Aquarius, Saturn and Uranus

Historically, Aquarius was ruled by Saturn. After the discovery of Uranus, some astrologers deemed that Aquarius should more correctly be ruled by that planet. Still the Saturnine side of Aquarius cannot blithely be discarded. If we were to reference the chapter on Uranus that Bil Tierney contributed to Planets, The Astrological Tools, we will note that Bil wants to make it clear that Uranian energy and Aquarian energy are not the same thing, even though they both fall under the same classification of “Letter 11” in Zipporah Dobyns' 12-letter alphabet of astrology.

My mentor, Press Roberts, LPN, felt that the first half of Aquarius was more Uranian, but the second half was more Saturnine. He felt the opposite for Scorpio and Pisces, in which the first half of those signs retained the historical rulership, but the second half responded to the modern rulership.

There are some areas where the influences of Saturn and Uranus may be confused, but creative thought processes may clarify matters. For instance, business, business administration and business acumen are rightfully ruled by Capricorn and Saturn. But really big business is ruled by Aquarius and Uranus. Remember that Noel Tyl says that in any confrontation between Saturn and Uranus, Uranus always wins.

Hair, at least in the structural and functional sense, is ruled by Saturn. Hair styling, hair design and the artistic component of hair is ruled by Venus. Barbering, i.e. hair cutting, is ruled by Mars. Yet a little-known fact is that body hair is ruled by Uranus. Believe it or not, I find that women who don't shave their underarms to be erotic. I can explain this attitude astrologically. I have Uranus in the seventh house. The seventh house shows the traits one finds attractive in a partner. Along with the breasts and brain, Cancer rules the lymphatic system and the armpits. So Uranus in the seventh house in Cancer explains my attraction.

Uranus rules the unexpected and the contradictory. An easily understood example is that Uranus also rules both the very new and the very old. Astrology offers techniques that are very old, very new and sometimes a combination of both. Uranus, as a ruler of astrology, makes sense here, but Uranus is not the only ruler of astrology. Other planets, such as Mercury, can contribute to the knowledge of astrology.

Conventional wisdom says that Uranus rules the unstable. But sometimes Uranus in a house can show situations that are unexpectedly stable. For example, both of my parents had Uranus in the fourth house. They were both born thousands of miles away from where we lived. They bought a home in 1949. That house stayed in the family, even after both of them were deceased. It wasn't until 2011, some 62 years later, that the house was sold the settle my parents' estates.

Similarly, I have Uranus in the seventh house. My wife and I were together for 26½ years. The marriage ended with her passing away in 2001. We did fight like cats and dogs, but we never got divorced.

Don Borkowski

Woodburn, Oregon

dgborkowski@msn.com

Solar Arcs: The Next Generation of Progressions

This blog post is a recap of a lecture I gave to the Oregon Astrological Association a few years ago.

Solar Arcs is a predictive technique that is a refinement of the more traditional secondary progressions. In many ways, solar arcs are easier to read, easier to estimate and more reliable than progressions.  I have studied astrology since 1971. I have been aware of solar arcs since 1990, but have only used them exclusively since 2001.

 

• Don’t let the simplicity of Solar Arcs make you take them lightly.
• Many of the details of progressions do not matter with solar arcs.
• Start with your progressed Sun. Then move everything the same distance that your Sun has progressed.
• Solar arcs will always have the same relationship to each other that the natal chart has.
• Just notice the aspects between the arced planets and the natal planets.
• A solar arc doesn’t depend on a natal aspect in order to manifest.
• Only hard-angle aspects—conjunctions, oppositions and squares—matter. Use an “equals sign” (=) to show these. Hard-angle minor aspects—the semi-square and sesqui-square—are also valid. The 165^o aspect (quindecile) is also valid, but that’s an advanced topic. Soft-angle aspects and minor aspects are not important.
• Planets gain meaning from both their intrinsic nature and from house rulership.
• You can estimate solar arcs from the natal chart. You don’t need a computer or an ephemeris. Allow a degree per year of age for births from September through March; else reduce your estimate a degree for every 30 years.
• The orbs used in solar arcs might feel a little soft or sloppy if you have a lot of Virgo in your makeup.
• Changes of signs are not important.
• Arcs to the Aries Point (0^o of the cardinal signs) invoke the prominence of that planet.
• Between age 45 and 47, every planet will arc to a semi-square to its own place.
• Arcs to midpoints (indirect arcs) have a lesser importance. They add flavoring.
• The locality of the arced chart is not important.
• Solar arcs work for single charts only; they are not applicable to synastry.
• You don’t have to give up progressions, even if you choose to concentrate on solar arcs.

Making Solar Returns Sing and Dance

I can make solar return charts sing and dance. If you try my process, you can also. I do want to make it known that I was never trained to do anything with solar return charts. My first astrology teacher, Press Roberts LPN,, felt that all prediction could be garnered through a combination of progressions and transits. He dismissed solar returns as being a waste of time, as they were just transits anyway. My current teacher, Noel Tyl, doesn’t like solar returns because he had some unfortunate experiences that resulted from too much stock being placed on a solar return that was predicated on an erroneous assumption. He is also uncomfortable about some previously unaddressed issues of solar return calculations.

Timing is perhaps the biggest shortcoming of solar return charts. Basically, they seem to represent a summary of the year taken as a whole. In the experience of people in my circle, the most significant time is three (3) months after the solar return. In fact, a couple years ago, my son asked me why everything seems to happen in November—for both him and me. Significantly, both my son and I have August birthdays.

When Noel Tyl invited Mary K. Shea to write an essay on solar returns, Mary claimed that solar returns manifest 3 months before they happen. Although I have seen it happen to a much smaller degree, those events that happen three months beforehand are generally the more benign manifestations of the solar return. My observation, that solar returns are felt most strongly 3 months after they happen, corresponds best with the “opening square” in Grant Lewi’s transit theory, as those are the most traumatic manifestations.

Much of what I believe about solar returns has been derived from my own experimentation. First, of course they really are just transits. But the solar return chart does provide a lens through which we can focus our look at those transits. They give us a guideline to help us narrow the scope of the operative progressions, arcs and transits. Second, there is a question about which zodiac to use. The zodiac that you choose for natal astrology should be the one to use for solar returns. I am firmly committed to the tropical zodiac. Some tropical astrologers want to use something called the precession-corrected tropical zodiac. To me, the word “correction” implies that there is an error. I prefer to call that method “precession-adjusted”, but, nevertheless, I do not use it. Likewise, the precession-adjusted zodiac is really just apologia by the closet astronomers whose belief in astrology is more tenuous than they care to admit. If a person believes in sidereal astrology, s/he should stick with it all the way. So, I recommend the tropical zodiac in solar returns, just as I recommend it in natal astrology.

The major previously unaddressed issue about solar returns is the choice of location where to cast the chart. There are two strongly held beliefs. One prefers to use the current location. The other favors the birthplace. I submit that both definitions may be correct at times. I have also found a third alternative which works best for me. I view the solar return chart as being very dynamic, so dynamic, that if the client moves during the course of the year, the previous solar return chart must be recalculated for the new location.

Consider, if you will, my own horoscope. I was born August 15, 1950 at 4:24 p.m. PDT in the Forest Park neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. I have Aries on the 4^th cusp, and the ruler Mars is in the 10^th house at 3:12 Scorpio. Every major move I have ever made was made for the reason of career advancement, usually within a financial industry.

In 2003, I was living in Salem, Oregon. In early 2004, I was offered a job at a bank in Nampa, Idaho. I had not been to any part of Idaho since 1974, when I passed through on an interstate bus. I moved to Nampa March 11, 2004. My 2003 solar return for Salem, Oregon had 27:54 Libra rising. Just for fun, I wondered what my re-cast solar return for Nampa would show. Amazingly, the re-cast chart had 3:15 Scorpio rising—just a scant 3 minutes from my natal Mars. And I had moved to Nampa to work in a bank!

This observation explained a lot for me. Regardless of where you were living when your solar return came around, you will need to recalculate your solar return to your new location when you move.

As long as we are talking about calculations, now is the time to mention to be sure to calculate your favorite Arabic parts at this time, too. I will discuss them later.

Now that you have calculated the solar return chart, the next (and most obvious) problem is how to read it.

I have seen and heard several theories about how to read return charts, and I feel they should all be kept in mind, but only in the back of your mind.

First and foremost, it must be remembered that a solar return chart represents the summary of a year. Second, it must also be remembered that nothing can really happen in a yearly preview, unless the natal chart says that it can happen. Third, as return charts are defined when a transit makes a precise conjunction to its own place in the natal chart, conjunctions, and to a lesser extent, oppositions, between the return chart and the natal chart provide the major clues about how to read the solar return chart.

Go back, if you will, to my natal horoscope. Then calculate my solar return for August 15, 2001, also for Forest Park. I was working in Portland’s Forest Park neighborhood and dividing my off time between my home in Salem, Oregon and my mother’s home in Portland’s Kenton neighborhood. As Salem is 50 miles south of Portland, the differences among the solar returns for any of these locations are negligible.

Two items caught my eye immediately. First was the tight opposition between the Sun and Uranus, with only 20 minutes of orb. The Sun was both in and ruling the 4th house, and Uranus was both in and ruling the 10th house. This combination suggested that age 51 would bring changes and issues involving home, career and status. I was also intrigued by the other massive opposition—that between Saturn in the first house, ruling the 8th and the Mars-Pluto conjunction in the 7th, sharing rulership of the 6th with Mars ruling the 12th. (The notion that Pluto is the true ruler of Aries was rather popular in the early 1970s. I believe that concept is one whose time has passed.)

It has been my personal preference to take a look at my solar returns about 6 months before they happen. If they, as Mary Shea thinks, do register 3 months before they happen, then I’ll have some time for preparation. Otherwise, the long lead time will give my subconscious mind some food for thought. As my marriage had been barely tolerable for several years, I kept wondering if I would have the fortitude to terminate it. The horary astrology technique of counting houses, which is just as valid in natal astrology, gives us the definition that the 10^th house represents the end of the marriage. So the “big bells” in this solar return chart all suggested that my marriage would come to a screeching halt. Other indications of marital issues in the solar return chart include Jupiter, ruling my natal ascendant conjunct my natal Uranus in the 7^th and Mercury, ruling my natal 7^th, opposing my natal Jupiter.

There are really only two ways for a marriage to end: divorce and death. Then there are subsidiary considerations within those. Who would leave whom, or who would die? On the surface, I could not rightly tell. I decided to examine the appropriate Arabic Parts, which I often find to be a useful tool. Apparently, some astrologers have never considered the idea of adding Arabic Parts to a return chart. Go ahead, you have my permission. (Parenthetically, I believe that the most common definition of the Part of Divorce is wrong. Some people believe that if the Part of Marriage equals ascendant + descendant – Venus, then the Part of Divorce should reverse the order of the descendant and Venus. That opinion is weak because such a point will always be opposite to one’s Venus. Cosmobiological theory equates conjunctions, oppositions and squares; so that formula for the Part of Divorce will add nothing to a horoscope. For the Part of Divorce, I favor ascendant + descendant – Saturn, as Saturn is the natural ruler of the 10th house.) The Part of Death is almost universally agreed to be ascendant + 8th house cusp – Moon. There is an alternative Part of Death, which I really can’t say much about. It is Saturn + Mars – MC.

I calculated those Arabic Parts. The Part of Divorce was 4:18 Sagittarius, conjunct the descendant from the 6th house with an orb of 4½ degrees. The Part of Death was 9:38 Sagittarius, conjunct the descendant from the 7th house with an orb of 48 minutes. (That other Part of Death was 22:21 Aries. That one is just within the 12^th house, trine to the Sun and sextile Uranus. It also suggested a death, but did not suggest whose.) I remember saying, “Oh my God, I wonder if Georgie is going to die.” I banished the thoughts because I didn’t have the self-confidence in my skills and because my teachers felt so lukewarm about solar returns. On November 12, 2001, my wife, Georgie, had a fatal heart attack. I hated being right in that manner, but the points are that I was right, the solar return worked, and it manifested 3 months after my birthday.

I don’t purport to know everything about solar returns. There is a huge amount of room for learning new things about them. I just want to encourage all who read this blog to keep observing and experimenting with return charts and not to be cowed or browbeaten by the pseudo-intellectuals and self-anointed experts.

Don Borkowski

Woodburn, Oregon

dgborkowski@msn.com

(503) 843-9277

Lois Rodden and Houses

Lois Rodden was a friend of mine (pen-pal variety, as we never met in person). She used Placidus houses for years and years until she knuckled under to the pressure by her local students in the Los Angeles-San Bernardino area of Southern California and switched to Koch. I could live with that because I could reverse-engineer the charts she supplied to create Placidus houses. Then the late Jayj Jacobs talked her into using equal houses, which was not acceptible to me. Many British users of equal houses add the MC as a point in a chart, but Jayj, following the lead of his father, Moby Dick, was in total disdain of the MC. An equal house chart, without a Midheaven, is very, very difficult to reverse-engineer.

It was later demonstrated that Lois' 6th and final bout with cancer left her so full of medication that some of her later decisions were rather questionably too Neptunian.

Lois was born in Lang, Saskatchewan, Canada. In March, 2008, I took a weekend trip to Regina while I was living and working in North Dakota. I drove through Lang on both the trip up and the trip back.

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

(503) 843-9277

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

(503) 843-9277

Pen names, etc.

I got a computerized horoscope back in 1970, roughly a year before I decided to learn astrology for myself. It said that Neptune conjunct the MC would incline me to take a pen name. I never have, but I needed something on Tylnet to distinguish myself from Don McBroom. I got so hurt when people would say how smart and wonderful Don is, and then realize that they didn't mean me.

A co-worker started addressing me as "Donbee" after I would sign forwarded jokes as "Don B." So to Tyl students, I am Donbee, and Don McBroom now uses Don Mc. Oddly, neither of us is named "Donald".

My late wife's birth name was Loreta Gene McLearen. Loreta is pronounced with a long E. So my wife was "Reta Gene" to her family and "Lori" to her friends. In the late 1960s, she actually knew the Beatles and had an affair with George Harrison behind Patti Boyd's back. So she later changed her name, legally, to Georgeanne Harrison. Then she married me and took Borkowski as a surname. And much, much later changed her name back to Lori McClearen.

I should add that during the time she knew the Beatles, she told Paul McCartney that in America, “traffic wardens” were called "meter maids". Paul thought that was so funny, that he teasingly called her "Reta Gene the Meter Maid" and from that hook, a song was born.

Names seem to be a function of both the first and third houses, with each contributing different attributes of names.

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

(503) THE-WASP [843-9277]

 

 

The Conscientious Astrology Writer

Perhaps the biggest challenge for a conscientious astrological writer is to communicate which arrangements of planets, houses, signs and aspects are meaningful to humanity as a whole and which are germane only to an individual.

Let me give a specific example. About 1970, Isabel Hickey wrote unequivocally in Astrology: A Cosmic Science, that if a man has Moon conjunct Saturn and the majority of his planets are in feminine signs, then he must be homosexual. I had no idea where the heck she got that. But the damage was done. One of my best friends at the time had that signature. He was so distaught, that he gave up the study of astrology. Although, I long had the sophistication not to believe everything that I read in books, my friend was not so lucky, You see, I, too have that signature­-- as does my son. And all three of us are exclusively hetero.

I was not a fan of Mrs. Hickey's for this and other reasons. When my wife and I attended an astrology convention in 1983, we met a nice man who thought the world of Isabel Hickey. A quick look at his chart showed that he had the Moon conjunct Saturn and the majority of his planets in feminine signs. Before I got the chance to ask him how he felt being labeled as homosexual, it dawned on me that not only was he gay, but that his chart most likely was the template that Isabel Hickey had used. Putting two and two together, I concluded that Mrs. Hickey probably invented that rule on the spot just to make that man feel better about himself. So I'm sure that that signature worked for him, but not necessarily for anyone else.

So the astrological writer must be extremely careful not to allow an ad hoc signature to morph into something bigger.

I ran into a similar situation when I was giving a lecture. I frequently have the problem in which someone will take one of my off-hand remarks and try to make a federal case out of it. When I rectify a chart, I tend to single out what makes a person special, uncommon, or even unique. I like to take a solar chart and rotate it so that the most plausible combination of planets and houses is displayed. Then by using solar arcs, transits and progression, I'll adjust that chart to fit the timing of known events.

My paternal grandparents were both born in Ukraine. They were married 58-1/2 years from 1896 until my grandfather died in 1955. They had 7 children and outlived 4 of them. That is a rather uncommon fact. In dealing with my grandparents' charts, I developed an ad hoc signature for them. Both of my gransparents had charts that contained a group of four planets that were close enough to be put in the same house. That house would be the 12^th because it is the 8^th from the 5^th. This is when people would confront me. I had to make things clear that if you have any planet in the 12^th house, it does not mean that your child would die. However, if, God forbid, you were to outlive a child, then the astrological reasons would be known.

After I developed plausible charts for my grandparents, I corrected the birthtime based on known events, such as their emigration to the United States in November, 1913.

Don Borkowski

October 9, 2012, 8:13 p.m.

Sheridan, Oregon

dgborkowski@msn.com

Sex, Sex, Sex

Before any serious discussion of sex can take place, it must first be established what component of sex is being addressed.

I date my involvement with astrology since June 7, 1971. My first teacher/mentor, Press Roberts, LPN, had such a profound influence on me that most of my astrological beliefs/philosophies were established upon what I learned from him. A couple weeks after meeting him, Press asked me which house I thought sex came from. I replied sheepishly, “The... uh ...5^th?”

Press then answered most dramatically, “Don't shit yourself, boy. It's the 8^th. I've never forgotten that. Many years later, I enrolled in Noel Tyl's Master's class. And I have felt conflicted since then as Noel feels just as emphatically that sex comes from the 5^th house as sex is how children are made and because sex is, or should be, connected to love.

Cutting to the chase, I feel that the emotional component of sex would definitely be the 5^th house, but that the physical component of sex would come from the 8^th house. Examples abound. Back in 1992 when Bill Clinton first became part of the national conciousness, and long before anyone had heard of Paula Jones or Monica Lewinsky, I took a look at his chart. Bill Clinton has the Moon in Taurus in the 8^th house. So I told my wife that this guy loves oral sex with women. When she said that I had a dirty mind, I replied that it was all in the keywords. The 8^th house is physical sex. The Moon is women. And Taurus rules the mouth. What a strightforward example of how keyword astrology can work!

Even Noel, himself, has written that he has taken Viagra© on occasion. His (convoluted) explanation was that he has Neptune (of weakness) in the 4^th house, which is the 12^th dynamic of the 5^th house. I would have said that his 8^th house was ruled by Saturn,which is in opposition to Neptune. This introduces Neptune into his sexual profile more quickly and directly.

By definition, the 5^th house and the 8^th house will always be square to each other in the mundane sense. When studying the philosophical meanings of houses and their interrelationship, it is best to think of houses in an equal house system. Then it becomes blatantly obvious that it would take the transiting Sun 9 months to travel from the 8^th house to the 5^th house. As 9 months is the typical duration of a pregnancy from intercourse to birth, the assignment of the 8^th house to sex becomes much easier to accept.

Recently a top local psychic gave me the good advice to stop comparing myself to other people. For the longest time, I was embarassed that I was the oldest of my peers to lose his virginity. I'm bringing this out in the open in accordance with my psychic's advice. Actually, I had 3-1/2 years of astrological experience when it happened, which meant that I made it a point to look at the clock. As I wrote earlier, I had felt conflicted about which astrological house truly represented sex. In my horoscope, Venus rules the 5^th house, but is tenanted in the 8^th. Studying my own chart wouldn't settle any questions. In fact, when I first had sex, February 21, 1975 at 10:10 pm PST in Sellwood, Oregon, the midheaven was exactly conjunct my natal Venus!

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

October 1, 2012, 3:17 pm

Sheridan, Oregon

Health and HIlary Clinton

In light of Dick Cheney getting a heart transplant, I decided to look at some other politicians from a health perspective. From the orientation of critical illness, I am most concerned by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's chart. Hillary Clinton was born October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. There has been some debate about a.m. versus p.m. and how close to 8:00 her birth was. Knowing that Chelsea was delivered by C-section, I feel confident in altering Hilary's birthtime by adding a single minute, to get 8:01 a.m. Chelsea has Mars Rx at 4:36 Virgo and Jupiter Rx at 4:50 Virgo. So the tweak made Hilary's MC just a wee bit closer at the time of the delivery.

If Hilary Clinton were a male, I think that she would be a prime candidate for prostate cancer. She has Scorpio on both the 12^th house of critical illness and the ascendant--the health center of the horoscope. Pluto, the ruling planet is conjunct both Mars and Saturn, which suggests both irritations and blockages. Her Sun in the 12^th house also suggests a systemic weakness in those body parts associated with Scorpio. She has Jupiter in the first house, both as a final dispositor and peregrine. I think Noel Tyl's evaluation of health is pretty good, with some exceptions. Personal experience has led me to consider Scorpio, rather than Libra, to be the ruler of the bladder. Since Hilary does not have a prostate, I think she is at high risk for bladder cancer.

When cancer is analyzed astrologically, Jupiter presents a true conundrum. Jupiter in the 1^st house does preserve the basic health. Yet with Jupiter as both a final dispositor and peregrine, there is a risk of uncontrolled cellular growth running away with the organism, which is exactly what cancer is.

Then there is the issue of Hilary's Pisces Moon. Although, I don't particularly like Hilary, it breaks my heart when I discover that someone that I do like has a Pisces Moon. I've seen far too many people die of cancer at far too young an age, if they have the Moon in Pisces. We've all seen far too many Pisces Moons get hooked into some kind of addictive behavior. To name just a few are Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Rush Limbaugh.

Back on June 17, 2009, Hillary Clinton fell and broke her elbow.  Still some people might think that the fact that she broke her elbow would give credence to the evening (Gemini rising)chart, I think that looking at the transits (and other predictive tools) might give us more insight in general.  The first thing I noticed was transiting Uranus squaring its own place.  Uranus is easily associated with things that happen suddenly, and accidents certainly happen suddenly.  Hillary's natal Uranus is in Gemini, and will function as such regardless of what her ascendant is.

At noon, her TP (tertiary progressed) Moon was 23:04 Taurus, which is close to some midpoints involving the North Node, the ascendant and Mercury.  As I don't have the time that she fell, the incident does seem more consistent with a morning birth.

Perhaps it's too early to voice my concern, but at the end of 2017, Saturn. Mercury and the ascendant will all all arc to Hilary's Sun while Neptune arcs to her Moon. If she were to develop bladder cancer, I suspect that time to be the most ominous.

                                                                                 Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

A Simple Synastry Snapshot

I took up the serious study of astrology back in the “What's your sign?” days of the early 1970s. And even with the sophistication that the passage of 40 years can bring, sometimes looking at synastry from a macrosmic level can be revealing. The term, “macrcosmic” or “macro” level is one that I use when I just want to discuss basic, overall principles, rather than quibble over details that would normally just get in the way.

Recently, I have been looking back at my involvement with astrology and noticed that many of the people who have been the most supportive and encouraging of me have had the Moon in Leo. Just off the top of my head, I can think of Press Roberts, Edith Custer, Joan McEvers and Noel Tyl who fit this description. In the course of conversations with various friends in the astrological community, nearly everyone would have a different point of view regarding these people. So then it became obvious that these people were whom I needed for my fulfillment, whether or not my friends needed them for their fulfillment. On a macro level, their Moons were nurturing my Leo Sun. The next question that I needed to ask myself was, “Does this principle work in the other direction; in other words, does my Virgo Moon nurture anyone with a Virgo Sun?” My father was a Virgo with a Cancer Moon and a Libra ascendant. Basically, I had a good relationship with my father, despite the clashes between my realism and his idealism.  Interestingly, when I was in college, my best friend was a Virgo with a Leo Moon.  To a greater or lesser degree with both supported and nurtured each other.

Besides the Sun, the other two major building blocks of the horoscope are the Moon and the ascendant. I have noticed that if a person has troubles with a given Sun sign, people with the Moon or the ascendant in that sign are often more difficult to deal with—with one exception. For some reason, Aquarius ascendants are easier to deal with that Aquarius Suns, but Aquarius is the only sign that exhibits that phenomenon.

I want a Curmudgeon for Christmas

John Lennon: His Inconvenient Truths

If you, the reader, have not yet read my previous blog entry, “Lovely Lori (Reta Gene),” it would be best that you set this article aside, go back and read the other first.

As I pointed out in that earlier article, my late wife really did know the Beatles. She had to contend with a lot of prejudice on the part of astrological snobs who felt that since she (and I) were not part of the elitist subset of the astrological community, that we had no right to discuss celebrities as if we knew them. I'll admit that I did not know John Lennon; Georgie was the only one who did.

When the Beatles traveled to India to visit the Maharishi, it was the beginning of a great metaphysical experience for them. They all gained a lot knowledge and some wisdom, in varying degrees in accordance with their own needs. Before the trip to India, John did not have much interest in astrology to speak of. He blithely accepted the birth data that his aunt thought she reembered for him: October 9, 1940 at 6:30 p.m. GMD in Liverpool. At that stage in John's life, astrology was no great concern.

After the Beatles returned to England, they were changed men in many ways. John thought that astrology might help him to get a better handle on the meaning of life. After some personal investigation and in-depth research, John found a more satisfactory birth time and abandoned the prior one. The 6:30 chart gave him an Aries ascendant and an Aquarius Moon. Neither of those placements really fit John. Physically, the only Aries trait that John exhibited was his prominent adam's apple. If John really did have Aries rising, he would have probably gone bald before the age of 30. Other astrologers think that an Aquarius Moon was a good fit because John was eccentric and because his wife, Yoko Ono, had the Sun in Aquarius. Believe me, limiting the study of synastry to Sun signs is much too shallow to dignify here.

The data that John was able to ascertain was October 9, 1940 at 7:14 a.m. in Manchester, U.K.. Perhaps the location in Manchester may be incorrect, but the time is most believable. This chart gives John a Libra ascendant and a Capricorn Moon. In my analysis of this chart, I realized that if I tweaked this time by a scant 4 minutes to 7:18 a.m., Neptune would have arced exactly to his ascendant on July 15, 1958, the date that John's mother was killed when a drunken driver ran over her. The conjunction of his Nodal axis with his ascendant-descendant axis reflected John's closeness to his mother. John was devastated by the his mother's death, and he never did recover from the emotional blow..

John's Capricorn Moon illustrated John's need to have an older woman serve as a mother substitute, and Yoko was 7 years older than John. Likewise, as Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, Yoko's darker complexion also fit the physical description provided by the Capricorn Moon. In the words of Noel Tyl, a person with Capricorn Moon needs “to administrate (sic) progress and to make things happen. In John Lennon's case, it reflects the battles he had with Paul McCartney over the course they each wanted the Beatles to take. John was looking for a venue for his highly personalized self-expression in music, prose and art. But Paul wanted the Beatles to be crassly commercial, reflective of the career of Paul's father, a British music hall entertainer.

Looking again at the death of John's mother, we must remember that solar arcs do provide the background framework for any event. But still, transits are necessary for these events that are called the “big bells”. The most revealing transits are Venus and Mars both squaring the Moon—and sopposing each other. Most likely, she died a few minutes later when the transiting ascendant was conjunct his Moon..

John's midpointology is also significant. The morning chart shows VE = AS / MC = SU / MC = NO / MO. The evening chart cannot possible come close to anything resembling those midpoint pictures. Although some people feel that John got his outrageous side from an Aquarius Moon, I submit that his midpoint picture, AP = UR / PL applicable to anyone born October 9, 1940, would suffice. Former major league baseball player, Joe Pepitone, was an astro-twin of John, and his own outrageous side was documented in Ball Four by Jim Bouton.

There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that John Lennon was born in the morning and is a double Libra with a Capricorn Moon.

Don “Donbee” Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

Lovely Lori (Reta Gene)

If I could remember the exact date that I met the woman I was to marry, the presentation of the astrology behind it would be even more dramatic. I do know I met the woman I'll always remember as Georgie in June of 1975. I'll just have to approximate the date for the middle of the month, using June 15^th to check for the solar arc positions. I had SA Moon = Neptune, as well as SA Saturn and SA Mercury both = my MC.

This is a very difficult story to start at the beginning. As it stands now, there are so many factors that have to be weighed with the perspective of the lapse of many years between then and now.

I met Georgie at Press and Ima Roberts' Arcane Book Store in Portland, Oregon. Once after visiting his store one Saturday, Press suggested that I give her a ride home. I did and the next week I asked her out to dinner. On our first date, just to make conversation, I asked her if she knew any famous people. When she started stammering, I should have suspected something. Since she, herself, was extremely psychic, she probably just assumed that I was equally psychic, and suspected something. In reality, I am as psychic as the legendary bag of hammers. Later when I discovered her to be a compulsive chatterbox, I concluded that my simple, innoocent question must have really shaken her if it made her clam up so tightly. Later, it took a lot of work on both her part and mine, but we eventually got to know each other, somewhat. After experiencing a number of supernatural occurrences, it came out that not only had Georgie met the Beatles, she was friends with some of them. In fact she had even changed her name in a court of law to Georgeanne Veronica Harrison to honor her favorite one (and one of her favorite saints, as well.)

As the months went by, and I got to know her and her relatives, I became rather puzzled why her 17-year-younger half-brother always called her “Sister” and never by her name. I was later told that it was to make it easier on him having to deal with her name change. But it turned out that she had a number of names floating around in the ether for her. Officially, her given name was Loreta Gene McClearen. Since Loreta has only one “T”, the “E” is lengthened, as compared with “Loretta”. Add to this the fact that since her mother's name was also Loreta, my future wife was called “Reta Gene” by her family members. She didn't like that because she wanted her own identity. So she had her friends and peers call her “Lori”. Keeping in mind that because she was a compulsive chatterbox, she gave this background to most of her friends--including Paul McCartney. When she told Paul that in the United States, traffic wardens were called “meter maids”, he thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. So what started out as gentle teasing, “Reta Gene the Meter Maid” morphed into the hook on which “Lovely Rita” of the Sgt. Pepper album was based. In fact the term “meter maid” was not used in England until the Beatles popularized it.

Here is a link to read about her in the Astrologers' Memorial web page: http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/borkowski.html

The Birth of An Arabic Part

In the 40-1/2 years since I began my study of astrology, many cultural and attitudinal changes have taken place. Some are good; others are not as good. One aspect of of an astrological study that I truly miss is the willingness to share new ideas with others. Back in the day, people shared new ideas most willingly. If a new idea had merit, it skyrocketed. If a new idea was bunk, it would peter out and just fade away. The marketplace of ideas would separate the wheat from the chaff. Nowadays, astrologers look on new ideas as ways to make money, and people are reluctant to share lest they get lost in the lurch, especially if they have put some substantial time and effort to introduce a new technique to the astrological community.

Now, more than ever, astrologers have become obsessed with mathematical rigor. I suppose that is necessary, but I truly hate to see how such stilted formality is stifling creativity. I think new ideas should be pursued with enthusiasm and joie de vivre at the outset. Once the new idea starts to take root only then should it be formalized. In the meantime, astrological creativity should not be stifled.

Nowadays, if some object has some astronomical significance, astrologers will assume that it must have some astrological significance, whether it does or not. Some astrologers will toss anything into a chart, even the kitchen sink. (I don't know for sure, but I am tempted to bet money that someone has probably gone so far as to name an asteroid “Kitchen Sink” by now.) In fact, Pluto had been known for 40 years when I took up our craft, and yet even then, many astrologers were afraid of committing themselves to adding Pluto to their astrological pallette. Pluto was generally ignored until Sakoian and Acker first published The Astrologer's Handbook in 1973.

Back in the early 1970's, I was a lonely, unloved man, and I truly envied all the people in my life who were sexually fulfilled. I spent far too much time and effort trying to ascertain when I would join the ranks of the sexually active. I noticed that my most fulfilled peers tended to have Pluto and Venus in a harmonious aspect—usually a trine where Pluto was 4 signs ahead of Venus. My choices of Venus, as the planet of romantic love and sensuality and of Pluto, as the planet of pure sex were fairly straightforward. Then I experimented with how to combine Venus and Pluto in a meaningful manner. If I went with Venus and Pluto in the other direction, my new Arabic Part would show up in the 9^th house, tather than the 5^th for those fulfilled people. By Jove, I then realized that I was onto a brilliant idea. When I computed this new Arabic Part for my own chart, I found it to fall in my first house. Oh well, it was plenty obvious what that meant.

I promoted my finding in the letters column of the March, 1974 issue of American Astrology magazine. I kept on promoting it every chance I got. When Press and Ima and I wrote Signs and Parts in Plain English, I included the Part of Sex Drive along with all the other Arabic Parts that had been known and used for centuries. Then when Astro Computing Services offered lists of all the possible Arabic Parts, I suggested to them that the formula of Asc. + Pluto – Venus be called the Part of Sex Drive, they adopted that name for it. Now my work is an official part of the astrological literarure. It figures that I have not been given the recognition that I deserve. But the right people do know from whence it comes.

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

Where I'm Coming From

I started my study of astrology on June 7, 1971. I had been curious about astrology since 1960 when I read an article in Parade magazine by an astrologer that predicted that John F. Kennedy would defeat Richard Nixon in that November's presidential election. I felt that Nixon, as the sitting Vice-President, who “pinch-hit” for Eisenhower dring Ike's illnesses, was more qualified than Senator Kennedy.  Nixon lost, much to my disappointment, but I was now motivated to learn astrology so that I could make accurate forecasts. This was not just about elections, I wanted to make all kinds of predictions about the future and to be accurate about it.

Before I began my studies, I would buy any book that talked about astrology, but all I seemed to be able to find were books that said how wonderful astrology is. Heck, I always considered astrology to be wonderful, but I couldn't seem to find anything to show me what I really wanted to know—how to calculate a horoscope. Then in 1970, I acquired a roommate named Craig Fox who loaned me copy of My World of Astrology by Sydney Omarr. That book taught me a little bit more, but still left me hungry. I did not have to be convinced that astrology was valid and worthwhile. Then, finally, in 1971, I discovered a metaphysical bookstore in Portland, the Arcane Book Store, that had what I needed.

The Arcane Book Store was owned by Press Roberts and his wife Ima. If I may borrow a phrase from the Readers' Digest, Press was the most unforgettable character I ever met. I follows logically that many of my astrological beliefs are wither the same as I learned from Press or they are somewhat inspired by what I learned from him. One of Press's habits that I've adopted is to refer to people by their ascendants, rather than their Sun signs.  Since 2000, I have absorbed a great deal of knowledge from Noel Tyl and his books, with a particular focus on solar arcs and midpoints.

Press's classes were mostly learning by doing. In each class, a person was chosen arbitrarily to write his or her chart on the blackboard, and Press would read it to teach the principles of delineation. We were expected to have a basic knowledge of what the planets in the signs or houses would suggest to us. Press taught about hemisphere emphasis, element and quality stress, chart patterns a la Marc Edmund Jones—those topics that are more intermediate than the absolute basics. Then about halfway through most class sessions, Press would get bored and revert his focus to his favorite topic—medical astrology. Press was a retired licensed practical nurse, and Ima a was a active registered nurse. Every class contained so much off-the-cuff medical astology that I couldn't help learning it—and learning it well. I must say that although I am neither a physician nor a nurse, I can read a chart medically, even better than many of the “big names” out there.

Press took up astrology in January 1946. Interestingly, Zipporah Dobyns also began her studies in 1946. And they did have a number of similarities in their styles. Press got a lot of value by equating signs and houses. Zip did also, but she would also equate the natural ruler of the sign in question.  Press did his forecasting based strongly on transits and progressions, with quite a bit on emphasis on lunations.

Press was born roughly 11 hours before Queen Elizabeth of England, and coincidentally, her daughter,  Princess Anne and I share the same date of birth.  Press's eldest son was also a 1950 Leo, born July 29, 1950.  What's more, my second co-author, Joan McEvers, also had a son born July 29, 1950.

Don Borkowski

Feel free to write me at:  dgborkowski@msn.com

Hubert Humphrey and Bladder Cancer

This blog is adapted from my post on Noel Tyl's public forum of May 9, 2010.  I have no complaint with either Lauren Delsack’s discussion of how emotional upheavals can trigger critical illness, nor of Noel’s dynamic and seminal textbook, The Astrological Timing of Critical Illness, save for the exception of some somatic rulerships.  Although I applaud original thought, one cannot abandon hundreds of years of astrological knowledge without good cause.  I disagree emphatically with Noel and Lauren about the rulership of the bladder.  The bladder is ruled by Scorpio and Pluto, (historically by Mars), not by Libra and Venus.  Libra and Venus have some influence upon the urinary system because they do rule the kidneys.

So why, pray tell, am I writing about Hubert Humphrey?  Former Vice-President and Senator Hubert Humphrey was the only public figure I could find who had had bladder cancer.  Furthermore, bladder cancer is the disease that killed him.  (Later I found that former NBA basketball star, Maurice Lucas, had also died of bladder cancer.)  So although I had once submitted the horoscope of a woman who had survived bladder cancer through early detection and prompt medical care, the results were inconclusive because that woman had both a Scorpio ascendant and a Libra Sun in the 12th house.  Now the difficulty with using Hubert Humphrey as an example for anything is that his birth time is not known conclusively.  Astro Databank offers three potential birth times.  Making the assumption that one is more correct than the others, I will attempt to ascertain which of Mr. Humphrey’s birth times support the other facts of his life.

We know for a fact that Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. was born May 27, 1911 in Wallace, South Dakota.  The three possible birth times are 4:43 a.m., 5:13 a.m. and 8:40 p.m. all CST.  All three times are attributed to his father, a small-town pharmacist, who provided the start to young Hubert’s career.  The ascendants for the three times are:  1:12 Gemini, 10:12 Gemini and 13:54 Sagittarius, respectively.

When astrology offers multiple ways to interpret a horoscope or offers conflicting birth data for a horoscope, the astrologer must test the various alternatives, keeping in mind that assumptions are being made.  Charts #1 and #2 are not that much different, aside from three planets being in different houses and in that chart #1 has 2 quindecile aspects that chart #2 lacks.  Humphrey’s energy and focus would suggest chart #1 to be more likely than chart #2.  The vocational profile for chart #1 has MC Aquarius...UR10•SA9•VE6,12<>MO3. Humphrey’s ebullience and loquaciousness do not really correlate with the Moon tenanting the 12th house. Chart #1’s reigning need would be represented by that Taurus Moon in the 12th house, which suggests working behind the scenes to keep things as they are or are supposed to be, possibly by teaching or writing as the Moon is oriental and the ruler of the 3rd house.

The vocational profile for chart #3 has MC Libra?VE5,6,10•MO8•ME7,9•VE.  When dispositor dynamics end in a loop, the middle planet of the loop gains importance.  Since the Moon rules the 8th house, Humphrey was drawn to respect and value other people’s strengths.  And as the 8th house is the natural house of Scorpio, we look to Pluto for more corroboration.  PL11,12•ME7,9•VE, etc.  Humphrey’s Moon tenants the 6th house, suggesting a workaholic.  The Libra MC is a double-bodied sign (in my opinion), suggesting more than one vocation, either sequentially or concurrently.  Humphrey trained under his pharmacist father and earned a pharmacist’s licensure of his own at a trade school when finances forced him to drop out of college prematurely.  In Chart #2, the conjunction of ME and SA figures into the vocational profile, adding the inclination to turn to politics to effect his desire to take things to where they are supposed to be.

Based on vocational profiling, I conclude, therefore, that Chart #3, with 13:54 Sagittarius rising is the most correct of the three.  But I should test this chart with some important dates.  Hubert Humphrey was inaugurated as Vice-President of the United States under Lyndon B. Johnson on January 20, 1965 just before noon.  So I would test this date with a diurnal chart for 9:40 p.m., January 19, 1965 in Washington, D.C.  Fourth harmonic aspects within one degree are:  Sun conjunct natal Uranus, Saturn square natal Moon, Moon square natal Sun, Mars square natal Pluto and finally, diurnal Midheaven opposition natal ascendant.  I am convinced of the validity of Chart #3.

Hubert Humphrey announced to the world that he had terminal bladder cancer on August 16, 1977.  Few people may remember that incident because Elvis Presley died later that same day!  The diurnal chart for Humphrey’s cancer announcement had the ascendant, midheaven and vertex all at the Aries point, 0º of Aries, Capricorn and Libra, respectively.  The Node was conjunct natal midheaven and Uranus was opposite the natal Node.

Now that I have established which chart for Vice-President Hubert Humphrey is correct, I would like to evaluate it from the perspective of critical illness.  The ascendant is the health center of the horoscope.  Ruling Jupiter is in Scorpio in the 11th house, but the sign of Scorpio is on the 11th and 12th house cusps.  Pluto is in Gemini, disposed of Mercury conjunct Saturn.

Humphrey died January 13, 1978.  When someone passes away from a major illness the transits are seldom spectacular.  Diurnal Mars was conjunct natal Vertex.  Diurnal vertex was square natal Jupiter.  And the transiting ascendant was square the natal Sun.

In conclusion, I have ascertained which of Hubert Humphrey’s published natal charts is the most likely to be correct.  In doing so, I have also found no indication whatsoever that the human bladder, and the diseases thereof, have any correlation whatsoever to the sign of Libra or the planet Venus.  The correct rulerships are Scorpio and Pluto.

Don Borkowski
dgborkowski@msn.com

A Highly Successful Brushstroke!

Over the years. I discovered a non-atrological technique that has a success rate of just under 100%. I have found that it is extrememely easy to tell if client has siblings or not. All you have to do is to engage your client in a conversation. Nearly always, the client will mention a sister or brother in fairly short order. The only time this technique ever failed, the client had a brother that she refused to talk about. But she was so angry at me for introducing this technique that I found out while she was in the process of berating me.

This technique works, and it is non-atrological!

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

The "Why" and "How" of My Own Rectified Chart

After I took up astrology, the third book I bought was Llewellyn George's venerable A to Z Horoscope Maker and Delineator. I started working my way through that book. First I read about natal delineations and then about progressions. Insofar as the next section was about rectification, I naturally presumed that all astrologers used rectified charts. After all, birth certifcates were a great place to start, but as the old saying goes, “there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.” The cynic in me would like to call a birth certifcate a conspiracy between a doctor and the government.

So, I set out to rectify my chart. Unfortunately, the progression-based rectifcation method in the A to Z was the only tool I had in my toolbox at the time. I actually deduced my birthtime to be 4:15 p.m. and used it for a number of years. It did work better than the time on my birth certifcate (4:34 p.m.), but it wasn't quite right, either.

The best events to use in rectifying horoscopes are those events that are life-changing, particularly if they are beyond one's control. Usually, deaths fit those criteria all too well. In May, 1971, I had just graduated from college and returned to my home town, when I got the news that one of my friends from high school had been killed when his private plane crashed into a high-voltage powerline and exploded on May 31, 1971. His was the first death among my peers, and it affected me greatly. I was so upset, that I was moved to find out more about the meaning of life, and I gravitated to take up the study of astrology. I had been curious about astrology for many years, but I had no idea where to turn to slake my curiosity. I soon discovered a new metaphysical bookshop and bought my first astology books on June 7, 1971.

Looking at both the violent death of a friend and my beginning of what has proven to be a life-long study, it was very clear to me that this double event is the obvious key to my rectification of my own horoscope. All my earlier rectification work was keyed only on the death of a friend. Clearly, my Mars in the 10^th house represented my friend. Mars is in Scorpio, and its dispositor, Pluto, is in the 8^th, thereby suggesting that the death of a friend would figure prominently in my life. Furthermore since Mars is the historical ruler of Scorpio, Mars in the 10^th house represents the 12^th dynamic of the 11^th house. Once again, Mars is key. But why did I take up astrology? While I was checking out various techniques to link my Mars with my midheaven at the time my friend died, I found that solar arcs would move my descendant close to my Uranus. Then I realized that it would be possible to find the right solar arc that could move the midheaven to my Mars and move the ascendant to oppose my Uranus simultaneously. I then had to decide what date to use. My friend died on May 31^st, but I began my studies on June 7^th 8 days later. In order to accommodate both days, I found the average date since both events were really part of the same process. So I used June 3^rd 1971 to represent both events. The solar arc for June 3, 1971 was 20:04°. I don't quibble about rectifying to the second; the nearest minute is good enough. Unlike astronomers, astrologers understand orbs. This lead me to deduce 4:24 p.m. PDT to be my birthtime.

I was born in Portland, Oregon at St. Vincent's Hospital. Although my Win*Star software does supply the coordinates for the various hospitals around the country, it does not acknowledge that St. Vincent's was demolished and relocated to the suburbs in the early 1970s. Win*Star does, however, list coordinates for the various postal stations in bigger cities, and the closest post office in Portland to my birthplace is the Forest Park station. So I use its latitude and longitude.

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

Fate and Free Will—a Mathematical Overview

I have been exposed to the world of metaphysics for most of my life now. I don't accept the premise that we are all tools of fate. But I have seen too much of the real world to believe that we have 100% free will, either. Fate and free will both make up important parts of our lives. However, the portion of life that is strictly fated and that portion that is under our control can never be known on an individual basis. However, I have developed a speculation for evaluating humanity as a whole. It is said that the fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are the most fated. This means that the cardinal and mutable signs, are, therefore, imbued with the most free will. Every planet in every chart is going to have both a sign and a house. There is an equation of signs and houses that has long been promoted by such astrologers as Press Roberts and Zipporah Dobyns. This equation likens the 1^st house to Aries, the 2^nd house to Taurus, an so on around the chart. Under this methodology, the succeedent houses would be just as fated as the fixed signs, whereas the angular and cadent houses would have the free will of the cardinal and mutable signs.

So looking at humanity as a whole, and assuming that a planet has a 1/12 probability of being in any given sign and a 1/12 probability of being in any given house, then the probability that a planet is in a fixed sign is 4/12 or 1/3. Likewise the probability that a planet is in a succeedent house is also 1/3. So the probability that a planet is both fixed and succeedent is 1/3 x 1/3 or 1/9 or 11.1%. It follows then that other events in the life will be made up of some combination of both fate and free will. Pure free will is represented by 44.4%, as are those events that are combinations of both.  In consulting with a reliable local psychic, she concurred that the 11% figure was very credible. 

Keep in mind that my calculations are just approximations for humanity as a whole. We all have 10 planets in our charts. Of my own 10 planets, only the Sun and Pluto are both a fixed sign and a succeedent house. So I would say that my life is roughly 20% fated.

Keep in mind that my ideas are strictly theoretical. But it is a place to start.

Don Borkowski

dgborkowski@msn.com

An Introduction to Rectification

I’ve been fascinated by the topic of astrological rectification ever since I took up astrology.  I was motivated by a combination of facts:  my father was an immigrant, whose birth certificate was written in not one, but two languages other than English.  His birth certificate did not contain a birthtime, and his birthplace had still not adopted the Gregorian calendar.  I created a successful rectification of my father’s horoscope, and my enthusiasm has never waned.

The “detective” work behind the process of astrological rectification continues to hold my interest.
As a child, I once bought a paperback book about Ripley’s Believe it or Not®!?, and I was totally excited when my mother told me that we had a family member who worked for Ripley—as an exhibit!  Thanks to the Internet, I’ve been able to find out much about my distant cousin and add published information to family lore to endeavor to discover a horoscope for him.  Here is a listing about him on the internet:  http://www.phreeque.com/roy_bard.html

My grandfather’s cousin, Roy Bard, was born in Bryan, Ohio on April 1, 1884.  He lived an uneventful life until the age of 24, when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle.  As with many other sufferers of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), his genetic disability was triggered by a small injury.  In Roy’s case, he developed stiffness in his left hip that just kept worsening until he was almost totally rigid.
Astrologically, there were many factors that can be fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.  Paralysis, stiffness and the bones are all ruled by Saturn and Capricorn.  The hips are ruled by Jupiter and Sagittarius.  Roy’s disease began to manifest at age 24.  Roy’s Saturn is 6:09 Gemini, 23:51 degrees from the Aries point.  Curiously, Roy’s Jupiter is 24:44 Cancer, which would mean that Roy’s JU/SA midpoint would be 0:26 Cancer, just 26 minutes past the Aries point.  Without knowing an exact date for the bike accident, I had to base all the solar arc work on the time-midpoint of age 24, namely October 1, 1908.

Getting back to Roy’s natal chart, I concluded quickly that Roy would have to have Capricorn on the ascendant because the ascendant is not only the health center of the horoscope, but it illustrates outward behavior and attitudes.  Furthermore, it would put Sagittarius on the 12th cusp of critical illness.  When the only thing that can be speculated definitively is the ascendant, I start with 15:00 of the sign in question and then work back and forth to find the best fit.  After several tries, I concluded that Roy was born at 1:53 a.m. LMT, giving 15:28 Capricorn rising.  The SA Moon on October 1, 1908 was 15:24 Cancer.  Repeated iterations of my thought process might move the time a minute or two one way or the other.

Now that I was satisfied with the technical side of the chart, it was imperative to observe the psychological side of the horoscope.  Certainly, with the midpoint of R1/R12 at the Aries point, Roy’s health issues would be brought forward.  Yet a Capricorn ascendant would suggest that Roy’s dignity would also be of paramount concern.  Nowadays, people would feel that being a sideshow freak is a very demeaning thing to do.  Yet Roy had the Sun in Aries, and his energy to lead fueled his Capricornian ambition to earn a living, even though he was a quadriplegic living in the midst of the Great Depression.
Roy’s vocational profile shows several interesting points.  Although his Sun is 11:59 Aries, his oriental planet is Uranus, way back at 25:25 Virgo, quindecile to the Sun.  Roy’s chosen work was certainly uncommon.  Moreover, before he became ill, he worked as a telephone lineman, which Roy’s vocational profile shows in several interesting ways.  Although his Sun is 11:59 Aries, his oriental planet is Uranus, way back at 25:25 Virgo, quindecile to the Sun.  Roy’s chosen work was certainly uncommon.  Moreover, before he became ill, he worked as a telephone lineman, which reflected the modern technology of the early 20th Century.  Trying the Midheaven Extension Process, I see the Scorpio Midheaven keying Pluto, then Pluto.Venus*(4,9).  Venus contacts Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto.  Venus rules the 4th house and disposes of a Taurean stellium therein and rules the 9th house as well.  Although Roy was confined to an exhibit, he was moved around to various exhibitions and fairs, such as Chicago in 1933 and San Diego in 1935.
Don Borkowski

When Life Gives You Lemons, Write an Astrology Article.

(I bet you thought I was going say, make lemonade.)

On Saturday morning, May 7, 2011, I was getting ready to go out for breakfast, when my right leg gave out on me. I wound up sitting on the floor of my kitchen. I called my son to come from work. He tried to get me on my feet, but he could not succeed. So the EMTs took me to the emergency room. I had thought that I might have dislocated my right hip, but x-rays proved that my upper femur was, indeed, broken in 5 places. I was very fotunate to escape needng a hip replacement because I had been concerned about the possibility thereof for a couple of weeks. Actually, my right hip had been weak and achy for a while. I readily diagnosed the weakness as pertaining to transiting Neptune conjunct my Jupiter. Basically, I had been preparing myself for dealing with the possibility of a hip replacement when transiting Neptune got closer to a conjunction with my Jupiter at 3:49 Pisces. In fact, the surgeon pinned three of the fractures and left the other two to heal naturally.

My collapse, fall and hip fracture on the 7th did prove interesting from an astrological point of view! As Jurpiter rules my Sagittarius ascendant, I felt sure that transit Neptune's approach to Jupiter would suggest hip problem(s) because Jupiter and Sagittarius rule the liver, hips, blood and thighs. I fell at 9:45 a.m. May 7, 2011 in Salem, Oregon. But my fall and fracture seem more closely related to transit Pluto at 7:18 Capricorn opposing natal Uranus at 7:57 Cancer as transit Moon conjoined natal Uranus from 7:37 Cancer. Because of the surgery, it stood to reason that Mars was involved. And transit Mars* did square natal Venus (r 6,8) at that time. I should add that falls have a lot of affinity to Aquarius and both its modern and traditional rulers, Uranus and Saturn, respectively. Noel Tyl likes to use the tertiary progressed Moon to indicate issues of timing. He feels that it works best for “lunar” people, such as himself, as evidenced by his Cancer ascendant. I am not lunar in any sense of the word, but I have seen the TP Moon work for issues relating to the house(s) ruled by Cancer. In my chart, that's the 8^th house, which covers surgery! At the time I fell, my TP Moon was 17:26 Gemini, within orb of a close opposition to my ascendant, 17:41 Sagittarius. The effect of the TP Moon, both supported Noel's premise and the rectificed chart that I use.

The orthopedic surgeon that the E/R assigned to me suspected that I might have low testosterone because recent tesearch has suggested that low testosterone can cause weak bones in ordinarily healthy men of my age.  He had my blood tested for it when I was in the hospital, and he was correct.  I do have low testosterone.  Low testoterone levels can also manifest in depression and obesity, both of which have been life-long issues for me.  When I have my follow-up appointment with the surgeon, I will have him report to my primary care physician, so that I can get testosterone prescribed for me.  Astrologically, I do have SA SA=PL at this time, which could symbolize this hormonic condition.

dgborkowski@msn.com