Wim van Dam

ASTRO)LOGY
& HOMOSEXOAUTS
A research istudy that sheds new light on the astrological iindicators that can be used to determine homLosexuality in the birth chart
*

ASTROLOGY A N D HOMOSEXUALITY

ASTROLOGY AND HOMOSEXUALITY

W im van Dam
Translated fro m the D utch

SAMUEL W EISER, INC. York Beach, Maine

First published in D u tc h in 1983 by U itg e v e rij Schors, A m ste rd am , H olland O rig in al title: Astrology & Homofilie 1983 U itg ev e rij Schors First published in E nglish in 1985 by Sam uel W e ise r, Inc. B ox 612 Y o rk B each, M aine 03910 E nglish tran sla tio n 1985 Sam uel W eise r, Inc. A ll rig h ts reserved. N o p a rt o f this p u b licatio n m ay be reproduced o r tra n sm itte d in any fo rm o r b y any m eans, e lectro n ic o r m ech an ical, in cluding photo co p y , w ith o u t perm ission in w ritin g fro m the publisher. R eview ers m ay q uote b r ie f passages. IS B N 0-87728-628-0 L ib ra ry o f C ongress C a ta lo g C a rd N um ber: 84-52178 T ran sla te d b y T y p eset in 11 Positive T y p e, P rin te d in the T ra n s c rip t, L td., C levedon, E ngland p o in t B em bo by M ille rto n , N Y U n ite d States o f A m erica

CONTENTS List o f C h a r t s ..................................................................................... vii P u b lish ers N o te .................................................................................... ix In tro d u c tio n ............................................................................................. xi 1. W h a t is a H o ro s c o p e ? ..................................................... 1 2. C onsiderations R egarding H om osexuality and H eim so th s W o r k ..................................................... 15 3. Research Problem s ..........................................................23 4. T he Case fo r the N avam sa H oroscope .................... 31 5. M ale H o m o se x u a lity ....................................................... 39 6. C om parison w ith H e im so th s E x a m p le s ....................57 7. Female H o m o s e x u a lity ...................................................71 8. T ra n s s e x u a lity ................................................................... 79 9. Sexual I d e n t i t y .................................................................85 A ppendix: N avam sa T a b l e s ...............................................................89

l is t

of

harts

C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h art C h art C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h art C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt C h a rt

1. A case o f M icrocephaly ( I ) ...........................................28 2. A case o f M icrocephaly ( I I ) .........................................29 3. M ale H oroscope N um ber 1 ...........................................40 4. M ale H oroscope N um ber 2 ...........................................42 5. M ale H oroscope N um ber 3 ...........................................44 6. M ale H oroscope N um ber 4 ...........................................45 7. M ale H oroscope N um ber 5 ...........................................46 8. M ale H oroscope N um ber 6 ...........................................47 9. M ale H oroscope N um ber 7 ...........................................48 10. M ale H oroscope N um ber 8 ...................................... 49 11. M ale H oroscope N um ber 9 .......................................... 50 12. M ale H oroscope N um ber 1 0 ........................................ 51 13. G erard R e v e ....................................................................... 52 14. H a a rm a n n ............................................................................ 58 15. Figure 6 from H e im so th ................................................59 16. Figure 8 from H e im so th ................................................60 17. Figure 11 from H e im s o th ............................................. 61 18. Figure 12 from H e im s o th ............................................. 62 19. H eim so th s Case 1 3 ......................................................... 63 20. H eim so th s Case 1 4 .........................................................64 21. H eim so th s Case 1 5 .........................................................65 22. H eim so th s Case 1 6 .........................................................66 23. H eim so th s Case 1 8 ........................................................ 67

viii / Wim van Dam

C h a rt C h art C h a rt C h a rt C h art C h art C h a rt C h a rt C h art C h art C h a rt C h art

24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

H eim so th s Case 2 0 ..........................................................68 Figure 24 from H e im so th ..............................................69 Female H oroscope N um ber 1 .................................... 72 Fem ale H oroscope N um ber 2 .....................................73 Female H oroscope N um ber 3 .................................... 74 Female H oroscope N um ber 4 .....................................75 Female H oroscope N um ber 5 .................................... 76 Female H oroscope N um ber 6 .................................... 77 Transsexual H oroscope N um ber 1 .......................... 80 Transsexual H oroscope N um ber 2 ..........................82 T ranssexual H oroscope N um ber 3 ..........................83 T ranssexual H oroscope N um ber 4 ..........................84

P U B L IS H E R S N O T E This is a book that is sure to be controversial, and indeed has already evoked varying reactions from m any w ho have read it p rio r to publication. H om osexuality is a controversial subject for a v ariety o f reasons. W e w ould like to stress that this is a research w o rk , intended to be used by serious students o f astrology who w ish to becom e involved in research that m ay eventually lead to the ab ility to determ ine the difference betw een hom osexuality and h etero sex u ality in the b irth chart. This book was not w ritten to council hom osexuals, nor was it w ritte n to c u re hom o sexuals, n o r was it w ritte n to condem n. V ery little is available in the astrological literatu re on the subject o f hom osexuality. In his attem p t to restructure an approach to researching astrological indicators in the b irth chart, the au th o r has gone back to the only significant study on the subject: K arl H eim so th s Homosexuality in the Horoscope, first published in G erm an in 1928, and available in English since 1978, published by the A m erican F ederation o f A strologers, Tem pe, A rizona. W e wish to thank the A m erican Federation o f A strologers for graciously giving us perm ission to use the data from H eim soth. The reader should understand that the Heimsoth m aterial presented here m ay appear in a slightly altered translation than the English version. T he m aterial contained h erein was translated from G erm an into D utch, and from Dutch

x / Wim van Dam

into English. W e found that the m eaning was clear, and decided to use the a u th o rs presentation. T he charts from H eim soths w ork have been reproduced from the original D utch edition. T he charts used in this book do no t include b irth data so th at the id en tity o f the people involved w ill be protected. The au th o r has inform ed us th at the charts w ere calculated according to b irth records and have no t been rectified in any way.

INTRODUCTION
T he subject o f hom osexuality is m uch discussed in the astrological w orld, and m any strongly held opinions are being bandied ab out concerning it. It is all the m ore surprising, th erefo re, th at n o t m uch has been published on the subject. The lack o f published m aterial could be caused by the fact that the various assum ptions and conclusions o f traditional astrology have n o t yielded practical results w hen applied to actual charts. For this reason, it seems useful to devote a special study to this topic. W e are not starting this study by using one or tw o vague rules previously presented in m ost textbooks usually the cause o f hom osexual behavior is ascribed m ainly to Uranus and N eptune. T he technique applied here (the Navam sa, or ninth harm onic ch art) w ill be fully explained in C hapter 4 and is illu strated by a num ber o f exam ples. M any astrologers are still relatively unfam iliar w ith this technique and it is hoped that the exam ple charts provided w ill persuade them that navamsa positions form the real key to the horoscope in m any respects, and n o t only w hen it com es to hom osexuality. R egard for the privacy o f clients is, o f course, a delicate problem . T he charts o f several w ell-know n European public personalities w hose sexual proclivities are general knowledge (G erard R eve, W im Sonneveld) are used w ith names. As far as o th er exam ple charts are concerned, the place, tim e, and date of

xii / Wim van Dam

b irth are w ithheld to pro tect th eir identities. H ow ever, the sidereal tim e and the latitude are supplied so that astrologers who use some o th er house system than the one em ployed here (Placidus) w ill have the chance to experim ent for themselves. A little ju g g lin g w ith the data w ill reveal the date, bu t not the ex a ct G .M .T ., and therefore no t the longitude. T he latter has to be determ ined from the place o f the M oon, and this is always c o rrected for so-called parallax. A lthough this book contains some interesting and promis ing conclusions about hom osexuality in both m en and w om en, as w ell as discussing differences b etw een the sexes, the last w ord has still to be said on the m atter. It is the a u th o rs hope that the techniques used and the m aterial offered w ill prove a stimulus and a help to others w ho wish to research further. M y special thanks are due to M rs. van O pstal-K oelen, w ho has provided me w ith a g reat deal o f valuable m aterial. W ith o u t h er assistance this book w ould no t have appeared in its present form . I m ust also express m y gratitude to the m any other astrologers w ho so w illingly supplied m e w ith data from their ow n collections, and to m y publisher w ho gave me the idea for the book. T he responsibility for the conclusions draw n is entirely mine.

1.

w h a t

is a

o ro sco pe

N o t every reader w ill be perfectly fam iliar w ith the m aterials used by an astrologer in his w ork. This first chapter has been w ritte n to provide a b rie f description o f w hat is m eant by a horoscope. T he night sky is filled w ith an expanse o f fixed stars w hich, as th eir nam e suggests, appear to form an unchanging p attern w ith one another. A lthough the sky itself seems to slowly revolve, and these stars revolve w ith it, the star pattern stays the same. W e simply see the same p attern from different points o f view . In co n trast to the fixed stars, there are o ther heavenly bodies w hich are continually changing their position, both in respect to the fixed stars and to themselves: they w ander in their path across the face o f the sky. These are the Sun, the M oon and the planets (planet m eans wanderer). T he Sun, M oon and planets are represented by the symbols shown in Table 1 on page 2. T he Sun, M oon and the planets (M ercury through Saturn) are traditio n al elem ents w hich have been used in astrology for thousands o f years. U ranus, N eptune and P luto (and now C hiron) have been discovered com paratively recently. The D ra g o n s H ead (M o o n s ascending or N o rth node) is not a planet b u t one point o f intersection o f the orbits o f the Sun and the M oon. D ire ctly opposite it is the corresponding D rag o n s Tail (o r M o o n s descending node w hich is also called the South node).

2 / Wim van Dam

Table 1. Planetary Symbols Planet Symbol Planet Symbol

Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter

o ?
$

Saturn Chiron Uranus Neptune Pluto Dragon's Head

5
<r

T e 5 1

A strological significance is traditionally ascribed to the nodes, although they are not rated as highly as the other heavenly bodies. E v ery year the Sun appears to follow the same track th rough the fixed stars. T he circle it describes is know n as the ecliptic or, m ore fam iliarly, as the zodiac. T he M oon, the planets, and the lunar nodes also m ove through the zodiac, but each at its ow n pace. As seen from E arth , the M oon moves through the ecliptic in 28 days. M ercury and Venus take about a year, M ars n early 2 years, Ju p iter 12, and Saturn 29 years. Chiron takes 56 years, U ranus 84, and N eptune 165, w hile Pluto com pletes the course in 250 years. T he M oons nodes take 19. T he planets are divided into those w hich are favorable (benefics) and those w hich are unfavorable (malefics). The benefics are Venus, Ju p ite r and, as far as w e know , C hiron. The m alefics are M ars, Saturn, U ranus and Pluto. T he Sun and M oon are n eith er benefic nor m alefic, and M ercury takes its color from the planet w ith w hich it is m ost closely connected. N othing certain is know n about N eptune on this point. T he astrological m eanings o f the planets are easily understood as k ey w o rd s. In addition to the basic keyw ords o r m eanings show n in Table 2, the planets have other, more concrete significations. Thus the M oon also symbolizes a

A ST R O L O G Y A N D H O M O SEXU ALITY / 3
Table 2. Keywords for the Planets Planet Keywords

Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn

Power, vitality, self-consciousness Instinct, emotional contact Mental contact, communication Harmony, union Energy, aggression Expansion, rising force, warmth Limitation, contraction, downward force, coldness Balance, completion Revolution, originality, the unexpected Vagueness, the indefinable, art, deception Regeneration, transformation, the underground

Chiron Uranus Neptune Pluto

Dragon's Head

Personal and fam ily contacts

p ersons n ation o r m other; Venus, the spouse; the Sun for the spouse and for the children; Saturn for the authorities and for the father; M ars for sport and w ar, etc. T he particular m eaning o f a planet in a given ch a rt w hich com es m ost to the fore depends on the position held by this planet in the different parts o f the horoscope. T he zodiac starts at the first point o f Aries. Each spring, the Sun crosses the celestial eq u ato r in its jo u rn ey through the zodiac; at th at m om ent it stands directly over our ow n equator. T he point in the zodiacal band w here it then stands (a point w hich v ery slow ly shifts against the fixed stars) is, by definition, the com m encem ent o f the zodiac and, as already indicated, is know n as the first point o f A ries, or 0 Aries. The position o f the

4 / Wim van Dam

Table 3. Keywords for the Signs Sign Symbol Keywords

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius

Ram B u ll T w ins Crab L io n V irgin S cales S corpion A rc h e r Sea-goat W aterb e arer F ishes

Active, spontaneous Possessive, slow, materialistic Quick, changeable, talkative Home-loving, protective, maternal S elf-aw are, creative Critical, attending to details Harmonious, peace-loving Fanatical, secretive, penetrating Purposeful, striving Cautious, ambitious, authoritative Unorthodox, fickle, unpredictable

Pisces

Vague, impossible to pin down, philanthropic, impressionable

Sun, M oon and planets in the zpdiac, know n as planetary

longitude, is th eir distance from this starting point m easured in

degrees. H o w ev er, astrologers do not talk o f a planet having a longitude o f 45 o r 172 degrees. T he zodiac is divided into twelve equal sections o f th irty degrees each: called Aries, Taurus, Gem ini, and so on. A longitude o f 45 degrees is called 15 Taurus; 172 degrees becom es 22 V irgo. As soon as a m easurem ent exceeds th irty degrees, w e com m ence from 0 degrees again but in the n e x t sign. T he m ovem ent o f the Sun and the M oon through the zodiac is alw ays in a fo rw ard direction from the first to the second sign, b u t in a counterclockw ise direction. W hen viewed from E arth , the planets can appear to m ove backw ards through the zodiac at times. This phenom enon is know n as retrograde

A ST R O L O G Y A N D H O M O SE X U A LITY / 5

motion. H o w ev er, for the m ost p art planets display a direct

m otion, although no t a constant speed. T he lunar nodes always m ove retro g rad e, w ith a speed o f some nine m inutes o f arc per day. K eyw ords for the signs are listed in Table 3. The odd signs (A ries, Gem ini, etc.) are m ale and the even signs (Taurus, C an cer, etc.) are fem ale. W h e rev e r w e are on earth, h alf o f the zodiac is alw ays above the horizon and h alf beneath it. Planets in the upper h a lf are in the day h a lf o f the zodiac, and planets below the horizon are in the night half. O w in g to the diurnal ro tatio n o f the earth on its axis, the zodiac appears to revolve around any given place o f observation on E arth in ab out a day, and the planets, o f course, turn w ith it. T h erefo re all the planets, the Sun and M oon included, revolve once a day round every fixed observation place on E arth. W hile they are being carried along by the zodiac in this w ay, the planets are also m oving through it m uch m ore slowly. Like the zodiac itself, this daily trip round the earth is also divided into twelve sections: six above the horizon and six below it. These are the socalled houses o f the horoscope, and each planet moves through each o f the tw elve houses every day1 quite unlike its very laggardly jo u rn e y through the tw elve signs. In co n trast to the signs o f the zodiac illustrated in Figure 1 on page 6, the houses are now adays2 left unnam ed, but are generally know n as the first house, the second house, etc. H o w ev er, they have their ow n special m eanings, as shown in Figure 2 on page 7. T he significance o f the houses is m ore concrete than that o f the signs. T he houses represent facets o f life; the signs provide m ore o f a psychological description. H ow ever, a com parison o f the signs and houses does reveal a relationship betw een the two equal-num bered sets. T he second house has to do w ith m oney and possessions, and the second sign, T aurus, is heavily involved w ith the ow nership o f m aterial things; the seventh house represents
*It w ould be tru er, perhaps, to say th at the houses rotate past the planets. Tr. 2I have added now ad ays because the G reeks and Romans named them. Tr.

F igure 1. T h e signs o f the zodiac. As y o u can see, A ries is in the first house p o sitio n and the signs p ro ceed c o u n terclo ck w ise.

the p artn e r (both in love and in business), w hile the seventh sign, L ibra, focuses on harm ony and collaboration. In practice the significance o f the signs and houses run hand in hand. The individual whose ch art has m any planets in the fourth house will develop C ancerian characteristics, even if there are no planets in C an cer in the natal horoscope. H ow ever, the student w ill do w ell to look on the signs as revealing ch aracter traits and the houses as show ing the co ncrete circum stances o f life. T he ch ange-over points b etw een the houses are called cusps. Each house has its ow n cusp. In its daily jo u rn ey through

A STR O L O G Y A N D H O M O SEXU ALITY / 7

S ociety, C a re e r, S u p e rio r F r ie n d s A G ro u p \ m e m b e rs h ip , \ P a r e n ts -in -la w s tatio n s . F a th e r

S tud y, Sport, Foreign trav e l / / / D e a th , 'ft O cc u ltism ,

In h e rita n c e s , U rg e to .

rep ro duce

f S o lita rin e s s ,
S e lf-s a c rific e , In v is ib le opposition, G ra n d p a re n ts In n a te S e lf, C h a ra c te r, P hysical A p p e a ra n c e , k E x terio r A - y , Partn ers, C o n tra cts , M a trim o n y , V is ib le opposition Flealth, S ervice, C arin g , Pets, U ncles v. an d A u n ts

M oney, Possessio ns, M a te r ia l T h in g s

/C o n ta c ts , T h in k in g ,

P a re n ta l \

C re a tiv ity , Play, G a m b lin g \ E roticism ,

T a lk in g , W r itin g , P e rc e p tio n , B ro th e rs an d t*5n&^ S i s t e r s

hom e, C hildho od yea rs . M o th e r

\C h i ld r e n y

F igure 2. A n illu stra tio n o f the n a tu ra l houses w ith a b rie f description o f house m eanings.

the houses, a planet moves in a clockw ise direction, and at the end o f every house it crosses the cusp o f that house, the most sensitive point o f the house. T herefore a planet is always to be found in one o f the tw elve signs o f the zodiac and simultaneously in one o f the tw elve houses. This already gives for each planet 12 x 12 = 144 basic positions. T he place o f a planet in the signs is called its zodiacal position, and its place in the houses is the mundane position. It is im p o rtan t to note th at the houses do not necessarily co n tain th irty degrees o f the zodiac (as the signs do), but seem to

F igure 3. A n e x am p le o f house division. 6 e o g ra p h ic a l latitu d e 5130'; sidereal tim e 14.00 hours (2 p m ). T h e cusps o f the a n g u la r houses (1, 4, 7, 10) are in d ic a te d b y solid lines. N o te th a t S ag ittariu s, T au ru s, G em ini, and Scorpio each c o n ta in tw o cusps, b u t th ere a re no cusps in C a p ric o rn , Pisces, C an cer and V irg o . T h e last fo u r signs a re in te rce p ted .

be distrib u ted ra th e r capriciously over the zodiac. And so it can happen th at there are tw o house cusps ruled by one sign, while an o th er sign m ay have no cusps at all. (See Figure 3.) A planet in a sign th at has no house cusp is know n as an intercepted planet. A ccording to trad itio n this w eakens the influence o f the planet. So a ch art is a diagram representing the position o f the Sun, M oon, planets, and lunar nodes (both in the zodiac and in

A ST R O L O G Y A N D H O M O SE X U A LITY / 9

the houses) at the m om ent o f b irth , as seen from the place of b irth . T h ere is no unanim ity o f opinion in the astrological com m unity o v er the precise division o f a ch art into houses. F orm erly, the g reat m ajo rity o f astrologers em ployed the system o f diurnal and n octurnal sem i-arcs devised by M aginus (1555 1617) and fu rth er developed by Placidus (1603-1668), for whom the house system is nam ed. T he Placidus system w ill be used in this book, fo r I find that it gives by far the best results. An astrological ch art is fairly easy to calculate. The positions o f the planets in the zodiac can be looked up in ephemerides, w hich are annual astronom ical tables that proyide the longitudes o f the Sun, M oon and planets for each day o f specific years. T he houses are determ ined from tables o f houses. These give the cusp positions for every degree o f terrestrial latitude and are not dependent on the y ear o f b irth , so that a table o f houses is valid for any b irth year. T he positions o f the planets in sign and house can always be calculated objectively or, to put it another w ay, their calculation alw ays leads to one astronom ically co rrect result. H o w ev er, additional m aterial is used by astrologers w hich allows m ore freedom o f in terp re tatio n w ith all the attendant ad vantages and disadvantages o f that. T h ere are recognized relationships betw een the planets and the signs. Each planet has a sign or signs w here it fits in well and can express its n atu re to best advantage, and each planet has o th er signs w here it is considered ill-placed. W h en a planet has a p articu larly close affinity w ith a certain sign w e say that it is the ruler o f th at sign. W hen, on the o ther hand, it is at cross-purposes w ith a sign, w e say th at it is in its detriment there. T he Sun and M oon rule one sign each; the planets traditionally rule tw o each, as illustrated in Figure 4 on page 10. T he lunar nodes (D ragons H ead and D ra g o n s T ail) have no rulership. A planet is in d etrim en t in the sign that is six signs aw ay from the sign it rules. Thus the Sun is in its detrim ent in A quarius, M ars is in its d etrim en t in Libra, and so on. In the rem aining signs, w here its position is neither good nor bad, the

10 / Wim van Dam

Figure 4. T h e signs show n w ith th eir n a tu ra l rulers. C a n ce r and Leo have been p laced a t the top o f the c h a rt to m ake it easier to see h o w the rem aining classical planets tak e n in tu rn have a double ru lership on e ith e r side o f the Sun and M oon. T he m o re re ce n tly discovered planets a re placed in the o u te r circle, ad jacent to th e ir a llo ted signs.

planet is said to be peregrine.3 T he reason w hy the Sun and Moon only rule one sign, w hereas, according to tradition, the planets rule tw o signs each, is that the planets are bisexual and can rule tw o signs o f d ifferent sex. T he Sun is sym bolically male and is
3Technically, a planet is only peregrine if it has no essential dignities (of which rulership is merely one) and is not in mutual reception with some other planets (the two planets concerned being mutually posited in each others essential dignities). Tr.

A ST R O L O G Y A N D H O M O SE X U A LITY / 11

ineligible to be lord o f a fem ale sign, w hile the M oon, as purely fem ale, is ineligible to be lady o f a m ale sign.4 A planet th at is not posited in its ow n sign is ruled by the lord o r lady o f the sign i t s in. So the Sun governs any planets w hich happen to stand in Leo, Ju p ite r rules planets in Sagittarius and so w ith the rest. T he significance o f a planet for good or ill is d eterm ined p artly by the position o f its ruler (or dispositor). For exam ple, planets in the sign o f C ancer w ill be b e tte r o ff w hen the M oon is w ell placed than w hen the M oon is in C apricorn (in her detrim en t). A planet also rules the house cusp w hen that cusp is in that p la n e ts sign. T he native whose ascendant (the cusp o f the first house) is in T aurus w ill have Venus as ruler o f the ascendant. T he ru ler o f the ascendant is alw ays a significant point in the ch art, even though it m ay no t be as im portant by definition as some astrologers w ould have us believe. (The student w ould do w ell to reg ard the Sun, M oon, M ercury, and the ruler o f the ascendant as the m ost ch aracteristic planets or points in the horoscope. W h ich o f these is the m ost decisive factor in a given c h a rt can be d eterm ined only by experience.) As w e have seen then, a planet can rule a sign as w ell as o th er planets and houses. G re at em phasis is laid on the ru ler o f a sign th at also rules many planets and an im p o rtan t house cusp. It is n o w tim e to consider another part o f traditional astrology, nam ely the aspects. As m easured along the zodiac, each planet is situated a certain num ber o f degrees from some other planet. This distance is alw ays m easured along the shortest route and varies from n ought to 180 degrees. Some o f these distances are im p ortant: it is considered very constructive w hen two planets are separated by 120 degrees. In contrast, a distance of n inety degrees is full o f tension. C onstructive or tense angles are called aspects, and each aspect is, in principle, either hard or easy. W h en tw o planets occupy the same place, that is to say at a distance o f nought degrees, they are said to be in conjunction. In

4M ale and female here have no relationship to people o r sex. This is actually a definition o f an idea. M ale and fem ale represent concepts in this sense. Pub.

12 / Wim van Dam

Table 4. Astrological Aspects Aspect Degrees Apart Effect Type

Conjunction Semisextile Semisquare Sextile Quintile Square Trecile Trine Sesquisquare Biquintile Inconjunct Opposition

0 30 45
CD

Neutral Easy Hard Easy Easy Hard Easy Easy Hard Easy Hard Hard

Major Minor Minor Major Minor Major Minor Major Minor Minor Minor Major

90 108 120 135 144 150 180

itself, a conjunction is n eith er good nor bad: everything depends on the n ature o f the planets involved, as w ell as on the signs in w hich they are found. A conjunction o f the Sun and Ju p iter in Leo w ill usually have a constructive effect (the Sun in its own sign in conjunction w ith a benefic), but a conjunction o f the M oon and Saturn in C ap rico rn is not so fortunate (the M oon in its d etrim en t and in conjunction w ith a m alefic). The most difficult aspects are those w ith m alefics in their detrim ent; when, for instance, S aturn is in C ancer, even a trine m ay w ork out badly in the end. T he aspects are shown in Table 4. Even the aspects b etw een planets and angular cusps have some im port; the conjunction is usually the only aspect noticed betw een planets and the house cusps. A planet that m akes m any hard aspects is know n as an afflicted planet.

o
CM

A ST R O L O G Y A N D H O M O SE X U A LITY / 13

O f course, the distance betw een tw o planets is scarcely ev er ex actly 90 o r 120 degrees; there is alw ays a certain am ount o f leew ay w hich w e call the orb. For the m ajor aspects, most astrologers allow an orb o f 5 through 8 degrees, for the m inor aspects 1 through 3 degrees. T he m ore ex act the aspect, the stro n g er w ill be its effect. An exact m inor aspect has a m ore noticeable effect than a w ide m ajor aspect. W e should m ention, too, th at m ost astrologers do not use all the aspects listed in Table 4; in p articu lar the quintile, the trecile (o r sesquiquintile) and the biquintile are unjustly little used, m ainly because they are h ard to recognize. T he m ultiples o f th irty degrees are easier to see and therefore are the m ost com m only used. All astrologers agree on the value o f the m ajor aspects, bu t hold varying opinions ab out the orbs involved. A t the beginning o f the present century m any astrologers w ere inclined to trea t a trine b etw een tw o planets as invariably favorable and a square as invariably unfavorable. N ow adays, h o w ev er, the old insight that the outcom e o f the aspect is also determ in ed by the n atu re and placem ent o f the planets involved, is slow ly com ing back into favor. Thus a square betw een M ercu ry in V irgo and Ju p iter in Sagittarius (tw o planets well placed, one o f them a benefic) w ill no t do m uch harm . A sextile b etw e en Saturn in Leo and M ars in Libra (tw o malefics in their d etrim en t) prom ises heavy w e a th e r. T herefore to evaluate an aspect co rrectly requires careful judgm ent. Finally, some astrologers still m ake use o f the fixed stars. W h e n a cusp o r a planet is in conjunction w ith a b right fixed star, it is subject to the influence o f the latter. Several books deal w ith this subject; the best is probably V ivian R obsons The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology5. T he fixed stars sometimes give b rillian t results, and at o th er times appear to do nothing. T h erefo re, in natal astrology (astrology dealing w ith horoscopes o f individuals) the fixed stars have to be handled w ith care and

5Published in England b y the A quarian Press, W ellingborough, and in the U nited States by Samuel W eiser, Inc., Y ork Beach, M aine. Tr.

14 / Wim van Dam

are apparently n o t sure-fire. In m undane astrology, w hich has to do w ith cu rren t affairs, these stars play a leading part. T he planets, signs, houses, and aspects have been presented to give the student a b rie f review o f traditional astrology. W e can now resume the them e o f this book, w hich the question o f w h eth er or no t it is possible to identify homosexual tendencies from the natal horoscope.

$8.95

ASTROLOGY & HOMOSEXUALITY

Surprisingly little is available in astrological literature about indications of homosexuality in the horoscope. This is a work for serious students of astrology who are interested in research that may eventually lead to the ability to determine the astrological indicators for homosexuality. The author, a Dutch astrologer, has written this research study to shed new light on astrological diagnosis. With the aid of the Hindu navamsa chart a form of harmonics Wim van Dam is researching the possibility of using navamsa positions as in dicators of homosexuality in the birth chart. For years, astrologers have considered one or two planetary influences as being indicators of homosexuality, but these astrological rules seldom work across the board. Van Dam brings the navamsa technique to our attention as a possible vehicle for the interested researcher or professional in the field. Easy tables for calculating navamsa positions are included, and the author presents traditional studies of homosexuality as an overview of the material published to date. This book is not about why some people are homosexual. This book is not about counseling homosexual clients. This is a research study for serious students of astrology, and will interest any astrologer who wants to better understand the chart patterns that may be indicative of homosexuality.

Samuel Weiser, Inc. Box 612 York Beach, Maine 03910 Cover design by Alden Cole ISBN 0-87728-628-0