Horary astrology is renowned for its ability to predict with accuracy. My teacher, John Frawley, gained fame in part by accurately predicting the outcomes of football games on British TV. Horary is the only branch of astrology that is verifiable in this way. The final exercise in my horary apprenticeship was to make a prediction, get it right, and verify it objectively.
Below is a question I asked myself recently. Now, keep in mind that it is not a good idea for an astrologer to judge her own horary questions. Reason: it is hard to be truly objective about yourself, even when you try.
When will the .5 job come through? Jan 6, 2010, 8:53 am in Milwaukee, WI; 12 Aquarius Asc. The chart appears below.
The planet representing me in this chart is Saturn, strongly dignified in Libra and placed in the 8th, one of its own houses, although not a fortunate house. The Moon is always co-significator of the querent (here, me). The Moon is just past conjunction with Saturn, with a little bit of dignity (in its own face), also weakly placed in the 8th.
I have been doing this job on a fill-in basis for over a year. There has been talk of creating a half-time (.5) position with benefits for at least that long. I confess to having a sense that this job should come to me. Note that I did not ask whether I would get the job, but when I would get it! Saturn is in its own exaltation, which means my sense of myself is exaggerated. I could very well be wrong in assuming that the job is mine to get.
Playing the part of the job in this chart is Jupiter, in the first house and in strong Saturn dignities: the job “loves” me. This is not exaggerated, but genuine. My coworkers think well of me and my supervisor wants to hire me, so this makes sense. But the placement of my significators in the weak 8th house also makes sense: I am virtually powerless in this situation, all exaggerated sense of myself aside. The matter is in the hands of the large department within the very large government bureaucracy that employs me. I will submit the required paperwork and do my best in the interview process, but the decision is not mine to make.
Receptions are very important in horary, and here I am a bit puzzled. Neither of my planets loves Jupiter right now, so the reception is not mutual. The job is a good one all things considered, and I love my coworkers. I would have expected some mutual reception to reflect that. Instead, my planets both love Venus. What does Venus represent? There's no clear answer here. Venus is Lord 3 and Lord 8, but neither makes any obvious sense in the context of this question.
So, will I get the job? For a Yes, typically we look for an applying angle between one of the querent’s significators and the significator of the desired thing. There is none here, which could mean No. However, we could argue that I already have the job, albeit not on secure terms. In that case we can look at the condition of the job. Is there anything to indicate that the job will improve, and if so, when?
Jupiter right now is peregrine in Aquarius with accidental dignity in the first house. In two and a half degrees it will leave Aquarius and enter one of its own signs, Pisces. In Pisces it will be very strong. This could well signify the guaranteed hours and benefits that I have been waiting for.
What about timing? Degrees in horary signify units of time. The trick is in determining which units to use. Days or weeks are unlikely, years too far, so we will settle on months. Two and a half months is about 11 weeks. Counting from the date of our question, this puts us at mid-March. So here's my prediction: I will get the .5 appointment in mid-March, 2010.
I will stand by this prediction, but I have lingering concerns:
1) We don't have an applying aspect, and my argument that we don't need one may be incorrect;
2) When Jupiter enters Pisces it will have only minor interest in Saturn (me);
3) The antiscion of Uranus is conjunct the Moon by antiscion, which could prove troublesome.
Time will tell if this prediction is correct. Either way, we will learn from it. Stay tuned!
Postscript:
I received the job offer on February 16, 2010, a month ahead of my prediction. I have since learned that trying for exactitude in timing sets you up for being wrong, even if the prediction is essentially correct. It's best to phrase the timing as broadly as possible given the testimonies. I still find timing to be the trickiest part of horary practice!
In retrospect we can see that Jupiter moving out of Saturn dignities did not mean the job was no longer interested in me. Moving into its own rulership simply signified the job’s improvement from ‘pool’ (no guaranteed hours) to a permanent position with benefits.
First published on Jan 8, 2010 on silvestreastrology.blogspot.com, with results announced on Feb 18, 2010.
PHOTO CREDIT: From http://deathtothestockphoto.com/, cropped by me. Used under their license (http://deathtostock.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/Death-to-the-Stock-Photo-Photograph-End-User-License-8-2015.pdf)
