Ask Christine Astrology

A coworker came by Friday afternoon with a question she hoped astrology could answer. “I haven’t seen my silver heart bracelet since last Saturday, when I was out with friends. We went to one restaurant, then another for dessert, and then I came home. Can you help me find my bracelet?”

Chart data: May 9, 2008, 4:09pm EDT, Boston, MA. 7 Libra 11 rising, Moon at 20 Cancer 02.

(Click to enlarge the chart.)

I know astrologers who are fantastic at finding lost objects with horary. I’m not great at it. I know how it’s supposed to work; it’s just that I usually cast charts that say right off the bat, “It’s hopeless, they’ll never find it.”

In this chart, Venus as ruler of the 1st represents the querent; her co-significator is Moon in Cancer. Notice right away that the querent at 11 Taurus is combust the Sun at 19 Taurus. Lord 1 combust can mean that the querent is unable to see the object - you know, the way things can be in plain sight, you just completely overlook them. Also notice that both Sun and Moon are above the horizon; this is a positive sign, suggesting “the lights are on” and what’s lost may be found.

For a lost object, we have three options: ruler of 2nd, ruler of 4th, or “natural” ruler of the type of item. That shows us Mars (Lord 2) in Cancer in the 10th, Saturn (Lord 4) in Virgo in the 11th, or Venus (natural ruler of jewelry) in Taurus in the 8th. (It’s not a problem to have the querent and the object signified by the same planet.)

Because Lord 2, Mars, is in the Moon’s sign, and Moon rules silver, which is what the bracelet is made of, I’ve honed in on Mars as my most likely candidate. The first thing I want to know is whether there’s even a chance of recovering the object, by looking for an applying aspect between Mars and Lord 1, or Mars and Moon. I’m looking for something that shows the object returning to the querent. The problem is that there is no such connection with Mars and my coworker. Mars is at the last gasp of Cancer, at 29 Cancer 59′45″. It will change sign before Moon or Venus (my coworker’s planets) can aspect it. When an aspect is prohibited by one planet’s changing sign, that’s called frustration.

So, right away, I am pretty sure the bracelet is gone for good and my coworker won’t recover it. Bummer.

There’s something I’m curious about, though. Can I fairly say that Mars, once it changes sign, applies immediately to square the 2nd house cusp, and take that as showing the bracelet’s return to the querent’s pocket, metaphorically speaking? I know it’s a reach. Let’s imagine that I can, just for the sake of illustrating what you’d do next if you had a lost object horary on your hands.

If I can determine that the bracelet will return, then I have to describe where it is. Mars in this chart is in the 10th house. This could indicate either her work office or her home office, if she has one. It could also indicate the living room in her home.

Where exactly in this space is it? Mars at the cusp of one sign and entering another can indicate the doorway of the space. Mars in a water sign can indicate a damp space (near a fish tank?); it can also mean a comfortable space, such as a chair or sofa. Mars about to enter a fire sign can mean the bracelet is near a heater or near the walls.

What else can we see about Mars? It’s widely opposite stationary Jupiter in Capricorn. Jupiter means BIG things, royal things, expensive things, purple things. Think large, generous, spreading, proliferating; like a big climbing ivy. The opposition would tell us to look across the room from that big Jupiter thing.

So perhaps the bracelet is in her living room, wedged in a sofa cushion where she can’t see it, or between a sofa and the wall. It could be across from something big and expensive (and, I don’t know, broken or jammed, from Jupiter’s being stationary - stuck - and in its fall - poor condition).

But, again, that’s with the understanding that we are reaching for the Mars square 2nd house cusp to promise recovery. And that may not quite be practicing by the book, as I’ve said.

You can understand why these charts are the toughest ones to get right. First, if you judge “you won’t find it,” you look like you’re not even trying. Second, if you do think it can be found, you’ve got to make seven planets represent the sum of creation, and come up with a plausible description of the location from that.

So I’ll suggest to my coworker that she go through her living room carefully, focusing on the sofa. It’s worth a try, anyway.