Finding where natal planets are foreground

[Mike V]

Solar Fire has the very convenient Solar Maps sub-program to visualize where in the world various planets are foreground, given some base chart such as an SSR - at least, where they're foreground in PVL; I don't know if there's a way to also include ecliptical squares to Asc/MC or RA conjunctions to EP...

Anyway though, what I'm really curious to know is if there are recommended techniques for identifying where natal planets come to foreground angles in the context of a return chart? Is this something TMSA can do, or is it a matter of doing some trigonometry by hand? (Or programmatically doing a brute-force check on a few million points on the globe and constructing some nice visual out of it?)

[Jim Eshelman]

I don't know if there's a way to also include ecliptical squares to Asc/MC or RA conjunctions to EP...

Yes to the former, no to the latter.

Then, in the map, click the Lines button, pick the Zodiacal bubble, then check Add Aspects. Click the > next to Add Aspects and make sure that only Squares are picked. You have squares to angles.

You can't have these on the same map as mundane conjunctions with angles (you have to look twice) and you can't get RA squares to MC.

I designed a format of an astro-map feature for TMSA that would be brilliantly useful - but, at best, that's going to have to wait for now. But here's the design FWIW:
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=6129#p45553

Anyway though, what I'm really curious to know is if there are recommended techniques for identifying where natal planets come to foreground angles in the context of a return chart? Is this something TMSA can do, or is it a matter of doing some trigonometry by hand? (Or programmatically doing a brute-force check on a few million points on the globe and constructing some nice visual out of it?)

The TMSA approach would cover that, if implemented, in a way that is wonderfully easy for the astrologer. For now, there's no EASY way - its all trial and error. I start with natal and SSR on a dual wheel and switch to a 90° dial so I can see things piled on top of each other and how far (ecliptically) anything is from an angle - then, when I think I've found something useful, I estimate where it is and use TMSA and Google Maps side-by-side on a split screen to keep trying locations to get what I want.

Once you have precessed natal RA (which TMSA givers you), you can get MC/IC and the RA EP/WP arithmetically by comparing to RAMC of the initial calculated chart. RA and geographic longitude are an exact one-for-one match.

Ps - Here is your next SSR for Inglewood on a dial. Notice how it's obvious at a glance that you want to go someplace else Glancing at this, my first reactions are that transiting Jupiter is on natal Venus, so we should try for that or, if not, back Ascendant up far enough to hit natal Jupiter-Uranus. "Backing up," however, means heading west out into the Pacific ocean, so it's obvious that nothing nearby convenient, so I'd look on SF for where that transiting Jupiter is angular... and we're off and running.

Mike SSR.png

[Mike V]

Thanks for the guidance; I figured this was the case but I wanted to check to see if there was anything I didn't know about yet. I do have a plan for my own upcoming SSR thanks to help you gave me in another thread, but that dial is kind of amazing and is new for me. I was asking with another chart in mind (David S); I'm working on finding alternate locations for his, and I think it's going to revolve around bringing a natal planet to the foreground, since there don't seem to be great options in the US for transiting planets.