A Yod is formed when two planets make a sextile aspect and a
third planet is opposite their mid-point. That third planet must make
angles of 150 degrees with the other two. If you drew lines on the chart
connecting the planets, you would get a Y-shaped formation that seems to
point to one part of the horoscope.
That 150 degree angle is called a quincunx,
a strange minor aspect that, by itself, is off again, on again,
favorable, unfavorable. The two planets making the quincunx seem to be
out of joint. Imagine two waves going into and out of phase, first
adding and then canceling each other out and you have the picture.
Because of this, it is always difficult to say what the effect of a
quincunx will be at any particular moment.
The result is steadier in a Yod since the power is focused.
The 揺nergy?of the two planets making the sextile seems directed to
the house and sign containing that third planet. The effect of a Yod is
said to be 揻ated?or show some special destiny. Oh sure, it sounds
really impressive when you tell a client 揌ey, you have a special
destiny!?However, that's nothing more than a 揃arnum statement?
and really says nothing. All that is really going on is an emphasis on
one particular area of the life. Nonetheless, this focus frequently
seems driven, compelling.
By contrast, the
T-Cross
sets out a problem and pushes you to a find a solution in the 揺mpty
leg?of the cross. The Yod just pushes you and the solutions are
seldom simple. It's not nicknamed 揟he Finger of God?for nothing.
Here
are some examples:
Ted
Turner
has Mars (action, energy) in his 10th house (career) making a sextile
with Mercury (communications). The planet that completes the Yod is
Uranus (originality, independence) in his
5th house
(creativity). Uranus
rules everything electrical, including television.
People with Uranus strong in their horoscopes instinctively
try to do things that others say are impossible and will never work.
Turner was among the first to put a local station on satellite. He also
started the Cable News Network (CNN) which was expected to flop.
How about the great number of other people born on the same
day as Ted Turner? Why aren't they all rich and famous? First of all,
that Yod doesn't promise fame and fortune. It simply adds energy and
originality to communications. In many areas of the world, these things
are frowned upon and aspects like this will only get you into trouble.
Secondly, we have no way of knowing what success the most of
those others have had since they are not famous.
Turner's Yod gets an extra boost because Uranus sits on top
of the Moon's South Node. This adds extra comfort to what we are
doing, do much in fact, that it may also seem like we抳e been doing
that same thing all our lives.
Henry
David Thoreau had Mars (energy, action) making sextile aspects with
Mercury (communications) and the Moon (emotions, feelings). The point of
the Yod is formed by Jupiter, which rules more than 搇uck.?
Optimism, wisdom, philosophy, and publishing are other things in the
domain of this largest planet in our solar system. Thoreau, of course,
became famous for writing (Mercury) about his philosophy (Jupiter) of
freedom and independence (Mars aspecting Jupiter in Sagittarius).
Gary
Hart
became famous for blowing his 1988 run for the Democratic
presidential nomination by telling the press 揊ollow me all you want.
I抳e got nothing to hide.?They caught him in a tryst with a woman
who was not his wife. Back then, in that unenlightened age, this was the kiss of
death for his political ambitions. Since that time, of course, Bill
Clinton showed us all how to use extramarital affairs to increase your
popularity. Gary Hart was born with the Sun in Sagittarius, a sign famous
for saying whatever is on its mind. There is a direct channel between
the Sagittarian brain and mouth with no filter in between. His Sun is
sextile Mars (energy, action). The Yod
is formed by the planet Uranus (the unexpected). When someone with a strong Uranus gets in trouble, they are
likely to deal with it by ejecting
from the situation. Senator Hart found himself faced with
reporters who only wanted to ask about his non-political affairs. He
abruptly dropped out of the race. A short time later, he tried to get
back in again, but it was too late.
Ah, if only he had gone on ?0 Minutes?with his wife and
told Mike Wallace that his private life was nobody's business!
Oh yes, his Sun, which is part of that Yod, happens to rule
his 5th house (romance) and is making a quincunx aspect with Uranus (the
unexpected). He should have gone into media, like Ted Turner, instead of
politics. Then nobody would have paid much attention to his monkey
business. Coincidentally, 揗onkey Business?was the name of the
yacht that he was on when someone took a picture of Ms. Rice sitting on
his lap.
Temporary
Yods by Transit and Progression
Let's say you don't have a Yod in your horoscope. But if
you have two planets making a sextile aspect (60 degrees) you still have
a potential Yod. As the
planets transit around the zodiac, they eventually reach the degree that
is opposite the midpoint of
that sextile and a temporary Yod is formed.
The Moon, for instance, will be at that point once every
month for several hours. Take note of when it does this. For several
hours on that day, it will most likely be a bad time to make major
decisions. Too much emotion. The area of your life where this will tend
to happen depends on the particular house that the Moon is transiting as
well as the houses occupied by the two natal planets which make the
sextile. And be certain to check the houses that those planets rule as
well.
This is a good time to remind you of the cardinal rule for
making an astrology forecast:
Always
Check Everything Before Making A Forecast!
Progressed planets passing over that midpoint will have the
same effect as transiting planets. However, they will hang around
for a longer time.
Yods
in Chart Comparison
Now what if you meet someone who has a planet in their chart
that sits opposite the midpoint of your two sextile planets? This
makes a Yod whenever the two of you are together and can add a
compulsive note to the relationship.
This was discussed in detail in 揟he Yod Book?by Karen
Hamaker-Zondag, a work that I highly recommend. She goes into
detail about how this worked out in the Clinton-Lewinsky-Tripp-Starr
affair and I am going to summarize her findings here.
Monica
Lewinsky has a sextile in her horoscope between Venus (love) in Leo
(28 degrees and 27 minutes) and Saturn (ambition and obstacles) in Gemini (28 degrees and 57 minutes). Venus sits
close to the fixed star Regulus, the Royal Star.
An active Regulus in the horoscope is supposed to bring you
into contact with royalty or, at least, very powerful people. It
depends on the planet contacting Regulus on exactly how this
contact is made and which part of the anatomy of the powerful
person it will be made with.
Linda
Tripp was born with the Moon in Capricorn (28 degrees and 6
minutes) and Jupiter in Capricorn (28 degrees and 51 minutes).
This filled in the Yod in Monica's horoscope and also opposed
Monica's Mercury, which was at 25 degrees and 7 minutes of the
sign Cancer. Remember that Monica was born with Mercury
in the 10th house and that tends to bring what you say before the public.
So here we have Linda Tripp who doesn't like Clinton and
thinks his behavior is immoral (both her Moon and Jupiter, her
Sun-sign ruler in straight-laced Capricorn), she meets Monica, and
their charts form that compulsive, fated pattern called a Yod. But
the story, as we know, didn't end here. The question still remains, why did this incident get that
big and effect the entire country so strongly? Was it because it
involved the president of the United States? So did the affairs he
had with Paula Jones, Geniffer Flowers, and a former Miss
America.
What's the difference here? It turns out that Linda Tripp's horoscope wasn't the only
one that filled in the Yod in Monica's chart.
Let's take a look at the horoscope of the United
States of America. Yes, countries have horoscopes too. In fact, so does anything
that has a beginning on planet Earth. The exact time when the Declaration of Independence was
signed is in dispute. However, that doesn't affect the sign
position of the slower-moving outer planets. On the day the
Founding Fathers put their John Hancocks on the declaration
(including the original John Hancock), Pluto was in the sign of
Capricorn, 27 degrees and 15 minutes. This gave Monica the potential
to have a great impact on the whole country to the point of obsession
(Pluto is the planet of obsessions).
Let's put Ken
Starr into the picture. His chart has the Sun in the sign of
Cancer at 28 degrees and 37 minutes. Saturn is also in Cancer just
a tiny distance away at 28 degrees and 30 minutes. Saturn making a
conjunction with the Sun can make a person upright to the point of
being uptight.
Notice how close all of these aspects are. Notice too, the
tremendous effect that the combination of all these people had on
the nation. All of them had strong contacts to compulsive Pluto in
the United States horoscope.
Neptune is the planet of dreams and illusions. On the
negative side, it governs self-destructive behavior,
搒elf-undoing.?Neptune is also the planet of scandal. Where
was Neptune by transit when all of this was happening?
I know that numbers turn off a lot of people, but please bear
with me because detail is important here. Remember that Neptune
moves slowly. It stays in the same area of the sky for over a year
at a time. This makes its effects drag on and on.
Neptune reached 25 degrees and 15 minutes of Capricorn on
November 7, 1996 and kept going until it went retrograde on May 1,
1997 at 29 degrees and 57 minutes of that same sign. Then, it went
back to 27 degrees and 10 minutes of Capricorn where it stationed
again on October 8. That's only a tiny fraction of a degree from
the U.S. Pluto. Neptune remained in Capricorn until January 28,
1998, which was the month those secretly taped phone conversations
were made public and the scandal exploded.
On January 28, Neptune went into Aquarius and immediately
made an opposition to Monica's natal Sun in the 1st degree of
Leo. Scandal and betrayal. It also opposed Bill Clinton's
Saturn. Neptune opposite Saturn can make you feel that everything
you need for safety and security is dissolving out from under you.
Neptune, planet of illusions and delusions, went back to
Capricorn from August 22 to November 27, 1998. The Republicans had
the illusion that a scandal about an extramarital affair would be
all they needed to sweep to victory. In an off-year election, when
the party out of power almost always gains seats in congress, they
lost. It turned out that most people didn't care any more.
Clinton survived. Gingrich resigned.
Most likely you won't see anything this dramatic in your
own horoscope or those of your friends and family, but check them
out. See if there are any Yods.
Be sure to see if you have any sextiles as well. Remember,
anyone who has a planet Opposite
the midpoint of your sextile will create a Yod in your chart. It
works the same way if one of your planets is opposite the midpoint
of one of their sextiles. And don't forget to look for a lone
quincunx in either horoscope. There are two possible places, in
that case, where a planet in someone else's chart could still
form a Yod for you. And then it's off to the races. A
relationship to remember. Even if you want to forget.
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