Election for Successfully Quitting Smoking.

I wish to stop smoking once and for all. This will be no easy task. Smoking has been part of my daily life for about ten years or more now, probably about twelve years if I'm honest with myself. All of my adult life I have never not smoked between ten and twenty cigarettes a day. If I'm out drinking I'll smoke more than that. Rather more than a slight enjoyment of cannabis makes this difficult task even more daunting a prospect.

I know that this is something I can do with enough willpower, I need as good an election as I can find, in order to give me extra resolution, and a sense of security about kicking the habit. If I can find the right election, I'll be able to quit and stay that way the first time, instead of going through the lunacy of the quit-start-quit-start-quit-start cycle that most smokers have to go through before they either eventually succeed or continue on into the grave.

I've been having a look at some elections, and each time I feel I have found a good one, there is a drawback, but I really need to find the best, and if that means having to wait a good while, then so be it, I've smoked for so long, if I have to wait for a good election I might as well.

The election pertains to the time at which I intend to extinguish my last cigarette and determine not to smoke from there on.

My first idea was to use the Mars in Capricorn period, because this time is not too far away and because Mars cuts and separates, so I can use his essence in his sign of exaltation to give me an inflated sense of power to divorce myself from the habit. Scorpio is perhaps better, as it is a fixed sign, and so more resolute, but I could put this on the ascendant.

I decided that Mars should be in a separating aspect with the planet ruling the 12th cusp, the house of self undoing and entrapment, and therefore my smoking habit, and that this planet is better to be of weak dignity and Mars being in a separating aspect from it, nor would I like any positive receptions between these significators.

This is the initial criteria I'm looking for.

The trouble is, each election I consider seems to have drawbacks, although each one looks better, I'm just not sure and could do with some ideas.

The first election I looked at is for 12th February 2006, at 1.15am.

In this chart, the middle of Scorpio rises, so I am represented by that Mars in Capricorn and with Libra on the twelfth cusp, so Venus is smoking. Now, Mars separates from Venus, which is a good thing, but what is not good, is that Venus is also in it's exaltation of Pisces, and so has as much essential strength as Mars, but of course, I want the habit to be weaker than me. Another thing I don't like about this chart, is that Venus receives Mars by triplicity, and so smoking would seem to tempt me back too much at this time. I decided to scrap this one.

Another chart I looked at was for 22 Feb 2007, 8.25am.

In this chart I would have to forgo the seperating aspect from the ruler of the twelfth, but the contacts with my natal chart and solar return are interesting.

Scorpio rises at 27 degrees in this chart, a point of significance in that I have natal Mars at 27 degrees Scorpio, and Mars in Capricorn in this chart is at 27 degrees, putting it in sextile with the ascendant of the election, my solar return, as well as my own essentially strong Mars. Another point of interest is that in my solar return for this year, 27 Scorpio rises.

The midheaven in the chart also coincides with my midheaven in my solar return, which is conjoined with my natal Sun.

One drawback I can see though, is that to have this ascendant in the election, the 12th house ruler is also Mars, as Scorpio is both on the first and twelfth, which I don't see as good, because I am seeking to kick this habit, not bind myself to it with the same significator. I am yet compelled however, by the connections with my natal and solar return, so should I be so bothered about this? It just doesn't seem a good idea to have myself and smoking shown by the same essentially strong planet.

Another thing that worried me about an election for stopping smoking in the near future, is that Saturn is in Leo, and anything requiring great discipline is best not initiated under a detrimented Saturn, particularly when retrograde.

Then again, Saturn represents structure and established patterns, so would perhaps have some association with habits and addictions, so maybe it is good for the greater malefic to be detriment? It can be seen in both ways, so I could do with some opinions on this.

Ideally I would like to put Saturn in the twelfth, the house of it's joy and by far the best place for it, but then, that would ***** up the other criteria I'm looking for which I feel is more important.

In this election, Saturn is in a partile opposition with Neptune, who rules over addictions and intoxication, and I wonder whether this would work for me or against me?

I'm just so intrigued by the way in which this election connects to my nativity and solar return, and also that in my progressed chart, the ascendant has just moved to 0 Aries, so if there is a year to make some assertive new beginnings in my life, and with the solar return ascendant on my natal Mars, then this is it.

I do wonder though about that Saturn-Neptune opposition, and whether it would work for me or against me.

Another worry with this chart is that Mercury is about as weak as it can be, closely combust, retrograde, cadent and detrimented. Stopping smoking requires a great deal of mental focus, so I'm not delighted to see Mercury here. Then again, if this essentially and accidentally debilitated Mercury represents my thoughts of starting smoking again, then it could work to my advantage, but that's seeing it in two ways again, which is the trouble.

The Moon, my general significator is exalted, like Mars. It is in the sixth, which isn't so bad as it would keep me focused upon the health risks which would spur me on, and the Moon also increases in light. The Moon's next aspect though is a square to Saturn, but I still can't decide whether Saturn is a good influence in this chart or not.

Here's the election I'm thinking of:



Natal:



Solar Return:

Hi Draco, I'm not good with electional astrology but I have tried to stop smoking. I was successful for 8 months. I slowly stopped then used the gum..then got tired of the gum and just stopped. Until I got stressed out and started again which was a choice.

Before I got to what you had to say about Saturn that was honestly my first thought, anything that requires discpline I have never been successful when Saturn was rx, so I was worried about that aspect of things and honestly looking at your chart and solar return I think the opposition with Saturn and Neptune would be great I think it represents the pull between the two here and the chart I think shows Saturn winning over Neptune.

I do think your moon in the 6th is good, I would worry about it being in Taurus in the 6th that you might turn to food to comfort you through this struggle. Mercury also rules the lungs so I think a strong mercury would be required for the mental strain that stop smoking creates, the mental fortitude it takes to stay stopped, and also the phyiscal stuff that goes on with your lungs when you stop.

There is going to be some coughing up of stuff, the pain of nerve endings reconnecting in the lungs etc. I have natally mercury in gem in the 8th oppose mars in sag I am looking to quit too, with saturn coming up to virgo I am worried about a lesson I might not like from Saturn regarding smoking.

Overall I think it's a good chart to stop, I think to be ideal you want a strong merc and a direct saturn but I think it would be hard to find the best chart ever. So I say find the best that you can then use determination as well as meditate and visually see yourself succeeding every day. I have a friend that stopped after smoking 9 years, he has stopped for 4 now and he didnt do gum, just stopped. I can ask when he stopped but I am thinking he might not have the exact time. I would be interested in seeing what a successful chart looks like on stop smoking myself.

Sorry I'm not an expert at electional but I do know the pain of stopping and starting and I am sending you out positive thoughts. I believe in you. Also I have noticed that those with Mars in Scorp once they set their minds on doing something that only they can stop themselves, the will power is amazing. Maybe harnessing that will help too.

I also am trying to quit smoking. I've tryed many times and failed usually starting out really well but after a couple weeks failing. The patch does help alot with the cravings,

I am pretty new to astrology but hopefully this will help alittle.....

I use the moons placement and the energy of Saturn to determine the dates that give the best dicipline to quit.

I like to use the best aspects between the Moon and Saturn, the moon waning, when our desires are decreasing.

Find the time when the moon is at an angle to Saturn that provides an easy flow of energy. Avoid the days that Saturn and the moon are at hard angles to one another, that give combative energy between your emotions and your effort to quit smoking.

This month the moon and Saturn will be at the beneficial angles to help quit on 3 different days in December.


December 5, 2006

The moon in Gemini sextiles Saturn.

December 10, 2006

The moon in Leo will conjunct Saturn.

December 15, 2006

The moon in Libra sextiles Saturn.

I was thinking more around this date. Granted, I didn't think you'd want to wait too long, so I tried to find the best date within this next half year...unfortunately, not only does it happen to fall within the last part of this half year, but there are some problems as well.



First, the good. I liked the idea of your significator being Saturn, showing more of an internal determination and discipline rather than an external one which you may disagree with. The Asc is also in a Cardinal sign, showing you wish to make a change. The ruler is in a Fixed sign, showing the hope that the change will last, or the discipline of it will be continuous, both sound good. I wanted the Super Mercury because I figured your lungs could use some healing, so having Gemini rule the sixth house and Mercury residing there would be a fantastic way to do it. I was very happy with Chiron approaching Neptune in this chart, it makes me wonder if the healing of this addiction will be complete after Chiron moves past Neptune. I like the Strong Moon. Also, I like the Sun being in a fixed sign, and that same fixed sign being the ruler of the fourth, this disposited by Venus in the seventh, I think it's favorable.

Okay, now my worries. For one, I'm not very happy with Mars' placement. It's strong, and Squares the Asc, now...that doesn't sound good. Another thing was the retrograde Jupiter, I'm not 100% sure how to read retrograde planets in electional/event astrology. I look it up, but there seems to be as many different ideas as there are celestial bodies. Anyway, it seems...odd to me that the ruler of the eleventh is retrograde. However, I hope the fact that Vesta resides within this house helps even it out. Everyone could use a does of Vesta-ish devotion to a goal.

Feel free to rip this chart apart. I'm new to this whole...date picking thing. But, good luck in getting rid of your addiction. My mother went through the same thing, she quit when she married my stepfather. I guess he sort of held her to it.

I think you did a great job Kai, I really like the idea of Mercury being so strong and in the 6th and your ideas on chiron I think have a very strong point. Yes awhile to wait but it does look very good what do you think Draco. And what about the moon being in cancer? that's such an oral sign..just worry about the emotional need for oral gratification.. moon is habit.. I can tell you from trying to stop smoking part of the harder parts were the habit of talking with my friend on smoke break ..that routine every half hour..the going out side for a smoke.. there is an emotional comfort to the oral routine..so the moon in cancer I just worry about..the moon being habits..and cancer oral..is all but perhaps that will give him strength not sure..who else has feed back on that..trying to learn myself very good chart though I think.

Hi

This is an interesting challenging topic.

First, before trying to find the exact date let us define some conditions to be fulfilled by the electional chart.

What exactly do we want from this election: to support quitting smoking, to prevent recurrence.

First, the Moon should be waning in the Last Quarter or Balsamic phase so that quitting might be much easier. This seems to me as a very important condition.
Also quitting is shown by separating aspects. We would therefore like to see the Moon separating from an aspect with Neptune (addiction) or Mars (Nicolas Culpepper, in his English Physician, a famous herbal, states that tobacco is under the rulership of Mars, quotation here).

Then, once the quitting has taken place, we want this decision to last, therefore we could really use as much fixity in the chart as possible, meaning chart axis in fixed signs, ASC ruler and Moon in fixed signs. Having these significators in succedent houses is also helpful in order to ensure continuity.

What sign should the ASC be in? This really depends on the natal chart of the person. Since quitting smoking is usually a hard task, we would want the person to use the best resources available, the natal chart strenghts.
In Draco's case, his most natally essentially dignified planets are Mars and Saturn (ASC ruler).
This is why I would pick either Scorpio or Aquarius rising.
The chosen date should feature the ASC ruler (in this case Mars or Saturn) in an as essentially dignified position as possible - it doesn't necessarily have to be domicile or triplicity. Chris Warnock shows on this page an election where the ASC ruler is only dignified by face.
Since Saturn has no essential dignity whatsoever until it reaches 18 of Virgo (long way to go until then), we only have Mars to play with: Mars exalted in Capricorn is great placement.

So little by little I come to the same conclusion as Draco.

Gemini rules the hands (holding cigarettes or pipes) and the lungs (where the smoke goes). Mercury seems to me like a natural significator of smoking, even if tobacco by itself is ruled by Mars. Theferefore, having Mercury in an unafflicted condition seems therefore like a good idea.

Of course, all these conditions cannot be met in any real chart, but we could try at least.

Draco, I would suggest this moment for you: 17th Jan 2007 at about 3:00 am GMT, St Anne's. What could be done at this late night moment is beyond me (you could smoke your last one or could do some kind of ritual/meditation/prayer/whatever)
- Scorpio rising with Mars in Capricorn
- Moon separating from a conjunction Mars
- Moon waning in the Balsamic phase

Thanks for your responses.

Venus, you're right about the Taurus Moon, Taurus is too indulgent a sign, especially playing host to the Moon, and in any case, the Moon is waxing which is discordant to my desire to eliminate a habit.

Thanks for your encouragement.

Fiacco, thanks for those dates, I'll have a look.

Senshi, I appreciate you trying to find a good election for me.

Does AstroDienst have coordinates for Lancashire? It's just I find this strange, because Lancashire is a county, with lots of towns and cities within it, so I'm not sure how they come up with coordinates for a county. Unless they are for Preston, the administrative centre of Lancashire.

I'm not sure about that election. The Moon increases in light, which was my own mistake in my previous election, and with Capricorn rising, I am that detrimented Saturn, which would confer the essences of an inability to maintain discipline upon me, so this wouldn't be a fortuitous time to quit. The significator of the adiction would be Jupiter in domicile, so with me detriment and the addiction dominant, this would be a bad time I think.

Thanks for helping me though.

Radu, you are absolutely right about the Moon. The phase of the Moon must surely be of ultimate importance in an election, and as I am seeking to eliminate something then it should be waning.

I overlooked this because I was determined to have Mars at 27 degrees Capricorn, to sextile the ascendant of the election and conjoin the ascendant of my current solar return, as well as conjoining natal Mars, but the Moon cannot be ignored.

I like the election that you suggested, although I would bring the ascendant forward to Scorpio 27, for the reasons I mentioned above. An ascendant at Scorpio 27 would plug the chart into this power-point in my natal and solar return, which would inspire great confidence in me of success.

I did worry about the Moon being in fall in Capricorn, but as I am seeking to fall away from a habit, then maybe this is not such a bad thing, and with the Moon desposing that undisciplined Saturn, the Moon can keep him in check.

I did wish, if I can't have Mars at Capricorn 27, to have it as close as I can, applying to this degree rather than separating, and with Scorpio 27 at the ascendant, with a waning Moon of course.

I thought I had found another good date for 15th Feb. 2006 @ 2.10, at which time Mars is at Capricorn 21, which isn't too far away from 27 and allows it to bestow some easy influence upon the election ascendant, my solar return ascendant and natal Mars, but then I realised that in order to have Scorpio 27 rising, the Moon would still be applying to Mars by a few minutes, so this is out.

If I add a day, the 16th Feb @ 2.05 with Scorpio 27 rising again, then the Moon is still waning, even more closely and in the same sign as the Sun, and in Aquarius, it is still in charge of the troublesome Saturn, and furthermore, is within a degree's conjunction of my ascendant! With the Moon last having separated conjunction from Mars and now having changed signs, this shows moving away from tobacco and undergoing a transformation as a consequence.

Mercury is in bad condition in this chart though, but I wonder if that is of such importance?

With this chart, I am able to have Mars at Capricorn 22, applying sextile to the election ascendant, solar return ascendant and natal Mars, and even better, the Moon is in partile conjunction with my ascendant.

Thanks for the links by the way, and your input, because I think it has lead me to quite a satisfying election.

Hey Y'all,
do some research on fasting to quit smoking. i think it might be a fairly direct and efficient process. keep in mind the body can relearn very fast, as fast as one allows it to relearn! know to, we are all meant to be healthy. and the reward, especially for people who are in families of smokers, consider how proud you'll be for breaking the recycle wheel! i believe beyond any doubt that if you are smoking and not in a family of smokers, you are perfectly able to quit cold turkey.
Cheers to your Health,
2rainbows

an afterthought,
if you smoke largely as an aid to deal with stress, you will need to find an alternative means to do so, something physical, sports, working out.

if you smoke largely as an aid to deal with stress

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I smoke because I have done all my teenage and adult life. I don't know anything else.

You are right about having to take up other activities that will turn my attention to health, to draw my mind away from the temptations of smoking.

This a good time for making assertive new beginnings for me, with my solar return ascendant conjoining a natally strong Mars, which is why I wanted the election to reflect that, and my progressed ascendant has just entered Aries 0, so I feel that I can make some really good use of these essences.

I'm not sure about that election. The Moon increases in light, which was my own mistake in my previous election, and with Capricorn rising, I am that detrimented Saturn, which would confer the essences of an inability to maintain discipline upon me, so this wouldn't be a fortuitous time to quit. The significator of the adiction would be Jupiter in domicile, so with me detriment and the addiction dominant, this would be a bad time I think.

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Well darn, I didn't even think to consider the current Moon phase! That's strike one. Strike two is that I didn't consider the traditional rulers, letting Saturn rule Aquarius/Capricorn making the detriments Leo/Cancer. Me, in my modern-ness, thought Saturn in a Fixed sign would be good, but...it looks as if I chose the wrong Fixed sign! Why would the addiction be Jupiter? Is it because Sagittarius is on the twelfth house cusp, or am I completely wrong?

I would think that Mercury would need to be strong, not to urge you to quit, but to help your lungs and respitory system repair itself and hold strong after this smoking "comfort zone" has been removed for good.

Well darn, I didn't even think to consider the current Moon phase!

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LOL. No nor did I, I was so keen to have Mars sextile the ascendant, that I didn't pay due attention to the Moon.

Why would the addiction be Jupiter? Is it because Sagittarius is on the twelfth house cusp, or am I completely wrong?

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No you're right, the twelfth being the house of self-undoing and confinement, so it's relates to habits and addictions.

I would think that Mercury would need to be strong

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Yes, this keeps being said, and it is worth consideration,but the chart I have come up with has such compelling relation to my natal and solar return, I going to run with this election. Mercury does leave a lot to be desired in the chart, but the Moon and Mars are doing what I want them to and tie into my charts quite nicely.

Thanks again.

Hey Draco,
i believe if you smoke largely out of habit AND you are not an obsessive/compulsive type, you are perfectly able to kick the habit and it is all up to your plan of action. i think the longer the plan to quit, the harder it is to quit. think of it as being completely fed up with a relationship and you completely call it quits, or do you prefer to drag the relationship out just a bit longer?!
Cheers,
2rainbows

lol Rainbow lol yes I love that analogy ..so Draco I say you and I both kick this b%tch to the curb and move on

Draco - I don't know the astrological aspects for quitting smoking but I was prescribed Chantix last February and I quite smoking after 38 years of 2 packs a day. It's been wonderful, I quit smoking so that I can have the weight loss surgery and it's been about 15 weeks and believe me that is saying something.

I took it for two months and you can smoke initially until the desire goes away for a cigarette (and it does!). Then I started getting a slight rash on my face and stopped taking the meds but still was able to remain smoke free. Just ask you doctor about it, it really works.

Intrigued to know, Draco. Did you quit smoking or no?

sage

I'd like to know how things are going for you as well Draco. I'm looking at dates to quit smoking. I've never tried an election chart, but am going to now. I notice that the Moon doesn't hit it Balsamic phase till the 29th of this month, so I'll start looking at the dates from the 29th of March until the 5th of April to see if there's a strong, un-afflicted Mercury, Saturn not retrograde and where the Moon will be. Not to mention separating aspects and fixed signs on the angles. Whew!