Noel Tyl

In our outline preparation of time structures for the consultation, we must remember always that Angles (and their rulers) are all-important! The Angles are the sine qua non of the Rectification Process,[1] and symbolic movements of and to the Angles trace our development from birth to the present and into the future. This point of view organizes our preparation efficiently; the objective is not to outline everything that has taken place in the life, but, rather, the key times of development, which almost invariably involve the Angles, the Sun, the Moon. In the process, we are also testing the birth time and we are uncovering the places in the horoscope that respond most sensitively and reliably.

We accomplish this quite easily once we understand what we are doing and why.

The Solar Arcs in the formative years are very, very easy to see in the horoscope; no computations are required to add major transits.[2] We look for a major Arc, knowing it will apply for 6 months (one-half a degree) and separate for 4-6 months (one-third to one-half a degree), and then we check the Ephemeris for a “trigger transit” within that time frame. This trigger transit will normally “set off” the background arc, and near that date we will discover a major developmental occurrence. The client will react to that event or within those conditions. His or her behaviors will express the individual value system. Reward or frustration is accumulated, and life develops.

The process is not difficult, and the way of notating this.

Let us make a quick, confident, cursory overview analysis of what we see within the emerging portrait of existential, nihilistic writer Franz Kafka:

· The southeastern Hemisphere orientation suggests that Kafka may very well be swept away by events around him, that he may be pushed around --even victimized-- by the world in which he traffics. This can be hurtful indeed to his nascent need to be appreciated, loved, and honored (the Leo Ascendant squared by Neptune); he might feel much suppression.

· Now, in our interpretation of horoscopic guidelines to follow on from assessment of Hemisphere emphasis, we are watching for echoes of this first impression (they will always be there!). The Sun-Moon blend suggests that much sensitivity could be stirred up (Moon), worrying about emotional/family security (Sun); anxiety and nervous fragility may manifest, as Kafka rushes around to find emotional anchor. The nervous system will be highly charged (Uranus square the Moon in Gemini; an intensive intrusion into the Sun-Moon blend).

· There are surely enormous parental problems to deal with, since all four(!) parental rulers are under high developmental tension.

· Kafka’s mind-set can be jarred deeply by all this self-worth anxiety (Mercury rules the 2nd and the 3rd and is squared by Uranus) and by the deep feeling that he is not lovable (Mercury also rules the 11th). The anxieties will all-too-easily be carried over into adult relationships, his relationship with the world (Uranus rules the 7th).

Please be aware of how much our preparation technique has already uncovered, all of which is most significant in Kafka’s astrological portrait!

Now look at Pluto, natally jeopardized through the conjunction with Saturn (a very difficult, hard-work and struggle aspect[3]). Let us just move Pluto forward in generalized Solar Arc fashion, i.e., one degree for a year.[4]

As arcing Pluto “contacts” natal planets and Angles, we know there will be major developments in his life, undoubtedly punctuating his vulnerabilities and the rigors of his existence, becoming more and more painful the older he becomes, the more mature he becomes in intelligence and perception. Pluto=Saturn at 4.5 years of age. Pluto =(semisquare) MC at 12. Pluto=Mercury-Venus at 19. Pluto=Moon at 23. Pluto=Sun at 41, when Kafka died.

Of course there were other arcs developing at the same time and those involving the Angles will be all-important. For example, see MC=Neptune at 23 (at the same time as Pluto=Moon!). Note Uranus=IC-MC at 39 at the same time as Pluto=Sun, coinciding with Kafka’s illness with tuberculosis at 39 (toward his death at 41). There is Asc=Neptune at age 6 at the same time as SA Mars=Pluto; Asc=Pluto at 16, Asc=Saturn at 20 (along with Pluto=Mercury-Venus, a complete breakdown of idealism).

This is how it works in our preparation. And it is much neater and cohesive when it is noted chronologically on the horoscope paper (as we will see many times later) than just listed textually here.

Let’s zero in on Kafka’s mortal illness and death period. Of course, this picture would be obvious a month, a year, or more before.

We know that critical illness is very frequently profiled by strong involvement of the Ascendant (the health center), the ruler of the 12th House, the Sun (life-giver), and almost always, the planet Pluto.[5]

For Kafka, those concomitants of critical illness are all present: SA Asc=Moon, ruler of the 12th; SA Pluto=Sun. As well: SA Uranus=IC-MC and SA Neptune approaches very tightly the Aries Point of 00 Cancer (strong suppression –even defeat-- of the Ego). And at the same time, transiting Pluto at 10 Cancer was conjunct the Sun and transiting Saturn was at 27 Libra exactly upon the IC-MC axis.

Kafka had a natal vulnerability to problems with his lungs, which we see suggested through the square of Uranus to Mercury and to the Moon in Gemini, the Moon ruling the 12th House [developmental tension translated into somatic and systemic significance]. The very powerfully telling arcs and transits all came together upon this point of weakness as his system finally broke down under lifelong depression, extreme anxiety, and self-hate.[6]

The generalized Solar Arc projections comprise the time superstructure of development. See the Arc periods as a base reference for formative times, with major transit action polishing the relevant more-specific time references.

[1] The Midheaven is determined by the time of birth (4m of time=10 of arc over the Midheaven) and the Ascendant reflects the location of birth. Together, the Angles are our orientation to our world.

[2] See the 100-year, first-of-the-month Ephemeris [Mars-Pluto] in Synthesis & Counseling in Astrology and in Solar Arcs, access to which is perhaps a thousand times faster than working through the computer!

[3] This conjunction is certainly a sub-generational signal. All people Kafka’s age, give or take three or four years, would have had this signature, and they were all caught up in the dreadful political, social, “racial” persecution tensions in turn-of-the-century central and eastern Europe.

[4] Indeed, since Kafka was born between March and September, the arc accumulation will be “slow,” accumulating one-degree/one-year error for every 30 years of life, in the degree-year generalization. Please see Tyl-Solar Arcs for full development.

[5] Please see Tyl-Astrological Timing of Critical Illness for full development of this thesis.

[6] Kafka’s final words to his doctor, begging the doctor for an overdose of morphine, were “Kill me, or else you are a murderer.”