Delineation Based on First 4 Lessons - Part 1

OK! Since I have to work around my wee bot's sleep schedule I am breaking this into three parts. I have 6 charts of different children, 4 born within 1 month of each other and 2 born with a predominance of either elements, modalities or both. I will delineate the first two today.

James - born November 21,2006 -
29 degree Scorpio Sun, 9 degree Sagittarius Moon, 24 degree Aquarius Rising.

James has 0 cardinal planets, 7 fixed and 5 (+ node) mutable placements
With 7 fixed he is probably pretty stubborn, a creature of habit but may be very determined.
Since they are in water my guess is that he probably has a melt down(temper tantrum) when you tell him no or if you disturb his personal schedule. That said with the 5+ mutable planets(including his moon in Sag) it's probably not that long of a fit! He let's you know he's unhappy about it but then moves on. The biggest challenge James may have is motivation. Since he's lacking cardinal planets he may be lacking direction. Try to encourage him to try different things, if he shows a sincere interest, support him in staying with it. With all the fixed planets, once he is engaged he should follow through!!

James has 5 placements(+ node) in water signs, 5 in fire, 2 in air but 0 in earth.
He will probably be a very passionate boy! Forceful, idealistic and enthusiastic as well as sensitive. Watch for a tendency to be self-indulgent! He may seem very logical, but make sure he is truly understanding things. He has his rising in Aquarius so he will appear to be knowledgeable, unfortunately the only other air is his Neptune and his ruling planet, Uranus, is in Pisces, so he may be a little spacey!(on the positive side, he may be a very gifted artist or musician also!!) The lack of earth may make him undependable, probably because he isn't really practical(he could be a very dreamy, imaginative boy)and doesn't know the logical reasons why he needs to do certain things(like keep his room clean). try to create a structure for him to follow while he is young so he won't have to worry about trying to learn it later (side note: when a person has a fixed rising sign, it is very hard to change the habits they adopt in childhood)

He's evenly yin and yang. Probably gets along well with both parents generally speaking.

James has no personal planets, 5 interpersonal and 7 transpersonal.
He will be very group minded, worrying about his friends more than himself, watch against a tendency to be the scapegoat. Try to guide him towards the 'right' friends. He will have good judgment if he listens to his gut(feelings) his logic may fool him. He'll have high ideals and may have a tendency to be friends with people because he feels he could 'save' them.

Chey - born October 27,2006-
4 degree Scorpio Sun, 8 degree Capricorn Moon, 2 degree Capricorn Rising

Chey has 2 cardinal placements, 8 fixed and 2 (+node)mutable placements. Even though she too would be a bit stubborn and a creature of habit, she has a little more balance between the two less populated modalities. She would have a tendency to get stuck sometimes but would be focused and determined. She would likely have ideas but they may not form fully enough to follow through.She would be likely to follow through on things that 'feel right' to her. She may also have so many ideas that she couldn't decide on which ones to follow to completion, This would be due to some intellectual fogginess(that pesky Neptune is at work again!)In Chey's case it would have to do with her personal values and money.

She has a little more balance with her elements [ 2 fire, 1 air and 2 earth] although again she has a predominance of water(7 + node). She would tend to be intuitive, sensitive, possibly wavering and influenced by her surroundings. This is a child you probably wouldn't want to fight around as she would be very likely to internalize the discord and feel like she caused it. She would be conservative and ardent but also impractical and lacking reason.

Chey has a predominance of yin energy in her chart[9 + node] which shows she would tend to be quiet and introverted. She would probably be more influenced by mom due to this also. She may be a late bloomer.

Finally, she has 0 personal planets, 7 interpersonal and 5 transpersonal. Again, she would likely be focused on others and have high ideals and morals. Watch for a lack of self confidence and self perservation.

elements, polarities, modalities and orientations in the horoscope: Part 3

Today's discussion POLARITIES!

What are polarities? They are another aspect of the elements. It is actually the Yin and Yang of the elements.

Let's take the element of FIRE. What other element is needed to support a fire, what element is compatible? The obvious answer is AIR because a FIRE cannot burn without it. AIR literally feeds the FIRE allowing it to grow to its maximum potential and is necessary for its continued existence.

Another example on the other side, EARTH. Let's say you plant a seed. In parched EARTH your seed will not grow, WATER is necessary to nourish the soil so that it can grow to reach its full potential.

Thus there are two polarities:
EARTH and WATER(YIN[-]) and FIRE and AIR(YANG[+])

Yin energy is receptive. It is negatively charged and corresponds to EARTH and WATER because the signs in those elements are more receptive, introspect and self-repressive. They draw to them those things they need and conserve their energy within. Their keyword is SECURITY.

On the other hand, Yang energy is active. It is positively charged and corresponds to FIRE and AIR because the signs in those elements are more active, outgoing and self -expressive. They pour their energy into the world and are the go-getters of the zodiac. Their keyword is FREEDOM.

The more AIR and FIRE your child has in his/her chart the more resilient they will be.
The more EARTH and WATER your child has the more quiet and introverted they will be.

My little boy has 7 planets or sensitive spots in YIN or negative polarity and 6 in YANG or positive polarity. On the surface it looks pretty evenly placed but most of his personal planets(Sun, Moon, Mercury, Mars and his Ascendant(Rising Sign))are YIN(remember this is negative, introspective energy) Only his Venus is YANG (and Midheaven, so he will probably appear more outgoing than he is) He is very demonstrative (Venus in Leo) but mostly to his mommy and mostly in the privacy of home. Many of his generational planets are YANG so he is part of a generation as a whole who will go out into the world and pour their energies into it.

Make a note of your child's planets in both polarities and look to see where the personal planets are located. Following is a table with keywords to help you understand your child's energy better.

KEYWORDS FOR THE POLARITIES

YANG (+)
FIRE(aries,leo,sagittarius)
AIR(gemini,libra,aquarius)

EXHALE
active
masculine
day force
extroverted
positive
electric
levity
conscious
logical
individualistic
outgoing
expressive
left-brained

YIN(-)
EARTH(taurus,virgo,capricorn)
WATER(cancer,scorpio,pisces)

INHALE
receptive
feminine
night force
introverted
negative
magnetic
gravity
instinctive
intuitive
social-collective
ingoing
receptive
right-brained

elements, polarities, modalities and orientations in the horoscope: Part 1

You can get a pretty good overview of your natal chart simply by delineating your chart for these four concepts. Using my sons chart, I will show how this is done.

Elements and modalities:

There is usually a small box on the natal chart (see image above) that tells you the elements and modalities of your child's chart. Across the top are letters C, F & M; these stand for Cardinal, Fixed & Mutable and are your modalities. Down the left side are letters F, A, E, & W; these stand for Fire, Air, Earth & Water and are your elements.

Today we will go over the Modalities.

Looking at my buggy boy's chart you can quickly see he has most of his planets or sensitive points located in FIXED signs [There are 7 planets and sensitive points located in fixed signs in order from left to right & top to bottom are: Venus, Saturn, Midheaven, Neptune, Chiron, Mars and ascendant(or rising sign)]

He has 3 planets in CARDINAL signs [Sun, Moon, Mercury] and 3 planets/ 1 sensitive point in MUTABLE signs [Jupiter, Pluto, Uranus and his north node]

Now the fun part! What does this mean?
Well, in this case we are talking about a pretty FIXED chart.
Now the bug is only a year old and let me tell you, he is definitely a creature of habit, stuck in his ways and stubborn. He likes routine and if anything disrupts that routine, well, we have one cranky little critter on our hands.

The good news for our little boy is he has 4 MUTABLE placements and 3 CARDINAL placements. Now, while not perfectly balanced there is at least some flexibility(mutable) and initiative(cardinal) in his chart. The fact that his Sun, Moon and Mercury are all in Cardinal signs shows that he will have initiative and the ability to engage in purposeful activity. He is quite the little explorer and he is very active from the moment he wakes up. His flexibility is more of a generational effect [the planets located there are considered generational, their orbits are so slow that many children born within a certain period of time will have these planets in the same sign]
Since mommy has an overabundance of mutable planets in her chart, we hope that she will be able to help him develop a little more flexibility!

We will go into more detail about how everything interrelates later in the lessons, for now make a little list of how many points are in each of the modalities and jot down a couple words from the keywords below that describe how they are showing up in your child's personality.

Keywords for the Modalities:

Qualities of the Cardinal Modality
aries - libra - cancer - capricorn

Skillful Application:
generating, beginning, doing, initiating,
originating, enterprising, active, direct,
purposeful

Unskillful Application:
starts but does not finish, impatient,
dissatisfied, overactive, forceful,overcommitted

Qualities of the Fixed Modality
taurus - scorpio - leo - aquarius

Skillful Application:
concentrating, stabilizing, sustaining,
finishing, establishing, preserving, conserving,
steadfast, focused, powerful, persistent,
constant, determined

Unskillful Application:
stubborn, rigid, resistant to change,
stuck,obsessed, overly retentive, inert,

habit-bound

Qualities of the Mutable Modality
gemini - sagittarius - virgo - pisces

Skillful Application:

distributing, adaptable, flexible, adjustable,
connecting, linking, mental, adapting, learning,
changing, versatile, dual

Unskillful Application:
scattered, unfocused, depleted, dissipated,
diffused, distracted,inconsistent, prone to worry,
indecisive, restless, unfinishing

Your Child's Chart

Here is my son's chart (with sensitive info removed!) I will use my buggy boy's chart as example until someone requests or offers their child's chart(with sensitive info removed!) The first step is to actually get a copy of your child's chart. To do this you need to have the birth date, exact time and location of your child's birth. I personally go to www.astro.com and use their free chart service. This sight offers many different options but for our purposes just get the basic natal chart. If you have any questions or problems getting the chart let me know. In the next post we will examine the basics of the astrological chart.