Astrology: Planets and signs concerned with money

ART 1 : INDICATIONS PROVIDED BY THE NATAL CHART

One of the most frequent questions asked in Astrology, except those on couple's compatibility and forecasting, addresses financial issues.

It seems that inequalities are considerable among countries with more or less resources to feed their population, but also among people living in the same country. This is a vast topic, and we do not intend to provide an infallible method for money queries. Nevertheless, it is possible to provide a few valuable and concrete indications.

What type of information regarding wealth or financial hardship can be drawn from an astrological chart?

1. THE DOMINANT

We must first determine whether or not the person is really interested in this matter. Beyond the detailed features of the natal chart, a general analysis enables to understand what is referred to as "the dominant". This topic has caused a lot of ink to flow, and it is interesting to tackle it.

In the graphic below, the various pure human typologies are given in the form of caricatures and the glyph of its corresponding planet. They are divided into hot / cold / dry / moist elements, and into bilious / lymphatic / nervous / sanguine basic psychological trends. We belong to several blended typologies, which translates into as many distinct cases.

One usually refers more to dominant planet than to dominant sign. For instance, when one mentions "Mars-Mercury dominant on a Scorpio background", it means that Mars' characteristics (fighting spirit, courage, action, but also the propensity for anger, etc.) and Mercury's features (intellectual process, the capacity to establish contacts, innate curiosity, but also superficiality, etc.) prevail against the backdrop of strengthened Scorpion's attributes (the need to provoke and control, resilience, stamina, obstinacy, intransigence, etc.).

Thus, even before starting to assess the aspects linked to money, marriage, health, etc., it is obvious that, depending on the deep nature of the chart's owner, some topics are less relevant than some others. For the sake of simplification, let's review a few pure examples.

Owing to his detached nature, the Saturnian is the very archetype of the person who is not too interested in material and financial contingencies. Therefore, it is very unlikely that he becomes a billionaire. Unlikely, but not impossible, and should this case occur, it will be despite, and not owing to, this Saturnian characteristic. Saturn is dry and harsh, and implies contraction, concentration, and long-term goals. Therefore, is he compatible with the principle of easy money? Obviously, no.

Let's consider the Marsian now. In this case also, the person is not much favoured, except as far as his energy, his audacity, and his courage are concerned. However, these qualities are more suitable for sports careers and the achievement of results which are not money-oriented.

The Solarian (Sun dominant) is not naturally attracted to material affluence. The nobleness of his ideals, and his innate charisma and inclination prompt him to obtain honours and power, without even seeking them. (No pejorative connotation here.)

The Mercurian does not worry about his material well-being or his bank account. Provided his constant need to run away from boredom is met, and his curiosity is always satisfied, he is perfectly happy.

The vegetative and lunatic Lunarian aspires to physical comfort and emotional security. He is unwilling to exhaust himself amassing a big fortune.

Things are quite different with the Venusian... As the planet of desire, Venus activates the thirst for seduction and for well-being. She is in analogy with the possessive Taurus, which is itself in analogy with the 2nd House, the house of money earned by oneself as well as the house of material goods. Therefore, a Venusian is naturally prompted to obtain, often through his charms, the riches needed to secure his well-being and the indirect means needed in order to seduce, at least from his personal viewpoint. A nice mansion with lavish furniture, dealing with luxury as often as possible: this is what runs through the Venusian's veins. Should the rest of the chart concur, money is most likely to be readily available because it is the Venusian's main concern.

The Jupiterian is perfectly well-equipped for acquiring wealth and material riches. Whereas the Venusian is a bit passive and considers money as an indirect means to seduce and fulfil his needs for pleasure, the Jupiterian is active, clever and warm, sociable and charismatic. Far from spiritual values and the quest for sobriety, which is one of the paths leading to wisdom, the Jupiterian is interested in material life, the concrete "here and now". His wallet and its content are more precious to him than anything else. His energy and the certainties he has on this topic are the assets which enable him to obtain, usually before his forties, what he covets.

The Uranian, the Neptunian, and the Plutonian are derived from the first seven types, and therefore, we shall not elaborate but only indicate that, strictly speaking, they are neither suitable nor unfit for material riches. In a nutshell, the Uranian prefers to distinguish himself as a genius. The Neptunian strives to conquer his audience and melt into it by osmosis whenever he is passionate about a topic. As for the Plutonian, provided he wields power... he earns money through other people, and his will to keep people and things under his control comes before material riches.

By the way... how can the dominant be determined? Suffice it to say that many astrologers devised excellent methods. Alexandre Volguine, born with the Sun in Pisces, authored one of the most ancient and comprehensive techniques. Bin Ezra's Almuten is worth mentioning, as well as Christophe de Cène, Jacques Berthon, Gilles Verneret, Catherine Aubier, Yves Lenoble, Elisabeth Tessier, etc. Each astrologer has his own way, and experience shows that, although dominants may vary a great deal according to the methods used, they also belong to a common body of knowledge. The best thing is to use a software to try out all the existing techniques and to see for oneself. The seasoned astrologer can then decide which method suits him best. Lastly, we wish to remind that dominants are not fundamental, that they give few results with some charts, but that their interpretation remains interesting.

2. PLANETS IN THE 2nd AND 8th HOUSES AND THEIR ASPECTS

Now that it is clear that the dominant indicates the general trend of any given area of interest, we can take a closer look at some characteristics of the natal chart.

The planets in the 2nd House describe the type of relation existing between the chart"s owner and the money he earns, whereas the planets in the 8th House indicate the money the person gains through other people, such as inheritances, donations, etc.

When these two houses are empty, their ruling planets must be assessed, meaning that their aspects, their position in house, and their state (rulership, exaltation, fall, and exile) are carefully analysed.

When there are planets posited in the 2nd and the 8th Houses, the planets" nature describes the ability to make money (the 2nd House) and to receive money from other people (the 8th House). Aspects to the said planets have a major importance in the final judgment. Let"s suppose that Jupiter, the best planet for wealth, is in the 2nd House. If the Moon sends a square to Jupiter, it is an indication that there may be a conflict between the affairs ruled by Jupiter"s House (money earned) and the affairs ruled by the Moon"s House. In addition, the symbolism of the aspecting planet - here, the Moon - must be taken into account. In the case of the Jupiter-Moon square of our example, and regardless of the additional information provided by the House occupied by the Moon, we see that tensions may crop up between the chart"s owner and his family, his mother or his spouse. All these alternatives are further defined by the other elements of the chart.

As a matter of rule, the moist planets favour all financial issues. Firstly, Jupiter and Venus, then Neptune because of his boundless nature, even though he is quite passive. The other "good" planets are the Sun because of the motivation implied, and Mercury because of his cleverness.

Aspects are even more crucial for Mars and Uranus than for the other planets. A "good" Mars in the 2nd House may be very auspicious and indicates the capacity to earn a good living, although by the sweat of the brow, with courage and many efforts. As for Pluto, if he is posited in the 8th House, he may be quite favourable since he is in analogy with Scorpio and the 8th House.

The Moon is always quite problematic owing to her totally passive and receptive nature. It is necessary to first look at all the aspects she receives, her state (the Moon in Cancer or in Taurus, for instance, is favourable, in spite of the warnings we issued against dignities).

With the indications provided by the dominants and the planets in the 2nd and the 8th Houses, we already have a clear picture of the person's earning power, his interest in this area, and his capacity to earn money through other people.

3. The 2nd HOUSE AND the 8th HOUSE RULERS AND THEIR ASPECTS

When the 2nd and the 8th Houses are empty, it is necessary to analyse their ruling planets since they provide information on the way the person earns a living and his potentiality for financial gains through other people. However, one must bear in mind that, even when these houses are occupied, each house ruler influences the way the person approaches the areas of the said house.

Indeed, although a planet in an astrological house expresses its nature in its own way and in line with the coloration of the sign occupied, its influence is modulated by its house ruler. Then, three factors come into play: firstly, the coherence of the nature of the planets involved, then their possible aspects and the aspect's characteristics (squares mean tension, sextiles mean good communication, etc.), and lastly, if there is no aspect between the planet and the House ruler, the state of the said House ruler which is assessed as indicated earlier. For instance, when the ruler of the 2nd House is very afflicted, it impacts on the person's abilities to make money, even though one or two planets are in the 2nd House and harmoniously aspected. It must be borne in mind that a planet's presence prevails over rulership. This is the reason why we consider that they are secondary and complementary elements.

4. THE 2nd HOUSE AND the 8th HOUSE IN THE TWELVE SIGNS

The following pieces of information are almost as important as the previous ones. They partially depend on one of the characteristics we dealt with, the rulerships, and they colour the areas symbolised by these houses with the specificities of their sign.

The debate on the components of a house remains topical. Some astrologers take into account the cusp, i.e. the beginning of a House, and some others also consider the part of the house which may cover one or even two signs on either side of the cusp. Thus, let's imagine a 2nd House with its cusp at 29° Taurus. An astrological house usually covers an average of 30 degrees (with wide variations when the place of birth is near the poles, in the Placidus house system). It may also be 40 or 45 degrees wide. Thus, the 2nd House of our example, starting at 29° Taurus, has one part in Cancer and its last part in Leo. Hence the usual question, when no planet is posited in the house (criterion #1), should the ruler of the cusp be exclusively considered, or should the rulers of the two other signs be also taken into account? To make things more complicated, a house may also have two rulers... Indeed, since Pisces is co-ruled by Neptune and Jupiter, both planets' features must be assessed.

Practitioners hold differing views on the importance paid to the « chunks » which do not belong to the sign where the cusp is found. Our opinion is that the cusp is by far the most important point, and that it must be cautiously regarded only when it is located between two signs. In such cases, the precision of the time of birth is the key criterion for taking a decision.

Additional indications are drawn from the associations of the 2nd and 8th Houses and the signs where they are located. This means that the characteristics of the sign must always be applied to the areas symbolised by the houses involved. For instance, a 2nd House in sober and ambitious Capricorn may indicate that success is belated, whereas in Taurus it indicates an innate ability to grow rich by one's own means, etc. Bear in mind that the planetary dominant, then the planets posited in the 2nd House, remain the most important factors.

5. THE STATE OF JUPITER, PLANET OF EXPANSION, THE 5th AND 10th HOUSES

Lastly, it is necessary to closely assess Jupiter's position and role in the natal chart. Since he symbolises the capacity to grow, to expand, and to amass, Jupiter points to the area of life which is favoured, and which often has a link with finance.

In practice, if there are many tense or negative aspects regarding money earned (the 2nd House) or money received (8th House), an “excellent” Jupiter, whether he is or not posited in the 2nd or the 8th house, his influence is most likely to offset the final judgement. This obviously concurs with the dominant criterion since a prominent Jupiter is among the dominant(s) or sub-dominant(s). However, as already mentioned, in addition to the other criteria, it is necessary to emphasise this additional criterion.

The 5th House deserves a special mention. It symbolises fun, romance, and creations, but also speculations. Casino or lottery gains belong to the 5th House and not to the 8th House, although the latter must have some positive indications. The 10th House of career also suits Jupiter very well and has indirect fortunate consequences in the financial area.