Astrology 101: Are You Shameless?
August 26, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
If you have Venus or Mars in detriment in the Ascendant, the astrological writer Hermes seems to think so.
In the Centiloquy of Hermes Trismegistus, Aphorism #25* says:
“In the nativities of women, when the Ascendant is in any of the domiciles of Venus with Mars in them or when the Ascendant is in any of the domiciles of Mars with Venus in them, the woman will be shameless; and it will be the same if she has Capricorn in the Ascendant.”
A workable definition of shamelessness is public immorality; Hermes refers to sexual immorality, but this is somewhat narrow based on our examples. Also, as our examples below show, the native does not have to be female for this rule to apply. I excluded Capricorn rising from the examination, because this clause is unclear: Is Hermes referring to Venus or Mars in the Ascendant in Capricorn? Or is having Capricorn rising enough?
1. Bill Clinton – Libra rising, Mars in Libra. Clinton’s failings are a matter of public record, though the publication was not exactly voluntary, which may be a necessary component of shamelessness.
2. Pete Rose – Aries rising, Venus in Aries. A record-breaking baseball player at the epicenter of a major baseball gambling scandal. Rose bet on his own team for years, and eventually served time for tax evasion, presumably because of the underreported gambling income. Despite his obvious skill as a baseball player, Rose will probably never be admitted to the Hall of Fame due to the gambling scandal.
3. Anais Nin – Libra rising, Mars in Libra. A published diarist who described her personal experiences with sex; her writing was meant for public consumption. This seems the closest to Hermes’ definition of shamelessness – intentional display of one’s personal life for public view.
4. Roman Polanski – Libra rising, Mars in Libra. Film director who fled to France due to being indicted for sex with a 13-year-old in the U.S. During an unrelated libel trial twenty years later, with Polanski as plantiff, it was remarked: “Surely a man like this hasn’t got a reputation to tarnish?”
5. Groucho Marx – Scorpio rising, Venus in Scorpio. Not particularly known for public vices, perhaps the most scandalous fact is that all of Marx’s wives were considerably younger than him, with the last one over 40 years younger than Marx. Still, this hardly qualifies as shameless, even by traditional, conservative societal standards.
6. Grace Slick – Scorpio rising, Venus in Scorpio. The vocalist for Jefferson Airplane, Slick has had a typical rock‘n’roll life; famous lovers, child out of wedlock, and run-ins with the law for various infractions.
Many charts that I examined (with a reasonably specific birth time) with the Aphorism #25 characteristics do not seem especially remarkable for their shamelessness. Of course, perhaps we just don’t know them well enough!
Dear reader: what do you think? Is Aphorism 25 right?
*As translated by James Herschel Holden in Five Medieval Astrologers.
Astrology 101: An Easy Way to Predict Your Fate
August 20, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
Accurate astrological prediction is supposed to be complex and incredibly time-consuming. It can be, and if you want detailed predictions, you will have to put in serious time studying the natal chart, directions/progressions, and other steps. However, there is an easy method for determining how good your life will be. Joseph Crane mentions it in his book, Astrological Roots (click for review), but the method comes from the ancient Greek astrologer Dorotheus, whose book, Carmen Astrologicum, or the Song of Astrology, is widely available in English today.
Everyone’s life has peaks and valleys, times of good fortune and bad, and this method accounts for those variations. But this is not just about one’s material well-being, though of course money will play its role. This method shows which parts of our lives will be happier and easier than others.
Predicting with Dorothean Triplicities
Here is the basic method, step by step:
1. Examine the natal chart. Note which planets are strong or weak by sign, house, and aspect.
2. Determine the length of the native’s life. This is tricky, and merits a full chapter in a book, if not a book in itself. If you’re not familiar with this technique, you can use 75 years for our purposes, and be right much of the time.
3. Identify the luminary of the time (i.e.: the sect luminary). For those born at night, this will be the Moon; the Sun rules day births.
4. Note the elemental triplicity (earth, fire, water, air) of the sect luminary. Look up the planets in the table below, noting their order. For day births, note the planets in the order written. If you were born at night, the planet marked N will go first, then the planet marked D, followed by P:
|
Fire |
Sun (D) |
Jupiter (N) |
Saturn (P) |
|
Air |
Saturn (D) |
Mercury (N) |
Jupiter (P) |
|
Earth |
Venus (D) |
Moon (N) |
Mars (P) |
|
Water |
Venus (D) |
Mars (N) |
Moon (P) |
5. Each planet rules one third of your life. The happiness during that third of your life will depend on the strength of the planet in question.
Example: Barack Obama’s Horoscope
We can try out this method, with abbreviated commentary, on Barack Obama’s horoscope, which is below.
Obama was born just after sunset, but it was still daylight, so we can consider his horoscope diurnal. Therefore, the sect luminary is the Sun in Leo. Leo is of the fiery triplicity, so the first third of his life is ruled by the Sun, the second by Jupiter, and the last by Saturn.
First third of Obama’s life – Sun in Leo, ruler of the 7th house, placed in the 6th house.
The strength of the Sun in its own sign tells us that Obama’s youth was generally positive, but the sixth house rules slavery and low social status, which might indicate difficulties early on in life. The sixth house also rules illness. Because the Sun rules the seventh house of other people, significant others, and open enemies, we might assume that he suffered through interpersonal relationships at this time, and that they created obstacles for him.
Second third of Obama’s life – Jupiter rx in Aquarius in the 12th house, ruling the 2nd and 11th houses, opposing Mercury in Leo in the 6th house, trine the Moon in Gemini in the 4th house.
This part of Obama’s life is auspicious for his career and wealth, as Jupiter rules the 11th house of good fortune and ambition, and the second house of money. Jupiter is moderately strong, as it is a triplicity ruler of Aquarius, but it is afflicted by house placement in the malefic 12th house of secret enemies, and by being retrograde. This might indicate partial success, but hindrances from enemies and secrets. There could also be health issues at this time, because the sixth/12th house polarity is involved. The Moon is relatively weak in Gemini, and ruling the sixth house might cast aspersions on his heritage (Moon in the 4th).
Last third of Obama’s life – Saturn rx in Capricorn in the 12th house, ruling the 12th and 1st houses, trine Mars in Virgo in the 8th, square Fortuna in the 3rd.
The last part of Obama’s life will be good, though not without some suffering. Saturn is a malefic placed him in the 12th house, so again we see suffering through hidden enemies. The contact to Fortuna promises financial success, but not without effort. Saturn’s trine to Mars might bring career success, as Mars rules Obama’s 10th house of success and fame. However, the weak house placement of the two planets indicates incomplete success, or even harm through his public standing.
Take a look at your own chart and see what comes up using this method. Is it accurate for you?
Astrology 101: The Eighth House and Its Meanings
August 10, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
Concluding our tour of the malefic houses of the horoscope, the eighth house is thoroughly and completely malefic; it is associated with death and fear. The only neutral meaning of this house is that of other people’s assets, including inheritances; if we want to know whether our spouse will be wealthy, we might look, among other indicators, to the eighth house. This is because it is the second house from the seventh — our partners’ money.
The reason that the eighth house is malefic is because it does not form a major aspect to the ascendant, through which light enters the horoscope. Therefore, the eighth house is harmful to the life force, along with the sixth and twelfth houses.
Death
Despite what some astrologers may claim, we will all die, and it is unlikely to be a fun experience. Traditional astrology acknowledges that the quality of death varies dramatically from person to person. Strong planets in the natal eighth house represent a saving grace that helps us cheat death, or they might give an easy, peaceful death. Malefic planets in the eighth house promise the contrary. A heavy emphasis on the eighth house in predictive techniques, such as the solar return, or in progressions or directions, can indicate death. Most often, the other malefic houses, the sixth and the 12th (possibly the fourth, being the house of endings) will be activated as well.
For example, the French astrologer Jean-Baptiste Morin had an ominous solar return in 1656, well into his 70s. The solar return ascendant was conjunct the cusp of his natal eighth house, and the solar return Sun conjoined the natal 12th house cusp, along with Jupiter, ruler of the natal eighth house of death. The solar return Jupiter, ruling the eighth house of death in the natal chart, was exactly conjunct the solar return ascendant. The ruler of the natal sixth house of illness, Mercury, was conjunct the solar return Sun. Morin died in November 1656. [Data from The Art of Forecasting Using Solar Returns by Anthony Louis.] We can see that the eighth house alone may not predict death in the natal horoscope, and other malefic houses will often be involved as well.
Fear
This meaning of the eighth house tends to show up most strongly in horary charts, and disproportionately often, the ruler of the ascendant is in the eighth house, showing the querent’s fear about the issue at hand. Phobias, as such, are more of a 12th house affair. The eighth house experience of fear is more temporary and event-specific.
To round out the parade of horribles, the eighth house also rules the organs of excretion (in contrast with the organs of reproduction, ruled by the 7th house).
Other People’s Money
A couple of years ago, I did an informal study of a couple dozen natal horoscopes of those who made their money through marriage or relationships. I expected to see a strong eighth house, reflecting the spouse’s assets. However, I was disappointed, because it was usually the native’s second house or other personal indicator of wealth that was strong, not the eighth house. It was usually the natal second house or related indicators that were connected to the seventh house ruler, the Lot of Marriage, etc. The eighth house never really stood out in these horoscopes.
There is an important lesson here for astrologers. The eighth house as other people’s money is really only indicative in horary charts, where someone might ask about the assets and wealth of a prospective spouse, customer, or business partner. In the natal context, we would revert back to the usual indicators of personal wealth.
What has been your experience with the eighth house in your chart or that of others?
Astrology 101: The Sixth House of Slaves, Disease, and Pets
July 21, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
The sixth house is traditionally considered malefic and harmful to life. This is because it is one of the houses (including the 8th and the 12th) that does not get the light which enters the chart from the Ascendant. In the natal horoscope, the sixth house is primarily associated with those lower on the social scale who work for the native (or slaves), disease, and small animals.
The Sixth House and Slavery Today
The ancient astrologers quite literally saw the sixth as the house of slavery and slaves. Many pages are dedicated to determining whether a native’s parents were slaves or whether he himself would end up a slave. At first glance, we can think that slavery is no longer applicable to our lives today. However, we do well to remember that even though slavery is illegal throughout the world, it is quite rampant even in the United States, though it is now called human trafficking. Therefore, for the average practicing astrologer to see a chart with indications of slavery for the native or others in his life is not at all unlikely.
Even outside of the explicit slavery context, many people all over the world hold jobs that are very low in prestige and income, and are quite menial. Again, as an example, if we saw an indication of the native’s parents being slaves, and we could rule out the fact of slavery, we might say that the parents were always employed in menial or miserable conditions.
In the traditional society, the sixth house also represented one’s clients, people who depended on the native for favors and patronage. The word client has different connotations today, but in a traditional society, people with reasonable assets were expected to take care of and aid those below them. Similarly, today, the sixth house represents one’s employees and staff.
Disease in the Sixth House
Some modern authors say that the sixth house rules health and disease, but this is sloppy thinking. Because the sixth house is associated with largely unpleasant things, or lowly people and animals, the positive concept of health does not belong in the sixth. Rather, the sixth house in the natal horoscope can show one’s propensity toward disease, and the types of diseases to which the person is prone. Mostly, the type of disease to which the person is predisposed will be shown by an overall analysis of the whole chart, but the sixth house, if implicated, can give clues to the kinds and sources of illness the person may expect.
If the sixth house afflicts some of the life-giving planets and houses seriously enough, we will know that the native does not make it to adulthood, or even to childhood. Such is the power of the sixth house and its ruler to afflict one’s well-being.
The Sixth House and Small Animals
Ibn Ezra says that the sixth house rules animals which are not “mount for man,” and this definition includes most animals that people have as pets today. But how can pets be so bad so as to deserve the malefic sixth house? I believe that the sixth house ultimately rules people and animals assisting us in household tasks. Thus, dogs and cats and even birds meant to guard and enrich our homes are ruled by the sixth house. Believe it or not, some people still have a use for their cats other than hairball production: cats keep their houses mouse-and rat-free!
But enough from me. How has the sixth house manifested in your own horoscope?
Astrology 101: The Twelfth House
May 28, 2007 by admin
The 12th house is one of the most fascinating astrological houses, because what we find connected with it often solves a mystery. Below is a discussion of some of the major traditional meanings of the 12th house:
Self-Sabotage, Secret Enemies, and Witches
These are the enemies who hurt us by clandestine means. Such a person might spread rumors or mail anonymous letters in order to harm us. For example, some of the classical astrology writers had many examples of horoscope so famous people who met a bad end because their 12th house was afflicted and their secret enemies eventually got executed or whatever.
Similarly, a witch would naturally also harm others via clandestine means, and we examine this house carefully when answering the question: “Am I bewitched?”
However, neither of these bad characters are as harmful as we ourselves. The 12th house is where we undercut our otherwise positive efforts. These are the strange compulsions that keep on surfacing, and that span the range between overeating and depression. Which of these actually manifest depends on the connection to other houses, and upon the person’s overall tendencies and temperament. For example, a very watery, phlegmatic type with a series of 12th house afflictions, especially in the water signs, might feel compelled to take to drink, or other drug abuse.
Secrets and Imprisonment
An active 12th house, in the right context, can show that there is secrecy afoot. In one of the Gryphon Astrology radio shows, I discussed the natal horoscope of an individual (now deceased) who had a “respectable” day job and by night was a high-risk sex worker. The 12th house was very active, and was connected to a debilitated Saturn-Venus combination. This double life eventually led to death, so the 12th house took on the dual meaning of secrets and of self-undoing.
Perhaps because 12th house habits are so problematic, they often lead to imprisonment. The “right” combination in the natal horoscope can show a more than casual brush with the judicial system.
Large/Wild Animals
Since the 12th house shows that part of us which is animalistic and wild, we also look for such animals in that house. A particularly strong 12th house, combined with the right kind of personality traits, could show someone especially attuned to working with animals, such as horses or cattle.
I am curious what your experiences with the 12th house are, whether your own or that of others.
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