General Astrology Techniques...

Since the most recent tabulation of our survey about what You want to see on this blog shows the categories of "General Astrology Techniques" and "Famous Birth Charts" as ranking higher than other topics, I'm going to devote this post to an examination of Barack Obama's chart, from the stand point of how one first begins to approach an honest and holistic appraisal of any chart...

First, let me quote the previous post on this blog about Obama:

Mr. Obama's chart shows an archetypical "Bucket" pattern (most planets within half the circle) yet has a uniqueness due to having two "handles" for the bucket (even though the two handles have more than 3 degrees between them, which the link I just gave you says is the limit; though, in Obama's case, one of the handle-planets is the ruler of the other's Sign, "pulling-in" the conjunction).

So, we'll look at Obama's Sun (of course), his Moon and Neptune (the "rim" or defining functions of the Bucket), and Saturn and Jupiter, the Handles or Focus of the whole chart.

I hope you have the basic materials of the system at hand [ if not, do check out our Information Site for all the basics for using the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System...] as I use my intuition to select words and phrases to construct the five Symbolic Sentences that go very far in sketching-out the major soul-components of Mr. Obama's character.

His Central Life Purpose

Sun in Leo in the 9th House:
Vitalizing Creative Response in order to See the Broader Perspective.
~~~~~~~~~
The Defining Functions for His Primary Talents

Neptune in Scorpio in the 12th House:
Being Idealistic about an Analytical Attitude in order to Utilize the Resources of His Unconscious Mind.

Moon in Gemini in the 7th House:
Nurturing Conceptual Versatility in order to Initiate Sharing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Focal Release of His Talents

Saturn in Capricorn in the 3rd House:
Clarifying a Desire for Enduring Patterns in order to Make Connections.
closely linked with
Jupiter in Aquarius in the 3rd House:
Being Optimistic about Humanitarian Considerations in order to Be Aware of His Immediate Environment.
~~~~~~~~~

I can hear more than one person saying something like, "Whew! It's all so abstract!!".

My answer: Would you rather use a bunch of bits of concrete "indications", usually borrowed from others, to form an interpretation that limits and constrains your understanding of a living human being?

Certainly, as I've mentioned in past posts, these Symbolic Sentences, or Affirmations, are not intended to give quick and easy "answers"; they, just like the Symbols of the chart, need interpretation. And, here comes yet another experimental aspect of this post: I'm not going to show alternative Sentences for Obama (each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 possible Sentences in the system...) and I'm not going to (in this particular post) start the process of giving more concrete shape to those Symbolic Sentences. I'm going to leave that up to you...

So that's what I said in the previous post about Obama and it does give some very large hints about the initial approach to analyzing a chart...

Soon, I'll be adding information about overall chart patterns to the Information Site and will certainly be doing other posts like this about other famous people...

BTW, who's chart would you want to see analyzed here...?

Can You Believe It?

Even if you know very little about astrology, it's a good bet you know not to trust the reports in the newspaper.

But what about astrology books?

What about popular or even famous astrologers?

Since taking what's printed about astrology, rather than discovering your own meanings, can be dangerous, I want to compare some readily available meanings with what can be found with the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System.

You won't need any previous experience with astrology to understand what I want you to learn.

Let's try searching for meanings for one of my own birth chart placements, Saturn in Cancer, on Google. I'll give excerpts from the first seven entries:

"Cancer is all loving and compassionate; Saturn is harsh, unforgiving, and judging. There is a schizoid quality to this combination..."

"Inhibitions, hypersensitivity and early emotional instability will have to be overcome, and much effort will be required in order to fully understand your emotional, feeling nature..."

"An emotional wound experienced as a child may cause you to be fearful and rigid in your feelings, or to be frozen at an earlier stage of development or experience."

"In familial Cancer, Saturn comes across as a hard-hearted autocrat or limited older person."

"You fear being hurt, and are extremely sensitive. It takes courage to open up and be vulnerable."

"Saturn, traditionally a toughie, can be insensitive to Cancer's feelings. Emotions are blocked, denied or distorted. Cancer's flow can be dammed up with obstinacy and insensitivity to core issues and needs."

So...

There seems to be a thread of difficulty here, eh? Seems I just can't deal with emotions properly, right? Problems with early home life, etc....

Since I've been an astrologer for over 40 years, I can say with confidence that many folks who didn't have Saturn in Cancer have had a much rougher time than I did with mom/dad issues and come out of it much more emotionally wounded and unable to let feeling flow healthily.

Some astrobuffs might offer the insight that I probably had other planets' placements that eased my Saturn in Cancer.

Well...

Never mind the jargon if your new, but I have the Sun and Moon Squared to Saturn. According to those astrobuffs reasoning, I should have killed myself over emotional problems a long time ago.

Let's try the meanings for this particular placement from the B.I.D.E. System {You can find these on the Information Site: red link in the right panel}

Here are the options for Saturn:

Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

And, those for Cancer:

Emotional Security
Character Development
Active Feelings
Nurturing Abilities

In the B.I.D.E. System, the Planet meaning is followed by the Sign meaning, so I could have 16 different meanings for Saturn in Cancer. But, let's just work with the first choice in each set:

Defining Emotional Security

If you look back to those meanings from Google links, you probably see the resonance between what they're talking about and "Defining Emotional Security"...

The only problem is that, if you trusted what those people said and you were young and had Saturn in Cancer, you'd have your "task" of defining emotional security given a negative twist that it would have to struggle against.

The meanings you find in printed astrological sources have most often come from distorted previous sources and are used by far too many practicing astrologers as the gospel truth.

Certainly, someone born with Saturn in Cancer and having a great need to define emotional security might have more richness in their emotional interactions than another person; but, it can just as well be true that the other person had a much rougher emotional life.

Bottom-line:

The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System was devised to eliminate the problems that most traditional astrological practice has insidiously insinuated into an accepted canon—a book of rules—that is downright dangerous.

In the example I cited from my own chart, the B.I.D.E. meanings give me a chance to find positive and helpful resolutions for my particular emotional journey. Sure, the B.I.D.E. System needs your own input and creativity to reveal its full potential but it's a lot safer than taking for granted what others might say...

For a different perspective on this issue of what to believe about what you read about astrology, see Astrology Predicts Meanings, Not Events on the Information Site...

More About Dane Rudhyar

Last post, we used a few bits and pieces from Dane Rudhyar's Chart (namely, His Sun/Function, Sun's Sign/Energy, and Sun's House/Activity) to see that the B.I.D.E. System can function well even without creating a Symbolic Sentence. (for a guide to using the full System, see our Information Site)

But even though, for awhile, we'll look at piecemeal uses of the System, and because too many astrologers use Only piecemeal interpretation, I included a full Symbolic Sentence for Rudhyar's Sun:

Vitalizing Fresh Approaches in order to Study What He Discovered Was Important.

I also urged you to, "...look into some of his ground-breaking writings on Khaldea's Rudhyar Archival Project...".

Now, I want to draw your attention to the two Planets that define the "boundaries" of his Talents—Saturn and Jupiter.

Let's compare first the differences and, especially, the complementary nature of these Key Planets in Rudhyar's life (in case you've never heard of the man, I would call him the Einstein of Astrology).

Here are the key phrases for these Key Planets in Dane's chart:

Saturn
Rudhyar's Saturn is retrograde so everything pertaining to it must be viewed in the most unique and individualized way possible...)
Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

Jupiter
Expanding
Amplifying
Optimizing
Being Optimistic about

If these Planets were married, they'd be the Perfect Couple...

Now, let's compare the interaction of the Signs of Saturn and Jupiter in his chart:

Scorpio for Saturn
the Urge to Blend Perspectives
the Desire to Bond Deeply
an Analytical Attitude
the Worth of Others

Gemini for Jupiter
Diversity of Ideas
Multiplicity of Interests
Intellectual Freedom
Conceptual Versatility

Even a quick scan of the Wikipedia Article for Dane will reveal the prominence of these Energies in his life...

Here are the Houses (or, the most prominent Activities in his life):

11th House for Saturn
Make His Social Position Secure.
Enlist the Aid of His Social Network.
Activate His Goals.
Give Expression to His Hopes.

7th House for Jupiter
Begin (or, Refresh) a Relationship.
Be Aware of the Other Person’s Perspective.
Initiate Sharing.
Find a Compensating Viewpoint.

You may have to dig a bit deeper into the Khaldea site or the Wikipedia article to see how these activities were prominent but it won't really be all that hard...

And, to bring this post to a conclusion, I can't avoid constructing the full Symbolic Sentence for these Planets. They're nine degrees from a Waning Trine but Saturn is retrograding back toward a tighter orb so:

Clarifying an Analytical Attitude in order to Give Expression to His Hopes
Induces Insight into the Needs of Society by
Optimizing Intellectual Freedom in order to Initiate Sharing.

And, Share he did!

Those were my picks from all the options in the System...

What would you pick to create a Symbolic Sentence for Dane's most prominent Functions?

Want to share it in the Comments?

What We Don't Know *Can* Hurt Us...

From Dane Rudhyar:

"...the person who becomes an astrologer's client must have faith, or at least the queer borderland feeling in which curiosity, skepticism and an avid eagerness to believe blend. As the astrologer talks of these remote entities, the planets, the ordinary client senses the power of mysterious Forces operating in his life. He is led to the realm of a 'threshold knowledge'; he is led, in most cases, blindfolded and without any bearings. Yet he who leads him and pours into his mind and psyche starting information has, in most cases, very little sense of responsibility for what this information evokes in the client's consciousness."

It's time for me to reveal a bit about my sense of responsibility in introducing the B.I.D.E. System to the readers of this blog and I'll do it by talking about asteroids (please take note that I'm using the term "asteroids" in a non-astronomical way, somewhat like calling the Sun and Moon "planets". {for detailed information about the smaller bodies of the solar system, check out Asteroid groups and families and the IAU Minor Planet Center})

In the original volume of Astrological Repair Manual (which is still a free download near the top of the right panel), I began to address the issue of interpreting "asteroids":

"The critical thing for an astrologer to consider is what can be done, with such a wide variety of objects orbiting in such a wide variety of places, when the astrologer comes to the point of trying to draw any logical, interpretive conclusions. Sad to say, there are many astrologers who don’t stop to consider many things before they blithely offer up their opinions. Result? Chaos; in the astrologer’s mind and in any soul unwitting enough to bite this particular apple."

I mentioned not only the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter but also those in other spaces in the solar system. The tentative interpretive issue I sketched back then was stated this way:

"The first major consideration before attempting astrological interpretation of this kind of object is, 'What about all the other ones?' Sure, some astrologers interpret a few of the asteroids in their practice, but the critical difference between planets and this host of other bodies is that they are a host, a multitude, a legion. Back when we were hovering near Xena, I said one approach for hordes-interpretation was to, '...think of a sheath or aura around the chart, a non-localized group of potentials and energies that each individual can tap into IF they can manage to begin using the other planetary functions consciously'."

The three images below show, first, the "asteroidal bodies" out to Mars' orbit, then, out just past Jupiter's orbit, then, out past Pluto. The second image includes the first image and the third includes the second. The blue circles are the planets' orbits and the orange areas are the names of asteroids and other small objects...

We are, in truth, dealing with "a sheath or aura around the chart", not just the four or five asteroidal bodies most astrologers consider...

Well, "Why", you might ask, "should we worry about all of them?"

My answer would be another question: Why should we use the planets beyond Mars' orbit? Can't we just forget about Saturn through Pluto?

Of course we can't forget about those planets and we shouldn't forget that there are thousands of other objects around each of our charts...

I'd said that these bodies represent "a non-localized group of potentials and energies that each individual can tap into IF they can manage to begin using the other planetary functions consciously".

Well, dear soul, this astrologer, even after 40 years, is still working on clear, conscious use of all the planets out to Pluto. So, I'm still looking forward to the day when I begin to get a clear sense of how to explain the tentative understanding I've gained about this aspect of astrology. I intend to share it in future volumes of Astrological Repair Manual...

So am I just teasing you with this post?

Nope. I'm using the issue of interpreting asteroids as an example of why I feel so strongly that the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System is valuable. I know that continued use of the System leads to more conscious control over how the planets are understood and how that understanding is used to improve our situation here on sweet Mother Earth. And, I'm revealing my deep concern about the responsibility that Dane Rudhyar was talking about in that opening quote.

I want anyone who continues to visit this blog and persists in learning to use the B.I.D.E. System to gain a much more complete understanding and conscious control over their destiny...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the way, the survey that lets you help me know what you'd like to see in this blog is still available: up near the top of the right panel and, also, right HERE...

Mending by Breaking...

Often, the youthful surge of creativity blasts into set patterns and breaks their hold on further growth...

Back on these dates (the last Uranus conjunct Saturn)

12 Feb 1988 at 30 Sagittarius
26 Jun 1988 at 29 Sagittarius
18 Oct 1988 at 28 Sagittarius

the world did have a surge of youthful Uranian creativity that transformed former Saturnian patterns (see Making The Big Leap... for an exploration of this...). Since then, we all have been working to use the creative thrust to inform a new pattern. The following dates (Saturn opposed Uranus)

4 Nov 2008 at 19 Pisces/Virgo
5 Feb 2009 at 21 Pisces/Virgo
15 Sep 2009 at 25 Pisces/Virgo
26 Apr 2010 at 29 Pisces/Virgo
26 Jul 2010 at 1 Libra/Aries

are when we have the opportunity to see clearly the new Saturnian pattern we've fashioned to hold the Uranian spirit...

After this series of oppositions, we will all be able to infuse these, hopefully, well-formed, transformational patterns into our collective social lives.

If you happen to have not utilized these aspects positively, Now is the time to realign your energies and intentions...

Let's use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System to explore various ways to do this (please reference the Information Site for the full System and guides for it's use {also via the red link in the right panel}).

First we need the meanings for Uranus and Saturn:

Uranus
Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

Saturn
Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

Next, we need the Signs involved (I'll wait till we're closer to the date for Aries/Libra);

Pisces
Sympathetic Awareness
Compassionate Understanding
Universal Feeling
Visionary Initiative

Virgo
Discrimination
Systems and Techniques
Careful Considerations
a Service Attitude

And, finally, the meanings for the Opposition:

Resonants in Polarity with
Helps Realign the Situation Toward Sharing by
Creates the Energy to Become More Inclusive by
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by

I'm going to choose the meanings I feel best express the current state of the world as regards these functions and energies and their relationship. Note that, due to the organic philosophy of planetary-pair aspects, I'm putting the slower planet first...

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Universal Feeling
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by
Clarifying a Service Attitude.

Obviously, from Your perspective, other choices may be more appropriate. Also, when the House meanings are added, the whole thrust of the situation becomes more explicit. I'll put my own House placements into that last Symbolic Sentence as an example:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Universal Feeling in order to Be Aware of My Worth
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by
Clarifying a Service Attitude in order to Merge With Others.

Yes, very seemingly abstract—quite a mouth-full—yet, for me, very personally meaningful...

I'd love to see some of Your personal examples in the Comments.........

Making The Big Leap...

This image is the current position of the New Horizons spacecraft, launched January 19, 2006, cruising past Pluto in July, 2015...

From the image, we can see that this intrepid spacecraft is between Saturn and Uranus' orbits; yet, Saturn and Uranus are now on opposite sides of the Earth...

They were conjunct on the following dates:

12 Feb 1988 at 30 Sagittarius
26 Jun 1988 at 29 Sagittarius
18 Oct 1988 at 28 Sagittarius

In the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System, Saturn's meanings are:

Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

and, Uranus' meanings are:

Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

Before we can understand the current opposition of these planets we need to consider the beginning of the cycle back in '88...

But, first, we need another set of meanings from the B.I.D.E. System, Sagittarius:

a Broad Viewpoint
Philosophical Appraisal
a Top-Down View
an Idealistic Awareness

The final set of meanings necessary to analyze the Uranus/Saturn conjunction is the set for the conjunction itself:

Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Engenders New Possibilities by
Lets the Past Meet the Future by
Closes One Cycle and Opens Another by

So, according to the way these meanings are combined into Symbolic Sentences in the B.I.D.E. System [see the Information Site (red link in the right panel) for guides about using the System...], and only using the first option in each set of meanings, we have this possibility for:

Uranus in Sagittarius
Conjunct
Saturn in Sagittarius

Transforming a Broad Viewpoint
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Defining a Broad Viewpoint

Seems we can't do a proper job of transforming until we do some defining... But, to add more depth to that interpretation, I'll change Saturn's meaning to the second option and Sagittarius' meaning to the last option:

Transforming a Broad Viewpoint
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Clarifying an Idealistic Awareness

If you were alive and conscious back in 1988, I'd love to see Your Comments on that interpretation for the Uranus/Saturn conjunction or your Own choices from the B.I.D.E. System. Something else that would be great to see in the Comments are Your Symbolic Sentences with the House meanings added...

Here are the dates for the current Uranus/Saturn Opposition:

4 Nov 2008 at 19 Pisces/Virgo
5 Feb 2009 at 21 Pisces/Virgo
15 Sep 2009 at 25 Pisces/Virgo
26 Apr 2010 at 29 Pisces/Virgo
26 Jul 2010 at 1 Libra/Aries

We'll explore the potential meanings for this important opposition in the next post...

M. C. Escher and Uranus/Saturn

M. C. Escher may just be the most unique artist ever...

His chart shows a conjunction of Uranus and Saturn and both are retrograde as well as looking across the chart at most of his other planets...

Since my stats programs show new people arriving here every day, I want to take the analysis of his Uranus/Saturn with the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System rather slowly—step-by-step...

First, I recommend you go to the Planet/Sign/House and Aspect Cycle pages, on the Information Site (red link in the right panel), and click the link that says "Download This Page". With that information in hand, it will be much easier to follow the next steps...

So...

Let's take Escher's Uranus first. It's in Sagittarius in his 5th House.

Look at the words for Uranus on the Planet/Sign/House page:

Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

I'm going to choose "Breaking Obsolete Traditions of" for this example. (if you feel another phrase is better, write it down so you can create your own example...).

Now, a phrases for Sagittarius:

a Broad Viewpoint
Philosophical Appraisal
a Top-Down View
an Idealistic Awareness

I'll choose "a Broad Viewpoint" (what's your choice?)

Now, the 5th House:

Dramatize My Concerns.
Externalize My Creativity.
“Test The Waters”.
Provide an Example.

I'll choose "Dramatize My Concerns.".

We first put down the words for the Planet, next the words for the Sign, next the words "in order to", and, finally, the words for the House. This gives us:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of a Broad Viewpoint in order to Dramatize His Concerns.

Notice that in the House phrase I changed "My" to "His". So, that's my rendition of Escher's Uranus in Sagittarius in the 5th House. What's Yours?

Doing the same steps for his Saturn in Sagittarius in the 5th House, I got:

Structuring an Idealistic Awareness in order to Externalize His Creativity.

Remember, both those planets were retrograde so even the words we've chosen to interpret them need to be considered in the most unique and individualistic way possible...

Now, we need a phrase to represent the aspect—Conjunction:

Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Engenders New Possibilities by
Lets the Past Meet the Future by
Closes One Cycle and Opens Another by

When I consider the Symbolic Sentences I created for Uranus and Saturn, I think "Engenders New Possibilities by" fits quite well. (what would You pick?)

Now, we put the aspect phrase between the two Planet/Sign/House Sentences and we get:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of a Broad Viewpoint in order to Dramatize His Concerns
Engenders New Possibilities by
Structuring an Idealistic Awareness in order to Externalize His Creativity.

I'd Love to see what You decided to create for Escher's Uranus/Saturn! Why not put your interpretation in the Comments!!

Dane Rudhyar & Carl Jung

We're going to look at a connection between Dane Rudhyar's chart and Carl Jung's chart using the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System.

The connection is the 25th degree of Aquarius and holds Jung's Saturn and Rudhyar's Moon. That particular degree is within two degrees of my chart's Descendant or 7th House cusp.

These two men had a deeply profound influence on my growth into astrology and the blending of their teachings definitely influenced my creation of the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System.

If you need a little background on these two men's ideas, try this link for Dane Rudhyar and this link for Carl Jung.

When I consider their influence on my interpretive System and the close conjunction between one's Saturn and the other's Moon, as well as those planets' conjunction with my 7th House, I can safely say that the way I Relate (7th) to the world {especially with the B.I.D.E. System} has a strongly blended impact of Saturnian and Lunar power. In fact, to understand the purpose of my reason for creating my System, an exploration of the Rudhyar/Jung connection has deep explanatory capacity.

So... You may want to reference the Planet/Sign/House and Full-Cycle Aspects pages before we get started...

First, Jung's Saturn (retrograde) in Aquarius in his 1st House:

There are four interpretive words for Saturn in the System and for this example I'll choose "Defining"; and, that defining is highly individualized due to its retrogradation (I'll use the word "Uniquely" to indicate this). For his Aquarius, I choose "Group-Consciousness". For his 1st House, "See Things Clearly". Now, we can put those together (with the usual "in order to") and we get:

Uniquely Defining Group-Consciousness in order to See Things Clearly.

Now, Rudhyar's Moon in Aquarius in his 2nd House:

For his Moon I'll choose "Nurturing"; for Aquarius, "Humanitarian Considerations"; and, for his 2nd House, "Focus on Resources". Putting them together we have:

Nurturing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Focus on Resources.

Now, we need a phrase for the conjunction between those planets. I'll choose "Engenders New Possibilities by". To put them together, we need to remember to put the slower planet first:

Uniquely Defining Group-Consciousness in order to See Things Clearly
Engenders New Possibilities by
Nurturing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Focus on Resources.

There...

Now you have my interpretation of how I feel about Sharing (my 7th House) the B.I.D.E. System with You that also expresses the focused blending of the two men who most influenced me to create it.

Kinda cool, eh?

Michael Jackson

While talking with another astrologer about my efforts to convey the importance of personal interpretation of the Symbolic Sentences generated by the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System [see the red link in the right panel for more Info...], the idea of featuring Michael Jackson's chart came up. We looked at various versions of his chart and quickly determined there's no solid information on his birth time...

With that knowledge and the persistent desire to do something with his chart, I decided to focus on the closest applying aspect—considered to be the most "pressing issue" or "critical talent" a person possesses.

{ even if we had a good birth time with his exact Moon position and that Moon made a closer applying aspect, the aspect we'll consider would still be a very strong critical talent... }

In Jackson's case this applying aspect is Saturn in Sagittarius waning BiSeptile Sun in Virgo (within 26' of a degree).

Most astrologers would treat the phase relationship between his Saturn and Sun as an applying BiSeptile and leave it at that. However, it's a Waning BiSeptile which introduces the idea that a cycle is an organic whole and the aspects from 0-180° are different in quality from those between 180-0°.

I'll go further with the idea of a full-cycle, organic approach to aspects:

Each aspect in a full-cycle [check-out B.I.D.E.'s Full Cycle] begins at the degree-separation derived by geometry—conjunction at 0°, square at 90°, etc. But, in an organic use of the full cycle of aspects, the aspect continues to hold sway until the next aspect in the series begins.

In Michael's case, since the aspect is 26' of a degree before the waning BiSeptile, it's actually a waning TriDecile, yet, certainly, "yearning" strongly toward the BiSeptile state.

Many in astrology don't deal with the Septiles and Deciles so I'll list B.I.D.E.'s meanings of the waning TriDecile:

Increases Awareness of the Implications of Past Actions by

Impells the Need to Realize Inadequate Responses and the Will to Rectify the Situation by

Integrates Personal Performance with the Needs of the Whole by

Rejuvenates Participation in the Social Realm by

{This waning TriDecile is the "Issue" in Michael's life that consistently urged him toward the applying BiSeptile, the meanings of which are:

Incorporates Creative Ideals into the Social Situation by

Instills the Desire for Creative Integration into a Larger Whole by

Aids the Conscious Assumption of a Critical Social Role by

Creates Awareness of the Need for Individualized Acceptance of Necessary Social Values by}

They all end with the word "by" because they're part of a System of constructing Symbolic Sentences from the chart factors and you'll soon see the importance of that little word "by"...

Now, let's look at the other available factors from Jackson's chart so we can construct a Symbolic Sentence for this important "critical talent".

The available meanings from the B.I.D.E. System for Saturn are:

Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

And, those for the Sun are:

Vitalizing
Centering
Focusing
Integrating

Those for Sagittarius are:

a Broad Viewpoint
Philosophical Appraisal
a Top-Down View
an Idealistic Awareness

And, Virgo:

Discrimination
Systems and Techniques
Careful Considerations
a Service Attitude

Now, we have the necessary components to construct a Symbolic Sentence for Michael Jackson's Saturn in Sagittarius waning TriDecile Sun in Virgo. All that's necessary is to choose a Planet/Sign combination for Saturn in Sagittarius and Sun in Virgo then link them with a choice from the options for waning TriDecile. Now, we have a Symbolic Sentence for

» Michael's Critical Talent «

Saturn in Sagittarius waning TriDecile Sun in Virgo
Structuring an Idealistic Awareness
Integrates Personal Performance with the Needs of the Whole by
Vitalizing Systems and Techniques.

As far as personal interpretation of that Symbolic Sentence, I want to make minimal comments, hoping You will add your Comments of it's meaning and, possibly, your selection of different choices for the components of the Sentence.

Personally, I feel that the "Idealistic Awareness" is very clearly evident and the Structuring of it by Saturn is easy to see...

Integrating his Personal Performance with the Needs of the Whole may be a bit harder to pin down but his phenomenal success surely speaks to answering Some Need of the Larger Whole that was his audience...

Doing that Integration of Personal Performance with the Needs of his audience by Vitalizing Systems and Techniques is, to me, adequately explained in this quote from an allmusic biography (bold words particularly applying):

"In his prime, Jackson was an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power."

Naturally, if we had a good birth time we could see much more detail in the interpretation by adding the phrases for the Houses...

Please Do Comment...

Why is The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System Valuable?

Some folks don't see the value of the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System.

I tend to think they may be the people who haven't taken the effort to actually use it with their own chart.

It's one thing to have someone say, "You should drink this, it's very refreshing". It's quite another to take a drink and discover the refreshment...

There's a lot of information on the Information Site (red link in the right panel) that shows how to use the System and this blog will continue to have posts that apply the System to well-known people's charts (and, hopefully, display your interpretation of your own chart. [you can email them to me at amzolt@gmail.com so I can consider them as possible posts]).

Right now, I'd like to give you a rather stark example of the difference between the B.I.D.E. System and a certain other style of interpretation that one might call the "Limited Options" system.

Let's look at particular aspect and compare interpretive philosophies {in this example, we'll only use the Planet and Aspect meanings from the B.I.D.E. System}:

Saturn square Mars

First, some excerpts from the first four links provided by Google when the phrase, "mars square saturn" was used:

"With Mars square Saturn, you alternate between periods of aggression and periods of recession and apathy. You are constantly at war with yourself because you cannot resolve this problem..."

"You are a perfectionist. You can pick at yourself and others unmercifully, trying to get circumstances in your life to match some unspecified standard."

"You can be austere, callous and harsh and usually won't go out of your way to help others unless you gain by it."

"...repressed anger, and when the person releases the anger, it can turn into violence."

Admittedly, these are only four opinions but, if you were to look further, you'd be hard-put to find a positive interpretation...

Now, let's use the B.I.D.E. System to see what's possible with Saturn square Mars (there are Many alternative interpretations in the System for any given chart factor so I'm only choosing a few as examples).

The first consideration is that there are two square aspects, the waxing and the waning. I'll give a few examples of both. Also, aspects should be considered from the slower function (Saturn) to the faster function (Mars).

First the waxing square:

Organizing
Provides for a Break with Past Compulsions by
Externalizing

Structuring
Impels Decisive Future-Oriented Action by
Motivating

Clarifying
Creates the Conditions for Stability through the Efforts of
Asserting

Defining
Induces Courage to Face Crises by
Being Driven

Now, the same phrase choices from the System with the waning square between them:

Organizing
Increases Dedication to Social Transformation by
Externalizing

Structuring
Shifts the Attitudes of the Group by
Motivating

Clarifying
Reorients Inadequate Responses Toward Social Viability by
Asserting

Defining
Uproots Unnecessary Attitudes and Values by
Being Driven

Can you see how the B.I.D.E. System gives a person the opportunity to interpret a chart from an affirmative, positive perspective?

Can you see the limitations of a system that "pre-defines" what the behavior of the person will be?

Can you see the value of using an interpretive system that puts the final choice of what's possible in the mind of the person using the system?

Does the system you use to interpret charts give you the freedom to decide what you'll do and how you'll do it?

Hope to receive some Comments.........

Oprah, Revisited . . .

In our last post about Oprah Winfrey, I gave an interpretation from the B.I.D.E. System for each of her ten planets. If you're new to the blog, check out the red link in the right panel that says, Information Site, for guides and tips for using my System.

This post will take three planets from Oprah's chart and explore the aspects to them. The Information Site has the full set of aspect phrases that I'll be drawing my interpretations from.

I'm going to cover aspects that involve the three retrograde planets that are the only functions Oprah has above the horizon—the arena of objective, social action. Because they're all retrograde, Oprah found it very easy to "customize" those functions, use them in highly individualized ways, and make them talents that give her a profound influence in whatever social matrix she inhabits. In the last post about her, I called these three planets her BroadcastStation...

As explained on the Information Site, the B.I.D.E. System uses a full-cycle approach to aspects which makes any given aspect-type (except the conjunction and opposition) have two distinct manifestations: Waxing (0° to 180°) and Waning (180° to 0°). Also, aspects are always calculated from the slower planet to the faster planet. In addition, each of the interpretations below are only what I think fits Oprah's character and accomplishments. Each of those aspects has 511 other possible interpretations in the B.I.D.E. System...

If the interpretations of these planetary aspects of Oprah seem way too abstract or don't give you any interpretive satisfaction, I challenge you to construct a few Symbolic Sentences with the B.I.D.E. System of your own aspects and see just how powerfully it can reveal a vast amount of insightful information...

Since these aspects all involve Oprah's major social talents, interpreting them can give insight into why she's been called the world's most influential woman.

~~~~~~~~~
*Pluto's Aspects*

Pluto in Leo in the 11th House waxing Sextile Neptune in Libra in the 1st House
Regenerating Creative Response in order to Enlist the Aid of Her Social Network
Induces New Ways of Organizing the Situation by
Envisioning a Harmonizing Attitude in order to See Things Clearly.

Pluto in Leo in the 11th House waxing Square Mars in Scorpio in the 2nd House
Getting to the Depths of Dramatic Concern in order to Give Expression to Her Hopes
Induces Courage to Face Crises by
Asserting the Worth of Others in order to Ground Her Plans.

Pluto in Leo in the 11th House waxing QuadNovile Mercury in Aquarius in the 5th House
{If you're wondering why I'm not calling this an Opposition, mention it in the Comments}
Transcending [ordinary] Dramatic Concern in order to Activate Her Goals
Helps Perfect the Cultivation of Plans by
Investigating Humanitarian Considerations in order to Externalize Her Creativity.

*Uranus' Aspects*

Neptune in Libra in the 1st House waning Square Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House
Being Idealistic about Awareness of Others in order to See Things Clearly
Increases Dedication to Social Transformation by
Seeking the Truth of Character Development in order to Make the Situation as Objective as Possible.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House waxing TriDecile Saturn in Scorpio in the 2nd House
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Emotional Security in order to Express Her Social Role
Helps Clarify Responsibilites by
Defining the Worth of Others in order to Be Aware of Her Worth.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House waxing BiQuintile Moon in Sagittarius in the 3rd House
Exploring Fresh Ideas about Nurturing Abilities in order to Make the Situation as Objective as Possible
Aids the Development of Required Resources by
Adapting a Broad Viewpoint in order to Be Aware of Her Immediate Environment.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House waning QuadNovile Sun in Aquarius in the 5th House
Seeking the Truth of Character Development in order to Be Who She Is In The World
Creates an Awareness of New Social Possiblities by
Vitalizing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Provide an Example.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House waning QuadNovile Venus in Aquarius in the 5th House
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Character Development in order to Express Her Social Role
Helps Realize the Value of Unconditional Inclusiveness by
Valuing Group-Consciousness in order to Dramatize Her Concerns.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House waning Quincunx Mercury in Aquarius in the 5th House
Seeking the Truth of Emotional Security in order to Realize Her Highest Objective Goals
Aids Development of Group Experience by
Perceiving “Global” Awareness in order to Dramatize Her Concerns.

*Jupiter's Aspects*

Saturn in Scorpio in the 2nd House waning BiQuintile Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House
Clarifying the Worth of Others in order to Focus on Her Resources
Aids Exploration of Underlying Social Forces by
Amplifying Intellectual Freedom in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression.

Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House waxing QuadNovile Moon in Sagittarius in the 3rd House
Being Optimistic about Intellectual Freedom in order to Realize the Ideal
Increases Awareness of the Actualization of Potential by
Nurturing a Broad Viewpoint in order to Make Connections.

Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House waning Trine Sun in Aquarius in the 5th House
Expanding Diversity of Ideas in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression
Induces Insight into the Needs of Society by
Focusing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Dramatize Her Concerns.

Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House waning Trine Venus in Aquarius in the 5th House
Amplifying Intellectual Freedom in order to Realize the Ideal
Impels Understanding of the Attitudes of Others by
Attracting Radical Breakthroughs in order to Externalize Her Creativity.

Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House waning Trine Mercury in Aquarius in the 5th House
Being Optimistic about Intellectual Freedom in order to Broadcast Expectations
Induces Insight into the Needs of Society by
Increasing Awareness of Humanitarian Considerations in order to Provide an Example.

Oprah Winfrey

"She is..., according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world."

Before we look at Oprah's chart with the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System, I want to remind you to check out the Information Site for this blog (also accessible with the red link in the right panel). You'll find guides there to help you follow along with interpretations in the blog as well as begin to use the System with your own chart...

After looking at Oprah's Chart, it became obvious to me that, unlike all the other charts we've looked at so far, I needed to create a Symbolic Sentence from the System for all of her planets.

Overall, her chart shows the dynamics of the "Locomotive" pattern as well as "Asymmetric" qualities. I'll be adding a guide to the Information Site that covers the major chart patterns but for now you can reference the not-so-bad tutorial at AstroTheme.

I begin with the Sun/Venus/Mercury group (which I'll call her "PowerStation"), then the Neptune/Saturn/Mars/Moon group (which I'll call her "PrimeTalents"), and, finally, the elevated and retrograde group, Pluto/Uranus/Jupiter (which I'll call her "BroadcastStation"). I feel these organic groupings show her basic character structure clearly, if considered in the order I'm using.

Admittedly, the following Symbolic Sentences are the choices I'm making from the 64 possibilities for each planetary position. Hopefully, you'll access the Information Site's guides and work out your own Sentences for Oprah; and, hopefully, post them in the Comments!

Oprah's PowerStation

Sun in Aquarius in the 5th House
Vitalizing Radical Breakthroughs in order to Externalize Her Creativity.

Venus in Aquarius in the 5th House
Evaluating Humanitarian Considerations in order to Dramatize Her Concerns.

Mercury in Aquarius in the 5th House
Investigating Group-Consciousness in order to Externalize Her Creativity.

~~~~~~~~~

Oprah's PrimeTalents

Neptune in Libra in the 1st House
(Since this planet is retrograde, Oprah uses it in extremely unique ways...)
Envisioning a Harmonizing Attitude in order to Truly Be Who She Is.

Saturn in Scorpio in the 2nd House
Clarifying an Analytical Attitude in order to Ground Her Plans.

Mars in Scorpio in the 2nd House
Being Driven by the Desire to Bond Deeply in order to Be Aware of Her Worth.

Moon in Sagittarius in the 3rd House
Nourishing an Idealistic Awareness in order to Study What’s Important.

~~~~~~~~~

Oprah's BroadcastStation
(All these planets are retrograde and are used in highly individualistic ways...)

Pluto in Leo in the 11th House
Getting to the Depths of Dramatic Concern in order to Give Expression to Her Hopes.

Uranus in Cancer in the 10th House
Transforming Active Feelings in order to Express Her Social Role.

Jupiter in Gemini in the 9th House
Amplifying a Diversity of Ideas in order to Realize the Ideal.

How would You use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System to explore Oprah's chart?

p.s. I didn't forget her Ascendant or Midheaven, or the other angles; I purposely left those factors of interpretation up to you. Since the angles have no planetary component, just insert the generic "Using" in front of the Sign phrases...

A Practical Mystic . . .

Our last post was about the state of Israel and this post is about a man who passed from this life in the same land, when it was called Palestine. He was imprisoned for over 40 years for being a promoter of a Faith that had the following as its central principles:

~ One God
~ The Oneness of humankind
~ Independent investigation of truth
~ Harmony of science and religion
~ Equality of men and women
~ Elimination of prejudice of all kinds
~ Universal education
~ Spiritual solutions to economic problems
~ A Universal auxiliary language
~ Universal Peace upheld by world government

I'm going to try another experiment in this post. Come to think of it, this whole blog is an experiment—an effort in securing Your opinions and feedback about my interpretive system, presented (as a free download) in my book and in the free simplified guide to the system. I recommend one or the other as constant companions for readers of this blog so that alternative interpretations to the ones I offer can be created and posted in the comments, along with your thoughts and feelings about the system...

I'll only be interpreting the Sun, Moon, and Saturn of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's chart: first, because I'm keeping the interpretations simple until my readers get used to the system and, second, because the Sun/Moon combination is the "battery" of the whole chart and, in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's chart, Saturn is extremely prominent. In fact, due to the overall structure of the chart, Saturn and Moon are the focal pair and the Sun concentrates their interplay in the depths of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's character.

I'm going to use the system to interpret His Saturn, Moon, and Sun by selecting words and phrases that I feel reflect those ten Principles up there that He promoted. Each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 basic interpretations in the system so I encourage you to consider the chart and those ten Principles and use the system to come up with your own interpretations; then, post them in the comments. If you don't feel up to that, you might post your thoughts about how the interpretations I create reflect those Principles...

~~~~~~~~~
The Major Shapers of His Character
Saturn in Aquarius in the 12th House
{since this function is retrograde, the interpretation should be understood
in its most unique and individualized sense}
Clarifying Humanitarian Considerations in order to Realize the Oneness of Life.
Moon in Leo in the 7th House
Nourishing a Creative Response in order to Initiate Sharing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Focus of His Life Endeavors
Sun in Gemini in the 4th House
Vitalizing Intellectual Freedom in order to Fertilize any Situation.
~~~~~~~~~
Do you see those interpretations as indicating a man who would endure
40 years' imprisonment for his beliefs?

Want to offer alternative interpretations?

Thoughts?

Feelings...?

Barack Obama

An Experiment...

Apart from showing you another example of my interpretive system in action, this post has two experimental qualities:

1) Unlike the posts for Elvis and Janice Joplin, I'm going to cover more than just the Sun/Moon Combination. True, the post about Hitler covered more, but in a tentative way... So, even though I'm trying to go slow for now, to ease into how to use this unique system, Obama's chart just demands I cover more than Sun/Moon.

2) I'm also experimenting by using a living person who is in the forefront of much of the News and has an extremely active and thick aura of media-meaning engulfing his real character. Many astrologers will settle for the media-man and try to fit the chart to that electronic ghost... I choose to start with the man's chart and see him from the inside, out...

So, if you haven't been here before, I recommend you download (Free) my book or, at least, the short version of how to use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System. You can follow along with my examples and, hopefully, come up with a few of your own interpretations; and, share those in the Comments!

Mr. Obama's chart (which will open in a separate window) shows an archetypical "Bucket" pattern (most planets within half the circle) yet has a uniqueness due to having two "handles" for the bucket (even though the two handles have more than 3 degrees between them, which the link I just gave you says is the limit; though, in Obama's case, one of the handle-planets is the ruler of the other's Sign, "pulling-in" the conjunction).

So, we'll look at Obama's Sun (of course), his Moon and Neptune (the "rim" or defining functions of the Bucket), and Saturn and Jupiter, the Handles or Focus of the whole chart.

I hope you have the basic materials of the system at hand as I use my intuition to select words and phrases to construct the five Symbolic Sentences that go very far in sketching-out the major soul-components of Mr. Obama's character.

His Central Life Purpose

Sun in Leo in the 9th House:
Vitalizing Creative Response in order to See the Broader Perspective.
~~~~~~~~~
The Defining Functions for His Primary Talents

Neptune in Scorpio in the 12th House:
Being Idealistic about an Analytical Attitude in order to Utilize the Resources of His Unconscious Mind.

Moon in Gemini in the 7th House:
Nurturing Conceptual Versatility in order to Initiate Sharing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Focal Release of His Talents

Saturn in Capricorn in the 3rd House:
Clarifying a Desire for Enduring Patterns in order to Make Connections.
closely linked with
Jupiter in Aquarius in the 3rd House:
Being Optimistic about Humanitarian Considerations in order to Be Aware of His Immediate Environment.
~~~~~~~~~

I can hear more than one person saying something like, "Whew! It's all so abstract!!".

My answer: Would you rather use a bunch of bits of concrete "indications", usually borrowed from others, to form an interpretation that limits and constrains your understanding of a living human being?

Certainly, as I've mentioned in past posts, these Symbolic Sentences, or Affirmations, are not intended to give quick and easy "answers"; they, just like the Symbols of the chart, need interpretation. And, here comes yet another experimental aspect of this post: I'm not going to show alternative Sentences for Obama (each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 possible Sentences in the system...) and I'm not going to (in this particular post) start the process of giving more concrete shape to those Symbolic Sentences. I'm going to leave that up to you...

See you in the Comments.........

"Playing" with Astrology

Elvis' chart, considered in our last post, certainly merits more evaluation than just his Sun/Moon combination and I will be coming back to him and other famous folk, as time goes forward, but for now I'm keeping things simple so the basics of using the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System can be explored. There are free downloads of my book, Astrological Repair Manual, and a short version of the system that explains how to use it.

Last post saw me beginning to Play with the system and this post will show another astrologer taking the Play a bit further. My system of interpretation is intended to be played with, seriously; it was created to be a stimulus to your own creative interpretation—a Guide that let's you lead...

~~~~~~~~~

The quotes below are from a comment to our last post:

"I am not certain where to begin my soulful playing with so many rich and diverse symbols at my disposal except to turn my gaze first upon myself and Clarify (Saturn) Seeing Things From Other's Perspectives (Libra) in order to Be Who I am In The World (10th house).

"Feeling rambunctious in spirit and charmed by your open invitation to play with your system I will manifest the highest intention of my Saturn by taking the liberty to re-invent a phrase or two describing my Central Life Purpose in the immediate present,

"Vitalize (Sun) Creative Play (Leo) in order to Merge With Others (8th house)."

{ I found this looking at herself first, using her own phrase ("creative play"), a beneficial use of the system—to be aware of what in yourself is doing the interpretation of another's life... }

"After reading the wiki biography of Elvis the phrase that resonated most for me was of your creating,

Vitalizing a Desire for Enduring Patterns in order to Be Aware of his Worth.

and I would like to spontaneously add to Capricorn the phrase

a traditional discipline

Integrating (Sun) a traditional discipline (Capricorn) in order to Focus on My Resources (2nd house).......in honor of Elvis mixing and matching musical styles."

{ This adding of her own phrase again is something I encourage everyone to do. Certainly, we should add meanings that stay within the bounds of each category (Aries is Aries and not Capricorn, Sun is not Moon); extending the system, letting it grow... }

"moving along to the Moon.... I was struck by the lunar presence of emotional comfort, safety, and security when Elvis said, 'Since I was two years old, all I knew was gospel music. That music became such a part of my life it was as natural as dancing. A way to escape from the problems. And my way of release.'

Enfolding (Moon) Visionary Initiative (Pisces) in order to Be Aware of My Immediate Environment (3rd house),

spoke to me of creatively adapting to childhood vulnerability (the Moon)......"

"the possibilities unbound, the spirit of play glorious, I await another time, another chart."

~~~~~~~~~

Next time, we'll look at Janis Joplin's chart...

A Positive Interpretation of Hitler's Chart ?

Click Image To Enlarge

Overheard at the Café:

Susan: "Well, of course he was evil. His Venus was retrograde in the 7th House. And, his Moon and Jupiter were both in Capricorn—cold man..."

John: "Yes, and Neptune and Pluto in the 8th, my God what a bad position!"

Andy: "Then there's his will-to-power with Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th..."

Really? Is everyone with Venus retrograde in the 7th and Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn cold?

Know anyone with Neptune and Pluto in the 8th? You do!? Hm... Trick question: they were conjunct back in the late 1800s and won't be again till the 2060s... Do you think they thought or will think that was or will be a bad position?

Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th... Let's kill 'em all before they breed!

Far too many astrologers are working their craft backwards. They learn a bunch of good/bad "indications" and use them like a bludgeon—beating people with good clubs or bad clubs so they'll fit into the mold—the predetermined "meaning" of the chart factors. No room, it seems, for free will; no time for grace; no patience with positivity...

I've known people to attend a class on positive thinking, leave with malice in their hearts, then claim the methods didn't work.

I've also known people who had all the "bad" aspects and all the "afflicted" positions in their charts who turned out pretty well. In fact, if you look at my chart, you'll understand the utter unfairness of a student of mine, asked to analyze the chart (not knowing it was mine) and tell me who they thought it was. They said, "Charles Manson"...

Naturally, trying to guess who belongs to a chart is a hapless profession but I did the experiment to prove a point—back-reading a laundry-list of "indications" into a chart is exactly the wrong way to do astrology.

Certainly, if someone, due to their own free-will or the oppression of another's free-will, becomes evil, astrology can see the factors that were warped. Try reading this biography of Hitler while keeping in mind what those folks in the Café were saying and you can see some of the places in Hitler's chart where the wrong external or internal pressure was applied. This still does not justify reading a chart and attributing negatives automatically...

It's my very carefully considered opinion, after forty years of study and counseling, that astrology must be used to help foster the positive development and/or help heal the negative experiences of fellow members of our human family.

That's why I took 20 years to create a system of interpretation that was as honestly positive as I could make it—a system that gives people the best possible chance to use the blueprint of their chart to help them develop their latent potential toward constructive and affirmative ends.

This system is available in The Instructions of my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. In fact, I'm going to use the system to reinterpret those claims made by my imaginary Susan, John, and Andy. 

Since each combination of Planet, Sign, and House can have 64 interpretations in the system, I'm purposely going to choose the ones that emphasize Adolf's challenges. Even though the symbolic sentences produced by the system are positive, I think you'll see where he needed more encouragement at a young age, more positive nurturing, more constructive use of his free-will, more support for the soul inside that was abused and frightened...

Venus retrograde in Taurus in the 7th: (retrogradation demands that the factor be interpreted as highly unique and internalized, capable of development in ways that challenge the norm.)
Valuing Individual Worth in order to Be Aware of the Other Person’s Perspective.
He was not given enough support for his individual worth...

Moon conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn in the 3rd:
Nourishing and Expanding an Objective Attitude in order to Be Aware of his Immediate Environment.
His immediate environment was ill-equipped to help him be objective...

Neptune conjunct Pluto in Gemini in the 8th:
Being Idealistic about and Regenerating Intellectual Freedom in order to Merge With Others.
He got the intellectual freedom part but was impeded in his efforts to merge with others... (the activity in the 8th is a consequence of the activity in the 7th—see Venus and Mars)

Mars in Taurus in the 7th:
Being Driven by Individual Worth in order to Find a Compensating Viewpoint.
The close conjunction with Venus here, and not having had enough support for his individual worth, made the compensation come from his unconscious—the shaky and defensive soul that he didn't feel he could unburden...

Saturn in Leo in the 10th:
Organizing Dramatic Concern in order to Express his Social Role.
He had the drama and could definitely organize it yet his other challenges and his lack of self-worth warped his sense of his social role...

O.K., now it's your turn; to add some feedback or argument in the comments. Or, at least go away from this post considering how you can help support the development of another member of our human family...

Plasma Love

image credit
Well, we've finally gotten to the Sun in the journey from my Free-To-Download book, Astrological Repair Manual.

After the next post (the last chapter in the book), I'll be free-forming it in this blog—going where most astrologer's fear to go—exploring a new form of astrology that puts You in the driver's seat. I'm hoping for many more comments and feedback. This blog is about you telling me what you think so I can incorporate those perspectives in the expansion of the existing single volume into 10 modular volumes that can make anyone their own astrologer...

I'll let the book speak now:

"The Sun. Our Star.

"Source of Light and Life.

"Mystery to this day!

"Scientists are having a horrible time making sense of how the Sun works. Astrologers miss many of the most important aspects of the cycle of this Function.

"Many people feel that this function is the only part of astrology. (Except, of course, for those twelve Signs of the Zodiac that are popularly given costumes and asked to play parts they’ve never read the script for...)

"You might think that, this being the next to the last chapter of the book, I’d want to calmly summarize and draw all the other chapters’ information to some grand conclusion. The thing is, I don’t intend to actually 'conclude' this book. I want you to enter The Instructions (in the Free-To-Download book) with Wings! I want you to soar through the Realms of Astrological Meaning!! I want you to Really Live!!!

“'Calm down, Alex. These people may not realize what treasure lies at their feet. They may still think this astrology-thingie is a fancy parlor game that makes for witty conversation. They may not understand it when you throw out concepts that aren’t accepted by most reasonable people.'

"Hmmm...

"Well...

"All I can say is that this very close Star, this fantastically beautiful beacon of Purpose has me all fired up! So...

"Start to get used to the idea that our solar system is not what you may have heard it was in high school. The planets may not have always been where they are right now...

"The Sun and its orbiting progeny may not be floating in some lonely backwater of the galaxy, like many astronomers would like you to believe...

"The Sun has been said to hold the planets in orbit with its gravity. This is not capable of being true, which is born out by the latest interdisciplinary scientific studies...

"There are many aspects of the planets, individually and collectively, that want to tell a very different story.

"For instance, the ancients talked about a 'sun' but its characteristics don’t match the one that gives us a tan. They do match the planet Saturn. Also, Venus was thought to have been much closer to Earth in the past and so was Mars. As a matter of fact, there was a time when people saw Venus in front of Saturn, Mars in front of Venus, Jupiter hidden behind Saturn and the whole party steadily revolving at our north pole. There was also a time when this configuration broke up, and there were shudderingly graphic 'wars of the gods' in the heavens which rained debris, electromagnetic bolts, and terror on our ancestors.

“'Oh, my! Poor Alex has gone off the deep end and doesn’t even have a
spaceship’s lifeboat to crawl into. He’s Sun-drunk and his little brain is melted.'

"Hmmm...

"I’m putting some information in the references at the end of this book that will help you find sources that confirm everything I just said. At this point, I’m going to say that this magnificent Star, our Sun, is the Center of our solar system, and it’s also the Center, the Focus of any interpretation you dare make with astrology.

"Focusing, Centering, Life-Giving, Light-Bringing, Purpose-Revealing Sun.

"One extremely important fact of astronomy that every person using it should know is that ninety-nine percent of the universe is plasma. You surely remember your solids, liquids, and gases, right? Plasma is the next state of matter, the most rarified form of substance, yet capable of organizing, moving, and creating new organizations of the other three forms of matter.

"Our Sun is floating in a Sea of Plasma, electrified Plasma, powerful Plasma...

"If you’ve seen neon signs or arc-welders, you’ve seen small versions of the process that lights our Sun and every other of the billions upon billions of stars. The regularity of the orbits of our planetary system (as well as the previous orderings and the transitioning chaotic states) are maintained by the streams of plasma and the power contained in this almost 'spiritual' form of matter. Even the weather on our Earth (as well as the weather on the other planets) is influenced and driven by the power of this all-pervasive Plasma.

"It's much more the case that the planets are ordered by a form of Cosmic Love—a force that transcends mere gravity and material forces—a power and vitality that centers all our concerns...

"If 'Love' holds it all together, it certainly must be a Plasma Love...

"And, if love is the power that binds it all together, we could say that:

Pluto is the Regeneration of Love.

Neptune is the Vision of Love.

Uranus is the Transformative Power of Love.

Saturn is the Clarity of Love.

Jupiter is the Expansiveness of Love.

Mars is the Externalizing of Love.

Venus is the Valuing of Love.

Mercury is the Perceptiveness of Love.

And, our ol’ familiar Moon is the Style of Love’s expression.

The Sun is the Center of it All...

"To make sure this chapter goes out with a sense of the ineffable—the truth that defies rigid expression—here’s a poem by Emily Dickinson:

Love reckons by itself — alone —
"As large as I" — relate the Sun
To One who never felt it blaze —
Itself is all the like it has —