A friends chart

[hakim]

Hi guys, need help with this one. I have a friend and she asked my help to delineate a chart for her. She gave me her birth info. As far as the time is concerned it could be off +/- 15 minutes. Here is the info:

Lets name her person A
Date: June 2, 1995
Time: 12:30 pm (info provided by her mom)
Birthplace: Narayanganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Like to know her natal chart and the current SSR.
Much appreciated.

[Jim Eshelman]

Like to know her natal chart and the current SSR.

Is there something specific you want to know about the natal?

Here are the main points:

CONSTELLATIONS: Sun in Taurus, Moon in Gemini (Mars in Leo).

ANGULARITY:
Mercury on MC 3°14'
Saturn on Dsc 4°37'
Sun on MC 7°49', Jupiter on IC 8°37'

MAIN ASPECTS:
Sun-Jupiter op. (0°52')
Moon-Neptune op. (1°39'), tr/sex Saturn (Mo-Sa 0°12')
Mercury-Uranus sesq. (0°34')


Her new Solar Return (happy birthday to her!) has t Mercury on Ascendant. (Ecliptically it looks like a few minutes, but it's really about 2°, and the only foreground planet.) Also, Moon is 2° from opposite Neptune.

The t Mercury is conjunct her natal Venus. Here are some figures to help put the various orbs and relationships in perspective:

SSR Asc 25°57' Aries
r Venus (25°06' Ari) rises with 26°14' Aries
t Mercury (26°18' Ari) rises with 28°10' Aries

Some other natal planets are more broadly foreground, but her Venus is the main one. Also, that SSR Moon which opposes Neptune also squares natal Mercury (0°10').

t Mercury & r Venus angular; t Mercury conj. r Venus; s Moon op. s Neptune, sq. r Mercury. These are the main factors to look up in the Solar Return section: viewforum.php?f=20
Because that Venus is so strong, it looks basically positive, a memorably positive year, but that Neptune has to figure in somehow and I'm not completely comfortable with it unless there's a good excuse for it, e.g., she's planning to get married etc. There is a lot of Mercury, and it's generally good Mercury, and her own Mercury is supremely strong in her nativity - Is she a student like you? If so, it should be an excellent year for studies except that she is starting to have t Neptune square her Mercury in different periods (as it gets closer, and as Neptune approaches her natal angles, and especially when this rotates to the foreground in a Lunar or Demi-Lunar Return. As before, if she has a good outlet for Mercury-Neptune in particular, that overcomes any concerns I have and the whole thing looks quite positive.

[hakim]

Thats the thing, Jim. After her birthday she kinda contacted me and started discussing her future. She turned to astrology and was looking for answers as it feels to her that there are obstacles in her way. A very depressing moment for her. She is a student like me and quite worried about her studies. Basically she doesn't know what to do next and its kinda freaking her out. Lets just say her plans for her studies got derailed quite a while ago.

Still her solar returns look good though. Just that mercury-neptune aspect is what worries me. Her studies are first and foremost. Mostly studies these days are very left-brain centered. Perhaps a right-brain centered outlet could help her utilize this period more effectively. I am open to suggestions.

All in all, the chart itself kinda speaks. Just a clarification, mercury as a planet is very mercantile, right? Like she should have some inclination towards business related skills. Broadly speaking anything to do with the application of mind could be her forte.

[Jim Eshelman]

Thats the thing, Jim. After her birthday she kinda contacted me and started discussing her future. She turned to astrology and was looking for answers as it feels to her that there are obstacles in her way. A very depressing moment for her. She is a student like me and quite worried about her studies. Basically she doesn't know what to do next and its kinda freaking her out. Lets just say her plans for her studies got derailed quite a while ago.

Thanks. It helps to have something to run with.

In what field is she studying? That would help.

This is one of the worse expressions of that Moon-Neptune. I expressed concern, but didn't want to dwell overly on negatives. Read the interpretations in the SSR section - in any case, one set of expressions (more common than others) is depression, feeling lost, feeling diffused, high sensitivity and vulnerability, a bit more of a target to be picked on and worn down, etc. Not the only expression but admittedly the more common.

I think the key here is: What are her interests? Her natal has plenty of Mercury, but overall strikes me as someone whose sensibilities are more toward the arts (music, dramatic arts, other examples I'm probably not thinking of). The Moon-Neptune doubles up with the one in her nativity - perhaps why it's showing so strongly so fast - and that natal Moon-Neptune (trined by Saturn) apparently reflects a lot of unresolved early life imprinting that is negative, depressing. (Taurus with Moon-Saturn-Neptune: Marilyn Monroe.)

By her character, she'll be tempted to quit, to divert to something else, to distract herself. The real solution isn't fast - it's to dig into and resolve negative emotional patterns from (say) the first seven years of her life. Since that isn't a quick fix (but something she'll need to do for long-term happiness), the question becomes... what other interests? Can she take up a direction right now that the Neptune benefits, rather than try to resist it?

There is support in the SSR. That Mercury on Venus rising is a powerful positive indication. However, it can help but not fully resolve everything inside of her that is dragging her down.

[hakim]

How do I put it? Hmm, lets just say once she is done this year its off to university. She wants to study in a medical field but she is such a great artist. Her aesthetic sensibilities are quite developed. I advised her that she could be a great architect or an interior designer. I mean its so odd. She obviously does not have the temperament for a science graduate and yet. Still she could be quite stubborn. I suppose she has her reasons which I am not privy to yet.

Not so long ago I was having a discussion as to how negative she could be. Also if she were to just change and be positive, she would be up against years and years of programming which she needs to resolve. Coincidentally, I told her that her first seven years of her life shaped her into the person which she is today.

Also her tendency to call quits is spot on. I am worried about her. I advised her to find some way to change her subconscious programming before she does anything. I am hoping that this year something better happens.

[Jim Eshelman]

From what I see in the charts and what you have said, I suspect this will be a year that is positive only in the sense of the universe requiring her to get more on her own right track. While this is a supremely positive direction, it isn't likely to be pleasant and she stands a good chance of sabotaging it and making her life more difficult.

From what I see in the charts and what you have said, the net effect is likely to be the universe using her worst traits to derail her and throw her completely away from an academic direction. These Neptune transits often "bring someone to zero" - disabling things, leaving someone lost, which really means reducing a particular path through life to confusion, disorientation, and immobility. This happens because someone is already on a wrong path and unwilling to see it and take responsibility for it. The sad side is that the results likely will hurt her future academic possibilities in whatever field (e.g., if she fails badly). But what is one to do? She is fighting herself, her own truth. The harder she pushes down a wrong path right now, the harder the universe (her authentic self, and collaborator of her personality) is going to scream at her not to go that direction.

I think you don't need help with the astrology of this, Hakim - you seem to understand quite well. What I think you want and need is advice on how to help her through all of this. Technically, that's outside the realm of astrology, but not outside the realm of the astrologer. I don't know how to help from halfway around the world and not knowing her personally, especially without knowing a great deal about her and her life (e.g., I detect a lot of family issues that are affecting her decisions; am I wrong to think that a young woman in a predominantly Muslim country and culture does not have the same practical options and freedom of choice a young man would have?)

[hakim]

You are mostly right, Jim. Its true about not having the practical options and freedom. She does have family issues and I regret to say it or I did not want to say but she did fail pretty badly in her studies. She is fighting herself huh. Yeah told her that.

I do not know what to say anymore. She is quite important to me. Lets just say she helped me get through periods of extreme isolation. It wont be a stretch to say that in this country she is the only person I trust. Majority of our discussions bordered on the mystical side of life. From our conversations I gathered that she is much more bent on the practical side of life or lets say extremely bent on the practical side of life. Gotta have balance.

If I were to tell her and I think I have told her quite a few times that she has a higher self which knows what to do. Topics such as this just goes through over her head. Listens to only what she wants to listen.

I suppose the best I could do is just be there when she falls. Perhaps that would be the best moment where she perhaps listens to me earnestly. All in all, thank you, Jim. It was very enlightening and educational.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

Hakim, would she have access to a therapist locally? Perhaps through her school?

[Jim Eshelman]

You are welcome. One thought: Since you said she actively reached out to astrology, you might want to show her this thread. It shows me coming up with points you did not tell me (first gently, then more aggressively). It might be harder for her to ignore things you have told her if she sees someone else making the points independently.

[hakim]

Right, will do. In fact, before I discuss certain things with her, I will send her the link to this topic. Lets see where it goes. Thanks much.