The Answer Box
Zip Dobyns
Loraine: Your system of dwads differs from what I was taught—that 0 to 2-1/2 of every sign is the Aries dwad; 2-1/2 to 5 is the Taurus dwad, etc.
Zip: The same issue was discussed in a previous Mutable Dilemma, but for those who missed the article and for new readers, it is true that there are two different systems. The one that has worked best for me is to start each sign with the dwad of the sign and then continue in order. For example, 0 - 2-1/2 Leo is the Leo dwad; 2-1/2 - 5 Leo is the Virgo dwad; 5 - 7-1/2 Leo is the Libra dwad, and so on. I have tested dwads on twins for the most part, but also looked at them when I have “misinterpreted” a factor in a chart. I may have given the same examples before, because they made an impression on me. A woman with Moon in Capricorn said the only qualities in her mother which fit Capricorn were her responsibility and hard work. The Moon was in the fourth house (overtones of Cancer) and in the Pisces dwad (overtones of the spiritual, mystical which was true for the mother. She was studying astrology and interested in everything psychic.)
I have frequently been able to differentiate between twins by looking at the dwads on the angles: MC, Ascendant, East Point, and Antivertex. One pair of alcoholic twins shared the problem, and both were able to conquer it. But one had the Pisces dwad rising and two other angles with Libra dwads. The other twin had the Aquarius dwad rising and two Virgo dwads. One twin married right out of high school and turned to A.A. for help in conquering the problem with alcohol. The other twin worked and married late, flew with the Flying Tigers in the Second World War, and refused to ask for help in overcoming the problem with alcohol. She worked with it on her own. The dwads make it obvious which is which.
When we have two contradictory theories in astrology, all you can do is try out both of them and see which works the best. It is very important to try the theories on many charts, not just a few of your friends and family, because we always attract people who are like each other and like us, and need to test widely to be sure we are not just getting patterns that fit our own chart.