Many students studying the Astrology Independent Study Modules know little of aspects, Standard Time,
retrogradation, and kindred matters. Those who are well versed in these subjects are not caught in the trap which has snared
so many advanced Astrology students attempting to answer Astrology Independent Study Module No. 36.
we would advise those not well grounded in the beginnings of science to review the Astrology
Independent Study Modules 1 through 26. If you start systematically from the beginning, you will lay a sure foundation,
and will not overlook the important points involved in retrogradation of planets. Saturn and Uranus are retrograde and a
curious case results. To make the matter clear we refer to Astrology Independent Study Module No. 8.
When you have studied retrogradation there, you will see by examination of the positions given in the ephermeris for the 12th, 13th, and 14th of September that both Saturn and Uranus are retrograding at the rate of one minute per day; thus they maintain the same distance from each other, and therefore they are neither applying nor separating.
As we believe homeopathic doses are best for beginners, we did not explain to students of the
first 26 Astrology Independent Study Modules that because of retrogradation a slow-moving planet may apply to one which is more swift. Thus in the present case, had Saturn been direct and Uranus retrograde both would have been applying. When that is the case their rays are most powerfully focused, and the mind effect is greatest. It is well worthwhile to keep these points in mind, and to be sure, when inserting the planets in a horoscope, to designate with appropriate marks those that are retrograde, for when not thus marked, astrologers assume that all are direct, and a reading based on such a misconception must necessarily be misleading.
In the present case, for instance, the uniform retrogradation of both planets weakens their influence for good, and increases so-called "evil" tendencies. Saturn in the 11th house obstructs the boy's hopes and wishes; his friends fail him, and the retrogradation of Uranus makes it difficult for him to guard against these mishaps, although the trine between Saturn and Uranus will mitigate this to a considerable extent. Were both Saturn and Uranus direct, Saturn would apply to the trine of Uranus, and the intuitive faculty of the latter planet would impart more wisdom and forestall to a greater degree the saturnine tendencies. During a period in any horoscope when Saturn is direct and meets a retrograde Uranus by progression in a good aspect they bring out the very highest of their respective virtues potential in the native; but if they meet thus in an evil configuration, they inevitably force any hidden evil to the surface, for remember, the planets inaugurate neither good nor ill, they only stir into activity tendencies which are latent within.
Work for the Student:
(You are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments
to us. Please be sure to include the course name and Independent Study Guide number in your
e-mail to us. You will find
the answers to the questions below in
the next Astrology Independent Study Module.)
1. You will notice that during boyhood Mercury is R, but later becomes direct, and about nineteen years after birth it forms a trine with Saturn. What will be the result?
(A) In the horoscope Saturn is neither applying to nor separating from Uranus. Both Planets are retrograde at the rate of one minute per day. Thus they maintain the same distance from each other.
Saturn
Uranus
Sept. 12
Taurus 20.09
Capricorn 25.38
Sept. 13
Taurus 20.08
Capricorn 25.37
Sept. 14
Taurus 20.07
Capricorn 25.36
As the month progresses note the retrograding movement of Uranus begins to slow down in comparison with Saturn which begins to speed up. Consequently Saturn begins to separate from the trine with Uranus.
Saturn
Uranus
Sept. 12
Taurus 20.09
Capricorn 25.38
Sept. 22
Taurus 19.53
Capricorn 25.29
Movement in 10 days
00.16
00.09
(B) Mercury rises after the Sun. (Cancer rises before Leo)
Supplemental
Student Material:
Animal Experience
This discourse is presented for the consideration
of students who in their studies often make inquiries regarding the "
horoscopes of animals." These inquiries are, of course, perfectly legitimate — being germane to a familiar factor of life-experience, one which is of great
interest and concern to many people.
Because astrology is essentially a study of
consciousness, as a vibratory science it is applicable to any form or
plane of life and the consciousness which ensouls and informs that life.
If our knowledge of astrology, per se, were greatly extended beyond its
present scope we could — all other factors being equal — do the horoscope of
individual animals as we do those of individual humans; we could do the
horoscopes of planets, solar systems, and galaxies as well as those of minute
forms of life which inhabit this planet. When astrology is apprehended as
being the study of those principles or laws by which all consciousness
evolves, then its useful application to life throughout the cosmos
may be perceived by correspondence with the life we know as humans.
However, and here is the rub, in order to
comprehend the astrology of other life-forms and life-waves, we have to
know the consciousness pertaining to those forms and waves. We can
observe and study the evidences of other types of consciousness than
our own but we, being "particularly and peculiarly Earthian Humans," cannot
apprehend the planes of consciousness to which other forms, sub-human and
super-human, are aligned. In fact, many humans have but a dim and distorted
comprehension of the consciousness of fellow-humans! Animal-life is
informed, from a different center than we are — we humans being much
more autonomous and the animals being much more completely under specialized
guidance.
It has been told us that of the sub-human
evolutionary lines, those that are now mammalian will make their higher
evolution through the human pattern. Thus, it is not only of interest but of
great importance that we learn to spiritualize our awareness of, and
relationship with, the members of the animal kingdom; they are fraternal to us
as inhabitants of this planet and we, as the higher evolutionary expression
have a decided responsibility to them, as older brothers and sisters
have to younger ones in a family — the correspondence in relationship is almost
exact.
Therefore, though we cannot "do the charts"of
animals, we can study our own charts in reference to our experiences with, and
feelings about, sub-human life and thereby expand our consciousness of
evolution on this planet. Using the astrological factors that we do use, a
chart calculated for the birth time of, for example, a pet kitten or pup would
picture the significance of the animal to our experience; the same
would apply to the timing of our decision to bring a new pet into the home, or
any animal into our personal experience. In the latter case, motivation
and purpose would represent the keynotes of the astrological reading; that
chart being correlated with our natal chart would picture the inter-related
factors of the experience we might have with the animal. A chart calculated
for the time when we select the animal could indicate basic points
concerning the suitability of the animal to our purpose. Many people find that
their relationship with an animal opens up a remarkably significant
experience, and these experience-possibilities are what we will study.
Individual human relationship-consciousness is no
respecter of persons or things. A man may love his wife and children with
tender, solicitous devotion, but if his relationship-consciousness contains an
area of hatred, fear, or prejudice toward another man — or other persons — who
happens to be of another race or nationality, his relationship-consciousness
is not clear or pure. A woman may fulfill the requirements of her
professional work with unwavering conscientiousness, but if her attitude
toward her colleagues — or a colleague — is tainted with envy or false
superiority, then her relationship-consciousness toward her profession is
correspondingly tainted.
Many such hypothetical illustrations may be
considered; the point to keep in mind is this: our relationship with another
person is primarily qualified qualified by our feeling about him
or her; that area of feeling is ignited by vibratory contact with the person.
In other words, other people symbolize qualities of consciousness to us
because by the action of vibratory sympathy, any person can serve to stimulate
any point of feeling in our relationship-consciousness. We, until we
gain true understanding, tend to identify the person with the quality
stimulated in our relationship-consciousness; when we have gained
relationship-wisdom, we know that our reactions of an unpleasant nature
are to be transmuted into the spiritual potency of good-will (Love).
Therefore, all points in relationship-consciousness which we identify
as hatred, envy, jealousy, fear, false superiority, tyranny, etc., may be
apprehended as being "materials" to use for transmutative exercise.
The fact that many, many people have proven the law of good-will
through their transmutative efforts may be ascertained by a few moments of
considered thought.
Any magnetic focus of relationship-attraction can
be utilized to intensify existing negatives in consciousness or to
nurture the already-evolved regenerate qualities. And "relationship" is
your viewpoint of yourself in vibratory alignment with arty other person,
any creature, thing, activity, event, endeavor, or environment. Your
natal horoscope performs its greatest service to you in picturing to you
your basic tendencies of viewpoint in relationship-consciousness.
Truthfully to apprehend these tendencies and the ways of rightfully using them
is to obtain the master-key to all other phases of studying your chart. The
evolution of the Consciousness of Humanity is furthered in direct
proportion as each human learns rightfully to align himself in relationship
to fellow-humans and fellow-creatures.
Note carefully the last fifteen words of the
previous sentence. That which is now was determined by that which was; that
which is to be will be determined by that which is now. Each human of the
present period of Earth-manifestation was at one time in the "animal
status;" each creature now is potentially a human. In no
absolute sense is a human "superior" to an animal; the difference is
simply one of evolutionary timing. The truth of this statement will be
instantly perceived from considering the fact that all initiates, masters,
and adepts — the spiritual vanguard of present Humanity — serve by
inspiring and encouraging our spiritual unfoldment and progress. If they,
using an absurd hypothesis, were related to us by "absolute superiority," why
would we be encouraged in any way at all to "walk the path they have trod"?
If we were related to creatures by an "absolute superiority, " there would
be no impulse in the human heart to improve the conditions of creatures, there
would be no inspirational impetus to love them. Yet, many humans love
creatures with unselfish and sympathetic deviation. Is that not in itself
proof that we inwardly know that creatures will walk the path we
are now treading? The realization, by a human, of his con-fraternity with
creatures is a high peak in the course of his evolutionary sojourn; it
is a tremendous expansion of his consciousness of Love and such a point in
experience is inevitably attended by an increased apperception of the
nature of divine love.
Every position and aspect in your natal chart can
be studied as representing a phase of, or tendency in, your relationship-
consciousness. Therefore, your attitudes toward, and feelings about, sub-
human life are also pictured by these horoscope-factors. Since relationship
with sub-human life is inextricably inter-woven into the fabric of human
evolutionary experience, we will consider this subject as it is abstractly
portrayed by the Great Astrological Mandala. For cross-reference, create a
copy: The twelve-housed circle centered by the traditional symbol for the Sun;
Aries as Ascendant-sign with thirty degrees of each sign to each house; the
planetary rulers of the signs appropriately planed in the houses which they
"rule." This is the abstract horoscope of humanity, of with your natal
horoscope is an individualized variation.
To enter into a deeper sensing of the con-
fraternity of humans and creatures, we will first consider the diameter
Sagittarius-Gemini, the signs on the ninth and third
houses of the Great Mandala which are ruled respectively by Jupiter and
Mercury. Jupiter, in the cosmic sense, is the Principle of Organic
Function and the Principle of Hierarchy. It is that power of
Divine Mind by which every factor of an archetype is conceived in perfect
relationship with every other factor, for function, expression and
use.
(It is the considered opinion of the author that Venus, as ruler of Libras is
exalted in Sagittarius; its exaltation in Pisces derives from its rulership of
Taurus.) As the Principle of Organic Function, Jupiter represents the growth
of parts of a thing in terms of their purpose and in terms of inter-
relationship with the other parts of the same thing. As the Principle of
Hierarchy, Jupiter represents the inter-related function of things in terms of
relative intelligence or relative susceptibility to the forces of
intelligence.
In these terms is seen the placement of
parts of a thing in relation to other parts corresponding to affinity with
directive intelligence. Sagittarius is polarized by Gemini, the third
sign of the Great Mandala in counter-clockwise sequence from Aries, the
zodiacal significator of the root of fraternal consciousness; fraternal
consciousness being that apperception of "parallelity" or "correspondent
similarity" in relationship. All the cells of your body are fraternal to
each other, being cell-parts of the same body; but the cells of both your
eyes are fraternal by specialization. All inhabitants of this planet are
fraternal to each other, but all mammals are fraternal by
specialization, humans are "specially fraternal" to each other, quadrupeds are
"specially fraternal" to each other, birds are "specially fraternal," etc.
Each specialization has further specialization but all specializations
are grouped in the unity: Earthian Inhabitant. The planets of our
system are "fraternal to each other" and our system is specially fraternal to
the six other systems which comprise our immediate galaxy. On whatever plane
of dimension you care to consider, organic function in terms of hierarchy
and fraternity is illustrated. That means that the human's
consciousness of fraternity is not complete until he has perceived the
value of this inter-related togetherness on this planet with all other
creatures, sub-human and super-human. A question naturally arises from
this point: what can we humans do, and what must we do, concerning our
feelings about the inhabitants of other planets? This question can be
solved by each human for himself, in date time.
Service is also a "two-way thing;" he who desires
to be well served must in his turn serve well. Animal life has been utilized
for service by humans for countless ages of time and in the abuse of service-
principles, Man has engendered much uncomfortable karma. The sixth house and
the sign Virgo symbolize the human's consciousness of the principle of
service; it is externalized by his experiences as a server and by his
relationships with those who serve him, animal as well as human.
Animal life has been and is sacrificed to serve as food for the human kingdom,
but what of the human who abuses the (unconscious) service of animal-life by
senseless, wanton destructiveness? The sixth house is polarized by the
twelfth house and the sign Pisces; can you see the possibility that many
humans, through an act of uncontrolled passion in this life, spend many years
confined in prison as a karmic result of malicious destruction of, or hurt
to, sub-human life in a previous incarnation? Malice and destructiveness
are in consciousness and whether they are directed in action toward humans or
toward sub-humans does not invalidate the karmic potency.
Life, through some means or other, provides
restraint for those who have, by action, proven themselves unqualified
to enjoy freedom. Therefore, if you contemplate the purchase — or other
means of admission into your experience — of animal-life for service, make it
part of your project to give good service to those who are to serve you. If
you are dependent on them for the fulfillment of work-programs, they are
correspondingly dependent on you for care and protection. If your attitude
toward your sub-human server is one of respect — which is Love you will
not fail your responsibility and it will be enabled to perform its maximum of
service for you. Also, by mutual experience in Love, you will further the
creature's evolution in training and it will further your mundane requirements
without your engendering retributive karma.
Many people give devoted care to creature-
companions who, at the same time, reveal very limited and constricted
attitudes toward fellow-humans. It would appear that karma to the animal-
world is being expiated by this type of life-program. These persons are being
focalized in the present life on a specialization of the consciousness of
life and love; it is possible that only through expressing love to, and
giving service to, their "creature-companions" can these persons
spiritually polarize their relationship-consciousness so as
subsequently to unfold richer and higher apperceptions of respect and good-
will toward humans. This facet of human experience would be illustrated by
the diameter Leo-Aquarius being cross-polarized by the diameter Scorpio-
Taurus. The regeneration of negative emotional residues, represented by
Scorpio, being externalized by the stewardship of the creature-life,
represented by Taurus, being the way by which the temporarily
restrained Leo-Aquarius consciousness of Love is inwardly repolarized
for subsequent better releasement.
In conclusion, we will consider the significance
of the air-trine to the relationships of humans to creatures. Libra, cardinal-
air, ruled by Venus, is the apperception of relativity, the basic,
essential core of relationship-consciousness; it is the apperception
which makes it possible for any human to realize relationship with sub-
human, human, and superhuman life. Aquarius, the fixed air-sign, ruled by
Uranus, is the resource of impersonal, transcendental consciousness of
love by which a human realizes an impulsion and a capacity to love life
itself, through any of its external forms. Aquarius illustrates the
love felt by Luther Burbank for plant-life, the love-bond which
unites a blind human to his or her seeing-eye dog; it is the regenerated
consciousness of love which unites humans in groups to serve the furthering of
sub-human welfare. Gemini, the mutable air-sign, ruled by Mercury, and
ninth sign from Libra, is the apperception of relationship as
fraternity — that en-wisdomed consciousness of similarity by
which humans perceive their togetherness with other humans and any or all
other forms of life. St. Francis, the inspired and life-loving mystic, called
all creatures by the terms "brother" or "sister;" he knew that he was "older
brother" to those who crawl and fly and in loving them as he did he
apprehended God 's love for him. May Light and Love permeate our
consciousness of all of our fellows in life.
The Wedding Chart
This discourse on wedding charts is offered as an
attempt to clarify to astrological students the processes and meanings of the
togetherness of two persons who are united for mutual experience in marriage.
It has been felt by the author for some time that to do a chart for the time
that the wedding is scheduled to start is not really valid. Herein is
presented a little food for thought as to the valid timing of a wedding chart.
From what esoteric philosophy has to say about human
evolution through the processes of re-incarnation, to "be born" really means
to "re-appear in the flesh." Since we have all been involved in the re-
incarnative process for quite some time now, "to be married" really means "to
be married again." It is extremely unlikely that any person now incarnate has
never before been committed to the marital estate. We have all done the
equivalent of saying "I do" in various languages, countries, and epochs — and
in voices either loud or soft. Since "husband-wife" is a specialized identity
of "man-woman," the twofold "I do" and the final pronouncements of the
officiant (or their equivalents) is really a variation of "I AM;" in other
words, as far as this incarnation is concerned, the birth of a new identity.
There is a remarkable parallel between the "birth of husband-wife" and that of
the individual as a physical expression. Let us consult the Great Mandala:
A circle with the vertical and horizontal diameters;
the symbols of the cardinal signs (Aries, Capricorn, Libra, Cancer) at the
left point, upper point, right point, and lower point, respectively (the cusps
of the Ascendant, tenth, seventh, and fourth houses); from the midpoint of the
Cancer-line through the midpoints of Libra-Capricorn and down to the midpoint
of Aries, draw a curved line, resulting in three-quarters of a circle;
connect, by drawing a straight line, the cusp-points of Aries-Cancer (the
points where the cusp-lines strike the circle.)
To digress for just a moment to explain the symbolism
of the straight Aries-Cancer line: until you arrive at the half-way point when
you walk or drive through a tunnel you are entering the interior of the
mountain or hill; the half-way point marks the change of your relationship
with the interior and as you continue on from the interior toward the exit; as
you pass through the exit you leave the interior. On the inner planes, between
incarnated states, there is a "turning point" which is determined by your
fitness to reincarnate. The vibratory gravitational pull of your unfulfilled
ideals then goes into effect and your preparations for reincarnation begin to
be activated. In other words, from that point you are leaving the interior of
subjectivity — the "exit" of which is your first contact with your vehicle-to-
be at conception.
While you are still in the subjective state but are
preparing for reincarnation, things are happening on the objective plane. For
example: those who are to be your parents may have recently met each other,
recognized the mutual love-attraction and desire for union, prepared for their
wedding-ceremony, established their home, effected the intimacy of their
union, etc. Or, if another child or other children preceded you into the
family, this outer preparation may simply be the mutual decision of your
parents-to-be to fulfill their urge for further parental experience and, in
response to that urge, they effect the emotional and physical synchronization
which results in the conception of your vehicle. Whatever it may be,
preparation is synchronized in both the inner and outer states. At the timing
that is exactly right for your requirements, the seed of your body is ignited
into expression and your vehicle commences its individualization. At the end
of the prenatal period you are "born" — which simply means "physically
individualized." Your body is, at one and the same time, the chemicalized
expression of a desire-object upon which your parents are to exercise their
individual and mutual Love-Wisdom resources and your desire to evolve through
new expressions of your potentials.
The quadrant in the mandala represented by "Aries-to-
Cancer" is the subjective preparation of your incarnation; Cancer is
conception; Libra is the objectification of physical sex-to-be and
subjectification of complementation-to-be; Capricorn is the solidification of
the organism; Pisces, if it were to be shown at the twelfth cusp, is the
condensed symbol of the unfulfilled residues of the three crosses; Aries, at
the end of the three crosses; Aries at the end of the three pre-natal
quadrants, is the symbol of your re-appearance, at birth, in physical
individuality — the re-objectification of your "I AM" on this plane. From then
on, until transition back to subjectivity, your "I AM" unfolds its potentials
through your various relationship-exchanges with other human beings. Give this
much thought and reflection — it is the "human picturing" of a cosmic pattern.
With this analogy in mind and keeping the mandala at
hand, we will now translate this pattern into terms of the subject at hand —
the significance of the wedding ceremony as the establishment of a new
identity of two human beings.
The "subjective turning-point" is the time when each
person acts on a thought, a feeling, or an opportunity in such a way that
their meeting is the inevitable outcome. Examples: they each accept an
invitation (1) to dinner at the home of a mutual friend tomorrow evening; (2)
to enjoy a camping trip with mutual friends next month; (3) to attend an
exhibition of Chinese art on a certain day next January, or if they are both
astrologers — bless their hearts; (4) to speak at a convention of "Star-lit
Stargazers, Inc." at West Blubber, Greenland, in 1968. The receipt of the
invitation marks the turning-point; the acceptance is the action which draws
them, day by day, from the "subjectivity of bachelorhood-spinsterhood" toward
the "objectivity of new identity as husband-wife." The time element is, of
course, an individual variable, some couples must wait a long time before they
meet while others meet and enjoy attraction to each other in sudden and (most
delightfully) unexpected ways. The "mutual friends" — or the Board of Directors
of "Star-lit Stargazers, Inc." — are chemicalized agencies of the one magnetic
Love-power that is instrumental in effecting the contact of the two persons
with each other.
The first meeting of the two persons ends the
"subjective" phase and this "point in time" is analogous to the "conception-
point" of the mandate. Now their togetherness is physically established and
the vibratory exchange is, consciously or unconsciously, inaugurated.
From Cancer to Libra in the mandala is the time-
element between the meeting of the two persons and their love-recognition of
each other. When that takes place (the "maturing of the polarity-awareness of
adolescence"), the subjectivity of gender, which coincided with the
objectivity of sex in the actual pre-natal period, is mutually ignited by the
action of sympathetic vibration; each sees the other as the ideal chemicalized
symbol of the subjectified generic qualities — or "complementation" on all
planes. They do not "fall" (awful word!) in love; they lift each other in
consciousness by the mutual fusion of the best of their qualities. This
"mutual fusion of vibration" is the archetype of that which is chemically
expressed in the action we call sexual intercourse. Both of these "fusions"
are releasements of tremendous resources and they are attended by "more-
intense-than-ever-before" realizations of ideal, emotional, mental, and
spiritual being-ness. The vibratory fusion organizes the conscious
recognition, by each of "need for each other." In mutuality, this eventually
leads — according to personal inclination — to the decision to marry; also,
according to personal inclination, this is followed by announcement of the
intention. The decision and the announcement are symbolized in the mandala by
Capricorn at the uppermost point of the wheel — the symbol of concreteness,
organization, and condensation — polarity of Cancer.
The emotional state objectified by the announcement
establishes the identity of "betrothed" and it should be added that, in this
"prenatal" explanation, the sign Leo and the fifth house — following Cancer —
would symbolize the individualized love of each of the persons for the other.
Leo is love-radiation — an individualized matter; it is not love-exchange, and
all of the "identity-points" of the cardinal mandala are such because they
refer to "relationships-by-complementation;" a "mother" is such in
relationship to "child" and a "brother" is such in relationship to another
brother or to a sister; the Capricorn of this symbol is the objectified
identity of individual and mutual, Leo-Libra, "loving and being loved"-ness.
In our tradition a ring is given by the man to the woman as a "dramatization"
of his uplifted awareness of ideality, the power of which is symbolized by the
brilliant beauty of the jewel — usually a diamond, which is the jewel-symbol of
the Sun. This ring and the one — sometimes two — used in the wedding ceremony is
never, as some have thought, a symbol of woman's bondage to, or enslavement
by, man; it is always, because it is a circle, the symbol of the perfect-
fulfillment of perfect exchange in perfect union. Mutual decision,
presentation, and acceptance of the ring, the formal announcement and the
first plan for time and place of the wedding ceremony are summed up in the
Capricorn-point. The Aquarius of this fourth quadrant from Aries would
symbolize the radiation of invitations to persons who love, and are loved and
appreciated by, the betrothed couple; the love-extension to family-members and
friends; the parents may feel that they are "losing their children" but
actually they are, by the fraternity of Aquarius, gaining a "younger brother
and sister." The young couple, at marriage, become members of the fraternity
of husbands and wives, and, subsequently, that of fathers and mothers — of
which their own parents are "senior members."
The last phase of this "pre-natal" period of the
marriage would be the sign Pisces in its regenerate meaning — symbol of faith
and ideality. To marry is to signify an affirmation of one's realization of
life's good and beauty and also to signify a willingness to contribute to Life
of one's resources of Good and Beauty. The Pisces of the mandala symbolizes
the wedding-ceremony as a dramatized symbol of the deepest and most heartfelt
realizations of human joy, inspiration, and loveliness. The artistry of gowns
and formal dress, flowers, and music symbolize Humanity's urge to reach and
express realizations of eternal beauty — perfected manifestation. In our
tradition, the ceremony usually starts with the first note of the musical
prelude or of the wedding-march itself. The ceremony progresses, as we "travel
through" Pisces, in points of prayer, meditation, music, and recitation of
spiritual thoughts concerning the inner meaning of marriage. The officiant
symbolizes in his person the intermediary between the personality and the
reality of each of the two people. When he says "I now pronounce you husband
and wife," the movement through Pisces — as the symbolic ceremony — is
terminated at Aries and the emergence into Aries symbolizes the new identity
of the couple as "husband and wife" in relationship to each other and in
relationship, as individuals, to their individual life-pattern. Great bursts
of music — and this music should be radiant and ecstatic in quality — and the
couple walk together for the first time in their new identity. And — God bless
them all — always.
Something is often done in wedding ceremonies that is
really not in keeping with the symbolism of the ceremony; that is for the
officiant to pronounce the couple — at the conclusion of the service — "man and
wife." A "man" is an adult, male human being; as such, before he can even
consider marriage he must, of necessity, function for a few days, weeks,
months, or years as "an adult male human being." The identity that is newly
established is "husband," and with the assumption of that identity the man
"incarnates" into a new octave of his "I AM" awareness as a symbol of his
capacity and willingness to unfold and to express new levels of consciousness,
resources, and powers.
With the saying of the word "wife" in the above
pronouncement, the statement of new identity is complete and integrated; the
"pre-natal period" is finished and the material relationship is incarnated. It
is the sincere and long-thought-of conviction of the author that the time of
the officiants saying "wife" is the time that should be used for the wedding-
chart. Regardless of plans, schedules, and announcements, the marriage is not
"fully-born" until that pronouncement is complete. The child's birth-cry and
the pronouncement of the wedding-officiant are both expressions of the power
of the word — the living vibratory stamp of a new identity; from then on, the
new-born child and the new-born husband-wife team are individualized "things-
in-themselves;" they are, as it were, "on their own."
If you have the charts of the bride and groom,
identify their planetary rulers with the wedding-chart to determine which
factor in the chart is "personalized" by each. A wedding-chart is not a
"composite of two people;" it is the astrological pattern of a specialized
experience. Follow this out by correlating, as much as possible, each
planetary pattern of the individuals with the wedding chart for study of
vibratory groupings. Then apply to each person's chart the planetary ruler and
positions of the wedding chart; this is to study the essential meanings — to
each individual — of the experience as a most important factor in the sequence
of life-experiences. Having either or both of the individual charts complete
would, of course, impose the requirement of studying the progressed aspects —
particularly those of the Moon — to study the individualized chart-action. If
you do not have the birth time you will not have the complete charts but you
can still group the planetary positions by crosses (cardinal, fixed, mutable)
and generic (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) trines and compare them with the planet-
groupings of the wedding chart. In either case, since any event occurs between
two junctions, apply the previous solar eclipse to the individual's charts
(not to the wedding chart because the wedding was not yet "born" when the
eclipse fell) and list the aspects that it, and its resultant Full Moon made.
If the wedding occurred after an eclipse-month then note also the effects of
the lunation preceding the wedding on the individual's charts. Note the
effects — on all three charts — of the solar eclipse which first falls after the
wedding; pay particular attention to the "point," if there is such, that this
eclipse stimulates in all three charts and note the extent of time between it
and the next eclipse. This eclipse-pattern stimulating all three charts opens
up the first major testing of the people by marriage and of the marriage
itself from a certain composite of weaknesses of the two people, as
individuals and as a couple. Also, for basic reading, list all "points-in-
common" in the three charts; all such planets in the persons' charts that are
squared or opposed tell you that — because of synchronization with a planet in
the wedding chart — the marital experience brings to the persons an "apex
opportunity" to perceive congestions in consciousness; conversely, all such
planets that are sextiled will urge the exercise of self-directed
transmutation; all that are trined will represent the "marriage's ability" to
"bless the people" and through which they will experience hyper-realizations
of their ideality. In other words, all of those patterns are experiences that
are especially focalized in the marriage. The "uniqueness" of the wedding
chart focalizes the individual and mutual uniqueness of the persons.
When you study a wedding chart, pay much more
attention to diameters than to separate house-cusps. Marriage is objectified
human polarity and the diameters picture the foundations of the "two-in-one-
ness" of all human experiences; in other words, the polarity foundations.
Finance-stewardship is second-house — eighth-house; children are fifth-house —
eleventh-house, etc. The seventh house of a wedding chart, in its squares and
oppositions, sums up the vibratory power that challenges the integrity of the
union.
All this is an excellent exercise of your
synthesizing ability as an interpreter, an important phase of your service and
a delightful stimulus to everything in your nature that makes you love
astrology.
One more suggestion; try reading your own natal
horoscope as a "Marriage chart;" philosophically speaking — you figure this
out — that's exactly what it is!
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