Jaguar Magicians: Mayan Day-Counters...Part One

In case anyone is curious, this is my day-sign, known as "Cauac" or Rain nagual. This is my "heart" nagual, associated with the day of my birth.




QUALITIES OF "CAUAC" OR RAIN NAGUAL

•Youthful personality, very likely involved with teaching or healing in some way. Rain is more inclined to imitate than to innovate, which is why many of its natives become teachers or instructors.

•Acts like a child even as an adult. Restless mind – constantly needs exercise in some way. Compassionate personality – acquired through a lot of personal hardship and pain. Rain is considered an unfortunate nagual for this reason. It was also feared in traditional Mayan culture because it was said to be a time when sorcerers were born and demons came to earth.

WHAT'S THE UPCOMING ARTICLE ABOUT?

There's a new article in the works on Mayan astrology, and I'm hoping to have it up by early July, depending on my work schedule, and a lot of other daily, ongoing annoyances=]

Mayan astrology is a quirky blend of both astrology and numerology, in my opinion. This article will only briefly touch on the numerology, and focus instead on personality delineation associated with natal astrology.

Mayan astrology has a wonderfully detailed system of "naguals", or day-signs, that describe personality, and an interesting system for describing the qualities of a subject's mind, and the personality that one grows into as one ages. Mayan astrology is one of those fascinating areas outside the mainstream that often gets ignored (and it always surprises me how many people have never heard of it at all), so I think it is an excellent topic for a blog dedicated to alternative, under-appreciated areas of astrology.

"Mayan" astrology is also a blend of Mayan and Aztec astrological traditions. Both systems are fragmented, and probably represent a fraction of what was originally practiced by traditional day-counters, or astrologers. The naguals available to us today have been reinterpreted by astrologers who practice in a modern context. There is a lot of debate among practitioners among which of the competing traditions is most valid - getting too caught up in this is counter-productive, in my opinion.

This article is not going to be an introduction to Mayan astrology - that is beyond the scope of this blog. Rather, it will focus on my observations on how to actually use the system - some parts of the system are more applicable than others for quick, at-a-glance insight, particularly if one is not a practicing Mayan astrologer or researcher and does not have extensive knowledge of Mayan mythology.

For this reason, I am going to put the sources up front in this "teaser" article, in hopes that readers will do some reading up on the basics before they jump into the upcoming main article.

The first thing that most readers will want to do is to find out their day-sign. Bruce Scofield has a free report available on his website that everyone should check out. Folks born after 8:00 pm at night should use the next day as their birthdate - trust me on this! Folks born between 7:00 and 8:00 pm should try out the nagual of their birth date, and the one for the following day, and pick the one with the closest fit. Other than this, Mayan astrology is not dependent on birth time.

SOURCES
www.onereed.com

Click on "Mayan-Aztec Report" located on the top banner across the home page, and then click on "Order Maya-Aztec Astro-Report". Choose the option of a "Free Sample Report" or a "Full Report for $14.95"

Scofield, Bruce & Orr, Barry C.How To Practice Mayan Astrology: The Tzolkin Calendar and Your Life Path,Bear & Company; First Edition, 2006.

This book is highly recommended. It will teach you a lot about the Mayan naguals, in a far more thorough fashion than I can do in this article. Also, anyone wishing to understand why the Mayan calendar did not predict a new era beginning in 2012 (a popular New Age belief) should definitely take a careful look at this book. In fact, Scofield and Orr argue that the tradition points to a culminating period of tremendous change occuring between 2012 and 2032.

Maransky, Bob.Barack Obama's Mayan Horoscope, The Mountain Astrologer Magazine, February/March 2010.

This article explains how naguals corresponding with body parts such as the heart, feet, and head are used to develop a full profile for each native, using Barack Obama as an example. Wonderful example of what is likely to be a significant Aztec innovation to Mayan astrology.

Neptune, the 12th House, and Pisces by Maurice Fernandez

There is a discussion on Neptune, the 12th House, and Pisces by Maurice Fernandez going on over at the forum at astro.com that folks may be interested in.

Click on Neptune, the 12th House, and Pisces

Fernandez presents an interesting alternative that Neptune is related to career placement - an idea I was fascinated with. His book isn't that easy to read, but it may reward the persistent reader with a whole new way to look at Neptune. Summaries of Neptune in the various houses are included in this thread, as well as samples from my files which suggest that natal Neptunes definitely do influence career preferences.

BTW: I go by the name of "Evescaduceus" on this forum, or just plain "Eve". I love hearing from my readers (I almost always learn something from all of you), so say hello.

SOURCE: Fernandez, Maurice. Neptune, the 12th House, and Pisces, Trafford Publishing, 2006.

Genesis 49: Jacob "Blesses" His Sons

Esau embraces his brother Jacob while Jacob's wives and young sons watch their unexpected rendez-vous.





THE ZODIAC AND THE SONS OF JACOB
Were the Twelve Tribes of Israel evenly distributed among the twelve signs of the Zodiac? Lore outside of the Bible suggests that Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, may have interacted with or even lived near the Chaldeans for a period of time. The Chaldeans were said to be a small tribe known for ancient astrological wisdom. Theoretically, Abraham and his immediate descendents could have had some exposure to Chaldean methods, and at least one chapter in Genesis gives clear hints of this(although the evidence is fragmentary).

GENESIS 49 JACOB BLESSES HIS SONS
The title is significant. Jacob isn’t “blessing” his sons so much as prophesying the future of their descendents, but prophesy was often described as “blessing” when an important Biblical figure like Jacob engaged in it. Some of Jacob’s “blessings” are downright negative and seem more like judgments or curses. More than half the “blessings” strongly suggest that Jacob used astrological archetypes to describe his sons and, in some cases, their descendents. Some of the blessings are ambiguous, however, and a couple of them don’t seem to have much to do with a recognizable western astrology. But taken together, his “blessings” form one of the most enigmatic and intriguing chapters in the Book of Genesis.

Even more irony is attached to the title when one considers that a younger Jacob wrestled earlier with the Angel and would not give up until the Angel had given Jacob his blessing. The back story is that Jacob had treated his brother Esau in a wretched manner, and was now afraid of him, so he needed the Angel’s blessing. When it becomes his own turn to confer blessings upon his sons as an old man, Jacob appears to forget that some of his sons may also feel a strong need for his blessing.

(Interestingly, there is a parallel tradition of double-tongued “blessings” in Islam. The Prophet Muhammad was said to have offered the blessings of Paradise to many of his key associates before major battles, and they knew that this meant Muhammad had already accurately anticipated their imminent death and martyrdom.)

EXAMINING JACOB’S BLESSINGS, SON BY SON, STARTING WITH HIS FIRSTBORN, REUBEN
Jacob calls his sons to him, saying. “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.” He starts with his oldest son, Reuben.

Unfortunately, Jacob is still furious with him because Reuben intruded on his sexual privacy, and his “blessing” turns into a curse which focuses sorely on an incident that occurred many years before.

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
Turbulent as the water(indecisive), you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it. –Gen 49:3

There is a very slight suggestion of an Aries/Libra polarity in this description. As I see it, “the first sign of my strength” points to Aries, and “turbulent as the water” suggests Libran indecisiveness. It is not much to go on, and it doesn’t associate Reuben with a specific zodiac sign.

However, when viewed alongside descriptions of his other sons that do seem to delineate particular signs, this verse does seem to possess an astrological core. It is almost as if Jacob is trying to figure out where Reuben’s nativity lies in the zodiac, as he pronounces his “best guess”.

DOUBLE TROUBLE – SIMON AND LEVI, JACOB’S MOST EVIL SONS
Jacob curses his next two sons, Simon and Levi, in no uncertain terms. Simeon and Levi were the children of Leah, and they killed all the males of Shechem, because their sister Dinah had unmarried sex with a man known only as “Shechem” after falling in love with him. Their revenge was totally outside the bounds of what was considered normal in this culture, and the impression is that Simeon and Levi were sociopaths.

Their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger…cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. -Gen 49:5

In the verse above, note that Jacob describes his territory by his own name “Jacob” and also by the name “Israel”. Joseph’s name was changed to Israel when he wrestled with the divine visitor at Peniel.

In this painting by Paul Gauguin, Jacob wrestles the angel while pretty girls watch.



There is little obvious astrology in this verse, but to some observers, there is still a “shadow” of Gemini lurking beneath Jacob’s depiction. He describes them as brothers (sharing the traits of brutality, anger, and cruelty). He doesn’t do this for any of his other sons, even though four of them were full brothers of this pair. Modern astrologers have also described Gemini as capable of great cruelty. Once again, this isn’t much to go on. Here, the reader who seeks a one-on-one association between the sons and the zodiac signs is deconstructing some very slim clues.

We do know that the people of Levi were not included among the tribes given land allotments following the conquest of Canaan. Moses designated the Levites apart for priestly duty as belonging to the Lord (Nu 3:1-4, 49). Joshua awarded them 48 towns scattered throughout Israel (Jos 21: 1-45)

THE LION OF JUDAH
Jacob’s blessings are mostly short and to the point. He gives only two of his sons a somewhat lengthier blessing, Judah and Joseph, both of whom are fire signs and natural leaders. With Judah’s blessing, the reader doesn’t have to “stretch” very far to see that Jacob is talking about a Leo.

You are a lion’s cub, O Judah, you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse him? -Gen 49:9

Jacob describes his lion son as a predator, and also at rest. In modern astrology, Leo is described by the core attributes of the Sun, which both rises and sets. The rising sun is said to be active and life-giving, while the setting sun is thought to recuperate its energy “offstage” in preparation for a time when it will once again hopefully be the center of attention (see Endnote). The lion and the sun share this quality of vibrant activity alternating with quiet withdrawal.

***
The next line in this verse simultaneously describes Judah and his descendents, and is widely considered to be one of the most controversial statements in the entire Old Testament.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff, until Shiloh comes, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. -Gen 49:10

The scepter and the ruler’s staff are the symbols of kingship. Jesus will be descended from the lineage of Judah, and this is what all Christians are intended to recall when they read this prediction of Jacob’s.

Shiloh is a shadowy figure in the Old Testament, and there is probably good reason for this. Shiloh as a place-name is described several times in later books of the Old Testament. As with other place-names in the Old Testament, the name is often intended to refer to both a place and a person.

There is more than one translation of this verse, since the Old Testament available to us today has been transcribed across many languages.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, unto whom tribute belongs. -Gen 49:10

So who was Shiloh? Was it Jesus, the distant descendant of Judah? Or could Joseph have been predicting a later prophet and law-giver to whom the Jews would (and did) actually have to pay tribute to, in other words, the prophet Muhammed? Shiloh is not synonymous with the territory that the Prophet Muhammad emerges from. Nor was Muhammad descended from Judah, but rather from his great-uncle, Ishmael. Nevertheless, the parsing of this spare description about the nearly invisible and forgotten Shiloh has given rise to more speculation in modern times than any of Jacob’s other blessings.

ZEBULON WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY A CANCER OR A PISCES
Zebulon is described very suggestively as a water sign in a single line of verse.

Zebulon will live by the seashore, and become a haven for ships. -Gen 49:13

Pisces is clearly symbolized by the sea and ships, but Alan Oken leans toward the association with Cancer because Jacob’s use of the word “haven” also describes a nurturing man who protects his descendents. (Jacob blesses his sons as an old man, and it is presumed that all of his sons were adults who very likely had sons of their own.) Moon-ruled Cancer is also associated with the sea, and the descendents of Zebulon were close enough to the Mediterranean to “feast on the abundance of the seas”. Dt 33:19

ISSACHAR IS ANYBODY’S GUESS…
Jacob bluntly tells poor Issachar that his descendents will end up as slaves because he is so lazy!

Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. -Gen49:14-15

Issachar was probably born under a Saturn-ruled sign (sigh), but the description of his brother Naphtali fits Capricorn more closely. The more critical Jacob is of his sons, the less obvious is any evidence of his astrological judgment regarding them. In my opinion, Issachar is anybody’s guess…

DAN THE JUDGE
Jacob sums up his son Dan with praise, but the two verses suggest two different signs (Could Dan’s nativity have been on the cusp?)

Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Gen 49:16

In the line above, Dan personifies the highest manifestation of justice-loving Libra. If I had to bet, I’d wager that Jacob is telling us Dan’s sign in the first verse. Yet the following verse has strong Scorpio overtones.

Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horses heels, so that its rider tumbles backwards. -Gen 49:17

The verse above is a prediction for a celebrated hero destined to be born in Dan’s lineage. Samson, from the tribe of Dan, would single-handedly keep the Philistines at bay. Simultaneously, the serpent imagery is strongly suggestive of Scorpio, although another one of Jacob’s sons will fit the Scorpio archetype more closely, as we shall see.

FOR GAD, “A TROOP COMETH”
Alan Oken is spot-on about Jacob’s description of Gad as a Scorpio. Oken points out that when Gad was born, Leah cried out, “A troop cometh”. (Mars was the classical ruler of Scorpio.) When Jacob was an old man, he said of Gad:

“A troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last.” Gen 49:19 (An allusion to the great recuperative powers of this sign, usually associated with the modern ruler, Pluto.)

ASHER TURNS GRAIN INTO FOOD FIT FOR A KING
There couldn’t be a more generous description of Virgo, and we suspect that Jacob must have really cherished his son Asher.

Asher’s bread will be fat; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. Gen49:20

THE MYSTERIOUS NAPHTALI
Jacob’s praise of Naphtali comes down to us in at least two very different versions. The first translation is one that I associate strongly with Capricorn, being one myself.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth good words.” -Gen 49:21

(In other words, Capricorn can be fucking nuts and not especially chaste, but he may make a good writer.)
Naphtali depicted as a goat in The Tribe of Naphtali, from the Twelve Maquettes of Stained Glass Windows for Jerusalem (1964) by Marc Chagall.



Think of Capricorn, and one thinks of the Greek god Pan. Pan had a body with a lower half like a goat, plus he was wild and erotic, like a “hind let loose”. Capricorn is also known for its dry, understated humor, and Jacob expresses this idea with understated praise, “he giveth good words”.

Overtones of Saturn are admittedly more characteristic of Jacob’s description of his slave son, Iccashar. Capricorn is not an easy zodiac sign to live under. Yet with Naphtali, we see the fun-loving, sly-tongued reaction to living under all these Saturnine obstacles.

A very different translation of this brief verse is more enigmatic:

Naphtali is a graceful doe that gives birth to beautiful fawns. -Gen49:21

In this interpretation, Jacob appears more focused on predicting a handsome tribe of descendents for Naphtali. Interestingly, there is a Vedic asterism called Mrigashira that is symbolized by a deer, and those born under this cluster of stars are also said to be very clever with words. There is no evidence that Jacob would have had any knowledge of Vedic astrology, even from sources of lore outside the Bible, but I did find it fascinating that Jacob’s carefully chosen words of praise could possibly be interpreted in a Vedic context.

JOSEPH THE HERO
Jacob’s son Joseph became prime minister and lawgiver to the Egyptian pharaoh.
This is James Patterson's painting of Joseph and his Coat of Many Colors.

Jacob gives Joseph one of the lengthier blessings, and as with most of his other ones, it combines astrological imagery with a prediction for Joseph’s descendents.

Joseph is a fruitful bough (bow) by a well, whose branches run over the wall (an allusion to the limitless expanse of the Sagittarian mind). The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the mighty God. -Gen 49:22-24

The bow as a symbol of the Sagittarian archer is pretty hard to miss. Joseph is also “fruitful” and his “branches run over the wall” – his numerous descendents are everywhere in Israel. Joseph is described as king-like, a strong bow “made strong by the mighty God”, which fits the Sagittarian archetype very well.

BENJAMIN, THE “SON OF MY SORROW”
The final blessing for Jacob’s youngest son, Benjamin, is more than a little intriging. The blessing is ominous, and does not use an image from recognizable western astrology.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder. -Gen 49:27

What is known about Benjamin is that his mother Rachel died soon after giving birth, and knowing that she would die of his delivery, she gave him the name “Benoni”, which means “son of my sorrow”.

When Jacob predicts the future of his lineage as an old man, he is referring to a series of horrible incidents involving his descendents (the Benjamites). Most of them were slaughtered by the Israelites after an incident where they were responsible for raping a Levite’s concubine to death in Judges 19. In retaliation, the Israelites (mostly descendents of Judah) kill almost all of the Benjamite men, women, and children, with the exception of an unspecified number of men and four hundred young girls who had never slept with a man. These girls were given to the remaining Benjamite men, so that the tribe could be “reseeded”.

Apparently, there are still not enough women left to propagate a new tribe, and it is decided that the remaining Benjamite survivors must have heirs, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. The Israelites couldn’t give them their own daughters as wives because they had already taken an oath to the Lord to abstain from doing so. So they instructed the Benjamites to hide in the vineyards of Shiloh, and seize the girls who came out to join in the dancing.

Western astrology doesn’t speak to this image, but the wolf seems cursed, and it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to call him demonic. For some reason, it brought to mind the demon-like qualities of Vedic Rahu, who is said to be a forest-dweller, among other attributes. The day that I wrote this article, I was looking over my notes on Norse runes. The tradition of Norse runes extends far back into the past, although it is impossible to know if it was ever contemporary with the events of the Old Testament. Nonetheless, I was more than a little surprised to find this Norwegian rune fragment for Fehu (note the linguistic similarity with Rahu).

Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.


SOURCES
Oken, Alan. Alan Oken’s Complete Astrology: The Classic Guide to Modern Astrology, Nicolas Hays, Inc., 2006. (Much of this book was originally published as three separate titles in the 1970’s.)

Lings, Martin. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, Inner Traditions; Revised edition, 2006. Originally published 1983. (The new edition of this classic title was approved by the author in 2005 before his death at the age of ninety-six.)

The blessings are quoted from various translations of the Bible. Some of these versions are far more amenable to astrological interpretation than others.

ENDNOTE
1 For an excellent article on Leo in its alternating phases of activity and withdrawn repose, see “The Offstage Leo” by Moll Frothingham in the Dec 2009/Jan 2010 issue of TMA.

Astrology in the Old Testament

There is a new article in the works about the zodiac signs and the sons of Jacob. I hope to have it up in another week or so. I'm working two jobs besides writing here from time to time, so ideas for articles don't bubble up to the surface quite as rapidly as I hoped, and they don't magically take shape in neatly edited articles either (darn them!). But I think that anyone who has ever been interested in astrology as it was briefly recorded in the Bible will be interested in this upcoming essay. Thanks to everyone for their patience.

-Sunny Dawn

Good Idea Not Forgotten: Social Vampires and Black Holes

Artist's rendition of a black hole.


Every once in a while, I come across an astrological theory or concept that is worthwhile, but is in danger of being forgotten. It could be because the author is obscure, or because the idea wasn’t packaged properly, so the astrology community never became aware of it. When I find an astrological technique that I know is worth a second look, I am going to include it in a series called “Good Idea Not Forgotten”. “Social Vampires and Black Holes” is the second article in this series.

VAMPIRES IN THE BIRTH CHART? COULDN’T YOU SPARE US UNTIL HALLOWEEN?

I love the wild “trickiness” of this theory – even though I know there are folks out there who will not find this an application of astrology worth embracing. Take it too literally, and the vampire phenomenon looks like a bunch of human leeches that are looking for attention. Look beneath the obvious, however, and a connection between black holes and a particular type of personality begins to seem possible. The possibility of this teases and “fools” you. Publishing on April Fool’s Day seemed appropriate.

SOCIAL VAMPIRES AND BLACK HOLES? SOUNDS VERY FAR OUT. JUST HOW WEIRD IS THIS GOING TO BE?

The idea, and the book that it was published in, is about the farthest thing you can get from “mainstream astrology”. The book is The Ethical Psychic Vampire, by Raven Kaldera, and the section of particular interest is, “Chapter 12: The Astrological Vampire” You won’t find this author, or his book, reviewed by The Mountain Astrologer magazine.

Yet the premise is fascinating. Kaldera theorized that those who are adept at “sucking” energy from others and then “recycling” it into their own endeavors, or possibly for the benefit of others, may have personal and generational planets that are tightly conjunct black holes.

The idea goes beyond the psychological concept of co-dependency, a common phenomenon. Vampires are co-dependents, but a more potent variety. They are, in fact, a pretty rare breed, according to the author and his peers. After comparing the data against every chart that I follow, I only came up with one individual who had four natal planets tightly conjunct black holes. Because the data set is so specific (see the table below), and the applicable orbs are so narrow, most of us don’t fall into these categories. Also, the effect appears to be cumulative – the subject with four planets tightly conjunct black holes is far more likely to manifest this vampire power than someone who merely has a Sun or Ascendant tightly conjunct a black hole.

FULL DISCLOSURE ON THE AUTHOR

Raven Kaldera is a female-to-male (FTM) trans-gendered activist, shaman, and author who is also considered a spiritual founder of the Northern Tradition, an unorthodox offshoot of Norse paganism, or Asatru, which is itself considered a highly alternative religious practice in the United States.

Raven Kaldera is in a consensual master-slave relationship with FTM Joshua Tenpenny, a Buddhist who does a tremendous amount of behind-the-scenes work at Cauldron Farm, the homestead and spiritual center of the Northern Tradition.I mention this fact up front because it always seems to become an object of trepidation, disgust, or dissension among those who have a hard time distinguishing an author’s personal practices from his ideas.

I met Joshua at a workshop that I attended with Raven at Free Spirit Alliance in Maryland, and I can tell you that he is a caring, dedicated, very hardworking individual. People are immediately drawn to him. Without his prodigious effort, I am certain that Cauldron Farm and the Northern Tradition would not be as productive or influential as it is in the pagan community.

Kaldera is also married to male-to-female (MTF) Bella, whom I have not met, because she is less likely to travel to workshops or large pagan events.

Kaldera hasn’t written much on astrological theory. He has written an application book for pagans who want to incorporate astrology in their devotional practice, but the main focus of his output is on the gods and goddesses of the Northern Tradition. He made a tremendous wealth of material available to anyone in the Archives of his website www.cauldronfarm.com.

Scroll down to the bottom of the main page on the website to find the link for the Archives.

It was here that I first became acquainted with Raven and his work. His website served as the inspiration for this blog. After seeing how much material Kaldera made free to anyone who was interested, I decided that I needed to attempt something like this for the astrological community.

While this article is devoted to Kaldera’s theory on vampires and black holes, he is particularly proud of his theory that tight aspects between personal planets and the asteroid Pallas Athene are a signature of the trans-gendered. You may want to poke around on his website to see if you can locate it there. I didn't have any luck last time I perused the Archives, but I know its in there somewhere.

FULL DISCLOSURE ON THE BOOK

Much of The Ethical Psychic Vampire has nothing to do with astrology. The vampire phenomenon was very much in vogue five years ago with the publication of Michelle Bellanger’s Vampire Codex series, but self-identification as a vampire did not catch on heavily in the pagan community (which may be for the best). Raven Kaldera published a more intimate “insider view” of this phenomenon in Ethical Psychic Vampire, introducing some readers to an exotic, unfamiliar, and frightening world. Parts of it are very graphic, and leave the reader with the feeling of needing to come up for air. Here’s a sample passage:

Don’t drink a lot of blood. First of all, you shouldn’t be taking that much anyway. Second, blood is very rich and tends to curdle in the stomach. If you drink more than, say, an ounce, you may well get sick and throw up, which isn’t going to make your donor very happy, or you for that matter. Human blood passes through the body undigested. No, you won’t get nutrients from it like you would [from] animal blood. Your body is designed like that, so that you won’t digest yourself in the case of a peritoneal leak. The blood may show up in your fecal matter later as a dark color, so be warned.
-“Chapter Seven: The Blood is the Life”, Ethical Psychic Vampire, p 91.

Clearly, the author knows how to cultivate shock value, and seems to enjoy it. The motto which serves as a tagline on the back jacket of many of his books is, ‘Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.

WHY IS THIS BOOK RELEVANT TO ASTROLOGERS?

The majority of this book has to do with blood-drinking and non blood-drinking vampire practice, the difference between primary and secondary vampires (primary vampires are born that way, and secondary ones are “made”), and the link between vampires and shamanic practitioners. There are some fascinating ideas here, even if one is not inclined to take them all literally.

From my perspective, it is possible to engage this book on both a literal and a metaphorical level. You could pursue the literal route, if drinking other people’s blood is your thing. It isn’t mine. Or you could examine people who feed off the energy of others in less dramatic ways - what I would call “social vampires”. Are storm-chasers a form of vampires? What makes a vampire different from anyone else who is skilled at psychic perception and energy work? What makes a vampire more of a nuisance than a mere co-dependent? What does one do with the vampire child, otherwise known as the “psi-vamp” kid? (Parents will find a cleverly titled chapter, “The Family Vampire: Bringing Up the Next Generation”.) Kaldera attempts to answer most of these questions.

You could engage with this world-view as the author’s delusion, which it might well be, and still come away with some thought-provoking ideas. In particular, I was looking for something that would validate the vampire experience unrelated to the self-reported perceptions of the participants engaged in the vampire sub-culture.

What I came up with was the astrological data, and the perspective it afforded me. While it isn’t appropriate data for a scientist who is solely limited to an empirical framework (and who doesn’t take much stock in vampires), it was a highly original viewpoint from an author who believes an empirical mindset can be applied to astrology, and creatively used it to come up with an explanation for the “born” vampire, or possibly as an explanation for the talent of a secondary vampire. I liked the idea enough to want to give it a second viewing, since I have a feeling that The Ethical Psychic Vampire did not make it on to the bookshelves of a lot of practicing astrologers.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “VAMPIRE”? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT NORMAL FOLKS CAN RELATE TO AT ALL?

Black hole energy does seem to be present in certain people. Frequently, they are people that others are drawn to without understanding why. They are very likely to be leaders of their social circles. People with the power of black holes do seem to get energy from those around them. Often they have a small “orbit” of dedicated friends who seem to hover on their edges – the same way that some objects will orbit a black hole for a long time before finally being overcome by the awesome gravitational force.

Substitute the word “vampire” for the expression “black hole energy”. Friends of such an individual don’t report feeling drained by the vampire; most seem to benefit from his or her company. Friends of the vampire may only feel the black hole energy when they fall out of friendship (or love) with the vampire, and start to resist his or her orbit. Black holes are said to be very hard to detect in the visible universe. People with black hole energy can be subtle customers, too.

When it manifests negatively, people with “black hole energy” are very likely to be at the center of cults. Since many people have difficulty perceiving the nature of this energy in a group leader, there tends to be a very “fine line” between an insular spiritual community and a true cult. Those who feel victimized by a tightly-knit spiritual group are often the first to defend its leader by saying that it is not a cult. Most of the time, they are right. Yet it may still “look and feel” a little bit like a cult to the victim, particularly if leaving is traumatic.

THE SHORTEST CHAPTER IN THE BOOK, “THE ASTROLOGICAL VAMPIRE”

It is almost as if the chapter was a bit of an afterthought. Kaldera sketches his impressions, and it only takes him four slim pages to do it.

Born vampires have a strongly aspected Pluto. He doesn’t elaborate, so I will. If Pluto is the most heavily aspected planet in your horoscope, you may not be a “born” vampire, but perhaps some milder vampire tendencies are a part of your personality.

A well-aspected Saturn is a boon to vampires – it gives them the discipline to stay ethical. Kaldera has a way of expressing wisdom unrelated to the topic at hand, and he does it here when he writes, “It is not uncommon for Saturn to deliver someone into Pluto’s hands.” Any observer of the current Pluto-in-Capricorn era will be aware of the pithy wisdom behind this observation.

By contrast, Neptune is the nemesis of an ethical vampire because it doesn’t like to respect boundaries. A vampire with a Saturn that has not caught up with his or her Neptune needs to be warded off with garlic, to say the least!

He then takes a look at black holes, and mentions that Philip Sedgwick is one of the few mainstream astrologers who emphasize their meaning in chart interpretation, although he does it “with such variable concepts as time travel, karmic flashbacks, and higher wisdom”.

Finally, he explains his theory that planetary conjunction with black holes in a natal chart infuse the subject with a large dose of black hole energy. This allows the native to personify the magnetic or terrible energy of a black hole, usually with regard to people he or she knows intimately, but sometimes on a wider scale. Those conscious of the power may develop it ethically by using healing modalities that encourage them to recycle it to the “donor” for his or her benefit.

He includes personal data, his own and his daughter’s. “I have three of the sixteen possible black holes in a cluster within a couple of degrees of my Sun, and one directly on my ascendant; my daughter has black holes conjunct her Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Uranus”, he writes.

Among all of the folks whose charts I follow, there was one person with his Mercury, Venus, Neptune, and Pluto tightly conjunct black holes. Like Raven Kaldera, he is the leader of a small spiritual community.

TABLE OF BLACK HOLE POSITIONS

1950 1980 2000
Cygnus X-1 12 Aquarius 56 13 Aquarius 21 13 Aquarius 38
Cas A 26 Aries 42 27 Aries 07 27 Aries 24
Virga A 1 Libra 05 1 Libra 30 1 Libra 47
M-82 28 Can 17 28 Can 42 28 Can 59
Vela XR-1 2 Leo 43 3 Leo 08 3 Leo 25
3UO900-40 6 Virgo 22 6 Virgo 47 7 Virgo 09
Cen 3-X 28 Libra 31 28 Libra 56 29 Libra 13
Cen-A 6 Sco 56 7 Sco 21 7 Sco 38
Circinius X-1 3 Sag 25 3 Sag 50 4 Sag 12
Hercules X-1 4 Sag 11 4 Sag 36 4 Sag 53
Sco X-1 5 Sag 09 5 Sag 34 5 Sag 51
3U1700-37 17 Sag 52 18 Sag 17 18 Sag 34
GX339-4 18 Sag 53 19 Sag 18 19 Sag 35
SGR X-4 4 Cap 26 4 Cap 51 5 Cap 08
SMC X-1 11 Aqu 39 12 Aqu 04 12 Aqu 31
Cygnus X-3 27 Aqu 53 28 Aqu 18 28 Aqu 35

MY NOTES: Note the “Black Hole Belt” in Sagittarius. People with focal planets in Sagittarius should check to see if those planets are conjunct a black hole. This “Black Hole Heaven” is associated with very specific range of degrees – Sagittarius 3 through Sagittarius 6, and Sagittarius 17 through Sagittarius 19. By contrast, no black holes of note in Taurus, Gemini, or Pisces, apparently.

Black holes are like fixed stars. I usually use an orb of one degree with fixed stars. At first, the skeptic in me only wanted to allow a one-half to three-quarter degree orb. Then I flip-flopped, and decided to use a one degree orb. Despite this, my sample size remains miniscule, because almost everyone gets excluded. Others who have come to their own conclusions after comparing this data against the horoscopes of those they know well should feel free to comment on my method.

Note the red pointer on the constellation of Scorpio, where a series of malefic fixed stars known as the Via Dolorosa is located. If Kaldera and Philip Sedgwick are correct, there is a cluster of power-suckers right next door in Sagittarius. Of course, black holes are located throughout the constellations - those in the table above are probably a fraction of what is actually out there. But it does seem to imply some sinister powers for some of the Sagittarian people we know - they may have more personality traits in common with Scorpios than we once realized.


SOURCE
Kaldera, Raven. The Ethical Psychic Vampire, Xlibris Corporation, 2005.

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.

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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.