Astrology also has a well-stocked tool box for planning and decision-making. Some involve working with a natal chart. Others cast a chart to choose the for an event or to answer a question.
Astrology also has a well-stocked tool box for planning and decision-making. Some involve working with a natal chart. Others cast a chart to choose the for an event or to answer a question.
Working with a Birth Chart. Remember what I said about astrological weather forecasts? That same information can be applied to a birth chart. You can compare the current planetary positions (called transits) to the natal chart. Wherever the current positions fall in the natal chart, areas of life are being activated. The relationships between transiting planets and natal planets (called aspects) describe energies that are currently at work. They may indicate specific situations or relationships, helpful people, windows of opportunity, impulses awakening in you, obstacles, delays or challenges. Transits have a life span, building, peaking and then receding. Knowing this gives a general time frames for the issues related to them.
A solar return chart is a birthday chart that gives information for how a person is likely to experience a particular year. It is cast for the time that the sun reaches the position where it was at the time of birth, which is generally within a day on either side of the birthday.
A chart can also be progressed forward based on the amount of time that has passed since birth. There are a number of methods for calculating progressions. One commonly used method moves the chart forward one day for each year of life. Progressions reveal how a personality has evolved and matured. Aspects between progressed and natal planets are also useful for predicting the timing of issues, desires and certain types of events.
Timing and Event Planning. One of the most conscious uses of astrology is choosing a time to take an action. This works for anything, from buying a house or signing a lease to starting a business, starting a PR campaign or getting married. This is an often backwards process of ruling out the worst times and settling on the best of the possible times that remain. The process boils down to selecting a birth chart for the event or action. The goal is finding a combination of energies that express and support what you want to achieve. This is a technical process that requires the services of a skilled astrologer. (Just like doctors and lawyers, astrologers have specialties or areas of strength, and not all astrologers practice this method.)
Answering Specific Questions. Astrology can also answer a specific question: Should I marry him? Will I get pregnant this year? Will my son get into college? Where is the cat? This technique is called horary. It is a centuries-old method with strict and encyclopedic rules for constructing and interpreting the chart. Because it is one of the most technical astrological tools, it is not widely practiced, even among astrologers. It’s worth finding a skilled and qualified practitioner, because horary’s usefulness is extraordinary. A horary chart gives extremely specific information about a lost or stolen object, including the direction and description of its location and the probability of its return. It can also indicate whether and when a certain outcome is likely to happen and shed light on the nature of obstacles or interference.
© Kathy Biehl 2009, 2011. All Rights Reserved. Do not use, reproduce or electronically forward this article without the prior written permission of the author. Karma, ya know.