I second Mark C's suggestion of reading Robert Blaschke's books. He lectured several months ago at the Tucson Astrologers' Guild, of which I am a member, and his talk was the best and most informative and useful of any I have heard in years.

According to Blaschke, it wouldn't make sense to read a progressed chart as a stand-alone chart unless there is something in it that relates to the natal promise. For instance, if the nativity has Mars semi-square the Sun, and the progressed chart has Mars squaring the Sun (natal or progressed Sun), that's huge. But if Mars and the Sun have no relationship in the nativity by aspect, rulership, or whatever, that progressed Mars square is meaningless.

I could go on all night about what I learned from six hours of Blaschke's lectures, but you'd do better to read the book.

Hi Ellen,

I would like to read Blaschke's books. They sound intriguing.

However, we can learn as much from our own experience as we can from books. Perhaps more. Experience has shown, for instance, that the progressed moon phase is a key factor in characterizing what's going to work in the current phase of your life. Being "out there" and visible is harder on someone experiencing progressed new moon than it is on someone experiencing progressed full moon, no matter what their natal moon phase is.

The progressed lunation is a progressed chart stand alone feature which does not need to reflect a natal promise to be significant. I've no argument with the fact that aspects which echo the natal chart carry a big wallop, but I don't buy into the orthodoxy that only repetitions of the natal promise are significant.

Tara

Coincidentally, I have been studying my progressed chart as a "stand alone" for the past few weeks because my progressed retrograde mercury was about to conjunct my progressed venus. I thought this was pretty interesting. I was looking forward to it!

On the day of the conjunction, last tuesday, I received the news that one of my best friends has terminal cancer. I am beside myself with grief.

The point of conjunction was 25 degrees leo. My natal mercury is combust.

I am sorry to hear about your friend's illness, JulieYvonne. While progressed charts do reflect developments in and of themselves, when something like this happens, my first instinct is to look at the natal condition of Mercury and Venus, I guess because the event has such a deep personal impact. Do you mind sharing what house/s Mercury and Venus rule and occupy in your chart? Are either square or opposition Saturn? And the 11th house, is it involved in any way?

Tara

Thank you Tara.

Natally venus is 14 degrees gemini, sun 18 degrees gemini, mercury 19 gemini.

This stellium is in the 12th house. Venus is ruling 11th(!) and 4th, mercury rules 12th and 3rd-4th. The only aspect other than the conjunct is a trine to neptune in the 4th.

Saturn is 8 degrees libra SD in 4th, tight square to capricorn moon in 6th, 7 degrees from DESC.

Tuesday jupiter went direct and I have jupiter in the 11th. Transiting saturn is 2 degrees past the IC.

*sigh*

Mercury L12 progresses to conjunction with L11 and your friend is taken ill ... I guess we might expect some kind of loss when L12 perfects an aspect, although of course we always hope for the best, and so much depends on whatever else is going on astrologically.

With so many 4th house connections, this situation with your friend may bring up memories of earlier losses involving your family.

Let's hope that Jupiter trining your Sun/Mercury over the next couple of months will provide support and consolation both for you and your friend.

All the best,
Tara

Realizing that what I am about to say will expose me to the horse laughs of those many skyscript members who really possess expert technical knowledge and utilize highly advanced mathematical models in making progressions of various sorts, let me state that I have always found the simple (simplistic?) progression of 1 degree for every 1 year (of time) to yield a very high degree of (often) remarkably accurate prognoses, both as to nature of outcomes/developments and even to the timing of these outcomes/developments. I was probably influenced to use this extremely simple methodology by the impression made upon me (many years ago in my first study of the concept of progressions) by C.E.O. Carter's remarkable book "Symbolic Directions in Modern Astrology". This simple methodology has worked so well (for ME) that I have not been tempted to try the many other (often highly complex) methods which have (often) produced excellent results in the hands of experts.

dr. farr wrote:Realizing that what I am about to say will expose me to the horse laughs of those many skyscript members who really possess expert technical knowledge and utilize highly advanced mathematical models in making progressions of various sorts, let me state that I have always found the simple (simplistic?) progression of 1 degree for every 1 year (of time) to yield a very high degree of (often) remarkably accurate prognoses,...

Although I have the mathematical knowledge to calculate several complicated kinds of primary directions, this knowledge sometimes seems to turn rather into a burden in such a way that it can drive me allmost insane. I then feel irresistibly attracted to the very opposite 'reliefingly easy' method of 1?(ecliptic) = 1 year. Of the different primary direction methods I have used, none come strongly forward as being the most convincing method. Even worse; because of the high chance of probability of finding an important period/event for a given direction, all these methods seem to 'work', whether it be right ascensional, placidian, either or not corrected for secondary planetary motion, mundane, zodiacal, topocentric or geocentric. This is very discouraging.

However I don't make much use of the 1?=1y either. After experimenting with progressions and different kinds of directons again and again, I usually return to the 'good ole' transits as being the most reliable. The use of 'simple' techniques isn't rediculous at all, I find the 1?=1y very useful to have a very quick look at a chart to find some significant issues/periods, sometimes clustered around certain years, later to refine it with transits.

Those who reject transits because of their just-to-look-in-the-ephemeris simplicity, may find it a valuable experience to calculate their positions without ephemeris and only the orbital elements at their disposal. It cost me several afternoons/nights to calculate my own birth chart using the 'orbital elements' (with help of Jean Meeus' tremendous book: http://www.willbell.com/MATH/mc1.htm )

If one has done this just once, it will be clear that in order to calculate the transits for a certain age all those calculations have to be performed again, where for primary directions the birth chart is enough (apart from several refinements for secondary motion of the planets, if this is desired). Secondary progressions take a middle position, only the planetary positions of the next say three months after birth need to be calculated.

However my mind is pulled back and forth on this issue. This is where I stand at the moment, but it changes from while to while. Perhaps I should experiment with 'firdaria' and/or the Indian 'dasha' systems. Note that several of these period systems when added up result in 360 years for the whole circle, the same as the result for the total of the 1?=1y method, which in fact could be considered an 'equalized' period system.

Thanks to Eddy for the above thoughtful posting.
Eddy mentions the issue of transits: here too, as with progressions, I have long been using a peculiar technique I learned 30 years ago from an aged astrologer, and which I have not read about in any of the books on the subject of transits:
+I disregard consideration of any and all transits unless the transiting planet is crossing the longitudinal place of the radical element (no consideration of transit squares, oppositions, etc) AND, at the same time, the transiting planet is within 1 degree of parallel declination with the ORIGINAL declination of the radical element; if the parallel declination of the transiting planet is also on the same side of the ecliptic as the original declination of the radical element I give such a transit maximal significance, even over any progression/direction indications which might be present. This use of transits has, like my simple progression method, yielded me (what I consider to be) consistently reliable insights and prognoses.

dr. farr wrote:+I disregard consideration of any and all transits unless the transiting planet is crossing the longitudinal place of the radical element (no consideration of transit squares, oppositions, etc) AND, at the same time, the transiting planet is within 1 degree of parallel declination with the ORIGINAL declination of the radical element; if the parallel declination of the transiting planet is also on the same side of the ecliptic as the original declination of the radical element I give such a transit maximal significance, even over any progression/direction indications which might be present.

Hi dr. farr,

I never heard of that transit technique. While I believe it can be usefull to reduce the use of transits to the conjunction alone, I must say that, considering the second technique, I believe that some years ago my Saturn transit conjunct natal Moon was quite significant. My natal Moon is about +4 latitude while Saturn then was about -2 lat. However I can imagine that there is more strength in de position when the latitudes (or declinations) come close to eachother.

There were some remarks on classical use/signification of latitude in a thread over here once but I don't know which one.

As I said, I myself have never read of this approach to transits in any of the books on the subject; the old astrologer (must have been near 80 yrs of age) who told it to me back in the mid-1970's claimed it to be the "secret" in obtaining consistently reliable prognoses from transits. I certainly am not trying to suggest this peculiar technique to any one, nor do I doubt for a moment that the more common/traditional approaches to transit indications are frequently quite accurate. Another point is that (with only a few exceptions) I have applied this transit technique in the field of astro-therapeutic analysis (health/medical astrological analysis), and it was relative to astro-therapeutics that the old astrologer referenced this transit technique. Whether or not this technique is universally applicable in the many other fields of astrological investigation and prediction I cannot really say. Perhaps someone might try experimenting with it in other astrological fields-if anyone does please post results here on Skyscript.

Tara wrote:Mercury L12 progresses to conjunction with L11 and your friend is taken ill ... I guess we might expect some kind of loss when L12 perfects an aspect, although of course we always hope for the best, and so much depends on whatever else is going on astrologically.

With so many 4th house connections, this situation with your friend may bring up memories of earlier losses involving your family.

Let's hope that Jupiter trining your Sun/Mercury over the next couple of months will provide support and consolation both for you and your friend.

All the best,
Tara

Tara, I am a somewhat slow and plodding student, as it is only now that I see how accurate your evaluation is, in particular the highlighted paragraph. When my natal mercury went retrograde by secondary progression in 2004, my brother died.

But I should add that the ill friend I speak of died 3 weeks after I made this post. In fact, he is the spouse of my best friend, and what you said, Tara, about consolation for me and my (living) friend is true. You called that one girlfriend, thank you so much for your personal attention!

What I have learned from this episode is that mercury combust in the 12th bites the big one, which confers increasing respect for traditional astrology in calling a spade a spade. As Carl Jung said, "free will is doing gladly that which you must do."

Also, my healthy respect for progressions is reinforced. My friend died with both venus (N scorpio) and mercury changing signs by progression. I have found this feature present in many premature and accidental deaths.