Horary astrology

Horary astrology — Latin hora, the hour — answers a single question from the chart of the moment at which the question was asked and understood. It needs no birth data.

That is the most striking difference from natal astrology, and it has consequences for everything that follows.

What is needed

A question. A single one, clearly put, and one that is really on the mind of the person asking. “Will I get this job?” is a question. “What about my future?” is not.

Working on the wording is not preparation for the interpretation, it is the greatest part of it. A question that is not framed exactly leads to a chart whose significators denote nothing definite.

How the chart is read

The querent is given the ascendant and its ruler. The matter asked about is given the house that belongs to it — the seventh for the partner or the opponent, the tenth for the profession, the fourth for landed property, the sixth for small animals and for illness. The Moon is co-significator and describes the course of the matter.

The answer follows from whether and how the significators come together:

• Perfection — does the aspect complete before one of the two leaves its sign?
• Reception — does the one planet receive the other in its own dignity? Reception often turns a difficult aspect into a good end.
• Translation and collection of light — a third planet can make a connection that would not come about on its own.
• Prohibition — another planet comes in between, and the matter founders on what steps in.

The tradition’s reservations

There are conditions in which the tradition advises against judgment: an ascendant in the first or the last degrees of a sign, an hour ruler that does not match the ascendant, a Moon void of course.

These rules are useful and are at the same time readily used as a way out. A chart that meets every condition and still seems to contradict the facts has almost always been read too quickly.

Horary and natal astrology

The last row is the reason why horary astrology is the best way into astrology as a craft: every judgment is confirmed or refuted within days. One finds out whether one has read the chart or one’s own expectation.

See also: the personal chart.