Hi folks,

I could use some help on a personal horary chart: I can never seem to read my own without developing hangups about them!

Will I be accepted to the nursing programme?

12 July 2007
17:37 pm (0:37 Universal Time, 13 July)
Tucson, AZ, USA
110W56 32N13

23 deg Sagittarius ascendant

Background:

There is a specific nursing programme I want to enter, an intensive 14-month training for people who already hold a bachelor's degree in some other subject. The programme pays you to do the course in a selected hospital, after which you commit to work for the hospital for two years upon certifying as a nurse.

The programme is very competitive (over 200 applicants for about 65 places), and while I feel absolutely sure I would make a marvellous nurse and have all the drive and intellectual capacity to get in, really, it's up to the selection committee.

When I first did this chart, I saw a 'yes' answer: the dignified Moon applies almost immediately to Mercury, the 9th ruler of the course, from the 7th house. In Cancer, the Moon receives my significator, Jupiter, by exaltation; I interpreted this as 'the course wants me to be on it'.

BUT, now, having just finished a gruelling 5-week anatomy and physiology course (a prerequisite to enter the course), I realised that the 7th also indicates 'my competitors' for the course; the 9th ruler is in the house of my competitors; and indeed they are also ruled by Mercury!

My significator, Jupiter, has dignity by domicile, but is retrograde. It is *near* the POF, and conjunct Antares. I'm not sure what to make of this. Being in the 12th house, I'm not in an especially strong position.

So I started having doubts. A lot of them. If I don't get into this course I shall leave the material world behind, walk up into the Catalina Mountains, and live the rest of my life there as a hermit, speaking to no-one but the mountain lions. (Actually, there are some alternate courses, but they aren't as juicy...or as fast. My Aries Moon demands it happen QUICKLY. If I get a 'no' answer on this one, I can start applying immediately to the other ones, just in case...)

Could someone please offer a second opinion? Was my initial assessment correct?

Utterly worn out,
Gunhilde

What?! All the times I pipe in with my thruppence, and I get no response?
Sheesh... c'mon....

GH

Hi Gunhilde,

First let?s get this comment out of the way:

In Cancer, the Moon receives my significator, Jupiter, by exaltation; I interpreted this as 'the course wants me to be on it'.

The Moon is in its own sign, which is also the exaltation of Jupiter. But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them. In a single sided reception of this sort, it is the aspect that may or may not be received. Otherwise we would assume that Jupiter automatically gets benefit every time the Moon enters Cancer, which is not the case.

Other than that, I think your initial assessment was fairly sound. Using the Moon as your co-significator it translates from Venus (which rules the midheaven and is placed on the 9th house cusp), to Mercury, the 9th house ruler. Here it is beneficial that the Moon receives Mercury by sign and that the conjunction is angular. This gives a good argument for perfection. The 7th house need not signify competitors unless you had them in mind at the time of the question. It might, for example, indicate that the course involves a move away from home to somewhere entirely new. Two other favourable indications are that Mercury is sextile the 9th house cusp (with an applying sextile with Venus, MC-ruler); and that Jupiter, though retrograde, applies to the Midheaven by sextile.

On the negative, your main significator (though strong in essential dignity) is accidentally weak, retrograde, and outside of the main action. I wonder if you won?t end up having a change of heart? Mercury, which signifies the course, is received by the Moon but it has no dignity of its own, and the south node is in the 9th house. This course may not be the ?bees knees? you think it is. Although I think that this chart shows your chances are good, you should still explore other options.

Good luck with this
Deb

Hi Deb,

The Moon is in its own sign, which is also the exaltation of Jupiter. But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them. In a single sided reception of this sort, it is the aspect that may or may not be received. Otherwise we would assume that Jupiter automatically gets benefit every time the Moon enters Cancer, which is not the case.

Thank you for clarifying this. The whole 'receives' thing was a bit foggy for me! I 'get' it that it takes an aspect, not just reception, for this to work.

The 7th house need not signify competitors unless you had them in mind at the time of the question.

Thank you for also clarifying this! As a matter of fact, I had NOT considered my competitors as a part of the question; I was worried about my own prospects! It was only after reading an article about how competitive the course is, that I went back, looked at the chart, and realised where the Moon/Mercury were placed.

I wonder if you won?t end up having a change of heart?

Deb, this is a lifelong problem for me! I have Neptune conjunct the MC, and have changes of heart about career options with alarming regularity. I was hoping that a quick "Let's get this over with" course toward a career path would sort of galvanize me and make something stick!

Mercury, which signifies the course, is received by the Moon but it has no dignity of its own, and the south node is in the 9th house. This course may not be the ?bees knees? you think it is.

[sigh] Probably not. I'll look into some other courses, just in case.

Thank you very much for your assistance. I am [somewhat] reassured that my reading of my chart wasn't far off the mark. We'll see what happens now!

Best wishes,
Gunhilde

I am assuming from the question that Gunhilde has already applied to the program and is taking prep courses for it in case she is accepted ? I'm not really clear on how the program works since her question is asking if she'll be accepted, yet she states she is already taking classes or has just completed some courses for the program.

If she has already applied and is waiting to hear of her status, that is whether she will be accepted, then this would explain her Jupiter in the 12th which would signify the unknown nature of her status being uninformed about it. Being retrograde could also show the insecurity and uncertainty (and perhaps some anxiety) she is experiencing by being in the dark in the matter.

Moon is within a degree of applying to conjoin with her Mercury (co ruler of 9th and study generally) which indicates study in the matter or for the matter. Mercury sextiles Venus, ruler 10th - the committee that would decide the application (success 10th).

But aren't Mercury and Venus in refranation here? They never complete the sextile. Isn't that significant in this question? Could that not signify that she may begin some studies but not complete them because of backing out of the matter entirely? I would think that the chart shows a beginning but something that is not completed. That doesn't really help answer the question tho of whether she will be accepted or not, unless she withdraws her application from consideration. If it doesn't cost anything to wait and see if accepted, then why not wait and see rather than backing out? I hope you will let us know how it turns out.

RC

Hi RC,

Thank you for 'pitching in'. I'll clarify my position.

To be accepted to this programme, you have to already have a bachelors degree in a subject, plus certain prerequisites, which may or may not have been completed as a part of the bachelors degree (anatomy/physiology, microbiology, nutrition, human development, plus the usual suspects of chemistry, English, etc). So I already have most of the prerequisites completed with the exception of the first four I listed.

The application deadline is in January 2008, and I have to have ALL of the prerequisites completed by December; I am working furiously on this as we speak.

I'm not worried about succeeding in the prereq courses as I usually do very well academically (I have a natal 9th house Jupiter, a bonus! ); but what I suppose I'm concerned about is, having done all the work over the summer/fall semesters to make all these classes up, it will all be in vain, should I not be accepted to the course. Realistically speaking I have certain advantages (good academic record, being somewhat *ahem* older than many applicants, a lot of life experience and healthcare-related work, etc.) But if I don't impress them coming out of the gate, then I've spent over a thousand bucks on prerequisites that get me nowhere.

So, no, I haven't applied yet, but *intend* to once the bureaucratic hoops have been jumped through.

Since you, RC, and Deb have both mentioned withdrawal or changes of heart, it makes me wonder what's going on, really...

Thanks again,
GH

Deb wrote:

The Moon is in its own sign, which is also the exaltation of Jupiter. But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them. In a single sided reception of this sort, it is the aspect that may or may not be received. Otherwise we would assume that Jupiter automatically gets benefit every time the Moon enters Cancer, which is not the case.

?But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them.?

This is the 2nd paragraph of The Use of Reception Between Dignities:
http://www.skyscript.co.uk/dig6.html
Consider the Sun in Libra. Venus is said to 'receive' the Sun because he is visiting her sign. In this capacity Venus is known as the Sun's dispositor. Traditional works frequently advise us to consider the strength of a planet's dispositor when evaluating its own condition because a dispositor's well being influences any planet in its sign.

?Venus is said to 'receive' the Sun because he is visiting her sign.? But there is no mention of aspects.

Here is the 4th paragraph from the same web page:
The Sun in Libra is also received, to a lesser degree, by Saturn since he has dignity in Libra by exaltation. If the chart is a nocturnal one, Mercury offers a milder reception as ruler of the triplicity. Should the Sun be at 25 Libra, the minor receptions by term and face are from Mars and Jupiter respectively. In this degree then, the Sun is received by (and therefore has some familiarity with) all the traditional planets except the Moon.

Still no mention of aspects, but ?...the Sun is received by (and therefore has some familiarity with) all the traditional planets except the Moon.?

I?m so confused. I don?t know what to think, except that maybe Deb?s opinion has changed and we should read her older works with care! Nothing wrong with that. Progress, you know. All the greats do it.

Kirk, that article you referred to is a very basic introduction to the topic of dignities. It is not intended to be all-encompassing on any of the issues raised. As a first introduction to reception the focus is on who receives who, especially in mutual reception for which an aspect is not necessary because of ?generosity? or ?leniency?. Also the bullet points at the bottom show that the emphasis of the principle falls upon how reception affects aspects.

But by itself that article will be confusing in reference to this point because it is such a brief introduction, intended for students who are new to traditional terminology. It does not detail the ins and out of the need for an aspect in single-sided receptions but not mutual receptions, nor the fact that a single reception needs a planet to be received by sign, exaltation or two of the minor dignities to be considered relevant. These are more advanced principles and are detailed fully in the first two articles listed under the ?advanced articles? section at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/digintro.html

RC, you are right about the refranation. But the translation of the Moon from Venus to Mercury will counter that in showing a successful connection made between them.

Gunhilde, overall I think this chart is positive and gives you good reason to hope well. That's all you can expect from a horary. You still need to put the effort in to guarantee success, but it sounds like you are doing that. Good luck.

Deb

Sorry, I still don?t get what you?re saying.

So...If we say ?But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them.?, then are we saying that the Moon never receives Jupiter in Cancer unless there is an aspect between them ? or mutual reception.?

Isn?t it an introductory principle that the Moon (as its dispositor) always receives Jupiter in Cancer, with or without aspects and mutual reception? Therefore, any Jupiter in Cancer is received by the Moon. Aspects and mutual reception may give it more strength, power, or relevancy, but it?s still reception. Or have I learned it incorrectly?

So...If we say ?But Jupiter is not received by the Moon because there is no aspect between them.?, then are we saying that the Moon never receives Jupiter in Cancer unless there is an aspect between them ? or mutual reception.?

That is generally correct. There are minor disagreements and variations in definition (for example Omar of Tiberius talks about the Moon receiving light from the Sun in every house) but all of the definitions I have seen compare well with that given by Bonatus:

And it is said that if some planet is joined with the Lord of the sign in which it is (or with the Lord of the exaltation of the same sign, or with the Lord of the term or triplicity, or decan [face]), whether by body or by aspect, that the planet who is the Lord of the sign (or some dignity of it), commits and gives its own disposition and nature and virtue to it.

If you are confused about what I am saying, then you really need to read the full article at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/reception.html

Deb wrote: RC, you are right about the refranation. But the translation of the Moon from Venus to Mercury will counter that in showing a successful connection made between them.

Deb

Oh yes! I missed that when I first looked at the chart (a little too quickly). I need to give it another study. I thought it was a good chart at a glance until I saw the refranation which puzzled me - but the moon translates the light between them. (geez, how'd I miss that?)
Thanks.
RC

Deb wrote:
RC, you are right about the refranation. But the translation of the Moon from Venus to Mercury will counter that in showing a successful connection made between them.

Deb

Deb:
What (if any) effect does Venus getting ready to go retro mean here?

RC