Stationary planets: the end of the rope

A planet traveling forward is going with the flow: good orderly direction, as Julia Cameron of Artist’s Way fame might say. A retrograde planet, conversely, is in some way going against nature. So how do we interpret the stationary planet, say, on the verge of turning retrograde – particularly when it’s the querent’s own significator?

Recently I received two horary questions that managed to have a stationary retrograde planet as lord of the first house – a different stationing planet in each case. The first was asked as Aquarius rose and Saturn stationed; the second found Virgo rising and Mercury at a standstill.

In The Beginning of Wisdom, Ibn Ezra says, “When a planet is stationary about to retrograde, it indicates no fulfillment of the desired matter, and difficulty and loss.” Also, “A planet about to turn retrograde is like a frightened person, fearing adversaries that are coming to him.” And John Frawley in The Horary Textbook points out that “first station is likened to a man feeling so ill he decides to take to his sickbed: he feels bad, and is going to get worse.”

These observations make sense when you think of what the planet appears to be doing. Whatever awaits the planet, at a later degree of the zodiac, will not be reached: the promised contact or aspect – or even change of sign – will not be perfected. So there is no fulfillment of what is anticipated. The stationing planet appears to us to be changing its mind, backing away from whatever’s down the path. No wonder Ibn Ezra and others describe it as “frightened” out of its intended route.

Both of the questions I received were about planned actions down the road. In both cases, the stationing significator told me, “You’re better off not doing what you have in mind: you will back out of it.” The nuances of communicating this to the client will vary based on the actual question asked.

Question #1: Shall I move to a new home with my husband, or alone?
29 December 2008, 9:45am EST, Newton, Massachusetts USA

Shall I move with my husband or alone?

The querent explained that she has lived apart from her husband in the past and was thinking of doing so again for various reasons. She also mentioned that she has an existing health condition that can affect her capacity to do things for herself. Her primary significator, Saturn, is stationary retrograde: this shows that her current state of health must not be ignored. She may come to feel so ill, as Frawley says, that she takes to her bed. At best, she’s entering a period when she won’t be able to live autonomously; at worst, she’s in for a serious flare-up of her condition. I saw as well that her husband, signified by the Sun, is ruled by her: he loves her and will support her. So I advised her that it isn’t a good time to be apart from his help and support.

Question #2: Will we be better off marrying close to home or a little ways away?
11 January 2009, 9:42pm EST, Arlington, Massachusetts USA

Marry close to home or farther away?

This querent, planning her wedding, wants to marry at a summer resort located several hours plus a ferry ride away from home. She also wants to save money, and asked me if she and her fiance would be better off moving the festivities closer to home. I chose to treat the chart as a 1st house vs. 7th house comparison: should they stay or should they go? Right away, look at what Lord 1, Mercury, is doing. It’s stationing retrograde, which suggests pulling back from whatever plans she tries to make if she stays in town. Plus, by coming to a halt, Mercury fails to reach the very promising conjunction with the North Node. Add to that the presence of Saturn on the Ascendant, the imminent Mercury/Moon opposition, and the relatively favorable condition of Lord 7 and the 7th house, and I had no trouble telling her she’s better off marrying in the resort town. (As for the money, I doubt it will make much difference. Lord 2 and Lord 8 are both planets in their exaltation – not exactly bargain placements.)

Have you run into stationary significators in your horary charts? How did you interpret them and what did you advise your clients (or yourself)?