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?