For all you well-learned Horary Astrologers!

[laliqueviolin]

I am curious about your experiences about this amazing, divine tool.

1.) Do you memorize Terms, Face, Dignities, etc. or do you have a cheat sheet somewhere?


2.) On average, how long does it take for you to interpret a chart? I ask this because in cases where there's aspects I am not familiar with, such as contra-parallel and being besieged are involved -- I often wonder if others take into consideration of such details which can be time-consuming for some folks.


2b.) Which area/term/aspects have you had the most trouble with? I have a feeling that if I ever do understand reading horaries, that "Translation of Lights" and "Collection of Lights" would be the most hardest to dissect.


3.) How often do you count the Parts in your method of reading the charts?



And do you have any wisdom, tips or tricks for a budding horary student?

Thank you and I apologize if this is the wrong subforum to post.

[archergirl]

Hi there,

In a nutshell:

1) I don't memorize them. I couldn't possibly, although I'm sure there are some very seasoned astrologers who know the tables by heart. I unashamedly use a cheat sheet. Whatever works, I say.

2) It depends on the chart. Most charts can be interpreted within a few minutes. For complicated ones, maybe fifteen minutes. The symbolism of horary makes it easy to pick out what 'needs' to be read and what can be ignored. And honestly, for most charts you don't need to worry about more technical things like contra-parallel and antiscia. IMO if you have to fuss with this sort of stuff in a chart, there's something wrong with the question, like, the querent doesn't really know what they're asking, or the astrologer is trying too hard to complicate things . Beseigement is easy: it's just a significator trapped between two 'unfriendly' planets where it can't act, usually but not limited to the malefics.

3) The Parts are a matter of preference. Most horarists will use the Part of Fortune without a second thought, as it indicates what the querent 'values' (often a very interesting insight into the context of the chart/question). As to the other Parts, I personally leave them out unless they are specific to that question, so, Part of Death in a question about a terminal illness, etc.

4) My bit of 'wisdom' for you is: practice and keep it simple.

Practice on charts where you already know the answer (the Skyscript site has a whole tutorial on this, which is excellent). Practice on the charts we delineate on here and see if you can see what the other students are looking at, and why.

Keep it simple, especially when starting out, by omitting everything in a chart that doesn't pertain to that question, especially (IMO) asteroids and the outer planets. They are nice embellishments, but not necessary to get a clear and simple answer to a horary question. When you've got the 'inner planets' (e.g. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) nailed, and understand their natures and what their capabilities are in a chart, THEN you can start including more fiddly bits to see whether they add anything.

As I've told other students, in horary, it's not the aspects that count, it's what the aspects are DOING that matter the most. Are they applying? Separating? Going void of course? Interfered with by another planet? These things are the meat and bones of a good horary interpretation.

Good luck!
Best,
AG

[laliqueviolin]

Ohh! Archergirl, thank you so much for replying and taking the time to answer my curiosities.

This is very helpful material and a complete reassurance to me, as you may or may not know. I've always wondered how the pros experienced learning horary astrology and what obstacles they would come across when they were studying horary. I'll be taking a lot of side-notes from this, and you've been most helpful fulfilling this task!

Thanks again.

[archergirl]

Hi Laliqueviolin,

BTW I forgot to add 2b) from your question.

From my own personal experience, the hardest thing(s) in a chart are discerning the aspects: do they mean 'yes' or 'no'?

For this, it really depends on the question. Never assume, for example, that a square aspect is always 'negative' and a trine is always 'positive'. It always, always, always depends on the context of a question. In a question about a possible divorce, for example, an applying square might mean that the two people will actually stay together rather than separate; an applying trine might indeed mean that a divorce is impending.

The second trick is to make sure you understand what the querent is asking. Sometimes their questions aren't 'accurate': what they are actually asking about lies underneath. This requires a bit of perception on your part and somewhat of an understanding of human nature. We humans seldom get to the point if we can possibly avoid it. As you practice you'll find that this part gets easier. By the time most people get around to asking a horary question they are either out of other options or already know the answer but don't want to admit it.

The third trick is to recognize a bogus question, and refuse to answer it. Some things just aren't worth the time. You don't have to answer stupid questions if you don't want to; unless you're like me and have a sarcastic streak that comes out on occasion.

Best of luck.
AG

[Radu]

1) the astrology software offers the dignity table, why bother memorizing?
2) up to 20 minutes for the answer - writing down the whole interpretation leads to further discoveries; all "time-consuming" factors are welcome to offer more insight
2b) getting to understand the \
3) never; parts - I think so far - merely reflect the situation don't necessarily help with the answer

tips/tricks
- assign correctly the significators
- don't look at other planets unless connected directly with the significators (aspects/dispositor)
- master the basics - the importance of aspects, dignities, reception between significators
- retrogradation, angles' and planets' position by sign/house tell a lot = for instance when the ASC is in the middle of a fixed sign, you can tell that nothing it's going to change
- fixed stars connection may help
- learn to think the chart out of the box but always within the context of the question; don't learn the rules by heart and apply them blindly; try to understand the reasons = so many people dismiss a question with Saturn in the 7th house, just because, even if they are the querent and astrologer at the same time
- ask the querent for background information - it's much helpful when you can identify patterns from the situation in the chart, then you know you're on the right path > sometimes all it takes is to look at chart's dynamics, as the querent knows the rest
- understanding the chart as a motion picture rather than a mathematical equation with pros and cons for an answer

and much more...

[archergirl]

learn to think the chart out of the box but always within the context of the question; don't learn the rules by heart and apply them blindly; try to understand the reasons = so many people dismiss a question with Saturn in the 7th house, just because, even if they are the querent and astrologer at the same time

Yes, I'll second this. Excellent, excellent advice.

AG