Minderwiz
A couple of questions and an additional comment
I always find Dave's work very interesting, even if It's not always the way that I would proceed. Here I've got a couple of questions on one of the techniques I've not seen him use before; the use of eclipses.
You seem to be using only eclipses that fall on or near a planet in the natal chart or SR chart. I'm quite happy with that because it fits in line with the later traditional approach of only using eclipses in natal Astrology if the eclipse falls on a planet or important point. But I'm not sure how far you take it:
Firstly - do you use aspects between the natal planet and the eclipse (I wouldn't but I can see an argument for using oppositions to the solar eclipse or squares from natal planet to either eclipse.
Secondly what orb do you allow between planet and eclipse?
Thirdly How far back to you go when using them with SR Charts (I can see that you don't have to use them with SR charts at all)? You've taken one of each before the beginning of the Solar year. Was that simply due to those being the previous two that had a conjunction with a natal/transiting planet or is there some other rationale?
Finally, isn't it stretching matters a little to use eclipses with the SR chart itself, because it's a derived chart rather than a stand alone chart? I would only have used eclipses with the natal chart itself as that has a more direct link to the native.
Apart from my last point, I think this looks like a fascinating technique.
I would also echo Dave's comment about the narrow range of forecasting techniques available in Modern Astrology. There's good historical reasons for this, Alan Leo who breathed life back into Astrology at the turn of the Twentieth Century did so against a background where Astrologers were in danger of being treated as fortune tellers and becoming liable to criminal charges (as indeed Leo was). Leo turned Astrology towards Character Analysis, something expanded on by the influx of Jungian psychologists in the second half of the century. Predictions became frowned on and discouraged. If you look at the Tradition or Vedic Astrology you will find a whole host of predictive methods (whether they all work is a separate question). So a revival of interest in Solar Returns is to be welcomed.
I'd also reinforce the point that both of us have made. Cold readings are always difficult because, as Dave says, we need to fit the symbolism of the planets and configurations hi-lighted. Cook Book style Astrology books give one or two meanings for a planet or planet/sign combination or a planet/planet(s) configuration. In reality any planet has a wide range of meanings, that might share a general property but don't always clearly indicate which of those range of meanings we should choose in a particular circumstance (Tarot Card readers will experience similar issues with cards). So while an eclipse conjunct natal Mars will most likely have a significant effect, exactly which of the many meanings of Mars will be activated depends on what's going on in your life at the time. There may be several possible candidates but a discussion can narrow it down.
.
I always find Dave's work very interesting, even if It's not always the way that I would proceed. Here I've got a couple of questions on one of the techniques I've not seen him use before; the use of eclipses.
You seem to be using only eclipses that fall on or near a planet in the natal chart or SR chart. I'm quite happy with that because it fits in line with the later traditional approach of only using eclipses in natal Astrology if the eclipse falls on a planet or important point. But I'm not sure how far you take it:
Firstly - do you use aspects between the natal planet and the eclipse (I wouldn't but I can see an argument for using oppositions to the solar eclipse or squares from natal planet to either eclipse.
Secondly what orb do you allow between planet and eclipse?
Thirdly How far back to you go when using them with SR Charts (I can see that you don't have to use them with SR charts at all)? You've taken one of each before the beginning of the Solar year. Was that simply due to those being the previous two that had a conjunction with a natal/transiting planet or is there some other rationale?
Finally, isn't it stretching matters a little to use eclipses with the SR chart itself, because it's a derived chart rather than a stand alone chart? I would only have used eclipses with the natal chart itself as that has a more direct link to the native.
Apart from my last point, I think this looks like a fascinating technique.
I would also echo Dave's comment about the narrow range of forecasting techniques available in Modern Astrology. There's good historical reasons for this, Alan Leo who breathed life back into Astrology at the turn of the Twentieth Century did so against a background where Astrologers were in danger of being treated as fortune tellers and becoming liable to criminal charges (as indeed Leo was). Leo turned Astrology towards Character Analysis, something expanded on by the influx of Jungian psychologists in the second half of the century. Predictions became frowned on and discouraged. If you look at the Tradition or Vedic Astrology you will find a whole host of predictive methods (whether they all work is a separate question). So a revival of interest in Solar Returns is to be welcomed.
I'd also reinforce the point that both of us have made. Cold readings are always difficult because, as Dave says, we need to fit the symbolism of the planets and configurations hi-lighted. Cook Book style Astrology books give one or two meanings for a planet or planet/sign combination or a planet/planet(s) configuration. In reality any planet has a wide range of meanings, that might share a general property but don't always clearly indicate which of those range of meanings we should choose in a particular circumstance (Tarot Card readers will experience similar issues with cards). So while an eclipse conjunct natal Mars will most likely have a significant effect, exactly which of the many meanings of Mars will be activated depends on what's going on in your life at the time. There may be several possible candidates but a discussion can narrow it down.
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