Tag Archives: astrology reading

A Brush With Death (Example Reading)

At the beginning of the year I did a reading for myself using the Bolognese tarot to have a look at my 2025. I am 99% sure I took a picture of it, but unfortunately can’t find it. One of the predictions was that an older female member of the family would probably need an operation around the middle of the year. There was no death in the cards (that I could see), but I remember that particular column looking a bit difficult. I assumed the cards were possibly talking about my mother. But I was wrong.

Last month my mother-in-law came to visit. She spent a week with us, although I couldn’t enjoy her company very much due to being in and out of a clinic in the past eight weeks (my bipolar depression flared up big time this summer).

At the end of our week together, she put off going back home for a day due to feeling sick, and on the following day hubby drove her home personally. Then she went completely off radar, to the point that we were all worried she might have had some serious health issue. We called the paramedics on her after she sent a somewhat incoherent message (we thought she might have had a stroke or something similar).

She was rushed to the hospital, and we all braced for the worst. As there was a real possibility of her dying, I asked if she would survive, and how the situation would evolve. To be fair, my question was a bit confused: I don’t know exactly what I asked, only that my concern was her survival.

My mother-in-law is my husband’s (seventh house) mother (tenth house), so she should be represented by the radical fourth house and its ruler, Saturn. How is Saturn’s condition? Dreadful! It is in Aries, and therefore in fall, retrograde and tucked into the radical sixth house of illness. As I was concerned about her survival, I looked at the eighth house of death. Both the radical and the derived eighth house are in play, represented by Venus (radical) and the Sun (derived, radical eleventh).

Venus makes no aspect to Saturn in her current sign. The Sun is separating from a trine with reception from Saturn: there was a brush with death, but that was as close as they will come to each other in a while.

The Moon applies to a sextile of exalted Jupiter with reception. Things will improve. Saturn is about to come out of its fall by retrograding into Pisces, so while the situation remains difficult, she will survive.

It turned out she hadn’t had a stroke, but there was a serious bacterial infection in her bloodstream that caused her to have an alarmingly high fever (hence the confused message). She was treated with antibiotics. A couple of days later I asked a more relaxed: how will the matter evolve?

This time she Is represented by Venus as lady of the fourth house. Venus is peregrine in the sixth house of sickness, but she is about to change sign, whereupon she will enter her triplicity and decan: not out of the woods, but better. Once again there is no contact with death (once again the lord of the derived eighth house, Mars, separates from her planet).

But upon changing sign, Venus will bump into a difficult square with a very nasty Saturn. The situation will improve, but there is still something very unpleasant in her near future, though I could not tell what it was at the time.

Turns out that the infection, though cured in her blood, had reached her heart, and she needed an operation to change a valve, as well as additional antibiotics. The operation went fortunately really well and she is already improving a lot. I will edit the post if something changes.

MQS

Collection of Light in Astrology (with Example)

In another article, I discussed the technique called translation of light, which occurs when a planet collects the influence of one significator and translates it to the other.

There is another technique which is, in many ways, the opposite of translation, but has the same effect. This is called collection of light. It happens when a slower-moving planet has been in contact with a faster one, thus receiving its influence, and then another planet also comes into contact with the slow planet. Contact can happen by conjunction or by (usually) positive aspect, that is, sextile or trine, or at least with reception. As with translation, collection usually implies the presence of third parties or external circumstances bringing things together.

Whereas translation can only be effected by a fast planet, and therefore the Moon (or sometimes Mercury) is the most likely culprit, collection of light can only be caused by a slow planet, and therefore Saturn or Jupiter are the most likely intermediaries here.

Example: Is The Book Arriving At All?

My Bolognese Tarot teacher, who is now a good friend, has recently written a follow-up to her book on the 50-card method, and she wanted to send me a dedicated copy. She posted the parcel before Christmas 2024, but by January 6 it hadn’t arrived and I was worried it might have been lost or forgotten in some dispatchment center. So I asked the heavens.

Is the gift arriving at all? App used: Aquarius2Go

I am signified by Mercury, ruler of the ascendant. My teacher sent me the book in her quality of personal friend (it wasn’t part of a course or anything), so she is signified by the Eleventh House ruler, the Moon. The Moon also represents the flow of the action (keep that in mind for later). Her gift for me is her second house, that is, the second house from the Eleventh, i.e., the radical Twelfth, ruled by the Sun. My stuff is signified by Venus, ruler of my second house.

So, ideally, we would want the Sun to be reached by Mercury. How do we get them together? Well, we don’t, clearly, or at least not for a while and not before the Sun has left Capricorn. That’s a problem.

However, we note that the Sun has just sextiled Saturn, having been received by it as well. What is Saturn? Well, it rules the Fifth and Sixth Houses, so the closest thing I can think of is the courier/delivery service (Sixth, house of servants).

What happens to Saturn next? It is sextiled by the Moon. The Moon is the ruler of the Eleventh, my teacher/friend, but it doesn’t make sense (she sent the book, she’s not gonna receive it). However, in most horary charts, the Moon also signifies the flow of the action. So the flow of the action moves favorably (sextile) with the courier (Saturn): the book hasn’t been lost. What happens next is that my significator (Mercury) and the significator of my stuff (Venus) almost simultaneously meet Saturn: Mercury by sextile with reception by sign, Venus by conjunction with reception by exaltation. Even if we chose to disqualify the Venus conjunction because Venus squares Jupiter first, Mercury makes no other aspect before the Saturn sextile.

Thankfully, the book arrived yesterday (I’m gonna review it in the near future). Note that timing in this chart seems to fail: the chart was made on January 8, the parcel arrived on January 15. If we take the Moon sextile it is two degrees away (two days, two weeks), if we take the Mercury sextile it is 15/16something degrees away (again, 16 days). The only aspect that seems to come closer is the Venus conjunction with around 10 degrees (10 days, though it took 7). It is probable that the chart was simply responding to my core question: yes, it will arrive, and took timing for granted. It could also be that I’ve misread the chart and got lucky. If you have an idea, drop a line!

Either way, we’ve finally answered the age-old question: Why is Saturn so fat and slow? The better to collect your light!

MQS

On Mental Health (Example Reading)

Since I’ve started studying horary astrology, my teacher has encouraged me to take on questions to learn on battlefield, as it were. I probably only need some exra push to start offering cheap readings here. This horary was asked by a social media contact of mine, who wants to know how her mental health will evolve.

Mental health. App used: Aquarius2Go

An immediate giveaway that something is off is the conjunction of the South Node of the Moon to the Ascendant. This is the “bad” node, traditionally attributed to the nature of the malefics, Mars and Saturn. It is as if the chart wanted to tell us “hey, there IS something wrong, go look!”

The querent is represented by the ruler of the Ascendant, Venus. Venus is exalted in Pisces, but conjunct the cusp of the malefic Sixth House of sickness. The Moon shows us the flow of the action. She, too, is exalted in Taurus, but conjunct some evil fixed stars and cadent in the Ninth House. She is sextiling Mars.

Venus is not terribly afflicted, but it is in a bad place in the chart. Since we are talking about mental health, and Venus is conjunct a house of sickness, it is probably reasonable to conclude that the querent is experiencing mental trouble of some sort. Considering that Pisces is a common sign, the trouble is probably recurring, coming and going.

Venus is approaching conjunction with a bad Saturn in the Sixth, and before that a square aspect with the ruler of the Sixth house, Jupiter, which is cadent, retrograde and in detriment. Since the square is approaching, the trouble is intensifying, at least at present. Still, there is reception between Venus and Jupiter, which tells me that the querent does have some inner strength to deal with it and work through it, especially with someone’s help. Note that both Venus and the Moon are exalted, which argues that the mental trouble is due to excessive expectations being disappointed.

The Moon is quickly approaching the sextile aspect with Mars. Mars is ruler of the Third and Eighth house. The Eighth house is the house of death, but also of mental anguish. But the sextile is a positive aspect and it happens with reception, so once again we have an image of the potential for overcoming the trouble.

All in all, the chart depicts a situation of suffering but it is encouraging. The querent is not as helpless as she may think and can find the strategies to go through the period of difficulty.

MQS

Cancelled Flights? (Example Reading)

One pro of using more than one system of divination is that sometimes they clarify each other: sometimes one reading is somewhat obscure in one system but clear in the other, and we can use the clear one to navigate the one that has us scratching our heads. Granted, obscurity is in the eye of the beholder, being always a consequence of our own limitations, but it is still an occasion to learn.

I was at the airport yesterday, trying to catch a flight to get back home. Suddenly, and to my horror, I noticed that plenty of flights were being cancelled due to the heavy mist, including one flight on the same route I needed. My first instinct was to cast a Horary chart, asking if I’d be able to get back home.

Will my flight go as planned or will it be cancelled? Horary Astrology

This was my first interpretation. I am represented by Venus, ruler of the ascendant. The place I want to get is my home, which is ruled by the Fourth House and therefore by the Moon (Cancer is on the cusp). The Moon is approaching an opposition of Venus. Bam! The flight will be cancelled.

After a while, as I was waiting for information, I did a Geomancy reading on the same question. Here is the chart:

Will the flight go as planned or will it be cancelled? App used: Simple Geomancy

The first thing the struck me is the generally positive Judge, Conjunctio, which arises from Carcer and Via. It argues mobility more than stasis, and obstacles that are removed. The second important point is the figure that represents me: Laetitia in the first. Laetitia represents upward motion. It is an exiting figure, meaning movement. What a wonderful symbol for a plane taking off!

Even if we want to involve the Fourth house, we see that it is occupied by Puella, a mildly benefic figure, which is also connected to the ninth house of journeys (it occupies it). So the journey (Ninth) connects with the home (Fourth).

Obviously, two systems of divination cannot give contradictory answers if correctly interpreted, and the Geomancy seemed rather obviously positive. So I went back to the Horary Chart (again below)

Will my flight go as planned or will it be cancelled? Horary Astrology

I meditated on this chart quite a while (I had plenty of time, after all). Then it hit me. I am represented by Venus. Venus is in the Midheaven (up in the sky) in Aquarius, an *air* sign. Not only, but Aquarius is fixed: it doesn’t change. My being in the sky is fixed. So there will be a flight: I will be up in the sky as planned.

But what about that opposition by the Moon? Well, there was significant delay, so the Moon could show the flow of events causing trouble to my being up in the air.

Ultimately, the Fourth House didn’t need to get involved. The point of the question was not whether I would get home (I would have gotten home anyway at some point) but what would happen to me/my flight.

I managed to come home yesterday.

MQS

The Problem With the Neighbors (Reading Example)

As I already talked about ad nauseam, some months ago hubby and I bought an apartment. During that period I kept track of the situation using various divination tools, including Horary. This is a reading that I didn’t cover, since I didn’t have any feedback for it yet.

My question was simply if we would be happy in the new home. Here is the chart.

Will we be happy in the new home? Horary question. App used: Aquarius2go

We are represented by the First house and the planet ruling it, Mars (ruler of the rising sign Scorpio). As for which house represents the new place, I believe there are two schools of thought: either the Seventh House (that place there, as opposed to this place here, which is the First house), or the Fourth House of real estate and umoveable property.

The chart seems to guide us to the Fourth House. Plus, usually the Seventh house is reserved for hypothetical “there” places, whereas we had already bought the new place (therefore it was our property) and I was not interested in a comparison between the old apartment and the new, but only in the new place (I already hated the old one).

The Fourth House thus represents the apartment. Jupiter, ruler of Pisces, is the house. And look! Mars, our significator, is right inside the Fourth House, which is good and a symbol of liking the place. It has no major dignity in it (no house rulership or exaltation) but it is dignified by triplicity, term and face. So while it is not the ultimate castle of our dreams, it is very comfortable indeed.

The place’s significator, Jupiter, is conjunct the Seventh cusp and thus angular, and sextiles our significator. A sextile is a positive aspect of ‘friendship’. All in all the picture that emerges is not perfect, but it is quite satisfying.

However, look at the Moon! The Moon is about to oppose Saturn, which is right inside the Fourth cusp, afflicting it. There is some kind of problem ahead. Pinpointing it is not very easy, but considering that Saturn is inside the house representing the place itself and that Saturn rules the Third house, my first instinct was that there might be issues concerning the neighbors (the other people who live in the building). These issues would not be major, as the picture remains generally favorable, but they would be serious enough to be worth mentioning.

Fortunately, a couple of months passed and we saw that the neighbors are generally well-adjusted people. Furthermore, the apartment is, in fact, very comfortable.

What did turn out to be the problem was that the neighbors started some major fuss about the manager of the building as, according to them, he is incompetent and charges way too much for his services and even skims off on the money required for taking care of the building. The thing escalated so far as to almost end up in court, and finding a new manager is costing us quite a lot of time spent traveling and talking to new candidates.

MQS

Italy vs Switzerland (Reading Example)

To be clear, I have the same interest in soccer that a koala has in space exploration. Two days ago I didn’t even know that Italy was playing Switzerland, and I would have kept not knowing it if I hadn’t been at a friend’s birthday party, where I met a fellow Italian, one who does care about soccer. Since she knows of my interest in occultism and divination, she asked if Italy would win. I used horary astrology to answer.

Note that the match had already started when she asked me the question, though I knew nothing of how it was going and I asked her not to tell me to avoid influencing my judgment. Furthermore, I forgot to screenshot the chart, so this is a recreation that I believe to be close to the original.

Will Italy win? App used: Astro Charts

Since the querent is Italian and wants Italy to win, Italy takes the First house. Switzerland is given the seventh house of the enemy. The first, and decisive, clue is given by the position of Jupiter, significator of the First house. It is stuck inside the Seventh house, in the grips of the opposing team.

Once we see this, pretty much nothing else matters. The opposing team, signified by Mercury, is in the Eighth house, which is not great, but by antiscion it is right inside the Seventh, which is bad for Jupiter but again good for Mercury. The Moon is moving to square Mercury with reception. Bonatti says that a square with reception is like a sextile without reception, so it is generally smooth. At any rate, Switzerland should win. And indeed they won 2 to 0.

Important note: Horary astrology requires the querent to have some kind of emotional involvement in the question. Since I couldn’t care less about soccer, despite being Italian, if I had asked the question I would have regarded the chart with some suspicion. It is only because the querent is a soccer fan that the chart was accurate.

MQS

It’s The Economy, Stupid! (Example Reading)

This is a quick one. My husband comes from a particular family background, and as a consequence of it is often afraid of not being left with enough money despite his hard work (and he is a hard worker). As I said elsewhere, we are moving, and so expenses are popping up left and right, and I’ve noticed a certain anxiety in his eyes. Consequently, I asked the Heavens a bank statement.

My husband’s finances, Horary Astrology reading

Since I didn’t tell my husband I was doing a reading, I am the querent, and he is my husband, and therefore Seventh House ruler, Jupiter. His money is represented by the second house from the Seventh, therefore the radical Eighth House, ruled by Mars.

Jupiter is peregrine in Taurus, and conjunct Caput Algol, a malefic star that, some say, is connected metaphorically to losing one’s head. Furthermore, Jupiter is combust and approaching the Sun. Therefore, my husband is under great stress.

How are his finances? Well, Mars is its sign and face, angular and inside the Seventh House, which represents my husband. So his finances are good, and they remain in his possession. This may sound silly. After all, if they are his money, of course they are his possession. Still, it is comforting to see his money in his house: he retains control over it.

I believe this wonderful Mars testimony shows that, as it were, the fundamentals of his finances are solid, i.e., there is no risk of dejection, poverty, major adversity, etc.

That being said, this does nothing to alleviate his stress. The Moon is cadent, possibly indicating that the economy is going to be slow for a while, and it separates from a positive sextile of Mars, showing a positive financial recent past, and applies to a square of Saturn. Saturn shows restriction. In other words, while there is nothing to fundamentally worry about, the next period isn’t going to be the most prosperous.

I already have a partial outcome for this reading, which was done some weeks ago. As soon as we entered the house, after a couple of days, some household utensils gave up the ghost, including the fridge, and we had to buy new ones. Since Saturn rules the Fifth house, the house’s possessions, I’m wondering if that was what it was referring to, though this is stretching it quite a bit (they are our possessions, not the house’s). Alternatively, Capricorn is the second sign on the Fourth cusp, so Saturn would generally show the house.

MQS

The Key Handover (Example Reading)

As most people reading this blog probably know at this point, we’ve recently bought our first home. A couple of weeke ago we scheduled the key handover with the previous owner, and I asked if everything would run smoothly. The result was a very interesting chart with a clear example or translation of light.

Key handover, horary reading. App used: Aquarius2go

We are represented by Venus, ruler of Libra on the Ascendant. The previous owner is Mars, ruler of Aries on the Seventh. The Moon represents action. Notice the South Node of the Moon on the Ascendant, indicating troubles.

The second thing I noticed is that both Venus and Mars have recently changed signs, and especially that Mars has moved from Pisces, the sign of Venus’ exaltation, to its own sign, and Venus has moved from Mars’ sign to her own sign. Furthermore, the Moon has also just changed signs while being in the Fourth house which represents the property.

The Moon is the most interesting factor here: she is separating from a sextile with reception of Mars (back when she was in the last minutes of Capricorn) and applies to a square with reception of Venus from Aquarius. By this translation of light the Moon shows very well the passage from one owner to the other.

A square aspect is technically a negative indication, showing either friction or obstacles. The reception, though, allows the obstacle to be overcome. In his chapter on reception, the Medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti seems to hint at the idea that a square with reception is basically like a sextile without reception, but this doesn’t seem to be the case here: a square is a square, and it shows trouble, even though reception shows the overcoming of the difficulty.

And this is what happened: the owner cancelled on us two times for other appointments that took up a lot of his time, so the handover happened (reception) but with delay (square).

NOTE: the two aspects made by the Moon were both with reception: she was received by Mars in his exaltation and then received Venus in her (the Moon’s) own exaltation, thus smoothly transfering the ‘virtue’ she had received.

MQS

Veggie Delivery Service! (Double reading)

Background: hubby and I are on a weekly veggie delivery service from a nearby farm. Yesterday they told us they might come a bit later than usual (normally they deliver at around 12-13pm). As hubby needed to go to work and I had a ritual to carry out and carefully timed, I needed to know that I wouldn’t be disturbed during the ceremony. So I asked when the veggies would come.

Horary Astrology

Here’s the horary chart (the time was 12:56)

Horary question: when will the veggies arrive? App used: Aquarius2go

Leo rises, so Leo’s ruler, the Sun, is my significator. The delivery service is our business partner, since we buy stuff from them and they bring it to us, so they are signified by the seventh house ruler Saturn (ruling planet of Aquarius). The veggies are their moveable possession, so they are indicated by the second house from the seventh, i.e., the eighth house, and its ruler Jupiter. The Moon is given to us as cosignificator and indicator of the flow of action.

Right off the bat we notice the Moon, weakly dignified in the seventh house, so action (obviously) starts from the delivery service. The Moon has separated from a square with reception with Jupiter, i.e., the veggies, and is now void of course. Clearly there are some problems (a square with reception is still a square). Still, there is a promising sextile (a positive aspect) between the Sun and Saturn, though it’s odd to see our significator applying to theirs (see the Outcome for why).

The Sun perfects the aspect at 17 degrees and 10 minutes of Taurus. The difference from its current position is of 4 degrees and 38 minutes, so they will come in 4 and 38 somethings. I would need to see serious testimonies to judge they won’t come. The Moon being void of course can delay them, but there is a clear aspect showing they’ll come. So they will come today, I thought.

Therefore, they will either come in 4 minutes and 38 seconds or in 4 hours and 38 minutes. I thought the second option was the most likely, so since the chart was cast at 12:56, and allowing some wiggle room for reality to follow astrology, I judged they’d come anywhere between 17.30 and 18, though I was somewhat skeptical, since this timing would have been unprecedented for them, and they’d told us they would come only a little bit later than usual. But at least this gave me plenty of time for my ritual.

Geomancy

After my ritual, which was timed for around 15 in the afternoon, I decided to have a look at what Geomancy had to say about this delivery:

Geomancy reading: veggie delivery service. App used: Simple Geomancy

The Geomantic court is positive, with the Judge Acquisitio showing we’ll get the veggies, but the Witnesses are mixed, showing problems. Albus is in the first, and it’s a good figure for commerce. A very unpromising Cauda Draconis is in the seventh house (which is also the left witness). I must say that I have seldom seen things resolved satisfactorily when Cauda is involved. However, Cauda does spring to the second house, perfecting. I was also relieved, but also a bit puzzled, to see Albus spring to the eighth, also perfecting the chart. Usually, the figure that moves makes the effort. In this case, it seems both of us will make some effort, and that our effort is better than theirs.

Outcome

They did come between 17.30 and 18 (around 17.45). However, they gave us the wrong delivery, which we only noticed when they’d already gone away. So we had to call them back and go meet them to exchange the wrong veggies for the right ones. Note how in the horary our significator applies to theirs and how, in the Geomantic chart, Albus moves to the eighth.

Lessons to be learned

1. Horary questions must not be idle, but they need not be life-changing. Knowing when a delivery service will arrive may seem idle curiosity, but I had a serious reason to want to know the answer (I take my magic work seriously)

2. The divination device, whatever it may be, ALWAYS knows best, though we may be fallible in interpreting it. People like to say that divination lets you contact your unconscious. I think there is altogether too much talk about the unconscious, and not enough talk about the superconscious. I saw from the Geomancy reading that there were problems connected with the delivery, though I could not pinpoint them exactly. In hindsight it is clear what the chart meant.

3. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to see how perfectly the cosmic mechanism works.

MQS

Is This Course for Me? (Playing Cards Reading and Horary Astrology)

I’m always on the look-out for opportunities to deepen my knowledge of esoteric topics. Since the esoteric world is filled to the brim with junk covering a couple of pearls on the bottom (but don’t worry, things don’t get much better outside of lalaland) it is very useful to know some forms of divination to supplement my bullshitometer.

I recently came across a certain course on traditional Italian witchcraft which passed all my preliminary tests (no mention of Wicca or neopaganism, relating anecdotes on practices I’m already familiar with and know are valid, etc.)

Still something was off, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. On thing was probably the reference to authors, like Raven Grimassi, who have been largely debunked. I asked the heavens for a sign, and then pulled some cards. Let’s start with the cards. They were:

4♣ – 2♠ – K♦ – 2♣ – 6♦

Right off the bat, I don’t like the teacher being represented by a King of Diamonds. The King of Diamonds is the merchant, the banker, the one whose end goal is money. If he had been the King of Hearts or even the King of Spades I would have been reassured. You may argue that obviously a course is offered to earn money, to which I respond that there is a difference between earning through your passion and earning through other people’s passion.

I am unsure about the preceding combination of Four of Clubs and Two of Spades, but it likely represents contradictory (2♠, arguments, going apart) doctrines (4♣, that which is told). The Two of Clubs and Six of Diamonds traditionally represent limping (insecure steps). The King of Diamonds is not secure enough in his knowledge. Limping is still better than being bed-ridden, so there is something good to the course, but probably not enough to offset the negatives.

Horary Astrology Reading

Let’s look at the horary chart:

Is the course good for me?

The Moon is the Lady of the Ascendant and thus represents me. Magic is higher knowledge, so it’s Ninth House. This is Jupiter. The two malefics Mars and Jupiter are present in the Ninth house, and are both peregrine, so they afflict the house.

The Moon is in her sign, but she’s also tucked away in the very malefic Twelfth house. Interestingly, the Twlefth house represents witchcraft, but only in the sense of something done behind the querent’s back to hurt him, not magic in general (which, again, is higher knowledge). So while I’d be capable of learning (Moon in own sign) my position is not good. There’s something iffy.

Jupiter is mildly dignified by term and in the succedent Eleventh house. The Moon is in sextile with Jupiter, which is technically good, but it is separating from it, indicating growing divergence. The Moon’s next aspect is a square of the Sun, which is negative. The Sun rules the second house, the house of money. So proceeding would put a strain on my finances. This isn’t necessarily to say that it costs too much in absolute terms, but it costs too much compared to its quality. Interestingly, Jupiter is disposited by Venus, which is in detriment and moving toward the Sun, which hurts her, so Venus has a rather excessive love of my money compared to the necessary love of knowledge.

All in all, based on both readings, I would say that the course would probably contain some valuable information, but would not be a great investment in my education.

MQS