PREDICTIVE ASTROLOGY The Eagle and the Lark BERNADETTE BRADY SAMUEL WEISER, INC. York Beach, Maine To my father who gave me the Eagle ... and my mother who gave me the Lark. CONTENTS List of Charts ix The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark xi 1. The Alphabet 1 Planets in Predictive Wark, 3 Angles in Predictive Work, 16 Planetary Cycles, 19 Dynamic Aspects, 22 Houses in Predictive Astrology, 29 2. Working With Transits 45 Principles of Transits, 45 A Case Study of Transits, 64 Grading Transits, 73 Retrograde Motion of Transits, 78 Orbs for Transits, 81 Feedback on Failure, 82 3. Secondary Progressions 99 Unique Features of Progressions, 101 Non-Chart-Related Progressions, 103 Chart-Related Progressions, 106 Orbs for Progressions, 108 Interpreting Progressed Planets, 113 4. Time Maps 165 Setting Up a Time Map, 166 The Art of Storytelling, 168 Case Studies of Time Maps, 169 A Quick Guide for Using Time Maps, 204 5. Eclipses and the Saros Cycle 207 Eclipes, 207 The Nodes, 213 viii Contents Eclipse Orbs for New or Full Moons, 215 Frequency of Eclipses and Eclipse Seasons, 215 The Saros Cycles, 219 The Nature of an Individual Series, 223 Working With Saros Series, 226 Practical Questions about Eclipses, 228 A Case Study of Eclipses, 230 Born on an Eclipse, 234 6. Older Systems 237 Predictive Systems, 238 The Failed Eagle, 242 Returns (Planets or Luminaries), 244 Personal Planet Returns, 264 Outer Planet Returns, 271 Luminary and Planetary Arcs, 275 7. Once the Lark Sings (Conclusion) 281 Appendices 285 Appendix 1: Calculating Secondary Progressions, 285 Appendix 2: Calculating of Returns, 295 Appendix 3: Planetary Arcs, 299 Appendix 4: Planetary Conjuctions (1900-2050), 301 Appendix 5: Outer Planet Conjunctions, 305 Appendix 6: The Saros Cycles, 307 Appendix 7: Eclipses (1900-2050), 337 Appendix 8: Eclipses in Zodiac Order, 353 Bibliography 363 Index 365 About the Author .369 LIST OF CHARTS 1. Joan of Arc 66 2. Thomas Edison 84 3. Thomas Edison (Rectified) 88 4. Joan of Arc (Placidus) 93 5. Joan of Arc (Koch) 94 6. Galileo Galilei 129 7. Leonardo da Vinci 151 8. Vincent van Gogh 157 9. Marie Curie 170 10. Napoleon Bonaparte 177 11. Queen Elizabeth I 185 12. King Edward VIII 191 13. Elizabeth Barrett Browning 198 14. Marie Curie with Eclipses 209 15. Napoleon I with Eclipses 210 16. Case Study of Eclipses 231 17. Prince William 235 18. Steven-Solar Return 248 19. Abraham Lincoln-Solar Return " 250 20. Marie Curie-Solar Return 252 21. Queen Elizabeth I-Lunar Return 258 22. Queen Elizabeth I-Personal New Moon Return 259 23. Marie Curie-Lunar Return 260 24. Marie Curie-Personal New Moon Return 261 25. Edward VIII-Lunar Phase Return 263 26. George Bernard Shaw-Mercury Return 266 27. Elizabeth Barrett-Venus Return for Meeting with Browning 268 28. Elizabeth Barrett Browning-Venus Return for Marriage 269 29. Joan of Arc-Mars Return 270 30. Queen Victoria-Jupiter Return 272 31. Queen Victoria-Saturn Return 274 THE FABLE OF THE EAGLE AND THE LARK Once upon a time there was a lark who was renowned for her beautiful singing. Her song was judged by all who heard her to be the sweetest sound on earth. From dawn to dusk she would sing her song and as she sang, the beginnings of a desire grew. The desire was to sing for the gods. She realized that if she could fly high enough the gods would be able to hear her. So the lark leapt into the air and flew as high as she could, but her wings tired and although she sang, she knew that the gods could not hear her. Deter- mined now more than ever, she decided that she would climb the highest mountain and then fly from the peak. But even this could not get her high enough to be heard in heaven. One day she saw an eagle soaring high in the sky, far higher then she had ever flown and she knew with unbounded certainty that if she could fly as high as the eagle, the gods would hear her beautiful song. So she watched the eagle and when he landed, she approached the huge bird. The small but brave lark explained her dilemma to the great eagle and asked if he would carry her on his back so that, together, they could entertain the gods. Now the eagle was aware of the gods because he could fly in their domain and yet, ashamed ofhis raucous voice, he never had the courage to contact them. Eagerly he agreed to carry the tiny lark. Tentatively she climbed onto his back and with a stretch and a flap of his mighty wings, he set aloft. Higher and higher they soared. The lark was almost too scared to look down and yet onward still they flew. The lark had never been this high. She could see the whole world spread out beneath her. And then, all of a sudden, they were there. The tiny lark knew that now it was her turn, the eagle having done his part. Firmly she stood up on the eagle's back and, filling her lungs with air, began to sing. Heaven was filled with her glorious music. The gods were astonished at the power of the eagle and enthralled by the beauty of the lark's song. The eagle was no longer xii The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark ashamed and the lark was filled with joy. Together, as a team, they had brought music to the gods. Since time began, the human race has quested the future. Whether it be the knowledge of a successful hunt, the weather patterns, the movement of the enemy or the outcome of a journey, to know the future was to have an advantage. This need was so great that every tribe or clan had its own seer, sage, shaman or priest. This person's role was to explain the unexplainable and give meanings and patterns to seemingly random events, thereby reducing fear and creating greater sta- bility. If the tribe's seer died, then the tribe would "find" or project these skills onto another individual. The human race has come along way since those first early scratchings on cave walls. But the need for the seer has not changed. In our modern world there is still the unexplained, the uncertain future and the need in the community for some individuals to "see" ahead of time. So the modern community seeks out individuals who, willingly or unwillingly, will take on the role of the seer. There are many pathways which lend themselves to the ancient projection of seership. Scientists predicting outcomes, the bureau of meteorology predicting weather, election fore- casters predicting results, and the economists predicting the economy are seers on the side of the establishment. Clairvoy- ants, psychics, tarot readers, numerologists, tealeaf readers and astrologers are, in the public's eye, the seers of the non-estab- lishment. Thus as we decide to study astrology to fulfill our own needs, all too often, within a few weeks of commencing study, the student's friends will not only want to know about them- selves but also want the student to be their seer. The student's personal quest for truth and meaning in life thus becomes bur- dened by the community's ancient longing for a seer. Predictive work in astrology is also enmeshed with the collective's need for mystery, wonder and spirituality. So as astrologers we find that the pathway to predictive astrology, which begins as a personal quest for knowledge, turns into this minefield of other people's expectations. In order to negotiate a clearer path through this minefield astrologers have put a great deal of energy into developing new The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark xiii predictive techniques, and in a striving to fulfil the needs of the community we keep trying to build a better, and therefore, safer wheel. But herein lies the paradox: for if predictive astrology is a quest, then it will unconsciously be considered unreachable, for it is in the nature of a quest that it should not be achieved too easily. In addition the projection of seer can also be so overpowering that no sane individual would want to carry it. So astrologers can, like Jason of Argonaut fame, constantly seek, without recognizing what they have already achieved, and place predictive astrology so high above them that, no matter how hard they try, it cannot possibly be obtained. Thus the first point to be made in pursuit of reliable pre- dictive astrology is: Recognize that you can already predict using astrology and how impressive this is to a lay person. For example, if you know that a person is going to have transiting Pluto conjunct the natal Ascendant at a given time, then as an astrologer you would expect some event to occur in that per- son's life. If you know no more than that, your prediction to the lay person seems amazing. In addition, provided the birth time is correct, you can do this with a high level of accuracy. Acknowledgement of such simple feats in astrology, considered awe-inspiring by the general public, allows predictive work to be taken down from its pedestal. By recognizing the simplicity of these skills and how easily they can be taught to another, the minefield of projection becomes a little less dangerous. However, this minefield can still exist and faced with this difficulty astrologers have three possible paths that they can follow: the first is to abandon the whole issue and firmly an- nounce that predictive work cannot be done. This is not really an option but an external appearance adopted to push back the community's need for a seer. The second approach is through new methods and tech- niques such as high-powered computing, micro-aspecting and employing the ultimate in precision calculations. Reams of data are produced with this approach, and astrologers are swamped by the numerous echoes of the same information rearranged in an infinite number of mathematical ways. The average as- trologer, confronted with this approach, perceives that the jour- ney lies through a mathematical maze of confusion. xiv The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark The third approach is one of intuition. These astrologers abandon mathematical techniques and, without any real un- derstanding of the tools that they are using, leap into the deep end and /lgo-by-what-feels-right./I The difficulty with this ap- proach is that it cannot be taught, explained or repeated and students following this example can find themselves in an empty void of vagueness and disillusion. Neither of the last two approaches is in error. The problem occurs when they are used exclusively. For astrology is both an art and a science and has to have both components in balance for the best possible results. So an astrologer's intuition is like the tiny lark in the fable and the techniques and methodology of an astrologer's craft, the mighty eagle. Separately they are both valid and valuable. Together they can achieve results be- fore unreachable. The next step is to recognize when and how to use intui- tion. What is the point ofintuitively draining your metaphysical batteries to reach a conclusion that could have been logically derived? Far better to sing with your intuition after logic has gone as far as it can go. The boundaries between eagle and lark must be observed and each one used in its proper time and place. Too often one sees eagles balancing on the backs of squashed larks as astrol- ogers derive immense volumes of data from confused or mis- understood origins. Similarly, if astrologers are not clear on what they have predicted via techniques and what they have predicted via intuitive leaps, then it is very difficult to know where they may have gone wrong and how to correct it. This book is about the eagle, its strength and weakness, and where he can go wrong. It is about the lark and when to let her sing. The first step in the successful use of the eagle is to un- derstand the nature of the beast. Thus it is important to ac- knowledge that the origins of astrology are in the world of science. Indeed it is the original science and its metaphysical doorways are reached through corridors of mathematics and astronomy. In other words, an understanding of number- crunching and the logic of the techniques used are needed by the astrologer. It is easy in this computerized world to push a few buttons, get a horoscope printed out and let intuition flow, The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark xv bypassing all the problems of learning how to calculate charts, progressions, returns, and so on. What flows, of course, is the song of the lark and if the song is beautiful, what a shame that it's sung from the ground rather than from the back of an eagle. There is an old rule and a valid one: "You only get out of something what you put in." Astrology is based on science and calculations and it seems, from my experience, that unless you are prepared to "do your apprenticeship" and learn the basis of the craft, the doors that astrology can open remain closed. The lark may sing but it has no way of reaching the gods. THE FIRST STEP-FATE THE RAW MATERIAL OF ASTROLOGY Once you sort out the values of, and boundaries between, tech- nique and intuition, you will be taking the first step towards predictive astrology. Then, with eagle under one arm and lark under the other, you will find yourself looking straight into the face of fate. If we can read the dynamic patterns of a birth chart to give the timing and descriptions of future events, then we must not only acknowledge some "master plan" to which the individual is subject but also realize it is the very raw material with which we are working. For as astrologers we work with fate, just as a cobbler works with leather and a blacksmith works with metals. Therefore, like any other trade or craft, we need to un- derstand the raw materials of our trade in order to produce results. A blacksmith, in making a horse shoe, does not expect to produce a pound of butter for the simple reason that it is not within the capabilities of the raw material. So what are the limitations of our raw material? What can it do? What can't it do? How much of a person's life is dictated by fate? Just as the blacksmith has to know the metal's limita- tions, the astrologer needs to know about fate's limitations.These "how much," "how often," type questions do not have easy answers but for the predictive astrologer they cannot be avoided. Astrologers can only work with the part of an individual that is subject to fate. Thus the accuracy of any prediction is xvi The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark limited by the amount of involvement the individual has with fate. So how much is a person's life dictated by fate? If the answer is "all of it," then predictive work would be easy, with nothing being left to chance. Astrology would be able to ac- curately and consistently predict every event of a person's life. It would become a science belonging to the world of that which could be measured, weighed, tasted and tested, with human beings being equal to a well-designed robot. News broadcasts would tell us what was going to happen, rather then what had happened. If, on the other hand, the answer is "none of it," then astrologers for the last 5000 years have been barking up the wrong tree. Since I also find this difficult to believe, the only answer left is that some of a person's life is influenced by this master plan or fate. If this question was not difficult enough, there is another one. Does the effect of fate on a given individual's life vary from childhood to adulthood, from situation to situation, or not at all? We are now sailing into very deep seas, and indeed many students faced with these questions might throw up their hands and walk away. But serious predictive astrologers must be con- cerned with defining the raw material of the craft and need working answers before the quest of predictive astrology can be achieved. An approach, therefore, to the above unanswerable ques- tions is to consider that there are two major forces at work: one called fate-the raw material of astrologers-and the other called life or free will-the element that is not contained in a chart. The hypothesis that we as astrologers believe is that fate is life's demand for wholeness, or, put more simply, it is our role as a human being to strive for wholeness. This fated struggle for wholeness that life experiences via a person is represented by the journeys, stories and problems contained in the birth-chart. Fate strives to teach by placing obstacles in the pathway of life, a little like lessons being set for a pupil. We can then make a choice: we can choose to learn quickly and accurately within the parameters of the lessons or we can continually fail. This is the choice that we have and fate I I The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark xvii could well have been the first to say: "You can lead a horse to water ... " If we pass the test, then fate will move on to the next set of lessons, like a pupil graduating to a higher class, but the lessons will not cease. So in this model, and it is only a model, fate at a particular time presents the individual with an option, or lesson, arranged in a variety of ways, a little like a multiple-choice list. The individual, being fated by the quest for wholeness, selects one or more options on the list, either consciously or unconsciously. We would like to think an option is selected based on the individual's desire for maximum personal growth but an in- dividual has free will in these matters. Sothe individual's ability to choose an option is assigned to free will, and allocated to fate is the nature and timing of the multiple-choice list. Thus astrology can predict the timing and style of the forthcoming events but it is the human part-the part not shown in a chart-which chooses the exact expression of the event. This model for the marriage of fate and free will may seem simple but it does allow predictive astrology to take on some shape and boundaries. Since astrology works with fate, we can expect to be able to predict the timing and nature of the options fate is going to present to the individual, while at the same time recognizing that the options on the list are also going to vary, depending on how well the individual has "learnt les- sons" beforehand. Defining and predicting the exact option may be possible but not necessarily probable. This type of prediction-picking the exact event-would fall into the realm of the lark or intu- ition, because the actual choice made by the individual, ac- cording to our model of fate and free will, belongs to the free will part. This model is by no means complete. Indeed no model or answers to the questions that have been raised will be totally satisfactory. But the dilemma of predictive astrology is that a model has to be created. The advantage of the above model, or indeed any model, is that you will know what you can and can't predict, when to use your intuition and when your as- trologicallogic will be sufficient. xviii The Fable of the Eagle and the Lark For example, you could look at a client's transiting Uranus conjunct the natal Sun, define the timing of the transit, give an understanding to the client of the types of events that could occur within the timing and then change gears into the intuitive mode and, using your knowledge of the client and of life itself, indicate the option that will be the most likely. If you find that you are wrong, then it is an easy matter to see if your astrological logic was at fault. A case of a faulty eagle. Or was it your intuition? The lark needing a bit of work? The real value of such a system is that the feedback on predictive work can be used constructively. Predictive astrology is a series of decisions which even- tually lead to conclusions. If the conclusions are incorrect, then knowledge of the decisions made along the way is an invaluable aid to improving the results. But one of the first decisions that you have to make as a predictive astrologer is to define a model of your understanding of fate. Chapter One THE ALPHABET Every language has an alphabet and predictive astrology is no different. What the astrologer is trying to do in formulating a prediction is to take the language of the Cosmos and translate that information into the conscious world of the client. The way in which we produce this information from the Cosmos is via the predictive system we use; i.e., transits, progressions, and so on. However, no matter what system you used, there is one common thread and that is the definition of the basic units or alphabet with which the language or data is written. The alphabet of astrology is made up of the planets, as- pects, houses and signs. With these basic components the Cos- mos can spin a million or so stories. In a natal chart, the stories are magical and mysterious, involving mythology and the his- tory of a person's race. In such a world the language creates very complex messages, for people have their whole lives to "tinker" with the particular coded messages termed a natal chart. However, in the world of predictive astrology, the infor- mation is only present for a short period of time and there is no time to explore the concept being presented. There is just 2 THE EAGLE AND THE LARK time to hear the basic message and to act on it before the next signal comes in. Soalthough the language may be undiscovered Shakespeare, the perception is of a simple dialogue. Whatever the method of dynamic predictive astrology used, by its very definition it must be a temporary connection to the natal chart. The dynamic planet (progressed or transiting) makes itself felt by way of an aspect and thus connects to the chart; it then symbolically transmits information or energy and, finally, disconnects. It is not there forever, like a natal aspect. It is transient-a tourist traveling through an unknown coun- try. Thus, the dynamic planet comes onto the stage of clients' lives like an invader or intruder, the pragmatist in the plot. The rest of the actors (natal planets) on stage have to deal with this energy, which is seen as raw, young and not integrated into the system. For this reason the dynamic planets and aspects, unlike their natal cousins, do not have time to grow and mature in their expression, and consequently take on slightly different and considerably simpler meanings. For example, say Jane has Saturn opposing the Sun in her natal chart. She has her whole life to work with it, grow it, develop it, mature it. The inferiority complex in youth that this aspect can indicate would most likelyconvert to an achievement drive in adulthood. Granted this achievement drive could be spurred on by a fear of failure fueled by feelings of inadequacy, but Jane has worked with this aspect and can thus get better results from it. This is an aspect which is part of her, which over the years, has gained rapport with other facets of herself. On the other hand, if having transiting Saturn opposing her natal Sun, restrictions and commitment suddenly come thun- dering into her life, with none of the subtleties of the above mentioned natal aspect. Before she has time to "turn the tables on it" and mature it, the transit is gone. So in working with predictive astrology, the key issue is to recognize this simplicity. The language of astrology is rich and beautiful, but in predictive work its rich symbolism is put into simple packages. The symbols do not lose their beauty, they are simply less complex in their expression. This concept can be encapsulated by the KISS principle-Keep It Simple Sweetheart-which indeed is a golden rule of predictive as- I ~,