There’s a website that I use every day that I want to tell you about. It’s created by my old friend Tracy Delaney, a fiery fish who lives in Wales. The site is called Serennu.com, and it’s a feat of both astrological thought and advanced programming.
The heart of the website is an ephemeris of the minor planets. An ephemeris is a tool that tells you the positions of the planets on any given day. There are several of these on the Internet, though none so thorough as this one. The Serennu ephemeris lists the classical planets and routine points such as the lunar nodes. Then it lists the dwarf planets (Pluto, Ceres, Eris and others in that group), the centaurs (Chiron, Nessus, Pholus and a dozen others in this group), the uraninan points (the hypotheticals used by uranian astrologers), a number of trans-Neptunian planets (Sedna, Varuna, Quaoar), and finally, about 50 key asteroids.
Serennu will tell you the past, current or future positions of all these points. And it calculates aspects between many slow-moving points, a service that I am sure is unavailable anywhere else. When, exactly, was the conjunction of 1992 QB1 and Eris? The only place to find that out is Serennu.
Tracy also lists Mercury retrograde dates (including the dates for Mercury coming in and out of shadow phase), eclipses, and many other features. As a professional astrologer doing both interpretations for the public, for events and for individuals, I find this website indispensable. There’s also a color matching feature for web developers that to my knowledge is totally unique.
All of this was programmed by Tracy at her kitchen table. She was a database programmer back before it was cool to be one, and she discovered a knack for making these ephemeris programs work in an easy and presentable way. There are lots of other features as well. I suggest that you not be intimidated by the amount of information — that is, how many planets she lists — but rather cast the ephemeris for your birthdate and look for the positions in your chart. If you do careful Google searches you will be able to find delineations for many of the points on Planet Waves, or on Serennu. Tracy is the most skilled delineator I’ve ever worked with, and I say that having worked with many of those considered leaders in the field.
Serenu offers excellent programming and is one of the hottest, most valuable open secrets on the astrology Internet.
HazelF – thank you x
awordedgewise – thank you – “First I have to know my THEME and then identify the nature of my protagonist and antagnoist so to speak.” Love it š
One thing that might help – in traditional astrology, any planet within 5 degrees of the next house should be read as being in that next house. It sounds as if Saturn is very close to your 3rd house cusp, so I’d suggest trying that interp with the 3rd house (siblings, neighbours, short journeys, “lower” mind), opposite the 9th.
For the brainstorming phase, it can help to make a list of all the different meanings you can think of for a particular house, and start swapping them into your interp to see what starts to ring a bell. E.g., 9th house can also be overseas travel, the law, higher mind & higher education, philosophy, religion, politics, “the arts” etc. Houses are usually much more literal and tangible than things like the signs, because they’re kind of very specifically where heaven meets the Earth.
As you say, we also have to bring in the effect of the transiting planets on the natal planets they are forming aspects to. This ties in with your question about tracking Neptune, in that yes we need a way to draw the picture to see all that is going on. How to track these things and get the picture are questions every astrologer has I think, we kind of collect hints and tips and come up with methods that work as we go along, because it just is a lot of information to bring together and get your head around. I’ll do a separate post about some of the things you can do – just have to take my daughter to school now. E.g., Most astrology software will draw a chart with the transiting planets marked around the outside, and a table at the bottom showing all the aspects the transiting planets are making to your chart.
I’m enjoying having to think this all out, thanks for the chat š Love, Tracy x
Tracy….ok then….. another astro 101 teaching question if/when u hve tme…
Exp….Len has just indicated I look at Neptune as it has been active in my chart recently.
OK….so how do I track Neptune over the past (chosen duraction) of time? Do I run chart after chart? OR is there a way I am yet blind to to overlay Neptunes movements against my natal chart?
Part of this whole deal isn’t just the understanding of planets and houses’ meanings….it’s being able to understand how to plot the planets and their movements….that’s gotta come first or there’s no reason for the rest – ?
Thx!!!
Tracy!
Oh cool. This is SO helpful. So it’s just like writing a script. First I have to know my THEME and then identify the nature of my protagonist and antagnoist so to speak.
OK. So moving on — using your example, for example, I personally end up here with “structure and restructions (saturn) in resources and values (2nd house) opposing innovation (uranus) in the meaning and purpose of life (9th house) — wherein I end up being more confused because I do not find the “opposition” between these to “subjects” – that is, my resources and valuse ARE the meaning and purpose in my life – so somewhere in here I have to learn to separate out the different componants and understand their relationships better….any tips besides just continuing to “meditate” on the meaning/s of the houses?
Also – what about other planets? Like having all kind of stuff in my natal 9th house (including Lilith on the Aries point) moon, eris, sedna etc.
Oh yes yes! Start simple with the theme of the moment and the star players like you said, such a wonderful Astro 101 lesson….I am chomping at the bit to know what the next step/s could be to then make the picture richer….
So great. Thank you!!! Whee!!
xo
Tracy – I know that was meant for awordedgewise (how I love that name) but how useful that response is – how brilliantly put! A great help – thank you so much, and also thank you for your site, which I visit often. Hx
Hi awordedgewise š This is what I’d do if it’s any help:
E.g., for the current Saturn-Uranus opposition.
1. Note down the positions of Saturn and Uranus.
Saturn is at 28+ Virgo
Uranus is at 0+ Aries
2. Get a clear idea of the type of energy this aspect has, by making a dead simple one-sentence translation of it.
“Structure & restrictions (Saturn) pushing against (opposite) innovation & shaking things up (Uranus)”.
2. Now find out which houses in your chart are experiencing that energy.
So – where is 28+ Virgo in your chart – that’s the house where transiting Saturn is; where is 0+ Aries in your chart – that’s the house where transiting Uranus is. Make a note of that. E.g.,
Transiting Saturn is in my 1st house
Transiting Uranus is in my 7th house
3. Now add the houses to the sentence you made above. So it becomes:
“Structure and restrictions (Saturn) in the way I approach the world (1st house) pushing against (opposite) innovation & shaking things up (Uranus) in my partners (7th house)”
I find once you have a simple, clear idea outlined like that, it’s much easier to mediate on and flesh out. Sorry if this is over-basic for you, it’s just an attempt to give a clear starting point as I’m not sure where you are in astrology. However, I still do exactly this to get me started š
PS This is one way to look at a transit. You can also consider other factors, such as which houses in your chart are ruled by Saturn and Uranus, as these are also likely to become involved. Let me know if you want more.
Love,
Tracy x
so…..I’m approaching this ephemeris thing like I did photography – it seems simple enough but for some reason I just didn’t get it. After a lot of practice and some enlightening instruction, my personal lightbulb went on and suddenly it (photography) all made sense.
Um….so I’m just trying to learn how to take my natal chart and place something else over it so I can take a look – like the pending grand cross for instance – so I can take a look/see and discover if there is value to considering how a day’s planetary configuration reflects on my natal chart.
Seems like an easy exercise and one that might teach…….but I can’t figure out how to draw the picture (in a sense).
Help?
Patricia, awordedgewise – thank you, hi š – re the widget – the data was being fed through from serennu.com, so the program was called every time someone visited this page, which was causing problems on my site due the high level of traffic at PW (which my hosting package isn’t really up to coping with) – I’ll see whether it can be set up again on PW’s own server so they can use it .
Thank you so much, astrodem x
hypnotic, yes, beautiful site from a beautiful person, I met her via Twitter.
Jere, thank you š – you got any easier questions? š I think the Aries point is like the line between pure potential and the moment of emerging from the void. It reminds me of the idea in quantum physics where the infinite potentials collapse into a particular actuality at the moment of observation, and therefore of the idea that what we envision affects the outcome, or the perceived outcome. Uranus and Jupiter crossing that line, square Pluto, opposite Saturn, seems a bit like hidden potential, “good” or “bad” being (perhaps brutally) shaken into existence.
Love, Tracy x
moonrose, I was just looking for the same little list yesterday…the “today’s planets”. it was handy to see here at PW.
Tracy, I’ve heard Eric mention you a thousand times at least. Time to visit serennu.
Thanks!
..also,.. (beyond shits and giggles..),..
“.. your creations share. Thanks, man, that’s cool. I dig the work that you’ve (no doubt) had some good times with. Thanx man, all is well..’.
Love, & Peace!
Jere
Hey, Trace,.. Your energy rocks. Your drop, is my pick-up. I respect all thought regarding the Here & Now.
..Honest question,..
..and flotation devices..
(Where do you see this shit, man?)
What do the Stars say about our uprising regarding “Human”,
citezenship.
(I know I’m ready,… You?)
…Steppin’ out, with a deep bow, and Love.
Jeremy Nicholas Loscutoff
Thanks Tracy, Love your program.
I like this site for info on asteroid profiles, etc. http://ravenesque.net/
I agree. Serennu.com is a fantastic resource.
I’ve actually used this many times, and although most of the information baffles me, what I do recognize as familiar has been very helpful.
Thanks, Tracy!
On another note — what ever happened to the little widget on the right column of this blog that used to give the current planetary positions? I use serrenu.com or astrology.com now but it was so handy just to have it on PW’s page.
Patricia MoonRose
Eric, Len, thank you xxxxxx
I actually wrote the original version of the ephemeris program for Eric, when I was working for PW, so he’s kind of serennu.com’s daddy š
What Eric said… to the exponent. Without the resource Tracy has created my service to the Planet Waves community would not be possible (or at least a lot lower quality and more difficult to compose). Thank you Tracy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!