posted August 12, 2006 12:26 PM              

This has happenned with other peoples' charts, people I know, whose moon and rising signs have differed, but it is always between two signs.

posted August 13, 2006 08:02 PM              

It would be really impossible to say there is only ONE "online Chart maker" with accuracy.

Surprised you haven't gotten feedback on this, but I would recommened what I usually do, and that is to get some basic info on your astrological placements, read them, and see which ones speak TO YOU.

Of course, Linda Goodman's books are a great source for this, or else we wouldn't be here. We frequently recommend free links cz they are easy to access from this forum - just a click away.

If you read the interpretation for a Virgo, and then Libra Ascendants, and neither really pin it for you, perhaps you have a Virgo Ascendant in a late Degree. Like me, I have a Taurus Ascendant at 29.50 Degrees. Each Sign is 30 Degrees, so you can see percentage-wise, I'm very close to being a Gemini Ascendant.

Since the Ascendant stays in each Sign for apprx 2 hours, any discrepancy in a time of birth can make a big difference. But remember that many other things in the Chart will be off as well, namely, the placements of the Houses and Cusps.

Example: Without a time of birth, I can still know with relative accuracy what Sign my Sun, Moon, Merc, Venus, etc, are in. The Moon is a little trickier IF it's right on the border, that's the only one of the Planets you would need a better TOB for.

If you look at the following sample table of Edgar Cayce, you'll notice that their is a "fold" in the House Positions. Each Cusp is at the exact same Degrees as it's Opposite House. Do you see that?

House positions (Placidus)
Ascendant Cancer 12°14'26
2nd House Leo 03°26'50
3rd House Leo 27°06'44
Imum Coeli Virgo 26°04'42
5th House Scorpio 01°20'45
6th House Sagittarius 08°46'11
Descendant Capricorn 12°14'26
8th House Aquarius 03°26'50
9th House Aquarius 27°06'44
Medium Coeli Pisces 26°04'42
11th House Taurus 01°20'45
12th House Gemini 08°46'11

And as you can see, the Ascendant is found by looking at a table of Cusps such as this one. With this same table, you will also find 3 other important Points. The IC, short for 4th House Cusp dealing with issues of home & family. It's Opposite, the MC, short for Midheaven or 10th House Cusp dealing with issues of public appearance and career. The AC, short for Ascendant and 1st House Cusp, and the DC short for Descendant the 7th House Cusp.

It's important to know this accurately if you can get it. For example, the DC is the same as the 7th House Cusp > the 7th House Rules Venus -- that's why when we talk about fated relationships, we look at what Sign your DC is in. See?

There are lots of other things you can see better when you know the exact time of birth, or the closest thing thereto. If the TOB is simply unknown, there is a technique for narrowing it down, called Rectification.

The other really important thing to keep in mind is, some astrology programs (and some astrologers) use the Placidus House System. Some use the Equal System. I'll give you a link here to help you understand the basic differences, but simply each has a distinct method for dividing up that proverbial Wheel.

I've seen astrologers use the Placidus when looking for certain things, and then switching to Equal in order to find something else within the same Chart. The indiscrepancies you and your friends may be experiencing may have to do with the House System they use by default. So you'll want to check that too.

Which House System is the best? No right answer to that one. One of those things you sort of learn as you go, especially when getting lots of feedback from lots of sources. But ultimately, you must exercise your intuition muscles in order to trust what speaks TO YOU.

posted August 13, 2006 08:12 PM              

"There are many house systems to choose from, but many have fallen by the wayside in recent years and are little used. For beginners the Equal House System is the most basic and simplest to understand. There are some astrologers who still use this system and it does have its validity. In fact it probably has more validity than the others do, as it is the oldest one, dating back some two thousand years and has its origins in the natural zodiac. Everyone has their favourite house system to use and some are very similar. Personally, I prefer to use both the Equal House System and Koch particularly for Horary astrology, though I do vary this at times.

The various House Systems are based on dividing time, as in Placidus or Koch, the ecliptic (Equal House) or space (Campanus). Probably the most common system in current use is Placidus, one of the quadrant systems, which uses the axis of the MC/IC as the cusps of the tenth/fourth houses. Some house systems, such as Placidus and all others listed here apart from the Equal House System, do not work well in higher latitudes as being too close to the pole some houses become huge, while others disappear altogether. They are all disposed to intercepted signs. The following is a list of the most common systems in current use, though there are many more.

Campanus - This system uses the four angles as the cusps of the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th house and the division is linked to the four cardinal points. There appears to be some discrepancy regarding the pioneer of this system, although I accept that it may be due to the translation of the name. It is variously attributed to Johannes Campanus (Johannes being the latin version of John) or to Giovanni di Campani, both having lived in the 13th century. (perhaps someone with better knowledge than I would let me know)

Equal House - the simplest of all. This system uses the degree of the Ascendant as the basis for all the succeeding house cusps, so that each house begins at the same degree but of the next sign. It involves no further calculation of house cusps once the Ascendant is found as the houses are divided equally and there can be no intercepted houses. This is the basis for the natural zodiac so it would seem logical to follow it. The main disadvantage of using this system is that the MC/IC axis can be anywhere between the eighth/second house and the eleventh/fifth house. As the MC is a very important angle and is relative to the matters of the tenth house, it can be argued that the other systems which have the MC as the cusp of the tenth house, are more valid.

Koch - known as the birth place method, it uses time for its divisions counting from the MC to the Ascendant. This makes the birth place co-ordinates vital in the calculation. Because it uses the MC as its starting point, the MC is the most important angle of this type of chart and represents the ego, who you are and who you would like to become. In other words, the path of life starts with the MC and represents freedom of the individual and free will. It was devised by a German astrologer and advocated by Dr Walter Koch (1895-1970), hence its name.

Placidus - devised by Placidus de Tito, a 17th century mathematician. It is based on the time taken for the Ascendant to become the MC. As with the Koch system, it is open to having intercepted signs. Intercepted signs are those that do not form any house cusp but are sandwiched between two others within a house. This system gained popularity in the 19th century due to its use in Raphael's ephemeris since 1821.

Porphyry - Porphyry lived from approximately 233 - c.304 AD. He was a Greek philosopher known for his work on Ptolemy's "Tetrabiblos", the main foundation of astrology. The system is based on division of the ecliptic, it divides the houses by trisecting the semi-arc of the Ascendant/MC. The four angles are used respectively for the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses, then each quadrant is divided equally as measured on the ecliptic. This system is not used as much as the others.

Regiomontanus - This system was more widely used in the old texts of astrology, but has for the most part fallen into disuse in recent years. It is based on the earth's movement around the sun, measured by the equator and the horizon. A 15th century astronomer, Johannes Muller, known as "Regiomontanus" devised the system.

Solar - often used where the time of birth is unknown. The position of the sun becomes the ascendant and the chart is read from there. This system is the one used in general daily sun-sign horoscopes."

(Source: www.aquamoonlight.co.uk/systems.html