5th Anniversary Astrology ~ The 1st House
As most of you know, astrology is basically the study of the language of a specific set of symbols. As in every other language, those symbols can speak on different levels and be directed to diverse audiences. Here I make the assumption that the audience I am addressing is largely one that understands spiritual and metaphysical concepts. Therefore, my commentary on the Concordance astrology is slanted along those lines.
Now, when reading a chart, one may choose to begin at any number of places. For the purposes of this discussion I’ve chosen to begin with the Anniversary chart’s 1st house; sort of like beginning to read a book at Chapter One.
It must be remembered that the H.C. 5th Anniversary chart is not one relating to an individual. In that regard, it does not relate to the usual 1st house significators describing an individual’s body, appearance, personality, chief characteristic, and the way he/she sees the world. This Concordance chart, on the other hand, describes an event. As such it has more in common with Mundane Astrology which carries the qualities of a moment of time in regards to a nation, its people, and its image. In this case, we can substitute the Harmonic Concordance, its “people” and the image that the Anniversary projects, since the “natal” chart that provides the basis for this analysis is the original Harmonic Concordance chart of November, 2003.
The First House
The 5th Anniversary 1st House
Here we have Scorpio as the rising sign. I particularly like the association of Scorpio with the Phoenix rising from its ashes. In a spiritual context the symbol represents death, re-birth and transformation. Additionally, according to Dane Rudhyar, it suggests the collective urge to unite with others.1 This notion can easily be transposed onto the mundane aspects of the first house, particularly when considering what the Concordance, and its anniversary, is all about. And did I mention that there is no sign as intense as Scorpio?
The planet in “high focus” here, as I’ve mentioned before, is Mercury since it is in an exact conjunction with the degree of the Ascendant. Mercury is all about communication, education and the close environment. In Scorpio, it delves into the deepest of subjects and stands ready to make a bold statement about its image to the public.
There is one other piece of information about Mercury here that deserves some attention. As you may know, there are generally three stretches during a calendar year when Mercury is retrograde. These weeks are said to mark periods of time when Mercury’s astrological indications are debilitated in some way. For those of you not familiar with what this means, may I suggest this short Youtube video, featuring astrologer John Marchesella [http://tinyurl.com/5vnb26], or this article by Robert Wilkinson [http://tinyurl.com/5ahe2u] as competent explanations of these astronomical/astrological events.
What many do not recognize, however, is that between each retrograde period there is always a week (approximately) when Mercury is moving in a very rapid, direct motion, sometimes approaching as much as 2° a day. These are Mercury’s “Peak Weeks” when all of its functions are operating at maximum efficiency. As appropriate to the rest of the charts’ theme of having a significant message to present to the world, such is the case during the week of the anniversary, further amplifying Mercury’s “high focus” in this chart.
Scorpio is one of three signs which have dual rulership, being governed by its modern ruler, Pluto, and Mars, its traditional ruler. In this chart, Pluto is in the 29th, or penultimate degree of Sagittarius, the sign which governs the 9th house and the field of experience that the ancients called “God.” At 29° Sag, it also represents the highest degree of the Truth, which is also a quality of this sign. In other words Pluto is in good shape to support the Scorpio 1st house activity.
Mars, in addition to being the traditional ruler of Scorpio, is also its “esoteric” ruler. Placed in its own sign, it is exalted and therefore strong and, as a matter of fact, is the strongest of all the planets in the chart. Again, it too is in very good shape to support the energies of the 1st house Scorpio.
Last but not least, the Sun, in a near conjunction to the mid-point of Mercury and Mars at 16°, completes the powerful Scorpio stellium. Rudhyar, among many others, have pointed out that there are four “great moments” of the yearly cycle “…when life operates definitely and creatively in terms of power and purpose…these ( alchemical) points are gates through which power and purpose are released and experienced.”2 These four moments, or degrees, are 15° of Taurus, Leo, Aquarius and Scorpio. And darned if the Sun hasn’t returned to this very potent point for the Anniversary, at 16° 12′ of this most intense sign!
Mid-points are sensitive positions in a chart that join the energies represented by the two planets involved. So I find it quite interesting that the Mid Point between Mercury and Mars falls exactly at 15° Scorpio (with the “far midpoint” at 15° Taurus. From this position, the Sun, the major source of power and energy, spiritual and psychological purpose and enlightenment in any chart, stimulates the Martian passion and the Mercurial intellect to communicate about, and act on, the message of the Concordance vision.
It is also appropriate to look at the aspects to each of these 1st house occupants. In mundane astrology, only applying aspects are considered. In this case neither Mercury nor Mars make any applying aspects to the other planets. The Sun, on the other hand, applies in favorable aspect to three planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus (forming what is often referred to as a “minor grand trine”) and inharmoniously to Chiron and Neptune. All of these aspects add additional authority to the Sun, further amplifying its power and energy at the Mercury/Mars midpoint. In short, this chart has something to say and wants to be noticed for it.
Finally, the first house corresponds to the East and as such symbolizes one of the Ceremonial directions. I’ll speak more about some possible Ceremonial applications for the Concordance Anniversary in future posts.
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1. Rudhyar, Dane, The Astrology of Personality, (New York: Doubleday, 1970), pp 144-47.
2. Rudhyar, Dane, The Pulse of Life, (Berkley: Shambala Publications Inc, 1970), p.41.