• CHAPTER ELEVEN •
Despite the title of this chapter, there is no such thing as “quick and easy horary.” Only with years of study and practice can an astrologer hope to master this complex branch of astrology. The extensive rules used to interpret horary charts were developed during several millennia, and all of them must be considered in order to accurately read the chart. There are few horary experts, but those that do invest the time and effort in learning this branch of astrology are exceptionally qualified.
Horary charts fall into two basic categories: yes and no questions, and questions that relate to missing items or the outcome of a situation or event. This quick and easy method is limited to yes and no questions, and should not be used for the more complex questions that require extensive interpretation of the chart using ancient techniques.
This method, which I’ve used extensively, tends to give either a clear answer or none. When the answer isn’t apparent, it generally means the chart requires the use of many, or most, of the vast horary rules and is beyond the scope of this method. Be cautious about using quick and easy horary for major life decisions. It is better suited to everyday life and questions such as, “Will I hear from her today?” or “Should I order a pair of pants?”
When traditional horary methods are used, it’s possible to ask a question about anyone. The quick and easy method, however, is generally viable only with first person questions—those asked by you about yourself and situations or conditions in your life. You can do the same with questions asked by other people. What does not work well with this method is questions asked about another individual. These questions require interpretation according to the full breadth of traditional horary rules.
In order to calculate a correct horary chart, you need the exact time you asked the question, as well as the exact wording of the question. This is especially important if you’re unable to calculate the chart at the exact moment you ask the question. (You can use astrological software to do this, or go to one of the online sites where you can calculate the chart.) Calculate the chart for the location (city and state or province) where you asked the question.
There are a few basic rules you need to learn in order to answer yes and no questions:
1. Any chart that has three or fewer degrees or twenty-seven or more degrees rising (Ascendant degree) cannot be answered. If three or fewer degrees are rising, the situation has not developed enough for the horary chart to yield an answer. In the second case, with twenty-seven or more degrees on the Ascendant, the matter has already been settled or nothing will come of it.
2. Locate the Moon and note all of the major aspects (conjunction, sextile, trine, square, opposition) it makes before becoming void of course.
3. If the Moon’s last aspect is positive (sextile or trine, or conjunction to Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter), the answer is yes.
4. If the Moon’s last aspect is negative (square or opposition, or conjunction to Mars, Saturn, Uranus, or Pluto) the answer is no.
5. If the Moon’s last aspect is to Neptune, the answer is unclear and the question cannot be answered.
6. The horary chart needs to be in some way relevant to the question. There are several ways to determine this when using this quick and easy horary method: the house where the Moon is located or the planet it last aspects is relevant to the question; the rising sign (Ascendant) rules the question; or the first rising planet (planet closest to the Ascendant, beginning with the first house, then the second, the third, etc.) pertains to the question. For example, the sixth house should be involved if the question concerns a job, or the eleventh if it involves a friend.
will i make
money on the stock?
This chart (Chart 60) has a clear yes answer, because the Moon’s last aspect is a trine to Jupiter, and doubly so because Jupiter is the planet of abundance. Note that Jupiter is in the eighth house of money, so this is confirmation that the answer is valid.
The Moon makes many aspects before the final one, and these give additional information about the question. Taking them in order, the Moon first forms a square to retrograde Mercury, which could indicate initial regret about the stock purchase. It then moves on to square Venus and the Sun, so the stock would probably drop in price before eventually rising. This is confirmed by the sextile to Mars, which is also retrograde and its placement in the second house of money. Mars is also co-ruler of the fifth house of speculation. So at this point it looks like a bad investment. But with the trine to Jupiter and much patience because of the retrogrades, the stock should eventually net a nice return on the initial investment.
will my house be sold to the interested party?
The answer to this question (Chart 61) is unclear because the last major aspect formed by the Moon before it leaves Aquarius is a conjunction to Neptune. You can see the initial optimism of the seller from the conjunction to Jupiter, which is the first aspect of the Moon and in the first house. Jupiter is retrograde, however, which could be interpreted as false optimism. That Neptune is retrograde and the ruler of the second house of money might indicate that the prospective buyer will reconsider purchasing the house at some time in the future.
There is even more doubt about the house being sold to the interested party because the Moon forms no major aspects to Venus or the Sun. Venus rules the fourth house of the seller’s home, and the Sun rules the seventh house, representing the prospective buyer.
will i find the envelope?
According to this chart (Chart 62), the envelope would be found, which it was about thirty minutes later. The Moon’s last aspect while in Virgo is a trine to Mercury, which is valid because that planet rules envelopes. There are two aspects before the Moon-Mercury trine: a conjunction to Saturn and an opposition to Uranus. Saturn aspects usually indicate a delay, and Uranus is associated with change and the unexpected. As the search continued, a friend (eleventh house ruler Saturn, and Uranus, natural ruler of friends) suggested using the chart directions to locate the envelope.
In order to read a horary chart for direction, you need to consider the chart from the position you were in at the time the question is asked. Think of yourself as standing in the center of the chart. These are the directions represented in charts:
North—IC
South—Midheaven
East—Ascendant
West—Descendant
To make it easier to see the directions, it is helpful to turn the chart upside-down so that the Midheaven is at the bottom of the chart.
Looking at the chart position of Mercury in this horary chart, it is southeast of where the question was asked. Saturn, ruler of Capricorn (Mercury’s sign) is associated with earth and wood. This suggests the envelope might be on the floor near a wooden object. In fact, the envelope was found to the southeast and underneath a wooden desk.
Chart 60: Will I make money on the stock?
Horary chart / January 6, 2010 / 5:19:43 pm MST / Chandler, Arizona / Placidus House
Chart 61: Will my house be sold to the interested party?
Horary Chart / September 29, 2009 / 3:58:55 pm CDT / Chicago, Illinois / Placidus House
Chart 62: Will I find the envelope?
Horary Chart / February 10, 2009 / 9:11:15 pm MST / Chandler, Arizona / Placidus House
Chart 63: Will I enjoy my date with Melissa?
Horary Chart / June 19, 2010 / 8:12 am MST / Phoenix, Arizona / Placidus House
will i enjoy my
date with melissa?
An astrologer friend asked this question, wording it like he did rather than asking this question: “Will Melissa like me?” Remember, this quick and easy horary method is generally useful only with first-person questions. However, the alternate question could be answered by using all the traditional horary rules.
This horary chart (Chart 63) has Venus (love) rising in Leo (romance), and the Moon is in Libra (partnership), so it is a valid chart for the question. In fact, with Venus rising and the Moon approaching a sextile to this planet, it would be easy to assume the answer would be yes. But there is more involved in this chart.
Regarding romance, this chart actually has more of a negative connotation. The Moon’s last aspect is an opposition to Jupiter, ruler of the fifth house. Jupiter in the ninth house of travel and the Moon in the third house of communication reflects the scheduling of the date, which was delayed because she was out of town.
The Moon’s first aspect is a square to Pluto in the fifth house of romance, so conversation (Moon in the third house) would be initially difficult. This would improve, as indicated by the Moon’s next aspects, a sextile to Venus and a trine to Mercury.
This chart is an example of why it’s important to check the movement of the planets. The last lunar aspect is a trine to Neptune, not the Sun, because the Sun would move into Cancer while the Moon was still in Libra. So the answer is unclear (Neptune). The date evolved as the horary indicated, but they did not have a second one. He was basically ambivalent (Neptune) about Melissa, whose job required travel (Neptune ruling the ninth house), making it difficult to mesh their schedules even if he had wanted to pursue a relationship.
Chart 64: Where is the silver?
Horary Chart / May 11, 2011 / 3:52:02 pm WST / Chandler Arizona / Placidus House
where is the silver?
From the outset, this question breaks one of the quick and easy horary rules: it asks where an object is located rather than whether it would be found. It’s also a good example of the failings of the quick and easy method, as I eventually discovered (Chart 64).
Even though this question asks for the location, my underlying interest was whether it would be found. This is an easy one. The last aspect of the Moon is a trine to the Sun, so the answer is a yes. And indeed it was.
Impatient to find the silver, I took note of some factors in the chart before beginning to search. (Had I just gone about my routine, I would have found it anyway!) Notice that the Moon is in Virgo, the sign that rules boxes. From this I determined that it was in a box. It was. The Sun is in Taurus, the sign that rules silver, and further confirmation that it would be found.
The search took place in a large two-story house with a basement, and many closets and several attic spaces. So there were plenty of potential places to look. I attempted to narrow the search by making the following rulership list:
• Moon: water, basement, silver
• Saturn: dark corner, low place, tools
• Taurus: basement, closet, storeroom, tile
• Sun: recreation room, furnace
• Libra: Attic, high places
• Moon in the eleventh house: SSE
• Sun in the eighth house: WSW
The directions for the Moon and Sun were used because they had a relationship with silver (Moon and Taurus).
Based on the above list, and using the most often repeated factors, I concluded that the silver was in a box on the floor in the basement recreation room, which has a tile floor and nearby areas with tools and the furnace. This room is on the west side of the house, with tools in the WSW location.
Wrong! And it could not have been more so—except for the box.
The silver was found on the first floor in a bedroom on the south side of the house. It was in a closet in the WSW part of the room on a high shelf.
Beware of attempting to do too much with the quick and easy horary method!
These examples barely scratch the surface of horary astrology, but they are a starting point and a brief introduction to this complex subject. There are a number of excellent books on horary astrology (see Recommended Reading list) that explain the many rules and include numerous examples.