解開十二字母法的糾結

「十二字母法」（the twelve letter alphabet），有時也被稱為十二種「原型」（archetypes），在現代西方占星學中，構成了陳述行星、星座與宮位的基礎。在我看來，這扭曲了占星學的基本象徵系統。許多其他占星師也得出相同結論，然而這套系統卻依舊頑強地存在。

本文是源自我多年來對於這種常見的占星詮釋感到挫折的結果，目的在於促進占星師反思自己有意無意間使用「十二字母法」的情況。我認為，有充分理由該將這套系統徹底擱置，我將嘗試為此提出論證。對於剛接觸占星學的研習者，我希望這篇文章能作為一種補充，減少他們在面對不同版本的占星象徵體系時所感到的困惑，釐清思路；對於已有經驗的占星師和教師，我希望它能激起一些早該展開的對話。

什麼是「十二字母法」？

直白地說，這套理論主張：行星 = 星座 = 宮位。舉例來說，第一宮被認為與白羊座及其主星火星具有相同性質，稱為「第一字母」；第二字母則是由第二宮、金牛座與金星組成，依此類推，直到第十二宮、雙魚座與海王星。

依照這個架構，我們有時會看到「第二宮就像金星」、「第十一宮或水瓶座」的這類說法。有些占星書籍描述行星落入特定星座或宮位時，例如「冥王星（或其他行星）在獅子座或第五宮」，這些作者們其實就是依據十二字母法，將特定的行星與宮位加以對應。

十二字母法也常被用來解讀星盤。以我自己的本命星盤為例：海王星位於第一宮，火星位在雙魚座。根據我第一位占星老師的說法，這代表在我的本命星盤中，第一宮與火星都受到雙魚座／海王星的影響，因此我在處理憤怒或動力方面可能有困難，或者是個被動攻擊型的人。這種解釋簡單又有吸引力，當時令我印象深刻──但它是錯的。   

這種將宮位與星座（及其主星）混合對應的方式，最早可追溯至傳統醫療占星學。在當時的體系中，白羊座或第一宮被視為代表頭部，金牛座或第二宮則象徵喉嚨，依此類推。數世紀之後，這種做法進入了另一個階段，或許可以從丹恩・魯迪海爾（Dane Rudhyar）於1936年出版的《性格占星學》（The Astrology of Personality）說起。他在書中區分了「事件導向」與「人本導向」的宮位觀點，並將所有傳統宮位的描述，重塑為心理與靈性層面的詮釋。到了1970年代初，占星師吉波拉・多賓斯（Zipporah Dobbyns）明確闡述了「十二字母法」，並將其作為從心理或靈性觀點解讀本命星盤的方法。

當然，我們可以完全採用心理學的角度來分析本命星盤，而無需訴諸「十二字母法」。在過去二十年的占星研究中，我主要致力於論證：「靈魂狀態」的這個概念，曾在古代的本命占星學中占有重要地位，以及其相關技法於這方面的有效性。

此外，當「十二字母法」成為解讀占星象徵性的主流範式時，占星學的其他分支──如卜卦占星、擇時占星與事件占星──其價值就會被邊緣化。然而值得注意的是，這些占星學分支主要關注外在情境，而非心理或靈魂的運作歷程。當學習這些重要的占星分支時，還得「重新學習」一套與內在心理不同的象徵邏輯，那未免也太過折騰。

你也許會說：「你不就是又在提倡古典占星、反對現代占星嗎？」不，我是在提倡『原本的占星學』，這是一套擁有悠久歷史傳承、且其象徵體系的內部邏輯一致貫通的占星學，能在所有占星學應用領域中發揮作用。我們需要做的只是更深入地了解它。

許多占星師認為：「應該慎用『十二字母法』，畢竟宮位不是星座，其主星也不是星座」。於是你可能說：「很多教材都說『十二字母法』對初學者是很好的教學工具，只要不要用過頭就好，那有什麼問題呢？」問題就在這裡：如果一個「教學工具」在實務上根本不可靠，甚至可能造成誤解，那我們為什麼還要使用它呢？

在占星學的歷史上，曾經有過其他將宮位與行星加以對應的方式。在過去，第一宮有時對應給土星、第二宮對應給木星，依此類推，以「行星遞減順序」配列十二宮。不少學生和專業占星師在得知後都相當驚訝。（你可以試著將這套方式應用到全部十二宮位，實際效果並不差。）

然而，比這更吸引人的是左圖顯示的「行星喜樂宮」（house joys）。七顆肉眼可見的行星，各自有其偏好的宮位。若要理解行星與宮位之間的關聯，「行星喜樂宮」遠比「十二字母法」來得有效，因此，我將在本文中繼續介紹這套系統。

逐字母檢視

「十二字母法」將星座、行星與宮位這三條各自獨立的線，硬是綁在一起，結果打成一團結。若要讓占星學回歸清晰一致，就必須逐一解開這些糾結。

撰寫本文時，我受到《華盛頓郵報》（The Washington Post）專欄作家葛倫・凱斯勒（Glenn Kessler）〈事實查核人〉（The Fact Checker）系列專欄的啟發。他會根據政治人物或廣告的虛假程度，頒發不同數量的「皮諾丘」（說謊指數）。在這裡，我用打結的數量來代表問題的嚴重程度：結越多，表示依循「十二字母法」對應宮位、星座及其主星時，出現的混亂就越大。

第一宮：白羊座 ─ 火星 ⊘⊘⊘

解讀星盤時，這個區域極為關鍵。我一向從上升點、上升主星、第一宮的宮內星，以及與上升點形成緊密度數相位的行星著手觀察。在本命占星學中，這些因素共同描繪出命主的性格特質（characteristic style）與氣質（temperament）類型。第一宮被稱為「命宮」（the house of life），身心健康相關議題也歸屬於此。在卜卦星盤中，上升點與第一宮代表提問者；在擇時盤或事件盤中，這些因素象徵事件的開始。在本命占星中，這些因素比太陽星座或月亮星座都更具關鍵性，應當被優先考量。

人類性格與行為的多樣性，根本無法被「原型式地」綁定在白羊座或任何特定星座，也無法簡化成火星或任何特定行星。我們每個人都具有來自不同星座與行星的潛能，特別是那些實際出現在本命星盤的行星與星座，因此，沒有理由硬把白羊座稱作「先天宮位」¹的第一宮。白羊座作為啟動火象星座，確實是火星的先天居所，它凸顯了火星的果斷、但衝動，甚至具破壞性的行動力。

然而，白羊座與火星的性質並不總是適用於我們身處的大多數情境。事實上，在面對新情境時，我們通常不會一頭衝進去，而是更可能選擇觀察、等待、尋找切入點。傳統上，火星被視為「凶星」，這顆炙熱的紅色行星往往帶來的傷害多於助益。

其實，火星的活動範圍遠比白羊座代表的要廣得多：火星在其他星座中也具有尊貴。將火星等同於白羊座，無異於過度簡化這顆紅色行星複雜而有趣的本質，把它形塑成像是一位衝動的十六歲少年，而忽略了火星在其他擁有尊貴的星座中，所展現的那種安靜、專注、目標明確的行動力。

水星，得喜樂於第一宮，而不是火星。當我們思考：在人際互動或面對世界時，經常需要的是多樣而靈活的反應，那麼比起火星，在這個關鍵位置上，水星顯然是一顆更合適的行星。

第二宮：金牛座──金星 ⊘⊘⊘

第二宮的主題非常直白，但套用「十二字母法」之後，反而變得複雜起來。第二宮關乎金錢、資源與命主的「物質基礎」──就這麼簡單。金牛座作為土象固定星座，是追求身體感官享受、舒適生活，以及某種樸實單純的理想之處。（請留意：金星是金牛座的主星，月亮在此得尊貴。）

貪婪往往使人生變得複雜，但那並不是金牛座的本質！此外，也不應將第二宮與「價值」的概念混為一談；儘管有時人們會這樣做。第二宮關心的是每個人生活中都得面對的現實問題。雖然它有個人與社會層面的諸多意涵，但歸根究柢，它就是關於──錢。

作為掌管美感與裝飾的行星──金星，並非「金錢之星」，而是關於「賞心悅目的東西」。金星更在意的是一棟新建房屋的美感與風格，而不是這棟房子如何展現了屋主的財富。千萬別把金星誤認成那些導致 2008 年金融海嘯的財經人物，他們比較像是那種不擇手段、聰明過頭，卻缺乏道德感的──水星的黑暗面。

事實上，木星才是傳統象徵財富（及其社會展現方式）的行星，它與第二宮以及「幸運點」（lot of fortune）被視為代表命主的「物質基礎」。

第三宮：雙子座──水星 ⊘

將第三宮與雙子座對應起來，問題似乎不那麼大，因為第三宮的一些常見主題──例如小學教育、鄰里關係、短途旅行等等──與我們對雙子座的理解有相當程度的契合之處。然而，我對於把「低階心智」（lower mind）歸給第三宮這一點感到困擾，因為這種分法貶低了心智在日常生活中實際運作的價值。

雙子座與水星的活動範圍絕不能被侷限在單一宮位中。若將第三宮等同於水星，反而矮化了這顆行星的角色──市場之神、機靈的律師、口才伶俐的政客、技術支援人員以及婚禮或喪禮籌辦者。

最初，第三宮被稱為「兄弟宮」，並與火星對應，而這個與手足相關的意涵也一直延續至今。但第三宮還有另一層的含義：它與第九宮的呈對宮，曾被視為月神的領域，而月亮也正是在這裡得喜樂！第三宮與第九宮都與夢境、預言以及占卜有關。

我們可以一路追溯月亮與第三宮象徵意義的演變歷程，發現其實有不少占星師主張，負責傳遞訊息與通訊的行星其實是月亮，而非水星。至於第三宮何以與「初等教育」相關，則可能肇因於托勒密（Ptolemy）的分類方式。他將行星對應人生發展階段時指出，人生最初四年由月亮掌管，接下來的階段則由水星掌管，孩童開始接受教育。

第四宮：巨蟹座──月亮 ⊘⊘⊘

我們先從月亮談起。在當代占星學中，月亮被視為掌管情感與情緒的行星（以及那個有點奇怪的詞──「滋養」）。但我們可以更進一步問：情感與情緒的作用是什麼？「滋養」究竟是為了什麼目的而存在？

情感與情緒的功能在於不斷將我們帶回身體本身及其需求，也帶回這個變化不斷的世界，要求我們持續調整，以維持內在平衡與成長。月亮這顆行星，不僅與陰性能量有關，更關乎適應與變化的能力，甚至比水星還要變化無常，最能體現「變動性」。所謂「滋養」自己或他人，其實只是高度回應的表現。月亮的運作具備節律性，其本質屬水──而水是一種強大、甚至潛藏破壞力的元素，卻同時能夠流動和順應。我們可以將人體中的液態特質視為月亮的表現。

在卜卦與擇時占星中，月亮通常用來表示時間的流動──從過去通往未來，具體體現在它與某顆行星離相位，並朝向下一顆行星運行。

月亮主管巨蟹座，這是啟動水象星座。當太陽行經巨蟹座時，正值北半球一年之中光照最長的時節；而當太陽巨蟹座上升時，它在白晝的天空中所行經的弧線也最長。巨蟹座是一個流動性高、同時帶有強烈個人色彩的星座。

月亮與巨蟹座並不完全等同，但彼此非常契合。巨蟹座對月亮而言是個極佳的居所，在這裡，月亮可以毫無保留地展現情緒，而在男性星盤中，則可能略顯得陰晴不定。

但這一切與「第四宮」的意義其實大不相同。第四宮屬於「地底」（under the earth），它關乎一個人的根基與起源──例如家庭、家族與族裔。在傳統西方文化中，這個宮位原被稱為「父親宮」，因為家族姓氏與財產通常透過父系繼承。現代人當然可以將「母親」納入其中，作為第四宮所象徵的家鄉與血脈根源的一部分，也反映出今日比傳統占星時代更重視性別平等的觀念。然而，這一切作為根基的意涵──都不是月亮，也不是巨蟹座的領域。

第五宮：獅子座──太陽 ⊘⊘⊘

這個組合讓我頗感困擾，幾乎和把土星與摩羯座硬扯到第十宮一樣令人不適。「第五字母」的這種安排，同時扭曲了第五宮、太陽、獅子座，以及「創造力」這個概念，錯得很徹底。

由於與上升星座呈三分相，自古至今第五宮被視為「吉宮」，但它的意涵卻向來分歧──既是子女宮，又與快樂、娛樂有關。若試圖用「創造力」這個詞來包裹「快樂」與「子女」，則只是換個說法，卻無法真正解決這個矛盾。

第五宮是關於娛樂、嗜好，甚至包括我們現在所說的「戀愛關係」（儘管這是較晚期才出現的意義）。在十二宮位之中，第五宮無疑是「開趴宮」。

毫不意外地，掌管快樂與歡愉的吉星金星，在此得「喜樂」。金星是享樂、玩樂與「美好時光」的行星，雖然這也可能讓一位帶有金星氣質的人顯得膚淺，但至少相處起來很有趣，也難怪古人稱這裡為「好運宮」（place of good fortune）。第五宮所強調的是快樂和感官的滿足──這使它更像是一個追求舒服與順從感官慾望的場所，而非真正具創造性的空間。

這不是太陽。太陽是整個太陽系的主宰，在占星學中象徵「自我光芒照向世界」的核心行星。太陽代表的是領導力、聲望、名譽，還有智慧之光，怎麼可能也掌管「嗜好」、「娛樂」或「戀愛遊戲」呢？這些都缺乏太陽所擁有的深度。

那麼，太陽是否代表創造力？是的，但前提是不能將「創造力」與「才能」混為一談。許多人在某方面很有天賦，卻並不具備真正的創造力。「創造力」是指能夠用獨特的方式看待情境、跳脫框架，從而做出出人意料的想法與行動。我記得多年以前在庫特・馮內古特的小說《冠軍早餐》（Breakfast of Champions）中看到一則漫畫，墓碑上寫著：「連宇宙造物主都不知道這傢伙下一句要說什麼。」可以說，創造力是我們作為人類的核心本質。

創造力並非來自故作怪異，而是源自擺脫心智鍛造的枷鎖──那些不經思考的慣性思維，也就是那種只問「此刻做起來爽不爽」的思考模式。正因如此，我絕不會把真正的創造力交給第五宮這個「開趴宮」。

第六宮：處女座──水星 ⊘⊘

第六宮是果宮，與上升點沒有關聯，因此它象徵人生中的某些困難，其中之一就是疾病，另一個則是奴役、勞役，或我們今日所說的「受雇工作」（特別就美國當前情況來說，通常指較低技術含量的職務）。

儘管處女座及其主星水星確實與健康有關，處女座本身並不以疾病為主題。人們熟知的處女座是：健康的生活方式、飲食與運動、自然療法等等，這些特質與處女座作為土象變動星座的本質非常契合。然而這些並非第六宮掌管的事項，而是把我們帶回到第一宮的範疇了。

根據占星學作為「為上層階級服務」的歷史定位，第六宮原本是關於那些可能不可靠的僕人，或在古代的語境下，是奴隸。今天我們或許可以稱之為「日常工作」。由於第六宮與第十宮形成三分相，它也曾經被作為職業指標之一。現代占星師通常將第六宮視為「受僱者」的代表，與象徵更有聲望的「事業」（即第十宮）作出區別。

第六宮在現代的詮釋中成為「日常苦差事」的地方。這裡說的當然不是我們每天都得來一杯的晨間咖啡，而是那些通常由僕人、奴隸或現代稱為「員工」所負責的那些乏味、重複、缺乏思考性的任務。儘管如此，這些內容既不是處女座的本質，也與水星無關。

火星在第六宮得喜樂。這裡曾被稱為「惡運宮」（house of bad fortune），若從積極面來看，我們往往需要火星的能量幫助我們從不幸中掙脫出來──即使某些不幸，可能正是火星本身造成的。

第七宮：天秤座──金星 ⊘⊘

第一宮若對應「自己」，那麼第七宮對應的即是「他人」──所有類型的「他人」都屬於第七宮的範疇。當針對某位重要他人提出問題時，星盤中的第一宮代表提問者本人，第七宮則代表被問的那個人。依情境而定，這位重要他人可能是戀人（無論是想像中或真實的）、配偶、摯友，或是與你有契約關係的另一方──若你是賣方，對方是買方；若你是借款人，對方是債主。一位重要他人也可能是一位對手，不論是運動、政治或戰爭之中。長遠來看，雖然和諧一致確實有助於積好因緣，但天秤座及其主星金星，並不總是與第七宮的涵義最為契合。

天秤座與金星之於第七宮，與白羊座與火星之於第一宮的狀況相仿──都無法涵蓋自我與他人（第七宮）之間各種情境的多樣性。誠然，第七宮既象徵敵人，也象徵婚姻或伴侶關係，而天秤座作為金星主管的風象啟動星座，確實包含「夥伴關係」與「互動」的主題；但如果執意將天秤座與金星套用於此，那你也必須勉強地將它們與敵人劃上等號。

第八宮：天蠍座──火星（或冥王星） ⊘⊘⊘

這一組對應必須逐一拆解，因為現代占星師對第八宮的詮釋幾乎全錯。

第八宮，正如第六宮（以及接下來會討論的第十二宮），與上升點沒有連結，因而象徵某種形式的瓦解。在此指的是死亡，以及死亡的方式。在古代，第八宮被稱為「無用之地」（Idle），因為落在此處的行星無法發揮其潛能。在另一種以行星順序對應十二宮的系統中，第一宮對應土星，而第八宮則與土星有關。總歸而論，第八宮並不是個愉快的地方。中世紀占星家後來試圖賦予第八宮更多意義，將其定義為「配偶的財富」（即從第七宮起算的第二宮），但那只是在其原本意涵之上所做的小修小補。

然而，上述這些內容與水象固定天蠍座毫無關聯。將水元素的深層經驗結合固定宮的頑強特質，再加上其主星火星，的確具有「死撐到底」的特質，然而這份堅持，是為了活下去，不是為了死亡。你也許會說：「但天蠍座會為了崇高理想而犧牲生命啊。」這固然沒錯，但那是因為天蠍座對宏大目標的熱烈投入，以及願意自我犧牲的精神。天蠍座往往也非常務實──舉例來說，擁有太陽在天蠍座的巴頓將軍（General Patton）就曾說過：「士兵的目標不是為國捐軀，而是讓敵人為他的國家去死」。天蠍座的那股強烈、固定的水象驅力，往往傾向於執念、怨懟，甚至殘忍──但這些也是對「生之執著」的表現，而非與死亡相連。

現代占星將天蠍座與死亡劃上等號，主要是因為把外行星冥王星也納入了對應系統。冥王星是一顆冰冷、強大，且經常帶來極端經驗與情境的行星。其實，傳統主星火星才是那顆在日常生活當中具體發揮作用、與天蠍座實質相符的行星，相較之下，更適合主管天蠍座。

那麼第八宮是否與性愛有關？只能說是「偶爾」。天蠍座與第八宮都對應到人體的生殖器官，但性愛的內涵遠不止於身體部位，也遠遠超出天蠍座或火星所涵蓋的占星象徵範圍。至於將冥王星與性愛連結，則是個更糟糕的做法，因為冥王星所象徵的性愛，更接近「強暴」（就像普魯托擄走波瑟芬妮的神話），而非一般經驗的強烈愉悅或對浪漫愛情的認肯。

第八宮／天蠍座／火星或冥王星代表「蛻變」？那更是錯得離譜。問題在於，我們對轉化（transformation）這個詞有過度浪漫的幻想。

當我們真正去思考「轉化」是如何發生時，便會發現：它要不發生在極端痛苦的情境之下，就是在極為漫長的時間中所積累的細微轉變。在這些過程中，我們並不會變成「另一個人」、不會徹底「改變形態」，而是展現出我們原本潛能的另一個層面、或是更趨完整。換言之，我們並不是被「轉化」，也不是「變了」，而是更「完整」了。

第九宮：射手座──木星 ⊘

我們往往將木星與哲學、宗教聯繫在一起，因而將木星歸屬於第九宮的做法相當合理。（在另一以土星為第一宮為起點的宮位配置系統中，木星也被指派給第九宮。）在古代占星學中，第九宮是「太陽神」的居所，與公開的宗教儀式有密切關聯；如同第三宮，也與夢境、預言與占卜有關。至於第九宮與高等教育或長途旅行的聯繫，則是較晚時期才加入的意涵。

在第九宮得喜樂的行星是太陽。作為果宮，在第九宮卻得到了大量的日光，太陽在這裡能感到快樂。這也與歷史上許多宇宙觀和宗教將太陽神格化相契合，或許也符合太陽作為理性之光、象徵更高智慧的意象。

第十宮：摩羯座──土星 ⊘⊘⊘⊘

當你我死後的占星師回頭看到這樣的對應關係時，必定感到困惑不已。將掌管事業、聲望與名譽的第十宮原型與土星和摩羯混為一談，單單這項錯誤，就足以讓整個「十二字母法」被打包丟棄。

你也許會反駁說：「但這是代表『老闆』的宮位啊！」我會回答說：「老闆有很多種，並非所有老闆都壓迫人。」領導與指導這兩個面向──屬於太陽的特質，而非土星──正是第十宮中最為顯著的要素。

傳統上，第十宮是「行動」的區位──事業、志業、名聲與聲譽皆屬於此。我所說的「志業」具有更廣義的內涵，也就是說，如果你白天在零售業工作，但下班後是政治活動家或動物權益的倡議者，那麼後者才更屬於你的第十宮。若一個人的「生活型態」包括擔任鄰里巡守、自給自足的生活主義者，或經常出席喪禮，那麼他們的第十宮才可以被視為具有土星的特質。

摩羯座作為土象啟動陰性星座，由沉重的、夜間的土星所主管，同時對應於北半球一年之中日照最少的時間與區域，這與第十宮作為公開、充滿陽光的領域格格不入。由於第十宮代表權威，比起那顆灰沉的土星，其意義更接近於太陽。

第十一宮：水瓶座──土星 ⊘⊘ 或天王星 ⊘⊘⊘

在古代，占星師將第十一宮稱為「善神宮」（place of the good spirit，或 daimon），是一處象徵幸運與豐盛的宮位。根據古典文獻，木星在此宮得喜樂，與這極具福氣的宮位相當契合。（第十一宮與第五宮相對，第五宮是「幸運宮」也是金星的喜樂之地，而金星是另一顆吉星。）後來，第十一宮被賦予「希望與願望」的意涵，甚至再延伸為友誼與社交團體的領域；其中「希望與願望」與此宮最初的意涵更為一致。

那麼，這與固定風象星座──水瓶座相符嗎？這個「水瓶侍者」具備線性思維傾向，容易走向抽象概念的思考風格，這其實與第十一宮最初的象徵意涵並不太吻合。水瓶座是一個關於社會責任與客觀思維的星座，也與日間（陽性星座）的土星關係良好；這顆土星比掌管摩羯座的那顆土星更為輕盈些。若將第十一宮僅限於友誼社群的相關定義，那麼將它與日間土星對應起來，並不會造成太大問題。

問題在於，當占星師將水瓶座與外行星天王星混為一談，也就是那顆代表怪異、突發與天才的行星，然後又試圖將這一切與第十一宮連結時，就會使情況變得更加混亂。天王星的性質與水瓶座這個固定、理性且「人文取向」的星座非常不同。天王星是叛逆的、極端個人主義的、有意背離傳統規範的。水瓶座則是與獅子座相對的星座，它較為傾向人道主義、關注團體與文化，而非個體。把這種混淆延伸到第十一宮，只會讓問題更加惡化；這掩蓋了第十一宮本來具有的仁慈與庇護的特質──這些在傳統上正式由木星所彰顯的特質。

第十二宮：雙魚座──木星（或海王星） ⊘⊘⊘

這部分存在許多問題，而其中多數源自於對雙魚座意涵的扭曲詮釋。但我們先單獨來看第十二宮的本質。

如同第六宮與第八宮，第十二宮也與上升點沒有連結，同樣屬於人生困境的區域。第十二宮是果宮，在古代占星學是所謂的「惡神宮」（place of the bad spirit）。從外在世界來看，第十二宮與監獄、收容機構，以及幽暗隱密之地有關；從內在層面來看，這是一個「纏擾之處」，例如來自前世的業力、心理上未竟的課題，或其他因無法覺察所導致的自我困擾。心理占星學家往往會從第十二宮探查那些尚未被意識到、卻可能在個人生活與人際關係中引發混亂的因素。這樣的理解，確實契合第十二宮的本質。

但這些意涵，與變動水象雙魚座卻有極大差異。雙魚座具有流動、易變的特質，能根據個人與社會角色發展出各種偽裝與變形。作為一種心智特質，雙魚座展現出強烈的直覺傾向，思維方式也不循常規、帶有非線性的特質。然而，與海王星不同的是，那些雙魚座能量明顯的人，儘管他們的自我認同可能不甚清晰，卻仍能設法維持住自己的身分感。無論是雙魚座，或它所謂的主星海王星，都與我們在內外條件的限制中所經歷的那種如緊箍咒般的壓迫感，相距甚遠。

木星，大吉星，也是雙魚座的傳統主星，與第十二宮的意涵距離更遠。木星──尤其當它位在陰性的雙魚座時──帶來的是對種種可能性的直覺感知，也就是人們常說的「信念」或「希望」。然而，第十二宮卻是冷酷現實從背後襲來之處，往往帶著傷害性的意圖；這裡的象徵意義，與土星更為接近，而非木星。事實上，土星正是在第十二宮得喜樂的行星。

不使用「十二字母法」能帶來什麼好處？

對初學者而言，這將使得學習占星變得更容易──不論是哪一類型的占星學。行星將擁有其獨立的意涵領域，涵蓋心靈中的各種表現形式、外在事件中的作用、世界中的特質與具象事物。行星與星座之間的關聯，將透過「尊貴」（dignity）與「無力」（debility）來呈現，使我們更能理解各星座對不同行星所產生的影響。而宮位則依舊保留作為衡量行星力量、並在卜卦占星、擇時占星與事件占星中代表不同人物角色的功能。這樣的觀點，不再將本命占星學置於其他技法之上，而是將這些分支視為彼此關聯，同是這門偉大技藝的一部分。

對於較為進階的學生，或剛入行的職業占星師來說，這樣的做法能讓他們不再執著於尋找整張星盤的「主旋律」，而是學會讓星盤針對特定問題自行揭示訊息。這樣的取徑，有助於我們更清楚看見星盤真正包含的內容，為客戶提供實際可行的生活建議。

對資深占星師而言，這是個機會去重新探索詮釋本命星盤的其他可能性，例如運用先前討論過的「喜樂宮位」。更宏觀地說，這也是一次機會，讓我們能從長遠角度理解西方占星學：它不是隨著心理動力學或新時代潮流興起又消逝的片段知識，而是一脈相承、跨越千年的智慧體系。

不過我也明白，大多數所謂的「權威」是只有當刀架脖子上才會改變主意，因此我對於專業占星師的期待，反而不如對新一代學生來得高。話雖如此，世事難料，如果這篇文章能激發幾位資深同業的討論，我將感到相當欣喜。

──首刊於 2014 年 9 月 10 日

作者：約瑟夫・克萊恩（Joseph Crane）

原文網址：Untying the Knots of the Twelve-Letter Alphabet | Joseph Crane’s Astrology Institute

The Twelve Letter Alphabet, sometimes called the twelve “Archetypes,” underlies much of the presentation of planets, signs, and houses in modern Western astrology. In my view, this has led to the distortion of much of astrology’s fundamental symbolism. Many other astrologers have come to the same conclusion, yet this system persists.

This article, the result of many years of frustration with the conventional presentation of astrology, has as its goal that astrologers question their explicit and implicit use of the Twelve Letter Alphabet. A case can be made for putting this system away forever, and I attempt to make that case here. For newer students I’d like this article to be a “patch” to decrease their confusion and help them think things through when they encounter different versions of astrological symbolism. For more experienced astrologers and astrology teachers, I would like to stimulate some long-overdue conversation.

What is the Twelve Letter Alphabet?

12-letter1 When stated nakedly, this doctrine maintains that the Planets = Signs = Houses. For example, the First House is of the same nature as Aries and its ruling planet Mars, called the “First Letter”; the Second Letter is made from the Second House, Taurus, and Venus, and so on up to the Twelfth House, Pisces, and Neptune. Following this model, we sometimes read statements such as “the Second House is like Venus,” the “Eleventh House or Aquarius,” and so forth. When astrology books describe a particular planet’s placement through houses and signs, e.g. “Pluto (or other planet) in Leo or the Fifth House”, their authors are making a correspondence of particular planet and the house based on the Twelve Letter Alphabet.

One can also use the Twelve Letter Alphabet for interpretative purposes. My natal chart has Neptune in the first house and Mars in Pisces. According to my first astrology teacher, this means that in my natal chart the First House and Mars are modified by the Pisces/Neptune influence, so that I have problems with anger or motivation, or maybe I’m passive aggressive. I was struck by this interpretation’s seductive simplicity, and also that it was wrong.

This particular blending of houses with signs (and their ruling planets) took root in traditional medical astrology, whereby either Aries or the First House is significator of the head, Taurus or Second House significator of the throat, etc. Centuries later, perhaps beginning with The Astrology of Personality (1936), Dane Rudhyar differentiated between “event-oriented” and “humanistic” perspectives on the astrological houses and recast all the traditional house depictions to fit psychological and spiritual interests. In the early 1970’s astrologer Zipporah Dobbyns articulated the Twelve Letter Alphabet that was linked with interpreting a natal chart from psychological or spiritual points of view.

Surely, one can take a psychological approach to natal astrology without resorting to the Twelve Letter Alphabet. Much of my astrological work over the past 20 years has been to demonstrate the importance of the “condition of the soul” in the natal astrology of previous eras, and the effectiveness of its techniques for that purpose. Additionally, when the Twelve Letter Alphabet has taken over as the template for astrological symbolism, other fields of astrology (horary, electional, and event astrology) take on a diminished value. It is important to note that these branches of our art are concerned mostly with external situations, not the processes of psyche and soul. When learning these important branches of astrology, people should not have to learn astrology all over again to apply its symbols outside the psyche.

“You’re just promoting traditional astrology over modern astrology – once again.” You might say. No, I reply, I am promoting astrology as it is, with a long heritage and coherent symbol system that is relevant across all applications of astrology. We just need to find out more about it.

Many astrologers state that the Twelve Letter Alphabet should be used carefully, because houses are not exactly signs and ruling planets aren’t signs either. Thus you might say, “A lot of presentations say that the Twelve Letter Alphabet is a good teaching tool for new astrology students but one shouldn’t take it too far, so what’s the problem?” Well, if a “teaching tool” is not to be trusted in actual practice on and can create misunderstanding, why use it at all?

HouseJoys2 Throughout astrology’s history there have been other ways to look at houses and planets together. Students and professional astrologers are often surprised that in the past the first house was sometimes correlated with Saturn, the second with Jupiter, and so on, in the descending order of the planets. (Try it out for all Twelve Houses – it doesn’t work too badly.) A more attractive system, however, is that of the house joys shown in the diagram on the left. Each of the seven visible planets has a favorite house to inhabit. This works far more powerfully than the Twelve Letter Alphabet to understand the connection between planets and houses, and so I will present the house joys throughout this article

Letter by Letter

By tying together the separate threads of signs, planets, and houses the Twelve Letter Alphabet has created knots that need to be untied for astrology to be coherent. For this article I take my inspiration from a fine series of columns by Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post called “The Fact Checker”. It bestows different numbers of “Pinocchios” to politicians’ statements and advertisements based on degrees of untruth. Here, the more knots you see, the “knottier” are the problems correlating house, sign, and governing planet according to the Twelve Letter Alphabet.

1st Aries Mars ∅∅∅

This area is critically important for interpreting an astrological chart. I always begin looking at an astrological chart by noting the Ascendant, its planetary ruler, planets in the First House, and planets closely aspecting the Ascendant degree. In natal astrology, these factors together represent the characteristic style and temperament of the native. The First House has been called the house of “life,” and issues about physical and mental health also reside in this place. In a horary chart, the Ascendant and First House signifies the person who asks a question. In an electional chart or event chart, these factors signify the initiation of an event. In natal astrology these are the first and most powerful factors to be considered, far more than the Sun sign or Moon sign.

Rembrandt3 The wide variety of possibilities of human character and behavior cannot be “archetypically” tied to Aries or any particular sign, Mars or any particular planet. All of us have different possibilities that can be traced to different signs and planets, particularly the one that shows up in a chart – there’s no reason to call Aries the First House of the “natural houses.” Aries, as a cardinal fire sign is a natural home for Mars, emphasizes the decisive but impulsive and possibly destructive activity of Mars.

The cardinal fiery sign Aries and its ruling planet Mars are not always appropriate to most situations in which we find ourselves. In fact, we usually don’t burst into new things but instead we’re more likely to watch and wait and find an “in.” Mars is traditionally a “malefic” and the fiery red planet often causes people more harm than good.

Mars also has a greater range of activity than is attributed to the sign Aries: Mars is dignified elsewhere than in Aries. Assimilating the planet Mars to the sign Aries over-simplifies the complex and interesting nature of the red planet, making it appear more like an impulsive sixteen-year-old male than a planet that can work quietly and in a focused way toward a goal, as when Mars inhabits its other signs in which it has dignity.

Mercury, not Mars, is in its joy in the First House. When we consider that what we often need when meeting the world is a diverse range of responses, Mercury, not necessarily Mars, is a good planet to have in this important position.

2nd Taurus Venus ∅∅∅

The concerns of the Second House are straightforward but using the Twelve Letter Alphabet has made them complicated. The Second House is about money, funding, and the “substance” of the native – period. Taurus, the earthy fixed sign, is a fine place for physical pleasure and comforts and a basic kind of simplicity. (Note that Venus is its domicile ruler and Moon its exaltation.) Avarice tends to make life very complicated – but this is not Taurus! Nor should money be confused with “value” that is sometimes attributed to the Second House. The Second House is about a concern we all have in our lives that has many personal and social implications, bMoney4ut the bottom line is that it’s just money.

As the planet of beauty and adornment, Venus is not the planet of money but of “nice stuff.” Venus is more interested in the aesthetics and style of a newly-built home rather than its display of the native’s wealth. Venus should not be confused with the financial people who brought us the Great Recession of 2008 – that’s closer to Mercury in its less appealing amoral and all-too-clever manifestations.

Instead, Jupiter is the traditional planet of wealth (and its social display) and was a signifier of the “substance of the native” along with the Second House and the Lot of Fortune.

3rd d Gemini Mercury ∅

Correlating the Third House with Gemini poses less of a difficulty, mostly because the common significations of the Third House – primary school, neighbors, short trips, etc. – correspond more closely with our understanding of the sign Gemini. I am, however, bothered by the association of “lower mind” with the Third House, for this devalues mind in its operations in ordinary life.

Gemini’s and Mercury’s ranges of activity cannot be reduced to one astrological House. Likening the Third House to Mercury trivializes the planet of the marketplace, of the clever lawyer and glib politician, the person behind the “technical support” desk, and the person who organizes your wedding or funeral.

The Third House was originally that of “brothers” and was given Mars as a corresponding planet and the signification of this house as siblings has survived to modern times. Yet there is another meaning for the Third House: opposing the Ninth, this was the Place of the Moon Goddess and the Moon is in its joy here! The Third and the Ninth were both associated with dreams, prophecy, and divination.

One can trace the Moon’s interest in the Third House with the development of meaning to the present day, for it was the Moon, not Mercury that many cited as the planet governing messengers and messages—communication in general. It was probably from reading Ptolemy that the Third House received the domain of “lower education,” in his attribution of planets to stages of human development. After the first four years of life governed by Moon, in the following years of Mercury children would begin to receive their education.

4th Cancer Moon ∅∅∅

Let’s first talk about Moon. In contemporary astrology the Moon is considered a planet of feelings and emotions (and that odd word “nurturing”), but we can go further by asking this: what are feelings and emotions for? What purposes does nurturing serve?

Feelings and emotions serve us by constantly bringing us back to our bodies and their needs, our world and its constant changes, demanding from us that we make constant adjustments to preserve homeostasis and to grow. Moon is a planet not only about the feminine but also about adaptability and change and, even more than Mercury, is the ultimate planet of mutability. Nurturing oneself or another is simply an intense form of responsiveness. The Moon’s activity is rhythmic and its essence is watery – the element water is powerful and potentially destructive but flows and accommodates. We can look at the watery nature of our bodies as lunar. In horary and electional astrology the Moon often represents the flow of time from past to future as it departs from aspecting one planet and applies to the next.DAbbey5

The Moon governs Cancer, a watery but cardinal sign that is the time of the maximum amount of light in the Northern Hemisphere when the Sun is placed there, and the longest arc in the daytime when it is ascending. Cancer is a fluid but personalizing sign. Moon and Cancer are not the same as each other but they are a good fit. Cancer is a fine home base for the Moon, for there the Moon is ostentatiously emotional, or, in a man, rather moody.

This is very different from the significations for the Fourth House. This house is “under the earth” and is about one’s origins and foundation – home, family, and ethnicity. It was originally the Place of the Father, for that is how the family name and property were passed along in traditional Western cultures. Moderns can certainly add mother into the mix, if in keeping with the Fourth House and one’s “homeland” roots and to reflect greater gender equality than in the traditional cultures in which astrology operated. None of this – foundation – is Moon or Cancer, however.

5th Leo Sun ∅∅∅

This one bothers me, almost as much as affiliating Saturn and Capricorn with the Tenth. “Letter Five” distorts the Fifth House, Sun, Leo, and the creative processes all in one ill-considered move.

As it is in trine to the sign of the Ascendant, the Fifth House has always been considered a fine place but has had conflicting significations as the place of children and pleasurable activities. To attempt to bring pleasure and children together under the heading “creativity” does not solve the problem.

LoveBoat6 The Fifth House is a place of entertainment, hobbies, even what we call “love affairs” (although that’s a newer signification). Of the Twelve Houses, the Fifth House is surely the “party house”. To nobody’s surprise, then, the benefic Venus is the planet whose “joy” is in the Fifth House. Venus is the planet of pleasure and amusement and a “good time”, possibly rendering a Venus-like person shallow but fun to be with. Not surprisingly the Fifth House was called the Place of “Good Fortune. Its emphasis on pleasure renders the Fifth more a conformist than creative place – what feels good is what you do.

This is not the Sun, who is the maestro of the Solar System and the astrological planet that brings us a sense of ourselves that radiates onto the larger world. Sun represents our qualities of leadership and our fame and reputation, also the bright light of intellect. Sun cannot also be about “hobbies” and entertainment and “love affairs”, for these all lack a profundity that is solar.

Is the Sun the planet of creativity? Yes, if we do not confuse creativity with talent, for there are many people who are talented in an area but do not approach it creatively. Instead, creativity is the ability to see situations uniquely, “out of the box”, and thus think and act unpredictably. I remember a cartoon in Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions many years ago: on a gravestone were engraved the words, “Even the Creator of the Universe Didn’t Know What This Man Would Say Next.” One can even say that creativity is the essence of our being human.

Creativity is not the result of being eccentric but from shaking off our “mind-forged manacles” of unreflective thinking, perhaps a mind focused on doing or saying what feels good right now. I would never give creativity to the Fifth House, the “party house”.

6th Virgo Mercury ∅∅

The Sixth Souse is cadent and unconnected to the Ascendant; it thus signifies some of life’s difficulties and one of them is sickness. Another is slavery, servitude, or what today we might call “employment” (especially in less skilled jobs at present in the United States).

There’s nothing sickness-oriented about Virgo, although there is plenty about Virgo, and its ruling sign Mercury, that can be about health. These are the familiar associations of Virgo with a healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise and natural remedies, and the like. This fits well with Virgo being earthy and mutable. These are not Sixth House matters but bring us, instead, back to the First House.

As befitting astrology’s historical place serving the “one percent”, the Sixth House was about one’s potentially untrustworthy servants or (in ancient times) slaves. Today we can call this the “day job.” Because the Sixth House is in a trine relationship with the Tenth, it was also used as a vocational indicator. Modern astrologers tend to look at the Sixth as being an “employee”, distinguished from a prestigious “career” that is the Tenth.

Spartacus6 The modern signification of the Sixth House as the “daily grind” – not our morning coffee – seems appropriate, since it was the slave or servant or (too often) the modern employee who is often assigned tasks that are tedious or mind-numbingly repetitive and brainless. Yet none of this is Virgo or Mercury.

Mars is in its joy in the Sixth. This was the House of “Bad Fortune” and, looking at Mars positively here, we often need Mars to help us climb out of our misfortunes – even though Mars may have caused some of them.

7th Libra Venus ∅∅

If the First House is oneself, then the Seventh House is the Other – all kinds of others. If one has a question about a significant other, the person asking the question is signified by the First House and the person asked about is signified by the Seventh House. Depending on the situation, a significant other may be one’s lover (hypothetical or real), marriage partner, best friend, or the other party in a contractual transaction in which you are involved – a buyer if you’re selling, a creditor if you are borrowing. A significant other may be also an opponent – in sport, politics, or war. Although concord and harmony make for better karma in the long run, Libra and its governing planet Venus are not the always the best match.

Libra and its ruler Venus is as out of place with respect to the Seventh House as Aries and its ruler Mars is to the First House – both deny the variety of life-situations of oneself and with other (Seventh House). There’s clearly a resemblance between the 7th place of enemies and married or relationship partners. And Libra, the air cardinal sign governed by Venus, has themes of partnership and mutuality. But then you’re stuck with having to align Libra and Venus with one’s adversaries!

8th Scorpio Mars (Pluto?) ∅∅∅

This one must be taken apart piece by piece, for everything is wrong about how the Eighth House has been depicted by modern astrologers.

The Eighth House, like the Sixth (and the Twelfth that I will discuss shortly), is unconnected to the Ascendant and represents some kind of undoing. In this case it is death and the manner of death that is the undoing. In ancient times this place was called “Idle,” for planets there did not live up to their potential. In the other wheel of houses that liken the First House to Saturn, the Eighth House affiliates with Saturn. The Eighth is just not a happy place. Medieval astrologers did give the Eighth some life by attributing to it a partner’s money (as the Second House from the Seventh House), but that seems a small improvement on the basic meaning of the Eighth.

None of the above is concerned with the fixed water sign Scorpio. Combining the deepening experience of the water element with the intransigence of a fixed mode, and its ruling planet Mars, Scorpio rightly has the attribution for hanging on, but it’s hanging on for dear life, not death. You might say, “But Scorpio could die for a worthy cause,” but that is from its intensity of devotion to larger purposes and a willingness to sacrifice oneself for them. Scorpio is also drily pragmatic – to quote General Patton with Sun in Scorpio, the soldier’s goal is not to die for one’s country but to get the enemy to die for his. Scorpio’s strong, fixed water drive often tends toward obsessiveness, resentment, and even cruelty – but these are also manifestations of hanging onto life, not death.

Pluto7 The modern assimilation of Scorpio to death is a result of bringing in the outer planet Pluto, a planet that is cold, powerful, and brings intense experience and situations. Mars, the traditional ruler which manifests in ordinary life as Scorpio does—unlike the outer planet Pluto—is the more appropriate planet to govern Scorpio.

Is the Eighth a place of sexuality? Only accidentally, for along with Scorpio, the Eighth House was given the genitals as the body part of govern. Sexuality does cover a wider range than body parts and wider range of astrological possibilities than Scorpio or Mars. Linking Pluto with sexuality seems a particularly bad idea, for Pluto’s version of sexuality is closer to rape (as in the abduction of Persephone) than ordinary experiences of intense pleasure or the affirmation of romantic love.

Still less is the Eighth House – Scorpio – Mars or Pluto about transformation. Partly this is because we have an overly romantic notion of transformation. When we ask ourselves how real change occurs, it is either resulting from extraordinary – and usually painful — situations, or sometimes from incremental changes over a long time. In either case, they do not change us from one person into another, change our “form”, but instead bring about other dimensions of or the fulfillment of who we already are. We are not transformed – or different – but completed.

9th, Sagittarius Jupiter ∅

We tend to liken Jupiter to philosophy and religion and the attribution of Jupiter to the 9th House fits fairly well. (Jupiter is also the planet associated with the Ninth in the wheel of houses that begins with Saturn as the First.) The Ninth was the place of the “Sun God” in ancient astrology and was strongly associated with public religious practice; yet, like the Third, it was also associated with dreams, prophecy, and divination. The Ninth House being associated with higher education or long journeys is a later addition.

The planet in joy in the Ninth House is the Sun and, for a place that is cadent, the Ninth gets a lot of sunlight and the Sun can be happy here. It also fits well with the deification of the Sun’s power in many cosmologies and religions throughout history. It may also conform to the image of Sun as a planet of higher intellect, as the light of reason.

10th Capricorn Saturn ∅∅∅∅

Astrologers after my lifetime or yours will look at this affiliation with bewilderment. Archetypally mixing the House of career, reputation, and fame to Saturn and Capricorn is itself enough to throw out the entire Twelve Letter Alphabet system.

Trump8 You might retort, “But it’s the place of one’s boss!” I answer that there are many kinds of bosses and they’re not all oppressive. The dimensions of leadership and mentorship – solar and not saturnine factors – are prominent Tenth House factors.

The 10th is the traditional place of one’s “action” – career, calling, fame and reputation. I include a larger sense of “vocation”, so that if you work retail by day but are a political activist or animal rights advocate otherwise, the latter would be included within your Tenth House. If a “lifestyle” includes neighborhood vigilantism, being a “survivalist”, or attending a lot of funerals, that person’s Tenth House would qualify as Saturnine.

Capricorn, as the cardinal earth sign, governed by a heavy nocturnal (feminine sign) Saturn, and the place and time of least light in the Northern Hemisphere, is completely out of place in the public and daylight-filled Tenth. Because the Tenth is place of authority, it is far closer in meaning to the Sun than the gray planet Saturn.

11th Aquarius Saturn ∅∅ or Uranus ∅∅∅

In ancient times the 11th, the “Place of the Good Spirit (or daimon)”, was a place of fortune and abundance. According to traditional sources Jupiter is in joy in the Eleventh, befitting a place that is considered so fortunate. (The Eleventh is the House opposite the 5th, the Place of Good Fortune and the joy of Venus, the other benefic.) The Eleventh House became the place of “hopes and wishes” and later the place of friendship and social groups; “hopes and wishes” is more in line with the original meaning of the Eleventh House.

Is this like the fixed air sign Aquarius? The “Water-Bearer” has a linear mental quality and a tendency to become conceptual that is not particularly like the Eleventh House in its original meanings. Aquarius is a sign of social responsibility and objective mind, and Aquarius relates well to a diurnal (masculine sign) Saturn that is a lighter Saturn than the one who governs Capricorn. However, if you confine the Eleventh House to friendships and social groups, the affiliation with the diurnal Saturn isn’t such a problem.

Things become much more confusing when astrologers mix up Aquarius with the outer planet Uranus, the planet of eccentricity, suddenness, and genius, and then try to bring in the Eleventh House. Uranus is quite different from the fixed mental “human” sign Aquarius. Uranus is rebellious, radically individualistic, and is deliberately outside convention. Aquarius, the sign opposite Leo, is humanitarian and oriented more toward groups and cultures than individuals. To bring this confusion to the Eleventh House only makes this problem worse; it obscures the original benevolent and protective quality of this house which is well demonstrated by Jupiter’s traditional association.

12th Pisces Jupiter (Neptune?) ∅∅∅

There are many difficulties here, and many are based on the distorted ways that the sign Pisces has been defined. But first let’s look at the Twelfth House by itself.

Jail8 Like the Sixth and Eighth, the Twelfth is also disconnected to the Ascendant and is also a place about life’s difficulties. The Twelfth is a cadent house that in ancient astrology was the Place of the “Bad Spirit.” In the outer world the Twelfth is where we locate prisons, confinement in institutions, and dark hidden places. More internally, this is the place of being haunted – by previous karma, psychological “unfinished business,” and other manners of “self-doing” that come about because of what we cannot see. Psychological astrologers have looked to the Twelfth House for unacknowledged factors that may wreak havoc on one’s person and within one’s relationships. This is in keeping with the qualities of this house.

This all seems very different from the mutable watery sign Pisces that is flowing, changeable, and can develop different disguises for its personal and social roles. Pisces, as a quality of mind, has a strongly intuitive nonlinear bent. Unlike the planet Neptune, however, natives with prominent Pisces placements manage to maintain their identity even if that identity is not well-defined. Both the sign Pisces and its purported ruler Neptune are a far cry from the vice grip many of have experienced when in conditions of external or internal confinement.

Jupiter, the great benefic and the traditional ruler of Pisces, is even farther away from the significations of the Twelfth House. Jupiter – especially in the feminine sign Pisces – brings intuition of possibilities that is often called “faith” or “hope”. The Twelfth, however, is where cold reality comes at us from behind often with harmful intent; it is far closer to Saturn than Jupiter. And Saturn is, of course, the “joy” of the Twelfth House.

What Do You Gain from Not Using the Twelve-Letter Alphabet?

For the beginner, it would become easier to learn astrology, all kinds of astrology. The planets would have their own realms of meaning, including different manifestations within the psyche and in outer events, qualities, and things in the world. The planets would relate to signs through dignity and debility that allows us to better understand the effects of all the signs on all the planets. The houses would remain ways to assess planetary strength and to represent different players in a horary, event, and electional astrology. One would not value natal astrology over the latter but see them all as interrelated, all parts of the same great work.

The more advanced student or new professional astrologer would be less inclined to look for overarching themes of a chart but to let the chart disclose information that answers specific questions. This will increase one’s ability to see a chart for what it contains and for practical applications to the lives of our clients.

For the veteran astrologer, it’s an opportunity to find other possibilities for interpreting natal charts, such as using the house joys discussed above. More broadly, it’s an opportunity and to view Western astrology as a continuum extending across the centuries, not something that has come and will go with modern psychodynamic or New Age sensibilities. Knowing, however, that most “experts” change their minds only at knifepoint and beyond, my expectations are lower for professional astrologers than for newer students. The unexpected does happen, from time to time, and I would be happy if this article sparks some good discussion among seasoned astrologers about these important matters.

First published September 10, 2014

by Joseph Crane