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THE PLANETS IN RELATION TO THE LUNATION CYCLE  

 

Dane Rudhyar

 

Two Categories of Planets

We have seen previously that the human individual operates fundamentally in two realms: the realm of the dualistic soli-lunar relationship ('life"), and that of the complex organic relationship established between the periodic motions of the planets within the solar system as a whole (the realm of "individual Identity"). We have seen also that, while the sun is the source of all the energy-substance of "life," the moon is the builder of those organic structures through which this solar potential becomes exteriorized and differentiated for use in actual living.

From these statements it follows that the planets have a definite relationship to the moon, for they stamp the structures which are "built" by the lunar power of organic life with specialized  characteristics. This may somewhat puzzle and astonish the student of astrology, yet it need not do so. He will readily recognize the fact that the moon, circling as she does around the earth, periodically links the realm of the planets which are within the orbit of the earth and the realm of the planets which revolve outside of this orbit. He may also realize that the moon is called in occult symbolism the "mother" of the earth. A mother does not deliberately build the various organs of the embryo she carries in her womb, but the "Great Mother" — that is, the power of evolution which brought forth the biological genus, homo sapiens — is the structuring principle which is at work in every individual mother.

This structuring principle, the moon, is like a weaver using threads of various colors and shuttling them back and forth in the loom in order to produce the woven design. The moon in the sky shuttles between the inner and the outer planets of our solar system, weaving the organic tapestry of human life with Mercurian and Jupiterian, Venusian and Martian threads, within the size-limits of the weft determined by Saturn. The length (warp) of the tapestry depends on the amount of thread, of energy and of time which the weaver (the moon) has been allotted by the sun. In that sense, the sun and Saturn are polar opposites, for they determine the warp and woof — the life-potential and the karmic scope — of any organism.

The weaver does not make the threads, but she uses them; likewise the moon does not control the planets themselves, but only the distribution of their energies. It can be said that there is a somewhat similar relation between the moon and the four basic planetary forces she distributes and puts to work (Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter), as exists between the sun and the four angles of the birth-chart (the cross of the natal horizon and meridian). The sun strikes these four angles at dawn, noon, sunset and midnight, and invests them with his purpose and potentiality of meaning.

However, what we have to consider in this book is not the individual relationship of the moon or of the sun to each of the planets, but the effect which the planets have — as symbols of specialized organic instrumentalities — upon the cyclic soli-lunar relationship. More precisely, what we wish to know is how the position of any particular planet within the framework of the lunation cycle affects the personal life and the individual's search for happiness or creative expression. There are two ways of determining such an influence. The first is to analyze the position of the planet in relation to the zodiacal angle formed by the moon and the sun — thus with reference to the lunation birthday. The second way is by considering the angular relationship between the planet and the Part of Fortune.

The first method can be most easily understood and applied by erecting a simplified "solar chart" of the individual, and by using it with reference not to the sun but to the soli-lunar relationship. Let us take the case of Franz Liszt, the great composer, pianist, conductor and teacher, whose influence — direct and indirect — on nineteenth century music was profound as well as spectacular. Liszt was born in Hungary, October 22, 1811, in the early morning, almost certainly with one of the last degrees of Leo rising.

The sun was on Libra 27°41', the moon on Sagittarius 19°54' and we draw our "soli-lunar chart" first by placing the sun at the left of the wheel and dividing the circumference into four equal sectors. The moon falls in the first sector because Liszt's lunation birthday occurred during the first quadrant of the lunation cycle, the moon being 52 degrees ahead of the sun (septile aspect).

Within this 52° soli-lunar angle we find the planets Venus, Uranus and Neptune. As the moon is waxing, the soli-lunar angle is increasing. We deduce from this fact that what is contained within this soli-lunar angle is also increasing in power and light, as the potentialities shown in the birth-pattern become actualized throughout the life. Thus we could expect that Liszt's life would reveal a development of the type of psychomental faculties and biological powers represented by the planets Venus, Uranus and Neptune; and the actual facts corroborate such an assumption. These three planets constitute the contents inherent at birth in the soli-lunar relationship — the powers operating spontaneously, by virtue of antecedent cause (heredity, "past incarnations," or environmental influences during the prenatal state).

On the other hand, the planets outside of the soli-lunar angle represent powers or faculties which need to be acquired, or the development of which will be deliberately stressed — for one reason or another — during the life. Saturn and Mars, and more remotely Pluto, Jupiter and Mercury are the planets symbolizing stages of development yet to be reached in Liszt's personal life, the reaching of which was an evolutionary need. Indeed, Liszt lacked innately a sense of structural (Saturnian) restraint in all "life" activities, and this sense of lack finally led him to embrace the discipline of the Church.

The principle on which this division of the chart rests should be evident. At the new moon, the solar impulse is impressed upon the moon. As the moon increases in light this impulse is made concrete and effective through the physio-psychological structures built by the moon. The space covered by the moon ahead of the sun — or more accurately, since her new moon position — represents what the moon has accomplished to date. The planets located within that space have "influenced," as it were, these lunar accomplishments; that is, the person is born with powers resulting from such planetary "influences." The planets in the zodiacal space still ahead of the moon at birth symbolize, on the other hand, "influences" yet to come. The person will seek to incorporate them into his physio-psychological organism.

This reasoning applies until full moon is reached. In Count Keyserling's chart we have an instance of near full moon birth. Venus, Mercury, Mars — the "personal" planets near the earth — and the transforming and regenerative planet Uranus have been touched by the moon since the lunation cycle began. Thus Keserling's philosophy is most autobiographical. His thought has grown out of very personal life-experiences; and the fact that the three "personal" planets are in the Leo sign of personal creative self-expression emphasizes this point. On the other hand, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto deal with factors of social, spiritual and universalistic organization. These factors are those which Keyserling, the born individualist, has had to meet, face, and understand throughout his life.

These planets, however, are located in the section of the zodiac which the philosopher's moon would cover only during her waning phase. This indicates that Keyserling will not really incorporate these planetary powers in his actual personality, but that he should try and has tried indeed, to understand their meanings, and to formulate these meanings in his mental productions — his philosophy, his books. Thus Keyserling's philosophical approach starts from the point of view of personal inspiration and regeneration; but its goal and the meanings it has gradually emphasized have been colored preeminently by his natal Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aries — thus the philosopher's work ends with the revelation of new social and spiritual values.

In other words, the planets contained in the zodiacal space covered by the waxing moon refer to powers which are inherent in or can be built as instincts in the very fabric of the actual personality — thus, in a sense, to the private life; while the planets contained in the zodiacal space covered by the waning moon refer to human activities which essentially control the individual's search for significance, and his creative contributions to society in terms of meaning — thus in a sense they refer to the public life, if such can be said to have a creative significance.

This situation is even more clear-cut as we deal with a birth which occurred at a point somewhat far in the waning period of the lunation cycle. Lenin was born at the last quarter phase. The moon is coming closer to the sun, and between the two "Lights" we find the planets Venus, Neptune and Mars — the conjunction of Neptune and Mars being especially emphasized. These planets represent the energies which gave to Lenin's public life and achievements their characteristic power. He was a builder of ideological structures with great magnetic power (Venus), and his constructive energy was expressed outwardly (Mars) in terms of vast collective needs (Neptune).

As the moon comes very close to the sun, the planets situated between them are within the glow of dawn in the eastern sky. They are participants in that dawn, and thus they can be said to affect the future. They are like seeds (or in another sense, like prayers and petitions) brought by the moon to the realm of the sun. They therefore condition the activities that are to result from the new fecundation of the moon by the sun's power.

For instance, President William McKinley was born with the moon at 5°33', Jupiter at 5°59' and the sun at 9°40' of Aquarius — thus just before new moon. Jupiter is sandwiched between the moon and the sun, and its position characterizes the typical social and political personality of the President, of whom it has been said that his "administration was notable for ushering the United States into a period of self-conscious imperialism" and that he was a "prophet of the conformist ... a messiah of exploitation."* On the other hand, in the case of his opponent William J. Bryan, we find the planet Neptune located very close to the sun in Pisces, with the waning moon in Aquarius 32 degrees away from the sun. Neptune certainly characterizes the public function of the "Great Commoner" accurately; that is, the specialized nature of the message which immortalized his name and the formulated "meaning" of his creative selfhood.

*Marc Edmund Jones — The Guide to Horoscope Interpretation, pp. 38-40 (Philadelphia, McKay, 1941).  

 

The Part of Fortune and the Planets

The contacts of the Part of Fortune with the planets refer particularly to the individual's search for happiness and to the characteristic features of his personal radiation. In considering such contacts one should not forget the fact that the Part of Fortune is approximately once a day in conjunction and in opposition to every planet of the chart. What we are dealing with now is no longer a monthly rhythm but a daily one. It is "life" brought to its most individualized focus through the lens of the Ascendant; "life," therefore, in a state of most characteristically personal differentiation. And this state can truly be described as happiness — positive and negative; for happiness is basically the result of the individual's orientation to "life," love, instinct, culture and significant purpose.

If the Part of Fortune is conjunct to a planet, the nature of that planet actively influences this orientation, if it is in opposition to a planet, then what we called the "Point of illumination" is in conjunction with that planet. If the planet squares the Part of Fortune, the effect is usually much less obvious, but in many cases can be noticed as some kind of frustration or "complex."

It is somewhat difficult to give many illustrations of these configurations, first because they can only be ascertained when the exact moment of birth is positively known, then, because their effects belong to the intimately personal sphere of the individual, which the publicly known life may not reveal accurately. However, the following examples will show somewhat how the above-stated principles operated.

Sun and the Part of Fortune

The essential purpose of the life is felt in a deeply personal way. When the sun is on the Ascendant the solar purpose is strongly impressed upon the individual, setting the person apart from other men, differentiating him to make of him an agent of this solar power. But when the sun is close to the Part of Fortune, what is indicated is more precisely the response of the person as a whole to the solar vitalization and illumination. This can operate at various levels, as can be seen from the following examples: Henry of England, Franz Liszt, F. D. Roosevelt, Pope Pius XII, Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, the Bab.

Moon and the Part of Fortune

Conjunction means birth at sunrise; opposition, birth at sunset. Much depends on what side of the Part the moon is on; thus whether the sun is above or below the horizon. Queen Victoria and Havelock Ellis were born at sunrise and at the new moon, thus with sun, moon, Ascendant and Part of Fortune in the same sign — Gemini and Aquarius respectively. Carl Jung, Annie Besant, Hitler are cases of sunset at birth; Luther's chart reveals a square of the moon and the Part of Fortune possibly referring to a psychological impulse which made him break away from religious orthodoxy.

Mercury and the Part of Fortune

Count Keyserling has the Part surrounded by Mercury and Mars; Einstein close to Mercury and Saturn. The two men's minds are well characterized by these planetary contacts. In our national U.S. chart (with Sagittarius rising) the Part is conjunct Mercury and opposing Pluto; while in England's traditional chart the Part opposes Mercury (and the sun nearby). This may refer to our subjective and emotional personal approach, and to the English objective and more detached attitude to mental experiences and mental faculties.

Venus and the Part of Fortune

This should give personal charm, and we find the conjunction probably exemplified by F. D. Roosevelt's chart. It could mean also a very definite contact of the personal self with the inner archetypal self (the  "Higher Manas" of Theosophy, the Platonic Nous) — witness, perhaps, Nostradamus. The opposition is shown in Evangeline Adam's and William Q. Judge's birth-charts; the square in puritan Oliver Cromwell and romantic Lord Byron (according to data in Marc E. Jone's The Guide to Horoscope Interpretation).

Mars and the Part of Fortune

Instinctive impetuousness and personal aggressiveness should  characterize the conjunction, which we find in Dictator Franco's chart just below the western horizon. Examples of the opposition are found in the charts of Marshall von Hindenburg, the composer Schoenberg, and Vice-President Henry Wallace. In Stalin's nativity the Part of Fortune squares Mars and Neptune, also Venus. Wallace's Part of Fortune-to-Mars opposition stresses the power of his moon. Mercury and Venus in Scorpio and a pivotal planetary emphasis on the Scorpio Descendant. These factors, together with the rising Neptune and Pluto, characterize a preoccupation with vast social issues and a deep identification with the common factors in humanity (Scorpio).

Jupiter and the Part of Fortune

The conjunction is a typical indication of personal optimism, trust in destiny and ease in handling social energies — which in turn normally lead to success or wealth. Cecil Rhodes, Emmanuel Kant, Thomas Masaryk and Eduard Benes (founders of Czechoslovakia), Victor Hugo and Bernard Shaw are good illustrations. In Oscar Wilde's most probable nativity we see a somewhat negative instance of the position; but the Part is in the seventh house between Neptune and Jupiter, both retrograde — which illustrates well his abnormal approach to human and social relationships. In Gershwin's and Andrew Carnegie's charts the Part of Fortune opposes Jupiter.

Saturn and the Part of Fortune

The conjunction is a clear indication of a serious and profound approach to life, which may easily lead to pessimism and despondency, yet which also can reveal a personality filled with a sense of destiny and responsibility, with a keen realization of its place, and of everything else's place in society and the world. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin had such a configuration. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, had the Part conjunct both Jupiter and Saturn. The great mystic Ramakrishna had the Part in opposition to Saturn — a possible sign of austerity and spiritual discipline . . . or of a strong father complex.

Uranus and the Part of Fortune

The conjunction tends to foster a spectacular and dramatic feeling of personality, it gave to Louis XIV, the authoritarian king, his sense of self-glorification and ritual; to the Hindu theosophist and author, Bhagavan Das, his strange occult experiences. It brought downfall through passion to King Ludwig I of Bavaria, and madness — but also glory — to his grandson, King Ludwig II who was Wagner's patron. (These two kings had the same birthday and birth hour, and this same Uranus to Part of Fortune conjunction).

Neptune and the Part of Fortune

This relationship tends to give to the individual a sense of participation in vast social or spiritual Movements. This leads to varied outer results depending on other factors of the personal life. The conjunction is shown in the charts of Oliver Cromwell and Scriabin, the great Russian composer and mystic; the opposition, in those of Theodore Roosevelt and "Diamond" Jim Brady, flamboyant salesman and spendthrift; the square in Jay Gould's nativity.

Pluto and the Part of Fortune

One can expect from this relationship a stress upon political activity and all strenuous forms of social agitation, of protest against convention or custom, of personal ruthlessness. Death and war may play a strong part in one's attitude to life. Examples: Wm. Jennings Bryan and the horoscope of France's Third Republic, born of war, upset by politics and killed by war. The king of international finance J. P. Morgan, the elder, had the Part of Fortune opposed to a conjunction of Venus and Pluto. Venus is electro-magnetic activity and Pluto concentrates it into tight organizations for the control and perpetuation of power. The spiritual symbol of Pluto is the seed, which is also a tightly built organization to control and perpetuate life-power.

   

The Lunation Cycle

 

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