How Do
I Write Horoscopes?
April 1, 2005 (with chart)
http://cainer.com/ericfrancis/apr1.html
Dear Eric:
I am a freelance writer and have started working with a new
publication recently. They have asked me if I could write the monthly
horoscopes for the magazine. I began learning astrology about 30 yrs ago when I
used to do birth charts for friends through the old fashioned system with
books, ephemeris?, etc. but I have never written a horoscope. Could you help me
by telling me what I would need to do, or is there a website that could help
me? I would really love to do it as it sounds like fun.
Best regards
Marie,
Dear Marie,
Congratulations on being offered a horoscope
gig. They are rare enough to find. In response to your question, there are two
dimensions to the idea 'how'. The first is more obvious, what techniques to
use. The second is less so: 'How do I think of what I am doing?' And I would
like to start there.
Newspaper horoscopes are nothing more
than a meeting place. Someone with a message puts that message where others can
find it; someone else seeking a message goes looking. Yet they do so with a
certain expectation that, because the message is put under one of 12 categories
(quite a few, actually) that it will be a little more personally tailored to
them, or even be directly specific. It works often enough that this mode of
expression is in nearly every newspaper and many magazines.
I suggest to both readers and writers
that you not lose sight of the meeting place quality of the horoscope column.
It's simply a place where people come together to share a purpose, an idea or a
sense of reality. Whatever you may think about astrology, that is a real and
vital thing. It's also the only place in a newspaper where you expect to find
something personally meaningful to you, and where the writer is allowed to
actually care about you, personally. Astrology is humanitarian work and that
kind of work is in dire need right now. So it's great to see that you're taking
your talents public.
With 30 years of experience studying
astrology, you have a good foundation, but I also suggest that you may need to
leave out quite a bit and keep things simple. You probably know more than
enough astrology by this time; what you need to learn is how to express it in
100 words. Remember that the most important thing you can do is write something
that people can relate to. What people relate to is human energy rather than
the planets. They may respond to the planets, but you become their voice, so
you need to present yourself in a clear, direct and focused way. Write to your
readers like you know them. As an astrologer you do have that privilege.
Every astrologer has his or her tone. The
planets speak in energy and symbols, but the writer presents the tangible human
quality. You become the identifiable character. In the best case this will be
very naturally you, but you'll have a lot of decisions to make about how to
present the many different planetary experiences, some of which are friendly
and some of which are decidedly not.
Many astrologers feel they have a
responsibility to deliver bad news. I say that astrologers have a
responsibility to deal with the 'negative' in a constructive way; to view
challenging aspects as challenges rather than as fated events; and to encourage
people to reach for what they want, or need, or need to share with others,
regardless of the conditions. It's just a matter of making the reaching fit the
scene on the planetary stage in an appropriate way. Our lives go in cycles and
what we don't get to experience now we will likely have the chance to
experience another time. So there is a lot of room for a positive attitude
writing horoscopes and still being honest about it.
As far as some of the technicalities are
concerned, I'd like to call your attention to an earlier article I've written
called "Go Figure!" about how newspaper astrologers pull it off.
That's at this link. I'm going
to do my best not to repeat earlier material, but I do need to say that the
most important specific technical skill you can get down for doing Sun sign
columns is the solar house system. Jonathan once wrote in his column that the
late great Patric Walker remarked to him, "It's all about the
houses."
I could barely agree more. The houses are
the place in our many-faceted lives where things happen. They tell the
astrologer where to look for the action. Every astrological chart has houses,
but newspaper writers work with something called the solar house system. It's a
system that counts the signs from the position of the Sun, and uses those AS
houses. It's actually a very old and dependable way of doing things, much older
than the natal astrology that is typically used today and is relatively modern.
If you are curious, Google the term 'whole sign houses'.
In the solar house system, the sign of
the Sun for any person is considered the 1st house. Properly, it's the house
(which in this case is a sign) of the Sun's residence, and the houses that are
counted around the wheel are called 'derived houses' (which you can likely find
in any astrology dictionary) because they are relative to where you start.
Let's use Libra as an example. For a Libra horoscope, we assume that the 1st
house is the sign Libra and that the 'ascendant' for that chart is the first
degree of Libra. There is no actual ascendant; we don't have a real chart. So
we use this little model and it works pretty good most of the time -- and
really good a lot of the time. The second sign from Libra is Scorpio so that's
the 2nd house for Libra. The seventh sign from Libra is Aries so Aries is the
7th house for Libra.
If we started with Pisces, Aries would be
the 2nd house and Virgo the 7th house. It's actually quite easy. You pick a
starting point and you count. Anyone having trouble can ask a little kid.
We also presume that the edges of the
signs, that first degrees of each sign, are sensitive to transits. When a
planet changes signs and enters a new one, most newspaper astrologers assume
there is an effect for everyone born under that sign even if their Sun is located
at the end of the sign. There are good reasons for this presumption and they
have solid astrological foundations, which are a bit complicated to get into --
but I touched on it last week in my discussion of what the Vernal Equinox is.
But in short, the sign itself is used in newspaper horoscope writing with the
idea that the whole thing works a certain way.
To start this writing project, you need
to give yourself a good refresher on what the houses are about in a very basic
sense. This is good advice for anyone curious about the astrological method.
Just about every astrology book takes a shot at explaining the houses, so you
don't need to look far; but some make more sense than others and some are based
on better theories. With anything in astrology it's a good idea to work from
several examples and put together your own concepts. In any case, the houses
are kind of like the signs (there are 12 of both and they correspond), only
they are more specific. In other words, the sign Aries might be about the idea
of beginnings and the energy that starts things. The 1st house is more
specifically about 'me' and taking personal initiative and the sense of self
that is the starting point of all awareness.
Each Sun sign, in theory, experiences
this 1st house sense of self in a little different way. This seems to be true
enough, even if it's as a result of cultural programming. Many people are
taught very young what their sign is about, and feel some responsibility to
live out the properties. The presumptions you make about how it feels to be a
certain sign here are critical, because part of what you're writing to is your
idea about what a sign means to a person who identifies with it. You have to
forget the fact that you don't know the actual ascendant or the Moon. You will
have other factors that can fill in for these things.
The signs represent a general feeling,
color and tone of energy. They are a basic vibrational tone that we can
experience emotionally or psychologically. The houses are very specific to people,
places and things. They are closer to Earth, literally and figuratively. Using
houses is how you get the specificity of meaning in the column. That is how you
know whether to begin a particular sign's write up "Things at
work..." (6th house) or, "Partners may be..." (7th house) or,
"A particular financial situation..." (2nd or 8th house), or,
"An international situation" (9th house). The houses each have many
themes; you have to pick which is appropriate.
Then you make up a little story based on
the actions of the planets that are unfolding. There is a logic to all of this,
and that logic is how signs and planets relate; how aspects feel; and then
where they express themselves in terms of the house. In the little story,
usually a sign's planetary ruler (Mars for Aries, Venus for Taurus, and so on)
is the significator for the person reading the horoscope. The ruler of the
opposite sign is the signifcator for partners. The ruler of the 5th would
usually be any children involved. The significator can also be the sign itself
-- kind of like the ascendant is a significator for the person in their own
natal chart. In other words, if something comes plunging into Libra, you can
make an assumption that they experience that personally.
To determine the action of the story, you
look at the planets and their relationships, size the situation up, sense how
it feels and imagine how you would feel in a similar situation. Also, to be
fair in this discussion, most newspaper writers are (usually) paying some attention
to the changes in the lives of the people around them and are learning what
they can from that. But not all of them; I assure you there are purists would
never dare to do this consciously; and yet it must happen unconsciously anyway.
The chart is the best primary reference point because it's more objective.
Based on the story you tell, you can add
a little common sense advice. That advice should be sensible and never steer
anyone wrong. That's your ethical safety net. Then you shut up and don't worry
about whether you got it right or wrong. If you care about whether you get it
right or wrong, you'll never get it right. You just have to throw the pitch and
see what happens.
After a while you'll gain confidence,
find your writing voice, and be able to hear an inner intuitive voice that
pretty much tells you what to say. Listen for that inner voice sooner rather
than later. It's usually right on point.
I am sure you're wondering what chart you
should use. For a monthly column, you have a few choices, usually applied in
some combination: the Full Moon that month; the New Moon; the time that the Sun
enters the new sign, and when it entered the prior sign; or some big event.
It's a good idea to be looking ahead, and to know the recent territory. No need
to get obsessed -- just track the general trend of thigns. Pretty soon you'll
be roller skating.
It barely matters what technique you use.
What does matter is that you use a chart that talks to you. So if you've cast a
chart for the New Moon and you're not getting anywhere, take a look at the Full
Moon and see how things have developed -- the Full Moon is just about always
the expression of the most recent New Moon.
Let's look at the work of some astrology
writers who have been around for a while and see how they do it, from a
technical point of view. I am not going to factor for their intuitive hits,
just 'reverse-engineer' their writing based on what I can recognize on its
face. I will use a chart for Wednesday, March 30 at noon because most of the
examples I'm using are daily for Wednesday, and the two weekly examples are
close enough.
I'll use three astrologers most people
who read this site are familiar with, then try one of my own from Friday's
Planet Waves column. Now, what I'm not doing this time around is covering the
same sign by a variety of different writers for the same time period. That is
fun, and worth doing in another column. The similarities between writers are
sometimes quite amazing, which is based on the fact that we are all using the same
basic astrological method and that there really is a language of the stars and
planets.
When you're reading, pay attention to the
writer's viewpoint and the presumptions they make. Here is the chart, which I
have set up in whole sign houses to get the house cusps out of the way and make
for easy counting of the signs:
Free
Will Astrology by Rob Brezsny
Rob is the weekly horoscope columnist
from the
Jonathan has credited him with being his first
example of an intelligent, creative horoscope columnist, a distinction which he
certainly deserves on American soil, anyway. Rob basically reinvented
horoscopes and made them relevant for a lot more people in the process. He was
one of the first to depend on well-developed, stylized writing, instead of
saying things like, "You will have a good day today." He uses many
cultural metaphors, quotes from other writers, and light humor in his
write-ups, and was the first columnist that I know of to do so. He has been
writing since the late 1970s.
These examples are from his annual April
Fools column, when he is even more ironic than usual. Rob, by the way,
personally has a Cancer Sun. I have asked, and I know nothing else about his
chart.
Here is what he had to tell Aquarius in
his March 31 weekly.
"You seriously need to subscribe to
Lucky magazine or the Robb Report or some other glossy rag about shopping. Your
consumer skills have deteriorated. You're becoming hopelessly inept at finding luxury
items at bargain prices. Shape up, Aquarius. APRIL FOOL! The truth is that it's
an excellent time for you to take a sabbatical from consumerism. See if you can
go entire days without spending any money at all. Build psychic barriers in
your imagination that will make you immune to seductive commercials. Read
Adbusters magazine."
Too cool, Rob has heard of Adbusters, and
he's getting in on his own Buy Nothing Day this week. Now, we may ask: why is
he advising Aquarians, in particular, to be less materialistic?
Aquarians are considered the idea people
of the zodiac; but they also love gadgets, and we are nowhere right now if not
on Planet Gizmo. There are cellular towers in the African bush. So we run the
risk of shutting the entire economy if Aquarians even slow down their digital
purchases a little. Could he be coming from the assumption that for this reason
Aquarians are the shopping types, something he has accurately accused me and my
Pisces brothers and sisters of in the past? (Though we're likely to buy a pile
of CDs and play them on the old player...rather than get the three nicest
models of new players and just one CD.) He does seem to be saying that. And due
to the daily digital revolution, we are in high times for Aquarians, if they
happen to live in the Western world -- as long as you skip all the
ever-important 'let's get together and make world peace' themes of Aquarius for
a moment.
Now, if I were Rob Brezsny, what would be
the astrological house of shopping? Hmmm. Let's see. If the 2nd house is where
you have your money, maybe the 3rd is where you spend it. That fits, because
there is a lot of action in the 3rd house of Aquarius. That house would be
Aries. In the solar house system, Aquarius is the 1st house of Aquarius, Pisces
is the 2nd, and Aries the 3rd. And with a big stunning conjunction, there's
tons going on. The main action of the week is a spectacular show in Aries:
Venus is conjunct the Sun, and Mercury has just come through.
But why do LESS shopping now? Maybe
because Mercury (which often represents cash) is retrograde in that house,
suggesting that Aquarians conserve their resources.
Let's try another one.
Rob's Aries for March 31. "Sabotage
all attempts at cooperation. Resist acts of unification. No matter what, refuse
to forgive anyone. Your role models should be the Israeli rabbis who prayed for
the failure of February's peace summit between prime minister Ariel Sharon and
Palestinian leader Magmud Abbas. APRIL FOOL! I was just kidding, of course.
Don't you dare pray for continued dissonance, even if it seems to serve your
short-range interests. It may not be obvious yet, but you're on the cusp of a
breakthrough in your ability to blend your energies with others. You shouldn't
let anything get in the way."
Okay. So, I've just dug out my mala beads
from my laptop case and meditated heavily on this one. I understand what Rob is
getting at here. I so get it. What he is saying here, I think, is that the
conjunction of Venus, Mercury and the Sun in one's own sign is about cooperation,
unification and forgiveness. Don't be like those aggressive warriors or
hypocritical rabbis (Mars), but rather be mellow and loving (Venus).
Note the subtle move: This cooperation
factor is particularly important in this case, since Venus is the ruler of the
opposite sign of Aries, which is Libra. That's about other people. So the ruler
of the opposite sign is visiting Aries, which he is taking as a metaphor for
cooperation and unification.
The advice to refuse pandering to your
"short range interests" could be an interpretation of Mercury
retrograde in this sign, taken as the potential for acting selfishly in the
short term.
The references to anti-peace rabbis, and
to Ariel Sharon and Magmud Abbas, are cultural examples that everyone can relate
to. As for the breakthrough? Well, there is an eclipse (and other interesting
stuff) coming. He doesn't say what kind of breakthrough, but the implication is
that it's long term (an eclipse will shape our lives for the next year or so,
which is rather long term in this world). And they can definitely represent
popping through from one reality to the next. He leaves it to you to see what
kind of breakthrough. Fair enough. Good job, Rob.
Jonathan
Cainer
Jonathan Cainer is this guy in
Or: "Make the most of your
life."
Jonathan has credibility for a lot of
reasons, but he has lived through many, many things and he knows as well as anyone
and better than most that life is a mixed bag. He's also figured out that you
have a big influence in how things (usually) a work out, particularly in the
long run (Sagittarians are long-range types, good for an astrologer).
This presumption that consciousness is
vital to our lives has excellent standing from a spiritual viewpoint. What we
experience most of in the world is not 'the world' but rather our own state of
mind. It's also the easiest thing we can change. Therefore, that is the place
to start, and the place to focus.
Most decent astrologers have figured out
that the attitude with which you approach a transit (astrological event) has a
lot to do with how it works out. Hopefully, you have an astrologer who takes
that opinion rather than has a look at Pluto and convinces you in a nasty
comment that your life is going to suck for two years (these types exist in
larger numbers than we need). So Jon is a daily meditation on rising above it
all, and he uses the planetary aspects for leverage -- and for giving the right
message at the right time.
Now let's test my theory. Here is
Jonathan's advice for Virgo for March 30. "It is hard to watch someone
yawn without feeling the urge to yawn yourself. You don't even have to be
feeling sleepy. Pessimism is contagious too. Just a brief chat with someone who
is feeling disillusioned can be more than enough to set your own thoughts
spiralling down a negative path. Yet you have no need nor reason to be anxious.
You are in the process of making a discovery that has the potential to empower
you greatly."
With so much going on in Aries, that
places the action for Virgo in the 8th house. Aries is the 8th sign from Virgo,
hence the 8th house. Here is a basic trick of newspaper astrology. The same big
event in the sky is experienced 12 different ways by the 12 different signs; it
shows up in a different house for each of them. The houses determine where the
action takes place and how it is experienced.
The 8th house is the house where things
are exchanged. The 8th house ALWAYS involves someone else. So he is making a
presumption that there is an exchange going on, some kind of contact, which is
a great image since there are a whole variety of conjunctions going on in that
house, and one involves Mercury, the ruler of Virgo. So to the Virgo reading,
he's presuming that they are in the consciousness of that house.
The sensitivity of Virgo to negative
energy at the moment is, I think, Mercury running retrograde in that house, which
he is warning can turn into a negative spiral. The discovery he references,
however, is possibly 1. The eclipse that's coming, 2. Mercury eventually
stationing direct, and more immediately, 3. That Venus is now conjunct the Sun
in that house -- which really doesn't get better but can be overwhelming. This
is one of those spells where if you're a Virgo somebody might write you a huge
check that actually clears. The 8th has a lot to do with money, particularly as
exchanged between spouses and intimate partners (and sex).
However, he's issuing a cautionary note
not to get caught in the negative patterns of other people. From what I know of
the Virgos in my own life, this is a good bit of advice.
Let's try Jonathan's Cancer entry for
March 30. "How do you intend to spend your day? Answer please. Then
apologise. You know, don't you, that you are doing the wrong thing. You ought
to be doing something else instead. Cook up another plan. Then read this
forecast, again. It, like your own negativity, will be equally scathing of
whatever idea you put forward. Today, you will feel as though you are not doing
enough no matter what you do. So you may as well relax!"
This is Jon playing Mercury retrograde
like an electric bass, with a thumping sound. Aries falls into the 10th house
for Cancers -- the house of career and what you want to be doing in life.
There's a series of conjunctions going on in that house, so I think that's
where the 'what you're doing' stuff is about. The sense that it's not right,
not moving forward, or laced with doubts, is Mercury retrograde.
However what he is really saying is that
you have nothing to worry about because there is this stunning conjunction
going on -- Venus and the Sun. Besides which, you only have so much influence
over all; but in truth there is only so much you need. Worrying does nothing
but eat us alive.
Sally
Brompton
Let's try Sally Brompton. She writes for
the Sunday Mail in
Here is her entry for March 30 -- her
Aries birthday statement.
"You will be lucky in love this
year, but you will also be lucky where money matters and business issues are
concerned, so don't think it has to be one or the other. The most important
thing is that you work for the benefit of other people as well as yourself. The
more you make for them, the more you will make for yourself."
Following what we already know, we can
see where she came up with this idea. The blend of self and other as having
common interests is something that we covered in Rob Brezsny's entry for Aries
on Wednesday. Venus-Sun in your own sign is certainly 'lucky in love'.
For Aries, though, Venus has a second
meaning: it's the ruler of the 2nd house for that sign -- Taurus. So Venus
plays a double role, representing both money and loved ones.
Let's try Sally Brompton's Libra for
Wednesday, March 30. "There will be moments today when you have to pinch
yourself to make sure you are not dreaming. The sun close to Venus, your ruler,
over the next 48 hours will see to it that everyone you live, work or do
business with sees things your way -- and how often does that happen? Affairs
of the heart are also under excellent stars."
For Libras, the action is taking place in
the 7th house of relationships -- which is Aries. The 7th house is one of the
ones we can feel the most vividly. It is an angular house, a place where we see
and feel things with impact. The conjunction of Venus, Mercury and Sun as is
currently developing, is extremely rare (hence her question "How often
does that happen?" which is based on the presumption that Libras have a
little trouble getting people to see things their way).
She is not making any presumptions that
some Libras are having a hard time at the moment. Obviously some are; I don't
think she has to assume that in 75 words. Something is available to them even
if they are struggling at the moment, which is unlikely. She is saying reach
for that something, the world is offering it to you.
Last, let's take a look at one of mine.
Here is the Cancer Planet Waves for April 1. No matter what I can't bring
myself to substitute an April Fool's edition for a real horoscope. Maybe if I
did a daily. So this is a normal horoscope. Knowing what you know about how the
other writers have developed their ideas, mine should be pretty transparent.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
There is such shocking, beautiful
astrology unfolding in your house of career, profession and reputation that
it's hard to live up to. That's okay because you don't need to collect the
whole payoff now, you merely need to make concrete moves in the direction in
which you most want to go, particularly if they represent your first time
attempting to work on, develop or present a particular idea. That idea will
undergo some revisions, but it is essentially the right project on the right
track. You don't need the patience to complete the task now -- only to begin.
However, I've tried to account for a few
things. One is that things are never perfect; life has its challenges all the
time. I like to keep that balance of awareness. I think it's a realistic and
responsible viewpoint. The second is that it is often challenging to live up to
very powerfully 'positive' astrology. I am aware that Aries can be an extremely
impatient and impetuous sign of the zodiac, so I'm accounting for the potential
that some may want the whole payoff now.
Part of why I say this is that despite
how 'positive' things in fact are for Cancers in their career angle, there are
several unpredictable factors to work with; one being the eclipse about to
happen in about 8 days, and the other being Mercury stationing retrograde.
These are developments that we need to keep in mind, and which it's wise to
advise Cancers to work with and be ready to take advantage of. They represent
developing situations. That's astrology for you.
The last statement is borrowing from the
quality of Aries that has to do with initiating activity. The idea here is that
if you take initiative now and have patience in the long run, you will be able
to make the positive developments of this week work for you in the long run,
not just the short run. With an eclipse coming, that's a good plan.
I'll be tracking that news over at Planet Waves. Thanks for
your questions this week -- keep them coming!
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |