This blog in The Firdaria Diaries finds us visiting the fourth, fifth and sixth houses for the final time. It is also written at a time when our world is in the grip of Covid-19 and daily we read reports of rising infections and sadly, rising death rates.  The three years featured in this blog are on the lower-aged boundary of the groups most susceptible to the coronavirus, and self-isolation is the most responsible action we can take to safeguard our own health and to protect those more vulnerable than ourselves. The safest response is to stay at home at this time and if you are currently at the ages of 63, 64 or 65, I have incorporated this message into the following profections and Firdaria periods.

***

Profections: Moving Forward Through the Houses

63 years old : FOURTH HOUSE

The first of these three houses lies at the base of the chart and the age of sixty three brings a focus on family matters, a family business, family divisions over property, or the buying or selling of your own property. You may be moving an elderly parent or relative into new accommodation or you may be making some adjustments to your own property, perhaps downsizing, investing in a second house to support your retirement years, or leasing new premises for a business venture.

The link between your outward success and your inner sanctuary is very strong in the fourth house so although the tenth house of occupation and job opportunities is not directly featured, it often has a secondary impact on fourth house matters, especially if future retirement plans are being discussed when you are enter your early sixties.

The house at the bottom of the chart represents our foundation, the rock upon which our lives are built and as we move into our sixties it’s still not too late to ponder on how we now define the concept of ‘home’, especially when it comes to something intrinsic within ourselves that we can hold on to through the tough times, and from where we can borrow from the past, and move with confidence into the future.

If you are currently sixty three years of age during Covid-19, then self-isolation is one reason to be experiencing a fourth house year where you are staying at home and having little physical contact with the outside world.

64 years old : FIFTH HOUSE

The year in which you turn sixty four becomes a fifth house year and this house is one concerned with creativity, social activities, and time spent in leisure and entertainment, so the year following your change of address may involve some lovely pursuits when you have the available cash and time to relax and spoil yourself. Alternatively, if money is now tight and the consequences of investing in a new property in the previous year has stretched the finances, the impact of less money for leisure pursuits is now starting to dawn on you.

One significant point is worthy of mention during a fifth house year. If last year was a big career move for you – moving from full-time to part-time, taking expertise into a new area, accepting a promotion – then this year can leave you feeling a bit lost or at loose ends as to why you made a move in the first place. Feeling disorientated is common for fifth house years as there is little to connect the sign of the fifth to the sign of the tenth house which indicates your occupation. This feeling may not be so obvious if there is an aspect between the rulers of these two houses, but you may be resenting the fact that your spare time is being consumed by work commitments.

Your children are described by the fifth house so there may be opportunities to connect with them, or to enjoy a task which brings them closer into your everyday life. At age sixty four, your children will have their own busy lives, possibly with children of their own, so any time spent together is precious. This is a chance to enjoy their successes and share in their worries and sorrows, without having to fix it for them (as you did for them when they were younger) so take a step back and let them make their own mistakes.

Again, if this is a Covid-19 year for you, then the fifth house is one where you may have time on your hands, perhaps for the first time for many years. Finding something to do which is creative and spends the current hours on a project that you have been promising yourself but postponing, is an enriching way to pass this stressful year. You may find the project includes renovations to your home and this can benefit both your own peace of mind, and the environment in which you are currently contained.  Children are also represented by the fifth house and you may be missing contact with them and adjusting to how you can maintain your relationship throughout the lockdown period.

65 years old : SIXTH HOUSE

If 2020 is the year in which you turn sixty five, you may need to maintain vigilance in your self-isolation as the sixth house is concerned with your strength, vitality and any underlying health conditions which may add to your concerns during this year.

In previous sixth house profections, that is, at ages 53, 41, and 29, there is often an emphasis on increased work production involving long hours and stressful work conditions. If you are one of the people in the health care sector – especially if you are rejoining the workforce – or working in essential businesses to support the community, education, or the welfare system, then you are definitely going through a tough sixth house year. Exhaustion, stress, illness, and the added underlying fear of possible infection are a major part of your daily experiences as the strange and frightening circumstances of 2020 call you into frontline activities to care for others’ needs, rather than having the time to take care of your own well-being.

In anything but a Covid-19 year, sixth house years are often about drudgery. Your work ethic should be noticeable by your management or supervisor at work, but you are going to wonder whether it is all worth the sacrifices you are making to maintain this pace for a continued amount of time, or if the younger versions of yourself will outpace you and leave you behind. Technology and new innovations may be starting to take your place and this may be a year when you need to reassess where you are going in your working life.

Sixth house years are also the reminder that we no longer have the strength, agility, speed and stamina of our earlier years so if you have been accustomed to ‘powering through’ a huge workload or ignoring the toll that stress is taking on your body, then it may all catch up with you in a sixth house year.

This is a year when the body can get worn down through poor eating habits, stressful deadlines, insufficient sleep, and in general, stress related illnesses that talk about attacks on nervous systems and constant niggling health worries that don’t seem to go away.

Fractures in bones and general wear and tear are reminders that you are no longer quick to heal, or as fast on your feet as you used to be. A sixth house year can range from small irritations such as fatigue or a cold that won’t shift to more worrying concerns, and the relationship between the ruler of your first house (good health) and the ruler of your sixth house (the destruction of your good health) is a significant concern during this year.

***

Profections Summary for 63: 64: 65 years of age

***

Firdaria: Time Portions Belonging to the Planets

The final major Firdaria period belongs to Mars and begins at sixty three for those born during the day-time hours. Mars’ Firdaria runs for a period of seven years and Mars is the last of the planets in the line-up that started with the Sun at birth. Each birthday sees the introduction of a new sub-lord which will begin with Mars and work down through the Chaldean Order of the planets. Over the next seven years Mars’ Firdaria starts with Mars (63) followed by the Sun (64), Venus (65), Mercury (66), the Moon (67), Saturn (68) and finally Jupiter (69), which will be the last planet to complete the series. The Nodes will break the pattern of the seven planets at seventy years of age and take out the five years from seventy to seventy five. The Sun’s Firdaria will restart the whole process of running through the planets for diurnal charts as the sequence continues until the individual’s life is completed.

Mercury will continue to work through its thirteen year major Firdaria for night-time births.  During these three years the nocturnal individual will encounter two sub-lord rulers in Jupiter and Mars under Mercury’s supervision. Jupiter is the sub-lord for the age of sixty three and for the first half of turning sixty four. Mars will take over from Jupiter halfway through the year and will be in charge for the following year.

***

Daytime Births 63 – 65 years of age

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 63 years

Major Lord: Years

MARS for 7 years – Start of New Long-term Period

Turning sixty three marks the beginning of a new 7 year period for those born during the day. Mars is the planet which signifies passion, energy, courage, short-term ambitions and the male persona. Mars is a nocturnal planet so it is not always going to bring its best for the day-timer. However, if you have been going through a difficult Saturn period (in Jupiter’s Firdaria) in the previous year then Mars might bring a fresh approach, renewed energy or a sense of optimism that has been missing in your life. But that’s going to depend on how he sits in your chart. Is he is good condition? Is he strong? Powerful? Determined and single-minded? We hope so as otherwise there are some rocky times ahead in the next seven years.

Mars in a diurnal chart can very quickly get hot under the collar and the years of its Firdaria will likely test your tolerance, especially with those who are from the younger generations, or those individuals with a point of view that differs from your own opinions. During the next seven years it would be wise to practise the virtue of patience: resist the temptation to criticize everything outside of your own experience. True, it can be temporarily satisfying and even exhilarating to go against the new ‘normal’, but you don’t want it to turn into a habit of negativity that defines your later years in life, or crystallizes into bitterness, resentment or anger.

Mars is about enjoying not only your own energy and high levels of enthusiasm but also celebrating the young, rash and reckless ones who will inherit our earth. Get busy, get involved, get positive and persevere – you will need these qualities long after Mars’ Firdaria has passed and you enter your seventies, eighties and nineties.

Minor Lord: Months

MARS – Start of New Short-term Period of 12 months

In Firdaria the same planet which is the major lord always has the first shift for the initial short-term period. Mars gets to flex its muscles in the first year and as there are seven planets and seven years for Mars, this is the easiest short-term period to work out without using a calculator.

Mars will change its short-term ruler at every new birthday and this means that profection and Firdaria will change at exactly the same time. For the next seven years, as you change house emphasis, so too will you be given a new planet to fulfil Mars’ somewhat contrary wishes. Some years it will work well and the significant area of life will compliment the new Firdaria ruler. But other years will highlight conflict and trouble between you, and someone else in your life.

The fourth house emphasis of this year may mean that you are looking around for real estate to either invest in, or you wish to change your residential address. You may decide that a ‘sea-change’ is in order, or you may be ready to sell the family home and look elsewhere for a new property project. If you are this age right now, then Covid-19 will mean you are in lockdown and either working from home, or in enforced or temporary ‘retirement’ from your employment. Mars is going to demand that you do something as this is a planet of movement, challenges and activity so renovations or home improvements may be at the forefront of your mind.

***

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 64 years

64 years

Short-term Lord Changes from MARS to SUN

Major Long-term Lord: MARS          

NEW Minor Short-term Lord: SUN

There are no mid-year changes when Mars is the Firdaria lord of its long-term seven year reign. At each new birthday from the ages of sixty three to seventy a new short-term ruler will take its place as a representative for Mars. At sixty four the Sun becomes the director of a day-time birth and this is a good opportunity to gauge the nature of your legacy as you may be thinking of winding back your working hours during this year.

The Sun is your natural luminary and the combination of the Sun with Mars talks about strength, purpose, and vitality so if both planets are in good condition in your natal chart, this can be a year of productivity, new plans, and a renewed enthusiasm in where the future is taking you.

Together Mars and the Sun are fabulous at making new plans so be careful not to get too carried away by these two schemers. For all its shine and bravado, the Sun has to follow Mars’ directions, and often Mars is pure bedlam when it comes to chopping and changing your mind. What it loves one day it hates the next, and whatever ambitions the Sun may foster, Mars’ underlying desire to break bonds, agreements, contracts, etc, can mean you are burning bridges faster than the Sun can build new ones to take their place.

One other word of warning. The fifth house is your house in focus and as this is a house of monetary speculation (that is, money for playing with), you need to be careful that the Sun does not make you blind to any poor investments, or risky high-return promises that burn you in the future. If you can afford to be frivolous with your money and see your investments as ‘entertainment’ rather than necessity, then go for it. But in the midst of an unpredictable Mars Firdaria, you might be better to spend excess cash on enjoying yourself in other ways or planning for longer periods of leisure time in the future.

The fifth house is the house of children, so you may want to finance a project with, or for them, one that helps them to achieve their own goals or long-term ambitions. Your natural pride in their achievements may blind you to a project’s foolishness so remember that this is about giving them a start, rather than expecting a return for your investment.

***

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 65 years

65 years

Short-term Lord Changes from SUN to VENUS

Major Long-term Lord: MARS          

NEW Minor Short-term Lord: VENUS

These two planets are a volatile combination even at the best of times, but with a sixth house focus which introduces health concerns and stressed working conditions, the year ahead could be fraught with niggles and frustrations that are wearing on your good nature.

Neither Mars nor Venus are comfortable in a day-time chart and this can add to your feelings of annoyance or a lack of confidence because you cannot achieve what you want from this year. Be careful that your frustrations do not lead to arguments, unsettlement, embarrassments or a distressing incident that turns a friend into a foe. You are going to need to take a few long breaths and count to get through this short faze when Venus is working on Mars’ behalf.

Venus signifies women in general so a female in your life could be going through a hard time and asking for your assistance. Think about what you are willing to give as it may be awkward to rescind on a promise that you gave extravagantly but will later regret.

At best you can turn your time towards putting in some effort to make sure that everyone around you is surviving and although keeping the peace is exhausting, in the long run you will be pleased you made the effort. Keep calm and keep going as this is a year that you can be proud of your stoicism in enduring hardship without complaint. Alternatively, you can choose to rant and rave, but the cost is high to your health and a waste of your energies. Plus you’re not going to like yourself much if you can’t keep a check on your temper each time provocation comes your way.  

***

Night Births 63 – 65 years of age

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 63 years

Major Lord: MERCURY     

Minor Lord: JUPITER

The mid-point for Mercury’s major Firdaria occurred five months before the sixty third birthday when Jupiter became the latest short-term lord.  Before Jupiter, came the short-term rule of Mercury, Moon, and Saturn and now you are half-way through Mercury’s thirteen years. So far you have reviewed the good and not-so-good choices in your life. During Saturn’s period you may have been a little severe in your self-judgment , weighing up the ‘misses’ more than the ‘hits’ and lamenting over missed opportunities, failed missions, unresolved relationships, erratic career spikes and mostly, wasted time.

Jupiter is the ideal planet for the mid-point ruler of Mercury’s thirteen years. It loves to pontificate about how wise it has become over the past few years (three years since Jupiter’s latest Return) and although its early days in the cycle, Jupiter may feel that under Mercury’s guidance, it has the opportunity for intelligence, wisdom and experience to help in the individual’s growth and development. However, Jupiter is not super-generous in a nocturnal chart because it is out-of-sect so there is still hard work and disappointment on the pathway to enlightenment, but Jupiter is still not as relentless as Saturn can be on a night-timer.

The focus house for this year is the fourth and there is no better time than a Jupiter sub-period – driven by Mercury – to unpack your house of knee-jerk reactions which have accumulated over a lifetime of unconsciously absorbed and repeated patterns. Fourth house describes all of those prejudices, unfounded opinions, and value judgements that were based on feelings and subjective responses that make up who we are when we think no-one else is watching us. 

Yes, folks, it’s time to unpack the subconscious and really think about what you want to keep and what needs to be discarded because it no longer works for the person you have become. I suggest you keep the ones which you want your family, children, partner and friends to remember you by and get rid of the ones that make you inwardly cringe or make you feel a sense of shame. The best way to do this is to voice your thoughts and see what your instant reaction is when you hear them spoken out loud. Fourth house is known as ‘the end of the matter’ so imagine that this list is read as a eulogy at the end of your life – would you be proud of the list, or would you wish you had more time to correct it? It is getting late in your life but it’s not too late, so make some necessary changes under Mercury / Jupiter whilst you still have the chance. 

***

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 64 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY         

Short-term Lord: JUPITER

Fifth house concerns take up this year as the beginning of the year after you turn sixty four will still be under Jupiter’s influence.  If you have big plans for this year – one of Mercury / Jupiter’s call-signs – then they may have been derailed or postponed by Covid-19 and you may have to wait a little longer to launch something new. Keep working on the key principles as the next sub-lord is Mars and this planet may bring the boost of energy you need to get started on a new project which is both fun and creative in its nature.

If children are your concern during this year then the combination of Jupiter with Mercury can see some joint projects between yourself and your offspring. They may be looking for practical advice so try and help them with constructive ideas rather than criticizing or belittling their efforts to follow their dreams.

64 years and 5 months

Short-term Lord Changes from JUPITER to MARS

Long-term Lord: MERCURY         

NEW Short-term Lord: MARS

Earlier in this blog I warned diurnal births about suspect investments during a fifth house year and this warning goes for you too, even though you are working to a different set of rules under your nocturnal Firdaria. Day-timers are working under the Sun’s year in a Mars Firdaria and they are likely to be driven by the need to prove that they are haven’t lost their edge and are in full control of their lives. Indeed, a high-risk venture is seen as a mark of their courage and shows that ‘they still have it’ so they will gamble on the hope that it will pay dividends and provide a financial cushioning for their later years.

But this is not about ‘true grit’ for nocturnal births. True, Mars is once more in play, as Mercury’s short-term Firdaria lord, but Mars is not calling the shots. Instead it is working on behalf of Mercury, the lord of the marketplace, and the trickster who tries to tell you that it alone has an uncanny knack at turning a profit when everyone else predicts loss. Mercury is going to try and convince you that it has the cunning and the shrewdness of a fox when it comes to quick in-and-out deals and under its direction, Mars will want to show its bravado by moving fast in the fear it might miss out or be left behind in the rush. These two planets in combination are not a good recipe for sensible business acumen and if you are going through this Firdaria phase at the moment, the timing for making a ‘quick killing’ is terribly wrong.

If you have passed this age and are reading this in hindsight, this warning will arrive too late, and if this has happened to you I hope you have been able to recover your losses and moved on to a wiser and more cautious place.

The fifth house is called ‘the house of good fortune’ and there is plenty of happiness to be found here – through children, leisure, entertainment, and good friends – but the enjoyment is often about mindset  and knowing that benefits surround you, regardless of your financial situation.

The combination of Mars with Mercury can be very unsettling for the mind as Mars can niggle and bite through unattractive emotions such as envy, malice or bitterness at life’s unfairness or fate’s heavy hand. Be on guard for these emotions as they can incite arguments, harsh words and accusations that will wound the ones you love and will not help to improve your peace of mind.

***

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 65 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY         

Short-term Lord: MARS

A sixth house year is not the ideal location for where you want to spend a Mars sub-period under Mercury’s direction. Mars needs a physical outlet for its built up energies and Mercury is the planet responsible for our fine and gross motor skills. Together they might come up with great ideas to suddenly begin an intense exercise regime, start marathon running, or compete with strangers who are thirty years your junior. The idea that you should be pushing your body to the max or going faster to complete a boring task is not sensible when the sixth is the house known for unexpected accidents and illnesses that can hit out of the blue. This year might be a case of pacing yourself and being realistic about what you can, and can’t do on a physical level.

Sixth house is also our daily routines so by all means make sure to keep Mars busy, active and challenged during this year. However, you need to be aware of how aging is affecting your body and to understand the changes that are taking place which will affect its capabilities. Make allowances for its weaknesses and slow down rather than pushing through and hoping that you are not doing any damage. Daily exercises that maintain good hand-eye coordination or strengthen muscles, keep ligaments supple and retain bone density can hold you in good stead when there are later years of fatigue, illness, or possible injury on the way. Speaking of injury; if you go too hard or do not listen to the body’s responses, you risk injury under the supervision of a planet that does not understand the terms ‘restraint’ or ‘caution’.

Without a positive outlet Mars can be fractious, restless, irritable and frustrated when serving the quicksilver nature of Mercury. Sharp tongues and sarcastic retort can bring you troublesome times, especially if sixth house means you are finding the work environment irksome or younger colleagues irritating because they are challenging your authority.

The combination of sixth house with your current Mars sub-period can also mean that your mental health is stressed during this year. Issues can range from mental fatigue, anxiety, persistent worry, negativity and a sliding scale of depression and it is important that you consult someone if you find yourself headed in the direction that leads to more bad days that good ones.

***