The Power of Antiscia Video Lecture

The complete audio lecture and slideshow of the talk I gave at the United Astrology Conferenece in May 2012 is available. On this day, the transiting Sun and transiting Mercury were actually in precise antiscia to my own natal Sun and Mercury! 

The talk outlines what antiscia is, as well as why and how to use it. A brief historical context is given, in addition to its application to modern musicians, comics, and politician charts.

If you'd like to comment or ask questions, please do so below. 
Or you can email me privately at kate(at)kate-petty.com  

http://vimeo.com/user12052351/the-power-of-antiscia-by-kate-petty 

Whitney Houston, Big Voices, and Some Simple Antiscia

The power of antiscia can be seen in a natal chart very simply and strikingly sometimes. I've been finding a particular antiscia signature with some frequency in the charts of musicians, and singers specifically: Mercury antiscia to Jupiter. A big or great voice. 

Here, on the 360 degree dial, is the natal chart for the late, and very vocally talented, Whitney Houston.

(Note: The 360 degree dial does not change the placement of planets in a chart, or their relation to each other or to the angles, but instead emphasizes their connection to the cardinal axis (the solstice and equinox points falling at 0 CANCER/CAPRICORN and 0 ARIES/LIBRA). The dial makes for a quick and easy way to see antiscia and contra-antiscia (terms used for planets falling evenly around the cardinal points). Since everything on earth is dependent upon and affected by seasonal changes, the cardinal axis is a point we all share and is therefore important and relevant for everyone. It is a point through which we connect to the world.)

In Whitney Houston's chart Mercury sits at 10'15 VIRGO and that is the exact mirror or shadow point (antiscia) to Jupiter placed at 19'29 ARIES. 

We also find here the antiscia of Jupiter to Pluto, which ought to add even greater power and influence. At its best Jupiter|Pluto is regenerative, providing an ability to transform and develop something, to build something up and make it better; at its worst it can lead to excess, or great accumulation and wastefulness.  

A third powerful signature we find in her chart by contra-antiscia (planets falling symmetrically around the Aries/Libra axis, or equinoc­tial points) is Sun to Neptune. This illuminates her mystique and appeal, but is likely also indicative of the trouble and addictive situations she faced. 

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To reiterate this theme of great voices, and the antiscia of Mercury|Jupiter on the cardinal axis, here are the charts for two other phenomenal vocalists, Sinead O'Connor and Gillian Welch. 

Both charts have Mercury contra-antiscia to Jupiter. Also, Jupiter is in a superior position (earlier in zodiacal degree) to Mercury and, in these two charts, is connected by a sign-based square. 

In Sinead O'Connor's chart Mercury is located at about 26 SCORPIO while Jupiter sits at 04 LEO. In Gillian Welch's chart Mercury is 03 SCO and Jupiter is 27 LEO. These places are regarded by some ancient astrologers as the "hearing" or "commanding/obeying" signs. Read more about this on SevenStars blog. 

A nice thing about antiscia, and midpoints generally, is that you can examine a chart that does not have a birth time and still gather quite a bit of information about a person or situation (as revealed with the two charts above). Though remember to disregard the angles of the chart, and also do not put much emphasis on the Moon due to its speed. 

I do of course advocate using charts with good birth data. Nothing can replace the depth and structure and sound foundational story one finds through examining a chart in its traditional form, like the one below.

   

* If you are confused by the chart above not having house cusps, please understand that I use and encourage everyone to try whole sign houses. I still use the angles and see them as incredibly strong points in the chart, especially when planets are advancing toward them or have just passed them by, but I prefer whole sign houses for topical purposes. A whole sign house system is elegant, simple, powerful, and makes the most sense to me theoretically. 

dark, haunting beauty

Recently I've become obsessed with looking at charts of artists and musicians - specifically on the 360 and 90 degree dials and with the TNPs (transNeptunians). I'm looking for recurring themes, threads to follow, something from which I can build my own inner resource base for how these symbols, specifically the TNPs, speak to me. Looking to the arts may make the most sense, as it's a world I relate to. I hope from within it, the symbolism of planets overlayed by TNPs can illuminate some timeless archetypal themes in a new light. 

The work of Francesca Woodman is one of my newest addictions. 

These photos were made by Francesca, a fiercely evocative photographer who died by suicide at a very young age (22). Her work is rich in symbolism, and a theme of impermanence, or decay and breakdown, visibly runs through all of the imagery.  

While I do not have an exact time for her birthchart, it is still valuable to examine the aspects and planetary placements, and by using the dial I can gather even more clues as to what themes are most prominent.  

Placements I note first are Francesca's exalted Sun in Aries in opposition to a bright (full) Moon in the Venus ruled sign Libra - will versus feeling. Mercury's opposition to Jupiter, North Node, and Neptune - an abudance of creative ideas. Venus' opposition to Pluto - magnetism, and intensity in relating. And Mars' wide opposition to Uranus - unique, individualistic, sometimes rebellious expression.

This is a large number of oppositions to have in a chart, and it is noteworthy that all of the inner planets are being influenced by the outer transpersonal planets. Oppositions speak to the pull between what is inside vs. outside, yours or mine, yin/yang, even black and white (like her photographs). 

Standing on the Cardinal axis, we find Mercury|Pluto and Venus|Node with Neptune.

The Node is her only personal point on the axis, and is how she is tied to and connects with the world. This combination can also be viewed as a completed planetary picture: Me + Pl - Ve = Node/Neptune. 

Reinhold Ebertin says of Mercury Pluto: the art of persuasion, suggestion. This speaks to her ability to powerfully communicate something to the world, but not totally literally. It is the element of suggestion that pervades her work. Venus Node is a love-union or pleasant connections with others, and Venus Neptune is creative imagination and can contribute to much idealism or disillusionment in love. Because Ve|No|Ne is on the same axis as Me|Pl they are all rather intensely connected, and being on the cardinal axis (the world's stage) it is for all to see.

Communicating beauty (and the female form) powerfully, and most often with an aspect of disillusionment, destruction, and decay, was certainly her modus operandi.

 Self portrait

With the chart on the 90 degree dial (below), we see Neptune also stands on the Cardinal axis at 11.25 (black dot is indicator).

Among other things, Neptune = Photography.  

When we add the TNPs, things only get more interesting....

Sun Poseidon signifies her use of light (as in photographic images). It is pure energy and spirit, but can also be associated with spirits as in ghosts. On this midpoint axis also lies Venus Pluto, indicative again of her immense creative power; and Ve|Pl pushes through Sun Poseidon its darker, more annihilative quality. Adding to this force is Mercury Vulcanus also standing on the axis. Many of her images have blurry or moving figures. This is literally what Me + Vu = Su means: a body in motion. 

Zeus and Kronos also figure prominently, standing near Pluto. Zeus and Kronos, especially with Pluto and Venus, signify enormous creative inspiration, mastery, and an eagerness to work. Think how young she was when she began working and how many incredibly beautiful images she created in such a short amount of time.

One final important TNP to note on this Sun axis is Hades. Standing at precisely 22.5 from her Sun (see the large black dot), Hades reiterates many of the themes already noted and adds more: signifying old and outworn things, garbage, death, decay, filth, secrets or hidden things, want and loneliness. Are her images not utterly representative of Hades Poseidon? 

After writing this article, I came across a review and thought it described eloquently the symbols as I saw them. The New York Review of Books writer, Eizabeth Gumport, said of Francesca's work:

Her concealed figures, however, call to mind corpses, or ghosts, as if the wall between our world and the spirit realm had begun to fall. In her images, dust abounds, and there are no new buildings, only ruins, whose disintegrating forms evoke the wrecks admired by the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic revivalists often cited as major influences. The out-of-focus figures are faint and friable-seeming, and Woodman’s gray tones as powdery as crumbling stone.

While there is so much more we could learn from this sadly poetic chart, I want to move on to the date of her death: Jan 19, 1981. 

There are many things one can examine in timing and event charts. Here I am primarily looking to just one large factor, a theme repeated again and again, because it speaks so loudly: Hades. 

Because Francesca was 22 years old at the time of her death, her Solar Arc would be close to that degree; it was 22 19' 19" to be exact. That would mean any of the natal indicators in her chart standing at that distance to another factor would be coming to fruition - including Hades to her Sun.

You can see in the chart above that not only was Hades due to her Sun by Solar Arc (the green and red bars), but it was also transiting her Sun by exact half square (or semi square). This is something we find because Hades' orbit is about 360 years. It was a Hades time more than ever in her life. Clearly something needed to die and be let go of. It is sad she took her own life and wasn't able to force the expression out into some worldly endeavor. 

Neptune also was due on the Cardinal axis at that time (not visible in chart above). Likely this reiterated a feeling of helplessness, disappointment, and assumably disillusionment and desperation.

But her ethereal, almost supernatural, Neptunian work does live on in the world. Certainly she continues to touch and deeply affect many people with her profound talent --> Communicating depth and beauty and darkness and light - and the transient nature of life. 

  x

personal points on the cardinal axis

Abe   ... As in Abraham Lincoln ...

Abe is the example I will use to illuminate the power of Personal Points on the cardinal axis. But first, a quick description of the personal points and cardinal axis.

In Uranian Astrology (aka Symmetrical Astrology) personal points are a big deal. The six personal points are the Sun, Moon, Node(s), Midheaven (MC), Ascendant (AS), and Aries point (meaning zero degrees of any cardinal sign -- Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).  

Through the personal points we connect to things. Through the Sun we connect via our will, purpose, body; through the Moon it is with our feelings, emotions, and perception. The Ascendant connects us to our locale, our immediate environment. Through the MC we find our sense of "I" or "my," our soul connectedness. It is the place within, from which we look up and out. In a way, I like to think of the MC as connecting us to spirit. The Nodes are all about connections or unions by themselves, showing us how and with whom we'll connect. And finally the Aries point, which is both the cardinal axis and the intersection of the two great circles of the Ecliptic and the Equator, is the way in which everyone and everything connects in and to the world. The Aries point is the personal point we all share. 

My teacher Gary Christen would say a person who has personal points on the cardinal axis is going to be very visible and known in the world. You will see that Abraham Lincoln serves as a great example of this.

What does it mean (technically) to have personal points on the cardinal axis? When we say a person has points on the axis we are not limited to their having points directly at 0 degree cardinals, though that works too. We are interested in whether there are points "wrapping around" the axis as well. This is called antiscia: when points fall on either side of 0 degrees cardinal in perfect symmetry. 

Note: Zero degrees Cancer/Capricorn are the Solstice Points. 

Second Note: Antiscia, sometimes referred to as Solstice Points, have been used for a very long time. Hellenistic authors refer to them not infrequently. 

As an example, in the chart for today, we see that Mars resides at less than 1 degree Cancer. This means that Mars sits directly on the cardinal axis. 

But in the chart for the the Summer Solstice, June 21, 2011, we see several other points are antiscia to one another on the cardinal axis.

Here we find Node Pluto are anitscia, and also Jupiter Ascendant (Note: AS is only relevant in the immediate locale, here in Seattle. Lucky us.) Node Pluto would be indicative of transformative and powerful connections, changing connections, possibly concealed or subversive connections, and likely major power struggles. 

Back to Abe. 

Let's first check out his chart on the classic pie wheel.

We notice right away the strong angular Sun in Aquarius and the Moon residing in Capricorn. I find Saturn at the top of the chart (with Neptune) a very interesting feature, as it resides in the famous Gauquelin sector. Isn't Saturn so very appropriate for Lincoln? From his stature, to issues with melancholy, his reflective nature, his social commitment and responsibilities... And it is Saturn, of course, that disposits both the Sun and the Moon. I also find it quite fascinating that all of the 5 innermost planets, Sun through Mars, are in detriment! Just one planet, Jupiter, is in its own domicle.  

Next let's look at the chart on the 360 degree wheel. 

Look at those personal points! 

At first glance we see 4 of the 5 personal points sitting on the axis. The Sun lies antiscia to the Node, general connections in the public, to reach out and make contact, meetings with others. The Moon lies antiscia to Saturn, connecting with laboring and suppressed people, work with the public (moon), also feeling inhibited, somber or lonely. And the Ascendant to Node, connections with many in one's environment, many acquaintances, a kind of group identity.

Upon closer examination however, if you note where that tiny black dot is by the MC, the fifth and final point, the MC, is actually pulled in by 22.5 degrees. 

This is easier to see on the 90 degree wheel.

What this means is that President Lincoln has every single one of his personal points on the cardinal axis.

We can most definitely say he is a man known in the world.

To conclude, I find it personally interesting that upon writing this post his Node is coming due to his Sun by solar arc.

Is he connecting with the world again?   

The chart (moment) (person) lives on....

Equinox is right around the corner, but first...

What the heck is going on? 

A lot

A lot around the world and a lot astrologically. Of course the two are the same. That is the point. Especially when you focus on the Cardinal Axis - also known as the solstice points - the cardinal axis is the world's stage.

So what is up?

Uranus makes its ingress into Aries tomorrow. Which means it is very directly on the cardinal axis now. Recently the nodes and Mercury have been involved---causing stormy weather most likely, and a lot of excitement in the news and communication generally. The Sun and Jupiter are involved today (so things kinda feel ok, good even, under the circumstances). But Jupiter is also good at expanding and enlarging things, making things bigger.  From now through the weekend the energy will be Mars and Saturn, aligning on the axis and pointed at Uranus---which might not feel so good. In fact, Mars Saturn can be quite a tough combo to deal with, as it is sometimes associated with harmful or destructive energy. However, it can also give endurance. If we stay in reality, and do the hard work, Mars Saturn can pay off in spades.  

It is typical, as the days go by, that things come into and go out of alignment on the cardinal axis, world's stage, and we witness and experience their effects. But it isn't everyday that Uranus is sitting right there too---in fact, that only happens roughly every 20 years (when it moves from the end of a mutable sign into the beginning of a cardinal sign). And it takes Uranus 84 years to move through all of the signs---which means it hasn't made an entrance into Aries since the late 1920's!

So with Uranus on the Aries point, it also becomes the midpoint of each of these energies as they align on the world's stage. Sorry if I sound repetitive here, but having Uranus as the midpoint of all these changing energies tends to make everything a little (or a lot) more exciting. Uranus rules innovation, surprises, sudden events, accidents, wildness, wierdness, non-conformity, breakthroughs (or breakdowns), and a lot more...  

It's kind of like everything has been plugged into a live outlet. 

Lets hope the "extraordinariness and unusualness" of this time equates to our having amazing fortitude under whatever stressful circumstances we come to face.

Use the time as wisely as you do wildly.  

And, Please be safe.