astrolololology

[arethinn]

So, seeing this free natal chart site in danodea's journal, I decided, what the heck. I'm often amused by astrology. I actually own a cheap, older astrology program (i.e. I once ran it on my 8 Mhz XT, albeit somewhat slowly), so the visual of the chart itself was no surprise to me.

I already knew that most of my planets were way over on one side (in the signs in the "waning" part of the year, between summer and winter solstices) with the lone exception of the moon out in the middle of Taurus, nearly directly opposing (within 2 degrees) Uranus in Scorpio.

It also cleared up for me whether my rising sign was actually Aquarius or Pisces. I was born close to sunset, at 7:35 pm Daylight Saving Time, but how close is what makes the difference between Pisces, which would be rising 180 degrees opposite my Sun of Virgo, if I were born right at sunset, or Aquarius, which is what it is, meaning the sun was not quite setting at 7:35. I was never quite sure which it was because both seemed to make sense for me, and different programs would sometimes pick one or the other (inaccuracy about lat/long or daylight saving time or something, I guess).

And lastly, it confirmed that my Sun is indeed at 0 degrees Virgo, something I'd thought was the case ever since I looked it up somewhere purporting to be really precise. That's about as cuspy as cuspy can be, although (in my opinion) it is not a really positive thing as it would be if we were speaking of the hackish meaning of "cuspy".

Some of the interpretation is amusing (especially that under rising, I am "an intellectual" and under Saturn, "abstract concepts and reasoning seem frivolous and a waste of time" to me), other parts of it are really dead-on. Overall I was fairly impressed, as it doesn't seem to have the "too generic" flavour that a lot of computerized horoscopes seem to have.

Rising Sign is in 26 Degrees Aquarius
You like new ideas and concepts, but you prefer to discover them by yourself -- it is not easy for others to convert you to anything. You form your own opinions, but once you do form them, you then want to convince everyone else that they are correct. Try to be more tolerant of the opinions of others. You have a deep and abiding interest in science, mathematics, and the great social problems of the day. Very sympathetic toward the downtrodden, equality is your battle cry! You demand that those in authority be fair to all. You are an intellectual -- emotions and emotional people are difficult for you to understand. You are known for being calm, cool, detached and objective.

Yup, I like to discover things for myself. If I think I am capable of succeeding in the end, I prefer to muddle through on my own (even if I do it in some non-optimal way) rather than have someone else just tell me what to do; if I find that I need to be instructed, I prefer to be told the steps of how to do something and then do it myself, rather than having it done for me. (Part of that is I like to be sure it's done the way I want.)

I don't think that I do this "convincing everyone else my opinions are correct" (also mentioned under Mercury) about everything, or indeed, even about most things. I dislike confrontations, arguing, and the bad feelings that often result. I also like to leave people alone to live their lives the way they like, and want the same in return; they can think whatever they like so long as it doesn't hurt me, and I don't feel the need to change someone's mind just because "I'm right". However, when it comes to myself, I think this is true: My opinions of myself reign supreme, are the One and Only True Truth, and I often feel that I have to get everyone else to agree with my assessment of myself.

I don't think that I have any sort of "deep, abiding interest" in math, science, or social problems.

Indeed I am "sympathetic toward the downtrodden" and fight stubbornly for equality and fairness from those in authority; I tend to be disgusted by elitism, especially that which carries the tone of "we're the REAL [whatever], and you aren't" (as opposed to simply "we're better ones"), and don't want anyone to be thought of as better than anyone else. This is mainly because I feel myself to be on the short end of the stick in this equation. I am myself "the downtrodden", and don't want to get left out of anything on the premise that I am not as good as [whoever]. Therefore I desire a fairness and equality that includes everyone.

I don't know if I would consider myself "an intellectual", but the phrase "emotions and emotional people are difficult for you to understand" might as well have come out of my own mouth. In fact, I think it has come out of my own mouth (or fingers) on more than one occasion. "Detached" is probably accurate, although I don't know about calm, cool, and objective.

Sun is in 00 Degrees Virgo
Extremely careful and cautious by nature, you value neatness and order above all else. You rigorously practice very high standards of living and conduct and you demand the same of everyone with whom you come into contact. At times, you are so supercritical that you are merely nit-picky. You are very good at practical skills and quite handy with tools of all kinds. You are also greatly concerned with hygiene, cleanliness and personal health problems. Very likely your health is much better than you think it is -- don't worry so much! Extremely methodical and analytical, you are a perfectionist -- this makes you the perfect person to carry out highly detailed, precise operations. But, at times, you pay so much attention to details that you lose sight of the larger issues.

Well, I don't know if I value neatness and order "above all else", but certainly I do value them. I can handle a mess, but only if it's an organized mess; a room or house with things just everywhere and all caddywompus drives me fairly nuts, especially if it's to the point where you can't walk on the floor without fearing to break something at the bottom of the pile.

"So supercritical that you are merely nit-picky"? You don't say! (See Saturn, below.)

I wouldn't say that I was very good with practical skills and tools; my experience is that I don't seem to have the dexterity, or whatever it is, to be able to translate what is in my head into an outside representation. I can do car repair, though.

I do value hygiene and cleanliness, but I'm not sure if it's "greatly concerned" and I'm not a hypochondriac about my health, by any means.

I know I can lose myself in details sometimes, but I think I'm aware of this tendency, and am usually able to snap out of it and pull back to see larger issues if I want to, but see N. Node below. It depends what I'm doing or thinking about. I'm better at not getting caught up in details when it's something abstract, as opposed to something concrete that I am doing work on.

Moon is in 14 Degrees Taurus (Moon exalted in Taurus)
Warmth, comfort, security and familiar surroundings are necessary for you to feel at ease. Very loving and affectionate, you prefer a steady, patterned way of life. Patient, calm and steadfast, you are not easily upset. Others look to you for support. You tend to be a slow starter and a slow mover -- others may try to rush you, but they will never succeed. Emotionally, you are quite stubborn -- your attitudes about people and things were firmly set in your youth and will change very little as an adult. You are also very cautious and conservative about spending money. It is not that you are selfish, you just need to feel secure. Beware of a tendency to become overly complacent and too self-satisfied.

This is pretty much all quite accurate. I definitely need a feeling of security to feel at ease. I hate surprise parties and similar situations where I just don't know what to expect. I don't have to control every aspect of everything that's happening, but I get very frightened (to the point of irrational panic) when I don't feel I have enough information to deal with whatever might happen.

I'm patient only on things which I really value for some reason; on many projects and with many people, I get very frustrated if things don't happen just the way I want them to right-away-quick. I'm not sure how easily I am or am not upset. I don't think other people look to me for support.

Slow starter and slow mover - I guess, when I don't feel like being fast. For example, interrupting me at whatever I am doing and demanding that I do something for you right now (unless I perceive you as having the authority to do that) is not going to produce results; in fact, I may even resist just to spite you. I'll do it when I want, and in my own way, thank you very much.

I think it's true that my attitudes about lots of stuff were set when I was younger, have not changed much, and are not likely to change much in the future. This tends to extend to attitudes about new people or things I encounter, too; once I form an opinion about someone, unless something radically changes, I don't tend to change the opinion. Since I think this way, I am mostly incapable of conceiving of a different way to do it; thus, while I know intellectually that others don't form and then never change opinions of me, I don't feel that in my heart. This results in my feeling that I have one chance and only one chance to impress someone (this is not necessarily a single incident, but is a smallish window of time), and if I fail to do so, it's all over. I also get confused about how people can have big fights and still remain friends, or perhaps even become better friends. If that happened to me, I wouldn't be able to go back - not because I hold grudges, but because to me it would seem like the prevailing opinion had changed for the worse, and that was that, it can't be fixed. I feel that relationships are "fragile" in this way. (This may be related to not having a problem with casual or superficial relationships, see under Uranus; if you don't invest much, you can't lose much.)

As for money, yes, I'm quite conservative. I contemplate purchases for a while before making them, am good at saving money, budget in a certain amount of "impulse spending" (wasn't it fenwickrysen who said that too? "Yes, I plan for impulses, as oxymoronic as that sounds"?), etc. On the other hand, I like to be generous - it's true (I think) that I'm not selfish. But yes, I just like to feel that I have enough money to be secure. I cannot grok paycheck-to-paycheck living that leaves people being surprised that they have no money left in their bank accounts.

I guess the warning about complacency is apt - I like to stay comfortable, so I suppose that could work to my disadvantage if I chose to stay comfortable rather than make a beneficial change - but if I ever approach satisfaction at all, much less self-satisfaction, well, I'll alert the media.

Mercury is in 21 Degrees Leo
You are usually quite convinced that your own ideas are correct and you enjoy persuading others that they are. At times, you are very stubborn and proud of your beliefs and principles, and you get very defensive when they are challenged. You appreciate truth and honesty -- you practice it yourself and expect it in others. You have good talent for organizing, directing and planning. You delight in being asked for your advice and counsel.

See above about Rising sign. I do tend to be stubborn in my beliefs and ideas; I have to be right, or at least not wrong, all the time. For me to be wrong is unacceptable. Digging in my psyche the other night I found an interesting childhood source for this. When doing school projects, if I made a poster with messy lettering or sloppily handwrote something, I would be sternly informed by my parents that that was "unacceptable" and I had to do it again, drawing lines to write letters on or typing it on the computer. What that translated into was "my way of doing things is wrong", "making a mistake is too horrible to be allowed", and "any flaws at all makes the whole thing 'unacceptable' and worthless, it has to be completely redone from scratch". So of course I get defensive when certain things are challenged, because for them to be wrong means I would have to "start all over", and that I was suddenly "unacceptable" in the bargain. I am making some kind of equation between wrong as in "mistaken" and wrong as in "morally deficient" with the extension of "I don't want to associate with you because you are wrong".

Truth and honesty - definitely I don't appreciate being lied to, tricked, having needed facts omitted, etc. I'm not sure I'm perfectly clean on this front, however. What I mean by that is that I don't tend to the "brutal forthright honesty" thing, of speaking my mind no matter how unpopular my thoughts would be, or "calling bullshit when I see it" (which I find people are often using as an excuse to just be fucking rude or mean). In those cases I usually keep them to myself unless directly pressured to reveal them, and even then I sometimes equivocate, in the interests of avoiding a confrontation. It's a kind of modified "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Organizing, directing and planning - sure, as long as they're just for myself. I can organize well, but my "people skills" are next to nonexistent; I do not make a good teacher, leader, or director. I don't like having to deal with other people.

"Delight in being asked for my advice and counsel"? Are you high?

Venus is in 16 Degrees Libra (Venus rules Libra)
A very friendly and outgoing person, you hate to be alone. Beware of a continuing tendency to compromise yourself in order to avoid being lonely. Try to be yourself, not what others would like you to be. You have an innate desire to be in refined and elegant surroundings and will go out of your way to create a plush and comfortable atmosphere around you. You have heightened aesthetic sensibilities and are attracted to music and the arts. Try to avoid using your well-known seductive charm in order to get out of doing what you consider to be dirty work!

Umm... I am definitely not friendly and outgoing. I like to be alone. I do not, however, like to be lonely. I certainly do "compromise myself in order to avoid being lonely" but I don't see this as a bad thing at all. I would rather be accepted, be "what others would like me to be", or at least my guess of what that is; I don't really care if I'm entirely correct, so long as I'm correct enough to get included.

Refined and elegant surroundings - well, I do want beautiful surroundings. Whether they would mesh with most people's ideas of "refined and elegant" is something else again, but I do want surroundings that I feel are beautiful. "Plush and comfortable" would sometimes enter into that (like, I would like a sunken circular pit filled with pillows; a "nest", if you will), but probably not "plush" with the connotation of "rich" or "expensive".

I don't know if my aesthetic sensibilities are "heightened", but they certainly are picky (see Sun, Saturn, etc). I'm attracted to music and the arts, yes, which is tragic, since I lack ability in either.

Sorry, what the fuck "seductive charm" are you talking about? Now I know you must be high!

Mars is in 12 Degrees Libra (Mars detriment in Libra)
You are very aware of the need to cooperate with others in order to further any effort. You are usually willing to compromise with others, although you can be quite competitive in a friendly way. Very fair- minded and impartial, you have the ability to sense injustice and the desire to take corrective actions to make proper compensations. You see both sides of issues and questions, but you tend to be undecided or wavering when forced to make choices that might make you vulnerable or unpopular.

I found it odd that sexual preferences were not mentioned here, as they often are under Mars. *shrugs*

I don't think of myself as cooperative or team-oriented. I usually prefer to work on my own. "Usually willing to compromise" depends on the situation. In some cases I have made up my mind what I will and will not do and fuck you if you want me to do it differently, especially if I don't perceive you as having the authority to tell me what to do. In others I don't mind doing whatever anyone else wants to do, even if there is something else I would like to do instead. Someone else making the decision is preferable because then they feel satisfied, and it isn't possible for me to make a mistake (unless they are just unreasonable and say "well you weren't supposed to go along with me, stupid!").

I do think I am fair-minded and impartial, but I don't know about "sensing injustice"... I prefer to make everyone stick to the same rules, and if that sometimes results in a negative occurrence that might be "unjust", well, tough potatoes, because at least it was applied to everyone equally (see Rising).

Being uncomfortably undecided when forced to make a potentially unpopular or dangerous choice is definitely true.

Jupiter is in 27 Degrees Cancer (Jupiter exalted in Cancer)
You must be emotionally secure in order to grow and develop. You are happiest when your family and community support and nourish you and boost your morale. Whether your childhood experiences of love and emotional dependability were positive or negative will set the tone for your emotional growth and stability as an adult. When you feel at ease with yourself, you are able to offer assistance to those who need a helping hand.

Not much to say here. Seems quite accurate to me. My definition of "family" and "community" is probably different from the norm in some respects, but I often talk about the desire to have a "tribe", a peer group with whom I spend lots of time and that I would feel is my "home base".

Saturn is in 03 Degrees Virgo
Your life must be orderly and practical and full of known and familiar routines in order for you to feel comfortable with yourself. Be careful, however, not to let "order" become the be-all and end-all of your life, or you may become cold, crass and unfeeling. Doing useful, practical things boosts your self- esteem. Abstract concepts and reasoning seem frivolous and a waste of time to you. You are very critical of yourself (and others), indeed at times quite self-deprecating. Try to relax a bit and allow yourself the freedom to fail once in a while. However, you probably won't fail very often because you are such a perfectionist.

This is a pretty ouchy place for Saturn to be. As if being hyper-critical weren't already enough, bitter Saturn has got to be there - conjunct my Sun, no less - to magnify it tenfold.

I do like known and familiar routines; see above about not liking to be surprised. I like to feel that I have at least an idea what's coming and that I will be able to deal with it. I don't like feeling up in the air, that my plans for the day are depending on someone else's whims and who knows what'll happen until the last moment.

Never mind "become", I probably am cold and unfeeling. As already mentioned, I have a hard time understanding emotions, and don't seem to have many of them myself, at least not in the manner and degree in which normal people feel them. Empathizing with other people is so not my strong suit. I tend to think about their emotions in intellectual terms. "Well, I know this would probably hurt her feelings" is just a fact or reasoning step I have learned, rather than being able to actually "feel someone's pain".

I do like to feel needed, like my task or contribution is essential or at the very least desirable, as opposed to "well, we could easily do without her".

"You are very critical of yourself (and others), indeed at times quite self-deprecating" - well, hot and cold running damn, really? I hadn't fucking noticed! "The freedom to fail" is not an option, however. If I fail at [whatever], it's all over. No more chances. Have to suceed the first time. The definition of "success" does vary, but it has to be met, whatever it is. So thus, I do try not to fail very often - by not even trying in the first place if I am not reasonably certain I will meet the success criteria.

Uranus is in 12 Degrees Scorpio
You, and your peer group, demand to confront life at its deepest and most meaningful levels. Very compulsive and obsessive in your approach to everything, you will avoid anything that is casual or superficial, especially when it comes to relationships. You will seek out and explore new methods of healing as well as different ways to deal with deep-seated emotional problems.

I dunno about this. I don't mind a good deal of casualness and superficiality in personal relationships, so I think "especially when it comes to relationships" is pretty inaccurate. See above about just wanting acceptance and a tribe; "deep meaning" isn't required to fulfill that need. Romantic relationships are something else again; I tend to want a feeling of one-being-ness, and don't really grok people who are just like "oh, sure, we're together, but I haven't seen or talked to them in a week". That does indeed seem too casual to me. On the other hand I am not attracted to materialist culture and definitely want something more meaningful than that out of my life.

I dunno if I am compulsive about things. I can be obsessive, especially when I have just encountered something new that I like. I tend to spend a lot of my mental energy on the new thing, reading anything I can about it, thinking about it to the exclusion of other things, etc. I can also get very emotionally worked up about it, worrying whether I am worthy to join it, or whatever (depending on what "it" is). This passes after a while and I calm down and am able to approach it in a more down-to-earth way, or else I find out that actually, I don't think it's all that neat (or there's some kind of conflict of personality or interest) and I lose interest entirely.

I'm not sure what's being referred to here about "seeking out and exploring new methods of healing" - do they mean like energy work? I suppose that might be considered new or odd to most people, but I find myself immersed in a general atmosphere of esotericism by virtue of the people I associate with, so to me it seems obvious.

Neptune is in 15 Degrees Sagittarius
You, and your entire generation, are heavily involved in investigating and idealizing foreign and exotic intellectual systems and religious philosophies. The most extreme ideals will be pursued with gusto. You will be at the forefront of humanitarian attempts to improve the lot of those who are in need of assistance. You will be comfortable with the concept of the "global village."

I wonder what the definition of "foreign" and "exotic" is here. Perhaps this is related to the increase of interest in pagan religions and magic (i.e. it is a characteristic of "my generation")? Again, these things seem obvious and natural to me, although I guess they're "foreign" and "exotic" to a 50-something Southern Baptist!

I don't think I'm at the forefront of anything, especially anything with the word "humanitarian" in it. I am, however, comfortable with the idea of a "global village". I like the idea of free tribes roaming about the earth, no national borders, just one Earth where anyone can go wherever they please whenever they please and associate with whomever they wish, and to stop all this foolish killing of one another because they happen to live on the other side of the damn river and the flowers grow a different colour over there.

Pluto is in 14 Degrees Libra
For your entire generation, this is a time of radical changes in society's attitude toward marriage and interpersonal relationships. There is a general fear and awe at the power inherent in making emotional or contractual commitments -- they will not be entered into lightly.

Dur-hay. I'm all for love and marriage between whoever feels it. A man and a woman, two men, two women, two women and a man, two men and two women, or three men and a baby - whatever combination you can think of! (Well, ok, not the baby - it's a baby after all - but it just seemed mellifluous.)

I do feel a kind of fear/awe/dread thing about emotional and contractual commitments. I want to be really sure I'm doing the right thing if I do such a thing because they have the potential to utterly change one's life in both good and bad ways. I can't just go "oh well I screwed up, let's move on" - too many future effects can come from the decision to enter into a commitment now, so I better be sure I'm making a good choice.

N. Node is in 27 Degrees Virgo
You're usually quite at ease in leaving leadership roles in the hands of others. You would rather tend to the thousand and one details that need to be accomplished to keep any group going. Although you're very fussy and high-minded when it comes to choosing your associates, once your loyalty is given you can be trusted with many of the practical aspects of any project that is being undertaken. Usually quite unselfish, you will toil long hours in the service of any worthy cause that demands your attention. But be careful that your perfectionist tendencies don't get in the way of making real progress. (In other words, don't waste your time dusting clean shelves!)

(What the heck is a "n. node", anyway?) Yes, I would much rather be tending to the details of something that actually makes something happen, rather than being the leader making the decisions. I don't feel I'm qualified to decide things. I will indeed work possibly overmuch if I feel what I'm doing is worthwhile, and especially so if people that I like and whom I want to like me are depending on my contribution.

I understand what is meant by the "dusting clean shelves" comment - I can get so tied up in trying to perfect something that's already just fine, really, that I fail to move on to other things soon enough (and thus their quality suffers in relation to the first thing that I paid such careful attention to), but what the heck makes you think that I actually dust anything? Have you seen my room? *wink*

Comments

[danodea.livejournal.com]

N.Node refers to the North Node of your chart - sometimes called the Lunar North Node, sometimes called the Head of the Dragon. It refers to where you want/need/planned to go this lifetime.

There is a related aspect called the South Node, or Talk of the Dragon, that describes the difficulties that you brought into this incarnation - the things that you have to overcome to achieve the goals of your North Node.

[arethinn]

So, I wanted/planned/needed to be a walking criticism machine? O_o

I'll assume you meant Tail of the Dragon. Is that 180 degrees from North Node, or is it calculated some other way? For that matter, what determines where the North Node is located on the chart, in the first place?

[danodea.livejournal.com]

Oh well. That's what I get for posting when I'm tired.

Yes, Tail of the Dragon. :)

Here's a link to an article describing the Lunar Nodes:
The Moon's Nodes

[arethinn]

Thanks for the link.

[twopiearr.livejournal.com]

I see no particular conflict between being intellectual and abstract concepts seeming frivilous -- it would just suggest someone who intellectualizes about concrete things. Engineers leap to mind as a practical application of such a combination of traits.