Last week we began the journey through adulthood with the ages of eighteen to twenty when relationships were highlighted, and both day and night charts began a new major Firdaria during this time. From the age of eighteen, Mercury will be in charge of day-timers for thirteen years, whilst Jupiter’s rule began at twenty for the night-timers and will be the major Firdaria Lord for the next twelve years. These two planets will direct life until just into the early thirties for both individuals  (The Firdaria Diaries: The Basics).

In the meantime, this blog focuses on the three years when the profected Ascendant will move forward to the final three houses in a set of twelve with attention shifting each year to a new topic.

Profections: Moving Forward Through the Houses

21 years old : TENTH HOUSE

In the previous century twenty one was seen as the attainment of adulthood, not the now common, and younger age, of eighteen years. 21^st Celebrations were a big deal with family gatherings, pretty frocks, champagne flutes, and lengthy parental speeches with the obligatory decorative key for everyone to sign and add their own piece of wisdom on what they thought life should be about.  Boys were expected to start on their careers and respectable girls got married in their 21^st year, and all that may be outdated, but this is still a profected tenth house year.

Regardless of the past, 21 is a year where expectations of both the young adult, and their future role in society, are highlighted, and at the very least you are expected to have some vague idea as to how you will participate in public life. Although considered too young to make a truly valuable contribution according to the older generation, then at least trying to make an effort to conform is appreciated. In fact, if you are flying too high and are extremely successful and wealthy at this age, the elders’ pride in your achievement soon mutates from admiration to envy, often accompanied by mumbled references to Icarus who flew too close to the sun and suffered the consequences.

22 years old : ELEVENTH HOUSE

In Egyptian mythology the eleventh house is the place where the Sun God rests on his way to his mid-day appointment at the top of the sky. He has escaped the perils of the twelfth house, but he is not quite ready yet to take his place at the Earth’s zenith.  So it seems strange and somewhat a backwards step to go from the pinnacle house at 21, to a lesser place in the chart.

The gift of an eleventh house year is that it is generally put to good use through enjoyment; a short respite from the constant strive to achieve, a time to celebrate your successes with your friends and peers, and a genuine pause to dream of the future. It sounds wonderful, but if the planet ruling your eleventh house is difficult, or struggles for one reason or another, then this year can be one where you feel a bit lost, and one in which you look around at your social set and wonder why they are handling their lives better than you are yours.

Comparisons like these are never kind or profitable when we feel disadvantaged or hampered by our circumstances. Better to use the time to take care of yourself and keep the dreams alive. Other people’s lives are not as perfect as they seem and at 22, believe me, everyone is struggling with something – some are just more skillful at covering up.

23 years old : TWELFTH HOUSE

Having to deal with the twelfth house profection at 23 years of age is a bit of a bummer. If you’re lucky this year is where you choose, or willingly take the opportunity, to withdraw a little from friends and society because you know change is coming and you want to get your head right in order to be ready for it. This is the last year, and the final house, of the twelve year profection cycle.

The twelfth is a ‘dark’ house which receives no light from the Ascendant, and often there are varying shades of ‘darkness’ involved in this year. This can involve a range of happenings which are totally unexpected and unplanned for, and although they can lead to your release from a commitment so you can move into a new life, there can be a sense of loss, abandonment or grief attached to the ‘how it happened’ rather than ‘why it happened’.

Twelfth house years can bring suffering, but they also bring with it an awareness of, and compassion for, other people’s suffering. Lessons on humility, kindness, acceptance, and resilience abound in this year if you are willing to see this as a year of opportunity to explore the darker side of human nature. Age and experience often helps with these twelfth house years and later returns at 35, 47, 59 etc are all about your own attitude and philosophy to adversity – what happens to you is outside of your control, but you can choose how you deal with it – but at age 23 our psyches are too young yet to have formed strong armour and vulnerability, sensitivity, and self-doubt, are the usual hall-marks of twelfth house years.

Profections Summary for 21: 22: 23 years of age

Firdaria: Time Portions Belonging to the Planets

At ages 21 to 23 both day and night people are moving steadily through quite long Major Firdaria periods. Maybe this is a good time to talk about the difference between the long-term lord who rules for years and the short-term lord who rules for a period of months.

Imagine that you attend a prestigious and elite college or university, be it Harvard, Cambridge, Tsinghua, ETH Zurich, or Oxford (or even the imaginary Hogwarts if you prefer). In this scenario, each of these “university superbrands” has seven professors who is responsible for setting one major course for the students. Independently, each one believes their own subject to be the most relevant topic, and their criteria to be the most critical component for successful completion of the university’s degree.

Each professor starts the ball rolling at the beginning of their topic, being careful to lay out their expectations and the subject matter to the student. Then, the directing professor hands over to their colleague, who is also both an expert in their own field, as well as a lecturer of the university, and who must then continue to teach the adopted subject to the best of their ability.

Now, as a student, you are in the hands of someone who thinks they have interpreted the originator’s purpose, but is never quite sure. Interpretation by each of the successive lecturers is different according to their own nature, behaviour, and understanding of the lead professor’s wishes or directives. And that’s apart from the politics within the university, or the personal relationship between professor and lecturer.

In terms of Firdaria, each of the seven educators responsible for one major subject is the planet which is the Major or long-term Lord. They want results both during and after their term has been completed. When the lead professor becomes the lecturer for another professor’s topic they become the Minor, or short-term Lord of the Firdaria, and the role they play is anything but ‘minor’ in its importance. A lecturer who is belligerent because they don’t understand the subject matter or simply dislikes their treatment under the leading professor, is not a good teaching model and the student can be excused for dreading their lessons. The planet in Firdaria has its own agenda, both as head of department and as guest lecturer, and even though intention may be sound, they may simply be a terrible communicator because they have their own problems in the chart.

Likewise, the student may have the best intentions when attending college, but other factors such as family expectations, relationships, money or health worries, i.e., the houses in the chart, may be causing the student to be distracted, unenthusiastic or resistant to the subject at hand.

Just a reminder that daytime births are for those born between the twelve hours when the sun has risen and before it sets, that is, approximately 6am to 6pm (no daylight saving). Mercury is the ‘leading professor’ for the three years between 21 and 23 inclusive, and the Moon, followed by Saturn, and then Jupiter, will be the three ‘lecturers’ who will stand at the podium and be expected the fulfil Mercury’s expectations.

Night births are after the sun has set and before it rises in the east, approximately 6pm to 6 am. Their ‘leading professor’ will be Jupiter, who is still in command at the beginning of the year of turning 21 and busy laying down the ground rules and its own wish-list for the long-term period, but Jupiter will be required to hand over to the next ‘lecturer’ Mars, who then hands over responsibility for educating the student to the Sun in the middle of the last year.

Daytime Births 21 – 23 years of age

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 21 years

Major Long-term Lord: MERCURY        (Years)  

Mercury will be the ‘leading professor’ of the diurnal (day-time) Firdaria until 31 years of age. During this time Mercury strives to develop the day-timers’ intellect through communication, memory, networking, marketing and opinion-making skills.

Minor Short-term Lord: MOON            (Months)

Mercury brings out the best and the worst in humankind. In its highest form Mercury is clever in reasoning, brilliant at debate, and lofty in idealism. It can move mountains and problem-solve to improve and sustain our existence on this Earth. But in its most base form Mercury is our capacity to be a hustler – manipulative, cunning, self-serving and potentially cruel, bigoted and fearful of anything outside of our own experiences and understanding.  

Given that the Moon represents our emotional and very subjective version of life, the combination of head-planet (Mercury) with heart-planet (Moon) can produce a time when we are pulled in all directions and confusion or exhaustion are our main recollections of this year. Add to this, the tenth house feeling of being scrutinized by every adult and overwhelmed by their expectation that we should know exactly where we are headed at this precise moment. The Moon will often reach its saturation point at some time during its period and emotional outbursts, avoidance of family, messy emotional entanglements, or fall-outs with friends and peer groups are likely to be the relevant themes which upset us during this year. The Moon also rules nourishment and care of the body so eating disorders, illnesses or accidents can be evident if  Mercury and the Moon are not working well together.

21 years and 8 months

Short-term Lord Changes from MOON to SATURN

Long-term Lord: MERCURY      

NEW Short-term Lord: SATURN    

The change in short-term rulers from the Moon to Saturn can be abrupt and a tad brutal as Moon’s loving-kindness may have evaporated and Saturn now stands in its place. Tenth house is still the focus and family or authority figures may be losing patience with your dithering or procrastination. Saturn’s role as lecturer under Mercury’s direction is often hard lessons in reality, responsibility and commitment, that is, generally lessons learned by example. Saturn comes from the school of hard knocks and you may be asked to reduce or contain something before it gets out of hand. Luckily, Saturn prefers day-time births so perhaps it will give you time extensions by being lenient or forgiving of your behaviour or choices. But don’t count on it as Saturn’s patience has a limit and it is a tough disciplinarian if you cross the line too many times.

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 22 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY   

Short-term Lord: SATURN  

At the next birthday, and throughout the following year, Mercury and Saturn are the two bringers of your lessons. Mercury has the longest period of all the planets and it divides its thirteen years into short-term periods that last for twenty two months. So you had better start paying attention when Saturn tries to tell you something about your attitude or your choices as you will be under his tutelage for the next two years.

It may be that a particular person arrives in your life and helps to mold your character during this year. The eleventh house covers groups, friendships and influential people in our lives, so perhaps Saturn provides one, or both of the following models during the coming year. Saturn may bring an older person who has some control over your life, either directly, or by example. They might teach you about yourself, or guide you when you most need it. Their influence may steer you in a direction that was previously unknown or unwanted. You might even find yourself rebelling against their control, and this lesson leads you to a new choice.  

The other possibility is that Mercury’s perverse humour sends you a friend who is described as anything but Saturn. They may be so self-destructive or so out of control in their choices that you are the one who takes the role of Saturn as you become their friend, protector or advocate. If your life has started to unravel then a timely meeting with an example of yourself further down a similar track may be just what you need as a wake-up call.

DAYTIME BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 23 years

Long-term Lord: MERCURY

Short-term Lord: SATURN

Seven more months to go with Saturn and you might be getting a little weary of his lecturing you on your faults and short-comings. The move from eleventh to twelfth house can mean you are also getting tired of your current group of friends or one person in particular is proving to be very difficult. Sometimes removal from a busy social life isn’t such a bad thing especially if you are using it to avoid decisions on your future. At its darkest level a combination of Mercury with Saturn can produce feelings of hopelessness or depression so you need to find your own release through things of pleasure to lighten your mood. Music, dance, movement, physical activity, art, writing are all good avenues to try as you wait out Saturn’s last few months.

23 years and 7 months

Short-term Lord Changes from SATURN to JUPITER

Long-term Lord: MERCURY

NEW Short-term Lord: JUPITER

Jupiter replaces Saturn as the short-term lord and hopefully the mood starts to lift as Jupiter relieves some of Saturn’s heaviness. It’s still a twelfth house year but Jupiter has a more protective feel about it. If times are tough keep working with things that give you pleasure and bring a smile to your face. Use Jupiter to make the most optimistic, outlandish and positive plans – it doesn’t matter if they come to fruition or not as you are at the end of a cycle and new possibilities are on the way. You can’t see them yet, but Jupiter allows you to dream, so dream big and wait for the next instalment!

Night Births 21 – 23 years of age

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday : 21 years

Major Lord: JUPITER         (years)

Minor Lord: JUPITER        (months)

Jupiter as both professor and lead instructor is likely to be filling a tenth house year with more possibilities than you can deal with at this young age. Jupiter signifies ambition, abundance and good fortune, but you may be wondering where all of this is hiding if Jupiter is difficult in the chart. Half of the time Jupiter bestows ‘gifts’ which are neither useful nor wanted and instead piles on distractions, complications or extreme situations that exhaust and confuse you. My advice is to work through one problem at a time, ignoring the clamour going on around you, and taking a brief rest until you absolutely have to deal with the next one.  You may want to wait until Mars takes over from Jupiter to tackle the most difficult issues in your work and life style.

21 years and 8 months

Short-term Lord Changes from JUPITER to MARS

Long-term Lord: JUPITER

NEW Short-term Lord: MARS

Energy + mayhem might be the best way to describe the in-coming short-term Firdaria Lord. Mars has enthusiasm by the bucket loads but its explosive nature is not necessarily compatible with Jupiter’s excesses. Mars might be fine if you want sporting prowess and your aim is to win the Cup in your local team’s division. But if tact and diplomacy is needed in a tricky situation at work, then Mars is not your best option. On the positive side, Mars driven by Jupiter’s thirst for success is a fabulous vehicle for advancement through courage and initiative but it also has a ruthless quality and can earn you enemies in all the wrong places.

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 22 years

   Long-term Lord: JUPITER

Short-term Lord: MARS

Mars interprets Jupiter’s goals for this year and with the focus on groups Mars is likely to seek out the people who can best advance its ambitions. Significant or important people are watching and listening to Mars, but they will have their own agendas too and you need to make sure that their promises are genuine, and that they have your interests at the heart of their movements. Mars is a risk taker and even more so under Jupiter’s direction so whatever you are gambling with – whether it is money, your reputation, your happiness or your sanity – make sure that you can cover your bets if you lose, and that it really is what you want, if you should happen to win.

NIGHT BIRTH  – Age at Birthday: 23 years

Long-term Lord: JUPITER

Short-term Lord: MARS

Jupiter still directs through Mars and the change in age number can bring a change in fortunes. If Mars has been unethical or too ruthless during the past year, the emergence of hidden enemies or those who relish your downfall, can hurt as they start to sharpen their knives. The problem with a speedy rise in fame and fortune at the tenth house is that two years later the twelfth house can be our undoing (usually through our own actions) and this can be the case for nocturnal people when Jupiter plus Mars are the instigators of our fortunes.

Mars does prefer a night-time chart but it is a bit careless under Jupiter’s direction and this year can be one which seems awful at the time, but in retrospect is critical in making the person we are to become in the future.

23 years and 5 months

Short-term Lord Changes from MARS to SUN

   Long-term Lord: JUPITER

NEW Short-term Lord: SUN

Halfway into this year Mars steps aside for the Sun and a change in Lord is not always an immediate reprieve in a stressful series of events. Rather than easing the situation the Sun starts to worry about damage control as what others will say can hurt if they stand in judgement of our actions. Self-doubt or recriminations are of little use and if your reputation is in tatters, the best you can do is to walk away with as much dignity as you can muster. Mars’ earlier bravado seems to have deserted you and although the Sun believes there is no way back from this disaster, remember that you are young, and everyone expects you to fail once in a while. It’s no biggie, and you will recover. Everyone falls on their face now and then. It’s how you get back up that truly matters.