Candidates for the FIRST EVER Astrology Chart

by Milky Way Maid
My reading has uncovered a couple of candidates for the first-ever, first recorded anyway, astrological chart. How long ago would you guess that we have a chart, with or without interpretation?
Perhaps you guess the source might be Babylon or one of the Mesopotamian civilizations. Not a bad guess. Or perhaps one from ancient Egypt, where we know that the knowledge of astronomy was also rather advanced.
In fact we do have a chart which astrologer Joan Quigley claimed was the earliest known horoscope. It was cast in 2767 BC, and the astrologer was supposedly the great Imhotep himself. Imhotep has won lasting fame as the architect of the great pyramid of Saqqara. (SOURCE: Astrology for Adults, Joan Quigley, 1969, in which she cites an article by Cyril Fagan included in the Jan. 1954 issue of American Astrology.)
Annoyingly, no details are included in this mention, not even of what the subject of the chart was. Perhaps it was a horary to answer the question, “Where did I put my copy of This Old Pyramid?”
But luckily enough, inside the book “The Origin of the Zodiac” is an illustration titled, “The Original ‘Horoscope of Eternity’ 2767 BC.” No attribution, no story about the astrologer. But hey, how many charts do you think survived from 2767 BC?
This illustration still doesn’t tell us what Imhotep wanted to know from this chart. But maybe a description of the image will give us some clues at least.
The image shows a map of the sky, with the constellations fanned out across the middle. The original is translated into English. From left to right appear Leo, Cancer, Gemini and Taurus. Major stars are indicated around the sky: Regulus, Praeseppe, Procyon, Sirius, Aldebaran, Rigel, Betelgeuse, Castor, El Nath, and the Pleiades. Along the right-hand edge are marked the latitudes, from 20 degrees north at the top and marked at 10 degree intervals down to 30 degrees south at the bottom right. The horizon is clearly marked along with the “Equator of 2767 BC”; the intersection is marked “Vernal Equinox, 2767 BC.”
Puzzlingly, two horizons are indicated; one is for 2767 BC (28 degrees Cancer), and the other is for 1300 BC (27 degrees Cancer). It seems extremely unlikely that anyone would draw up a chart for a present year (2767 BC) with another year about 1400 years in the future — yet a comment on page 207 of the “Origin” book would seem to explain how that is. “The Egyptians had a traditional celestial diagram which they copied from century to century, and although it was more traditional than contemporary it did represent a particular moment from which time was counted.” The Egyptians were interested in knowing when the first day of the Wandering Calendar returned to its ideal position in the Sothic Calendar. In other words, the return of the Vernal Equinox to its IDEAL position marked the end or start of another cycle.
In other words, Egyptians were more interested in astrology or astronomy as indicators of omens for the prosperity of the people in general, and as indicators of cycles. They were not, surprisingly enough, interested in making observations on which to base predictions. The Babylonians aka Chaldeans were the opposite; they could not have imagined making a chart and NOT making some predictions about it.
The same “Origins” book states that the earliest personal horoscope was cast in 410 BC, with no details offered whatever. However I managed to dig up further details: it was a birth chart set for April 29, 410 BC in Babylon (HoroscopesWithin.com). A translation of the cuneiform horoscope says: “Nisannu, night of the 14th(?), … son of Shumu-usur, Shumu-iddina, descendant [—], was born. At that time the moon was below the Pincer of the Scorpion, Jupiter in Pisces, Venus in Taurus, Saturn in Cancer, Mars in Gemini. Mercury, which had set was not vis[ible]. [-] (Things?) will be propitious for you.” (Rochberg 1998: 56)
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Notes on a Wedding Horoscope with Children’s Charts

by Milky Way Maid

While reading (or re-reading) astrology books on synastry and general astrology subjects, I suddenly decided to look up the planetary placements for my parents’ first wedding. I say their first wedding because this was a civil ceremony, which was followed a few years later by a church wedding. They were from different faiths and could not get married in a Catholic church until some things were ironed out.
We do know as astrologers that often the same aspects, involving the same planets, repeat themselves from generation to generation. However, I had not read or heard anything before about there being any contacts between the charts of a wedding, with the charts of the children of that marriage. It makes sense of course. Perhaps you readers might like to try it out with your own parents’ wedding dates and the birth charts of siblings.

So anyway, the first wedding, the civil ceremony and the one that they always observed as their ‘real’ anniversary date, was on Sept. 6, 1947, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I do not know the actual time so I just took the moon sign without trying to figure out what degree. I might go back and try to dig up the actual marriage document. But for now, this is enough to work with for my purposes.
I am astonished to note the close conjunctions between some planets and my natal placements. And here I am the youngest child of theirs, with supposedly no link to the event which took place years before my birth. The aspects given are within two degrees of orb, which is being quite generous. Normally I want aspects to be closer than that.
Sun was conjunct Venus in practical, down-to-earth Virgo — and yes, it worked out. They stayed married for 50 years till my father died.
The Sun at twelve degrees Virgo, and Venus at 13 degrees Virgo, are trine my Mercury. The Moon is in Taurus, (the sign where it is exalted) — same as my sun sign. Mercury at 19 degrees Virgo is trine my Sun, and also aspects my nodes. Jupiter at 21 degrees Scorpio is conjunct both my dad’s and my North Nodes. Neptune at 9 degrees Libra is conjunct my Moon. And Pluto at 13 degrees Leo squares my Mercury and is conjunct my Midheaven. And to top everything off, the North Node AND the Moon in Taurus are conjunct my Venus.
The only hard aspect is the one with Pluto. It squares my Mercury. I associate this with my hearing loss, the end result of an incompatibility between my parents’ blood factors. (In fact I needed a blood infusion at birth, plus medication for the first three months of my life, in order to recover.) Mercury rules the senses, in this case hearing. Pluto rules inter-generational matters such as heredity (and also evolution itself, which is enabled by the fact that the genes of each parent mix and match in an endless shuffle of genes).
Now what are we to make of the fact that several planets make such close aspects to the placements in the birth chart of one of the children? Does it seem almost as if the ultimate, spiritual purpose of the marriage was to produce this youngest child?

The bride and groom have some contacts with the wedding chart, of course. [GROOM: 1-25-1920 in Milwaukee, WI. BRIDE: 2-13-1921 in Manitowoc, WI.] Wedding Sun is 2 degrees past the groom’s natal Saturn, signifying that he is ready to settle down to marriage and family responsibilities. Wedding Neptune is trine his Neptune (no idea what to make of that although it could represent ideals and spiritual growth). Wedding Uranus is opposite his Venus, reflecting the fact that he was in love with his bride for the whole fifty years that they lived together. Wedding Moon (and North Mode) sextile his Moon and trine his Mercury.
As for the bride, we see that wedding Sun is square her Mercury and inconjunct her Venus. She was not really ready financially to embark on married life, and maybe she needed some time to mentally prepare herself for a whole new way of life. Wedding Saturn is semi-sextile her Jupiter. Wedding Uranus is square her Saturn (perhaps she rebelled inside at getting tied down now). Wedding Pluto is conjunct her Neptune. Wedding Sun is semi-sextile her Neptune. She seems to be conflicted over getting married, maybe feeling like she had no other options in life, really. Some of that conflict may simply reflect the problems they were having getting married in the groom’s Catholic church, since the Catholic church did not accept the bride’s Lutheran background as adequate preparation for a Catholic ceremony. Eventually that problem was resolved, and the couple had a church ceremony at that time.

As for the older brother (oldest child of the couple), there are very few contacts to this wedding chart. Other than some semi-sextiles, the only major aspect is that the wedding Jupiter is square his Saturn. Also his Moon oppises wedding Neptune, and is inconjunct the wedding’s Sun-Mercury conjunction. The older sister has wedding Neptune trine her Mercury, and inconjunct her Mars. Wedding Jupiter is square her Venus, and sextile her Jupiter. Wedding Moon is inconjunct her Ascendant. Even though this is a civil ceremony, I feel that Jupiter and Neptune may reflect some of her attitudes about religion. She wound up later repudiating the father’s religion completely (and all mainstream religion as well), and had only a civil ceremony for her own marriage (which later ended up in divorce). Meanwhile the brother wound up marrying a woman who was very committed to the Catholic church and they raised their kids Catholic. They even sent their kids to a parochial school.
[SON: 11-24-1947 in Milwaukee, WI. DAUGHTER: 2-23-1949 in Milwaukee, WI.]
I will open the comments function on this article, hoping that I don’t get overwhelmed with spam attempts. PLEASE do not put any links in your comments because I have no choice but to assume that the link is a spam attempt or a malicious attack. I am so sorry, but there have been so many innocent-looking comments that turn out to be spam or malicious content that I have no choice on this.
And if I come across the the actual times of any of the births or of the wedding, I will update this article with that info. As I recall most of the birth times were in the early morning hours, like 1:30 to 5:30 am. A great deal of material has been lost or misplaced due to several moves in the last decade. Thank you for your patience.

That Big Fat Royal Wedding, and Whether William will Ever be King

by Milky Way Maid
By now everyone’s probably got their royal tea towels with the faces of the lovely bride and groom printed on it, so now we can all sit down at our respective couches and discuss the royal wedding, the succession, and whether our favorite prince will ever reign. In the paragraphs that follow, I will not be referring to any other articles than the ones from AstroAmerica; I did not want my interpretation to be colored by that of other astrologers. I respect the work of many other astrologers, but I just did not want my thoughts to get muddled and confused by those of others.
The impetus for this article is the two-parter that appeared in Dave Roell’s AstroAmerica newsletter on May 3 and May 10 of 2011. To read those, just go to his newsletter page at http://www.astroamerica.com/newsletters/2011-june14.pdf, and when the newsletter page comes up, click on ‘Archives’ to pull the desired past issues. I recommend printing out the articles to make it easier to refer to key passages and to the charts themselves.
The Data: The royal wedding was final at 11:30 am BST, April 29, 2011 in Westminster. Prince William was born at 9:03 pm BST on June 21, 1982, in Paddington. The new bride was born at 11:33 pm GMT on Jan. 9, 1982 in Reading.
One of the main contentions of the article by Mr. Roell is that no astrologer would have chosen that day for an important wedding. For one thing, the Moon at 26 degrees Pisces is void-of-course. (making no more aspects until it changes signs)
Second, Saturn at 12 degrees Libra opposes Venus almost exactly, and opposes Jupiter by sign. Venus also squares Pluto at 7 degrees Capricorn.
I am not concerned by the Saturn-Jupiter opposition, which is very wide anyway. The two planets are SEPARATING, meaning that the influence of the aspect will tend to fade away over time. I AM more concerned about the Saturn-Venus opposition, which is APPLYING and will intensify for the first two years of the marriage (as progressed Venus reaches the exact opposition). This is the more troubling aspect. More problematic is that the wedding Saturn is conjunct Kate’s Mars, making her feel very constrained inside the royal goldfish bowl, where her schedule (another Saturn word) is tightly controlled with hardly a minute to herself. Venus-Saturn aspects often come into play when a relationship is formalized (another Saturn word). Duty and affection can combine into a happy blend. Be happy in your work, to coin a phrase.

Your Milky Way Horoscope March 27-April 2, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Venus enters Pisces at 2:53 am Sunday, March 27, fruitlessly chasing that bad boy Mars who soon dashes into Aries to escape her. Doesn’t she know that if you want someone’s attention, it is better to whisper? Anyway, Venus in Pisces is known for its romantic ideal of saving others, whether the object of their efforts are people or cats. Hence the stereotype of the lady with ten cats (who were all strays). But if you can avoid the trap of the savior syndrome, and achieve true compassion, then this Venus can heal relationships.
The Sun at 7 degrees Aries squares Pluto in Capricorn at 8:13 am Monday. Authority figures may demand that you justify your actions, so obey all traffic laws and cross all the t’s at work. Or Pluto may demand that you let go of the old and embrace the new; in other words, move on in your life. The latter may be the harder challenge to handle.
Jupiter at 14 degrees Aries opposes Saturn in Libra at 5:55 pm Monday. This translates as growth or progress (Jupiter) through accepting duties (Saturn). Saturn may instead require that you release possessions in order to move to a new city, or live with less income when you start your own business. Combined with the above transit, this seems to encourage many of us to leave our current employer and strike out on our own. BTW the Jupiter-Saturn opposition is a key transit in the business and world cycles, so keep an eye on the week’s headlines. BTW the phrase ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ comes to mind; there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
Mercury goes retrograde at 24 degrees 19 minutes of Aries at 4:48 pm Wednesday. Uh-uh-uh, no crying or rending of clothes, please. You know the drill: avoid starting something new, dig a little deeper for the real facts, and don’t take anything at face value. That means checking discounted merchandise carefully for defects, and assuming that offers of jobs are just feelers for what people will demand in salary. Probably good for spring cleaning at least.
Mars enters its natural home, Aries, at 12:51 am Saturday. Arians will likely feel a resurgence of energy, BUT should take care to vent that energy in safety. Mars will conjunct Uranus on Sunday, April 3, and this volatile combo can lead to accidents, fires, etc. Just giving you rams a heads up. Now, as for the ingress, Mars here can be much too rash and impulsive, too set on declaring his absolute independence. A healthy expression of Mars in Aries is courageous, takes the initiative, expresses confidence in his employees or coworkers, and in general is the inspiring leader who challenges his team to achieve more than they ever have before. The keyword as always with Aries is leadership.
April 3 will be a New Moon at 13 degrees, 30 minutes Aries, at 10:32 am. Sun-Moon will be conjunct Jupiter, and opposite Saturn. I see a lot of rams striking out on their own, and probably leading the way out of this frustrating recession. They will not do things the same way they have always been done.
Hi – I observed the Spring Equinox by moving my stuff into a new apartment over the weekend. It’s good and bad. I had to spend too much for gas, my legs died, and now I am surrounded by boxes which I am steadily unpacking. Other than that, everything went quite well — not too many things broken so far as I know. So bear with me through a somewhat shortened weekly column.
Readers can follow not only their Sun sign horoscope but also the sign of their Ascendant for further clues to how your week will develop. Also note: some aspects are exact on a weekend but may find opportunity for expression on the Friday or Monday nearest the exact aspect. Times given are in Eastern Standard or Eastern Daylight Savings Time depending on the season.

ARIES – March 20-April 19 – Mercury will go retrograde in your sign on Wednesday. This is bound to add to your frustrations, but what can ya do? Use your energy to clean out closets and get a jump on spring cleaning. The Moon is in Aries from 7:16 am Saturday, thru the weekend. A Moon-Mars conjunction Saturday morn makes you need to burn off some tension with physical work. But read the caution I wrote at the top of this column, because volatile Mercury and Uranus conjoin in your sign about 5 pm Sunday. Check out the safety situation before proceeding with the first cookout of the season, for example. This aspect will be building up in the day or two before it’s exact, so be safety-smart.

TAURUS – April 20-May 20 – The Jupiter-Saturn opposition on Monday affects your sixth and twelfth house axis of health. Possibly your doc may order you to lose weight or quit smoking, etc. Mercury goes retrograde in Aries on Wednesday in your solar twelfth house; I think you might find some lost objects when cleaning out drawers, etc. Won’t that be like finding buried treasure?

GEMINI – May 21-June 20 – Best day may be Tuesday when a Moon-Jupiter sextile affects your ninth and eleventh houses. A friend may refer you to a lawyer or publisher. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar eleventh house of friends and clubs on Wednesday; confirm details of get-togethers. The Moon-Mars conjunction in your solar eleventh house Saturday may produce a friend who wants to talk about heavy stuff. Take the opportunity to deepen your bond.

CANCER – June 21-July 22 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar tenth house of career on Wednesday. Career matters may stall, promotions delayed, etc. Best day may be Thursday when a Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces warms up your solar ninth house of law; a legal verdict may award you cash. But do not start a legal proceeding at this time; the lawyer may hold out tantalizing prospects of lawsuit wins but things may not work out. Moon-Venus in Pisces on Thursday in your solar ninth house may make you hope someone will help you out of charity. Well there are some service groups, etc that might help, like Legal Services or Legal Aid Society, but also try your library resource databank for more sources of info.

LEO – July 23-Aug. 22 – Best day may be Tuesday when a Moon-Jupiter sextile may indicate a spouse or partner refers you to a lawyer or other advisor. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar ninth house of publishing, the internet, email, religion, law, and college on Wednesday. You may try to get a legal matter reopened due to a missed appearance, etc., or have to take a refresher course.

VIRGO – Aug. 23-Sept. 22 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar eighth house of insurance and estates on Wednesday. Wills can’t be found and so the estate settlement is delayed, or claims to your insurer may be lost in the mail. A Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces, your solar seventh house of partners, on Thursday may indicate a very affectionate spouse; try to get him or her to take you to dinner that night, or possibly Saturday.

LIBRA – Sept. 23-Oct. 22 – Try to plan a late date with your spouse on Monday night; a Sun-Mon sextile makes for harmonious encounters. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar seventh house of partners on Wednesday. Communications with spouse or business partner may be muddled; confirm details of appointments, etc. Moon-Venus conjunct at a creative angle to your Sun favors spending time on artistic work Thursday. Perhaps setting up at a lakeside location will stimulate your creative juices.

SCORPIO – Oct. 23-Nov. 21 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar sixth house of health and work on Wednesday. That ache that has been nagging at you will suddenly DEMAND attention and NOW. Best day may be Thursday when a Moon-Venus conjunction in Pisces warms up your solar fifth house of romance.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov. 22-Dec. 21 – Mercury will go retrograde in your solar fifth house of romance and creativity on Wednesday. You might revisit earlier themes or motifs in your creative work, or find an old work that you thought was lost. Moon-Uranus in your solar fifth house of romance on Saturday night may produce a thunderbolt (falling in love), or an argument/estrangement. Or both if you jump from one love to another.

CAPRICORN – Dec. 22-Jan. 19 – The Moon is in Capricorn all of Sunday and till 7 am Monday. The Moon squares Jupiter on one side and Saturn on the other, in the wee hours Sunday; dreams may offer a choice between scarcity and plenty. Moon square Mercury at 7 pm Sunday offers 3 hours of prime writing time; your emotional turbulence needs an expressive outlet. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar fourth house of career on Wednesday; confusion could muddle company communications. Mars enters Aries this week, your solar fourth house of home and family. Arguments could break out, or you might merely host a young man for a few weeks.

AQUARIUS – Jan. 20-Feb. 17 – The Moon is in Aquarius from 7 am Monday till Wednesday night. A Moon-Uranus sextile on Monday morning favors meeting interesting new people, some of whom may be rather strange or speak a foreign language. That night, a Sun-Moon sextile offers a pleasant lecture, class or reading, perhaps at a bookstore. A trine to Saturn midday Tuesday favors getting good advice from a mentor-type. You can get a lot done Wednesday morn before Mercury goes retrograde. Mercury will go retrograde in your solar third house of communications on Wednesday. Oof, the worst place; well, make sure to proofread all letters/emails before they go out.

PISCES – Feb. 18-March 19 – The Moon is in Pisces from 6:38 pm Wednesday till Saturday morning. A Moon-Venus conjunction early Thursday makes those donuts seem much too tempting; satisfy your sweet tooth with some fruit instead. No aspects are exact on Friday; let’s hope that you can get work done without too many interruptions.

ALSO – check out Astrology.com — free lessons online

What Do the Stars Say About Super Bowl 2011?

by Milky Way Maid
At last we come to the Super Bowl 2011, the premier game day in all of pro football and an unofficial mid-winter holiday. It is a peak day for TV viewing, eating, drinking, betting on the outcome, watching TV commercials, and all the other hoopla that accompanies this event.
But let’s concentrate on the game, and on what the stars might say about the outcome.
First, let’s look at the ascendant which represents the home team or the favorite. There is no home team in the Super Bowl, so we will try to scope out which team is the fave later in this article. Right now,let’s just examine the aspects.
The date: Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011. Kickoff will be approximately 5:25 pm CT in Dallas Stadium, which is in Arlington, TX (halfway between Dallas and Ft. Worth).
That makes the ascendant 10 degrees Leo, with no aspects. This is quite startling for a major game like this.
The midheaven is 3 degrees Taurus, square Mercury in the sixth house. It is also trine Venus exactly in the fifth house (the game plan) with Pluto nearby. It is also sextile the South Node in the eleventh house of hopes/wishes. I think the quarterback will be the main story of the day, a youngish and attractive one. That seems to point to up-and-comer Aaron Rodgers rather than older veteran Ben Roethlisberger.

The ascendant ruler is the Sun in Aquarius; it is placed in the seventh house with Mars conjunct. That gives it high energy and vitality, although prone to accidents and temper tantrums. However, the Sun is trine retrograde Saturn in Libra, giving it the discipline to harness all that energy. Also the Sun is semisquare Venus in the fifth house, and semisquare Jupiter in the ninth house — that puts the Sun at the midpoint of Venus/Jupiter in other words. I am not experienced in using midpoints so I will leave the interpretation of that to others, although it does look auspicious.