Weekly Horary: Should I study architecture?

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The Question:

“Should I study architecture?”

The Querent is trying to decide between two possible courses of study to supplement her major at university. One possible course is architecture, in which she did well academically, but did not enjoy the material. The other possibility the Querent is considering is archaeology, with which she has considerably less experience, but is more drawn to it. Ultimately, the choice for the Querent is between a practical career in architecture or an academic career.

Short answer:

Neither architecture nor archaeology are going to miraculously do wonders for the Querent – it appears that she is deciding between two decent but fairly unexciting courses of action. The short answer is that either course of study would be a reasonable choice, though architecture seems to be a somewhat better pursuit. More broadly, however, addressing the Querent’s motivation for asking the question, we can say that a career in academia seems to be the better direction. Presumably, the Querent could enter academia either with an architectural or with an archaeological background. The key is that academic work is more after the Querent’s heart, which is very important, as having a career one loves is crucial.

Astrology:

1. We have to identify architecture and archaeology in this chart. The special challenge here is that both fields are naturally ruled by Saturn; archaeology involves digging in the ground for old things and ruins, while architecture is about creating structures and giving form to ideas. We thus have to turn to the receptions to find out what is what in this chart.

The Querent has told us she is interested in archaeology, so we would want to see one of her significators in the dignities of a certain planet. Venus is in the sign and exaltation of Mercury, while the Moon exalts Jupiter. So, most likely, Mercury is likely the study of archaeology. Mercury is not in good shape in this chart: it is retrograde and combust, and moving deeper into combustion by the day. I don’t tend to see retrogradation as a problem for Mercury here, since the nature of architecture is to go back into the past. However, the increasing combustion indicates problems with that field of study – problems which may get worse with time.

If Mercury stands for archaeology, then architecture may well be Saturn, but we should check this. The Querent has told us she is not crazy about studying architecture, which she finds boring. So we would expect to see one or both of her significators (Venus or the Moon) in negative receptions of Saturn, if indeed it stands for architecture. Venus is not in any of Saturn’s dignities, but the Moon is in Saturn’s debility. This fits what we know – on an emotional level, the Querent dislikes architecture. Saturn is not in an excellent position, either, because it is in detriment. However, it has recently left combustion, and therefore is not that afflicted.

Neither Saturn nor Mercury is in the Moon’s or Venus’s dignities/debilities, so neither field seems particularly good or bad for the Querent. But Saturn is in marginally better shape, so it is the better choice of the two.

I would also note that the Ascendant is conjunct the fixed star Vindemiatrix, suggesting that the Querent may be overestimating her abilities in some manner. Thus, the more conservative option is advisable here, where the Querent should stick to the more familiar – if disliked – architecture studies. Archaeology may be a bit of a stretch for the Querent.

2. Since the Querent mentioned that her question really stemmed from her indecision about pursuing architecture as a career or going into academia, I took a look at the Part of Vocation (MC + Moon – Sun), which is at 15.13 Gemini, in the 9^th house. Its location immediately suggests that the Querent’s vocation lies in academia (9^th house = house of higher learning). Further, the Moon’s antiscion is conjunct the Part of Vocation, suggesting that academic work is really what she wants to do.

This chart shows what is the case in many horaries – very often, we are faced with two choices, one not much better than the other. This is probably why we asked the question; if the answer was clear, we wouldn’t need to ask. The chart will typically show something like we saw here: “Neither choice seems amazingly wonderful, but Y seems somewhat better than X.” Kind of like real life, isn’t it?