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