LifeCycles Astrology

 

OK, my mind is truly boggled by this one. I have read it twice and am starting on the third read. And I’m STILL getting more information out of it. I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered a book with as much food for thought in it.

 

LifeCycles Astrology is based on the process-oriented approach to astrology first described by Dane Rudhyar and Leyla Rael-Rudhyar in The Astrological Aspects and later expanded on by Alexander Ruperti. He describes a 72-year cycle for the Saturn (or personality) cycle and an 84-year cycle for the Uranus (or soul) cycle. These cycles intertwine. Additionally, there are sub-phases to consider. These phases are shown by both the houses and the aspects, which are expressed through harmonics. The signs, of course, are not left out. These are seen as personality conditioning mechanisms. And the planets? Well, they are seen as either personality functions or spiritual functions. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, plus Chiron, Vulcan, the Moon’s Nodes, the Parts of Fortune and Spirit, and most importantly, the Ascendant, are seen as planets or points of our spiritual nature. Oh, and as an aside, Bartow also looks at Sabian symbols, midpoints, and other factors.

 

You need to also be aware that while we are referring to the Saturn cycle, the cycle is seen as starting, not from where the planet is, but rather, from your Ascendant. If you’re like me, this short list probably already bristles with things you don’t use or things you find odd. Trust me, though — Bartow’s system, while complicated, is worth the effort. It works amazingly well in terms of pinpointing key ages and experiences in your life. And he’s given you a number of charts to try this on, ranging from Alice Bailey to Jimmy Carter to Jung to Voltaire. After practicing on a few of these, you’ll no doubt be ready to try this on your own chart.

 

This is not a quick system to learn or to work with, and while Bartow is mostly easy to follow, there is so much information here that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. It’s definitely not something you’ll incorporate into every chart you do. But for people of interest to you — and most importantly for your own chart — using this system will yield amazing fruit.