The Message of the Stars[4]

The Message of the Stars[4]

[PAGE 70]                                           THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

                                 CHAPTER IV

                            READING THE HOROSCOPE

                                INTRODUCTORY

   When the student of Astrology has learned to cast the horoscope correctly
by the study of our "Simplified Scientific Astrology,"  or another  reliable
textbook, the next and most important part is to read its message.   Astrol-
ogy means "Star Logic"  and we must seriously advise the student not to  de-
pend  too much on authorities but to try to understand the basic  nature  of
each planet,  the influence of signs, houses and aspects:  then by a process
of reasoning to combine these and thus develop his own intuition which  will
serve him far better than the ability to quote like a poll parrot what  some
one else has said.

   We  would also advise the younger astrologer not to bother too much  with
the descriptions of physical appearance indicated in the horoscope.   It  is
foolish  to spend hours in studying over a phase of the subject which is  of
limited value.  We give descriptions of the different physical types, but do
so for the purpose of aiding the student to determine at sight the  probable
sign and planet rising when a person comes who does not know his birth hour.


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There are people for instance,  who have a face perfectly resembling that of
a sheep.  If such a one were in doubt about the birth hour, we would at once
look  to  Aries and experimentally try how Aries rising would fit  with  the
other characteristics of that person;  if we did so we should probably  find
our guess to be correct.  Thus also the other signs and planets in signs ex-
hibit  distinguishing characteristics of valuable aid to the student in  the
direction mentioned.

   The  student should also endeavor to cultivate perfect confidence in  the
science  of Astrology.   There is NOTHING EMPIRICAL ABOUT CHARACTER  READING
AND  DIAGNOSIS.   In those respects it is plain as A B C.   PREDICTIONS  MAY
FAIL  because the Astrologer is unable to determine the strength of will  of
the  person for whom he predicts,  but the latent tendencies are always  ac-
curately foreshown.   The writers have found that where they do not  person-
ally know the people who characteristics they read,  their delineations  are
much  deeper and more accurate than otherwise because then personal  impres-
sions and bias are absent and the mystic scroll of the heavens is more  eas-
ily read.

   There  are  three  factors which bring to us the mystic  message  of  the
stars; the houses, the signs and the planets.

   Each  house represents a department of life;  the signs are divisions  of
the  heavens  which  by  their placement relative to the houses indicate our


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basic  temperament and attitude towards life; and the planets are  the  mes-
sengers  of God which by their motion through the houses and signs bring  to
us the opportunities for soulgrowth which we need for our individual  devel-
opment.   It  is therefore necessary for one who wishes to learn to  read  a
horoscope  to  become thoroughly acquainted with these  three  factors  both
separately  and in their various combinations.   The following  descriptions
may help to convey this knowledge:

                                 THE HOUSES

   The houses are called "Mundane Houses," to differentiate between them and
the "Celestial Houses" namely the twelve signs of the Zodiac;  but generally
they are designated as "houses" only.

   It  is  the angle of the stellar ray which determines its effect  in  our
lives, planets which are in the East affect our physical constitution, plan-
ets  in the South near the zenith are factors for good or ill where our  so-
cial position is concerned.   If a planet is setting in the West at the time
of our birth its ray strikes us in such a manner as to draw us to a  certain
type  of marriage partner,  and the planets under the earth,  in the  North,
have an effect upon our condition in the latter part of life.   Let us  sup-
pose for illustration of  the point that someone is born at sunrise on a day


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when the Sun and Jupiter are in conjunction.   Then they strike him from the
eastern angle and give him splendid vitality.   Another born on the same day
at noon when Jupiter and the Sun are in the zenith position may have a  very
poor, weak body if other planets in the East are adverse, but the ray of the
Sun  and Jupiter falling or his birth figure from the South  will  certainly
attract to him attention in his social sphere and make him the recipient  of
public favor and honor.   Another born on the same day, when the Sun and Ju-
piter  are setting in the West may be an outcast if planets in the East  and
South so decree, but the benefic ray of the Sun and Jupiter from the Western
angle  will  make him beloved of his mate and  successful  in  partnerships.
These facts have been ascertained by observation and tabulation.   Therefore
the twelve sections of the circle of observation as seen from the birthplace
are truly said to rule or govern various departments of life and thus people
born on the same day may have the most diverse experiences.

   The houses may be variously grouped according to the influence they exer-
cise in our lives; there are "angular,"  "succeedent"  and "cadent"  houses,
also personal, spiritual, material, social and mystical houses.

   Of the ANGLES,  the first house governs our personal self,  and its oppo-
site  the  seventh house,  rules the one who is nearest and dearest  to  us,
namely, the marriage partner.  The fourth house determines conditions in our


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home and its opposite angle,  the tenth house,  shows our social standing in
the community where we live.   Thus the angles show collectively the  sphere
of our activities in life.

   Of  the SUCCEEDENT HOUSES the second shows our financial status with  re-
gard to that which we acquire by our own efforts and the opposite succeedent
house,  the eight,  shows whatever we may receive from others  as  legacies,
etc.   The other succeedent houses, the fifth and eleventh, show how our in-
come  may be spent,  for the fifth house indicates the children of our  body
who have a legitimate claim to a share of our income, and the eleventh house
shows  the children of our brains, our hopes,  wishes and aspirations  which
also draw upon our resources.

   Of  the  two pairs of CADENT HOUSES the sixth is the house  of  voluntary
service which we perform as our share of the world's work for an  equivalent
share in the world's wealth,  and the twelfth house shows how we may be com-
pelled  to  labor without remuneration under prison restraint if we  do  not
work willingly.   The sixth house shows also the state of our health and the
twelfth tells if hospital treatment is necessary.

   The  other pair of cadent houses,  the third and ninth show  whether  our
life and work will confine us to one place or require travel and changes  of
residence.   In  this respect the third house shows short journeys  and  the
ninth house long travels.

   The PERSONAL HOUSES comprise the first, fifth and ninth.  The first house


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rules the constitution and peculiarities of the physical body.   Planets and
signs  in that house put their stamp on it to make or mar according  to  the
nature of its self-generated destiny.   Our fifth house shows the quality of
love-nature  of  the soul and the line of its expression if it  follows  the
line of least resistance; and the ninth house shows as much of the spirit as
we can apprehend in our present limited state.

   The  MATERIAL TRINITY OF HOUSES consists of the second,  sixth and  tenth
and  shows the worldly possessions of man,  his means of obtaining them  and
the enjoyment they bring him.  Wealth, or its reverse,  is shown by the sec-
ond house,  health, without which there can be no joy in any worldly posses-
sion,  is  shown by the sixth house; and the public prestige  which  is  the
chief  source of gratification to the average human being,  is shown by  the
tenth house.

   The SOCIAL HOUSES are the third, seventh, and eleventh houses and in them
is shown the nature of our relations and various classes of souls we meet in
life.   Brothers and sisters to whom we are bound by the time of  blood  are
shown  by the third house,  the companion of our heart with whom  our  blood
blends in another way, is shown by the seventh house, and the friends,  more
precious than pearls to whoever has earned friendship, are designated by the
eleventh house.

   The  fourth and last trinity of houses is composed of the fourth,  eighth
and twelfth.  If them are  hidden  mysteries  of  the ante-natal life of the


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spirit,  and the post mortem experiences immediately to follow the  TERMINUS
VITAE.   On the material plane the fourth house signifies our  condition  in
the  latter part of life,  the twelfth shows the sorrow which  impresses  us
with  the worthlessness of material things and the eighth indicates the  na-
ture of our exit from the world's stage.

   An illustration may further help the student to understand how the  heav-
ens influence our life through the twelve houses.   Suppose we are out driv-
ing and our road follows the seacoast, but a mile or so inland.  A breeze is
blowing from the ocean and as it passes over the country separating us  from
the sea, it brings upon invisible wings messages from that land, which evoke
pleasure or aversion according to their nature.   In one place,  an aroma of
new mown hay fills us with delight; perhaps we are nauseated by the  noxious
smell of jasmine on the next stretch of our journey; and later become really
ill  from the stench of stagnant marsh-water.   But then we enter a  forest,
and soon its grateful pine balm restores the normal health and spirits.

   In  our journey from the cradle to the grave we carry the  twelve  houses
with us in the auric atmosphere surrounding us, as the air envelops the fly-
ing earth.  Each house mirrors part of the life; each holds some of our life
lessons; each represents how we have worked or shirked before in a given de-
partment of life's tasks.  At the appropriate time of life we reap from each


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house what we have sown in past lives, that is, unless we forestall the har-
vest in time.   Is our eleventh house afflicted,  do friends betray and for-
sake us,  do they leave us heartsick,  or nauseate us like the scent of jas-
mine  and stagnant marsh-water?   Then let us examine the horoscope  for  it
reveals what is hidden in our auric atmosphere.  The friends sensed us,  and
we  then,  through the eleventh angle,  and something ill-smelling  must  be
there.   It may be,  we long to be befriended, more than to befriend others.
Let  us  cease  to be like the sickly,  debilitating jasmine,  and  seek  to
manifest  the sturdy strength of the invigorating pine tree;  then we  shall
find  friend  flocking around,  admiring our strength.   Not all  have  such
sturdy  natures,  but we can attract equally by kindliness,  as soothing  to
sorrowing  hearts as perfume of new mown hay to the sense,  and thus we  may
rid the house of friends of affliction.

   After the foregoing explanations, the houses may now be said to influence
the affairs of life as follows:

FIRST HOUSE rules the physical body and its constitution and appearance;  it
determines  conditions in the childhood home while the person is under  con-
trol of the parents.

SECOND HOUSE rules money,  the financial fortunes;  it shows what the person
acquires by individual effort and to a certain extent what use he will  make
of it.


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THIRD  HOUSE rules brothers and sisters,  neighbors,  the instinctual  mind,
writings, short journeys and conveyances of travel.

FOURTH HOUSE--That one of the parents who exercises the lesser influence  in
the  person's life,  conditions in the latter part of life,  houses,  lands,
mines; everything pertaining to the earth.

FIFTH HOUSE--Love,  courtship and licentiousness,  the legitimate and  ille-
gitimate  attraction and social intercourse between the sexes prior to  wed-
lock;  children,  education institutions,  books and newspapers,  sports and
amusements, stocks and speculations.

SIXTH HOUSE--Health,  service to be rendered by the person and also the con-
dition and faithfulness of those who serve him.

SEVENTH  HOUSE--The marriage partner,  the public in  general,  competitors,
partners, opponents in litigations, rivals.

EIGHTH  HOUSE--Death,  legacies,  the marriage  partner's  finances,  occult
abilities and faculties latent but nearly ready for manifestation.

NINTH HOUSE--Religion, spiritual experiences and aspirations, dreams and vi-
sions, long travels and law.

TENTH  HOUSE--The parent who exercises most influence in the person's  life,
the honor and social standing of the person, his employer or judge,  and the
government.


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ELEVENTH HOUSE--Friends,  companions and well-wishers, hopes, wishes and as-
pirations, generally of a material nature, also stepchildren.

TWELFTH HOUSE--Confinement in hospitals or prison, secret enemies and plots;
sorrow and self undoing.

                           THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC

   On either side of the Sun's path there are a number of fixed stars  which
are so grouped that they may be conceived as forming twelve  constellations,
and as they have certain characteristic influences ancient sages named  them
for  the  animals which express similar traits.   These  constellations  are
called the NATURAL Zodiac and for all practical purposes it may be said that
they  occupy  permanent positions relative to the other fixed stars  of  the
firmament.   This  circle is divided into twelve sections  starting  at  the
first degree of Aries, which is occupied by the Sun at the vernal equinox.

   On  account of the precession of the equinox the Sun does not  cross  the
equator at the same point each year, but it has been found that the first 30
degrees  from the point where the Sun does cross the equator at the  equinox
have  an  effect  similar  to that ascribed to the constellation Aries;  the
next thirty degrees radiate a Taurian influence and so on with the other ten


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sections  of  thirty degrees each.  Therefore the twelve  sections  measured
from  the vernal equinox are used exclusively in Astrology and called  SIGNS
of the Zodiac, to differentiate them from the CONSTELLATIONS.   (For a thor-
ough elucidation of the subject see "Simplified Scientific Astrology," under
the caption "Intellectual Zodiac.")

   These twelve signs of the Zodiac are variously divided according to their
effect on humanity into Cardinal,  Fixed and Common signs,  also into Fiery,
Earthy,  Airy and Watery signs.  What their influences are we shall endeavor
to elucidate in the following sections.

                             THE CARDINAL SIGNS

                             Keyword "Activity"

   The Cardinal Signs are ARIES, CANCER,  LIBRA and CAPRICORN.   These signs
are called Cardinal because when the Sun is in them he is in one of the four
corners of the heavens;  at a turning-point, where he is forced to take  an-
other  direction.   In Aries he is as far EAST as he can go;  Cancer is  the
tropical point of the NORTH where he gives the PERPENDICULAR RAY at the Sum-
mer  Solstice,  and consequently the greatest HEAT.   Libra is  the  extreme
WESTERN point of his path, where he turns away from the Northern Hemisphere,
and  in midwinter,  at Christmas,  he is in Capricorn at the farthest  point
SOUTH,  where his HORIZONTAL RAY leaves the people of the North in  winter's
icy  grip.  The  effect  of the angels, the first, fourth, seventh and tenth


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houses,  is similar to the effect of the cardinal signs because these houses
are at the East, North, West and South points of the horoscope.   The nature
and  effect of cardinal signs and angles may be summed up in the words  "Ac-
tion"  and  "Initiative"  (though each acts differently  from  the  others,)
therefore planets placed in cardinal signs and angles give zest to life  ac-
cording to the nature of the particular planet, sign and angle.

   "Zodiac" means a circle of animals.  The symbols of three of the cardinal
signs are animalistic:  ARIES, the Ram; CANCER, the Crab; and CAPRICORN, the
Goat.   The fourth ,  Libra, the Scales,  represents the ideal towards which
this class must strive.   None need poise so much as those under the  impul-
sive  influence of the cardinal ray;  therefore the Balance was set  in  the
heavens to direct their aspirations.

                               THE FIXED SIGNS

                             Keyword "Stability"

   The Fixed Signs are TAURUS, LEO, SCORPIO and AQUARIUS.   Three symbols of
the fixed signs are also bestial, violent and virulent;  TAURUS,  the  Bull;
LEO, the Lion; and SCORPIO, the Scorpion.  The human figure of AQUARIUS, the
Waterbearer,  shows us the ideal towards which this class must strive.   In-
stead of fighting, preying upon, or poisoning others in the struggle for ex-
istence  they must learn to become humane, to be friends to all  instead  of
foes.


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   The influence of the fixed signs rouses the DESIRE nature, giving stamina
and persistence in action.

   When fixed signs are on the angles (the first, fourth,  seventh and tenth
houses), they exert a well nigh irresistible force, impelling the individual
along a certain line.   He may be slow and plodding,  but is sure to be PER-
SISTENT  in whatever he undertakes,  and whatever talent he may posses in  a
certain direction will be exploited to its fullest extent.   Setbacks  which
would  take the courage from a person with cardinal signs do not  daunt  the
man  with fixed signs on the angels, he knows no defeat,  and  therefore  he
usually gains his goal in the end and achieves success by Concentration upon
one point,  and Persistence in following his chosen path.  On the other hand
such  people are conservative to the last degree.   They may see and  desire
improvements in various lines, but are exceedingly slow to adopt measures to
accomplish  the desired end;  they never do this until thoroughly  satisfied
that  a certain method will meet the requirements.   In other words,  people
with  fixed signs on the angels "look before they leap;"  they look  a  long
time and very,  very carefully,  but on the other hand,  when they have once
been won over to a certain cause they are faithful unto death,  and no  more
ardent  advocates  can be found;  their zeal is almost  fanatical.   On  the
whole, people with fixed signs may be said to be THE MOST RELIABLE PEOPLE in
the world, either for good or bad.


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                              THE COMMON SIGNS

                            Keyword "Flexibility"

   Gemini,  Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are called common signs, their in-
trinsic nature being best expressed by the keyword, Flexibility.

   The forces working through the CARDINAL signs impinge upon the DENSE BODY
and stir it to action.

   The power of the COMMON signs is MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL,  giving purpose to
action and incentive to nobility of life.

   Therefore people influenced by stellar forces focused principally through
CARDINAL  signs  are  the workers of the world,  not the  toilers,  but  EX-
ECUTIVES,  who accomplish things industrially, and who bring  into  concrete
existence schemes, great or small, of value in the world's work.  THE COMMON
SIGNS ARE ALL DOUBLE; two of them are human:  GEMINI, the Twins,  and VIRGO,
the Virgin;  the third, SAGITTARIUS, the Centaur, is partly human;  and only
the  fourth symbol,  PISCES,  the Fishes, is taken from the  lower  kingdom.
None are violent,  however, but intensely moral,  intellectual and spiritual
symbols.

   Unstable as reeds they are swayed hither and thither;  nothing appeals to
them permanently, they desire nothing as much as change.  No matter how well
placed,  they can seldom resist the lure of an opening in another city,  the
farther away,  the better.  Therefore the old maxim:  "a rolling stone gath-
ers no moss," applies  particularly  to  this class, for their roving habits


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usually keep them poor.  They spend as fast as they earn,  or faster.   Thus
these people drift upon the sea of life propelled by the currents of circum-
stances.   Outside conditions dominate them as they lack stamina  to  assert
their own individuality.

   The  foregoing is true of the great majority who are under the  rule  and
influence  of common signs;  they respond to the LOWER PHASE simply  because
the  higher side is too high for all but a very few at our present stage  of
development.   Those who make a success in the world because prodded by  the
cardinal and fixed influences, call them indolent and good-for-nothing,  but
were  the former bereft of the cardinal or fixed energy which goads them  to
action, and placed under the common ray, they would soon realize its lack of
power and learn compassion for those who must so live all their lives.  What
then is the lesson these people have to learn?

              COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF CARDINAL, FIXED AND COMMON
                             SIGNS ON THE ANGLES

   While  the nature of the cardinal signs is such that their rays stir  our
latent forces into action and promote change,  the most prominent quality of
the  fixed signs is Stability;  but the student must beware  of  confounding
stability  with inertia.   The action induced by the rays of cardinal  signs
may be changed into other channels with considerable facility, all they want
being  expression;  the  direction  in  which  they  express themselves is a


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secondary consideration.  Not so with the fixed signs, when their ray impels
to action in a certain direction it is next to impossible to stay the  force
or change it.   On the other hand, if they deny expression in certain lines,
the obstruction is almost insurmountable.

   People  of the fixed class lack ability to make their inventions  commer-
cially  usable,  a  task  for which the cardinal class is eminently  fitted.
Thus  these two classes work hand in hand and between them they have  trans-
formed  the wilderness of the world to a condition of  comparative  comfort,
their efforts toward improvement are continually carried on, and in time the
desert will be made to bloom like a rose.

   As material success depends on ability to cope with material  conditions,
the cardinal class is particularly fortunate, for it is the chief  executive
factor  in the world's work,  and reaps ready reward therefrom.   The  fixed
class  is not so prominently before the public,  labors in laboratories  and
works experimentally to complete the processes and perfect the models  which
are later used in manufacture.  Therefore this class also is a potent factor
in  life,  and  shares the material and financial success  of  the  cardinal
class.

   The  common  class is a sharp contrast.   Forces focused  through  COMMON
signs  are MENTAL,  therefore people ruled by them are averse  to  strenuous
physical  action  which  is the forte of the cardinal class; they labor only


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when  lashed by the whip of necessity.  They are also incapable of the  slow
by  sustained effort put forth by the fixed class and are easily  discourage
by obstacles.   Thus they are leaners not lifters.   TOILERS who do the bid-
ding of the incentive and executive classes are recruited from people  ruled
by COMMON signs.  There is one sphere, however, where they shine,  according
to  their  ability  to think.   Being averse to work  they  have  created  a
vantage-ground  whence they may reap the benefits of the toil of others,  of
their inventive faculties and executive skill.  To do this they become  PRO-
MOTERS who bring inventor and manufacturer together,  AGENTS who mediate be-
tween buyer and seller, PEDDLERS, venders and all other MIDDLEMEN who go be-
tween producer and consumer and LIVE ON A COMMISSION;  also LITERARY men who
devote  their talent to purposeless FICTION belong to the class actuated  by
the lower phases of the force in the common signs.

   The cardinal class is active, the common is restless,  the fixed class is
rigid, the common is flexible.

                            THE FOUR TRIPLICITIES

   The  effect of the "Triplicities"  is most marked in the rising sign  and
when the majority of the planets are grouped in one of them.

   A fiery sign (Aries,  Leo or Sagittarius),  on the ascendant,  gives much
vitality, but it also makes the person prone to fevers and inflammatory dis-
orders; and when the majority of the planets are in fiery signs they make it


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very difficult for the person to "keep cool" physically or mentally.

   A watery sign (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) rising, gives much less stamina
and predisposes to digestive,  urinary and catarrhal troubles.   If a person
has many planets in watery signs his problem is to generate enough energy to
keep warm, for this grouping gives a listless, indifferent disposition,  ex-
cept when Scorpio is rising or when many planets are in that sign.

   Airy signs rising (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius) give a nervous temperament
and  make the person liable to disorders of the lungs,  heart  and  kidneys.
Many planets in these signs give people literary and artistic inclinations.

   Earthy signs rising (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn), give fair vitality but
a secret fear of disease arrests the vital processes in the body and poisons
these  people so that they become victims of chronic ailments  oftener  than
those of the other groupings.   The throat,  stomach and intestines are spe-
cially  threatened;  rheumatism and gout are  also  frequently  experienced.
When a person has many planets in earthy signs it favors the acquisition  of
material wealth.

                     THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE ASCENDANT

   We  stated  in our opening paragraph that there are Three  Great  Factors
which convey to us the  Mystic  Message of the stars in general, namely, the


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"houses," the "signs" and the "planets."  There are also three factors which
play a specially important part in the individual horoscope, namely the Sun,
the Moon and the Ascendant,  which may be said to represent the spirit,  the
soul and the body.

   Properly viewed the Sun, Moon and Ascendant are not really three separate
horoscopical principles but represent two composite parts which when  united
constitute  the human being.   The "rising sing"  and the "first house"  to-
gether form an avenue for the fecundating influences of the Moon which there
crystallize  and form the etheric matrix that moulds the physical  particles
from  the maternal body into a new vehicle;  hence the  astrological  maxim,
that the ascendant at birth (or its opposite) is the Moon's place at concep-
tion.   This composite body is the part of the human being which is born and
dies after a relatively evanescent period of existence.

   The  other and immortal part of composite man which consists of  the  Ego
and  its finer vehicles is represented in the horoscope by the Sun  and  the
Moon.   The  specific influence of these planets will be described  when  we
have considered the rising sign.

                               THE RISING SIGN

   As  taught  in "Simplified Scientific Astrology" it is the angle  of  the
stellar  ray  which determines in what department of life it  will  be  most
prominently active; and it has been found by observations that the sign ris-
ing  or  ascending  on  the  eastern  horizon  when  a  child is born is the


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principal  factor  in  determining the basic constitution and  form  of  the
physical body.   Further investigations have shown that the reason for  this
fact is that at the time of conception when the seed-atom was planted in the
ovum the Moon, which is the Cosmic agent of fecundation,  projected its fer-
tilizing ray through the sign and degree which later rises at the moment  of
birth,  (or its opposite).   For that reason the rising sign and degree con-
tinue to be the avenue of ingress of the life-forces which build the body of
the  babe until the severance of the umbilical cord,  and the nature of  the
rising sign is thus indelibly stamped upon the new vehicle and retained  all
through life.

   In this connection it should be noted that conception is not  necessarily
coincident  with the physical union of the parents,  sometimes two weeks  or
even more elapsing ere the auspicious moment awaited by the Recording Angels
or their agents strike.   At that time cosmic conditions are such that  they
will  form  a body which will facilitate the expression of the  Ego  seeking
re-embodiment and aid it to work out its self-generated destiny.   It should
also  be remembered by students that the moment of delivery is not the  time
of birth from the astrological point of view.   The inhalation of the  first
complete breath usually accompanied by a cry,  is the moment when the incom-
ing  Ego receives its stellar baptism.  This renders it ever susceptible  to
the influence of the particular configuration of the stars existing at  that
moment, and therefore the stars affect each individual  differently from all


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others,  not even the horoscope of twins being alike.   It is also  strongly
emphasized  that  according  to this explanation we do not  have  a  certain
"fate"  because we were born at a particular time, but we are born at a par-
ticular  time because we have a certain self-generated destiny to work  out.
That is very important distinction for its substitutes divine law for divine
caprice,  it eliminates the element of "luck" and inspires man to mastery of
"fate:  by working with the Law.   If we have made our present horoscope  by
our  past actions in a past life, logically we are now preparing for  future
embodiment and may make it what we choose.   If we strive to strengthen  our
body now,  to overcome our faults, to cultivate new virtues,  the Sun of our
next  life will rise under much more auspicious conditions than those  under
which we now live and thus we may truly rule our stars and master our fate.

   When the last three degrees of a sign are rising or when the first  three
degrees  ascend at the time of birth the person is said to be born  "on  the
cusp"  between two signs and them the basic nature of the signs involved are
blended in his or her body.   Thus a person born when the three last degrees
of  Aries  or the first degrees of Taurus were ascending  would  be  neither
purely  Aries  nor Taurus were ascending would be neither purely  Aries  nor
Taurus but a mixture of the qualities of the two signs.

   The  nature  of  the  rising  sign  is  also  modified by the presence of


[PAGE 91]                                              READING THE HOROSCOPE

planets.   The  Sun and Mars increase vitality if well aspected but  it  af-
flicted they incline to fever and inflammatory disorders but they also favor
rapid   recuperation,   and  make  the  nature  alert  and   energetic.    A
well-aspected Jupiter rising also increases vitality but inclines to  corpu-
lence,  if the planet is afflicted that makes the circulation  sluggish  and
thus  gives  a tendency to disorders of the blood.   The  foregoing  remarks
about Jupiter apply to Venus in a lesser degree.   Saturn rising lowers  the
vitality and favors chronic ill-health in later life,  but at the same  time
he gives such a tenacious hold on life that though the person may pray to be
released  he cannot die.   Mercury,  Moon, Uranus and Neptune make the  body
more high-strung and nervous than the average, usable specially for pioneers
in music, literature, higher thought, science and the electrical arts.

   Planets placed in the twelfth house are considered as being on the ascen-
dant if within six degrees thereof,  also all planets in the first house  no
matter how far from the rising degree;  but if a sign be intercepted in  the
first house,  planets placed therein will not have as strong an influence in
the life as though the sign occupy the cusp.

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