A querent contacted me regarding the potential sale of her home in Vancouver, B.C. The querent writes,
Can you see me selling our house this year or in the near future? Since the price of the house has gone up considerably high in Vancouver, I am thinking of downsizing and selling the house… but I am hesitant to sell it as I love the location of our house. It’s very near the Skytrain and most especially it’s very near the church, since I go to church three times a week. It’s a sellers market nowadays and there’s a lot of buyers out there. Realtors keep on asking me if I want to sell it now.
“Will/should I be selling the home this year?”
Chart Details: 4 April 2015, 9:35pm. San Francisco, CA. Regiomontanus Houses.
♄ day, ♄ hour.
☽ from sextile ♃, sextile MC, ☍ Sun
to ☍ ♂ with mutual reception
The querent is signified ♂, ruler of ♏, on the 1st house cusp. ♂ is in ♉ in the sixth house, cadent and peregrine. ♂ is nearing the end of his solar synodic cycle and so is both swift and direct, within one degree of the Sun’s beams. Utilizing Lilly’s table of fortitudes and debilities ♂ scores -3. ♂ is in orb of a □ to 2nd house ruler ♃ and is separating from a ☌ with Fortuna. This describes the querent as looking for opportunity to capitalize on a boom market, hopeful for big gains, though ♂’s debility suggests the querent has much more research to do before launching into a property sale.
♀, 7th house ruler, is in her own sign of ♉ in the 7th house. If there is a partner in the home (romantic or otherwise), they may be more inclined to stay put and let the property appreciate further.
The property to be sold is signified by the 4th house, any planets in the 4th and the 4th-ruler. ♒ is on the cusp of the 4th receiving a trine from 9th-ruler ☽ in airy, gentle ♎ and a □ from dignified ♀ in ♉. The 4th-ruler, ♄, is in a fire sign (♐), in trine to the Sun in its exaltation, who is also aspecting the 4th cusp by sextile. These considerations together describe the home as bright, pleasant, with a certain charm, on elevated property, with plenty of air and sunlight. Appropriately the querent described the home as “near the Skytrain and most especially it’s very near the church…”
The price to be expected from the sale can be seen by the 10th house, planets in the 10th and the 10th-ruler. ♌ is on the cusp of the 10th house, and so the Sun is taken to signify the price. The Sun is exalted in ♈, on the 6th house cusp, applying within one degree to a conjunction with ♅ (not shown in the chart).
In property concerns the querent is co-signified by the planet the ☽ separates from, and the quesited party (be they buyer or seller) is co-signified by the planet to which the ☽ next applies. The reason for this is because the ☽ – along with the 4th house – can be taken to signify the property for sale. The symbolic imagery of this is very similar to translation – the Moon’s movement shows the willingness between both parties to transfer property ownership. As a result, we could take the Sun to be co-significator of the querent (for the ☽ has recently separated by ☍) and ♂ to signify the buyer (as the ☽ will next apply by ☍). In horary it is always best to keep your symbolism clean and clear. The Sun and ♂ are already operating as primary significators elsewhere in the chart, so I am inclined to downplay their role as co-significators and focus more on primary significators. While I will allow the relationship between these planets and the ☽ to color my judgment, I will largely rely on ♂ to signify the querent, ♀ to signify any prospective buyer, and the ☽ and ♄ to represent the property for sale, and the Sun the price.
There is no helpful relationship between ♂, ♀, ☽ or ♄ to promise a successful sale of the property. The only connections that exist are when considering secondary significators, with the ☽ separating by ☍ from Sun and applying to ♂ by ☍. If the applications by ☍ weren’t enough to indicate slow, hard, difficult negotiations, the fact remains that for the ☽ to complete this ☍ with ♂ in detriment will require her to enter into her fall in ♏. There is mutual reception between the ☽ and ♂, which could indicate hard bargains shaking out in the end, but Lilly makes the point on page 125 of Christian Astrology, “I have rarely seen anything brought to perfection by this way of opposition; but the Querent had been better the thing had been undone … the parties seldom agreed, but were ever wrangling and jangling, each party repining at his evil choice…” And even still, we can’t expect much from a mutual reception when the planets involved are essentially and accidentally debilitated.
It’s clear that the querent’s wealth is tied up in the house. 4th house ruler, ♄, is retrograde on the cusp of the 2nd house of finances. The 2nd-ruler, ♃, is retrograde on the cusp of the 10th house. The Sun, 10th-ruler, is in △ to ♃ and the 10th cusp, and sextile the 4th cusp, which definitively argues value in the property. That said, the Sun’s cadency, ☌ to volatile ♅ and the ☋, and ☍ to the ☽ argue one of a number of options: either 1) the expected sale price is too high or unrealistic; or, 2) the real estate market in Vancouver (the querent’s hometown) is in the midst of a bubble that will work against the querent before the finalization of a sale can be achieved. I’m inclined to think both are operating to some extent, and even though Vancouver may be described by the querent as a “seller’s market,” ♀ (representing potential buyers) in her own house and fixed sign of ♉ suggests that buyers are unlikely to yield on the price they’re willing to pay for this property.
With both ♃ (2nd-ruler) and ♄ (4th-ruler) retrograde, my concern is that the querent is looking to turn a quick dime and will be the cause of her own loss – there is more return to expect on this property than she will be able to get now. If the querent holds onto her house for another five years (♄ and ♃ come to conjunction in the first degree of ♒, the sign on the 4th house cusp, in December 2020) the land will have appreciated to a very respectable figure. The querent will find selling easier to navigate then by virtue of good land, without having to rely on a boom market to inflate price.
In the meantime, the querent is encouraged to invest in home repairs, especially heating ducts and areas that act as conduits of heat. The reason for this is because the 4th-ruler, ♄, is retrograde and signifying a need to go back and inspect things that are worn and in need of repair. In the fire sign ♐, ♄ directs me toward heating systems or places near radiators, and upper rooms of the home. ♐ also points me to outside the home, so I would think the house could do with a bit of a facelift — perhaps the walls need work (a suggestion from Nina), or there is some landscaping opportunity. ♀ dignified in ♉ as the prospective buyer will want to invest in property that is comely with its natural beauty enhanced.
Summary: Don’t sell. There’s nothing to be gained now that won’t increase in value a few years down the road. Instead, take stock of where your home might need repairs, focus on getting those aspects of the home in order, and look to re-enter the selling market in late 2020, early 2021, when the conjunction of ♄ and ♃ in early ♒ will increase the perceived value of the property.
