Holly,
Here is a short investigation into the major areas concerning your fiancés predicament. Sadly, I only had time to do a rough sketch of his illness significations, though I am pretty sure from the supporting significators that your fiancés problem originates in either the lumbar or thoracic regions of the spine.
From a health perspective one needs to specifically consider the ascendant, 6th, 7th, 8th & 12th houses, the Lot of Fortune, the general significations of the planets and their conditions, and the rulers and dispositors of these places. During the investigation of these planets and places, usually a quite substantial imbalance reveals itself, and this is where the cause and effect can often be seen. Unfortunately, I do not have time to investigate all these areas as thoroughly as I would have liked within the confines of the forum. What I have done is to visually scan these areas systematically and only highlight the areas where the main health significators are playing a strong part within the nativity of your fiancé.
The ascendant contains an out of sect Saturn in Gemini, and Mercury (ascendant ruler and Saturn’s dispositor) in Scorpio in 6th. With Saturn out of sect in the 1st house it is likely there would have been some difficulties and/or delay surrounding the birth, probably this would have been some problem with the umbilical chord, breathing and/or weight. Gemini rules the brain and central nervous system, the left side in particular, and the ability to transfer the nerve impulses around the body. This coupled with Saturn’s (out of sect) influence in Gemini in the 1st suggest some form of slowing down, cooling or restriction is or was present within the central nervous system, or at least some difficulty with his (Saturn) control over the nervous system in general. Being as this influence is from birth it is a dormant seed within the nativity. It would then give a strong likelihood that after a period of restriction there must come the inevitable release, or expansion. This can be seen rather like a ticking health time bomb just waiting for the right conditions to be able to act. Keeping active with work and taking part in high energy sports would have given this possible condition a positive outlet, thereby allowing it to remain in check for so long. Saturn opposing the Moon would suggest some form of interruption to the normal flow of bodily fluids which are like roads acting as the carriers for the nerve impulses. This too is indicating some form of blockage or restriction which would likely materialise as muscle cramps and a general hardening within the body cavities. This influence of Saturn upon the moon could also suggest that there could be some hormonal deficiency or growth regulation; this too would create a build up of pressure in the neurological system. Finally, looking at the last observations of Saturn effect, which in your fiancés case are on the respiratory system; some early weakness may have left the immune system open to a specific airborne virus, though there does not seem to be any direct connections that would suggest a virus as a/the cause for your fiancés condition. A major family crises, an accident at work, through travel, through electricity or through an abject reaction to foods (such as nuts) could have been a possible trigger?
I must say, this is beginning to look like something other than a virus. All the pointers so far are beginning to suggest a problem within the regulatory fluids of the brain and central nervous system. While you might gasp here and think that the news maybe going from bad to worse, I would say this is more positive than the diagnosis your fiancé has been given. Right after I noticed your post, something in it did not ring true to me. When I glanced at your fiancés chart for the first time it did not suggest a virus; which is why I contacted you to get some details to cast a decumbiture, to confirm or deny what I thought was apparent from his nativity. Also, (one important note) I am extremely aware that Neptune in his 7th house does suggest an unintentional deception or mistake from the medical profession (Neptune square Venus in Virgo).
To continue with the health investigation we now move to the ascendant ruler which is also the dispositor of Saturn, this is Mercury in Scorpio in the 6th house. While the first house describes our bodily condition, the 6th house (and any planet therein) describes the nature of any illness of which we might be prone to suffer from. Once again, we get the significator of the brain and central nervous system through Mercury’s placement here; being in aversion to the ascendant there is likely to be some form of breakdown or pressure between the central nervous system and the head. This seems to be very suggestive of a compressed nerve from a spinal disc. Of course Mercury has other significations but I am refraining from using any that have no relevance to your fiancés condition.
Mercury, being in a water sign (Scorpio) is the first instance we see of any connection from the brain and the cerebral cortex to the bodily fluids, though there is still no direct suggestion of any debilitating virus here yet either. One notable good point is, Mercury not being directly connected to Saturn in 1st and being the significator of the illness, by his very nature your fiancés illness is changeable. This is a very positive sign in relation to your fiancés recovery. His connection with a fixed sign could suggest that the affliction is a stubborn son of a gun, just as it has proven to be so far; but not necessarily permanent. The next consideration is to investigate what condition Mercury is in, and how effective his presence can be in relation to the illness.
In exploring the strength and ability of Mercury we first need to start with his position. Though there is the aversion to the ascendant which would normally mean he cannot get any ‘direct’ help from Saturn, he is a sect mate of Saturn and therefore he is able to receive indirect help from old father time, he can help via a third party. And being Saturn’s dispositor he is able to exert some positive control over the illnesses connected to Mercury. This is very good because Saturn exerts a force that can stop the medical affliction getting out of control, and by gradually reinforcing Mercury’s strength towards any illness brought about through Mercury’s significance. Although Mercury is common to both sects his overall efficiency to affect the nativity for good or ill is determined by his happiness within each individual nativity.
Occidental to the Sun = Feminine
Sector of the zodiac = Masculine
Below the horizon = Feminine
Oriental quadrant = Masculine
Feminine by sign = Feminine
There are one or two other sect considerations listed by the medieval astrologers which so far have not shown themselves to be accurate through my years of study, so until they are tested and accepted by myself and other serious astrologers I will refrain from using them here. What I am really looking for is a major imbalance in the way Mercury is acting, this will define from whom and how the help or hindrance is coming from. True to form Mercury comes out roughly even in relation to both sects in your fiancés nativity, his only stress in relation to the Sun is that he is slightly scorched by being under the Sun’s beams. Here is a sign of burn-out such as overwork or burning the candle at both ends. Another factor here is Mercury’s placement in Via Combusta which suggests a scorching of the nerves. However, the combustion effects are somewhat weakened by 1) Mercury and the Sun are in adjacent signs with virtually nothing in common 2) The degree separation between Mercury and the Sun is almost at its maximum longitude in relation to being under the Sun’s beams. Unfortunately, Mercury is not in his own chariot and so has no protection from the beams of the Sun. Being then, slightly overheated by the Sun, it could suggest things like heartburn, Asthma or a periodical inflammation of the lungs but nothing related to a viral condition, not even by just acting as a trigger for another (possible viral) illness to come forth.
We know that Saturn has a slightly helpful effect on Mercury, and being in the first house it is probable that your fiancé has the power to improve this condition in his own hands, or of those close to him. Now it is time to see whether the planets help or hinder Mercury by their condition, positions and strength. Mercury has a hexagonal relationship to both the benefic planets which is another indicator that points towards a beneficial outcome for your fiancés condition. Through his hexagonal relationship to Venus, and Venus being in Mercury’s sign and boundary this illness can also be made better through the medical profession, but only when they are sure of the prognosis. As it stands at this present time, I believe at the moment the diagnosis is faulty and more tests should be carried out. Venus is telling us that Mercury will provide the answers. Mercury’s hexagonal relationship with Jupiter shows that your fiancés condition may need some corrective surgery or some chiropractic manipulation (Jupiter in Capricorn). However, Jupiter’s condition in his fall is showing that the judgement of your fiancés condition by the medical profession is probably flawed; something is being overlooked because Jupiter is hidden in the 8th house.
Now we need to explore who is pushing mercury’s buttons, and who has overall control of his actions. Mercury is in Mars’s domicile, Mars’s trigon, Mars’s confine, Mars’ decan and the dodecatamoiria is in Mars’s sign of exaltation at 00.52 degrees of Capricorn. It now looks like we have found the culprit… Mars’s influence upon Mercury is extremely one-sided, this, I believe states the origin of the illness to be Martian (no, not the little green men) but of the head, central nervous system and through the muscles! As we now have the promissor connected with health Mars, and the significator for health Mercury, we need to see if they are in any way connected in the nativity. There is no aspectual help as the two planets Mercury and Mars are in aversion to one another by sign placement. In astrology there are conditions that exist between the signs, known as signs that see and signs that perceive; planets in Libra (in your fiancés case Mars) see planets in Aries (no link here) and planets in Scorpio (as in your fiancés Mercury) are able to see any planets in Pisces (no link here), they have no direct positive link here at all. The next set of criteria are for links between zodiac sign’s are sign’s that command and signs that obey. These describe a natural relationship between the qualities of one sign being able to affect the signs which obey. In keeping with the two lords we are investigating, we are looking for links between the zodiac signs of Libra and Scorpio. Virgo commands and Scorpio obeys, Libra and Aries are equal, again, no connection here. Another method of how the signs interact with one another are the signs that share the same ruler such as Aries/Mars being ruled by Mars, Taurus/Libra by Venus, Gemini/Virgo by Mercury, Sagittarius/Pisces by Jupiter and Capricorn/Aquarius by Saturn; the lights (sun & moon) get one sign each because they are of equal importance – Astrological equality between Sun/Moon, Man/Woman…whatever next?
There are no supporting connections between Libra and Scorpio existent so far. Next we come to signs that have an Antiscia relationship between each other. The (relevant) signs linked by Antiscia are Libra/Pisces & Scorpio/Aquarius so no help is offered here. The signs that have an Antiscia with one another are so to speak on the same train and sharing equal power. A counterpart to the Antiscia is the Contra-Antiscia which have a similar-ish meaning to the Antiscia. Antiscia are equal measurements from the solstice points where Contra-Antiscia are equal measurements from the equinox points. In respect to the Contra-Antiscia of Libra, that would be Virgo; and the Contra-Antiscia of Scorpio is Leo. Again we get no relevant connections in your fiancés chart to be able to offer help or hindrance. The fact that there are no connections between the relevant signs in your fiancés chart is not particularly important because these can be equally helpful or equally disastrous; none just means neutral – No help or hindrance from these quarters.
Under normal circumstances I just see and read these things in a chart on first inspection (kind of like the way we see the letters in a word – connections that are obvious), I have only laid out my thoughts as I examined the chart this one time only so others can learn some of the methodology involved, if they want to. I will not explain these methods again in any future post because it takes up too much unnecessary time, I will just mention any contact through Antiscia & Contra-Antiscia, seeing-hearing, commanding-obeying etc… Because I only get short windows of time in which to post I have to keep strictly to the main points concerned.
My final exploration here in relation to health is the Lot of Fortune, sometimes called the Part of Fortune or Pars Fortuna. Your fiancés Lot of Fortune ascendant is at 12.51 degrees in the Mars ruled sign of Aries. If any of the lords of the sign are afflicted (domicile ruler, triplicity ruler, sect light ruler or bound ruler) or poorly positioned they will indicate health issues with respect to their significations.
First off, the sign of the Lot of Fortune indicates the parts of the body where we can be affected by poor health, in the right/wrong circumstances. You are probably aware of the bodily significations of Aries so I won’t bore you with repeating them here. However, the ruling planet of Aries (mars) and the exaltation planet of Aries (the sun) are both in a debilitated condition in Libra. The relevant signification here is Libras connection with the Lumbar section of the spine, and through the Venus rulership we get the signification of the neck (thoracic discs in the neck). With the Lot of Fortune being in Aries it does offer a strong constitution and excellent recuperative powers which is a good sign of strength in your fiancés normal ability to recover from illness quite quickly. The Lot of Fortune being placed in a tropical sign and in a succeedent house means it carries a lot of weight within your fiancés nativity. In fact, by it being placed in the 11th house (the house of good spirit) it will receive some very good help, a little like a guardian angel, or help from unknown quarters. I will have to begin to wrap up now because I am pressed for time, but I will offer you a short passage after inspecting which time-lords are operative now, what planets were operative where/when the condition started; and what planets are operative in the coming months/years in relation to health.
The origins of this illness go all the way back to June 1995, and without intervention could drag on for a while unless you take some course of action yourself. Although you would probably love to hear that it will go away overnight, and indeed I would love to be able to tell you this, unfortunately, there are no magic wands and I can only read as I find. What I can tell you is that there should be some major improvement by September this year, or sooner if you insist on some more ‘thorough’ investigations. My summary would be that either bang to the head or some lifting accident was probably the trigger of a major nerve reaction, which in turn caused some swelling to the muscles/tissue surrounding the nerve strands in the cerebrospinal fluid. This ended up causing a/some compressed nerves in the thoracic and/or lumbar areas of the spinal chord.
Transverse Myelitis is basically a loss of the fatty tissue from around the spine through which the nerves travel; this tissue acts as a cushion for the nerve fibres as we go about our daily duties. The symptoms you described did not seem to tally with the illness Myelitis, though there are some similarities. Although you did say there are some more details you could send by PM (please do so if you wish, I will try to have another look as soon as I can make the time). I have seen hundreds of people with the symptoms you described and not one single case of Myelitis was diagnosed. I would most definitely seek a second opinion because more often than not in these cases Transverse Myelitis is only diagnosed when the radiographer or consultant cannot find an obvious condition. Sometimes MRI scan radiographers do not photograph the right angle to see where the nerve endings are being compressed, everything can look normal from the right/wrong angle, depending upon your perspective.
There is no treatment for Transverse Myelitis in the present day, and it is a good way to fob patients off if the surgery has a limited budget. To continually supply some anti-inflammatory and/or pain killing drugs can get expensive. The Hippocratic Oath states that the GP/consultant is obliged to ease the patient’s condition and improve their quality of life wherever possible. Sadly, in today’s society the dollar is more important than the health. Please feel free to ask about anything you do not understand and I will do my best to answer as soon as I can. My sincerest best wishes to your fiancé from someone of a similar condition, and I hope you can get some clarification on his condition soon. I may be able to plot a course of his condition with more details but I have several long reports due in the next six weeks which I really need to get cracking with.
A quick glance at the 1st decumbiture chart (onset of the affliction) shows very similar patterns to the nativity. The ascendant is 00:46 Aries and the north node ay 04:41 is very close to a conjunction with it. The north node in a nativity is where the cosmic energy enters our soul/being/body before it gets distributed out through the planets. The 1st house, the 1st house ruler and aspects will show the condition of your fiancé and his strength and ability to fend off illness. Aries being a tropical sign of the fire element gives very good ability to overcome illness in general. However, his ruler Mars is in the Pleiades (Taurus) very close to Algol, this is highly suggestive of a muscle injury in the neck that is hard to locate (the Pleiades looks very much like a nebula to the naked eye). He makes a very close square to the Sun showing that there is a lot of muscular strain to the spine and the back, again this is pointing to muscular tension, not viral.
The 6th decumbiture house is the significator of the illness and here we have the Moon in the Mercury ruled sign of Virgo. While the Moon in the 6th house in Virgo could suggest an upset to the digestive tract or possible virus, I do not see any confirmation that this is so. The Moon at 26:48 in Virgo is very close to the descendant and I would take this as the significator of the doctor; and the Moon is always the significator of showing the course of the illness. With the Moon being disposited by Mercury in the 12th house there is another suggestion that the illness is baffling the medical profession, causing rash prognosis. There is an almost partile square from the Moon to Pluto in conjunction the Mc, this shows that there will need to be a battle of wills before a correct diagnosis can be made. This too is another pointer that the medical profession have made poor judgement in the diagnosis of your fiancés ailment. The good news is that the Moon also makes a very strong trine aspect to Mars in the 2nd house. Mars is significator of your fiancé and the Moon applying to him by trine indicates that with a lot of effort this ailment can and will be improved (probably through medication) if you pester your GP to investigate your fiancés condition further. The transit of Saturn into Virgo in September will definitely reinforce your fiancés improving condition.
Good wishes to you and your fiancé for some improvement soon.
Bob