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    Stephen Arroyo Chart Interpretation Handbook PDF

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    of 93
    ‘on astrology, al of which have presantod #( ‘and dicted foward sellcundersanding, owned 35a pioneer of i-depth astrology, He's internationally ‘which hie writings express with remarkable clarity His work is ‘extremely poplar around the world, with tanelations now ap. pearing im nine languages. He has also been awarded the [Astrology Prize by the itish Astrological Associetion and the International Sun Avard by the Fraternity of Canadian Astrologers. mm MLA. degree In psychology and for many ‘busy counseling practice. In addition, he 05 In astrology in American JERILYNN MARSHALL, the editor and researc book, holds a B.A. degree from Purdue and a Seletice from Vanderbilt University. She has been a student and practitioner of astrology since 107. In addition to systematic esearch, she also made many significant creative contebutions {othe structure and content of this book. A specialist n all sors ‘oflanguages, she uses her Aquarian Sun enor to study not only the language of astrology but also Russian, italian, and She also served on the staff of two of the CRCS International pay Conferences. Chart Interpretation HANDBOOK Guidelines for Understanding the Essentials of the Birth Chart STEPHEN ARROYO Edited by Jerilynn Marshall RCS Publications Post Office Box 1460 Sebastopol, California 95473, Dedication ‘To Kathy, Julie, Opa, Nathan, and Kimberly, for making it possible for me to get away from the daily duties so I ‘could again concentrate on writing. CONTENTS Introduction 1. Astrology at the Threshold 2, How to Use This Book Key Concepts & Definitions 27 3, The Four Elements & The Twelve Signs ‘The Fire Signs: Aries, Lo & Sagittarius 31 ‘The Air Signs: Gomini, Libra & Aquarius 32 ‘The Water Signs: Cancer, Scorpio & Pisces 39 ‘The Barth Signs: Taurus, Virgo & Capricorn 33, 4. The Planets Kay Concepts forthe Planets $5 Positive Negative Expression of Planctary Principles 37 ‘The Planets in the Elements 39 Sun 30 Moon 40 Mercury 41 Venue 42 Mars. 48 Jupiter 5 Sum 48 ‘Uranus, Neptune & Pluto 48 5. The Planets in the Signs Zadiacal Signs & Theit Key Concepts 49 Punclions of the Plone nthe Sins 3 un inthe Sigas~Inorpretive Guidalines 52 ‘Te Moon inthe Signs” Interpretive Cuelons 37 ‘Morcury in the Signs—intorreive Guidelines 62 ‘Venus in the Signs-Interprative Guidelines 67 ‘Mars in the Signs—interpretive Guidelines | 72 Jupiter inthe Signs—Interpretive Guidelines 77 Saturn in the Signs—Iniorpretive Guidelines 83 Uranus, Neptune & Pluto in the Signs 80 6. The Ascendant (or Rising Sign) & the Midheaven Key Concepts for the Ascendant 81 ‘The lement of the Ascendant 93 ‘The Kur of the Ascendant "05 ‘Sign Postion ofthe Ruling Planet House Postion ofthe Ruling Planet Aspects tothe Ascendant 97 ‘Guldelines to Interpreting the Ascendant 98 “Arles Ascendant 01 ‘hurus Ascendant "102 Gemini Arcondant 102 Cancer Ascendant. 102 Tao Ascendant 203 1 29 35 ‘Virgo Ascendant 103 Libra Ascendant 304 ‘Scorpo Ascendant 104 Sapitarius Ascondant 105, CCapricor Ascendant 108, ‘Anjuarius Ascondant_ 106, Pisces Ascendant 107 ‘The Midheaven 108 “The Ruling Planet ofthe Midhoaven Panos in the 10th House & Aspects tothe Midhoaven 7, The Houses—Interpretive Guidelines m ‘The Wholistic Approach to Inerpreling Houses. 112 ‘Water House! The Payehle Tay Earth Houses: The Trinity of Welth Fire Houses: The Trinity of Life Air Houses: The Trinity of Relationship ‘The Water Houses: 4th, eth a 12th 113 ‘The arth Houser: 10th, 2nd & 6th 17 ‘The Fire Houses: ist, sth & th 119 ‘The Air Houses: Mh, ith & 3d 121 Interpretive Guidelines for Undersanding House Placements 123, Interpretive Guldelines for Each Planet's House Position 125 Interpretive Guidelines for the Signs on the House Cusps 120 ‘8. Understanding Planetary Aspects ast ‘A Law for Interpreting Aspects 135 ‘The Major Aspects 196 Conjunction Semtsextle Sexe Quincuns Opposition nbs & Planetary Interactions 130 Guldelines to Planetary Interchanges & Blendings 141 “Aspects with the Sun 144 ‘Aspects withthe Moon "168 ‘Aspects with Mercury 352 Aspecs with Venus 155 “Aspects with Mars. 158 ‘spec with Jupiter 160 ‘Aspect ith Saturn 265, ‘Aspects to the Ascendant 165 ‘Aspects withthe Outer Planets 167 ‘9. Guidelines to Chart Synthesis 169 ‘An Outline of Chart Interpretation 180 Introduction We vole things made by man but show scant respect for ‘what God himself hos built Truth Eternal by Mastor Charan Singh Since the publication of my first books on astrology have continually received lange amount of mail from all over the world telling me how the matral in the books is being used by students and practitioners of astrology, as well as by those who use astro ogy primarily as a selthelp tool without aay intention of bocom- {ng profesional practitioners, Many people underline or annotate the books; others hand out photocopies of various sections to clients, students, or friends; and others ell me that an index or ‘further explanation of how to apply certain basic interpretive principles would be useful. However, util now T have not fet Ktnecessary to provide additional material since I saw it as my primary ole to oulline as clearly as possible the basic principles {nd approach that had discovered tobe accurate and practical, clarification that felt was urgently needed if true astrological psychology or cosmic psychology) were going tobe possible and soundly established. Inaddition, Ialways fl that it was far proforable for students of astrology to learn to think for thomselves—to think astrologh 1 2.1 CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK cally in relation to the person in question rather than to follow blindly traditional rigid rales of interpretation or to rely on the simplistic "interpretations" found in so many astrological cook- books. folt that it was important for students to make the extra effort to apply those guidelines and proven principles that Thad already presontod to specific cases and circumstances; and [felt ‘that the considerable accuracy that could be achieved rather quickly would pleasantly surprise the student and lift him or hier to a new level of understanding and competence. Further- ‘more, my books already contained many interpretive guidelines, ‘examples, and case histories, far more infact than one usually finds in astrological books whore the lack of real life examples ‘continually frustrates intelligent students of astrology as they at- tempt to master the basics of astrological understanding. Howover, [have come to feel that a further development of ‘the fundamental principles explored in my books, including ‘more detailed interpretive guidelines, is in fact badly needed. What seems to me a substantial gap in the astrological literature {an explicit, concise compilation of interpretive guidelines that are easily accessible and usefully accurate both for students who are just learning to think astrologically, and for more advanced students, teachers, and practitioners who need a quick reference book. This book is an attempt to create an easily understood handbook that incorporates the widely-applicable meanings that ‘emanate from the basic astrological factors. The purpose of th book is not only to make it easy to locate fundamental concepts. ‘and details of chart interpretation that are scattered throughout ry books, but also to guide people in how to think astrologt- cally, something a mere index cannot do. I also have kept the book focused on the major interpretive factors in any birth chart, excluding all those minor factors that so confuse beginning students and also often unnecessarily divert the attention of more experienced practitioners. | have also concentrated on under- standing the natal birth chart only, preferring to explore the sub- ject of transits and progressions in separate volume, ‘This handbook is in many ways a sequel to and further de- velopment ofthe material presented in Astrology, Psychology & Introduction 13 The Four Elements and Astrology, Karma & Transformation, my first two books which havo proven extromely popular and during world-wide. Lam deeply indebted to those readers and teachers who continue to use and recoramend my books, and Tam grateful for their encouragement. This volume pieks up where my earlier books leave af by showing how to combine and use principal keywords, concepts, and interpretive phrases, lays Keeping the emphasis on the essential meanings that "rip off” many related meanings and insights forthe person using them. In the design of this book, I was presented with dilemma: 1 wanted to use extremely procise language forthe interpretive guidelines, but also retain the wholistic, flexible, open-ended approach that had boen so important and widely appreciated in my earlier works. The first word of this book's subitle, Guidelines, is perhaps the central concopt of this book. What is lacking in many astrology books ar intelligent, Ling ly accurate and precise guidelines with which to interpret the numerous details and the almost infinite combinations found {nny birth chart. No wonder the new student of astrology gots confused, frustrated, discoureged, and often completely lost in the trivia that pervades most textbooks! What Ihave heard con stantly for years from intolligent people trying to study and Understand astrology on their own is that they smmply don't relate to the neat paragraphs of “interpretations” that are supposed {o apply to them, They naturally therefore qustion the accuracy and usefulness of astrology itself, instead of realizing thet the book they aze using is just one of many that purporsto package up astrological “knowledge” for the general public but which fail to instil any real understanding or to convey any true in- sight that the individual wil identify with and benafit fom. ‘The modern trend of substituting quantity for quality is only too common in today’s astrological cookbooks, and this bale- ful trend is even more evident in “computer astrology.” The ‘computerization of astrology that is spreading so rapidly today (primarily because it offers all sorts of people—astologically 44] CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK qualified or completely unqualified—the chance to make more ‘money more quickly) is bringing forth tremondous amounts of. superficial, unfocused, completely useless ‘interprtations." In this type of eutomatically-produced astrological verbosity, no ‘one ever bothers to define the words they use or to use words precisely or with nuances of subtler meanings. Using astrology for human benefit demands greater sophistication and more allowance for complexity than is evident in these odious mis- representations of what astrology truly is. “Therefore, by focusing on precise, simple, in-depth language in this book, I'm certainly going against the grain of most astrological material being produced today, which seems lost in, 4 profusion of words or minor astrological details or both. Ifthe key concepts, phrases. and guidelines in this book are well, ‘chosen, they will penetrate to essential truths and insights thet, ‘people can identify with and learn from. To what extent this at- tempt as succeeded, the reader will have to determino. But one thing about which Lam confident is that this focus on the essen- tials of the birth chart is correct. It is correct because: (1) the ‘ossontial factors are reliable, if properly understood; and (2) It {s the fundamental major factors of a chart that most clearly reflect the fundamental major themes ofthe person's life. fective “chart interpretation” revolves around tuning into, understanding, and then illuminating the major life themes of the individual. So ‘many of the complex astrological methods and the minor astro logical factors often promoted in books, lectures, articles, and, mail-order computerized products will not reveal any now ma- jor theme in the person's life which the traditional factors and, ‘methods, properly understood, do not already clearly point to. As Thave said in lectures to astrologers, if astrologers focus on. tuivia, they are trvializing astrology, and—I might add—giving, astrologers an even more trivial image than they already suffor from in our society ‘The following quotation from one of my lectures is worth ‘repeating here as further explanation of why this new book must, focus exclusively on the basic interpretive factor: Introduction 15 ‘Rather than helping us to achieve chart synthesis and thus caningful evaluation ofthe person’ major lif themes, put ting too many factors ina chart makes it harder to diseriminate between the significant thomes and the peripheral details. Since ‘one can rationalize almost anything through a birth chart, and the more s0 the more points and methods and minor “planets” fone uses, my view is tht one should use a minimum of major ruliobe factors in order to soo a client and his or her situation larly. Otherwise, you'll project confusion, not order, to the client Just as air traffic contollers at an airport have difficulty distinguishing airplanes from other static on the radar screen and in distinguishing which isthe closest approaching plane if there are too many In the sky at the same time, s0 fogers using too many celestial factors will find it increasingly dificult to discriminate between the significant and the ing. nificant and s0 will more and more be Inclined to impart com: fusion, illusion, and inaccurate observtions to clients who are searching for clarity. Prople don't go to astrologers to find con- fasion oF to collect a mullion petty details and speculations they go fo find some clarity and direction in thie lives, Even if they want a prediction from you, that is their way of asking for clarity | mentioned above how important itis tothe concept of this ‘book thatthe keywords ond interpretive guidelines be carefully ‘chosen. I should probably briefly explain why such precision ‘of language Is so crucial. Ihave been concerned with achieving 4 precision of expression and a high level of reliability in astro- logical interpretation since 1967. The old blackiwhite, good/bad, {ortunate/unfortunate categories of old-fashioned astrology failed ‘completely to give me the understanding or the reliability that Iwas looking for. As Harvard historian Dr. John King Fairbank stated, “It is not possible to think with critical power without being critical of the categories with which one is thinking.” And yet, never at that time did I hear the fundamental assumptions ‘and categories used by astrologers in their interpretive language ‘questioned, challenged, or critically analyzed—until, that is, I ‘encountered Dane Rudhyar’s pioneering work. (6 / CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK Once the door to a new type of understanding of astrology was opened, it was only a matter of time and many, many dia logues with people about themselves and their charts before 1 ‘concluded that astrology's greatest strength was in its descrip- ‘tion ofthe inner person: the primary motivations and needs, the inner situation st any given time, even the quality of the in- dividual’s consciousness—in short, the inner dynamics of the {individual's entire physical and psychological energy field. Even- tually, after years of experiment, vast reading in many fields, ‘thousands of hours of counseling, and many kinds of research, it became obvious that astrology was essentially a language of experience and also—as I realized afer years of study inthe heal- {ng arts—a language of energy. I concluded that, for a truly scien- tific astrology (in the precise sense of the word), one must ‘emphasize the inner dimensions of human lie in order to achieve the level of accuracy that I sought. ‘The inner situation is actually more fundamental and thus ‘more precisely symbolized by the astrological configurations than. fare outer circumstances. Once the inner essence manifests in the ‘outer world, it fragments; the one becomes the many, and thus. ‘much more difficult to perceive in the limited number of fac~ tors in any chart. Hence, emphasizing exclusively outer events and circumstances, as so many astrologers do ends up asa guess- {ng game that is mzely successful. In my own search, once lfound that one had to focus on the inner dimensions in order to find the characteristics that were invariably present when a certain planetary position or configuration occurred, it simply remained to experiment with many forms of verbal expression and many keywords and key phrases to soe which were the most accurate and most effective at communicating sublle realities to clients. My first three books, and now this book, are the result of that quest. Fhope the reader who uses this book will se these guide ines in this light, allow time to become familiar with them, and thn ultimately fel fre to pick and choose whichever parts of this book prove most useful Finally, as [mentioned above and focused on in my first book, Astrology, Psychology & the Four Elements astrology is—perhaps Introduction 17 preeminently—a language of energy. I know of no other such ‘energetic language that rivals its accuracy, descriptive precision, and usefulness. What other language (or science, for that mat- ter) can reveal the individual’ primary Voltage, one’s basic power ‘and life force attunement, shawn by the Sun? What other lan- ‘guage can so precisely describe the individual's Amperage, one's rate of energy flow, shown by the Moon, or the individual's Gon- ductivity or Resistance—in what way the life force can flow through the individual and into the world—symbolized by the ‘Ascendant? These electrical analogies, developed by Dr. Wi Davidson, are just @ fragment of the vast energy language of astrology: fone is going to emphasize the energy approach to astrology and therefore the importance of the four elements, the follow {ng definitions—which Ihave used and found extremely accurate for many years—are worth keeping in mind as one studies the ‘material in this book. These definitions also focus on astrology as a language of personal experience, as contrasted with the old fashioned attempt to squeeze a description of outer events out of every astrological pattern. ‘The ELEMENTS are the energy substance of experience, ‘The SIGNS are the primary energy patterns and indicate specific qualities of experience. ‘The PLANETS regulate energy flow and represent the dimensions of experience. ‘The HOUSES represent the fields of experience wherein ‘specific enengies wil be most easily expressed and most directly encountered. ‘The ASPECTS reveal the dynamism and intensity of ex- perience as well as how the energies within the in- dividual interact. ‘These five factors, defined and understood as stated above, con- stitute a remarkably comprehensive, sophisticated, and refined ‘cosmic psychology; and any attempt to formulate a reliable science of astrology (or astrological psychology) must take into 8 / CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK consideration the energy dimension of life that astrology maps ‘and illuminates so explicitly. Practitioners in many traditions of the healing arts think and work in terms of ‘energy:” and in fact quite a few are using or experimenting with astrology as & precise language of energy. So now it remains for the astrologers to ealize what they have had all along and therefore to acknow!- edge astrology’s energy dimension. Unfortunately, many people actively involved with astrology ‘today—both researchers and practitioners—are making the same ‘mistake as have the materialistic sciontsts and most medical doc- tors today: namely, getting lost in details and hair-splitting ‘analysis to the point of losing sight of the greater whole. The great wholistic truths of astrology easily become neglected and sometimes even derided when one becomes lost in technical details. Among these greet truths ae first, that Energy is the fun- ‘damental factor being analyzed and understood through astrol- ogy; and socond, asa simple unifying factor, isthe reality and importance of the traditional “four elements” still continually ‘ignored or glossed over by most astrologers, And yet, the energies rupresented by the four elements are ultimately the fundamen- tal realities of life that are being analyzed with astrology. In the energy approach, the elements are the active principles, and the planets primarily serve to activate and regulate those energies. In shor, looking to the energy fundamentals of astrology will hop all students and practitioners to be more realistic, accurate, and effective at communicating the great dynamic truths that astrology has to offer. Astrologers sometimes prefer to cling to the birth chart for security rather than to use it, put it aside, and then live courageously with thot incressed understanding. Astrol- ‘ogy need not be a religion or the ultimate goal of e life's quest. Itis more valuable as a stepping stone toward a greater under standing and a groator goal. CHAPTER 4 ASTROLOGY AT THE THRESHOLD ‘The vst diffrence between astrology and other sienoes, if T may put i thus, i that astrology deals not with {cts but with profundites. The solid ground on which the sient pretend ort gives wa, im astrology to ane ponderables. Henry Miller Especially for the benefit of now students of astrology, it seems advisable to discuss briefly some crucial issues that relate directly tothe study and use of astrology in this era. In fact, it ‘would be inappropriate for this book or any teacher of astrology 10 introduce people o the power and depth of astrological science without frankly discussing certain philosophical, scientific, and practical matters that have a direct bearing on anyone's attempt to use astrology in Western society today. I cannot begin to ex- plore all the relevant issues in this handbook, and in fact Ihave dovoted an entire book to these subjects (The Practice & Profes- sion of Astrology), as well asa sizable section of another book (The jupiter/Saturn Gonjerence Loctures: New Insights in Modern Astrology, co-authored with Liz Greene). Therefore, the follow- thoughts must be regarded only as an introduction to a num- bor of complex and controversial subjects. Astrology is a unique subject in many ways, and its broad ‘ange of insight and application makes it sharply out of step with dominant trends ofthis materialistic age. It includes both selence ° 40.) CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK ‘and art, both knowledge and wisdom, both inner life and outer life, and it isin fact based on the correlation of the cosmos with ‘the individual (the ancient doctrine ofthe unity of macrocosm ‘and microcosm-—often expressed in the axiom “As above, so below"). This wholistic way of thinking sounds to most people today somewhat poetic and quaint at best, and ridiculous, nave, and superstitious at worst. The widespread prejudice against astrology in the Western world is, however, just one more exam- ple of the unthinking and actually unscientific skepticism ex pressed so automatically nowadays toward anything that ‘acknowledges the reality of mind or spirit—the two most power- ful fundamentals of human experience throughout history. ‘This skepticism and antagonism toward astrology is just a ‘somewhat more forceful expression ofthe hostility that material- istic scionce and its short-sighted proponents and worshipers, heap upon many branches of spiritual tradition, healing arts, philosophy, and the more ancient forms of psychology and per- ‘sonal guidance, Unfortunately, this unimaginative, narrow ap- proach to human potential and to the contra traditions of human thought has for some time dominated the major power centers. of Western society, including the academic world which has the tea cligaton io proses and ety inlet and cult yng and to emphasize the open-minded search for truth, ‘ow people occaslnaly speak out against this trend of gna ‘ance, such as the President of Yeshiva University, Norman Lamm, ‘who wrote in 1967: ‘we must reassert the existence and value ofthe split... our city [mat] learn that ther isa larger wisdom that awaits our patient inquiry; that man isa spletual as well as biochemical, psychological, political, social, egal and economic animal ‘An openness to spletual dignity .. . means thatthe prevalent doginas of scientific materialism and philosophical despair are not the only points of view worthy of scholarly attention; that be- lief in the ralty ofthe mind and the existence ofthe soul does not condemn one as intellectually inferior and scientifically back- ‘ward; «that knowledge ought to ripen into wisdom. (Escorpted from his address at tho 10th anniversary of is University) Astrology at the Threshold / 14 ‘Tho narrow attitude fostored by materialistic sclence—with its focus on the manipulation of nature—has tremendously in- hibited many positive developments in society and has created the worldwide ecological disaster that we are only beginning toaddress. And yet, orhodax scientific work makes use of only ‘one small part ofthe mind. By assuming that materialistic science is the only reliable road to knowledge and that only what can be scientifically shown to be valid is rel, the Western world has effectively excluded the enormous dimensions of human life and experience which are inaccessible to the part of the mind employed lysis. Therefore, those who have ex- perienced the value of astrology, rather than looking to orthodax science for “proof” and acceptance—which will never be {orthcoming—would be using their energies more effectively by ensuring that their understanding of astrology how it works best ‘and what its appropriate scope and limitations are is clear and reliable, {A study ofthe history of science, medicine, military strategy, politics, and many other fields of endeavor shows clearly that hardly an advance has escaped violent and fanatical opposition. For eample, physicist Max Planck was so troubled by opposi- ton to his ideas that he remarked that @ “new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, ‘and a new genoration grows up that is familiar with it” (om “Planck's Principle," Science, 1978, by D. Hull, P. Tessner, & ‘A. Diamond) I cannot help but recall what’ the maverick philosopher, poet, and artist William Blake wrote inthis regard: He's a fool who wants a proof of what he can't perceive; ‘And he's a blockhead who tries o make suck a one believe. ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ‘The reader may be thinking: “What has allthis to do with astrology, which is certainly not anew ides?” Certainly, astrology Js not a new idea in itelf; but its use as a modem form of per- sonal guidance and as a profoundly helpful tool in the helping 42 | CHART INTERPRETATION HANDBOOK professions does constitute a significant and radical advance. ‘The reformulated, psychologically sophisticated type of modem astrology that has developed in the last fifty years isa new idea, specific outgrowth in response to the desperate needs of Western society, and it has a great contribution to make in science, psychology the healing arts, and in many other areas of endeavor. DD. Carl jung is often quoted as saying that astrology incorporates the sum total of the ancient world's psychological knowledge. “This great reservoir of ancient wisdom and potential understand- {ng of the mysteries of human life has now been studied anew in the light of modern psychology and other fields of knowledge, ‘and it has been significantly reformulated by afew pioneers with new language and with a myriad of new applications. Astrology is now atthe threshold of a potential major leap Into @ more significant place in modern life—IF it continues to

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