Using Daily Profections: An Alternative to the Daily Horoscope

“Likewise also you will work out the day, beginning from the sign in which the month fell, and similarly distributing the number of days that was found to the next signs, e.g. giving to each one day until the number of 12 is completed, and beginning again from the ones previously set forth and filling out the number; for wherever the number gives out by exhaustion, there will be the day, as in the procedure for the year.” (Paulus Alexandrinus, Introduction to Astrology, Chapter 31, Trans. Holden, 2012, 69-70.)

 

Many astrology enthusiasts like to look at daily horoscopes. The daily horoscope is a staple of many a newspaper and publication from the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times to Elle and Vice. The idea behind the horoscope is that the astrologer looks at the Sun sign’s relationship with the rest of the transits, especially the Moon. The horoscope is a cultural institution in its own right, but isn’t by any means the only method available for daily astrological tidbits of information and advice. With a little bit of study, most astrology enthusiasts can learn the fundamentals to understand and utilize daily profections, a smaller division of the annual profections time lord technique. Annual profections are based on the twelve astrological houses and perfecting or moving forward one sign per year, month, or day. Annual profections from the ascendant sign are the most common, and are thought to begin at the beginning of life. Profecting from the Sun, Moon, or Lot of Fortune are also commonly done by some astrologers. Annual profections are informative, useful, and relevant as a means of interpreting and predicting time periods like days, months, and years. Daily profections can give great insight about daily periods of time. As such, they are an indispensable and valuable tool and can be viewed easily with free online software. The only catch is that beginners, astrology lovers, and pretty much anyone else interested in using them has to learn a few basics before learning how to apply them to their own natal chart.

There are a few places that one can find free resources for calculating annual profections on the internet. Annual profections can be done online for free using the website Astro-seek’s free software program. The program can be found on the Astro-seek website’s page. There are also images on Google that show the house and birth year relationships in the technique. They can be done on an astrology chart, but monthly and daily annual profections might be harder to calculate. The best place to calculate daily annual profections for now is Astro-seek. 

The basic principles behind annual profections are easy to learn. Annual profections is a timing technique that comes from Hellenistic Astrology. It uses a horoscopic chart that has twelve houses. The technique uses years, months, and days. In the technique, when looking at time allotments of a year, a natal sign is pushed forward one sign each year. Profections can be used from any of the 12 signs or whole sign houses, but usually the most important were profections from the ascendant and the sect light. Astrologers also profected from the luminary that was out of sect and the Lot of Fortune. Most of the materials on the form of daily profections that will be used here come from Paulus Alexandrinus . In Paulus’s form of daily profections, a sign is advanced on a daily basis, so that in the course of a month, signs will advance either 2 or 3 times, but on average about 2.5 times per month.  He explains the process here:

“You will make [your star] from the sign in which the month fell, giving one day to each sign until the number of twelve is completed and again giving the thirteenth day to the sign in which the month fell;  and you will give the [remaining days] similarly in succession until the number of days is completed.”¹ (Paulus Alexandrinus, Introduction to Astrology, Chapter 31, Trans. Holden, 2012, 69-70.)

When interpreting a yearly, monthly, or daily profection, one should look to the topics of the house, the planets in the house, the house ruler, and its condition in the chart. Aspects to the house and ruler should be considered, and the house and the ruling planet are activated during the year, so one should watch for ingresses, aspects, phases, and motion of the planet. Paulus explains how to analyze the profected sign’s ruler. “We look at Mercury, how he is situated in the nativity, and which ones of the stars aspect him,  and what is the sign in which the year is that they are beholding, and what [stars] in the nativity were configured with it.”² There are some good learning materials online that can supplement the information provided in this article. Some resources on profections include Chris Brennan’s video, Seven Stars Astrology’s article on annual profections,  and using a search engine to find other astrologers who teach it.³ 

The best way to learn daily profections is to see them applied to a natal chart. So, I will demonstrate how to do daily profections with the chart of a famous celebrity. Ben Shapiro is a political commentator, writer, and lawyer. His birth chart is rated AA. He was born in Burbank, California on January 15, 1984 at 12:57 PM. Now, I will go over Shapiro’s chart briefly. 

Shapiro is Taurus rising in the late degrees of Taurus, with his ascendant degree within a one degree orb of the fixed star Algol. It’s odd that his ascendant’s ruling planet is in the eighth house as a famous person who rose quite prominently from an early age. The eighth house is succedent house with moderate strength but it is a dark house with no aspect to the ascendant. The topics of the eighth house are death, inactivity, laziness, loss, fear, worries, hidden things, mysteries, other people’s money, investment, inheritance, and justice. However, the eighth house signification of inactivity and losses does seem to apply to Shapiro in a certain way as his life was anything but normal. Shapiro skipped a lot of school and university. His planets are almost entirely in the occidental hemisphere and are in the second and third quadrants associated with summer and spring or youth and maturity.  Not only does he have Venus in the eighth house, but the chart has a big focus on the second house and eighth house axis. Money, material possessions, inheritance, investment, mysteries, and unseen things are all topics for his lunar nodes, Moon, Jupiter, and Venus. 

Other parts of his chart have a strong influence from the malefic planets Mars and Saturn. Shapiro has many planets in Saturn and Mars ruled signs. He also has both Saturn and Mars in his seventh house. Having the two planets angular indicates that working hard, dealing with hardships, antagonism, completing tasks, overcoming challenges,  and other aspects are primal in Shapiro’s life. Shapiro should feel comfortable engaging in debates and activism. To enemies, he will be hated and despised and verbally attacked and criticized. But for those who agree with him ideologically, he will be seen as a defender of the worldview and culture he embodies. He will be praised for his courage, his ability to stand up and voice opposition, and his principle.  It’s not an accident that Shapiro has emerged in a destructive culture war environment. He has the grit, determination, and energy to navigate conflicts and opposition from various social institutions. Though Shapiro’s malefic planets make him strong, their connection to the ninth house, Sun, and Mercury are important.

Shapiro has the discipline and seriousness to apply his academic inclinations. His Sun and Mercury are in the ninth house of academics, philosophy, law, and religion. Both of these planets are related to the intellect and communication, and their placement implies the ability to learn and study naturally. Mercury’s condition isn’t bad as it has made an appearance within seven days. It’s also a morning star and in a dynamically succedent house. Though Saturn is the ruler of his ninth house as well as his midheaven, Shapiro also has a strong martial character that despises idleness, inauthenticity, and weakness. One observation of Shapiro’s chart is that religion is connected to his relationships and his career. Saturn is in his seventh house and rules the ninth and tenth houses, as mentioned. The ninth house is more often associated with traditional religions than the third house or the types of spirituality of the dark houses. Shapiro is an Orthodox Jew and is described by many media as right wing and ultra-conservative. The role of Saturn in Shapiro’s life is clear. As the house ruler for the ninth house, Saturn has traditional and conservative connotations. Saturn is also associated with the Jewish faith in the Picatrix, the astrological magic grimoire. Shapiro’s embrace of his faith also has the other hallmarks of Saturn’s significations, such as adherence to authority, tradition, the ancient views, and traditional structures. Shapiro has a strong Saturn slant in his career and his brand of spirituality literally embraces Saturnian qualities that have long been associated with Judaism. All of these factors help Shapiro to apply himself to his studies and to show little tolerance for wasting time or not being focused on academic progress. 

Shapiro’s chart is perfect for a culture warrior. He has strength, ability, and capacity to handle interpersonal clashes, verbal fights, and conflicts. Because Mars and Saturn are angular and the most prominent, Shapiro has a lot of familiarity with this environment. It also fits his early career as a lawyer and a political commentator at UCLA before that. Mars gives Shapiro the strength to be a sort of anti-liberal iconoclast and to traverse in hostile situations and environments. He can express individuality, even when its couched in the more Saturnian traditionalism and conservative he espouses. Shapiro, as mentioned before, also has Algol characteristics in his personality. With Algol near his ascendant degree he can have a brutal edge. Algol can be linked to pain,  suffering, and violence.  It must be stressed that Shapiro isn’t really a physical fighter but has a major focus on academics. He applies his martial and Saturnian qualities more through debate and and arguments that are made through communication platforms like the Daily Wire and conservative media, as well as public speaking events, books, and columns. Briefly, I have described some elements of Shapiro’s natal chart and now I will connect them to the annual profections timing technique.

The houses that will be experienced favorably and unfavorably in annual profections are often the same for most people. For favorable houses, the fifth and eleventh are usually the best. The first and tenth are also generally great for most people. Then, the seventh, fourth, ninth, and third are also experienced positively. The worst houses are the sixth and twelfth. The other dark houses, the second and eighth, and to some extent the the more positive third, ninth, and fourth could be difficult as well. 

Depending on the planets, signs, and aspects, the experience of these houses can be changed or modified. Some people will have house experiences that are outside the norm. So a person should become familiar with their chart and yearly profections that have occurred in their lives already to have the best understanding of the daily profections. At first look, we realize Shapiro doesn’t have many planets angular or in the best houses. He has Mars and Saturn in the angular seventh. The fifth and eleventh house axis doesn’t have planets. The dispositors of the fifth and eleventh are in the eighth, associated with inactivity, loss, absence, and working for others benefit. The tenth and seventh should be good with their rulers angular, though the seventh is also very difficult as it the location and house of Mars, the out of sect malefic. The fifth and fourth are better, though not highly positive. Though Mercury and the Sun are in the ninth and manifest in relation to its positive topics, the house is cadent and not overly good or helpful for the native. Discipline and hard work related to higher learning, religion, and communication are really the staples of Shapiro’s life. He should positively experience the signs of the other reasonably well-placed planets, the Sun and Mercury. Also, angular houses should be experienced with difficulty because both malefics are angular and make squares or oppositions to them. Mars especially will bring difficulty to the angular profections. Besides analyzing the chart, examining previous events can give insights.  In Shapiro’s chart, we can see some major life activities occurring at certain points that correlate to profection years. Shapiro became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States at age 17. His 17th birth year corresponds to a sixth house profection year. Though the sixth house is associated with open enemies it is also associated with work and has a superior trine aspect to the midheaven. The ruler of the Libra sixth house is Venus in the eighth.  A significant time for Shapiro, it fits his antagonistic chart.  Other important times were when Shapiro graduated Harvard law school, when he became editor-at-large at Breitbart, and when he founded the Daily Wire. Shapiro graduated law school at age 23, corresponding to the sign of Aries, or the twelfth sign house. Without looking at transits, it’s a bit odd that Shapiro graduated law school during one of the worst years in a twelve-year cycle. The only thing I can think of is that it was a year that Shapiro didn’t really enjoy, but it was linked to all of his Mars-derived efforts. He became Breitbart editor-at-large in 2012, his 28th birth year.  His 28th birth year is Virgo, the fifth house. This year was linked to Mercury in the ninth house, connecting the topics of writing, religion, and academics to fun and creativity. The condition of Mercury in Shapiro’s chart is positive, and the fifth house generally is a positive house for most people. He founded the Daily Wire with Jeremy Boreing in 2015, at age 31. Age 31 corresponds to the sign Sagittarius, the eighth house. This house has Shapiro’s Jupiter and Venus, as well as the South Node. It is on the same axis as the Moon and some of the major significations are one’s own stuff and money as well as other people’s money and investments. While an active year, it is not overly positive as it is a dark house. The two benefic planets are there and Jupiter is the ruler and is located in the house, both positive aspects. So, the profected houses that Shapiro experiences well are not so clear-cut. Of the four significant times chosen, three were dark house profection years. Only one was a fifth house profection year, which is generally highly favorable for most people. It does seem though that general individual achievements related to academics came from Mars or career related profection years, such as the twelfth(a Mars ruled house) and sixth(the joy of Mars and trine to the midheaven) houses. Likewise, the years related to social achievements were related to Mercury or Jupiter. Of course, this is just a short snapshot of Shapiro’s chart. And as a matter of fact, Shapiro’s life is full of achievements, as he is a prolific writer, show host, public speaker, and conservative thought leader. To understand how he experiences profection years, an astrologer should look at more examples of his biographical experiences and how they correspond to each of the profection years. No clear themes have really emerged from looking at some of his achievements and the profection years they occurred within.  

We will look at Shapiro’s profections in 2022 on the yearly, monthly, and daily levels. He is currently in a third house profection year in Cancer on the yearly level. This year should be around topics like friends, siblings, family, the local scene and people, local travel, and religion. Since it is a cadent house, it’s not a great year for things happening or making progress on major matters. On the monthly level, he entered the sign Capricorn on July 15th 2022. This month is of a similar nature to the year, as it is in the opposing sign of Capricorn to the yearly sign of Cancer. July 15th to August 15th should be characterized by topics like writing, philosophy, religion, and travel. For the daily profection, we will look at July 30, 2022. The sign is Aries, and it is the twelfth whole sign house. As both the twelfth house and the domicile of the out of sect malefic, Mars, it should be one of the most difficult days of the monthly period. Topics like secret enemies, accidents, mental illness, and self undoing could come up.  Now, we can look at the transits and condition of Mars on July 30, 2022. Mars is currently in Taurus, Shapiro’s whole sign first house. It is opposed to his natal Saturn and Mars. 

The use of any timing technique inevitably involves the natal chart as a whole. When parts of a chart are activated as they are in timing techniques, having the ability to analyze a part of the chart is essential. Beginners can start with houses and go from there. They should follow the conventional house topics first. Then they should be mindful of the houses that are positive and negative. They should look at the location of the planets, analyze their conditions, and observe aspects. They can also look at yearly profections that they experienced positively and negatively. All of these steps can be applied, in combination, by astrology enthusiasts and beginners. There is an aspect of learning required for most beginners to daily profections and annual profections for that matter. The more one uses daily profections, the more one will see the patterns that each of the days is a part of. Beginners will learn how to identify portions of the chart that are activated and learn more about the entire chart in the process. 

In the case of certain beginners not knowing enough to analyze their own natal charts, they can always get a natal consultation from an astrologer. Hopefully, the information from a natal consultation will be enough to teach them how to do daily profections for themselves later on. But in the case of not really knowing ones chart, daily profections can still be used. It will just require a little research into some of the basics of traditional astrology. Likely, in most cases anyone interested in trying daily profections has some exposure to astrology and some understanding of their own natal chart as a whole. So it might not be such a big issue in applying daily profections. Beginners can start with house topics and go from there. The technique uses whole sign houses, so learning the basic significations of the houses is the first step. The second step is to know a little about the nature of the planets. After knowing elements of both houses and planets, a person can try daily profections. 

 

Daily profections can be calculated for free on Astro-seek’s annual profections calculator.

 

Notes 

1. Paulus Alexandrinus, “Introduction to Astrology,” Chapter 31, Trans. Holden, 2012, American Federation of Astrologers, 69-70.
2. Paulus Alexandrinus, “Introduction to Astrology,” Chapter 31, Trans. Holden, 2012, 69-70.
3. Brennan teaches the method in his video. Chris Brennan, “Annual Profections: A Basic Time-lord Technique,” The Astrology Podcast, April 27, 2018, Last accessed on 7/30/2022<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBwfIMnBKZk>;   Seven Stars Astrology, “Astrological Predictive Techniques 1: Profections Intro,” December 3, 2011, Last accessed on 7/30/2022<https://sevenstarsastrology.com/astrological-predictive-techniques-1-profections-intro/>

 

Bibliography

1. Paulus Alexandrinus, “Introduction to Astrology,” Chapter 31, Trans. Holden, James Herschel, American Federation of Astrologers, 2012. 
2. Chris Brennan, The Astrology Podcast, “Annual Profections: A Basic Time-lord Technique,” April 27, 2018, Last accessed on 7/30/2022<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBwfIMnBKZk>
3. Seven Stars Astrology, “Astrological Predictive Techniques 1: Profections Intro,” December 3, 2011, Last accessed on 7/30/2022<https://sevenstarsastrology.com/astrological-predictive-techniques-1-profections-intro/>

 

Photo Credits

1. A cup of coffee and a recipe sit on a table. Photo by Brigitte Tohm.
2. Ben Shapiro speaks with Student Action Summit attendees in 2019. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, Arizona, United States.
3. A traditional astrology chart from Astro-seek; A profections chart from Astro-seek.