Exploring Phoenix Arizona through a Comparison of Natal and Mundane Astrology

Exploring Phoenix Arizona through a Comparison of Natal and Mundane Astrology

Natal Astrology is the type of astrology that most people are familiar with; this is the branch of astrology that deals with the birthcharts of individuals. If you’ve ever had an astrology reading done, chances are that the reading was performed by a natal astrologer.

Mundane Astrology is less familiar to people but it is commonly practiced, as it deals with events rather than individuals. Usually, it is used on a national scale to understand the nature of a nation, its politics, economics, demographics, allies and enemies, etc. However, Mundane Astrology can also be done on a smaller scale for states within nations, territories, cities, and even local neighborhoods if enough information is known.

Every Western Astrology chart has 12 houses, but how those houses are understood differs based on the branch of Astrology being practiced. Luckily, although there are some differences between how houses are interpreted in Natal and Mundane Astrology, the differences are mostly in terms of scale.

Since I prefer to use Mundane Astrology at the micro level – in other words, for cities – I will use city-level explanations for each house and how they differ between Natal and Mundane Astrology. I’ll use the city of Phoenix, AZ, as a case study, where I have chosen 8pm on May 3, 1881 as the birth time for the city, as the first mayor of the city was elected that day and most elections in the city’s history are declared around 8pm. I’ll also be using Parasara Decans and Egyptian terms, which is unique to the way I practice Astrology.

Ascendant / First House

The Ascendant is the sign of the first house cusp; it is the origin point for the entire chart. In Natal Astrology, the Ascendant provides insight into a person’s temperament, identity, and expression. In Mundane Astrology, the Ascendant provides insight into the temperament and characteristics of a city’s general population.

For Phoenix, AZ, the Ascendant is 0°15’ Sagittarius, placing the 1st house cusp in Jupiter’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term.

What this means for the city of Phoenix is that the general population has the temperament associated with Sagittarius, where there is a love of freedom, adventure, exploration, education, and philosophy. Because the Ascendant is in Jupiter’s Decan and Term, there is nothing restricting the expression of the Ascendant, so the city as a whole holds an incredibly diverse population with people from all over the world. Because the chart ruler of the city is Jupiter, there’s also a tendency towards expansion and a wide variety of opportunities available throughout the city at all times.

Second House

In Natal Astrology, the second house indicates your personal finances, the values you hold, your ethics, and the integrity with which you live your life. In Mundane Astrology, the second house indicates, at the city level, the state of the city’s economy, wealth, and general profitability.

For Phoenix AZ, the second house cusp is at 0°58’ Capricorn, which means the second house begins in Saturn’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. Capricorn is pretty well-known as the sign associated with big business, so the second house cusp here explains how Phoenix became an industrial powerhouse for certain types of industries. The second house cusp falling in Mercury’s Term shows how universities, colleges, and innovative businesses came to dominate Phoenix’s overall profitability because Mercury rules thought, communication, education, and commerce.

The second house for Phoenix also suggests that it is a city where people come to learn, to teach, and to pursue innovative business ideas. Since the second house cusp is in Saturn’s Decan, however, there’s also a strong indication that businesses succeed only when they are well-structured and determination to succeed doesn’t wane even in the face of difficulties. Saturn indicates slow but sustainable success rather than overnight wealth, and that is borne out by the history of the city itself.

Third House

In Natal Astrology, the third house indicates your personal style of communication, the way you think and write, and it is the house that shows the relationships that you have with siblings.

In Mundane Astrology, in contrast, the third house still deals with communication but it scales upwards. Here, the third house becomes where information about a city’s transportation system, media outlets, and primary/secondary education systems.

For Phoenix, AZ, the third house cusp is at 5°25’ Aquarius in Saturn’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. The third house cusp indicates a city where innovation in transportation systems, educational methods, and media communication are common. Aquarius is known as the sign of revolution and it is viewed by modern astrologers as being ruled by Uranus. However, in traditional astrology, Saturn is the ruler of Aquarius, as it is Saturn that provides the structure necessary to rebuild after old systems are dismantled (I clearly prefer traditional rulership).

The history of Phoenix demonstrates how revolutionized the city became through its adoption of different transportation technologies. In 1887, the first horse-drawn streetcar line was established in the city, and, by the 1890s, streetcar tracks covered the city of Phoenix. The year 1887 was also the same year that the first train came to Phoenix, and the rail system itself revolutionized the city by expanding the reach of Phoenix’s market to both the east and west. By the mid-1890s, Phoenix had become an economic powerhouse in the state of Arizona. (Source: City of Phoenix).

The same year Phoenix was recognized as an economic hub of Arizona (1895), Phoenix Union High School was established with a total of 90 enrolled students. Two years later, a group of women started the Friday Club and began a movement calling for the establishment of a city library; they managed to achieve this goal, as the Phoenix Library Association was established in 1899. In 1908, the Carnegie Free Library opened its doors. During this same time period (1890s), Ed Gill became the editor of the Arizona Republic, the first daily newspaper in Phoenix (Source: City of Phoenix).

What is really fascinating here is how much success small social groups have had in implementing wide-scale change in education and communication systems across the city of Phoenix. It is sometimes forgotten that Aquarius is also the sign that governs social movements and collective activism, but Phoenix’s history is a fantastic reminder of that fact.

Fourth House / I.C. (Imum Coeli)

The fourth house cusp, also known as the Imum Coeli, is the nadir (or lowest point) of the chart, and, in Natal Astrology, it reflects the most intimate parts of yourself, your family, and your ancestral roots. The fourth house is concerned with the home, the household, and it is also where your relationship with your mother – or most maternal parental figure in your life – is located.

In Mundane Astrology, the Imum Coeli indicates the essence of the city, its roots, and what lurks beneath its foundations. The fourth house deals with physical land, the geographic layout of the city, real estate, agriculture, and the opposition party (because it opposes the 10th house, where the main political party for the city is located. More on that when we get to the 10th house).

For Phoenix AZ, the Imum Coeli is located at 10°39’ Pisces in the Moon’s Decan and Venus’s Term. This is also the first house where we have a planetary placement present. Mars is in the 4th house at 23°34’ Pisces in Mars’s Decan and Mars’s Term.

What’s really fascinating about the I.C. being in Pisces, the sign of dreams and dissolution, in the Moon’s Decan and Venus’s term suggests a lost origin. Even after 25 years of practice, I am still constantly amazed by the accuracy of astrology, as this I.C. specifically suggests a city built on top of a lost civilization. No one knows what happened to the Hohokam people, though the most circulated theory is that their civilization was destroyed by a prolonged drought. All we really know about them is that they built an incredibly fertile irrigation system using canals, and it was also canals that led to the ability in the modern era for Phoenix to become a residential city. With the I.C. in Venus’s Term, this makes a lot of sense, as Pisces is the sign where Venus is in exaltation, so the I.C. in her Term suggests a city that is aesthetically built around water and earth. Essentially, Phoenix requires strong irrigation for both agriculture and habitation.

Now, Mars being in the fourth house in its own Decan and Term adds a volatile compound to the mix. Mars is only dignified by triplicity here, as it is a planet that governs both fire and water signs (Aries for fire, Scorpio for water). Mars here adds a critical need to intentionally design water-based infrastructure, which the I.C. already indicates. Mars reinforces that and makes it clear that it is an ongoing project; the city must always be adjusting and adapting the way that it handles irrigation and water flow. Which, honestly, just makes sense when you consider that Phoenix is in the middle of the Sonoran desert. Managing water on a daily basis is a fact of life in a desert city, especially for those Phoenicians involved in agricultural work.

Fifth House

In Natal Astrology, the fifth house is where you find information about your creative pursuits, your passions, interests, hobbies, and what you view as romantic. In Mundane Astrology, mostly what changes here is the scale, as the fifth house indicates the type of entertainment found throughout the city, the sports scene, public morale, and the population growth (birth rates).

In Phoenix, the fifth house cusp is at 12°04’ Aries in the Sun’s Decan and Venus’s Term. This is also a house that holds three significant planetary placements. Mercury is at 28°43’ Aries in Jupiter’s Decan and Saturn’s Term. Saturn is at 3°34’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Venus’s Term. Jupiter is at 5°19’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Venus’s Term. We’ll discuss each of these placements in turn.

With the fifth house cusp at 12°04’ Aries in the Sun’s Decan and Venus’s Term, this is a city that loves the arts. It is also a city that is always looking for new types of artistic expression, always looking for the next artistic breakthrough. There is more passion for arts than sports in Phoenix as a whole, but there is still great enjoyment found in anything that requires movement. Unique styles of dancing, multiple types of martial arts, and general recreation are easy to find because Phoenix is a city that, as a whole, likes to move.

With Mercury at 28°43’ Aries in Jupiter’s Decan and Saturn’s Term, there is restraint and refinement added to the artistic and athletic expression of the city. This is actually incredibly useful, even though it seems like a limitation, because it means that the artists and athletes in the city who take their art and sports seriously often do incredibly well for themselves – which, in turn, reflects well on the city of Phoenix. However, because Mercury is in Jupiter’s Term, that also means there is a lot of competition that can make it difficult to break through obstacles. It is difficult, in other words, to be someone offering innovative methods in a city where everyone is offering innovations of their own.

Saturn at 3°34’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Venus’s Term is indicative of a city that is very grounded in its art and athletic scene. What this means is that a lot of physical art – like tattoo artists, body art, etc. – tends to dominate the art scene and can cause other types of art to become difficult to find. That holds true with physical recreation as well; while martial arts, dancing, and clubbing are common, it is a bit more difficult to find creative expression groups that focus more on traditional crafts like yarn crafts, cooking, and other household staples. They aren’t impossible to find, since Phoenix is an incredibly diverse city thanks to its Sagittarius Ascendant, but it will always be easier to find a dance class than a knitting class.

Jupiter at 5°19’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Venus’s Term adds to the physicality of the city, as Taurus is a very sensory sign very grounded in physical experience. Because of this, the population growth of Phoenix is guaranteed to be steady – if not outright explosive – because Jupiter increases both the natural birth rate of the city over time and it serves to attract a great deal of people.

Jupiter is also the ruler of Phoenix’s chart, meaning that its placement is crucial for the city overall. In the fifth house of entertainment, and as the planet that rules expansion and luck, Jupiter ensures that there is always a steady influx of people, art, and entertainment into the city. Phoenix is a city that is meant for people to move to; the more people in the city, the happier Jupiter becomes. That expansion isn’t always to deal with for Phoenician residents, of course, but it is, for most people, simply a fact of life.

Sixth House

In Natal Astrology, the sixth house is where you find information about your health, your everyday life, your working conditions, and your relationships with your coworkers. In contrast, in Mundane Astrology, the sixth house is where you find information about a city’s labor force, public health, civil service, and non-leadership military personnel.

For Phoenix, the sixth house cusp is at 8°06’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. There are also five critical planetary placements here, which means this section is going to be the most complex. Venus is at 12°37’ Taurus, retrograde, in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. The Sun is at 13°46’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. Neptune is at 13°59’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. Chiron is at 17°19’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term. Pluto is at 27°30’ Taurus in Saturn’s Decan and Mars’s Term.

Phew, that’s a lot of placements in one house! And that’s without considering the Taurus stellium that crosses two houses (5th and 6th) using the general 8° orb (but stelliums are a topic for another day).

Let’s start with the sixth house cusp at 8°06’ Taurus in Venus’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. What this tells us about Phoenix’s workforce is that a lot of people work in physically demanding jobs that also require critical thinking skills. This suggests a higher percentage of people working in hospitals, as sports coaches, as martial arts instructors, as tattoo artists, as performance artists, and in investigative fields such as research, journalism, and detective work.

Now, let’s look at Venus, retrograde in the sign she rules, at 12°37’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. While astrologers disagree on how retrogrades impact charts, I take the stance that retrogrades enhance/augment placements rather than weakening them (other astrologers argue the opposite, that retrograde planets create natural instability). Because I view retrogrades as chart enhancement, what I see here is a city that wants its work to matter. A city that wants its history to be remembered, with a workforce dedicated to ensuring that the city is known for what it provides.

This could explain why, outside of Phoenix (as people who live here understand that this is a bold-faced lie) the eastern half of the country believes that Phoenix is a health haven that reduces allergic reactions in pollen-sensitive individuals. In reality, it does not – the pollen strains are just different (olive, juniper/cedar, mesquite rather than birch, pine, oak). Venus retrograde in Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Term may augment the reputation of the city as a health haven, as honeyed words suggest a reality that those most sensitive don’t enjoy (okay, there are some health benefits living in Phoenix versus NC – where I am from – since the heat actually means I deal with fewer issues with the metal rods in my leg from a bad car accident when I was 18. However, the pollen issues? Still just as bad).

The Sun at 13°46’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Term is actually really visible in the way the city itself is planned out. Being in the sixth house, the Taurus Sun of the city takes on a bit of the meticulous nature of Virgo (the natural sign of the sixth house). That can be seen in the way that construction crews and road workers design infrastructure to follow a very intentional grid pattern, making it really difficult to truly get lost in Phoenix.

However, that Taurus Sun also lends stubbornness and a tendency towards overwork to the population as a whole, meaning that there are greater health issues caused by physical exertion and stress-based burnouts. This is especially clear in the summer, when people who work outside push themselves past their ability to endure high temperatures and end up admitted to hospitals or seeking urgent care for heatstroke and other heat-based illnesses. In many ways, Phoenix is a city that never stops working, driven (in some cases) to the point of collapse.

Neptune at 13°59’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term adds to that tendency towards overwork and burnout, as Neptune is the planet that governs dreams, ideals, and illusions. With Neptune in Taurus, there is a greater number of people striving towards dreams that they may not be able to reach because Neptune provides dreams but no grounding for their realization. This also suggests issues with public health caused by inattention and carelessness, and, because Neptune also governs substance abuse and addiction, homelessness and substance abuse are the biggest health crises the city faces.

With Chiron at 17°19’ Taurus in Mercury’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term, the core wound at the heart of the city is a general feeling of defeat. It is a very difficult wound for a city because it means that the general population, despite working incredibly hard, often finds themselves in dire straits regardless of how much effort they put into their work. The only way to handle a Chiron wound in the sixth house is to…well, continue putting more effort into work, even when it feels pointless and like it is going nowhere. This means that people who commit to daily routines, keep to set schedules, and do the drudge work required for everyday life have an easier time living in the city than those who struggle with routine. Phoenix is a city that wants to run like a clock; it wants routine and structure, but it is also exhausted by the effort it actually requires to create those routines and commit to executing them.

Now, moving to the final planetary placement in the sixth house, Pluto is at 27°30’ Taurus in Saturn’s Decan and Mars’s Term. Pluto here creates an almost ceaseless obsession with work, and people are constantly changing jobs and struggling with coworkers due to the power struggles that Pluto in the sixth house provokes. This is a city where coworkers rarely get along with each other, as people harbor suspicions about the intentions of those around them and convince themselves that the people around them are trying to undermine them, steal their jobs, or get them fired. So, people work themselves harder, not realizing that by doing this, they are shortening the amount of time before they collapse due to burnout. Workplace drama is more normal than its absence, and jealousy is more common than collaboration. There may be pockets where people work together, come together in community, but they are rare because Pluto increases paranoia, jealousy, and power struggles in the workplace.

Seventh House / Descendant

In Natal Astrology, the seventh house cusp is also known as the Descendant, and it is exactly 180° away from your Ascendant. Where your Ascendant represents your self-identity and expression, your Descendant provides information about what role you take on in relationships, the qualities you seek in partners, and the transformation/growth/change that you experience in relationships (all 1-1 relationships, but primarily marriage partners and business partners). The seventh house itself is concerned with committed relationships and open enemies, including business competitors and rivals.

In Mundane Astrology, in contrast, the seventh house indicates foreign relations, treaties, and open diplomatic enemies, as well as national alliances. At the city level, foreign relations can be taken to mean relations with other cities, treaties can be understood as municipal agreements between cities in the same state, and national alliances as relationships with cities in other states or territories (depending on the country). Diplomatic enemies, at the municipal level, include any collective group that attempts to interfere with the municipal government, so political organizations, grassroots movements, environmental groups, etc. can all be considered “open enemies” to the city’s government, as most of these groups seek changes that the government often resists implementing.

For Phoenix, the seventh house cusp is at 0°15’ Gemini in Mercury’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. This means that the kinds of commitments that the city of Phoenix tends to make to the general public and to other cities (and the state of Arizona) are ones that contain a Mercurial resonance. This means that public education, daily commerce, and media communications are usually the commitments that gain the most traction. It also means that, like the duplicity the sign of Gemini is known for, that the city of Phoenix has two sides to it. All cities have a daylight world and an underworld, but the Gemini Descendant of Phoenix means that a lot of deals happen under the table, out of sight, without the public ever being informed until things are happening and everyone is wondering when the hell they agreed to infrastructure and business projects that seem to spring out of nowhere.

The seventh house in Gemini also means that Phoenix’s dealings with other cities in Arizona, the state of Arizona, cities in other states, and the federal government are duplicitous at best and outright deceitful at worst. To put it succinctly, Phoenix treats state and federal law like suggestions, with the municipal government choosing to govern the way it sees fit. Whether the state or federal government agrees with Phoenix doing this doesn’t really factor into any decisions made at the city level. Basically, the city plays by its own rules.

Eighth House

In Natal Astrology, the eighth house is the house of transformation, death (both metaphorical and actual), inheritance, sex, the occult (both in terms of magic and in terms of hidden knowledge), and regeneration. It is, in essence, the house of everything deep, dark, and intense.

In Mundane Astrology, in contrast, the eighth house is the house of debt, taxation, mortality rates, covert financial dealings, and crises. This is also the house that shows what types of crimes are more likely to occur during daylight hours (the 12th house covers the night).

For Phoenix, the eighth house cusp is at 0°58’ Cancer in the Moon’s Decan and Mars’s Term. The Moon is also in this house at 18°42’ Cancer in Mars’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term.

Let’s start with the house cusp at 0°58’ Cancer in the Moon’s Decan and Mars’s Term. What this placement suggests is a city that struggles with emotional regulation in homes. There is a higher likelihood of violence in the home, suggesting crimes related to domestic abuse are more common in Phoenix during daylight hours.

Since I was actually actively analyzing this chart for the first time as I wrote this, I was honestly shocked to see this come up, so I decided to investigate for myself. What I found is that Phoenix has an alarming crime rate concerning domestic violence. In 2023 alone, Phoenix police recorded an appalling 9,000 domestic violence-related offenses, around 35% of the total number of domestic violence-related offenses reported across the entirety of Arizona. To put that in perspective, Tucson, which is less than a two hours’ drive from Phoenix, reported 4,500 cases in 2023 – exactly half the amount of cases reported in Phoenix for the same year (Source: Domestic Violence Registry).

Add to that the fact that the Moon is at 18°42’ Cancer in Mars’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term, and it becomes almost painfully clear that Phoenix is a city that struggles with homelessness and addiction. Some of that homelessness stems from domestic violence-related crimes, some from addiction, and some from evictions caused by unscrupulous (and unethical) financial dealings that result in ever-increasing rent hikes and sudden displacement of people from housing units that the city decides to tear down without consulting anyone first.

While the Moon in Cancer is technically in exaltation, the fact that it is in the eighth house – often associated with the underworld – means that tempers run hot at home and explode in public, people get lost in the dreams they have for the future and forget to pay bills or do the work necessary to make sure they have a roof over their heads. Unable to cope with the difficulty of life in Phoenix, many people turn to drugs, which just makes the issues with homelessness and substance abuse escalate as the government makes deals with landlords and overlooks financial mismanagement when it benefits them. Corruption in Phoenix is baked into the government structure; regardless of who is in charge, shady deals are part of its tempo.

Ninth House

In Natal Astrology, the ninth house is what indicates the type of higher education you’ll pursue, the philosophical truths you’re seeking, and the type of long-term travel (especially to other countries) that you are likely to participate in during your life.

In contrast, in Mundane Astrology, the ninth house indicates, at the city level, religious demographics, the judicial system, academia, and the publishing industry. For Phoenix, the ninth house cusp is at 5°28’ Leo in the Sun’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term. Uranus is also in the ninth house, at 9°42’ Virgo, retrograde, in Mercury’s Decan and Venus’s Term.

With the ninth house cusp at 5°28’ Leo in the Sun’s Decan and Jupiter’s Term, there is a strong focus on education, publishing, and cultural religious diversity. There is a strong religious pull towards monotheistic religions, so Catholicism and other versions of Christianity are more common throughout the city than one would typically expect to find in an urban area. However, there is just as strong a focus on academia and learning, so there are plenty of educational opportunities at every level – multiple colleges, universities, and alternative holistic schools.

Uranus retrograde at 9°42’ Virgo in Mercury’s Decan and Venus’s Term is intriguing, as Uranus is a planet that governs breaking conventions, alternative methods, and innovation. As such, it isn’t exactly comfortable in Virgo, which is a sign of routine, precision, and minutia. What Uranus here allows, however, is for the flourishing of multiple types of religious expression throughout the city, as well as a proliferation of different types of schools. While you may still find Catholics and Christians more often across the city as a whole, you will also encounter people from many other religious backgrounds. There are churches, mosques, and synagogues – all which you expect to find in pretty much any urban area in the U.S. these days – but there are also Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, and Interfaith communities across the city.

There are also an astonishing number of different types of schools throughout Phoenix aside from community colleges, technical institutes, and ASU. There are also holistic medicine schools, the American Federation of Astrology, and several spiritual teaching centers throughout Phoenix. It is really a place where people can learn anything and practice any faith and find community, if they do the work (because, as we’ve already seen, Phoenix requires effort).

Tenth House / MC (Midheaven)

In Natal Astrology, the tenth house cusp is also known as the Midheaven (called the MC from its Latin name, the Medium Coeli), and it is where you find information about your career, professional reputation, and public image. The tenth house, aside from career, also indicates the relationship you have with your father, by which I specifically mean the most father-like parental figure in your life.

In contrast, in Mundane Astrology, the tenth house indicates, at the city level, the government itself and the political leaders of the city. It also provides information about the city’s reputation as a whole as well as its visibility throughout the country.

For Phoenix, the midheaven (or tenth house cusp) is found at 10°39’ Virgo in Saturn’s Decan and Venus’s Term. The Pars Fortune (Part of Fortune) is in the tenth house at 25°19’ Virgo in Venus’s Decan and Mars’s Term.

What the midheaven at 10°39’ Virgo in Saturn’s Decan and Venus’s Term tells us about the government leaders of the city of Phoenix is that they are extremely dedicated to precision planning. This helps explain why the city is laid out in grids that make it basically impossible to get lost (as mentioned earlier), and why people outside the city think that Phoenix is a beacon for health. Politicians in Phoenix who have detailed plans for how to address city-wide issues tend to be favored over those who make vague suggestions.

This midheaven also suggests a city with a government whose work never stops, where there are constant everyday crises that have to be dealt with that, if they only happened on occasion, wouldn’t be an issue. However, since Virgo is the sign of everyday rhythm, this is a city with leadership that basically cannot ever stop responding to crises and planning their way through preventing the next one. Politicans are extremely overworked in this city, and unless you are a perfectionist who really loves spending all your time planning and handling crises, this is not an easy city to govern.

What is really intriguing about this tenth house, however, is the Pars Fortuna at 25°19’ Virgo in Venus’s Decan and Mars’s Term. Pars Fortuna is one of the Arabic Lots/Parts, and it is also known as the Part of Fortune. This is where luck and opportunity are found in a person’s chart in Natal Astrology, and, in Mundane Astrology, where the luck/opportunity is found for a city/nation.

The Pars Fortuna being at 25°19’ Virgo in Venus’s Decan and Mars’s Term for Phoenix is absolutely evident when you look at the city itself. Because it is a city that never sleeps, there are constantly new businesses moving in, and the hospitals are always busy. That last probably seems like ill fortune – and it is for the people who are hospitalized – but it is a source of income for Phoenix because hospitals pay taxes. A bit morbid to say it this way, but it is a fact that the more hospitals Phoenix has, the more money the city’s government has to invest in infrastructure and other city-wide projects.

While I find it a bit disturbing, the reality is that a Virgo Pars Fortuna in the tenth house means that the city of Phoenix squeezes every dime it can get out of the businesses, institutions, and housing residences that it can for the sake of the city itself (at least, in an ideal world; however, remember that the eighth house suggests a lot of corruption happening in the city, too).

Phoenix benefits from people moving into the city, whether that is because of work, starting a new business, pursuing education, or looking for a place to retire. And, because of that Virgo MC and Pars Fortuna working in tandem, people outside of Phoenix see it as a great place to live, work, learn, retire, and visit. Despite all the problems that plague the city – much easier to see when you actually live here – Phoenix has a pretty solid reputation across the U.S. Many people associate that with it being “The Valley of the Sun,” but the real reason for its reputation is its Virgo MC and Pars Fortuna.

Eleventh House

In Natal Astrology, the eleventh house is the house of friends, peer networks, community groups, social activities/interests, and activism work. In Mundane Astrology, the eleventh house is concerned with the city’s legislature, governing bodies (including neighborhood coalitions), collective movements, and political parties.

For Phoenix, the eleventh house cusp is at 12°04’ Libra in Saturn’s Decan and Mercury’s Term. This is actually a great placement for the eleventh house cusp, as it suggests a city with a body politic that is concerned with equality and education. Libra is a sign that radiates justice, equality, and fairness. This house cusp helps mitigate, at least a little, the intense corruption found within the body politic, due to the way interest groups and political organizations pursue change for the benefit of city residents.

What I find really ironic about this particular aspect of Phoenix’s chart is that workplaces are fraught with tension, but in matters of politics, the city has a more relaxed “live and let live” sort of vibe to it. Maybe it is because this is a city where household and workplace tensions are so high that actual politics seem almost like a way to relax (seriously, some protests out here look more like people throwing a fiesta than actually protesting anything; it’s wild). People care about politics; they want the best for the city and their own lives, of course. But the city doesn’t seem to drown in political debates the way other urban cities do. This is most likely because, as I mentioned earlier, Phoenix has this vibe (Gemini descendant) of not caring so much about the law outside of city limits (and rarely even within them).

Twelfth House

In Natal Astrology, the twelfth house is the house of secrets, hidden enemies, and spirituality (this is critically different from religion, which is governed by the ninth house). In Mundane Astrology, in contrast, the twelfth house is the house of institutions – prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. – as well as secrets, espionage, sabotage, exiled groups, and hidden crime.

For Phoenix, the twelfth house cusp is at 8°06’ Scorpio in Mars’s Decan and Venus’s Term. This immediately tells me that the city is a hotbed of criminal activity, especially at night and behind closed doors, because Scorpio is the absolute most intense sign to have on the cusp of the twelfth house. In addition, being in Mars’s Decan, there’s intensified violence that, being in Venus’s Term, is exacerbated by passion – i.e. rage, intense emotions, despair.

What this means for the city is that there are higher mortality rates from crimes, especially crimes involving firearms (more likely in Scorpio due to Mars traditionally ruling the sign, especially during war) and crimes of passion. Fights are more likely to turn fatal, tempers flare more easily over even perceived slights, and suicide is also more likely due to the intensity of a twelfth house in Scorpio (that’s borne out through statistical research, which you can find here).

Because of the twelfth house in Scorpio, however, there are a couple of highlights – most crimes in the city happen at night or behind closed doors. Most occur between family members or groups that know each other; it is not a city that lends itself as easily to crimes committed by people completely unconnected to the victims. However, even this “highlight” comes with a caveat, because a Scorpio twelfth house also suggests that the people meant to solve crimes may be the ones complicit in them. Like I said, corruption is just a part of Phoenix’s tempo.

Now, the one true benefit of a Scorpio twelfth house is the spiritual depth the city provides for those seeking truly life-altering spiritual experiences and paths. Scorpio is, hands-down, the absolute best sign for anything related to magic, the occult, the esoteric (including astrology), and alternative spirituality. The city is home to some of the best spiritual teachers in the U.S. (and I say this as someone who has experienced the spiritual tempo of a lot of different U.S. cities) but it is also, unfortunately, home to some of the worst scam artists, too.

In other words, like with everything else in Phoenix, to find good information, good teachers, and the type of soul-level spiritual transformation that the city absolutely is equipped to provide, you have to go through a lot of bad ones first.

As a case in point, I was with Gypsy Luna at Elements of Spirit on Grand Avenue in Phoenix last week, where I sometimes offer astrology consults and courses, when a group of three girls came into the store. After talking to them, I learned that they had been kicked out of three metaphysical shops before they finally made their way to Elements of Spirit.

Elements of Spirit, by the way, is the only metaphysical shop I frequent in Phoenix because Gypsy is one of the most authentic spiritual teachers I have had the pleasure to befriend over my life. She is extremely knowledgeable about magic, very intuitive, and always willing to engage with people regardless of their chosen religious or spiritual path. She is well-known in the community here for her integrity, compassion, and insight into difficult situations. Honestly, I can’t say enough nice things about her – she’s an amazing woman who I feel blessed to have met during this life.

Anyways, to go back to the story about these three girls… they were kicked out of three metaphysical shops in a single week across Phoenix because they asked questions the store owners didn’t like. They were looking for advice on how to handle a ritual they were doing in a cemetery, and, when they brought it up to the three store owners before coming to Gypsy, those store owners basically told them that they were interfering with free will and kicked them out without even giving them a chance to explain.

In contrast, Gypsy immediately explained to them everything they needed to do to make sure they were protected while doing the ritual, despite the dangers, because she said “I can tell ya’ll are going to do what you’re going to do, so I’m at least going to make sure you’re protected while you’re doing it.” That’s the hallmark of a true teacher. That’s the reason that Elements of Spirit is really the only metaphysical shop I go to these days, and it’s also the reason that it is the only shop in Phoenix through which I will ever offer classes.

Because integrity matters to me. Knowledge matters to me. And making sure people are safe when they are getting themselves into deep magic that they may not fully understand matters to me. I am a very compassionate person, and that is a difficult thing to be in Phoenix, where compassion is often met with suspicion and honesty met with paranoia.

Astrology Readings

Astrology Courses

©The Knotty Occultist 2020-2025