HOW TO - Create Custom Chart Options in TMSA

[Jim Eshelman]

This is particularly a response to Steve's question about creating an "out of the ordinary return charts" option set, but it can be applied to any similar custom set you want. I will use Steve's specific question as the example. (These menus likely will change in ver. 1.0, so I'll have to edit this when that happens.)

From TMSA's home screen, click Chart Options. This takes you to the Chart Options editing screen. You can edit existing options sets or create new ones.

Notice at the top that "Default Natal" is the displayed. This is the Options set automatically opened. You can edit Default Natal and save it. Or, you can edit a different existing Options set as follows: Click Load. When the file window opens, click on the one you want to edit, e.g., Default Return for the default used in solunar returns or Default Ingress for ingresses.

Whether Default Natal or another set that you open with the Load button, make the changes you want, then click Save. If you change your mind or think you made a mistake and want to abandon an edit, click Back instead of Save - it will back you out with no changes saved.

If you are unclear what any blank on the form means, click the Help button for an explanation.

Continue to the next post below for instructions on creating a new Options set.

[Jim Eshelman]

Suppose we want to create a custom options set to filter out the most intensive (out of the ordinary) solar and lunar returns. I will call this Returns Outstanding but you can call it whatever you want.

To create a new Options set, from the TMSA home screen click Chart Options.

Immediately, in the field at the top (that says "Default Natal"), type the name of the new set you want to create. (Do NOT click Load. Just type the name.)

Make the changes you want to make for the Outstanding Returns (or other) new Options set. Going from top to bottom:

1. Decide whether you want Eris, Sedna, or Vertex to display. (For this example, I unclicked them all.)
2. Decide whether you want Moon's node to show and, if so, whether to use True or Mean.
3. Decide whether you want the weakest angularity score at cadent cusps or mid-quadrant (for returns I recommend Cadent Cusps). Decide whether you want have background planets specifically marked that way in the planet list (if not, check "Don't Mark").
4. One of the two most important sections: Edit your angularity. For "out of the ordinary returns," I deleted the second and third boxes (Class 2, Class 3) under both Major Angles, leaving 3 (meaning 3°) in the first Major Angles box and putting 2 in the first Minor Angles box.
5. The other most important section: Edit your aspects. For "out of the ordinary returns," I only wanted partile aspects. Under both Ecliptic Aspects and Mundane Aspects, I emptied Class 2 and Class 3 orbs. In Class 1 (of bot Ecliptic and Mundane aspects) I put 1 (meaning 1°) in conjunction, opposition, and square.
6. Under Show Aspects, decide what you want to see. For return charts, I pick "2 FG" meaning that both planets have to be foreground ("2 planets foreground") for the aspect to show. If you also want all partile aspects to show even if not foreground, check the "Partile" box. (I usually have this checked for returns, but I've unchecked it for the "out of the ordinary returns" options since I only want it to show aspects that meet my specific criteria.)

When finished, click Save to save it.

Continue to the next post for instructions in using this Options set once you have created it.

[Jim Eshelman]

Here is an example of how to use the Outstanding Returns option to get one year of lunar returns filtered by the "Outstanding Returns" options. NOTE: In the future, TMSA will have an option to only display the charts that meet the Outstanding (or whatever it's called) criteria.

1. Presuming you have already calculated the chart you want to use, from TMSA's home screen click Select Chart.
2. If your chart is visible on the recent charts list, click it to make it active. (You can see what's active at the very top line on the screen.) If your chart is not on the recent charts list, click Find Chart to pull it up.
3. Click the Solunars button. (I will go from the top to the bottom.)
4. Look at the top line to confirm you picked the right chart.
5. Under Search, click Forwards.
6. Put in the date (and, optionally, time) where you want to START calculating, e.g., 1-1-2023 if you want all returns in the year beginning January 1, 2023.
7. Pick location. (You might have it saved under Recent. Otherwise, type the location and click Find.)
8. IMPORTANT: Under Options, click the Select button and pick the custom options you want to use (in my case, Outstanding Return).
9. Pick the returns you want to calculate. NOTE: For doing a year at a time, do NOT pick more than one kind of lunar return, i.e., run this once for SLR and once for DSLR. (Why? 26 charts will overflow the Recent Charts list and it will take you extra work to get them. It's no big deal to run this twice for SLRs and Demis.)
10. Check the box "All Selected Solunars For One Year." (You can only pick this if you have picked Forwards at the top.)
11. Return charts are set as Temporary charts by default - they are not saved. If you want them saved so that you can retrieve them in the future, check Permanent. (I don't save return charts. They're too easy to recalculate.)
12. Click Calculate. In about a second, you will be notified "Charts complete." (They've been added to the recent charts list. Click Back to see them.)

For the special purpose of a year's worth of SLRs, you want to filter the special ones. The filter created only shows partile aspects, only using planets within narrow orb of the angles. Filtering out the charts that are "outstanding" is fast: Open each one (click on the chart then click Show Chart). When it opens, spin your mouse wheel to quickly see the aspectarian section. If nothing is there, close the chart and delete it off the Recent Charts list. If something is there, keep it. This takes less than five seconds per chart.

[Venus_Daily]

That sucks, I've followed all the instructions, and it's still calculating every single chart for the year.

[SteveS]

IMO, we need a program which would only offer a simple list of time frames for any person in this World using Jim's simple filters in his book "Interpreting Solar Returns" for identifying "outstanding incident" time frames. I would be interested in possibly supporting such a program. This program would allow anonymous persons to simple write into this program their birth-certificate time of birth/data and their present location to get their list of time frames for "out of ordinary" incident time frames, nothing else.

[Jim Eshelman]

That sucks, I've followed all the instructions, and it's still calculating every single chart for the year.

Venus, yes, as I mentioned above, that's what it does right now. In the future, Mike plans to add a way for this to filter. At present, the only option is to calculate a year's worth and glance at each one. If there is nothing in the aspectarian, delete the chart and move on. (It takes less than 5 seconds per chart to click the chart, click to open it, and scroll to the aspectarian to see whether there is anything.)

[Venus_Daily]

LOL, thanks, Jim.