Abilities, work and learning in the natal chart

The seventh chapter asks: where do you feel growth, what do you absorb easily, what do you rely on in work and study, what role does tradition assign you through the public side of the chart. The eighth chapter asks something different: with what energy do you begin, what fires you up, how do you act on your own and when do you need to be independent.

The first chapter is more about “who you are”; this pair of chapters is about “how you act and what you learn”. They are separate because ability and initiative are different things: you can pick up new things easily and for years not start a venture of your own, and the other way round.

Astrology is an interpretive tradition, not an exact science and not a career-guidance test. So the reading does not answer the question “what should I become”. It helps you notice the manner in which you learn and act, and decide for yourself what to do with that.

The seventh and eighth chapters use different sets of factors. They take nothing beyond these lists.

In tradition Jupiter is linked with growth and the search for meaning, Mars with action and drive. The roles of the bodies are described in the article planets in the natal chart, the meanings of the houses in the article houses in the natal chart, and what the Midheaven is in the article angles of the natal chart. A modality (cardinal, fixed, mutable) is a way of acting over time: starting, holding on or reorganising; more in the article signs, elements and modalities.

The Jupiter sign shows the manner in which you broaden your horizons and learn: widely and with curiosity, in depth and thoroughly, through practice or through an idea. Planets in the second and tenth houses and the Midheaven sign add colour to what you rely on and what your public role looks like. The aspects of Jupiter link the theme of growth with other themes of the chart. The general order of reading signs, houses and aspects is described in the article how to read a natal chart.

The Mars sign shows the manner of action: sharp and quick, unhurried and persistent, careful and calculating. The fifth and eleventh houses link it with creativity and hobbies, and also with shared goals and a circle of like-minded people. The Sun–Mars aspect and other aspects of Mars clarify whether will and drive agree or argue. Retrograde Mars, if present, describes a more inward, delayed way of acting. An emphasis on the cardinal modality speaks of ease in beginning, on the fixed modality of persistence and holding on, on the mutable modality of flexibility; a lack of a modality (none of the eight points) is also taken into account as a feature, not as a flaw.

The main thing is how the chapters relate. The seventh answers the question “what comes easily to me and where am I drawn”, the eighth “how do I go about it”. They may reinforce each other: broad interest and a quick start. They may also argue: the pull is towards thoroughness, but the person acts in bursts. Such differences are not an error in the chart. The reading does not choose the “right” side but describes the tension, which then goes into chapter 10, “Inner contradictions and areas of growth”.

An empty second, fifth, tenth or eleventh house does not mean that you have no money, creativity, career or friends. These areas exist for everyone; in an empty house they are simply not singled out by separate planets.

The example is fictional: the positions are invented to explain the idea, not calculated from anyone’s data.

Suppose that on a hypothetical chart Jupiter is in Gemini, the Midheaven is in Virgo, Mars is in Aries, there is a square between the Sun and Mars, and of the eight points counted for modalities, four fall on the cardinal modality.

• Jupiter in Gemini. Growth is tied to curiosity, variety and the exchange of ideas. By tradition, such a person finds it easier to learn when the material is varied and they can ask a lot of questions.
• Midheaven in Virgo. The public role is coloured by precision, attention to detail and a wish to be useful. This is a manner, not a choice of profession.
• Mars in Aries and a cardinal emphasis. Starting is easy and quick, and an impulse of one’s own is needed; routine is harder once the task is under way.
• Sun–Mars square. Will and drive pull in different directions: a wish to do things perfectly and an impatience that does not want to wait. This is tension, not a shortcoming.

Together this reads as follows: the person quickly takes up something new and learns with interest, and the difficulty arises in the middle, when the work has to be brought to a precise result. It is just this argument between the seventh and eighth chapters that would go into chapter 10. The hypothesis is tested by observation: how you behave at the second and third stage of a task.

• They do not choose a profession and do not say what you are “destined” to be. The Midheaven and the tenth house describe a manner and an attitude to responsibility, not a job title.
• They do not promise income, success, a promotion or a successful launch of a project, and do not say when anything will work out.
• They do not rate abilities: “no aspect to Jupiter” does not mean “no abilities”.
• They do not advise on financial, legal or career decisions. Such questions call for specialists and your own data.
• They do not claim that empty houses mean an absence of work, money or projects.

1. What study or activity came easily to you, so that you noticed time flying? What do they have in common?
2. Where do you lose interest: at the beginning, in the middle or towards the end? What usually happens just before?
3. How is it more comfortable for you to begin: straight away, as soon as an idea appears, or after preparation? What lets each way down?
4. What brings a sense of growth: new people, new knowledge, going deeper into one subject?
5. When does your drive help the task, and when does it get in the way of you and of others?

Pick one question and observe yourself for a week. Write down specific cases, not general impressions.

You will see the Jupiter and Mars signs in the full reading once you build your chart; the houses and the Midheaven appear if the birth time is known accurately enough. You can see what the seventh and eighth chapters look like in finished form in the open sample reading.