Astrology – John Frawley – Journal of a Cartomante

15 August, 202613 August, 2026

Application, Separation, Frustration… Is Horary All About Aspects?

Editorial Note: This article was originally written during a period in which I was experimenting with whole-sign houses. It is presented substantially as originally written.

One of the most common misconceptions about horary astrology is that judgement consists merely of locating an aspect between two significators and pronouncing a simple yes or no. If the ruler of the ascendant applies to the ruler of the seventh, the answer is yes; if not, the answer is no.

The reality is rather more nuanced.

Aspects themselves have several layers of meaning that must be considered: application and separation, frustration, prohibition, collection and translation of light, reception, and a host of other factors. A chart may indicate the perfection of a matter whilst simultaneously showing obstacles, delays, or even a subsequent change of circumstances.

A horary consultation from earlier that year serves as an excellent illustration.

The querent, Dimitra, wished to know whether she would be offered a position for which she had recently been interviewed.

I cast the chart for the time and date at which I read and understood her question. The figure was displayed using house division; however, my topical analysis was conducted using whole-sign houses.

In horary astrology, the rising sign and its ruler signify the querent. The matter being enquired about—the quesited—is represented by the appropriate house and its ruler. The Moon, as the general significator of events and developments, may also co-signify the querent provided she is not simultaneously ruling the quesited.

Cancer rises in this figure, making the Moon Dimitra’s principal significator.

In terms of the considerations before judgement, the chart is radical. It was cast during the hour of the Moon, who both rules Cancer and serves as one of the triplicity rulers of the water signs.

The Moon is placed in the second house and is therefore in aversion to the ascendant. When the querent’s significator is averse to the first place, we may conclude that the matter is not entirely within the querent’s control.

As part of my practice, I also examined the twelfth-part of the ascendant, which falls at 6° Aries in the tenth place. Employment is a tenth-house matter¹. According to Hephaestion of Thebes, the twelfth-part associated with this portion of Cancer concerns “rulership and rank and a priesthood and what is like that².” Whilst not decisive in itself, such testimony is certainly relevant given the nature of the enquiry.

The central question, however, remains straightforward: will Dimitra be offered the position?

To determine this, we must establish whether there is a means of bringing together the querent and the quesited. This may occur through direct application between significators or through a translation of light.

The answer appears immediately.

The Moon, signifying Dimitra, is at 27° Leo. Mars, signifying the position itself, is at 27° Aries. The two are joined by an exceptionally close trine, with less than a degree remaining before perfection. This detail is important, for the aspect is still applying. Had the trine already separated, it would instead suggest parting: rejection, withdrawal, dismissal, or a conclusion already reached.

At first glance, therefore, the answer appears to be yes.

Yet judgement does not end there.

The next step is to determine whether the Moon perfects another aspect before reaching Mars. Were there such a planet, the trine could be frustrated. In this chart, no such frustration occurs. Mars is not stationing, nor is there any prohibition arising from retrogradation. Whilst the Moon eventually squares Jupiter, that aspect perfects only after the trine to Mars and is therefore irrelevant to the immediate question.

A more intriguing consideration lies elsewhere.

The Moon is at 27° Leo and has fewer than three degrees remaining before entering Virgo. As the Moon is the swiftest of the seven traditional planets, this change occurs quickly. Once in Virgo, she becomes averse to the tenth place.

In my experience, this is highly significant. Although the querent obtains the desired object—in this case, the offer of employment—she subsequently turns away from it. Such testimony frequently indicates a decision to decline an offer or pursue another opportunity.

We may also note that the Moon’s previous completed aspect was a trine to Saturn. Saturn rules both Capricorn and Aquarius; here, Capricorn occupies the seventh place, signifying competitors or other candidates. Technically speaking, this represents a translation of light between Saturn and Mars by way of the Moon.

Dimitra’s question was not whether she would accept the position, however. It was whether the position would be offered to her.

My judgement was therefore affirmative.

I also advised her that the chart suggested she would ultimately decline the role and that it would subsequently pass to another candidate.

That is precisely what occurred.

Shortly after receiving the offer, Dimitra was presented with a more attractive opportunity by her existing employer. Once the Moon enters Virgo, she begins to apply by opposition to the Sun in the ninth place. The Sun is both exalted ruler of the tenth and one of its triplicity rulers, further describing the alternative path that eventually emerged.

Because the trine between the Moon and Mars was so close to perfection, I further advised Dimitra that she was likely to hear the outcome extremely quickly. The chart was cast at 14:10 in London. Two days later, she informed me that the offer had arrived that very evening and that she had formally withdrawn two days afterwards.

I sought Dimitra’s permission to publish this case following a discussion with one of my Tarot de Marseille students who had recently begun exploring horary astrology. During the conversation, the student suggested that horary amounted to little more than locating an aspect and declaring a positive or negative outcome.

The belief is not uncommon.

It is, however, mistaken.

As this example demonstrates, meaningful judgement requires consideration of numerous factors. Nor are all horary questions judged in precisely the same manner. A chart concerning employment differs substantially from one concerning illness, a missing object, or allegations of malefic magic.

For those interested in studying horary astrology, there are many worthwhile starting points. I began with Derek Appleby, Olivia Barclay and William Lilly’s Christian Astrology (Books I and II)³. Today, I would also recommend John Frawley’s The Horary Textbook and Christopher Warnock’s Horary Case Book. My own favourite authorities, however, remain al-Kindī⁴ and Sahl⁵, particularly in Benjamin Dykes’s translations. Dykes’s translation of Bonatti⁶ is also highly recommended.

References

Featured image: Jacopo188, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Chart generated using Delphic Oracle.

Notes:

During the twentieth century, it became fashionable to associate employment with the sixth place. Such an attribution has little basis in the traditional sources. Averse to the ascendant, the sixth is known as the Place of Bad Fortune and is associated with slaves, illness, injury, enmity, and affliction (Brennan, 2017; Valens, Anthologies). Modern astrologers frequently attempt to whitewash the ancient designation of “servants” as “service,” and from this conclude that employment ought to be judged from the sixth place. This is an entirely erroneous assumption. It is both historically anachronistic and culturally relativistic, presupposing that employment is fundamentally an act of service. The ancient sources make no such argument because they possessed sufficient common sense to distinguish between the native and the native’s servants. The slaves signified by the sixth place belong to the native; they are not the native himself. Consequently, however humble one’s occupation, the tenth place remains the proper house of profession, office, advancement, reputation, and employment, whilst the sixth more naturally signifies those over whom one exercises authority or responsibility. ↩︎
Hermann of Carinthia and Dykes, B. (2011). The Search of the Heart. Minneapolis, MN: Cazimi Press, p. 201. ↩︎
Lilly, W. and Roell, D. (2004). Christian Astrology. Bel Air, MD: Astrology Classics. ↩︎
Dykes, B. and al-Kindī (2011). The Forty Chapters of al-Kindī. Minneapolis, MN: Cazimi Press. ↩︎
Dykes, B. (2011). The Book of the Nine Judges. Minneapolis, MN: Cazimi Press. ↩︎
Bonatti, G. and Dykes, B. (2010). Bonatti on Horary: Guido Bonatti’s Book of Astronomy, Treatise 6: On Questions. Minneapolis, MN: Cazimi Press. ↩︎

29 July, 202627 July, 2026

The Cat Who Walked By Herself

One of the many things I enjoy about horary¹ astrology is its combination of speed and elegance. Questions can often be answered remarkably quickly, yet at the same time horary demonstrates astrology’s extraordinary capacity for literal expression. Cases involving lost objects—or, better still, missing animals—are among my favourites.

Long-term readers will know that I am very much a cat person. One of my cats, who came from a feral litter, is an inveterate wanderer and has been the subject of numerous astrological enquiries, horary and otherwise.

This chart was cast last year. At the time, I had been unwell and was staying with a friend for a week or so. On the Sunday, the person caring for my pets telephoned to inform me that this particular cat had not been seen since the Friday.

My immediate thought was simple: Where is she? Glancing at my watch, I noted the time. In horary astrology, a chart is cast for the moment the question is asked—or, if the question has come from another person, the moment it is both read and understood by the astrologer.

Here is the chart² (recast in Delphic Oracle, although the original was calculated using iPhemeris).

The querent—in this instance, myself—is represented by the ascendant and, more specifically, by the ruler of the rising sign. Here, Libra rises, making Venus my significator.

In terms of the considerations before judgement³, the chart is radical, albeit with Libra rising in its early degrees. It was cast during the hour of Mercury, who is one of the triplicity rulers of the sanguine signs: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.

Venus is situated in the eleventh place, the house of friends. The literalness is already becoming apparent. Al-Kindī (who, alongside Sahl, remains one of my favourite authorities on horary)⁴ states that if the ruler of the ascendant is separating from, or placed in, the house of the Sun (Leo), this may indicate that the sudden and unforeseen arrival of a friend contributed to the loss of the object being sought.

In my case, unforeseen circumstances had necessitated my staying with a friend rather than remaining at home.

Our next significator is the quesited—the subject of the enquiry itself. This is represented by the sixth place, which governs pets⁵ (or, in traditional terms, animals smaller than a goat).

Pisces is on the cusp of the sixth house. Jupiter, as ruler of Pisces, therefore signifies the cat.

Jupiter is in Libra and conjunct the ascendant.

In other words, Jupiter occupies the place that signifies me.

This was peculiar.

The condition of Jupiter can also tell us something about the cat’s circumstances. Jupiter, like Mercury, is one of the triplicity rulers of the air signs, although it possesses little else in the way of essential dignity here. The cat, therefore, was not especially comfortable.

She was not, however, with me. The question remained: where exactly was she?

In terms of physical location, the chart provides a straightforward answer. Jupiter is in an angular house, indicating proximity, whereas the cadent houses tend to suggest greater distance⁶. Given Jupiter’s conjunction with the ascendant, I became convinced that the cat was still on the property.

The first place signifies the front of a property: the porch, front door, vestibule, or entrance hall. Libra, being a sanguine sign, is frequently associated with windows, bright and airy spaces, shelving, and elevated locations.

At this point, the answer became obvious.

In the porch there was a cupboard where I frequently instructed couriers to leave parcels. Inside were several shelves.

And there was the missing cat.

On the Friday, Amazon Logistics had delivered a couple of parcels—rather fittingly, cat litter—and evidently had not shut the cupboard door properly. At some later point the door was closed, trapping her inside.

Quite why she had chosen to be in the porch in the first place remains something of a mystery.

Needless to say, couriers no longer use that cupboard, and it is now kept locked.

The cat, however, continued to roam.

Images:

Featured Image: Louis Wain, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Chart from Delphic Oracle.

Footnotes

Horary astrology (from the Latin hora, meaning “hour” is an astrological technique used to answer specific questions by casting a horoscope for the moment a question is asked and understood. ↩︎
This article was written in 2017, before adopting a sidereal framework and while I was exploring the use of whole-sign houses. It is reproduced largely in its original form. ↩︎
Considerations before judgement do not prohibit a chart from being read or deemed fit for purpose. Rather, they serve as cautions that there may be factors not immediately apparent to the astrologer. A Moon in the Via Combusta or Saturn in the seventh does not automatically invalidate a chart. ↩︎
Dykes, B. and al-Kindī (2011). The Forty Chapters of al-Kindī. Minneapolis, MN: Cazimi Press, p. 134. ↩︎
The Moon is the natural significator of lost objects, particularly animate ones, and al-Kindī generally preferred the Moon to the ruler of the relevant house. Whilst I never ignore the Moon, I have frequently found—as in this chart—that the appropriate house ruler provides the clearest testimony. Here, the Moon is also in an angular house and separating from a trine with the Sun (signifying my friend) and a sextile with Saturn (signifying the illness from which I was suffering). Had we followed the Moon alone, however, we might have expected the cat to be in a cellar, on the ground, or somewhere low down—traditional fourth-house and Capricornian indications—which she decidedly was not. ↩︎
The angular houses are the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth places. Traditional authors often refer to these as the pivots. The cadent houses are the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth places, traditionally called the declines. These classifications are important when assessing the proximity of a missing person, animal, or object. ↩︎

21 July, 202619 July, 2026

To Relieve This Belly Ache

Last month (October 2019), I had a conversation with an old paternal family friend, Leah. She appeared unusually anxious and distracted. It transpired that her adult daughter, Ella, had been suffering from recurrent abdominal and flank pain. Ella had sought appropriate medical advice and attended A&E on several occasions. Unfortunately, there appeared to be little consensus regarding either the cause of her symptoms or their treatment.

Leah was aware that I had an interest in divination and fortune-telling. We discussed the matter, and I explained that such methods could not properly be employed for the purposes of diagnosis or treatment. Leah understood this perfectly well but sought a measure of reassurance, and I agreed to examine the question.

As circumstances did not permit the use of cards, I turned instead to horary astrology. We noted the time, and I cast the chart for that moment.

Here follows the chart, recast using Delphic Oracle¹.

With 15° Pisces rising and the planetary hour ruled by Jupiter, there was no traditional consideration² of judgement that constituted a strict prohibition against judging the chart.

The ascendant is the point of incarnation and therefore represents the vital spark of life. The sign in which it falls pertains to the self. Consequently, it is the first house that relates to health, rather than the sixth, which is the house of illness.

In horary astrology, the rising sign and its ruler denote the querent. Accordingly, Pisces and its ruler, Jupiter, signify Leah. As Leah was enquiring about her daughter, however, we must turn to the fifth house, the house of children. The fifth sign from Pisces is Cancer.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which also has natural rulership over the stomach. We find the Moon in Sagittarius, a hot and mutable sign. Such heat is uncongenial to the Moon’s nature, whilst the mutable quality reflects the intermittent and recurring nature of the symptoms described. Counting Cancer as the first house, the Moon falls in the sixth derived house, indicating sickness and disorder. Thus, there is little difficulty in seeing that Ella’s constitution was disturbed.

The next question concerns causation. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, who was then traversing Scorpio. Scorpio is in aversion to Sagittarius and therefore unable to behold it. Jupiter also rules Pisces, and his position neatly reflects Leah’s uncertainty and perplexity. Yet this alone does not explain Ella’s condition.

The Moon’s last aspect was a sextile to Venus. Venus both rules and occupies Libra, the eighth sign from Pisces, which pertains to death. The separating aspect is therefore reassuring. However, the Moon is applying to a conjunction with Saturn. At 1° Libra, Venus is in Saturn’s exaltation, triplicity and bounds. Saturn therefore predominates over Venus and may properly be considered her almuten. This is rather less reassuring.

Before reaching Saturn, however, the Moon first perfects a square with Mars at 6° Virgo. Mars, being in Virgo, occupies the tenth sign from the Moon and therefore overcomes her. Overcoming, particularly by a malefic planet, constitutes a significant affliction. It is also noteworthy that Mars is conjoined with the Sun, ruler of the sixth house and of the diurnal eastern triplicity. Furthermore, Mars has his twelfth-part conjunct Jupiter in Scorpio, one of Mars’s own domiciles.

Physically, Virgo governs the abdomen, though the stomach belongs primarily to the Moon. As the third sign from Cancer, Virgo would ordinarily carry associations with the shoulders, arms and hands. Sagittarius, as the sixth sign from Cancer, has connections with the lower abdomen and entrails, whilst Jupiter has traditional associations with the liver and the blood.

We therefore find a notable correspondence with Ella’s symptoms. Mars is under the Sun’s beams and consequently invisible, aptly reflecting the prevailing uncertainty: clearly something was wrong, yet no one seemed able to identify the cause.

Turning to Richard Saunders’s The Astrological Judgement and Practice of Physick³, we find the following description of Mars in Virgo:

Mars in the next 18 degrees of Virgo is cold in the second, and dry in the third degree, causing oppilations (obstructions) and stoppings of the liver; melancholy and red choler, faeculent and thick; melancholy predominating, causing stoppings and swellings of the milt (spleen), pains and gripings in the belly, the wind colick and strangury (painful and incomplete urination), the stone in the bladder; and Mars with Saturn, the piles and haemorrhoids.
The Astrological Judgement and Practice of the Physick, Richard Saunders p. 171

Mars is closely associated with choler, or yellow bile, an excessively hot humour that consumes and agitates throughout the digestive and eliminative processes. Looking at the chart as a whole, my impression was that the martial influence was inflaming the liver—ruled by Jupiter and traditionally associated with the production of yellow bile—and that this was contributing to the gastric discomfort.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Four_humours.png

Using John Frawley’s⁴ timing method, we considered the previous aspect between the Moon and Venus. The symbolism suggested that the symptoms had begun in earnest approximately four weeks earlier, using the convention of one degree equalling one week. The Moon would perfect her square to Mars in less than one degree, indicating that a significant development should occur within the following week. Leah mentioned that Ella had a further medical appointment later that week.

Mars would emerge from under the Sun’s beams at approximately 12° Virgo (the Sun being at 27° Virgo), which I took to indicate the eventual revelation of the diagnosis⁵. This pointed to a period of rather more than five weeks.

I told Leah that I would review my findings when I returned home, as I do not generally carry an ephemeris—or copies of Saunders and Culpeper—about my person.

Leah did not contact me again until late October. By then, Ella had undergone blood tests, which revealed elevated bilirubin and alanine transaminase levels. The consulting physician referred her to a hepatologist and, following ultrasound and FibroScan examinations, she was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The diagnosis brought Leah considerable relief and, one hopes, marked the beginning of an improvement in Ella’s health.

References

The chart was cast using the Krishnamurti ayanāṃśa then employed in my work. Since that time, I have adopted a different sidereal framework, utilising an ayanāṃśa that places Aldebaran (α Tauri) at 15° Taurus. The interpretative principles discussed herein remain unchanged. The article first appeared on my old blog in 2019. ↩︎
Lilly, W. (1985). Christian Astrology. London: Regulus. ↩︎
Saunders, R. (2004). The Astrological Judgement and Practice of Physick. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. ↩︎
Frawley, J. (2005). The Horary Textbook. London: Apprentice Books. ↩︎
Barclay, O. (1997). Horary Astrology Rediscovered. Whitford Press. ↩︎