As promised, I erected a mundane horoscope to examine the implications of Mars being singularly bright in the evening sky at the time of the Congressional mid-term elections in the United States. The title of this post alludes to the famous lines from Act III, Scene I of Shakespeare's play Henry V, which conclude with: … Continue reading Unto the Breach
Traditional Astrology
Drums in the Deep
First off, this isn't so much a prediction as a premonition. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, reading from the Book of Mazarbul while in Moria, quotes the following ominous passage: "They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes... … Continue reading Drums in the Deep
Astrology Takes a Detour
In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention first that I've been what is known as a "psychological" astrologer since the term gained popularity in the early 1970s. British astrologer Alan Leo - often called "the father of modern astrology" - was the first practitioner of what he called "the science of tendencies" rather … Continue reading Astrology Takes a Detour
File Under: “Why Bother?”
Here is a well-reasoned 2003 editorial by "Frater P.A.L." from the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition, No. 4. Vol. 1 titled "Why Study the Divinatory Arts?" (Forgive me if I've posted this article before, either here or in the tarot forums, but I wanted to expand upon its subject matter with a few personal … Continue reading File Under: “Why Bother?”
A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
For those old-timers like me who may wander in here, the title of this post should bring back fond memories of William Conrad's narrated taglines to the animated Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes, which invariably went "Be here next time, when . . . " followed by a tongue-in-cheek pair of amusing but not always obviously … Continue reading A Crowded House, or Where Do I Put All Those Planets
Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
While putting together my table of active and passive affinities, I got to thinking about the sometimes schizophrenic relationship between the seven traditional planets and the sign(s) of their rulership. Not that there isn't an internal logic to all of the correspondences (as we shall see), but some apparent anomalies do crop up. For the … Continue reading Cheap Shots #19: Dr. Doolittle on Rulerships
Wrangling Dual Rulerships
I present myself as a traditional astrologer these days, at least in spirit if not yet in full-fledged practice. So I don't use the trans-Saturnian planets for much beyond generational insights. That means I don't see Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as sign rulers or dispositors, or as partaking of the other essential dignities, or even … Continue reading Wrangling Dual Rulerships
“Weekly Blueprint” Pull for Thursday
The "action" card for today is the Ace of Wands. As long as I don't fall prey to over-thinking and over-compensating (symbolized by the reversed Art as "background" card), this has the potential to be a lively, on-point day. Art (more commonly known as Temperance) is a card of alchemical finesse and precision; I call … Continue reading “Weekly Blueprint” Pull for Thursday
The Four Classical Elements
Students of tarot and astrology tend to take for granted the underlying influence of the four classical elements formulated by the Greek philosopher Empedocles - Fire, Water, Air and Earth - on the tarot suits and zodiacal signs. At their simplest, they represent action, initiative, enterprise and ego (Fire); emotions (Water); thoughts and ideas (Air); … Continue reading The Four Classical Elements
Travel Event and Transit Charts – Part 2
Most trips have a return leg, so I repeated the previous process, casting an event chart for the flight back and matching it to our natal charts. Regarding the event itself, things look much more promising this time. Mercury and Mars, both direct and now legitimately conjunct in Virgo, are in the 9th House of … Continue reading Travel Event and Transit Charts – Part 2
