# The Message of the Stars/Chapter 4

1918
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. Astrology means “Star Logic” and we must seriously advise the student not to depend 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 personal descriptions indicated in the horoscope. It is foolish to spend hours perhaps to find out what the one for whom a horoscope is cast can see in a moment by looking in a glass. We give descriptions of the different types, but do so for the purpose of aiding the student to determine at sight the probable sign and ​planet rising when a client comes who does not know his birth hour. There are people for instance, who have the face of a sheep just as perfect as possible. If such a one is in doubt about the birth hour we would at once look to Aries and experimentally try how that would fit with the other characteristics of that person, if we did so we should probably find our guess correct in every ease. Thus also the other signs and planets in signs exhibit 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 accurately foreshown. The writers have found that where they do not personally know the people whose characters they read, their delineations are much deeper and more accurate because then personal bias and impressions are absent and the mystic scroll of the heavens more easily read.
There are three factors which bring to us the mystic message of the stars; the houses, the signs and the planets, The houses ave divisions of the earth; each house represents a department of life; the signs are divisions of the heavens which by their placement ​relative to the houses indicate our basic temperament and attitude towards life, and the planets are the messengers of God which by their motion through the houses and signs bring to us the opportunities for soulgrowth which we need for our individual development. 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
As said in the introductory remarks, “the houses are divisions of the earth,” and therefore they are also called “Mundane Houses,” to differentiate between them and the ‘Celestial Houses’ composed of 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, those which are in the East affect our physical constitution, planets in the South near the zenith are factors for good or ill where our social position is concerned. If a planet is setting in the West at the time of our birth its angle 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 suppose for illustration of the point that someone is born ​at sunrise on a day when the Sun and Jupiter arc in conjunction, Then they strike him from the eastern angle and give him a 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 and weak body if other planets in the East are adverse, but if the ray of the Sun and Jupiter falls on his birth figure from the South he will certainly attract attention in his social sphere and be the recipient of public favor and honor. Another born on the same day, when the Sun and Jupiter are setting in the West may be an outcast if planets in the East and South 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 exercise 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 opposite the seventh house, rules the one who is nearest and dearest to us, namely, the marriage partner. The fourth house determines ​conditions in our 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 regard to that which we acquire by our own efforts and the opposite succeedent house, the eighth, shows whatever we may receive from others as legacies, etc. The other succeedent houses, the fifth and eleventh, show how our income 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 brain, 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 compelled to labor without remuneration under prison restraint it 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 tong travels,
The personal houses comprise the first, fifth and ​ninth. The first house 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 part of its self-generated destiny. Our fifth house shows the quality of the 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 second house, health, without which there can be no joy in any worldly possession, 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 are shown the nature of our relations with various classes of souls we meet in life. Brothers and sisters to whom we are bound by the tie 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. In them are ​hidden the mysteries of the antenatal life of the spirit, with the post mortem experiences immediately following 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 nature of our exit from the world’s stage,
An illustration may further help the student to understand how the heavens influence our life through the twelve houses. Suppose we are out driving 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 flying 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 department of life’s task, At the appropriate time of life ​we reap from each house what we have sown in past lives. That is, unless we forestall the harvest in time. Is our eleventh house afflicted, do friends betray and forsake us, do they leave us heartsick, or nauscate us like the scent of jasmine and stagnant marsh-water? Then let us examine the horoscope, for it reveals what is hidden in our auric atmosphere. The friends saw us, and we them, 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 emulate the sturdy strength of the invigorating pine tree; then we shall find friends 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:
Tenth House—The parent who exercises most influence in the person’s life, the honor and social ​standing of the person, the government. judge or employer.
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 a similar effect to that ascribed to the constellation Aries; the next thirty degrees radiate a Taurian influence and so with the ​other ten 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 constellation. (For a thorough 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 that influence is 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 another direction, In Aries he is as far East as he can go, Cancer is the tropical point of the North where he gives the most perpendicular ray at the Summer 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 ​angles, the first, fourth, seventh and tenth 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 “Action” and “Initiative” (though each acts differently from the other), therefore planets placed in cardinal signs and angles give zest to life according to the nature of the particular planet, sign and angle.
Zodiac means circle of animals and the symbols of three of the cardinal signs are animalistic: Aries, the Ram; Cancer, the Crab; and Capricorn, the Goat. The fourth represents the ideal towards which this class must strive: Libra, the Scales, None need poise so much as those under the impulsive influence of the cardinal ray; therefore the Balance was set in heaven 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. Instead of fighting, preying upon, or poisoning others in the struggle for existence they must learn to become humane, to be friends instead of foes to all. ​The influence of the fixed signs rouses the desive 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 persistent in whatever he undertakes, and whatever talent he may possess 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 angles, 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 ere exceedingly slow to adopt measures to accomplish the desirable end; they never do so until thoroughly satisfied that a certain method will meet the requirements. In other words, people with fixed signs on the angles “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.
The Common Signs
Keyword “Flexibility”
Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are called common signs, their intrinsic nature is 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, it gives 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 executives, who accomplish things industrially, and who bring into concrete existence great schemes, 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 gathers no moss,” applies particularly to this class, ​for their roving habits 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 circumstances, Outside conditions dominate them as they lack stamina to assert their own individuality.
The foregoing in 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 they bereft of the cardinal or fixed energy which goads them to action, and placed under the common ray, they would soon realize the luck of power and learn compassion for those who must so live all their life. 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 and inertia. The action impelled by the rays of cardinal signs may be changed into other channels with considerable facility, all they want is expression; the direction in ​which they express themselves is a 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 commercially useable, a task for which the cardinal class is eminently fitted. Thus these two classes work hand in hand and between them they have transformed the wilderness of the world to a condition of comparative comfort, their efforts of improvement are continually carried on, and in time the primitive desert will be made to bloom like a rose.
As material success depends on ability to cape with material conditions, the cardinal class is particularly fortunate, for it is the chief executive factor in the world’s work, and reaps a ready reward therefor. 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 arc later used in manufacture. Therefore they also are potent powers in life, and share 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 when lashed by the whip of necessity. They are also incapable of the slow but sustained effort put forth by the fixed class and are easily discouraged by obstacles. Thus they are leaners and not lifters. Toilers who do the bidding of the inventive 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 promoters who bring inventor and manufacturer together, agents who mediate between buyer and seller, peddlers, venders and all other middlemen who go between 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 then.
A fiery sign (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius), on the ascendant, gives much vitality, but it also makes the person prone to fevers and inflammatory disorders, and when the majority of the planets are in fiery ​signs they make it very difficult for the person to “keep cool” physically and 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, indigent disposition, except Scorpio be rising or many planets are in that sign.
Airy signs rising (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius), gives a nervous temperament and makes 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 any of the other groupings. The throat, stomach and intestines are specially 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
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 sign” and the “first house” together 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 conception, 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 observation that the sign rising or ascending on the eastern horizon when ​a child is born is the principal factor in determining the basic constitution and form of the physical body. Further investigations have shown that the reason of 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 fertilizing 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 continue 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 elapse are the auspicious moment awaited by the Recording Angels or their agents strikes, 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 incoming Ego receives its stellar baptism. This renders it ever after susceptible to the influence of the particular configurations of the stars at that ​moment, and therefore the stars affect each individual differently from all others, not even the horoscopes of twins are alike. It is also strongly emphasized that according to this explanation we do not have a certain “fate” because we were born at a certain time, but we are born at a particular time because we have a certain self-generated destiny to work out. That is a very important distinction for it 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 then 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 but a mixture of the qualities of the two signs.
The nature of the rising sign is also modified by ​the presence of planets. The Sun and Mars increase vitality if well aspected but if afflicted they incline to fever and inflammatory disorders but they also favor rapid recuperation, they make the nature alert and energetic. A well-aspected Jupiter rising also increases vitality but inclines to corpulence; 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 to pioneers in music, literature, higher thought, science and the electrical arts.
Planets placed in the twelfth house are considered as being on the ascendant if within six degrees thereof, so are all planets in the first house no matter how far from the rising degree, but if a sign is intercepted in the first house planets placed therein will not have as strong an influence in the life as where the sign occupies the cusp.