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The last time that I updated the
Astrological Energies section in Chapter 3 of my training manuals, I thought
it would be a good idea to post it up on the website as it contains useful
information for everybody. This page is a reproduction of the most recent
update to files #16 and #17 in Chapter 3. The Microsoft Word version of this
can be found by clicking here
The Energies of Western Astrology
 The cosmos is a giant multi-dimensional
web of interacting energies, these manifesting in different forms and all
with their own consciousness. The human energy field and our planet are part
of that web. In present day Western Society, we have forgotten that
connection. However, in ancient times, the priests and spiritual leaders were
able to call down cosmic energies into their energy fields and to pass them
on, as the Tibetan Lamas were able to heal people with the touch of their
hands and as the priests of Ancient Egypt were able to help the fertility of
the land by this ‘channelling’ of energy. The astrologers were able to give guidance
on the best times to work with the energies of the planets and stars which
could be channelled in the same way.
The
energies in this multi-dimensional web are constituents of what we call the
life force or universal energy which is all around us and which we absorb
into our physical and energy bodies through the chakra and meridian systems.
These energies can affect our emotional, mental and physical states – both
positively and negatively. Amongst these energies are the astrological
energies. As a future healer, it is likely that at some stage you will come
across a person who is suffering negatively from the effect of astrological
energies so it is helpful for you to have a conceptual understanding of how
these work. I include therefore, an overview of astrology in my foundation
material for my training courses. There are a number of different kinds of
astrological systems, but in this manual we focus on what is called the
western (or tropical) astrological system.
The western astrological system
A number of energies flow through our solar system
and are the basic energy building blocks supporting the manifestation of
energy in physical form. These energies flow through our Sun and through the
planets in our solar system, all of which have their own individual of
consciousnesses. They include the
astrological energies.
Our planet moves in orbit around the Sun, taking a
year to complete an orbit. As our planet progresses through its orbit, it is
exposed to an energy grid called the zodiac of signs. The zodiac of signs has
12 separate segments or signs, each of which has its own energy
characteristics. As our planet orbits
the Sun, the Sun appears to move through each of these 12 signs in turn, and
the energies of these signs connect with the energy of the Sun and flow
towards our planet. Therefore, the energy of the Sun is augmented by these
other energies. In addition, the planets in our solar system also move
through these signs and the zodiac energies connect with their energies and
flow towards our planet. Please note that in western astrology, the signs of
the zodiac are not the same thing as star constellations. The star
constellations which bear the same names as the signs of the zodiac have no
connection with western astrology.
When we descend from the non-physical world into
the physical world and are born, our energy field is attuned to the energies
of the signs of the zodiac and their interaction with the Sun and with the
planets of our solar system as they stand in aspect to each other at the time
of birth. This is a process something similar to the attunement process that
you will go through with Reiki and with any other healing or personal
development energies that you will learn with me. Consequently, although we
are all continually absorbing the energies of the zodiac and of our solar
system, in particular we absorb in a more intense way the energies relating
to the astrological attunement that that we receive at birth. Although we
have our own free will and our own individuality, it is this attunement
process at birth and the subsequent intensity of the related astrological
energies that we receive into our physical and energy bodies that bring some
influence to bear upon our personality and behavioural development. These
astrological energies have their own consciousness and interact with our own
consciousness, usually at an energy frequency beyond that which our day to
day senses can perceive so we are not aware of what is going on.
An astrologer is a person who understands how these
processes work and who can give advice accordingly. From time to time, I give
astrological readings. The main focus of any reading that I give is to
indicate to the receiver the astrological energies to which they have been attuned
and how they might choose to work with these energies to assist in their
development through life. I also give an indication of how the energies might
have affected past progress through life. It is common practice for some
astrologers to say that xxx will happen next month and that yyy will happen next year. As a generalisation,
because we have our own free will, and because of all the other interactions
that we have with the world around, it is not usually possible to be very
specific about future events in this way so some astrologers mislead their
clients a great deal.
Let us now look at the nature of the astrological
energies in the western system.
Firstly, the system deals with the energies of the
following signs of the zodiac. The signs shown below are the standard
astrological glyphs (or symbols) for the signs of the zodiac.
It
also deals with the energies of the following bodies within our solar system:
The lunar nodes (the energy relationship between the orbit of our Planet
Earth as it orbits the Sun and the orbit of our Moon as it orbits around our
planet), the Sun, the planet Mercury, the planet Venus, the planet Mars, the
planet Jupiter, the planet Saturn, the asteroid Chiron (not referred to by
all astrologers), the planet Uranus, and the planet Neptune, the planet
Pluto.
A person’s horoscope is a
diagrammatic representation of the attunement to the astrological energies at
birth. Horoscopes can also be adapted to show the energy relationships
between the planetary and astrological energies at birth and also in the
present day as the various planets change their relative positions to each
other. Horoscopes can also be adapted to show the astrological energy
relationships between two different people. We will look at simple horoscopes
later in this section.
The Signs of the
Zodiac
Each sign of the zodiac has a
multi-dimensional aspect to the energies that it gives, thus giving it its
own particular characteristics. Any astrology book will give you an understanding
of each sign’s attributes. Simply, though, they can be understood as follows:
Each sign has an
elemental energy predominance as shown in the table above. Elemental
energies are essential energy building blocks of the universe. In the western
system of understanding of the elements, we work with four primary elemental
energies: water, earth, air and fire.
·
The element of water is the energy of emotion, of
feelings, of attachment, and of the feminine receptive polarity.
·
The element of earth is the energy of materiality,
of physical substance, of attachment, and of the feminine receptive polarity.
·
The element of air is the energy of mental
processes, of communication, of detachment, and of the masculine active
polarity.
·
The element of fire is the energy of spontaneity,
of moving forward, of detachment, and of the masculine active polarity.
Consequently, a person with a horoscope containing
a lot of planets in water element signs of the zodiac (Cancer, Scorpio and
Pisces) is likely to have an emotionally biased personality. The key
characteristics here are feelings and caring for other people in close
personal relationships.
A person with a horoscope containing a lot of earth
element signs of the zodiac (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) is likely to orientated
towards physicality and materiality, manifesting in a personality characterised by a need to accumulate possessions of
various types, e.g. property, money, or to be in a very physical relationship
with the world and people around.
A person with a horoscope containing
a lot of air signs of the zodiacs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) is likely to have
a mentally and communicative orientated personality, but with the ability to
be relatively detached from the world. Air signs are the signs of the thinker
and of people who do not always feel comfortable in very close relationships.
A person with a horoscope containing a lot of fire
signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) is likely to have the need for spontaneous
action and freedom to move and to make things happen. Fire sign people tend
to have the ability to be relatively detached from the world and need a lot
of personal freedom in life.
Each sign has an ‘energy indicator’ in additional
to an ‘elemental indicator’. This energy indicator will modify the above elemental
characteristics as follows:
·
A fixed sign
is one that is relatively fixed in nature, likes to maintain the status quo
and may not be receptive to change. It often likes to be in control of
situations or people. Expressed positively, it is a sign of stability and can
be very reliable, and is a good organiser. A fixed
sign is usually one that you can rely upon to look after your business when
you go on holiday. Expressed negatively, the fixed characteristic can result
in stubbornness, refusal to change and refusal to explore and to grow into
the unknown.
·
A mutable sign
is one that is able to change direction easily. Expressed positively, this
indicates flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Expressed negatively, it can also mean unreliability or inability to commit
to a person or situation. A mutable sign is more of a follower than a leader.
·
A cardinal
sign has the ability to make things happen. Expressed positively, it is an
indicator of initiatory or leadership energy. This is the sign that can start
off a new project from a ‘clean sheet of paper’. Expressed negatively, a
cardinal sign can be so single minded about a particular piece of work or
activity that it forgets the need to have a balanced life and to pay
attention to the needs of other people. Alternatively, it can just trample
over other people who get in the way of achieving a specific goal. This is
not the sign of a follower or somebody who is happy to be told what to do in
life.
So how do the elements and the energy indicators
work together to give a sign of the zodiac its particular characteristics?
Well, to refer back to the table and to pick an example, Scorpio is a water
sign with fixed energy. This means an emotions and
feelings based behavioural pattern from the water element. The positive
expression of the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean
really deep and consistent feelings of care and love for another person or
for a situation or for a place or for an activity. The negative expression of
the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean that a
Scorpio person finds it difficult to let go of emotional grievances about
somebody who has done him / her wrong in the past, and will tend to hold all
the hurt and anger inside for a very long time. To take another example,
Aries is a fire element sign with cardinal energy. The fire aspect of Aries
indicates the ability to be spontaneous and to get on and do things. The
positive expression of the cardinal energy aspect together with the fire
aspect can mean that the Aries person is unsurpassed at starting off new
projects and activities with an enormous build up of energy. The negative
expression of the cardinal energy together with the fire aspect can mean that
Aries can be so headstrong that he / she is not really a very good team
player and can bully other people a bit if their input is needed to get
something done but cannot move as fast
as the Aries person. Additionally, the fire aspect of Aries might find it
hard going to stay the full course of a long project if this restricts the
natural spontaneity and love of freedom of fire and might not be around to
finish the project.
The analysis of zodiac signs included comment about
feminine receptive polarity and male active polarity. There are many dimensions of consciousness.
When we are in physical body, we are living in the dimension of consciousness
of linear time and polarities. This means in part that we live in a dimension
where there is not unity of energy and where energy has been fragmented or polarised into what we term male and female. In terms of
the astrological energies, the manifestation of this is that some of the
astrological energies are magnetic and some are electrical. The female
energies are magnetic and the male energies are electrical. The manifestation
of this in behavioural terms is that the male astrological energies represent
active or action orientated energies and the female astrological energies
represent passive and nurturing energies.
The planets of the
horoscope
The natal (birth)
horoscope is produced by identifying in which sign of the zodiac each planet
is in when viewed from planet Earth at the time of birth. The Sun and Moon
are called planets. The signs shown below are the standard astrological
glyphs (or symbols) for the planets and the lunar nodes.
Each planet influences
certain characteristics.
Although
the Lunar Nodes are not planets in their own
right, they are calculated at the intersection of the Earth’s orbit around
the Sun and of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. Everybody has two Lunar
Nodes (a North Node and a South Node) in their horoscopes which are in
opposite signs (we look at opposite signs later in this section), e.g. Taurus
and Scorpio, or Gemini and Sagittarius. We will have chosen to have been born
at a particular point in linear time to work with a specific set of opposite
energies at the soul level. In everyday life, we might not be very aware of
the higher energy frequency aspects of ourselves, but the energies of the
Lunar Nodes will be flowing through us at the higher frequency levels and
ultimately will have some influence on our progress through the current
lifetime. In this paper, I will refer to the lunar nodes as planets.
The
Sun sign indicates the general way in which
we relate to and grow in the external world in the current lifetime. It
indicates the general characteristics of the person that we are trying to
become in this lifetime. The Sun is like the central astrological energy
which the other planetary energies link into. For this reason, it is the Sun
sign which is the (star) sign that the horoscope columns in the daily
newspapers refer to. Although the Sun
is a star and not a planet, in this paper I will refer to it as a planet.
The
Moon sign influences our innermost emotional
nature, and how we interact and respond to the world around emotionally. Our
emotional nature is one of the most important parts of us. Life situations in
which we cannot express and nurture and develop our emotional nature can
result in emotional and psychological difficulties. It needs to be noted that
we all have very different emotional natures and that we should not assume
that other people have the same emotional patterns as us. Because the Moon
sign indicates in particular our deepest emotional responses to the external
world, they are sometimes difficult to rationalise in a logical mental way.
The Mercury sign is very connected to our mental and
thought processes. It is also very connected to the ways in which we learn
and in which we communicate with people. It can be connected to desire for
travel or for reading or for studying as ways of manifesting learning, and to
writing books or making films or teaching as ways of communicating to other
people about what we know.
The
Venus sign represents attraction and
indicates what we are drawn towards so that we may give or receive by the way
of love and affection, beauty and happiness. It also indicates how we relate
to others and our artistic expression.
The
Mars sign represents the energy that we have
to get things done. It can be described as the urge to get what we want, and
relates to our wants and to our sex drive. It relates to the energy with
which we go about our daily business. Expressed negatively, it can relate to
anger and to aggression.
The Jupiter sign is
related to how we grow and develop as people during the current lifetime.
Linked to this usually comes change through the years in the way that we are
in relationship with the world around us – as we grow and develop, this
affects the way that we see the world around us and how we interact with it.
Jupiter can be related to abundance in a number of different ways –
possessions, money, spirituality, etc..
As
humans, we have so much natural energy that it can be a bit ‘all over the
place’ and we can find it difficult to focus it towards achievement - a
little bit like a Catherine Wheel firework just going around in circles and
eventually fizzling out. The Saturn sign is
connected to learning to work with structure in life – through structure we
learn to focus our energies so that we can focus them towards achievement.
Structure can manifest itself in a number of ways – study routines, daily
physical exercises, regular maintenance of the decoration of the home, taking
the time to meditate to clear the mind, etc..
Sometimes, Saturn energy can feel as if it constraining us by making us work
hard in a disciplined way so does not
always get a good ‘write-up’ amongst astrologers, but is in fact a really
useful tool to have in our astrological toolbox.
All of the planets referred to so far are
considered to be personal planets, i.e. they are very specific to an
individual. The rest of the planets which will now be referred to are the planets which move around the Sun very slowly.
Consequently, everybody within a certain generation may have the same Uranus
or Neptune or Pluto or Chiron sign. Whilst
the inner planets indicate what we need to do on an individual basis, the
outer planets indicate what we need to do as part of a generation incarnating
at a particular time in history. The outer planets do, of course, also have
their impact upon us as individuals like the inner planets.
Chiron
is the asteroid of healing energy. It is the link between the outer planets
and inner planets (it orbits between Saturn and Uranus) and acts as a focal
conduit for energies moving between the outer and inner planets planets. Healing can take many forms such as teaching,
counselling, psychic healing, emotional healing, physical healing, etc..
Uranus
energy relates to individuality and to non-conformity with the status quo.
Uranus energy can sometimes be what is needed to make a radical breakthrough
in ideas or change of direction for societies. It relates to sudden
unexpected and unpredictable change and upheaval. It is the energy of
breaking down established structures to make room for them to be replaced by
more relevant structures. It is the energy of making lightening leaps forward
in terms of understanding or technological achievements. There is a strong
electrical nature to Uranus energy which gives it a really powerful momentum.
Neptune
relates to our spirituality, our connectedness with the Divine, and to our
potential for showing unconditional compassion and love towards other people
and life forms. Neptune can bring about the realisation of cosmic truths
which go far beyond the powers of reason and is thus the planet of the
clairvoyant, the medium and the mystic. It is about transcendence from the
normal range of understanding associated with life in the physical world. The
negative impact of Neptune lies in the realm
of confusion and misinterpretation about messages being received.
Pluto
energy is the energy of transformation. It helps to bring hidden and very
deep rooted energies and issues and baggage to the surface where they can be
evolved or destroyed if they no longer have any purpose or are not good.
Through this process, it is the energy of regeneration through the constant
cycle of death and rebirth in the universe. Pluto energy can act as a great
catalyst for change by going deep and bringing causes of behavioural patterns
to the surface – it is a very powerful energy and will push issues straight
into a person’s face in such a way that they cannot be ignored, no matter how
painful a process that can be.
The interaction
between the energies of the signs of the zodiac and of the planets
Having looked at the characteristics
of the energies of the signs of the zodiac and of the energies of the planets
separately, what is the energy influence upon us as humans of their combined
influence?
Well, to take an example, this is what I wrote
about Scorpio energy earlier in this section:
Scorpio
is a water sign with fixed energy. This means an emotions
and feelings based behavioural pattern from the water element. The positive
expression of the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean
really deep and consistent feelings of care and love for another person or
for a situation or for a place or for an activity. The negative expression of
the fixed energy aspect together with the water aspect can mean that a
Scorpio person finds it difficult to let go of emotional grievances about
somebody who has done him/her wrong in the past, and will tend to hold all
the hurt and anger inside for a very long time.
And
this is what I wrote about the Moon sign earlier:
The Moon sign influences our
innermost emotional nature, and how we interact and respond to the world
around emotionally. Our emotional nature is one of the most important parts
of us. Life situations in which we cannot express and nurture and develop our
emotional nature can result in emotional and psychological difficulties. It
needs to be noted that we all have very different emotional natures and that
we should not assume that other people have the same emotional patterns as
us. Because the Moon sign indicates in particular our deepest emotional
responses to the external world, they are sometimes difficult to rationalize
in a logical mental way.
So,
if somebody has their Moon sign in Scorpio, their innermost emotional nature
will be influenced by the Scorpio energy vibration. As Scorpio is a very
emotional energy anyway, somebody with a Scorpio moon sign is likely to have
a very deep emotional nature and will be very sensitive emotionally. An
important part of the personality is likely to be feelings and emotions
orientated, particularly if there are also other planets in water signs. With
the Scorpio energy expressed positively, somebody with a Scorpio Moon sign
might well be prepared to lay down their own life to save the life of a loved
one, the Scorpio Moon love and caring for the other person being so deep.
With the Scorpio energy expressed negatively, somebody with a Scorpio Moon
sign who cannot let go the emotional memories of something which has gone
wrong might build up such a wall of negative emotional energy around them
that they might become ill or might never be able to have proper
relationships with other people again. Or they might become a walking body of
anger or resentment.
As
you can see from the Scorpio Moon sign example, the basic approach therefore
to understanding the possible combined influence upon a person of the
energies of the signs of the zodiac and of the energies of the planets is to
look at the part of life that a particular planet relates to, and then to
apply the energy influence of the particular zodiac sign. If you are very
interested in this kind of understanding, maybe you could buy some astrology
books and start to work through all of this in more detail yourself.
Understanding the natal
horoscope – the interaction of the energies
We
have already looked at each planet’s and zodiac sign’s energy influence on
particular parts of our lives – but in isolation to the energies of the other
planets and signs in the horoscope. However, it is also necessary to take an
overview of how the various planetary and zodiac sign influences affect us in
combination with each other. It is possible to take this overview by
considering the angles between the different planets on the rim of the zodiac
wheel as follows.
The
zodiac wheel as below is drawn with twelve segments representing the twelve
signs of the zodiac. Each zodiac sign is represented by 30 degrees within the
full 360 degrees of the zodiac wheel. The signs are drawn in the order shown.
It is the angles between the different planets which
show how the different energies interact. Graphically, if lines are drawn
from the rim location to the centre of the wheel, the angle will be the
number of degrees between the two lines for the planets being considered. So
In the example below where the Sun is at 10 degrees in Scorpio and where the
Moon is at 10 degrees in Aquarius, the angle between the Sun and Moon signs
(as represented by the red broken lines) is 90 degrees. The angle is normally
calculated on the basis of the shortest distance between the two planets
going around the zodiac wheel.
Such
angles are called ‘aspects’. Some of the important aspects between planets
are as follows:
0 degrees – conjunct aspect. With
this aspect, there is a great concentration of energy because the two planets
occupy the same place in the horoscope. It can sometimes be challenging for
the person to integrate this great concentration of energy. However, these
two energies should work well together.
30 degrees - semi-sextile
(semi-sextiled). This is similar to the quincunx aspect
with no common ground between the two signs either in terms of elemental
energies or the energy indicators (fixed, mutable, cardinal). This means that
they do not work in relationship with each other. It is almost as if they can
contribute to separate personalities.
60 degrees – sextile
(sextiled) aspect. This is similar to the trine aspect with
natural harmony between the two energies, although the influence is weaker
with the sextile than with the trine.
90 degrees – square (or
squared) aspect. With this aspect, there is not a
natural harmony between the two energies, and it can be hard work to
integrate the influences of the two energies. This aspect can contribute to
creating conflicts within the inner personality. Tackled positively, these
conflicts can provide the stimulus for personal growth and development as a
person progresses through life. More negatively, a person who does not work
at overcoming the challenges that this aspect represents can become stuck in
life and not progress very far, and might have some state of inner
disharmony.
120 degree – trine (or trined) aspect. With
this aspect, there is natural harmony between the two energies, and the two work well together. This aspect can be quite supportive
and comfortable, but does not provide many challenges.
150 degrees – quincunx aspect. With this aspect, there is no common ground
between the two signs either in terms of elemental energies (earth, air,
fire, water), the directional energies (fixed,
mutable, cardinal) or the polarity energies (masculine, feminine). This means
that they do not work in relationship with each other. It is almost as if
they can contribute to separate personalities.
180 degrees – opposite
(opposition) aspect. This
is an indication of energies pulling in opposite directions, and there is a
challenge for the person to integrate these energies and to work with them.
Difficulty in working with these energies can dissipate effort with no real
achievement, whilst the ability to achieve balance between the two opposite
energies will enable the person to work successfully with both energies. We
noted earlier in this section that the soul works with a set of opposite
astrological energies in the Lunar Nodes.
The
exact aspects referred to above reflect the most powerful energy connections
between two planets in a horoscope. However, it is almost never the case that
the horoscope of a person has such exact aspects between all the planets. The
effects of the aspects are still relevant but weaker where the angles between
two planets in the horoscope are just a few degrees more or less than the
exact angles described above. These ‘wider’ or ‘narrower’ aspects are called
orbs (as within orb or sphere of influence). To change slightly the example
above, let us assume that a person has the Sun at 10 degrees in Scorpio and
the Moon at 13 degrees in Aquarius. The angle of the aspect becomes 93
degrees. The squared aspect of these two planets will still be felt but will
not be as strong as the exact 90 degrees aspect.
If
the aspects between planets are more than a few degrees away from the exact
aspects, the strength of the energetic connection will still be there to some
extent but will be considerable weaker. In such situations it is advisable to
adopt a more generalised approach to understanding
the energies in a horoscope as follows.
There
is compatibility of signs in the same element. There is general compatibility
between earth signs and water signs. There is also general compatibility between
air signs and fire signs. Earth signs are generally incompatible with air
signs and fire signs. Water signs are generally incompatible with air signs
and fire signs. Air signs are
generally incompatible with earth and water signs. Fire signs are generally
incompatible with earth and water signs.
As
some people prefer to look up compatibility from tables, the following two
tables give some idea of how this works. The tables show the relationship
that the sign in the left column has with other signs in the same row. A
simple rule to follow is that signs which are next to each other, three signs
and five signs away from each other in any direction in the zodiac wheel are
incompatible with each other. Signs which are two, four and six signs away
from each other in the zodiac wheel are compatible with each other.
When
using the terminology compatible I mean that the energies work together
easily. When using the terminology incompatible I mean that the energies do
not work together easily. This creates a challenge for the person affected as
he / she has to be able to integrate and to work with incompatible energies
even though this might not be easy. If the person has difficulty integrating
the energies, it can cause internal stress.
It can be confusing for other people as they are never quite sure
which part of a person’s personality they will be dealing with and this can
cause stress in inter-personal and working relationships.
The
first table is for what I would call compatible aspects within the same
element. These aspects will be for
signs which are four away from each other on the zodiac wheel. The first line
shows Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. These are all fire signs. Any planets in
fire signs in a horoscope will have a compatible relationship with each other
even if the angles of the aspects between then are too wide for the full
power of a trine relationship to be present. In the second line are Taurus,
Virgo and Capricorn. Any planets in these signs in a horoscope will all have
a compatible relationship with each other because they are all in the element
of earth even if the angles of the aspects between then are too wide for the
full power of a trine relationship to be present.
The
second table is for what I would call compatible aspects with planets not in
the same element but excluding opposite signs. These aspects will be for signs which are
two apart on the zodiac wheel. The first line shows Aries, Gemini and Aquarius.
Aries is a fire sign. Gemini and Aquarius are air signs. Any planets in Aries
in a horoscope will have a compatible relationship with other planets in
Gemini and Aquarius. In the second line are Taurus, Cancer and Pisces. Any
planets in Taurus in a horoscope will have a compatible relationship with
other planets in Cancer and Pisces.
A
full range of such tables has been created in a separate file which may be
found by clicking here.
A
concentration of planets within a particular zodiac sign will also affect the
balance of the astrological energies.
By
looking at which signs of the zodiac particular planets are in and then
looking at the aspect relationships between the planets, it is possible for
the interpretation of the horoscope to give a person an idea of how the
astrological energies may be affecting his/her progress through life and to
give some useful advice on how best to work with the astrological energies
for the future. For example, a square aspect between the Jupiter sign and the
Saturn sign in a horoscope could indicate that the person will find working
with structure (Saturn) as he/she develops and grows through life (Jupiter)
very challenging and hard work. However, if the person perseveres with these
two energies and is able to work with both in balance, the ability to work
with structure will support growth in life and will enable the person’s
personal energies to be focused in such a way that good achievements are
manifested. To take another example, a trine aspect between the Venus sign
and the Moon sign in a horoscope would indicate that the person would be able
to connect love energy with inner emotional energy very easily and this would
be a contributory factor in establishing good relationships with other
people.
If
the exact time of birth is known, another dimension of the natal horoscope
can be considered. A secondary wheel can be superimposed upon the zodiac
wheel already described. This secondary wheel is also divided into twelve
segments called houses. Each house indicates a particular aspect of a
person’s life as follows.
1st House - The physical appearance of the body and
the way that we appear to others. Our self expression.
2nd House
- Money, possessions and property,
attitudes towards personal resources.
3rd House - The rational mind and communications with
others.
4th House
- Home and
security. The family in both childhood and adult life. The parental figure
most usually associated with emotions -
often but not always the mother.
5th House - Pleasurable activities. Sports, hobbies,
interests. Creative self-expression.
6th House - Health and illness. Being of service to
others. Unequal relationships such as employee/employer.
7th House - Personal relationships with other people –
family, lovers, work colleagues, clients.
8th House - The experience of true sexual union.
Personal transformation through intense experiences with others. Shared
resources.
9th House - The higher mind. Philosophy and religion.
Long distance travel.
10th House
- Ambition
through one’s work. Social status and reputation. The parental figure most
associated with structure in early life. Responsibility to others.
11th House
- Group
connections with people, work colleagues, interest groups, social circles.
12th House
- Withdrawal
or isolation from the mainstream world or from people. Selfless giving.
Reconnection with the universal consciousness – psychic ability and mediumship. Secrets and invisible enemies
The
term ascendant or rising sign marks the beginning of the First House. The
Ascendant reflects the Zodiac sign that was ascending on the Eastern Horizon
at the time of birth.
In
the following diagram, the blue lines represent the boundary lines between
the houses, and the black lines represent the boundaries between the signs as
before.
Our
Sun in Scorpio from the earlier example now becomes Sun in Scorpio in the
fifth house. The Moon in Aquarius from the earlier example becomes Moon in
Aquarius in the eighth house.
The connection with healing
It
is possible to analyse the horoscope in the
following ways which helps to go give further meaningful interpretation. Let us work on the basis that there are 13
planets in the horoscope – 2 lunar nodes and 11 planets.
We
can look at the balance of zodiac signs across the different elements.
If
somebody has 3 planets in air signs, 4 planets in earth signs, 3 planets in
fire signs and 3 planets in water signs, we would say that their astrological
energies are broadly in balance across the elements.
However,
if somebody has 8 planets in air signs, 2 planets in fire signs, 1 planet in
earth signs and 0 planets in water signs, the analysis would be that the
person has an imbalance or excess of air element energy and is likely to be a
very mentally based person who is lacking in other aspects of the human
personality. In particular, the lack of planets in water signs would indicate
a very inhibited range of normal emotional behaviours.
The lack of planets in earth signs would indicate potential difficulty with
physical resources and with making things happen in a physical sense. Such a person is likely to have
relationship difficulties with other people.
If
we change the example around to somebody who has 1 planet in air signs, 0
planet in fire signs, 1 planet in earth signs and 9 planets in water signs,
we would say that the person has an imbalance or excess of water element
energy and is likely to be a very emotionally based person who is lacking in
other aspects of the human personality. In particular, the lack of planets in
air signs would indicate a very inhibited range of normal mental behaviours and the ability to rationalise. The lack of
planets in fire signs would indicate a lack of spontaneity and action
orientation. The lack of planets in earth signs would indicate potential
difficulty with physical resources and with making things happen in a
physical sense. As with the other example, such a person is likely to have
relationship difficulties with other people.
We
can also look at the balance of zodiac signs across the different energy
indicators of cardinal, fixed and mutable.
For
example, if somebody has 4 planets in cardinal signs, 4 planets in fixed
signs and 3 planets in mutable signs, we would say that their astrological
energies are broadly in balance across these indicators.
However,
if somebody has 8 planets in cardinal signs, 2 planets in fixed signs and 1
planet in mutable signs, the analysis would be that the person has an
imbalance or excess of cardinal energy and a deficit of fixed and mutable
energy. The excess of cardinal energy would enable the person to be a great starter of projects and for making things happen.
However, if projects and work have to happen in relationship or in
partnership with other people who do not have the same amount of cardinal
energy, the person with the cardinal energy could feel very frustrated with
the other people because they cannot move as fast. If the person with the
cardinal energy just goes ahead and does his or her own thing, team work
could break down and there could be problems with relationships with other
people. The lack of mutable energy is likely to mean that the person with all
the cardinal energy is inflexible which could cause further relationship
difficulties with other people.
Similarly,
if we change the example to one in which somebody has 8 planets in mutable
signs, 2 planets in fixed signs and 1 planets in cardinal signs, the analysis
would be that the person has an imbalance or excess of mutable energy and a
deficit of cardinal and fixed energy. This person is likely to find it
difficult to summon up the energy to follow a course of action and to stick to
it. This is more the horoscope of a person who is going to change direction
all the time either because he / she cannot make up his mind or because he /
she allows himself / herself to be buffeted all over the place by external
factors.
The
third of these extreme examples would be somebody who has 8 planets in fixed
signs, 2 planets in cardinal signs and 1 planet in mutable signs. The
analysis would be that the person has an imbalance or excess of fixed energy
and a deficit of cardinal and mutable energy. This person is likely to be
extremely reliable because of all the fixed energy but is also likely to be
somebody who does not change direction easily and is likely to become stuck
in life. The lack of cardinal energy would make it difficult to make things happen
and to set new courses in life. The lack of mutable energy would mean that
the person is very inflexible and that other people would find him or her
stubborn and not easy to get on with.
We
can also look at the balance of zodiac energies across the male / female
polarity split.
If
somebody has 6 planets in male signs and 5 planets in female signs, it could
be considered that they have male and female energy broadly in balance.
If
however somebody has 9 planets in male signs and 2 planets in female signs,
they would have a very male type character and be very lacking in female
behavioural characteristics. The person could be somewhat pushy and impatient
with other people and be more considered with action and making things happen
than with doing anything in relationship with other people. I would expect
relationship problems to predominate with such a person. If a person in a
female gender body has such an excess of male energy, it is possible that she
could find it very challenging to conform to stereotype female behavioural
patterns. It is also possible that she would find a heterosexual life style
difficult and would follow a lesbian lifestyle.
If
we change the example around to somebody who has 9 planets in female signs
and 2 planets in male signs, they would have a very female type character and
be very lacking in male behavioural characteristics. This person could find
it difficult to take action to make things happen. If a person in a male
gender body has such an excess of female energy, it is possible that she
could find it difficult to conform to stereotype male behavioural patterns.
It is also possible that he would find a heterosexual life style difficult
and would follow a homosexual lifestyle.
The
teaching from this part of the training manual is that whilst we have our own
consciousness independent of the astrological energies, these do also have
their own consciousnesses and interact with us in many ways such as in the
examples above. They influence our behavioural patterns and personal
development to varying degrees. Sometimes, they can contribute to stress in a
person which affects emotional, mental and physical health. The mainstream
medical profession have undertaken research into the
effects of stress upon the physical body and this has shown that the
production of hormones and the subsequent chemical reactions which they
should trigger around the body can be adversely affected by stress.
Transits
So
far, we have just looked at the natal horoscope which indicates the
placements of the planets at the time of birth. Because the planets are
orbiting the Sun continually, they keep moving through the different zodiac
signs – some move quickly, others move slowly. What is called a transit
occurs when a planet moves in today’s time to make an angle or aspect to a
point in the zodiac wheel which was occupied by a planet at birth. In the
case of the planets which orbit around the sun very quickly, transits occur
frequently. In the case of the slower moving planets, transits are much less
frequent. A transit is considered to have some impact upon the influence of
the planet within the natal horoscope which is being transited. Generally
speaking, a transit by one of the outer planets is much more significant than
a transit by one of the inner fast orbiting planets. Astrological prediction
tends to be based upon an analysis of forthcoming transits.
A
planet will transit its own position in the natal horoscope, and the aspect
between present day and natal positions can be easy or challenging in
accordance with the aspects described earlier, and which can affect health.
So for example, the energy of Saturn challenges the day to day structures of
our lives at the age of 14 to 15 as it moves into what the astrologers refer
to as an opposite transit to where it was at the time of birth. For young
people, this represents an opportunity to experience the challenge of growing
out of the day to day structures which their parents have given them and to
find their own structures in life. This can be quite stressful, especially as
they will also have been coping with a lot of hormonal and chemical changes in their
bodies at that age.
If
you know how long it takes a planet to go around the Sun (see the following
table), you can work out approximately when in your life important transits
will occur – for example, square transits will occur approximately a quarter
of the way through a complete orbit from your time of birth (this represents
90 degrees). Some of the orbits around the Sun are slightly elliptical rather
than being pure circles, so this is not a mathematically exact way of
calculating transit periods.
The
effect of transits can be felt through aspects with any planet / zodiac
combination in the birth horoscope. For example, the movement of Pluto
through Sagittarius from 1995 through to 2008 impacted upon the horoscopes of
people with planets other than Pluto that are also in Sagittarius.
Synastry
Synastry is the name given to the
study of the influence of astrological energies upon inter-personal
relationships, usually for very close relationships such as husband and wife.
The natal horoscopes for both people are drawn up, and the aspects between
the planets across the two horoscopes are compared. The influence of the
aspects is as has been outlined earlier in this section. For example, trines
will indicate easy astrological influences on the relationship, whilst
squares will indicate challenges in the relationship.
Important
synastry aspects for husband and wife relationships
are the Moon to Moon aspects for the inner emotional connection, the Venus to
Venus aspects for love connection, the Mars to Venus aspects for physical
love making and the Mercury to Mercury aspects for mental and verbal communication.
Such very personal relationships tend not to stand the test of time if the
Moon signs are not compatible. Even if the Moon signs are compatible, a love
relationship may not be long lasting if the Venus to Venus aspects are not
compatible. If the Moon to Moon aspects, the Venus to Venus aspects and the
Mars to Venus aspects are compatible, there is the start of the possibility
that the two people might find heaven on earth in their love relationship as
these key astrological influences will be backing their relationship. Of
course, a love relationship can be influenced by what else is in the
horoscope so there are never any guarantees. Interestingly enough, the Sun
sign is not usually a critical influence on love relationships, despite this
being what is used in the daily stars columns of the newspapers and is what
regular callers to premium rate horoscope telephone lines pay a small fortune
for.
To
take a practical example, the breakdown in the interpersonal relationship
between Prince Charles and Princess Diana here in the United Kingdom is a matter of
public knowledge. What is not so widely known, however, is that the Moon sign
of Prince Charles in Taurus was in square aspect to Princess Diana’s Moon
sign in Aquarius, the implication of which being that it would have been very
difficult for them to relate to each other at the inner emotional level and
possibly neither would have ever felt ‘at home’ with each other at the
emotional level. Their Venus to Venus signs were in quincunx aspect, The Prince
Charles to Princess Diana Mars to Venus signs were in quincunx aspect, and
the Princess Diana to Prince Charles Mars to Venus signs were in semi-sextile
aspect. Although they both had Mercury in trine aspect in water signs, an
astrologer would have considered that they had very difficult astrological
aspects to overcome to make a happy marriage.
Synastry techniques may be applied
to all kinds of human relationships such as family and work relationships.
Given
that inter-personal relationships are a key part of our lives as human
beings, difficulties in these relationships can be a great source of stress
and disharmony in life and subsequently affect our health situations. As
healers, it helps to understand what is going on in the lives of clients and
to identify the original causes of stress. Synergy helps with this as it can
contribute to an understanding what is going right and what is going wrong in
inter-personal relationships.
Associations with
particular parts of the body
Traditional
astrological teaching refers to associations between the different planets
and zodiac signs with parts of the body. I have not worked with these
associations before, so cannot make much comment based upon practical
experience. Additionally, different teachings give different bodily
associations for the same planet or sign, the reason for which I have never
taken time to look into. Consequently, I do not include any teaching in my
manuals regarding astrological connections with different parts of the body
as this is beyond my personal experience. I do believe, however, that there
are associations, so mention this in case anybody reading this manual would
like to do some follow up work themselves.
The theory of this works along the same principles as outlined already
in this chapter. For example, if two planets are in a stressful 90 degree
angle to each other, then the body parts (for example, glands or organs)
associated with them will also suffer some energetic stress.
Chiron
Chiron
is an asteroid with healing properties. As it makes its transit around the
natal horoscope, it will aspect every planet in the
natal horoscope at some point in its 51 year progression through every sign
in the zodiac. Each time Chiron transits a planet in the natal horoscope,
there is the potential for some kind of healing at spiritual, mental,
emotional or physical level to take place. The nature of this healing will be
influenced by what sign is being transited and by what other planets are in
aspect to the planet being transited by Chiron. It is helpful for the healer
to be aware of Chiron transits as the healer might be called upon to treat
some stress or health condition influenced by a Chiron transit. Healing, as
we will read about later, can sometimes make people feel unwell as the
healing process takes place.
My horoscope
In
the interests of completeness, my natal horoscope follows so that you can see
what a proper horoscope looks like. In the main horoscope wheel, the lines
running through the outer circle represent the divisions between the houses
and the lines running through the next circle inwards represent the divisions
between the signs of the zodiac. The numbers in the next circle going inwards
represent the house numbers. The lines in the inner circle represent
diagrammatically the aspects between the planets.
..
..
..
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.An example
Please click here
to go to another page on this website where I give an example of a
interpreting a horoscope.
Preparing a horoscope
Traditionally
horoscopes were prepared by reference to an ephemeris. An ephemeris is a set
of tables showing in which signs of the zodiac different planets were at
different times for specific dates.
In
the present day horoscopes tend to be produced using astrological software
which holds the same information as in an ephemeris but in the form of an
electronic database.
Not
all the astrological software packages that you can buy are of good quality.
I use astrological software produced by a company called Astrocalc and can
recommend it. Information about Astrocalc is available in the Astrology and
in the Suppliers sections of the Information Centre on my website.
Further reading
The
Recommended Reading
and Viewing section of the Information Centre gives some information about
good astrology books for those interested in reading more about
astrology.
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