Horary 0085: Where Is My Dad’s Passport?
Overview
The querent’s father could not find his passport on the eve of their graduation program in another country. They ordered a horary as a rush job. The querent is a colleague, someone I was eager to help.
That’s how you get got.
The querent gave me a rather long list of possible places the passport could be, including multiple residences and recent travel with complex transfers, where it could have been lost at any point along the way. It seemed like a lot to chew on, but I figured the chart would help narrow things down.
I wanted to find the object so badly that I did, by concocting a place for it. I did not ignore all the negative testimony, but I found good testimony to outweigh the bad — some of it due to straight up errors. In hindsight, the chart clearly says, “it’s too late.”
Judgment
I assigned the passport Saturn, as ruler of the 2nd from the 4th, the father’s possession. With the 4th house cusp — signifying the father himself — also ruled by Saturn, I frankly already knew I was in a little trouble, though I said in my opening delineation to the querent that “I don’t think that’s a problem.” Did I feel it was a problem, though? Yes. It eliminates the possibility of the clearest sign of recovery: contact between the significator of the person involved and significator of the object. If they’re the same planet, you can’t use that.
Saturn is in the 5th by quadrant but 6th by sign, in a water sign and retrograde, with one saving grace of essential dignity by being in his own face. “It’s not in amazing condition,” I said, but I gave it some credit for being in the 5th house, since that’s the place of the father’s stuff (2nd from the 4th). Did I feel that it being in the 6th by sign was a problem, though? Yes.
Nevertheless, I went ahead and delineated Saturn’s position. The water sign suggested the bathroom or other watery place, and a double-bodied sign can often mean it’s between things. I noted that a water sign on the 5th could also mean the beach house the querent mentioned, given that the sign after the 4th house cusp (the home) could also signify a second home.
I next checked Saturn’s last aspect, and it was bad enough that I said as much to the querent. It was with a very combust Mercury, just after the cazimi. This had a little bit of a theft signature to me; a sneaky, invisible Mercury. Mercury rules the 12th in this chart, which also has a little bit of a “stolen” flavor. However, they also rule the 9th, which could surely mean “lost it while traveling.”
If you want to give me half credit for this, go right ahead.
After that, I moved on to seeking good testimonies to counteract the bad one, which is not how astrology is supposed to work, but oh well.
I said Saturn’s aspect to the ascendant is very nice by degree, which is actually not true and an error caused by switching back and forth between quadrant and whole-sign houses, which is something I do with a lot of swagger, and I just totally stepped on a rake here. In fact, Saturn is averse to the ascendant.
Then I took the angular Moon going from ascendant ruler Venus (the querent) to Mercury (9th house ruler, the university) as a sign of making it to the ceremony. I also noted its imminent increase in dignity, entering its exaltation in Taurus and gaining a sign-based aspect to Saturn. This seems like the surer sign, and yet it may have been the greater error.
Finally, for good measure, I threw in the culminating Sun, saying that two luminaries above the horizon is good testimony for recovery. That could be true in a chart that has signs of recovery, which this one does not.
So, though I reiterated the sign of loss or theft once more, I gave the querent the recommendation to look at the beach house, with a more convenient indoor indication of the 5th house double-bodied water sign being wedged somewhere in the bathroom or something.
I followed up a few minutes later with another thought: The 10th house Moon could signify the government, so I suggested requesting official help, as the Moon facilitates a connection between the ascendant ruler (the querent) and Mercury (9th house, graduation) in this chart.
Outcome
The querent was amused by the Moon government bit, as it turns out their mother (also signified by the 10th house) works in government, and the parents had considered pulling some strings but found it too fraught in these circumstances.
It was at this point I realized the Moon with no aspect to or contact with Saturn could also signify the mother traveling to the graduation by herself, which I said, but it was a bit late to overwrite the whole judgment with that one line.
The querent communicated my suggestions to their father, who reported that he had already exhaustively searched the beach house. After some back and forth, the family determined it was simply too late for him to make it regardless, and he would participate by video call.
I considered waiting a while to see if he still found the passport, but the more I sat with it, the more I felt it would still be too much of a stretch to say I got this one, even if he did find it.
Analysis
The 5th house/6th house Saturn error is deeply regrettable. A lot of my confidence was riding on that trine to the ascendant… which I made up. The significator averse to the ascendant — signifying either the passport or the father — is a stark sign that the father won’t be seeing the querent graduate in person. Saturn is averse to Venus — ruler of the ascendant, the querent’s significator — as well.
Meanwhile, there are two other obviously bad signs I overlooked.
One is simply that the Moon is late in her sign, and it’s not a place where she can help from. Moreover, she’s very close to the North Node, meaning she’s in the eclipse-y part of the sky, a condition that is generally to be avoided. The Moon being late in a bad situation means, simply, that it’s too late.
The other is that, on this very day, Mars — the malefic contrary to the sect of the chart — entered the sign opposing this weak Saturn. That’s not good.
I simply wanted to help too much, and that’s not my job. My job is to read the chart, and the chart says it’s no good.
The querent pointed out that perhaps they should have asked, “Will my father make it to my graduation?” instead of asking about the passport. This same chart would have given a clear answer to that. The significators of the querent and the father can’t see each other; Venus is refraining from entering Virgo by stationing retrograde. Meanwhile, the Moon — who as ruler of the midheaven can also be taken as the mother — is the one who makes contact with Mercury, ruler of the 9th, significator of the university. She will be attending in person without her husband.
I apologize to my colleague for my inability to help, and I thank them for the opportunity to learn and practice.
