A wonderfully thorough explanation of plotting conjunctions of fixed stars, Maeg! In reading Brady’s book, I noticed she says not to count conjunctions or parans of fixed stars that are not visible in the night sky from where one was born (she also says to ignore the outer planets since they were not discovered until recently). Do you ascribe to this approach?
I'm happy you found it useful, Kathryn! Personally, I don't use outer planet conjunctions or parans but I suspect they work. Fixed star astrology gives you *so much* information to work with already, so I like to narrow things down wherever I can, and for me the outers are potent but not as specific as the traditional planets. In planetary astrology, I usually don't go into them much unless they make a really tight aspect to a traditional planet or if they are showing up via transit. With the fixed stars, I leave them out but I'm definitely not opposed to their inclusion.
The location question is one I go back and forth on. At the moment, I include stars that I wouldn't be able to see by location when looking at conjunctions (as that's not exactly a super visual process anyway and feels more like magic-math) but I *do* stick to location-specific stars by paran.
I love that fixed stars are so visual and give us the whole sky back compared to the narrow ecliptic, but I also think sometimes the emphasis on what we can see versus what we can't see is overplayed. I was born during the day, so there wasn't a single star anyone could see at the moment of my birth besides the Sun. Parans are tracked the whole day of my birth, so the night sky would still be of interest! But it's not as if parans that happen during the daytime aren't counted, you know? And Brady acknowledges the importance of stars that are below the horizon line (the nadir), which isn't something we ever *see.*
Plus, if we take the specific location super seriously, there are places with mountains or other natural landscape features (or frankly, skylines in cities), or frankly, weather! that make the moment of a star rising into proper visibility different than the calculation for when it emerges on the horizon.
Shorter version: 1) I don't use outers for fixed stars (yet); 2) I consider all stars for conjunctions and stars visible by location for parans; 3) however, I am still experimenting and think it's an open question. For our own relating to the night sky, I think visibility, that sense of *presence* of the constellations, is so impactful. Going out and looking up in the dark is what breathes life into this work for me. For our charts, as another method of relating, I think the stars are capable of infusing themselves with the planets even if we cannot see them easily.
I’m delighted you mentioned the practical reality that fixed stars aren’t visible for folks born during the daylight hours, nor for folks whose stars are hidden behind mountains! I do wonder why the original practice was to not include obstructed stars in the first place. I appreciate your thoughtful answer!
Thank you so much for this! So clear and helpful and exciting and inspiring and all of the things. To start getting to know some of the constellations I am working on writing poems in the shapes of them :-)
Love and appreciate this Work you are doing and sharing. I laughed out loud at "It doesn't have to be this enormous research project you take on all at once." You have this amazing ability to demonstrate how 'simplified' does not equal 'dumbed down'. I actually know more than I realized, and you've provided a Very Useful Map to help make sense of these travels - thank you! I am going to spend some time getting to know Canis Minor and Procyon now.
I am *relieved* it comes across as simple but not dumbed down, that's really what I wanted to do! I wish you so much joy and curiosity-inducing trails as you track Canis Minor and Procyon 🖤
I have wanted to learn more about the fixed stars for ages as I believe they do have more energetic influence in some ways than most folks consider. K’ayasOTa (thank you) for this post, it has been most helpful and enjoyable to read!
Excellent guide - I'm not new to this but I still found some useful tips, thank you!
Another question that I find myself asking a lot is, "what is this star all about and how can I embody/bring those traits/ideas/values into this world?"
And fyi I'm grasping onto any little hint you drop about Alphecca in your writings like it's a precious jewel... She's been next on my list of stars to start getting to know for a couple of years now, and I just haven't had the capacity for any new relationships yet! She's conjunct my Lot of Spirit and I'm having all kinds of thoughts about what she might infuse into what's otherwise a fairly Martial calling. Ties nicely into what you and Kira wrote about with the Mars-and-Venus-ruled 5H-11H axis :)
Bec! It makes me really happy that you enjoyed the guide even though you know your way around the fixed stars. The question you shared is beautiful and good 🥹 thank you for that.
I have so, so many thoughts and feelings and personal gnosis-ing about Alphecca. I'll email you if you'd like? I have a top secret project brewing up about Corona Borealis and Alphecca or I'd be sharing way more publicly about this part of the sky that is so dear to my heart.
Of course! I mean, like I'd ever say no to correspondence from you! I've been meaning to email you about other stuff anyway but words are not reliably wording right now and I need to start hitting the books again 🥲
Superb post!!! With my chart full of fixed star conjunctions, oppositions, and trines this was helpful from a study point but really just got direct to my heart as well. And so timely as my devotional journey has continually moved closer to the fixed stars. Notable placements for me are Asc conj Spica and Asc, Alphecca conj Jupiter, Fomalhaut conj Saturn (and saturn conj moon lol). Thank you for this!!
Thank you so much! Jupiter conjunct Alphecca 🥹♥️ I don’t have favorites but if I did… and the other conjunctions are also very !!! so much richness there.
Thank you fr!! Richness is really the world, I feel like the stars are slowly showing me my own story and the ways the Divine and I have always known each other. It's beautiful!
Such a great post, Maeg! I've long held off on getting too pulled into the fixed stars because it seemed overwhelming, but this feels like an accessible, low pressure way to begin.
A question - Do you give a wider orb for conjunctions of fixed stars with the Moon?
Thanks, Susheela! It's so good to hear this felt approachable. That was the hope!
For your question, yeah, I think you can use a wider orb for the Moon if you'd like, just like you might for planet-to-planet conjunctions. Some people also give wider orbs for the brightest stars, which is something you can consider playing with too.
A wonderfully thorough explanation of plotting conjunctions of fixed stars, Maeg! In reading Brady’s book, I noticed she says not to count conjunctions or parans of fixed stars that are not visible in the night sky from where one was born (she also says to ignore the outer planets since they were not discovered until recently). Do you ascribe to this approach?
I'm happy you found it useful, Kathryn! Personally, I don't use outer planet conjunctions or parans but I suspect they work. Fixed star astrology gives you *so much* information to work with already, so I like to narrow things down wherever I can, and for me the outers are potent but not as specific as the traditional planets. In planetary astrology, I usually don't go into them much unless they make a really tight aspect to a traditional planet or if they are showing up via transit. With the fixed stars, I leave them out but I'm definitely not opposed to their inclusion.
The location question is one I go back and forth on. At the moment, I include stars that I wouldn't be able to see by location when looking at conjunctions (as that's not exactly a super visual process anyway and feels more like magic-math) but I *do* stick to location-specific stars by paran.
I love that fixed stars are so visual and give us the whole sky back compared to the narrow ecliptic, but I also think sometimes the emphasis on what we can see versus what we can't see is overplayed. I was born during the day, so there wasn't a single star anyone could see at the moment of my birth besides the Sun. Parans are tracked the whole day of my birth, so the night sky would still be of interest! But it's not as if parans that happen during the daytime aren't counted, you know? And Brady acknowledges the importance of stars that are below the horizon line (the nadir), which isn't something we ever *see.*
Plus, if we take the specific location super seriously, there are places with mountains or other natural landscape features (or frankly, skylines in cities), or frankly, weather! that make the moment of a star rising into proper visibility different than the calculation for when it emerges on the horizon.
Shorter version: 1) I don't use outers for fixed stars (yet); 2) I consider all stars for conjunctions and stars visible by location for parans; 3) however, I am still experimenting and think it's an open question. For our own relating to the night sky, I think visibility, that sense of *presence* of the constellations, is so impactful. Going out and looking up in the dark is what breathes life into this work for me. For our charts, as another method of relating, I think the stars are capable of infusing themselves with the planets even if we cannot see them easily.
I hope that helps!
I’m delighted you mentioned the practical reality that fixed stars aren’t visible for folks born during the daylight hours, nor for folks whose stars are hidden behind mountains! I do wonder why the original practice was to not include obstructed stars in the first place. I appreciate your thoughtful answer!
An interesting and well researched article. Thank you for putting this together 🌟
Love this! Do you have a favorite fixed star/constellation poster to help a person visualize where they all are?
Thank you! I don't have a poster to recommend but I do like https://stellarium-web.org/ for a digital option (you can set it to your location too).
Terrific! Thank you!
This is AMAZING. Thank you for putting this together.
My pleasure! Thanks for letting me know it's helpful ♥️
Thank you so much for this! So clear and helpful and exciting and inspiring and all of the things. To start getting to know some of the constellations I am working on writing poems in the shapes of them :-)
Poems in the shapes of constellations! That's so beautiful 🥹
Love and appreciate this Work you are doing and sharing. I laughed out loud at "It doesn't have to be this enormous research project you take on all at once." You have this amazing ability to demonstrate how 'simplified' does not equal 'dumbed down'. I actually know more than I realized, and you've provided a Very Useful Map to help make sense of these travels - thank you! I am going to spend some time getting to know Canis Minor and Procyon now.
I am *relieved* it comes across as simple but not dumbed down, that's really what I wanted to do! I wish you so much joy and curiosity-inducing trails as you track Canis Minor and Procyon 🖤
I have wanted to learn more about the fixed stars for ages as I believe they do have more energetic influence in some ways than most folks consider. K’ayasOTa (thank you) for this post, it has been most helpful and enjoyable to read!
I'm so glad!
Excellent guide - I'm not new to this but I still found some useful tips, thank you!
Another question that I find myself asking a lot is, "what is this star all about and how can I embody/bring those traits/ideas/values into this world?"
And fyi I'm grasping onto any little hint you drop about Alphecca in your writings like it's a precious jewel... She's been next on my list of stars to start getting to know for a couple of years now, and I just haven't had the capacity for any new relationships yet! She's conjunct my Lot of Spirit and I'm having all kinds of thoughts about what she might infuse into what's otherwise a fairly Martial calling. Ties nicely into what you and Kira wrote about with the Mars-and-Venus-ruled 5H-11H axis :)
Bec! It makes me really happy that you enjoyed the guide even though you know your way around the fixed stars. The question you shared is beautiful and good 🥹 thank you for that.
I have so, so many thoughts and feelings and personal gnosis-ing about Alphecca. I'll email you if you'd like? I have a top secret project brewing up about Corona Borealis and Alphecca or I'd be sharing way more publicly about this part of the sky that is so dear to my heart.
Of course! I mean, like I'd ever say no to correspondence from you! I've been meaning to email you about other stuff anyway but words are not reliably wording right now and I need to start hitting the books again 🥲
Superb post!!! With my chart full of fixed star conjunctions, oppositions, and trines this was helpful from a study point but really just got direct to my heart as well. And so timely as my devotional journey has continually moved closer to the fixed stars. Notable placements for me are Asc conj Spica and Asc, Alphecca conj Jupiter, Fomalhaut conj Saturn (and saturn conj moon lol). Thank you for this!!
Thank you so much! Jupiter conjunct Alphecca 🥹♥️ I don’t have favorites but if I did… and the other conjunctions are also very !!! so much richness there.
Thank you fr!! Richness is really the world, I feel like the stars are slowly showing me my own story and the ways the Divine and I have always known each other. It's beautiful!
Such a great post, Maeg! I've long held off on getting too pulled into the fixed stars because it seemed overwhelming, but this feels like an accessible, low pressure way to begin.
A question - Do you give a wider orb for conjunctions of fixed stars with the Moon?
Thanks, Susheela! It's so good to hear this felt approachable. That was the hope!
For your question, yeah, I think you can use a wider orb for the Moon if you'd like, just like you might for planet-to-planet conjunctions. Some people also give wider orbs for the brightest stars, which is something you can consider playing with too.
I love this post so much 🥰🥰🥰
Ah, I'm so glad! Thanks for reading it!
This post is so delightful I WANT TO PUT IT IN MY MOUTH MAEG ❣️❣️❣️