by Agent 77

This article has been approved by the family for web publication.

This is an exploration of the charts of a client and friend using medieval predictive astrology techniques
of profections, and handings over.

 

With any astrological exploration it is important to look first at the natal chart. Liz is a Sagittarian with a Capricorn Moon and a Cancer ascendant. Being a nocturnal chart, the Moon is the main luminary. As the ruler of the ascendant, it is also the lord of the chart and plays a major role in the drama of Liz’s life. Her Moon is in detriment[1] and angular, conjunct the descendant and square the midheaven. This is a very significant Moon. It is also the hyleg[2], which the ancients called the giver of life. Using the medieval system of triplicity rulers the Moon, with Venus and Mars, is a ruler of not only the ascendant but also the nodes, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.

Venus is conjunct the south node and Mars is square and in mutual reception with Saturn.[3] In traditional astrology these are difficult placements and bring challenging life experiences.

The ancients named the first triplicity ruler of the 8^th house as the signifier of death. Mercury takes this position in Liz’s chart.  It is angular so it has accidental dignity. Mercury is also the natural ruler of her third and twelfth houses and she died in a car accident on a short journey.

The Sun is conjunct Neptune in the 6^th house forming a trine to the midheaven. This suggests a lack of physical vitality and certainly health issues. Of course it also means she was very imaginative and sensitive. Liz had a deep love of music. It also speaks of her career as a nurse.

Uranus is in the fifth and in sextile with Mars. Liz had lots of enthusiasm for life and high energy levels at times. This also warns of accidents.

Pluto sits on the IC. Its angularity gives it greater attention and strength. Pluto has connections with the reproductive system, the shadow and deep transformation.

Liz was born with two wombs and only one kidney. The Moon and Venus rule the womb, kidneys are also ruled by Venus. Venus’ dispositor is Saturn, angular and conjunct Pluto in Libra, Venus’ sign. [4] Saturn is a triplicity ruler of the house of health, gated by a dual sign (one kidney, two wombs). With the Sun in the sixth and conjunct Neptune there are bound to be issues around health and vitality and also strange happenings. Two uteri and one kidney can definitely be seen as strange. Also Jupiter, ruler of the 6^th is in opposition to Chiron in Taurus, Venus’ sign. Obviously this is going to be a life with significant issues around health and that’s how I came to meet Liz.

When I met Liz she was 21, a bubbly Sagittarian with a big heart and a huge uterine infection which had been plaguing her since the onset of puberty. Imagine the impact on a growing girl through those difficult adolescent years. Liz desperately needed surgery to remove the infected uterus but was extremely fearful about this. This was understandable considering the condition of her Mars, the planet ruling surgery. Its relationship with Saturn had made the infection chronic and extremely debilitating.

This is not a chart brimming with vitality. With the Neptune Sun conjunction, the Mars Saturn square and all that cardinal energy, there’s a sense that Liz could burn out. It seemed urgent to me that she face the surgery she had been avoiding for years and this is what we worked on in our initial sessions together.

After several intense sessions Liz found the courage to face the necessary surgery and booked herself in for a successful operation, several years ago now. On recovery she was free to explore her sexuality and have relationships. This had not been possible before. She was released, from an embarrassing burden and a debilitating infection which had caused havoc with her health and restricted the normal social life of a young woman.

Liz would often say we had “big karma together” and that she thought of me as another mother (my Moon conjuncts her Venus and south node). Maybe we had experienced a mother daughter relationship in a previous life, who knows?

In 2009 she rang from interstate for her birthday reading. Below is the solar return chart, still set for Brisbane as she moved around a lot and was not long term settled in another place.

In the reading, I wondered if she would meet someone that she felt serious about: natal 8^th house to the ascendant, the vertex in the 5^th, Mars angular in the 7^th trining Venus and Saturn exalted in the 8^th. A short while later Liz met someone and was adamant that he was the one. Later, in July, she told me she wanted to get married, have children and build her dream home and that she and her partner were discussing this. Being 27 years, this was the year of her lunar return and so her desires seemed fitting but the Moon is not well placed in the Solar Return chart. It’s in Capricorn, as is her natal Moon, conjunct Pluto and square Saturn and is also a triplicity ruler of the houses of endings. It is unlikely to fulfill her dreams.

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If we go through the steps using the tools available so much is revealed by the charts (and hindsight). Turning 27 years, using the medieval technique of handings over and profection, planets and points can be moved forward by 90 degrees.[5]

 

PROFECTIONS and HANDINGS OVER	SOLAR RETURN RULERS
Ascendant hands over to Libran IC and Pluto	Venus in Sag conjunct Sun, sq Uranus
Sun profects to Pisces	Jupiter in Aquarius conj Neptune and  Chiron
Moon profects to Aries MC	Mars in Leo on descendant
MC hands over to North Node and Ascendant	Moon in Cap. Conjunct Pluto , sq Saturn
Part of Fortune profects to Virgo	Mercury in Cap conjunct North Node

 

The handings over and profections are reliable predictive tools.  In the table above are the standard planets and points that are profected but all planets and points can be profected at the same rate each year.

The ascendant, ruling the environment and life in general, has handed over to Pluto and the IC. This in itself is a portent of difficult times ahead, but of course not everyone dies under this movement (and Liz herself would have experienced it twice before, at 3 and 15 years of age). Pluto brings major change/endings and has a natural affinity with the 8^th house , the IC is a point of endings. Being in Libra we turn to SR Venus as an indicator. It is squaring Uranus, an image of the unexpected, accidents and liberation. Venus is also the triplicity ruler of the house of death. Opposing the vertex it is also at a point of fate.

The Sun profects to Pisces and so is ruled by Jupiter in the SR chart. Jupiter often has a role to play in the native’s death as it signifies journeys. Pisces is the end of a cycle. Jupiter is part of a prominent first house stellium along with Chiron, Neptune and the Part of Fortune. This is an image of great grace and healing. In the first house it describes Liz’s identity and approach to life. There will be a loss of identity and a healing journey.

The Moon rules both the physical and emotional bodies and profects to Aries, the beginning of the cycle. Aries is also the MC which is the pointer to the heavens. SR Mars is angular opposing the first house stellium.

The MC hands over to the North Node, her path of destiny, and to the ascendant, a place of new beginnings. This is ruled by the Capricorn Moon which of course sits with Pluto and is challenged by Saturn in the 8^th house of death.

The Part of Fortune moves forward to Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury. The Part of Fortune is closely connected to the physical body and the native’s fortune. Mercury is the natural ruler of the house of death in the SR and conjuncts the North Node in the 12^th house. This is a very strong image of release. Mercury was the god who could travel between the worlds. He rules journeys and in the last house with the NN it does look like a final journey of some sort.

If we profect Pluto it moves to the next angle and hands over to the South Node, another indication of release, along with all other Capricorn planets. In the SR it is ruled by an exalted Saturn in the 8^th house.

The profected Saturn hands over to the Vertex, a point of fate, in the 8^th house. The Capricorn and Aquarian stellia are of course disposited by Saturn and he brings Pluto into play too.

Finally the natal Mars hands over to Chiron and Taurus, ruled by SR Venus. Uranus profects to Pisces ruled by Jupiter or Neptune. Interestingly the Mars Uranus sextile in the natal becomes a Venus Jupiter/Neptune sextile in the return chart.

There’s no escaping the evidence that significant changes are underfoot for this young woman. The astrological movements around Liz in this lunar return year are huge.

Further comparison of the  SR chart to the natal reveals that the lord of the chart, SR Saturn, sits at the bendings[6] of her natal nodes, giving it even more significance and weight as a major player. Saturn is also in square aspect to Pluto. Remember that Saturn is also known as the great malefic and Pluto is considered such if we are using that traditional language. If we allow for out of sign conjunctions then an aspect relationship is repeated here: conjunction in the natal to square in the SR.  Pluto and Saturn must bring irrevocable change.

SR Uranus squares the Sun and inconjuncts Mars. This brings tension and unease. If we use modern rulers Uranus is lord of the chart. The planet of accidents, sudden events and liberation is lord of the chart and is causing great tension with the native’s direction and passion and her identity and life force.

I use the Vertex and the Part of Fortune[7] when exploring charts. There are interesting correlations between these points in the comparison of the two charts. The Vertex is a point of fate or karmic destiny and the Part of Fortune has connections with the physical body.

Liz’ natal Vertex is at 21 degrees Aquarius in the 8^th, conjunct the SR Part of Fortune, using a 1 degree orb. The SR vertex is at 18 degrees Gemini conjunct the natal Part of Fortune. Something significantly fated will be happening to Liz, her identity and her fortune. The Jupiter Chiron Neptune first house conjunction to this SR Part of Fortune and natal Vertex add to the picture of a sacred journey or release.

It is also noteworthy that the SR groupings of the ascendant round to Uranus sit in the natal 8^th house; the SR midheaven sits in the natal 4^th and the SR vertex in the natal 12^th. The SR chart activates all the houses of endings in the natal chart.

The SR Moon, the main luminary for Liz in her natal chart, is in detriment and conjunct Pluto. This is a portent of deep transformation. As well as being conjunct Pluto, the Moon rules the South Node, a place of letting go.

And that brings us to the transits and progressions because with Pluto in Capricorn, Liz is obviously going through some intense outer planet transits. In 2010 she is also experiencing several eclipses which directly impact on her chart. The period between the lunar return and the Saturn return is often a time of deep psychological growth and maturation. It is the astrological equivalent of becoming an adult.  Liz was going to have major changes in her life, that was obvious in the Solar Return and made even more so by the transits and progressions.

The progressions are indicators of deep psychological growth and change. At the time of consultation Liz was in the balsamic phase of her progressed lunation cycle. The progressed Sun was at 22 Capricorn and the secondary progressed Moon at 14 degrees of the same sign.  The balsamic phase of the cycle is the prelude to the next cycle, a time of closure and preparation for the new round. This is a time when we are reduced to our essence and about to take on a new form.  This time in the cycle corresponds to All Hallows in the wheel of the year, the time when the veils between the worlds are at their thinnest. Because Liz was born under a new Moon this time would also loosely correspond with her lunar return ( sec. pr Moon returning to its natal position).  Big cycles were about to end. Of course, at 27 yrs, she was in the balsamic phase of her Saturn cycle too.

Transiting Pluto was approaching an exact conjunction to her South Node, activating her IC and stirring up deep emotional and psychological patterns. A planet crossing the SN is indicative of a clearing out, a releasing and with Pluto it is unavoidably major. Pluto was taking Liz on a journey to the underworld. She was asking the big questions and had very deep concerns for various family members too. She had a yearning for a family of her own and spoke of a recent termination and the grief around that. Pluto was also about to transit her natal Venus.

Neptune, Chiron and Jupiter were conjunct her pr Mars and pr MC and squaring her natal Jupiter Chiron opposition.

Uranus was squaring the Sun and Saturn was at the bendings of the Moon’s nodes.

To put it mildly, there was a lot going on!

 

The eclipses of the coming year were discussed too. These were:

31^st December 2009     Lunar at 10 Cancer /Capricorn              conjunct her ascendant/descendant

15^th January 2010         Solar at 25 Capricorn                            conjunct pr Sun and pr Mercury

26^th June 2010              Lunar at 4 Capricorn/Cancer                 conjunct her nodal axis

11^th July 2010               Solar at 19 Cancer                                 opposite her Moon and sec. pr Moon

Eclipses[8] act like wild cards. We can’t know how they will impact on us but from the above contacts again we know that it will be a year of great change. The very core of Liz is being eclipsed: connection to spirit and matter through the Sun and the Moon, her fated journey through the nodes and the manner in which she interacts with others through the ascendant/ descendant. With eclipses we also look ahead to times when transiting planets and points contact the eclipse degree.

Liz was living in the Northern Territory and although I was in Central Victoria at the time of the birthday reading, I moved to the territory in June 2010. Liz and I met up socially for the weekend of 10/11^th July.  On meeting, Liz sat me down and told me how much she believed we had big karma together, this was a theme for her in our relationship. She also went on to other things about our relationship, the surgery and what a difference it had made to her life. With hindsight it was like a summation and a big thank you. The next morning over breakfast she took the time to tell me her hopes and dreams for each of her family members. This was a very serious conversation and not the usual breakfast coffee talk.

This was a social interaction, not a reading. The lunar eclipse had taken place, conjunct her nodes and my Moon and the solar eclipse was upon us. I began to feel uneasy and asked Liz not to drive the 500km home but to stay in town for another night or two. She agreed and organized her partner to stay with her and drive her back the following day.

The next day Liz phoned me and told me how she felt very uneasy and couldn’t put her finger on what it was. We talked about the eclipses and the possible impact they might have on each of us. Liz arranged to come back to visit me the following weekend. We planned to have dinner together on the Friday night.

That Friday Liz rang me at about 5pm saying we should meet up at about 7.30pm. This was the fateful drive and not the one the previous week that had me anxious.

As I sat in the restaurant waiting I had a growing sense of gloom. I felt very agitated and knew that she was dead. After and hour of waiting and being unable to contact her I left and drove home. I contacted three police stations along her route but no accidents had been sighted. This didn’t shift my gut feeling.

During the night I woke up to Liz’s voice saying “prepare yourself Margaret, you’re going to have to identify my body, I told you we had big karma together “. This was so clear and audible and Liz felt so present to me.

In the morning the police rang me and asked me to identify her body. I was the last person Liz spoke to, she was on her way to dinner with me and I identified her body. Big karma!  Below is the chart for her death set in a tri-wheel. Liz died in a single vehicle accident at dusk. It was obvious from the expression on her face in the morgue that she died in a state of surprise and not in pain. Her release would have been instant.

Again the astrology is revealing. The transiting nodes are about to trigger the eclipse point of the previous December and are exactly conjunct her ascendant/descendant axis. The SN is on the ascendant, a release for Liz and the NN on her descendant, the point of the setting sun.

Tr Jupiter, the great benefic is at the bendings with Uranus, a very sudden, unexpected but fated journey.

Tr Venus squares Uranus.

The transiting MC conjuncts her IC and Pluto and challenges Mercury, her signifier of death. This happens every day but on this day Saturn, Mars and the Moon are in her 3^rd house of journeys and squaring her Sun and in Mercury’s sign. Mercury squares the SR MC/IC axis, the axis that connects us to heaven and earth and the god who can travel between the realms.

 

 

Tr Pluto sits on the south node.

Tr Neptune sits on the pr Mars and Pr Vertex.

The tr Sun opposes her pr Sun.

The Solar Arcs and the tertiary progresses Moon are also revealing in imagery. The tert. Pr Moon was at 11 degrees Cancer . Pluto had arced to Jupiter , Neptune to Uranus, Uranus to the south node , Saturn to Jupiter and Jupiter to Neptune.

Everything in the sky is impacting on her chart and it has all taken place just days after the eclipse. We cannot look for death in the chart for this is not meant for us to date however with hindsight it makes an interesting astrological exploration.

Exploring the charts has also helped me come to terms with her death. These events all took place under my own Pluto transit to my Moon and Venus. I am also in a balsamic lunation phase.

VALE LIZ………….