ASTROLOGY ARTICLES BY JON

CHART SYNTHESIS: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

The art of synthesis, bringing the different factors of the horoscope together and making them sing in harmony, is what makes a good astrologer. Cookbook interpretations help us learn the details: the significance of the planets, signs, and houses; but they are basically useless in whole chart synthesis. In this article, I will be discussing how astrologers do this, artfully bring the many aspects of a chart together.

The first thing to do is just observe the chart: is there anything that jumps out right away? Are all the planets clustered in one house or in one section (hemisphere) of the horoscope? If so, what does this say? The planets and the luminaries (sun and moon) symbolize particular functions (the what). The signs tell us the mode of expression (the how) and the houses represent the areas of life experience (the where) in which the planets and signs function. The aspects either support or challenge the function and expression of the planet. I recommend if you are just starting out to use only the Ptolemaic aspects: the conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition. Remember everything is technically in aspect to everything else in the horoscope, but these are the dynamic angles. Keep it simple if you are just starting out. I like to keep the orbs tights as well, no more than eight degrees for conjunctions and oppositions, six degrees for squares and trines, and four degrees for the sextile. It's important to get a good feel for the distinction between, and the meanings of the planets, signs, houses and aspects.

After you get a feel for all that, learn the shared affinities between the planets, signs, and houses. For example, Saturn is associated with Capricorn (the sign it rules) and is the natural ruler of the tenth house, so any planet in Capricorn, in the tenth House, or in tight aspect (the type of aspect doesn't matter, the contact is what's important) to Saturn is going to take on qualities of Saturn. It's a variation on a theme, and spotting recurring themes in the horoscope is one very important key to the art of synthesis.

The next step is to look at house rulerships and depositors in the chart. House rulership is determined by the sign on each house cusp. The ruling planet of that sign is the house ruler. In our example horoscope for Al Pacino, the sign, Leo, is on the Ascendant. Leo is ruled by the Sun, so that is the ruler of Pacino's Ascendant and first house. Further, Pacino's Sun is in Taurus and is located in the tenth house. It is tightly conjunct Saturn and square Pluto. Wow, that gives us a lot more information than the standard cookbook interpretations of Leo rising! The meaning of the sign and house location of a planet extends to the house it rules.

To add even more color, each planet (and the Sun and Moon) has a depositor (the ruler of the sign that the planet is in). Pacino's Sun is in Taurus, and so it is deposited by Venus (which is the ruler of Taurus). Venus is also in Gemini, so we can say that his Sun has a subtone of Gemini, adding the flavor of Gemini's mental energy and versatility to this slow and steady Taurus Sun.

Astrology in Action

Turning our attention to Pacino's horoscope, let's go through the process of interpretation. First of all before doing anything else, just observe your first impressions. Immediately our eyes are drawn to the tenth house which holds four planets: the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus. So we know that this will be an area of supreme importance in this man's life. We notice that all the planets, save the Moon and Neptune, are above the horizon. Astrologer Noel Tyl considers this configuration to indicate "a life swept along by external circumstances." We also notice that all the planets are to the East guarding the Ascendant except the Moon and Mercury. Mr. Tyl maintains that this suggests a defensive stance in life: this individual is protecting something.

Next we look to the Sun, Moon and Ascendant (the primal triad). The Sun's function in astrology is to vitalize: to give life and the means of creative self expression. The Sun is the engine that drives the horoscope. As we have seen, Mr. Pacino's Sun is in Taurus. Ruled by Venus, Taurus is fixed earth (mode and element). A Taurus sun is expressed in a slow, stable, determined, practical, materialistic, artistic and earthy (love of the good life) manner. The Taurus Sun's energy is used to build and maintain, to provide security... feel the Taurus Sun in this man. Venus, the depositor of his Sun, is in Gemini (ruled by Mercury) so we can add a sprinkling of Gemini to this Sun: communication, curiosity, and nervous mental energy to his very stable, reserved Taurus Sun. Feel that. We notice that Venus and Mars are both in the more social Gemini so he's going to carry strong Gemini traits as well.

What area of his life does this Taurus Sun (with a sprinkling of Gemini) light up? The tenth house (think Saturn), the top of the chart, this is his position in the world, his status, his career. With the Sun there we can safely assume that world achievement is high on this man's list. As we noted in our first impressions, there are three other planets sharing the tenth house with the Sun, so this is the area of greatest activity in this man's life.

The Sun makes a tight conjunction with Saturn, fusing two planets energies together. Saturn's function is to focus, limit, and discipline, to make real, so Pacino's creative energies (Sun) are very focused (Saturn) in the house of career. Sun conjunct Saturn, with Saturn in the tenth house are saying similar things; and thus indicate a theme of hard work and discipline to achieve worldly success.

The Sun makes a square (90 degree) aspect to Pluto which is also conjunct the Leo Ascendant, which the Sun itself rules. So let's first talk about the Ascendant. The Ascendant and the first house tells us how we approach to the world, our personal style and appearance. Pacino has Leo (ruled by the Sun) on the Ascendant so he approaches the world in a Leo manner: to be recognized and applauded. Leo is the king. Remember the Ascendant is the face we wear to greet the world, so it's not necessarily what we are deep down. Pluto is raw power, intensity and brutal honesty and that is part of his presentation, his performance (Leo).

The ruler of the Ascendant is an extremely important component in the horoscope, and in this case it is the Sun. The sign (very important) and aspects of the Ascendant ruler modify the Ascendant, and its house position indicates where life will be taking place. So Pacino's flamboyant Leo Ascendant conjunct Pluto is toned down considerably by his reserved Sun in Taurus conjunct Saturn. In fact they are at complete odds with each other (the square aspect). This is a conflict within the man, but this friction does provide a spark. And it all gets played out on a public stage (tenth house). So we see there is a strong connection between his outward style and appearance (Ascendant) and his work in the world (tenth house).

The Moon represents the reigning need (Noel Tyl) in the horoscope and should always be viewed in relation to the Sun. The Sun in the horoscope needs to support the basic needs of the Moon. The Moon in Mr. Pacino's horoscope is in Sagittarius (think Jupiter) suggesting a reigning need to have his opinions heard and be respected. This is supported by the Sun in Taurus in the tenth house, energy to build and maintain a career, it gives him a platform. Any planet related to Jupiter, Sagittarius or the ninth house wants to expand its horizon. The Moon here has an emotional need to expand its horizon. The house position will tell us where.

The Moon is in the fifth house of creative self expression. The house position of the Moon is the area of life where we feel most at home, and where we retreat when under stress. The Moon is the most instinctive part of our nature. So in putting this all together, we can say quite simply that Pacino has a reigning need to expand his horizons creatively. The fifth house also refers to romance and the pleasures of life, so he needs to enjoy himself. Children are also are likely to play an important role at some point in his life, being the ultimate creation.

The Moon is trine Jupiter (the ruler of Sagittarius) which is located on the Midheaven, further underscoring this theme of expanding horizons through creativity (fifth house) and career (Midheaven). Having the Moon in supportive aspect (trine) to the Midheaven and conjunct Jupiter is particularly auspicious for success in the world.

Further, Pacino's fifth house Moon is opposite Venus and Mars in Gemini in the eleventh house (friends, groups, associations), and this axis of opposing planets squares Neptune. We get the feel that the more social aspects of his nature, Venus and Mars, are competing for time (indicated by the opposition) with his creative nature (fifth house Moon). The Neptune factor in the third house of "mindset" speaks of escapism in an interfering (square) kind of way. We see this same tendency in another way with the Moon ruling the behind-the-scenes twelfth house of retreat or escape. It's documented that alcohol (Neptune) was a problem for him early on in his career.

The Sagittarius Moon is deposited by Jupiter (ruler of Sag) in Aries, so we can add a subtone of Aries to his Moon, a connection further strengthened by the Moon's opposition to Mars (Aries' ruler). Combining these two influences indicates that Pacino has fiery emotions and a need to take risks and be aggressive. We see a strong Aries presence in his horoscope as well with Jupiter, Mercury and the Midheaven all in Aries. Noel Tyl says Aries needs to be numero uno, and a horoscope with Aries on the cusp of the tenth house of career, shows that this is the area of life where being number one needs to happen. The house cusp with Aries on it, indicates the area of life of where the most action takes place. Mercury symbolizes the way we think and communicate and it rules the third house of mindset in this horoscope. So, to gather all this together, we can say Pacino has an aggressive (Aries) and analytical (Virgo on the cusp of the third house) mindset prone to fantasy and escapism (Neptune in the third house).

Just by looking at the Sun and Moon we met every planet in Pacino's horoscope save Uranus who is part of the stellium in the tenth house. Let's take a quick look, the house that Uranus is placed in is where the eccentricities shine the brightest, where we are the most unpredictable, and where sudden changes our most likely to occur. In Pacino's chart this is the house of career. Uranus rules his seventh house of equal partnerships so his taste in partners will be unique and the relationships themselves will, shall we say, stray from the cultural norm. His relationships are stabilized somewhat by the fact that Uranus is in earthy Taurus, which also adds an emphasis on security which would not be so important if Uranus was in a less stable sign. There is a link between his relationships (seventh house) and career (tenth house).

To sum it all up, Pacino's life energy (the Sun) is directed toward establishing and maintaining a solid career and reputation (tenth house) which gives him a sense of security (Taurus Sun), and which allows him to fulfill his reigning need (Sagittarius Moon) to have his opinions heard through his creativity. The Sun-Moon blend feeds everything else in his horoscope: the Aries need to take risks, the Gemini need for intellectual curiosity and sociability, and the Leo need to be king.