Astrology 101: Help, My Planet Is Afflicted!
March 8th, 2007 at 5:46 am (Astrology 101)
I get enough questions on some of the terms and expressions I use casually in my blog posts, that I thought it would be helpful to start an occasional column explaining some of the terms. Last week, I got a very good question asking about the meaning of affliction, like when I say a planet is afflicted.
There is no particularly scientific definition of this, but a planet can really be afflicted in three major ways. It can be weak by sign placement, it can be afflicted by aspect (to another afflicted planet, pretty much regardless of the type of aspect involved), and it can be afflicted by placement in a negative house or by retrogradation.
If you look at your own horoscope, you’ll find that your planets are usually afflicted by one or maybe two of the above factors. The more of the above factors are present, the tougher it will be for that particular planet to behave well in your chart. For example, if you have a very afflicted planet ruling your 11th house of friends, you either have few friends, or there will be something wrong with your friends.
Typically though, you will see that while a planet may be afflicted, another positive factor helps it out. As an example, we can look at the chart below, which is the horoscope for Justin Timberlake, the pop star:
He has a somewhat afflicted Sun, because it is in the sign of its detriment Aquarius, and it is in the malefic sixth house of illness, and it is not helped by the negative reception from Jupiter and Saturn (which are in the sign of the Sun’s fall, Libra). Even though it is exalted, Saturn is still Saturn, and Jupiter is not strong enough to lend a particularly helpful hand here. This might point to Timberlake experiencing long-term health issues later in life, especially since the Sun rules his first house of the body and the overall vitality.
Tomorrow, I will talk about the types of difficulties associated with each planet, and use Justin Timberlake’s chart to discuss some of the difficulties associated with his planetary afflictions.
—Readers who are interested in a natal analysis of their horoscopes (afflicted planets and all), may contact Nina Gryphon via her reading requests page.
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Eme Kah said,
March 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Very interesting. Thank you!
Chris said,
March 10th, 2007 at 7:18 am
I am very interested in this topic too, thank you.
SoCalGal said,
March 10th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I’m a little confused– Would JT’s sun not be somewhat helped by Sat and Jup as they’re in a beneficial trine? I hear the part about them being in the Sun’s fall, Libra. Does the positive trine mean nothing compared with the negative energy of Libra here? Thx!
gryphonastrology said,
March 10th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Hi SCG,
No - an aspect is only as beneficial as the planets it connects. I have seen some nasty trines, like Moon in Scorpio trine Saturn in Cancer. Native was an alcoholic (not only due to this aspect, but it sure didn’t help). Trines mean things will happen easily, whether good or bad. Give me Sun in Leo square Moon in Taurus any day.
Warmly,
Nina
SoCalGal said,
March 11th, 2007 at 10:46 am
I get it. But does the house placement have an impact? For example, if that Moon in Scorpio were in the 4th house of the Moon, and it trined Saturn in Cancer in the 8th or 12th, placements that don’t seem to mean anything, as best as I can tell– Would the Moon’s placement in its own 4th house make it a somewhat better placement, regardless of the sign? (am I making sense?)
thx
Sarah said,
March 12th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Thanks for the above clarificationfor SoCalGal, Nina - it makes so much sense and yet I had never seen it that way!
Eme Kah said,
March 12th, 2007 at 5:28 am
“Trines mean things will happen easily, whether good or bad.”
Very interesting, NIna. I never thought of it that way. I always just assumed triens were always good.
gryphonastrology said,
March 12th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Hi SCG,
No, house placement does not have an impact as to the trine’s goodness or badness, just in what areas the connected planets will manifest. Saturn in Cancer in the 8th or 12th sounds pretty disasterous to me, as both houses are quite malefic, even without Saturn in detriment occupying them. The Moon in the 4th ties this nastiness to one’s family, specifically the father. Eek.
Warmly,
Nina
Eme Kah said,
March 13th, 2007 at 5:42 am
So what does one do with nasty aspects, especially if there are no positive aspects touching the planets in question? Is one just doomed in those areas of life?
gryphonastrology said,
March 13th, 2007 at 8:03 am
Hi Eme,
It’s best to work on emphasizing the positive stuff in your chart, I have found.
Warmly,
Nina
Jean-Luc said,
May 15th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
hello,
if a house contains a planet, especially if close to the cusp does that planet rule that house or is it the ruler of the sign that is ruler of the house?
jean-luc
Nina Gryphon said,
July 1st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Hi Jean-Luc,
It is the ruler of the house cusp that rules the house. The planet near a cusp may add its influence, but it’s more an adjectival function.
Thanks for asking,
Nina