses and relationships with each other at a particular time to achieve a successful outcome.

Using the methodology as outlined in Chapter 7 of Open Source Modern Horary Astrology, the first step was to peruse the ephemeris to find favorable Moon aspects. In this case, the Moon aspects chosen were excellent:

Next, choosing strong significators for the querent (ASC) and quesited (8th house) was sought. The best-case scenario in electional astrology is to have the Moon, querent, and quesited all in harmony with each other (or more realistically, as much as possible). In this chart, the Moon, Venus, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the strongest planets in strong placement in the chart, so there's a lot to work with. Here is what was chosen, and why:

The Moon double-represents the querent, as it is ruler of the ASC, and the Moon in horary/electional charts is ALWAYS the querent's co-ruler. The early degree rising shows the beginning phases of the project, rather than traditional horary's prematurity or a stricture against judgment, which modern horary ignores to great success. 

Saturn rules the 8th house of the quesited, since the 8th house rules other people's money, and Venus represents personal finance. With Venus applying to conjoin Pluto in the angular 7th house of other people (also ruled by Saturn with Capricorn on the cusp of the 7th), and with Pluto mutually recepting Venus' dispositor, Saturn/quesited, people would rally to the cause and open their wallets. However, it would only be in measured or limited small amounts (Venus in Capricorn), rather than large and generous donations. This was okay, because the amount of money she was trying to raise was only a four figure sum, not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So the significators of Moon, Saturn, and Venus, are all nicely and harmoniously bound together by dispositor or mutual reception, and applying aspects of the Moon. Electional charts are rarely this easy.

The Moon was placed in the angular 10th house for a visible public appeal. Moon in Pisces, dispositing to Neptune (which it recently conjoined), as well as Chiron, showed it was a charitable cause to help the less fortunate. Note the applying Moon (querent) trine to Saturn (quesited), with the Moon 3 degrees away from partile. This gives an idea of timing in the chart, and due to the Moon in a mutable sign, and succeedent, fixed Saturn, three weeks seemed far more likely than three days to come up with the amount. She reached the funding goal in exactly 22 days; three weeks and one day after the project launched as timed by the election chart.

With Uranus and Mars mutually recepted and ruling the 9th and 11th houses, the project received widespread news coverage via the assistance of a sympathetic reporter (Mars in the 9th; 9th house cusp in Aquarius), as well as significant and unexpected support from her friends (11th house ruled by Aries). The message truly got across, as the Sun, in the 8th house of the quesited, rules the 3rd house of communications, and the Moon's last aspect is a sextile to the Sun before going void-of-course.

A key point to remember to be successful in electional astrology (and horary for that matter) is to focus on the noun and not the adjectives of the subject at hand. A beginner would have made the mistake of focusing on what the funding was for (charity/11th and 12th houses), rather than the fact that the subject was fundraising, period (Pluto, Venus, 8th house), regardless of the type or cause.

In Horary & Event Charts, the Void-of-Course Moon Can Be Overcome By Other Factors In the Chart: Two Employment Event Charts

The querent had two job interviews lined up on consecutive days. Both were with the same employer: city government. She really wanted the second job because it paid more, but would be happy with either. Here is the event chart for the first job interview:

In this chart, the significators are Venus = Querent, and Quesited = 6th & 10th houses, because the position is a part-time and temporary nature (6th) with a city government (10th). So the rulers are Mercury (6th) and Saturn (10th).

Venus, the querent's ruler, is in detriment by house. Her only applying aspect is a quincunx to the ASC, showing it won't be as financially rewarding as she'd like. Venus disposits to Jupiter retrograde and in detriment in the first.  Also, the South Node in Taurus in the first and dispositing to Venus shows it's not the best position in the world for her, but it's not that bad either. It also has the potential to progress into something better when Jupiter turns direct at the end of January 2013. This is affirmed by the intercepted Vertex (a turning point) in the 6th house dispositing to Venus.

So with the querent's significator unable to help her much, (and according to traditional astrology, considered void-of-course because Venus won't make any other aspects before changing signs***see note below), let's see if other factors in the chart can.

Via Combust Saturn is in the 6th house with Mercury ruling the cusp. The Saturn-Pluto mutual reception somewhat mitigates the Via Combustion. Mercury disposits to Saturn, and the intercepted (and Via Combust) Vertex (indicating a turning point) disposits to the querent's ruler, Venus. So this is a strong indicator of her being hired. It is affirmed by the Moon in Virgo, dispositing to Mercury, on the 12th house side of the 6th house cusp.

But..but...but...the Moon is void-of-course, you say. Nothing will come of the matter, or the status quo will continue, or the chart is unfit to be judged, the traditional horary texts say.

Ignore them.

The MC is applying to partile trine the Moon, further indicating a done deal. Finally, the Moon is about to progress in the chart into Libra, dispositing to the querent's significator. The Moon is three degrees away from the ingress into Libra, indicating a quick hiring decision will be made.

This is the event chart for the second job interview for a different position with the same employer on the following day:

The significators are Uranus=querent, Quesited= 6th & 10th because like job #1, the position is of a temporary nature (6th house) with a city government agency (10th).

Right off the bat, this chart has problems:

• Late degree ASC with Uranus in the first squaring Pluto in the 11th is bad news. Lunar aspects are a square to the Sun-Pluto conjuction, which is squaring the Querent's ASC ruler, Uranus, forming a separating T-square. (Also note: Pluto is not combust the Sun, because Pluto is a Kuiper Belt Object, not a planet. Therefore, it is too far away for the symbolic concept of combustion to be applied to it, since it can't be seen by the naked eye, anyway. This is true of all KBO's, SDO's, and other objects further towards the Oort Cloud.)
• Uranus is mutually recepting Mars, but moving Uranus to the 12th house doesn't achieve anything for the querent, so the MR is lost.
• Moon in the 7th shows the employers are leaning toward other candidates rather than the querent. (If the Moon were in the first it would indicate they are favoring the querent).

Jupiter, the employer, is retrograde and in detriment by sign and house. The employer is not internally or publicly expected to make the deadline on the project, nor is it expected to be successful (Jupiter quincunx Mercury-Sun-Pluto stellium in the 11th). The querent is actually dodging a bullet by not getting the job. 

Venus in the 10th isn't doing much for the querent except showing that it would be a financially beneficial position. She'd still get paid whether the project succeeds or not.

As far as lunar aspects, the Moon squares the Sun-Pluto conjunction, quindeciles Uranus (querent's ruler), sextiles Venus and then quintiles Mercury and Pluto before going void-of-course. So there's nothing the Moon is doing to connect this job to the querent, and the quindecile shows her worrying about that fact after her interview.

So what was the outcome? Three days after the first interview, the querent was offered and accepted the first job, and went to work the following day after accepting. So yet again,  traditional horary myths (strictures against judgment) bite the dust.

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***Traditional rules are ignored by modern astrology, in this case because Venus/the Querent is still semisextile the MC, and is already in an out-of-sign sextile with Neptune. Venus is also in a grand cross with Pallas, Ceres and the Moon, affirming that the position isn't the best, financially.

Since modern horary utilizes ALL aspects, and the angles (and asteroids, KBOs, and other things traditional astrology disregards, etc.), planets are pretty rarely considered void-of-course. ALWAYS look at what the chart is actually doing, rather than what ancient rules dictate.

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. :)