Guys, it’s been six months since I started this newsletter on a whim (and with a pretty good electional chart, to be honest)! In honor of my six-month anniversary, I wanted to reflect on some things that have improved my astrology over the past few years in the hope that they may help you in your astrological journey as well.
1. Using Traditional Rulerships
If you only take one of these suggestions, make it this one; it will radically improve your astrology. Planetary rulership refers to the planet that rules, or is in charge of, each sign. The traditional rulership scheme assigned the seven visible planetary bodies to each of the twelve signs according to an arrangement based on the Thema Mundi, the mythical birth chart of the world. When the modern planets were discovered, they were shoehorned into the rulership scheme in a way that broke up the symmetrical relationships of the traditional planets. Removing the modern planets — Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — from the rulership arrangement and reverting to traditional rulership brings the planets and their significations into sharp focus and, in my opinion, strengthens interpretations.
2. Switching to Whole Sign Houses
The whole sign house system is the oldest form of house division. It’s based on the idea that each house aligns exactly with a sign in a natal chart, starting with the first house, which contains the Ascendant. I’ve laid out my reasons for switching to whole sign houses earlier — basically the philosophical underpinning holds up better, in my opinion. But, more importantly, I’ve found that whole sign houses just work better. Switching house systems can feel discombobulating, as chart placements can change. However, whole sign houses have so many benefits (such as the ability to apply traditional timing techniques), and the house system is so dead simple, that it’s worth it to switch, in my opinion. The new insight you gain about your life will astound you.
3. Considering Sect
Sect is the Hellenistic technique that posits that the charts of those born by day are fundamentally different than the charts of those born at night, with different planets dominant, as well as playing helpful or challenging roles. Learning about sect was mind-blowing for me. Finally, with sect, I understood why Mars was not my friend, in my day chart, why the planet of war and action could easily become a saboteur in my life. When you apply sect, you can immediately see which planets are more helpful and which ones are underminers, both in natal charts and when working with transits.
4. Sticking to Traditional Aspects
Aspects are the relationships made between planetary bodies in a natal chart. Traditional aspects are based on geometry — shapes formed by geometric alignments within a circle. The lack of a traditional aspect is called an “aversion,” meaning that the two points can’t “see” each other. Modern astrology has invented numerous “minor” aspects that represent all kinds of angles but don’t form regular shapes. Getting rid of minor aspects reveals the traditional aspects in all of their starkness, and shines a light upon the aversions, in which the two points or planets can’t see each other and thus have nothing in common. This is one of the “less is more” astrology suggestions. Clearing away the unnecessary clutter from a chart, in order to see what’s really there, is one of the best things you can do to deepen your understanding.
5. Taking the Outer Planets Into Account — But Not at First
Building on the “less is more” theme — try removing the modern planets from your birth chart (or use an online traditional astrology calculator) as a first interpretative step. The slow-moving outer planets — Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — are impersonal and generational by nature. They can certainly impact individual charts, particularly if they closely aspect personal planets or important chart points. However, I’ve found that it’s best to remove them from the birth chart at first in order to fully understand the personal issues in the chart (the same goes for the asteroids, which I use but not at first). Then, once you have a good grasp of the fundamentals, add the outer planets back in and see how they overlay with the personal planets.
6. Understanding That Planetary Placements Aren’t Active All the Time
Modern astrology tends to see the birth chart as a psychological portrait, that is more or less active all the time, with the planets representing various psychological impulses. However, traditional astrology views the birth chart differently, as a map of a lifetime, with transits and timing techniques indicating when certain placements are active. This concept can come as a relief in relation to difficult placements, as these configurations aren’t constantly activated (though the same rule applies to positive placements, perhaps to the dismay of their owners). In fact, a planetary configuration may only express itself once in a life (though its effect could be far reaching). The point is that all parts of a birth chart are not constantly switched on.
7. Detaching the Signs From the Houses
This suggestion is one I’ve had some difficulty with, since my earliest astrological reading ingrained the idea that the meanings of the twelve houses could be derived from the corresponding signs of the zodiac (Aires = the first house, etc.). Known as the “Twelve Letter Alphabet,” this is one of the foundational concepts of modern astrology that doesn’t seem to have any basis in astrological tradition before the 20th-century. The ancient significations of the houses seem instead to have been derived partly from a concept known as the planetary joys, as well as from the house positions as angles within the chart. Detaching the meanings of the houses from the zodiacal signs brings their original significations sharply into focus. It also explains why some houses were traditionally viewed as positive, while others were considered “bad.” It takes some effort to re-learn the significations of the houses, but the results are worth the effort.
8. Using Traditional Timing Techniques
Traditional astrology has introduced me to some extremely powerful timing techniques — Annual Profections and Zodiacal Releasing, which I now use in addition to transits and progressions. Also known as “timelord” techniques, these methods identify periods of life, along with the planetary rulers of these periods, across various levels of time, and qualitatively describe how these periods play out. While Annual Profections are relatively simple, with each year of life corresponding to one whole sign house in the chart, Zodiacal Releasing is an advanced technique that requires a base of traditional astrological knowledge (check out this episode of the Astrology Podcast if you’re interested). Bottom line — these techniques are incredibly useful for understanding the arc of a person’s life and how it unfolds over chapters.
9. Understanding That Chart Placements Are Not All Created Equal
Once you start to practice traditional astrological methods you start to understand that not all placements are created equal in a birth chart. This is the idea behind “essential dignity” — whether a planet is strongly placed or struggles to express itself. Modern astrology tends to frame birth chart analysis in terms of the idea that there are no “bad” placements, just opportunities for growth. This framing doesn’t take into account that difficult placements can in fact be experienced quite negatively, and that this is not necessarily the chart owner’s fault. If we are open to the idea that not all placements will be experienced positively, we can have an honest discussion with ourselves (or the chart owner) about how to accept the difficulties presented and work constructively around them.
10. Understanding That Our Relationship to Our Birth Chart Changes Over Time
We are not the same person at age ten, or thirty, or seventy. Challenges that seemed insurmountable at twenty may seem like no big deal at fifty, while risks we gladly took at seventeen seem insane to us at forty-five. While our birth chart doesn’t change over time, we evolve with age. Experience teaches lessons that are often hard-won (a saturnian motto if ever there was one). My point here is that our relationship to our birth charts changes as we go through life. Saturn is hard on the young but a friend to the old; Mars pushes us into risky situations in our youth but energizes us as we age; Jupiter can bring overconfidence to the young but prosperity to the old. . . you get the idea. Getting to know your birth chart is an invaluable tool that can impart insight over a lifetime, though this insight can evolve and change as we grow older, often in fascinating and unexpected ways.
There you have it, folks. See you next week!