On the first anniversary of askchristine.wordpress.com

I started this horary and traditional astrology blog a year ago, just before Sun slipped into Aries. (I’m contrary like that.) I just wanted to thank everyone who’s visited since then, or left a comment, or added askchristine.wordpress.com to your astrology blogrolls. Special thanks to Elsa P. for adding the blog to AstroDispatch.com and its previous incarnation, to Paul Wade at AstrologyWizard.com who kindly called the blog his Site of the Week, and especially to Jeffrey Kishner of Sasstrology.com (the former Seduction Central), AstrologyBloggers.com, and jeffreykishner.com (and I’m sure I’ve left a few of his projects out, like Twistrology) who encouraged me to start blogging in the first place and added me to his original AstrologyBlogger blogroll.

Now… any questions? What would you like me to write about? If there’s anything I can clarify about traditional astrology as I understand it, let me know. Otherwise I’ll just keep to my whimsical schedule and blog as I please, as inspiration strikes.

Thanks so much for coming by.

Natal astrology homework: Bono’s prenatal eclipse

I’m studying natal astrology the traditional way. Part of my current homework involves comparing the birth chart of a celebrity of my choice with the most recent eclipse preceding his or her birth. So, with the members of U2 playing DJ on the radio in Chicago tonight, I thought I’d peek at Bono’s chart and the eclipse prior to his birth.

John Frawley says the important points in the prenatal eclipse chart are the degree of the eclipse, the degree of the lord of the eclipse, and the angles in that location. So let’s peek.

Is Bono’s chart connected to the eclipse degree? Yes. The prenatal solar eclipse is at 6 Aries 38, conjunct Bono’s North Node at 23 Virgo 13 by antiscion.

With the eclipse in Aries, its ruler is Mars. Any connection? Yes again. Mars at 25 Aquarius 24 is pretty nearly conjunct Bono’s Moon at 2 Scorpio 56 by antiscion (Mars is also his Moon’s dispositor). That also makes it nearly opposite Bono’s Venus at 7 Taurus 37 by antiscion.

Mars in the eclipse chart shines down from the top of the chart, not literally from the midheaven, but in mundane square to the eclipse ASC/DESC, 21 Taurus/Scorpio 14.

Do the eclipse chart’s angles connect to Bono’s chart? Yes. Bono’s Sun at 19 Taurus 22 is parked right on the eclipse ascendant at 21 Taurus 14. Bono’s own ascendant at 22 Capricorn 47 is conjunct the eclipse midheaven at 21 Capricorn 05. Actually, if you stretch it a bit, the eclipse angles and Bono’s angles connect surprisingly closely – eclipse ASC/DESC to Bono’s IC/MC, eclipse MC/IC to Bono’s ASC/DESC.

So, yes, this is a notable chart: an individual who has been swept into bigger things as shown by the eclipse chart. We know that much because of the repeated connections between the two charts: eclipse and native. What to do with this? I’ll let you know as I learn more.

Horary astrology: where should we have our wedding?

This week’s edition of Shoestring Magazine features a column I wrote answering the horary question, “Should we marry on the resort island we love, or closer to home?” I compare the two options and answer her secondary question as well: “Which will save us more money in the long run?” (If the story sounds familiar, it’s because I used this question to illustrate my blog post on stationary significators in this post. It’s the second example shown.)

Marry close to home or farther away?

Ten positive spins on Venus retrograde

Venus is turning retrograde this week and everyone’s forecasting six weeks of heartbreak. Why should that be? Reversing her course, Venus could mean…

• getting back together with an ex
• taking your guitar, art supplies, pottery wheel out of storage and rediscovering an art form you used to love
• reviving a fashion from the past
• taking an impulse purchase back to the store for a refund
• recovering a missing work of art
• going back to an old hairstyle that actually flatters you
• teaching a child the songs you loved when you were little
• finding a childhood friend on Facebook
• finding your lost handbag
• making a playlist of classic hits

What’s your positive spin on Venus retrograde?