Hi Cherie,
A very warm welcome to you Cherie, I hope you like it here and become a regular participant in our studies, conversations and debates.
It isn't Mrs. Blair I'm talking to is it? (joke).
I would like to try to answer this question for you, but I must point out that I will be using the technique as taught by John Frawley. Frawley teaches that a horary chart is more significant in it's answers when determined from the time and place at which the question is recieved and understood by the person who is intended to interpret it, (which may be more than one person) rather than from the time and place at which the question was asked.
For insight upon this technique, see MidnightDevils question, where it was asked 'Will I get the job?'. Myself and Sorehearted both tried to answer this question based upon the time and place
we received the question. We both got the question at very different times and in very different places in the world (Sore in Egypt, myself in England), yet interestingly, both our charts provided us with the same answers, albeit in different ways. We have yet to find out the outcome of our analyses.
I am interested in experimenting with this alternative technique, so I hope you do not mind me taking the liberty to do so with your question. :|
I do however, feel that it would be very worth it for someone to interpret your question based upon the time and place that you provided, as a control, and perhaps Fensi (Goca) or RubyElixir (Robyn) or Sorehearted (Nora) would be kind enough to do this, although I would hope that Nora would be sufficiently interested to experiment with me again and use the chart for the time and place at which she receives the question, to see whether our results are similar once more.
Okay, here goes, I received and understood your question at 23:32 in the town of St. Annes, England, UK, so according to the technique of Frawley, this is the time I will be using to determine the answer to your question.
I will only be including the seven visible planets in my interpretation.
Here is the chart:
I am answering this question on your behalf, so you are the 1st cusp, myself as
your representative. However, our primary concern is your brother, and the house of brothers is the third, so we seek the ruler of the third cusp and the Moon as his essential significators.
Planets in the 3rd house are accidental significators of your brother.
For your brothers condition, we look to the 6th from the 3rd giving us the 8th. There is a notion among some modern astrologers that the 12th house signifies health problems of a mental nature and the 6th house for problems of a physical nature. I don't buy this view. The 6th house represents all ailments, illnesses, diseases, afflictions or injuries, whether they are mental or physical in nature. The 12th as the house of 'self-undoing' would relate to matters of masochism or suicidal tendancy, but unless these matters are specifically designated in the question, then it is always the 6th house to be looked to for matters of ill health.
The ruler of the 8th cusp is the essential significator of your brothers illness, any planets in the 8th are accidental significators of the illness.
Let's analyse the chart.
First we'll look at the basic placements and dignities of the significant planets in regard to your brother and his illness.
Your brother's significators are the ruler of the 3rd and the Moon. I often like to see the ruler of the significant cusp as a reflection of the persons outer self, the Moon the inner self.
The 3rd cusp lies in Saturn ruled Capricorn, so Saturn is brother's significator. Saturn is retrograde and in it's detriment in Leo the 9th house. Brother's Saturnian detriment and retrograde significator shows your brother's current difficulties and constraints, Saturn is lord of darkness and the greater malefic, indicating the hardship that your brother currently endures, and its retrograde motion may signify that he is re-experiencing troubles which have plagued him in the past, and shows restrictions imposed upon him, sliding backward down a slippery slope. Demons which have not been previously put to rest need to be acknowledged now. At this time he is turning inward to encounter the darkness. Saturn however, while afflicted by detriment and retrogradation is none the less in it's own term and face, lending him a little dignity with which to shield himself, as he is in his own term and face, your brother is not completely vulnerable, he has some power to defend himself and fight his corner, even if only a little. Saturn is in a fixed sign, so he is within circumstances that he must accept, endure and work with, at least for now.
Saturn is in the rulership of the Sun, the ruler of the midheaven point, so your brothers quest for health is dominant and of prime importance.
Saturn is in the radical 9th house, of 'learned people', therefore doctors and psychiatrists (or priests), and if he is currently consulting medical professionals then this house placement shows that he within their realm. If not, the house placement shows that it is the wisdom of learned people that he seeks.
The 9th is the 4th house from the 6th. This causes me to wonder if there is a history of bi-polar disorder in the family. As the 4th (father) from the 6th (disorder) might suggest that the illness has been inherited through the paternal line, or onset through a fatherly influence.
The significator of brother's illness, 6th from 3rd, gives us the 8th, and the ruler of the 8th falling in Gemini is Mercury, natural ruler of the mental faculties and processes. Mercury is in very poor condition here, badly afflicted, in its sign of fall and detriment, and combust by the Sun. When a planet is combust by the Sun, then that which is represented by the significator becomes invisible, or difficult to see, describing his bi-polar disorder as a condition which is hard to define, perhaps outwardly unnoticable to many. This chart is very radical because Mercury being ruler of the mind and the mental functions, being in it's fall and detriment in the bi-corporeal sign of the fishes (both swimming in opposite directions) is a poetic description of the difficulty of his bi-polar condition.
Frawley says upon the matter of illness' significator in a horary:
If the significator lies in a fixed sign, the illness will be long lasting; if in a cardinal, it will be short; if in a mutable sign it will come and go, or give better and worse days. Qualify this by the sign in which the querents own significator is in, according to the same criteria.
Here, Mercury is in a mutable sign, so some days are worse than others, the illness will progress through times of strength and weakness, of a nature which comes and goes. His Saturnian significator is in a fixed sign. So the illness, while coming and going in it's own nature, is something that your brother will have to endure over long, fixated periods.
Mercury is nearing the end of Pisces, but before it leaves it is set to turn retrograde, heralding a time of greater mental confusion for us all, but particularly your brother in that it is the significator of his disorder.
Is the significator changing direction? A planet in it's first station (turning retrograde) is likened to a man taking to his sickbed, he is ill and will get worse.
The fact that Mercury is debilitated, combust and soon to turn retrograde is not at all good.
His co-significator the Moon, is also in Pisces, showing how his inner self and the condition are united as one. The Moon is peregrine, also combust by the Sun, and closely applies to conjunct with blighted Mercury, which, all things considered is not a good sign. The Moon peregrine, is a wanderer, with no power to act, and so your brother's inner self helplessly moves toward greater unison with the bi-polar condition. The Moon is also conjunct the antiscion of the South node, which is greatly malefic, especially as the Moon is in such poor condition anyway and does not at all herald good news.
It is a point of interest to mention that the Moon/Mercury conjunction, signifying the disrupted mental state is conjunct the Arabic part of head injury (8th Cusp + Moon + Mars).
Upon combust planets:
There is no greater affliction to a planet than this...if this planet cannot see, the person it signifies cannot see reason.
The fact that the brother is described as being unable to see reason, may be descriptive of his condition. Bear in mind that the Moon is separating, suggesting that the worst is past, the Moon also waxes, thus increases in strength, however, Mercury, the illness, will be moving retrograde very soon, and moving further toward combustion, and the Moon is applying to conjunct Mercury. He is over a bad patch, but heading straight for another, and this would confirm the significator of the illnesses placement in a mutable sign, this is a condition which comes and goes, it is episodic, with varying degrees of strength and weakness. Your brother's significator in a fixed sign, and retrograde, suggests that your brother must continually battle with this fighting of these internal demons, which make erratic and seemingly unpredictable appearances.
The Moons placement in the radical 4th, brings me back to the idea that your brothers condition may be inherited through the paternal line.
Your brother has an accidental significator in Venus, as it is in the 3rd house. Venus, like the Moon is peregrine, thus having no power to exert control over the situation. Venus is in the rulership of Saturn, your brothers essential significator, so your brother is dominated by that part of himself which needs to turn inward and battle with the darkness, and endure difficulty and restriction. Venus is in the exaltation of Mars, and Mars being in the 8th, is accidental significator of the condition, Venus exalting Mars shows your brothers acute awareness of the detrimental effects of the illness, as Mars is always disruptive in some sense, and it is placed in the mentally (dis)functional sign of Gemini and in the 8th house of anxiety. He must be wary not to fear the condition too greatly for in doing so gives it more power. An exalted planet is always put on a pedestal and given more credit than it is due. Venus is in partile (same degree) sextile with Mercury, showing the direct effect that the mental disorder is having upon his sensitivities.
Mars is accidental significator of your brothers illness as mentioned, and it is in partle sextile with Saturn, his essential significator. Again, this shows the challenge which your brother must inevitably encounter against the disruptive mental influences of his condition.
I think I will tie up my interpretation here, else I'll get bogged down and confuse us both with so much unecessary detail, and I may have gone too far up the garden path already.
In short, to answer your question I would say this:
Your brothers condition can never be completely allieviated by conventional medicine. It is a periodic condition, coming forth in unpredictable episodes of activity which will vary in intensity. This will be a continual battle, if not a continual bout of illness. The battle will come with keeping the disruptive symptoms at bay. It will be constant in that it will always need to be moderated and worked upon, even if it is not always apparent. So your brother will never be free, even if he will not always display symptoms.
I welcome any comments, questions or criticisms that you may have.
Draco
the truth is that my english is not very good, so i had a little trouble understanding your posts. In fact i had to read them three times before i post my comment. Also, my knowlegde about astrology is very litle, so it was not easy for me to understand your interpretations of my brother's illness. Well, the three of you used different ways to analyse the situation, but i understand you came up with very similar conclusions.