While putting together my table of active and passive affinities, I got to thinking about the sometimes schizophrenic relationship between the seven traditional planets and the sign(s) of their rulership. Not that there isn't an internal logic to all of the correspondences (as we shall see), but some apparent anomalies do crop up. For the … Continue reading Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
Astrology
Wrangling Dual Rulerships
I present myself as a traditional astrologer these days, at least in spirit if not yet in full-fledged practice. So I don't use the trans-Saturnian planets for much beyond generational insights. That means I don't see Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as sign rulers or dispositors, or as partaking of the other essential dignities, or even … Continue reading Wrangling Dual Rulerships
Cheap Shots #18: Justice Restored
No, this isn't about the impeachment of Donald Trump. It alludes to the fact that Aleister Crowley returned the trump cards Justice and Strength (aka Fortitude) to the positions they held in the historical decks of Italy and France: Justice as the eighth in the series and Strength as the eleventh. For his part, A. … Continue reading Cheap Shots #18: Justice Restored
Cheap Shots #16: What Do You Call a Group of Virgos?
Every species of animal has its unique collective nomenclature (a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows, an obstinacy of bison, a brood, flock, cluck or peep of chickens, etc.), so why not astrological natives? Since I have seven or eight Virgos in my life, I figured that's a good place to start. (Please don't … Continue reading Cheap Shots #16: What Do You Call a Group of Virgos?
The Four Classical Elements
Students of tarot and astrology tend to take for granted the underlying influence of the four classical elements formulated by the Greek philosopher Empedocles - Fire, Water, Air and Earth - on the tarot suits and zodiacal signs. At their simplest, they represent action, initiative, enterprise and ego (Fire); emotions (Water); thoughts and ideas (Air); … Continue reading The Four Classical Elements
Update #2 – Travel Event Charts
The trip is done, and the return phase was as smooth and uneventful as anticipated. The phrase I was thinking of for Mars and Mercury in Virgo in the 9th House was "swiftness and precision," and the flights were all of that. We arrived early at both airports, and even the final landing was a … Continue reading Update #2 – Travel Event Charts
Update – Travel Event Charts
Sometimes astrology can be very literal. The outbound phase of our vacation travel went smoothly in that there were no air-travel "situations" at any of the airports. However, I was watching that 12th-House Mars in Virgo closely and it didn't disappoint. Mars rules irritability, Mercury has an association with both Air and Earth, and if I … Continue reading Update – Travel Event Charts
Travel Event and Transit Charts – Part 2
Most trips have a return leg, so I repeated the previous process, casting an event chart for the flight back and matching it to our natal charts. Regarding the event itself, things look much more promising this time. Mercury and Mars, both direct and now legitimately conjunct in Virgo, are in the 9th House of … Continue reading Travel Event and Transit Charts – Part 2
Travel Event and Transit Charts
With Mercury going stationary direct at 28° Leo on September 5th, only 29 minutes after our outbound vacation flight is scheduled to depart, and the fact that it will be within two degrees of an applying across-sign conjunction with transiting Mars at that time (although it won't enter Virgo until September 10th or catch up … Continue reading Travel Event and Transit Charts
Horary on Hold: Strictures Against Judgment
Horary astrology has a self-limiting feature that doesn't appear anywhere else in the practice of astrology: the concept of "strictures against judgment." There are certain conditions pertaining to a horary chart that render it "unfit for judgment;" in his 17th-Century English, William Lilly called this "decisions before judgment" and described it thus: "All of the … Continue reading Horary on Hold: Strictures Against Judgment
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 