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How To Read A Horary Chart - Basic Rules

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How to Read a Horary Chart: The Basics

How to Read a Horary Chart: seven simple rules for beginners


Horary astrology is the most elegant of astrological studies. It can appear
mind-bogglingly difficult to beginners. However, there are a few easy rules,
which, once you understand them thoroughly, will enable you to read almost
any chart in less than ten minutes. Most horary charts can be read almost
instantly for an answer, but like an onion, there are layers to a chart which
reveal themselves, the more you study them.
But here are some basics to get you started:
Rule Number One: Know who is who.
Figure out who is who in a chart, before you try to read it! If you are asking
a question about something involving you, you get the Ascendant as your
ruler. If you are asking about someone else, you need to figure out who
they are in the chart:
Your lost keys? 2nd house
Your sister, brother, or noisy neighbour? 3rd house
Your child? 5th house
Your cat? 6th house
Your boyfriend? Girlfriend? Ex-spouse? Worst enemy? The hot guy you saw
in the supermarket? 7th house.
Do not, I repeat, do NOT use the 5th house to represent a person in love
questions! The 5th house can describe sexual activity, but it rarely describes
the person with whom you are active! A significator in the 5th shows an
interest in sexual matters or light fun, rather than a serious relationship.
Sometimes using the house rulers doesnt give you a very good description
of the person you are asking about. In this case, use traditional rulers
instead, and see if they fit better:
Sun: men in the prime of their lives (say, late 20s mid 40s); husbands
Saturn: older men; father figures; older people in general

The Moon: women; wives; young people


Venus: girlfriends, usually; wives, sometimes; lovers
Rule Number Two (the most important rule): Keep it simple at first.
In horary it can be very tempting to examine the relationships between
every single planet in the chart, to see what theyre doing and what they
mean in the chart. Dont!
All you really need in most charts is:
The 1st house ruling planet
The planet ruling the house of the quesited
The Moon
What are these three things doing with one another? Applying? Separating?
Are they friendly to one another (Sun in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Leo, for
example)? Do they dislike one another?
The extras: Forget about asteroids, Arabic Parts, and outer planets (and
quincunxes, sesquiquadrates, and semisextiles), until you get really good at
understanding how the rest of a chart works using the traditional seven
planets and the basic aspects: conjunction, sextile, trine, square, and
opposition. These extra things make a chart messy and dont do much
other than support what is already in the chart somewhere. Dont base your
reading around what outer planets are doing!
Know when to stop: If a planet needs to make an aspect to several other
planets before reaching the planet you want it to reach, this is interference.
Dont read a chart as: First the Moon conjuncts Mars and then it sextiles
Jupiter and then it squares Saturn and then it trines my planet!. The answer
will usually stop at Mars.
Rule Number Three (Part One): Action equals answer.
Unlike natal astrology, the action of the planets in a horary chart is vital to
understanding what the answer is. An aspect isnt standing still in a horary
chart; it is either applying (moving toward an aspect) or separating (moving
away from an aspect). Very rarely will an aspect be perfected in a chart.
Rule Number Three (Part Two): Horary is symbolic.

Are the planets separating from an aspect? This shows something that is
ending or going away. Are the planets applying? This shows something (or
someone) moving toward one another. Do the planets not aspect one
another at all? No aspect = no relationship.
In relationship questions, the quesiteds significator in conjunction with
another planet (often Venus) means, literally, that the quesited is with
someone else. Venus in the 7th house often shows this, too (if you or the
quesited is not Venus in the chart).
In lost object horaries, which house is the 2nd house ruler in? This will often
show you right away where your lost object is. Is the 2nd house ruler placed
in the 9th house? Try the upstairs study. Is it in the 10th? You might have
left the object at work. In the 6th? Check under your washing machine or
out in the tool shed!
Rule Number Four: The Moon is very important!
Many beginners overlook how important the Moon is in horary. The Moon is
often thought of as a co-significator for the person asking the question, but
the Moon really should be thought of as the engine in the car of the chart:
the Moon drives the action of the chart (or not).
What is the Moon doing? What house is she in? Is she in a strong house
(1st, 4th, 7th, 10th)? Is she in a weak house (6th, 8th, 12th)? Is she in a
strong sign (Cancer or Taurus)? Is she weak (Capricorn or Scorpio)? Is she
applying to one of the significators, or to an important angle? Is she
separating from a significator? Is she Void of Course?
A comment on the Void of Course Moon:
There are a lot of arguments about what makes the Moon void, but here is a
simple way to think about it: if the Moon has left an aspect to an inner
planet, and does not make another aspect until it changes signs, it is
probably void. If it will make an aspect to another planet immediately after
changing signs, it is not void (but you will need to think about what
changing signs means to your question). If the Moon has just entered a
sign, and does not make an aspect to another planet for several degrees
(say 10 degrees at the least), it is void...for now. This implies a waiting
period for the engine to start. There are more accurate orbs for each
planet, so this is just a rough estimate. The point is, for the Moon to be the
most effective an aspect needs to happen soon.

Rule Number Five: You cant ask twice just because you didnt like
the first answer.
Well, you can, but you shouldnt. This is self-explanatory. Many people like
to give a you can ask again after three months answer to this, but this is an
erroneous time-period. You can ask again when the situation changes and
most situations dont change in a matter of hours or days or even months.
Asking, Does he love me? over and over (often in different forms of the
question) will not give you a different answer, if he doesnt love you!
Rule Number Six: Context is EVERYTHING.
People often mistakenly believe that a square means no and a trine means
yes, but this isnt always the case! You must understand the context of
the question, and the reason they asked the question in the first place. A
square can still mean a yes if the planets are friendly to one another and
are applying: this might mean yes, but youll have to work hard for it.
Likewise, an applying trine in a question of divorce might mean that they
wont get divorced, but will reconcile instead. Be careful with this!
Dont understand what the querent is asking? They probably dont, either.
Ask for clarification. If you dont understand the question, youll get a wrong
answer. Dont make assumptions about what the querent is asking, either!
Ask them whether they broke up already, or if they are actually looking for a
job right now.
Rule Number Seven: Considerations are not strictures!
William Lillys Considerations to better judge a horary chart are just that:
considerations, or things to consider. Having one or more of the
considerations present in a horary chart does not prevent you from reading
the chart. What it does is send up a little red flag: be extra careful about
reading the chart; go slowly and ask a lot of questions.
Late ascendant? The querent is either in despair and asks out of
hopelessness, or, more likely, already knows what the answer is (and feels
hopeless about it). This doesnt stop you from reading the chart. However, it
probably has an answer the querent doesnt want to hear.
Early ascendant? To quote a former US President: Not enough information.
Wouldnt be prudent. The situation is developing; there is a LOT of room for
things to change. Keep this in mind.

Moon in Via Combusta? This shows that the querent is stressed out and
anxious, and may not be thinking clearly. The situation (or the querent,
sometimes) is unstable.
Saturn in the 7th? The first thing to figure out is whether Saturn is one of
the significators; if so, no problem. If the question is about a relationship (it
often is) and Saturn isnt a significator, take heed: Saturn rules blockages
and obstacles, so the querent doesnt have an easy ride ahead.
Horary has a vast and ancient body of knowledge behind it; it is a subtle art
and takes years and years of reading and practice to really understand. But
using these basic rules and some common sense will help you to read all but
the most complicated of horary charts.

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