sun

Polar Astrology: Birth Charts at High Latitudes

How do you do astrology at the North Pole? Contrary to what you may think, this isn’t a trick question. Astrologers encounter unique problems drawing up birth charts for people born at high latitudes or near both polar circles. As communication technologies continue to connect us, astrologers work with clients born in the southernmost reaches of Argentina and Chile, along with those far north in Canada, Norway, and Siberia. So how do you do a birth chart properly when the ascendant moves backward or the Sun never rises? The answers aren’t as easy as you may think.

Time and Place in Birth Charts In Astrology

Astrologers create charts to reflect the movement and positions of planets and points in the sky. When drawing someone’s natal chart, you need the precise date, place, and time of birth. How does this work in a practical sense? Take two people born on August 14 in the same year – Person A at 4 p.m. and Person B at 10 p.m. Their charts look similar in many ways but different in others. For instance, they probably won’t have the same rising sign. Why? Because it changes every two hours thanks to our 24-hour day and 12-sign zodiac.

Now, let’s say that Person A was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and Person B’s birthplace was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both individuals may also have planets sitting in the same signs. But because the ascendant determines the first house’s placement, those zodiac signs will be in different spots on the chart wheel. In our example, Person A’s ascendant is in Capricorn but Person B has an Aries rising sign.

Latitude, Longitude, and the Sun

Eratosthenes, the same Greek mathematician who calculated Earth’s circumference, was also the first to propose a mapping schema using both latitude and longitude. Our modern system came from Greenwich’s Royal Observatory, adopted by 22 countries in 1884. We have undeniable proof that Earth is a sphere, widest at its equator and narrowest at the poles. Its 23.5-degree axial tilt also contributes to the Sun’s position in our skies at any given location.

You can observe how the sky’s view changes wherever you go on Earth. But you’ll notice drastic changes at extreme latitudes. And you can’t get more extreme than the Arctic and Antarctic polar circles, located at 66.6 degrees north and south respectively. The Sun’s altitude is much lower in those areas. It also doesn’t rise or set at the poles but remains at a constant altitude for each 24-hour period.

How the Sun’s Position Affects Birth Charts

Sure, the Sun’s behavior can seem strange in polar regions. But what does this have to do with astrology? As Astrodienst explains, astrologers would have problems plotting the ascendant, midheaven, and some horoscope houses. On a natal chart, the horizon line connects the ascendant and descendant. The midheaven, which represents career and public image, normally sits far above this line at the highest point on the chart. But in the Arctic Circle, it can end up below the horizon.

The ascendant also acts weird, ending up in the west instead of the east. This defies the original idea of a “rising sign” because it’s not actually rising in polar regions. The ascendant can also be retrograde, suddenly jump by 180 degrees, and fail to even move through all 360 degrees of the zodiac.

Geography’s Impact on Astrology

Astrology is a changing art, incorporating new information about our universe as it’s uncovered. Ancient Babylonians weren’t thinking about the North Pole when they charted planets’ movements thousands of years ago. But as astrology and astronomy are closely linked, geography affects how we do birth charts and horoscopes. Astrologers repeatedly show that they have the creativity and flexibility to meet each challenge as it comes.

Solar and Lunar Eclipses: Astrological Portents of Change

Humans have watched the Sun and Moon for millennia. Our ancestors knew that these bodies of light allowed life on Earth to thrive, so they saw eclipses as mysterious and terrifying events. Yet modern astrology also assigns meanings to these celestial phenomena. Understanding how eclipses work in astrology requires a brief trip through science and history.

Eclipses 101: Back to Astronomy Class

Eclipses are spectacular yet simple events: one celestial body moving into the shadow of another. During solar ones, the Moon passes between us and the Sun, blocking its light. Lunar ones occur when the Moon travels behind Earth and passes through its shadow.

A total solar eclipse darkens the sky, and the combined sun and moon look like a dark disc with a brilliant outer corona. Space.com explains that a total lunar eclipse produces a crimson or coppery “blood moon.” Some sunlight still passes through our atmosphere, but only red light’s long wavelengths can reach and reflect on the Moon’s surface.

The Moon and the Sun also experience partial eclipses, when one body partly blocks our view of another. Annular solar ones happen when the Moon at apogee passes in front of the Sun, appearing as dark circles with outer rims of gold light. Penumbral lunar ones result from the Moon passing through our planet’s faint outer shadow.

Eclipses in Ancient Civilizations

Historian Gonzalo Rubio reveals that eclipses were often seen as omens in ancient times. Babylonians could track and eventually predict them, but the culture seemed to worry the most about lunar eclipses. They looked for other signs to determine whether an eclipse spelled trouble, particularly to their king. Sometimes, a substitute king would be coronated while an incantation was chanted to combat evil effects. If no other ill omens appeared, the substitute was put to death and the real king returned to his throne.

Eclipses could also signal a deity in trouble or the gods’ displeasure. One even prompted two opposing armies to call a truce. Atlas Obscura’s Natasha Frost discusses the Battle of the Eclipse on May 28, 585 BCE, during which the Medes and Lydians lay down their weapons after seeing a solar eclipse and believing it to be a sign from the gods to stop fighting. Eclipses also made their way into ancient mythologies. According to physics professor Roger Culver, many describe evil entities trying to harm or swallow the Sun: wolves, dragons, frogs, and even a decapitated demon.

Eclipses in Modern Astrology

AstroStyle explains that solar and lunar eclipses occur four to six times each year. It describes them as dramatic astrological turning points, each an agent of change that brings a bit of turbulence or a “cosmic kick in the pants” that signals the need to act.

Solar ones take place during new moons, while lunar ones happen at full moons. This important distinction explains the astrological energies they bring. The Moon sits between the Sun and Earth during solar eclipses, forming a straight line and creating a conjunction. These new moon eclipses signal beginnings, possibly dramatic ones that force us outside our comfort zones. Conjunctions also blend their celestial bodies’ energies, and in this case, it’s the Sun’s ego-focused influences with the emotional ones from the Moon.

On the other hand, lunar ones create an opposition between the Sun and Moon with our planet directly between them. Full moons signal completion, but the Sun-Moon opposition creates tension between logic and emotions. Hidden or “shadow” personality aspects can arise, or we may be called to bring closure to nonbeneficial situations or patterns.

Symbolism in the Heavens

Solar and lunar eclipses fascinate us even in the 21st century. We now know the science behind them, but they still hold special meaning in astrology. As portents, eclipses are seen as calls for growth, change, and closure.