I came to start a thread on Frawley vs. Traditionals on aspects, but find this thread is already started ( and stalled) as usual ,on reception as described by Frawley vs as Paul says Everybody else! Paul and his comrades have tried for some time to explain reception to me in a non Frawlian way, but to little avail. So now what I do is look to both planets and see if both "receive" per Frawley. If they do, I feel reception is there. If not, I ask Paul! lol
Tbh I'm not really sure why reception causes such confusion. I'll try explaining it again:
If one planet (Planet A) is in the dignities of another planet (Planet B), then the second planet (Planet B) will receive the first planet (Planet A), provided they are in aspect.
So here's some examples:
Planet A is in Cancer, the Moon receives Planet A.
Planet A is in Aries, Mars receives Planet A.
Planet A is in Libra, Venus receives Planet A.
Planet A is in Capricorn, Saturn receives Planet A.
It's really simple. In the above examples I've just used domicile, but you can receive by any dignity - though preferably domicile and exaltation. If not one of those, it's best to get two minor dignities. Here's some more examples:
Planet A is in Taurus, Venus receives Planet A, but so would the Moon.
Planet A is in Aries, Mars receives Planet A, but so would the Sun.
In reality, with reception, we want the two planets to aspect. So really it's more like this:
Planet A is in Taurus and in aspect to Venus, Venus will receive Planet A.
Reception offers help/aid/protection, so in the above examples, Venus aids or protects Planet A. Another way to look at it is like opening itself up to the influence of the planet, it's like literally openings its arms to embrace it, or like opening the doors of its house to that planet. So venus protects/embraces/aids/helps/is open to the influence of, Planet A.
It's very simple. Ignore Frawley's descriptions and you'll never go wrong on this.
Traditionals say reception takes place only on a trine, I think. Am I wrong here Paul? Frawley says any aspect will do, but some , like the sextile, only show a possibility.
Receptions describe an aspect so any aspect will do. Because of the aid offered to the planet, some of the stress/tension with aspects like a square are mitigated. So a reception with two planets who square one another may actually act like a trine in practice. That's because receptions affect the relationship between two planets, and the relationship between two planets is normally seen by the aspect.
MY question is this: as a practical matter, have any of you seen good results eventuate when an approaching square is the only aspect?
Yes, I asked a question about a job. I was Saturn and received the job by square. I got the job. (I'm going by memory so it might have been they who received me, but it was by square anyway). I remember this because I originally didn't think I'd get the job as I felt the square may prove too difficult to do, however, notice I was Saturn, the slower planet, this is good news for me as other planets race to perfect aspects with me which I can accept or deny. That was the case in this situation, they approached me about the job and chased me over it, then I went for the interview but wasn't sure if I'd get offered it. The square with reception indicated I would. I nearly missed the reception though if I remember right.
Reception would be by sign I guess, but the lack of a trine would not mean success to a Traditional.
I think it should be clear now that this isn't true. Lilly even has examples I'm sure of perfections by any aspect. In fact any aspect can indicate perfection its just that the perfection requires a hell of a lot more work and sometimes, as in the case of the opposition, the end result probably isn't worth the work you put in. Reception mitigate that and make it easier, reduce the work, or make them more like easier aspects.
I would also like to say that ignoring powerhouse planets like Uranus and PLuto, as Traditionals do for the most part, doesn't make sense to me, just because they" don't reflect light".
OK, what's your experience, and not your belief?
There are a variety of reasons not to use the outer planets, chief amongst them their slowness. They practically do not move. A planet like Pluto can stay at a degree for weeks if not months on end, only to retrograde back to the same degree for another few months.
So they don't move. Horary needs movement.
I was originally a thorough-bred modern astrologer
I heard of horary and instantly dismissed it as pure nonsense - I was supremely confident of this as only ignorance can bestow you. When I eventually tried it and witnessed it being tried, it was, ironically, by someone who contacted a well known professional horary astrologer. His name was John Frawley. I was impressed, and surprised, by its accuracy so sought to learn and try it myself. I quickly became a convert.
However in those early days I was very experimental, and preferred to use the outer planets, which I even still used as rulers then (not being fully aware at the time of what rulership actually meant or offered). I just couldn't get it to work reliably. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. That's when I noticed that it wasn't working when I was using Pluto for Scorpio. I tried Mars, tentatively. Well I needed to do several charts before I could be sure, but it seemed that the answer was more obvious and more often correct using Mars, though, to my mind, sometimes Pluto seemed to show relevance too.
Eventually I decided to just accept the system as it was, and ignore the outers. I quickly found it became more successful, then I began to notice the outers showing natural significations - not that they were acting as rulers, but showing natural signification. A person asked about divorce, using just the traditional rules it seemed like it would happen, but I noticed that Uranus was conjunct the Moon as well. Well that was interesting.
Over time I got to the place I am now, which may change in the future: I use traditional rulers but notice conjunctions to the outers as they sometimes add more colour. In particular I notice Neptune sometimes coinciding with pain relief drugs or anasthetics (like in an operation).
I'm nothing if not pragmatic, if I see something work I'll use it and agonise over the theory behind it afterwards.