Astrological Software

Very short post today...

Actually, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, look at our last post; probably the best way to introduce yourself to the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System!

Now, I want to direct you to a page on our Information Site, Special Offer.

You'll be able to download (Free!) the best astrological software I've ever used in my 40 years of experience (it's only for Windows...). Also on that page, I offer anyone who downloads it a set of five files that make it easy to find the 36 aspects of the B.I.D.E. Full-Cycle Aspects...

The "Verbs" of Astrology...

The Aspects of astrology are the distances between Planets (in the cycle, or circle, of the chart)—the Relationship between Functions.

If you've never calculated an aspect in a chart, check out this page on the Information Site...

The remainder of this post is a reprint from our Information Site:

Before using the Aspect Phrases of the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System it's important to understand the concepts of a Full-Cycle approach.

Most astrology concerns itself with a partial set of aspects and includes the idea of an aspect's "orb"—how far from exact an aspect can be and still be "valid".

When one realizes that aspects are actually phases of a full cycle of relationship, the allowable orb of an aspect becomes much less important. For example, in a full-cycle approach, the Waxing Trine aspect begins at 120° and ends at 135° (where the Waxing TriOctile begins). If one were to incorporate orbs into their interpretation, and two planets were 115° apart, thinking of that relationship as an "applying Trine" could be considered as long as it was admitted that the Trine has yet to happen and the full-cycle approach sees the separation as a Waxing TriDecile soon-to-become-a-Trine...

Another very important consideration is the difference between Waxing and Waning aspects. Waxing aspects (from 0° to 180°) are all more personal in their operation, building individualized qualities and values. The Waning aspects (from 180° to 0°) are all oriented toward sharing the personal skills and talents built-up in the waxing phases—dedicated to group and collective goals and values.

Now for an example of using the B.I.D.E. Full Aspect Cycle phrases (If you haven't yet explored the Planet/Sign/House pages please backtrack to B.I.D.E. Interpretive System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses and Detailed Example of Using the System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses...).

I'll interpret my own Sun and Moon placements from the standpoint of the evolution of the Information Site and this blog:

Sun in Aries in the 9th House
Vitalizing Fresh Approaches in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression.

Moon in Libra in the 3rd House
Nurturing Awareness of Others in order to Make Connections.

Now, to link those two Symbolic Sentences with an aspect phrase. My Sun and Moon are separated by 172.6° (what some would call an applying Opposition). This is the Waxing QuadNovile aspect. {You can find the Full-Aspect Cycle on this page of the Information Site}

So, after choosing one of those phrases, I have the full interpretation of Sun/Moon (in terms of my work to develop the Information Site and this blog) as:

Vitalizing Fresh Approaches in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression
Helps Perfect the Cultivation of Plans by
Nurturing Awareness of Others in order to Make Connections.

{You might be interested in comparing the above interpretation of my Sun/Moon pair with the one I did in the post, Stories In Your Birthchart, to see how adaptable the B.I.D.E. System is...}

Once last note:

Since each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 possible interpretations in this System, every planetary pair has 512 possible interpretations. And, since there are 45 possible planetary pairs, every chart, in the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System, has 23,040 possible interpretations {talk about finding Your Particular Interpretation!!!}. And, that's not even counting relationships of Planets to House cusps, Midpoints, and Parts...

How It All Happened...

This post is a reprint from our Information Site...

My relationship with astrology began like many relationships do—just minding my own business when she came along, knocked me out, and dragged me off to her lair.

I was studying graphic art at San Francisco City College and the instructor had the audacity to show us some Japanese paintings, while extolling the way they showed so much with just a few strokes of the brush. I was impressed and went and bought a book called The Way of Chinese Painting, figuring that Chinese painting couldn’t be all that different from Japanese (my artistic perceptions were rather immature back then...). I quickly found out that “The Way” in the title meant Tao, the closest they seemed to get to what I called God. What I thought was only a book of technique turned out to also be a book about the world-view that informed the technique.

Tao led me to a book called the I Ching—a world-view expressed through a seemingly simplistic, graphical representation of life.

The I Ching led to Tarot cards which made me study astrology. Within about six months, I’d gone from meaningful brush strokes on paper to meaningful glyphs in the sky. It would take years—like many relationships—to discover the underlying reason I’d gotten involved in the first place—to realize that oriental art, the I Ching, Tarot, and astrology all used symbols to help humans decipher meaning in their lives. And to also learn that none of them were much good at portraying (or, predicting) actual events, no matter how much folks thought they did.

Now, all these years and tears later, it's time for me to repair some perceptions people have.

The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System is what I wish I could have discovered before I got all caught up in the usual approach to learning and using astrology. If I’d known then what I know now, I could have saved myself years of misunderstanding and pain. Truth be told, I began my studies of astrology like most folks do, reading the books I found (and, being who I am, I found a lot of books...)—books that all claimed to be the right way to learn and use astrology. The problem was, most of them cast astrology as a predictor of events, which it isn't (please see this page about that issue...). Even the books that didn't treat astrology as if it were a crystal ball usually had an "attitude" about life, a way of sorting the astrological factors into "good/bad" or "beneficial/detrimental".

After 20 years of learning and struggle, my goal became giving people the most important Perceptions—the underlying positive assumptions that are needed to thrive and prosper in the truly amazing Realm of Astrology {It took me another 20 years to develop, test, and publish the B.I.D.E. System}. It's one thing to have a practical way to interpret an astrological chart. It's quite another to have the perceptions and understanding to interpret a chart in a way that assures positive and productive results.

Remember learning about the three states of matter—solid, liquid, and gas? Some of you might also have learned about a fourth state—plasma. Scientifically speaking, plasma surrounds and energizes the other three states of matter. You could also consider plasma as energizing gas, gas energizing liquid, and liquid energizing solid...

The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System is a way of perceiving the factors in a chart from the "plasma" or Spiritual level—a realm of perception that surrounds, envelops, and energizes the other three. But just like all other spiritual perceptions, even though they're the most valuable way of looking at things, they need further interpretation to be used in less elevated, yet related and important, realms of life. We need the discipline of spiritual meditation to stay balanced and proactive in the social, personal, and practical fields of life. My experience has taught me that an astrologer needs a way to begin interpretation of a chart from the spiritual level; then, bring it down to the other levels.

The Symbolic Sentences you create in the B.I.D.E. system are WordSymbols—one step removed from the abstract glyphs of the traditional chart. Being symbolic themselves, they need further interpretation to be used in the "gas" or Social realm of perception; yet further interpretation to be used in the "liquid" or Personal realm; even further interpretation for use in the "solid" or Practical realm. Over time, an astrologer can learn to look at a chart, see the spiritual significance, and, nearly immediately, glide right down through the other levels of perception—a process made infinitely easier when involved in the reciprocal relationship of a living, breathing consultation with the native of the chart.

This blog is one step in the process of learning how to navigate through the levels of astrological perception. There will be other steps and tools as the system evolves into the remaining ten volumes of my gift to my faithful mistress—Astrology . . .