A friend in need

[FlorencedeZ.]

Hi Jim and forum friends,

A while ago I was visiting friends and the mother asked me advice on the natal chart of her daughter.
Her middle daughter is not doing too good. She has a chronical headache which seems to be related to the brain and this results in the fact that she can't work any longer and maintain social relationships.
There is a consistent sharp pain in her head.
The parents are very concerned and they visit various medical specialists wih her with no result.
The mother told me that her daughter has a very stubborn nature and wishes for her this would lessen as to make her life easier. She has a temper and can easily lash out in a harsh forced manner. Alienating people.

Nina's date of birth: March 8 1988 2:15 PM The Hague the Netherlands, currently residing in Amersfoort.

Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Libra, she is a talented graphic designer by profession.

Her angular planets: Mars and Neptune conjunct Westpoint tightly and Venus squares ASC/DSC.
Mars makes aspects with Moon, Neptune and Pluto.
Perhaps the forced/blocked aggression comes from these configurations?
And as Libra is connected with the head maybe her pain may come from there.
Her Sun is unaspected and she has a stellium in Saggitarius.

Is there anything you can suggest or advice to help Nina cope better of alleviate her situation? For example could moving to a different location help?
Thanks in advance,
Regards, Flo

[Veronica]

Wow Flo, with the Pluto Transit, Neptune transit, and Saturn transit I see Someone who has a lot coming at them, going on around them and that Angular Mars just getting hotter and hotter, steaming.

I've heard and seen that middle children can often feel invisible to their parents, and can sometimes manifest conditions that in a way demand the parents attention. Have you gotten the chance to explore the synastry with the Mother? That might provide some clues to explore.

With Saturn one has to watch out for dehydration, which causes headaches. I'm almost inclined to think that Nina has some nutritional deficiencies based on the Neptune transit and possibly not feeding herself a wide range of nutrient dense foods,especially foods packed with good fats like mackerel and foods that provide her with much needed fiber to feed the microbiome and help move her digestive system along. I also suspect she may have a mild gut lining infection, I hope the doctors are drawing blood to look at her numbers.

Also thinking that she may not be getting enough time outdoors breathing fresh clean air (morning air for me is much richer then afternoon and early evening). Lack of fresh air, breathing in stale air from being inside closed buildings can cause acute headaches in some people.

Maybe Mom and daughter need alone time, time set aside each week to simply enjoy each others company, no rushing or appointments just a few hours of total free time with no pressures to do or be anything but be in the moment with each other?

Your very kind to help them explore solutions, they are lucky to have you.

[Jim Eshelman]

I "knew" (strongly suspected) Moon was in Libra by your third or fourth line. What you wrote sounds so much like medical examples I've posted with head conditions, social malfunction, and afflicted Libra Moon.

I'll look at this as I get time through the day. My first impression from this one fact, though, is to make sure she gets actual medical examination. There is a strong chance that there is something specific and organic that needs to be diagnosed and probably can be treated or cured.

[Jim Eshelman]

And there it is, of course: Libra Moon partile conjunct Pluto, sextile Mars-Neptune which is tightly angular as you said.

I'm inclined first to look at this medically (and you know I'm not a doctor). I'd missed earlier that you said she's already been to specialists. I think there are primarily organic roots to this, though it's so tightly bound in with her emotions that it's impossible to separate them.

For example (I'm not saying it's true in this case), many children with this kind of pattern have an interrupted or badly disturbed relationship with the mother, and (given the Mars-Neptune connection to Moon-Pluto) a sense that the home environment - that part of her emotional world that should feel safest - is somehow threatening and mobilizing her defenses constantly. For example (and I'm not saying this is so) this would be consistent with abuse history. There is something psychologically toxic and (I strongly suspect) physically toxic, though I would think the medical specialists would have done blood work sufficient to track that down.

I keep coming back to: The connection of body and psyche is interwoven so tightly here that I start talking about one and slide into the other. For her, they are mostly the same thing.

She has that lovely Venus-Jupiter conjunction - and then it is exactly trine Saturn-Uranus. Again, one wonders if there is not some pain, distance, separation, interruption, trauma in her very early life akin to abuse. (Even if there were not actual abuse, she is wired to interpret the world as if she had an abuse history or feels there is ongoing threat that requires vigilance.)

Medically, everything about the head - structurally, chemically, electrically - is suspect. Her blood chemistry is suspect, either from toxins or unbalanced hormones. Her emotional history is tied into all of this. And then we have that Sagittarius pile-up, including three malefics, which implicates her breathing mechanism - lungs and bronchi. (I have no idea how that ties in. Breathing toxins? Mold? Parasites?)

Emotionally, an Aquarius-Libra seems a little displaced from others' realities, not quite living in the same world. Moon-Pluto reinforces (an Aquarius with strong Pluto absolutely has to live on her own terms). Libra Moon conjunct Pluto and aspecting two malefics shows chance of socially misfitting or failing to connect. The three angular planets are all hormonal, surging chemically, with the various aspects to Venus giving mixed messages and seeming out of balance. (Ironically, the worst side of Venus-Jupiter - if not her diet itself - is probably the strong internal pressure to "play nice" or "fit in socially." The rest of the chart is at odds with that.)

I think that's the basic gist I get from the natal and I hope it's somehow helpful.


One last remark - I'm not sure I can say for sure what it means - is that mundanely her Venus-Jupiter conjunction is also conjunct Eris. This may be as simple as "someone threw a wrench into the bike spokes." She needs to be disruptive - with the rest of her chart, this may be a primary motive - and needs to find her own distinctive way to do that. Venus-Eris in particular has distinctive sexual patterns - they normally are unusually free of shame and tend to live that part of their lives indifferent to others' rules while maintaining their own moral rules. This state of mind comingled with responding to the world as if she experienced sexual abuse becomes very complicated. Psychological analysis probably is equally important to medical analysis.

[Jim Eshelman]

Much of her psychological history would seem to be coming to a head and needing to erupt right about now. She's in the middle of her solar arc Moon-Pluto squaring her Sun. Moon to Sun was about a year ago (still somewhat in orb). Pluto to her Sun is exact this month (3' past). Self-redefinition, cutting off one's past to walk into a different sense of self, being increasingly unrecognizable to oneself and others while undergoing this reinvention, and - if there is anything to erupt - the return of old trauma elements or stirring of new trauma feelings as a possible extra effect.

This most important Moon-Pluto to Sun is supported by other concurrent directions: Neptune to her Uranus (weird states of mind, altered consciousness), Mars to Uranus (abrupt and challenging experiences). In a year, they reach her Saturn, which sounds more worrisome, though the Pluto-Sun will be faded by then. (I'm not sure how reliable solar arcs are in the absence of a major trigger involving a luminary or angle, so she may get a pass on that one a year from now.) Directed Mercury is octile her Pluto (a great time for a therapist!).

Progressed Moon is a degree and a half before exact conjunction with her Sun. This will all come to a head within a month of a point in time six weeks from now. There is an opportunity for reinvention, intimate connection, a new phase.

For about two years she has had progressed Mars crossing her Descendant. It's still in orb for most of the next year. This could mean all sorts of things and surely is tied into any sense of crisis or things breaking out during this stage of her life. (By itself, it introduces nothing new. What it means is probably in the past, peaking over the last two years. I would expect a lot of anger, and would be suspicious if it wasn't actively expressed.)

Which brings us to her transits: Pluto has been transiting her Jupiter and begun to square her Venus. This could be any of the ordinary Pluto to Venus-Jupiter things that you already know well, or - if there is any past experience locked up inside her Venus-Jupiter - could be the time that it breaks out and is unearthed. She is free of Neptune transits for a while (and the next ones aren't the usual worrisome signals unless Neptune to Saturn next year falls on an important angle). But Saturn is exactly conjunct her Sun - and thus also her progressed Moon.

OK, this is actually relieving. What you report makes a lot f sense with Saturn conjunct natal Sun and progressed Moon. What you describe seems to make sense with her feeling burdened, weighed on by the world, pressured, cut off, having to push harder to keep head above water, or whatever exact form the Saturn transit takes. And this transit is passing - it's a normal part of life and, within a short while, will move on.

In the short run, Mars squared her Mars-Neptune over the last few days and crossed her MC. These might have been "crisis" days, days when a lot broke loose.

[FlorencedeZ.]

Thank you very much Veronica. You are so kind. And indeed, the synastry would be key to know a pattern between mother and daughter.

The family have always lived abroad for the UN. Nina was raised in Nairobi, Kenia and in Nepi, outside of Rome in Italy. And finally she moved back to the Netherlands just by herself.
Mother's date of birth is November 2 1957 The Hague, Netherlands, time unknown.

[FlorencedeZ.]

Thank you Jim, this is very interesting of how it shows in her chart indeed.
All these things are so interrelated, medical and emotions.

When I was at my friend's place I said something along the line you must get along well with your daughter as mum has a Libra Sun. It kind of fell quiet. I realized it was a sensitive issue. Dad kept quiet too.

On the other hand, mother (November 2 1957, The Hague, Neth, time unknown) and daughter talk each day for a few hours (!) on the phone as they live far apart. The reason for this is that Nina has no friends anymore because she pushed them all away.
And the parents feel sorry and try to help her by talking as she is stuck with this terrible head pain.

I really learn from your and Veronica's analysis. I will keep this for myself right now because asking the mother about abuse may open a can of worms which I am reluctant to do. When I see her I will ask some questions and see if she comes up with stories that hints towards abuse and go from there. I always must be very careful of not coming off too strong with my Scorpio Moon.

[FlorencedeZ.]

Much of her psychological history would seem to be coming to a head and needing to erupt right about now. She's in the middle of her solar arc Moon-Pluto squaring her Sun. Moon to Sun was about a year ago (still somewhat in orb). Pluto to her Sun is exact this month (3' past). Self-redefinition, cutting off one's past to walk into a different sense of self, being increasingly unrecognizable to oneself and others while undergoing this reinvention, and - if there is anything to erupt - the return of old trauma elements or stirring of new trauma feelings as a possible extra effect.

This most important Moon-Pluto to Sun is supported by other concurrent directions: Neptune to her Uranus (weird states of mind, altered consciousness), Mars to Uranus (abrupt and challenging experiences). In a year, they reach her Saturn, which sounds more worrisome, though the Pluto-Sun will be faded by then. (I'm not sure how reliable solar arcs are in the absence of a major trigger involving a luminary or angle, so she may get a pass on that one a year from now.) Directed Mercury is octile her Pluto (a great time for a therapist!).

Progressed Moon is a degree and a half before exact conjunction with her Sun. This will all come to a head within a month of a point in time six weeks from now. There is an opportunity for reinvention, intimate connection, a new phase.

For about two years she has had progressed Mars crossing her Descendant. It's still in orb for most of the next year. This could mean all sorts of things and surely is tied into any sense of crisis or things breaking out during this stage of her life. (By itself, it introduces nothing new. What it means is probably in the past, peaking over the last two years. I would expect a lot of anger, and would be suspicious if it wasn't actively expressed.)

Which brings us to her transits: Pluto has been transiting her Jupiter and begun to square her Venus. This could be any of the ordinary Pluto to Venus-Jupiter things that you already know well, or - if there is any past experience locked up inside her Venus-Jupiter - could be the time that it breaks out and is unearthed. She is free of Neptune transits for a while (and the next ones aren't the usual worrisome signals unless Neptune to Saturn next year falls on an important angle). But Saturn is exactly conjunct her Sun - and thus also her progressed Moon.

OK, this is actually relieving. What you report makes a lot f sense with Saturn conjunct natal Sun and progressed Moon. What you describe seems to make sense with her feeling burdened, weighed on by the world, pressured, cut off, having to push harder to keep head above water, or whatever exact form the Saturn transit takes. And this transit is passing - it's a normal part of life and, within a short while, will move on.

In the short run, Mars squared her Mars-Neptune over the last few days and crossed her MC. These might have been "crisis" days, days when a lot broke loose.

I will discuss this with them and I am sure this will come as a relief as so many things show indeed the way she is now. Pff it's tough but it will pass...
Thank you again Jim.
Regards, Flo