Horary astrology - Federer vs Djokovic

I cast this chart before yesterday's semi-final at the French Open, but it seemed too good to be true. The chart gave such an obvious advantage to Federer that I felt it couldn't possibly reflect reality, since Djokovic, up until yesterday, had been enjoying a streak of 41 consecutive wins, having already beaten Federer three times and Nadal, world No 1, four times. On the other hand, Federer this year has dropped to No 3 in the world rankings and didn't seem capable of posing a threat for either Djokovic or Nadal. The chart, however, said otherwise.

Since I support Federer, he gets the 1st house and Djokovic the 7th. Therefore, Federer is Mercury (ruler of the 1st house) and Djokovic is Jupiter (ruler of the 7th). Federer is exactly conjunct the Midheaven, while Djokovic is on the cusp of the 9th house, a cadent one. Following the Frawley method, in this type of charts, it is accidental dignity that counts the most and in this case, the difference between the two is striking. Federer must win.

And so it proved.

Fire vs Earth or Fire vs Water?

In psychological astrology we learn that the jungian model of the four psychological types (sensation, intuition, feeling and thinking) corresponds closely to the four astrological elements: earth, fire, water and air. Following this model, psychological astrology claims that air is friendly with fire with water being its true opposite, while earth is friendly with water with fire being its true opposite. On the face of it, this distinction seems to be true. Indeed, air hates the subjectivity of feeling and fire hates earth's lack of vision.

In traditional astrology, however, the four basic qualities are hot, cold, moist and dry. Fire signs are hot and dry, water signs are cold and moist, air signs are hot and moist and earth signs are cold and dry. Which means that for traditional astrology air is indeed friendly with fire and water is indeed friendly with earth, but fire's true opposite is not earth but water and air's true opposite is not water but earth. Hot and cold are the "active" qualities, indicating high levels of energy (fire) or low levels of energy (cold), whereas moist and dry are the "passive" qualities, indicating a need to connect (water) or a need to separate (dry). Air does indeed want to connect, like water, but does it through intellect, not emotion and fire does indeed want to stay separate, like earth, but strives to separate by constantly moving, unlike earth which prefers to stay put.

So, how do we solve this dilemma when both sides seem to have a valid point? We could start by defining the term "opposite". Does opposite mean mutual hatred or does it mean indifference through complete lack of understanding? Who do we really hate? The one with whom we have nothing in common or the one who goes after the same things we do but in a completely different manner? Isn't it the latter one? It's only the ones who have the same goals as us, but propose a different approach thereby putting us in the wrong, that are capable of arousing in us such a strong feeling as hatred. So, based on hatred, psychological astrology is right. If, however, opposite means "completely different", then traditional astrology is right, because it's fire that has nothing in common with water and it's earth that has nothing in common with air.

Keep in mind that in the psychological model, it is the "active" quality (hot, cold) that needs to be different, for it to be able to produce hatred, while the "passive" one (moist, dry) needs to be the same. If the goal is different (passive quality) and the approach (active quality) is the same, there is no emnity. Just like athletes playing a different sport. There's no real competition.

Planets in signs, houses or in aspect

In many modern astrology books you might have read, you will have noticed that very often, they offer the same interpretations for, say, Mercury in Scorpio, Mercury in the 8th house and Mercury in aspect to Pluto. A natal chart is confusing enough as it is and there's no need for us to add even more confusion to it.

As I see it, the planet's way to behave is determined by the sign it is in. The planet's sign placement will determine the environment it is born into and there's no escape from that. The planet, naturally, has some innate qualities and based on the sign it is in, we can judge whether the qualities of this sign will allow the planet to function according to its nature. Mercury, among other things, stands for objective thinking, the need for proof and logic. So, does Mercury like water? No. Logic and sentiment are incompatible. Mercury in Cancer, therefore, will find it difficult to be objective about things, because the emotional nature of its sign will impose itself on its views and beliefs, leading to an increased subjectivity.

If this Mercury in Cancer is placed in the 6th house, no, it doesn't automatically acquire any Virgo qualities. First of all, this planet/sign association is open to debate, to say the least. Furthermore, houses do not give qualities to planets. The planet in question affects the affairs of that house for better or worse. Finally, the house placement will allow us to determine whether that particular planetary energy will be able to manifest strongly in the native's life or not. If the house is angular, for example, the planet is much more likely to be immediately evident.

As far as aspects go, Mercury in Aries is not the same thing as Mercury in aspect to Mars. Mercury in Aries, although it is temperamentally unsuited to fire because of the passion involved which often leads to hasty decisions and impulsive thinking, will have no option, exactly because it is placed there, to behave in such a manner. A different Mercury in aspect to Mars, even if we disregard Mars' sign, will also have no option but to behave according to the nature of the sign it is in. An aspect from Mars will be an external influence that will interfere with the way the planet is predisposed to behave, but it will not magically transform it. If Mercury is in Virgo, naturally inclined to objective thinking, it may, at instances, succumb to impulsiveness, but will probably regret it soon afterwards because it's not the way it wants to behave. What Mercury in Aries may find natural, for Mercury in Virgo in aspect to Mars, this will probably be a problem.

Traditional and modern astrology

A fellow astrologer, Felipe Oliveira, posted an article of mine on his very interesting website. Here's the link:

http://westerntraditionalastrology.com/all-topics/traditional-modern-astrology

Venus/Mars conjunction in Scorpio - A time for love? Hardly!

What is love? Astrologically, that is. Love is Venus. Which planet Venus hates the most? Mars. Venus is debilitated in both the Mars signs, as they are opposite the signs she rules. What is Scorpio? A Mars-ruled sign. Problems? Yes.
Let's look at the two Venus-ruled signs to help us understand what love is in astrology. Venus rules Taurus, where the Moon is exalted and she rules Libra, where Saturn is exalted. So, apart from Venus, love also has either a Moon or a Saturn quality. Which basically means that true love is meant to last. Either because the third party eventually becomes like family (the Moon) or because you realize the necessity of compromise, the need for a set of rules and the respect of the other person's boundaries (Saturn). Once you love someone, you love them for life, even when the relationship ends and you have moved on. It's not possible to un-love a person, simply because you've drifted apart. Like a mother never stops loving her child, no matter how incompatible they are.
Mars is about desire, passion, lust. This is fine, very exhilarating and exciting and the adrenaline hits the roof, but love it ain't. Mars wants to procreate, so, by nature, he is violently opposed to the idea of a relationship. He doesn't see the need to go on being with another person once the passion is spent. And it does get spent, no matter how hard we try to keep it alive. Mars is the person who says : "How could I have ever fallen for this person?" After the passion's gone, Mars doesn't feel anything for the other person. In fact, he almost invariably doesn't want to have anything to do with them. A person that is no longer able to inspire passion needs to disappear completely. When Mars is running the show, it is the ego that is running the show. Mars says: "I want that, I have needs and desires and I want you to satisfy them". That's why Mars is the natural ruler of divorce. Under those Mars terms, any relationship is doomed.
Naturally, a healthy relationship does involve passion and we need Mars in a relationship. But we shouldn't allow Mars to dictate our actions when it comes to relationships. If we have to fight a battle, then yes, we should give Mars free rein and leave Venus aside, but in relationships Mars should only have a supporting role. A strong one, one that would get Mars the Academy Award, but supporting nevertheless.
Now, Scorpio, has a problem. It is a Mars-ruled WATER sign. Which means that Scorpios DO want to connect, poor things. But because Mars is running the show, they often mistake passion for love. Scorpios need to fully experience their desire nature with the aim to eventually triumph over it. That doesn't leave much room for love. Nor should they try to experience love, at least in a Taurus or Libra sort of way. That's not what they are here for.
Venus is currently completely overpowered by Mars, with Mars also in Scorpio running the show. So, this Venus likes Mars stuff at the same moment that the martial energy is very strong. Is this a time for love? No. A time for passion? Definitely.

George Michael imprisoned

I cast a horary chart a couple of weeks ago, when I heard about George's court case. The question was: "Will George Michael go to jail?" This is the chart:

Since George Michael is "any old person" for me, he gets the 7th house. So, he is Mars in his detriment, in the 6th house, the turned 12th. He is guilty (his planet in detriment), but we didn't need horary to tell us that, we knew that already. The 12th house is the house of self-undoing, it is here that we look for habits or behaviours that harm us. Do George's habits harm him? Yes, both the sign and the exaltation ruler of his 12th house (Libra) are there and very strong. He is also there, so he is completely overpowered by them.
But this is a question about jail. Will he go to prison? He is already in the turned 12th, but when I asked the question he was not yet imprisoned. But using the Moon as the flow of events, we see that it first opposed Mars (George) and it is about to oppose the turned 12th house ruler (Venus), translating light from George to prison, thus bringing them together. Which means that yes, he will go to prison.
What seems promising is that first the 12th house ruler (Venus) will enter Scorpio, the sign of its detriment and Mars (George) will soon follow suit, in the sign it rules. So it seems that the shock of this prison sentence may actually prove beneficial for George in the long run, because the chart suggests he will manage to triumph over his long-lasting self-destructive behaviour. Let's hope this will indeed be the case.

Contest horary - Greece vs Spain

I've put off posting this, because I am unsure of the judgement, but finally I said, what the heck, let's do it.
First, the horary chart:

1st house Greece, 7th house Spain. No planets in the aforementioned houses. The Moon may bodily be in the 1st, but it is conjunct the 2nd house cusp and following the 5 degree rule, I consider it a 2nd house planet.
1st house ruler Mercury, 7th house ruler Jupiter. They are both in succedent houses, which are neutral, and they are both retrograde. Not much strength for either of them. Jupiter is in the house of its joy, but not in the same sign as the cusp, making it a very minor testimony.
What REALLY stands out is Mercury's combustion. If it were any other sign (apart from Gemini), then this would be the easiest of judgements. Greece would be destined to lose the game. But here, Mercury is in the sign its rulership and exaltation and, as Frawley puts it, this is kind of like a mutual reception. Yes, combustion is harmful, but Mercury rules the Sun and somehow it manages to cancel out the combustion, or at least its most harmful effects. So, we must look further.
What is the Sun here? The Sun is ruler of the 4th house, "the end of matter", in this case the result. Normally, we wouldn't check this, but in this case I fear we must. What does it mean? The result "loves" Greece and Greece rules it and the aspect is applying, so the result is coming to Greece. I think combustion makes sense here, since Greece is hidden from sight in a way. They haven't shown their full potential and most people, I presume, expect Spain to win, including myself.

What does the event chart say? Since the game with Turkey took place at the same time, the planets haven't moved much since then.

What has changed however, is that Mars is no longer sitting on the cusp, but it is inside the 7th house. Which is very bad for the favourites, in this case Spain presumably. The Moon's role here is interesting. It is the 4th house ruler and normally we would give it to the underdogs, but Frawley advises us to not do that, but keep the Moon as the indicator of the flow of events. We must check the Moon's aspects up to approximately 5 degrees. The Moon's next aspect is a square to Mars, favouring Spain, but its final and DECISIVE aspect is the square to Greece. Unfortunately, this aspect occurs after a little more than 6 degrees. Do we take it into account? I hope so. This could mean that Spain is going to take the lead, but eventually Greece will catch up. The fact that it is beyond the 5 degree limit could mean that we could have some overtime. If that's the case, then Greece should win.

Overall judgement based on the two charts: If I had to make a judgement, although I would have preferred clearer charts, I would pronounce Greece the winner, against all odds, possibly at overtime.

Update: Wrong judgement. Spain won. Now, what was wrong about it? In the event chart, was it the North Node conjunct the 10th cusp, favouring Spain? Maybe, but that Mars placement inside the 7th cusp is a major testimony against Spain winning. That was the reason that I stretched the 5 degree limit for the Moon's aspects, giving the victory to Greece. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so. Or, as Frawley says, it's difficult to make a judgement when the Moon is one of the significators, even though he advises us to keep it as the indicator for the flow of events.
The horary chart? It seems that combustion is destructive even when the combust planet is in its own sign. Or at least, we need more positive testimonies if we are to judge in its favour. And perhaps Jupiter being in the house of its joy isn't so minor a testimony as I thought.

Update 7/3/2016: I no longer use this method and I don't judge charts when there are considerations against judgement present. Here we have the ascendant in early degrees and the combustion of the ascendant ruler.