SIGN LANGUAGE No.7

And There’s More ... !

Sun Flowers
In Sign Language 6, we began Playing with Fire and saw how, through the seamless succession of Age Harmonic moduli, each moment of birth unfurls like a bud opening into full flower. Now, in another corner of this rich and amazing field has appeared another cluster of undiscovered blooms:  go back to the system we used for nativities, and  apply it to Solar Returns. Divide the exact time elapsed in decimal days between the Solar Return and the key event by 365 to find the year-fraction, and then use this as a Modulus in the Difference Listing for the Solar Return chart itself. (This will immediately convert in the box to degrees and minutes.) In pairs at the start and finish - the ‘Alpha’ and ‘Omega’ points - of the sorted Angle list you will find those planets that convey the meaning of the event.

Here are the Alpha/Omega planetary pairs for a few crucial Solar Returns.

*    The first concerns the global catastrophe of Boxing Day 2004. At 07h58m50s USZ6 (-7h00) a massive rupture in the ocean floor just off North-West Sumatra (exact coordinates 3N18, 95E47) generated a series of tsunamis that devastated the coastal populations of almost every country and island washed by the Indian Ocean. For a set of consistent patterns, go to Nick Campion’s World Horoscopes and find the most accurate chart for each country. Set up the current (2004) Solar Return for each one (for the location of the disaster as well as the capital city.) Calculate the exact time in decimal days between the Return and the moment of disaster - in this case the time the tsunami wave first hit the beach. Express this period as a decimal fraction of a year. Enter this figure into the modulus box for Solar Fire’s Difference Listing, for the country’s 2004 Solar Return chart. Look at the Alpha and Omega points of the list.

The results all specify major environmental upheaval and presumed human suffering or death.

For Indonesia at Banda Aceh at the moment of the Quake: Alpha - Asc/Uranus, Asc/Chiron. (Cancer Saturn was rising at the Return, north of the Equator)

For Indonesia, Jakarta: Alpha - Asc/Pluto (Chiron was setting at the Return, south of the Equator.)

For Sri Lanka at both Galle and Colombo as the wave hit: Alpha - Asc/Pluto. (Uranus on MC at Return.)

For Thailand at Phuket as the wave hit: Alpha - MC/Uranus, Sun/Neptune. (S.Node rising in Scorpio at Return. Cancer Mars on MC.)

For India at Cuddalore precisely as the wave hit at 09h02: Alpha - Uranus/MC, Uranus/Neptune; Omega - Neptune/MC. (Neptune on MC at Return, S. Node near Desc in Scorpio.)

For India at Delhi: Alpha - ASC/Chiron; Omega - MC/Saturn.

*    The next is personal - my own at 18h31m52s on 19th January 1992 at Ospringe in Kent. It was Full Moon, and also the Sunday I went into the major orders of our Church. The Return is unfurled to 09h00 am four days later on January 23rd when the phone rang with the devastating news that my loved Mum had died in the night. The elapsed time of 3days,14h,28m,08s taken as a fraction of 365 days yields a decimal fraction of 0.009871 to use as our modulus, and immediately it converts to 10' of arc. As this is a round number, we have a parabolic list which is very easy to read and startling in its predictive message - at the Alpha and Omega points are the shock of Uranus/MC and the bereavement of Moon/Saturn; at the halfway pivot point are Saturn/Sun (my sick father now a widower), Uranus/Asc for all the upheaval following the shock, Node/Pluto for the profound changes it was to make on my path, and Moon/Sun, the whole new phase of personal and professional life that would follow. The preceding Sun/Moon Phase return had been equally stark, but appears to stand alone; neither it nor the previous Lunar return seems to unfurl to the fateful day.

*    The decision to ordain the first women priests in the Church of England celebrated its first Solar Return in London at 22h44m47s on November 11th 1993. The very first ordinations took place the following March, on the 12th, at 17h46 in Bristol. The time elapsed was 120.7919 days; the resulting modulus, the fraction of a year, was 0.330937. The Alpha group is truly impressive in its description of women empowered in solemn religious ministry by vows and the laying-on of hands - Moon/Node, Moon/Mercury, Jupiter/Moon, Jupiter/Saturn, Sun/Pluto.

The Son and The Moon
Seeing the kind of patterns that emerge every time I study the life of Jesus from yet another angle, I get a bit wistful when the seasonal programmers yet again roll out the required hour on the Magi, the half-hour on the Star. Last December we had more of the same, with astronomers David Hughes,  Michael Molnar and others increasingly arguing from the perspective of ancient Astrology - in itself a relief and a delight - but always, always forgetting the next crucial step: for even their very plausible theories of the birth of Jesus Christ utterly fall down as soon as astrologers take over from the astronomers and do what the latter have singularly failed to do because they will not or cannot - read the chart! How I long to stand up and explain!

Molnar’s current and controversial favourite, the Moon-Jupiter occultation chart for April 17th 6BC is actually a very attractive pattern, (FIG 01)  and I wouldn’t argue for a minute that it has nothing to say about the momentous events that ensued in Judea - but it is not the natal chart of the Son of God. In the Helio chart, Mercury and Venus (although the latter is ‘setting’) are in trouble, and the Earth is unaspected. This would be a person who had no material effect on the world of humankind at all! The Geo chart with Leo rising and the exalted Aries Sun close to the MC in the religious 9th at first looks highly convincing, especially with the Sun and the occulting Moon flanking the North Node’s spiritual sign-post; here is lots of energy, lots of purpose, Man and Woman on a divine mission. But here is the first ‘But!’ - the Sun, the Son, is unconnected to any of the spiritual planets; and that connection is imperative for any spiritually-minded person, most especially the Christ, the Son of God. Instead, the outer planets are linked to Mercury, conjunct Mars in Taurus in the 10th. What this may be telling us is that the Moon-Jupiter occultation marked or presaged not the Nativity but the Annunciation by the angel to Mary; there is no reason why this could not have preceded the Conception by the best part of four months, and this important Mercury is a wonderfully apt image for an announcing angel, a messenger from God. The uniquely powerful conjunction of Jupiter and Moon would represent Mary herself, thus honoured. The second ‘But’ is that the chart must then progress, direct and return correctly - and this one simply doesn’t. There is no room here to compare it with the 12 years of work done so far (and as you see, still on-going!), to test and support the Nativity of May 7th 5BC, but it has all been published. Interestingly, if you daily progress this Occultation chart to 7th May the following year, the Moon has just slipped past the Sun by a few minutes of arc, which again suggests that the events are strongly linked.

By the way, another chart has surfaced in support of May, 5 BC; there were three pre-natal eclipses (one on March 8th extensively studied and written up already), the second and by far the most powerful of which was a total eclipse of the Moon on March 23rd, its spiritual impact hugely reinforced by the Spring Equinox. (FIG 02)  This one may or may not have helped the Magi, but from our vantage-point we can appreciate the exalted Sun in a strong 5th house of children at Bethlehem, with the promise in its rising Mars and setting Jupiter of a hero, a prophet, a king. And does this chart also ‘flower’ for us? So far, there seems to be no modular unfurling with  lunar charts; but yes, they progress nicely as a rule.This one is not exemplary though: the daily progressed Meridian is short of  the eclipse axis by about 5 degrees on May 7th. However, the daily converse Horizon has just lined up with the Moon.            

A Piece of the Action
2005. It is Holocaust Memorial Day, the Mars-Pluto conjunction has taken over my Q(uotidian) IC, and all I want to do now is research into the cosmic roots of human brutality. I want to look again at Q-charts; and push them to the astrological limit. So my Nazi file is filling up - and every pair of Q-charts is delivering. Time after time, setting up one chart for the other’s time and zone brings planets onto the angles fundamental to the roles the two people play in each other’s life. With Hitler and his henchmen , almost always these are Saturn, Uranus, Pluto or the Nodes; Nazism is all about power and a mighty spiritual hubris. Most of the data is in Lois Rodden’s AstroData and the Clifford 2000, so you may be able to explore for yourself. And when you apply the same simple technique to your own partnerships or battles, the reasons for the persistence of this one, the intensity of that one, or the other that never got off the ground will become crystal clear.

What You See Is What You Get
Q-Charts give ‘WYSIWYG’ a whole new spin. Whether it is a passing day in your life you are looking at, or a day whose patterns manifest as your lover, your boss or your child, whatever other synastry you share, you can only attach yourself to it at one point - the moment of your own birth-time. That is literally the angle from which you see that person or the day’s events. If there are planets on Meridian or Horizon, the bond will be all the more meaningful; if there are none, then nothing intense is going on -you aren’t bringing out any particular quality in them, or demanding anything specific from them; nothing is expected and nothing projected. Angular planets in Q-charts mean expectations, projections or demands on the part of the ‘Timer’ that invariably elicit a planetary response from the ‘Dater’, bringing out in him or her the very qualities that the ‘Timer’ sees in them. This is why we so frequently ask, “What does she see in him?” or “What’s in this for me? What do I get out of this relationship?” This is why “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”. This is why embattled celebrities complain, “everyone wants a piece of me!” and the lively grab for  “a piece of the action”. This is why it can be so difficult to shift attitudes towards people that seem to fly in the face of reason.

We can make some useful statements about Synastry now, I think, to set Q-charts in their context.

SHARED SIGNS or SIMILAR PATTERNS show our likeness to, hence liking for, each other.

MUTUAL ASPECTS show our comfort/discomfort with each other.

COMPOSITES show what we mean to each other.

MUTUAL MIDPOINTS show what we turn on in each other.

DWAD synastry shows what we secretly feel and think about each other - the hidden truth.

DRACONIC/TROPICAL synastry shows our compatibility or otherwise of belief, principle, and mission.

SIDEREAL/TROPICAL synastry shows the social roles we may play together.

Q-CHARTS show what we uniquely see in, demand of, and/or bring out in each other; hence the nature and destiny of the bond.

I want to mine this rich seam far more thoroughly later on, but a few brief examples may whet your appetite:

*    A severe migraine meant I should cancel an appointment, but a colleague bullied me into his car and on to the venue where I had an apparently successful but physically miserable evening. He then drove someone else home before me, while I was almost weeping in the back seat. His birth time on my birthday was Sunset; this promised a boost to my interests - but the enterprise collapsed with Neptune at the IC. He uniquely tapped into both my strength and my weakness! As for my time on his day - a culminating Mars/Uranus (conjunct my own Saturn) tells the whole sad story.

*    By contrast, the British comedy-writing team responsible for the classic “Dad’s Army” and “Hi-de-Hi!”, Jimmy Croft and David Perry joyously exchange Jupiters! - David bringing the laughter planet to Jimmy’s Ascendant, and Jimmy drawing David’s Jupiter to his Meridian, at the IC. (FIG 03)

*    You will not be altogether surprised then, I’m sure, to discover the following double Saturn - at the Ascendant when you turn the late Princess Diana’s chart to Prince Charles’ time, and at the IC when his chart is set for hers ( FIG 04). At its best, a Q Saturn brings duty, discipline, structure and hard graft; at its worst a tale of unrelieved misery. Whoever thought these two could be happy together? Camilla, however, offers Charles her Mars at the IC, and in return she gains his setting Moon ( FIG 05) .All these years she has been his real wife in all but name. Thank heaven they are planning to make it official! The Solar returns for 2004 are delicious - bearing in mind they have to be precessed, as we are dealing with a public (sidereal), not a purely private (tropical) marriage (FIG 06). Charles Q Camilla: Uranus rises for his new status ... and culminating is the Moon, a new wife! Camilla Q Charles: Chiron is at the IC bracing her for a leap of faith, and opposite on the Midheaven is a New Moon, the wedding of man and woman.

*    Another triangle was formed in the mid-20th century when President John F. Kennedy, married to Jackie since 1953, embarked on an affair with movie star Marilyn Monroe. But look at these charts! JFK Q MM shows a man besotted; she draws both Moon and Venus onto his angles. And Jackie?  She relates to him through his Pluto (MC) and Chiron (setting); here is no tenderness at all! (FIG 07) So what happened when Marilyn was found dead in August 1962? At the Solar Return of JFK Q MM furious Mars rides the MC, and Saturn with South Node conjunct Descendant mourn a grievous personal loss. I have seen this same pattern in bereavements time after time. (Robert Kennedy is a whole other story.)

With results like this you may, like me, find that your synastry work will never be the same again! Not only do Q-Charts resolve many of our less tractable interpersonal dilemmas, you will find that they  progress, and direct, and return, and composite, and fine-tune, and shift zodiac as eloquently as any radix chart. One day we’ll have to try unfurling a few ...

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Data and Sources for SL7:

Synod’s decision for Women Priests - 11th November 1992, 16h59m47s UT, London UK. (Author)
Mary, mother of Jesus - 4th August 24 BC, 12h33m LMT, Nazareth, Israel. (Author)
Jesus Christ - 7th May 5 BC, 18h43m55s LMT, Bethlehem, Israel. (Author)
Molnar’s Occultation chart - 17th April 6 BC, 12h10 LMT, Bethlehem, Israel. (M.Molnar, BBC2, “The Mystery of the Three Kings”
Lunar Eclipse - 23rd March 5 BC, 20h52 LMT, Bethlehem, Israel. (Solar Fire.)
Indonesia - 27th December 1949, 09h22 GMT, Jakarta, Indonesia. (Campion) (Banda Aceh: 5N34 95E20)
Sri Lanka (Republic) - 22nd May 1972, 12h43 INT (-5h30), Colombo, Ceylon (Campion) (Galle: 6N02 80E13)
Thailand-2 - 24th June 1932, 05h00 SST (-7h00), Bangkok, Thailand (Campion) (Phuket: 7N53 98E24)
India (Republic) - 26th January 1950, 10h15 INT (-5h30), Delhi, India (Campion) (Cuddalore: 11N45 79E45)
David Croft - 7th September 1922, 11h15 BST, Barnes, UK (autobiography)
Jimmy Perry - 20th September 1923, 02h00 GMT, Poole, UK (autobiography)
Princess Diana - 1st July 1961, 19h45 BST, Sandringham, UK (Clifford )
Camilla - 17th July 1947, 07h00 BWT, London, UK (Clifford)
Prince Charles - 14th November 1948, 21h14 GMT, London UK (Clifford/official bulletin)
Marilyn Monroe - 1st June 1926, 09h30 PST, Los Angeles, CA (Clifford/BC)
John F. Kennedy - 29th May 1917, 15h00 EST, Brookline, Massachusetts (Clifford)
Jackie Kennedy - 28th July 1929, 14h30 EDT, Southampton, NY (Clifford)