Chapter 14

In This Chapter

Finding the patterns in your chart

Analyzing five specific components of a chart

Looking at aspect configurations

Completing the puzzle

Most astrologers agree that Sun sign astrology, which describes types rather than individuals, is insufficient for most purposes. But Sun sign astrology can claim one advantage: It’s simple. A full astrological chart, on the other hand, with its web of planets, signs, houses, and aspects, is as complex as an actual human being — and just as difficult to understand.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be psychic to be an astrologer. But you do need a system, especially when you’re starting out. This chapter provides such a system.

Step One: Finding Overall Patterns

Leaf through a pile of birth charts, and you may notice that in some the planets are huddled together in one part of the circle, while in others they’re scattered around the wheel like numbers on a clock. These groupings, which have nothing to do with the specific planets and signs involved, can be amazingly revealing. Astrologers have developed two main ways of assessing the configurations of an astrological chart:

Hemisphere analysis: So easy that a child can do it, this method divides the chart circle in half both horizontally and vertically and counts the number of planets on each side.

Pattern analysis: This method, pioneered by astrologer Marc Edmund Jones in his Guide to Horoscope Interpretation, analyzes the way the planets are strewn around the wheel of the horoscope.

Both methods rely only on patterns, not on specific signs and planets.

Hemisphere analysis

A quick glance at your horoscope provides an easy entry into interpretation — and all you have to do is count. First locate the horizon line in your chart — the line running from the Ascendant to the Descendant, as shown in Figure 14-1. (Turn to Chapter 11 for more on your Ascendant and Descendant.) If a large majority of your planets — seven or more — are above the horizon, you’re an extrovert who looks to the external world for recognition and endorsement. If most of your planets populate the area below the line, you’re an introvert who needs privacy, seeks personal fulfillment, and may be uncomfortable in public life.

Now divide your chart in half vertically or along the meridian, which runs from your Midheaven, or M.C., at the twelve o’clock spot on your chart to your I.C. at the six o’clock spot (see Figure 14-1). That line splits the horoscope into two sectors: the eastern hemisphere on the left and the western hemisphere on the right. If most of your planets lie on the eastern or left side of the horoscope, you have the enviable ability to make things happen, to create your own opportunities. You’re highly independent, but you may also be intolerant of people who can’t seem to call the shots the way you can.

Figure 14-1: Dividing your chart by the horizon and the meridian.

If your chart leans to the right, so to speak, with seven or more planets on the western or right side of the circle, you’re more dependent on circumstances. You need to grab the moment when it comes, and you may feel that you must bend to the demands of others in order to succeed. Most people, including the greatest of the great, have planets on both sides of the meridian.

The Ascendant symbolizes your surface personality. The Descendant represents your approach to marriage and partnerships. The Midheaven, or M.C., depicts your ambition and public image. The imum coeli, or I.C., indicates your attitude toward home and family.

Pattern analysis

In 1941, astrologer Marc Edmund Jones (a Libran) identified seven planetary patterns which, like hemispheric division, operate without regard to specific signs and planets. Ever since then, students of astrology have been exploring the meaning of those patterns. Here they are:

The bundle: If all your planets are concentrated within four signs or 120° (a trine), you have a bundle chart, regardless of which signs are involved or where on the wheel that bundle of planets happens to fall. This pattern, shown in Figure 14-2, grants you a clear focus, unwavering interests, confidence, and personal strength. It also limits you: You’re strong where you’re strong and thoroughly unconscious (or uninterested) where you aren’t. George W. Bush is an example.

Figure 14-2: The bundle pattern.

The bowl: If your planets cover more than 120° but no more than 180° (or half the zodiac), you have a bowl chart, as shown in Figure 14-3. This highly motivating pattern can create a frustrating feeling that something is missing, combined with a steely determination to fill that void. These people are activists. Examples include Abraham Lincoln, Vincent van Gogh, Amelia Earhart, Donald Trump, and Billie Jean King.

The bucket: A bucket chart is like a bowl except that one planet (or sometimes two in close conjunction) is separated from the rest, as Figure 14-4 shows. That singleton planet, the handle of the bucket, becomes the focus of the chart. Because its needs are always paramount, Marc Edmund Jones compared that lone planet to a toothache. It demands attention — and sometimes it hurts. That’s because its role is essentially to balance the rest of the chart. Its importance is so extreme that, both by sign and by house, it frequently describes a person in an uncanny way.

Figure 14-3: The bowl pattern.

Figure 14-4: The bucket pattern.

The locomotive: If the ten planets in your chart line up neatly over two-thirds of the zodiac, as shown in Figure 14-5, you’ve got drive, stamina, and practicality. The two most important planets are the first and the last — the locomotive, which leads the planetary parade when the chart is rotated in a clockwise direction, and the caboose, which picks up the rear.

The splash: Just like it sounds, the planets in this pattern are sprinkled more or less evenly around the entire wheel, with blank spots here and there only because there are ten planets and 12 signs. Figure 14-6 shows an example of the splash pattern. With this pattern, a wealth of life experience is yours for the grabbing. The drawback? You scatter your energy and your interests the way a fruit tree scatters its blossoms on a windy day.

The splay: In this pattern, shown in Figure 14-7, the planets are distributed unevenly over the entire chart, with at least one clump of three or more planets. People with this pattern — like Al Gore and Fidel Castro — are individualistic, with a strong sense of their own interests and a refusal to bow to public opinion.

Figure 14-5: The locomotive pattern.

Figure 14-6: The splash pattern.

Figure 14-7: The splay pattern.

The seesaw: If you have two groups of opposing planets separated by a couple of empty houses on each side, as shown in Figure 14-8, you’re always riding up and down on the seesaw of circumstance and experience. An excellent mediator, judge, and administrator, you can view things objectively because you’re supremely aware of the two sides of your own nature. You may also feel internally split because you have two sets of needs and two sets of talents, and you may find it difficult to satisfy both. Examples include writer Dave Eggers and performers Frank Sinatra, Mariah Carey, and Queen Latifah.

Figure 14-8: The seesaw pattern.

Two singleton sensations

Whenever you find a birth chart with a true singleton — that is, a bucket chart with one planet sitting apart from all the others — you have found a key to the person. Consider these examples from my files:

Lulu (not her real name), the hostess with the mostest. With three planets in charismatic Leo, she attracts people wherever she goes, throws the best dinner parties I’ve ever been invited to, and looks like the queen of confidence. She’s also one of the most successful, compassionate women I know. But she has been married and divorced several times, has had more boyfriends than the rest of my friends combined, and is obsessed with relationships. Why? She has a bucket chart with nine planets on the eastern side balanced by the emotional, security-seeking Moon on the other. Thanks to the nine planets, she’s active and autonomous, a real doer. But with the Moon smack in the middle of her seventh house of partnership, her emotional well-being revolves around relationships. That’s what the location of the singleton indicates: The focus of a life.

Dr. X (not his real name), the most entertaining psychiatrist I know. His warm personality comes from his Leo Ascendant. His interest in psychiatry clearly comes from his singleton Moon which, like Dr. Freud’s Moon, is in the eighth house of intimacy, secrets, psychoanalysis, regeneration (or healing), and occult knowledge. In his work as a therapist, Dr. X is a master at creating an easy intimacy with his patients that allows him to unearth their secrets. In his private life, the Moon spurs him on to explore areas most doctors won’t admit even thinking about — areas such as psychic awareness, palmistry (his palm was read for the first time when he was 5 years old), astrology (that’s how we became friends), and all manner of spiritual techniques. Once again, the singleton planet is the key.

Considering the signs

After mulling over the large patterns of hemispheric division and overall design in your chart, you’re ready to assess the signs and planets according to element and mode. Begin by counting the planets in each element (fire, earth, air, and water) and in each mode (cardinal, fixed, and mutable). Table 14-1 shows you which is which. If you know the time of your birth, include your Ascendant and Midheaven for a total of 12 distinct components.

Most people are more or less balanced, with two to four planets in each element. If you have five or more planets in signs of one element (or quality), the traits associated with that element or quality are emphasized. Check out Table 14-2 for explanations of what such an abundance may mean for you.

Table 14-2 Emphasis by Element
With a Preponderance	You Are . . .
of Planets in . . .
Fire signs	Active, adventurous, spirited, assertive, a natural
	leader
Earth signs	Practical, sensual, stable, prudent, hard-working,
	security-minded
Air signs	Communicative, intellectual, sociable, fueled by ideas
	and conversation
Water signs	Sensitive, impassioned, impressionable, compassion
	ate, and insightful

When classifying the components of a chart, keep in mind that the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant are more influential than the other placements and therefore deserve extra weight. Some astrologers even count them twice, just to make sure they get their due.

The modes (or qualities) work the same way as the elements. Most people have a rough balance. But if you have a pileup of planets in one particular mode, those traits are emphasized. Table 14-3 tells you more.

Table 14-3 Emphasis by Mode
With a Preponderance	You Are . . .
of Planets in . . .
Cardinal signs	Action-oriented, brave, willing to take the initiative
Fixed signs	Unyielding, determined, focused, opposed to change
Mutable signs	Flexible, adaptable, and open to change

Planets in houses: A minor point

By assuming parallels between the houses and the signs, so that the first house is equivalent to Aries, the second house to Taurus, and so on, you can classify the houses in revealing ways, as in Table 14-4. To consider your chart in this way, count how many planets you have in each trio of houses.

For an example, turn to Chapter 13 and take a look at Oprah Winfrey’s chart. With three planets in the second house, one in the sixth house, and two in the tenth, a majority of her planets are in the houses of substance, which might help explain how an idealistic Aquarian got to be one of the richest women on the planet.

Table 14-4 House Classifications
Houses	Group Name	Characteristics
1, 5, and 9	Houses of Life	Fiery; dynamic; motivated to enjoy life
	(fire houses)	and to squeeze as much juice as possi
		ble out of experience
2, 6, and 10	Houses of Substance	Practical; fond of systems and methods;
	(earth houses)	motivated to seek security and
		recognition
3, 7, and 11	Houses of Relationship	Communicative; other-oriented;
	(air houses)	motivated to create fulfilling relation
		ships of all sorts
4, 8, and 12	Houses of Emotion	Emotional; responsive; discerning;
	(water houses)	motivated to explore family connections
		and the past

Although the house divisions from Table 14-4 don’t endow you with the same abilities and characteristics that the signs possess, they direct your interests in ways that can balance an otherwise out-of-whack chart.

For example, a person who has no planets in earth signs lacks practical abilities (and will have to struggle to make up for that lack). The presence of planets in the second, sixth, and tenth houses can counteract that inability by providing motivation. Such placements can’t turn an aspiring poet into an accountant with an investment portfolio and a 401(k). But they can stimulate the poet to find some form of security (from planets in the second house), to get organized (from planets in the sixth house), and to seek public recognition (from planets in the tenth house).

You can also find parallels between the houses and the qualities, or modes, as outlined in Table 14-5.

Table 14-5 House Qualities
Houses	Group Name	Characteristics
1, 4, 7, and 10	Angular (cardinal) Houses	Enterprising, active
2, 5, 8, and 11	Succedent (fixed) Houses	Stable, determined
3, 6, 9, and 12	Cadent (mutable) Houses	Thoughtful, flexible

Astrologers traditionally view the angular houses (particularly the first and the tenth) as the strongest, while cadent houses (especially the sixth and the twelfth) are thought to be the weakest. As someone with many cadent planets, I always found that analysis discouraging until I learned about Michel Gauquelin, a French scientist who found statistical significance in certain planetary placements. Gauquelin noted the following trends:

Aggressive Mars is often prominent in the horoscopes of successful athletes.

The Moon, ruler of mood and instinct, plays an important role in writers’ horoscopes.

Somber Saturn, the lord of structure and consistency, is conspicuous in the charts of scientists.

Jovial Jupiter, the planet of extravagance, is prominent in the horoscopes of actors.

These planets were often located in areas of the horoscope sometimes known as the Gauquelin zones. Those areas of power include large portions of the cadent houses, with the twelfth and the ninth ranking as the most important. Despite traditional astrology, which states otherwise, cadent planets aren’t necessarily weak at all.

Step Two: Five Main Components of a Birth Chart

After looking at the overall patterns of your chart, you’re ready to check out the specific signs and planets. To get a sense of your chart without drowning in detail, concentrate on these factors:

The Sun: The Sun determines your basic identity — your motivations, needs, will, and individuality. Its sign describes the way you express these important aspects of yourself. Its house determines the area of greatest concern to you as well as the area in which you can most effectively express yourself.

The Moon: The Moon describes your emotions, subconscious, instincts, habits, and memory. The sign it’s in determines the way you experience the emotional side of your nature. Its placement by house points to the area of life that’s most essential to your emotional well-being.

The rising sign or Ascendant: The Ascendant describes the surface level of your personality — the face you show the world. (See Chapter 11 for more about rising signs.)

The ruling planet: The planet that rules your Ascendant is the ruler of your chart, regardless of its location and regardless of anything else happening in your horoscope. As the ruler, it contributes both to your sense of self and to the impression you give others. Table 14-6 shows you the rising signs and their ruling planets. Turn to Chapter 9 or 10 for more insight into your ruling planet.

Table 14-6 Rising Signs and Rulerships
If Your Rising Sign Is . . .	You Strike People as . . .	And Your Ruling Planet Is . . .
Aries	Impetuous, strong-willed	Mars
Taurus	Stable, sensuous	Venus
Gemini	Verbal, high-strung	Mercury
Cancer	Emotional, responsive	Moon
Leo	Confident, exuberant	Sun
Virgo	Methodical, discerning	Mercury
Libra	Charming, appealing	Venus
Scorpio	Controlled, reserved	Pluto and/or Mars
Sagittarius	Cosmopolitan, irrepressible	Jupiter
If Your Rising Sign Is . . .	You Strike People as . . .	And Your Ruling Planet Is . . .
Capricorn	Respectable, proud	Saturn
Aquarius	Friendly, individualistic	Uranus and/or Saturn
Pisces	Idealistic, receptive	Neptune and/or Jupiter

One of the most revealing qualities of the ruling planet is its position by house. For instance, Jay Leno is Aquarius rising (which may explain his bizarre hair as well as his love of machinery); his ruling planet, Uranus, is in the fifth house of entertainment. Courtney Love has Libra rising. Her ruling planet, Venus (of course), is in the eighth house of sex and death. Winona Ryder has Sagittarius rising; her ruling planet is Jupiter, which can be found hiding out in her twelfth house of self-undoing. And so it goes. Now, don’t get me wrong: This quick and dirty method doesn’t always work in such a blatant way. But it does provide a clue to the understanding of a chart, and its message shouldn’t be ignored. No matter what your ruling planet is, its house position has an influence on you. Table 14-7 tells how this important factor affects you.

Table 14-7 Ruling Planet by House Position
If Your Ruling Planet Is in the . . .	You Are . . .
First house	A personality and a self-starter
Second house	A money-maker; someone for whom values
	are primary
Third house	A communicator and a gossip
Fourth house	A family member and a homemaker
Fifth house	A romantic; an entertainer; a devoted parent
Sixth house	A workaholic; a worrier; a perfectionist
Seventh house	A confidante and a companion
Eighth house	An observer and a questioner
Ninth house	An explorer and a thinker
Tenth house	An achiever and a prominent person
Eleventh house	A friend and a joiner
Twelfth house	A spiritual seeker and a hermit

Stelliums: A cluster of three or more planets in the same sign, and preferably in the same house, is known as a stellium (or, in England, a satellitium). Such a grouping is automatically important. When it appears in the same sign as the Sun, it reinforces the message of that sign. When it shows up in another sign, it adds an extra set of qualities and influences that can rival the Sun sign in importance.

The size of the stellium also makes a difference. Normally, a stellium consists of three or four planets. Seldom do you see more. But occasional planetary pileups produce monstrous stelliums, as in the case of the TV cook Rachael Ray (who has seven planets plus the Ascendant in Virgo) or the actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose extraordinary birth chart features seven planets, including the Sun and the Moon, in Aquarius. The scary intensity she portrays in her acting comes directly from the power of that stellium.

Step Three: Looking for Aspect Patterns

A birth chart can easily have two dozen aspects in it. Fortunately, some are more important than others. The aspects that deserve the closest attention are those that are the tightest, those that involve the Sun or the Moon, and those that weave three or more planets into a single pattern, as in these configurations:

The Grand Trine: Three planets, each at a 120° angle to the other two, form a giant good-luck triangle called a Grand Trine, shown in Figure 14-9.

Figure 14-9: A Grand Trine.

A perfect Grand Trine always includes at least one planet in each sign of a given element. In those areas of life, energy flows and opportunities are abundant. For example, pop artist Andy Warhol was an attention-grabbing Leo with a Grand Trine in fire: His Moon and Uranus were in Aries, his Sun was in Leo, and his Saturn was in Sagittarius. Like most people, Andy Warhol had other areas in his chart that offered plenty of difficulties. But he used his Grand Trine to his advantage, both artistically (thanks to Saturn in the fifth house of creativity) and socially (thanks to his high-spirited Sun sign). You can take a look at his chart in Chapter 19.

Not everyone fortunate enough to have this aspect uses it so effectively. The Grand Trine, a symbol of the slacker, is notorious for bringing just enough good luck to keep you from feeling that you have to exert yourself.

The Grand Cross: If two sets of planets in your chart oppose (or square) each other, as shown in Figure 14-10, you have your hands full. The Grand Cross is a relatively rare aspect that symbolizes tension, obstruction, and frustration.

Some people are overwhelmed by a Grand Cross. Think of Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s murdered wife, whose chart was positively overflowing with squares. But the Grand Cross can also be a source of incredible commitment, courage, and energy — as in the charts of Miles Davis, Stonewall Jackson, and Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Figure 14-10: A Grand Cross.

The T-square: When two planets oppose each other with a third planet square to both, as shown in Figure 14-11, they form a T-square — a restless, troublesome, but fairly common configuration. A T-square inevitably creates tension and dissatisfaction. It also motivates you to do something about your situation, which may be why so many successful people have T-square configurations. Oprah is one of them. Turn to her chart in Chapter 13. You’ll see a classic T-square involving four planets: Pluto in Leo, Saturn in Scorpio, and the Sun and Venus in Aquarius.

The Yod, Finger of Fate, or Hand of God: Sounds serious, doesn’t it? Actually, this difficult-to-spot configuration, shown in Figure 14-12, is subtler in action than the other aspect patterns. It looks like a long, narrow triangle, with two planets at its base forming a sextile (a 60° angle) and a third at the apex, or peak, forming a 150° angle to the other two.

That 150° aspect, also called a quincunx or inconjunct, has a stop-and-go energy that creates false starts, backslides, and frustrations. It demands continual adjustment and impairs your decision-making abilities, especially in the areas affected by the planet at the apex. This aspect sets up complex dynamics within a chart. But is it lethal? No. Is it a sign of special favor from God? No. Do plenty of successful people have this aspect? Yes. (Try Meryl Streep, Winston Churchill, Quincy Jones, and Leonardo da Vinci.) Don’t let the name of this aspect unhinge you.

Figure 14-11: A T-Square.

Figure 14-12: A Yod, or Hand of God.

Step Four: Putting the Puzzle Together

Before you reach any wild conclusions about a chart (especially your own), make sure you’ve looked at everything, including the planets, the aspects, the Ascendant and Midheaven, the houses (including the ones that are empty), and anything else you can think of. For example, if asteroids interest you, by all means check them out. One of the most fascinating parts of astrology is that there’s always something new to look at in a chart.

And yet you may discover that the more you delve into your chart, the more the information seems to repeat itself. You’ll also unearth a few contradictions: Everyone has them in their charts, just as everyone has them in their psyches. You’ll also find the occasional placement or aspect that doesn’t gel with the rest of the horoscope or that simply doesn’t fit the person in front of you. (Don’t toss it out too quickly, especially if you’re completing a chart for a friend or acquaintance. Your discomfort could be an indication that you don’t know this person half as well as you think you do.)

After you weigh all these factors, you’ll notice that certain characteristics seem to pop up everywhere. It’s amazing how in every chart, a few themes wind their way through the entire chart. No matter where you begin — with the hemisphere balance or the element countdown, with the Sun sign or with that peculiar stellium in the fifth house — the same theme keeps coming around again and again. And the entire chart starts to click into place. That’s when you know you’re becoming an astrologer.