Free Astrology Reports FAQ:
:: The rising sign on this free astrology report is different
than I expected, why?
Provided you have entered the date, location, time and timezone correctly,
these free astrology reports are accurate. The 'rising sign' changes roughly
every two hours, so the place and time of birth must be accurate to calculate
an accurate rising sign.
The locations in the database and their associated timezones should be
correct. However, further adjustments are made for Daylight Savings Time
at certain locations, and it is worth checking that the timezone set in
the form for your location is correct for your date of birth.
I store the central coordinates for locations, as given by my sources.
If you want to change these in your profiles, you can do this by clicking
on 'Change Profile' and saving different coords in your profile (this does
not change the database, just your profile). Please make your own adjustments as you require.
:: I have a lot of aspects in my chart and I often get contradictory interpretations
within the same computerized reading, so it is hard for me to see the
overview.
Unfortunately, along with the rise of natal astrology (more or less a
20th century invention) came the assumption that the astrologer (or in
this case, the computer) should be able to construct a little essay proclaiming
'what this person is like', without considering that to attempt such a
thing is to attempt The Most Difficult Prediction of all, namely, how
this or that person has so far expressed the various and contradictory
elements at work in his or her psyche. What you usually end up with is
a very gray average picture of the human being. The 'average' is a mythical
entity. There is always more going on than we consciously realise. Individually,
human beings are bundles of contradictions. Some charts are glorious,
and some are real monstrosities. An 'astrology of imperatives' (the idea
that one has a cosmic purpose to fulfill as depicted in the birth chart)
acknowledges this and encourages us to take our cosmic remit to the highest
levels expression, rather than settling for the 'average' expression,
whatever that is. Each planet is a different 'organ of the psyche'. The
heart does not perform the same function as the liver.
Another feature of these computer generated reports is the inclusion
of so-called 'minor aspects' (semi-square, ses-square, etc.), which were
invented by Kepler in the 17th century and do not form part of traditional
astrology, but have been included here because users expect them. You
can ignore these if you wish.
:: Which house system should I use?
If you wish to choose a house system based on popularity, Placidus, Koch
and Porphyry are the most common choices for modern Western natal astrology.
All three systems divide the distance between the 'angles' (the Ascendant
or first house cusp, and the Midheaven or tenth house cusp) slightly differently.
Because of the variable house sizes, some zodiac signs may never appear
on a cusp. The more northerly the latitude in which you were born, the
more likely this is to happen. In the Equal house system, houses are laid
out evenly (30 degrees each) from the ascendant so that all signs appear
on a cusp. Natural houses simply lay out the houses of 30 degrees each
in their natural order (Aries, Taurus, etc.).
The house systems rely very heavily on the time of day. If you are fairly
confident about your time of birth, then you may wish to choose to run
your report using one of the more popular house systems. If you do not
know what time of day you were born, you may wish to view your report
using Equal or Natural houses, or you may simply ignore the house information
altogether.
:: Can I see a chart to match my free natal report?
Click on the round Sun-Moon logo in the upper left hand corner of the
report. This should open a new window which will generate a chart for
the free report.
N.B. If you find you are not getting a fresh chart image, try clicking
the refresh button in your browser. This should present the new chart
image. Although I have taken every step to try an ensure the chart image
refreshes, including giving each new image a unique file name, I have
found that some systems/browsers can stubbornly retain the last image.
A browser refresh should solve this problem.
:: I cannot find out what time I was born. Is there any
way that I can receive a predictive reading without this information?
The best place to look is your birth certificate. If your time of birth
is not listed there, you can still order a transit report using a Noon
(12:00 pm) Time, which ensures you won't be more than + or - 12 hours
from your actual time of birth. The transit days will still be fairly
accurate for hits to your natal Sun and planets - the exception is the
natal Moon and house cusps primarily, as they change degree quite quickly.
If you have any clues at all to your time of birth (for example, your
mother says you were born 'sometime in the early morning'), it can be
worthwhile having your birth chart rectified. Chart rectification is the
process of looking back over the major events of your life and then zero-ing
in on a likely time of birth based on the movements of transiting outer
planets over the faster moving points of the natal chart.
:: What are aspects?
Aspects are an important part of astrology. As the planets move in their
elongated orbits around the Sun, they form angular relationships with
one another for which astrology uses the Earth as center (the horoscope
is a 'geocentric' map of the heavens). These angular relationships are
called aspects and they make up a fundamental part of astrological technique,
upon which we can overlay the meanings of the signs and houses.
The nature and relative strength of an aspect is determined by the planets
involved and the angle of the aspect itself. Contacts made through the
progressive 'halving' of a circle, the so-called 'hard' aspects, are more
indicative of events and strong personality traits than are the so-called
'soft' aspects. Hard aspects generally include the conjunction (0 degrees),
the opposition (180 degrees), the square (90 degrees), the semi-square
(45 degrees) and a combination aspect called the sesquiquadrate, or ses-square
(135 degrees, or 90 degrees + 45 degrees). The 'soft' aspects, formed
through odd divisions of the circle, include the trine (120 degrees),
the sextile (60 degrees), the semi-sextile (30 degrees), and the quincunx
or inconjunct (150 degrees). Soft aspects tend to be easier to deal with
than hard aspects.
:: What are the effects of planetary direction on my chart?
You may from time to time see references in astrology to Direct or Retrograde
motion. No planet ever actually changes direction. However, under certain
circumstances - such as when the Earth is overtaking a planet in its orbit
- it can appear to us to be moving backwards (i.e. clockwise around the
zodiac instead of anti-clockwise). When this happens, which it does with
all the planets (but not the Sun and Moon) from time to time, this is
known as Retrograde motion. The normal, forward motion is known as Direct.
Before a planet goes retrograde, it will appear to slow down in its path,
apparently becoming stationary for a while, then eventually appear to
change direction. When a planet is 'making a station', it is putting its
full weight down, so to speak, in that part of the sky and its energy
can be felt more strongly.
One of the more notable effects of this can be seen every time Mercury
goes retrograde or direct. Communication links, such as those used in
Internet servers, have been known to show an increase in problems during
Mercury stations, and we have observed a painfully predictable breakdown
in communications during every MRP (Mercury Retro Period) we have monitored. |
