What do we do about legacy?
some more questions for you
No week ahead astrology this week -- there are sooooo many good horoscopes you can read out there (including mine, for paid subscribers 👀). Enjoy the essay!
Some questions about what you need, what you do, and how you get in your way.
My brain is still a little dead from the past few weeks of newsletters and from the past few weeks of world and national events. This week, instead of an essay about anything deep or complicated (at least, very complicated), I’m just asking some questions and pointing out some things you can play with and explore in your own birth chart. If you’ve forgotten how to find that, I broke down the steps a million years ago here.
This is the chart we’re going to use as a reference:
I left off the name of the person (spoiler, you can skim to the end if you are no fun and you want to know who it is to start) and I haven’t actually looked at this chart much before, because I want to show how these things work with any chart.
Of course, we’re keeping things extra simple today, so, remember that everything we read in a chart can be deepened, should be questioned, and will surprise you in execution. It’s only in retrospect that we can really flesh out placements to their fullest.
What nourishes you?
To cut to the core of this question, we look at the Moon. In this chart, the Moon is in the Fourth House in Taurus. That’s a good place for the Moon, though there are certainly some caveats I might add.
The simplest reading of this, though: The Moon in Taurus suggests that material comforts are felt in a deep way. Quality over quantity, though quantity won’t be turned away. In isolation, a Taurus Moon suggests a stubbornness in seeking nourishment, a pickiness perhaps. This is a Moon that might be taken care of more than it does the caring.
Of course, we can flesh this out a little bit to get more interesting information…
First, to start with the good stuff:
The Moon loves to be in Taurus. She is exalted there. Since she’s also sharing space with Venus, who is in charge of Taurus, it’s really like Venus is throwing a very good party for her, making sure she has everything she needs.
The Moon is in the Fourth House which is a strong place to be. It’s one of the angles or “stakes”. Like a place that holds the rest of the chart down.
The Moon is in a very direct Trine relationship with Jupiter. While Jupiter isn’t in a fantastic place (Twelfth House Capricorn), he is able to see the Moon, they’re applying toward each other, and he’s sending her all the love and support he can.
To complicate this picture:
This is an eclipse chart. A solar eclipse, specifically, which doesn’t harm the Moon per se, but does create some intensity, volatility, and tension. Particularly as she is cozied up to the North Node (the little upside down “U”) we might expect this Moon to overdo it when it comes to feeling good.
She’s got almost no light. Again, not inherently a bad thing, but she’s at the very end of a cycle. This is a Moon that is setting up the chart to have a base level vitality that is low. It’s mediated by lots of other factors (her relationship with Venus and Jupiter and the North Node), but it’s still where she’s starting.
Take a look at your own Moon. What sign is it in? What images or stories does that sign evoke for you? Think about the image of the constellation, think about the element, and think about the modality. Play with it, let me know what you find!
What do you think about your legacy?
This one is harder to make simple, but I’m going to try because I think it’s interesting, especially as Biden has recently stepped down and the conversation about “what is his legacy” has been picking up.1 (This is not Biden’s chart.)
Obviously there is so much to pick apart here. What is a “legacy” really? Do you get to form it or is it something that the people you leave behind define? Does it even matter? I’m not going to answer those questions, but I am going to talk about some things we can look at in the chart to understand the legacy.
The simplest place to start is the Tenth House. This is the part of the chart that reflects who you are in the world, the highest point of achievement, in some ways, your “purpose” in life. You’ll want to, at minimum, consider any planets inside that house and consider the planet that rules that house. In this chart’s case, we also need to look at the point labeled “MC” as this is actually the specific point that was highest on the day of this person’s birth. In the Whole Sign system, this doesn’t always fall in the Tenth House.
So, what’s it all mean?
The ruler of the Tenth House, Scorpio in this case, is Mars. Mars is in the Sixth House of Cancer. Mars loves the Sixth House and he hates being in Cancer. So, a mixed bag. I’d suggest this person’s legacy will have something to do with these hard parts of life like health/illness or labor and hard work.
Because Mars struggles in Cancer I would guess this won’t be the easiest journey. Perhaps not something we expect to see come to fruition while the person is alive. That said, Mars’s involvement suggests a bit of a fight to me. Could be a war or could just be a metaphorical fight.
The ruler of the MC point is Jupiter. Jupiter is also unhappy about his place in Capricorn. Still, it’s interesting to see that he and Mars have a kind of mutual relationship because of their discomfort. Jupiter is where Mars would normally be celebrated and Mars is where Jupiter would normally be celebrated. This adds some efficacy to their story, in my opinion.
Last, because of the involvement of Jupiter, I see some “expansion” added to the mix, some “bigness”.
Take a look at your own Tenth House. Are there any planets in that sign? Who rules it? Where is that planet? Do you see anything in the story of that placement that resonates with the work you already do in the world?
How do you get in your own way?
One of my favorite questions. I was discussing this with my friend/astrologer Larry the other day because I’ve had a pretty active planet assisting me in getting in my own way recently. It got me thinking about this idea in the chart and what we all can look for to understand it. Take all this with a grain of salt and if it’s concerning/activating just remember… I’m not a therapist! And I don’t wish to be!
The Twelfth House has many upsetting significations, but one that cuts to the core is the idea that it’s the house of self-undoing. This is where we go to roast ourselves.
In this chart, the Twelfth House is Capricorn and it contains Jupiter. In some ways this is good (Jupiter likes to help) but, as mentioned previously, this is a challenge too. Jupiter isn’t going to do his best work in Capricorn. Some would argue he’d just push you to do more of that stuff that will be your undoing. To better understand this though, we can look at the ruler of the Twelfth House. Saturn, in this case.
Saturn is in Pisces (it’s this person’s Saturn Return right now!) which isn’t a particularly good or bad place for him. He’s in a dark house, a little ill-equipped to do good work. The Second House is where we look to understand money and possessions, the things that come in and go out, the things you can buy or sell. Because of this, we expect some self-undoing to involve money. Because it is Saturn, it could be an overly frugal nature or it could be a closing off to funds. At the same time, I like that Jupiter is involved and that Venus can see both Saturn and Jupiter. Born at night, this person might struggle with those planets, but still there are glimmers of opportunity.
At the end of the day they don’t call it “the place of self-undoing” for nothing. I wouldn’t advise sugarcoating or silver-lining what you find here, but I do think it’s a good thing to interrogate. What’s your Twelfth House? Any planets there? Who rules it?
And whose lovely chart is this???
That’s right, it’s Pisces in Saturn babe Karl Marx, absolutely owned by his chart, imo.
That’s all for this week! I liked this little format when I used it as an interstitial in my gender posts. We might see it come back as a recurring feature. Speaking of, I am back on my interview bullshit. Do you want to talk about spirituality? Do you want a free mini-chart reading? Shoot me a note and we’ll talk!
Always a lot of credit goes to the people who have been my teachers, both directly and through their freely shared knowledge, and so many books.
I have many thoughts about his legacy. Glad he dropped out, I think that helps. Sad he has ended his presidency on the note of direct and enthusiastic genocide.