Final series of answers to the FAQ. I will certainly create another FAQ installment, given that many of you tell me you still have quite a few questions… 😉
In a chart, is there only one dominant, and what criteria allow us to identify it with certainty ?
I have already touched on this in another response. Certain astrologers determine a “chart ruler” based primarily on astrological rulerships; there are various techniques for this.
Some apply coefficients in a somewhat mathematical manner, based on such-and-such house, such-and-such planet, such-and-such point…
I am not particularly fond of this kind of mathematical technique, which in a sense replaces intuition, although the notion of a “chart ruler” can still be very valid at times.
What I actually dislike about this notion is often its highly reductive aspect, where one attempts to “fit into boxes” planetary forces that are far more complex, subtle, and protean.
Often, in fact, there are multiple dominants, and they are not simple to hierarchize !
Perhaps one of the two will dominate from ages 0 to 20, the second will take over until 30, then we will return to the first for five years, and so on…
It is better to view things globally, generally, as a whole.
Determining a dominant is something very complex, heavily dependent on the astrologer’s sensitivity and skill.
I am preparing courses that will detail these points more thoroughly, because here, in a few lines, it is very complicated to answer simply…
I would first and foremost advise you to practice a solid elemental analysis of the chart. You learn a great deal from this simple work alone !
Can astrology define our physical appearance? We often hear that the Ascendant defines our appearance.
The astrologer André Barbault (respect to him) wrote extensively on these points, drawing on the foundations of traditional astrology, and it is extremely interesting !
He worked with notions of temperament, the humorism (sanguine, choleric, nervous, phlegmatic)—notions that also correspond to the astrological elements, and which would later be taken up in Jungian psychology…
It is logical, if one follows the theory of forms, of analogies, of Synchronicities, which govern astrology, that the planets constituting us (forming the seeds of our personality) also manifest in our physical form…
Here we are speaking more of “archetypes”, that is to say, broadly speaking, stereotypes if you prefer.
Thus, a person marked by Jupiter will have a genial demeanor, a rather round face, wide and benevolent eyes; conversely, a person marked by Saturn will tend to be more angular, slender, with a more closed, taciturn countenance.
See the drawings below, extracted from the works of Mr. Barbault himself (whose reading I recommend in my Astrological Library, notably the excellent “De la psychanalyse à l’Astrologie”).
There are very true and interesting things in this kind of approach, even if nothing is “scientific” about it.
Personally, I often manage to discern planetary influences in people through their physical appearance and, above all, their behavior, and I am rarely mistaken…
Even in a client’s drawings, not very long ago, her Saturnian influences stood out enormously, even without knowing her; no need to see her chart to sense it ! 😉 One simply needs to know and understand what the archetypal energies correspond to…
A sign in itself merely translates the archetype it represents; it plays, in a sense, a variation on its element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), and the Ascendant follows this same logic.
Admittedly, much of the “social personality” is attributed to the Ascendant. However, one must proceed with great caution, because one cannot draw generalizations about appearance from it !
I know many people who do not recognize themselves at all in their Ascendant, and for good reason: their charts sometimes indicate dominants that are completely at odds with the Ascendant !
Imagine, for example, that you have a Sagittarius Ascendant, but Jupiter is weak, in debility, caught in squares; you have a Black moon conjunct the North Node in the 9th House Virgo, and beside that you have a Sun and Capricorn Stellium conjunct Saturn in the 1st House, a cluster in the 10th…
Which sign will dominate this chart and this appearance ?
I am willing to bet it is indeed Saturn !
Jupiter is an axis of development here; seeds are present, the Ascendant may help develop them, but when it comes to translating planetary energies “into form”, it is indeed the Saturnian energies that will impose themselves most strongly, both on personality and on physical appearance…
That said, this does not mean, for example, that if there is a Gemini Mars, certain airy traits will not also be present !
But you see, these are complex matters; astrology is complex; it does not lend itself to the simplifications of today’s media; it always demands deeper exploration…
Is Libra sensitive and gifted for long-term relationships ? Is there a difference between Libra men and Libra women on these two points ?
First, it is essential to understand that when we speak of a sign (here, the Sun sign) we are evoking an archetype: that is to say, truly a stereotyped, generalized figure, with a “typical” behavior and character, BUT in reality, an enormous number of factors will nuance this in the chart…
Thus, in absolute terms, you will certainly find as many Libras gifted for long relationships as Libras incapable of building anything !
It is important to understand the archetype of Libra: it is the zodiac sign that opens onto the hemisphere of the collective; it represents, in a sense, the first confrontation with “the other”.
Here, this “other” is not to be understood in the global sense of society in general, but in the very specific sense of the “alter ego” of a dual relationship, of dialogue with one person who constitutes, in a sense, the mirror of who we are.
Thus, this mirror relationship holds true with any person taken individually, and Libra will have an archetypal need for this type of relationship in its sociability.
Often, it is the romantic partner who best, most perfectly and profoundly, embodies this mirror, which is why Libra is attributed a keen connection to it…
But this does not predetermine the duration of the relationship; it is above all the importance of the affective bond to the other that enables one to deepen one’s own self !
Many factors will nuance these elements and provide clues about the “quality” of the relationships Libra will experience.
First, one must look closely at Venus, the ruler of this sign, and it is evident that the more tense Venus is, the more Libra’s archetypal mission risks being complicated, or at least having to express itself in a “nuanced” manner.
Next, the 7th House intervenes directly; it is the analogous house of this sign, and here too, depending on whether it hosts, for example, a harmonious Jupiter or a charged karmic combination such as Saturn, Pluto, Black moon, Mars, or Chiron in tension, one will clearly not obtain the same result !
The difference between Libra men and Libra women lies primarily in the fact that the rulership of the sign is attributed to a planet of the Anima !
This necessarily brings it closer to feminine qualities in terms of receptivity, sensitivity, even “passivity” (although Libra remains a “positive”, dynamic sign, in the cardinal cross, moreover)…
Thus, one might suppose that a Libra woman has a more spontaneous, natural expression of this archetype, although here again, many factors nuance these points; I reiterate that I am truly speaking in generalities.
We find the inverse, for example, in Aries with Mars, a planet of the Animus…
Do you always tell the truth to your clients ? For example, if you see someone’s death, or a serious accident, a bereavement, do you tell them, risking alarming them and making them ill ?
Death is merely an extreme point materializing the end of life, but what matters is life ! 😉
Astrology describes above all life, psychology, the means and potentialities for evolution; that is its fundamental interest…
Admittedly, when one practices astrology (especially medical astrology, moreover) one notices, even in the Birth Chart alone, that there are “weaknesses” regarding health in every chart; thus, one can deduce certain things about the probabilities of illnesses, in particular…
This is not my specialty, first and foremost because I have no medical expertise alongside it !
Furthermore, in Transits, it sometimes happens that one can identify periods that are particularly tense regarding various factors; it is also the role of the astrologer and of astrology to warn, for example, about a risk of accidents or about the probability of certain medical problems arising, this can genuinely help people !
Under certain skies, it is better to avoid certain things…
This does not mean that one will be completely exempt from all problems, nor that one should slip into superstition, but for example, if I am to have an accident, I would rather have it while riding my scooter down the next street than while taking a small plane to fly over the Amazon rainforest ! You get the idea… 😉
Then there are ways of saying things !
The astrologer’s role is clearly not to foster fear and superstition in their clients! Fear is already very naturally enormously present in certain highly anxious individuals, who are terrified at the mere idea of mentioning Pluto or Saturn in tension anywhere, no need to further inflame things; on the contrary, one must do the work of explaining, detailing, reassuring…
You know, when one takes an interest in astrology, when one practices it, I believe it is important to also integrate notions of fate and of faith…
To surrender to what is greater than oneself, to place things in this perspective, to recognize that our grasp on the world is quite limited…
Then, to recognize more fundamentally that what is truly important in an existence is not so much birth and death, but what one does during the interval !
It is definitively better to live 50 years while having evolved well, having given the maximum of one’s possibilities and learned an enormous amount…
Rather than to live 100 years of a sterile life, leaving planet Earth without having understood anything of what one has experienced…
Does Gemini have a strong character ? Are there signs that do, or is this not defined by the Sun sign ?
Regarding the notion of strength of character, I refer you to the previous answers where a similar question was asked; it applies to Gemini as well ! 😉
Geminis above all possess a very “airy” strength, in terms of sociability, curiosity, but the flip side is also frequently a lack of constancy, of perseverance, especially if Earth is lacking in the chart…
This archetype revolves around three fundamental notions for it: to learn, to exchange/communicate, and to transmit to others. The entire strength of this sign flows from these different points…
Mercury is both the ruler of Gemini and of Virgo. Yet these two signs, one Earth, one Air, do not express themselves in the same way. How can one analyze Mercury in a chart when the Sun is Virgo and the Ascendant is Gemini? The question is the same for other planets that happen to rule both the Sun sign and the Ascendant in the chart.
Yes, indeed, we are then speaking of diurnal and nocturnal rulership.
Mercury is a neutral planet by nature, which expresses itself by taking on the hue of its environment; I refer you to the linked article on the planet for more details.
In the example you cite, this is an overall Mercurial influence; one must look at the rest of the chart above all to see whether it leans more toward the “Air” side or the “Earth” side, precisely, because these are indeed antagonistic influences, and often Earth imprints a real weight in any case, which irremediably modifies Air.
If, for example, you have Saturn conjunct the Gemini Ascendant, the question of how you will express your Mercurial energies does not even arise…
Regarding the specific analysis of Mercury, however, in humanistic astrology, I refer you to the analysis of its retrograde cycle at the moment of birth, with the notions of Prometheus Mercury and Epimetheus Mercury (already for advanced analyses, see the books of Rudhyar notably; I cannot detail these points precisely here, see my article on Retrograde motion, however, to better understand this phenomenon).
Regarding other planets for other signs, it is the same logic, with however the nuances of traditional and modern rulerships added in (with the new transpersonal planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).
For example, if one is a Sagittarius and we are in August. What influence will the constellation of Virgo have on our personality ? Do we change signs and become Virgo ?
I believe you are confusing absolutely all the elements completely… 😉
Signs, constellations, transits, Houses… I truly advise you to go back to the basics of astrology from the very beginning…
We do not truly “change signs”; the Birth Chart remains the birth chart, your entire life; it is only the various activations that come to nuance its expression, via Transits and Progressions… 😉
Or perhaps you are confusing this with questions of House System in what you are evoking, but the phrasing of the question is very confusing; I am having difficulty defining what you are seeking…
THE END for this FAQ ! Start preparing your questions for the next one… 😉