Fagan summaries of planets

[Jim Eshelman]

[From Chapter 17, "Thingish Thought," in Astrological Origins.]

Sun viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p92
Moon viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p93
Mercury viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p94
Venus viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p95
Mars viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p96
Jupiter viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p97
Saturn viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p98
Uranus viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p99
Neptune viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p100
Pluto viewtopic.php?f=12&t=29#p101

[Jim Eshelman]

SUN. The Sun denotes the principle of life itself, which is a state of awareness or consciousness of the I am. An angular Sun gives a thirst for recognition, fame, renown, honor. Those having the Sun so placed love to carve their names on every tree. Sometimes excessively vain, they like to occupy the seats of the mighty, always sedulously seeking the center of the stage and the limelight. They are very susceptible to flattery. The great dandies of the world mostly had the Sun angular. But generally these people are more vain about their accomplishments than about their personalities.

[Jim Eshelman]

MOON. Those having an angular Moon are also interested in themselves but in a more intimate and personal way. They are not particularly ambitious nor do they seek fame, unless of course the Moon is in close aspect to the Sun, when the are just too full of their own importance to be popular. The Moon is the seat of the sensations and lunar folk live for the gratification of their appetites. Primarily, the Moon signifies the sexual appetites. So, those with the Moon angular in their natal charts are prone to being sexually hungry and dissatisfied. Should the gratification of the erotic urges be denied them for one reason or another, then by way of substitution they take to excessive drinking, smoking, eating, or perhaps drug taking. Their appetites must be gratified in some way. In consequence of such excesses the health may suffer.

The Moon always is in a state of want, of craving, and it fixes entirely for the present moment with little thought for the future. Lunar types tend to be supersensitive and very prone to tears. One's mannerisms and humor depend on the Moon's emplacement and her aspects. One's appetites determine one's destiny.

[Jim Eshelman]

MERCURY. This planet denotes one's capacity to read and write and to imbibe knowledge generally, to manipulate numbers and to take measurements. In short - one's technical achievements generally. Under the progressed Sun's conjunction of Mercury, children usually start their school life, which is an important time for them. This also can mean the starting of paid employment for the school leaver. This aspect refers more to the clerical and secretarial type of employment than to work involving other talents.

[Jim Eshelman]

VENUS. In the intrinsic method of interpretation, Venus represents the one who takes the positive part in the act of love, to wit, the lover. Should one's Venus interaspect another's Ascendant, Midheaven, Sun, Moon, or Mars, then one is apt to fall in love with those others more especially should the Moon or Mars be involved. The reactions of the other to such advancements depend on the nature of the planet interaspected. Such love is welcomed should Venus interaspect Jupiter, but is repelled if the interaspect involves Saturn. Not infrequently, the Saturn individual feels mortified by such advances. Should the interaspect be with Mars, the latter often may be forced to fight to ward off such advances.

Directions or progressions of the Sun to Venus usually find the native in the creative state of love, when everything seems beautiful to him or her and he or she may seek to express these feelings and emotions through music singing, or writing poetry. This also gives the urge to beautify the wardrobe. Under such a direction, some member of the opposite sex may be deemed most desirable and marriage may result. The mental state produced by the direction attracts numerous friends to one's orbit. A greater social consciousness ensues and the theater and concert hall is visited more frequently than before.

The type of humanity that attracts the native depends on the configurations to Venus. Should Venus be linked to Mercury, then the attraction is to those of literary tastes or to literature and all it entails. If the configuration of Venus is to Mars, then there is an attraction to the type who is merely interested in having a good time for the moment and who is not particularly bent on anything of a permanent nature. When Venus is configurated with Jupiter, the attraction is to those of refinement both by nature of the birth and upbringing. When Saturn is in the picture, then the attraction is to people who are more mature and who possibly belong to an older age group. When Venus configurates Uranus, the native is drawn to those who are in a much younger age bracket and so on.

[Jim Eshelman]

MARS. The planet denotes the state of force, of drive and of ever-expanding energy. In a sense it is the most dynamic of all the planets for it never lets up. Those born with the Sun in conjunction with Mars, or in opposition to it, are of a severe nature and are often ruthless taskmasters. They work themselves and others to the point of sheer exhaustion and can get more accomplished than most other people. In their impatience to get things immediately done they can resort to speech that is somewhat uncouth to say the least, and they can be quite cutting and sarcastic. Frequently they give way to the profane and the obscene. They can be careless about their personal appearance and in their personal habits.

Just as Venus sees beauty which begets affection in every planet it interaspects, so does Mars see a problem to be tackled and solved in every planet it interaspects, be that problem of a physical, mathematical, or mechanical nature. If Mars cannot solve it, then it destroys it. When the Sun is configurated with Mars natally, the individuals involved put everything they have got into the thing they are doing at any particular moment. In matters of sex, they have tremendous drive and are not easily gratified. This can give the impression that such natives are oversexed. The symbol for Mars is a phallic glyph and the Sun-cum-Mars person sees in the sexual act more carnality without the overtones of affection which Venus confers. They tend to shout about sex from the rooftops.

[Jim Eshelman]

JUPITER. As distinct from the effects of Neptune which represent quantity, Jupiter denotes quality in all things. Whatever planet Jupiter configurates, it endeavors to transform the influence of that planet in to the highest good. Jupiter represents nothing short of the best. It enriches everything it touches and ensures a sense of well-being plus wholesomeness. It also represents the Father of the Gods, personifying the Great Almoner. Those born with the Sun and Jupiter mutually configurated usually are born from patrician blood. Generally speaking, Jupiter symbolizes all that is cultural, classical, refined, socially distinguished and the like. It also denotes that which is high-minded, academic, professional, educated, lofty, noble, and generous. It represents good food, attractive clothing, large estates, and so on.

For the majority of people, the highest good implies being rich in this world's goods with an overabundance of cash reserves. But money does not necessarily bring joy - the prerogative of Jove. Not infrequently a large dose of anxiety gurgles in its wake. Jupiter typifies the Supreme Court of the land and its edicts. When however, it is afflicted by the malefics, it signifies all the horrors and bigotry of class distinctions and caste systems, snobbery, judicial condemnation and such. Configurating the Moon, which controls the moods, Jupiter denotes good humor, laughter, fun and joviality.

[Jim Eshelman]

SATURN. The Greek name for this planet is Chronos [sic] and from it is derived the names chronology, chronometer, and chronic. Hence, Saturn represents the principle of time and all those customs that have been honored. It denotes that which endures and stays put, such as massive buildings and things generally made of bricks and stone. Thus Saturn is the significator of age, habit, custom, antiquity, history, the past, tradition, and conservatism, with a very strong aversion to innovation and change.

The traditional ruler of both Capricorn and Aquarius, Saturn makes his children the least ambitious of all the zodiacal family and also the most inactive. Unless obliged to do so, the scions of Saturn tend to shirk work, preferring to remain inert. [NB. This is so flatly wrong that I have to say so in passing. Saturn leans to workaholism. - JAE] They hold on to and horde whatever they have and live a rather rugged Spartan existence, eating but sparsely. If born into poor circumstances among dilapidation and decay, little effort is made to stem the decay that circumvents them and dirt and rubble are allowed to accumulate.

Through extreme caution in living and by conserving energy, those who have Saturn configurated with the Sun usually live to a ripe old age. The influence of Saturn is the antonym of that of Jupiter. While the latter signifies ambition, growth, expansion, and opulence, Saturn signifies delay, frustration, disappointment, hindrance, failure, rejection, impoverishment and so forth.

Saturn is said to hold dominion over the bones and many of the physically handicapped and the deformed have been found to have the luminaries afflicted by Saturn at birth, or to have the luminaries afflicted in Saturn's nocturnal constellation Capricorn. The natal Saturn represents the native's Pandora's box. In it are tightly suppressed and hidden the record of his committed transgressions his inhibitions, ignorances, incapacities and his stupidities. Under the impact of adverse malefic transits to the natal Saturn, sometimes he lid of the box can burst open and the native's long concealed past is revealed for all to read, much to his extreme mortification, humiliation and often disgrace, dependent on the contents of the box, of course. Under such a transit, a person's past often catches up with him to his complete dismay. Rightly or wrongly the native is liable to be attacked, accused or ridiculed in public, when the malefics transit the natal Saturn.

Generally speaking, transits of Saturn to the quotidian angles presage a bad or a disappointing day, often coupled with delay, loss, financial stress and mental dejection.

[Jim Eshelman]

URANUS. In quite a different respect, the influence of Uranus is also antonymic to those of Saturn, for while the latter planet denotes all that is aged, decrepit, gnarled and crooked, Uranus signifies all that is gloriously new, fresh, young, original and novel. Zodiacal Peter Pans, those who have the luminaries configurated with a prominent Uranus at birth, delight, charm, and thrill by virtue of their perpetual juvenescence. Attracted by the latest in everything, they are not noted for their fidelity, for in pursuit of the new, they soon tire of the attractions of yesterday and of all the previous yesterdays.

Under the impact of a transit of Uranus, many have become attracted to astrology, because being somewhat off the beaten track, it offers something excitingly new, but this does not mean that Uranus holds dominion over astrology. Most people want to know about the future because the future is always new and fresh with wondrous possibilities. In that respect only is astrology tinged with Uranus' beams. But as stated somewhere else in this book, the mathematics of astrology comes under the dominion of Mercury.

Because traveling permits one constantly to see fresh faces and new places, it can be correctly inferred that those with an active Uranus at birth love to travel the globe many times over should circumstances and finances permit. They often are actuated by the wanderlust and by a spirit of adventure. To remain for too long at any one place can be an endurance test and their lives are punctuated by frequent removals.

Should the natal Uranus be under the stimuli of transits then the native will initiate something new at the time. He probably will do something that he has rarely, if ever, done before, however trivial. Or he may try his hand at inventing something novel or the like. But should the transiting Uranus impinge on his luminaries, or transit a quotidian, the probability is that the unexpected happens to him, which event ma alter the course of his life considerably. Such happenings could be either good or bad, dependent on the nature of the other planets in attendance with Uranus. Transits of Uranus, which tend to act fitfully, invariably bring with them the element of surprise.

[Jim Eshelman]

NEPTUNE. While the radical and progressed Moons signify the receptor and the assimilator of all the sensations produced by the transits of planets to them, which they transmute into thoughts, Neptune is the sensation monger par excellence. Neptune cannot leave anything as he finds it. He must doodle with it until it has completely lost its original character and pristine form and this doodling is designated as art! Neptune just cannot refrain from seeking to alter everything it touches.

The craving created for sensation is so great that it magnifies and exaggerates wherever it goes. The simplest statement of fact is so dramatized that the truth gets submerged or disappears altogether; so the false takes its place. Those who have the lights natally configurated with Neptune and that planet in the foreground of the geniture, tend to live a fictitious life, a life of make believe. Escaping from reality, they seldom are their real selves. All of the time they try to ape someone else. This arises from a deep sense of inferiority. Realizing that inherently they are nobodies and devoid of genuine accomplishments, they incline to live by proxy.

When the Moon is configurated with Neptune, the native sees life as in concave and convex mirrors. The true is distorted. Such people can excel as novelists. But when the Sun configurates Neptune then the harsh, matter of fact world of reality is forsaken for the world of music, art and poetry. The configuration of the Moon can cause the native to be a little outlandish in his behavior and in his mode of dress, while the configuration of Neptune to the Sun tends to make the craving for recognition and even for fame so overwhelming that the native may stop at no folly to achieve this end.

The scion of Neptune is attracted to the dramatic and to the sensational in every walk of life and that is why so many Neptunians are attracted to the occult. The mystery of the unknown appeals to their instinct for drama and the happenings of the séance room help to satisfy the craving for sensation. But when Neptune is active, it is with great difficulty that one comes across the truth, for Neptune is the king of prevarication.

When transits of the malefics are made to the natal Neptune, the native may find that his pretenses are challenged. He may find himself exposed and humiliated, much to his confusion. But when Neptune transits the luminaries, the native may find that he is the victim of plots and the like, calculated to put him in a false light with a view to his subsequent removal by those who wish him other than well. Such plots are usually the maneuvering of the jealous and the envious.

When Neptune transits a quotidian angle one usually has a hectic time on that day. One may find himself in a group or gathering where everyone seems to be talking simultaneously and where there is a general state of commotion. This can be in a bar, at a party, or other social occasion. Unless one is very careful, he may easily fall prey to the temptation to drink too much alcohol or to partake of other excesses, thereby making a fool of himself to his subsequent regret. When Neptune is on a quotidian angle the wise look out for snags.

[Jim Eshelman]

PLUTO. The planet Pluto may be regarded as being the antonym of Neptune. While the latter denotes the many, the collective, the mass, the shoal, Pluto is strictly individualistic, always alone and on his own. The scions of Pluto are the shyest of all people and spend most of their time trying to avoid their fellowmen. Pluto is indeed the longer among the planets. For this reason the Plutonian can be considered something of an oddball. The average among them likes to live alone and undisturbed away from the busy haunts of man where he can pursue his pet hobby unmolested and to his heart's content. When the Plutonian is forced to mingle with others, he is ill-at-ease and often extremely irritable and bad tempered. The children of Pluto are happiest when alone. Rarely do they sally forth from their homes and mingle with the madding throng. In some cases they even employ others to do their shopping.

Those who have the Sun configurated with Pluto are cool, aloof, distant, unapproachable and resent being questioned, especially about personal matters. But withal they are polite, kind, and gentle and totally absorbed in their work. Visitors are rarely welcomed nor are they keen on visiting others. When the Moon is configurated with Pluto, and the latter prominently placed in the geniture, then an extremely shy individual is produced who will hide when strangers approach. This type is even happiest when studying by correspondence courses rather than by attending classes. They are best suited to a mode of life where they can be by themselves mostly.

Under directions of the angles or the luminaries to the natal Pluto, the native may vacate the parental roof to live as a loner. Under the same set of directions he may even forsake his wife and children in order to live by himself, or possibly to evade the long arm of the law. But under transits of the malefics to the natal Pluto, the individual may be ruthlessly ferreted out of his seclusion to face an unsympathetic world. On the other hand, when Pluto transits the luminaries, the native may be obliged to emigrate, go into exile and find himself in a distant clime away from everything he once knew and be more or less isolated from his fellow humans. To live alone more or less cut off and out of touch with others is to be under the influence of Pluto.

When Pluto transits a quotidian angle, the native usually receives a nasty jolt or shock which can unnerve him for the time being. The shock will be pleasant or otherwise according to the nature of the other planets involved. Such transits can herald the deaths of relatives and friends which again can produce the sense of aloneness. Normally speaking, a quotidian transit of Pluto gives one such a shock that one ceases to be capable of thought during that period.

[Jim Eshelman]

Are Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto benefics, malefics, or neither?

Depends on who you ask and maybe on context. I regard Uranus as a benefic, Neptune as a malefic, Pluto as a neutral; but in mundane astrology Uranus and Pluto often appear as malefics in the sense that their inherent disruption is the marker of events people tend to call "bad."

When arising from within, i.e., in natal astrology, Uranus is clearly a benefic, and in most predictive work it's that way also; but one has to have the value that change and truth are inherently "good."

When Uranus aspects a planet, it impersonalizes, unshackles, awakens, stimulates, and adds freedom from structure or inhibition. That sounds like a benefic to me.

When Neptune aspects a planet, it exaggerates, diffuses, confuses, distorts, infuses with fantasy, hyper-sensitizes, atrophies, and withers. That sounds like a malefic to me.

When Pluto aspects a planet, it gives an “all or nothing” quality: strongly intensifies or thoroughly diminishes the expression of the planet, creates strains and a powerful need for that planet’s expression be free of others’ arbitrary limitations. To me that sounds a bit like a benefic and a bit like a malefic and a bit of neither.

[Jim Eshelman]

The more I read about the planets angular and how they would manifest in a personality, the more I become convinced that my chart is simply not right. They are simply not showing the right angular planets, I am more and more sure of that. And neither is my partner's chart. He is so not an angular Sun person and I am so not an angular Neptune person. I'll write you a pm Jim - I am almost sure there is some kind of timing issue in those astro programs. I do hope you may be able to help me on that issue.

[Jim Eshelman]

I also have Sun angular, and a lot of Fagan's interpretation doesn't seem to fit me well. Being prouder of my accomplishments than my personality does fit. But I'm not a dandy, I distrust flatterers, and while I often find myself in the center of things, it's not because I seek it out, although there are people who assume if you get the limelight, you must have chosen to look for it.

Fagan wasn't trying to give us the last word on Sun angular. Just what he had observed up to the time he put pen to paper. While there's a lot I agree with in these interpretations, there's a lot that doesn't fit my experience, or my observation. Apparently, it doesn't fit your experience either.

[Jim Eshelman]

Surprisingly pleased I am in reading his Neptune take. Neptune just can't leave anything alone and has to change things around. Hmmm.. also sounds similar to some Gemini luminaries I know.