R.J.,
"The primary rule of horary astrology, he reasoned, still applied to sports astrology... The querent still needed to have or establish a 'personal stake' in the question asked about...in this case, in the game or contest...directly...This personal stake, according to George, even superceded the querent's monetary stake in the game !"
I find this whole concept of "personal stake" very interesting. Perhaps it deserves a new thread as it is a little off tangent.
I would like to know your thoughts about non-horary astrology.
What could be more personal than the individual to himself? What I am asking is, how do you see the difference between the different types of astrology regarding "personal stake"?
Hello Dave R:
Thank you for your response...
Actually, this concept of a 'personal stake' has been taught to me by several horary experts that I have been exposed to ?
One is the late Barbara Watters, who mentions this concept in her book,
Horary Astrology and the Judgement of Events. (an excellent book to get, by the way, along with Llewellyn George's books).
The other is Diana Stone, a Vancouver, Washington based woman who is considered by many as the world's greatest living proponant of Horary astrology.
I once attended a day long workshop on Horary astrology taught by Diana...Not recently, either, but many Moons ago...
Diana is still a very good looking woman with the 'full package,' as they say...brains and beauty... LOL I still communicate with Diane once in a while... She has the classic astrologer's midpoint signature...Sun/Moon = Uranus
Diana says the personal stake issue is VERY important, because, as Llewellyn George says in his book, many people come to horary astrology with a false agenda...In fact, George says in his book that, as a rule, only two out of 10 horary charts are actually valid..since many people, well, tend to be either dishonest or are dellusional !
As far as I see it, human nature, apparently, has not changed much since the 1920's....Many people still come to horary astrology, simply to test the astrologer, or in many cases, they already know the answer to their question, but they need to hire an astrologer to confirm the inevitable...
Let's face it, people are NOT stupid ! They have a pretty good intuitive idea of what is going to happen to them...
As George mentions, the BEST horary case is when a person is experiencing a personal crisis...the threat of seperation or marriage failure, a young child being kidnapped against their will, serious trouble with the law, as in going to jail for the rest of your life, financial wipeout to the point of losing your car, your home, or your personal possessions...Essentially, the bailiff coming to the door to change the locks...
In THOSE situations, horary astrology works SPLENDIDLY. In other situations, horary astrology works on a need to know, case by case, basis...
In sports astrology, it attracts curiosity seekers and johnny come latelies... I've seen this happen for over 30 years !
When the Vancouver Canucks were playing in the Stanley Cup finals, last year, I saw people on the street in my community... wearing Vancouver Canuck jerseys at work and in public. They had probably never seen a hockey game in their lives, but they were merely caught up in the media frenzy of British Columbia's most famous hockey team...
These are the same type of people who will ask whether the Canucks will win the Stanley Cup, this year...It's none of their business, so unless they have a personal stake, buzz off !
To answer your question, isn't being a 'breathing individual' enough to create a personal stake? No.
In my book about horary astrology, I am writing about the 'mental intent' of the querent being critical to the performance of the horary chart... I call it
mens rea, Llewellyn George calls it personal intent, but its the same issue.
Mens rea is a latin word, meaning 'mental intent.'
In order to make a horary chart, valid, there has to be BOTH
mens rea and
actus rea.Mens rea means you have the proper mind set to visit a professional astrologer...
Actus rea means that you have the actual PHYSICAL means to pull off the dirty deed...In other words, if you are asking when will you find yourself a new job, but you are crippled from the waist down due to an accident and cannot tie your own shoes, forget about employment, you NEED immediate assistance from the government, your family, or whatever financial source(s) are available in your community.
I routinely get horary questions (all the time) from women who ask me, when will they find their 'soulmate'... but then they reveal they are horribly out of shape, eat foods high in saturated fat and sugar, smoke cigarettes, weigh 200 pounds or more and in some cases, have serious mental health issues.... YET they expect their soulmate to arrive, PRONTO ?
I feel very badly for such women, SINCE...the horary chart is doomed...even though they could be very capable wives or girlfriends for many available men...
Similarly, I have met exceptionally pretty women in my community with hourglass figures... but who have NEVER been to acting school or have read a script on their lives, but they want to be STARS in Hollywood or on local television...
Their chances of finding REAL movie or TV work, outside of being an extra or very minor roles, is slim to none...
For example, having large breasts is actually a detriment for a female looking for television work. In television, all female hosting roles tend to have the typical model, tall, slim, flat-chested look... The Pamela Anderson, Lindsay Lohan 'big-boobed' look... simply
doesn't work anymore !
Therefore, the Horary chart is also DOOMED for those women, too ! In horary astrology, we have duty to remind people of these limitations...or else, they may blame an adverse answer on astrology ? Educating clients about personal expectations is also a very essential skill in horary work.
That said, we horary astrologers are also human beings, so if you need to talk to someone, we are still available to help you... As Mr. George says, horary astrologers must be experts in natal astrology, as well as horary, as the two disciplines are interrelated...
Finally, I just want to say that Horary astrology, even sports astrology, is not always your 'right' ? In other words, in some cases, the universe is very honest with you and says that an answer is not available at this time, or it cannot provide you with an answer...and you, the querent, NEED to ACCEPT THAT !
best regards,
R.J. Smith
