Scheduling Events with Astrology

What to prioritize astrologically when you're planning the exact time to launch a business, get married, travel, etc.

Aug 29, 2023

I hope everyone is surviving these Venus and Mercury retrogrades! Everything feels super slow right now for me, which is why this newsletter is a few days late. But today, we’re going over a topic that a lot of people have been asking about recently. We will be looking at how to use astrology to plan things, such as project launches, first dates, weddings, booking a flight, scheduling a haircut, or even deciding when to post something on social media. The tips I am about to share can be applied across all of these categories.

Before we get into it, here are some recs I have for this month.

Monthly Recommendations

Podcast: Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus - The host of this podcast starred on Seinfeld and is now in her 60s, and she is curious about the advice older women have to offer. She interviews a number of successful women who are now in their 70s-90s, including Jane Fonda, Fran Lebowitz and Diane von Furstenberg. I love hearing their wisdom, and all of these women offer such great perspectives on how long life really is and what has been the most important to them.

Books: Spirit Babies by Walter Makichen - Maybe it’s because I want to have kids kind of soon, but I am currently obsessed with understanding the astrological timing of pregnancy and all things having to do with babies. The author of this book is a psychic medium who communicates with spirits waiting to enter families. He gives case studies on how he has helped people communicate with their unborn children, as well as aided them in overcoming problems with conceiving or deciding if they’re even meant to have kids. Highly recommend even if you’re just interested in why you may have chosen to be born into your specific family.

Okay, on to our main topic: scheduling events with astrology. To preface this whole conversation, I need to first say that no matter how much you try to manipulate the timing of a situation, I do believe that events in your life will play out how they are meant to. If a couple is getting divorced for instance, I believe that it doesn’t matter what time of day or date they get married on. Those same underlying issues in the relationship were always bound to surface, and scheduling the wedding for a specific time can’t change that. Having good transits on the day of the marriage though is helpful, because you’re less likely to run into hiccups with the timing and organization of everything, and there will be a better vibe all around. At some point, you have to trust in the timing of the universe and that everything happens as it should, so I try not to overly fixate on getting a perfect chart for big events. I recommend using all of the tips I give as a loose guideline, not as the end all be all.

When you’re looking to schedule an event, no matter how big or small it might be, you will want to pull up a birth chart for it. You can enter in the date, time, year, and city in which that event is beginning, just like you would pull up your own birth chart. I always recommend astro.com and astro-seek.com to pull up charts for free, and use whole sign houses. If you have a particular time frame that you’re working with to start something, but are trying to narrow it down to an exact day or time of day, you will want to play around with entering in different days or times into the chart calculator based on what I go into below.

Take note of what signs are most prominent in the chart.

As you may already know, the twelve zodiac signs can be divided up into three different modalities, with four signs in each modality. These are cardinal (Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn), fixed (Aquarius, Leo, Scorpio, Taurus) and mutable (Pisces, Virgo, Gemini, Sagittarius). For the purposes of choosing a chart for an event, you will mainly want to focus on what the modality is for the ascendant and midheaven of the chart, as well as the modality of the chart ruler (aka the planet that rules the ascendant). The quality associated with that modality can be very telling of the energy and momentum surrounding whatever you are starting.

With a cardinal sign as the rising or the chart ruler, there may be a lot of enthusiasm for the project or partnership early on, but sustaining that initial excitement may prove to be a challenge. That’s where fixed signs prove to be critical. Fixed signs are able to maintain whatever is started and keep at something for long periods of time. They’re more patient and determined in working towards something. However, fixed sign energy can also be stubborn or unwilling to change, so that’s where mutable signs come in. Mutable signs can adapt to sudden changes that may come up, and are able to edit and make adjustments to a project when necessary. Depending on what you’re launching, you will want to pay attention to what signs you choose to put on the rising and midheaven of your chart. If you are just starting something and seeing where it takes you, I suggest cardinal signs. If you want intense commitment and are willing to work super hard on something, try for fixed. If you’re someone who is more go with the flow and likes to change things around when you get bored, definitely do mutable.

I had a project in the past with a fixed sign ascendant (Taurus) and when changes needed to happen to make work flow more easily, it was very challenging to do so. It was like there was only one format for that project and it was not going to change no matter what. This mentality unfortunately led to an early burnout. I’ve noticed when I’ve launched something, like my astrology website for instance, on a mutable rising (Gemini in this case) there’s more room for change. With my website, it’s been easy for it to go through different iterations without it being a major problem.

On another note, you will also want to aim to get planets like the sun, moon, or ascendant ruler into the sign that is either their domicile or exaltation. That allows these key parts of your chart to function to their full capacity and bring about the best results. So if you have a Libra rising chart, it would be ideal to have the planet Venus (chart ruler) in Libra or Taurus (the signs it rules) or Pisces (the sign Venus is exalted in). Meanwhile, if we had a Scorpio rising chart, it would be ideal to have Mars (chart ruler) in either Aries or Scorpio (the signs it rules) or Capricorn (the sign Mars is exalted in). To contrast, it wouldn’t be as beneficial to have Venus in Virgo, Aries, or Scorpio (the signs opposite to its domiciles and exaltation) or Mars in Cancer, Libra, or Taurus (again, the signs opposite to its domiciles and exaltation).

Match project themes to specific houses.

Depending on what type of project you’re launching or whatever it is you might be initiating, try to have a few of the planets in its birth chart fall into houses that are relevant to your project or endeavor. For example, with any social media post I put out there, I want it to reach the maximum amount of people and get engagement with my online community. Therefore, I tend to only post around 11am-1pm, because that is when the sun is usually in the 11th or 10th houses of the chart, so it’s more likely to gain visibility (10th house) and have people interacting with it (11th house). Especially when it comes to the ruler of the chart (aka planet that rules the sign in which the ascendant falls), you will want it to be in a house that relates back to your project’s themes.

My Substack’s birth chart above.

With the launch of my Substack I was very strategic with the timing, as you can see in the diagram above. A newsletter is mainly writing, and it’s about communicating information in a very digestible way for other people. These themes pertain to the 3rd and 9th houses of a chart. However, my particular Substack revolves around astrology, which is specifically a 9th house theme. The 9th house has to do with spirituality as well. Therefore, the chart for the launch of this newsletter ideally needed to have some 9th house planets. In the chart for my Substack launch above, I have placed the ruler of the Leo ascendant (the sun) in the 9th house in Aries (the sign it is exalted in), along with the moon, Jupiter, and Mercury also in the 9th. You may also notice that Jupiter, the planet associated with spirituality and knowledge, falls right on the Midheaven in the chart, which brings me to my next big point.

Angles and angular houses in the chart get more attention, so you will want to be extra mindful of what planets are placed at these points. The angles are the AC, DC, MC and IC, and the angular houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th. Any planets that fall here are going to be felt super strongly and will influence the overall tone of whatever you’re starting more so than other planets in the chart. You typically don’t want malefic planets, aka Mars and Saturn, falling in those prominent parts of the chart, because they may bring frustration, delays or conflict into your venture. Instead, try to get at least one of the benefics, Venus and Jupiter, or the chart ruler on an angle or in an angular house, so that there is greater opportunity for growth and positive opportunities coming more easily. Bonus points if Venus or Jupiter also falls into the sign of its domicile or exaltation.

Planning the exact time of a wedding isn’t really that flexible, as the majority of weddings tend to happen around 5-6pm on a Saturday evening. So you don’t have as much control over what the rising sign is or what houses the planets fall into. Therefore, the next few categories I get into below will be more relevant to watch out for when planning a wedding date specifically. However, I feel like it is no coincidence that weddings typically take place in the evening, because at that time the sun and possibly other planets like Mercury and Venus will always be in either the 7th or 8th houses of the chart. At the exact moment of sunset, the sun is on the descendant. These two houses and the descendant angle are super focused on relationship commitment and the sharing of money and resources, which are all very important when it comes to marriage. The chart below is for the time of the ceremony for when I get married next year: June 8, 2024 at 6pm. Both benefics, Venus and Jupiter, are in the 8th so hopefully that means no conflict over our shared bank account and other assets when we are married. I also got the moon to be in Cancer, the sign it rules. If you’re debating between a couple of weekends that are close to each other for a wedding, go with the one where the moon is better situated. More on that next.

My wedding ceremony chart with an 8th house stellium.

Check the aspects planets are making to each other.

It’s also important to take note of what aspects the sun, moon and chart ruler are making to other planets. If these planets form a square, opposition or conjunction with Saturn, that will bring up a heavier, more serious tone to that project or relationship, and it may require a lot of effort and hard work on your part. Some of my worst travel days have been when the moon is conjunct Saturn, where flights get majorly delayed or cancelled. Delays and frustration are huge Saturn themes, so I will be avoiding scheduling flights on moon-Saturn days from now on. However, Saturn is also a planet that symbolizes longevity and commitment, so you do need a little bit of that if you want something to last. Saturn aspects may perform better in career related endeavors, rather than on days that are meant to be stress free, like a first date or getting a haircut. Meanwhile, aspects with Jupiter may bring optimism, humor, spirituality, travel or an open mindedness into your project. Aspects with Venus might be great for collaborating with people, having a social aspect, or maintaining a sense of peace and harmony in your endeavor.

In addition, you will want to check the aspect the sun and moon are making to each other, meaning what moon phase are you launching the project, habit, or relationship under? The two weeks between a new moon and a full moon is ideal for gaining traction and seeing further growth happen with something. That’s the best time of the month to launch in my opinion. Less ideal would be the two weeks from the full moon as the moon approaches its new moon status again. That time of the month is waning in energy, so there’s not as much growth taking place. It’s more of a closing out period and going within as you prepare for what’s next.

Going back to the wedding example and taking what we know now, I would try to get a weekend where the moon is aspecting Jupiter or Venus, or have it be during the moon’s waxing phase (new moon -> full moon).

Avoiding retrogrades and the void of course moon

Retrogrades happen pretty frequently, so it’s impossible to put your life on pause during them. I wouldn’t put too much weight into the outer planet retrogrades affecting launches or new beginnings, but instead I would be mindful of Mars, Venus and Mercury retrogrades. If you must launch something during one of those retrogrades, I would try to to do it after the sun-planet cazimi that happens at the halfway point in the retrogrades for both Mercury and Venus. With Mars retrograde, the halfway point is at the Sun-Mars opposition. When Mercury and Venus meet up with the sun halfway through their retrogrades, that’s what I refer to as the new moon phase for those planets, so it kicks off a brand new cycle for that planet which will unfold over the next several months. It’s like the qualities associated with that planet are given a fresh start, so that can be helpful if Mercurial or Venusian themes play heavily into what you’re trying to start. What I would be mindful of in launching under any of these retrogrades though is that there may be an element of your project that needed to be edited or reworked once the retrograde lifts. Whatever you’re starting may not be fully set in stone quite yet.

I launched my astrology business during a Mercury retrograde (see diagram below), but it was during the sun-Mercury cazimi, so there was a bit more clarity by that point than there was at the start of the retrograde. And that cazimi was conjunct Jupiter - so again taking note of those aspects to positive planets like Jupiter or Venus is important. Also when a planet is retrograde in a business’s chart, there’s an intensification of the themes associated with that planet that will show up in that business or project. So with Mercury retrograde, it makes sense that communication, like writing and speaking (Mercurial themes), are the pillars of what I do in my astrology business.

The chart for the launch of my astrology business, with a Sun-Mercury cazimi during Mercury retrograde. However, the ruler of the chart, Mercury, and the Sun are both conjunct Jupiter.

The void of course moon lacks some momentum too. The moon is considered to be void of course when it has finished making aspects to all of the other planets and is kind of just floating through the rest of the sign in which it is transiting. Once it finally switches to the next sign over, it will begin applying to aspects with certain planets again and will no longer be void. When the moon is void and you’re launching something, the foundation for that project may not be as strong, as the moon is receiving no support from the other planets. It might be an endeavor that never fully gets off the ground. The void of course moon can last anywhere from a couple hours to a full day, so this is something where you will really have to be mindful of the exact hour you’re announcing something new.

How do the transits and progressions in the chart play out over time?

This is actually soooo important. If you only take one element of this list for creating a chart for your business, let it be this one. If you know how to read transits and progressions, you will want to see how those play out in your business’s chart over the next couple of years. I made the mistake of putting the moon in the 11th house of my podcast’s chart, Jupiter in the 10th, and the Nodes in the 1st/7th, so about 2 years into that project, the progressed moon moved into the 12th, Jupiter moved into the 12th, and the North Node also moved into the 12th shortly after. That project came to an end under those progressions and transits, because it was just too much 12th house energy to handle. Especially when it comes to launching a business, rather than something relationship related, making sure that the transits are good for the near future is key. Whenever there are transits to the ascendant or Midheaven signs of that chart, those will be periods where your business will have greater attention and you will likely receive more major opportunities related to it. In my podcast’s chart below, it has a Taurus rising. During Taurus season in 2022, when the transit sun in Taurus was right on the ascendant of the podcast’s chart, the podcast shot to the top of the Spirituality chart on iTunes and we had a record number of downloads that month.

Above, the transits and progressions to my old podcast’s chart. You can see progressed moon and transit Jupiter both in the 12th, with North Node quickly approaching the 12th around the time it ended.

Check to see how your event chart lines up with your own birth chart.

This is the last point I’ll make. You will want to keep in mind that your business or relationship’s birth chart is simply the transits that are happening to your own birth chart on that particular day. So you will want to have transits happening in your own chart that are supportive for launching something. For example, if you are Capricorn rising, and you are deciding between having the moon in your project’s chart be in Sagittarius or in Capricorn, you will definitely want to go with Capricorn, because there’s more of an intense connection between the moon in your event chart and your own chart. Or if you’re an Aries sun and you’re deciding what rising sign to give your project’s chart, it could be great to have its rising sign or Midheaven be Aries, because that would again positively line up with your own chart. Usually when you are launching something though or having an important life event take place, these transits are naturally happening without you having to fixate on it a ton. You will typically want to be more seen or feel like publicly sharing what you’ve been working on when the moon is on your Midheaven or crossing over your ascendant for instance. Or your relationship will be much more important to you when the moon is moving through your 1st or 7th houses.

This is a lot of information that we’ve just gone over, but I wanted to share a few tips and tricks I use when I’m deciding a date to launch something. There is certainly more you can look at as well, but I’ve found that these points are what I usually focus on the most. At a certain point, trying to fine tune a chart too much can be information overload and ends up preventing you from taking action.

Astrology with Alice

Discussion about this post