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by Jim Shawvan
Definition: An Opportunity Period is
a period in which the aspects of the transiting Moon to other
transiting planets show no interference with the free flow of decision
and action.
Opportunity Periods apply to
everyone in the world all at once - although, of course, if your
individual transits, progressions and returns are putting blocks in
your path, you may not be able to use every Opportunity Period to the
full. Nevertheless, you are always better off taking important actions
and decisions during an Opportunity Period than at other times, all
other things being equal.
You can use an ephemeris which gives
the times of the Moon's aspects to find Opportunity Periods, but
you'll have to convert all the times from Greenwich Mean Time
(Universal Time) to the time zone in which you are living. Thus it's a
whole lot easier to use a good astrological calendar which gives the
times of the Moon's aspects in your local time zone!
Step 1: Determine when the
Moon is Void of Course (V/C). The Moon is said to be Void of Course
from the time it makes the last Ptolemaic ("major") aspect
in a sign until it enters the next sign. The Ptolemaic aspects are the
conjunction, opposition, square, trine and sextile.
In eight of the twelve signs of the
Zodiac, Moon Void periods are definitely NOT Opportunity Periods. In
the other four signs, however, they are! According to the 17th-century
English master William Lilly, the Moon in the signs of the Moon and
Jupiter "performeth somewhat". Horary guru Lee Lehman says
that she has taken this to the bank many times - and so have I!
The signs of the Moon and Jupiter
are:
Taurus - the Moon's exaltation
Cancer - the Moon's domicile and Jupiter's exaltation
Sagittarius - Jupiter's fiery domicile
Pisces - Jupiter's watery domicile
Step 2: Determine whether the
aspect on which the Moon goes Void is a stressful or an easy aspect.
Every square is stressful, and every
trine and every sextile is easy.
Conjunctions and oppositions require
judgment according to the nature of the planet which the Moon is
aspecting, and according to your individual ability to handle the
energies of that planet. For example, the Moon applying to a
conjunction of Jupiter, Venus or Mercury is clearly easy, whereas for
most purposes the Moon applying to a conjunction of Saturn, Mars,
Neptune, Pluto or Uranus is clearly stressful. However, some
individuals handle some of these energies well - if you are a person
for whom Uranus or Pluto is a familiar and more or less comfortable
energy, you may find that the period before the Moon's conjunction to
that planet is an Opportunity Period for you.
Oppositions can work if the Moon is
applying to an opposition of Jupiter, Venus, Mercury or the Sun (i.e.,
just before the Full Moon). Other oppositions range from bad news to
maybe OK if you can handle them with kid gloves. Be careful!
The Moon applying to conjunction
with the Sun (i.e., New Moon) presents a whole set of issues on its
own. (See "Notes on the period around the New Moon", over.)
Step 3: If the aspect on
which the Moon goes Void is an easy aspect, then there is an
Opportunity Period before the Void period.
If the aspect on which the Moon goes
Void is a stressful aspect, then there is NO Opportunity Period
preceding the Void period in that sign.
To determine the beginning of the
Opportunity Period, find the last stressful aspect which the Moon
makes in the sign. The Opportunity Period runs from the last stressful
aspect to the last aspect (assuming that the last aspect is an easy
one).
Step 4: When is the last
stressful aspect over? There are two different answers to this
question, and I recommend observation to decide this question - but I
also recommend caution.
One answer is that an aspect is over
(in electional astrology) as soon as it is no longer exact. For
example, if the Moon's last stressful aspect in a sign is a square to
Saturn at 1:51 pm, then the Opportunity Period (if there is one) would
be considered to begin immediately.
Another viewpoint (per Lee Lehman)
treats an aspect as being effective (for electional purposes) until it
is no longer partile. An aspect is said to be partile if the two
planets are in the same degree numerically. For example, a planet at 0
Aries 00' 00" is in partile trine to a planet at 0 Leo 59'
59", but it is not in partile conjunction to another planet at 29
Pisces 59' 59", even though the orb of the conjunction is only
one second of arc (1/3600 of a degree)!
One should avoid starting important
matters when the Moon is translating light from or to malefic planets.
I refer to this as "translating darkness".
Notes on the period around the New
Moon:
Waxing, Waning, Under Beams, Combust, Cazimi.
As it separates from conjunction
with the Sun and moves towards opposition, the Moon is said to be
waxing. Traditionally, the period of the waxing Moon is considered
favorable for electional purposes. Then as the Moon applies to
conjunction with the Sun, it is said to be waning. Traditionally, this
is regarded as a poor choice for electional purposes, and the closer
the Moon gets to the Sun, the worse it is said to be. In practice, I
find that problems only seem to occur as the Moon gets very close to
the Sun.
Any planet within 17 degrees of the
Sun is said to be under Sun's beams. Traditionally, this weakens the
planet, particularly for electional and horary purposes. Any planet
within 8 degrees of the Sun is said to be combust. Traditionally, this
weakens the planet even more, particularly in electional and horary
work. (In my own experience, the doctrine of combustion does not apply
to natal charts, and I'm not entirely certain how much credence to
give it even in horary and electional astrology.)
Any planet whose center is within
17' (minutes of arc) of the center of the Sun in celestial longitude
is said to be Cazimi. Oddly, this is considered the highest form of
accidental dignity. In other words, a planet is thought to be weak
when under Sun's beams, weaker still when combust, but - surprisingly
- very powerful and benefic when Cazimi! The average speed of the Moon
is such that it remains Cazimi for about an hour - that is, half an
hour before and half an hour after the exact conjunction with the Sun
(New Moon). Other things being equal, you can use the Cazimi Moon to
start something if you really want it to succeed.
However, please exercise caution
around Solar Eclipses, and likewise if the Moon is moving from the
Cazimi into a stressful aspect. Cazimi is powerful, but it cannot
override the difficulties shown by a Solar Eclipse, nor those shown
by, say, the Moon's application to a square of Saturn!
Jim Shawvan was the
on-staff Technical Astrologer at Astro from 1989 to 1997. He is a
professional astrologer with over 30 years' experience, specializing
in relocation, travel and prediction. In October of 2000, StarIQ.com
published Jim's speculation that the results of the U.S. presidential
election might be delayed due to vote-counting problems. In December
of 2000, StarIQ.com published Jim's prediction that anti-American
terrorism would likely lead to U.S. military action in Afghanistan
during the first two years of George W. Bush's presidency. Jim's
further political predictions appeared in The Mountain Astrologer for
April and May of 2001, and that article is available through a link at
Jim's web site. His contact information is as follows:
Phone and voice mail: 760-630-5562
Mailing address: 2260 El Cajon Blvd. # 890, San Diego, CA 92104 USA
E-mail: jshawvan@yahoo.com
Web site: http://www.jshawvan.homestead.com
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