Course Five: Spectrum, Part 1 231
tions! What I offer here is a little introduction of what
a horoscope is, and how to understand it.
Each sign of the Zodiac has certain associated at-
tributes (assigned qualities), which influence the plan-
ets appearing in those signs at a given time. The plan-
ets themselves have attributes, as do the times of day,
and the combination of all these factors in a horoscope
gives the reading for a person or event at the desig-
nated time. A horoscope is arranged just like a clock
face, but starting at 9:00 and going counter-clockwise,
and each of the 12 hours is called a house. These rep-
resent the areas of your life and concerns. The posi-
tions and attributes of the 12 Houses are as follows:First (Ascendant) (9-8:00)—Appearance,
identity, personality, physical body, health.
Second (8-7:00)—Money, material possessions,
tools.
Third (7-6:00)—Sibling relationships, education,
communication.
Fourth (6-5:00)—Parental home, family, heredity,
domesticity, security.
Fifth (5-4:00)—Romance, creativity, sexuality,
children, pleasure, risks.
Sixth (4-3:00)—Daily routine, service, career,
health.
Seventh (3-2:00)—Community, partnerships,
marriage, open enemies.
Eighth (2-1:00)—Accidents, death, cycles,
inheritances, passion, soul.
Ninth (1-12:00)—Spirituality, philosophy,
religion, education, travels.
Tenth (12-11:00)—Vocation, profession, fame,
achievement, ambitions.
Eleventh (11-10:00)—Wishes, hopes, goals,
friendships, social life.
Twelfth (10-9:00)—Sacrifice, solitude, privacy,
unconscious, secret enemies.The 12 signs are matched up with the 12 houses
according to which sign is rising on the eastern celes-
tial horizon at the designated time of day. This is called
the ascendant, and it is noted at the “9:00-10:00” po-
sition on the horoscope—the 1st house. Then all the
other signs follow clockwise around the circle, one
per house. Here are some of the attributes of the vari-
ous signs, as applied to personal qualities:Aries: Courage, impulsiveness, energy.
Pioneer, leader, competitor.
Taurus: Patience, persistence, obstinacy.
Earthy, stable, practical.
Gemini: Progressiveness, cleverness,
instability. Dual, lively, versatile.
Cancer: Inspiration, sensitivity, evasive-
ness. Protective, traditional.
Leo: Dignity, power, vanity. Dramatic,flamboyant, broad-minded, warm.
Virgo: Reason, logic, exactitude. Conscien-
tious, analytical, meticulous.
Libra: Harmony, evaluation, trivialities.
Refined, fair, just, sociable.
Scorpio: Profundity, insistence, roughness.
Intense, secretive, ambitious.
Sagittarius: Justice, propriety, sophistry
(cleverness). Friendly, expansive.
Capricorn: Independence, abstraction,
stubbornness. Cautious, materialistic.
Aquarius: Spirituality, conviction, illusion.
Inquisitive, unpredictable.
Pisces: Compassion, tolerance, imagination,
laziness. Responsive, dependent.There are 30° in each sign, and the positions of
the planets within each sign at the moment the horo-
scope is drawn for are indicated by degrees. So, you
might say that someone has their natal (birth) Mars at
12.4° Aquarius, in the 7th house.
The attributes of all the Planets are as follows:Sun (Birth Sign): Physical body, psychic
energy, ego, identity, the male principle.
Moon: Soul, emotions, memories, personal-
ity, change and fluctuation, female principle.
Mercury: Intelligence, reason, skills,
movement, connections, communication.
Venus: Love, physical attraction, pleasures,
the arts, sentimentality.
Mars: Action, energy, impulsion, aggres-
siveness, challenges, sports.
Jupiter: Expansion, wealth (material or
spiritual), health, humor, happiness.
Saturn: Limitation, concentration, inhibition,
separation, maturity, responsibility, death.
Uranus: Suddenness, originality, creativity,
progress, science, magick, transmutation.
Neptune: Susceptibility, fantasy, dreams,
inspiration, illusions, mysticism, deception.
Pluto: Power, dictatorship, politics, rebirth,
renewal, resources.Lines drawn between any 2 or more planets in a
horoscope are considered significant if they form cer-
tain angles. These angular relationships are called as-
pects. Conjunctions (0°) and oppositions (180°) can
be either good or bad, according to the planets con-
cerned. Conjunctions increase the mutual influence of
the planets, and oppositions cancel them out. If the
angle between two planets is 90° (square) or 45° (semi-
square), it is considered to be an unfortunate or diffi-
cult aspect. Angles of 120° (trine) and 60° (sextile)
are considered fortunate aspects.
In a horoscope, then, all the above attributions
and aspects are taken into consideration together. The
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