Thank you, and please

[SamsonPenrose22]

First of all, thank you to Jim and the members of this forum for this truly staggering treasure trove of siderealist knowledge.

I stumbled across this place a few hours ago and seem quite unable to leave. So while I'm here, I thought I would ask any of you for commentary you may have on my chart. I am unskilled at this, and am unsure what, if anything, to make of the data.

I suppose in my life I'm at something of a crossroads, wondering whether or not to settle down and marry the woman I'm with, and to have children with her despite not clicking at all with her (perfectly pleasant) family; and whether or not to stay in my current job, or to pursue my preferred path in the arts. Trying, as I get older, to determine the things I should strive for or resign myself to.

According to my birth certificate and my mum, I was born in London in the UK (where I also live, presently) at 7.13am, on July 22nd, 1989.

Any insight you could give would be meditated upon with deep gratitude.

Sam

[Jim Eshelman]

Welcome, Samson! We'll do what we can. We may have to break this into a few different answers - here are some initial thoughts.

You navigated your Saturn Return a couple of years ago (welcome to adulthood ) and Uranus crossing your midheaven oer the last two years, and are now in the year that Saturn opposes your Sun. This is an important developmental year in its own right, and your world surely looks far different than it did, say, three years ago. It's no wonder you're loaded with questions!

I suppose in my life I'm at something of a crossroads, wondering whether or not to settle down and marry the woman I'm with, and to have children with her despite not clicking at all with her (perfectly pleasant) family...

Personally, I think what matters most is how you feel about the woman you're with (and she about you), more than the family. Your values about that may be different than mine, though - close connection to her family may be really important to you. If you'd like use to compare your chart to hers, please provide her birth data - here or in a new thread in the Synastry section - and we can take a look at that.

It seems to me that both of your main questions deal with "being responsible," "doing the right thing," which are major issues under Saturn-Sun transits. Astrology aside, you need to find a way to do that without selling short your own genuine needs.

and whether or not to stay in my current job, or to pursue my preferred path in the arts. Trying, as I get older, to determine the things I should strive for or resign myself to.

You didn't say what you are currently doing. BTW is there a way to do both? To keep the security of your current job and develop your art on the side until it can become fulltime? That's what many a great artist has done through history.

I'll work up some basic notes on your chart. At a glance, there is definitely a strong creative side though I'm not sure it's the strongest theme. It would help to know what form (medium) of art, what background or training you have or would need, what you are doing now, etc.

OK, off to generate some notes.

PS - My first impression of your chart is that there are very few close aspects (your Saturn-Neptune conjunction being the only really dynamic one). The leaning is more passive. Yet you have a rising Mars, which is dynamic all by itself. How would you characterize yourself in this regard?

[Jim Eshelman]

These notes on your Sidereal Natal Horoscope are provided for your reference and study. They are not a full interpretation of your birth chart; rather, they are building blocks from which a full interpretation can be built.

Each factor listed below contributes to your character. These paragraphs commonly repeat or contradict each other. (We all have contradictions.) Though it does not take an astrologer to fuse these factors into a balanced picture of you and your life, it does require knowledge of human behavior and the ways that people support and sabotage themselves. Your astrologer, having these skills and knowing this symbolic language, can help you in this process. However, knowing yourself is a life-long undertaking. I encourage you to read through these notes, feeling your way through the interweaving ideas and reflecting on what you know of yourself.

The paragraphs are brief. I have sought to pack in everything essential, to use a few words to imply much more. Not every phrase will apply, of course. Some will be more important than others; but the gist of each section should clearly reflect truth about you. When you have spent time with this and have new questions, consult your astrologer to discuss them.

Character is destiny. Who you are determines the life that is yours to unfold. “Know thyself” is the key.

ANGULAR PLANETS & ASPECTS
Mars conjunct Ascendant (1°15')
Aggressive, competitive, challenging, needs to win (combative, quarrelsome). Seeks to test and prove self by contest (competitively, verbally, mentally, sexually). Courage (physical and moral; may disregard safety). Dominates and controls others. Physical, needs to expend energy; needs physical and psychological elbowroom. Sexually aggressive, needs frequent satisfaction. Business leadership, competitive excellence.

Mercury square Midheaven (1°26')
Alert, attentive, observant, strategic, analytic. Mentally sharp, hard to fool (knows more about you than you think). Little emotional affect, hard to read. Nervous. Easily bored without regular mental stimulation. Good at precise, detailed work; natural at handling business. Curiosity drives sexual choices as much as any other factor.

Sun conjunct Eastpoint (1°29')
Warm, friendly, generous, shining their light on the world (often in a paternal, possibly controlling, sense). Vital, assertive, confident (or acts it). Aware they have purpose (goal, destiny) they must seek, find, and actualize. At best: Is in charge of self and does well leading others (can be bossy, demanding, entitled). Needs centricity (attracts satellites; may expect others’ world to revolve around them). Drawn to proud, useful institutions. Instinct for immortality.

Sun conjunct Mercury (4°30')
Resourceful, knack for organization, likely will do well in the business world, effectively self-expressive. One’s ideas are (unconsciously?) equated with the ego, so altering an opinion may feel like compromising oneself. Intellectual pride, stubbornness. Strong need to identify oneself with rationality, to affirm one’s sanity and reasonableness.

Venus conjunct Mars (5°34')
Passion (in all senses), feels powerfully about things. Strong sexual passions mature early, continue late, rarely encumbered by too many conditions. Broadly fun-loving, socially active, loves romance: interesting, likable, sociable, horny people. Relationships, often picked for ferocity, easily hit conflict, strain, or burnout.

MOON in AQUARIUS
Diverse interests with an instinct for breadth and the interconnection of things. Intellectually rebellious, curious, investigative, futuristic. Science, analysis, discovery. Free spirit + social responsibility. Sexually curious; strange marital conditions. Humane: sympathetic to others’ troubles. Social idealist, reformer. Avoids “herd mind.” Occultists. Space, astronomy, astrology, sci fi.

Moon trine Pluto (3°05')
Avoids habitual conformity and conventional conditioning; willing to “march to a different drummer” with little concern for others’ rules. Maverick, outsider, gently resists authority. Restless, can uproot on little notice. Deeply inquiring mind.

Moon octile Sun (1°02')
Dynamic, vitality. An attitude biased toward success. At home with power. Intense desire in whatever they undertake. Sexual desires strong, often narcissistic. Vanity, self-exaltation.

SUN in CANCER
Thrives within imagination and complexity (vision; or lost in fantasy). Lives in others’ shadow; finds purpose in service and emulation. Conceive and deliver results. Persuasive, trusted, instinct for motives. Live in mystery or its resolution: create or solve puzzles. Renewed by home or sanctuary. Sensitive, moody, self-absorbed.

MARS in CANCER
Inner strength (prodigious imagination and fantasy) usually holds private demons at bay; but clings to old wounds (angry, acting out, selfish, retaliatory from old mistreatment). Breeds confidence, makes things happen. Loyal, speaks truth to power; but wants a chance to lead. Magnetic (passionate following?). Wants adoration sexually (otherwise it’s business-like).

Mars octile Saturn (1°57')
Struggle marks these lives (from prejudice or early hardship). Hardened, tough survivors, self-sufficient, seeking control. Some accept the hardship and focus on “getting through”; some act meek, unthreatening; others overcompensate as bullies (feelings of weakness, shame, inadequacy). Conflicts with authority. Serious, reserved, cautious about enthusiasms.

MERCURY in CANCER
Mind strongly influenced by feelings (romantic, subjective, infused with imagination). Writing style leverages imagery. Edits, modifies, and embellishes ideas, polishing and rehashing. Planners, organizers. Gives insightful counsel.

VENUS in LEO
“Parents” his/her friends (= unequal relationships). Self-surrender is hard. Vain, aloof. Bold when romance captures their interest (but many older bachelors). “Shoppers” in romance, testing the ground first. Early sexual mismatches (unhealthy early relationships). Keen sense of morality and dignity. Generous friend.

Venus sextile Jupiter (0°21')
Warm, friendly, giving, hospitable, popular. Desires positive attention and appreciation (usually gets it). At home in comfort. Unusual luck opens doors. Inclined to indulgence or extravagance. A little “spoiled.”

OTHER ASPECTS
Saturn conjunct Neptune (1°07')
Bridges the practical and material with the idealistic and immaterial. (Most bridge it well.) Can render a vision concrete and believable, make something solid from an idea (creativity realized, plans executed; visual or music artist, counselor, problem solver). Frequently indifferent to material security. Devotion, loyalty (possible intrigue, deception, suspicion, betrayal). Many withdraw, enter seclusion, asylum, exile. Chronic (disabling?) physical or psychological afflictions (can include dark, troubled states, depression, disappointment, distrust, struggling with demons).

Jupiter octile Pluto (0°49')
Thrives when being controversial within their circles. Strong desire to contribute. Unbound by precedent. Social outlier unapologetically genuine while committed to group. Controversial, rebels against standards. Wants “to be something.” Self-improvement indifferent to the rules. Success fluctuates, may not last.

Neptune sextile Pluto (1°53')
Open to shifting viewpoint, alternative perspectives, variant possibilities: Potential to forge a new worldview and enroll others. Uncertainty feeds desire for certainty, regarding things a certain way and not other.

[SamsonPenrose22]

Thank you so much! Plenty for me to chew over, and a great deal that resonates deeply.

The art form is, at heart, writing. Particularly for the screen. With ambition to direct material and bring it to life, which feels like a possible expression of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction. I've taken some tentative steps towards formal training, though it's more about just doing it. To be honest, sometimes I wonder if I'm less interested in the art itself, and more interested in triumphing in the competitive aspects of it, and in winning over my past doubters and rejectors. Here is the influence of my Mars, I think.

Currently I work in what I consider a corrupted version of that art: writing and creating for advertising. My career is stable (a blessing in this climate) after some unexpected hardship over the last three years. Overall, it's been a disappointing trajectory after promising success in my mid-twenties, winning awards and such.

Being responsible really is the thing! I don't know that I want to be, at least not in the way that others expect. The normal path and milestones - the house, the family, the job - have little inherent meaning or pull to me. Suspect the influence of that moon and perhaps the plutonian aspects here.

Relationship-wise I do feel very lucky to have experienced the intensity, variety and depth that I have, even though some ended quite badly. My partner doesn't know her birth time so I'm not sure how useful synastry would be?

That Mars-Saturn octile interests me. Racial prejudice has been a subtle but ever-present struggle my whole life.

[Danica]

Relationship-wise I do feel very lucky to have experienced the intensity, variety and depth that I have, even though some ended quite badly. My partner doesn't know her birth time so I'm not sure how useful synastry would be?

If the date itself is accurately recorded, and the place is known, we can work with her chart for Noon of the day - not as precise and as detailed info as we'd get with the full birth data, but definitely enough to give a lot of insight on the relationship dynamics.

[SamsonPenrose22]

If the date itself is accurately recorded, and the place is known, we can work with her chart for Noon of the day - not as precise and as detailed info as we'd get with the full birth data, but definitely enough to give a lot of insight on the relationship dynamics.

Ah, thank you! In that case, she was born December 11th 1990, in Winchester, UK.