One Who Won a Million

Jalien Shandler

Vincent Todd (a pseudonym) is a young man who treated himself to a million dollars as a birthday present this year when he won that amount in the state lottery. (Editor’s note: the million dollars will be received over a period of 20 years, and it is taxed.) This is a dream come true for many of us, and, also for many of us, it represents the most easily foreseeable way in which we might come into money. It is intriguing that George Orwell, in his much celebrated “1984” foretold that the lottery would be the main hope and cultivator of interest in living for the “ordinary person” in this time period. The long line-ups and high sales of lottery tickets all over the U.S.A. and Canada provide some validation for that particular prediction.

What is it in Vincent’s personality that allows him to manifest such a wish? His natal chart holds many indicators of the strength to dream and to maintain hope in that dream under the tests of everyday living. He has a Sagittarian Ascendant with Juno, Vesta, and Jupiter widely conjunct that Ascendant. Sagittarians tend to look beyond the normally accepted spheres of human activity, and to wish for themselves the very best that can be offered from life on the planet earth. Vesta conjunct the Ascendant and widely aligned with Jupiter may represent a very early identification with a strong philosophical faith, both in the universe as perfect benefactor and in the self as being worthy and capable of taking advantage of that. Vesta is a mirror of a very fine ability to concentrate on a goal, or to channel faith towards specific goals and dreams. It represents thoroughness, dedication, loyalty, and the ability to focus and concentrate. If the only true variable in this universe is the state of our individual consciousness, then a determined dedicated consciousness that believes only in benediction from the universe, and that is able to instruct the universe very specifically as to what gifts would be apropos would be very successful in manifesting wishes and dreams.

Saturn in the first house in its own sign of Capricorn tells us that Vince has a natural familiarity with the laws of this universe, and with how they work. He might choose to block his own desires in favor of obeisance to those laws, or he might like to manipulate those laws to conform to his will, whether for good or ill. In this instance, it seems he has succeeded in having those laws work for his benefit. Pallas conjunct Saturn can represent the wise use and deep understanding of such laws.... Remember that Pallas was the goddess of wisdom who advised rulers in statecraft and who was a very successful warrior in her own right. We might say that by his win Vince won a very important battle in life.

Vince’s second house (the house of money) is very full, with Ceres conjunct Mars, Moon, and Venus in Aquarius. Chiron also resides there at 28 degrees of this sign. Aquarius can be very much the dreamer and idealist who expects the unexpected, who revels in making sudden flips and leaps, who is, in metaphor, the new age trapeze artist. Air is the element of the spectator, content to watch the world, try to understand it, talk to and accept it. Air considers that physical effort is for other people. Notice that the ruler of the eighth house of joint resources (the Moon) resides in the second house and that the secondary ruler of the second house of personal money (Uranus) resides in the eighth house. The primary ruler of the second house (Saturn) resides in the first house—Vince can keep the control of his finances in his own hands and is very capable of bringing the resources of others into the realm of his own use. Notice also that Pluto, the natural ruler of the eighth house is in exact opposition to Venus (with an orb of 19 minutes). Venus is the natural ruler of the second house of money, and an opposition is usually worked out via interchange and relationships. Here, with Venus conjunct the Moon (the public), Vince was able to bring monies (Venus and Pluto) donated by his fellow citizens (the Moon) into his own use (Mars conjunct the Moon and Venus in the second house—the second house representing an area where we continue to retain authority and an easy identification with the principles therein). Ceres, which has many characteristics in common with the Moon, can also be linked with the public, here monetary funds. Chiron, like Jupiter and Sagittarius, can signify unswerving faith, aided by placement in the idealistic sign of Aquarius.

Neptune (the planet of unconscious faith) is in Scorpio (the sign of shared resources and/or the resources of others) in the Aquarian house. Again we have a potentially utopian outlook. Vince might easily believe that the universe has sufficient abundance for everyone, and that any good person deserves his or her fair share. Neptune is octile/trioctile the nodes of the Moon and Vesta. The nodes across Virgo-Pisces and the 9th-3rd house axis, express in themselves a faith that needs to be integrated with the real world to form a marriage between hopes and physical reality. He is challenged to nurture his dream but keep it balanced between excessive pessimism or impractical optimism. Vesta, in addition to being a key to the ability to focus, can with its first house placement lead to identification with the work ethic, with the idea that one must work very hard in order to survive. It is possible that Vince had some lack of faith to overcome and that he has been able to shrug off the oppressive idea that overwork is a natural part of being human. Alternately, the first house Vesta and Saturn may express as the feeling that we should be able to do only what we want in our work.

Uranus in the eighth house in Leo adds to the astrological indicators which allow for swift magnificent alterations of consciousness and status.

The progressions for the date of Vince’s win reveal a very active chart. Progressed Midheaven is sextile progressed Pluto, trine to radical Sun, sextile to progressed Vesta, and square to natal Moon and Venus. Vince assuredly was cast into a prominent social position by his win! (MC and Sun put one in front of the world). The square to Moon-Venus certainly did not deny money or pleasure to Vince. Every major event has a similar mixture of harmonious and stressful aspects, showing changes and consequent stress in the life even though the changes may be desirable ones.

Another fascinating combination involves progressed Ascendant conjunct progressed Moon which is conjunct natal Saturn. The win precipitated major changes in Vince’s career and security. The Ascendant-Moon conjunction is very similar to the natal conjunction of Mars and Moon. Again, Vince’s will and personal ambitions are linked in a powerful way to his emotional nature and to the public domain and its funds since the Moon is the ruler of the eighth house. It is also symbolic of his faith with natal Ascendant in Sagittarius. The universe responded to his faith and gave him a wonderful token of its unconditional love (the Moon) in a very realistic, pragmatic form (Saturn and Capricorn).

Progressed Saturn is quincunx progressed Uranus in the eighth house. Traditional beliefs may have had to be upgraded and altered somewhat in order to allow such a boon. We would need to talk to Vince to learn whether psychological self-analysis was needed to alter beliefs about work and reward for Vince to allow himself to win the lottery, or whether the quincunx just signals a desired change in work obligations which was made possible by the win; a move from Saturn work demands to Uranian freedom.

Progressed Ceres is square to natal Neptune and trioctile the north node of the Moon in the ninth house, repeating the challenge of a beautiful dream confronting the physical world. Progressed Mars is sextile to the natal Ascendant and Juno, conjunct the progressed Antivertex (opposite the Vertex, symbolized with a V) and just reaching an octile to the natal East Point. Although the semisquare is challenging, it is very significant to have so many of the personal angles of the natal and progressed chart strongly activated. The angles of a chart are the most personal points. When we study the charts of twins, for example, it is the aspects to the personal angles which will designate personality and event differences, while most of the rest of the two charts remain the same. It is the angles in Vince’s chart which differentiate him from all the other folks who may have been born on the same day and around the same time. It is wonderful for astrologers who are not fatalistic to note again and again the presence of traditionally harsh aspects in the charts of very positive events. Life it seems is a challenge, and boons are won by meeting those challenges at some level. In an event such as a lottery, it may be more difficult to pin down what the challenges are. We can guess that they have mostly to do with Vince’s personal attitudes towards life, and here we have a chart loaded with aspects to variations of letter one in the astrological alphabet (personal desire in action) with Jupiter and Sagittarius (the eternal optimists) a central key to that desire and action. It is possible that the conflict aspects symbolize the challenge to maintain a productive life when the financial need to work is removed; to avoid becoming a parasite on society.

Other interesting progressed aspects include progressed Chiron sextile to natal Jupiter and progressed Venus sextile natal East Point. Again, we have buoyancy of spirit implied with Chiron and Jupiter and additional activation of letter one (East Point), this time with Venus, natural ruler of the second house of personal money. In this chart, we must not overlook the fact that Venus rules the fifth house of gambling and speculation. The progressed Sun, natural ruler of the fifth house, is at the beginning of the sign Aries pointing to initiative and self-assertion; the fire feeling expressed as “I have a right to what I want, including the freedom to do just what I please.” The repeated mixture of the fire letters including Jupiter, Sagittarius, Sun, Aries, first house, and a ruler of the fifth house certainly fit the emphasis in Vince’s life on expansive action at the center of the stage. For still more fire emphasis, progressed Sun is also square to the midpoint of natal and progressed Jupiter, and it is sextile natal Mars. Planets retain their elemental nature, regardless of their sign or house positions, so aspects between the fire planets Mars, Sun, and Jupiter are the strongest type of fire emphasis.

Because we have the exact day of the win, we can glance at the quotidian progressed angles for that day. Quotidian angles circle the zodiac plus one extra degree in a year, so they move about one degree a day. Vince’s quotidian Ascendant at 24 Sagittarius 31 is conjunct Vesta, setting off its squares to the true nodes of the Moon and its octile to Neptune, as well as an octile to progressed Ceres. We can infer from the aspects to the nodes of the Moon and Neptune that the past is in some way involved. Perhaps some beliefs from the past have been changed so that reward is possible. Or the patterns might signify the change from the earth identification (Vesta, Ceres, second house, Virgo node) to the water acceptance of dependency, being supported by society (Neptune, Scorpio, Pisces node). At 11 Libra 59, the quotidian MC is square to natal Pallas in the first house, quincunx progressed Mercury, and trioctile natal Chiron in the second house. Career and mental changes are certainly suggested. Perhaps it is time for Vince’s inner beliefs and wisdom to take public notice. The quotidian Antivertex at 7 Aquarius 51 is trine the natal MC but square to the progressed Neptune. We must remember that some of the challenge aspects in these charts could simply refer to publicity and notoriety which may not be welcomed by the native.

Is it not enthralling that it is so easy and natural to make a case for a positive belief system as a prime factor for winning the lottery? We might remember too that the work of the Gauquelins characterized people with Jupiter in the twelfth house or within ten degrees of the Ascendant in the first house as being ambitious, authoritarian, expressive, masterful, powerful, merry, original, self-willed, and successful. Such people have something in common with famous actors and politicians, that is, with people who have sufficient faith in themselves to be center stage and to go for what they want. Let us hope that each of us grows stronger and surer in our personal positive belief systems, that we quickly learn to manifest equally wonderful results, and that we have the judgment to deal wisely with our gifts from the cosmos.

Copyright © 1986 Los Angeles Community Church of Religious Science, Inc.

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