Are they the same thing fate and destiny? While I do not have the exact quote I have read that Carl Jung termed fate as something that happens as external events when we are unconscious of what is within us. Destiny on the other hand, and I cannot remember where I read this, but I like it, is something that we co-create with the Universe. We have a hand in both, but one is a conscious choice, whereas the other is unconscious.
So where does astrology come in? When I first started learning about astrology the books talked about needing an exact time of birth to cast an accurate chart. This has been a stumbling block for many, as birth times are not always recorded and parents, if still around, are sometimes a bit vague about exactly what time a birth was. As time has gone on, I have come to believe that maybe the need for an exact time is a bit over egged. Let me explain.
For this all to make sense, I need to explain a bit about a chart. Most of us are familiar that there are twelve signs in the zodiac, all of equal size. A birth chart is a circle, and each sign is a 30 degree slice of that circle, as pictured above.
What is less well known is that as well as a chart being split into twelve signs it is also split into twelve houses, each house representing an area of life. There is some complicated maths behind this, but if you were born on the equator or the equal house system is used, the houses are of equal size, so twelve houses, and twelve signs, equals a sign for each house. And what sign rules what house depends on the time of birth. Whichever sign was coming over the horizon at the time of your birth is called the Ascendant and is the start of the first house in the chart. It may well be different from the Sun sign. The Ascendant is considered to be the mask that you wear. It is the face that you show the world. With a Capricorn Ascendant, I present myself as responsible, pragmatic and hard working. I remember feeling very boring when a classmate referred to me as the sensible one in the group. Thanks Capricorn Ascendant. Some-one with an Aquarius Ascendant would likely be more rebellious and independent. With an equal house system, my second house would have Aquarius on the cusp, my third Pisces and so on. However I was not born on the Equator, and I tend not to use the equal house system. I prefer the Placidus house system, which means that in my chart the houses are not of equal size. Some are big and some are small. The consequence of this is that there is no longer a sign to each house. Some signs have two houses to them, while other signs are engulfed in a house (and therefore not easily expressed). These engulfed signs are more difficult to express. In my birth chart I have a large first house, so Aquarius and Pisces are engulfed in it. So no rebelling or daydreaming for me, well I could, but it didn't go down well. My environment and the people around me expected the responsible and sensible Capricorn.
It was on a bike ride during the first lockdown that I wondered if a chart could be "unlocked". Ok, the planets are in the signs that they are in when we are born. That bit can't be changed. But could a house position be moved, if we made a conscious choice to allow ourselves to express ourselves differently? For example, could my engulfed Aquarius be "pulled" out and made into the Ascendant sign relegating my Capricorn conforming and being the sensible one to the past, and allowing me to express myself as an individual and not be defined by the expectations of others? Sure, I might not have the same level of support from those around me (such is the challenge for these engulfed signs), but I could dig deep within myself and do it anyway. I couldn't find any texts that mentioned this "unlocking" of a chart until I found Joanna Wickenburg's book Your Hidden Powers. In her book she spoke about environmental charts and destiny charts. It is closest I have got to finding a book that writes about what I was thinking. Basically an environmental chart is an equal house chart (so one sign to each house) starting with your Ascendant, so my environmental chart starts with Capricorn. My environment (the people around me) like it best when I am the sensible one.
It might be a bit too much to go through each house in turn, so I will focus on the main ones. Opposite the Ascendant is the Descendant, which is the sign that is disappearing over the horizon at the time of your birth. The Ascendant is rising in the East while the Descendant is setting in the West. The Descendant is the opposite sign from the Ascendant, so in my chart is Cancer. The Descendant represents our relationships, so with a Cancer Descendant, I seek emotional security through my relationships and am expected to be the nurturer in my relationships.
Another important point is the Midheaven. This is the sign that was highest in the sky at the point of your birth. It represents your Soul's aspirations. It is often taken to be at the start of the tenth house which represents career and public life. However if the equal house system is used, unless you were born at the Equator, the midheaven often cannot be on the cusp of the tenth house due to the tilt of the Earth. This means that a different sign will be ruling public life and career. So if I am looking at my environmental chart, using the equal house system starting from my Capricorn Ascendant, I have Libra on the cusp of my tenth house, rather than Sagittarius, which was at the highest point in the sky at the time of my birth. While my Soul's aspirations are Sagittarian, to explore and expand my horizons, the people around me (my environment) looks for me to be Libran in my career and public life, so the diplomat and peace-maker. And to be honest when I play that role, everybody is happy, when I step out of it less so. I see the environmental chart as the pathway of least resistance. If we display the attributes of each sign in the area of life it falls on, then the people around us will by and large be happy with us. If I am sensible and responsible (Capricorn) and don't rebel (engulfed Aquarius) and nurture and care for my partners at the expense of expressing myself (Leo also engulfed) while being the diplomat and peacemaker in my public life (Libra) I will meet with less resistance. I could call that fate.
But what if I want to reach my Soul's aspirations which are to explore, discover new things and go on adventures, this is where the destiny chart comes in. The destiny chart also uses the equal house system, but it puts the midheaven on the cusp of the tenth house, which means a different sign at the start of the first house, a new mask. A Sagittarian midheaven in the equal house system has to have Pisces on the cusp of the first house. Basically I need to dream and imagine and be much more fluid. Of course, my environment does not support that, so I will need to find it within myself. But my Soul supports it so it is there. And maybe that is destiny, rather than letting my environment decide, it is to go within and find my own path. It isn't quite cosmic ordering, which seems to suggest we can choose whatever we like, so much as recognising how our environment can sometimes limit us, and that there is more, but we may need to redirect our energies to get there.
If you know your date of birth, you will know your Sun sign. If you don't have an exact time of birth, a fair bit can still be deduced with an estimated time. If you were born around the middle of the day, then it's reasonable to suggest that your Sun sign is also the sign on the Midheaven. If you were born in the middle of the night, the sign opposite your Sun sign will be on your Midheaven. Often your own intuition can help too. For environmental and birth charts you may well recognise if you were expected to be sensible or the rebel. The destiny chart may be more difficult, but you could have a play. How does it feel to move everything one sign? So if you have an Aquarian Ascendant, maybe you were known as the independent one, but how does it feel to change mask and become the sensitive and intuitive one?
That's probably enough blogging for now. But I think for my next one, I will stick with this, but put a bit more about how each sign might work, and how you could look at your own charts and have a play with this.
Namaste
xx
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