Hello, my fellow Hivers! Javier here with another edition of The Orrery, and this weekend we have a lot of activity to comment on. This Saturday is All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween, a celebration and religious observance in much of the western world, where all the Christian Saints (or Hallows) and the Dead are honored and remembered. The festivity takes places on the same date as Samhain, the Celtic ritual that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Winter, which spans several centuries.

The second important event is the Full Moon in conjunction with Uranus in Taurus. As usual, I'll offer a short interpretation of these events at the end of this edition, but first I'll continue the work I started since the first edition of this column and delve a bit more on the basic concepts of Western Astrology. This time, I'll discuss the major subdivisions of a Natal Chart. Let's jump right to it!

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Like other oracles and methods of divination such as the 22 Arcana of the Tarot and the 24 Runes, the Natal Chart describes the process of development of a consultant's life, beginning with Birth and the formation of the Self and ending with Death and the dissolution of the Self. The Chart expresses this through four Hemispheres, Quadrants and Angles encompassing the 12 Signs and Houses, each representing an overarching stage in a person's journey. Understanding these subdivisions is quite helpful during a reading, since they offer a general panorama of how the energies are organized, thus providing a footing to extract more detailed and specific data. Since the Hemispheres merely group the Quadrants together as you see above, I'll focus on explaining the latter. Each Quadrant starts with an Angle which I'll add to the explanation.

First Quadrant - Houses 1 to 3: This is the Quadrant of Self-Awareness, involving the shaping of the Ego, Identity, the major instincts of Survival, the Physical Body and the main pillars of Communication. If you have many planets in this area of your Chart, it means that you tend to dedicate a lot of energy on yourself, your principles and core values. This Quadrant begins with the Ascendant (AC), arguably the most important Angle of the Chart, which symbolizes, among other things, how the World sees you, although not necessarily how you view yourself, a sort of Mask or Character that you show to the outside. The Ascendant also deals with the personal Purpose or Mission that you've come to fulfill in this lifetime.

Second Quadrant - Houses 4 to 6: This is the Quadrant of integration with the Immediate Environment, the Home, the Family, the primary authority figures of the Mother and the Father, and personal Health and Space. Many planets in this area of your Chart mean that you tend to feel part of a Tribe and actively seek to identify with its members through your relationship with them. This Quadrant begins with the Imum Coeli (IC), the lowest point of the Chart, which represents the deepest, most subjective, vulnerable and intimate area of your Self.

Third Quadrant - Houses 7 to 9: This is the Quadrant of Awareness of Others, involving long-term Partnerships, acknowledgement of Social Conventions, Sexuality, Beliefs Systems and the perception of the world beyond oneself. A concentration of energy in this area means that you're seeking to gain greater objective understanding of other people in a larger relational context, concerning yourself with their principles and ideas. This Quadrant begins with the Descendant (DC), which symbolizes your perception of other individuals around you.

Fourth Quadrant - Houses 10 to 12: This is the Quadrant of integration with the World at large, Profession, Status, the Community, Society and Collective Consciousness. Having several planets in this area means that you're humanity-minded, with a great interest in social affairs, the underlying concepts of Civilization and your place in the Universe. This Quadrant begins with the Medium Coeli or Midheaven (MC), representing your public persona, your level of accomplishment and authority in the eyes of others.

Note that these Angles may vary in inclination depending on the location and time of birth/event, as shown below with the charts of the Independence of Venezuela and the birth of Queen Elizabeth II of England. Only the horizontal line between Ascendant and Descendant remains a fixed reference in every chart. The celestial bodies and mathematical points located right on or near these Angles are considered to be especially influential in a Chart, so check yours and see if you have any planets, points or asteroids in those places.

^{Comparison of the Angles between the charts of Venezuela and Elizabeth II of England. Extracted from Astro.}

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Here you can see the Chart of the Moment, extracted from Astro this Saturday close to noon from Caracas, Venezuela. The positions of the planets have varied somewhat in the past two weeks, but I'll be focusing specifically on three placements: The Moon in conjunction with Uranus in Taurus, and The Sun in Scorpio in Trian with Neptune in Pisces.

Full Moons are always times of revelation, where we harvest all the seeds we've planted in the New Moons exactly six months prior. Any thoughts or ideas, feelings or enterprises we developed around the New Moon of April 22nd (incidentally, Earth Day and also in conjunction with Uranus) are currently coming to fruition. Taurus is the Sign of the Land, of Mother Earth itself, and the most essential human connection with matter, which is our Body.

This Moon sheds powerful Light upon all of the hidden things that the Sun is bringing up to the surface from the plutonian depths of Scorpio. It's a time to explore our grief for past losses, to honor our Ancestors with rituals and offerings, to dust off our journals and close old cycles.

But don't stay there too long! Uranus tells us not to dwell in the past, to seek out the new horizons, review the way we're using our resources and our relationship with our homeland, our home and our corporeal presence. Weather patterns are shifting, technological development continues unabated and is even with an accelerated pace; we must make peace with our history and press forward, shifting the perspective whenever necessary, and striving to gain a more elevated panorama of our situation.

Neptune in Pisces brings even more mysticism to the mix, empowering Solar Consciousness and urging us to explore our dreams, allowing us to work our miracles through the Magic of Thought and Word. In dark times, the candles of altars and the hearths of fraternity and sorority illuminate the way through all fears and doubts. This Halloween, let's don our costumes and take off our inner masks, let's remember our debts and pay them, let's settle our scores, celebrate and rejoice, for life goes on and the Night, however long, is always a prelude for the Dawn!

"Every shadow, no matter how deep, is threatened by morning light."

Isabella I of Spain - Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain