SAVol7Dec09WesternCo.. - Saptarishis Astrology

Within our reasonable time-frame for the question, fixed signs will give the longest timeunit,cardinal the shortest and mutable the middle one. That is the easy bit. Thecomplication comes when we introduce the houses, as there is an in-built contradiction. Oftheir nature, angular houses equate with fixed signs and so indicate the slowest time unit.Cadent - as might be expected from a house that is literally 'falling' - gives the fastest;succedent the middle. Combining house and sign will give us, for instance, long + long,which must indicate our longest unit. Or short + short, which is our shortest. Any othercombination will give our middle unit."But that's not fair, ref!" Yes, the system is heavily weighted in favour of the middle unit.This probably says something about the nature of things; but if the chart wishes to show usthe fastest or the slowest it is quite capable of so doing.Now for the contradiction: angular houses of their nature are slow. But a planet in anangular house has a good deal of accidental dignity. Accidental dignity increases the planet'spower to act. If that planet wants to act, then, it is well able to do so, and is likely to actquickly. So angular houses are fast.The key is the word 'wants': the issue of volition. If things are unfolding of their nature,whatever is in an angular house will unfold slowly. If whatever or whomever the angularplanet signifies is, within the context of the question, in a position to act, and if (and only if)the receptions indicate that it wants to act, it will act quickly. This inherent (apparent)contradiction is the reason for Lilly giving two apparently contradictory tables.Example: I ask 'When will the cheque arrive?' and find the significator of the cheque in anangular house. There is nothing the cheque can do to expedite its own arrival. The angularhouse would suggest a slow time unit. On the other hand, when Asian women ask thequestion 'When will I meet the man I will marry?' it is common to find their significators inangular houses. Once they have taken the decision that it is time to marry, there is a gooddeal that they can do to expedite the process, in contrast to Bridget Jones, who can only waituntil Cupid squeezes himself into her life. If these angular significators provide us with anapplying aspect, and if (as the fact that she is paying to ask the question would lead us toexpect) their receptions show that she wants the match, we can take this angularity asshowing a fast unit, because she has power and wishes to use it.Similarly, if a would-be Napoleon were to ask 'When will I conquer the world?' and we wereto find his significators in cadent houses, even given an applying aspect we would have toassign a slow time-unit, because he has little power to act.Confused yet? If not, you probably haven't been paying attention. Let us throw a few moreingredients into the stew. What we have so far is the number of degrees needed to perfect anaspect giving us the number of time units, and the sign/house combination of the applyingplanet telling us which time units they are. In a good proportion of charts this will work. Iwould suggest using this unless common sense tells that the answer it provides is wrong.In some charts, we consider only the sign of the applying planet, not its house. Whichcharts? The charts where we consider only the sign of the applying planet, not its house. I127