The Book Is Out!

It is with pleasure to inform you that Astrological Roots: The Hellenistic Tradition is now available. You can purchase it online, order it from your local bookstore (it's is Books In Print already), or, if you have the opportunity, you can get a signed copy from me. For those who do not see me so frequently, I will bring copies to the horary workshop on Saturday, September 22, and we will have a party in Wayland on the third weekend of October.

Chart Synthesis Class
This course if requested frequently from people who have a basic understanding of astrology's symbols but have trouble "putting the chart together." This course will examine charts of notable nativities and participants (with their permission) from different avenues of entry: element and mode distribution, essential dignity, prevalence of aspects and aspect configurations, finding the strongest planet in the chart. It's a chance to use some fundamentals of astrology and also to practice chart delineation.

I have spoken with some people who are interested in this group, which will meet in Arlington on a weekday evening to be determined. If you may be interested in attending this group, please let me know so I can include your preferences.

Radio Interview 9/20

Chris Flisher, who I have worked with in the past, is hosting a radio show specifically about astrology. The first show is on Thursday, September 13, and features Joyce Levine. I am on the second show and my topic is the astrology of George Bush's second term. We will look at the astrology from the reversal days of his administration, beginning in the summer of 2005, through January 20, 2009 -- his last day.

As far as I can tell, this is an internet production and will be at 11 AM on Thursday, September 20.
It is a call-in show, and the numbers are provided on his website, http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/chrisflisher.htmlAfter the show happens, there will be repeats and the hour can also be downloaded later as a podcast.

Horary Workshop, 9/22 1:30-6 PM
The Arlington Center
169 Mass Ave. Arlington, Ma.
Presenter: Joseph Crane
Cost: $50

Horary astrology casts a chart of the moment through examining the chart for the time of asking a meaningful question, and interprets the chart to answer the question. Astrologers also use horary astrology to clarify personal or world events if there is a specific time at which the event has occurred. This is the most divinatory of astrology's techniques, and it gives practice looking at a chart with a specific question in mind, which is the way also to do natal astrology.

In this workshop we will:

Explore the principles and procedures common to all horary work

Examine samples of work from horary practitioners of the past. In particular we will go into depth working with some of the charts from William Lilly's charts.

Explore the astrologer-client dialogue particular to horary astrology.

Set criteria for horary charts around these issues:

Work and Professional Advancement.

Love and Marriage.

Sickness and Health

Even if you do not become a horary astrologer as a result of this workshop, your natal technique will become richer and more penetrating.

If you are or may be interested in attending, please let me know.

 

Two Tenors, or, "What's Opera, Doc?"
As we all know, Luciano Pavarotti died last week and his life has been remembered and celebrated all over the world since then.
At their best, opera performances can capture the mind like few experiences of art can; it their very best, opera performances make one happy to be alive.� Although I am no opera buff or critic, it seems to me that much of the Pavarotti's work qualifies as performances at their best and some are of the very best.� Unfortunately, many of us will mostly remember him in the context of endless fundraisers on public television, and perhaps his outsized girth and public personality, yet he also was "rock star" who allowed opera to come to a far larger audience.� He also radiated a joyful presence and a playfulness that infected others, although he could also be indifferent and ill-prepared.� Evidently, he was technically very good. Let's look at his natal chart.

Henceforth, when you think of Leo rising, do think of Pavarotti: the exuberant (and self-indulgent) personality, the enthusiastic approach to life, even the lion-like appearance, are very much like him. You may then inquire into his Sun -- governing Leo -- in Libra, the sign of the Sun's depression or fall. True, but he was a Sun-like character. I note the Moon in Aries applying to Sun and Mars is Sagittarius simultaneously. His Sun in Libra is aided by a tremendous amount of the element fire.I would imagine that up close he was inspiring as well as demanding -- the two sides of "fiery." Sun in Libra would happily go along for the ride.
Venus would clearly govern his profession, as Venus is the in charge of his Taurus Tenth place of career and it also oriental -- visibly rising before the Sun that day. The attentive and traditionally-educated reader would note that Venus, too, is in fall in Virgo, yet Pavarotti was acclaimed and quite good at what he did for a living. One positive feature the reader might be able to discern -- the sextile from Venus's lord, Mercury. The second factor, much harder to see, is that Venus is only one degree away from his Lot of Exaltation, which would be the distance from his Moon in Aries to the Moon's exaltation degree in early Taurus, the distance added to his Ascendant in Leo. The positive side of Venus in Virgo as a professional indicator is an ability to work hard and have high standard for his own work. (I have been reading about his ability to hit the "high C" flawlessly, which is a rare gift for a tenor and different from Caruso, who couldn't.)
Speaking of Lots-- because Pavarotti was born at the full Moon -- Sun and Moon close to being opposite each other -- his Lots of Fortune and Spirit (from the distance between Sun and Moon) would both be in the Seventh, opposite the Ascendant. (The Lot of Fortune is seen by the circle with the "x" within.) Both lots are governed by Saturn, placed in the unfortunate Eighth Place from the Ascendant.� I would also note, however, that Jupiter and Mercury are angular and in the Tenth Place from the Lots, providing a more positive atmosphere than would otherwise be the case. We note below that Caruso's Lots, also governed by Saturn, are more a strong determination of his life than those of Pavarotti.
On the matter of his illness with cancer and his early death at the age of 71, Nadine Harris from the NCGR mailing list, noted that transiting Neptune and Saturn have been opposing his Ascendant -- a place of body.� Both planets together, she stated, could signify chronic illness, especially in close transit to his Ascendant.

Now for somebody completely different...Enrico Caruso.

His work survived through his historical reputation and through some recordings of his singing that has been preserved. In his life and his chart, we see a very different person: think Saturn. According to his biography, he was one of many children, most of whom did not live long. He grew up in poverty and found that through singing he could make some money. He came through local opera companies and his big break happened when he auditioned with Puccinini for a part in La Bohemeand the latter remarked that his voice must have been sent by God himself. During an all-too-brief but luminous career, he became the face of Italian opera in America, performing over 600 times for the New York Met. He was also the first recording star: like Pavarotti but in a different era, Caruso became an entertainer far beyond the usual confines of opera singers and helped make opera accessible to a larger population. He had the ill fortune to have San Francisco on his schedule just in time to be there for the great earthquake in 1906 -- never to return.
Now we take a brief look at his natal chart. Of course one can easily say, "what a Pisces!" from the fact that he was born at a New Moon in Pisces. Clearly that will help him with an ability to emotionally connect with his music and an audience. From his natal chart, one would think him better at the acting part of opera performance than Pavarotti.
We now see a very different Ascendant, in Capricorn governed by Saturn in its own house or "in its own sign." In a nocturnal chart and strongly place in Capricorn, this is an ambitious if somewhat dour Saturn. One can detect a far more melancholy disposition than Pavarotti and one more prone to hard work and careful preparation. This is magnified by the position of his Lots of Fortune and Spirit. Remember that Pavarotti was born at a full Moon and these two lots are together opposite the Ascendant. In Caruso's case, since he was born at a New Moon with the Sun and Moon close together, the two Lots are in the First with the Ascendant. More Saturn, almost all the time.
We look at Caruso's Venus, also in charge of his Tenth. This planet is with Neptune and angular in the Fourth, again making for an ability for his music to emotionally connect. Whereas Pavarotti's Venus is oriental, Caruso's follows the Sun and is actually slowing down soon to go retrograde. Venus in Aries is also opposite its sign Libra and is considered in "detriment." I would note two aspects of very different characters. Jupiter trines Venus, giving a grand quality; Saturn has a strong square from the First, giving discipline and thoroughness. This could have resulted in insecurity except for Saturn being in the First -- representing his own nature -- and the more buoyant trine from Jupiter. Additionally, governing the place of Venus in Aries is a strongly-placed Mars in Scorpio (its own "house'), which is powerfully place in the Eleventh.
To give a further sense of the Saturnine nature of Caruso, I close with an anecdote from his life (from Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes): "A group of reporters once asked him what he though of Babe Ruth. Caruso, who was unfailing polite and amiable, replied that he didn't know because unfortunately he had never heard her sing."

Next month -- Hillary Clinton and her uncertain birthtime.