MODULE SIX: CHART TECHNIQUE

Day 3: Swinging The Astro Compass

In order to gain more insight into understanding how to create different types of charts here is a method which I have found very useful that I call “swinging the astrological compass” which is done when you want to find out more about a particular house.

Swinging the astro compass enables one to gain much more information as a result of drilling down and further expanding the chart putting it under a microscope you could say in order to get a much clearer view and better picture of what the details are in the chart for instance pertaining to one area of life in particular. How this is done is by selecting a house out of the 12 that you want to find more out about and using any good astrological software, the chart is moved around until the degree of the cusp of the house selected becomes the ascendant.

The normal practice which is commonly called the “derived house” is to count around the chart the number of houses corresponding with the house number. So for example if you have the 10th house and you want to find out about its creativity you would count 5 houses clockwise around starting with the 10th house as number 1. That works okay however there is another way that is easier and shows every house all at once simply by using your chart cut out wheels and turning the cusp of the house you want to know more about around until it becomes the ascendant cusp. This method can be applied for every house.

Logically this works well as remember each house contains the other 11 signs at 2.5 degrees each so the first 2.5 of the house is equivalent to the 1st house in the chart, and the next 2.5-5 degrees corresponds with the 2nd house of the natal chart, and so on with each succeeding 2.5 degrees matching the houses in order of 1 to 12 in the chart. For example, you may want to find out more about your business sub-areas in particular say its creative side. So you swing the MC degree (ie the 10th house cusp which say in this example to make it easier is 10° Gemini 49´). The tenth house represents business, social foundation, and public reputation, and you swing it around to the 00° Aries mark in the natural order sequence which you should have already as a ring on the outside of your natal chart cut out. That’s the ascendant mark, and when you line the two cusps of both zero degrees and 10 degrees up you will effectively be able to see each part of the business as represented by each house and the planets in them which will give you even more information about each one.

In this case you can see the sign of Gemini in your natal chart corresponds with the 5th house sign of Libra as its on the natural 5th house, which is where the sign Leo is in the natural outer ring. You would then look for where the planet Venus is located and the corresponding natural sign. Say you want to improve the business personal assets and its worth—leaving the 10th still on the ascendant you look to the natural sign Taurus on the second house and can see it corresponds with the sign of Capricorn. If there are planets in it they will tell you more about what to do and also wherever the Moon is placed in the chart. So as you can see simply by turning the wheel around so a house cusps matches the 00° mark of Aries you have a clear picture of each part of the business in this case, all at once that tells you how, and what, and where, you can improve each part of your business if you have one.

You may want to print your “astro swing chart” out in which case bear in mind when using astrology software to do it you may have to do that a few times through trial and error when creating a new chart, however one of the guidelines is that it takes about 4 min to go to 1°, so that means two hours equals one sign, and 12 sign equals 24 hours. It can be surprising after the chart has been created how suddenly it shows a different scene altogether. The planets degrees position basically remain the same with only perhaps the quicker moving planets moved a little, however it’s the corresponding new houses and signs that they are in which makes the chart entirely open to new interpretation and this can have a great effect upon producing changes in the way one is able to get further insight. This can be done with any house and it can be a lot of fun just by looking at how the planets take on a new light of extra meaning for a house when in another house, and if used wisely can assist in revealing solutions, and showing one’s state of awareness, and goals, and intentions, which may have been otherwise hidden or not consciously recognized within oneself.

Sometimes these type of charts can actually surprise and provide unexpected information also about direction, or a future picture about something, or offer guidance about something important, so it pays to take note and study the change in the charts symbolical pattern carefully.