Retrograde Mars in Horary

Posted in Astrology on 02/03/2010 05:55 am by Chanah

I look at the search strings people use to find the site, and the meaning of Mars retrograde and peregrine in horary has been a popular one of late.

Here’s the skinny: As always, it depends on the chart. Yes, I can hear you all groaning ;) .

An example: Suppose you’re looking for a lost object, or your spouse or lover has left and you’re wondering if you’ll find what you lost or if the person you love will come back. If they’re signified by Mars retrograde (or any retrograde planet), they may. The retrogradation signifies a return in those cases. You do want to see Mars somewhere angular or succedent, though. Peregrine planets are not great performers in horary charts, nor are cadent ones. Put cadent with peregrine, and you’re in a difficult spot.

What if the landlord is talking about raising your rent, or if your boss is talking about laying you off from work, and you see a peregrine retrograde Mars in a cadent house representing them? The peregrine, cadent state signifies an inability to act (this is good in those circumstances), and the retrogradation denotes that the person signified by the planet is likely to change their mind.

Mars is still malefic, and it is generally ill-behaved when it’s peregrine, retrograde, or in this case, both. I can’t count how many horary charts I’ve seen in the last few weeks with Mars angular – particularly on the ascendant or midheaven. This is not a good indication – if it’s on the ascendant, chances are the querent is in a very agitated state and wants to do something – but the something is likely to make it worse. And don’t forget that malefic sextile that Mars is currently forming to Saturn which is already within range, and goes exact on 16 February – that’s not going to help matters, either.

Mars turns direct on 10 March 2010, and can be considered stationary for 2 to 3 days either way of that. The station isn’t quite as evil as the retrogradation proper, but be careful.

For now? Avoid impulsive action, no matter how much you want to do something right now – or yesterday if possible – chances are it’ll turn out badly, especially if Mars rx is prominent in a horary you ask.

It’s also not a great time to have elective surgery. Mars rules surgery, knives, and sharp objects and weapons generally, as well as wounds. Now don’t panic here. I would expect that there are people needing emergency surgery under an ill-behaved Mars more than normally – though I have no statistics on this. That’s a different story, and I would trust doctors and surgeons working in casualty wards or emergency rooms to be competent in these situations. But this isn’t the time for a facelift, cosmetic surgery, and the like. Mars also rules facial scarring, and it’s not the look-good planet. So do put things like that off.

Since Mars also rules fire, this isn’t a good time to buy a new stove, or furnace, or even an automobile (internal combustion engine), or to start a business that involves any of those things.

Mars also rules conflict, divorce, and separations of all kinds. Think very carefully about these matters if that’s what you’re asking a horary about. An unchecked Mars can do a lot of damage, and since it’s retrograde, we might change the old saw about marriage to a slightly broader scope: Do in haste, repent at leisure.

I hope that gives you folks who have been asking something to work with.

Best -
Chanah

 

Cool Venus Days

Posted in Astrology, Folk Magic, General, Horoscopes on 02/01/2010 09:44 pm by Chanah

I don’t want to turn FFT into a generic horoscopes site. Those can be fun, but there are lots of them around already.

But we did have a cazimi Venus (this would qualify as a Cool Venus Day) back on 11 January, when Venus made its superior conjunction to the Sun – and all things Venus went well for a lot of people. Don’t go embarrassing Fenn by asking her how ;)

Superior conjunctions of Venus to the Sun don’t happen often, but don’t despair – they aren’t the only times when life can be easy, or at least easier.

Some of you may have noticed the crap astrological weather we’ve been having the past couple of weeks – I’m writing this on 1 February. Definitely no Cool Venus Days here. Mars is retrograde and peregrine (impulse runs amok), the Moon recently fell full directly on top of Mars (making it all the more emotional), the whole mess opposed the Sun and Venus (can we say tension?), and to top it off, there’s a partile Saturn-Pluto square lurking in the background, amplifying paranoia, and making everything feel doom and gloom. Unfortunately, not without reason.

People have been rude, and crazy, and if bad things haven’t happened to you, you’ve probably heard of misfortunes befalling your friends – and family – worse than the normal day-to-day.

The Saturn-Pluto square is going to be with us for a while (though it will ease up a bit in about a week), but at least the personal planets are starting to back off. Better days are coming, and as kind of a morale-booster for all of us, the Freaky Fortune Teller presents – Cool Venus Days.

One of the reasons that Venus is called the lesser benefic is because it deals with personal pleasures. Jupiter is considered the greater benefic, and while both planets can certainly bring about good in your personal life and in society in general, Jupiter tends to deal on a bigger social scale. Not always, of course, it depends on what’s where in your chart, but – as a rule.

Venus is the universal significator of love, beauty, merriment, joy, delight, sport, hobbies, luxury, art, ease, and all around nice thngs. Now I don’t promise these dates will work for everybody, but assuming that something in your personal chart isn’t gumming it up, here are some days to look forward to, when life will probably go reasonably well and things will be more pleasant generally.

11 February 2010: Venus enters the sign of its exaltation, Pisces, and we breathe a sigh of relief. It’ll stay there until 7 March 2010. Now that first week of March might be a bit rough on the pleasure front, but for second couple of weeks in February, especially – relax. Enjoy life as much as you can. Exaltation signs are where a planet really emphasises what it’s about, so people should be more considerate, and just plain nicer in general. It’s a great time for any of the Venus-related pursuits mentioned above, and just for life going more smoothly in general.

16 February 2010: Venus conjuncts Jupiter. Jupiter is the ruler of Pisces, and is in Pisces, so both planets are strong, and come together. Whatever special delights you’ve been thinking of, think of spending this day doing them. Jupiter rules two signs – Pisces and Sagittarius, and it takes about 12 years to go round the zodiac, so we don’t see these two planets together in Pisces often! Take advantage of it. And yes – think as big as you want – today is the day for grand gestures, especially of the romantic variety. The good vibes will be around for a couple of days either way on this one.

I hate to write this in an upbeat post, but there’s also some bad that day. Mars is still retrograde and it will perfect a malefic sextile with retrograde Saturn. Why is the sextile malefic? Because Saturn is detrimented in Leo, and Mars falls in Libra. It’s never a good thing when planets contact planets in their own debility. In this case it’s Mars aspecting a planet in Libra because Mars falls there, and Saturn aspecting a planet in Leo, because Saturn is detrimented there – and of course, Mars is the lesser malefic, whilst Saturn is the greater malefic. The Moon will touch this sextile off by trine from the sign of Aries a little later on that day, after the Venus – Jupiter conjunction.

This is a difficult one to call. I hope Jupiter and Venus will win out (and what I said above still holds true for the day’s activities), but this is definitely not a day to get into a controversy with anyone, or to take risks. Physical risks, that is – don’t go bungee jumping today, or take a stroll through the worst neighbourhood in town. Be with the people you care about, doing the things you love. Both Jupiter and Venus are the stronger planets today – Venus is exalted, Jupiter is in domicile and both planets are direct, whilst Mars is peregrine (it lacks all essential dignity), and even though Saturn is exalted, it’s retrograde.

If bad comes in the outside world that day, remember that we still have the Jupiter – Venus conjunction, and that’s stronger than anything else happening. So I’d like to think that if something bad happens in the world at this time, people will indeed pull together and keep it from being the worst. Love and goodwill can win this time.

Enough said on that – on a personal level it should be a good day.

20 February 2010: The Moon is exalted in Taurus, and will make an easy sextile to both Venus and Jupiter today. Sextiles are a little bit more energetic than trines, and we’ve got a terrific one here – an exalted Moon, an exalted Venus, and Jupiter in domicile. A great day for artistic projects. Anything beautiful or artistic that wants doing will go easily if you just make the effort to get the ball rolling.

25 February 2010: The Moon is strong in its own domicile of Cancer, and makes an easy trine to Venus in Pisces. A great day for pursuing your passions, or just curling up at home – it’s pleasant.

1 April 2010: On April Fool’s Day, Venus moves into its own domicile of Taurus, where it’s arguably at its very strongest, and will stay there until 24 April 2010. This is the time to write music, and poetry, and sew, and tend to the garden, make your home more beautiful, cook terrific dinners. Rampant sensuality abounds – indulge!

2 April 2010: Mercury joins Venus in Taurus – the next couple of weeks should be great for everything from songwriting to lovemaking to commerce.

16 April 2010: The Moon is in its exaltation in Taurus conjuncting both Venus and Mercury today. It will give a most gentle kickstart to your romantic and artistic plans.

18 April 2010: Venus, still strong in its own domicile, makes an easy sextile to Jupiter back in Pisces in its own domicile. Today’s the day, especially for favours in the outside world, as well as at home.

21 April 2010: The Moon’s travelled to its home in Cancer, and sextiles Venus, still strong in Taurus. If you need to make positive changes at home, just start – it’ll all fall into place, and everybody will think you’re wonderful, too.

And there you have it for the next few months. Venus gives ease, grace, beauty, and affection to nearly everything it touches. So mark those dates on your calendar (or bookmark this page!), and start making some plans :)

 

Another Method of Astrological Lenormand

Posted in Astrology, Lenormand, how to on 01/28/2010 12:55 pm by Chanah

I don’t use astrology in Lenormand reading, simply because if you look at 20 different authors, you’ll find 20 different methods, and because we know that the Petit Jeu (the 36-card Lenormand deck) has nothing to do with the cards Mlle Lenormand herself used.

But if I were going to use astrology with Lenormand, I’d use a decanate, or face system. The faces, or decans, in astrology each cover ten degrees (and days) of a sign, and each have a planetary ruler – there are 36 decans, just as there are 36 Lenormand cards. So it makes a neat fit. Those of you who are familiar with the Golden Dawn’s system of astrological assignments to tarot cards may recognise this one.

Again, it’s not something I use. But if you want to have a play with it, my friend Dr Richard Farr, who teaches homeopathic medicine in California, USA, uses the Chaldean system of decanates in his Lenormand readings. Here’s how it works, including the rough dates. Some years this will be a day off owing to the Sun’s movement through the signs compared to our civil calendar, but it’s still quite precise to work with if you want to try the timing element with it:

Rider: 2nd decan of Capricorn (ruled by Mars, roughly 2 – 12 January)
Clover: 3rd Capricorn (ruled by Sun, roughly 12 – 22 January)
Ship: 1st Aquarius (ruled by Venus, roughly 23 Jan – 1 February)
House: 2nd Aquarius (ruled by Mercury, roughly 2 – 12 February)
Tree: 3rd Aquarius (ruled by Moon, roughly 13 – 23 February)
Clouds: 1st Pisces (ruled by Saturn, roughly 24 February – 3 March)
Snake: 2nd Pisces (ruled by Jupiter, roughly 3 – 13 March)
Coffin: 3rd Pisces (ruled by Mars, roughly 13 – 22 March)
Bouquet: 1st Aries (ruled by Mars, roughly 22 March – 1 April)
Scythe: 2nd Aries (ruled by Sun, roughly 2 – 12 April)
Whips: 3rd Aries (ruled by Venus, roughly 13 – 22 April)
Birds: 1st Taurus (ruled by Mercury, roughly 23 April – 2 May)
Child: 2nd Taurus (ruled by Moon, roughly 3 – 12 May)
Fox: 3rd Taurus (ruled by Saturn, roughly 12 – 22 May)
Bear: 1st Gemini (ruled by Jupiter, roughly 23 May – 2 June)
Stars: 2nd Gemini (ruled by Mars, roughly 3 – 12 June)
Storks: 3rd Gemini (ruled by Sun, roughly 12 – 22 June)
Dog: 1st Cancer (ruled by Venus, roughly 23 June – 2 July)
Tower: 2nd Cancer (ruled by Mercury, roughly 3 – 13 July)
Garden: 3rd Cancer (ruled by Moon, roughly 13 – 23 July)
Mountain: 1st Leo (ruled by Saturn, roughly 23 July – 2 August)
Paths: 2nd Leo (ruled by Jupiter, roughly 3 – 13 August)
Mice: 3rd Leo (ruled by Mars, roughly 13 – 23 August)
Heart: 1st Virgo (ruled by Sun, roughly 23 August – 2 September)
Ring: 2nd Virgo (ruled by Venus, roughly 3 – 13 September)
Book: 3rd Virgo (ruled by Mercury, roughly 13 – 23 September)
Letter: 1st Libra (ruled by Moon, roughly 23 September – 3 October)
Gentleman: 2nd Libra (ruled by Saturn, roughly 3 – 13 October)
Lady: 3rd Libra (ruled by Jupiter, roughly 13 – 22 October)
Lilies: 1st Scorpio (ruled by Mars, roughly 23 October – 2 November)
Sun: 2nd Scorpio (ruled by Sun, roughly 3 – 13 November)
Moon: 3rd Scorpio (ruled by Venus, roughly 13 – 23 November)
Key: 1st Sagittarius (ruled by Mercury, roughly 23 November – 2 December)
Fishes: 2nd Sagittarius (ruled by Moon, roughly 3 – 13 December)
Anchor: 3rd Sagittarius (ruled by Saturn, roughly 13 – 22 December)
Cross: 1st Capricorn (ruled by Jupiter, roughly 22 December – 2 January)

And there you have it. Some of the planetary assignments do make sense to me, others not so much. If you’re also an astrologer, see what you make of them.

Again, it’s an alternate system, and does have a built-in timing mechanism. I hope you’ll find it interesting.

 

The Houses – Temples of the Sky

Posted in Astrology on 01/26/2010 02:12 pm by Chanah

I know I’m not blogging much these days – the idea is to turn the definitions and information pages of the blogs (both Fenn’s and mine) into static web pages, and save the blogging for special events, rants, new things, and the like. But we are both still around, and available for readings.

This is just a brief note to let you all know that Deb Houlding has put a good part of her excellent The Houses – Temples of the Sky on Google Books. Click here to read it. And don’t miss Robert Hand’s excellent preface.

Find more extracts in PDF format at Skyscript.

Cheers all -
Chanah

 

Time Sensitive – Mercury Alert!

Posted in Astrology on 11/04/2009 03:11 pm by Chanah

We all know that combustion – being within 8.5 degrees of the Sun – is the worst affliction that a planet can suffer – its power is literally burnt up by the Sun. And that the planet doesn’t fully regain its strength until it’s about 15 degrees away from the Sun and fully out from under the Sun’s beams.

There is one exception to this rule, and that’s cazimi. A planet is cazimi when it’s within 17 minutes of the Sun. In that case the planet is considered to be the favourite of the king, and just about everything started pertaining to that planet when it’s cazimi will go well.

Mercury exactly conjuncts the Sun at 5:22 am EST on 5 November 2009 – it’s cazimi for about ten hours either way.

This gives you a great deal of power in any mercurial pursuits, and since the Sun and Mercury are also conjunct the fixed star Alphecca, that adds a liberal dash of Venus into the mix.

Need a reason to write that novel? Start it under a cazimi Mercury. Romantic poetry? This is the time. Love letters? Oh yeah.

Even if you have routine correspondence or telephone calls to make, like sorting out errors in bills, or getting in touch with somebody elusive – try to do it during the cazimi Mercury. Cazimi is good for everyday matters, too. Mercury also rules commerce, so this should be a good time for buying and selling, too.

But act quickly – soon it’ll be over!

 

Considerations Magazine and Eastern Oracles

Posted in Astrology, Other Cool Stuff, readings on 10/28/2009 12:24 pm by Chanah

The folks who put out the now defunct but always wonderful Considerations astrology magazine have uploaded all the back issues to the web. Free. No catch.

You don’t want to miss this one if you’re a Western astrologer of any stripe – traditional, modern, you name it, they’ve got (a lot of!) something for everyone. Find the magazines here. They can be read online in flash format or downloaded as PDFs. The article index is available in PDF format here, if you’re looking for a particular article or author.

All of you might want to check out Fenn’s article So Much More Than I Ching about eastern oracles. It’s a fascinating read.

 

Just a Quick Update

Posted in Lenormand, card readings on 10/21/2009 05:41 am by Chanah

I’m still around, but have been flat-out busy studying for a major exam and researching an article I need to write. On the upside, and to give this post some content, it does look promising:

ringkeypaths
liliesrider

That was originally a straight-across line, and it reads: Ring, Key, Paths, Lilies, Rider.

Ring + Key indicate success, the Paths folllowing the Key say there will be security, there won’t be any nasty surprises and that the way is familiar (astrology is my first love), and the Paths with the Lilies + Rider indicate favourable news coming as a result of all this.

I’m still available for readings, but the blog and design for the rest of the site may be a while getting done.

Just so you know.

Cheers all -
Chanah

 

Astrology: Considerations Before Judgement

Posted in Astrology on 08/28/2009 05:43 pm by Chanah

Or…how flu medicine and lack of caffeine do not for a good reading make.

There are a number of things called ‘considerations before judgement’ in astrology. What they basically mean is to be very careful looking at a chart, because the astrologer’s judgement may well be impaired. A few say that a client may be being less than truthful with you, but most of them are there to warn you that if you’re the astrologer, you aren’t at your best today.

Well, today was a hit the ground running day, had to get to the doctor, he closes early on Friday, mornings aren’t my best time, and it’s a 70 mile trek. The train was late. The doctor was running a bit late. And the chemist shop didn’t have the full amount of my medicines, though I’ve got everything essential for a week or so. So….out before coffee, feeling fluey, lots of hurry up and wait, and come home and try to look at a reading objectively.

It just wasn’t going to happen, and it wasn’t the client’s fault. I’ll show you the chart here, as it’s not breaching confidentiality.

See the way Saturn (the ‘h’ shaped glyph with the cross at the top, if you’re unfamiliar with astrological glyphs) is sitting right at the top of the chart, at the Midheaven?

Granted, I haven’t had a lot of those in my practise, and I’m grateful. Because not only the tradition, but what experience I’ve personally had with this particular consideration tells me that it’s not just a matter of being extra careful in my work – it tells me that whenever I see this particular consideration against judgement, I can’t judge the chart. Whatever’s really going on, I’ll miss it by a mile. If you’re a horary astrologer, pay attention. Trying to judge a horary with Saturn on the MC will do your reputation no good.

Interestingly, I tried to do the reading with cards first, and came up blank. It’s just not my day, apparently. But I thought this was as good a time as any to write a post about it. It wasn’t my client’s fault at all – and yes – astrologers have bad days, too. Thank goodness the stars will warn you about that most of the time, at least if you really look!

Cheers all -
Chanah (still on the old computer – the newer one isn’t ready yet, and I couldn’t have got there today to collect it anyway)

 

Astrology 101: Houses

Posted in Astrology on 08/21/2009 03:46 pm by Chanah

Planets, houses, and signs are what make up the core of astrology, and I’d like to talk about houses a little bit. If you know some astrology already, you’ll be able to read quite a bit of your own chart using these techniques. Aspects don’t come into it until later – even for those who practise classical and medieval astrology professionally.

Now, suspend what you might have learnt about astrological houses for a moment, because we’re not working with modern planets or modern concepts – some of which, like the astrological alphabet (Mars=Aries=First House, and so on), didn’t come into being until 1940s and even later. This is how we did it before that, and it still makes a great deal of sense to me.

I apologise for the ‘creative’ colouring (there’s a slight computer glitch happening), but here’s a house wheel with the planets’ joys shown:

The joys give a little bit of special emphasis to a planet should you find any of those planets in those particular houses, but it’s hard to tell exactly how that will play out – you need to look at your whole chart.

Mercury joys in the first house. This actually makes sense to me, because the first house rules the body, Mercury rules the tongue and speech, and – what’s one of the primary things we do to make our presence known? We speak.

The Moon joys in the third house. Now, the Moon is the fastest planet, and the third house has to do with daily routine and habits (as does the Moon), routine journeys, and to-ing and fro-ing generally, so that has something to do with the assignment. But I think the older reason is that once upon a time, the third house was the house of the Goddess, which was often represented by the Moon. Just like the ninth house was the house of the God, which was often represented by the Sun – and you’ll notice the Sun joys in the ninth house – it deals with higher education, philosophy, and religion – illumination, in other words.

Jupiter joys in the eleventh house, which is friends, organisations, charities, and things that make life good on a social level – Jupiter being the greater benefic, this makes sense. Venus, the lesser benefic, rules over things like love and sex, entertainment, and finery, more the personal pleasures, and joys in the fifth house, which rules those same things.

That leaves us with the two malefic planets, Saturn and Mars. In short, Saturn rules over misery, and Mars over conflict. There’s more to them than that, of course, but those are good keywords. And where do we find their joys?

They both joy in cadent houses. The cadent houses are 3, 6, 9, and 12, respectively, and are considered to be weaker than the other houses. My feeling is that Mars ended up joying in 6 and Saturn in 12 because being cadent, they couldn’t do as much harm there as they could were they angular or succedent – and both the 6th and 12th houses are unfortunate, as you’ll see – so they match the natures of Mars and Saturn pretty well.

In a moment, I’ll give you a list of some of the things the different houses rule – and I’ll throw in a few of the off-beat rulerships, too – though this is by no means comprehensive.

Now, if you know a little bit about astrology, here’s what you can do. Look at the houses your planets are in. A planet in a house will have a more immediate effect on the affairs of that house than the ruler of the house. But then look at the ruler of the house, too. Say your seventh house ruler is in the third house. Did you meet your spouse or business partner in your neighbourhood, or were you introduced by a family member? House rulership will always play a part in delineation. But let’s say Mercury is in the seventh house in that same chart, too – do you tend to be attracted to loquacious partners, people who are really rational and analytical, or scientists or merchants? Probably you do.

Of course, all of this will get coloured in by how dignified or debilitated the planets are, the aspects they make, and the signs they’re in, but still – it’s a pretty good start, and you’ll probably discover some neat things just reading your chart this way.

Okay? Here are some of the basic house rulerships:

First House (Ascendant): Body, health, well-being, happiness. Planes, trains, automobiles, and ships. Usually the querent in horary astrology.

Second House: Money and moveable possessions. Allies or retainers in the sense of people who are assets to you. As an example, a lawyer representing you in court would fall under your second house.

Third House: News, letters, siblings, cousins, neighbours, co-workers, your neighbourhood, routine travel, primary education. Day-to-day routines and day-to-day religious practises. Religions that are out-of-favour, heresies and heretics.

Fourth House (IC, Nadir, or Lower Midheaven): Your father, family life generally, your home, real property, buried treasure, old age, the end of things. The grave.

Fifth House: Children, sex, entertainment, fun, creativity, art, gifts, bribes, gambling, ambassadors or agents.

Sixth House: Illness, hard work (the kind you don’t get paid for), slavery, pets, small animals up to the size of a goat or sheep, servants and employees. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (bad things that happen to you that aren’t your fault).

Seventh House (Descendant): Marriage, partnerships (including business), open enemies, lawsuits, wars.

Eighth House: Death, surgery, fear, loss, other people’s money and allies, legacies.

Ninth House: Foreigners, foreign travel, religion, clergy, philosophy, university education, law, publishing, visions, dreams, and omens generally.

Tenth House (Midheaven or MC): Public reputation and actions, your job, your boss and other professional matters, your mother. Professional education of any sort (if you’re at school learning anything from hairdressing to medicine – something you’re doing to learn a specific trade – it’s 10th house, not 9th). Kings, queens, presidents, and royalty generally.

Eleventh House: Friends, organisations or clubs, charitable societies, pensions, grants from government organisations, and help from heaven – the proverbial lucky break. Hopes and wishes are here, too.

Twelfth House: Secrets, secret enemies, mistakes, incarceration, hospitalisation, self-undoing, exile. Large animals like horses and cows.

 

The Computer is Misbehaving

Posted in Lenormand on 08/20/2009 03:14 pm by Chanah

Just a short note to let you all know that yes – that overview reading was right! (Gee, isn’t that exciting ;) ).

The computer is on its last legs, but it should be replaced with a newer and more stable one middle of next week – hence the lack of posts recently. It tends to reboot spontaneously, crosslink files and kill them, type in all caps, and do a lot of other annoying things, so it’s been a real trial trying to get anything written. And no, it’s not malware – the hard disk, ports, and memory are all failing – ugh.

If I have a chance to get to a working computer, I’ll write sooner, if not – see you next week.

Chanah

 
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