A new friendly face in the crowd

Late last year, I was pretty ticked with the rudeness of some of my guests to my website. I ranted and wondered if my rant would change anything. I think it did.

After my comments were posted on the blogs, I started getting emails from all around the world. Not a lot, but enough to let me know that the rudeness of those few rogue visitors is certainly not the norm. I think I've made some new online friends. There have been people asking for permission to use my scripts and even some offering to pay me money for them! WHOA!

For example, this month, I received an very nice email from a person who helps manage a mountaineering website in Mexico. He explained his situation and what he was looking for. He wasn't vague or obscure. He was open and upfront. My kinda people! Well, Heck Yah! Not only is he using my calendar script on the website, but I even modified it to change the week set up to end with Sunday instead of start with Sunday. Club Explorador is using the Moon Phase calendar to help with planning their events. Now How Cool is That?

Granted, I may not always freely give away a script to just anyone. But in some cases, it is the right thing to do for a person who was willing to ask, before taking.

Chart Rulers or Rising Planets

Q: I've always read that the ruler(s) of the ascendant and the chart ruler of the chart were two different things. The chart ruler is defined as the planet closest to the ascendant while the ruler of the ascendant is the actual ruler of the ascendant's sign. A.H.
A: Thank you for your question! What you don't mention is "where" you have always been reading about the differences between the Chart Ruler and Ascendant Ruler. I'm always curious where to find differences of interpretation because it does help me to better understand different ways of interpreting concepts. But, aside from that, I can tell you where to find similar definitions that I used on my site and also explain where I believe the confusions could be coming from.

Different astrologers put different meanings to astrology terms because of the various types of astrology being used in so many different languages. Also, I note that a lot of new Astrology terms are developing on the Internet. Over time, meanings change as do the terms being used. The definition I use for "Chart Ruler" on my site concurs with the definition found in "The only astrology book you'll ever need," by Woolfolk, and "The only way to learn astrology" by March & McEvers, as well as any number of other astrology books and websites across the Internet. The books I referenced are both basic and great resources for beginning astrologers. Sometimes I see "Chart Ruler" referenced as "the ruling planet of the chart." Some astrologers call the rising sign's ruling planet the "Significator." But I believe that this term comes more from the vedic. I believe that Paul Wade, "Be your own astrologer," simply calls the ruler of the ascendant as "the ruling planet." How confusing is that? But that's also an accurate way of describing it.

The term used for a planet that rules over a person's "sun sign" (or any sign) is called the **planetary ruler**, hence many astrologers logically conclude that the ruler of the rising sign of a chart must be the **chart ruler.** Yet, what is so different between the terms Ruling Planet and Planetary Ruler?

For example, (as explained by Dane Rudhyar, "The Astrology of Personality," page 496),

"The first way of singling out a planet, to make it serve as a center of significance, is to find what is called the 'ruling planet' or 'ruler of the chart.' This is usually determined by the sign of the Ascendant. The planet ruling this sign becomes the ruler of the whole chart. The rationale of this method is clear. The Ascendant represents the factor of individual self-hood, the monad, the fountainhead of the life and destiny which the chart as a whole symbolizes. Therefore the planet functionally dominating this Ascendant becomes naturally the dominant life-function of the personality. However, in the case of planets rising close to the Ascendant, or when a planet, wherever situated in the chart, 'disposes' of all or most other planets, then two or more planets may divide the honors of chart-rulership."

Mr. Rudhyar goes on to explain a second way of singling out a planet as a focal point but it is beyond the scope of our discussion here. Yet, I quickly picked up on Mr. Rudhyar's description, "planet ... of significance" sounding very much like "significator." Also, he explains that this is "usually" (as in "not always") the way to finding the chart ruler or ruler of the chart. So this does "open the door" to your interpretations.

Additionally, the term chart ruler being used as I have on my site would also be called the "ruler of the first house."

Other terms that are frequently confused and misused are Rising Planet, Ascending Planet, Scout Planet, Leading Planet and Oriental Planet. The term for the planet closest to the ascendant moving the opposite of the numbers on the houses (i.e. 2nd, 1st, 12th) is usually called the Rising Planet or the Ascending Planet. Many astrologers believe that the closeness of the planet to the Ascendant makes the planet more influential.

"Rising planet: A planet considered to be close to the ascendant. As with all else in astrology the deciding number of degrees will vary by astrologer, but within 5 degrees on either side of the Ascendant cusp being a widely accepted orb."

(http://www.skyviewzone.com/astrology/dictionary.htm)

On the other hand, I have read a few texts which claim that the "rising planet" can only be located in the first house, rising toward the Ascendant while others state that the planet must have already risen above and past the horizon. On the Matrix site in the Astro*Index section, they very clearly describe the Rising Planet as being:

"A planet above, and within 5°, of the eastern Horizon."

(http://www.thenewage.com/community/index.asp)

Other similar terms that are confused on a regular basis are the "Oriental & Occidental" planets. These are the planets on either side of the Sun that rose before (Oriental, Leading, or Scout) or after (Occidental) the Sun rose.

"Oriental - literally eastern; said of a planet that rises and sets before the Sun. "

(http://www.thenewage.com/community/index.asp)

"The oriental planet, called the leading planet, is the one that will rise immediately before the Sun; i.e., the planet that directly precedes the Sun clockwise (behind the Sun in the natural order of the zodiac)."

(http://astrology.aryabhatt.com/astrology_glossary.asp)

However, I have seen it the other way around with Oriental being described as following and Occidental as before the Sun rose.

Yet the whole chart thing can get confusing, let alone figuring out which direction is rising, which is setting, which is above, below, in front and behind.

I hope that this helps you to understand where I'm coming from when using the term "Chart Ruler" on my site as well as giving you a solid set of resources to confirm why I use the term in the manner that I do. I'm not saying I'm right, I'm simply saying I'm not alone in using the term in the way that I do. Sometimes it does not boil down to the use of terms I'm always reading, but simply based on what I have found to be the most common term being used to describe a concept. Fact is, that the interpretations get cobbled up by so many different experts in the field that we need to just do the best we can with what we can find on the topic to try to make sense of it all.

Happy Holidays to Everyone

Have a Great Halloween!

Pluto becomes Brutus in the Business World

November 28, 2008, Pluto will effectively move into Capricorn for the long haul. Pluto will be in Capricorn for 15 years until 2024. Forgive me as I bounce around a little between the past and the future. I like to look at the past to help me navigate the present into the future.

Looking back at where we have been, Pluto transited through Sagittarius beginning in 1995 and it was quite the run. Sagittarius (ruled by Jupiter) tends to function with big and expansive ideals. Religion and philosophies, higher education, diversity and culture, along with the ever well known category, Long Journeys. Long journeys in this day and age means "over the moon" with trips to Mars and beyond. Also, who could forget about diversity of perspectives that seemingly spurred on the arguments over whether Pluto is a planet, an asteroid or a mini planetoid. Religion has gone through cataclysmic redefinition; from Islamic beliefs to Catholic beliefs to Wicca beliefs to name a few religions that have felt the impacts of Pluto's transit through Sagittarius. Pluto's been busy redefining many of these areas in our lives. And these concept changes will be with us for a long time, but we are also starting to see the change that is coming our way as Pluto prepares to completely leave Sagittarius and move into Capricorn territory next month.

Pluto's 15 year transit through Capricorn could be more subtle and seemingly skim just below the surface of events. We have a whole lot to learn about authority (who really has it vs. who thinks they have it), status (again, who really has it), structure, business, industry and management. Saturn rules over Capricorn. It will be really interesting to see how the two planets play together while Pluto is in Capricorn and Saturn is in Scorpio beginning October 2012 during this mutual reception of transits. In the United States, we definitely need to be really careful about who gets elected this year, since this newly elected President will begin to set the trends that lead into 2012.

Pluto is renowned for death and rebirth. The proverbial Phoenix Rising tends to grab situations by the gonads and give a twist to the outcome that no one is expecting. The "Beginning of the End" is a fitting title for the changes that Pluto brings about. Interestingly enough, the last time Pluto transited through Sagittarius and Capricorn was in the mid-1700s. That was definitely a time of changing philosophies and long distance moves on the part of many people from European countries. New philosophies developed, new religions and a gamut of cultural conversions. Stories grew out of the "invasions" and colonization of foreign soil on distant continents. These were stories that seemed very romantic and gutsy at the time. When Pluto moved into Capricorn in 1762, a whole new picture began to emerge about "who was in control." That was a period of defining organization, structure and authorities. Of course, we all know that the 1770s was the period of the United States becoming a new "country" breaking free from England's attempts to claim ownership of the "new" territory. The American Revolution, and there were many other revolutions taking place during this time. It was a time of long established cultures becoming virtually extinguished as technology and brutal wit moved nations in a new direction. Businesses and governments were shaken to the core back then. I'm speculating that the entities will be shaken to the core once again over the next 15 years. One other factor to consider is that Pluto and Saturn did form a mutual reception during Pluto's last transit through Capricorn. If you choose to do the research yourself, check out the historical events for the years 1777 - 1779.

Looking into the near future, the Saturn Pluto mutual reception during 2013 and 2014, will, most likely, bring upheaval in ways we can never imagine simply because technology is totally different today than it was. One more observation that I have is the fact that Pluto will still be in Capricorn when Saturn arrives there in 2018. Will they work as a team? The history behind this transit is a little more difficult to come by. I could be wrong here, but the last time I can find any records of Saturn and Pluto both transiting through Capricorn at the same time is 782 - 785 (AD).

Back to the present, and at this point in time, Saturn is currently in Virgo. We have one more year of Saturn in Virgo. Next, Saturn will start the transit Libra near the end of October, 2009. Partnerships (corporations) will need to be restructured, legal entities will be scrutinized, and financial institutions will need to clean up their squalor. Looking back, while Saturn transited Libra, 1980-1981, there was a period of global economic recession. Many businesses were reorganized and redefined. The first example I can think of comes from the automobile industry. There were several governmental bailouts of the American automobile industry during the early 1980s. Also, does anyone remember how many bank failures there were back then?

Saturn's transit through Scorpio has a tendency to force us to investigate the matters that we consider to be "taboo" or too hot to handle. For example, let's look back to the last time Saturn moved through Scorpio in 1983-1984. Geraldine Ferraro was the first female to run as vice president in the United States. Jesse Jackson was the first African-American presidential candidate. Sally Ride was the first woman astronaut in the US traveling into space. US prisons were crumbling under the huge influx of inmates. The whole world was struggling with a newly discovered illness called the "gay plague" which we now know more about but have yet to figure out how to cure; AIDS.

I can't help but feel like the trend of Pluto's move into Capricorn will continue to spur economic and governmental evaluations. As Saturn moves into Libra near the end of 2009, legal entities, corporations and financial institutions will be expected to clean up their mess while Pluto redefines the rules of the business game. Then the next real change will be seen while Saturn moves through Scorpio beginning in October 2012. There have already been scary predictions that December 2012 could be the "end of the world" based on the Mayan calendar ending that year as well as some other forecasts from other famous astrologers. Forecasts are merely "probabilities" and NEVER seem to turn out exactly as predicted.

So where does this knowledge leave us as we anticipate the shifts from the planetary transits that bring generational changes? Well, once again, there are no easy answers or prognostications that can fully prepare us for the future. We hopefully learn from history and find solutions that can help minimize the pain of transition. That is what astrology is all about. We can see the cycles and the patterns from the past which allow us to see the direction and focus that we need to take for the future. Whether we are smart enough to see this, and use this to our advantage is the whole other side of the astrology coin; free will vs. fate.

Is the END truly near? ummmm.... well, isn't it always the end of something?