The sun was the center of the solar system and the gravitational center of the earth and the other planets’ travels. It was worshipped by humanity from the dawn of civilization, as it represented the absolute power of kings and despots. It was also related to knowledge and consciousness, and its luminous aspects were usually associated with knowledge and consciousness. As a creator of life, it was related to the image of the mother and the influence of motherhood on an individual’s consciousness and ideals. As a result, the sun’s position in a birth chart always indicated the way in which an individual would relate to their goals and ideals, what their ambitions and aspirations might involve. A person whose chart was strongly “solar” usually identified very positively with motherhood.

As the moon orbits around the earth, it has been compared to the feminine principle, the mother hovering over her infant’s cradle. Psychologically, the moon is symbolic of the mother and the mother image. This figure is a primordial element in the psyche of each individual. Depending on your nature, the mother figure may correspond to your biological mother, a grandmother, or a woman who cared for you in infancy and childhood. When you reach adulthood, this mother-figure and all the emotions and bonds associated with you may be transferred to something else: a spouse, a companion, an institution, a church, corporation, or political movement, a cult, etc. In short, any individual or structure likely to take on the mother’s duty of caring for and nurturing the vulnerable aspects of an individual. To be more down-to-earth, the mother figure corresponds to the habits which were learned and then definitively incorporated into the individual’s identity as you gradually became acculturated and progressed toward social independence. As a result, a strongly “lunar” personality often finds it difficult to adapt and is uncomfortable outside the secure setting of familiar routines. Closely tied to your past, you may be unwilling to detach yourself from it and embark on your life as an individual in the here and now. You still identify somewhat with your inner child and may display a child’s capricious behavior, indulging in moodiness and indecision. Your passivity may make you easily influenced, your sensitivity makes you subjective, and you hesitate to open up and lay your soul bare. In your daily life, psychic activity will rule. Your imagination, memory, sensitivity, sensation, and sentiment nearly overwhelm your psyche.

According to Greek mythology, Mercury (or Hermes, whose name derives etymologically from the piles of rocks which marked trails and guided travelers) was the messenger of the gods. He carried orders from Olympus to the mortals on Earth. The child of the illegitimate union of Zeus with Maia, Mercury was born “unknown to the immortal gods” and had to win his place among them by trickery, cleverness, and cunning. This is why he became the vagabond deity of travelers and wanderers. He is the instinctive foe of the settled who see him as an outcast roaming on the outskirts of society: a pariah, a thief, and a swindler. As ruler of the sign of Gemini, the Twins, he symbolizes the brother—the alter-ego who teaches us as much as we teach him and is associated with adolescence, a period of intense intellectual discovery. Mercury thus symbolizes lively, sparkling wit, mobility in any form, mental exchange, and interaction. As a result, a person strongly ruled by Mercury is quite likely to be clever and skillful. If Mercury is “afflicted” in one’s chart, their intellectual velocity may sometimes become mere mental hyperactivity. In any case, these skills are a great resource in the social realm. You communicate easily and effectively, orally or in writing. Your ability to unite and transmit would be a good resource in diplomatic or commercial endeavors.

The ninth house is an area of the sky which is especially important to you, because it contains several planets, including the one which rules your rising sign. In the following paragraph, we shall explain the general meaning of this fact.

According to traditional astrology, the ninth house rules this much broader framework, which includes law as well as philosophy, psychology, science, religion, mysticism, occult studies, etc. An individual with a great deal of activity in this area of their astrological chart will probably feel a strong desire for personal expansion. They will seek out experiences which reveal knowledge and meaning to them and give them a better indication of their purpose in living. The difficulties they are likely to face will be hidden behind what appears to be success. They may arise from their expansiveness, which is sometimes uncontrollable, or disproportionate. Although at the outset, their ambition and desire for personal development are a source of strength, they later become powerful enough to cut them off from themselves. If they identify too strongly with the flattering self-image reflected by the community, they may gradually begin to neglect their personal essence. Because this perverse tendency to confuse form with function is reinforced by modern society’s emphasis on packaging and advertising, they are liable to lose themselves completely.

The sixth house is an area of the sky which is especially important in Clayton English’s theme. In the following paragraph, we shall explain the general meaning of this fact.

According to tradition, the sixth house is related to health and your relationship to your body. It governs experiences related to work, duty, health care, self-transformation, and the continuous harvesting and re-planting of your energies and ego. More specifically, this area can be associated with physical disorders like aches and pains, digestive problems, etc. If you refuse to reorient yourself, physical discomfort or suffering may set in. The difficulty you face concerns your personal growth as a member of society. It shows that you are not yet ready to approach others appropriately, and that you must tone down an inflated ego or beef up an insecure, weak ego. The importance of this area in your theme indicates that experiences related to work, duty, health care, self-transformation, and the continuous harvesting and re-planting of your energies and ego are fundamental and may have a major impact on your destiny. Traditionally, astrologers associated this house with humbly serving others. We interpret this to mean that a person who has not consciously begun the work of reorienting their personality may be doomed to remain the slave of thankless tasks, toil at subordinate functions deprived of privilege.

The fifth house is an area of the sky which is especially important to your theme. In the following paragraph, we shall explain the general meaning of this fact.