Friend's upcoming SSR - worth traveling for?

[Mike V]

I would love a sanity check here. My best friend is considering (with my advisement) travel for her 2025 SSR, and the best location I could find was near Lubbock, Texas.

Birth: Apr 12 1995 1:39pm
Mount Holly, NJ

2025 SSR
Apr 12, 2025 5:25am

Code: Select all

      Long     Lat   Speed    RA     Dec    Azi     Alt      ML     PVL    Ang  
                               Transiting Planets                                
Mo 21Vi23'38"  1S43 +11°51' 194°32'  8S 4 246°45' +18° 8'   7°22' 199°37'  56%   
Su 27Pi40'22"  0S 0 +58'49"  21° 4'  8N51  61°37' -22°31' 191° 9'  25°14'  51%   
Me  2Pi47'45"  1S10 +24'53" 358°32'  1S55  84°50' -11° 9' 181° 1'  11°12'  78%   
Ve 29Aq32'19"S 4N47 - 1'27" 353°11'  2N16  84°21' - 4°23' 180°26'   4°24'  96% A 
Ma  2Cn36'31"  2N23 +23'15" 120°18' 22N58 317°18' -19°41' 194°44' 152°11'   1%  b
Ju 22Ta46'34"  0S17 +10'31"  76°51' 22N36 359°30' -33°48' 213°48'  90°44' 100% I 
Sa  0Pi44'25"  1S57 + 6'53" 356°57'  3S27  87° 1' -10°42' 180°34'  10°43'  79% Vx
Ur  0Ta13' 6"  0S13 + 3' 4"  53° 2' 18N53  26°35' -33° 0' 210° 9'  55°26'   5%  b
Ne  5Pi22'52"  1S16 + 2' 8"   0°56'  0S58  82°39' -12°38' 181°38'  12°44'  73%   
Pl  8Cp36'31"  3S29 + 0'37" 306°54' 22S43 132°14' +15°59'  10°54' 338°52'  19%  b
Er 29Pi55'19" 10S35 + 0'39"  27° 2'  0S11  64°46' -32°59' 195°27'  35°39'  49%   
Mc 22Sc23'17" .............  76°24' 22S51 180° 0' +33°34' ....... 270° 0'  ...
As 14Aq21'44" ..................... 16S31 .......   0° 0' .......   0° 0'  ...
Ep 20Aq 7'50" ............. 166°24' 14S46 ....................................
Vx 25Le56'25" ..................... 12N52 270° 0' + 6°26' ....................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Radical Planets                                 
Mo 21Le 1'22"  4S 3 +13°42' 165°39'  1N45 271°52' + 0°21' 179°59' 180°21' 100% D 
Su 27Pi40'22"  0S 0 +58'49"  21° 4'  8N51  61°37' -22°31' 191° 9'  25°14'  51%   
Me 25Pi41'48"  0S59 + 2° 4'  19°35'  7N12  64° 1' -22°31' 190°18'  24°46'  51%   
Ve 23Aq57' 4"  1S16 + 1°12' 350°26'  5S30  92°23' - 6°24' 359°44'   6°24'  92% E 
Ma 20Cn30'56"  2N42 +12' 7" 138°55' 18N44 301°13' -10°45' 185°37' 167°29'  63%   
Ju 20Sc30'35"  0N50 - 2' 5" 254°28' 21S50 182°11' +34°33'  34°32' 266°51'  97% M 
Sa 24Aq47'53"  1S49 + 6'35" 351°26'  5S41  91°58' - 7°19' 359°45'   7°20'  89% A 
Ur  5Cp35' 2"  0S32 + 1' 8" 303° 0' 20S31 133°35' +20° 0'  14° 5' 333°19'   3%  b
Ne  0Cp48'34"  0N33 + 0'30" 297°47' 20S25 137°39' +23° 7'  17°31' 327°38'   1%  b
Pl  5Sc30'14" 13N54 - 1'12" 241°20'  6S40 202°23' +47°17'  45° 3' 250°38'  27%   
Er 23Pi26'50" 16S18 + 0'40"  23°17'  7S49  74°47' -34°48' 190°20'  35°46'  49%   
Mc  7Ar56'11" ............. 210°49' 12N31 180° 0' +62°32' ....... 270° 0'  ...
As 18Cn 6'31" ..................... 22N13 .......   0° 0' .......   0° 0'  ...
Ep  3Cn37'51" ............. 300°25' 23N23 ....................................
Vx  4Sg40'54" ..................... 21S 4 270° 0' -38°14' ....................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Class 1 Aspects         Other Partile Aspects                               
tVe sq tSa  0° 8' 100% p   tMe co tSa  0°29' 100% M                           
-----------------------    -----------------------                            
tMo op rEr  2° 3'  92%     tSu co rMe  0°28' 100% M                       
tVe sq rMo  0°27'  98% p   tEr sq rNe  0°53'  98%                             
tVe co rVe  2° 0'  92% M   tEr co rEr  0° 7' 100% M                           
tVe co rSa  2°55'  84% M   -----------------------                            
tJu sq rMo  0°23' 100% M   rSu co rMe  0°28' 100% M                           
tJu sq rVe  1°11'  97%                                                        
tJu op rJu  2°16'  90%                                                        
tJu sq rSa  2° 1'  92%                                                        
-----------------------                                                       
rMo op rVe  2°56'  84%                                                        
rMo sq rJu  0°31'  99%                                                        
rMo op rSa  0° 6' 100% p                                                      
rVe sq rJu  0°12' 100% p                                                      
rVe co rSa  0°51'  99%                                                        
rJu sq rSa  0°12'  99% p     

On its face, this looks like a really, really positive chart. I'm sure we can tweak it to get one or another planet exactly on the angle, but I'm starting with this. The only reason I am questioning this at all is the presence of aspects that, a few months ago, we would not have even calculated - the PVP aspects. The closest aspects in this chart are all PVP aspects, and while they're mixed, the 2 closest of them are much less pleasant than everything else.

rMo op rSa 0° 6' 100% p
tVe sq tSa 0° 8' 100% p

Let's assume that these are exactly as power as other kinds of aspects with the same orbs. Would you think that these would be bad enough to spoil the chart?

I personally don't. But I promised my friend I would double check

[Jim Eshelman]

FWIW, my practice (with my own travelling around returns) is to ignore PVP aspects and, if they happen to be fully powerful, take my bruises and learn something. I understand, though, why you might not want to take that path with your friend. (For my last demi, in Colorado, if the Sun-Saturn, Mercury-Saturn, and Saturn-to-Moon PVP aspects had a voice it was only to delay one final 'extra' check by about a month after delivering a windfall otherwise - not much of an impediment.)

The SSR for Lubbock breaks down as follows:

r Saturn Asc -7°20'
r Venus IC -6°24'
t Venus Asc -4°24'
t Jupiter IC -0°44'
r Moon Dsc -0°21
----------------------
r Jupiter MC +3°09'

t Venus-Saturn sq 0°08' p
t Jupiter sq r Moon 0°23' M
r Venus-Saturn co
r Moon-Jupiter sq 0°31'
t Jupiter sq r Venus 1°11'
t Venus co r Venus 2°00' M
t Jupiter sq r Saturn 2°01'
t Jupiter op r Jupiter 2°16'
t Venus co r Saturn 2°55' M
r Moon-Venus op 2°56'
r Moon-Saturn op 3°47'

My copy of alpha-6 doesn't show the natal Moon-Saturn opposition. (I just figured out why: I use 4° for Class 1 oppositions so this capture the natal Moon-Saturn ecliptical aspect 3°47'; and we repress PVP aspects under these circumstances.) So she has a natal Moon-Saturn aspect regardless, though the PVP aspects suggest this is closer.

That 0°08' t Venus-Saturn PVP aspect seems intimidating if we grant it full power. OTOH I don't thin, at the end of the year, we could tell if it was operative or not since her partile natal Venus-Saturn conjunction is also foreground. (Widely foreground, but foreground.) Also, transiting Venus is in foreground conjunction with natal Saturn.

So, in a sense, you're asking: Are three three foreground Venus-Saturn aspect all that much worse than two foreground Venus-Saturn aspects? To that question, I'd answer an easy no.

But it might not be that simple, so let's go back to basics and be really systematic.


FIRST: What's the overall positive-negative tone of the SSR? We tell this by the relative strength of malefics and benefics in the foreground, taking their relative angularity into consideration. This is clearly a positive chart with the Jupiter transit to natal Moon dominating by orb and angularity, backed up by natal Jupiter. But, working the numbers fully, here is the ranking I'd give:

Benefic = 13, Malefic = 1
Dignity = 9, Indignity = 1
Spotlight = 6
Change = 0

So, whatever the fine points, the chart as a whole is dramatically more benefic than malefic, ore dignifying than indignifying.

Second, I've found that while Class 3 angularities and aspects are valid in return charts, one can drop them out without changing the overall themes and tones of the chart. It's a good way to get closer to the core of what's going on. (You can't count on things staying as "true" if you also drop out Class 2 angularities.) If we do that to "trim up" the SSR a bit, it costs us only the natal Saturn and its aspects, which simplifies just a little: It strips out the natal Venus-Saturn and Moon-Saturn aspects and transiting Venu' conjunction with natal Saturn (i.e., removes the three other Saturn aspects, leaving the PVP Venus-Saturn as the only one).

r Venus IC -6°24'
t Venus Asc -4°24'
t Jupiter IC -0°44'
r Moon Dsc -0°21
----------------------
r Jupiter MC +3°09'

t Venus-Saturn sq 0°08' p
t Jupiter sq r Moon 0°23' M
r Moon-Jupiter sq 0°31'
t Jupiter sq r Venus 1°11'
t Venus co r Venus 2°00' M
t Jupiter op r Jupiter 2°16'
r Moon-Venus op 2°56'

The one Venus-Saturn clearly has a larger presence here than in the other chart since it is the only one of its kind. Another way to say the same thing is that it is the only negative aspect when every single other foreground aspect (six of them) has either Jupiter or Venus and no malefics. That's one crazy run of aspects! (Moon to Venus and Jupiter; Venus to Venus; Jupiter to Moon, Venus, and Jupiter).

Under the rule you established - that we treat the 100% strong PVP aspect as the being fully as strong as if, say, it were an ecliptical square - we still have an almost overwhelmingly positive chart with Jupiter to natal Moon dominating by angularity and orb, and (with Class 2 angularities or closer) six out of seven aspects being LOUDLY positive. (In fact, all seven aspects have at least one benefic and only one has a malefic.)

I would have to conclude it will be a good year on balance. There may be some Venus-Saturn bumps along the way (life has ups and downs), but felt as they might in a year that you remember as basically great. In fact, it may be that the Venus-Saturn (if valid) is spun in a positive way such as settling down. (This could be a chart for marriage, with all the Jupiter and Venus, for example.)

In reality, there will be Venus-Saturn tones through the year since - even without the PVP aspect - there are two other Venus-Saturn aspects. However, both involve a widely foreground Saturn.

I suggest going 0°44' of longitude west to put Jupiter precisely on IC. I don't know if you can then tweak the horizon to put either Moon (easier) or Venus (harder) precisely on the angle. (I haven't checked these.)