Whether you have any knowledge of astrology and chart interpretation or not, there are a series of techniques which I believe are being under utilised and it may be of interest to you to hear what these are and what they reveal.
Every astrologer develops their own unique method of reading a chart but it has always been a belief that without an accurate birthtime, the astrologer is unable to interpret what is truly unique about you as an individual. For reasons that I won't go into here (as it would involve a complicated astronomy and astrology lesson) this may well be partially true. Precise timing is certainly needed for techniques such as AstroCartoGraphy, Progressed Moon etc. Having said that, when it comes to personality assessment the entire art is so symbolic that over the years I have come to wonder just how much we do need to rely on a precise birth time. Look at it this way, a birthchart without a time is like having an onion with one less layer. It still looks like, feels like, tastes and smells like exactly what it is!
I am not biased towards any particular methods. I simply use the ones that work for me. Quite obviously I believe Sun Signs charts have their place and I will discuss this technique in another newsletter. The first technique I wish to discuss today however is Declinations. These have been around for eons and are used by many astrologers but they are possibly not given quite the attention they deserve.
WHAT ARE PARALLELS OF DECLINATION?
In astronomy the position of a planet is determined by two measurements; Right Ascension - the distance eastward along the Celestial Equator measured in hours and minutes from 0 Aries and Declination - the measurement North or South of the Celestial Equator in degrees( North having a plus value, South being minus) So, declination is the height of the planet above or below the projected equator of the Earth.
Astrologers use two different measurements to place planets in the sky and therefore in the chartwheel, These are Celestial Longitude; this measures the planet eastwards from O Aries, but the frame of measure is along the Ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun) in degrees of longitude and the other is Celestial Latitude. This is the measurement of height i.e. north or south but the again it is taken from the plane of the Ecliptic. The Sun will never have any celestial latitude as it is always on the Ecliptic, as it is the Ecliptic! It can however have height in declination up to 23.5 (23 degree 26 minutes and 27 seconds to be exact) When the Sun has a declination of zero it must be an Equinox and when it is at its highest it must be the solstices.
All planets have RA and Declination and all planets wander. Stars remain more or less fixed, only moving very slowly indeed, hence the term Fixed Stars
In a birth chart two planets may be in opposition in Celestial Longitude - that is in opposite signs of the chart - but have no relationship in height. With declinations we are looking for planets that are at exactly (+/- 1 degree) the same height, whatever sign they occupy. These are known as the Parallels of Declination. Parallels bring planets into a pattern of harmonic resonance, as they are perfectly aligned in space. Two + or - parallels are said to be interpreted like a conjunction. A plus and a minus at the same declination degree are looked at as an opposition i.e having some tension.
I believe astrology is fundamentally rooted in harmonic resonances and although using traditional aspects such as the Opposition, Square, Sextile etc., gives us much information, declinations can help us to see what hidden linkages there are. Often it is the declinations that tell a story which just cannot be gleaned from the ordinary birthchart.
A group of people who have made a whole study of this area of Astrology are called the Magi Society and their website is here MAGI SOCIETY. I haven't visited this site for a number of years so I am not sure whose charts they study in depth but I incorporate declinations into my delineations and I would like to show you how they work with Oprah Winfrey.
OPRAH WINFREY
On the day of Oprah's birth (29 Jan 1954, Kosciusko,MS) at sunrise the declinations can be seen in the following image underlined in Red and Blue.
Click to enlarge:
The three red lines bring Jupiter/Uranus and Pluto into accord by declination, yet in Oprah's natal chart these three planets are in no aspect at all. This exact alignment of these three planets tells us that this is the chart of someone who has an unusual striving for knowledge and understanding; the ability to almost miraculously transform situations - especially in a group setting. This also shows someone who is potentially ahead of their time; very technically minded with terrific powers of spiritual and intellectual leadership. It's quick, electric and clever with tremendous power to confront taboos and bring hidden things to light. It's a grouping we might expect to see in the chart of someone who wins the lottery - or achieves something so pioneering or unusual (for good or bad) that it brings them huge public acclaim. In this case we know it describes Oprah's incredible popularity and wealth.
The limitation of astrological interpretation is that when first given a chart, we do not know if it is the chart of a person an object, an animal or whatever. To be brutally honest, we can't even accurately apply an assessment of how the person will manifest these tremendous energies and alignments, as that is where free will comes in. What we can do - and very successfully - is help the person whose chart it is to become aware of the planetary linkages at the time of their birth. We can point out the potential and pitfalls inherent in these aspects, then they can use their free will to harness these energies for constructive and positive ends.
Returning to the chart, the declinations underlined in blue are Sun, Mercury and Mars. This speaks of a quick mind, a fast talker and mover; a critical thinker and organiser; a spokesperson and a facilitator. It is associated with a person who shines (Sun) in a communication (Mercury) role and can really drive (Mars) a point home. If we combine this interpretation with what we already know about the Jupiter/Uranus parallel of declination, it becomes more obvious that Oprah would seek to harness all modern forms of technology such as Television, Radio, Internet, Mobile Phone technology, Publishing etc in order to spread her message.
Obviously not everyone consults astrologers, so what is the unknown force that ensured Oprah made good use of her energies rather than descending into a spiral of negativity after her early experiences with sexual abuse? It has to lie in that area we term soul evolvement. Oprah is obviously attuned to a higher vibrational level and we could posit that this shows up in her chart via her Moon. The Moon rules the unconscious and it was in a very high declination throughout the whole of her birth day.
OUT OF BOUNDS PLANETS
In the grid we can see the Moon is at 25 Degrees of declination. This is what is known as Out of Bounds (OOB) as the height of the band of the Zodiac (which is determined by the maximum tilt of the Earth in relation to the Sun's path) only extends to 23.5 degrees. When the Moon (or a planet*) goes higher than this, symbolically it has broken loose and for good or bad it has gone, what we might colloquially term, stratospheric! In this case Oprah's Moon being OOB represents her phenomenal appeal and her moniker as one of the worlds most powerful and popular woman. Quite simply she is 'up there' at heights that not many ever reach. It would be fascinating to research the life stories of everyone else born on or around this day as the Moon will be OOB for all of them**
In some cases the Moon OOB can denote someone who is emotionally erratic and doesn't quite fit the model of the archetypal female. It would require a personal consultation with Oprah to really understand how this 'loose canon' Moon operates for her at the emotional level. Oprah's fluctuating weight problems may well be ascribed to her OOB moon in Sagittarius, the sign of expansion.
So as you can see just from declinations we already have an overview of a personality type. There are other techniques we can use which I will detail in subsequent newsletters. For now let's look around the chart for other clues that may be overlooked by the normal methods. How about the Fixed Stars?? Here's the list:-
The Sun is parallel to the fixed star Mirzam which is known as The Announcer. Oprah began her meteoric rise to fame as a part time announcer for Radio Station WVOL in Nashville.
Mercury is parallel to Sirius, the brightest star in the nighttime sky. Mercury with Sirius gives: Great Business Success, help through influential people and physical defect through accident. The last is perhaps something personal to Oprah(?)
Mars conjunct Agena = Legal authority, honour as a speaker or writer, great mental and physical powers.
Jupiter conjunct Rigel = Great legal or ecclesiastical preferment, many journeys.
Uranus conjunct Castor= Conscientious, impressionable , sensitive, great psychic power, few, if any, children.
HARMONIC SCALE
If we look at the linear scale at the top of the chart image (red arrows) you can see that any time planets pass over the 9 degrees or 23/24 degrees of any sign that planet will come into an harmonic resonance with the ones noted on the scale. On November 5th 2007 when Oprah had to make a public announcement about the sex abuse scandal which occurred at the school in Johannesburg, Mercury was at 23 degrees triggering her Chiron and Mars. Oprah herself said that this had to be one of the most difficult most painful days of her life. Mars, Mercury and Chiron speak of hearing or delivering news that cuts open painful wounds. Some of the deepest wounds (Chiron) in Oprah's life obviously lie around the areas of children (Mercury) and sexual Abuse (Mars Scorpio).
Using these methods it is my opinion that Oprah's birthtime is around the 19.50 mark and not the 04.30 one widely quoted. This gives her Virgo rising. Saturn is approaching her Ascendant and at the time of hearing about the scandal, Chiron was directly over her Sun/Venus in the 5th house of children. If we then look at Oprah's natal map for 19.50 we see that her natal Chiron Local space line extends right through Johannesburg.
However evolved we may appear to be, there is never a destination to our journey. At some level Oprah obviously needed this experience to bring light to areas that she thought were totally resolved within her. This scandal was not only about her but also about all the children at that school, and all the people who heard about this, who have suffered abuse themselves. When we look at it this way, Oprah's continuing path is to bring a spiritual understanding to the World about rising above the negative and embracing the positive lessons within suffering.* * * * * *
* For example Mars was OOB at 9/11. In this case the war-like nature of Mars was acting in an uncontainable manner. In the Christmas 2007 season, Mars is once again OOB in high declinations, so one must expect the potential for terrorism or erratic acts of anger to be higher at this time than 2006.
** The Moon can be OOB fairly frequently but not necessarily with the other declinations like these in late Jan 1954
** The Moon can be OOB fairly frequently but not necessarily with the other declinations like these in late Jan 1954
