In these times of crushing late capitalism fever, most of us are in a constant tug and pull between which activities are most in alignment with both ourselves and the world around us – in a given moment. Looking at an Astrology Chart of the Moment, aka Astrological Clock, has been helpful for me when I need to ground, activate, or release. If we’re going to ride this dragon of time, having a map of its trajectory and feeling tones helps us atune to it – sometimes we might even find that together, in our own unique ways, we’re collectively steering it. (See future article, “Emergent Properties: A Lichenologists perspective of Astrology”).
The Astrological Chart of the Moments are free and available on most astro websites, here’s a good one. Be sure to check that the location is at least within your time zone, because this is a chart of what the sky looks like from your location on Earth.
Basics of reading a Chart of the Moment
The left side of the chart is the eastern horizon, where the sun rises. The right side of the chart is the western horizon, where the sun sets. The horizon line is the line that goes between the 12th and 1st over to the line between the 6th and 7th houses. The horizon line is known as the Ascedent on the rising sun side (left), and the Descendent on the setting sun side (right).
The top half of the chart is what’s in the sky above us at our particular location. The bottom half of the chart is what is happening in the sky on the other side of the world.
The center of the chart is where you are physically in space. It’s also where all your neighbors in your region are located in space. But just like weather, sometimes it can be pouring in one place and sunny a few blocks away, the same goes with astrology.
But it’s even more important to consider how Astrology is a study of a non-causal system.
Astrology provides a way to build rhythym between your way of moving in the world and how the outer world around you is moving. If we’re going to change the rhythym of this dominator culture that we’re in, we’re going to have to move our pysches out of their box. One of the ways of doing that is experiment with different paradigms. Astrology is one.
How to read a Chart of the Moment
Our earth is constantly rotating. So are we. That chart of the moment moves every few minutes.
First, notice what sign and degree is on the Ascendent (ASC). The ASC increases by one degree every 4 minutes.
The sign on the ASC is the energy that is getting birthed through the landscape around you at that moment. Can you feel it? Notice any planets in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd houses. Those are the energies that will be entering in the next 6 hours, planning for thier emergence can be very helpful, especially if the ASC or the MC (midheaven) will be holding Mars (energy/courage), Jupiter (expansion, luck), Uranus (breakthroughs though tech can sometimes be challenging), Mercury (communication), Neptune (brainstorming, dreaming, also confusion), North Node (strong drive to fulfill your callings), Saturn (time to work hard and patiently, even though it might feel too heavy at times), Venus (time to reach out for help, or connection).
Next, check out where the Sun is, and use a guide to houses to interpret what areas of life (see below) you can most shine in at what parts of the day. Remember that the sign that the Sun is in will strongly effect the way it shines into different houses. Each zodiac sign is 30 degrees, so we have 30 days to get a feel for each sign’s Sun energy through the houses.
Then, look for the Moon. The moon stays in a sign for about 2 days. Our emotions change like the tides. Pay extra attention to the sign that the Moon is in, and note the house. If we don’t nourish ourselves we cannot thrive in the world. Look into Vedic Astrology’s Moon Nakshatras for deeper contemplation.
Lastly, look at the planet that rules the sign of your natal ASC. This planet coordinates your personal chart. Observe the sign your ruling planet is transiting, how many degrees it is (use Sabian Symbols to deepen as needed), and the house it’s transiting.
Houses
Chani has a great chart describing the houses.
But I have a slightly different interpretation of the dark houses than other astrologers (dark houses meaning the 2nd, 6th, 8th and 12th).
For me, I consider that if it’s near sunrise, and the Sun is shining in the 12th house, it’s a time for meditation, for liminal space with a cup of coffee and a journal; if you have meetings at that time, be gentle with yourself and observe what your body senses from the people around you. Marvel at how porous our psyches can be, how important gentleness is.
When the Sun is shining in the 11th house, typically around mid-morning, community connection eases into the day. Stimulating ideas, collaborations, or conversations can happen in this time. Tend to projects that are in process.
When the Sun is shining in the 10th, near the top of the sky, there’s a tremendous capacity to maintain sustained energy as you do the work that the world is calling from you. If you’re dreading doing something, plan to start it as the Sun is entering the 10th house.
When the Sun is shining in the 9th, hinting that the day is more than halfway over, you’re either celebrating how much you’ve done and shining forward. Or you might feel that the work you set up for yourself is too big to handle within your given parameters. This is a time to experiment, let yourself wander, explore ideas, go for a walk, read a philosophical text, see if that helps you find a stopping place in your project.
When the Sun is shining in the 8th house, it’s late afternoon. Everything you’ve been pondering is percolating, and you need some processing time. You might need to be alone for awhile. What do you deeply value in the culture we’re all co-creating? If financial tidiness is important to you, this is the time to tend to that. If you’re a gardener, this can be a time to weed or harvest. This is a house that has a feeling like Scorpio – firey Mars in the water sign of an animal that likes to hide. Give yourself the space to process everything that is moving through you, there’s alot of potent power there if you can ride it without being submerged by it.
Sun in the 7th house: it’s getting near sunset, and it’s time for relationships, dyads, one on one with colleagues, peers, friends, neighbors, family, lovers.
Sun in the 6th house: twilight is over the western horizon and it’s time to tend to the daily rituals, the sacredness of sweeping floors, of cuddling with your kitten, of folding laundry.
Sun in the 5th house: it’s getting late, and this is often when we can get a second wind. This is the house of creativity (also sex, since creativity is an intimate penetrating dance between the artist and the universe). It’s also the house of children, so if your kids are getting in bed during this time, it’s a beautiful time to ask them about what their favorite thing that day was, and what their least favorite thing that happened that day was. If you can hold that space as a vault, where nothing that’s shared there is discussed elsewhere, then you’re cultivating a bond that transcends lifetimes.
Sun in the 4th house, it’s time to be home, to be curling up and resting, and recieving love.
Sun in the 3rd house: this is the time of communication from dreams. The time of the home altar. If you are awake during this time, it’s a potent access point to Mercury and communicate with the underworld / deep unconscious.
Sun in the 2nd house: this is the time for earthly beauty and sensuousness. Whether that’s curling into the warm body of your partner, or appreciating the softness of sheets, or falling more deeply into sleep, it’s a time to appreciate the sensousness of night.
Sun in the 1st house: The sky is going from dark blue into dark violet. Birds are starting to sing. What was indiscernable becomes dark gray forms. This is the time of becoming, this is the energy that’s shining into the world during this day, during this zodiac season, for as long as the Sun is in each Zodiac sign.
Note on Zodiacs: The western zodiac orients Aries 0* at the day of the Spring Equinox, Cancer 0* as the day of the Summer Solstice, Libra 0* as the day of the Fall Equinox, and Capricorn 0* as the day of the Winter Solstice. 2,000 years ago, the sun did rise at Aries 0* on Spring Equinox. But since then, there’s been drift, and the sun now rises at Pisces 6* on Spring Equinox, 24 degrees behind the Western Zodiac. If you want to find out what zodiac signs the planets are in according to the current locations in the sky, use Sideral Zodiac, Lahiri system. I find the zodiac being framed in the western way, by the Equinoxes and Solstices, to work for understanding the outer world: our outer world logic systems are about 2,000 years out of date. To dance with the universe and the shift the culture that we’re in, I feel dancing both rhythyms to be extremely helpful, and satisfying.
