Horary 0147: If I Take These Flights, Will I Be Safe?
Overview
The querent was soon to embark on their first-ever travel abroad. The trip was over the April 8 solar eclipse and Mercury retrograde, and they had been told by an astrologer that the eclipse’s transits to their nativity were concerning. They also had a strange dream about the plane and had seen recent press about the safety issues with the Boeing 737 MAX airframe, which would be the equipment for all four of their flights. They did not want to miss this opportunity but felt that multiple signs had warned them off of it, and they came to me for a horary just prior to the preceding penumbral lunar eclipse.
Judgment
I gave the querent Mercury, ruler of the ascendant, and the Moon. I found the querent’s concerns plainly visible in terms of Mercury’s condition; they are in the shadow of their upcoming retrograde, and they are nearly at the precise location of the upcoming solar eclipse, both of which would coincide with the trip. Furthermore, Mercury is in the 8th house of death, descriptive of the querent’s preoccupations and dreams about it.
However, I noted that Mercury is protected in their own term, and that Mars — ruler of the 8th and significator of death — is not only uninvolved but content in his joy, the 6th house. I did not see any sign of danger with Mercury as a significator.
Of course, the Moon had better be in good shape, too, with the eclipses coming up, but here the luminaries are quite harmoniously configured to one another, sort of a last chance before the eclipse cycle begins. The Moon is strong and growing in light, she is in a good house, and she is applying to Jupiter, the benefic of the sect. In no way does the immediate omen that a horary chart describes show any harm coming to the querent.
Still, though, prudence would dictate a complete delineation of the meaning of the eclipse for this querent, given that they would be traveling during it. The Moon is in great shape, as we’ve seen, but I also wanted to fully analyze the condition and significance of the Sun.
This led me to a pretty interesting and confident delineation that the ruler of the 12th house signifies airplanes. First of all, the 12th house signifies large animals, beasts of burden, the horse that draws the carriage — a reasonable traditional analogue for what an airplane does for us. Moreover, on an airplane, you’re a passenger — trapped, utterly belonging to it — which is a vivid way of understanding the 1st house — the querent themself — as the derived 2nd house (possession) of the 12th. This is another way of showing why the 12th signifies hospitals, prisons, and other places one is trapped. That seemed like plenty of reason to interpret the significant upcoming syzygys as the querent (Moon) getting on a plane (Sun).
So since the plane is so implicated in the question, it’s not enough to just assess the querent’s significators; we also need to know if the plane is going to be okay. The Sun here is in great shape, freshly exalted in Aries and powerfully angular in the 7th house, a place that could signify the destination.
On top of that, I took Venus, as ruler of the 9th house of travel, to signify the trip itself. While she is not in a good house, and she is applying to a somewhat troubled Saturn, her essential dignity is about as high as it goes. I could not force myself into an interpretation of a Venus that strong being in trouble here; I delineated her as an amazingly beautiful trip curing the Saturnian worry. This was an especially easy call in light of Jupiter’s benefic presence right on the cusp of the 9th house, which in horary charts indicates that planet’s dominance over the topic signified by the cusp’s ruler. Jupiter rules the 4th, signifying the outcome, and the 7th, signifying the destination, and the Moon is applying to him immediately, as we have seen.
I told the querent to enjoy themself and expect a safe journey.
Outcome
The querent reported that this reading allowed them to enjoy themself without worry, they said the trip was “beautiful,” and they sent these photos to prove it:
Analysis
I am well aware that statistics were on my side here, but that’s not why I worked so hard on this chart. I did that because sometimes the astrologer’s job is to assuage a person’s anxieties, and I am glad I was able to do so here.
