In Astrology Independent Study Module No. 12, you completed the setting up of the horoscope for August 10, 1912, 4:00 P.M., New York City. We will now consider the subject of the aspects between the planets in this horoscope.

   When two planets are a certain number of degrees apart, they are said to be in aspect to each other. Planets which are in aspect are very much stronger than otherwise, and the influences of the two planets blend so that each has an effect upon the affairs ruled by the other.

  Planets are in aspect to each other provided:

  1st. That their distance apart in signs falls within any one of the classifications in the following table.

0 signs apart-Conjunction
2 or 10 signs apart-Sextile
3 or 9 signs apart-Square
4 or 8 signs apart-Trine
6 signs apart-Opposition
Same degree of declination, either North or South, — Parallel (P).

  2nd. That they are also within orb of each other.

   The nature of an orb is as follows: Each planet has invisible vehicles, which constitute an aura about it so that its influence is felt for some distance beyond its circumference. This distance is spoken of as its orb.

The size of the orb which is usually allowed in the case of the seven planets in aspects between themselves is 6 degrees. In aspects between the Sun and Moon 8 degrees are allowed, and the same for aspects between the Sun or Moon and any one of the seven planets.

   Now to apply the above information, we will examine several of the planets in the above mentioned horoscope to find whether they are in aspect to one another or not. You will notice in the accompanying cut of the horoscope that in the outer circle we have placed figures which correspond to the numbers of the signs: that is, Aries is sign No. 1; Taurus is sign No.2; Gemini is sign No. 3, etc. In order to apply the first rule mentioned above, namely, to find whether the distance in signs between any two planets falls in one of the classifications in the Table of Aspects, we subtract the numbers of the two signs containing the two planets in question. For instance, Jupiter is in Sagittarius, the 9th sign, and Uranus is in Aquarius, the 11th sign. Subtracting 9 from 11 gives us 2, and looking at our Table of Aspects we find that two signs apart constitutes the sextile aspect. Now we still have to apply the second rule to ascertain whether these two planets are within orb in order to finally determine whether or not there is an actual sextile aspect between them. The degrees and minutes of the position of Uranus are 0-49, and those of Jupiter are 5-38. Subtracting these two set of figures we find the difference to be 4 degrees and 49 minutes. As this is less than the 6 degrees noted above as the permissible orb, we see that both conditions noted in the above rules have been complied with, and therefore Jupiter is sextile aspect to Uranus.

   We will also examine Saturn and Uranus in the above horoscope to find out whether they are in aspect to each other. Saturn is in Gemini, the 3rd sign, and Uranus is in Aquarius, the 11th sign. Subtracting 3 from 11 we obtain 8 as the distance in signs between these two planets. Looking at our Table of Aspects we note that this corresponds to the trine. Subtracting 0-49, the number of the degrees and minutes of the position of Uranus, from 2-55, that of Saturn, we obtain 2 degrees and 6 minutes as the difference between the two. As this is less than 6 degrees, these two planets are within orb, and therefore Saturn is trine to Uranus.

   To make sure that the principle of aspecting is understood, we will take another example, namely, that of the Moon and Mars. The Moon is in Cancer, the 4th sign, and Mars is in Virgo, the 6th sign. Subtracting 4 from 6 gives us two signs apart, and by referring to the Table of Aspects we see that this is a sextile aspect provided that these two planets are within orb. The degrees and minutes of Mars are 15-27, and those of the Moon are 19-55. Subtracting these gives us 4-28, which being less than 8 degrees, the allowable orb of the Moon, shows that Mars and the Moon are within or and therefore sextile to each other.

   In determining the aspects between planets it will be noted that the houses have nothing to do with the matter whatever. Neither does it make any difference whether one or both of the two planets is in an intercepted sign, such as Cancer and Capricorn in the above horoscope. All we have to do is to subtract the sign numbers and then determine whether the planets are within orb.

   If we should wish to ascertain whether Neptune is in aspect to Jupiter, we subtract 4, the number of Cancer in which Neptune is placed, from 9, the number of Sagittarius in which Jupiter is located, and obtain 5 as a result. Looking in our Table of Aspects we find that 5 signs apart do not constitute an aspect. Therefore there is no aspect between Neptune and Jupiter.

   Following the above method we find the following aspects in addition to the ones noted above: Mercury square Jupiter; Mercury square Saturn.

   The square is an aspect of 90 degrees, but as we allow an orb of 6 degrees (8 degrees for Sun or Moon) on either side of the 90 degrees, planets could be in square aspect to each other anywhere from 84 degrees to 96 degrees apart. In a like manner, the sextile could occur anywhere from 54 degrees to 66 degrees apart; or likewise, the trine aspect from 114 degrees to 126 degrees apart.

   In addition, planets in the last 6 degrees of any sign must be compared with all planets in the first 6 degrees of other signs, because they may be in aspect to each other without coming directly under the preceding rules. For instance, consider Venus and Saturn in the above horoscope. Venus is in the last 6 degrees of Leo, and Saturn is in the first 6 degrees of Gemini. The method is as follows: Add 6 degrees to the position of the planet which is in the last 6 degrees of its sign. Adding 6 degrees to 27-43 Leo, the position of Venus, gives us 3-43 Virgo. Now if the resulting degrees and minutes of Venus equal or exceed those of Saturn and also if the number of signs between Gemini and the new position of Venus, viz. Virgo, falls within one of the classifications in the Table of Aspects, the two planets are in aspect to each other. Applying these tests we find that Venus is square to Saturn. We find also that Uranus is nearly in opposition to Neptune (6 degrees 24'). When one of the planets under consideration is in the Sun or Moon, use 8 degrees instead of 6 wherever 6 occurs above, on account of the orb of the Sun and Moon being 8 degrees. Other examples (not in this horoscope) of cases like the above are as follows: Mars in 24-30 Aries is in conjunction with Venus in 0-30 Taurus; Mercury in 26-0 Taurus is sextile Jupiter in 2-0 Leo; Saturn in 27-0 Gemini is square the Moon in 5-0 Libra; Neptune in 28-0 Cancer is trine the Sun in 6-0 Sagittarius; Venus in 28-30 Leo is in opposition to Mercury in 4-30 Pisces.

   There yet remain the Parallels. Two planets are parallel to each other when they are in the same degree of declination, either north or south; that is, they may both be north declination, both south declination, or one north and one south. The orb of a parallel is 1-1/2 degrees. The method of obtaining the parallels will be given farther on in this self-study module.

   We will now examine the nature of the various aspects. The sextile and the trine are regarded as benefic or favorable aspects. They represent faculties which we have built up in past lives, and which enable us to do things easily in this life. Therefore they bring us a certain measure of success. They also represent destiny of a favorable character which has been created by us in past lives and which is now ready for our reaping. The square and the opposition represents lessons which we have not learned in previous lives for some reason or other, and faculties which are still in a partially developed state. Therefore the chief lesson which we have to learn in the present life comes through the square and the opposition. These aspects also represent destiny of an adverse character which we have created for ourselves in past lives by ill-advised or destructive action of some sort, and therefore this destiny is ready for our reaping in the present life. The conjunction sometimes falls in one class and sometimes in the other, depending upon the nature of the planets which are in conjunction. If the natures of the two planets harmonize with each other, the conjunction is benefic, but if the natures of the two planets do not harmonize, the conjunction is adverse in character. However, the detrimental effects of an adverse conjunction are much mitigated and may be very largely removed provided good aspects are brought to it from other planets in the chart.

   Conjunctions in the "variable" column are sometimes benefic and sometimes adverse. For further information regarding them see Simplified Scientific Astrology.

  Benefic: Sun conjunct Venus, Jupiter; Venus conjunct Mercury, Moon, Jupiter; Mercury conjunct Moon, Jupiter, Neptune; Moon conjunct Jupiter, Neptune.

  Adverse: Sun conjunct Saturn, Uranus, Neptune; Venus conjunct Saturn; Saturn conjunct Mars; Mars conjunct Uranus, Neptune.

  Variable: Sun conjunct Mercury, Moon, Mars; Venus conjunct Mars, Uranus, Neptune; Mercury conjunct Saturn, Mars, Uranus; Moon conjunct Saturn, Mars, Uranus; Saturn conjunct Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune; Jupiter conjunct Mars, Uranus, Neptune; Uranus conjunct Neptune.

  The parallels do not have so pronounced an effect as the other aspects except in the matter of health, upon which they have considerable influence. In some cases the parallel is considered to have the same effect as the conjunction, in others the same as the opposition, and in still others the same as the trine.

   It should be carefully noted at this point that there is no evil in any planetary vibrations. The only bad effects that can come from them is the result of our misuse of them or our inability to control them. Any planet emits the same vibrations at all times. The square and the opposition between two planets, however, tend to incite to excess in the use of their vibrations, and therefore to carry activities that come under their influence to such an extreme that they become evil. When one resists this tendency, however, he rules his stars and therefore avoids the evil effects. The planets do nothing at all except to energize that which we have within our own auras. The planets of themselves bring us neither good fortune or bad fortune. They merely stimulate us to create for ourselves good or bad fortune in accordance with the character which we have created for ourselves in the past. Adverse aspects bring temptations which will persist until we have learned to overcome them. Adverse aspects, however, bring us a great deal of valuable experience and enable us to develop spiritual muscle. A horoscope which contains only benefic aspects makes the life insipid because everything comes so easily that one is deprived of incentive to action and therefore fails to get zest out of life. A most hopeful factor in the situation is that adverse aspects may be transmuted into good ones by overcoming the evil tendencies which they produce. If we succeed in doing this,we will have a better horoscope in our next life because we have earned it. Thus do we progress in Evolution.

   Planets are said to be "dignified" in or to "rule" certain signs where the nature of the planet and that of the sign agree. When placed in the opposite sign, however, they are in their "detriment", because somewhat out of harmony with their surroundings and therefore weaker than in other signs.

   Planets are said to be "exalted" in certain signs because they are powerful there. When occupying the opposite signs, however, they are in their "fall," hence not as strong.

   Students should not get the idea from the above that the detriments and falls of the planets invalidate or destroy their influence. A planet is a driving force no matter in what sign it is located, and that force will operate regardless of all other considerations. Planets that are in the signs of their detriment and fall are a little handicapped in their activities, and therefore cannot get quite as good results as in more favorable signs, but they will always assert themselves to some degree wherever they are placed. The following table shows the rulerships, exaltations, detriments, and falls of all the planets.

   Planets in the angles of the horoscope, namely, the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th houses, are said to be angular, and there exert a greater influence for either good or ill than when located in the other houses. The 1st house and the 10th are the most powerful. Planets in the 1st house, particularly if they are in the sign on the Ascendant, have a very strong influence upon the personality and therefore a corresponding effect upon the activities and destiny of the life. A planet in the Midheaven, that is, the 10th house, has a strong influence upon one's position in life and general standing in the community. This is also true if it is in the 9th house rather close to the cusp of the 10th.

   Ruler of the Horoscope: The nominal ruler of the horoscope as a whole is the ruler of the sign on the Ascendant. In the present horoscope Sagittarius is on the Ascendant, and therefore Jupiter is the nominal ruler. In cases where the ruler of the Ascendant is weak by position and aspect, some other planet which is strong in these respects may be the real ruler and exert a greater influence than the nominal ruler.

  House Rulers: The ruler of the house is the planet which rules the sign on its cusp. When a house contains one or more planets, the affairs of that house are largely judged by those planets, and the ruler of the house has only a secondary influence. When a house has no planets in it, its affairs are judged by the ruler of the house together with its positions and aspects.

  Quadruplicities and Triplicities: The signs are divided into two general groups, namely, the quadruplicities and the triplicities. The general qualities of the signs in these groups are as follows:

  Quadruplicities: Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn-Initiative, activity; Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius-Stability; Common Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces-Flexibility.

  Triplicities: Fiery Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius-Impulse, spiritual power; Earthy Signs: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn-Materialism; Airy Signs: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius-Intellectuality; Watery Signs: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces-Emotion, psychic qualities.

   Planets in Cardinal Signs form the following aspects: conjunction, when in same sign; square, when 90 degrees (3 signs) apart; opposition, when 180 degrees (6 signs) apart. Likewise, planets in remaining Quadruplicities (Fixed and Common) form similar aspects when within orb.

   Planets in Triplicities (fire, earth, air and water signs) form trine aspects when within orbs allowed. Sextile aspects are formed when planets are in alternate signs (60 degrees or two signs apart) and in orb.

   Planets in first 6 or last 6 degrees of any signs must always be considered separately as well as by classifications.

   The Dragon's Head has an influence similar to that of the Sun in Aries, and is Jupiterian in effect. The Dragon's Tail has an influence similar to that of Saturn though weaker. The only aspect which is considered in the case of the Dragon's Head and Tail is the conjunction, and an orb of only 3 degrees is allowed. The position of the Dragon's Head is copied from the Ephemeris without calculation, the Dragon's Tail being directly opposite.

  Planets in intercepted signs (such as Cancer or Capricorn in our horoscope) do not exert their full influence in the early part of life as a rule. Their possibilities are latent. But when by progression they have moved out of the intercepted area their influence becomes fully active.

  Retrograde planets, that is, planets which are apparently moving backward in the signs (this movement is only apparent, not real) are not as clear-cut in their action as planets which are direct, that is, those which are moving forward in the signs.

  Aspects to the Ascendant, which represents the body, have an influence upon the health. Aspects to the Midheaven (M.C.) indicate the nature of one's opportunities for spiritual advancement. But since the exact time of birth is rarely known, and since a small error in this makes several degrees difference in the Ascendant or Midheaven, predictions made from aspects to these points are likely to be unreliable.

   Cardinal Signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn; 1st, 13th and 26th degrees.

  Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius; 9th and 21st degrees.

  Common Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces; 4th and 17th degrees.

   When a planet is within an orb of 3 degrees of any of these points, it will be found to exercise a much stronger influence in the life than otherwise. (Click/touch here, and Simplified Scientific Astrology.)

  Note: The Minor Elements described above are all of secondary importance.

   All the information which we have worked out above regarding the aspects, dignities, exaltations, angles, triplicities, quadruplicities, and rulerships is now to be collected and placed in a diagram or index. Below, we can see this index made out for the horoscope under consideration. From it we see that Neptune and the Moon are in cardinal signs; the Sun, Venus and Uranus are in fixed signs; Saturn, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter are in common signs. Also, the Sun, Venus, and Jupiter are in fiery signs; Mars and Mercury are in earthy signs; Saturn and Uranus are in airy signs; Neptune and the Moon are in watery signs.

   We also note that Jupiter, Uranus, the Moon, the Sun, and Mercury are dignified; Neptune and Mercury are exalted; Uranus, Neptune, and the Moon are angular; and Jupiter is the ruler of the horoscope.

   It now remains to determine the parallels and insert them in the index.

   In order to do this, we take our Ephemeris for Aug. 10, 1912, and copy out the declinations for the noon positions placing them in the column marked "Decl," as shown in the Index (see Simplified Scientific Astrology). No calculation is required for the planets except in the case of the fast-moving Moon (see hereafter).

   The declination of the planets should be copied directly from the Ephemeris for the day having noon nearest G.M.T. with the exception of the fast-moving Moon. Its declination should be calculated by the logarithmic method as follows:

   To find the declination of the Part of Fortune, Ascendant, or Midheaven, first take the longitude as shown in the chart. Then find the date (same year preferred) that the Sun was in the same degree (or nearest that degree) and sign. Note the date and see the declination of the Sun on that date. That represents the declination of the point in question. For example, in the chart we are considering, we find the Ascendant in Sagittarius 28:20 degrees. We take our Ephemeris for 1912 and find that the Sun was in 28:16 of Sagittarius on December 20th. Now in the column of declination of planets, on December 20th, we see the Sun's declination is 23:26. This represents the declination of the Ascendant.

   The orb allowed for the Parallels is 1-1/2 degrees. In order to determine whether a certain planet is parallel to any other planet we first subtract the two declinations; if the result is 1-1/2 degrees or less, these two planets are parallel to each other. In the present case we note that the Sun's declination is 15:37. Comparing this with all of the other declinations, we find that there is no case in which the difference is less than 1-1/2 degrees; therefore the Sun has no parallels. In the case of Mercury, whose declination is 6:40, the difference is 1-23, which is less than 1/2 degrees; therefore Mercury is parallel to Mars. Similarly, we find the following parallels: Jupiter parallel (P) Uranus; Jupiter parallel Neptune; Uranus parallel Neptune.

   These parallels have been inserted in the index under the heading of "Aspects," on the right hand side of the diagram.

  (You are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments to us. Please be sure to include the course name and self-study module number in your e-mail to us. Or, you are also welcome to use the answer form below. You will find the answers to the questions below in the next Astrology Independent Study Module.)

  1.  We would like you to take the horoscope for September 15, 1912, 2:00 A.M., New York City, begun in Astrology Independent Study Module 5, and complete it. Then work out the aspects and other properties and make a complete index for that horoscope exactly after the pattern which has been illustrated above for the horoscope of August 10, 1912. (See Simplified Scientific Astrology.) See the horoscope blank below which you may use for this purpose. (optional)

Name: Astrology Self-Study Module No. 20
Place: New York City, NY, USA
Lat.: 41 deg. N
Long.: 74 deg. W
Birth Date: September 15, 1912
Birth Time: 2:00 A.M.
(Std. Time)
Std Time: Eastern
(Choose One:
  Eastern
  Central
  Mountain
  Pacific)
True Local Time: 2:04 A.M.
Calc. Sid. Time: 01:39:10
Nearest Sid. Time: 01:40:13
Greenwich Mean Time:
Adj. Calc. Date:

Asc.: Leo 09:02
2nd House: Virgo 00:00
3rd House: Virgo 25:00
4th House: Libra 27:00; Scorpio intercepted
5th House: Sagittarius 04:00
6th House: Capricorn 09:00
7th House: Aquarius 09:02
8th House: Pisces 00:00
9th House: Pisces 25:00
10th House: Aries 27:00; Taurus intercepted
11th House: Gemini 04:00
12th House: Cancer 09:00

Cardinal:
Fixed:
Common:
Fiery:
Earthy:
Airy:
Watery:
Essentially Dignified:
Exalted:
Detriment:
Fall:
Angular:
Critical Degree:
Ruler:

Planets' Declination:

Sun:
Venus:
Mercury:
Moon:
Saturn:
Jupiter:
Mars:
Uranus:
Neptune:
Pluto:
Dragon's Head:
Dragon's Tail:
Asc.:
M.C.:
Part of Fortune:

Sun:
Venus:
Mercury:
Moon:
Saturn:
Jupiter:
Mars:
Uranus:
Neptune:
Pluto:
Dragon's Head:
Dragon's Tail:
Asc.:
M.C.:
Part of Fortune:

Birth Hour according to Standard Time:   (if Daylight Saving Time in effect, subtract one hour): 02:00
Degrees birthplace is East or West of Standard Time Meridian in use at birth :1 degree
Multiply this number of degrees by 4 minutes, equals: 00:04
  (Add if birthplace is East of this Meridian. Subtract if birthplace is West of this Meridian)
Gives True Local Time (T.L.T.) of Birth: 02:04 A.M.

Sidereal Time (S.T.) at Greenwich for noon previous to T.L.T. of birth: 11:32:00
Correction of 10 seconds for each 15 degrees of Longitude (10/15 or 2/3 x Long.): 00:00:49
  (Add if West Longitude. Deduct if East Longitude)
Interval between previous noon and true local time of birth: 14:04:00
Add correction of 10 seconds per hour of interval: 00:02:21
Gives Sidereal Time (S.T.) at birthplace at birth hour: 01:39:10
Nearest S. T. in Tables of Houses: 01:40:13

True Local Time of Birth :2:04
Degrees East or West of Greenwich: 74 deg.
Multiply this number of degrees by 4 minutes equals [74 x 4 = 296]: 4:56
  (Add, if West Longitude. Deduct if East Longitude)
Gives Greenwich Mean Time (G.M.T.): 7:00
Interval to nearest noon:
Logarithm for this interval (Permanent Logarithm):

Sign:
Coming Noon Position (after G.M.T.):
Previous Noon Position (before G.M.T.):
Travel in 24 hours:
Logarithm of Travel:
Permanent Logarithm:
Sum of Logarithms:
Travel During Interval:
  (Direct planets: add to previous noon position if G.M.T. is P.M.;
   deduct from coming noon position if G.M.T. is A.M. Retrograde Planets, reverse this rule.)
Position of Sun:
House Location of Sun:

Sign:
Coming Noon Position (after G.M.T.):
Previous Noon Position (before G.M.T.):
Travel in 24 hours:
Logarithm of Travel:
Permanent Logarithm:
Sum of Logarithms:
Travel During Interval:
  (Direct planets: add to previous noon position if G.M.T. is P.M.;
  deduct from coming noon position if G.M.T. is A.M. Retrograde Planets, reverse this rule.)
Position of Venus:
House Location of Venus:

Sign:
Coming Noon Position (after G.M.T.):
Previous Noon Position (before G.M.T.):
Travel in 24 hours:
Logarithm of Travel:
Permanent Logarithm:
Sum of Logarithms:
Travel During Interval:
  (Direct planets: add to previous noon position if G.M.T. is P.M.;
  deduct from coming noon position if G.M.T. is A.M. Retrograde Planets, reverse this rule.)
Position of Mercury:
House Location of Mercury:

Sign:
Coming Noon Position (after G.M.T.):
Previous Noon Position (before G.M.T.):
Travel in 24 hours:
Logarithm of Travel:
Permanent Logarithm:
Sum of Logarithms:
Travel During Interval:
  (Direct planets: add to previous noon position if G.M.T. is P.M.;
  deduct from coming noon position if G.M.T. is A.M. Retrograde Planets, reverse this rule.)
Position of Moon:
House Location of Moon:

Sign:
Coming Noon Position (after G.M.T.):
Previous Noon Position (before G.M.T.):
Travel in 24 hours:
Logarithm of Travel:
Permanent Logarithm:
Sum of Logarithms:
Travel During Interval:
  (Direct planets: add to previous noon position if G.M.T. is P.M.;
  deduct from coming noon position if G.M.T. is A.M. Retrograde Planets, reverse this rule.)
Position of Mars:
House Location of Mars:

Position of Saturn:
House Location of Saturn:

Position of Jupiter:
House Location of Jupiter:

Position of Uranus:
House Location of Uranus:

Position of Neptune:
House Location of Neptune:

Position of Pluto:
House Location of Pluto:

Position of Dragon's Head :
House Location of Dragon's Head:

  This is an ideal configuration for idealism and spirituality. The Sun (will, vitality, chief ambition) in the 9th house (idealism, higher mind, aspiration) trining Neptune (inspiration, devotion, music) in Pisces (unity, spirituality, renunciation) in the 12th house (mysticism, institutions for unfortunates, debts of destiny) indicates some of the noblest traits of character: compassion, understanding, humility, spiritual aspiration, a sense of the unity of all life, and the spirit of sacrifice. A secret, soul-satisfying or clandestine but honorable relationship, probably with someone in the spirit world, which will bring benefit to both is indicated. Ability in the fields of poetry, religion, philosophy, science, music and the esoteric arts is indicated, but whatever the work, it will very probably be done quietly and apart from the public, without thought of the plaudits of the world.

   The fifth house of the abstract horoscope is the second point for both the fixed-sign square and the fire-sign. The release of its potentials provides a very great channeling for spiritual on-going.

   The fifth house is below the horizon — in the northern hemisphere — and to the right of the vertical of the wheel: west. It is the middle house of the quadrant initiated by the fourth house; this quadrant is called — or can be thought of as — the family sector. Being below the horizon, the fifth house is in the hemisphere which pertains to the consciousness of the separate self. Being west, it is in the "fated" hemisphere — those chapters of experience which Life brings to us to deal with as best we can; we do not exercise self-determination as much in these patterns as we do — or can do — with those in the eastern hemisphere.

   The four fixed signs — Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius — and their corresponding houses — the second, fifth, eighth, and eleventh — are the signs and houses of resource and sustenance, by which the quadrants initiated by the cardinals are "fed." The first house initiates the consciousness of "I am an individual;" the fourth house says: "I am an individual factor in a pattern of family, heritage, and race." The resources made possible by the fifth house enable Humanity to realize: "I have the power to contribute to the stream of life through the exercise of my love- consciousness and to sustain my creations by my own resource of love-power." The Sun, which abstractly rules the fifth house through the sign Leo, is the essential symbol of Power of any kind just as, literally, the Sun is the radiant source of life for our solar system, its creation. From this resource we are urged to release life-giving energies through the exercise of parental love and we give incarnation to other Egos who come in as our children. We also give life to impersonal expressions in the creativity in Art. Biological or impersonal, in loving our children or in loving our creativity and the work we are devoted to, these releasements are all expressions of the creative aspect of love-power.

   Because of the resources of intense potential implied by the four fixed signs and houses, the unregenerate patterns which are involved with them imply a corresponding intensity of karma. The essential keyword implied by unregenerate Leo is misuse of power through the exercise of egotism. (By "unregenerate Leo" is meant frictional patterns concerning planets in Leo or the Sun itself, wherever it is in the chart.) The symbol which we use for the "square aspect" — a square with horizontal base — when applied to the wheel falls in such a way that the angles coincide with the midpoints of the fixed houses; the second of these — the midpoint of Leo — provides the upward turning point as we travel around the wheel counter-clockwise from the Ascendant. In this picture we are alerted to the importance of regeneracy of the fifth house: until that potential is regenerated the consciousness remains fixated in levels of possession and egotism — the second and fifth houses, both below the horizon. If we can imagine the fixed square being "stopped" at the sixth cusp and the currents "cut off," the energies which — symbolically — would seek to rise upward into the relationship quadrant above the horizon are frustrated and boil and churn back and forth within the first five houses, and the I am of the first house remains fixated in a limiting expression of possession desire and power desire; possessions become objects of love consciousness and people who should be loved and sustained by love become the objects of the power consciousness, to be dominated and utilized as are inanimate possessions. A great symbol is shown in this frustrated pattern: the story of Man's inhumanity to mankind; Man's imprisonment of himself by himself.

   When humanity identifies its possessions as symbols of power, and children as objects of power rather than of love, we see the consciousness of egotism trampling through human experience. This consciousness, activated by the first four houses and sustained — if such can be called sustainment — by unregenerate levels of the fifth house depicts, in symbolic form, the concept of dynasty: groups of individuals vibratorily united through a family pattern or a national pattern who are held in a mold of family as an expression of power and egotism The individual and his essential rights are considered a cipher — at best,a pawn — in the maintenance of this fixated, rigidly organized plan. Marriage is based on position, heritage, and possessions; religion is a conformance to ritual and dogma by which the power and supremacy of the pattern is continually emphasized; education is a tool for the molding of minds according to the expediency of the plan. In fact, the third house, in this symbol, is impaled between the first and fifth houses. Having no releasement beyond the fifth house, education remains purely a thing of rote, tradition, and repetition of a limited intellectual organization. History tells this story over and over again; we have all gone through phases in which we functioned as — and felt like — ciphers in a family or nationalistic pattern; it is really an expression of the tribe consciousness of humanity. As such it fulfills an evolutionary need and, as such, it is good. However, in due course of time it must be transcended if the race is to evolve. Those who have recognized, to a degree, their inherent powers but who remain unregenerate are those who act as the tyrants, despots, and autocrats of families, groups, and nations; they are the "givers of commands" and the "wielders of whips." Those who remain in the first four houses, not as yet having come into an awareness of their powers, are the victims of the others; they are the superstitious and the credulous, the minions and the slaves. They live in their surface awareness, their desires and physical needs, their subservience to anything they fear or do not understand. They have, in short, not yet become aware that they are resources of power and self-determination. They are scarcely aware of individual potential. They exist as factors in an over-all pattern which exists as a molding for their experiences.

   When people come to a point of feeling unsatisfied, restless and bored with the crystallized patterns they have been living with and desire to find a more satisfying and more extensive release for their energies, then study the chart with an eye to analyzing the fifth house potentials. This analysis must of course include a study of the Sun because the Sun is the abstract symbol of the ability for self-determination. Many people crystallize because they have put their lives into channels that they themselves do not really want; in other words they have side-tracked themselves into artificiality of pattern and, being "fed up" with their own mistake are eager to get back to their real selves and begin to live constructively and happily in accordance with the best potentials in their charts. Some of these people have side-tracked themselves because of a reaction of fear of, or subservience to, a stronger will which has sought to force them out of line due to ignorance or to a lack of sympathetic awareness of their needs. Self-determination, let it be said, is an aspect of courage — the fifth house is a self-expression backed up by the regenerated qualities of the first house. However, when purpose is electrified in the consciousness, releasements of hope, courage, and renewed enthusiasm are made and the person feels that he truly has been "born again." He must know what he wants to do with his life and if he continues to fulfill his responsibility patterns he has every right to re-determine his upward progress. In dealing with such a chart, create mandalas of every Sun-aspect; determine to what degree the person can re-direct a new course of living and help him to understand why he was impelled to move off from his rightful path so that he can meet the challenges of his aspects of consciousness more successfully in the future.

   In regard to the frictional patterns involving the fifth house, one in particular can be dealt with here: the assistance that the astrologer, as philosopher-friend, can render to parents who are stricken by what is perhaps the most pathetic form of human suffering — their reaction of grief to the transition of a beloved young child or baby. All human beings incarnate through their parents, specifically, by the Law of Vibratory Sympathy. Those persons who, as husband and wife, lovingly extend an invitation to incarnation to another Ego may have in back of them a history of possessiveness and parental domination over their children in the past. The conscious mind may not recognize it — and usually doesn't — but if a new incarnation is "cut off" the parents, from a philosophic standpoint, need not feel that their parental experience has been frustrated. That transition was made by Law, just as the incarnation was.

   Esoteric explanation tells us that many Egos incarnate for a short time in order to re-establish contact with this dimension in order that their on-going may be more completely made. Such children come in to parents who, for some inner reason, must learn to let go. Somewhere in the past there was too much holding on as an expression of parental authority or power and perhaps the progress of the child in the past was inhibited or frustrated. Also, when an Ego makes transition through some sudden or violent agency and the physical body is destroyed the person may come back very soon to establish its links, and then, not being intended to remain for a full span of incarnation-experience, it goes on in its progress. Encourage, if you can, an elasticization of viewpoint in the minds of such parents; encourage them to renew, if possible, the expression of their love power in some way. Encourage them, above all, to neutralize tendencies to prolonged grief, brooding and disintegrative sorrow, and point out to them that as long as they themselves are in incarnation they need not cut off all expressions of their love- potential. Try to help them, in other words, to keep their fifth house consciousness alive and expressive. To keep the fifth house alive is to keep the heart alive.

   In the fire-sign mandala we connect the cusps of the first, fifth, and ninth houses, forming an equilateral triangle, the "upward" of which is the vertical from the fifth to the ninth.

   When the power-aspect of the fifth house is amplified by the love-consciousness the symbolic insignia is drawn of the potential for joyousness. The suggestion is made at this point that we consider joyousness as being much more significant than just a feeling — usually temporary — of well-being or of satisfaction. Joyousness is a spiritual state in which — or by which — the Higher Self of Humanity is able to express its constructive releasement regardless of outward conditions and affairs, because joy is one of the attributes of the love-consciousness. It enables the releasement of power for the best good of all concerned because love clarifies the perceptions to an awareness of the inherent good in all people and of the best potentials and meanings of any experience.

   The best of Leo — and the fifth house — is the "smiling heart," the radiating enthusiasm and overflowing of high spirits that charge human life — and relationships — with loveliness, buoyancy, and charm. It is the insignia of pleasure and luxury by which the consciousness of Man expresses its awareness of amplitude — both inner and outer. It is the "house of hobbies" since a hobby, in the true sense of the word, is the creative releasement of an intense interest, a beloved pass-time, a re-creative and harmonizing activity. A psychological re-directive can be presented to people who have become stagnated through too much preoccupation with routine, responsibility- fulfillment and practicality. Everyone can find a channeling for release of creative and recreative impulses if he wants strongly enough to organize his life accordingly. Psychology has proved over and over again the power of a vibrationally synchronized hobby to infuse into human life a new awareness of joy, enthusiasm, and well-being on all planes.

   The first house is self-awareness; the fifth is creative self-expression; the ninth is the creative aspect of wisdom, distilled from experience. The first is being — I Am; the fifth is joyful being — I Love; the ninth is wise being — I Understand.

   The fifth house is love in its most one-pointed expression. It is a radiation from the individual consciousness which is a releasement of powers for the person from whom they emanate and a warmth and stimulation to those who receive it. The fifth house is traditionally called the "house of children." That interpretation, however, is a derivative. In the chart of a specific individual the fifth house is the insignia of his creative love potential: it paints the picture of his awareness of children as a factor in his relationship consciousness — it is his potential as a loving giver of life. The Love by which we parent other Egos is our level of that Divine Love expression by which a solar system is incarnated. Herein can be seen why egotism on the part of parents or teachers can be a death-dealing agency to the lives of children and pupils. Egotism is retroactive; it boils back into the levels of self-glorification and self-interest. Love is interested in the true welfare and up-going of those to whom it gives life. Kahlil Gibran refers to parents who love truly as "bows from which arrows spring forth" — to go on in their development and to fulfill their own purposes and destinies.

   Let us appreciate, more than ever before, that expression of Love which made possible our incarnation. Let us learn of parental love from those who have gone before us and recognize that our on- going was made possible because they responded to the opportunity to release life in their releasing of love. And we must recognize that as we too, whether parents or not, do create a greater beauty for all when we tap our resources of joyous-heartedness; in doing so we, by the processes of sympathetic vibration, actually parent the joyousness in the consciousness of all people who come in contact with us. We want to live life in joyous terms, courageously, generously, and beautifully. In order to do so, we must express the heart center and live lovingly.

   The experience of transition from the physical dimension to the invisible planes is one which humanity, for the most part, regards with a feeling of anxiety, dread, and in some cases, sheer terror. In no phase of astrological service is the astrologer required to be more sensitive, more impersonally compassionate, and more truly sympathetic than in those times when he is called upon to interpret a chart of someone whose grief-stricken reaction to the passing of a loved one has, temporarily, neutralized his capacity for on-going. Since each house in the wheel has its basic principles — as an experience-pattern — this material is presented with the hope that it will help all astrological students and practitioners to come into a clearer realization of this most occult of houses and thus to enlarge their ability to deal with people who are "walking the darkened pathway."

   The principle of the eighth house is regeneration; and, at this point, a word of explanation may be offered.

   A certain fine man whom the author knows has magnificently demonstrated the power of the regenerative viewpoint in the face of a shattering separation. His honored wife made transition from this incarnation at a lime when she was at the height of fame and fortune, loved and respected by many people. She had, as we would say, everything to live for; yet Life removed her from this chapter under drastic and calamitous circumstances. A little more than a year ago this fine woman's chart was made available to the writer who sought to unravel the secret of this particular transitional experience. Focusing the chart-analysis on the seventh and eighth, twelfth and first house patterns, this conclusion was reached: above and beyond any worldly fame she had attained, this woman was a truly great soul who, as a gesture of love-service, chose to make transition in this drastic way in order that a great redemption might be made. It is more than possible that this heroic deed has provided the possibility of great fulfillments for her in the future. This particular chart is a most marvelous example of the linking of relationship-patterns from the past and their fulfillment in the present incarnation. The challenge to the husband's courage and integrity of spirit was gallantly met and, in consequence, he was moved to a gesture of service which, being fulfilled, has already proven to be a source of regeneration and renewal for his remarkable work.

   To get at the essence of the eighth house prepare a mandala as follows: a blank, twelve-housed wheel; number the first, second, seventh, and eighth houses; intensify the diameter made by the cusps of the second and eighth. This is a simple picturing of the eighth house and its polarity, the second. Turn the wheel so that the eighth cusp becomes the Ascendant; the seventh house thus appears as the twelfth. Essential meanings of the twelfth house of anything are: (1) the link between the past incarnation and the present; (2) needed redemption which impels the present incarnation. From this standpoint the meaning of the eighth house of the present incarnation is seen to be regeneration of desire-pictures which are the hidden memories of reactions to marital and relationship experiences in the past incarnation. These desire-pictures have their roots in the sexual instincts and in the consciousness of possession which, in marital or sexual relationships, reach a peak of intensity greater than they do through any other phase of experience.

   To refer to the original mandala: the polarity, or opposition, made by the relationship of the eighth and second houses to each other may be interpreted in this way: the enemy (opposition aspect) of regeneration (eighth house) is attachment (primitive phase of the second house); the enemy (opposition aspect) of stewardship (second house) is failure to regenerate desire (negative eighth house). Stewardship is "right use of materials" — proportioned, equilibrated income and out-go; attachment to materials is all in-come and no out-go, a state of unbalance by which the consciousness eventually becomes "land-locked" in its preoccupation with material evaluations.

   The negatives of both of these houses "feed each other." Desire without Love, sex without fruition remain fixated on possessiveness; intense desire for money and things without balanced release through exchange congests the intaking pictures and a sort of paralysis results due to the ever-increasing demands of the desire nature. The loved person is regarded as a possession; the focus on money or possessions to the exclusion of right personal relationship neutralizes, gradually, the love- potential and, in either case, congestion results which, in its turn, breeds all kinds of ills on all planes of human consciousness. The powers symbolized by the eighth house are those which provide releasement for these congestions of the desire nature. This releasement is symbolized by the dynamic vibration of Mars: constructive action; through Venus: mutuality.

   The transition that we are accustomed to call death is actually a large-scale expression of the Principle of Regeneration which, in turn, is the essence of the onwardness and upwardness of any Life-expression. Our bodies are continually being renewed and regenerated when they are in a state of health; congestion — or "un-ongoingness" — is the thing that results in disease. On the emotional-reaction plane congestion is any reaction that results in the person's inability or disinclination to keep himself adaptable, responsive, receptive, and enthusiastic toward newness of experience. If we cling, in feeling, to things that no longer have a part to play in our constructive living, we congest in some way. If, however, we keep open to, and responsive toward, the significance of newness, we welcome the advent into our lives of other moldings into which we can pour our potentials.

   Congestion, as a reaction to a loved one's passing, results in such manifestations as self-pity, morbid brooding over the past, resentments, and tendencies to self-isolation. These, in turn, pile up the energies into dust-heaps of misanthropy, despair, escape-tendencies and neuro- mental confusions. When we cling to that which life has proven to be outworn, we do not stagnate — we retrogress. We are either with life in generation and regeneration, or we are against life in congested degeneration. The transition of the person loved by your client is not your client's problem; his problem is to tap the sources of inner power that will result in the neutralization of his down-going reaction-patterns. It is a vital part of your responsibility to help such a person understand that "there is no death, there is only life." Impress on his consciousness the eternal "living-ness" of life and the importance of our responsibility to adapt to change of circumstance and release the best of our on-going possibilities.

   Make your converse with such a person completely life- giving; never predict transition or even try to describe the means by which it might come about. Morbid curiosity on this point is not to be indulged. (From a purely astrological standpoint, anyway, it is not wise to attempt this kind of interpretation; the same pattern that designates death also designates the emergence from the old into the new during incarnation.)

   You, as an astrologer, must have a clear, clean perspective on transition and its meanings if you are to assist in any way. Fear of death cannot be permitted to lodge in your subconscious if you are undertaking the service of "throwing Light on another's shadowed consciousness." Ground yourself thoroughly in an awareness of eternal livingness and if you ever experience a tendency to react with shock, fear or anxiety to a death picture train yourself to neutralize it immediately by the most efficient means at your (philosophical and psychological) command.

   Another approach to the eighth house can be made when we realize that it provides a key to unlock problems of all kinds that may be shown in the chart. A problem is the result of misdirected energy; because of the intensity of quality implied in the eighth house pattern, a little redirection at that point could have a noticeable effect in redirecting almost any other negative condition shown in the chart. Actually, all of our relationship patterns now are sequences from the past and are, in the final analysis, rooted in our desire-consciousness from many incarnations of relationship-experiences. Our desires run the entire keyboard: self- preservation and self-maintenance; obsessions of all kinds; power over materials and people; sexual gratification and mutual possessiveness of two people toward each other; property and prestige before the world; fame and renown; and so on — all of these desire-pictures and impressions and memories have impelled us into specific patterns of relationship with other people all along; congestions on any of these points have been "inner deaths" from which we have had to find releasement some way or another.

   There is something in the human heart that is continually searching for enlightenment, and when the astrologer has a "grief problem" to deal with he recognizes that his first and foremost responsibility is to stimulate the bereaved person's capacity for courage and intelligent adaptability. When we realize that the eighth house is also called the house of sleep-experience we recognize the value of our daily period of sleep as a regenerative agency. Rather than continuing in the miasma of dread while facing the "unknown" (which has, incidentally been faced by all of us many times in the past), any bereaved person is instinctively searching for a clearer understanding of his experience-pattern than he has ever had before; he will, in fact, continue to search until he has found the answer whether in this incarnation or in the tenth one from now. Help him, therefore, to see the transition of his loved one in as merciful a light as possible; remind him of times when he was so exhausted by physical effort or pain that he wanted a few hours of sleep more than all the gold on earth. Then present the picture of the consciousness of the loved one (which has manifested for millions of years) as needing a few hours of sleep before resuming the next phase of experience. Make "death" known to his awareness as a rhythmical, natural, needed phase of experience. Then turn your attention to the client's eighth house because he is still here and must go on with his life. The suggestion is made that you "white-light" the ruler of his eighth house, and study its sign and house position accordingly. This is suggested because it is your opportunity to alert him to the very best of his on-going possibilities — and you must make your comprehension of this part of his chart as inclusive as possible.

   Do not, in such readings, make the mistake of interjecting your own personal reaction to his broken relationship-pattern. Recognize that a woman can love her husband above all other people, even her children; a man can love his mother more than anyone else, even his wife. Remember that no matter how deeply the client loved the deceased, the latter's passing provides more room in the client's life to extend his love-potentials in other directions and it is evident that such extension is required at that time. Study the solar-eclipse aspects that were made previous to the passing; this will indicate, if the eclipse conjuncted a planet, that a severe testing will be manifested between then and the next eclipse. But remember too that the previous eclipse may have trined or sextiled a planet in the client's chart; this is premise of a very significant "opening up experience." The transition may have made that opening up possible.

   Progressed Moon aspects current at the transition (that is, current in the client's chart) must be watched closely. What he puts into action during a progressed Moon aspect bears very significant fruit. If his reaction to the transition impels him to retrogressive action he stamps his consciousness with a deeper-than-ever impression of that aspect. So, again, we say that persons must be encouraged to release in constructive action for a mutuality of good when regenerative patterns are in effect.

— Supplemental Student Material Reference: Studies in Astrology, Elman Bacher

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