Sources:
Brau, Jean-Louis, Helen Weaver, and Allan Edmands. Larousse Encyclopedia of Astrology.New
York: Plume, 1980.
Kepler, Johannes. Harmonices Mundi.
———. Tertius Interveniens.
Kitson, Annabella, ed. History and Astrology: Clio and Urania Confer.London: Mandala, 1989.KITE
A kite is a configuration in which one of the planets in a grand trine opposes a fourth
planet that simultaneously forms sextile aspects (60° angles) with the remaining two
planets. This is considered a fortunate configuration in a natal chart: Depending on the
indications of the balance of the chart, a grand trine can be toofortunate, bringing the
native good luck but not challenging the person to develop character. The inclusion of
an opposed fourth planet adds an element of challenge and tension that stimulates the
native to release the energies of the grand trine in a dynamic manner. The house posi-
tion of the fourth planet usually indicates the area of life in which this release will occur.KOCHHOUSESYSTEM
When the casual observer looks at an astrological chart for the first time, it is easy to
make the incorrect assumption that the 12 “pie pieces” are the 12 signs of the zodiac.
The lines indicate the house divisions (sign divisions are usually not represented),
which can begin or end at different places in different signs. Astrologers disagree
about how to draw the houses, although most agree that the first house should begin
on the eastern horizon and the seventh house (180° away) should begin on the west-
ern horizon. Also, the great majority of systems begin the tenth house at the degree of
the zodiac that is highest in the heavens and the fourth house at exactly 180° away
from the cusp of the tenth house.
The Koch house system, also called the birthplace house system, is a very recent
one (though not significantly different from the ancient system of Alcabitus) that was
put forward in 1971 by Walter Koch. Although a relative newcomer, it has quickly
become popular. Like the also popular Placidean house system, the Koch system finds
the house cusps intervening between the ascendant and the medium coeli by trisecting
the time, in this case the time it takes to rise from the horizon to the ecliptic. In actual
practice, Koch house cusps do not vary significantly from Placidean cusps.KOCH, WALTERA.
The German schoolteacher and astrologer Walter Koch was born in Esslingen, Germany,
on September 18, 1895. His father was a manufacturer. During World War I, Koch was
severely wounded in his right leg. He studied classics and history at the Universities of
Strasbourg and Tübingen and entered a career of civil service after graduation.
In 1924, Koch began publishing in astrology periodicals. During the Nazi era,
he (and most other astrologers) was arrested and spent several years in jail before beingKite
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