In most cultures turning eighteen is a celebration in recognition of the fact that we are leaving childhood and now stand on the threshold of adulthood. Astrologically it is also a good place to start when looking at how life will unfold through the combined lens of profection and Firdaria.

Profections: Moving Forward Through the Houses

18 years old : SEVENTH HOUSE

Halfway around the chart, and in opposite position to the Ascendant, lies the seventh house signifying our interactions with other people. The seventh house is also the mid-point of the twelve year profection cycle and any half-way mark requires us to be painfully honest about where we stand in our lives. It requires us to look back to where we came from, and to make hard decisions on where we hope to go from here. Part of this reflection requires us to examine our relationships and seventh house years provide perfect timing for this task. Love and commitment to another, however fleeting, is tough at this age as it is usually a high-octane mixture of intense joy and sheer terror. Joy, that you have found someone who truly understands you, and terror, that you might lose them in a heartbeat if you don’t meet their expectations.

19 years old : EIGHTH HOUSE

At the nineteenth birthday the profection moves forward to the house following the seventh house of relationships. Sometimes there is a flow-on effect from one house to the next, and in this case it may be about finances and shared resources, especially if there has been a connection or a partnership.  If the relationship is serious enough to warrant moving in together then the conversations become about what you can and can’t afford as a couple. However, if this year is about break-ups and relationship heartache, then the eighth house lessons we learn are through feelings of loss and sadness and are a part of grieving for a future without the other person.

20 years old : NINTH HOUSE

At the twentieth birthday the focus is on a year of new experiences, possibly travel, the beginning or even the completion of studies, moving into new work experiences, becoming independent from family, or generally learning that your life is not the same as everyone else’s experience. Whatever the situation, the ninth house is about learning to exist outside of our accepted comfort zone, and usually involves voluntary action on our part. The choices of the ninth house put us into new circumstances where we learn through trial and error, and instead of being more like others, we learn to be more like ourselves.

Profections Summary for 18: 19: 20 years of age

Firdaria: Time Portions Belonging to the Planets

The second part of Diaries belongs to the Firdaria which divides the individual’s life into portions of years supervised under the watchful eye of one of the seven original planets. I don’t use the term ‘portions’ lightly as the word also has an archaic interpretation meaning ‘destiny, fate, fortune, or kismet’. The Hindi translation for portion is hisse and its use is similar to our English description. However, it also means ‘to bestow a dowry’ as in a gift or benefit, and this is exactly what Firdaria intends to do whilst a planet is in charge of your life. Sometimes that dowry is amazing and at other times it’s a steamy pile of pain and misery.

Knowing the exact time of birth is not essential for Firdaria but you do need to know whether you were born during the day or the night. For those born during the daytime, the long-term lord begins with the Sun for ten years, and for those born at night, the first long-term ruler is the Moon for nine years. The full seven portions, that is, the major years from birth to North Node, are provided in the previous blog on The Basics.

For the purpose of this blog, we are presuming that adulthood begins at the age of eighteen years.  Daytime births describes those individuals who were born after the sun has risen and before it sets, and usually covers the twelve hours between 6 am to 6 pm (minus daylight saving). Night births are those individuals who arrived on Earth any time after the sun had set and before it rose again in the east, covering approximately twelve hours from 6 pm to 6 am.

Daytime Births 18 – 20 years of age

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 18 years

Major Lord: Years

MERCURY for 13 years – Start of NEW Long-term Period

The eighteenth birthday marks the beginning of a new 13 year period for those born during the day. Mercury is the planet which signifies the mind, education, intelligence, reasoning abilities, thought processes, speech and memory. This is the time when you start thinking for yourself and planning the direction in which you want your life to head in the future. Add the fact that you are also focusing on the major relationships in your life (profection), and the two themes combined are overwhelming to say the least.  Mercury may have a wish-list on what a ‘relationship’ looks like from a logical perspective but this may have nothing to do with what is actually going on, as this will be determined by the planet that rules the seventh house (The Lord of the Year).

Minor Lord: Months

MERCURY – Start of NEW Short-term Period of 22 months

In Firdaria the same planet which is the major lord always has the first shift for the initial short-term period. Choices can be either limited or confusing depending on how Mercury works for you, and which planets it is involved with in the natal chart as Mercury is heavily influenced by aspects from the other planets. Generally speaking, at eighteen it means that everyone else seems to have an opinion on what you should be doing right now with your life. Mercury is also involved with finance (hence ‘mercantile’) and successfully managing your money can be part of the learning process if you are responsible for supporting yourself by finding a job, building your bank balance, or moving away from home.

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 19 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY        

Short-term Lord: MERCURY

Mercury still rules for the first ten months after this birthday but the focus has changed from relationships to more dramatic or unexpected events that may have thrown you into a tail-spin. Your communication and problem-solving skills are likely to be tested as you try to find logical (or crazy) ways out of an onslaught of personal dilemmas.  

 19 years and 10 months

Short-term Lord Changes from MERCURY to MOON

Long-term Lord: MERCURY

 NEW Short-term Lord: MOON

There is a change in short-term rulers approximately two months before your twentieth birthday and the Moon takes over from Mercury at this junction. Mercury still rules the years, but Moon is now interested in your physical health, your family situation, and your emotional well-being. You are not quite out of the woods yet as the constant dramas of the eighth house are probably having a wearing effect on your body and your emotions. Fighting with loved ones is never pleasant and if this is the case, hopefully matters are resolved in the next few months with the move in profected house.

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 20 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY

Short-term Lord: MOON

The movement from eighth to ninth house is usually an improvement and things should be looking up, or at least giving you a new direction and the hope that you are now past the most difficult part of a poor situation. If you need to swallow your pride and apologise, the Moon should be a decent ally with Mercury and you will find the right words to heal a situation. Either that, or you have removed yourself physically through travel or study opportunities. The combination of Mercury with the Moon is a good lesson in learning to make better decisions and to improve your communication with the ones you love, maybe even building bridges if that is what’s needed to give you a sense of peace.

Night Births 18 – 20 years of age

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 18 years

Major Lord: Years

SATURN for 11 years – Begun at 9 yrs old – lasts to 20 yrs old

Saturn is a hard task-master for those people who are born during the night. Not only is Saturn a diurnal planet and therefore unhappy in night charts, it is also about control by authority figures, restriction, and isolation, and these are all hard issues for one so young to tackle from the age of nine years. Puberty is never an easy time and having to give away one’s Saturn to those who are supposedly older and wiser is often frustrating for night-timers. At eighteen years of age, there is some legal obligation to gain control of your life and there are only two more years left to serve under Saturn’s tutelage. Perhaps the only bright light is that you will soon have Saturn’s major years behind you whereas those people born in the day will have to face him in their middle years.

Minor Lord: Months

MERCURY – Begun at age 16 years and 10 months

Ideally Saturn would prefer that Mercury keep it simple and go one of two ways. However, Mercury is never simple and often combines the two possibilities given that it is an expert at hedging its bets. Either there is huge rebellion and Mercury uses guile to challenge and thwart the confining authority figures in the individual’s life, or the mind has become serious, studious or somewhat bleak in its outlook on life. Using your wit, your intelligence, or your cunning to outsmart parents, teachers and the law can be enormous fun, but it’s still Saturn. Even inventing your own language or secret networks through social media has great appeal for Mercury but the darker side of Saturn can also appear through cyber bullying or racial or social vilification. Or you can use Mercury under Saturn for intensive study, anxiety over the future, or even depression if the two planets are difficult in the chart. Truly, Saturn and Mercury are an odd pair – Mercury tries to bring processes together and Saturn tries to divide them, so whatever the scenario, it’s an uncomfortable time for night births from 16 to 18 years of age.

 18 years and 5 months

Short-term Lord Changes from MERCURY to MOON

Long-term Lord: SATURN

NEW Short-term Lord: MOON

The Moon takes over from Mercury halfway into the eighteenth year and the Moon is not much better equipped to deal with Saturn than Mercury has been previously. Mercury’s flippancy has been replaced by emotional concerns and for the next eighteen months the search is on for ‘what makes me happy.’ Relationships are a big focus as this is still a seventh house year and making even small commitments can bring angst for the individual. If you are one of those people who has access to your natal chart, it is worth knowing that Saturn and the Moon will feature a particular house axis in your chart. Saturn rules Capricorn and Moon rules Cancer and as these two signs are always opposite one another in any chart, this Firdaria period can highlight the archetypal pull between these two planets. They are not friends, and the Moon is not happy under Saturn’s direction, especially given that it is the primary luminary and holds power in the night-time chart. Being called to serve its adversary is irksome for the Moon so you can expect emotional upheaval when it is Saturn’s short-term ruler.      

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 19 years

Major Lord: SATURN

Minor Lord: MOON

If Saturn is sending out the Moon to look for serious partnerships then this year might have been, or is, one that you remember for being in love. It might seem odd that it’s the year after the seventh house, but for night people the Moon is the most significant planet, and a full year when Saturn puts the Moon through its paces is a year of drama, endings, and emotional upheaval – all things of an eighth house nature. This is a year of being ‘totally in the dark’ so far as understanding how to react to life’s twists and turns. The Moon also rules the physical body and the combination of profected eighth house with a Saturn/Moon period can tire the body and add the extra burden of illness or exhaustion.

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 20 years

Major Lord: Years

JUPITER for 12 years – Start of NEW Long-term Period

Hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel is Jupiter, not an advancing train, and at age twenty Saturn has at last left the stage. Jupiter prefers a daytime chart but as it is mostly a good news planet, then life should be looking a little brighter when Jupiter becomes the major lord. There is also a nice segue between profection and Firdaria as the ninth house of exploration is now the focus house. If Saturn hasn’t battered you too much, then recovery is swift and leaving behind the teenage years – and Saturn – is pure relief and the anticipation of taking control of your own life is one of Jupiter’s rewards for surviving some tough years.

Minor Lord: Months

JUPITER – Start of NEW Short-term Period of 20 months

Jupiter is also the first minor lord for almost two years so a double dose of Jupiter can bring optimism and an anticipation of good times in the future. Possibilities widen out and you can be spoilt for choice in this period, especially as it will also include most of the following year of profection when you start to look more closely at career opportunities at age 21. However, double Jupiter comes with a cautionary footnote. This planet is known for its excesses so if Saturn has been really restrictive, Jupiter can feel like anything goes, and taking the ‘no limits no control’ attitude too far can be bad for one’s health and sanity. Too much crazy living through partying, stimulants, and risky choices are Jupiter’s idea of gambling with life, and unfortunately Jupiter times two at twenty can be an extremely dangerous thing. If you are currently at this age, take some care and learn to introduce your own version of Saturn boundaries into your life. If you don’t, someone or something else will do it for you. And you may not like the way they do it. As a night-timer with eleven years experience of Saturn under your belt, the last thing you want right now is to go backwards into Saturn’s dark realm.

The next blog looks at the years 21, 22, and 23. I hope you will visit again for the next update. And I will leave you with wise words from my most favourite book, The Little Prince.

“One day he (the little prince) suggested that I set about making a beautiful drawing, so as to give children on my planet a clear idea of all this. ‘Then, if one day they travel,’ he said, ’that will be of use to them. Sometimes one can safely put off what needs doing later. But in the case of baobabs it always ends in disaster.’

… so for once I will break my usual reserve, and say categorically:

‘Children! Beware of baobabs!’”