Tuesday 18 August 2009

Swine flu case - Horary astrology



This is the horary chart I cast about the first serious case of swine flu in Greece. It's the case of a 33-year-old man who contacted the H1N1 virus, it developed into pneumonia and according to the doctors his condition was stable but critical. The question - however morbid - was: Will he die?
Since he is "any other person" he gets the 7th house. The 7th house ruler is the Moon, a cold and moist planet in a hot and dry sign. Yes, he is sick. According to John Frawley, in a medical question the whole chart is about the illness and therefore we don't use the 6th house ruler to signify it. We use the ruler of the person's planet or the planet that our significator is just separating from. In this case, our prime suspect is the Sun. It rules the Moon, it's in the 7th house, it's conjunct the malefic South Node and the Moon is separating from it. The Moon's most recent aspect was the sextile with Mars, who doesn't seem to be the culprit here, although, being a natural malefic, this would explain the patient's condition which had recently taken a turn for the worse. Since the Moon is leaving combustion and increasing in light, the situation looks promising. However, the Moon's next aspect is with the radical 8th house ruler, Mercury. John Frawley says that both the radical and the turned 8th house ruler can kill. Mercury in this chart rules both Saturn, the 1st house ruler ( the patient's doctor - 7th from the 7th) and Venus, the 4th house ruler (the patient's treatment - 10th from the 7th), which means that Mercury (death) has power both over the doctor (Saturn) and the treatment (Venus). As a result, I predicted death.
It turns out I was wrong. He survived and approximately two weeks later he showed definite signs of recovery and he must have left the hospital by now. What went wrong with my judgement? Is the fact that the Moon is gaining strength and leaving combustion enough? Should I not have used the radical 8th house ruler but the turned 8th house ruler, Jupiter? Jupiter is in Aquarius and therefore is ruled by Saturn, the doctor. In this case, the doctor has power over death. Since Frawley says that both can kill, what happens if one ruler gives a positive testimony and the other ruler a negative one? Who wins?
What's also interesting in this chart is that although the Moon is going to oppose Jupiter eventually, which would also be and indication of death, this aspect is prohibited by the sextile to Venus (treatment) which will occur before the opposition to Jupiter. Does this mean that the patient will start to respond to the treatment? Whatever the case, it seems we must forget the Moon's conjunction to Mercury or, at least, it's not enough of a testimony. Unless we consider him to be weak and therefore not able to cause death, because when the Moon conjuncts him, he will still be under the sun beams.
I would very much welcome any thoughts or remarks you might have on this chart.

Saturday 8 August 2009

The Leo parent - A contradiction in terms?

In modern astrology the 5th house of children may be considered to be the natural house of Leo, but in hellenistic and medieval astrology Leo is one of the barren signs. Even though numerous factors need to be taken into account before you can even suggest sterility, still, Leo is not a fruitful sign by itself. If we don't take this literally, because, as Lilly mentions, even Jupiter in Cancer (albeit retrograde) in the 5th doesn't guarantee children, what can be the meaning of Leo's barrenness, viewed from a modern perspective?
In defense of modern astrology, Leos seem to get on very well with children. Sometimes, it appears as if they draw children like a magnet. They just know instinctively how to treat them. All fire signs share a childlike enthusiasm that children can naturally relate to, but Leos especially tend to create more significant bonds with them. I think this is because the other two fire signs can behave like children, both for good or for ill, but Leos ARE children at heart. And unlike Aries, who very often fails to mentally reach adulthood, Leos can successfully integrate their childlike qualities into their adult personality.
We must also keep in mind that it's not easy being a child. We may reminisce about our happy and carefree days, but it seems that we forget how irritating it is to be brought into a world where you know nothing and are surrounded by tall and grown up people who seem to know everything and have all the answers. And not only that, but grown up people tend to get annoyed by you, bored with you, find it difficult to pay attention to what you say and generally find you a nuisance, no matter how much they love you, because you are not their equal. And then a Leo comes along and everything changes. There is at least one person in this world of hostile adults who actually understands, who actually treats you as if you are someone that matters.
But, alas, this happens only with other people's children. As we all know, there is a huge difference between liking children and actually raising them. Bringing up children involves a lot of hard and dirty work that Leos just aren't willing to do. Being a parent demands, at least for a certain period of time, that you put another person's interests first. Leo, however, being the divine child, doesn't want to share his/her divinity. In a sense, Leo is the archetypal father. The person who will show the world to his child, but not the person who will provide the necessary nurturing. That is, I think, what's really hiding behind Leo's barrenness. Leos like children but don't really want to have them. Especially for a woman, if she has planets in Leo, this may prove difficult, as she may have a natural aversion to motherhood, contrasting, therefore, with the stereotypes of her gender.
Since the sign of Leo comes immediately after Cancer, then at this stage the person must break free from all family chains. Liz Greene says that Apollon, the God connected with the astrological Sun, is also the breaker of family curses. This is more true in Leo, the sign the Sun rules, than in any other sign. We all carry our family sins and curses and, unfortunately, in most cases, we simply pass them on to the next generation. Eventually, however, a child gets born that has the role of the redeemer. The journey of the curse ends here. And sometimes, the only safe way to break a family curse is to not reproduce yourself.
In modern psychological terms, Leo is the sign of self-consciousness par excellence and that is his prime objective in life. So, if I am here so that I can know myself, I must make sure that there are no distractions. I have to completely devote my time to ME and I don't want other people's paths crossing my own. Or, if they cross it, I must gain more self-knowledge from this encounter. Otherwise, it's a waste of time.