Chart Reading: Step #2, Martha Stewart -- Sun by sign, house, aspects to ASC & MC.

Chart Reading: Step #2, Martha Stewart -- Sun by sign, house, aspects to ASC & MC.

Step #2. We want to look at the Sun, its sign and house, and its relationship to the angles.

In a later step we will look at the Moon in a similar way, and then look at the Sun and Moon as a pair. Once we are familiar with these three steps we can combine them into a single assessment of the Sun-Moon pairing and their relationship to the angles. BUT FOR NOW, let's limit ourselves to just looking at the Sun, its sign and house, and any aspects to the angles.

We may want to keep in mind any conclusions we reached in step #1 that relates to our findings in this step. We are building a foundation of understanding. We will decorate it with details later. Have fun. Dave.

The Sun in Leo kind of hits you smack between the eyes because of where it is placed.
About 7 degree orb conjunction with Mc. Just making it over to 10th house.

Makes exact squares to Asc. and Desc. And exact oppo. to Nadir. Am using Equal house system, hope this is okay.

Also angles are in Fixed signs.

The Sun is strong in its own sign of Leo. In a fixed sign could show maybe a resistance to change, and not having that wild burning fire of Aries, could result in them burning themselves out pursuing the same path.

However, the lion is a powerful and courageous beast, so M.S should be able to sustain her prominent position career-wise.

The Sun in 10th could show father issues.

Gloria.

PS to say M.s’s Sun in tenth doesn’t necessarily allude to prominence in career, as I may have just implied.

I realise it's more to do with how she portrays herself to others and how she is able to achieve or accomplish her goals.

I think her Sun in Leo could show her to be warm and affectionate. (Although maybe capable of a loud roar or two!!)

Gloria.

A general comment or two

As we get deeper in chart analysis it is appropriate to remember that you all should feel free to approach the chart in any number of ways. You may wish to utilize any of the following:
* Use any house system you wish.
* Use rulerships and derivitive houses.
* Use mid-points and/or equal arcs.
* Use phases between selective planets, based on Dane Rudyhars "Lunation Cycle."
* Use containments.
* Use Uranian methodologies.

The purpose of this thread is not to limit your tool box but merely to show how a "basics first, details later" disciplined approach can benefit you in reaching an accurate chart reading. Dave.

I don't know what some of those things you have just mentioned mean in application, Dave, so will have to check the books tomorrow.

This is what I've got so far, whilst falling asleep at the PC so please excuse the typos etc.

Well. the Sun is in Leo, it’s own sign which on face value would make it stronger. Leo’s seem to me to have personality plus and a strong sense of identity, on the surface at least. I think they also have a flair for the dramatic, a quality which I associate with Leo’s affectionately. I think those and other Leo attribute would have served Martha well in her career.

Martha’s Sun is located in the Ninth House, the place where I suspect that the search for knowledge and meaning takes place in organizational and political structures. I know this is irrelevant here but I’ ve just noticed that Martha has a heap of planets in the 9th House and none at all in the 12th House, where one would accept a real indication of your spiritual interests. There seem to be benign aspects to Mars, Jupiter and Pluto, all of which would support Martha’s rise to prominence in the business world. These aspects, in some form or other, would make Martha quite a determined and positive character.. I don’t know very much about MC (is this one of the angles?) but I’ve just read in one of my books that this also might contribute to leadership skills.

Sun does not have such a good relationship with all the planets. There is some kind of Square with Neptune and MC which would stir things up a little. Part of Martha's personality is strong and perhaps goal oriented and part of it is a little dreamy and idealistic. How would these two things merge?

We talked in the last stage about the Sun being a strongly placed planet. There are two traditional reasons for its strength in MS' chart.

The first is that it's in the sign of its rulership, Leo. The second is that it's Angular - or at least we could treat it as Angular if we use a fairly wide orb for Conjunctions.

The Sun represents our creativity, will, identity, vitality, the fundamental quality of our consciousness. In it's own sign the Sun will not be easily prevented from shining through - this is a woman who is highly creative, has much vitality, strong willed and has sheer presence.

Leo is a fire sign - people with the Sun in Fire tend to be highly active and inspired, assuming that there are few factors in the chart which reduce this inspired activity.

Martha was also born during the day (a little after the local solar noon) - a diurnal birth - The Arab Astrologer Abu Ali Al-Khayyat described the native with Sun in Leo for a diurnal birth as

'beloved, ruling, rich, great, and strong and riches will come to him from highly placed men and from leasing lands and managing country estates'.

Allowing for the fact that in Al-Khayyat's time (770 - 835 AD) that convenience stores did not exist, this is a fair description of a successful business person (Women were not prominant in business during his time, more's the pity).

The House placement really depends on whether we accept the conjunction with the MC or not. If we do (and I'm inclined to at least see the Sun afffecting the 10th and the 9th) then the placement is even stronger.

The Sun is bound to have a role in the tenth, even if we insist on confining it to the ninth, for it is the MC ruler. The Sun also trines Mars the Ascendant ruler - so we have an association between the self and the social expression of the self (the career or social position and standing). Al-Khayyat sees such a relationship as suggesting that the native will attain great honour - which seems to be the case here.

Martha will express her creativity, vitality, her identity through her career and social position. Given the Sun on the ninth side of the MC, her own spiritual growth and development will be linked to her career. The Moon rules the ninth so when we get round to a discussion of the relationship of Sun and Moon this could be factor that we take into account.

The Sun also is sextile to Jupiter, the greater benefic and Jupiter is in the eighth House, associated with business corporations and their income. So we have a link between career and a growth (Jupiter) of income from a business corporation or corporations.

The individual aspects of the Sun, we might look at later - but it is worth noting that the Sun has only harmonious aspects to the other planets (unless we treat a conjucntion with Pluto as a hard aspect) so one of the issues will be to look for what drives Martha - what makes her get up and use the powerful Solar energy?

Many Astrologers look at hard aspects such as squares and oppositions to provide the motivational force to act. This driving force is something we can look at as we go.

sun on mc may lend MS a powerful drive..... but I tend to use placidus b/c it's the default at astro.com lol. I'll accept the conj given her success.

Just a PS on Dave's point about toolboxes.

I take him to imply that these can be used but that they will more likely be used at a deeper stage of analysis - perhaps after we have the basics in place.

If I read him right then I agree very much. Get the basics clear first and then start to add in the extra detail and tease out the additional knowledge to be had.

So, if you're not sure what half of them (or more) mean, don't worry - you don't have to use them but as you develop as an Astrologer you are likely to look at some of these and try them out.

There are even more things you could try, such as Asteroids, Fixed Stars, Harmonics and Arabian Parts. All of these have featured in various threads. However one drawback of trying a load of different things is that the analysis soon gets cluttered. So treat them with care and only use them when you have need.

Missing all the fun!!!!!

Hello there!
I can't believe I've been missing all the fun!!!! and we are talking about the "object of my choice" here, MS...
i need to read 6 (thick) books, and summarise them by the end of the month, so I've been on an aeclectic-diet!!
but I'll have to do some cheating from now on!!!

I actually was very aware when I chose her, that many of us, wouldn't be familiar with her: she's an All-American idol...
so, this actually makes this very interesting...what comments!

I'm so sorry I only jump in here to say, that she just took the job of a typical housewife, and made it into a show-how-to, and made a grand career out of it... She's a true living legend...
Her website is:
http://www.marthastewart.com/

I'm so thrilled to the way this unfolds...Mercury and Mars back to normal sure show here!

Hope I'll have "smart" things to add as we go on... Will have to catch up with previous thread!

Cheers!

Dave's view of this Sun

Many decades ago -- this is not a fairy tale -- I studied with Jeff Mayo of the Faculty for Astorlogical Studies in the UK. Jeff saw the Sun as the "point of integration" in a chart. In expressing itself through the late summer sign of Leo, the Sun uses its flair for drama and leadership to bring life up to the party level, to be determined to have a strong place in society. Sun in Leo has a beneficial effect on friends as long as the Leo has the spotlight. Pride is part of the resultant personality as it provides a foundation for this fixed sign, a stage from which to shine, a continuity or struggle to maintain one's style of living.

Being in the 10th (using Equal House) or near the MC, and in the sign that rules the MC/10th angle, the Sun fuels a desire for achievement, a urge to demonstrate one's capabilities, to blow one's own trumpet. This urge to succeed in some way can come from family and domestic pressures or training, but will surely come with experience. Sun at the MC offers a ladder for success.

The Sun square the ASC angle brings a struggle for acceptable formats to express the drive for success. Her ideas, not yours; her plans and directions, not yours; she as the spokesman and innovator, you as the loyal supporter -- these are the types of personality challenges that this Sun/Leo/10th will have to solve in order to smooth the climb to success.

Since the Sun is near the MC, it might be fair to look at Ebertin's mid-point deliniation for Pluto/MC = Sun: "The desire to obtain power and authority. The ability to stand on one's own feet, the power of one's own personality in the attainment of success in life." We'll get more into aspects later but there is power at the top of this chart and a need to express it appropriately due to the square to the ASC degree. This highlights the Sun in Leo at the MC area -- its a classical "look at me" pattern.

The Sun being in the 9th house is technically valid. If I were to use the Sun in terms of the 10th house how would I include the 9th house? This needs to be covered more when we discuss the SUN-MOON combinational meanings but for now I would expect to find indications that Martha interacts with diverse reaches of society (both national and global), that her values will be shaped or adjusted as a result of her outreach activities, that travel to (and visitors from) foriegn places or socially diverse circles will broaden her life's lessons. (This will be more fully explored a little later). Dave.