If the Profected Ascendant Ruler is Batman, who is Robin?

Recently the Astrological Society of Kentucky invited me to speak about planetary hours. After giving the matter some thought, I decided to do a presentation about the Lord of the Orb, a profectional technique widely used in medieval and Renaissance astrology. For some reason, it was neglected in the English-language astrological literature. The Lord of the Orb, however, is discussed extensively by Abu Ma’shar in the 9th century CE, and several European texts also explain its use in the 16th century. Junctinus, who was widely read and often quoted by Morin in France and Lilly in England, clearly outlines the technique. Morin felt that such methods were non-scientific fantasies of the medieval Arab writers and dismissed them for that reason. William Lilly, as far as I know, never mentions the Lord of the Orb, even though he apparently read Junctinus in the Latin. Guido Bonatti, whom Lilly frequently quotes, defines the Lord of the Orb in his Latin text, so Lilly must have been aware of the concept.

What is the Lord of the Orb? It goes by various names including Lord of the Orb, the Circle, the Turn (probably referring to the turn of the native’s year at the annual solar revolution), etc. The basic idea is that each of us is born during a particular planetary hour, whose ruler is then “profected” in Chaldean order (Sa, Ju, Ma, Su, Ve, Me, Mo) annually for the rest of our life. The Lord of the orb is a time-lord which is interpreted together with the Lord of the Year (the ruler of the annual profected Ascendant sign), and other predictive techniques, in judging the solar return each year after birth. The Lord of the Orb and of the Year are time-lords that act as a team in highlighting important themes in the year ahead.

Let’s look at a case example of the use of these two time-lords in practice. Stephen Spielberg cast 5-year-old Heather O’Rourke in his movie Poltergeist. According to her Birth Certificate, Heather was born in San Diego, CA, on 27 December 1975 at 00:28 AM on a Venus day during a Jupiter hour. It was shocking to learn that at the age of 12 she died of cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis on 1 February 1988. Here is her chart in the tropical zodiac with Placidus houses:

Heather O’Rourkes’ birth chart with planetary hour rulers in Chaldean order around the outside of the chart.

The Lord of the Orb during the first year of life is the natal planetary hour, in this case, Jupiter. Because she has Libra rising, the Lord of the Year during the first year of life is Venus. We then “profect” the Ascendant at the rate of one whole sign per year (birthday to birthday, as judge by solar return). The ruler of the profected Asc become the profected Lord of the Year.

Similarly we “profect” the Lord of the Orb yearly in Chaldean order. In the 1st year of life, the Lord of the Orb is the planetary hour lord, Jupiter in this chart. In the 2nd year of life, the Lord of the Orb is Mars, which is also associated with the 2nd whole sign from the birth Asc. In the 3rd year, it’s the Sun, which is also associated with the 3rd whole sign from the natal Asc. And so on, around the wheel.

She died at age 12, which is her 13th year of life. Her Lady of the Year (profected Asc ruler at age 12) was Venus, ruler of Libra. Her Lord of the Orb at age 12 was the Moon, which comes in Chaldean order after Mercury (the Orb Lord at age 11). Hence, two important time-lords in the year of her demise were Venus and the Moon.

What do Venus and the Moon signify in the natal chart? The Lord of the Orb Moon occupies the 1st house, so it refers to her body and state of health. The Moon rules the 10th cusp (career, public reputation). The Moon is square Mercury (ruler of the 12th of hospitalization and the 9th, and occupant of the 4th of endings). In addition, the Moon rules the 8th of death through its exaltation in Taurus, which is ruled by Venus, the dispositor of the Moon.

Venus, the Lady of the Year, rules the 8th of death, disposits the Lord of the Orb Moon, and occupies Scorpio in the 2nd house, which Morin says accidentally signifies death through its opposition to the 8th. In the sequence of 12 hour lords paired with the 12 houses of the birth chart, Venus is associated with houses 4 (final endings) and 11 (hopes, wishes, friends).

In the second cycle of 12 houses, ages 12 to 23, in Chaldean order the Moon is paired with the 1st (body) and 8th (death) houses, and Venus is paired with the 6th (illness) house. This listing from an Excel sheet shows which houses the Lord of the Orb Moon is associated with at various ages during the first 36 years of her life:

In her birth chart, the Moon is Lord of the Orb at age 5 and is paired with the 6th house, so the Moon has an association with 6th house issue natally and throughout life. In the second 12 years of life, the Moon is Lord of the Orb of the 1st house and is paired with the 1st and 8th houses during this second 12-year period of life. Hence, at age 12 we would expect 1st, 6th, and 8th houses to become prominent because the Moon is Lord of the Orb at that age.

Next we must study the solar turn that was active in February of 1988 when she passed.

Solar Return at birth location during the year of her passing. Lady of the Year was Venus, and Lord of the Orb was the Moon.

In the solar return for 1988, the Lord of the Orb Moon occupies Aries in the SR 7th house. The Moon closely applies to square the Sun, which is in the 4th house of final endings, and the Sun is conjunct SR Asc-ruler Mercury and SR Neptune, all in the 4th house. The SR Moon in Aries occupies the natal 6th house of illness.

The Lady of the Year Venus occupies Aquarius in the SR 5th house (associated with the heart in medical astrology). SR Venus applies to square Pluto, which opposes the 8th house cusp. SR Vensu in Aquarius occupies the natal 4th house of endings.

The Solar Return Ascendant degree, 16 Virgo, is the same as that of the natal 12th house of hospitalization. In addition, the SR Jupiter is conjunct natal Jupiter in the SR 8th house, so she is undergoing a Jupiter return. In the pattern of planetary hours associated with the 12th houses of the birth chart, the birth planetary hour ruler Jupiter signifies the 1st and 8th houses, the body and its death respectively.