On my other journal, I have been posting astrological elections (favorable times to take action) that I used for gardening, and analyzing the outcome. However, I’d like to start a more dedicated thread for this, one more visible. This can be of interest to those who would like to see how the art is used more fully, beyond simply Planetary Hour and Moon Phase or the Moon in certain Signs.
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Election for Planting Cannabis Seeds
Here is an astrological election I used in 2022 to plant several cannabis seeds. Now, I made some very questionable decisions here with the election as I was not yet so knowledgeable.
The primary considerations were that it was the Hour of Jupiter, which is fortunate for planting, and aids the plants to grow well. Additionally, both the Moon and the Ascendant were in Aquarius, a fortunate sign for planting seeds according to Thomas Hill in his 'The Gardeners Labyrinth" (Page 42), and the Moon was Waxing.
The Moon signifies the growth of things, and she also signifies the beginning of things. The issue was that she was conjunct the Ascendant while Peregrine, which somewhat afflicts her, as she is the enemy of the Ascendant. And indeed, the early days of the plants did not go well, as their growth was impeded by too much Sunlight, and they received Sun damage, and some of the plants also died because of the Sun damage (I wasn’t too knowledgeable on gardening either!). However, the Moon was Trine Venus, and Sextile Jupiter, alleviating her affliction, and strengthening her, and she was also free from any aspects of Mars, which is helpful. And so, after the initial problems, the plants were moved into a nice area with shade and then grew nicely, as well as they could at that point.
The ascendant here signifies the plants and their growth, and the Ascendant was free from any aspects of Mars, and the Lord of the Ascendant was Saturn. Saturn was in Aquarius, dignified by both Sign and Triplicity. So, well dignified by essential dignity! However, he was retrograde. In some traditional sources, they say that Saturn’s affliction is greater when he is in his dignities while retrograde, but here I feel like him being dignified seems to have alleviated his affliction, because of how things went while he played a significant role in this election. That said, some plants did die and the growth wasn’t the best because of the trouble, so his affliction still seems to have signified this difficulty in the plants. His affliction could also have signified the delay in the proper growth of the plants.
The Lord of the Sign the Moon is in and the Lord of the Sign the Lord of the Ascendant is in both signify the end of a matter, and both here was Saturn. Now, as said before, Saturn was retrograde, but he was also technically in the 1st House, standing Angular, which generally isn’t fortunate, so another affliction to the election. However, he was very nicely dignified, and the end of this wasn’t so bad! I harvested the plants and they bore some nice and healthy fruits! However, I harvested them pretty late, so some of the branches also died and much of the fruit wasn’t in the best condition, although some was quite healthy and nice still. So, again Saturn’s affliction seems to have signified this happening, but with the ending not being a complete failure and actually generally going fairly well.
Now, the Lord of the 4th House also signifies the ending of a matter, and here he was Mars. I at least had Mars not be Angular, as that would also be unfortunate, and I had him in the 5th House. He was Peregrine, which is a minor affliction. But otherwise he wasn’t in too ill a state, not in any ill aspects with other Planets either. And so, the ending was as was said, a bit mediocre, still with problems, but most of the fruit was harvested, and most of it wasn’t in the worse condition, but also not the best either, and some branches with fruit did die.
Another less-than ideal factor I want to add here was that both Fortunes were Cadent from an Angle. But an additional note is that the plants weren’t troubled too much by pests this time around. And I believe this is signified by Mars being succeedent from an Angle, and the Lord of the 7th House (The enemies of the plants) was Cadent from an Angle, although also seriously afflicted by being in his Detriment, and making a fortunate aspect with the Lord of the Ascendant.
So, we see this election had a balance of good and ill, and many tending more towards the ill, although there were some fortunate basic factors like Moon making fortunate aspects, Waxing, and both the Moon and the Ascendant in a fortunate sign for planting were present, and it was a fortunate Planetary Hour, and so the growing was successful in the end, but it was a difficult one and a good deal was lost. And so I learnt through it!
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Election for Planting Bird’s Eye Chili Seeds
In April 2022, I planted 8 Bird’s Eye Chili Pepper seeds under the conditions shown above. The timing was more spontaneous, as I felt a strong intuitive sense to plant the seeds, rather than electing the time so precisely. Although I believe I did wait until the Hour of Mercury, a fortunate Hour for planting seeds, to begin the planting. You can see that I otherwise didn’t elect this time specifically.
The Ascendant was in Cancer, a fruitful Sign, which is great for planting seeds. Mercury is the Lord of Seeds in the material world, and he was standing strongly in the Heavens by being conjunct the Midheaven. He was also conjunct the Dragon’s Head, which is very fortunate! Even though Mercury was Peregrine. Additionally, Mercury was also Sextile Jupiter, further strengthening him. And indeed, 7 (If not all 8 of the seeds) germinated. Mercury was Square Saturn who was also strong, being in the 7th House and in his Sign. A harsh aspect, which is unfortunate, but it seems the state of the Ascendant and Moon balanced that out here, since they are of primary consideration here.
The Moon was Waning and in Sagittarius, a Fire Sign, but which is more Fruitful than Barren (And, I know of one traditional source that says Sagittarius rules over gardens). And, the Moon was in her 21st Mansion, Al-Baldah (Going from 17 Degrees, 8 Minutes, and 46 Seconds Sagittarius until 0 Degrees, 0 Minutes, and 0 Seconds Capricorn), which is fortunate for planting seeds. She was also in the 5th House, a fortunate House. Additionally, she was Sextile Saturn, which is great for gardening in general! Since Saturn rules over Agriculture. The Moon was also Trine the Sun, strengthening her here.
The Moon was also in a Square aspect with the Lord of her Sign, Jupiter, who was dignified by Sign in Pisces. Which may indicate troubles in the matter being completed?
With the Moon Waning, and in a Square aspect with Jupiter, indeed, the plants also took some heat damage in the early days of their growth, which impeded them. However, this did not do too much harm to them I believe, and they were moved to a cooler area eventually and they grew wonderfully! Even if not nearly as large as they could have (Which, also has to do with their surroundings).
The Lord of the Sign of the Lord of the Ascendant, and the Lord of the Sign of the Moon both reveal the conclusion of the matter, and in this case Jupiter was both. He was strongly dignified by being in his Sign, and he was in the 8th House, which is an evil house, but at least he was not Cadent from an Angle. And indeed, the plants have grown wonderful chili peppers and a fairly good amount of them, and they are healthy, despite some troubles early on. I wouldn’t say that they are really remarkable, but for their conditions they have done well.
So, quite a mixture of electional factors here. Very interesting to observe. Saturn was also in the 7th House, as was said, and it’s generally unfortunate to have an Infortune in Angular Houses, but perhaps since Saturn was dignified by Sign and Triplicity, and he is the natural ruler of Agriculture, this reduced the affliction. Or, perhaps he signified the early troubles of growing the plants. I’m not entirely sure yet.
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Election for Uprooting and Preparing a Patch of Soil
@Mythopoeia you may be interested in the outcome of this, since I mentioned this election before on here.
In November 2022, I elected a time to uproot grass in a roughly 90 cm x 60 cm patch of soil, to plant Catnip seeds in the patch at a later time (That is shown down below).
Here the electional factors considered were a mixture of benefic and malefic for two reasons: I did not want to ultimately harm the soil in some way, nor did I want to cause the insects that made their home in the patch even further damage on their sudden migration out of the patch.
The primary consideration here was that the Moon (The Natural ruler of Growth, as well as Action) was in a Barren Sign, Gemini, so that the leftover seeds and plants won’t grow, but the Sign is also fortunate for Travel, so that the insects could at least flee successfully.
The Moon was also in her 6th Mansion, Al-Hana, which is favorable for destroying crops.
I tried to ensure that the Moon was not applying to a conjunction with Mars within her Orb, as that seemed too destructive to me, especially considering Mars was Retrograde at this time. So, she was 14 Degrees before Mars, which I considered weak enough to not have much of an influence.
Additionally, the Moon was applying to a Trine aspect with Saturn, which is favorable for gardening in general, including preparing soil!
The Moon was also in the 4th House, so she was standing in a strong position in the Heavens, allowing her influence to manifest especially strongly in the world.
The Moon is important not only as the natural ruler of Growth and Action, but also as the Mediatrix between the Material World and the Celestial World, and so this is why it is important to ensure the Moon is not making an ill aspect to Saturn or Mars in cases like these.
Then, it was also the Hour of Saturn. Saturn is fortunate for planting and gardening, but also for preparing soil. So, I chose this Hour so that the soul may benefit.
Additionally, the Ascendant was in Aquarius, which is more Fruitful than Barren. The Ascendant was not a big consideration for me, otherwise I may have had it in a Barren Sign as well, such as Capricorn, but chose to rather place more importance on the Hour. At least at the start of the election, Saturn was conjunct the Ascendant, while he was very well dignified by being in his Sign, Aquarius, which can be favorable for preparing soil.
The 4th House, which here signifies the Soil (And the ending of the matter) was in Taurus, a Fertile Earth Sign (Although, the Ruler of the 4th House, Venus, was severely afflicted by being in her Detriment), which is nice although this wasn’t much of a consideration when finding the election either.
Now, with all of this, the uprooting went well and surprisingly not many of the leftover seeds in the patch germinated. So, I didn’t need to uproot much more over the coming time. A bit of grass and some weeds popped up here and there, but that dwindled quickly. During the uprooting, the insects also fled without much trouble. There were a good amount of insects in the patch, and a few stayed in the soil for a while (Mainly young bugs, and a small centipede mother and a group of her newborn), who seem to have left later on. Of course, I can’t know if they fared well generally or not, wherever they went to, but one can hope it went well. Further, at least everything was uprooted successfully and not much grew on the soil afterwards until the planting.
Election for Planting Catnip Seeds
In December 2022, I sowed Catnip seeds in the aforementioned patch under the conditions above.
The Moon, the natural ruler of growth, who also signifies the beginning of a matter, was in Pisces, a Fruitful Sign, excellent for planting seeds, and she was in her 28th Mansion, Batn al-Hut, a favorable Mansion for planting.
Additionally, she was also applying to a conjunction with Jupiter, who was well dignified by being in her Sign. This strengthened her nicely, as Jupiter is the Greater Fortune, and he grants greater growth to plants, and this was doubly fortunate since Jupiter was the Lord of the Sign the Moon was in as well.
The Moon was also applying to a Trine aspect with the Sun, further strengthening her a bit.
The Ascendant was in Virgo, an excellent Sign for planting! However, the Lord of the Ascendant, who signifies the beginning of the matter, was severely afflicted by being in his Detriment.
Additionally, Mars was Retrograde while in the 10th House. Here is what the Centiloquium says about Mars being in the 10th House, or conjunct the Midheaven specifically:
In the foundation of cities, consider the fixed stars which may seem to contribute thereto; but in the erection of houses, observe the planets. The kings of every city which has Mars in culmination will most commonly perish by the sword.
-JM Ashmand translation, Centiloquy Ptolomei, Aphorism XXXVI
I have read another translation of this which suggests that the inhabitants also perish by fire and sword.
Mars’ evil influence over ships is diminished if he be neither in the mid-heaven nor in the eleventh house; but if in either of those places, he renders the ship liable to be captured by pirates. And if the ascendant be afflicted by any fixed star of the nature of Mars, the ship will be burned.
-JM Ashmand translation, Centiloquy Ptolomei, Aphorism LV
So, we see that Mars here has signification of violence and destruction.
And so, many of the seeds that were sown were dug up by cats. Much of what was planted was lost that way, and I reckon that was the trouble signified by Mars being in the Midheaven. Mercury as the Lord of the Ascendant, as well as the natural ruler of Seeds, being so severely afflicted also likely signified the loss of the seeds.
However, two little groups of Catnip seedlings did grow and survive.
Now, the Lord of the Sign of the Lord of the Ascendant, the Lord of the Sign of the Moon, and the 4th House and its Lord signify the end and conclusion of a matter. Jupiter was the significator in all those cases here, and he was very well dignified by being in his Sign, Pisces, and he was standing Angular in the 7th House, so he was strong. And at least he was not in a malefic aspect with Saturn or Mars, only a Square with Mercury.
And so, after the initial troubles the Catnip seeds faced, the surviving seedlings grew to become rather impressive bushes. The highest of which reached 50 cm in height. They also spread nicely, filling most of their side of the patch. They have done very well after the initial troubles!
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I am glad that two groups of Catnip seedlings survived! 
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Honestly, it’s quite a beautiful plant! I didn’t know they can grow so large. Those two groups seemed so small at first, but they’ve taken up the entire patch. No doubt, the Plant can be used in workings to aid cats or to draw spirits that take on the forms of cats or that Rule over them.
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I keep one on one of my altars, for Freya 
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This post will be more of a philosophical one. Let’s assume that it is the Gods, Angels, and Spirits who bring about all things in the world. The Planets and Stars and other Celestial Beings actively complete all things in the world.
Now, what does this say about the moment the first seeds I spoke of here were planted?
Looking at the chart, the first thing that struck out to me now is the Moon. Now, the Moon is looked at in all elections and judgements, because she is the intermediary between the Terrestial World and the Celestial, pouring the influence of the Celestial World onto the material, and she also governs the growth and decay of things in the world. But here in the chart, she was also especially strong, as she was in the Ascendant, which means that in that moment in time, her influence was especially active and strong in the world at that location, with her influencing all actions taken and endeavors started at that time. So, with her in the state she was in, she aided the growth of the plants, being in Aquarius, Waxing, and Strong (Although, with some troubles, because when she is in the Ascendant without being very well dignified, it is unfortunate).
The Moon was also in her 24th Mansion, which means at that time Abrine, the Lord of that Mansion, was governing the world and granting victory to those who started conflicts in that time, and granting success to businesses initiated in that time, distributing these things to the world.
Aquarius was on the Ascendant and the Moon was also in that Sign, which means at that time, Kambriel, the Angel of Aquarius, brought the influence of that Sign into the world and here aided the growth of the seeds planted at that time, because Aquarius influences such things beneficially.
Saturn was also very influential, being in the Ascendant, the Lord thereof, and very well dignified, and also being one of the significators of the end of the matter. So, at that moment, his power and influence descended strongly into the world, with his vast hosts of Angels and Spirits descending to influence matters, and here benefiting the plants to have a good end, even with troubles as he was retrograde.
Jupiter was also especially nfluential at that time, being the Lord of the Hour, granting good growth and fortune to the seeds planting, and influencing all activities initiated at that time.
Contemplating these things reveal how vast and limitless these Gods and Angels and Spirits are, how different their existence is from ours.
It’s also interesting to note how the government of the world switches constantly between the various celestial Gods. In nature, this is how one Star rises, to then set and another to rise, or how among animals who form groups, the leading member is fit to lead, but they weaken and another rises. Here, the government changes because things here are imparmanent, however. And so in human governments as well, leaders come and go. In the Celestial World, their rule is eternal, but shared among all the Celestial Gods.
And now may be a good time to add this passage here:
Providence and Necessity (are), in the mortal, birth and death, and in God, unbegotten (essence). The immortal (beings) agree with one another and the mortal envy one another with jealousy, because evil envy arises due to knowing death in advance. The immortal does what he always does, but the mortal does what he has never done. Death, if understood, is immortality; if not understood (it is) death. They assume that the mortal (beings) of this (world) have fallen under (the dominion) of the immortal, but (in reality) the immortal are servants of the mortal of this (world).
–Hermes Trismegistus, Definitions of Hermes to Asclepius, Aphorism 10, Definition 6.
It should also be added that traditionally the Celestial Gods, along with all Gods, are entirely good. On whether they cause destruction and ill in the world, I get the sense that these things arise when they are “distant”, not allowing things here to fully recieve their astral light. I think that may be a possibility. Others view them as benevolent beings who have unpleasant work to do at times, since destruction is necessary for the material world specifically, so that it may endure. That’s also another possibility! But it was very uncommon generally before modern times to view the Celestial Gods and Angels as evil.
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