Beyond the Reference: From Foundations to Judgment

When I was teaching the introductory traditional astrology course, many of the questions and difficulties raised by students concerned how the various significations arising from planetary and house configurations might manifest. 

In chart judgment, much depends on how familiar one is with the significations that arise from the combinations of planets and houses. For example, during the course, when explaining what a particular house ruler in another house may signify, students can usually understand the explanation quickly. The difficulty comes when they encounter a different combination on their own. They may readily understand the individual example given, but when faced with an unfamiliar configuration, they may need more time to work out what it could signify, the qualitative nature of those indications, and the possible manifestations arising from them.

For this reason, I prepared concise reference materials for the students showing some of the common significations arising from the combinations of planets and houses. The purpose was to make these easier for students to read and understand, and to provide a basis from which they could work out how similar indications might apply to other combinations. Much of this material was eventually incorporated into my book as well.

I also recommended the works of earlier astrologers to students, as many of these works provide useful reference material for those beginning their study. One example is Henry Coley's Key to the Whole Art of Astrology (1676), particularly Part III, Chapter 8.

The intention behind providing such references was good. Yet I gradually noticed an unintended consequence. In making these materials readily accessible, I may have made them too easy to rely upon.

The reference materials came to be treated as something to consult only when a particular combination appeared in a chart. Because the significations were readily available, there was less incentive to read through them carefully, think about them in depth, or consider how each might apply according to the circumstances of the native, the context of the time, and the native's particular background.

Some students would simply skip over them and refer back to the materials when a relevant combination arose. When the signification given in the reference did not seem to correspond closely enough to the actual circumstances, they might conclude that the description was too general or incomplete, give up on it, or turn to other sources in search of an explanation. The reference had become a substitute for thinking rather than an aid to thinking.

There is a familiar human tendency here. What is difficult to obtain is often valued and investigated more carefully. What is immediately available can easily be overlooked or taken for granted.

There is therefore a difference between 'being given an answer' and 'learning how to arrive at an answer'.

The former may save time. The latter develops judgment. This became particularly apparent when I was teaching the Proficiency Course.

The above chart, for example, was used during the course to demonstrate certain advanced techniques of chart judgment. By this stage, the basic meanings of signs, planets, houses, and aspects should already have been established, along with the fundamental skills of reading and judging a natal chart. The purpose of the Proficiency Course is to teach advanced methods of judgment and, ultimately, to make delineation richer and more precise. Yet I found that some of the questions arising from the chart were more concerned with the foundations of astrology than with the advanced techniques being taught. This did not particularly surprise me. Advanced techniques are often not difficult in themselves. Once they are properly explained, they can be quite straightforward to understand. What becomes apparent in applying them, however, is just how much they depend upon a sound foundation. 

The prerequisite for the Proficiency Course is that students have read my introductory book. That prerequisite is not arbitrary, nor is it simply a matter of self-promotion. The course is focus on more advanced techniques of chart judgment and topical delineation. It should not be the situation where a student is still trying to understand what the basic combinations of planets, houses and aspects might signify.

I am sure most students had indeed read the book, but had likely passed rather quickly over the sections dealing with combinations and their significations. Perhaps this is understandable, as foundational material can seem less engaging than more advanced techniques. For example, the significations listed for planetary configurations such as “Ruler of the 3rd House in the 1st House” can appear direct, simple and straightforward. One may be inclined to think: it is merely the combination of the meanings of the 3rd and 1st Houses, it is simple and readily understood. But reading through a reference once and understanding what it says is not the same as carefully studying why the signification is described in that way, what it may represent in actual life, and how it may be extended to other configurations. There is a difference between quickly reading through a list of significations and slowly considering what those significations can actually represent in life, how they may combine with one another, and how the same principle may manifest differently according to the circumstances of the chart.

This is why the prerequisite matters. The significations of the planets and houses, their links, combinations, their qualitative conditions, and the way these indications reinforce one another are not advanced techniques. They are the foundations upon which more advanced judgment is built. Yet I suspect some may regard such foundational knowledge as merely preparatory, too basic to even begin a chart judgment. Since the individual significations and combinations may appear simple, they may feel that it is enough to understand some of the basics before moving on to what they regard as the more substantive methods of chart judgment. This is precisely where the difficulty begins. 

Advanced techniques do not compensate for an insecure grasp of basic significations. They depend upon it.

One may even spend considerable money simply to learn the basics of astrology, something I do not believe should require an expensive course. One may also spend considerable money on courses presented as advanced astrology, only to find that what is taught remains largely foundational, or that learning more techniques does not necessarily result in stronger chart judgment. Worse still, the more techniques one learns, the more complicated astrology may appear to become. I have always maintained that traditional astrology does not need to be made unnecessarily complicated.

Astrology, like many other metaphysical systems, fundamentally involves 取象, the recognition of significations, and 解象, the interpretation of those significations. The techniques may become more sophisticated, but the underlying principles do not need to become obscure. Advanced techniques do not replace the foundations; they give you more ways to work with them.

Consider again the above example chart.

One should first ask: 

What is the central focus of this chart? What is the 局眼, the principal focus of the chart from which its overall emphasis can quickly be recognized? 

I have taught before that planets in the 1st house deserve particular attention. Why?

In this chart, Jupiter and Saturn are both in the 1st house, and both are in their Domiciles. Someone with a basic knowledge of astrology may immediately say that this is a good condition, with both planets in their dignities.

But is it necessarily good in every respect? And if it is good, good in what respect? 

Dignity is not the conclusion of a judgment. It is one of the factors from which a judgment is made. Even then, dignity itself may be understood at more than one layer. I have also discussed the principle that 吉凶并肩，各自应验: benefic and malefic indications may coexist together, with each finding its own expression.

Jupiter is the ruler of the 1st and 3rd Houses. The ruler of the 1st is in the 1st. The ruler of the 3rd is also in the 1st. 

What might these combinations suggest? Are the indications benefic or malefic? In what ways might these indications manifest in the native's life?

Jupiter is in square with the Moon and Mercury, both of which are in the 3rd House. From another perspective, the Moon and Mercury in the 3rd House are in square with Jupiter. At this point, one should remember the principle of Reinforcement discussed in the book. 

How many overlapping indications are present? What indications are being emphasized?

Furthermore, what are the general significations of the Moon, Mercury, and Jupiter? Do the Moon and Mercury themselves carry significations that overlap with those of the 3rd House? And with the Moon and Mercury in conjunction, what additional associations might this combination suggest?

It is in considering questions such as these that familiarity with significations becomes important. And these are indeed foundational knowledge.

Now consider Mercury in its Detriment.

What does a debilitated Mercury signify in general? And how does that condition affect what the Moon signifies? The Moon is ruler of the 8th House. What might the ruler of the 8th in the 3rd signify?

Mercury is ruler of the 7th and 9th Houses. 

What are the significations of these houses? What might the ruler of the 7th and 9th in the 3rd signify?

We then find the Sun, ruler of the 8th House in the 3rd. Sun is in opposition to Pluto in the 9th. Jupiter in the 1st also squares the North Node in the 9th while the Mercury-Moon conjunction opposes the North Node, creating a dynamic pattern of planetary tension between them.

Looking at the configuration as a whole, one should begin to see the importance of the 1st, 3rd, 8th and 9th Houses. Multiple indications of reinforcement are present.

At the same time, one must also consider whether the indications are constructive, difficult, or both and how they could manifest for the native. All these terms and questions belong to the technical language of astrology. It is not enough to understand what they signify within astrological terminology; one must also understand how those indications translate into concrete circumstances and affairs in the world.

Even before undertaking a detailed delineation, a sound grasp of foundational natal astrology should already allow one to form a preliminary idea of how matters concerning the native's mind, and the affairs signified by the 3rd, 8th and 9th Houses, may bear upon the native, while also providing many of the answers to the questions raised above. Jupiter would also naturally deserve particular attention. Its condition provides further considerations that are not explored here.

The native of this chart is Richard Ramirez. (Wikipedia link)

Those unfamiliar with him can look into his life and the circumstances surrounding it. Once the relevant facts are known, it should not be difficult to see how the answers to the questions above, solely based on foundational astrological principles and knowledge, correspond to what actually occurred in his life. For example, one can see the influence that the native's older cousin had on him and how such a relationship may be reflected in the chart. For those who have learned predictive techniques, Jupiter's time periods would also be worth noting.

If you have followed the discussion this far and are already familiar with natal astrology, you may already be wondering:

What about the 12th House? Is it involved and how? You may also be asking: What influence do Mars and Venus have on the native, and how might that influence manifest?

If these questions arise naturally, that is good.

Learning astrology involves learning to reason in both directions. In astrological judgment, we can begin with the chart, drawing upon our familiarity with the significations of its planets, houses, and configurations to infer possible manifestations in the native's life. This is 取象.

But we can also begin with known realities in a person's life and work backwards towards the chart, asking: What combinations in the chart could signify these circumstances? This is also 取象.

When one becomes familiar with 取象, 解象 becomes considerably easier.

The natal chart can also be understood as a microcosm, in which the entire configuration of the chart may pertain to the native internally, including character, disposition and psychological makeup. At the same time, it can be understood as a representation of the universe outside the person and the circumstances in which the native lives. This can be understood as a principle of duality, which may take several forms:

One is Yin, the other Yang.

One is Internal, the other External.

One is Static, the other Dynamic.

One is Universal, the other Specific.

For example, it is important to distinguish whether one is reading a planetary configuration from an internal or an external perspective. A configuration may be meaningful from both perspectives, but what may describe the native at the psychological level is not necessarily sufficient on its own to explain an external event. One should not simply take planetary configurations, such as Mars conjunct Venus in Aquarius, the Sun in Pisces opposing Pluto in Virgo, or a debilitated Mercury, as explanations for certain characteristics or behaviors, and then use these to explain why certain events occurred in the native's life.

Traditional astrology asks us to look more deeply at the actual significations and interplay contained in the chart.

There are, of course, other basic planetary configurations in this chart that I have not discussed here. Those who have carefully studied an introductory astrology book or course should already be able to work through them. This is precisely why I wrote my introductory book. An expensive course should not be necessary simply to learn the foundations of birth chart interpretation.

Foundational knowledge may appear simple and straightforward. But did you read it carefully? The simpler something appears, the more easily it is overlooked. Yet the Great Way is simple (大道至简). The myriad manifestations are contained in the Eight Trigrams; the Eight Trigrams, in turn, ultimately reduce to Yin and Yang.