Predictive Astrology Chapter 8 – Diurnal Charting

by Marilyn Muir, LPMAFA

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Notes for Example Chart

Fate vs. Free Will

Diurnals with Progressions?Example Other than Birth and Death

What is a diurnal chart?    Diurnal means day. Therefore, this is a chart for any day, a transit chart, set specifically for an individual using that individual’s birth information. There is also a separate definition for diurnal / nocturnal difference that does not apply to this presentation.

Since the chart can be set for any day or year, you could conceivably construct 365 of them for a single year. That is way too much work for potential results, although such an effort would be an incredible learning process. Instead of casting charts for non-events, you are smarter to select certain dates that you have reason to believe could be significant and construct a few strategic charts. For example, you might want to choose an impending marriage, operation, birth, court appearance, political election, etc. The diurnal chart will show you the circumstances and energies for any specific day for any individual. Therefore, the diurnal can be used in advance of important known dates to see how the individual could be personally affected on that date. As the years and my learning curve have advanced, I have come to rely on diurnals as a major player in my arsenal of astrological tools.

The diurnal motion chart that we will use in this class is not a relocated chart. Relocation, as well as many other applications, is the subject of much controversy among astrologers. I have had excellent results from diurnal charts using the natal location. At some point in the future, you may choose to experiment with other types. Just be sure to learn one method thoroughly before experimenting on others. Then pick what works best for you.

How do you construct a diurnal chart?      Go to your handy-dandy computer and simply insert your basic birth information just as you would for your natal chart: date and time of birth, daylight savings time correction if any, time zone of birth, and city of birth with longitude and latitude. The only point you must change on the natal is the date. Instead of the date of birth, change that date to the date of the known or impending event. What do I mean by known or impending?

If studying to learn any technique, astrologers will examine past event dates associated with the native. If an event has already occurred, the birth event date serves as an example to learn the technique. If the technique has already been mastered and the aim is to project ahead, then impending or theoretical dates will be used. If, for example, a baby is to be born in the future, questions will arise as to the date of delivery and a few chart dates can be cast to see which diurnal looks most likely for actual birth. The events and their charts will be quite different from one another in terms of layout in houses, complexity and diversity. I learned diurnal basics from my children’s births. I also learned from my daughter’s daughter’s birth, my grandchild. One event was physical, in that I participated. One was a gift to me, a grandchild, because I was not personally involved in the physical part. Such patterns would lay out differently, particularly through the houses.

Diurnal is my favorite technique to fine-tune a long-term activation. Which day out of the weeks or months of ongoing activity will be the significant day? Get as close as possible using regular techniques then trot out the diurnal chart to narrow the time frame.  Since computers take only seconds to erect a chart, experimentation is fast and easy. Once you are proficient, you will not have to print all the charts to come to a conclusion, you will be able to see the patterns develop and the conclusive point will be visible.

Prior to the 2000 USA presidential election, I participated in three separate astrology television panels looking at three different upcoming presidential elections. Each astrologer on the panel gave their conclusions and reasons as to who would win each election, perhaps about a week or so before each election, and a discussion ensued. My own technique was to do natal, progressed, directed and transit, the same as the other astrologers. However, I had the advantage of the diurnal technique and was able to successfully pick the winners in all three elections. This is not a pat on my own back. It is a positive comment on the validity of the technique. The diurnal astrological technique did work. The first two elections were not difficult to determine. The third and last one mentioned was Bush v. Gore. That election was so 50 / 50 that it was just about impossible to select the winner, so much so that I thought I was doing something wrong. How I finally decided who would win was to go back over the charts and see if either candidate had even a tiny edge. The outcome was that difficult to determine. Eventually I determined Bush would win, barely, and he did.

These results had nothing to do with personal choice or opinion – it was straight up astrology. That election was so fraught with nonsense, with many truly believing it was rigged or fundamentally flawed. I lived in South Florida at the time. I know it was flawed. I saw what went on first-hand. We in Florida saw and heard happenings and details that apparently never made it through the national media. Why my “flawed election” conclusion? Historically, and against all the mandates of our Founding Fathers, the U.S. Supreme Court chose the president. My kids, who were also here and voted in that same election, saw it differently than I did. That is what is called personal perspective. I have given you my personal perspective because it is the one I have; but there can always be differing opinions when humans are involved.

Be aware that there is a natural rhythm to diurnal houses. The house cusps repeat year to year in the same time frame, usually within about 36 hours. That is due to the discrepancy between 360˚ and 365¼ days per year. When our Founding Fathers set March 4^th inaugurations into the Constitution, the house cusps remain very close in each natural inaugural chart. The exception would be when a Vice President was elevated to the presidency by the death of the elected president. March 4^th gave strong Pisces influences to our inaugurals. When the date was changed to January 20^th prior to FDR’s second term, a strong Aquarian influence took over our inaugurals, again with a few exceptions. The noon passing of power is set by the Constitution itself.

One more brief note regarding the casting of a diurnal chart. I have played with setting the chart for the day of an event and also for the day prior. Why? If you have a late PM birth and the event itself occurs early in the day, I wondered if that would make a difference. The Moon is the only body that would move substantially, and it can travel 12 to 15˚ in a single day. With additional research, I reached a conclusion that if the event appears to have already occurred, cast another diurnal chart for the day prior. It will allow for the applying aspects related to the event itself. The activations should be applying, not separating. Do some experimenting. This presentation is introductory. My new Diurnal Workbook gives more in-depth research and application. It will shortly be available at marilynmuir.net.

Aside from those few introductory remarks as to changing of the event date, there is little else I can give as instruction except to suggest the obvious. If you do not have access to the much easier computer charts, you will have to construct the charts by hand. I always teach any math that goes with my material. However, in this instance it is simply constructing a natal chart with the date change as necessary. I feel students do not realize they are shortchanged if instructions are not provided, regardless of usefulness to an individual.

Since of the advent of computers, few astrologers cast charts by hand, and I see that as correctable error. You will get so much more out of these techniques if you understand how they physically work. The visual is definitely worth a thousand words.  Even if you do not intend to construct charts by hand, you should still learn the math. It will honestly help you in your delineation. For your use, I noted simple diurnal math instructions at the head of each example should you choose to have that deeper understanding of how diurnals work.

What can I do to help you better understand this technique? I am going to share an example from my original personal research with copies of the charts. At times, it is difficult to have the intimate information needed to understand an event and the associations between the charts. Privacy issues associated with the charts become a big question. To protect others from inadvertent personal disclosure or invasion of their privacy, I prefer to use my personal charts and history. Therefore, I would appreciate your discretion. My basic personal chart information is always available to my students and is freely provided. Chart data is not provided for any other natal out of respect for individual privacy. Only wheels and aspects will be shown. I have provided pertinent environmental notes with each example to flesh out the meaning for each event. Again, your discretion is appreciated.

Since construction of charts is so simple, diurnals are best taught by using examples. Usually chart angles figure largely for the timing indicated by the diurnal chart. Look at:

• diurnal planets on diurnal angles
• diurnal planets on natal angles
• natal planets on diurnal angles
• diurnal planets to natal planets
• a cluster of diurnal planets
• clustering of planets using the multiple charts
• and natal or diurnal house emphasis

Aside: An interesting side note developed as I set and read the birth diurnals. How many times have you been questioned about whether children are born at exactly the right time since many are born many days before or after the mother’s due date? All of my children were born early: nine days to five weeks, and they were relatively small babies. As close as I can tell doing this diurnal work, babies do have their correct birth charts. To keep it as simple as possible, we will initially examine the diurnal to the natal charts. More depth later!

Notes for Example Chart

• House cusps and inside wheel positions are diurnal; outside main wheel hosts the natal positions.
• A diurnal reflects the transits for that day relative to one specific individual.
• An event chart for that date will have similar positions, but with substantial changes to the Midheaven, Ascendant and Moon.
• Use a tight orb for the aspects, preferably less than 1˚, but note other aspects that are close.
• When aspecting the diurnal Moon, remember that it actually moves 12-15˚ in any single day.
• Watch for diurnal clusters near angles, and then reassess with natal cluster positions included.
• Look next at major aspect patterns, first in the diurnal and then with natal. Look for dominance.

MM natal 10/31/1938, 7:33 PM EST rectified, Cambridge, NY, USA thirteen main positions for all natal chart figures: Midheaven 2 Pisces 33, Ascendant 28 Gemini 31, Sun 7 Scorpio 56, Moon 15 Aquarius 36, Mercury 21 Scorpio 09, Venus 4 Sagittarius 54R, Mars 4 Libra 16, Jupiter 22 Aquarius 40, Saturn 12 Aries 50, Uranus 16 Taurus 08R, Neptune 22 Virgo 31, Pluto 1 Leo 31, N Node 17 Scorpio 51R.

Example: MM birth of child #1 / girl natal chart date changed to event 8/28/58, not relocated. Notes: child #1 was born three weeks early, no surgery or complications. There was a car accident a few weeks prior to the birth. Where to look in the natal chart? Two concepts:

• The Ascendant / 1^st, 6^th, 8^th and 12^th are the usual houses to examine for health issues such as pregnancy / delivery.
• 6^th / 8^th houses indicate the physical distress / dis-ease of the 6th and the life / death of the 8^th. 
• MM natal chart ruler (physical health) is in diurnal 6^th (distress).
• Child #1 chart ruler and MM chart ruler are opposite (physical births always challenging to mothers).
• This diurnal is quite specific. Had I known how to do astrology at that time, I might have been forewarned that child #1 would be born three weeks early.

Childbirth itself: family 4^th / IC, children 5^th house specific for #1, Midheaven stature / title, Ascendant physical: IC 2 Virgo 33, 5^th cusp 5 Libra 41, Mars conjunct 5^th cusp 4 Libra 16, Sun 7 Scorpio 56 in 5^th, midheaven 2 Pisces 33, Ascendant 28 Gemini 31.

Note first the clustering in fixed signs using both charts on the bi-wheel.

• Diurnal Moon 2 Pisces 39 conj MM natal midheaven of 2 Pisces 33 and opposite diurnal Pluto 2 Virgo 08, diurnal Sun 5 Virgo 11 widely conjunct diurnal Pluto, both conjunct MM natal IC (family) 2 Virgo 33 complex, square MM natal Venus 4 Sagittarius 54 (ruler of natal 5^th).
• Diurnal Descendant 2 Libra 54 conjunct MM natal Mars 4 Libra 16 and natal 5^th cusp 5 Libra 41. Child #1 has Aries rising, Mars chart ruler.
• Diurnal Mars 21 Taurus 35 opposite MM natal Mercury 21 Scorpio 09 in diurnal 8^th.

In order to present the concept of diurnal with natal, it was necessary to really limit the material, including:

1. only the two charts, natal and diurnal and
2.  using only hard aspects which show the action necessary to a physical birth.

While there were many other aspects available, listing them would have only confused the issue. Birth is not only the stress. Good things happen such as the arrival of a gift, a child. All that joy was present in every birth but did not help me tell the story between the diurnal and the natal. Check them out for yourself.

What about the child’s natal chart – the event itself? Since the personal diurnal is a transit chart of a single day, and is the day of the birth event for that native, the positions between the diurnal and the event chart will be similar, with the exception of the Midheaven, the Ascendant, and possibly the Moon. Smaller incremental changes would occur to the faster-moving planets, but not enough to jeopardize existing aspects. Using only the child’s natal Midheaven, Ascendant and Moon, we will now examine such potential contacts.

• Child #1 Midheaven 1 Capricorn 27 exactly conjunct MM diurnal midheaven 1 Capricorn 27, out-of- sign wide opposition MM natal Ascendant 28 Gemini 33.
• Child #1 Ascendant 2 Aries 04 conjunct MM diurnal Ascendant 2 Aries 54, opposite MM natal Mars 4 Libra 16.
• Child #1 Moon 5 Pisces 32 square MM natal Venus 4 Sagittarius 54R (Venus rules MM natal 5^th).

I think these examples illustrate that specific and close aspects do work between the three charts. In addition, I happen to have the research for two more natural children and the birth of a grandchild, the birth of that child to my child. Those additional charts (and more) will be presented in the diurnal workbook. But at this point in this workbook, we need to move beyond birth into other examples of diurnal charting.

Fate Versus Free Will

There is so much controversy about free will or predestination that life and death are definitely prime subjects for this diurnal study.

• Is life predictable or is it random?
• Does chaos rule the day, or is there a universal purpose to existence?
• Do we come in with the cards already stacked, or are we able to personally affect the experience and the outcome?
• Are fate and free will rigidly one or the other, or is there room for both?
• Is life, particularly my life, purposeful, or is it fatalistic and there is nothing I can do to alter it one tiny bit?
• To me that last sentence is really depressing. There would be no point to experience!

Astrology offers an interesting study between the opposites of fate and free will. Astrologers see patterns easily, but that does not make them easy to identify in experience and personal control. Because of my 49 years of study regarding both our evolving consciousness and Astrology, at this point my own conclusion is that life is purposeful, and serves some overall objective individually and collectively.

• I do believe that we have free will to aid and abet that process, or we can drag our heels and refuse to cooperate with our lessons. Life is going to happen anyway!
• The old analogy of rowing upstream occurred to me as I wrote this section. You can choose to swim upstream, but eventually you will tire and have to flow with the current. Of course, you can always swim to either side and get out of the current altogether provided those sides are visible and reasonably easy to reach.
• See how free will can be exercised? You are in the stream. You get to choose! Fight the current, go with the flow, strike out tangentially, or withdraw from the stream (of consciousness).
• Additionally, to me, the capacity for free will is determined by our spiritual awareness from moment to moment as we grow and become.
• We are a work in process with good days and bad days, but I still believe our lives are purposeful. I prefer that concept to one of being an unwilling participant in chaos.

Birth and death serve as great examples. Think about this as we explore more diurnal chart examples.

Now we will look at the death of one parent. If the parents are specific to a house as is suggested in natal and progressed delineations, then we might expect that one of those patterns should show more emphasis than the other as a specific. Watch what develops in this example to see if the effects are that specific in the diurnal charts. Remember as well that this particular death was an ongoing several-month process and not just a single day event. In many cases, the pattern for a death is ongoing, as are the ongoing results from that death. We are simply studying the event at one defining moment, but the wider aspect possibilities may relate to the ongoing process both before and after the event. Keep your orbs tight for credibility and accuracy for the actual happening, but recognize the value of wider orbs as they apply to the overall process.

The parents are shown by the IC / midheaven or 4^th / 10^th axis and houses.

• Death is an 8^th house matter, so we will include the 8^th cusp and house for general death information.
• Death of a parent would be the 8^th of the 4^th / 10^th axis.
• The death 8^th of the 4^th house parent is the 11^th.
• The death 8^th of the 10^th house parent is the 5^th.

Therefore, the 5^th / 11^th axis will signify the death of either of the parents, and occasionally both.

Example 2: Death of MM Mother for diurnal, natal chart date changed to event 7/9/52, not relocated.

Notes: death caused by general shutdown of autonomic systems due to brain cancer tumors.

Where to look in the chart?      General deaths are 8^th house, death of IC parent = 11^th, death of MC parent = 5^th.

• MM natal 8^th 17 Cap 58, ruler natal Saturn 12 Aries 50R.
• MM natal 4^th 2 Virgo 33, Neptune 22 Virgo 31, Mars 04 Libra 16, ruler Mercury 21 Scorpio 09.
• MM natal 11^th is 5 Aries 41, Saturn 12 Aries 51R, Uranus 16 Tauris 08R, ruler Mars 4 Libra 16.
• MM natal 10^th 2 Pisces 33, co-rulers Neptune 22 Virgo 31 and Jupiter 22 Aquarius 40.
• MM natal 5^th 6 Libra 41, Sun 7 Scorpio 56, ruler Venus 4 Sagittarius 54R.

Note: I think that list covers just about every position in the chart! Do you think this was an important event to this native? We need to focus to see if we can we find a more specific pattern. All diurnals are based on MM’s natal chart.

• Diurnal cluster Uranus 14 Cancer, Sun 17 Cancer, Descendent 18 Cancer, Venus 21 Cancer 51 square diurnal Nep 18 Libra 57 and very wide square to MM natal Saturn 12 Aries 50R.
• Diurnal cluster IC 15 Taurus 13 conjunct diurnal Jupiter 15 Taurus 20 and MM natal Uranus 16 Taurus 08R, square MM natal Moon 15 Aquarius 36 and square diurnal Mercury 13 Leo 33.
• Diurnal Moon 22 Aquarius 56 conjunction diurnal N Node 21 Aquarius 52 and MM natal Jupiter 22 Aquarius 40 opposite diurnal Pluto 20 Leo 09 all square MM natal Mercury 21 Scorpio 09.
• Diurnal Mars 6 Scorpio 28 conjunct MM natal Sun 7 Scorpio 56.

Can we isolate which parent from all of that? Difficult. The general aspect count is:

• 4^th / IC parent death: Mercury / Neptune / Mars / Saturn / Uranus: nine aspects.
• Midheaven parent death: Jupiter / Neptune / Marts / Venus / Sun: eight aspects.

Note: It has been a long-term speculation in astrology that the Nodes are involved in many forms of death. Notice that they are intimately involved in this death event. One example does not make it a rule, but this particular example does support that theory. This is the lunar node, and this is the death of my Mother. It is worth remarking that, upon the death of my Mother, my Father assumed the roles of both parents. Perhaps that is why the general aspect count was so close in terms of connections.

Diurnals with Progressions?

I mentioned that we would do more later and here we are – it’s now later.If an astrological technique is of any real value, it cannot be pure speculation and it cannot be isolated to one application or author. It must prove itself in research and use by many astrologers and it must apply itself to the general fund of astrological techniques and applications – and that includes my own material. What do I mean? We have explored two examples as they illustrate the particulars of events diurnal to natal. We have also proven that the birth data that changes a transit to a personal diurnal and changes again to the new birth chart for the event itself works well between the charts. What else can it do?

Does the diurnal chart apply to regular progressions? (Oh dear. Have I just opened up a whole new can of worms for you?) If I progress the natal chart to the date of the event, will the diurnal positions match those new progressed figures with any significance? For illustration, I will apply this progression question to the death event just studied. Take a deep breath. This can be a more complicated delineation with the addition of a third chart.

MM progressions to death event are as listed. Progressed to progressed and progressed to natal are usual aspects, so I will omit unless related to diurnal triggering. To prevent unnecessary complication, I will focus here on diurnal to progressed.

• MM progressed midheaven 16 Pisces 58, Ascendant 10 Cancer 28, Sun 21 Scorpio 40, Moon 22 Leo 06, Mercury 10 Sagittarius 59, Venus 00 Sagittarius 32R, Mars 12 Libra 53, Jupiter 23 Aquarius 33, Saturn 12 Aries 02R, Uranus 15 Taurus 34R, Neptune 22 Virgo 51, Pluto 1 Leo 29R, N Node 17 Scorpio 46.
• Diurnal Jupiter 15 Taurus 19 conjunct MM progressed Uranus 15 Taurus 34R, tightening of natal square.
• Diurnal Moon 22 Aquarius 57 conjunct diurnal N Node 21 Aquarius 52, MM natal Jupiter 22 Aquarius 40 and progressed Jupiter 23 Aquarius 33, opposed progressed Moon 22 Leo 06, diurnal Pluto 20 Leo 09 and diurnal S Node 21 Leo 52, all square natal Mercury 21 Scorpio 09 and progressed Sun 21 Scorpio 40, a very tight complex.
• Diurnal Uranus 14 Cancer 26 square progressed Mars 12 Libra 53 and wide to natal Saturn 12 Aries 50R and progressed Saturn 12 Aries 02R. Progressed Ascendant 10 Cancer 28 is quite wide but worth noting in this group, 4˚ from conjunction to diurnal Uranus.
• Diurnal Saturn 8 Libra 55 widely conjunct progressed Mars 12 Libra 53 and opposite progressed Saturn 12 Aries 02R, all square progressed Ascendant 10 Cancer 41.

Note: To me, the most significant progressed aspect for this event was progressed Mars opposite natal Saturn, 9˚ wide at birth, perfected at this event, both ruling natal death of a parent.

Father’s Death      I have done the workup for the death of my Father, even though his birth is time unknown (as was my Mother’s). I have not done the rectification work for my Father as yet, just because rectification by hand is a bear to do. And, when you finish the work, it is still an educated guess. I did the sunrise natal, diurnal and progression for his death, with my birth data as a base, just as I did for all the other examples. I also did the sunrise natal, diurnal and progression for him as an individual. I was able to easily see the connections just as I had with my Mother’s workup. However, this is so speculative that I decided to stop there. And I don’t wish to be maudlin. One parent’s death will serve as enough of an example for this brief lesson.

Example Other Than Birth and Death

I want to take a different approach because there is so little diurnal study material available.If I offer a variety of examples, it should stimulate your own thinking processes. You may come up with ideas that have not occurred to me. If so, let me know the details or publish your own (well researched, please) material. Using our existing chart base, let us first look at the diurnal house cusps compared to the natal house cusps before we look at the regular aspects just to see if there is any useful information.

Example 3: Marriage       Natal chart date changed to 9/14/57, not relocated, small church wedding, family present, not unusual in any way.

• Diurnal cluster: diurnal Venus 00 Scorpio 04 exact conjunction diurnal Neptune 00 Scorpio 54, diurnal Descendant 2 Scorpio 36, progressed Moon 2 Scorpio 12, all square natal Pluto 1 Leo 31.
• Diurnal Sun 21 Virgo 54 widely conjunct diurnal Mars 24 Virgo 05, tighter to natal Neptune 22 Virgo 31, progressed Neptune 22 Virgo 58, MM progressed IC / 4^th 22 Virgo 30.
• Diurnal IC / 4^th 17 Cancer 08 wide conjunction progressed Ascendant 14 Cancer 45 square progressed Mars 16 Libra 09.
• Diurnal Moon 26 Taurus 24 opposite MM progressed Sun 26 Scorpio 54 conjunct progressed Venus 27 Scorpio 30R (there’s the marriage) square progressed Jupiter 24 Aquarius 02.

Please also note the unusual cusp connections between the natal and marriage diurnal charts, more…

• Diurnal 9^th 26 Sagittarius 49 = natal Descendant 28 Sagittarius 33.
• Diurnal 3^rd 26 Gemini 49 = natal Ascendant 28 Gemini 33.
• Diurnal MC 17 Capricorn 08 = natal 8^th cusp 17 Capricorn 58.
• Diurnal IC / 4^th 17 Cancer 08 = natal 2^nd cusp 17 Cancer 58.
• Diurnal 11^th cusp 10 Aquarius 22 = natal 9^th cusp 7 Aquarius 58.
• Diurnal 5^th cusp 10 Leo 22 = natal 3^rd cusp 7 Leo 58.

Six of twelve cusps were emphasized, so those axes should have played a prominent role in this marriage.

More evidence:

• Looking at the 3^rd / 9^th axis which would represent travel, communication, and education – we moved frequently, living in several states and overseas during the military years, an almost gypsy existence. My natal Ascendant / Descendant axis would illustrate both husband’s and wife’s involvement in a committed partnership.
• Look at the MC / IC axis which would represent stature, title, home, and family. Not surprising, since this is what a marriage is about.
• Look at the 5^th / 11^th axis which represents children, love, and speculation – the union produced multiple children.
• Diurnal 8^th cusp 4 Sagittarius 35 = natal Venus 4 Sagittarius 54R widely conjunct diurnal Saturn 8 Sagittarius 36 in diurnal 8^th.
• Diurnal Uranus 9 Leo 57 is conjunct diurnal 5^th cusp 10 Leo 22. See 5^th / 11^th axis above, plus involvement with the natal 2^nd / 8^th axis, which would indicate the ginormous money / value system problems in the marriage (2 / 5 / 8 / 11 are natural money houses).

Diurnal worksheet blank is provided for your convenience.

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