Celebrity Astrology: Who Are Your Enemies?
August 22, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
What if your horoscope could tell who your enemies will be? A tidbit in Ibn Ezra’s The Book of Nativities and Revolutions (written c. 1140-1160) tells us a quick way to do just that. All you have to know is your rising sign; the 12th sign from the ascendant tells us about the nature of people who will make your life just a little less pleasant. I won’t give away all of the signs, because you should really read this great book yourself, but I will use a few famous examples to illustrate the simplicity and accuracy of Ibn Ezra’s method.
Bill Clinton – Libra rising –> Virgo ruling 12th sign. “Quarrels with the learned people.” Pretty accurate for someone who spent much of his presidency in court and especially in the press (both ruled by Mercury, ruler Virgo). John McCain, Jimmy Carter, and JFK all have Libra rising as well.
George W. Bush – Leo rising –> Cancer ruling 12th sign. “Most people will hate him,” because the 12th sign ruler is the Moon, ruler of the people. This correlates with Bush’s chronically low approval ratings and general lack of popularity worldwide.
Barack Obama – Aquarius rising –> Capricorn ruling 12th sign. “He will hate himself and will bring upon himself quarrels for no good reason.” Ouch! The reasoning is that the same planet rules the 12th and the 1st houses, so Obama is the cause of his own undoing and his own worst enemy.
What is your 12th house sign? Does it describe your enemies or interpersonal conflicts?
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?
Who Will Be the Next U.S. President? An Astrological Analysis
July 13, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
To finish our series on the next U.S. president, today’s post will comapre the astrological charts of Barack Obama and John McCain for presidential or “royal” qualities. We have looked at their horoscopes individually, but now we can compare the candidates’ horoscopes side by side for strengths and weaknesses. There has been a great deal of debate about the candidates’ real birthtimes; all our posts take the commonly accepted times for the candidates. If the birthtimes turn out different than those currently known, all bets are off.
Barack Obama’s Horoscope: Presidential Enough?
We have looked at the “royal” characteristics in Obama’s horoscope from two ancient astrologers’ perspectives – that of William Lilly and Guido Bonatti. Their rules are similar but not the same. The analyses below sum up the findings from the previous analyses.
Obama’s Strongest Card: The Sun in Leo in the 6th house. This is not a very strong card, as the Sun is under the horizon and in a malefic house with no major aspects. The next strongest card is in even worse shape, with Mars, ruler of the 10th house of honor, in the 8th house and trine Saturn in Capricorn in the malefic 12th house. Most importantly, Obama’s horoscope does not appear to have any prominent royal stars to help lift him to the presidency. Because of the relative weakness of Obama’s chart, McCain’s horoscope would have to be weaker still for McCain to lose the 2008 election.
Obama’s Horoscope for Autumn 2008: Obama’s Venus will be active by secondary progressions, aspecting his natal Part of Fortune and conjoining the North Node. This is beneficial in general, but Venus is not one of the significators in Obama’s chart promising fame or prominence. Interestingly, his solar return for 2008 shows Jupiter in the 7th house of opponents, an interesting parallel to McCain’s 2008 solar return (see below). Again, the relative strengths of the horoscopes matter: McCain’s horoscope would have to be weaker than this to lose to Obama.
John McCain’s Horoscope: By a Hair?
McCain’s Strongest Card: Two royal stars, Spica and Hercules, are near the Ascendant and Midheaven, but barely within the acceptable orbs. Still, this is better than Obama’s horoscope, which does not have royal stars. McCain also has a very favorable (though not strictly royal) star, Canopus, right on his Midheaven. This star is also conjunct George W. Bush’s natal Sun.
McCain’s natal Mars-Jupiter trine is quite lucky as well. Mars is in the fortunate 11th house trining Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 3rd house. This configuration was active by primary direction when McCain was shot down in Vietnam and nearly died. That itself was not very lucky, but his miraculous survival against the odds certainly was.
McCain’s Horoscope for Autumn 2008: His progressed Sun trines the Midheaven in January 2008, his progressed Midheaven trines the Moon (ruler of the natal Midheaven) in April 2008, and progressed Mars trines the Moon in October 2008. The luminaries are not especially strong in McCain’s chart, but the Midheaven itself is. When the Midheaven is “lit up” by the Sun and Moon, William Lilly says that these promise “great preferment…and shall govern the Common-wealth.” Mars, again, is a fortunate planet for McCain. McCain’s solar return has Saturn on the 7th house cusp of opponents, possibly indicating misfortune for his opponent.
John McCain’s horoscope appears to be slightly more presidential and luckier than Obama’s, so assuming the candidates’ birthtimes are correct, McCain has an ever-so-slight advantage over Obama for winning the 2008 election.
Can John McCain Become President? Another Look at His Horoscope
July 11, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
John McCain may or may not have the horoscope of a potential president; the evidence is underwhelming thus far. We looked at McCain’s horoscope a few days ago, and while there were some redeeming features, it was not an outstanding presidential horoscope. Interestingly, this election year does not have a clear winner from an astrological perspective. Barack Obama’s horoscope is equally finely balanced. We long for the days of Bill Clinton, whose horoscope broadcast “royal” astrological characteristics far and wide.
Today, we will look at John McCain’s presidential qualities from Guido Bonatti’s perspective, as detailed in his treatise on nativities.
John McCain for President?
Bonatti’s Criterion 1: What is the condition of the Sun, the 10th house and its ruler, and the Part of the Kingdom (I used Asc + Moon – Mars for McCain’s day chart, as per Bonatti’s tract on Arabian Parts), and the ruler of the Part?
McCain’s Horoscope: The Part of the Kingdom in McCain’s chart falls at 2 Aries, where it is opposed by Mercury in Libra in the 12th house, and ruled by Mars in Leo in the 11th house. Mercury is not very strong in McCain’s horoscope, but Mars is well-placed in the fortunate 11th house, trine Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 3rd house.
The planets should be strong by sign and/or aspect from benefics. None of the planets are strong by sign, but Mars is trine a powerful benefic, Jupiter in its own domicile, Sagittarius.
Bonatti’s Criterion 2: For the planets listed above, the oriental planets should aspect the Sun and the occidental ones should aspect the Moon and Saturn.
McCain’s Horoscope: Only one of these conditions is true for McCain, and it probably isn’t worth much for king-making purposes: Venus in Virgo (the sign of its fall) is occidental and opposes Saturn in Pisces, retrograde in the 6th house.
Bonatti’s Criterion 3: The condition of the almutens of the 10th and 1st houses should be strong. In McCain’s chart, those are the Moon and Saturn, respectively.
McCain’s Horoscope: Neither planet is very strong in McCain’s horoscope; the Moon is in the sign of its fall, in the lowest part of the horoscope, while Saturn is weakly placed in Pisces in the 6th house.
Bonatti’s Criterion 4: Angular benefics above the horizon should aspect the Sun and Moon, or a planet in the midheaven, preferably with reception. The luminaries should be in masculine signs, with the planets named in Criteria 1 and 3 in good condition.
McCain’s Horoscope: The Sun and Moon are not aspected by benefics above the horizon, and the luminaries are feminine. The only truly “royal” complex is Mars in Leo trine Jupiter in Sagittarius, which has likely saved McCain time and again.
John McCain does not have an overwhelmingly Presidential horoscope, a similarity he shares with Barack Obama. However, as we saw in the previous post about his horoscope, John McCain does potentially have two royal stars, Spica and Hercules, near his Ascendant and Midheaven, which would be enough to give him the election.
In addition, McCain has a very powerful (though not strictly royal) fixed star right on his Midheaven; Canopus. Vivian Robson writes that Canopus on the Midheaven gives “great glory, fame and wealth, dignity and authority by the help of an old clergyman or influential person.” Perhaps this would be enough to get him to the White House!
Later: The Grand Finale. A post comparing our findings on Barack Obama and John McCain’s horoscopes, and which candidate, in our humble opinion, is better positioned to win the 2008 elections.
John McCain: Biography of a Future President in the Stars?
July 9, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
John McCain may have the biography of a future president, if past events in his life are any indication. From an astrological perspective, whether McCain’s biography and past accomplishments will be sufficient to propel him to the presidency is a different matter altogether. To become president, one has to have a Royal chart, or more accurately, one’s horoscope has to be more royal than those of one’s opponents.
A few days ago, we have examined Barack Obama’s horoscope for potential indicators of royalty. Today, we will look at McCain’s presidential potential according to the rules of the English astrologer, William Lilly, and later, we will post a comparison of the royal potential of each candidate’s horoscope.
John McCain: The Biography of a King?
Royal Criterion 1: The Sun and Moon, their aspecting planets, the ruler of the midheaven (the house of honor and glory), and any planets in the midheaven should be in their own signs or exaltations.
McCain’s Horoscope: Neither the Sun nor the Moon are in their own signs, and neither aspects other planets. The ruler of the midheaven is the Moon, which is in the sign of its detriment, Capricorn, and it is in the fourth house, the lowest point of the chart. There are no planets in the midheaven. The best and most favorable piece of evidence in this criterion is that the Sun is in the benefic 11th house, where it is elevated above the earth. However, the Sun is in Virgo, where it has dignity by face, which is only a minor strength.
Royal Criterion 2: The above planets should be angular (in the 1st, 7th, 10th, or 4th houses).
McCain’s Horoscope: the planets we are considering are the Sun, the Moon, and Mars. Of these, only the Moon is angular, and it is in the lowest angle (the fourth house), the one least associated with worldly success and renown. However, Mars and the Sun are in the 11th house, which is very benefic and lucky, but it is not strictly in keeping with this criterion.
Royal Criterion 3: Any of the above planets, including the angles, should be conjunct one of the Royal stars (Aldebaran, Hercules, Regulus, Spica, Lucida Lancis, and Cor Scorpionis).
McCain’s Horoscope: McCain has the Royal star Spica within about 5° of the Ascendant. The Midheaven is within about 6° of the Royal star Pollux. It is said that Spica brings “unexpected honor beyond the native’s hopes and capacity,” which could certainly bring the presidency.
Judgment: By William Lilly’s standards, John McCain does not have an overwhelmingly royal chart, but a royal star on the Ascendant and Midheaven may well be all that’s needed to win the presidency.
The challenge of John McCain’s horoscope is that his birth time is given as exactly 9 a.m.; if he was born just a few minutes before 9 a.m., the Ascendant and Midheaven would move, and it may be that the royal stars would no longer be within range. Alternatively, if he was born a few minutes after 9 a.m., the royal stars could be sitting directly on his Ascendant and Midheaven, and he would be a shoo-in for the presidency. Therefore, there is some uncertainty regarding the quality of McCain’s horoscope.
In the next few days, we will look at the royal potential of John McCain’s horoscope from the perspective of the medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti, and then we will post an astrological comparison of the presidential potential of Barack Obama and John McCain.
Where Was Barack Obama Born? Under a Presidential Star?
July 6, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
Barack Obama may have been born in Honolulu, but the question astrologers everywhere are asking is whether he was born under a “royal” star, that is, whether his horoscope is sufficiently “royal” (or presidential, here in the U.S.) for Obama to win the 2008 election.
Two days ago, we examined Obama’s horoscope by the criteria of the astrologer William Lilly. Today, we will look at Obama’s horoscope using the criteria of medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti, who knew a thing or two about the horoscopes of kings and warlords.
Was Barack Obama Born Under a Royal Horoscope?
Bonatti’s Criterion 1: What is the condition of the Sun, the 10th house and its ruler, and the Part of the Kingdom (I used Asc + Moon – Mars, as per Bonatti’s tract on Arabian Parts), and the ruler of the Part?
Obama’s Horoscope: The Part of the Kingdom in Obama’s chart falls at 28.50 Libra, so it is square Saturn in the 12th house, and ruled by Venus in the 5th house. None of the planets named are angular, which is an important condition for kingship. The planets should also be strong by sign and/or aspect from benefics. Only the Sun qualifies, as it is in Leo, but it is in the malefic 6th house and therefore underground. We do have Mars, ruler of the 10th house of honor and dignity, in the 8th house. Mars trines Saturn in Capricorn; but Saturn is retrograde and in the 12th house, so it is not going to be able to contribute much to Mars.
Bonatti’s Criterion 2: For the above planets, the oriental ones should aspect the Sun and the occidental ones should aspect the Moon and Saturn.
Obama’s Horoscope: None of these conditions are true for Obama, but one: Mars, which is occidental in the chart, does aspect Saturn.
Bonatti’s Criterion 3: In addition to the above planets, we must examine the almutens of the 10th and 1st houses (in Obama’s chart, those would be Mars and Saturn, respectively).
Obama’s Horoscope: Both Mars and Saturn are in malefic houses, the 8th and 12th. They aspect each other by trine, which is somewhat helpful. Saturn is in its own sign, which makes it more benefic, but it is retrograde, indicating some kind of flaw in Obama’s attempt to seek the presidency. Retrograde planets “shoot in the wrong direction,” as it were; the native has the right idea, but there is a fundamental problem in acting on it.
Bonatti’s Criterion 4: Angular benefics above the horizon should aspect the Sun and Moon, or a planet in the 10th, preferably with reception. The luminaries should be in masculine signs, with the planets named in Criteria 1 and 3 in good condition.
Obama’s Horoscope: Obama does have benefic Jupiter above the horizon trine his Moon (the same Moon that is in the general vicinity of the royal star Aldebaran), though there is no reception between them. There are problems, though; Jupiter is in the malefic 12th house, and it is retrograde, so it is unclear how much benefit it can bestow on the Moon. Moreover, in Obama’s chart, Jupiter has greater signification regarding Obama’s wealth than his career.
As with Lilly’s methods, Bonatti’s criteria show that Obama’s horoscope does not really scream “President”, but as mentioned before, his chart must be compared to McCain’s in order to see who holds the best cards for this year’s Presidential election.
Stay tuned: We will subject McCain’s horoscope to the same dissection as Obama’s this coming week, with a final comparison of the two charts for presidential potential.
What the Parents of Barack Obama Could Not Have Known: Obama’s Horoscope
July 4, 2008 by Nina Gryphon
Everyone, including the parents of Barack Obama no doubt expected Obama to reach the highest levels of public service. The question now is whether Barack Obama has what it takes, astrologically speaking, to become the next president of the United States.
In the old days, parents of potential kings would have astrologers tell them the “kingship potential” of their children. The notion that Barack Obama’s parents have done something similar is a joke, of course, but if the parents of Barack Obama had asked about the kingship potential of Obama’s horoscope, here’s what an astrologer might have told them.
Does Barack Obama Have a Kingly Horoscope?
Again, assuming that the parents of Barack Obama provided an accurate birth time, for Obama’s birth certificate, we have Obama’s horoscope. Only if Barack Obama does have a kingly chart can he win the election against someone whose chart is less “royal.” We will use William Lilly’s criteria of “Dignity or Preferments” to determine whether Barack Obama’s chart is royal, and therefore promising the presidency.
Royal Criterion 1: The Sun and Moon, their aspecting planets, the ruler of the midheaven (the house of honor and glory), and any planets in the midheaven should be in their own signs or exaltations.
Obama’s Horoscope: The Sun is in the regal sign, Leo, which is favorable. However, it is also under the horizon in the malefic sixth house. The Moon is not in a strong dignity, and neither are the two planets that aspect the Moon, Mercury and Jupiter. The ruler of the 10th house is Mars in Virgo in the eighth house, again not favorable, and there are no planets in the 10th house. The overall evidence is relatively unfavorable.
Royal Criterion 2: The above planets should be angular (in the 1st, 7th, 10th, or 4th houses).
Obama’s Horoscope: Of the five planets above, only the Moon is angular, and it is in the fourth house, which is the lowest part of the horoscope, and therefore not strongly associated with glory or attainment.
Royal Criterion 3: Any of the above planets, including the angles, should be conjunct one of the Royal stars (Aldebaran, Hercules, Regulus, Spica, Lucida Lancis, and Cor Scorpionis).
Obama’s Horoscope: The closest we get is the Moon within about 6° of Aldebaran; Lilly tells us to stay within about 5°, so this is stretching it.
Judgment: Barack Obama does not have a particularly royal chart. This will not necessarily prevent him from winning the presidential election in 2008, so long as his opponent has a chart that is less royal than Obama’s. We will look at John McCain’s horoscope next week and then compare the two charts to see who has a better chance of winning the presidency in 2008.
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