What’s wrong with the twelve letter alphabet?
One of the concepts in modern astrology practice that does more harm than good is the twelve letter alphabet. It was apparently popularised in a book by Zipporah Dobyns, but I’m not sure if she was the one who invented it. As far as I know it seems to have been universally adopted since then, as an integral part of the astrological system.
Prior to the rediscovery of Hellenistic astrology, we could be forgiven for liking the neatness of the 12 x 12 structure of the twelve letter alphabet. However now that we know better, more astrologers are questioning the assumptions that come with it. As practicing astrologers we can keep doing our research and challenging our assumptions. There is always more to learn, more to discover. It’s a beautiful thing.
So, to summarise; the twelve letter alphabet conflates the significations of the twelve signs, the twelve houses and the 10 planets. In this system the signs, houses, and planets all have the same interchangeable meanings. For example Aries has the same meaning as the first house and the planet Mars, which rules it. Most modern astrologers are familiar with this and also with the personality types of the signs that modern astrology bundled up together. It sprang from the pop-astrology of the 1970's.
If you try to do actual, serious astrology with it though it very quickly becomes messy, awkward and confusing. Everything means something else, only to arrive at a generalised, meaningless theme, with ambiguous memes attached to them. I have a strong eighth house stellium, but I kept reading about my Plutonic control issues, or my Scorpio fixation with sex and death. I could not seem to read a chart without going around in circles (literally, the chart being circular).
My own chart remained a mystery because the interpretations either did not make sense or were just wrong. No wonder daily horoscopes were always published with the disclaimer that they were for entertainment only, and the overall public perception of astrology was scornful. But somehow I new there was more to astrology.
Then I discovered Hellenistic astrology; the specificity of the significations, and the conceptual distinction between the signs, houses, planets and aspects. Suddenly it all made sense. The eighth house does not mean Scorpio.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Jungian theory, the archetypes, mythology and the power of astrology to reveal our inner life, our personal psychology. As a therapeutic tool astrology is truly amazing. But not everything in the birth chart relates to psychology.
Let’s look at the second house as an example. In the Hellenistic system the houses of the birth chart or horoscope, relate to areas of a persons life. Income, earnings, expenses, personal possessions and items of value are assigned to the second house. The sign that occupies the second house tells us something about the quality, or the nature of these significations. More importantly, it is the planetary ruler of that sign that tells us how and where these significations will manifest in your life, as determined by the whole-sign house method.
If the planetary ruler of the second house is located in the seventh house it may mean income and possessions relating to marriage or a partnership, in the eighth house an inheritance either made or received, in the tenth from a career achievement, in the eleventh house a friend or benefactor. The ancient doctrine is so elegant, simple and straight forward. There is no guesswork or ambiguity. We don’t need to make it any more complicated that this.
The modern system has introduced the concept of self-value to the significations of the second house. I am unsure why or how it came to be there. To begin with self-value is a broad theme that could be symbolised by several of the planetary archetypes or configurations. As a starting point I would look at the first house, its domicile ruler and its position in the chart, or configurations between Saturn and the Sun and Moon.
What is even more subtly poisonous about assigning self-value to the second house is the assumption that self-value and how much you earn are intrinsically related. This is problematic for obvious reasons. It shows how socially conditioned we are to equating self worth with net worth. This is not the astrology that supports healing and soul growth.
It is a hangover from our classist, capitalist and colonial attitudes. Unfortunately we do still live in a society where earning a high salary is practically deified, and we still collectively assume the wealthy are somehow superior. Often their large egos support this assumption. But to be honest I prefer a world where self value is supported from a young age, and reinforced by being the unique, loveable person that you are, for worthy achievements, kindness, ethical choices and integrity.
Reinforcing negative patterns using these obsolete concepts in a reading is tantamount to a curse, as well as degrading the healing potential of astrology.
If we are ever to elevate this sacred art to a place where it can do the most good, we need to eliminate the practice of twisting significations into judgemental psychological stereotypes. The ancient origins of astrology show us that it has much more to offer than this.
Let’s be much more stringent with the significations of the houses. The houses, signs and planets have separate and distinct meanings and operational interpretations because they are based on ancient metaphysical and philosophical doctrines. This we know because the original Greek and Latin texts have been translated and published.
It is past time to leave the twelve letter alphabet in the dustbin of ill-conceived astrological tropes and return to the specificity of the four distinct and elegant systems of astrology. I also think that the study of the ancient mythology relating to the planets and signs will help to strengthen and define our understanding of the significations and how they should be used.
There has never been a better time to do it. There are a number of excellent, well-researched books now available on Hellenistic astrology by experts such as Chris Brennan, Demetra George, and Benjamin Dykes. I have also just published a series of short books for beginners, now available on Amazon that are affordable and easy to read. Here is the link.
More on my website heartnsoulastrology.com
