I recently joked with my students that if I had bothered to glance at what was afflicting my own nativity, I would never have attended a certain conference in Cape Town and would have remained in bed with the duvet pulled firmly over my head. Fortunately my birth chart is rarely given my attention, and as a result of what ensued in Cape Town, together with negative post conference activities, AORTA was conceived. In my heart I knew that a group for astrologers of The Tradition in South Africa was long overdue, but I needed a proverbial kick up the backside to withdraw misplaced loyalties and get on with it. I received a rather harsh prod from all sorts of astrological quarters, some that I had never encountered before or knew existed, and as I am not particularly dense, the message was unmistakably clear – multi “Church” organisations cannot function coherently, and to believe they can is naive and rather idealistic. Please refer to my article “The culture of your craft” for more insight into this topic.

AORTA Synergy

I knew exactly what I wished to achieve through the formation of a group of The Tradition, and was aware that I required the assistance of loyal and able-bodied generals to achieve those goals. Life has a strange way of unfolding appropriately when the task you are occupied with is “right” – right for you and for others, and when the intent is pure to boot. The people that I needed to assist me offered without me having to ask, and members joined without any prompting or coercing. All that remained, besides having to place my thoughts coherently on paper for the various legal channels, was to elect the official birth time of AORTA. Election work is difficult, simply because as you achieve harmony with/for one significator, the rest of the chart slips into disarray. In the end you have to decide what you can and what you cannot live without. A very appropriate state of affairs that can be applied to all facets of life.

The Main Criteria

There is rarely a right or wrong approach to election work and it is very difficult to comment on the election chart of another astrologer – simply because we all have different criteria that are important to us or our clients. The important factors for me in launching AORTA were that the group itself was strong and solid – so Lord 1; that its financial situation would be congruent with the solidity of the group in order to achieve the goals of the group  - so Lord 2; that it would be well received publicly in the quarters that it needed to reach – so Lord 10 and finally that the luminaries remained as free from obstruction as possible as the Sun is Lord of Life and the “core” of AORTA and the Moon is co significator and the emotional nature as well as the sensibilities of the group.

The Birth Chart 

As with any election chart there are always time constraints and I did not wish to postpone the launch any longer than was astrologically necessary. In my mind the official launch would be when the web site went live as AORTA will communicate primarily through its web site. All talks/events and issues of The Chamber will be available on the web site and the web site is the heart and soul of any business – it is your shop window. When the web site goes live it is the equivalent of opening your shop door to the public for the first time. I needed to wait for Saturn, Venus and Mercury to turn direct and wanted to avoid Jupiter turning retrograde – I felt that at his station was preferable to being retrograde. Then you have the added spoke in the wheel of trying to remove your significators from malefic fixed stars while keeping them from entering unfortunate houses and debilitated dignities. I settled on the 15th of June 2009 at 11.10am, a Moon day in a Sun hour – these two factors were not criteria at all, they are simply what I ended up with. I was happy with this as the Moon is important in a group – she depicts the tone and sentiments, and the Sun is the Lord of Light who happily shines his light from the 10th, and as he is AORTA's 12th, any secret enemies were exposed and ruled by the glorious Mercury. 

The Delineation of the Chart

The dignified Mercury is Lord 1, posited in the cadent 9th, the house of knowledge and higher learning. The great malefic posited in the 1st wishes him no harm as Mercury disposes of Saturn. The Asc is posited near Regulus so we have a royal star with its benefic as well as malefic connotations – it is not necessarily happy but it does bring success. Mercury closely aspects the Asc, so we see a very intimate connection between Lord 1 and itself/ physical body. Lord 2 Venus is dignified and also in the 9th – she is within 5 degrees or so of the 9th and I do not view her as being posited in the unfortunate 8th. She is closely aspected by the lesser malefic, in detriment, but she disposits him so can control him. She also disposes of Fortuna in the 9th so we see that the financial portfolio of AORTA (as well as its web site, its asset L2) should be solid and able to assist in achieving the goals – that of improving the knowledge of astrologers of The Tradition, as well as spreading the knowledge of astrology to other quarters. Venus is also Lord 9 so the knowledge within the group is dignified and strong. The Sun has face and is angular so strong, and the Moon, although peregrine, is happy in Jupiter’s sign and she is angular so has power to act. The MC is posited on Alderbaran indicating a new cycle and a positive fresh start “out there in the world”, and I am not too concerned about Menkar on the 9th. I have managed, but only just, to remove significators from malefic fixed stars, but their effects may still be felt.

The Mansions of the Moon

The mansions differ according to which source is accessed, tropical or constellation. According to Ramesay the Moon is in her 27th mansion, according to other sources she is in her 28th mansion. If posited in her 27th mansion it depicts a good time to plant and do business, and in her 28th mansion she depicts completion and attainment of our heart’s desire; it is also the mansion of faith and guidance. I think we have the Moon covered on both accounts in this chart.

Conclusion

I am satisfied that the negative aspects of the chart can be managed and that the positive facets outweigh these. There is never a “perfect time” to launch a business just as there is never a perfect time to give birth to a child. Everything that exists has flaws and it is how we manage and perceive them that determine whether they become our downfall or our learning curve. Even with the most exquisite election chart we still have the added reality of what it takes to achieve success – hard work, courage, tenacity and the application of intelligence and common sense. AORTA will most certainly not be lacking in any of the afore-mentioned areas and all that remains is to apply them prudently. As always when I do election work I am struck by the wisdom and grace of God – how each person is given the nativity they need to navigate their return path to Him, and how small we are in comparison (and possibly how silly) in trying to emulate His work via election astrology – it is indeed a humbling experience.