[PAGE 70] THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS
CHAPTER IV
READING THE HOROSCOPE
INTRODUCTORY
When the student of Astrology has learned to cast the horoscope correctly
by the study of our "Simplified Scientific Astrology," or another reliable
textbook, the next and most important part is to read its message. Astrol-
ogy means "Star Logic" and we must seriously advise the student not to de-
pend too much on authorities but to try to understand the basic nature of
each planet, the influence of signs, houses and aspects: then by a process
of reasoning to combine these and thus develop his own intuition which will
serve him far better than the ability to quote like a poll parrot what some
one else has said.
We would also advise the younger astrologer not to bother too much with
the descriptions of physical appearance indicated in the horoscope. It is
foolish to spend hours in studying over a phase of the subject which is of
limited value. We give descriptions of the different physical types, but do
so for the purpose of aiding the student to determine at sight the probable
sign and planet rising when a person comes who does not know his birth hour.
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There are people for instance, who have a face perfectly resembling that of
a sheep. If such a one were in doubt about the birth hour, we would at once
look to Aries and experimentally try how Aries rising would fit with the
other characteristics of that person; if we did so we should probably find
our guess to be correct. Thus also the other signs and planets in signs ex-
hibit distinguishing characteristics of valuable aid to the student in the
direction mentioned.
The student should also endeavor to cultivate perfect confidence in the
science of Astrology. There is NOTHING EMPIRICAL ABOUT CHARACTER READING
AND DIAGNOSIS. In those respects it is plain as A B C. PREDICTIONS MAY
FAIL because the Astrologer is unable to determine the strength of will of
the person for whom he predicts, but the latent tendencies are always ac-
curately foreshown. The writers have found that where they do not person-
ally know the people who characteristics they read, their delineations are
much deeper and more accurate than otherwise because then personal impres-
sions and bias are absent and the mystic scroll of the heavens is more eas-
ily read.
There are three factors which bring to us the mystic message of the
stars; the houses, the signs and the planets.
Each house represents a department of life; the signs are divisions of
the heavens which by their placement relative to the houses indicate our
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basic temperament and attitude towards life; and the planets are the mes-
sengers of God which by their motion through the houses and signs bring to
us the opportunities for soulgrowth which we need for our individual devel-
opment. It is therefore necessary for one who wishes to learn to read a
horoscope to become thoroughly acquainted with these three factors both
separately and in their various combinations. The following descriptions
may help to convey this knowledge:
THE HOUSES
The houses are called "Mundane Houses," to differentiate between them and
the "Celestial Houses" namely the twelve signs of the Zodiac; but generally
they are designated as "houses" only.
It is the angle of the stellar ray which determines its effect in our
lives, planets which are in the East affect our physical constitution, plan-
ets in the South near the zenith are factors for good or ill where our so-
cial position is concerned. If a planet is setting in the West at the time
of our birth its ray strikes us in such a manner as to draw us to a certain
type of marriage partner, and the planets under the earth, in the North,
have an effect upon our condition in the latter part of life. Let us sup-
pose for illustration of the point that someone is born at sunrise on a day
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when the Sun and Jupiter are in conjunction. Then they strike him from the
eastern angle and give him splendid vitality. Another born on the same day
at noon when Jupiter and the Sun are in the zenith position may have a very
poor, weak body if other planets in the East are adverse, but the ray of the
Sun and Jupiter falling or his birth figure from the South will certainly
attract to him attention in his social sphere and make him the recipient of
public favor and honor. Another born on the same day, when the Sun and Ju-
piter are setting in the West may be an outcast if planets in the East and
South so decree, but the benefic ray of the Sun and Jupiter from the Western
angle will make him beloved of his mate and successful in partnerships.
These facts have been ascertained by observation and tabulation. Therefore
the twelve sections of the circle of observation as seen from the birthplace
are truly said to rule or govern various departments of life and thus people
born on the same day may have the most diverse experiences.
The houses may be variously grouped according to the influence they exer-
cise in our lives; there are "angular," "succeedent" and "cadent" houses,
also personal, spiritual, material, social and mystical houses.
Of the ANGLES, the first house governs our personal self, and its oppo-
site the seventh house, rules the one who is nearest and dearest to us,
namely, the marriage partner. The fourth house determines conditions in our
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home and its opposite angle, the tenth house, shows our social standing in
the community where we live. Thus the angles show collectively the sphere
of our activities in life.
Of the SUCCEEDENT HOUSES the second shows our financial status with re-
gard to that which we acquire by our own efforts and the opposite succeedent
house, the eight, shows whatever we may receive from others as legacies,
etc. The other succeedent houses, the fifth and eleventh, show how our in-
come may be spent, for the fifth house indicates the children of our body
who have a legitimate claim to a share of our income, and the eleventh house
shows the children of our brains, our hopes, wishes and aspirations which
also draw upon our resources.
Of the two pairs of CADENT HOUSES the sixth is the house of voluntary
service which we perform as our share of the world's work for an equivalent
share in the world's wealth, and the twelfth house shows how we may be com-
pelled to labor without remuneration under prison restraint if we do not
work willingly. The sixth house shows also the state of our health and the
twelfth tells if hospital treatment is necessary.
The other pair of cadent houses, the third and ninth show whether our
life and work will confine us to one place or require travel and changes of
residence. In this respect the third house shows short journeys and the
ninth house long travels.
The PERSONAL HOUSES comprise the first, fifth and ninth. The first house
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rules the constitution and peculiarities of the physical body. Planets and
signs in that house put their stamp on it to make or mar according to the
nature of its self-generated destiny. Our fifth house shows the quality of
love-nature of the soul and the line of its expression if it follows the
line of least resistance; and the ninth house shows as much of the spirit as
we can apprehend in our present limited state.
The MATERIAL TRINITY OF HOUSES consists of the second, sixth and tenth
and shows the worldly possessions of man, his means of obtaining them and
the enjoyment they bring him. Wealth, or its reverse, is shown by the sec-
ond house, health, without which there can be no joy in any worldly posses-
sion, is shown by the sixth house; and the public prestige which is the
chief source of gratification to the average human being, is shown by the
tenth house.
The SOCIAL HOUSES are the third, seventh, and eleventh houses and in them
is shown the nature of our relations and various classes of souls we meet in
life. Brothers and sisters to whom we are bound by the time of blood are
shown by the third house, the companion of our heart with whom our blood
blends in another way, is shown by the seventh house, and the friends, more
precious than pearls to whoever has earned friendship, are designated by the
eleventh house.
The fourth and last trinity of houses is composed of the fourth, eighth
and twelfth. If them are hidden mysteries of the ante-natal life of the
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spirit, and the post mortem experiences immediately to follow the TERMINUS
VITAE. On the material plane the fourth house signifies our condition in
the latter part of life, the twelfth shows the sorrow which impresses us
with the worthlessness of material things and the eighth indicates the na-
ture of our exit from the world's stage.
An illustration may further help the student to understand how the heav-
ens influence our life through the twelve houses. Suppose we are out driv-
ing and our road follows the seacoast, but a mile or so inland. A breeze is
blowing from the ocean and as it passes over the country separating us from
the sea, it brings upon invisible wings messages from that land, which evoke
pleasure or aversion according to their nature. In one place, an aroma of
new mown hay fills us with delight; perhaps we are nauseated by the noxious
smell of jasmine on the next stretch of our journey; and later become really
ill from the stench of stagnant marsh-water. But then we enter a forest,
and soon its grateful pine balm restores the normal health and spirits.
In our journey from the cradle to the grave we carry the twelve houses
with us in the auric atmosphere surrounding us, as the air envelops the fly-
ing earth. Each house mirrors part of the life; each holds some of our life
lessons; each represents how we have worked or shirked before in a given de-
partment of life's tasks. At the appropriate time of life we reap from each
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house what we have sown in past lives, that is, unless we forestall the har-
vest in time. Is our eleventh house afflicted, do friends betray and for-
sake us, do they leave us heartsick, or nauseate us like the scent of jas-
mine and stagnant marsh-water? Then let us examine the horoscope for it
reveals what is hidden in our auric atmosphere. The friends sensed us, and
we then, through the eleventh angle, and something ill-smelling must be
there. It may be, we long to be befriended, more than to befriend others.
Let us cease to be like the sickly, debilitating jasmine, and seek to
manifest the sturdy strength of the invigorating pine tree; then we shall
find friend flocking around, admiring our strength. Not all have such
sturdy natures, but we can attract equally by kindliness, as soothing to
sorrowing hearts as perfume of new mown hay to the sense, and thus we may
rid the house of friends of affliction.
After the foregoing explanations, the houses may now be said to influence
the affairs of life as follows:
FIRST HOUSE rules the physical body and its constitution and appearance; it
determines conditions in the childhood home while the person is under con-
trol of the parents.
SECOND HOUSE rules money, the financial fortunes; it shows what the person
acquires by individual effort and to a certain extent what use he will make
of it.
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THIRD HOUSE rules brothers and sisters, neighbors, the instinctual mind,
writings, short journeys and conveyances of travel.
FOURTH HOUSE--That one of the parents who exercises the lesser influence in
the person's life, conditions in the latter part of life, houses, lands,
mines; everything pertaining to the earth.
FIFTH HOUSE--Love, courtship and licentiousness, the legitimate and ille-
gitimate attraction and social intercourse between the sexes prior to wed-
lock; children, education institutions, books and newspapers, sports and
amusements, stocks and speculations.
SIXTH HOUSE--Health, service to be rendered by the person and also the con-
dition and faithfulness of those who serve him.
SEVENTH HOUSE--The marriage partner, the public in general, competitors,
partners, opponents in litigations, rivals.
EIGHTH HOUSE--Death, legacies, the marriage partner's finances, occult
abilities and faculties latent but nearly ready for manifestation.
NINTH HOUSE--Religion, spiritual experiences and aspirations, dreams and vi-
sions, long travels and law.
TENTH HOUSE--The parent who exercises most influence in the person's life,
the honor and social standing of the person, his employer or judge, and the
government.
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ELEVENTH HOUSE--Friends, companions and well-wishers, hopes, wishes and as-
pirations, generally of a material nature, also stepchildren.
TWELFTH HOUSE--Confinement in hospitals or prison, secret enemies and plots;
sorrow and self undoing.
THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
On either side of the Sun's path there are a number of fixed stars which
are so grouped that they may be conceived as forming twelve constellations,
and as they have certain characteristic influences ancient sages named them
for the animals which express similar traits. These constellations are
called the NATURAL Zodiac and for all practical purposes it may be said that
they occupy permanent positions relative to the other fixed stars of the
firmament. This circle is divided into twelve sections starting at the
first degree of Aries, which is occupied by the Sun at the vernal equinox.
On account of the precession of the equinox the Sun does not cross the
equator at the same point each year, but it has been found that the first 30
degrees from the point where the Sun does cross the equator at the equinox
have an effect similar to that ascribed to the constellation Aries; the
next thirty degrees radiate a Taurian influence and so on with the other ten
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sections of thirty degrees each. Therefore the twelve sections measured
from the vernal equinox are used exclusively in Astrology and called SIGNS
of the Zodiac, to differentiate them from the CONSTELLATIONS. (For a thor-
ough elucidation of the subject see "Simplified Scientific Astrology," under
the caption "Intellectual Zodiac.")
These twelve signs of the Zodiac are variously divided according to their
effect on humanity into Cardinal, Fixed and Common signs, also into Fiery,
Earthy, Airy and Watery signs. What their influences are we shall endeavor
to elucidate in the following sections.
THE CARDINAL SIGNS
Keyword "Activity"
The Cardinal Signs are ARIES, CANCER, LIBRA and CAPRICORN. These signs
are called Cardinal because when the Sun is in them he is in one of the four
corners of the heavens; at a turning-point, where he is forced to take an-
other direction. In Aries he is as far EAST as he can go; Cancer is the
tropical point of the NORTH where he gives the PERPENDICULAR RAY at the Sum-
mer Solstice, and consequently the greatest HEAT. Libra is the extreme
WESTERN point of his path, where he turns away from the Northern Hemisphere,
and in midwinter, at Christmas, he is in Capricorn at the farthest point
SOUTH, where his HORIZONTAL RAY leaves the people of the North in winter's
icy grip. The effect of the angels, the first, fourth, seventh and tenth
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houses, is similar to the effect of the cardinal signs because these houses
are at the East, North, West and South points of the horoscope. The nature
and effect of cardinal signs and angles may be summed up in the words "Ac-
tion" and "Initiative" (though each acts differently from the others,)
therefore planets placed in cardinal signs and angles give zest to life ac-
cording to the nature of the particular planet, sign and angle.
"Zodiac" means a circle of animals. The symbols of three of the cardinal
signs are animalistic: ARIES, the Ram; CANCER, the Crab; and CAPRICORN, the
Goat. The fourth , Libra, the Scales, represents the ideal towards which
this class must strive. None need poise so much as those under the impul-
sive influence of the cardinal ray; therefore the Balance was set in the
heavens to direct their aspirations.
THE FIXED SIGNS
Keyword "Stability"
The Fixed Signs are TAURUS, LEO, SCORPIO and AQUARIUS. Three symbols of
the fixed signs are also bestial, violent and virulent; TAURUS, the Bull;
LEO, the Lion; and SCORPIO, the Scorpion. The human figure of AQUARIUS, the
Waterbearer, shows us the ideal towards which this class must strive. In-
stead of fighting, preying upon, or poisoning others in the struggle for ex-
istence they must learn to become humane, to be friends to all instead of
foes.
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The influence of the fixed signs rouses the DESIRE nature, giving stamina
and persistence in action.
When fixed signs are on the angles (the first, fourth, seventh and tenth
houses), they exert a well nigh irresistible force, impelling the individual
along a certain line. He may be slow and plodding, but is sure to be PER-
SISTENT in whatever he undertakes, and whatever talent he may posses in a
certain direction will be exploited to its fullest extent. Setbacks which
would take the courage from a person with cardinal signs do not daunt the
man with fixed signs on the angels, he knows no defeat, and therefore he
usually gains his goal in the end and achieves success by Concentration upon
one point, and Persistence in following his chosen path. On the other hand
such people are conservative to the last degree. They may see and desire
improvements in various lines, but are exceedingly slow to adopt measures to
accomplish the desired end; they never do this until thoroughly satisfied
that a certain method will meet the requirements. In other words, people
with fixed signs on the angels "look before they leap;" they look a long
time and very, very carefully, but on the other hand, when they have once
been won over to a certain cause they are faithful unto death, and no more
ardent advocates can be found; their zeal is almost fanatical. On the
whole, people with fixed signs may be said to be THE MOST RELIABLE PEOPLE in
the world, either for good or bad.
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THE COMMON SIGNS
Keyword "Flexibility"
Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are called common signs, their in-
trinsic nature being best expressed by the keyword, Flexibility.
The forces working through the CARDINAL signs impinge upon the DENSE BODY
and stir it to action.
The power of the COMMON signs is MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL, giving purpose to
action and incentive to nobility of life.
Therefore people influenced by stellar forces focused principally through
CARDINAL signs are the workers of the world, not the toilers, but EX-
ECUTIVES, who accomplish things industrially, and who bring into concrete
existence schemes, great or small, of value in the world's work. THE COMMON
SIGNS ARE ALL DOUBLE; two of them are human: GEMINI, the Twins, and VIRGO,
the Virgin; the third, SAGITTARIUS, the Centaur, is partly human; and only
the fourth symbol, PISCES, the Fishes, is taken from the lower kingdom.
None are violent, however, but intensely moral, intellectual and spiritual
symbols.
Unstable as reeds they are swayed hither and thither; nothing appeals to
them permanently, they desire nothing as much as change. No matter how well
placed, they can seldom resist the lure of an opening in another city, the
farther away, the better. Therefore the old maxim: "a rolling stone gath-
ers no moss," applies particularly to this class, for their roving habits
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usually keep them poor. They spend as fast as they earn, or faster. Thus
these people drift upon the sea of life propelled by the currents of circum-
stances. Outside conditions dominate them as they lack stamina to assert
their own individuality.
The foregoing is true of the great majority who are under the rule and
influence of common signs; they respond to the LOWER PHASE simply because
the higher side is too high for all but a very few at our present stage of
development. Those who make a success in the world because prodded by the
cardinal and fixed influences, call them indolent and good-for-nothing, but
were the former bereft of the cardinal or fixed energy which goads them to
action, and placed under the common ray, they would soon realize its lack of
power and learn compassion for those who must so live all their lives. What
then is the lesson these people have to learn?
COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF CARDINAL, FIXED AND COMMON
SIGNS ON THE ANGLES
While the nature of the cardinal signs is such that their rays stir our
latent forces into action and promote change, the most prominent quality of
the fixed signs is Stability; but the student must beware of confounding
stability with inertia. The action induced by the rays of cardinal signs
may be changed into other channels with considerable facility, all they want
being expression; the direction in which they express themselves is a
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secondary consideration. Not so with the fixed signs, when their ray impels
to action in a certain direction it is next to impossible to stay the force
or change it. On the other hand, if they deny expression in certain lines,
the obstruction is almost insurmountable.
People of the fixed class lack ability to make their inventions commer-
cially usable, a task for which the cardinal class is eminently fitted.
Thus these two classes work hand in hand and between them they have trans-
formed the wilderness of the world to a condition of comparative comfort,
their efforts toward improvement are continually carried on, and in time the
desert will be made to bloom like a rose.
As material success depends on ability to cope with material conditions,
the cardinal class is particularly fortunate, for it is the chief executive
factor in the world's work, and reaps ready reward therefrom. The fixed
class is not so prominently before the public, labors in laboratories and
works experimentally to complete the processes and perfect the models which
are later used in manufacture. Therefore this class also is a potent factor
in life, and shares the material and financial success of the cardinal
class.
The common class is a sharp contrast. Forces focused through COMMON
signs are MENTAL, therefore people ruled by them are averse to strenuous
physical action which is the forte of the cardinal class; they labor only
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when lashed by the whip of necessity. They are also incapable of the slow
by sustained effort put forth by the fixed class and are easily discourage
by obstacles. Thus they are leaners not lifters. TOILERS who do the bid-
ding of the incentive and executive classes are recruited from people ruled
by COMMON signs. There is one sphere, however, where they shine, according
to their ability to think. Being averse to work they have created a
vantage-ground whence they may reap the benefits of the toil of others, of
their inventive faculties and executive skill. To do this they become PRO-
MOTERS who bring inventor and manufacturer together, AGENTS who mediate be-
tween buyer and seller, PEDDLERS, venders and all other MIDDLEMEN who go be-
tween producer and consumer and LIVE ON A COMMISSION; also LITERARY men who
devote their talent to purposeless FICTION belong to the class actuated by
the lower phases of the force in the common signs.
The cardinal class is active, the common is restless, the fixed class is
rigid, the common is flexible.
THE FOUR TRIPLICITIES
The effect of the "Triplicities" is most marked in the rising sign and
when the majority of the planets are grouped in one of them.
A fiery sign (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius), on the ascendant, gives much
vitality, but it also makes the person prone to fevers and inflammatory dis-
orders; and when the majority of the planets are in fiery signs they make it
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very difficult for the person to "keep cool" physically or mentally.
A watery sign (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) rising, gives much less stamina
and predisposes to digestive, urinary and catarrhal troubles. If a person
has many planets in watery signs his problem is to generate enough energy to
keep warm, for this grouping gives a listless, indifferent disposition, ex-
cept when Scorpio is rising or when many planets are in that sign.
Airy signs rising (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius) give a nervous temperament
and make the person liable to disorders of the lungs, heart and kidneys.
Many planets in these signs give people literary and artistic inclinations.
Earthy signs rising (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn), give fair vitality but
a secret fear of disease arrests the vital processes in the body and poisons
these people so that they become victims of chronic ailments oftener than
those of the other groupings. The throat, stomach and intestines are spe-
cially threatened; rheumatism and gout are also frequently experienced.
When a person has many planets in earthy signs it favors the acquisition of
material wealth.
THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE ASCENDANT
We stated in our opening paragraph that there are Three Great Factors
which convey to us the Mystic Message of the stars in general, namely, the
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"houses," the "signs" and the "planets." There are also three factors which
play a specially important part in the individual horoscope, namely the Sun,
the Moon and the Ascendant, which may be said to represent the spirit, the
soul and the body.
Properly viewed the Sun, Moon and Ascendant are not really three separate
horoscopical principles but represent two composite parts which when united
constitute the human being. The "rising sing" and the "first house" to-
gether form an avenue for the fecundating influences of the Moon which there
crystallize and form the etheric matrix that moulds the physical particles
from the maternal body into a new vehicle; hence the astrological maxim,
that the ascendant at birth (or its opposite) is the Moon's place at concep-
tion. This composite body is the part of the human being which is born and
dies after a relatively evanescent period of existence.
The other and immortal part of composite man which consists of the Ego
and its finer vehicles is represented in the horoscope by the Sun and the
Moon. The specific influence of these planets will be described when we
have considered the rising sign.
THE RISING SIGN
As taught in "Simplified Scientific Astrology" it is the angle of the
stellar ray which determines in what department of life it will be most
prominently active; and it has been found by observations that the sign ris-
ing or ascending on the eastern horizon when a child is born is the
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principal factor in determining the basic constitution and form of the
physical body. Further investigations have shown that the reason for this
fact is that at the time of conception when the seed-atom was planted in the
ovum the Moon, which is the Cosmic agent of fecundation, projected its fer-
tilizing ray through the sign and degree which later rises at the moment of
birth, (or its opposite). For that reason the rising sign and degree con-
tinue to be the avenue of ingress of the life-forces which build the body of
the babe until the severance of the umbilical cord, and the nature of the
rising sign is thus indelibly stamped upon the new vehicle and retained all
through life.
In this connection it should be noted that conception is not necessarily
coincident with the physical union of the parents, sometimes two weeks or
even more elapsing ere the auspicious moment awaited by the Recording Angels
or their agents strike. At that time cosmic conditions are such that they
will form a body which will facilitate the expression of the Ego seeking
re-embodiment and aid it to work out its self-generated destiny. It should
also be remembered by students that the moment of delivery is not the time
of birth from the astrological point of view. The inhalation of the first
complete breath usually accompanied by a cry, is the moment when the incom-
ing Ego receives its stellar baptism. This renders it ever susceptible to
the influence of the particular configuration of the stars existing at that
moment, and therefore the stars affect each individual differently from all
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others, not even the horoscope of twins being alike. It is also strongly
emphasized that according to this explanation we do not have a certain
"fate" because we were born at a particular time, but we are born at a par-
ticular time because we have a certain self-generated destiny to work out.
That is very important distinction for its substitutes divine law for divine
caprice, it eliminates the element of "luck" and inspires man to mastery of
"fate: by working with the Law. If we have made our present horoscope by
our past actions in a past life, logically we are now preparing for future
embodiment and may make it what we choose. If we strive to strengthen our
body now, to overcome our faults, to cultivate new virtues, the Sun of our
next life will rise under much more auspicious conditions than those under
which we now live and thus we may truly rule our stars and master our fate.
When the last three degrees of a sign are rising or when the first three
degrees ascend at the time of birth the person is said to be born "on the
cusp" between two signs and them the basic nature of the signs involved are
blended in his or her body. Thus a person born when the three last degrees
of Aries or the first degrees of Taurus were ascending would be neither
purely Aries nor Taurus were ascending would be neither purely Aries nor
Taurus but a mixture of the qualities of the two signs.
The nature of the rising sign is also modified by the presence of
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planets. The Sun and Mars increase vitality if well aspected but it af-
flicted they incline to fever and inflammatory disorders but they also favor
rapid recuperation, and make the nature alert and energetic. A
well-aspected Jupiter rising also increases vitality but inclines to corpu-
lence, if the planet is afflicted that makes the circulation sluggish and
thus gives a tendency to disorders of the blood. The foregoing remarks
about Jupiter apply to Venus in a lesser degree. Saturn rising lowers the
vitality and favors chronic ill-health in later life, but at the same time
he gives such a tenacious hold on life that though the person may pray to be
released he cannot die. Mercury, Moon, Uranus and Neptune make the body
more high-strung and nervous than the average, usable specially for pioneers
in music, literature, higher thought, science and the electrical arts.
Planets placed in the twelfth house are considered as being on the ascen-
dant if within six degrees thereof, also all planets in the first house no
matter how far from the rising degree; but if a sign be intercepted in the
first house, planets placed therein will not have as strong an influence in
the life as though the sign occupy the cusp.
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