Horary 0050: Can I Trust the Lawyer?
Overview
The querent was preparing for an imminent meeting with an entertainment industry lawyer with whom they had previously worked. Of the querent’s three upcoming projects for which they sought counsel, one required secrecy. The querent wanted to know whether to discuss this secret project, unsure if their device was secure enough or whether the lawyer could be trusted.
Before you ask: Yes, the client was aware of the imminent solar eclipse. They requested it specifically.
For my part, I was also well aware of the eclipse, and thus I was also aware of the Moon’s position in the last degree of her sign, a consideration before judgment. Believe me, I considered it.
In the heyday of the horary tradition, it might have been difficult to find an astrologer who would take this question at all — let alone answer it — on a solar eclipse. The condition of the Moon is an essential factor in any chart, and by a traditional assessment, the Moon in a solar eclipse is deeply afflicted, both by combustion under the rays of the Sun and by proximity to one of its nodes.
An eclipse is a big omen. I certainly understand why it would give an astrologer pause in this situation. In fact, I tweeted a joking warning about it myself… and this is what prompted this person to request a reading.
Given that they asked for it, I saw this as an opportunity to test my own position, which is not that an eclipse must be avoided but that it simply depends what the question is. If the matter can be radically described by the omen of an eclipse, then the chart can be judged.
Since this question concerned the concealment of something in a meeting happening imminently, I decided to go ahead.
Judgment
I gave the querent Jupiter, the ascendant ruler, noting the darkened Moon’s recent separation from Jupiter by conjunction to approach the eclipse. I found this to radically describe a hidden thing that would soon become visible.
I noted the cusp of the 5th house, the place of creative works, right in between Jupiter and the eclipse, showing the concern of both significators with the querent’s project.
I took Mars, ruler of the 5th, to signify the project itself, noting that Jupiter, the Moon, and the Sun in Aries all favor it. I described Mars in its fall in Cancer as not strong on its own, but with the Moon in Aries, it is supported by mutual reception, the Moon being an additional significator of the querent themself.
Mars is bang on the cusp of the 8th house, which I delineated as 2nd from the 7th, the lawyer’s money. I took this as the first sign that this project would be financially valuable to the lawyer.
Given that the quesited meeting was about to happen, I overlooked the Moon’s late degree as a consideration. An imminent change in dignities and receptions upon the Moon’s (and Sun’s!) reappearance seemed like quite a radical description.
The significant thing about this change, to me, is that the conjoined Moon and Sun will lose reception for Mars — the project — as soon as the eclipse is over, when they enter Taurus. I noted the increase in dignity for the Moon by exaltation — her own status will improve, at least apparently — but she will lose that mutual support with Mars. Moreover, the condition of Venus — the new ruler of the Moon after the Taurus ingress — shows who will really benefit from this revealing.
Venus rules the 6th house, which I delineated as 2nd from the 5th, the profit from the project. Venus in Gemini is right on the descendant. I took this as the second powerful testimony that the financial benefits of this project would accrue to the lawyer.
The lawyer themself, ruler of the descendant, is Mercury in Taurus, also in the 5th house sniffing around in the client’s creative work. Furthermore, Mercury in Taurus (the lawyer) and Venus in Gemini (the profit from the project) are in a mutual reception of their own.
Even more startling, Mercury is at the degree of their retrograde station. Yes, the lawyer is literally about to turn on you.
Finally, I considered the receptions between Jupiter as the client’s main significator and Mercury, the lawyer. Jupiter in Aries favors Mars (the project) and opposes a Venus-ruled place. Mercury (the lawyer) in Taurus favors Venus (the profit) and opposes a Mars-ruled place. The querent believes in the project over the profit; the lawyer believes in the profit over the project. Jupiter and Mercury are in aversion without any reception. The querent and the lawyer cannot see eye-to-eye.
Compared to all that, the testimony about the security of the client’s device seemed pretty minor but still not to be ignored. Mercury 2º from Uranus but refraining by retrograde seemed like a pretty loud natural signifier of tech stuff going screwy. I warned the querent about this, noting that tech certainly wasn’t going to help them, but seeing the problems with the lawyer as far more significant.
Outcome
The querent ultimately chose to postpone the meeting altogether. They were worried about this move disrupting their business relationship, but the lawyer replied that this was fine. The querent reported a huge relief upon receiving this response, which they say contributed to their sense that this was the right decision.
Fate then dealt this client a bonus. A surprise opportunity arose for them to work with a well-known creator, they seized the opportunity, and they made a successful connection. The querent felt that this meeting was deeply symbolically rooted and could fulfill long-term creative goals. They took this as the real surprise from the universe that suggested they had taken the correct course of action with the previous project.
Analysis
I am deeply delighted by this horary. Many astrologers describe an experience at the outset of their practice that the Oracle gives them the charts they need to practice. I have already experienced and written about this myself several times. To be thrown an eclipse chart this early on seemed like a formidable challenge, but it was also impossible to ignore the radicality of the chart to the question, so I had to go for it.
It seems to have worked out perfectly. Not only was the reading successful for the client, it also set a very high bar for the radicality of an eclipse chart for me. Anything less radical than this will look like a mess to me.
An eclipse is perhaps the mother of all considerations before judgment, but as with the regular ones, it’s essential to me to establish a sense of proportion for them, to respond skillfully rather than just freaking out and dumping the whole chart. This chart — which has a solar eclipse forming in ONE HOUR — has precisely calibrated my standards, and I am grateful to this bold client for requesting I test my mettle this way.
