I admire your sleuthing Andrew

I have just been reading these links.... I'll quote the paragraphs here for other people like me who weren't fully aware of the stories of the star myth of Algol, which describe how Medusa lost her immortality (i.e. she had to deal with ageing) and her looks.

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/algol.html

"Beyond all others she [Medusa] was famed for her beauty ... Words would fail to tell the glory of her hair, most wonderful of all her charms - a friend declared to me he saw its lovely splendour"

- wrote the Roman poet Ovid. He told how once-beautiful Medusa was raped by Neptune in the temple of Minerva (i.e. Athena), and was punished for this as if it were her fault by the offended goddess (Athena, as the goddess of male wisdom and science, was taking a dim view of the older, priestess-type of wisdom), whereby her lovely locks turned into hissing serpents. Earlier, she had lost her immortality (of the three gorgons, she was the mortal one) then she lost her beauty through the wrath of Athene, and finally she lost her head, being beheaded by Perseus as she slept in a cave with the other Gorgons.

http://www.constellationsofwords.com/stars/Algol.html

Legend: Algol represents the head of the Gorgon Medusa who was slain by Perseus. Medusa, who was the only mortal one of the three Gorgon sisters, was originally a beautiful maiden, but her hair was changed into hissing serpents by Minerva in consequence of her having become by Neptune the mother of Chrysaor and Pegasus in one of Minerva's temples. This gave her so fearful an appearance that everyone who looked at her was changed into stone. [Robson]

Andrew Bevan wrote:Consider the casualness of the Moon in Sagittarius (- Apt to practical pranks and no one will ever mind). I suggested to the woman that the chart involved a hidden secret. The Moon applies to the lord of the 5th, so obviously she had a need for self-affirmation and wanted to appear more attractive in the eyes of the opposite sex and a potential lover. .

Ah, so true! I examined Saturn as a planet that might be carrying a warning for the Astrologer but the fact that it rules the 5th is obviously so descriptive of her attitude/approach as well.
The Moon is applying to the ruler of the 5th and that planet is the natural ruler of older people and aging (Saturn), currently in retrograde motion (stealing a few years from life, going back to past) and exalted in the house of Venus (beauty). With the Moon being placed in a 'casual' sign as Andrew says, it is no wonder she forgot what really mattered here.
I like your inputs on Algol.

The horary chart cast for this moment had the Moon in Sagittarius intercepted in the 4th house applying to the sextile of Saturn through signs of long ascension. In this way she was trying to hide and conceal (intercepted in the 4th house) her real age (Saturn).

The sextile through signs of long ascension will often convert into a square by effect since it represents someone due act with overt self-confidence; Rash, bold, exaggerated, misguided, inexperienced, uneducated and vulnerable. An incorrect estimate of own abilities and a miscalculation of the situation at large is thus apt to land the subject into trouble and may cause the person to learn things the hard way.

pankajdubey wrote:The bigger worry could be the astrologer being equally accurate with a wrong chart

PD

How true, yet often painfully repressed when confronted with. In delineation this phenomenon has its explanation. With prediction it should be a different thing though.

I remember when in the first years I was doing astrology I had an argument with my brother. He was very displeased with me practising astrology which he considered a waste of time. When I couldn't tell a lot from his chart, he yelled at me and challenged me to make some concrete prediction. I looked in the chart and feeling compelled I yelled back that he would have some change in his work situation or might get a job next year. (He was unemployed and lived on welfare in that period and some previous years). About a year later he indeed started several accounting courses which got him into jobs.

I had based the prediction on Uranus transiting the MC. However, in the calculation I erroneously had used Daylight saving time (which however wasn't applied in the Netherlands in his birthyear), and therefore had used an MC which was some 15? (one hour) off. However, the prediction and the symbolism with the wrong chart were correct anyway .

The bigger worry could be the astrologer being equally accurate with a wrong chart.

To be specific on this point, I had passed some introductory comments on the horary chart, had calculated the nativity on basis on the birth data provided and was busy working out considerations based upon the woman's age when she realized and admitted that her age was wrong. In this manner the deceit came to surface before the judgement of the nativity had moved to far. When the truth was know there were two things I had to do
1) recalculate the chart, and 2) recalculate the the lady's age- The latter bore importance to those portions of the chart I had under inspection.

The other side of the secret

The indication of the woman hiding her age is the Moon in Sagittarius intercepted in the 4th house applying to the sextile of Saturn through signs of long ascension. Since Saturn is Lord of the 5th house, the woman wants to appear attractive for the opposite sex and potentially a lover. Chiron in Pisces on the cusp of the 7th; Jupiter, L7, in the 9th house - suggests that the woman's husband travels quite a bit. This was perfectly true and the Moon intercepted in Sagittarius in the 10th house from the 7th indicates that he ACTUALLY IS HIDDEN and AWAY travelling a lot in connection with his work. This makes the Moon's prospects of applying to the lord of the 5th in the 2nd house, HER FUTURE, even more interesting for the woman. However, she has to be careful or the sextile cast to Saturn through signs of long ascension, with Saturn retrograde and in his exaggeration (exaltation) could get her into trouble.

The indication of the woman hiding her age is the Moon in Sagittarius intercepted in the 4th house applying to the sextile of Saturn through signs of long ascension.

But you have a sign of Mercury rising, right? I didn't look at the chart but I know the transits around this time. Mercury is the trickster planet and if Mars in detriment is influencing him, then he'd be more prone to lying, which he is known for very well. Mercury is very impressionable based on the planets it touches. Venus in Taurus is a strong vanity/wanting to maintain youth sort of indicator. Again, I didn't look at the chart, though.

Moon sextile (or equivalent to a square through signs of long ascension) Saturn might show insecurity issues, pain associated with rejection, mommy/daddy issues (especially in the 4th - some lack of nurturing in her roots) and the like but Moon in Sagittarius is typically pretty honest. Sometimes too honest (lacking tact, blunt, etc.)! I don't see the connection to what happened via this signification. Were this a horary chart or an event chart, without this background information I would never have come to that conclusion based on a Moon-Saturn influence.

It is a communications issue to the core (Mercury), but it might stem from insecurity (the Moon-Saturn square equivalence), to be sure. And I do realize Saturn is the planet we most associate with age and the 4th is a "hidden" sort of house. But still, Moon in Sagittarius? It's not a liar; it would be a stronger compulsion for her to fess up to anything "hidden". Talk to any natal Moon in Sag on their lying capabilities and you'll see what I mean! Without that influence she might not have ever confessed.

I know people with besieged Mercuries who are perpetual liars and hard Mercury transits to the malefics in general seem to promote lying, at least via my (albeit limited) experience. Just my two cents!

Tanit wrote:Moon sextile (or equivalent to a square through signs of long ascension) Saturn might show insecurity issues, pain associated with rejection, mommy/daddy issues (especially in the 4th - some lack of nurturing in her roots) and the like but Moon in Sagittarius is typically pretty honest. Sometimes too honest (lacking tact, blunt, etc.)! I don't see the connection to what happened via this signification. Were this a horary chart or an event chart, without this background information I would never have come to that conclusion based on a Moon-Saturn influence.

Now you are demonstrating first class astrology, Tanit! I cannot confirm the story, but the woman was not a native of Norway, but an immigrant, so the story of security issues and rejection is very good. Very clever indeed!

Great remarks, tanit, indeed!

The ruler of the Ascendant is placed inside the 9th - a woman from a foreign country. The Moon is disposed by Sagittarius, a sign naturally associated with the 9th house.