How to Use Your

Honeycomb Almanac
A free workshop presented Feb 20, 2022, at 8:30 AM AEDT
(Feb 19, 2022, at 1:30 PM PST)

All slides ©2022 Honeycomb Collective. Please do not

redistribute or reproduce without express written consent.
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
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 Acknowledgment of Country
We would like to acknowledge that this meeting is
being initiated from the traditional lands of the
Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and we pay our
respects to Elders past, present and future.

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 Outline
What are honeycomb almanacs & calendars?

What do you need to know in order to utilize them?

Creating routines for working with your almanac

Open Q&A

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 A few points up front

● Throughout the webinar content, we’ve tried to answer many of the questions we
received! If you have a question, please use the Zoom webinar Q&A to submit it for
the second part of the workshop!

● We’ll be using the tropical zodiac with a whole sign house system in most cases.

● Astrology is a life-long learning process - the almanac is a tool to help you with
that! Our goal is not to be prescriptive about what everything means, but to provide
the necessary data for people with a keen interest in astrology to apply and grow
their own understanding.

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 Approaches to using the almanac
● There are many ways to use an almanac!

● As part of a regular journaling practice

● As a reference book to support your astrological practice

● As a way to plan events, or to understand the astrological

weather for important times during the weeks and months
of the year.

● As a way to deepen your self understanding, or to process

specific personal experiences

● The calendar is great for casually perusing the astrological

state of play while your making a coffee in the morning!

● The almanac is a reference tool that can be used in some or

all of these ways - it’s useful as a casual reference or to
support a daily practice!

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 Astrological Resources PDF

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 The Ephemeris & Beyond

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 Ephemeris Basics

● An ephemeris gives the position of the planets and luminaries

at the start of each day in the almanac time zone.

● Learning which signs oppose (180º), square (90º), trine (120º)

and sextile (60º) each other is super useful! Feb 5, 2022: Mars sextile Jupiter, Sun conjunct Saturn

● The calendar pages don’t show the position of every planet

each day, but they do highlight the most important data for that
day, and show the exact time that events occur.

● The calendar pages also show how the data in the ephemeris
interacts with your natal chart - with only an ephemeris you
would need to memorize the degrees of your natal chart.

● An ephemeris is the most fundamental tool in an astrologer’s

toolkit.

● The Honeycomb almanacs and calendars are really just an

ephemeris on steroids!

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 More ways to view an ephemeris!

● A chart wheel is simply a visual representation of a point in

time and position on the surface of the earth. Just like a line
in the ephemeris.

● It can represent precisely the time and place of your birth by

showing the rotation of the earth (your
ascendant/midheaven), and the position of all the planets
and luminaries.

● A chart can be drawn for any time and place. For example a
Solar Return, a Full Moon, or an important meeting!

● Below the chart image is a view we call a chord diagram. It

contains all of the information in the chart wheel, but lays
out all the planets/luminaries/points in order of their degree.

● Let’s see how this is useful!

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 Transits and Chords
● When a transiting planet aspects an element of your natal chart,
other parts of your natal chart at the same degree are often also
involved.

● For example, when transiting planet is in late Aquarius, it will

conjunct the natal Jupiter/Mercury conjunction in this natal
chart. Not only will Jupiter and Mercury be involved, but also Oct 2022 -> Apr 2023
Saturn and Uranus, which are at similar degrees in different
signs.

● A transiting planet will aspect each of these natal planets in

succession, always in this same order (or reverse order if
retrograde).

● These four planets in different signs are tightly related, and this x
native will repeatedly experience natal transits with a Uranus →
Saturn → Mercury → Jupiter flavor.

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 Phew!

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 Planetary Movement Diagram
● The planetary movement diagram shows the path of the planets
through the zodiac for a particular period of time.

● At a glance, you can see where each planet will transit over the
period.

● It is oriented to your natal chart, so this diagram is included in the

almanac of a pisces rising (pisces 1st house).

● This orientation makes it easier to understand how the transits

might affect your natal chart.

● For example, Jupiter, the ruler of Pisces, spends the majority of its
time in the native’s first house of Pisces. That sounds important!

● We can also see that towards the end of the period, Mars will
station retrograde in the native’s 4th house of Gemini, and spend a
longer period highlighting 4th house topics.

● The almanac includes a yearly overview, and a view of each month

in the almanac.
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 Lunations
● The almanac includes a summary list of new and full moons for the
year.

● It shows both the mundane, and natal aspects that the Moon
makes at that moment.

● Mundane aspects are shown in gray, while natal aspects are shown
in blue.

● If you choose the lunation charts plugin, then your almanac will also
include the chart of every lunation, showing all of the mundane
aspects.

● In this Sagittarius rising chart, all of the planets except the Moon
are below the horizon and would not be visible from this location.
The eclipsed Full Moon in Scorpio is just starting to rise in the east,
right after sunset.

● Lunation charts can be an excellent way to develop a deeper

understanding of the mundane astrological environment.

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 Monthly Overview

● The monthly overview tells you at-a-glance what

is happening for the month.

● The monthly summary contains:

○ Planetary movement diagram

○ Lunation & Stations

○ Ingresses

○ Mundane planetary transits

○ Outer planet natal transits

● Printing almanac summary pages from the digital

PDF can be a great handy reference!

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Creating routines
with your almanac
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 Identify your goals
What types of astrology are you excited
about? Hellenistic, Evolutionary, etc.

How do you want to apply astrology to

your daily life? Aligning with
partnerships, building awareness of
moods, learning how to help others

Do you enjoy journaling and taking

notes, or do you just want a reference to
glance at occasionally? Almanac vs.
wall calendar

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 Know your key players
Transits to these planets and signs will likely be noticeable.

Ascendant / AC: you, your health, your vibe,

your motivations, the framework of the chart

AC ruler: where you tend to focus your life force

Moon: your physical & emotional needs,

maternal figures

Sun: your identity & accomplishment needs,

paternal figures

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 Know your key players
Transits to these planets and signs will likely be noticeable.

Ascendant / AC: you, your health, your vibe,

your motivations, the framework of the chart

AC ruler: where you tend to focus your life force

Moon: your physical & emotional needs,

maternal figures

Sun: your identity & accomplishment needs,

paternal figures

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 Other key players
You can track the rulers of other angles & house topics too.

Descendant / DC: your romantic &

business partners

Midheaven / MC: your public impact

Imum Coeli / IC: your family & home

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 Get the big picture
What’s happening this year? Listen to
your favorite forecasts & take notes!

Always listen for your rising sign

Get familiar with a whole signs view of
your chart

Start with the planetary movements

chart – your rising sign perspective

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 Where are the major
changes occurring?
Note the sign axis for the year’s
eclipses. Which pair of natal houses is
this for your chart?

Are any of the eclipses closely

aspecting your Sun, your Moon, or the
lords of your angles?

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 What’s the dominant
flavor in this meal?
Note the long term transits your chart is
receiving from outer planets.

Are Pluto, Neptune, or Uranus making any

conjunctions, oppositions, or squares to your
natal placements?

These are typically once-in-a-lifetime events!

Also → Who in your chart is Jupiter trying to

uplift this year? Who is Saturn trying to slow
down?

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 Weekly routine
Try to set aside time each week to review the
monthly overview page and your next few
days’ transits.

Are any of the big transits of the month

perfecting this week?

● Retrograde stations
● Sign ingresses
● Lunations
● Major mundane aspects
● Outer planet natal transits

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 Scanning for
natal transits
Are any of your key players (AC ruler, Sun,
Moon, annual timelord) seeing some action?

Inner planet natal transit timelines help you

pinpoint the exact dates of these transits, as
well as the general orb of influence.

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 Moon → Sets the vibe,
activates other planets
What’s the Moon up to?

● Which signs will the Moon ingress?

● Where are these in your chart?
● Will the Moon be waxing or waning?
● Who is the Moon talking to each day?

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 Weekly review
Try to set aside time to review the previous
week’s experiences & emotions. Can you
pinpoint which celestial events were
correlated?

● Arguments & accidents → Mars

● Helpful people → Jupiter
● Socializing → Venus, Moon
● Roadblocks → Saturn
● Learning → Mercury

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 Daily routine
Glance at your almanac or calendar
periodically to refresh your memory.

Take notes about your life!

Your future self will thank you.

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 In conclusion
Astrology is A LOT.
You’re doing a great job!
Your natal chart is unique – any general forecasts
you read or listen to won’t be able to cover the
nuances of your exact placements.

→ If you’re able to, set aside money for one-on-one

consultations with professional astrologers. It will
really help your learning journey!

→ If you’re able to, join astro community spaces

like Ascendant Assemblies to compare notes with
other students!

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 Annual profections

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 Get the Big Picture
If you’re working with Hellenistic techniques,
pay attention to transits through the
profected sign in addition to transits of the
annual timelord.

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 Zodiacal releasing

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 Zodiacal releasing
Where are you in the overall narrative for this
particular Lot?

Sometimes it’s hard to see the story play out

in real time, and it can be easier to piece it
together after the fact.

Taking notes in your almanac can help your

future self piece it all together!

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 Zodiacal releasing
The Lot of Fortune defines the busy chapters
or “peak periods” in the story. All signs in that
same modality are peaks.

The signs that precede the peaks include

preparatory events, and the signs that follow
the peaks involve resolution.

Which sign holds the malefic contrary to sect?

This modality indicates the more challenging
storylines.

The benefic of the favored sect indicates

times of greater ease.

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 Zodiacal releasing
The Lot of Fortune defines the busy chapters
or “peak periods” in the story. All signs in that
same modality are peaks.

The signs that precede the peaks include

preparatory events, and the signs that follow
the peaks involve resolution.

Which sign holds the malefic contrary to sect?

This modality indicates the more challenging
storylines.

The benefic of the favored sect indicates

times of greater ease.

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 Weekly routine for ZR
If you’re tracking zodiacal releasing, what was the narrative
of the week?

● Are you building toward something? Caught up in a busy

peak period? Moving through a resolution?
● Can you link up any experiences with previous ZR periods
in the same sign?

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 Planetary conditions

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 Hellenistic
Planetary Condition
Developed in consultation with:

● Demetra George, author of Ancient Astrology in

Theory and Practice, Vol. 1
● Chris Brennan, author of Hellenistic Astrology:
The Study of Fate and Fortune

Indicate the relative ability of the planet to

implement its agenda, how excessive or
deficient it may be.

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 Hellenistic
Planetary Condition

Very supportive conditions

Essential dignities, mutual reception, bound and

triplicity rulership, technical bonification

Supportive conditions

Everything else that’s favorable

Very challenging conditions

Essential debilities and technical maltreatment

Challenging conditions

Everything else that’s unfavorable

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 Hellenistic
Planetary Condition

Very supportive conditions

Essential dignities, mutual reception, bound and

triplicity rulership, technical bonification

Supportive conditions

Everything else that’s favorable

Very challenging conditions

Essential debilities and technical maltreatment

Challenging conditions

Everything else that’s unfavorable

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 Planetary speed &
element charts

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 Planetary Speed
A traditional perspective for assessing George, Demetra. Ancient
strength & impact of a planet. Astrology, Vol. 1, p. 264

Each planet has its own relative apparent

speed. Sun and Moon are constant, others vary
due to retrograde.

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 Planetary Speed
Planet moving direct at the top of its range?
→ Quickly implements its agenda.

Planet moving retrograde at maximum

backward motion?
← Might take awhile for it to manifest its
intentions.

Planet stationary?
* A special emphasis in your life.

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 Planetary Speed
Take a look at an ephemeris for the days
surrounding your birth date.

Compare each planet’s average daily pace to

the ground they were covering at that time.

Note whether any planet stationed direct or

retrograde within a week or two.

The New International

Ephemerides, 1900–2050.
AURÉAS Editions.
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 Element &
Modality Graphs
Indicates the distribution of the four elements
and three modalities in the natal chart.

Rough impression only, based on relative

priority of certain planetary placements.

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