Solunars by Aldebaran Sidereal Academy

28 September 1944
Bournemouth, UK
7:49 AM

This isn’t an accurate birth time but based on his mother’s account of “around 8 AM”. Rectifying it to the best of my ability, I’ve been using 7:49 AM.

This year, if he stays at our current location in Montreal, the SSR looks particularly rough. Using TMSA, I’ve finally been able to see the mundane aspects that were not as clear with Solar Fire but there isn’t a location which seems positive.

Lyse, how far can you (he) travel? What are the bounds we're looking at?

He's going to get the Moon-Saturn square anywhere on Earth (as well as Moon opposite Uranus).

While any chart (natal or return) exists first ("has its natal," so to speak) wherever it sets up, then is capable of relocation when you go elsewhere (like back home), my experience is that the SSR is more "stubborn" on relocation. (Lunar returns shift easily as you move about; solars less so). With a lunar return, you need to find a location where there is a desirable something to put angular (not just get away from the "bad" stuff); otherwise, you only get the effect of the "back home" chart when you return. But since I've been having my SSRs elsewhere every year, I've noticed that the "when I get back home" effect is quite slight on the SSR and, in particular, transits to the 'relocated' (back home) angles are quite weak.

It also seems that Moon's aspects don't go away, though there is a difference of intensity if you get them off the angle. Steve's wife's current SSR is a good example of an SSR that occurred while on vacation - excellent angularities, and a Moon-Saturn that couldn't be escaped. She had an amazing, positive birthday trip, Steve and I are both convinced that her well-being (safety) is much improved, yet she still has had some losses to confront. My 2020 SSR had Moon aspecting Saturn, Pluto, and two Marses and, if I'd stayed in LA, would have placed these on an angle: Instead, I threw them off the angle (and put natal Jupiter exactly on an angle) and, if nothing else, got through the worst season of deadly pre-vax Covid-19 without getting sick (or my wife getting sick), which I consider something of a miracle. (Moon's progressions to each of those planets was a brief rough spot in one way or another, but not in fundamental ways like one of us getting sick or having my job and healthcare threatened.)

So I think it's worth getting the Moon-Saturn etc. off the angles if you can. I think you should also avoid putting his natal Moon-Pluto across the horizon (which happens if you move west a bit), just because it gives another path for some of the less desirable Moon-Saturn expressions to show.

We have some uncertainties because his birth time is uncertain. OTOH, maybe your rectification is on the money. I'll assume his birth time is precisely right; the results will be as accurate as the birth time.

Let's start with the SSR planets. Solar Fire lets us easily see where these are angular but doesn't give us a way to check the natal planets. (I've proposed a model of how to do this in TMSA and think Mike is going to build it in sometime, but it won't be soon. It will be a great boon when we can have it, because we just don't have all the tools to do it easily now, though we still can work with what we have by trial and error.)

First observation is to get away from the Saturn line, which SF shows easily and clearly. It runs south through NH and Maine, and just off the coast of Boston. A 3° orb is about 150-200 miles.

Looking at North America, one has to travel "out west" to get a benefic line. Transiting Venus is on IC on a longitude a little west of Denver, running due north south so that it cuts through the middle of Saskatchewan. For example, Saskatoon has Venus 1°08' from IC. Pluto is the second most angular planet, and Jupiter is enough in the foreground to highlight its oppositions to natal Sun and other planets. It's not perfect, but it's a darn good start. Regina has much the same picture but isn't quite as good (it makes Venus and Pluto more equal and puts the focus on the half-degree Venus-Pluto square; in Saskatoon, both of these planets are closely foreground but their mundane square is much wider, almost 4° instead of half a degree).

If one starts going too far east or west of this line, one starts swinging either toward natal Saturn or natal Pluto, but they aren't significant players for Saskatoon.

I tried going up and down that longitude line. You don't get a lot of options other than displacing transiting Pluto (and, thus, the Venus-Pluto interactions) from the line. For example, "just west of Denver" made me think of the beautiful Estes Park, Colorado. Transiting Venus is 39' from IC there, the second strongest planet is transiting Jupiter three and a half degrees from MC, and nothing else is super-close. (I could fine tune the Venus line, but it doesn't seem worth whittling exact longitudes for an uncertain birth time.)

The Jupiter MC line btw is only a bit east of the Venus IC line: It passes through the easternmost part of Colorado (and due north-south, including eastern Saskatchewan). But the Pluto crossing comes a bit south on that, so it's harder to find a suitable place on the Jupiter line. (Perhaps doable but harder.) The Venus-Jupiter midpoint is roughly the eastern boundaries of Wyoming and Montana (and do north-south), which in Canada isn't far from Regina (which I don't think was as great as other places already found) and farther south is more or less nothing - especially nothing easily reachable. (For example, Rapid City, SD has Pluto tightly angular but it's Jupiter-Pluto which have a 0°02'. This aspect is usually amazingly positive but can go the opposite way. If there are no real economic etc. vulnerabilities you're worried about setting a-tumbling, there is a lot recommend Rapid City if it's reachable.)

If you can travel to the California coast, transiting Jupiter squares Asc along the entire coast. For example, for San Francisco it is 20' from Zenith. The second strongest planet is natal Jupiter, 3°14' from IC! (Natal Uranus is third.) This, of course, also brings Jupiter's transit to natal Sun-Neptune to the fore, which can be quite healing. This is the best place I've found yet (unless taking a gamble on Rapid City caught your imagination). If you're going to choose this (and, working on the assumption that the birth time is exactly right), Oakland (the east side of the bay) is slightly better than San Francisco proper. You could put Jupiter 0°00' from Zenith in Menlo Park (natal Jupiter 2°53'), a lovely little town in the heart of Silicon Valley about an hour's drive south of San Francisco; or, there's a train (I worked in Menlo Park for a week a couple of times in 2019 and enjoyed a morning walk through the neighborhood to a convenience store for caffeine, right across the street from the train stop).

Thanks Jim

how far can you (he) travel? What are the bounds we're looking at?

Anywhere but preferably within US/Canada.

I think you should also avoid putting his natal Moon-Pluto across the horizon (which happens if you move west a bit), just because it gives another path for some of the less desirable Moon-Saturn expressions to show.

That's exactly where I was looking until reading the post on Helena Blavatsky's proposed final SSR!

My best trick for using Solar Fire to involve natal planets is to put the SSR and natal on a dual wheel then flip it to a 90° dial. Here you can see what moving the angles forward and backward does.

In the current case, choices aren't great for short moves. Natal Moon-Pluto is in shooting distance. One could rotate MC to oppose natal Venus: RAMC in Montreal is 32°40', so IC is 180° later at 212°40'. TMSA says natal Venus' precessed RA is 209°05', so you'd have to reduce the MC (go west) by 212°40' - 209°05' = 3°35'. From the 73°34' I used for Montreal, that brings us to 77W09. That's the longitude of Belleville. If you have to stay within a long-drive's range, Belleville puts natal Venus 0°01' from IC (presuming the birth time is exactly right). Within driving distance, it's probably the best you can do: Yet it brings the natal Moon-Pluto closer and transiting Pluto very close (and transiting Venus and Jupiter are acutely weak). Here is the full breakdown for Belleville:
There's a lot that I don't like about this chart but, as I said, if you are limited to driving distance the Venus could overwhelm a lot of negativity - presuming the birth time is exactly right.

Lyse wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:54 am

how far can you (he) travel? What are the bounds we're looking at?

Anywhere but preferably within US/Canada.

Given these parameters, I think the single best astrological spot (using the working assumption that the birth time is exactly right) is Menlo Park, CA, with the whole greater Bay Area being quite good (East Bay, i.e., Oakland, being slightly better than San Francisco on the west side of the bay). The city has so much to do and see, including Napa and Sonoma an hour's drive to the north. If you rent a car, you could drive the spectacularly beautiful California coast (gorgeous all the way to Malib\u, but especially the shorter run just down to Monterey, Carmel, and especially Big Sur: a favorite spot is a pull-over restaurant and store that is the only building in the "they at least have a post office" down of Lucia just below Big Sur).

Here is the chart for Menlo Park (which, btw, puts SSR Moon and Saturn at 1% strength: He'll have that aspect anyway, but this is one of the weakest spots on earth for it, so a secondary reason it's a good area):

(unless taking a gamble on Rapid City caught your imagination).

Over California? Ummmm, no

I think the single best astrological spot (using the working assumption that the birth time is exactly right) is Menlo Park, CA, with the whole greater Bay Area being quite good.

That sounds ideal.

Belleville puts natal Venus 0°01' from IC (presuming the birth time is exactly right). Within driving distance, it's probably the best you can do: Yet it brings the natal Moon-Pluto closer and transiting Pluto very close

Have been looking at Belleville this past week but with his sketchy birthtime it now seems risky.

Thank you so much for your help Jim. Will check out your tip on the 90°dial as well.

You're welcome. I think vote for the sunshine

Yes, take a look at the 90° dial just to anchor the idea. It doesn't give exact measurements, but it makes it far easier to see what you get by sliding the angles forward and backward smaller amounts (say, a sign-width or less) and noticing which hard ecliptical aspects you might want to pick or avoid. Once it points you in the right direction, SF and TMSA combined give several tools (TMSA eventually will have better, including tools that include EP-WP lines and automatically precess the natal planets). The tool I have in mind for that would reduce scanning the whole of North America to a few minutes, and narrowing down to an exact geographic spot within seconds after that.

After that, Google Maps - or better yet, for precise longitude and latitude, Google Earth - becomes your best friend for turning precise longitudes and latitudes into locations.