Thus far, I’ve shared 2 of the 3 influences that contribute to the wisdom presented by ‘the cards’ in a Life Cycles reading. This month, I’ll share how astrology completes the puzzle, the final piece revealed!
Every day of the year is associated with one of the cards in a standard deck of playing cards. Since we have 365 days in a year and only 52 cards, many birthdays share the same card. However, there is never more than one birthday in a month associated with the same card. So what adds to the unique interpretation of the cards associated with different birthdays is the astrology of the month of that birthday. How the planets were aligned when you were born provides powerful information about you, your life, your strengths and potential, as anyone who has had their astrological chart done knows. Of course, astrology is a subject that can be studied for a lifetime and perhaps is not yet mastered.
There are very specific aspects of astrology that relate to this system.
Each of our years – from birthday to birthday – is broken down into 52- day periods, and each period is ruled by a different planet. Also, our full lifetime is broken down into 12-13 year periods, each ruled by a different planet. So, as you might imagine, understanding a little about the energy and influence of each planet would be useful. So that’s what I’m going to share this month …
MERCURY
What value is who we are and what we do if we cannot express it? Mercury gives us this ability: to express through speech and writing. It is the ruler of all forms of communication as well as education, intelligence, knowledge, and understanding. It is the rational and concrete mind. Mercury also provides our sense of humor and fondness for fun and play.
An afflicted Mercury is the fool or idiot, showing lack of intelligence, ill temper, dishonesty, and can even misapply mental powers for criminal means or exploit others. A strong Mercury is psychologically balanced and mentally adaptable. Mercury’s nature is to take on the qualities of the planets around it. It also represents trade (including money) and establishes values: material, artistic, spiritual.
Mercury rules occupations in the area of communications and diplomacy and careers that require intelligence and the ability to do things quickly and multi-task.
Areas of Influence: communication, expression (writing, speech), concrete/rational mind (education, intelligence, knowledge, understanding), sense of humor, love of fun and play, quickness, short-lived, multi-tasking,
General Effect: nervousness, humor, too much in head
Exalted: good education, intelligence/wisdom, good at expression
Debilitated: avoids effort/work, nervous, head over emotion
VENUS
Venus is the planet of harmony. It is loving in nature and makes others happy. It rules our aesthetic sense, beautiful things, devotion to the fine arts, and peacemakers. Venus energy opens our psychic power, but it can decline to Black Magic. An afflicted Venus may bring downfalls or disgrace, jealousy, or violent action.
Venus rules work that requires collaboration, cooperation, and joining together for a common cause. It also rules partners, both business and marriage, telling about one’s wife and the nature of a husband. Venus is the planet of comforts of home, luxurious things, and sexual affairs. While Venus sees common interests, Mars sees points of difference.
Areas of Influence: Harmony, love (peacemakers, cooperation, join for common cause), sensuality (aesthetic sense, luxury, beautiful things, comforts of home), partners (business and personal), fine arts (artistic endeavors and appreciation), female energy
General Effect: harmony, cooperation, beauty
Exalted: psychic power, luxury, artistic talent
Debilitated: jealousy, black magic, downfalls
MARS
Mars represents the energy of the living being: our push, endurance, physical activity, and goal-oriented action. It rules what we do with our energy. Mars gives direction, determination, leadership, and self-discipline as well as brutality, cruelty, lack of refinement, and excess in words, feelings, and action. Mars energy is disruptive and sudden and shows wittiness and perseverance.
A strong or weak Mars placement can tell us about our love for work, our competitive spirit and sense of adventure, our prosperity and success with finances, affairs relating to brothers, sexual strength and passion, and even our death. Conflicts, criminality, enemies, and military affairs are all ruled by Mars. Mars types like a challenging and daring path in life.
Areas of Influence: Energy, goal-oriented action, outward action, excess in words/actions/feelings, initiating/starting things, secret work, perseverance (drive, focus, love for work), competition (bravery, conflicts, legal actions, enemies, criminality, military), physical (lower chakra organs, accidents and wounds). Male energy
General Effect: interruptions, bursts of energy, bluntness
Exalted: strong reserves of energy, great ability to initiate and get things done
Debilitated: conflict, falling prey to secrets, legal issues, criminal behavior
JUPITER
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, fame, luck, reward, and spirit. It is the most benefic planet, bestowing gifts from God, abundance, charity, hope, and success. It represents our good in life and what goodness comes to us.
A strong Jupiter is satisfied and happy, living in worship of God, but he must have some sense of moderation to utilize Jupiter’s gifts properly. Too much Jupiter creates someone who is overly materialistic and caught in the status quo. A weak Jupiter creates vulnerability to deception, poverty, over-extending oneself, gambling, and carelessness.
Jupiter reigns over banks and companies, science, religious activity, contact with foreigners, and long journeys. It affects our creativity in work and in progeny.
Areas of Influence: Expansion (bestows gifts from God, our good in life, abundance, business), luck and reward (need a sense of moderation to use gifts properly), spiritual devotion, creativity in work and business, philosophy, the Great Benefic
General Effect: benefit, reward, abundance, spiritual gifts, business expansion
Exalted: expansion, reward
Debilitated: materialistic, careless, overextending
SATURN
Saturn is the planet of fate that sets boundaries on our efforts. He is a constant reminder of the limitations of this realm. Through his role as taskmaster, he teaches us and opens the gateway to the eternal, taking us beyond this material and mortal life. His lessons may bring adversities, compulsion, crime, paranoia, sufferings or sorrow, but the ultimate result of Saturn’s difficulties will be inward growth if we learn to take responsibility for our life.
Saturn also governs time (old age, karma), humble service, and is slow and thorough in nature. Occupations under this energy include affairs of aging and death, geology, and service-oriented work. The gifts of Saturn will be the ability to discipline oneself, durability, focus, longevity, and prosperity that comes from real worth.
Areas of Influence: Taskmaster (but you will keep what you learn), teacher (difficulties lead to inner growth and responsibility), adversity (suffering until lesson learned), time (slow and thorough in nature, karma, old age/wisdom), discipline, focus, humility, prosperity from real worth
General Effect: takes time, humility, adversity, wisdom through hard work
Exalted: inner growth, longevity, real prosperity
Debilitated: delays, chronic disease, suffering, no wisdom
URANUS
This New Age planet has charge of the trend of evolution. If tradition interferes with progress, it must go; the way must be cleared for the New, even at the cost of dire destruction. Uranus is the messenger of the "magical" will that is determined to go forward; in that sense it is an emissary of fate. It is the guardian of new ideas, scientific discoveries, original methods of application and the hitherto untried and unknown universal brotherhood.
In relation to the Cards, Uranus is concerned with labor and labor relations; with groups and fraternal organizations; with land and its values - hence real estate; with the occult and hitherto unknown; and with extra-sensory perception, intuition, and communication with other planes.
Areas of Influence: real estate, labor, metaphysics, unusual and unexpected things, technology
General Effect: focus on people we hang out with socially and at work, expect the unexpected
Exalted: favorable real estate deals, relationship success at work and personally, technical facility
Debilitated: great effort to deal with work and other relationships, unexpected disruptions wreak havoc
NEPTUNE
Neptune is called the Planet of the Soul. It rules inspiration, idealism, and utopian objectives. It drops a veil over reality and deflects the mind from practical, down-to-earth considerations. It therefore represents illusion and delusion. Negatively, our response is lying, deceiving, trickery, and the evil side of subtlety. It is ruler of liquids and gases, medicines and drugs, commerce and shipping, and all things at a distance.
In relation to the Cards, Neptune represents impractical (either idealistic or foolish) ideas and relationships; spirituality, psychism, mediumship and trance conditions; psychological disturbance; the latter years of life; travel, distant interest, and longings for distant places; "there" not "here." It is a blessing and a warning. It can be exalted spiritual awareness.
Areas of Influence: our hopes and fears, secret desires, fantasies and illusions, foreign travel (over water)
General Effect: can affect travel, especially to foreign places, things aren’t always what they seem, good time to wish and dream
Exalted: will make your dreams come true, clarity of vision and purpose
Debilitated: difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality, making fears come true rather than dreams
I hope you have taken the opportunity to look up your card! If not, here is where you will find a chart to help you do that. Just look up your birthday and you’ll find your Birth Card. (And do it for your friends and family too!) http://tiny.cc/FindYourCard
I had the privilege a couple of weeks ago to visit Machu Picchu. This being the first piece that I am writing upon my return, it is fresh on my mind. I had planned writing my intro on the long overnight flight there, but I could not bring myself to do anything but sleep! I now know why. I was meant to write this after my return. This trip will be emblazoned in my heart and mind forever. I am sure I will continue to write and reference it a lot over the years to come.
Olympian is so connected to spiritual as well as physical strength, a code of ethics and morality is associated with the archetype, which is an excellent example of the universal power of the "psyche" of an archetype. A link to the Athlete should not be evaluated by whether your physical skill is on par with that of professionals or whether your body is perfect in form and function. A person dedicated to transcending the limits of a physical handicap qualifies as much for this archetype as the professional or artistic athlete, because the development of personal willpower and strength of spirit is a requirement for the body to manifest its perfection.
In my nineteen years of life I have participated in many different sports including water polo, swimming, soccer, baseball, softball, gymnastics, basketball, and skiing. I have the competitive personality and the right amount of energy to help me excel in almost all the sports I participate in. At the age of twelve I decided to dedicate my life to water sports because, honestly, I am not very coordinated on land. (I was voted Senior Class Biggest Klutz.) In 2011, I committed to Loyola Marymount University and now am playing Division I water polo. 
Tortoise’s ultraslow metabolism conserves life energy – she lives for two hundred years, sometimes more. The great height of her carapace ensures her invulnerability from the ravening jaws of predators, while the ability to withdraw her head within her shell makes her physical being virtually impregnable. Living in a fast, ruthless world in which the demands of fashion cause people to reshape their bodies through surgery and status symbols are used to assess their worth, rather than the quality of their characters and souls, is wearing and hard. These superficial values are ephemeral but the veiled barbs and open criticisms of those who wish you to subscribe to them can still wound. Like Tortoise, construct a mental carapace to protect yourself and remain true to your own being. Never forget that just as Tortoise’s hatchlings emerge from their shells, perfect, you too were born flawless. (129)
