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This is our fourth return to the house of relationships and the planet that rules this house should by now know what it wants, or does not want, from its relationships with others. By fifty four there is a bit of history connected to this house but you still may be struggling to work out what it is that you bring to the mix when it comes to dealing with other people.
Intimate relationships with a significant ‘other’ are not the only area of life described by the seventh house. It is a house of contracts and binding agreements and covers the counsel of those in professions outside of your own. They may be doctors or specialists in medicine, lawyers, accountants, or a whole range of people whose professional advice or services you have sought and paid for. The year you turn fifty four may be one in which you heavily rely on one or several such service and depending on whether you were born during the day or night, the Firdaria lords may indicate how you are best served by the advice or support of others.
Seventh house is also the house of open enemies and again, it will be critical to look at the natal chart to see who is opposing you throughout the year.
The eighth house follows with a new birthday and money becomes the theme for the year. These amounts of money are large and complicated – unlike its opposing second house of wages and budgets – the eighth house involves loans and inheritances, payouts, mortgages and insurance claims. Paperwork and official documents may be causing headaches but if they are not dealt with efficiently and quickly you will have others riding you to do your job.
The third of these years belongs to the ninth house almost at the top of the chart. Aspirations are still high on the list but this is a more about private or personal objectives than the public house that will follow at age fifty seven. Changes in attitude and in interest and philosophies are often part of the journey through the ninth house.
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Profections: Moving Forward Through the Houses
54 years old : SEVENTH HOUSE
Halfway around the chart and in opposition to the Ascendant lies our seventh house. If the Ascendant represents everything we think we know about ourselves, our bodies, and our familiarity with the environment which surrounds us, then the seventh house is often the house that signifies everything of a contrary nature. In other words, it is the place where we least understand ourselves, where we believe we are missing something within ourselves, and where we feel inadequate and insecure about the foreignness of our surroundings.
We need help here in the house that looks directly across from our place of birth, so we call in others to help fill the void and teach us something new about ourselves.
These things were all true of the previous three terms at 18, 30 and even at 42. We were young, romantic and convinced that the love of our life, our soul-mate, our perfect partner would bridge the gap and come charging in to rescue us from ourselves. At age fifty four we still desire and deserve love, but we are not so foolish to believe that another can totally fulfil all our gaps, and meet every single one of our needs. We can observe them, we can learn from them, we can accept love and guidance from our seventh house friends, but they cannot be us – only we can do that.
Often we choose mirror images of ourselves from the seventh house but when they disappoint or frustrate us they can become our open enemies, and the aspects of them we most despise, are often characteristics that we either cannot see in ourselves, or cannot tolerate in others.
55 years old : EIGHTH HOUSE
The eighth house is not an easy house, and this is not an easy year, as events happen quickly and circumstances can change the ebb and flow of a contented life. It’s often a year when you, or the people who surround you, are going through chaos and whilst you may not personally be involved in the action, it can leave you questioning your own choices, or feeling insecure about your future.
56 years old : NINTH HOUSE
Hopefully by the time you turn fifty six most of the storms of change have been weathered and you are now moving into calmer waters.
The coming-out-of-the storm works well for a ninth house profected year as growth and expansion are often consistent themes of the ninth house especially after the difficulties of the eighth house. Sometimes these new experiences involve travel to places which are completely new to you, refresher courses or new veins of study, or the introduction to different ideas, new lifestyles or a completely foreign philosophical premise.
The planet that rules your own ninth house will offer up plenty of suggestions and new distractions but before you leap on them, consider first if you are prepared to let go of the ‘old’, in order to embrace the ‘new’. Promise and price are critical indicators to ninth house decisions – what does your ruling planet promise (and can it deliver)? What price will the ruling planet ask in order to fulfil its promise?
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Profections Summary for 54: 55: 56 years of age
Firdaria: Time Portions Belonging to the Planets
For those born during the daytime, you will be working through a twelve year Jupiter Firdaria. Mars is the planet which follows Jupiter in the Chaldean Order and as such, is the second sub-period lord for Jupiter’s dozen years.
Five months into this year Mars will hand over to the Sun and the Sun will supervise on behalf of Jupiter for the next 19 -20 months. Specifically this will be through the entire year of turning fifty five, and then the two months into the year of turning fifty six years of age. For this Firdaria information to be relevant to your life you need to be born during the twelve hours when the sun has risen and before it sets, that is, approximately 6 am to 6 pm (no daylight saving) when the sun is visible over the horizon.
If you were born at night and you are now in your mid-fifties you will be experiencing Venus’ major Firdaria through the lens of three planets who will give their own interpretation of Venus’ wish-list.
Jupiter takes up eight more months of your time when you turn fifty four; Mars will be the next sub-period lord when you turn fifty five; and the Sun will take over from Mars two months before the birthday when you become fifty six years of age with the Sun seeing you through until the following year. Remember, night births are after the sun has set and before it rises in the east, from approximately 6 pm to 6 am.
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Daytime Births 54 – 56 years of age
DAYTIME BIRTH – Age at Birthday : 54 years
Major Long-term Lord: JUPITER (Years)
Minor Short-term Lord: MARS (Months)
The age of fifty four is the fourth return to the profected seventh house and Jupiter is still technically in charge by being the Firdaria ruler for the twelve years between fifty one and sixty three years of age.
However, Mars does not take direction well from Jupiter and although Jupiter promises to be bountiful, the bounty comes from a meddling, troublesome and difficult source when Mars is acting on Jupiter’s behalf. There are likely to be rifts in friendships, arguments over legal matters as seventh house rules contracts, and agitation both with, and from, open enemies who simply don’t like ‘the cut of your jib’ right now.
And they may be right. If you are willing to take an honest appraisal of your current situation you may see that if your behaviour shows you to be overly defensive, quick to anger, aggressive or arrogant in your responses to others, then those individuals on the opposing side are merely reacting to your lead. Curb Mars’ impatience and try seeing it from your antagonist’s vantage point and perhaps you can come to some amicable resolution.
54 years and 5 months
Short-term Lord Changes from MARS to SUN
Long-term Lord: JUPITER
NEW Short-term Lord: SUN
Hopefully you haven’t done too much damage in the past five months and you will be able to reconnect, cement the fractured lines that draw you apart, and smooth ruffled feathers when the Sun takes over from Mars as Jupiter’s third in line. The only drawback is that neither Jupiter nor the Sun are particularly good at eating humble pie and although some of the heat may have been taken out of your words, there is still the flavour of arrogance, pride and high-handedness where others are concerned. If you need to get down from your high horse and apologise, do it sincerely and with good grace.
Otherwise, those who oppose you will see it for what it is – a placating gesture that buys you time whilst you plot your next move. Take care that this is not a dishonourable act and stamps you as hypocritical, devious or false in your intentions. If this happens, you really have made an enemy and Jupiter (and the Sun) will be able to do little to protect you when the next planet takes over. It may be a while until Jupiter finishes its term at sixty three years, but Mars is next planet in line as your major Firdaria lord and an enemy’s memory is very long indeed.
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DAYTIME BIRTH – Age at Birthday: 55 years
Long-term Lord: JUPITER
Short-term Lord: SUN
The Sun has the whole year to deal with any matters pertaining to the eighth house. This means wills, inheritances, insurance claims, lending institutions, or anything that involves large amounts of money. The fact that you were born during the day-time hours means that these two planets are especially happy in this environment and the Sun will do whatever it takes to gain honours, status, and reputation for its major lord, Jupiter.
But this level of success and wealth will be greatly affected by two factors which need to be taken into account before you start buying a barrel-full of lottery tickets or constructing your own version of an inappropriate resignation letter to your boss.
The first consideration involves the nature of the eighth house – it is a house which is blind to the Ascendant. Basically this means that you really don’t know what’s going on in this year and you may be making a giant ass of yourself. Any actions you think you might be taking that are effective, bold or downright brilliant and that both Jupiter and the Sun would applaud as ‘spectacular in planning and execution’ are possibly either a waste of time and energy or are likely to not end in the way you think they will – at least not to your advantage. Rather, you are possibly going to be blindsided and the support, or the result you were counting on, is likely to turn into the illusion of smoke and mirrors.
Eighth house is a house of endings – often most unexpected endings – and whilst this may lead to more exciting opportunities in the future, this quote from Lao Tzu is worth remembering when the going gets tough in this year.
“New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”
The second consideration involves the state of both of these planets, Jupiter and the Sun, in your natal chart. Jupiter’s bounties are restricted by its condition in the chart and the level of its dignities. Ideally, the more elevated Jupiter is by its sign and placement, the more it is capable of giving to the chart’s owner. If Jupiter is dignified it is more inclined towards surrounding itself with wise counsel and influential friends. Likewise, the Sun is supposed to bring you honours, feed your ambitions, and make others stand up and take notice of your brilliance. But if the Sun in your chart is troubled by poor placements and difficult aspects, then these too will affect the tone of its Firdaria.
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DAYTIME BIRTH – Age at Birthday: 56 years
Long-term Lord: JUPITER
Short-term Lord: SUN
Ninth house is usually an improvement for profection and things should be looking up, or at least giving you a new direction, or the hope that you out of the most difficult part of a poor situation. The combination of the Sun with Jupiter is a good lesson in learning to make better decisions and to decide what new opportunities may be coming over the horizon.
If last year was about endings then perhaps a ninth house year is perfect for new beginnings and a new sub-period lord in the form of Venus.
56 years and 2 months
Short-term Lord Changes from SUN to VENUS
Long-term Lord: JUPITER
NEW Short-term Lord: VENUS
Venus takes over from the Sun for the next twenty months and these two planets should be capable of working together in an amicable way that brings good fortune and a feeling of well-being to the diurnal individual. Venus rules beauty, pleasure, relationships and women in general, including female friends and relatives of the fairer sex.
Venus is about finding your passion in life and under Jupiter’s direction you have the confidence and backing of a very large planet that emboldens you to try new adventures and break old patterns of negativity that threaten to suffocate you or rob you of joy and happiness in the small pleasures of life.
A ninth house emphasis may see you turning your artistic and creative skills towards publishing, study, physical expression such as dance, art or musical projects, or travel into foreign countries and the exploration of different languages or cultures.
The only shadow for this combination is that Venus loves a good time and Jupiter encourages, rather than restricts, excessive partying or over-indulgence in food, alcohol, sexual encounters and substances which may not be healthy for the body. You may need to be reminded that you are fifty six, not twenty six, so take it easy and don’t overdo it. Your recovery may not be as speedy as it used to be when you ‘wore a younger man’s clothes.’
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Night Births 54 – 56 years of age
NIGHT BIRTH – Age at Birthday : 54 years
Major Long-term Lord: VENUS (Years)
Minor Short-term Lord: JUPITER (Months)
By pure accident night-timers are also experiencing a combination of Jupiter and Venus during this three year period. Except that Venus is the major lord, and Jupiter is taking its orders from Venus as the short-term lord of fourteen months. Jupiter began its period around the middle of last year when the profection fell at the difficult sixth house (see previous blog).
When Venus became the major Firdaria lord at forty nine years of age and took over from the Sun the emphasis changed from a drive for external recognition to a need for internalised love and acceptance of oneself. Finding ‘The Aphrodite Within’ is not an easy task especially in many Western societies who worship beauty in its youthful form and crave the smooth-skinned, supple-bodied vitality that accompanied the bodies of our twenties and thirties.
The Flirty Fifties is pretty uncomfortable for everyone but it really shouldn’t be this way when we are living longer and stronger into our nineties with more freedom in our lifestyle choices, better education on diet, and a focus on maintaining a decent level of physical activity. Through each of Venus’ sub-periods we explore the meaning of self-love, kindness and tolerance towards ourselves and others, and happiness or contentment in life’s little pleasures.
Rather than falling for the commercial version of Venus, keep in mind that Venus is about your passion and although the body may not be as taunt and fabulous as it once was, the intervening years between youth and our fifties teaches us that it really doesn’t matter what opinions others have formed of us. They are rarely correct and they are usually worrying about what others are thinking about them. You are your own person and part of Aphrodite’s charm is that she just doesn’t give a damn about what others think of her. Venus is all about what makes YOU happy. Stop conforming and start having fun. Take this thought and run wild with it.
As this is a seventh house profection, this year, or at least the first eight months of it, are concerned with love and romantic notions as Venus will direct Jupiter to ‘go out there and look for any possibilities’ that might crop up. Whether Jupiter is successful, or whether you are even looking, will depend on the lord of your seventh house and if it is somehow triggered during the same period as the profection.
Even if it’s not romance that you seek, this should be a pleasant time and you should be surrounded by friends, rather than foes in this first eight months.
54 years and 8 months
Short-term Lord Changes from JUPITER to MARS
Long-term Lord: VENUS
NEW Short-term Lord: MARS
It’s still a seventh house year, but Jupiter handing over to Mars is a bit of a bumpy transition as Venus and Mars are often in opposite sides of the camp when it comes to trying to work through things together. If Venus is holding the clipboard and directing Mars to ‘go out there and find some loving’ then Mars is likely to pick up a club on the way out the door and search for a mate in its direct ‘caveman-style’.
The one saving grace of this archetypal combination, literally female (Venus) verses male (Mars), is that both planets are more inclined towards behaving themselves in a nocturnal chart. For this reason, Mars is a bit more chilled and less likely to be argumentative in a night-time chart and Venus is less of the corporate female high-flyer and more the fluid and beautiful nocturnal lover.
However, there are still potentials for misunderstandings, separations and hostilities when Mars is probably a poor conduit for Venus’ aspirations for peace, love, and harmony.
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NIGHT BIRTH – Age at Birthday: 55 years
Long-term Lord: VENUS
Short-term Lord: MARS
A difficult house does little to alleviate the tension between Venus and Mars. This could indicate disputes or tension over family money or inheritances especially between female and male relatives.
As the eighth house is also shared resources of any relationship, be it personal or business partnerships, then any separations or money disputes may rear their ugly head and all the harmony that Venus craves may be destroyed by Mars’ nature desire to go to war. These two planets rule signs which are opposite one another – Aries opposes Libra and Scorpio opposes Taurus – so when they are forced to work together under the rules of Firdaria, it rarely ends well for the individual.
Venus is trying very hard to keep its equilibrium but Mars is not a good recipient or representative for Venus, and the best you can hope for is that help is on the way from the Sun at the end of this year.
55 years and 10 months
Short-term Lord Changes from MARS to SUN
Long-term Lord: VENUS
NEW Short-term Lord: SUN
The changeover to a new sub-period lord occurs almost at the end of the eighth house year when Mars steps aside and the Sun takes over for the next fourteen months. This change may bring some resolution or a breakthrough in a stressful stalemate that has been going on for some time.
The Sun is less combative than Mars and more likely to look for a compromise which will greatly relieve Venus’ strained nerves. The Sun is happy to work through any issues provided the person does not feel foolish or humiliated by the changes that are going on in their world.
Venus signifies women and the Sun is happy to bring success and good reputation to either the female chart owner if she is looking for advancement, or to generate good things through social connections, or by the aid of one woman in particular who is paying close attention to your efforts and wants to reward them through promotion or special acknowledgement.
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NIGHT BIRTH – Age at Birthday: 56 years
Long-term Lord: VENUS
Short-term Lord: SUN
The Sun will be the sub-period lord for the entire year when the ninth house of travel, study, new experiences and broadened horizons are featured for the individual. If you have received a promotion or special privileges in the past few months then this is the time to spread your wings and make the most of the current situation.
The Sun loves the ninth house so it is keen to explore a variety of possibilities during this year. Keep an eye out for a woman who brings news or a new opportunity because this can be significant in a Firdaria that combines the power of Venus with the potential of the Sun.
In many instances an influential or learned female can be the one who makes or breaks the next step in your career so if you are someone who feels threatened by such a woman then you had better tread carefully and change your attitude in case it works against you in the workplace.
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