Illustration to be added
Terrascope of Jan Michele Kerouac: 16 February 1952, 12:23 AM, Albany, New York USA
- Valediction: New Moon in 30 Capricorn @ E 300 in the Great Void before the gaze of the Goatfish. Sunset crescent appears in the Goatfish: Kali shift
- Imaginal role: Rising sign 20 Scorpio @ E 230 = fulcrum of the Scales in the constellations.
- Virtu: ruler of the rising sign Scorpio is Mars in 12 Scorpio in facet 1. Thus, Mars rising in the eastern sky 8 degrees above the horizon
- Planet X: same as ruler of sun sign Aquarius, thus Uranus rules Virgo.
§ 8 November 2024
The purpose of this unit is to separate the procedure that uses astrological technique (rising sign and ruling planet) to identify virtu from the two other procedures for the Valedication and Imaginal Role that are exclusive to StarBase. There is also a separate thread on the Celestics StarBase forum for the discussion of this troublesome issue.
§ I am creating this unit on Friday 8th November to be completed by Sunday the 10th.
First, the Technicalities
Planetary Rulerships
Planet > Sign “ruled”
motive, faculty > style of expression, personal filterSun > Leo
Mercury > Gemini
Venus > Taurus
Earth > Libra
Moon > Cancer
Mars > Scorpio
Jupiter > Sagittarius
Saturn > Capricorn
Uranus > Aquarius
Neptune > Pisces
Pluto > Aries
Note that there are 11 planets and 11 signs. There needs to be another planet for a full match to 12 signs. Note also that Virgo is not listed in the signs ruled. I solved this problem years ago by introducing a variable, planet X. I have tested this feature on hundreds of horoscopes and it works brilliantly. The rule is: Planet X in any chart is the same at the planet that rules the sun sign. If the sun sign is Aquarius, X = Uranus, if Taurus, X – Venus, if Libra, X = Earth.
Simple enough. But what about the excluded sign, Virgo? The rule states that the variable planet X rules Virgo unless the sun is in Virgo, in which case the ruler of Virgo is the Moon. So, if you are a Virgo by sign, the Moon rules both that sign and Cancer, as assigned. There is a duplicate rulership in this exceptional occurence of planet X in every terrascope.
To clarify: Identify the planet that rules your sun sign and assign it to rule Virgo, unless the sun is in Virgo, then planet X is the Moon. This rule is consistent for all nativities.
The 12th case:
planet X, same as ruler of Sun sign> Virgo, or if Sun is in Virgo, X is the Moon
Do not confuse planet X with the mark of virtu, although in some rare cases they may coincide. Planet X is an accessory to your the signature style of your natal sign. Being the same as the planet that rules your natal sign, X does double duty by ruling another sign as well, Virgo. So in every case but one, the ruler of the Sun sign also rules Virgo. The exception is, if the sun is in Virgo, the Moon rules Virgo as well as Cancer. Thrice stated!!!
In my case, the ruler of the sun sign, Sagittarius, is Jupiter which doubles as planet X and also rules Virgo. This means that the same Jupiterian motives (to educate, to think comprehensively, to expand the mind, to travel and explore) which I express in typical Sagittarian style, I also express with equal skill in Virgoan style.
It may happen that planet X coincides with the mark of virtu. Things can get complicated in DA which is far more complex than StarBase.
Libran Eccentricity
Also, perhaps you caught the odd attribution of Earth as ruler of Libra. This is an innovation of my system of astrology. It is an anomalous case which raises certain issues about the exceptional behavior and attitude of the Libran personality. You are a Libran, the sun is in that sign, and that places Earth in the opposite sign, in Aries. In this unique case, the Earth that rules the sign where the sun occurs is opposite the sun. What does this odd arrangement suggest to you? It’s about polarization the the struggle for equilibrium between how you perceive yourself and how others perceive you, specific to Libra in a persistent and precarious manner.
Mirroring is common to us all but it reaches a critical mass in Libra. If one feature in the mirroring of the Libran personality is off, the entire system of self-other mirroring risks imbalance, like a mobile.
It’s been decades now since I made these innovations in astrology: adding Earth, making it the ruler of Libra, adding planet X and the manner of its identification. Although I rarely revisit these innovations, which run into the dozens, I find that they hold up better than ever. It might seem odd that the planet ruling Virgo is X or by default the Moon, if the sun is in Virgo, or that Earth rules Libra and always stands in the opposite sign… I get that all this is not easy to follow. However, I can assure you, if your interest ever goes deeply into DA, that these formal changes in the old paradigm are instructive and trustworthy. I myself am amazed by how well they work to this day.
The Facet Problem
You identify virtu by the planet ruling the rising sign. Then you locate where it is in sign (its style of expression) and facet (the context or circumstances of proving it). However, it grieves me to inform you that you cannot do this with reliable accuracy from a computer generated horoscope that uses Placidus or other archaic house-systems. So, until you can see the horoscope converted to the terrascope, hold off on speculating. Conversion does not change the sign locale of the virtu planet, but it can change the house position. That being the case, you can safely assess the style of your virtuosity by sign/style, but seeing how you prove it in a particular existential context of life is another step.
To be continued…