Solar Returns, Part 3; a year earlier . . .

We have been examining Solar Returns, using Donald Trump’s 2020 chart with the idea of “advancing it” to view the chart for the national election on Nov. 3, 2020.  However, I wish to now insert a look at this 2019 Solar Return.  Over the past week or so, Trump has launched a new phase of his constant-campaign for his political office.  This has been a racist tirade against people of color and cities, against those seeking to enter our country and become citizens.  He wants his version of 1950’s American, perhaps as typified by that old TV show, Happy Days.

Notice that his n/Sun-t/Sun are in the 2nd house of self-esteem, values.  The grouping of n/Sun-t/Sun-n/Uranus-n/N.Node is squared by t/Neptune in the 11th house of community and public service; His basic self-hood is clouded and will be challenged by grand visions and misconceptions (t/Neptune).  Lets us now look at this chart and annual theme for this annual period.

• n/MC is at the SR Ascendant angle.  My book, Personal Predictions gives the following guidance for this pattern:  “This year presents concerns about your image and how much respect you feel you are receiving relative to your views and goals.  This will remain in the “concern” category unless there are also angular planets (natal or transiting) in the chart — in this case the concerns will express themselves as experiences or actions in which the involved planets will be part of those externalized experiences or self-initiated actions.  Reinforcing your image.”  There are angular planets which will be looked at in the following bullet list. 
• t/Pluto at the MC;  This is a “lust for power” pattern.  Trump will be making major political choices and setting the course for an irrevocable personal path for himself.
• n/Venus-IC angle, along with t/Mars opposes t/Pluto-MC-and-t/Saturn.  This is a harsh stellar pattern.  Trump will be pushing his ‘charm’ offensive with great energy.
• t/Moon is in the 7th house, square the n/Asc.-n/Mars.  This seems important.  Note that Trump has a natal ‘full moon’ chart — Sun versus Moon, male versus female, etc.  The square of t/Moon to n/Asc.-n/Mars suggests more trouble with women and in the management of ‘feelings’ and public emotions.

This is all that is required to understand a Solar Return chart.  We have a sense of how major themes will play out in 2019 and early 2020.  The details will be found in the other charts, the advanced charts based on the MC-Solar Cycle.   I will follow up this posting with a view of the July 21 to July 28th week. 

Solar Returns, Part 2: Interpretation

This posting should not focus on a brilliant analysis but, instead, a method of approaching an understanding of which major themes are put in motion for the following annual period.  You see, the Solar Return is several things at once; 1) a “theme” chart for the year, 2) a daily transit chart, and 3) a marker point on a dual-cycle that starts at birth and continues unbroken throughout and past one’s physical life.

It is this third point which I want to start with — which may seem to you a strange way to start an interpretive session.  We need to keep in mind that we are dealing with a cyclic chart.  The Sun moves forward 360 degrees each year.  The MC position, in any two successive SR charts will be seen to have moved 90 degrees, or so, ahead of the prior year’s SR.  Cyril Fagan, a prominent Tropical astrologer of the mid-1900’s, was also a historian and archeologist.  He rediscovered and reformatted the use of Sidereal astrology.  One of his contributions was to recognize that he could progress the MC 360 degrees like the Sun’s annual advance, plus the extra 90 degrees of rotation which represented the extra quarter-day (contributing to leap year) in our 365.25 orbital calendar. 

This MC-Solar Cycle will be most evident as we advance this SR chart on a day-by-day basis, but it can also be kept in mind as we investigate this 2020 Solar Return for Trump.

• The first thing to note is the n/MC and n/Asc are in the 10th and 1st houses of the chart, 13 and 10 degrees ahead of the angles.  If we advance the angles by about 1.25 degrees-per-day (the MC-Solar Cycle), we can expect the end of June (about the 20th-to-24th), 2020 for Trump to have a “rebirth” or reorientation or surge-of-purpose of some kind.  Since this will near the finalization of the Democratic Party’s nominee selection and the approaching nomination convention, we can be sure that Trump will be highly engaged.
• t/Uranus is on the MC angle; this will be a year where Trump will be offering a rapid series of media events, statements, actions — all designed to put the focus on him, personally, and to shape the news.  Typical Trump.  Note that n/Uranus is part of his natal Uranus-N.Node-Sun pattern — which opposes his Moon.  He naturally seeks attention to the extreme.
• t/Sun conjoins t/N.Node, repeating the natal pattern and emphasizing the expected extreme public performance of the President in this SR year.  We might expect bizarre executive actions and proposals.
• The t/Sun-n/Sun position squares the t/Mars-t/Neptune pattern in the 8th.  This suggests even greater numbers of lies and false claims.  Since the 7th house is involved, the “adversaries’ may be both his political opposition as well as any number of foreign leaders — his lack of coherent policies is already putting in place difficulties regarding Iran, North Korea, Russia, the countries south of our country.
• The t/Moon is always important in a Solar Return, particularly with Trump as his n/Moon-opposes-n/Sun (and we wonder why he has trouble with women?). This t/Moon squares n/Mercury and opposes n/Neptune.  Wome, in general, and their political support for him will be unlikely or confused by his statements and actions.
• Now, let us look at Venus.  t/Venus-t/Part-of-Fortune in the 10th points to turmoil caused by his “tough love” (n/Saturn-n/Venus) demeanor.  That n/Venus is opposed by t/Pluto-t/Jupiter in the 6th. (We might wish to include t/Saturn in the group as it has a wide opposition to n/Saturn).  This strikes me as a “business’ grouping.  Could it be that the House of Representatives or the New York authorities will be at the point of having or revealing or taking action on his financial dealings at this critical point in his campaign?  Will this be before the election or after?  We will need to watch the “advanced” charts to see when this might happen.

As you review the above statements, note that allowances for “when” in the following period of time — days, weeks, months — that such meanings might come into play.  Note also that the concept of a yearly “theme” was adhered to.  As we look at the election period, we will note that the chart angles continuously advance.  For example, it is about 50 degrees between the Asc. angle and n/Neptune-opp-t/Moon and square t/Mercury.  4/5s of 50 is about 40.  Look for 40 days following this Return date — July 24th or so — for a major disinformation effort or a scandal to show up in the news.  Likewise, in mid August of 2020 the advancing Asc. will reach the IC angle — look for a reorientation of his personal actions and positions — likely due to political troubles.  So, just by looking at this chart we can sense the flow of events with time.

Solar Returns, Part One: Their Basis and Their Calculation.

Solar Returns have been used by astrologers since antiquity, although not in the same form as we tend to use them now.  It appears that the oldest Solar Returns were charts cast for the king’s birthday in a rudimentary format.  I don’t wish to dwell on those charting practices, but will focus on one format for Solar Returns, as I use them.

To explore Solar Returns, I will use a subject, our current President Donald Trump, and look at his Return chart for the year 2020 and ‘progressed daily angles’ chart (PDA).  I will be using a “precession corrected” Tropical charting method, using Sidereal techniques cast within a Tropical framework.

 

We all have a birthday each year, even though a very few of us may have been born on a leap year — on Feb. 29th, which happens every year.  Even though that calendar day may not exist in a given year, the Sun will pass over the degree-minute-second position within a day or so of the expected point in time.  Since we are dealing with an astronomical point, the exact day may vary in any year just as the first day of spring varies.  It seems that the Earth’s rotation and our calendar are not exactly in full synchronization.

The use of ‘precession correction’ is merely a choice to click on a checkbox when using a computer to create a chart.   Due to the Earth’s wobble about its axis, which takes some 25,000 years to complete, the point of the Spring Equinox, the Aries Point, occurs slightly earlier each year relative to the starfield of the cosmos.  In a technical sense, one could say that we never fully complete our annual cycle through the zodiac because we jump over the last few minutes of the sign of Pisces in order to hit the Aries point.  (Actually, our math and computers constantly adjust our position so that everything smoothly progressed along the flow of time and space.  Yet, that small adjustment for one year accumulates so that a full degree of adjustment occurs every 72 years.

When we cast a precession corrected ( p.c. ) Solar Return for someone such as Donald Trump, who will be 74 in 2020, his natal Sun position will actually have slipped backward slightly more than that one degree (over 72 years).  You will note in the p.c. 2020 Solar Return chart that n/Sun is shown at 22 Gemini, t/Sun is shown as being at 23 Gemini.  This is due to the calculation and display conventions that are applied by the computer program.  Natal positions are shown in the outer ring of the bi-wheel chart, transiting positions are shown in the inner ring.  

We can note that the t/Sun-n/Sun Return position is in the 11th house.  Siderealists and those ancient astrologers would view this Sun position as being “weak” and that this annual period would not be auspicious for launching a new project or to make a successful attempt at anything of importance.  HOWEVER, modern practice would note that the n/MC and n/Asc. are in angular houses, and the subject would tend to be optimistic about major programs during this current year.  This is not to say that these two views are in conflict.  One can be in a ‘weak’ situation and still feel optimistic and confident.  I will address this disparity in a following post.

Note the t/Moon’s position in the 9th house at 8 Aries, and the n/Moon’s position in the 5th house at 21 Sag.  The natal Sun-Moon pattern is a ‘full moon’ type.  The transiting Sun-Moon pattern is a last-quarter phase (the Moon is 270 to 315 degrees ahead of the Sun).  This is a phase that suggests one has to wrap up one’s business and show something tangible that has been accomplished.  The natal phase is one of recognition, seeing differences, contrast, clarity, opposition, confrontation.  Those natal traits are very evident in the President’s life.  Many might say that the events that show an honest effort, following through on a plan, achievement and making a positive mark in one’s world doesn’t seem to fit the President as well.

I am not attempting an analysis here, just pointing out some basic features of the bi-wheel chart.  The natal chart shows a general eastern-hemisphere placement of the planets, the Moon leading, Uranus trailing.  The Moon position suggests that one is looking for recognition in the midst of constant change and uncertainty while relying upon turmoil and shock-value (Uranus) as a means of drawing that attention.   

The then-current (in June of 2020) planet placement shows more of an upper-hemisphere placement with transiting Mercury leading the bowl-grouping of planets and Pluto bringing up the rear.  We might expect from this pattern that Trump’s words, claims, advertisements, political rallies — and tweets — will be his primary form of personal presentation.  The trailing presence of Pluto causes concern to this astrologer — I view this as a “scorched earth”  and bombastic indicator where no-holds will be barred and all-out political war will be conducted in this year’s political campaign.

It is my approach with charts to look for the 20,000-foot perspective first before going into detail.   It may not often be that a hemisphere or bowl-shaped pattern is what strikes the eye.   It could have been something such as the n/Sun being near the n/N.Node and the t/Sun being near the t/N.Node that caught my eye.  Or, perhaps the natal Sun-Mars square and the transiting Sun-Mars square.  Astrology is, after all, part calculation, part interpretation, part intuition.   In the next post I will look at a possible interpretation for the year based on the context of the current political scene.

Suicide; Part 2

 I have cast a t/Moon-to-n/Sun Return, May 1, 2008 for “M”. This is a 9th house Return, indicating a focus on places of the mind, of distant possibilities and the need to import something new into his life experience. This is bolstered by t/Uranus and n/S.Node; we find t/Uranus being a sudden cognition of what is needed, and the n/S.Node a realization of what is now not needed. A time to make choices, it seems.

1) With n/Moon-n/Asc., the choices to be made will be based on emotions and needs. Note t/Venus-n/MC. He visualizes what he needs, is trying to build a mind-bridge to that desire.

2) This t/Venus-n/MC squares n/Venus which opposes n/Moon-n/Asc.; he is having a hard time making this goal come into reality.

3) And, of course, n/Mercury is the big angular factor at the chart’s MC angle. All that Mercury stands for can come into play during this cycle. Will the Mercury midpoints mentioned earlier be applicable in this next two week period?

Advancing the chart to May 4th, we find that n/Mercury remains close to the chart’s MC.

4) t/Mars-angular in the 1st house speaks about wanting to do something.

5) n/Jupiter conjoins t/Mars, both are broadly opposite t/Jupiter-7th. Any natal-opposite-transiting planet shows difficulty in bringing the two together. Old plans and opportunities or new opportunities; which can he have?

6) Note that t/Moon has now joined t/Venus-n/MC, all of which squares the natal pattern of Jupiter, Moon, Asc.; emotions and old fears run rampant today.

7) Note also t/Part-of-Fortune in the 12th; Chance and Change of a major, yet personal nature, is in the works — this squares n/Mercury-MC and opposes t/Pluto in the 6th. Changes made will likely be irrevocable.

8) The t/Sun-11th house plays no logical, reasoning role in this chart. It is all about the emotional perceptions that the subject holds, apparently concerning a person he loved but could not bond with, perhaps someone he worked with.

When participating in a Facebook or blog-site discussion, I do not attempt to cover every aspect in a chart. Everyone wants to participate. Leaving room of other’s to make their points brings forth a lot of interesting views.

The sister of “M”, who had asked for the chart to be discussed by the group, had these comments. You may suspect from the comments that follow that the others within the group, especially the sister, took my sparse commentary and “filled it in within their own mind.” She applied her memories of the event to my statements. This is what happens also in direct dialog between the astrologer and the client. The astrologer doesn’t have to know everything. Expressing the key astrological facts will lead to a fuller discussion. This allows the astrologer to be more precise and helpful.

“Wow. So much accurate info. It resonates with what I, as his sister have always felt to be true and had the need to confirm. 

*** On Mercury. 100% true. We were raised in a high minded family with very high standards. Grand father surgeon… sports champions…. business owners… you name it. The problem for us three siblings was that it’s also a super conventional family. Me and my two brothers are something else (I’m an artist and our little brother a musician). My chiron is in the same place as we were born only 1 year apart. (This all relates to Mercury in the 9^th)

*** About the Moon – Sun Return. 100% too. Career choice. It was the most important thing in the world for him, he really wanted to make a difference. He wanted to be liked for sure since he was born. (This relates to the Mercury trine/sextile to Moon and Venus) He had just came back from a year of social service, healing indigenous people in one of the poorest parts of the country and I never saw him happier or more connected with his essence . He chose ob gyn, which I KNOW in my heart, he regreted. He wanted to do something big. (Moon-Jupiter near the Asc.) His mind had really no boundaries.

*** He had proposed and moved in with his girlfriend 4 months before, she was going for Psychiatrics and they seemed to be very happy. His epilepsy was getting worse though. I know he wanted to have kids but was afraid to pass his condition to them or afraid he could one day hurt them. I wasn’t aware this could have been a big issue for them. Some of his doctors say that he did it during a seizure, that he wasn’t 100% conscious.
 Thank you. I hope I can be this helpful to someone one day. (sorry for the mistakes English is not my first language)

 He was diagnosed with epilepsy in the temporal lobe. Which according to the doctors meant that his seizures manifested through his temper. He would turn himself completely into another person during these seizures, anger… rage… trying not to hurt everyone else.

*** He had proposed and moved in with his girlfriend 4 months before, she was going for Psychiatrics and they seemed to be very happy. His epilepsy was getting worse though. I know he wanted to have kids but was afraid to pass his condition to them or afraid he could one day hurt them. I wasn’t aware this could have been a big issue for them. Some of his doctors say that he did it during a seizure, that he wasn’t 100% conscious. 

Another group member commented, “With Moon on the Ascendant with Venus opposing on the axis, and both being in a T square with Chiron on the MC, i get the impression that he was very sensitive and sometimes felt as though he was not up to the demands that his chosen career presented to him. At the time of his death, Pluto was squaring his Mercury, so it’s very possible his thoughts were of picking the alternative of leaving rather being thought incompetent and disappointing his loved ones. Besides seeing it in his chart, I also am feeling this intuitively.

Reply I feel this is accurate too. Im very intuitive, more even when it comes to family (im cancer sun) and i always felt that. He had recently chosen to go with OB gyn specialty in the best hospital. But I know in my heart as i’m sure he did.

Another group member said, “I’m So sorry for your loss. The 12th house rules suicide and self undoing and Mars (anger and pain) conjunct his moon (emotions) in the 12th house. It really stands out to me. The conjunction of Pluto and the path of fortune stands out too. Its something I have been seeing a lot of lately it seems ever sense another person brought it up a few weeks ago and he pointed out that he had a really rough time with the aspect. He was robbed and beaten. I have been seeing the aspects between Pluto and the path of fortune in really rough charts. Then there’s the venus chiron moon and the MC…was his anger related to a woman? I mean venus is smack dab on the mc. 0°00! Has to be about venus stuff. There was possibility some wound related to his public image, career, mother due to chiron natally in the 10th conjunct the mc. Because venus triggered the situation and is female in gender and is in a feminine sign I have to really sit here, scratch my head and wonder if this was about a woman, love or something. There’s a lot going on in this chart. (refering to a natal-transit chart).

NOTE: In these Moon-to-Sun Returns, both the chart’s angles and the natal angles are very important. Planets found at, or aspecting, these angles are used to provide the main theme of the chart. The Return chart had Uranus joining in with the t/Moon-n/Sun conjunction, suggesting that was was in store for this man would happen quickly. In the four days between the Return and the Advanced chart, the Moon had moved over to t/Venus and n/MC. and the t/PoF had moved into opposition with t/Pluto. Two triggers. Venus is often angular in a death chart. PoF triggering t/Pluto was the commitment, never going back part of the equation.

Dave.

 I will be on a cruise until July 19^th. See you then.

Suicide; Part One

When challenged, when stressed, a strength can become a weakness. This can become especially true when one is suicidal. Such a “strength” then becomes a shield, hiding a dilemma of great proportion from others who might be able to help or, at least, intervene.

The person and charts to be shared in this posting are from a FaceBook site that I belong to called Death & Astrology. Death’s due to various causes are freely and openly discussed there. In this case, we are talking about a young man who chose to become a doctor, an OBGYN or baby doctor. We will look at his natal chart first.

 

I will block out the actual birth data, noting only that he was born in March of 1979, mid-afternoon, in North America. We can call him “M”. Knowing that this person chose suicide as a way to end his life doesn’t mean that we will see tendencies to commit suicide in his chart. The natal chart shows the basic character tendencies and potential. Later in life, as an adult, we have taken on many experiences which have shaped the way our natal chart symbols have come to express themselves. So, I don’t believe the natal chart can predict suicide, it may indicate the possibility of suicide, but it likely cannot predict suicide or death in terms of time or a period.

 1) Moon-Asc. opposite Venus-Desc. and square Chiron-MC; Strongly sensitive, seeking to bond with others, challenged in terms of his goals and life-direction. Does he measure up to the needs and standards of others? What can he best do to be of service?

2) Mars-opposite-Saturn in the 2^nd; Self-worth, self-esteem needs to be worked at, possible as a service to others. Mars-Ceres suggests something practical, family oriented. This pattern may alternate between patience and persistent hard-work to achieve a goal versus stop-start approach to every project undertaken.

3) Mercury-trine-Moon and sextile-Venus; This is a highly tuned-in sensitivity pattern that is always open to inputs and perceptions. Nothing needful escapes this person’s eye.

4) Sun square Neptune, trine Uranus, inconjunct Pluto, and opposite N.Node; This is stair-stepping pattern involving upsets over ones hopes and dreams (Neptune-square), the welcoming of sudden insights when/if they are received (Uranus-trine), difficulty in coping with problems that cannot be understood, and feeling challenged by the expectations and interactions with others. The Sun is really hurting here.

5) Part of Fortune (PoF)-square-Sun; Every decision seems important. The problem is when one questions or second-guesses the decision that was made, doubts can really sink in fast.

6) Moon is entering the 4^th of 8^th phases, relative to the Sun. Constant adjustment, the honing of skills, and preparation to meet the needs of others is the primary focus of this Moon-to-Sun phase.

 7)  We can now pay some attention to the pre-natal Solar Eclipse which occurred some 12 days earlier, located exactly upon n/Mars.  This changes the notes in “2)” noted above.  The attributes of Mars-opp-Saturn becomes very important.  We have “stop-and-go”, frustration, strategies and plans, inadequacy in following through, unhappiness with what one attempts or accomplishes.  Knowing that ‘suicide” is in this person’s future we might expect an explosive decision arising out of frustration.

Since the context presented with this chart involved “suicide”, and that implied (for me) a type of twisted-around mind-set, I immediately became concerned about Mercury. It may be an intuitive thing for an astrologer. I don’t know, but it seemed to me that Mercury might hold some keys to understanding this suicide. To better focus on Mercury, I went to the use of midpoints. Was the planet Mercury at the midpoint of any two other planet’s positions? If so, what would that mean?

• ME = MO/MA (0d46m); Criticism (premature or wrong), emotional over ones work.
• ME = MO/SA (0d35m); Inclined to reflect and think, sense of duty, separation, saying goodbye.
• ME = VE/MA (1d19m); Strong impulses, desire for acceptance, wanting to give birth to something.

Well, work may have been involved, and criticism or dissatisfaction within the workplace is indicated. The weighing of pros and cons relating to his sense of duty versus the desire to just get away from the workplace. There is some clear meaning involved concerning a support person or someone he might love or need the approval of. How would these natal patterns, which may persist into adult life play out in later years?

We will see if this is relevant at some point in adult life relative to his suicide.

 

Awakenings, NDE, Conscious Awareness

In the past year, during which time I lost control of and access to this blog site, many things have changed for me.  A prior six-year study group on Karmic Relationships (based on the teachings of spiritual scientist Rudolph Steiner) brought me into contact with German philosopher, poet, playwright, author and natural scientist Johann Wolfgang Goethe.  Long story short, Goethe had a profound inspiration related to his creation of a fairy tale — his only fairy tale our of several thousand letters, plays, essays and books he wrote in the 1700s and 1800s.  This fairy tale was conceived of in moments and coincided with him having a spiritual awakening.  What is astounding is that certain astrological patterns in his “awakening” chart are found in the charts of current people who have had their own form of awakenings.!

I am considering on including much of the material I have collected on this subject as part of my posting here — if I decide to resume posting.  So, over the next couple of weeks, while I busy traveling and may not have time to post much here, I want each of the few followers who still visit this year-long-abandoned-post to let me know if they like this idea.  It may or may not happen.  You can influence the decision to include this type of material.  Dave

Test Post

This is a test posting to see if I really have regained control of the ninthhouse.wordpress.com site.  Dave July 3, 2019