Profections versus Progressions: An In-Depth Analysis of Zora’s Chart

I have said before that I have nothing to hide, and I will demonstrate that here by using my own natal chart as a case study to highlight the differences between two widely used timing techniques in Astrology: Profections and Progressions. I am using my own chart because my life is the one that I know the most intimately, and I always test theories on my own chart before I test them on the charts of others as a matter of professional integrity.

I’ll talk first about the differences between the two methods, then apply them to my own chart, and conclude with an explanation as to why I prefer to use profections.

Profections

The best way to explain profections is through using the natural Whole Sign House system (pictured left). Notice how the first house (where the number 1 is located) has the symbol for Aries.

If you progress counter-clockwise, the house numbers increase, and the signs change. After Aries, the symbols for each sign on each subsequent house is, in order, Taurus (2). Gemini (3), Cancer (4), Leo (5), Virgo (6), Libra (7), Scorpio (8), Sagittarius (9), Capricorn (10), Aquarius (11), and Pisces (12).

This particular chart is what we call a “natural chart” because Aries is the first sign of the zodiac. Anyone with an Aries Rising will have, in Whole Sign, a natural chart. That changes a bit when you switch to using a house system like Placidus (which is the one I prefer to use for actual interpretations), which is quadrant-based (more on that at a later date; house systems deserve their own deep dive).

Because I have an Aries Rising, the natural chart in Whole Sign makes it really easy to use my chart to explain profections. With profections, each year of life is governed by a specific house, so themes for each year of life are made clear as profections activate a specific house, in a specific sign, and the natal placement of the ruler/s of that sign determine the themes of that year.

Since I was born in 1987, what this means is that, via profections, the houses active in my chart for each year of life are as follows:

• House 1: 1987-1988 (age 0-1); 1999-2000 (age 12-13); 2011-2012 (age 24-25); 2023-2024 (age 36-37)

• House 2: 1988-1989 (age 1-2); 2000-2001 (age 13-14); 2012-2013 (age 25-26); 2024-2025 (age 37-38)

• House 3: 1989-1990 (age 2-3); 2001-2002 (age 14-15); 2013-2014 (age 26-27)

• House 4: 1990-1991 (age 3-4); 2002-2003 (age 15-16); 2014-2015 (age 27-28)

• House 5: 1991-1992 (age 4-5); 2003-2004 (age 16-17); 2015-2016 (age 28-29)

• House 6: 1992-1993 (age 5-6); 2004-2005 (age 17-18); 2016-2017 (age 29-30)

• House 7: 1993-1994 (age 6-7); 2005-2006 (age 18-19); 2017-2018 (age 30-31)

• House 8: 1994-1995 (age 7-8); 2006-2007 (age 19-20); 2018-2019 (age 31-32)

• House 9: 1995-1996 (age 8-9); 2007-2008 (age 20-21); 2019-2020 (age 32-33)

• House 10: 1996-1997 (age 9-10); 2008-2009 (age 21-22); 2020-2021 (age 33-34)

• House 11: 1997-1998 (age 10-11); 2009-2010 (age 22-23); 2021-2022 (age 34-35)

• House 12: 1998-1999 (age 11-12); 2010-2011 (age 23-24); 2022-2023 (age 35-36)
  

You may notice that the houses repeat on a particular 12-year cycle, so you can actually use this pattern to find your own profections (as long as you know your Ascendant, since it defines your first house).

The general pattern for which house is active in any particular year, based on your age, is:

• House 1: ages 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, and 108 (if you’re lucky!)

• House 2: ages 1, 13, 25, 37, 49, 61, 73, 85, 97, and 109

• House 3: ages 2, 14, 26, 38, 50, 62, 74, 86, 98, and 110

• House 4: ages 3, 15, 27, 39, 51, 63, 75, 87, 99, and 111

• House 5: ages 4, 16, 28, 40, 52, 64, 76, 88, 100, and 112

• House 6: ages 5, 17, 29, 41, 53, 65, 77, 89, 101, and 113

• House 7: ages 6, 18, 30, 42, 54, 66, 78, 90, 102, and 114

• House 8: ages 7, 19, 31, 43, 55, 67, 79, 91, 103, and 115

• House 9: ages 8, 20, 32, 44, 56, 68, 80, 92, 104, and 116

• House 10: ages 9, 21, 33. 45, 57, 69, 81. 93, 105, and 117

• House 11: ages 10, 22, 34, 46, 58, 70, 82, 94, 106, and 118

• House 12: ages 11, 23, 35, 47, 59, 71, 83, 95, 107, and 119

The oldest age anyone has ever reached is 122, but that is incredibly rare. Still, I wanted to make sure it is clear through the 110s what you can expect in your profections, as this pattern holds true for everyone.

So, to recap, profections move the active house of your chart forward exactly one house per year (starting at age 0 with house 1) and generates opportunities and tensions specific to the ruler of that year – which is the ruler of the sign of the profected house.

Planetary Rulers: Essential Dignities

Which means, of course, that you have to know what planets rule each sign, as the themes of the year will be determined by the placement of the ruler of the year, the house/sign it is in, and whether it is in dignity or debility.

The rulership of each of the planets (and luminaries) are as follows:

• Sun: Leo

• Moon: Cancer

• Mars: Aries, Scorpio

• Mercury: Gemini, Virgo

• Venus: Taurus, Libra

• Jupiter: Sagittarius, Pisces

• Saturn: Capricorn, Aquarius

• Uranus: Aquarius

• Neptune: Pisces

• Pluto: Scorpio

The outer planets – Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto – were assigned the rulership of Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio by modern astrologers, but those signs already had traditional rulers (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars). Some astrologers use co-rulership. I prefer to use traditional rulership for personal charts and modern rulership for generational trends, as the transits of the outer planets are so slow that they rarely ever fully transit through the zodiac during a person’s lifetime (except Uranus, which transits through the zodiac fully every 84 years). Neptune cycles through the zodiac in ~165 years, while Pluto takes ~244 years. Unless you’re immortal (or extremely lucky), you’ll never experience a Neptune or Pluto return.

When a planet is in its rulership, also called being in domicile, it is able to fully express itself without restrictions in that sign. Rulership is the equivalent of a planet’s headquarters, its home base, where it prefers to operate from on a regular basis.

In the sign opposite to its rulership – in other words, exactly 180° apart – planets (including luminaries) fall into the sign of their detriment. When a planet is in detriment, it struggles to function properly, meets restrictions at every turn, and basically just wants to go home. You can kind of think of detriment as a planet being stuck at work and wishing the day would end…but it never does, so it keeps desperately trying to work under terrible conditions.

The detriment of each of the planets (and luminaries) is as follows:

• Sun: Aquarius

• Moon: Capricorn

• Mars: Libra, Taurus

• Mercury: Sagittarius, Pisces

• Venus: Scorpio, Aries

• Jupiter: Gemini, Virgo

• Saturn: Cancer, Leo

• Uranus: Leo

• Neptune: Virgo

• Pluto: Taurus

Because dignities and debilities often confuse people, I am going to spend a bit more time discussing this than I would otherwise in a blog post concerned with profections and progressions. The dignities and debilities of planets are absolutely critical components of chart analysis in all branches of astrology, and they are not stressed often enough.

Remember, a planet in the sign opposite of the sign it rules is in detriment. That means:

• Sun rules Leo; in detriment in Aquarius

• Moon rules Cancer; in detriment in Capricorn

• Mars (1) rules Aries; in detriment in Libra

• Mars (2) rules Scorpio; in detriment in Taurus

• Mercury (1) rules Gemini; in detriment in Sagittarius

• Mercury (2) rules Virgo; in detriment in Pisces

• Venus (1) rules Taurus; in detriment in Scorpio

• Venus (2) rules Libra; in detriment in Aries

• Jupiter (1) rules Sagittarius; in detriment in Gemini

• Jupiter (2) rules Pisces; in detriment in Virgo

• Saturn (1) rules Capricorn; in detriment in Cancer

• Saturn (2) rules Aquarius; in detriment in Leo

• Uranus rules Aquarius; in detriment in Leo

• Neptune rules Pisces; in detriment in Virgo

• Pluto rules Scorpio; in detriment in Taurus

The (1) and (2) are visual markers to show that Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn all rule two signs, so they all have two signs where they are considered to be in detriment.

Now, rulership and detriment are just two of the four main essential dignities and debilities; the others are exaltation and fall. Planets are considered in their exaltation when they are in the sign that lets them express themselves most freely, and they are in fall when they are in the sign opposite of their exaltation.

Planets in exaltation can basically be considered to be at their vacation home, where they can be fully, freely, and proudly themselves without having to fulfill any work obligations whatsoever, They are even stronger when exalted than when they are in rulership, where they are at home. If rulership is a planet comfortable at home, exaltation is a planet at the strength gained after a refreshing vacation to reset everything. It is the absolute best placement.

In contrast, planets in fall are in their absolute worst placement. In fall, they cannot properly express themselves, the restrictions are endless, the working conditions are more abusive than oppressive, and they basically operate in a state of near-constant suffocation. A planet in the sign of its fall is extremely unhappy and not shy about letting people know it wants out…only, no one is listening, and the complaints it is making to HR are falling on deaf ears (a metaphor to give you an example of how difficult a planet in the sign of its fall actually is).

Technically, only the traditional planets (and luminaries) have signs where they are in exaltation and fall, but I personally view the outer planets as having signs of exaltation and fall as well. Keep in mind, however, that astrologers disagree on where that exaltation/fall may be, and that the exaltation/fall you read here for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto aren’t fully embraced by all astrologers. The other planets, however, have long-standing and known dignities/debilities.

The exaltation and fall of the planets (and luminaries) are as follows:

• Sun exalted in Aries; in fall in Libra

• Moon exalted in Taurus; in fall in Scorpio

• Mars exalted in Capricorn; in fall in Cancer

• Mercury exalted in Virgo; in fall in Pisces

• Venus exalted in Pisces; in fall in Virgo

• Jupiter exalted in Cancer; in fall in Capricorn

• Saturn exalted in Libra; in fall in Aries

• Uranus exalted in Aries; in fall in Libra*

• Neptune exalted in Scorpio; in fall in Taurus*

• Pluto exalted in Capricorn; in fall in Cancer*

Again, the outer planet exaltations/falls are my own interpretation. Notice, however, that Mercury is exalted in Virgo, which is also one of the signs it rules. It is the only planet that is exalted in one of the signs it rules, which I find pretty intriguing, because that also means that it is in fall in the same sign of its detriment (Pisces). So, a Mercury Pisces placement is incredibly difficult.

So, to recap all of the essential dignities/debilities of the planets (and luminaries), they are as follows:

• Sun rules Leo; in detriment in Aquarius; exalted in Aries; in fall in Libra

• Moon rules Cancer; in detriment in Capricorn; exalted in Taurus; in fall in Scorpio

• Mars rules Aries/Scorpio; in detriment in Libra/Taurus; exalted in Capricorn; in fall in Cancer

• Mercury rules Gemini/Virgo; in detriment in Sagittarius/Pisces; exalted in Virgo; in fall in Pisces

• Venus rules Taurus/Libra; in detriment in Aries/Scorpio; exalted in Pisces; in fall in Virgo

• Jupiter rules Sagittarius/Pisces; in detriment in Gemini/Virgo exalted in Cancer; in fall in Capricorn

• Saturn rules Capricorn/Aquarius; in detriment in Cancer/Leo; exalted in Libra; in fall in Aries

• Uranus rules Aquarius; in detriment in Leo; exalted in Aries;* in fall in Libra*

• Neptune rules Pisces; in detriment in Virgo; exalted in Scorpio;* in fall in Taurus*

• Pluto rules Scorpio; in detriment in Taurus; exalted in Capricorn;* in fall in Cancer*

Going over all of these dignities and debilities (usually shortened to essential dignities) may seem out of place in a post about profections, but it is actually really important. Because the planet that rules the sign of the profected house of any given year is the ruler of the year, and the placement of that planet in the natal chart will be extremely critical for the way that year unfolds, especially as the ruling planet transits in hard or harmonious aspects to its placement in the natal chart.

Progressions

Before we turn to my chart so that I can demonstrate how profections work in practice, however, let’s discuss what progressions are and how they are calculated. Progressions is short-hand for secondary progressions, as they were originally meant to be used in conjunction with primary directions (which are not the same as profections, and primary directions are complex enough on their own to deserve a fuller exploration at a later date). However, today, both primary directions and profections have unfortunately fallen out of use by many astrologers who are trained only to use progressions.

Part of this is a software issue, as progressions are easier to calculate than profections, as progressions pull from ephemeris data that profections do not require. Profections require only a natal chart and the knowledge of how to read profected houses; progressions require access to an ephemeris and software to chart the transits (unless you want to cast multiple charts by hand, which is not ideal when there is software capable of doing the same thing much more quickly).

Secondary progressions are based on the logic that 1 day of life = 1 year, so to find your progressed chart or a specific age, you would count that many days forward from the day of birth, find the ephemeris data for the positions of all the planets on that particular day, and those transits are then superimposed on top of your natal chart to create your progressed chart.

The history of secondary progressions is not well understood, as many attribute their origin to 17th century astrologer Placidus de Titis (yes, the man who the Placidus house system is named after), but Placidus referenced secondary directions as described by Ptolemy, who did not discuss secondary directions in the way that we understand secondary progressions today. The idea of a 1 day of life = 1 year in progression may have originated with Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), but it was popularized by Alan Leo (1860-1939) in the 20th century. That said, it is almost impossible to trace the actual origin of secondary progressions, as the idea of 1 day of life = 1 year of life is not a formula easily found in older astrological sources.

Some astrologers, those who use both profections and progressions (increasingly rare, as profections are often not taught or referenced), view profections as the theme of a year, while the secondary progressions suggest how a person’s inner psyche unfolds during their lifetime.

From a personal standpoint, I think secondary progressions are overrated, because if you understand how to read profections properly, the way a person’s inner psyche unfolds each year is clear through their profected chart. It makes little sense to me to use an equation as arbitrary as 1 day of life = 1 year of life to determine the way someone’s psyche unfolds throughout their entire life, as a person’s psyche (id, ego, superego) isn’t even fully developed until around age five (see this source for more information). So, from my perspective, secondary progressions based on an arbitrary equation of 1 day of life = 1 year of life doesn’t actually make any logical sense, and they don’t hold up under scrutiny, either.

Here is where we’ll get to my chart, as I can show you exactly what I mean. Profections outperform secondary progressions in my chart every single time. Profections are also one of the oldest methods for casting predictive charts, and, sometimes, the oldest methods are the better tools. Not everything needs to be remodeled; sometimes, the best tools are the ones that have been in use the longest. From my vantage point, profections are the better tools.

Zora’s Natal Chart and Profected Houses

Because the house cusps matter, and I use Placidus for interpretation, these are the signs/degrees on my house cusps and the ruler of those signs:

• Ascendant (1st) at 4°54’ Aries

  • Ruler of Aries: Mars

• 2nd House at 13°25’ Taurus

  • Ruler of Taurus: Venus

• 3rd House at 10°21’ Gemini

  • Ruler of Gemini: Mercury

• 4th House (IC) at 2°50’ Cancer

  • Ruler of Cancer: Moon

• 5th House at 25°46’ Cancer

  • Ruler of Cancer: Moon

• 6th House at 24°10’ Leo

  • Ruler of Leo: Sun

• 7th House (DSC) at 4°54’ Libra

  • Ruler of Libra: Venus

• 8th House at 13°25’ Scorpio

  • Ruler of Scorpio: Mars, Pluto

• 9th House at 10°21’ Sagittarius

  • Ruler of Sagittarius: Jupiter

• 10th House (MC) at 2°50’ Capricorn

  • Ruler of Capricorn: Saturn

• 11th House at 25°46’ Capricorn

  • Ruler of Capricorn: Saturn

• 12th House at 24°10’ Aquarius

  • Ruler of Aquarius: Saturn, Uranus

Profected First House in Aries (natal 1st)

What this means is that for ages 0, 12, 24, and 36, my profected 1st house was Aries, which means that those ages are the years where Mars was incredibly active in my life. My natal Mars is in my 7th house Scorpio, meaning that these were all years where the themes of that house (intensity in relationships) was refracted through my profected 1st house Aries and helped shape the person I am today.

I was 12 when I wrote my first poem and had it published, and I think it was around that time that I also had an art teacher who submitted a landscape drawing I had done to a local museum (without my knowledge) and I placed second. So, this was a year where I really started exploring who I was through writing, and I still define myself to this day through my writing. I published my first independent novel when I was 24, and, at 36, I learned through an opportunity to work on a translation project that I have exceptionally strong translation skills for both Middle/Modern French and Modern Spanish. So, writing is always important when my first house is profected, and I learn a lot about myself through intentionally crafted relationships.

Profected First House in Taurus (natal 2nd)

For ages 1, 13, 25, and 37, my profected 1st house was Taurus, which means that those ages were years when Venus was the ruler of the year, so my natal Venus placement was exceptionally important during those times. I clearly do not remember anything that happened when I was 1, but, at 13, I was in 7th grade. My natal Venus is OOB (out of bounds) in 9th house Sagittarius, meaning I have a love for any/all things educational, philosophical, cultural, etc. And Venus being OOB means that I basically define my own tastes without letting others tell me what I should and should not enjoy (though it took some years to become comfortable with that). What this means is that, at those ages, my natal 9th house Sagittarius, where Venus is located, would have been (and is currently), my profected 8th house (transformation, death, taxes, resources from others).

I remember 7th grade fairly clearly, as that was the first grade that I clearly remember making friends. As a kid with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD, it was always difficult for me to make friends with others because I was loud, hyperactive, and constantly running around and making problems for everyone (like any untreated ADHD kid). But in 7th grade, my middle school had a new student, and he was smart. Not only was he smart; he was hella weird. Very eccentric. I was immediately interested in becoming friends with him because he was real, intelligent, and had tons of stories and fun ideas about what games to play (we used to call what we did “the game” but it was really just a D&D session without any character sheets, which is something I didn’t realize until I got older).

It was when I was 25 that the partner I had at the time got tired of my ADHD (again, still undiagnosed), and told me point-blank that I was acting crazy. For some reason, that statement hit me really hard, probably because he said it with absolute full conviction. And that made me start seeking actual therapy, where I learned that yeah, I have significantly severe ADHD that absolutely requires medication to manage. I spent almost that entire year going to sessions before deciding that I would actually try ADHD medication because I was wary of it due to familial history of substance abuse (my mother was an alcoholic). As for the Venus in Sagittarius connection, this was a partner who moved from a different state to be with me (we met online playing World of Warcraft), so the fact that he said something that profoundly changed my life and directly impacted how I would earn money from then on? Yeah, that tracks.

I am 37 now, and issues concerning money have been frequent this year. I have had ups/downs, false starts and lucky breaks. I have been skirting the edges of being able to avoid eviction with increased rent hikes in Phoenix, and yet I have also landed research grants that allowed me to travel during the early part of the year. It is one of the most unstable years I have had financially in a really long time, as sometimes things seem to be going well and then I turn around and things are falling apart. It is definitely a difficult time to be an astrologer, that’s for sure, and my history PhD program (1 year from completion, I have a history MA), while fully funded, doesn’t offer enough in the way of a stipend to ensure secure housing. I’m hopeful that when Venus moves out of Aries and into Taurus, things will ease a bit, since Venus is the ruler of the year for me, and she is currently transiting in the sign of her detriment.

Profected First House in Gemini (natal 3rd)

Moving on to the years where my 3rd house has been profected, that would have been at ages 2, 14, and 26. My 3rd house is in Gemini, meaning the lord of the year for those years was Mercury (also the ruler for next year, from age 38-39). My Mercury is in 8th house Scorpio, and, in profection, that would mean that, for those years, my 8th house was my profected 6th house (the house of work, everyday life, health, and routine).

I clearly do not remember what I was doing at 2 (I imagine toddler things), but, at 14, I joined the colorguard of my high school and started writing my first novel. That was the year I discovered Nanowrimo (which I did for about 10 years and then stopped, and I was extremely disappointed to learn about the allegations against the nonprofit a couple years ago after I had left). At 26, I decided that I was done working blue-collar jobs, and I had been properly diagnosed with ADHD, and I started down the path of getting things set up so that I could pursue a tertiary education. By the end of that year, I was enrolled at a community college, so I was well-served for when my first Saturn return hit at age 27.

Profected First House in Cancer (natal 4th)

Now, at ages 3, 15, and 27, my profected house was the 4th house, which, as you can see, is in Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon. The Moon’s placement in a chart can tell you a lot about a person’s relationship with their mother (or most maternal parental figure). In the year that my 4th house was profected as my 1st house, my 12th house became profected as my 8th house (the house of death and transformation). I was 15 when my mother died of health complications associated with her alcoholism. The Moon ruling that year meant that significant change was going to happen with maternal figures in my life, and that is exactly what happened.

At 27, I lost a wonderful friend and mentor, Lynn, who taught me a lot about navigating higher education and who made it so that I was able to work while attending community college. It was extremely hard to lose her, as she was one of the most brilliant women I have ever had the pleasure to know. Grief struck hard both of those years, years where I lost first my mother, and then one of the most beloved female mentors I have ever had. I am not looking forward to age 38, where this same profection will be active again. Grief has largely defined my life (12th house Pisces Moon will do that), and it is difficult to know that it will always be part of me.

Profected First House in Cancer (natal 5th)

At ages 4, 16, and 28, my profected house was the 5th house, also in Cancer, so also ruled by the Moon. However, these years, my natal 12th house became not my profected 8th house but my profected 7th house. Which meant, overall, a greater experience of intense emotional relationships and a period of greater artistic expression.

I was 16 when I wrote a note – seriously, it was just a note – asking a friend what they thought about homosexuality. I hadn’t even considered that I might be questioning my own sexuality, but the reaction I received to that note? They basically decided I was a lesbian and spread rumors about me that determined my sexuality before I had even figured it out (and I am pansexual, so they didn’t even get it right!). This was my first experience with people misreading my intentions and deciding who I was without my own input (unfortunately, not an uncommon experience in my life).

At 28, I decided to matriculate from the community college I had been at to a four year university. That was also the year that I joined the Pagan Student Association (PSA) at Appalachian State University, where I completed both my BA in history (2018) and MA in history (2020). The PSA was where I ended up making life-long friends, people I still talk to even today. That was where I met the person who would become my future business partner, Blue Huntington, who provides a lot of the recipes for the shop’s products. We got along well because we were the only two advanced practitioners in a group full of mostly new practitioners that we were constantly having to prevent from doing stupid things (that sometimes we failed to do because some people decide to do stupid things without waiting for input).

So, at 16, I was forcibly outed for a sexuality that wasn’t even mine (which is still hilarious to me to this day, especially because two of the girls who harassed me about it that year came up to me two years later and asked me what dating another girl was like). And, at 28, I met the people who would become my life-long friends. Pretty cool to see that in the profected chart, honestly.

Profected First House in Leo (natal 6th)

For ages 5, 17, and 29, my natal 6th house became my profected 1st house, meaning that my 6th house in Leo became my profected 1st house, and the Sun became the ruler of the year. My natal Sun is in Sagittarius in the 8th house, which means that, based on profections, my natal 8th house became, during those years, my profected 3rd house.

I honestly don’t remember much of my early childhood, and what I do remember I can’t easily place in terms of years. This is probably a mix of both trauma-repressed memories and the severe ADHD I have; memory gets really distorted with both, so I try to be careful about what dates I provide for when things happen. If I don’t know for sure, I don’t assign the dates.

At 17, I was working after school and driving about an hour a day (we lived in a rural area, pretty far away from town; and it was rural, not part of the suburbs). I was dealing with the pressures of working, going to school, and dealing with my sister (younger than me) and her absolutely dangerous decision to meet a guy who flew in from a different state to meet her. She skipped class to meet him in a hotel down the road from the high school, and I was absolutely livid when I found her. Luckily, the guy was chill, and the situation was fine, but her doing stupid things like this and meeting guys she had only ever known online? That was just the first time (she has to have the world’s best luck because nothing untoward ever happened to her, and she is now happily married).

The third house, by the way, deals with siblings, so the Sun ruling Leo in my profected 1st house while my natal Sun in Sagittarius was profected in my 3rd house – of siblings – means that dealing with my sister’s shenanigans and dangerous decisions was just…well, a fact of life at age 17. So, you may ask, what happened at age 29? As far as I can remember, that was the year that my sister also started back to school, so, in this situation, it was more that I ended up inspiring her to start thinking about her own future. It took her a bit longer than me to get through school due to severe mental health issues, but she finished her Sociology BA with honors and she currently works in the juvenile justice system. I am extremely proud of her, though she criticizes herself for not continuing on with graduate education. But graduate education isn’t for everyone, and, honestly, her life is more stable than mine (seriously, graduate school and the way TAs are exploited for low pay could serve as an example of why to avoid it unless you can financially support yourself).

Profected First House in Libra (natal 7th)

Moving on to the years where my natal 7th house became my profected 1st house, that occurred for the years where I was 6, 18, and 30. Again, I don’t remember a lot about early childhood, so I’ll skip that year. But my 7th house is in Libra, which is ruled by Venus. And, as mentioned earlier, my natal Venus is in Sagittarius in the 9th house and OOB. With my 7th house as my profected 1st house, my natal 9th house became my profected 7th house. In my natal 9th house, Uranus is also in Sagittarius and OOB, conjunct with Venus, and Saturn is in that stellium.

So, it is incredibly clear that the accident where I remember dying and choosing to come back happened when I was 18. I have two metal rods in my right leg now, a permanent disability that makes it almost impossible for me to do anything other than walk (running is out), and even that can be painful. It was also the same year, however, that the hospital where I was taken was generous and wrote off my surgery as a charity case. So, I didn’t end up owing the hospital money that performed the surgery any money, which was an unexpected blessing.

At 30, I started my MA history program, and, for the first time in my life, I was able to afford living away from home. So, interestingly enough, although there were difficulties (a lot of drama with someone who I was subleasing from that I won’t go into here), there were also blessings during those years in the form of financial support in ways I hadn’t previously experienced.

Profected First House in Scorpio (natal 8th)

Now, moving to the years when my natal 8th, in Scorpio, became my profected 1st house at ages 7, 19, and 31 – and Mars/Pluto are the rulers of Scorpio, my natal 7th house (where Mars/Pluto are both located in Scorpio in my chart) became my profected 12th house (the house of exile and secrets).

The age of 7 is the first age I really remember of my childhood, as this was the year that my mother’s drinking got so heavy that it resulted in us moving houses. This was the year when we moved into my grandmother’s house, and it was the year that my mother’s substance abuse became problematic enough that it turned into verbal/emotional/mental abuse from her towards both me and my sister (and my grandmother, who eventually moved out of her own house).

At 19, I went back to work despite being told I really shouldn’t (car accident at 18, remember), and I lived with my grandmother in her apartment for most of that year. She was the one who took care of me after the accident happened, and I stayed with her for quite awhile. That was, despite the hardships caused by physical rehab and working, one of the better years of my life because I got to live with my grandmother (who I was always really close to).

Profected First House in Sagittarius (natal 9th)

Now, at ages 8, 20, and 32, my natal 9th (Sagittarius) became my profected 1st house, and Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter (which is in Aries in my natal 1st house). That means, for those years, my natal 1st house became my profected 4th house. Nothing significant that I can remember occurred when I was 20, but 32 was an important year.

At 32, I completed my MA and was accepted into Arizona State University’s History PhD program. Note that this was the only school I applied to – I had decided that I would apply to ASU, and, if I didn’t get accepted, I would go down a different career path. That was the same year (2020), unfortunately, that the world was rocked by the Covid19 pandemic, and I was one of the first people in NC to have the virus (though no test yet existed for it). I knew I had it because I went from one day before spring break (last semester of my MA) with a professor saying, “hey that cough sounds rough, you should get it looked at.”

So, I went to health services, the doctor said, “probably bronchitis” and prescribed a zpak. Not even 24 hours later, I was back at health services because that “probably bronchitis” had morphed overnight into full-blown pneumonia. Bronchitis doesn’t morph into pneumonia that quickly; my grandmother had chronic bronchitis, and I often got sick with bronchitis over the winter months in NC. So, it was either a random and unexpected odd case where bronchitis became pneumonia, or it was a case of Covid19 that wasn’t testable yet (it was after spring break that year that everything in NC shut down).

That was also the same year that I moved across the country to Phoenix, Arizona. I moved during the global pandemic because that was the only choice I had – my program started in August 2020, so I didn’t have much of a choice there. Notice, again, that my profected 1st house was in Sagittarius for the year, so that a long-distance move happened during that year is pretty cool to see in the profected chart.

Profected First House in Capricorn (natal 10th)

At ages 9, 21, and 33, my natal 10th (Capricorn) became my profeected 1st house. Saturn rules Capricorn, and my natal Saturn is in Sagittarius in the 9th house, meaning that my natal 9th house became my profected 12th house that year. The only year of these three that really stick out is when I was 33, I lost my maternal grandmother (who was basically my best friend). She lived to 98, so she lived a very long life, but it was very difficult to lose her.

When you are tracking relationships in a chart, you orient from the relationship most relevant to you. So, since she was my maternal grandmother, that means that my relationship with her is defined by “mother’s mother” or four houses away from the house of the mother (the 4th house), which is the 8th house (house of the maternal grandmother).

With Capricorn as my profected 1st house, that meant my natal 8th house was acting as my profected 10th house, and my natal 6th house was acting as my profected 8th house. This means that, during that year, my profected Midheaven was in Scorpio with my profected 8th house in Leo. My natal Mars and Pluto are both in Scorpio, which means that they formed a square with my 8th house in Leo that year. Since Mars and Pluto can indicate physical death, and they were in a tense aspect with my 8th house in Leo, my grandmother dying during this year makes logical sense. Especially as she was never super happy about me moving to Arizona for the sake of my career (10th house, midheaven), and she was the brightest person in my life. Losing her was extremely hard on me, especially because I wasn’t able to physically be with her in her final moments or physically able to attend her funeral (held in North Carolina). I was able to provide a piece of writing to have read at her funeral, which allowed me to express what I felt about her even though I couldn’t physically attend due to financial constraints.

Profected First House in Capricorn (natal 11th)

At ages 10, 22, and 34, my natal 11th (Capricorn) became my profected 1st house. My natal 9th house became my profected 10th house that year (the signs may seem confusing because I’m using Placidus and not Whole Sign for interpretation, but bear with me). At 22, I was living and working in Asheville, NC, and I had to have emergency gallbladder surgery done, which meant that I had to leave Asheville (and quit my job because this was prior to me pursuing higher education) and move back home. This was a very difficult year for me, and it was one where I spent a lot of time trying to make friends that ended up disappearing or being unhinged. Case in point, I called one woman I thought was a friend to make sure we were still meeting at 10am that day, and she told me if I called her again before noon that she would kill me. Whether she meant that or not, I decided being friends with her was a hazard to my health and moved on.

Profected First House in Aquarius (natal 12th)

Now, at ages 11, 23, and 35, my natal 12th (Aquarius) became my profected 1st house. Aquarius is ruled by both Saturn and Uranus, and, luckily for me (or unluckily), they are in the same house in the same sign (Sagittarius 9th house). My natal 9th house then became my profected 10th house. In equal house systems, this would mean that my profected 1st and 10th house were in a square with each other, meaning tensions between self-identity and career.

That’s loosely what I remember concerning age 23 (clearly I wasn’t working at age 11!), as I was struggling hard to hold down a job. Remember, this was before I was diagnosed with ADHD, so I was working at jobs for 3-4 months, quitting, and then repeating the process because I would literally get so bored I couldn’t stand staying in the same place. This is why when people say ADHD doesn’t require medication to treat, it makes me want to scream because I would literally be doing the same job-hopping today if I hadn’t finally gotten diagnosed and treated. It nearly ruined my life.

At 35, I decided I had enough of living with other people in Phoenix (seriously, three years of being forcibly assigned roommates I didn’t choose was a nightmare) and worked hard to find an apartment of my own, even in light of the significant financial challenges doing so caused (and is still causing). Because the roommates I had those first three years were problematic in all sorts of different ways, some because of substance abuse, some because they were walking health hazards (soup should not be left so long it turns into pink fuzz, just no), and some because they were more interested in being codependent with each other than actually trying to have a real roommate experience. It was enough for me to say, no thanks, never again, and look for somewhere else to live.

Overall, my profected charts for each of the years I clearly remember (as childhood memories, like I said, are a bit hazy) are almost uncannily accurate. This is why I continue working as an astrologer – I require the systems I work with to be extremely precise and on point, and, so far, astrology has proven to be more accurate than any other system I have encountered.

Zora’s Secondary Progressions

Now, let’s move on to my secondary progressions. Remember, Secondary progressions differ significantly from profections, as they are calculated as 1 day of life = 1 year of life. So, the transits of each of the beginning days of my life would be viewed as my progressed chart for a particular year of life and then laid over my natal chart and interpreted through a synastic overlay between the progressed chart and my natal chart. Yes, it is convoluted (and if you are confused here, just hold on. I’ll try to ease that confusion for you).

I was born on November 27, 1987 at 2:14pm in Valdese, NC. So, my progressed chart – which is supposed to somehow represent the entirety of my second year of life – would use the ephemeris data from November 28, 1987 at 2:14pm in Valdese, NC.

Basically, my second day of life is broadened into a full year, and that occurs with each subsequent day. My 3rd year of life is defined, via secondary progression, by the ephemeris data from November 30, 1987. My 4th year of life by the ephemeris data from December 1st, 1987. And so on, up until the age where you want to stop. Since I am 37, that means that my 37th day of life – January 3rd, 1988 – and the ephemeris data from that day is supposed to explain everything about my psychological experience of my 37th year of life.

Now, secondary progressions are said to be the most useful for understanding how someone’s psyche develops throughout their life. As I previously mentioned, I lost my mother when I was 15 years old. So, theoretically, the progressed chart for my 15th year of life should show a very traumatic moment that absolutely became formative for me.

The transits for 12 December 1987 are laid over my natal chart to produce the progressed chart for my 15th year of life (2002-2003). In the secondary progressed chart for my 15th year, my progressed Ascendant is Aries, my progressed Moon 6th house Virgo, and my progressed Sun 8th house Sagittarius.

There is nothing in this progressed chart that indicates, in any way whatsoever, that my mother would pass away during the year.

Now, if you really wanted to stretch – and it would be a stretch, you might be able to argue that the loose opposition between my progressed 6th house Virgo Moon and natal 12th house Pisces Moon could indicate the loss of my mother. However, it isn’t even in a full opposition and it is in an extremely wide orb of 10° (which is typically far too wide to be considered even a loose opposing aspect).

Considering that was a profoundly formative event for me psychologically – and the argument is that secondary progressions should be where you see how someone’s psyche unfolds over their life – the fact that my mother’s death isn’t visible in my secondary progressed chart for the year is a profound illustration of how much secondary progressions miss.

Remember, my profected chart for the 15th year of my life was my 4th house. Essentially, my profected Ascendant for age 15 was Cancer, which is the sign associated with the mother. As mentioned earlier, the profected chart for that year clearly shows my mother’s death, as my profected 1st house (Cancer) was square with my profected 4th house (Scorpio), where Mars and Pluto (planets that can demarcate physical death) were active that year. Add to that the fact that my profected 8th house for that year was my natal 12th house Pisces (where my Moon is), and the 8th house represents death? The profected chart shows my mother’s death as an inevitable event because Mars/Pluto in the profected house of the mother (4th) squaring the Ascendant of the sign of the mother (Cancer), squaring the profected house of death (Pisces) with the planetary placement of the mother (Moon) is jarring in its accuracy.

When you consider the profected chart for that year and the progressed chart for that year together, what becomes clear is that secondary progressions do not accurately predict a significantly impacting psychological change, as there is nothing in the secondary progressed chart for that year that suggests a profound loss that would shape the rest of my life.

So, because I can see my own life through my profected charts – but not through my progressed charts, I will never be comfortable with using secondary progressions. I find that profections are much more accurate (and much more logical) than progressions, because whoever decided that the first few days of an infant’s life somehow defines their entire existence as it unfolds? Yeah, that person was not thinking rationally. Because astrology is extremely precise; why the hell would you try to make the transits of a day in someone’s life bear the burden of their entire fate for a year? That’s not how this should work. I wish I could say that’s not how it works, but, unfortunately, progressions have become more common than profections in use, and I am absolutely appalled by the way they have simply been accepted by modern astrologers as legitimate.

No system should ever be accepted as fully formed and without flaws, and that includes astrology. There are some old methods that no longer make sense (like using Whole Sign for chart interpretation) but there are also some newer methods that make no sense at all. Secondary progressions are one of those methods. They aren’t helpful, they confuse people, and they mistakenly portray the entirety of a person’s life as bound up in the transits of the first few days of their infancy.

I have had a great deal of success using profections for predictive astrology rather than secondary progressions. I use profections with the clients I read for, including those who come to see me when I am acting as a guest astrologer at Elements of Spirit in Phoenix, AZ. When I offer predictive charts, such as five-year financial forecasts, I do so using profections, as I find that they hold an uncanny accuracy that secondary progressions simply cannot match.

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