Greetings.

I would really appreciate help interpreting the horary I recently cast upon learning that the rent for my apartment will be increasing as of Nov. 1st. I have lived in this apt. for 4 years and been an excellent tenant. My landlord has raised my rent twice before and I have not complained. This time the increase is steeper and the lease is structured differently (i.e., less of an increase for a 12 month lease, way more for a month-to-month lease, which is how it has been previously). I cannot afford to move right now, either in terms of money or time. I am supposed to give my landlord 60 days notice if I don't renew, which basically means I have to let him know tomorrow. I completely resent being given such short notice, but I also really, really do not want to move right now.

What should I do? The question is: Should I renew my lease? The data is: 8/31/2006, 6:09pm EDT. St. Augustine Beach FL, USA.

I think the chart is radical. Aquarius rises; natally, I have Aquarius on my 4th house cusp, and my natal Saturn conjuncts the horary AC within 2 seconds of arc. The horary conjunction of Sun-Mercury is conjunct my natal Pluto with a less than one degree orb. Interestingly, horary Venus is on my natal MC, within 26 seconds of arc.

I believe that Lilly assigns the 7th house to Landlords. That would give the Sun as my greedy landlord's ruler--and unfortunately Sun is way stronger in this chart than my significator, Saturn. Poor Saturn is in pretty crappy shape, actually, and ruled by the Sun to boot. Mercury is interesting in this chart--it is cazimi, high in essential dignity and rules the Landlord's house of income (8th as 2nd of the 7th). I am not sure how to interpret this. I also feel that, because Mercury is the natural ruler of documents and agreements, the horary Mercury has something to say about the lease itself.

Please help--I am way too upset to interpret this chart rationally. I would also be interested in hearing whether the chart gives any indication that my landlord would be open to negotiating a better deal for me.

Thanks so much.

Hi L-P,

I would say at first look that it would not be a good idea to renew this lease. As you pointed out, Saturn is your significator. You are in the house of the landlord. The seventh house is Leo, ruled by the Sun. He is in the seventh house. I would look to Venus, as ruler of the fourth house, as the apartment you are now in. Venus is also in the seventh house and separating from Saturn. Both Venus and Saturn are under the rulership of the Sun (landlord). Mercury, as you pointed out, would signify the contract or lease. This planet is in the seventh house and is what we would call cazimi. It is within 17 minutes of the Sun. There is a lot of argument about this with many authors arguing that this strengthens the combustion, thereby debilitating the planet (in this case, Mercury) even further whereas others, such as Lilly, see it as a fortifying position. That is, it strengthens the planet that is under the rays of the Sun. I am not quite sure what to make of this, to be honest, but I would say that it might put the contract more under the control of the landlord and it seems unlikely that he will relent to make things easier for you. I would say that the lease will be watertight and that it will be a lease that, once signed, will be almost impossible to get out of so I suggest you make sure you are making the right decision for you. I could have completely misread this though. It is interesting that most of the main significators are in the seventh house, the house of the landlord. The Moon, your second significator is in the tenth house. It is about to apply by square to Mercury (the contract) and then the Sun (the landlord) in very quick succession. Negotiating this will be difficult. I would say that he is in control. Jupiter (your finances) is about to apply by square to Saturn, suggesting that this will be financially difficult for you.

Sorry, this is my take on it. Others may disagree. I hope it works out for you.

Well, thanks, Sue for your input. I am really not sure what to do. I do notice that the horary moon will apply by trine to Saturn (my sig) and then Venus (apartment's sig), so it is carrying light from Saturn to Venus, which I think shows my strong inclination to stay put. If I do not renew the lease for 12 mos., then I must be out by the end of October, which frankly is impossible right now. I work full time and am in school full time--I simply do not have the time either to look for a new place to live or to physically move. I could possibly move by the end of the year, once the semester is over--but that means renewing the lease on a month to month basis, for which he is asking an incredibly steep increase, over a $100 more per month than what I have been paying, which frankly is ridiculous.

Since Saturn is the Lord of Time, I think having Saturn as my significator shows the incredible sense of constraint I am feeling, in terms of time.

I also have to say that, looking at the chart, there do not appear to be many options for me. I do not see any indications that I might find a more reasonable place to live. Of course, I did not ask about that--but having studied horary for awhile now, I do think that is the kind of thing that would show up in this type of chart if it were a possibility. If the chart did show that I would find a much better situation, then I would probably not renew. But I do not believe that it does.

I am going to try to stretch this out till Saturday a.m.--so if others have any thoughts on the chart, please share them.

Thanks.

The question was 'Should I renew my lease?' This is a bit different from 'should I stay where I am or should I move?' This is why it is important to be very clear about what it is you are asking, particularly if you are asking a number of people for help on the issue. I read the chart as being a question in the nature of a conflict between your landlord and yourself, hence giving the 7th house to your landlord and not a potential new residence. My answer in response to your question was that you should probably not renew the lease as it stands. It does not seem to be in your favour to do so. Moving is a different issue. If you were to ask whether you should move or not you would look at the strengths and weaknesses of the 1st house, the 4th house (where you are now) and the seventh house (option to move). There is a set of criteria by which Lilly answers these questions. They can be found on p. 212 of Christian Astrology. However, you seem to be saying that you have no choice in the matter but to remain, which, I take it, means having to sign the lease or paying substantially more than you are now. Maybe this is why Jupiter (ruler of 2nd house of finances) is applying to Saturn (you) by square.

Yes, you are right, the question is "should I renew my lease." That's the pressing issue. Of course, if I don't renew this lease and am unable to negotiate a better one with this landlord, then I will have to find a different place to live--so the issue of renewing and the issue of moving are related. And if the chart is saying "no, don't renew", then it seems to me to be reasonable that it might suggest what the alternative course of action could be. I have seen this before in horaries.

However, should anyone wish to respond, the question is "should I renew my lease?" I can understand that taking on the issue of moving may make things too confusing.

Thanks again.

This topic brings up an interesting point that Lee Lehman has mentioned in her teachings; she very much dislikes the querent asking a question using "Should I..." Her rationale for this is that, generally, when one asks a "should" question there is either a hidden question behind it, or simply a more clear way to express the question.

Obviously, when one is talking about renegotiating a lease, the "real" question is about whether or not one will have to move. And then that might bring up more questions, such as, "Will I find a good place to move," or "When will I find a good place to move?" And so on.

I've had to train myself out of asking "should" questions by asking myself "What would happen if I don't do the thing I've asked about" or "What am I really hoping to accomplish by doing the thing I'm asking about." Sometimes doing that can help clarify the question.

I think this is one of those small but important points. I know quite a few horary astrologers who dislike ?should I?? questions, partly because they don?t like the notion of telling people what they should or shouldn?t do (as opposed to informing them in such a way that they make their own decisions). But of course the other point that you make is also relevant ? its one of those ?catch all? phrases that obscures the precise question being asked. If I had a question like ?should I ? do this?? I would explain that what I expect the chart to answer is ?What will be the consequences for me if I ? do this??.