Woefully Misunderstood Capricorn (Drum Roll, Please)

A demon baby - how cute! How Capricorn!

People born under this western zodiac sign are the hardest to characterize. I ought to know, because I am one.

Keywords used to describe us on cafeastrology.com are tenacious, conservative, resourceful, disciplined, ambitious and prudent, for what it is worth.

The stereotype is that we are all ambitious. I would say that’s half true – like a lot of stereotypes. When I was teaching myself astrology a decade ago, I read about Capricorn having three archetypes – the mountain goat, the Pan goat, and the scapegoat. The mountain goat is the ambitious one in terms of what they want to get out of life. The Pan goat is a lot more laid back and fun-loving. He or she may be a nature-lover, a country gardener and home-crafting type, or simply a partier. The scapegoat archetype seemed to show up most in childhood. Capricorn kids tend to feel victimized by their parents, and girls in particular tend to be victimized by their mothers. Capricorn children grow out of this archetype as they get older, but some of the psychological damage tends to stay with them through adulthood.

(Pan was the goat-footed god of erotic ecstasy who was worshipped in ancient Greece. He was said to love nature and country life and strongly distrust civilized ways and cities. Later Christians may have associated Pan with the Devil.)

Pan was known more for his promiscuity than for anything else. This is key to understanding those who subconsciously personify this god. Tiger Woods has his Sun and Mercury in Capricorn. Brad Pitt falls back on his old love, Jennifer Aniston, when he needs to put wife Angelina Jolie in her place. Brad Pitt has his Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in Capricorn.

A lot of Capricorn men are said to manifest the Pan goat (which may or may not mean acting out the promiscuity), while women are thought to manifest the mountain goat more often, but I have always suspected that could go "either way".

The men work to achieve a certain status at their job or in terms of career, and then they sit back and relax. They are said to be not all that concerned about reaching the top. They may want to focus more on extra-curricular activities, and just maintain the job at a level that pays the bills. Despite stereotypical wisdom, this may be true of a lot of Capricorn women, too. Results of a salary survey that tracked respondents by birth date often report more people working for $35,000 or less born under Capricorn and Aquarius (the Saturn-ruled signs) than other any other zodiac sign.

The ambitious Capricorn archetype is a fairly old one. Caesar Augustus was said to have minted coins which depicted him as having been born a Capricorn because he wanted to send an ambitious, aggressive message. In fact, Augustus was a Libra. (He may have been tapping his unconscious Saturn, because Saturn is exalted in Libra.)

The other stereotype has to do with the dry wit that Capricorn is said to be famous for. A lot of us do have it, in one way or another. Sometimes it’s a quiet or soft wit, and it may only manifest from time to time. Other times it is a distinct talent for sarcasm or bon mots – these are the charismatic Capricorns that tend to have lots of friends, and are often associated with the Pan archetype.

Astrologically, the dry wit is associated with having both the Sun and Mercury in Capricorn (since Mercury is fairly close to the Sun in most nativities, many Capricorn Sun-signs will also have Mercury placed here). One famous Roman Capricorn whose terse wit and wisdom is still widely quoted today was Cicero.

In a modern context, the raunchy Howard Stern has his Sun, Mercury and Venus in Capricorn (this dude is a modern-day Pan if there ever was one), and Michelle Obama, whose mouth has gotten her into trouble on more than one occasion, has a Capricorn Sun and Mercury.

If I was to sum up my Capricorn compatriots quickly, I would say that we are always sizing up people (this makes some of us “natural” astrologers). Defensive. A lot like Scorpio, really. We lighten it up by being funny, and we use that sarcastic, dry, cynical wit if we have it. A Capricorn Sun and Mercury may sound bossy even if the owner isn’t, much like the author of this post.

One shrewd observer remarked that Capricorn women could be bodybuilders if they stayed in shape as they got older. There has to be some truth to this – a lot of Capricorn women are overweight as they get older. Those who do stay in shape often have a noticeable bone structure. Even if they are very thin, they are often medium or large-boned, and able to carry their weight easily. The taller Capricorn women with full breasts look amazing if they can battle the bulge, but a lot of us do end up looking like a Modigliani painting. The effect shows up sometimes with Aquarius women as well – think of Oprah.

One trend I see with many Capricorns that is too common to ignore has to do with how their personality changes over time (Saturn himself was the Greek and Roman god associated with time). When we are young, a lot of us are serious, responsible, sensible types – we understand implicitly that if you give a dance, you’ve got to pay the band. But once we hit forty (or even before then), a lot of us mellow out and become more relaxed. Liberal or conservative, we start to ponder the shades of gray a little more, even if things did seem very black or white to us when we were younger.

Astrologically, this may have to do with the Capricorn Sun progressing into Pisces (something that happens to Capricorns as early as their mid-thirties or as late as their early sixties). Pisces has a watery sensitivity and creative receptivity that feels very foreign to a pure Capricorn type, but we do incorporate the Piscean energy somehow because we don’t have a choice. The ancients may have recognized this by associating Capricorn with the Babylonian god Ea, who is depicted with the tail of a fish!

Weirdly opposite to Aquarius - who are rebellious and free-spirited and “visionary” when younger, but once they hit their thirties, they slowly become quite conservative and traditionalist! Aquarius folks have suns which progress into Aries as they get older, and the blended energy of Saturn (the co-ruler of both Aquarius and Capricorn) and aggressive, leadership-oriented, Mars-like Aries produces a far different outcome.

SOURCES
Everitt, Anthony.Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome’s Greatest Politician, Random House, 2003.

Everitt, Anthony.Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor,Random House, 2007.

A summary of the salary survey was published in a recent issue ofThe Mountain Astrologer Magazine. When I lay my hands on it, I will update.

Good Idea Not Forgotten: What the House Cusps are Saying

These are the house cusps for the time of publication of this article. Click on image if you wish to enlarge it.

How many of you remember Debbi Kempton Smith’s famous astrology cookbook from the 1980’s, Secrets of a Stargazer’s Notebook? Her book was packed full of information for the novice, and the hip, funny writing style kept the reader going. One of her best ideas was a guide to the house cusps, but the information was never organized in one place in the book. Instead, it got buried under loads of information in various chapters, and today is largely forgotten.

Here are Kempton-Smith’s unique interpretations of the house cusps – I haven’t seen anything like it in “how-to” astrology books published in the last couple of decades. It’s a quick “house at glance” technique that helps the consultant keep the house cusps simple, and a handy little trick up an astrologer’s sleeve when one is too tired to remember anything else about the house cusps.

ARIES
The house cusp with Aries on it shows where we are boss.








Here's a picture of Bruce Springsteen, the original Boss.



TAURUS
The house with Taurus on the cusp shows what we want more than anything else in the world when you are young. Around the age of 40 or so, we may finally start to get the things of this house, although many discover that they no longer want those things the way they did when they were younger.

GEMINI
Here is where we “can do one only if it’s good enough”.

CANCER
We need to nurture and be nurtured by the people or things of the house that has Cancer on the cusp, and we get rather moody and depressed if we don’t get nurtured here.

LEO
This is where we are proud. Kempton-Smith connects the pride associated with the house that has Leo on the cusp with where we should work for a living, but in my experience, this doesn’t happen very often.

VIRGO
This is where we are either insightful and analytical, or picky and critical.

LIBRA
This is where we see-saw back and forth. Some years we work very hard on the things of this house, and other years we just don’t care. This is where we are lazy, basically.

SCORPIO
Kempton-Smith writes that we have a choice “between the scorpion or the eagle” regarding the people or things of the house with Scorpio on the cusp.

SAGITTARIUS
This is where we have fun - pretty uncomplicated.

CAPRICORN
There are limitations associated with this house. Some overcome them; others don’t.

AQUARIUS
Here is where we keep others at arm’s length. We stay detached in the house with Aquarius on the cusp, often for our own sanity. Another meaning that shows up for many people has to do with getting something singular, unique, or one-of-a-kind related to the things of this house.

PISCES
This is where we are kind, and it comes back to us.

***

When I used this interpretation framework on my own horoscope, I noticed that some of the meanings “clicked” right away, and others didn’t. Planets placed in the various houses did not appear to negate the interpretations of the house cusps, however. As I continued to work with this framework, I started to see how all of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations fit my house cusps, but the relevant associations were pretty obscure at times (in other words, I had to really dig). Yet the meanings were accurate – I didn’t have to “stretch” my experience to fit the interpretations.

Using these interpretations to consult for others had some surprising results. A number of people said that one or two of these interpretations fit their own personal experience of the astrological houses perfectly. These people “believed” in the framework because they got some very strong “hits”. A few people I talked to said every one fit – I think these folks may have been exceptionally self-aware.

Other people said it was hogwash – they didn’t see where any of the descriptions were relevant to their own lives. With these folks, I wonder if they even spent a decent bit of time trying to find the “fit”. Because I work with four different astrological systems (western, Vedic, Mayan, and the Sabian Symbols) on a regular basis, I encounter this attitude more often than I would like, even among open-minded folks who believe in astrology. If they are unfamiliar with the system, they have to be “sold” on it. Until they are “sold” on it or have heard a lot about it from respected astrological authorities, the system isn’t personally relevant or “doesn’t work” for them. In some cases, their internal bias toward one particular astrological system prevents acceptance of a new one.

Yet Kempton-Smith’s interpretations do appear to work, and the genius of these simple observations is worth another look. Here’s an example from my own horoscope, which has a Virgo Ascendant, with no intercepted houses.

START WITH THE HOUSE THAT HAS TAURUS ON IT
When I consult using this system, this is the first piece of advice that I give. The house with Taurus on it represents strong yearning and desire, and the unfamiliar often sense the “fit” here immediately – it “jumps out” at them.
In my western natal chart, Taurus is on the 9th House cusp. Long distance travel and higher education are the two main themes of this house. I had a very strong desire to pursue education beyond the undergraduate level, even though I did not obtain actual advanced degrees, but I did this well before age 40.

It was with the other theme of long distance travel that Kempton-Smith’s description really “resonated” for me. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I dreamed of seeing the world, but never had enough money to really just take off and travel lots of places. In my twenties, all of my savings from low-income jobs went toward trips that I carefully saved pennies towards – the time I drove across the U.S. for the first time after graduating college, or the time I worked a paid internship that I had little interest in so that I could buy a plane ticket and a Euro-rail Pass. My yearning was channeled into Peace Corps service, so I could live and work in Africa, but even then I only got to see a tiny fraction of what I wanted to see in Africa.

As I reached 40, I finally had the experience to get the overseas contracts that paid enough for me to be able to really travel, only to discover that the desire was no longer there. There’s a very bittersweet quality to the house cusp with Taurus as one gets older – some of us get the thing we always wanted, only to discover that it is no longer what we want, or perhaps we don’t want it in the same way.

***

Here are the interpretations for my remaining house cusps. Readers with a Virgo Ascendant and similar house cusps will find this section a bonus. Readers with other Ascendants may be able to apply the insights of this section to their own individual house cusps, so resist the urge to skip it entirely. Examples of Kempton-Smith’s descriptions as they apply to other house cusps will be included in a later section of this article.

GEMINI on the MC (Mid-heaven)
Here is where one does “one” only “if it is good enough”. Definitely true – I found the career that was going to be “good enough” for me, but I wasn’t able to complete the training. Instead, I ended up doing a lot of different jobs – working as a personal assistant, doing administrative gigs, consulting in astrology, substitute teaching, teaching overseas, etc…

Most people seems to experience the “multiple” quality of this house – striving for “The ONE” doesn’t seem to get fulfilled all that often with Gemini. Every once in a while there is an exception to this, and these people always seem aware of their exceptional luck and blessing.

CANCER on the 11TH HOUSE CUSP
This is a nice placement on the house of friends. Since the 11th House also rules long-distance friends or friends on the Internet, I get a lot of nurturing from my Facebook account and my astrology blog and my interaction with online forums. Plus I have a real need to nurture here as well, which is why I have made so many quality astrology articles available on the Internet for free.

LEO on the 12TH HOUSE CUSP
The 12th House represents places of confinement, like hospitals and prisons. It is said to represent large institutions in general. Kempton-Smith calls it the “God Box”, because of its association with spirituality and suffering.

On a personal level, I wanted to be a doctor, so the “pride” associated with this house cusp placement was relevant. But I didn’t end up as one, although I have spent a lot of time on contracts with large institutions.

NOTE: This house cusp may have manifested more obviously if events in my life had worked out a little differently. In other words, the instinct was there, but the energy wasn’t. Of those I have consulted with, a number have mentioned this possibility with several of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations.

VIRGO on the 1ST HOUSE CUSP
As a consultant, I advise people that it can frequently be hard “to see yourself” when you are trying to understand how well the Ascendant sign fits your life. The same is often true of Kempton-Smith’s interpretations – we don’t always see how the description relates to our view of ourselves. Use it if it works. Don’t worry if it doesn’t.

In my case, this article is all about self-analysis, although I do want to make it relevant for others, and not turn it into “all about me”. Virgo gets a clear channel here.

LIBRA on the 2ND HOUSE CUSP
This one made immediate sense. 2nd House is earnings or salaried income, and it is very true that I work very hard some years when I know I am going to have the opportunity to earn well, and “sit back” during years where the economic environment appears to be stacked against me. It also made sense to me that I am always in the process of trying to strike a balance in this area of my life. When I have the energy to work hard and earn well, I do it. But there are other years when it is just as easy to stare at my navel, or pick my nose, if you know what I mean.

SCORPIO on the 3RD HOUSE CUSP
The description for Scorpio is one of the more obscure ones. I had a client ask me, “Don’t we all have a choice ‘between the scorpion and the eagle’ on pretty much everything?” She has a point.

Still, it may be worth considering if you have more of a struggle than usual with taking the high road, the path of the eagle, versus scuttling along the low road, like the scorpion, when it comes to the things of this house.

Suffice to say, my siblings and I are not close as adults. To some extent, I don’t take this personally – a number of my siblings are not close with each other either. But I do notice that I have to really focus on the eagle’s path during the infrequent occasions when we get together, and they have definitely pulled some stunts as adults that have fired every last nerve of my inner scorpion.

SAGITTARIUS on the 4TH HOUSE CUSP
In fact, I do have a lot of fun at home. I love just curling up on a couch, or puttering around the garden. But who doesn’t?

Nonetheless, I have noticed that having Sag on the cusp of a house can alleviate the impact of some pretty heavy planetary influence in the house. One of my good friends has a fallen Jupiter in the 4th house of her Vedic chart, and she has always had to live in crappy, sub-standard housing, but she has Sagittarius on the 4th house cusp of her western chart (the way I do), and she always seems to have fun in her far-from-posh accommodations. Having a cup of tea in her shack, I always feel as if I would love to stay longer. There could be some synergy operating here – she has the Sag energy for fun in her home, and the same Sag energy allows me to enjoy the qualities of other people’s homes, including hers.

Another important meaning of the 4th House is that it represents conditions at the end of life. Having Sagittarius here gives me something to look forward to.

CAPRICORN on the 5TH HOUSE CUSP
Although it is a bit of a downer, this is the house cusp I would check second after looking first at the one with Taurus. Do you see obvious limitations here?

Keep in mind that not all aspects of a house are ruined when Capricorn sits on the cusp. Some people with this placement will have great relationships with their children, even though they’ve never been all that happy with lovers.

In my case, the major themes of this house are real limitations for me. I don’t have children, even though I teach and enjoy them, and would love to have had my own. As far as lovers go, I am increasingly weary of single life, and would much rather be married. This makes sense when one considers the likelihood that a 5th House Capricorn cusp will have Pisces on the 7th House cusp – marriage is where I am kind “and it comes back to me”. Lovers are where I tend to feel I am wasting my time.

AQUARIUS on the 6TH HOUSE CUSP
This one really resonated for me, even though my sixth house is empty. The sixth house represents day-to-day jobs rather than careers, co-workers, servants (or those who are lower status than you are at work), health in general, and pets. I definitely have a detached, “arms length” attitude toward many of the things in this house. I don’t socialize with co-workers outside of work if I can help it. I don’t go to the doctor very often because I don’t have health insurance. I make quick distinctions between career opportunities and jobs that will pay the bills, and I don’t get emotionally vested in the latter – my motto is “see the job, do the job, stay out of the misery”.

The “silver lining” is also true for me – I have been blessed with some singular, wonderfully individual, one-of a kind pets. My dear cat Maui, now deceased, used to be able to “follow like a dog” for miles when we lived in the country – in her next life, I just know she is someone’s favorite dog now.

PISCES on the 7TH HOUSE CUSP
Because I’m not married, it’s hard for me to judge this house. But the 7th House is also said to represent intimate friendships and even “open enemies” in some cases, which may be why the 7th House is also linked to lawsuits. I have never sued anyone, or ever been sued either, so “kindness” could be said to be manifesting in this sense.

I have always been lucky with close friends though, and have had more useful things given to me by close friends, things that I could not have gotten along without.

My advice is to those I counsel is to be generous to those represented by the house with Pisces on the cusp, because it always comes back around here. This typically isn’t a house where you are going to feel “used”. Freedom from this fear makes many people naturally generous in the area of life represented by this house.

ARIES on the 8TH HOUSE CUSP
It took me forever to understand the meaning of this house cusp. Aries is where Kempton-Smith says you are boss. The 8th House represents legacies, inheritances, the spouse’s money, other people’s money, taxes, insurance policies, etc… None of it seemed to fit. I wasn’t married. I don’t have inherited money or property, or anything more than a mandatory car insurance policy. I don’t work with other people’s money. I don’t even have a will. For a long time, I just wrote this one off.

Then a couple of years ago, someone on an astrology forum posted a link to a great little article that David Roell wrote about the 8th House on his website at www.astroamerica.com. The link to this article, which talks about Alan Leo’s partial understanding of the occult nature of this house, is provided below.

http://www.astroamerica.com/howto.html
(After clicking on the link above, scroll down to the article “How Did Sex Get Into the 8th House?)

***

After reading the above, I started working with magic, and discovered intuitive talent in this area, which was aided by a “magical” Sabian symbol for the degree of my Jupiter, 4 Scorpio, “A Youth Holding a Lighted Candle In a Devotional Ritual Gains a Sense of the Great ‘Other World’” (see my earlier January, 2010 article “Sabian Symbols in Action” for further explanation of this concept).

In a way, it was almost as if I was “boss” – this was something I had a good deal of talent for, and the other world responds easily to me, for better or for worse. I had the power to get results here.

However, as with Pisces, there is a recycling current of energy frequently operating in the house with Aries on the cusp. You may be boss here, but you are also bossed or controlled by the things in this house, sometimes more than you might like to admit.

***

Now for some topics that will be relevant to readers with an Ascendant other than Virgo.

DOES KEMPTON-SMITH’S INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORK FIT THE OBSERVATIONS OF OTHER ASTROLOGERS?
Yes, it does. As an experiment, I selected a Sagittarius Ascendant, and used Isabel Hickey’s seminal work, Astrology: a Cosmic Science, as a basis for comparison.

Hickey mentions that Sagittarius Ascendant very often feels that they are never paid what they are worth, and this dovetails with the possible limitations of a 2nd House Capricorn cusp. With Gemini on the 7th House cusp, she notes the likelihood of more than one marriage. With lazy Libra on the 11th House cusp, she remarks that “too much socializing…may take one down the primrose path…and away from the goals and objectives that were meant to be attained.”

Hickey notes that a 5th House Aries cusp will tend to dominate their kids. She doesn’t note the Aries tendency to “recycle”, a more recent observation made by this author. A dominating Aries parent may have a tendency to see it go both ways as the children get older – I know a lady whose landlord is now her daughter.

Having Cancer on the 8th House cusp gives a nurture and be-nurtured quality to both soul-mate sex and contact with the spirits – this can give a psychic nature, as Hickey notes, but also a susceptibility to negative “other worldly” energy – it gets spooky when the spirits are moody!

Comparisons between the two authors weren’t remarkable – Hickey brings up a lot that Kempton-Smith doesn’t. Kempton-Smith’s house cusp interpretations were meant to be used at a glance, so hers is more of a “one-sentence wonder” approach. Yet there are enough similarities to demonstrate that Kempton-Smith’s underlying paradigm is recognized by other astrologers.

WHAT HOUSE CUSPS SHOW THE CAREER?
Kempton-Smith predicted it would be the house cusp with Leo on it – but she does say that this is where you should be working for a living, and not necessarily where you ARE working for one.

In my experience, a number of people have it on the house cusp associated with Taurus. This is where they focus a tremendous amount of energy until middle age (around 40), and then find that their goals have changed, or that the career doesn’t mean as much to them as it used to.

In Kempton-Smith’s model, the house cusps with Sagittarius, Pisces, and Cancer tend to bring one good things, so it’s nice seeing people working in areas associated with these houses. They tend to be satisfied customers.

COULD YOU INCLUDE ONE MORE ASCENDANT AS AN EXAMPLE?
Let’s take a look at a Scorpio Ascendant – these folks will have a choice between “the scorpio and the eagle” in terms of themselves and their actions.

Many of these people with have Sagittarius on the 2nd House cusp – they need to have fun at work. Wage earning has to be fun, amusing, or personally satisfying, or they won’t want to do it. This gets even more interesting when you notice that proud Leo is on the Mid Heaven, and lazy Libra is in the 12th House of suffering and large institutions. Put all this cusp information together, and you often have a profile of someone who is self-employed, or employed at a large institution but paid as a contractor or consultant, with somewhat more freedom to pick and choose work tasks. With Leo on the MC, women with this Ascendant may make a career out of marriage, even if they continue to hold paid employment.

Marriage is very important to this Ascendant. They may spend a tremendous amount of time trying to find the One, or they may really want “perfection” as they define it from a spouse. Taurus is on the 7th House cusp, stamping it with tremendous desire and yearning. Scorpio Ascendants who marry early may change their mind around age 40. Those who marry later tend to see the scope of the marriage change significantly around this age.

Since the 7th House represents intimate friends, this aspect of life is also influenced by the Taurus Ascendant. Expect these people to have at least a few life-long intimates with whom they have been friends since childhood.

Capricorn is on the 3rd House cusp, meaning that these people tend to have significant limitations in relationships with one or more of their siblings.

Aquarius is on the 4th House – there will be a sense of detachment regarding the home. Those with Aquarius on the 4th House tend to hire housekeepers or home-office managers. With the exceptional, one-of-a-kind quality that sometimes shows up on the house with the Aquarius cusp, these folks may at some point in their life own a unique, out-of-the-ordinary home. They also tend to be detached from the idea of old age in themselves, or they may enjoy some unusual or remarkable experiences in old age.

Pisces is a nice one to have on the 5th House, according to Kempton-Smith’s model. Lovers and children are the ones to whom these people are kind, and the generosity and love is returned in some way from these people as well.

With Aries on the 6th House cusp, they will want to be the boss of their daily activities – more evidence of a tendency to be self-employed or “in control” of the work environment. They may also exert firm control over diet or exercise, so they may experience how diet and exercise controls them. Recall that there is a “recycling” quality to the energy of both Pisces and Aries, perhaps because these two signs govern the ending and the beginning of the zodiac.

With Gemini on the 8th House cusp, these folks are likely to be determined materialists. They rarely do only one life insurance policy or tax shelter. Having Cancer on the 9th House cusp suggests a strong desire to nurture or be nurtured through higher education or long distance travel. This association is open to a number on interpretations, anything from the person who takes a vacation to attend cooking school, to the professor who is well-liked by his graduate student assistants or interns.

With Virgo on the 11th House cusp, the Scorpio Ascendant can offer invaluable counsel, because their talent for analytical insight is directed at colleagues, acquaintances, and the Internet community (all represented by the 11th House). Their knack for criticism is directed to the same place, making these people talented observers of the social scene – friends and colleagues who benefit from the Scorpio’s wisdom may also need to be alert to the Scorpio Ascendant for other reasons.

***

Now that you have seen a couple of profiles using Kempton-Smith’s approach to the house cusps, it should be fairly easy for you to scan your own horoscope and determine its validity. Personal notes from readers on their observations would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think.

SOURCE
Kempton-Smith, Debbi,Secrets of a Stargazer's Notebook,Topquark Press, 1999.

Astrology Secrets of the Fashion Industry

Have you ever wondered how the fashion industry seems to pick the same new “in” colors every couple of seasons? The industry does it based on the upcoming sign that Jupiter will be in, and they’re amazingly consistent about it from year to year, because major retailers are conformist by nature, and the “Jupiter color” sells really well.

WHAT’S NEYTERI FROM AVATAR DOING HERE?

Neyteri is a cool blue girl-kitty, but check out the green on her necklace. A lot of cool shades of green, everything from Irish green to sea green, has been in style during Jupiter’s very brief transit of Pisces in the winter and spring of 2010.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

A lot of people in the fashion industry do follow astrology fairly closely, and are aware of what colors are associated with a particular Jupiter sign. But a lot of other people just have an intuitive sense of what colors are going to be popular. The consumer makes the final decision, and certain colors seem to “resonate well” with a majority of buyers at certain times. What is interesting is that these colors can be predicted astrologically.

In the fashion industry, this is known as "color forecasting". This article shows the entire cycle, so that you can always be aware of what colors are going to be "in season".

SO TELL ME, WHAT COLOR WILL BE “IN” THIS SUMMER?

Jupiter will be in Aries this summer, and it is going to stay in this sign for about eighteen months, so every shade of red is going to be popular, everything from orange-y, pomegranate red to waitress-y, nail polish scarlet. The Mars-like Aries is all about red, and you may even see some of the burgundy and wine red shades associated with Jupiter in Scorpio several years ago come back “in” now. Since Jupiter will be in Aries for a while, those of you who love red will be in for a treat. Knitters and crafters should snap up that red yarn or fabric, because Jupiter will be in Aries long enough for them to craft a garment and actually get some wear out of it before the sign shifts out of Aries at the end of 2011.

WHY DID WE SEE SO MUCH ELECTRIC BLUE AND ORANGE RECENTLY?

Think back over the past year and a half. All the fashion magazines were showcasing these vivid blues and neon gold-oranges in everything from coats to accessories. Very “electric” colors – they either looked great on you, or you got sick of them and couldn’t wait for something else. On the color wheel, I’m an “autumn”, so I was snapping up the various shades of orange at Target (lots of peachy oranges, in my case). Jupiter was in Aquarius for a while with its retrograde activity, so the fashion industry invested strongly in these colors because they knew they could count on several consecutive seasons.

DOES THE FASHION INDUSTRY RECYCLE CERTAIN COLORS EVERY FEW YEARS OR SO?

It does in some cases. Jupiter in Pisces is associated with watery greens, but a lot of blue shades also predominate, which may be one subconscious reason why the movie Avatar did so well. Just a couple of years from now, Jupiter in Taurus will also be identified with blue, robin’s egg blue and baby blue, in particular. And roughly seven years from now, all sorts of pastels are associated with Jupiter in Libra, but cornflower blue and lavender tints are said to predominate.

The astrology behind it is fairly easy to understand. Venus is associated with blue, which may be one reason why some feel the Virgin Mary is often depicted wearing a blue robe. Venus is exalted in Pisces, and a co-ruler of Taurus and Libra, so her color has a very strong impact on our collective subconscious at least three different times during a twelve year Jupiter cycle. This happens even more often if one takes variations like the “electric blue” of Jupiter in Aquarius into account.

WHY DOES IT ALL HINGE ON JUPITER?

Not sure, but Jupiter is the planet of expansion, and it does show where we like to spend our money.

***

WHAT DOES THE ASTROLOGICAL COLOR ZODIAC LOOK LIKE?

When Jupiter is in Mars-ruled signs, red predominates. Jupiter’s location in signs that Venus rules or is exalted in brings in the blues. Jupiter’s location in its own sign of Pisces or in its exaltation sign of Cancer puts the focus on green, while yellow and gold show up in Aquarius, Gemini, and Leo. All of the colors of the rainbow are represented, but an attempt to link corresponding colors with signs ruled by a particular planet is only partially successful. There are quirky exceptions, as will be shown below.

ARIES

Every shade of red, from orange-red to bright lipstick reds to reds that are almost magenta. I’m not sure if this is going to include the stronger shades of pink as well, but we’ll find out soon enough, because Jupiter hits Aries this June, and the fashion industry often has the “Jupiter color” on the shelves a month or two early.

TAURUS

With Jupiter in this sign, delicate shades of blue, like robin’s egg blue, do very well.

GEMINI

All the yellows come out to play. You’ll see it on sheets, towels, and underwear too, since a lot of white people don’t like to wear yellow too close to the face. Blacks and Asians have so many gorgeous shades to pick from during this phase, although inevitably, a number of them will also say that yellow doesn’t look good near the face. Gemini needs everyone to keep an open mind, though. True brunettes look great in bright yellow tops, as do black women with blonde highlights. The home decorating magazines have a field day with the “Jupiter color”, so look for yellow mixer to yellow wallpaper to entire interiors redone in yellow or yellow accents.

CANCER

A lot of the greens that we saw when Jupiter was in Pisces get recycled when Jupiter hits its sign of exaltation in Cancer. Look for the same sea greens that are popular right now while Jupiter is in Pisces, as well as teals and other cool greens like jade green.

LEO

Look for bursts of intense colors like orange, orange-gold, and every shade of gold from honey to tawny gold. Leo likes to stand out and draw attention. Jupiter is in a fire sign, and nobody ought to forget it. Once again, look for a lot of these colors in home décor and wall accents, because some consumers balk at wearing these colors.

Retailers also know that a lot of consumers can’t drape themselves in these colors at work, so you will see a lot of the “Jupiter color” in accessories when Jupiter is in a fire sign. You will also see a lot of neutral gray suits showcasing the “Jupiter color” in a tie or chemise, or winter outfits that use a bright scarf in the “Jupiter color”.

VIRGO

Virgo is one of those interesting signs that does not have a particular color family associated with it. You will see a lot of earth tones, like browns and dark greens (forest greens and evergreens). But you will also see a lot of pure whites and contrasting blacks and classy grays, because Virgo is associated with a “clean, pure” look. Soft greens and blues also seem to show back up in Virgo and do well. This is a great time to recycle the stuff you have in these colors that you haven’t worn for years. It’s also a great time for the folks who never seem to do anything but earth tones and grays, and the crowd that wears black can let their credit cards recover for a while.

LIBRA

This sign is all about pastels. Notice that even folks who don’t like pastels will buy them now, and then wonder why they got stuck with them once Jupiter has left this sign. In her book on Jupiter signs, Madalyn Alsan mentions cornflower blue and lavender in particular. Look for pastel pinks and flowered pink dresses to bring out Venus at her most feminine when Jupiter hits this sign.

SCOPRIO

Anyone who knows anything about astrology can guess the colors that are going to do well in Scorpio. Look for lots of black, blood reds, wine reds, and burgundies.

SAGITTARIUS

The fire signs are associated with fiery colors, but Jupiter takes a bit of a color detour in the sign that it rules. Jupiter is known for royalty (Zeus was the king of the gods). So it should be no surprise that the “royal purple” dominates this period. This is THE phase to buy that deep purple anything that you have always wanted, or to dye your hair black to complement all these rich purples that you would never otherwise wear. Be aware that deep purples are very susceptible to being “last year’s color” once Jupiter has left this sign, though.

CAPRICORN

Solid, conservative blacks and grays rule this sign. Every shade of gray on the color palette is snapped up by the fashion industry now, from granite gray to charcoal to silver. This is appropriate in the sign of Jupiter’s debilitation, since black, white, and the resulting blend which is gray are not technically considered colors.

One of the nice things about Jupiter in this phase is that quality gray pieces you buy now will last for years, and you can accessorize them with the crazy neon blues and oranges of upcoming Jupiter in Aquarius. The author still has the beautiful gray coat she snapped up at Target while Jupiter was in this phase a few years ago, and she still gets complements on it.

AQUARIUS

The colors of electricity and fire show up in this air sign because of its strong link to Uranus and electricity. Electric blue, electric orange, and orange-gold dominate the scene now, particularly in accessories. Amber jewelry does very well now – the etymology of amber may be associated with electricity because the word for amber in Greek is “elektron”.












In the photo to the left, Malia and Sasha Obama are pictured with their aunt, Maya Soetoro-Ng.

According to news reports, Michelle Obama allowed her daughters to pick out the colors they would wear to their father’s inauguration. Malia unconsciously opted for a brilliant blue J Crew coat that epitomized Jupiter-in-Aquarius fashion sense. Sasha chose a pink coat, and accessorized with a vivid orange scarf, which just happens to be the other color in the Jupiter-in-Aquarius duo. Both girls were a hit, and J Crew in Georgetown sold out of both coats the day after the Inauguration.

PISCES

Watery blues and greens predominate, but look for a range of greens now. The people I know who love green often remark that they haven’t been able to find a green they like for so long, and these folks will often shell out for a big ticket item like a green coat or jacket now. These folks are right – green gets overlooked by the fashion industry between Jupiter in Virgo and Jupiter in Pisces, in my experience.

***

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

Madalyn Aslan mentions that the color associated with one’s natal Jupiter often has a special resonance for some people. My own experience suggests there is something to this, particularly in a sign where Jupiter is strong. Among the people I know with a number of focal planets in Sagittarius, there seems to be more than a bit of the need to lead, a propensity for the red hair, and a strange attraction to the color purple, even if they don’t wear it very often. One guy I know is a red-headed, Renaissance fair type who has his favorite purple robe – not too many people I know would chose to wear it in their primary profile photo on Facebook, but this guy does.

QUICK RECAP OF THE COLOR CYCLE

Beginning with Jupiter in Aries, the cycle seems to follow the colors of the rainbow until the Big J gets to Virgo, where it becomes associated with a bouquet of different colors. Why Jupiter goes AWOL in Virgo is beyond me - perhaps consumers are so picky under Virgo that retailers give up!

The rainbow theme is picked back up once Jupiter enters Libra, but it skips a beat with its entrance into Scorpio. The rainbow theme is resumed and finally completed when Jupiter enters Sagittarius.

JUPITER IN ARIES
All shades of red. (Starts summer of 2010, and these colors are already in the stores.)

JUPITER IN TAURUS
Delicate shades of blue (Starts in 2012, if you knitters and sewers want to get a "leg up".)

JUPITER IN GEMINI
Every shade of yellow.

JUPITER IN CANCER
Mellow greens.

JUPITER IN LEO
Oranges and gold-oranges.

JUPITER IN VIRGO
Deep greens and browns (and other earth tones), soft blues and greens, crisp blacks and whites.

JUPITER IN LIBRA
All the pastels, but violets and lavenders in particular.

JUPITER IN SCORPIO
Burgundies and rich wine reds.

JUPITER IN SAGITTARIUS
True purples.

JUPITER IN CAPRICORN
Every shade of gray.

JUPITER IN AQUARIUS
Electric blue and bright orange or gold (the flame colors).

JUPITER IN PISCES
Watery greens and blues. (Occuring right now in Spring 2010, and you see a lot of these colors in the store).



SOURCE
Aslan, Madalyn.Jupiter Sign: How to Improve your Luck, Career, Health, Finances, Appearance and Relationships Through the New Astrology, Plume, 2004.

Sabian Symbols in Action: A Profile of Barack Obama

Most people know what the Sabian Symbols are – a trance revelation channeled by Elsie Wheeler, an early twentieth century spiritualist and clairvoyant, during one remarkable eight hour period at Balboa Park in San Diego, and recorded with the help of astrologer Marc Edmund Jones. Yet it still seems I get a lot of questions like, “What does this mean for me?” or “How DO you use them, anyway?”

One of the easiest ways to use the symbols is to match them up with the degrees of the planets for a given birthday, and use them to develop a profile. This turns out to be another way of looking at the natal chart – it gives you a “picture” of your subject that may be hinted at in the horoscope, but is often plain as day in the emerging Sabian profile. It takes a little practice at first, because some of the degree symbols are trickier to decode than others. But once you get the hang of it, you have a quick thumbnail that can be very handy in a flash – let’s say you’re dating a new love, and you have his or her birthdate from a Facebook page – check the Sabian degrees of his or her Jupiter and Saturn, and you will get quick insight into the major strength of their personality, and their most significant character flaw as well.

Let’s take a look at how this works. Each of the planets represents an important aspect of the personality in a Sabian Symbol context. Some of the planets are more useful than others, so let’s start there.

WHAT PLANETS CAN I SKIP?
I don’t use the Moon, because I’ve never been able to figure out what it means. Experienced readers who disagree on this should feel free to post a comment. The Moon’s placement is also tricky if you don’t have an accurate birth time (see below).

I also don’t look at Pluto or Neptune, because these are generational markers. Most people born in a given year share the same Pluto degree, and when everyone on earth partakes of the same Symbol, it becomes pretty worthless from an interpretive standpoint. The same is true for Neptune – everyone born in a given year will share one of two symbols, and few of us are exceptional enough to tap the unique energy of a symbol shared by so many others.

WHAT PLANET IS ONLY OCCASIONALLY RELEVANT?
I will look at Uranus for people who have been involved in spiritual communities of one form or another because experience tells me that the Sabian degree of Uranus is more relevant for these folks than it is for the average Joe. Uranus is a “higher level” planet relating to the collective, and many people access that “higher level” energy through spirituality, so those involved in spiritual collectives of many kinds may tap the Uranian energy of their age cohort. Dedicated members of churches, cults, covens, activist groups like PETA, or certain tight-knit political organizations with a spiritual or religious agenda should check this degree. Somebody who merely goes to church on Sunday or watches Glenn Beck on Fox News should skip it.

GREAT, SO WHAT PLANETS ARE LEFT, AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
Sun – Tells you something fundamental about the person. It may describe their profession, or their nature. This symbol may be a strength or a challenge, depending on other factors.

Mercury – Tells you something about their ability to communicate, or what they hope to communicate with others during their time in this incarnation.

Venus – Tells you something about this individual’s style of loving, or spotlights an issue that recurs for them repeatedly in intimate relationships.

Mars – Tells you something about motivation and drive, and what the person is working toward in this lifetime. Many people don’t express this symbol distinctly, because they are “working toward it” rather than firmly manifesting it.

Jupiter – Tells you something about what comes easiest for this person, their special gift or talent. All of the Sabian Symbols have a dual energy, which means their expression ranges from positive to negative, but Jupiter almost always leans towards a positive expression.

Saturn - Tells you something about this person’s lifelong weakness or highlights an area of particular challenge. This may be a character flaw, a catastrophic personal event, or occasionally, a problem with the way the individual is perceived by their peers or by the public. A few rare lucky people will actualize Saturn as a strength, but most of us must face up to the negative expression of this symbol.

***
One of the nice things about doing a Sabian profile is that the time of birth is relatively unimportant – this is another reason why I don’t use the degree of the Moon, which moves up to eight degrees a day. Unless you are very certain of the birth time, the degree of the Moon on a public figure or celebrity can be more confusing than it’s worth. Mercury also moves quickly enough so that it can change degrees depending on the time of day on a given birth date. If you aren’t certain of your subject’s birth time, you may need to try out a couple of degrees for Mercury, and find the best fit.

This astrological technique works even without a confirmed location of birth, which is important if your subject was born to nomads on a moving camel in the middle of the Sahara, or if his place of birth is called into question by naysayers looking for a technicality that could deny him the Presidency.

Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. His Sun is at 12 degrees Leo, and the relevant symbol is “An Evening Garden Party of Adults”. This symbol is his foundation symbol, since the Sun was on this degree at the time of his birth. “An Evening Garden Party” is all about networking, getting to meet new people, develop new ideas, and “bringing new depths to relationships and community”, according to Lynda Hill, one of my favorite Aussie astrologers. It so happens that Barack Obama started out as a “community organizer”, a term which means different things to people who support or oppose him politically, so this degree is a very close “fit” for who he was at the beginning of his career.

Lynda Hill puts an emphasis on progressing the Sun, which means looking at the degree that follows the birth symbol. Obama’s Sun progresses to Leo 13, “An Old Sea Captain Rocking on the Porch of His Cottage”. One of the keywords which Hill suggests for this symbol is memoirs. The old sea captain is looking back over his life, and figuring out how he fits into the big picture, perhaps by jotting down his memoirs. It is striking how literal a depiction this is of Obama, who first came to national public attention for publishing two memoirs that aimed to explain to people why a black man would seek the Presidency.

OBAMA’S MERCURY
Obama’s Mercury is Leo 2, “An Epidemic of Mumps”. This symbol talks about something racing through a population, or raging through a chain of friends, like an epidemic that is spreading farther and farther afield. Obama was able to harness the power of this symbol very shrewdly in terms of using the Internet during his campaign to further his “message”, or the ideas he wanted most to convey to his public. Obama was very lucky to get his Mercury on a Sabian degree associated with rapid-fire communication – the word-of-mouth on his books and his Internet presence are what cinched the Presidency, in large part.

OBAMA’S VENUS
His Venus is on 1 Cancer, “On a Ship Sailors Lower An Old Flag and Raise A New One”. This symbol talks about a changing of the guard. It talks about making really big changes in one’s personal life, and about taking a public stand about one’s change in loyalties (literally raising the flag and letting everyone know).
























My interpretation of the meaning is speculative – I am not privy to Obama’s private life. But I suspect this has something to do with leaving the white grandparents who raised him behind, and embracing a black identity in college and in law school, as well as his decision to marry an African-American woman.

OBAMA’S MARS
His Mars is on 22 Virgo, “A Royal Coat of Arms Enriched With Precious Stones”. This symbol is all about becoming a king, and joining the elite. Its about getting aristocratic status, an Ivy League education, and wealth no matter what your origins were. Although many of us don’t manage to access the full scope of power inherent in our Mars symbol, Obama did.

The downside to this symbol is class consciousness, elite school snobbery, and having “servants” who do everything. Interestingly, Obama’s wife, Michelle, has taken more public flak for this than the President has. Her own horoscope shows a very strong drive to become a member of the American black elite, but her Sabian profile shows greater challenges with handling the public’s perception of her ambition.

OBAMA’S JUPITER
His Jupiter is on 0 Aquarius, which is read as 30 Capricorn in Lynda Hill’s wonderful book, 360 Degrees of Wisdom. The symbol is “Directors of a Large Firm Meet in Secret Conference”.

This was the very first symbol that I checked for Obama when I was looking at his candidacy, and chills went through my spine when I saw it, because it is a fairly sinister symbol. This symbol is all about deliberately withholding information in order to maintain power by secrecy, and about the ability to make successful backroom deals.

It is a strong symbol for Obama, and we have seen it in action when it came to getting an extremely overdue health care package for the American people. Obama managed to “buy off” the AMA and the pharmaceutical bad boys, which left only the insurance industry as a huge obstacle. He also had the sense to move fast in his first term – witness the power of his Mercury degree in synergy with this degree. He will almost certainly use the power of this symbol to as much damage-control as he can on the upcoming Republican backlash to his policies.

OBAMA’S SATURN
His Saturn is on 25 Capricorn, “An Oriental Rug Dealer in a Store Filled With Precious Ornamental Rugs”. A rug merchant is a canny dealer, who always gets the best deal for himself. People can and do react negatively to the “used car salesman” quality of this symbol, but a rug merchant knows how to think on his feet. Republicans have felt the energy of Obama’s Saturn strongly – nearly every editorial about Obama in Republican newspapers I have read focuses on this theme.

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A FEW OTHER OBSERVATIONS ABOUT OBAMA’S PROFILE
His symbols are strongly grounded in material ambition – there are no overtly spiritual or otherworldly symbols in his profile, except perhaps for the final progressed symbol for his Sun, a symbol I did not address earlier. This final symbol is Leo 14, “Cherub-Like, A Human Soul Whispers Into Every Receptive Ear, Seeking to Manifest”. Obama will mesh strongly with the energy of this symbol as he grows older. Expect to see it once he has retired from the Presidency.

Obama’s symbols mesh well together. The foundation symbol of his
Sun, Leo 12, “An Evening Garden Party of Adults” is reinforced by the Jupiter symbol, Capricorn 30, “Directors of a Large Firm Meet in Secret Conference”. Both represent adroit communicators. These two symbols get a boost from a powerful third symbol with similar associations, his Mercury at Leo 2, “An Epidemic of Mumps”, effectively giving him a triple whammy, which likely confers an advantage in terms of professional success.

***

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH THE SABIAN SYMBOLS
If you don’t know the person well, but have a birth date, checking out the degrees of their Jupiter and Saturn can give you some quick, useful insight. Let’s say you have a passion for astrology, but start dating someone who has a Saturn symbol on Pisces 28, “A Fertile Garden Under a Full Moon”. This degree is all about New Age beliefs symbolized by the “Full Moon”. It can also refer to gardening, earth conservation, and vegetarianism symbolized by the “Garden”. Unless this person has a highly spiritual Jupiter symbol, he or she isn’t going to be such a great match, and if you see it quickly, it can help you to detach graciously.

Another thing I have noticed is that gender matters on the foundation symbol of the Sun, in some cases. If the symbol references a woman, for example, it will often affect women who have their natal Sun on this degree more strongly than it will affect men. A woman with her foundation symbol on 24 Capricorn, “A Woman Entering a Convent”, is going to be more introverted and more likely to withdraw from society than a man with a foundation symbol on the same degree.

When working with adolescents and young adults, keep in mind that the Sabian symbols for their Jupiter and Saturn may not be immediately apparent to you or to them, in some cases. These symbols become more obvious over time, and by the time a young person has reached his or her mid-twenties, you will usually be able to interpret the symbols in a personal context. In my experience, Saturn is the hardest to interpret for a young person, because Saturn is associated with age. With some children, though, all the symbols seem to show up early.

The foundation symbol of the Sun, and the degrees for Mercury and Venus will be apparent from the time the child is young, and adolescents normally relate well to interpretation of these degrees. The degree of the progressed Sun often does not show up until the native is in his or her mid-thirties, and the degree of the final progressed Sun typically only reveals itself in late middle-age.

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If this article has given you a better understanding of the Sabian Symbols and how they can be used to develop a natal profile, I would totally appreciate feedback in the form of your comments.

SOURCE
Lynda Hill.360 Degrees of Wisdom: Charting Your Destiny With the Sabian Oracle, Penguin Group, 2004.

The Real Meaning of Immortality

Ode to Immortality
William Wordsworth

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The soul that rises with us, our life’s star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God who is our home
Heaven lies about us in our infancy,
Shades of the prison-house begin to close

Upon the growing boy
But he beholds the light and whence it flows
He sees in its joy;
The youth, who daily farther from the east
Must travel, still is Nature's priest
And by the vision splendid
Is on his way attended;
At length the man perceives it die away,
And fade into the common light of day.


Whether or not Wordsworth intended it, this poem lends itself to astrological interpretation. It seems to suggest that fate is determined in the 12th house, also known as the prison-house, before birth. That house closes in early childhood, but an imaginative child may still perceive it. The youth who travels “daily farther from the east” suggests a progression away from the Ascendant, which is established at birth, and sets fate into motion. The “vision splendid” is the promise of early adulthood that is delineated in a western horoscope, and also in the Vedic rasi and navamsa, or marriage chart. The idea that many people have lived out much of the fate by the onset of middle age (early forties) is expressed in the two final lines – at length, the events dictated by fate are used up as a less predetermined energy, or “common light” influenced by the karma of actions in this life, becomes more important.

Wedding Dates Made Simple - No Astrology Smarts Necessary!

Try choosing a wedding date astrologically, and you quickly find out how convoluted and variable-ridden astrology can be. You’re supposed to consider the Moon’s position, and maybe you should be checking transits on your composite chart, or an evil eclipse may spike its heel in an otherwise perfect date. Love and marriage is supposed to go together like a horse and carriage, you might be thinking, so what is all this?

Or you could just throw out everything you’ve ever read or heard about finding the “right” date, and get the most accessible book on Sabian symbols, which is probably Lynda Hill’s 360 Degrees of Wisdom. Pick a date that feels right to you, and enter that date onto any free Internet website (try typing “free birth chart” in Google) to get the degree of the Sun for that date. Then look at the Sabian symbol for that degree. If it feels like this symbol embodies everything leading up to your marriage, this is the right date.

Don’t shy away from a date with a Sabian symbol that appears negative at first glance. Be honest with yourselves – this may accurately describe the background events in the air during the months preceding your wedding. At least one partner should have an “a-ha” moment with regard to the symbol, and it will frequently resonate for both of you. Voila! The simplest and easiest way to pick a wedding date.

Then take a look at the following two degrees – this represents events or qualities that will take shape in the month or months after the wedding. Here you can pick and choose a little, for some futures will undoubtedly seem more attractive than others, but you should still select a foundation date that matches your circumstances most closely. The point of getting married is to be true to yourselves. On occasion, the subsequent degrees may carry some obvious hints for the correct foundation degree. If the second image is describing the Tulieries Garden, and you have already planned a honeymoon in Paris, pay attention.

Here are a couple of true-life examples to get you started. One of my friends selected a wedding date that corresponded with Gemini 6. As soon as I read her the Sabian symbol and interpreted the “fit”, she recognized her own situation instantly. Gemini 6 (Workmen Drilling For Oil) is about the drive to plumb the depths in order to come up with a reward. All of the Sabian symbols have dual energy, something that is also true of planets, asteroids, numbers, you name it. The dark side of this symbol is immediately obvious. It speaks of gold-digging, and making a fortune through the resources of others. She was marrying a wealthy older man. In the months leading up to the wedding, it didn’t matter how the couple perceived themselves. The point was that so many people around her perceived the gold-digging appearance of her marriage.

But the subsequent degrees held out a lot of hope. The next image, Gemini 7 (An Old-Fashioned Well with the Purest and Coldest of Waters) speaks of drawing on deep and sustaining resources, and links to the past. It infers an old-fashioned marriage that both partners might see as a refreshing oasis - a tall, cool glass of something rejuvenating. The last image, Gemini 8 (Strikers Surrounding A Factory), suggests what they would learn from the marriage - negotiation and plenty of give-and-take.

And this is, in fact, what happened. They’re both strong communicators who take turns being a “striker” or being “management”, shoring up wisdom as they seek common ground. Now this friend offers ME relationship advice.

Sometimes the Sabian symbols will be more apparent to a couple’s friends or family, even if the couple doesn’t perceive the “fit”. Married folks who are reading this article and looking up their date only to think, “This sure wasn’t us,” ought to get a second opinion from the “mom-law” or close friend. In my own experience, one former friend who was getting married had Sagittarius 22 (A Chinese Laundry) as the next symbol after her foundation symbol. Sure enough, she cleaned house and cleared out all her friends who weren’t “good enough” once she was married, a tactic that hurt her former Musketeers more than she would ever know or care.

If you’re picking a date, keep in mind that it is rare to find three consecutive Sabian images whose positive connotations will seem immediately apparent. If two of them seem positive and relevant, that’s a good sign. The last one may be a little secret for after the wedding (why get married if there are no surprises?). Also remember that you will likely deal with the positives and negatives of all three symbols. Life is like that. It’s why the traditional marriage vow is “for better or for worse”.