Progressed Lunations: A Key to Destiny by Cheng-Yi Huang
This article was published in Considerations VI: 1, January 1991.
Cheng-yi Huang is a frequent contributor to Considerations. He is a licensed geologist employed by the State of California who devotes his leisure time to the pursuit of astrology. His book, Astrology & the Personal Computer (in Chinese) was published in Taiwan. Mr. Huang lives in Long Beach, California.
Long term forecasting has always been a difficult problem in astrology. The astrologer relies on predictive techniques such as primary directions, secondary progressions, solar or lunar returns, and transits to look into the future. These techniques, however, offer not much more than year-to-year forecasting, and shed little light on a person’s destiny.
Some long-term forecasting techniques, such as the Saturn Return, have been suggested, but they have not proven satisfactory and most astrologers have abandoned them.
Based on my research, I have found the secondary progressed lunation provides the key to understanding the long-term prospects of a human life. The idea is not new. It was discussed briefly by Anthony P. Nelson Page and Wendell Polich, two great astrologers of this century, in their article "Rectification of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s Birth Chart, Part I", published in Spica in October 1964. They noted that the Queen’s engagement and marriage was preceded by a progressed new moon exactly sextile her natal seventh house Node. They commented on the importance of lunations as follows:
"It is a well known fact that all lunations set the pace and are an index to much that transpires after their formation for the next 14 days or years."
In Part II of the article (Spica, April 1965), they defined the importance of the lunation:
"The degree of longitude or declination occupied by the light at the exact moment of lunation is of supreme importance. That point upon the ecliptic or the parallel acts as a powerful catalyst to any radical planet it contacts by aspect. The kind of aspect, whether good or bad, major or minor, makes no difference to the catalyst effect of the lunation upon that point contacted. It sets loose whatever is latent in the planet or planets it aspects, within the period comprised between that lunation and the next. The aspects that all the other planets form to the radical at that exact time are also highly significant."
The importance of the transiting lunation is well understood by most astrologers, but its potential for initiating events as a secondary progression tends to be overlooked. Page and Polich mentioned only the New Moon and Full Moon cycles, which equate to fourteen years using the day-for-a-year secondary measure. My own research leads me to believe the Quarter Moon is also highly effective. I suggest, therefore, that a seven-year cycle exists, based on the progressed New Moon, Full Moon and the two quarter Moons.
The method is as follows:
Find the lunation dates in the ephemeris within the range of secondary days equivalent to a normal life span. Back-calculate from the date of each lunation to the day of birth for the appropriate age and date. This is based on one day equals one year. Check for any aspects formed between the lunation and natal planets. If a natal planet is impacted by the lunation, the nature of that natal planet will dictate the "tone" of the seven-to-eight years following the lunation. When there are no aspects between the lunation and radical planets, look for aspects formed by other progressed planets to the natal bodies at the moment of the lunation. Jupiter and Venus bring good fortune, while Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto cause depression, accidents, humiliation and loneliness, respectively, in the ensuing years.
For example, if a progressed New Moon aspects natal Saturn, the prospect for the native’s following years is dim. Just the opposite will occur if natal Jupiter is aspected by a progressed Quarter Moon, for this can herald a good seven-year period.
The aspects used include the 15º aspects, as well as its multiples. Antiscions and parallels of declination are also effective. In general, the orb of an aspect should not exceed 35’.
I have examined a large number of natal charts and this method has proven to be highly successful both for the analysis of a native’s earlier life and for long-term forecasting.
The following case studies of famous people, whose lives will be familiar to the reader, illustrate the potency of this method. (Note that each aspect listed in the following is made to a natal body.)
1. President John F. Kennedy
Born an 29th May, 1917 at 3 p.m. EST, 42N20 71W08.
(a) Progressed New Moon on 19th June, 1917. (effective from March 1938 to May 1946.)
Elected President in November 1960. Bay of Pigs failure in April 1961. Increased the Vietnam military mission in October 1962. Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Assassinated in November 1963.
2. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Born 27th August, 1908 at 5 a.m. LMT, 30N04 98W40.
(a) Progressed New Moon on 25th September 1908 (November 1937 to July 1945).
New Moon: 2º 07’ Libra, semisextile Mars (orb 4’), square North Node (orb 19’).
Main events during this period: elected to the House of representatives in 1937, defeated in Senate race in 1941, briefly in military action with the Navy in December 1941.
(b) Progressed Quarter Moon on 3rd October, 1908 (July 1945 to February 1952)
Occupation of the Rhineland in 1936. German troops occupied Austria in 1938. Occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. World War 11 started in 1939. Defeated at Stalingrad and in North Africa in 1943.
(f) Progressed Full Moon on 13th June, 1889 (April 1943-January 1950)
The Full Moon at 22º 41’ Sagittarius forms no major aspects. Progressed Saturn square natal Mars (orb 2’).
Attempted assassination, July 1944. Suicide, April 1945.
4. Charles Lindbergh (partial)
Born 4th February, 1902 at 2:30 a.m. CST, 42N30 83W03.
(a) Progressed Full Moon on 22nd February, 1922 (effective May 1920 to April 1928)
Full Moon: 2º 60’ Virgo, conjunct Mercury (orb 9’).
In May 1927, he made the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
The birth chart of Adolf Hitler often puzzles astrologers because it does not show any indication of his monstrous conduct in his later life. The truth lies in the progressed lunation. Luck struck when his natal Jupiter was impacted by a progressed New Moon in 1928, which prompted his meteoric rise to power. In 1936, when his natal Mars was stimulated by a progressed quarter Moon, his attacks on neighboring countries started World War II. Hitler’s life was closely punctuated by these progressed lunations.
Kennedy and Johnson each brought the United States further into the Vietnam War under the shadow of Mars. One ended up assassinated, the other mortified. Similarly, Charles Lindbergh took to the sky when his native Mercury was illuminated. These cases provide convincing evidence of the effectiveness of progressed lunations.
The accuracy of the progressed lunations can be improved if the birth time is properly rectified. The aspects the Sun, Moon and other planets form with natal angles and house cusps, at the exact moment of the lunation, can be significant. Although people born on the same day can have similar planetary configurations, the degrees on the angles usually differ.
Dane Rudhyar also noted the importance of the progressed lunation. However, he viewed it as a progressive revelation of the individual’s latent time clock (see The Lunation Cycle, Aurora Press, 1967). As the above examples clearly demonstrate, the progressed lunation precipitates concrete events rather than simply inducing psychological conditions in the individuals, as Rudhyar postulated. Rudhyar also failed to recognize the importance of natal planets being stimulated by progressed lunations.
PREDICTIONS
Using the progressed lunation method, it is possible to examine the birth charts of some political leaders and evaluate their long-term prospects, even when the birth time is unknown. The following are three examples:
1. President George Bush
Born 12th June, 1924 at 11:30 a.m. EST, 42N16 71W05.
Progressed Full Moon on 14th August 1924 (effective October 1987 to May 1995)
Total Eclipse: 21043 Aquarius, quincunx Uranus (orb 17’).
Bush’s cycle is under the influence of Uranus, which foretells many sudden events or accidents during his Presidency.
2) Mikhail Gorbachev
Born 2nd March, 1931. Time unknown. 45N51 41E31.
Progressed Quarter Moon on 25th April, 1931 (effective October 1985-June 1992).
Gorbachev’s present cycle started when he was elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union. The cycle is mainly under the influence of Neptune, which symbolizes chaos and confusion.
3) Deng Xiao-Ping
Born 22nd August, 1904. Time unknown. 30N28 106E40.
Progressed Quarter Moon on 15th November, 1904 (effective December 1989 to February 1998).
The start of Deng’s new cycle coincided with the June 1989 Tienanmen massacre in Peking. Neptune also symbolizes disgrace. It appears that Deng will not recover from this debacle.
These predictions were written at the end of 1990.
