Looking for an Answer

Most of the articles at Altair Astrology seem to be of a purely theoretical nature. But the practical side is also important. Both compliment the other. In this article I would like to present you with the opportunity to hone down your astrological skills with the aid of a horary chart.

The question was:
“Is my daughter pregnant?”

Now for the “traditional” astrologer the answer is immediately clear. Take a few moments and look at this chart, before reading on.

If the answer isn’t obvious to you then you might have to ask yourself a few questions on how you do astrology.

• Did you examine all of the planets?
• Did you look at all of the aspects they make to each other?
• Did you wonder what the querant’s relationship to his/her daughter is and what the motivation for the question was?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then it can safely be said that you are unaware of what a “traditional” approach to a horary chart is. You see one of the major stumbling blocks in understanding traditional astrology is that most people who begin to seriously look at astrology begin with natal astrology. This is very much in accord with the modern western interest in the individual personality. This can also become a problem for those who have had more exposure to traditional astrology, because they have already developed a few habits that are very hard to get rid of. One of these is bringing a, shall we call it, natal approach to a horary chart.

First of all there is only one planet in this chart that interests us and that is Jupiter. Although the Moon is often important in a horary chart, because it shows the development of a situation, it is not important here. The question is one of condition and not one about a developing situation as such. The semantics of a question are very important. It is often a temptation to read more into a question, which is the first step towards complexity and a possible misreading of the chart. Why Jupiter? Jupiter is the Lord of the 5th house of children and also the 9th house (child of querant’s child). The Sun, Lord of the first house can be ignored as the question is not about the querant and we are not interested what the querant thinks about their own daughter – again that is not part of the question. The Moon can also be ignored because we are not interested in how the pregnancy will develop as this condition has not yet been established! If we have only one planet then there is no need to look for aspects. In fact it is more important to look at the condition and position of Jupiter, the Significator of the child. Jupiter is in his domicile. That means he has strong essential dignity. He is strong and in good condition. He is in his own sign, Sagittarius and in this chart also in his own house, the 5th. The child is in the child. This is a perfect picture of the daughter’s pregnancy. She is with child. It is healthy. The question has been answered. In this chart we can see how long the daughter has been pregnant and also the sex of the child, but the querant need not be told this. After all our only intention is to answer the question and not to impress the querant with our far-seeing wisdom! It is however very likely that the question about the sex of the child arises immediately. If it is asked we are able to provide the answer.

If you are looking for a good book on Horary astrology, try John Frawley’s The Horary Textbook. Highly recommended.