CHAPTER IV.

READING THE HOROSCOPE

Introductory

WHEN the student of Astrology has learned
to cast the horoscope correctly by the study
of our "Simplified Scientific Astrology," or another
reliable textbook, the next and most important part
is to read its message. Astrology means "Star Logic"
and we must seriously advise the student not to de-
pend too much on authorities but to try to under-
stand the basic nature of each planet, the influence
of signs, houses and aspect/3; then by a process of
reasoning to combine these and thus develop his own
intuition which will serve him far better than the
ability to quote like a poll parrot what some one else
has said.

We would also advise the younger astrologer
not to bother too much with the personal descrip-
tions indicated in the horoscope. It is foolish to
spend hours perhaps to find out what the one for
whom a horoscope is cast can see in a moment by
looking in a glass. We give descriptions of the dif-
ferent types, but do so for the purpose of aiding the
student to determine at sight the probable sign and
70

READING THE HOROSCOPE 71

planet rising when a client comes who does not know
his birth hour. There are people for instance, who
have the face of a sheep just as perfect as possible.
If such a one is in doubt about the birth hour we
would at once look to Aries and experimentally try
how that would fit with the other characteristics of
that person, if we did so we should probably find our
guess correct in every case. Thus also the other signs
and planets in signs exhibit distinguishing charac-
teristics of valuable aid to the student in the direc-
tion mentioned.

The student should also endeavor to cultivate
perfect confidence in the science of Astrology. There
is nothing empirical about character reading and
diagnosis.. In those respects it is plain as A B C.
Predictions may fail because the Astrologer is un-
able to determine the strength of will of the person
for whom he predicts, but the latent tendencies are
always accurately foreshown. The writers have
found that where they do not personally know the
people whose characters they read, their delineations
are much deeper and more accurate because then
personal bias and impressions are absent and the
mystic scroll of the heavens more easily read.

There are three factors which bring to us the
mystic message of the stars ; the houses, the signs and
the planets.

The houses are divisions of the earth; each
house represents a department of life; the signs are
divisions of the heavens which by their placement

72 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

relative to the houses indicate our basic temperament
and attitude towards life, and the planets are the
messengers of God which by their motion through
the houses and signs bring to us the opportunities
for soulgrowth which we need for our individual de-
velopment. It is therefore necessary for one who
wishes to learn to read a horoscope to become thor-
oughly acquainted with these three factors both
separately and in their various combinations. The
following descriptions may help to convey this
knowledge :

THE HOUSES

As said in the introductory remarks, "the
houses are divisions of the earth," and therefore
they are also called "Mundane Houses," to dif-
ferentiate between them and the "Celestial Houses"
composed of the twelve signs of the Zodiac ; but gen-
erally they are designated as "houses" only.

It is the angle of the stellar ray which de-
termines its effect in our lives, those which are in
the East affect our physical constitution, planets in
the South near the zenith are factors for good or ill'
where our social position is concerned. If a planet is
setting in the West at the time of our birth its angle
strikes us in such a manner as to draw us to a cer-
tain type of marriage partner, and the planets un-
der the earth, in the North, have an effect upon our
condition in the latter part of life. Let us suppose
for illustration of the point that someone is born

BEADING THE HOROSCOPE 73

at sunrise on a day when the Sun and Jupiter are in
conjunction. Then they strike him from the east-
ern angle and give him a splendid vitality. Another
born on the same day at noon when Jupiter and the
Sun are in the zenith position may have a very poor
and weak body if other planets in the East are
adverse, but if the ray of the Sun and Jupiter falls
on his birth figure from the South he will certainly
attract attention in his social sphere and be the re-
cipient of public favor and honor. Another born on
the same day, when the Sun and Jupiter are setting
in the West may be an outcast if planets in the East
and South decree, but the benefic ray of the Sun and
Jupiter from the Western angle will make him be-
loved of his mate and successful in partnerships.
These facts have been ascertained by observation and
tabulation. Therefore the twelve sections of the cir-
cle of observation as seen from the birthplace are
truly said to rule or govern various departments of
life and thus people born on the same day may have
the most diverse experiences.

The houses may be variously grouped according
to the influence they exercise in our lives; there are
''angular," ' ' succeedent " and "cadent" houses,
also personal, spiritual, material, social and mystical
houses.

Of the angles, the first house governs our per-
sonal self, and its opposite the seventh house, rules
the one who is nearest and dearest to us, namely, the
marriage partner. The fourth house determines

74 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

conditions in our home and its opposite angle, the
tenth house, shows our social standing in the com-
munity where we live. Thus the angles show collect-
ively the sphere of our activities in life.

Of the succeedent houses the second shows our
financial status with regard to that which we ac-
quire by our own efforts and the opposite succeedent
house, the eighth, shows whatever we may receive
from others as legacies, etc. The other succeedent
houses, the fifth and eleventh, show how our income
may be spent, for the fifth house indicates the
children of our body who have a legitimate claim to
a share of our income, and the eleventh house shows
the children of our brain, our hopes, wishes and as-
pirations which also draw upon our resources.

Of the two pairs of cadent houses the sixth is
the house of voluntary service which we perform as
our share of the world's work for an equivalent
share in the world's wealth, and the twelfth house
shows how we may be compelled to labor without
remuneration under prison restraint if we do not
work willingly. The sixth house shows also the state
of our health and the twelfth tells if hospital treat-
ment is necessary.

The other pair of cadent houses, the third and
ninth, show whether our life and work will confine
us to one place or require travel and changes of
residence. In this respect the third house shows
short journeys and the ninth house long travels.

The personal houses comprise the first, fifth and

READING THE HOROSCOPE 75

ninth. The first house rules the constitution and
peculiarities of the physical body. Planets and signs
in that house put their stamp on it to make or mar
according to the part of its self-generated destiny.
Our fifth house shows the quality of the love-nature
of the soul and the line of its expression if it follows
the line of least resistance ; and the ninth house
shows as much of the spirit as we can apprehend in
our present limited state

The material trinity of houses consists of the
second, sixth and tenth and shows the worldly pos-
sessions of man, his means of obtaining them and
the enjoyment they bring him. Wealth, or its re-
verse, is shown by the second house, health, without
which there can be no joy in any worldly possession,
is shown by the sixth house ; and the public prestige
which is the chief source of gratification to the aver-
age human being, is shown by the tenth house.

The social houses are the third, seventh and
eleventh houses and in them are shown the nature of
our relations with various classes of souls we meet
in life. Brothers and sisters to whom we are bound
by the tie of blood are shown by the third house, the
companion of our heart with whom our blood blends
in another way, is shown by the seventh house, and
the friends, more precious than pearls to whoever
has earned friendship, are designated by the eleventh
house.

The fourth and last trinity of houses is com-
posed of the fourth, eighth and twelfth. In them are

76 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

hidden the mysteries of the antenatal life of the
spirit, with the post mortem experiences immediately
following the terminus vitae. On the material plane
the fourth house signifies our condition in the latter
part of life, the twelfth shows the sorrow which im-
presses us with the worthlessness of material things
and the eighth indicates the nature of our exit from
the world's stage.

An illustration may further help the student to
understand how the heavens influence our life
through the twelve houses. Suppose we are out
driving and our road follows the seacoast, but a mile
or so inland. A breeze is blowing from the ocean
and as it passes over the country separating us from
the sea, it brings upon invisible wings messages
from that land, which evoke pleasure or aversion ac-
cording to their nature. In one place, an aroma of
new mown hay fills us with delight; perhaps we arc
nauseated by the noxious smell of jasmine on the
next stretch of our journey; and later become really
ill from the stench of stagnant marsh-water. But
then we enter a forest, and soon its grateful pine
balm restores the normal health and spirits.

In our journey from the cradle to the grave we
carry the twelve houses with us in the auric atmos-
phere surrounding us, as the air envelops the flying
earth. Each house mirrors part of the life; each
holds some of our life lessons; each represents how
we have worked or shirked before in a given depart-
ment of life's task. At the appropriate time of life

READING THE HOROSCOPE 77

we reap from each house what we have sown in past
lives. That is, unless we forestall the harvest in
time. Is our eleventh house afflicted, do friends be-
tray and forsake us, do they leave us heartsick, or
nauseate us like the scent of jasmine and stagnant
marsh- water? Then let us examine the horoscope,
for it reveals what is hidden in our auric atmos-
phere. The friends saw us, and we them, through
the eleventh angle, and something ill-smelling must
be there. It may be, we long to be befriended,
more than to befriend others. Let us cease to be like
the sickly, debilitating jasmine, and seek to emulate
the sturdy strength of the invigorating pine tree;
then we shall find friends flocking around, admiring
our strength. Not all have such sturdy natures, but
we can attract equally by kindliness, as soothing to
sorrowing hearts as perfume of new mown hay to
the sense, and thus we may rid the house of friends
of affliction.

After the foregoing explanations, the houses may
now be said to influence the affairs of life as follows :

First House rules the physical body and its consti-
tution and appearance ; it determines conditions
in the childhood home while the person is un-
der control of the parents.

Second House rules the money, financial fortunes;
it shows what the person acquires by individual
effort and to a certain extent what use he will
make of it.

78 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

Third House rules brothers and sisters, neighbors,
the instinctual mind, writings, short journeys
and conveyances of travel.

Fourth House — That one of the parents who exer-
cises the least influence in the person's life, con-
ditions in the latter part of life, houses, lands,
mines; everything pertaining to the earth.

Fifth House — Love, courtship and licentiousness, the
legitimate and illegitimate attraction and inter-
course between the sexes prior to wedlock,
children, educational institutions, books and
newspapers, sports and amusements, stocks and
speculations.

Sixth House — Health, service to be rendered by the
person and also the condition and faithfulness
of those who serve him.

Seventh House — The marriage partner, the public
in general, competitors, partners, opponents in
litigation, rivals.

Eigthth House — Death, legacies, the marriage part-
ner's finances, occult abilities or faculties latent
but nearly ready for manifestation.

Ninth House — Religion, spiritual experiences and
aspirations, dreams and visions, long travels,
law.

Tenth House — The parent who exercises most in-
fluence in the person's life, the honor and social

READING THE HOROSCOPE 79

standing of the person, the government, judge or
employer.

Eleventh House — Friends, companions and well-
wishers, hopes, wishes and aspirations, generally
of a material nature, also stepchildren.

Twelfth House — Confinement in hospitals or prison,
secret enemies and plots; sorrow and self undo-
ing.

THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC

On either side of the Sun's path there are a
number of fixed stars which are so grouped that they
may be conceived as forming twelve constellations,
and as they have certain characteristic influences
ancient sages named them for the animals which ex-
press similar traits. These constellations are called
the natural Zodiac and for all practical purposes
it may be said that they occupy permanent positions
relative to the other fixed stars of the firmament.
This circle is divided into twelve sections starting at
the first degree of Aries, which is occupied by -the
Sun at the vernal equinox.

On account of the precession of the equinox the
Sun does not cross the equator at the same point
each year, but it has been found that the first 30 de-
grees from the point where the Sun does cross the
equator at the equinox have a similar effect to that
ascribed to the constellation Aries; the next thirty
degrees radiate a Taurian influence and so with the

80 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

other ten sections of thirty degrees each. Therefore
the twelve sections measured from the vernal equinox
are used exclusively in Astrology and called signs
of the Zodiac, to differentiate them from the con-
stellation. (For a thorough elucidation of the sub-
ject see "Simplified Scientific Astrology," under the
caption "Intellectual Zodiac.")

These twelve signs of the Zodiac are variously
divided according to their effect on humanity into
Cardinal, Fixed and Common signs, also into Fiery,
Earthy, Airy and Watery signs. What that influence
is we shall endeavor to elucidate in the following sec-
tions.

The Cardinal Signs
Keyword "Activity."

The Cardinal Signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and
Capricorn. These signs are called Cardinal be-
cause when the Sun is in them he is in one of the
four corners of the heavens; at a turning-point,
where he is forced to take another direction. In
Aries he is as far East as he can go, Cancer is the
tropical point of the North where he gives the most
perpendicular ray at the Summer Solstice, and con-
sequently the greatest heat. Libra is the extreme
Western point of his path, where he turns awav
from the Northern Hemisphere, and in midwinter, at
Christmas, he is in Capricorn at the farthest point
South, where his horizontal ray leaves the people of
the North in winter's icy grip. The effect of the

READING THE HOROSCOPE 81

angles, the first, fourth, seventh and tenth houses, is
similar to the effect of the cardinal signs because
these houses are at the East, North, West and South
points of the horoscope. The nature and effect of
cardinal signs and angles may be summed up in the
words "Action" and "Initiative" (though each acts
differently from the other), therefore planets placed
in cardinal signs and angles give zest to life accord-
ing to the nature of the particular planet, sign and
angle.

Zodiac means circle of animals and the symbols
of three of the cardinal signs are animalistic: Aries,
the Ram ; Cancer, the Crab ; and Capricorn, the Goat.
The fourth represents the ideal towards which this
class must strive : Libra, the Scales. None need poise
so much as those under the impulsive influence of the
cardinal ray; therefore the Balance was set in
heaven to direct their aspirations.

The Fixed Signs
Keyword "Stability"

The Fixed Signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and
Aquarius. Three symbols of the fixed signs are also
bestial, violent and virulent; Taurus, the Bull;
Leo, the Lion; and Scorpio, the Scorpion. The
human figure of Aquarius, the Waterbearer, shows
us the ideal towards which this class must strive. In-
stead of fighting, preying upon, or poisoning others
in the struggle for existence they must learn to be-
come humane, to be friends instead of foes to all.

6

82 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

The influence of the fixed signs rouses the de-
sire nature, giving stamina and persistence in action.

When fixed signs are on the angles (the first,
fourth, seventh and tenth houses), they exert a well
nigh irresistible force, impelling the individual along
a certain line. He may be slow and plodding, but is
sure to be persistent in whatever he undertakes, and
whatever talent he may possess in a certain direc-
tion will be exploited to its fullest extent. Setbacks
which would take the courage from a person with
cardinal signs do not daunt the man with fixed signs
on the angles, he knows no defeat, and therefore
he usually gains his goal in the end and achieves
success by Concentration upon one point, and Per-
sistence in following his chosen path. On the other
hand such people are conservative to the last de-
gree. They may see and desire improvements in vari-
ous lines, but are exceedingly slow to adopt measures
to accomplish the desirable end; they never do so
until thoroughly satisfied that a certain method will
meet the requirements. In other words, people with
fixed signs on the angles ' ' look before they leap ; ' '
they look a long time and very, very carefully, but
on the other hand, when they have once been won
over to a certain cause they are faithful unto death,
and no more ardent advocates can be found; their
zeal is almost fanatical. On the whole, people with
fixed signs may be said to be the most reliable people
in the world, either for good or bad.

READING THE HOROSCOPE 83

The Common Signs
Keyword ' ' Flexibility ' '

Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo and Pisces are called
common - signs, their intrinsic nature is best ex-
pressed by the keyword, Flexibility.

The forces working through the cardinal signs
impinge upon the dense body and stir it to action.

The power of the common signs is mental and
spiritual, it gives purpose to action and incentive to-1
nobility of life.

Therefore people influenced by stellar forces
focused principally through cardinal signs are the
workers of the world, not the toilers, but executives „
who accomplish things industrially, and who bring
into concrete existence great schemes, or small, of
value in the world's work. The common signs are
all double; two of them are human: Gemini, the
Twins, and Virgo, the Virgin; the third, Sagittarius,
the Centaur, is partly human; and only the fourth
symbol, Pisces, the Fishes, is taken from the lower
kingdom. None are violent, however, but intensely
moral, intellectual and spiritual symbols.

Unstable as reeds they are swayed hither and
thither; nothing appeals to them permanently, they
desire nothing as much as change. No matter how
well placed, they can seldom resist the lure of an
opening in another city, the farther away, the bet-
ter. Therefore the old maxim: "a rolling stone
gathers no moss," applies particularly to this class,

84 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

for their roving habits usually keep them poor. They
spend as fast as they earn, or faster. Thus these
people drift upon the sea of life propelled by the
currents of circumstances. Outside conditions domi-
nate them as they lack stamina to assert their own
individuality.

The foregoing in true of the great majority who
are under the rule and influence of common signs,
they respond to the lower phase simply because the
higher side is too high for all but a very few at our
present stage of development. Those who make a
success in the world because prodded by the cardinal
and fixed influences, call them indolent and good-for-
nothing, but were they bereft of the cardinal or
fixed energy which goads them to action, and placed
under the common ray, they would soon realize the
lack of powrer and learn compassion for those who
must so live all their life. What then is the lesson
these people have to learn?

^Comparative Effect of Cardinal, Fixed and Common
Signs on the Angles

While the nature of the cardinal signs is such
that their rays stir our latent forces into Action,
and promote change, the most prominent quality of
the fixed signs is Stability. But the student must
beware of confounding stability and inertia. The
action impelled by the rays of cardinal signs may be
changed into other channels with considerable
facility, all they want is expression; the direction in

READING THE HOROSCOPE 85

which they express themselves is a secondary con-
sideration. Not so with the fixed signs, when their
ray impels to action in a certain direction it is next
to impossible to stay the force or change it. On the
other hand, if they deny expression in certain lines,
the obstruction is almost insurmountable.

People of the fixed class lack ability to make
their inventions commercially useable, a task for
which the cardinal class is eminently fitted. Thus
these two classes work hand in hand and between
them they have transformed the wilderness of the
world to a condition of comparative comfort, their
efforts of improvement are continually carried on,
and in time the primitive desert will be made to
bloom like a rose.

As material success depends on ability to cope
with material conditions, the cardinal class is par-
ticularly fortunate, for it is the chief executive fac-
tor in the world's work, and reaps a ready reward
therefor. The fixed class is not so prominently be-
fore the public, labors in laboratories and works ex-
perimentally to complete the processes and perfect
the models which are later used in manufacture.
Therefore they also are potent powers in life, and
share the material and financial success of the car-
dinal class.

The common class is a sharp contrast. Forces
focused through common signs are mental, therefore
people ruled by them are averse to strenuous physi-
cal action which is the forte of the cardinal class;

86 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

they labor only when lashed by the whip of neces-
sity. They are also incapable of the slow but sus-
tained effort put forth by the fixed class and are
easily discouraged by obstacles. Thus they are
leaners and not lifters. Toilers who do the bidding
of the inventive and executive classes are recruited
from people ruled by common signs. There is one
sphere, however, where they shine, according to their
ability to think. Being averse to work they have
created a vantage-ground whence they may reap the
benefits of the toil of others, of their inventive facul-
ties and executive skill. To do this they become pro-
moters who bring inventor and manufacturer to-
gether, agents who mediate between buyer and seller,
peddlers, venders and all other middlemen who go
between producer and consumer and live on a com-
mission, also literary men who devote their talent to
purposeless fiction belong to the class actuated by the
lower phases of the force in the common signs.

The cardinal class is active, the common is rest-
less, the fixed class is rigid, the common is flexible.

The Four Triplicities

The effect of the "Triplicities" is most marked
in the rising sign and when the majority of the
planets are grouped in one of them.

A fiery sign (Aries, Leo or Sagittarius), on the
ascendant, gives much vitality, but it also makes the
person prone to fevers and inflammatory disorders,
and when the majority of the planets are in fiery

READING THE HOROSCOPE 87

signs they make it very difficult for the person to
"keep cool" physically and mentally.

A watery sign (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces) ris-
ing, gives much less stamina and predisposes to
digestive, urinary and catarrhal troubles. If a per-
son has many planets in watery signs his problem is
to generate enough energy to keep warm, for this
grouping gives a listless, indigent disposition, ex-
cept Scorpio be rising or many planets are in that
sign.

Airy signs rising (Gemini, Libra and Aquar-
ius), gives a nervous temperament and makes the
person liable to disorders of the lungs, heart and
kidneys. Many planets in these signs give people
literary and artistic inclinations.

Earthy signs rising (Taurus, Virgo and Capri-
corn), give fair vitality but a secret fear of disease
arrests the vital processes in the body and poisons
these people so that they become victims of chronic
ailments oftener than any of the other groupings.
The throat, stomach and intestines are specially
threatened; rheumatism and gout are also frequent-
ly experienced. When a person has many planets in
earthy signs it favors the acquisition of material
wealth.

The Sun, The Moon and The Ascendant

We stated in our opening paragraph that there
are Three Great Factors which convey to us the
Mystic Message of the stars in general, namely, the

88 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

"houses," the "signs" and the "planets." There
are also three factors which play a specially import-
ant part in the individual horoscope, namely the
Sun, the Moon and the Ascendant, which may be said
to represent the spirit, the soul and the body.

Properly viewed the Sun, Moon and Ascendant
are not really three separate horoscopical principles
but represent two composite parts which when united
constitute the human being. The "rising sign" and
the "first house" together form an avenue for the
fecundating influences of the Moon which there
crystallize and form the etheric matrix that moulds
the physical particles from the maternal body into
a new vehicle, hence the astrological maxim that the
ascendant at birth (or its opposite) is the Moon's
place at conception. This composite body is the part
of the human being which is born and dies after a
relatively evanescent period of existence.

The other and immortal part of composite man
which consists of the Ego and its finer vehicles is rep-
resented in the horoscope by the Sun and the Moon.
The specific influence of these planets will be de-
scribed when we have considered the rising sign.

Tke Rising Sign

As taught in "Simplified Scientific Astrology"
it is the angle of the stellar ray which determines in
what department of life it will be most prominently
active, and it has been found by observation that the
sign rising or ascending on the eastern horizon when

READING THE HOROSCOPE 89

a child is born is the principal factor in determining
the basic constitution and form of the physical body.
Further investigations have shown that the reason
of this fact is that at the time of conception when the
seed-atom was planted in the ovum the Moon, which
is the Cosmic agent of fecundation, projected its fer-
tilizing ray through the sign and degree which later
rises at the moment of birth, (or its opposite). For
that reason the rising sign and degree continue to
be the avenue of ingress of the life-forces which
build the body of the babe until the severance of the
umbilical cord, and the nature of the rising sign is
thus indelibly stamped upon the new vehicle and re-
tained all through life.

In this connection it should be noted that con-
ception is not necessarily coincident with tho
physical union of the parents, sometimes two weeks
or even more elapse ere the auspicious moment
awaited by the Kecording Angels or their agents
strikes. At that time cosmic conditions are such that
they will form a body which will facilitate the ex-
pression of the Ego seeking re-embodiment and aid
it to work out its self-generated destiny. It should
also be remembered by students that the moment of
delivery is not the time of birth from the astrological
point of view. The inhalation of the first complete
breath usually accompanied by a cry, is the moment
when the incoming Ego receives its stellar baptism.
This renders it ever after susceptible to the influence
of the particular configurations of the stars at that

90 THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

moment, and therefore the stars affect each indi-
vidual differently from all others, not even the horo-
scopes of twins are alike. It is also strongly em-
phasized that according to this explanation we do
not have a certain "fate" because we were born at a
certain time, but we are born at a particular
time because we have a certain self -generated des-
tiny to work out. That is a very important distinc-
tion for it substitutes divine law for divine caprice,
it eliminates the element of "luck" and inspires
man to mastery of "fate" by working with the Law.
If we have made our present horoscope by our past
actions in a past life logically we are now preparing
for future embodiment and may make it what we
choose. If we strive to strengthen our body now; to
overcome our faults; to cultivate new virtues; the
Sun of our next life will rise under much more
auspicious conditions than those under which we
now live and thus we may truly rule our stars and
master our fate.

When the last three degrees of a sign are rising,
or when the first three degrees ascend at the time of
birth the person is said to be born ' ' on the cusp ' ' be-
tween two signs and then the basic nature of the
signs involved are blended in his or her body. Thus
a person born when the three last degrees of Aries
or the first degrees of Taurus were ascending would
be neither purely Aries nor Taurus but a mixture of
the qualities of the two signs.

The nature of the rising sign is also modified by

READING THE HOROSCOPE 91

the presence of planets. The Sun and Mars increase
vitality if well aspected but if afflicted they incline
to fever and inflammatory disorders but they also
favor rapid recuperation, they make the nature alert
and energetic. A well-aspected Jupiter rising also
increases vitality but inclines to corpulence ; if the
planet is afflicted that makes the circulation sluggish
and thus gives a tendency to disorders of the blood.
The foregoing remarks about Jupiter apply to Venus
in a lesser degree. Saturn rising lowers the vitality
and favors chronic ill-health in later life, but at the
same time he gives such a tenacious hold on life that
though the person may pray to be released he can-
not die. Mercury, Moon, Uranus and Neptune make
the body more high-strung and nervous than the
average, usable specially to pioneers in music, litera-
ture, higher thought, science and the electrical arts.
Planets placed in the twelfth house are con-
sidered as being on the ascendant if within six de-
grees thereof, so are all planets in the first house no
matter how far from the rising degree, but if a sign
is intercepted in the first house planets placed there-
in will not have as strong an influence in the life as
where the sign occupies the cusp.