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...

Take This Challenge !

I want to pose a challenge to all my readers...

Even if this is the first time you've been to this blog, if you take the challenge, you'll either end up knowing more about yourself or you'll confirm more deeply important aspects of your character...

First: Download the original edition of Astrological Repair Manual--it's free--and look near the end of the book--page 63--where I've provided pages for each of the Planets, Signs, and Houses in a format that lets you print them out, cut them up, and have small cards you can move around on a desktop...

Second: Go to our Information Site and download the information from B.I.D.E. Interpretive System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses and Detailed Example of Using the System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses...

Third: Get your chart out. If you don't have one yet, check out Creating A Chart, where you can follow two different links to get a free chart and also have the basic Key to translate those weird astrological symbols in the chart into words that you can plug into Steps One and Two...

Fourth: Take the small cards you cut up in Step One. Pick out the ones for the Sun and Moon (four for each) and the ones for the Sign your particular Sun and Moon are in (four for each, unless the Sun and Moon are in the same Sign). Then, pick out the ones for the Houses your Sun and Moon are in...

Fifth: Choose one card for the Sun and one for the Moon, then one for the Sun's Sign and one for the Moon's Sign, then one for the Sun's House and the Moon's House...

Lay them out on the desk, in the order that was indicated in the download in Step Two, and Say The Words Out Loud (not forgetting the words "in order to" between the Sign and House...

Sixth: Change one or more of the cards--Sun/Moon, Sign, or House. Say that Symbolic Sentence Out Loud...

Seventh: Keep changing cards till you have a Sun/Sign/House and Moon/Sign/House Sentence that makes total sense to you...

Eighth: Repeat at least once a month...

Ninth: At some point in this process, tell us about your experience in the Comments...

If you're really adventurous, check out the post, The "Verbs" of Astrology, and explore how to link the Symbolic Sentences you have for your Sun and Moon into one awesome statement about why you're on this Earth...

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...?

What You Want To See On this Blog...

Back on July 25th, I had a poll post...

There've been a number of folks who let me know what they'd like to see on this blog and it's time to report on the latest findings.

Here are the categories and their highest percentages:

Famous Birth Charts - 50% want it as a regular feature.

General Astrology Techniques - 46% want to almost always see this.

Transits - Split vote here; 33% for both a regular feature and almost always.

Progressions - Another split vote; 33% for both a little bit and almost always.

Special B.I.D.E. Techniques - 38% want it as a regular feature.

You can still make your wishes known; just go to the original post and click on the survey link...

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 . . .

Stories In Your Birth Chart...

Still staying rather basic for awhile on the blog; but, I feel I have to step up the level just a bit today...

Most anyone who's looked beyond Sun Signs knows that a Planet in a Sign and in a certain House (and, that Houses need an accurate birth time), those Planet/Sign/House combinations can be considered "sentences" in a chart.

If you're brand new you may want to review a couple pages on our Information Site (red link in the right panel): Creating A Chart, if you don't have one yet; B.I.D.E. Interpretive System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses; and, for the last part of this post, Example of Using the Aspect Phrases.

Of course, I'll try to write the rest of the post so you can just keep reading and go back to those links later ;-)

So...

I'll interpret my Sun in Aries in the 9th House using the B.I.D.E. System (Here's my chart); but, realize, I'm doing this right now for how I feel about myself right now. There are 64 different interpretations available for every Planet/Sign/House combo in the Basic B.I.D.E. System. The links above will give you all you need to do what I'll do next: choose a phrase for the Sun, then for Aries, then for the 9th House; then, put them in the right order:

Sun in Aries in the 9th House

Vitalizing Personal Initiative in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression.

Of course, that Symbolic Sentence means a lot to me because I'm working extra hard right now to promote my Nutrition Business while maintaining this blog and my other blog. So that Symbolic Sentence up there is a statement of my "Central Purpose" right now...

There's also the Way I use that Central Purpose—my Moon in Libra in the 3rd House—my current "Style".

Moon in Libra in the 3rd House

Adapting Considerations of Sharing in order to Make Connections.

But, so far, I've only got two Symbolic Sentences. I want to link those Sentences in the right way so they'll tell a short Symbolic Story...

This is where the "Aspect" or distance between the Planets becomes important. There are a total of three pages on Aspects on the Information Site right now with more to come.

For now, take my word for the fact that my Moon is 172.6° from my Sun and that's called a Waxing QuadNovile aspect.

So, I take the Sun Sentence and link it to the Moon Sentence by choosing one of the phrases for the aspect-distance between them:

Sun in Aries in the 9th House
Waxing QuadNovile
Moon in Libra in the 3rd House

Vitalizing Personal Initiative in order to Bring the Situation to its Highest Expression
Induces a Sense of Worthiness of Goals by
Adapting Considerations of Sharing in order to Make Connections.

So...

That's not just a huge sentence, it's a short Symbolic Story about where I'm at right now...

If you had done the same process for your Sun and Moon, you'd have a short Symbolic Story about Your current Central Purpose and the Stylistic Way to make it work.

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...

Back To Basics...

Still have more new than returning folks here so let's review some basics.

We'll use these charts as examples: Fidel Castro, Leonardo da Vinci, and Madonna.

For the following, if you're experiencing your first visit, the Information Site (red link in the right panel) has a page called Creating A Chart that will give you the basic astrological "language" so you can find things in the charts we'll use...

Most people only know about Sun Signs so we'll start with that.

Fidel has his Sun in Leo, Leonardo's is in Taurus, and Madonna's is Leo.

Now, go to the Informations Site's page called, B.I.D.E. Interpretive System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses and look at the four choices for the Sun and also Leo and Taurus (Of course, you can avoid this for now and just read the post first...). I'll make my choices for our examples and, hopefully, you'll make yours and share them in the Comments... Some of you may also want to check out the Information Site's page, Detailed Example of Using the System ~ Planets/Signs/Houses...

Here are my choices for our examples' Sun Signs:

Fidel Castro
Sun in Leo
Focusing Energetic Influence

Leonardo da Vinci
Sun in Taurus
Integrating Personal Resources

Madonna
Sun in Leo
Vitalizing Creative Response

But, much more can be revealed when the House a person's Sun is in is known. For Fidel it's the 3rd House {because it's within 7° of that cusp}, For Leonardo it's the 6th, and Madonna's is the 12th.

From the Information Site, we know that the words "in order to" are placed between the Sign and House, so, here are my picks for our examples (Sure do hope you show yours in the Comments!}:

Fidel
Focusing Energetic Influence in order to Make Connections.

Leonardo
Integrating Personal Resources in order to Improve Himself.

Madonna
Vitalizing Creative Response in order to Utilize the Resources of Her Unconscious Mind.

Make sense to you?

Of course, these statements of these people's Sun placement (their Central Life Purpose {and, Central Life Purpose isn't necessarily what a person shows us upfront...}) is just the bare beginning of the Meaning astrology can reveal...

Questions?

Comments??

Just A Few Questions ?

May I ask a few questions?

What led you to this blog?

What was the first thing you noticed when you got here?

What did you think of astrology before you arrived here?

Has visiting this blog changed any of your beliefs about astrology?

Have you tried interpreting any charts with the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System?

If you have experimented with the B.I.D.E. System, what was that experience like?

If you don't like various things about this blog or the B.I.D.E. System, would you ever consider leaving a Comment to let me know?

If you do like various things about this blog or the B.I.D.E. System, will you consider leaving a Comment to let me know?

"No, Really; How Do You Do It?"

If you've been following this blog for some time, there are a number of things you know about me:

I do not believe astrology predicts events...

I do believe astrology predicts meanings...

I've created the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System to aid anyone to engage in honest, positive, creative astrological interpretation...

I have a growing list of documents on the Information Site (red link in the right panel) to help everyone use the B.I.D.E. System...

I Crave Comments and Feedback!

Since the B.I.D.E. System is so unique, so set apart from traditional astrological practice, it may seem that the "rules" for how to practice astrology with it are radically different, too.

Well, yes and no...

Using the B.I.D.E. System does demand some thinking—you can't just read a book and repeat what it says to a client.

And, the System does give you more creative control over what you predict for your (or, another's) future...

But, from the perspective of the responsibility to practice astrology ethically, the B.I.D.E. System is no different from any other method of interpretation.

I'll leave you with a quote from Dane Rudhyar, from his book, The Practice of Astrology:

"[The astrologer] gives information, as he sees it in the charts. More information, as the client returns. Always more data, more knowledge. It may be real knowledge; the facts are there and he reads them correctly. One problem, however, may not enter his mind as he goes through the scheduled time allotted for the interview: What use will the client make of the information? The client has been given a 12-cylinder car; but perhaps he has only a 4-cylinder mind to handle it. The information was correct. Was the imparting of it wise?"

What Astrology Does Not Do...

This post is a reprint of an article from our Information Site (Red link in the right panel) where you can find all kinds of info to help you use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System:

This may be really hard for some folks to understand, but here it is:

Astrology does not, will not, and never has predicted events.

"What?!"

Yes. It's the absolute truth, even if some astrologer "predicted" something for you...

If an astrologer tells you something is going to happen, don't you think that, if it does, there may be just a bit of self-fulfillment in that?

What astrology does predict or reveal is Meaning.

"O.K. What if an astrologer says some event happened in my past, and, in fact, it did happen?"

Believe it or not, what happened is that the astrologer saw a meaning in the chart and made a very good guess at the exact event. Here's some proof of that:

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to talk to two men, born of different mothers but at the same time at the same hospital. Since they had the same chart you'd think they would have had the same events happening in their lives, right?

Well, all it takes is one contrary occurrence of something to disprove a theory and here it is:

There was a strong indicator in their charts at a certain time, and I asked the first man what happened. He said his father had died. I asked the other man, with the same chart, what happened, and he said he'd been on his first nude beach...

Obviously, the same chart had shown two very different events! Then, I asked the first man (by the way, I interviewed these men separately), "What did it mean when your father died?" He said that he'd felt like he'd had shackles removed (his father had been rather authoritarian). I asked the other man, "What did it mean to be on your first nude beach?" He said that he had dropped his shackles...

They used exactly the same, and not so common, word to describe what two very different events meant...

So, astrology doesn't predict events, it predicts meanings.

What's Up ?

This blog's not all that old...

Five months...

There've been 65 people who've been here more than once and 8 who've been here more than 25 times...

Those who've returned have spent an average time-on-site/visit of 2 mins 45 secs...

Numbers...

What this site needs; what the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System needs is Interaction, Comments, Feedback, Action...

Those qualities will make the blog more valuable as well as making your use of the B.I.D.E. System more valuable...

...

Help?

The Lunation Cycle

There are as many ways to use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System as there are thoughts in your head...

One way that gives you valuable information as it teaches you how to apply the B.I.D.E. System is following a Lunation Cycle through your chart—from New Moon through Full Moon and back around.

An excellent article about using the Lunation Cycle, by Michael Meyer, that stresses the 36 phases of the cycle is called The Eon and is well worth reading and studying.

Also available, on this blog's Information Site (red link in the right panel), is the article, Example of Using the Aspect Phrases and the partner document, B.I.D.E. Full Aspect Cycle.

To show you how much valuable information is obtained by applying the B.I.D.E. System to the Lunation Cycle, I'll include my notes for the current cycle. Here's the link to my chart so, if you dare, you can follow along...

Naturally, these notes won't mean a lot to you because the Context of my life isn't here. I'm only putting my current Lunation notes here as an example of the wealth of interpretive information you can generate; and, to let you know I actually use the B.I.D.E. System ;-)

NM: 21Jul-22:35-30Cancer

Focusing Character Development in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Nourishing Nurturing Abilities in order to Realize the Oneness of Life.

SemSex: 24-1:47-2Leo/Virgo

Vitalizing Creative Response in order to Realize the Oneness of Life by Utilizing the Resources of My Unconscious Mind
Creates a New Pattern for Action by
Nurturing a Service Attitude in order to See Things Clearly.

Dec: 24-12:17-2/8

Vitalizing Creative Response in order to Utilize the Resources of My Unconscious Mind
Engenders a Specific Plan by
Nurturing a Service Attitude in order to Truly Be Who I Am.

Nov: 24-19:21-3/13

Vitalizing Creative Response in order to Utilize the Resources of My Unconscious Mind
Supplies Nourishment for Growth by
Nurturing a Service Attitude in order to Truly Be Who I Am.

Oct: 25-4:16-3/18

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Realize the Oneness of Life by Utilizing the Resources of My Unconscious Mind
Works to Overcome Restrictions by
Nurturing a Service Attitude in order to Truly Be Who I Am.

Sep: 25-15:53-3/25

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Utilize the Resources of My Unconscious Mind
Engenders Affirmation of Plans by
Nurturing Discrimination in order to Focus on my Resources.

Sext: 26-7:42-4/4Libra

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Improves Interaction with Surrounding Conditions by
Nurturing Seeing Things from Other’s Perspectives in order to Focus on my Resources.

Quint: 27-6:26-5/17

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Increases Applied Creativity by
Nurturing Seeing Things from Other’s Perspectives in order to Be Aware of My Immediate Environment.

BiNov: 27-22:01-6/26

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Widens the Field for Development by
Nurturing Seeing Things from Other’s Perspectives in order to Be Aware of My Immediate Environment.

Sq: 28-18:00-6/6Scorpio

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Impels Decisive Future-Oriented Action by
Nurturing the Urge to Blend Perspectives in order to Be Aware of My Immediate Environment.

BiSep: 29-20:26-8/20

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Brings Holistic Clarity to Plans by
Nurturing the Urge to Blend Perspectives in order to Fertilize the Situation.

TriDec: 30-7:14-8/26

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Induces New Levels of Creative Potential by
Nurturing the Urge to Blend Perspectives in order to Fertilize the Situation.

Trine: 31-8:51-9/9Sagittarius

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Impels Determined Accomplishment by
Nurturing an Idealistic Awareness in order to Fertilize the Situation.

TriOct: 1Aug-17:32-10/25

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Impels Action to Overcome Obstacles by
Nurturing an Idealistic Awareness in order to Externalize My Creativity.

BiQuinT: 2-13:22-11/5Capricorn

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Aids the Development of Required Resources by
Nurturing Constructive Initiatives in order to Externalize My Creativity.

Quincnx: 3-2:38-12/12

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Supports Effective Operation at a New Level by
Nurturing Constructive Initiatives in order to Externalize My Creativity.

TriSep: 3-12:07-12/16

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Induces a Sense of Attunement with a Higher Purpose by
Nurturing Constructive Initiatives in order to Externalize My Creativity.

QuadNov: 4-00:47-12/22

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Increases Awareness of the Actualization of Potential by
Nurturing Constructive Initiatives in order to Be of Service.

Opp: 5-20:55-14/14Aquarius

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Creates the Energy to Become More Inclusive by
Nurturing Group-Consciousness in order to Be of Service.

QuadNov: 7-16:25-16/6Pisces

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Creates an Awareness of New Social Possiblities by
Nurturing Visionary Initiative in order to Initiate Sharing.

TriSep: 8-4:40-16/12

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Illumines the Power of Social Purpose by
Nurturing Visionary Initiative in order to Initiate Sharing.

Quincnx: 8-13:48-17/17

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Expands Social Horizons by
Nurturing Visionary Initiative in order to Initiate Sharing.

BiQuin: 9-2:30-17/23

Vitalizing Energetic Influence in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Increases the Ability to Be a Socially Creative Force by
Nurturing Visionary Initiative in order to Merge With Others.

TriOct: 9-21:19-18/3Aries

Looking forward to that Waning TriOctile !

Even More About Dane Rudhyar

Image Credit

Our last two posts looked at bits and pieces of Dane Rudhyar's chart.

This time we'll look at his Sun, Moon, and Ascendant—the holy astrological trinity...

We'd already created a Symbolic Sentence for his Sun:

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

Now, lets construct one for his Moon in Aquarius in the 2nd House.

B.I.D.E.'s options for the Moon are:

Adapting
Nurturing
Nourishing
Enfolding

Those for Aquarius are:

Humanitarian Considerations
Group-Consciousness
Radical Breakthroughs
“Global” Awareness

And, for the 2nd House:

Focus on His Resources.
Realize His Heritage.
Be Aware of His Worth.
Ground His Plans.

Here's the Symbolic Sentence I'll create for this placement:

Nurturing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Ground His Plans.

And, since the Sun/Moon aspect is the Waning Novile, we can put the Symbolic Sentences for Sun and Moon together in the following way:

Vitalizing Fresh Approaches in order to Study What He Discovered Was Important
Enabled a Seed-Planting of Future Possibilities by
Nurturing Humanitarian Considerations in order to Ground His Plans.

That Sun/Moon power was channeled through his Sagittarius Ascendant. Since a Symbolic Sentence for a House cusp has no Planetary Function, we place the word "Using" in front of the Sign:

We have for Sagittarius:

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

And, for the 1st House:

Focus on the Present.
See Things from His Own Perspective.
See Things Clearly.
Truly Be Who He Was.

Here's the Symbolic Sentence I'll create for his Ascendant:

Using an Idealistic Awareness in order to Truly Be Who He Was.

And, Rudhyar truly Was who he truly could BE...

Care to put Your choices for Symbolic Sentences for Dane's Sun, Moon, and Ascendant in the Comments?

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?

The Survey, so far...

We have some results from the survey about what You want to see on this blog.

Not a lot of responses but I respect the opinions of those who take the time to register their thoughts...

So...

The category Famous Birth Charts shows 60% want "a little bit" and 40% want it as "a regular feature".

General Astrology Techniques shows 50% want it "almost always", 33.3% "more often than not", and 16.7% "a regular feature".

Transits shows a 33.3% tie for "almost always" and "a regular feature", and also a tie of 16.7% for "more often than not" and "a little bit".

Progressions came in with exactly the same results as Transits...

And, Special B.I.D.E. Techniques showed a 3-way tie of 33.3% for "almost always", "more often than not", and "a regular feature".

I'm not going to make any "policy decisions" until more folks have expressed their desires...

So...

I've created a link to the survey post in the upper right panel and, to make it a touch easier, put the survey link right here, too...

Modes of Perception

There are many ways to view a chart...

Our last post looked at four levels of perception: Spiritual, Social, Personal, Practical...

The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System begins as close to the Spiritual level as practically possible. The Symbolic Sentences created with the System need further interpretation to be useful on the other three levels.

I'm going to step through these levels using my personal Symbolic Sentence for the recent New Moon in my chart.

Sun in Cancer in the 12th House
Conjunct
Moon in Cancer in the 12th House

which, for me, becomes

Focusing Character Development in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Nourishing Nurturing Abilities in order to Realize the Oneness of Life.

On the Spiritual level, reading the Symbolic Sentence as it stands, I have the thrill of sensing the potential for growth beyond my mere self into larger arenas of action. The Sentence may seem hugely abstract to you but I chose the options from the System that best expressed where I want to go during the current lunation cycle...

On the Social level, I see the words "Focusing Character Development" as my call to (even though I'm 63 and have spent much of my time circling the Sun in various modes of character development) concentrate on how I can grow even more in my efforts to "Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self". And, to me, transcendence of self doesn't leave the self out of the picture—much like taking a plane ride doesn't leave the earth out of the picture...

Socially, this "New Cycle of Actualization" (conjunction) calls for a "Nourishing" of my "Nurturing Abilities" so I can "Realize" more than ever "the Oneness of Life". How else, socially, can I use my own character in a transcendent way unless I'm aware of the Oneness of us all and give as much nurturance as I can?

On the Personal level, I have to more deeply explore the character I have developed over the years (notice my Saturn and Mars in Cancer) and detect the weak spots, the incomplete virtues, the less than ideal modes of my behavior so I can nourish the nurturing abilities I already have and, hopefully, strengthen them toward a broader acceptance of the Oneness of Life, which empowers me to see others as I see myself and lowers the barriers of personality, letting me reach out to help...

On the Practical level, I need to review all I've learned about my character, my knowledge of methods of transcendence of self, what it really means to nurture, and which techniques actually nourish that nurturance. Even with the long-term focus on my character development, the many years of attempting to successfully, and consistently, transcend a life lived only for myself, and truly nurture others on the path toward the Oneness of Humanity—the countless hours, days, months, years of struggle and partial attainment—I need to buckle-down and do it again...

Pulling Out The Stops . . .

I'm a maverick. Whatever I've studied concerning astrology was never taken in without a deep sense of "proving" it—making sure it made sense in the larger scheme of things—things like what people actually do and what most of them are never willing to do...

The bulk of the first volume about astrology that I wrote, Astrological Repair Manual (free download), is contained in the first 26 posts of this blog. What isn't here, yet, is what's called The Instructions—the unique and most honest approach to interpreting a chart that 40 years of teaching, counseling, and study could produce. I urge you to download the book and give the B.I.D.E. System of interpretation a try. You won't find easy answers to your life problems, you won't find a bunch of good and bad "indications", you won't find me telling you what to do. All you'll find is a method of taking the glyphs of Planet, Sign, and House and turning them into Symbolic Sentences—Affirmations—about which you will have to decide what to actually do.

I've worked hard to work out of my system all the "good", "bad", "afflicted", and, basically, Dangerous attitudes that still linger in too many astrologer's heads (and, hearts).

I'll be selecting some famous people's charts and using my system to create some ponderable issues for all of us to consider.

If you have (or will be) using my system with your own chart and want to share the results/insights you've received, I'll be happy to consider shaping a post around your experience!

Next post, we'll consider Adolph Hitler's chart...

Earth's Moon

We've left Mars and have arrived in orbit around the double planet—Earth/Moon. I'm still mostly quoting from my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. We're up to Chapter 10 and there are only 14 chapters (plus, the "Instructions" that show you how to begin interpreting your own chart...) so, not long from now, we'll be exploring the ideas in the current book in some very creative ways and I'll begin to discuss ideas for the revised and expanded edition which I'm working on now.

Let's check out the first part of Chapter 10:

"Here we are, finally approaching Earth—birthplace of astrology. First, we cuddle up to the Moon, home of much lunacy...

"Let’s look at that last word more closely since a major purpose of this book is to repair mis-perceptions, and various lunacies are still far too prevalent in the astrological community.

"In Old English, lunacy was born in the phrase mona seocnes or, to attempt a translation, 'monthsickness'—insanity alternating with periods of clear mindedness. This clearly describes many practitioners of astrology, but, if it were up to me, I’d reverse the order and say they seem very clear-minded for periods punctuated by bouts of insanity...

"Let’s be clear. It’s insane to say that astrology predicts events (and, of course, I'm using the word 'insane' in its original meaning: not healthy) This may be really hard for some folks to understand, but here it is: Astrology does not, will not, and never has predicted events. What?! Yes. It's the absolute truth, even if some astrologer 'predicted' something for you. (If an astrologer tells you something is going to happen, don't you think that, if it does, there may just be a bit of self-fulfillment in that?) What astrology does predict or reveal is Meaning.

"O.K. What if an astrologer says some event happened in your past, and that, in fact, it did happen? Believe it or not, what happened is that the astrologer saw a meaning in the chart and made a very good guess at the exact event. Here's some proof of that:

"Many years ago, I had the opportunity to talk to two men, born of different mothers but at the same time at the same hospital. Since they had the same chart you'd think they would have had the same events happening in their lives, right? Well, all it takes is one contrary occurrence of something to disprove a theory and here it is:

There was a strong indicator in their charts at a certain time, and I asked the first man what happened. He said his father had died. I asked the other man, with the same chart, what happened, and he said he'd been on his first nude beach...

"Obviously, the same chart had shown two very different events! Then, I asked the first man (by the way, I interviewed these men separately), "What did it mean when your father died?" He said that he'd felt like he'd had shackles removed (his father had been rather authoritarian). I asked the other man, "What did it mean to be on your first nude beach?" He said that he had dropped his shackles... They used exactly the same, and not so common, word to describe what two very different events meant.

"See? Astrology predicts meanings.

"By the way, it’s also insane to attribute the mental faults of some astrologers to the effect of the Moon. The Moon has nothing to do with it. None of the planets have anything to do with it. It’s the influence of environment coupled with free-will that warps folks into the fields of lunacy. ‘Nuff said.

"So, what’s this big, beautiful Moon good for? It just happens to be, from our view on Earth, the fastest cycle we have—27.3 days to be exact—the archetypical Month!

"Think of it as the second-hand on a cosmic clock with ten hands. By the way, my saying, just a second ago, 'from our view on Earth', may be the most important thing we can consider. Astrology from any of the places we’ve been so far, including this Moon, would be very different! It’s very definitely a thing about point-of-view...

"The cycle of the Moon gives us many things. One of the most important is a cycle we can definitely feel—if we’re not stone-cold numb. Whether or not you’ve been keeping up with the cycles of your chart, you most likely have a clear feeling for what a 'month' means for you—even if only in terms of what you can get done in that amount of time. If you look at a month as the time the Moon spends going from where it was when you were born, around the cycle of Signs, and back to your birth-position, you’ll have a marvelous indicator of your personal style-of-living. The Instructions ( in the free-to-download book) will help you find your personal Moon position and the recommended web sites plus our Forum will tell you how to track it [the forum died but will be reborn when the new edition is published...].

"The Moon in astrology also acts like a 'trigger' for other cycles. (I must reiterate: the actual Moon is not making things happen) Tracking it around your birth chart while being aware of when it’s 'over' your other planets' positions is a solid exercise in making the internal chart (the one in your unconscious mind) reveal itself in the symbolic chart (the one on paper or your computer screen). I'm being as basic as possible in this book for good reason—roots must go deep for trees to stand tall..."

Next time we'll discover some basics facts about how the Earth and our view from it create the Houses of astrology...