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Astrology
by Hand Week 37
“Good”
and “Bad”
Before I
continue with George
W. Bush, I want to say something about the words “good” and
“bad” as used in last week’s column in order to forestall emails raising
objections. Nothing in astrology is either inherently good or bad. It
is all a matter of how it is used. But some combinations are easier to
use than others. Some are very difficult indeed, requiring a great deal
of skill in their use, so much so in fact that most people do not use
them very well. These were traditionally regarded as “bad” combinations.
Other combinations are very easy to use and these were regarded as “good”
combinations. The key point for us here is that receptions, in which a
planet makes a significant angle or aspect to the rulers of its sign,
make more difficult combinations into less difficult or even easy ones.
Back
to Bush and Triplicities
Last
week, we talked about the two most well-known types of rulership, domicile
(or sign) and exaltation. Most people who have studied astrology know
about these two. What most of you probably do not know, unless you have
studied traditional astrology, is that groups of signs called triplicities
also have rulers. Here is a table that lists the triplicities and their
rulers.
The terms
“day ruler” and “night ruler” refer to whether a chart is a daytime chart
with the Sun above the horizon, or a nighttime chart with the Sun below
the horizon. No modern planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) are involved in
this system. Triplicity rulership is not as potent as rulership by sign
and exaltation, but it is potent.
 Let’s
look at George W. Bush’s Midheaven. The Midheaven, or M.C., is the highest
point in the chart. Bush’s is located at 24 degrees of Aries. What are
the rulers of Aries? (See last
week's table.) The domicile, or sign ruler, is Mars. The exaltation
ruler is the Sun. Since this is a daytime chart (the Sun is in the Twelfth
House, and is therefore above the horizon), the Sun is the triplicity
ruler as well.
This means
that the Sun is the ruler of Bush’s M.C. twice, while Mars is the ruler
only once. According to traditional astrology this makes the Sun the true
ruler of the M.C., more so than Mars. Now the M.C. has to do with career
and social status. Through this, his Twelfth House Sun has just acquired
a significance that we did not see previously.
Now Bush’s
Ascendant, or rising degree, is 7 degrees of Leo. Leo is also ruled by
the Sun, both as domicile ruler and triplicity ruler. (There is no exaltation
ruler of Leo.) In traditional astrology, when two points (the Ascendant
and the M.C. in this case) are ruled by the same planet, those two points
are strongly connected. In this manner, Bush’s way of showing himself
to the world (Ascendant) and his career drives and drive for social significance
(M.C.) are both ruled by the Sun, and thereby connected. And to cap things
off, the three fire signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, are traditionally
called royal signs. This was meant quite literally. I think that the picture
is becoming clear.
Back
to the Reception
Now let’s
look at the Moon-Jupiter combination. It is in the Third House, which
has to do with communications. The Moon rules the public, and Jupiter
is usually a positive and easy energy. Generally, people with Moon-Jupiter
combinations are well-liked, and have little difficulty in understanding
other people’s moods. This is the formation that receives the Sun in the
Twelfth House, since Bush’s Sun is in Cancer, the sign that is ruled by
the Moon. Now I would still contend with this Twelfth House Sun that we
really do not know George W. Bush, but the way the Sun is combined with
the Moon and Jupiter largely overcomes that insofar as it might be a problem.
We may not know who he his, but enough people do not have a problem with
that so he has become president.
When we add
Mercury and Pluto together in this First House and nearby to Venus, we
can see someone with a strong drive to power, the ability to communicate
and the ability to charm. I do believe that his Twelfth House Sun will
eventually create difficulties in such a public role, but I do see how
he has gotten there.
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