I never knew my father. In my natal chart, the 4th house is ruled by an extremely strong Saturn, dignified in Capricorn, the planet in the best zodiacal condition in the whole chart. At first glance, this could suggest a father who was certainly melancholic, Saturnine, distant and cold, but still capable of providing structure.
However, my father had serious problems with alcoholism, legal troubles and mental issues, and was never able to embody that figure, choosing instead to abandon the family when I was still very young. The Hermetic Lot of the Father reveals more clearly what happened, being placed in the 12th house, the house of the evil spirit, of those who remain unseen and who at times become ghostlike presences in one’s life.
Yesterday, I decided to cast a horary chart to find out whether he is still alive. By now, he must be close to 75 years old. The last news I had of him dates back roughly 15 years and indicated that he was facing respiratory health problems.
In this chart, the cusp of the 4th house, which signifies the father, falls in Aries. Mars is in Pisces in the radical 3rd, which is his derived 12th. So, we have a malefic planet, although one with some essential dignity, granted by the nocturnal triplicity of Water, since this is a night sect chart. His derived 12th points more towards hospitalisation, confinement or institutionalisation than death itself. Mars is at 28 degrees Pisces, in the term of Saturn, which reinforces limitation and seclusion.
But let’s return to the question: is he dead? To answer yes, we would need to see a separating aspect between Mars and a significator of death. A separating one because death must have taken place. We can rely on two significators of death: the ruler of the radical 8th and the ruler of my father’s derived 8th.
The radical 8th is Cancer, whose dispositor is the Moon in Sagittarius. There is indeed an aspect between them, with no prohibitions: an applying square. So, at most, this may tell us that death will occur soon, not that it has already happened.
His derived 8th is Scorpio, ruled by Mars, the same significator as my father. This too does not say that he is already dead. Like in health questions, the significator of the illness and the significator of the person afflicted can the same. So we are still left without an affirmative answer to this question.
The Arabic Part of Death is at 8 degrees Scorpio, but I do not find it decisive either, given the absence of aspects with the main significators. My judgement is that my father is still alive, although probably in some condition related to hospitalisation, imprisonment, or residence in a care home. The fact that Mars holds the nocturnal triplicity of Water, without being in detriment or afflicted, also suggests to me that he retains some vital force, despite the approaching square from the Moon as significator of radical death.
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