How yods diagrammed all the issues in one extramarital affair.
(A tutorial.)
As I discovered new information, this tab got so large I thought it needed its own spot on the menu. Not every relationship or relationship triangle is governed by yods, but they're so prominent in ours that I believe this entire series of proofs demonstrates a lot about yods and how they function in a chart. What's fascinating about this is: Everything I have read about affairs in psychology books or seen in videos by experts is diagrammed in this affair by these yods I am about to show you.I'm not kidding. If you're having trouble drawing your Bowen family system diagram, take a look at your astrological chart. More than likely it's already drawn part of it for you.
In the drawing above, I have shown you my own natal chart (courtesy of Astro.com, which can compute yours and your partner's in a matter of seconds), so I can show you what a "yod" is. In my chart it's pretty prominent.
It's the long skinny triangle like a witches' hat, outlined in green, with a blue bottom. At the long end of the triangle is the planet Saturn, indicated by a cross with a curvy bottom, at the very bottom is the planet Neptune, whose glyph looks like a trident, and the third member of the yod is the planet Uranus, indicated by the glyph with the ring shape on the bottom and the two outward facing arms. It's next to Pluto, which is symbolized with a P.
In understanding what was going on with my relationships, I discovered multiple yods in my chart, his chart, and every relationship chart I constructed for us, and understanding these yods became key to understanding what was happening, why, and what sort of personal growth needed to happen to change and improve the problems.
The classic astrological yod is known to astrologers as "The Finger of God," and I'll explain in a minute why most practicing astrologers think so. It is defined by the two bottom planets, in this case Uranus and Neptune, being sixty degrees apart, and each one being separated from the apex planet by an angle of 150 degrees. Other yod configurations can exist with different angles, but this is the classic one and the one most astrologers mean when they tell you, "You have a yod in your chart." The main thing that makes a yod a yod is the long, skinny shape of the triangle. A broad-based triangle with all the sides and angles the same is a "Grand Trine," which isn't the same thing at all!
One cool thing about the internet these days is that, if you have a question about an astrological topic, you can essentially “poll” every astrologer who’s written something about it on the internet and read as many opinions as you have time to. I have this yod in my natal chart, plus a novile yod (with degrees in multiples of nine) and an undecile yod (degrees in multiples of eleven) as well, so I’ve spent a lot of time looking up articles on the topic. I have read everything from,
“Yods are common, overrated, and mean pretty much nothing,” (a few astrologers have written this. Not many!)
to, “I strongly believe that Yod astrology is very significant and does live up to the hype as a very fated aspect pattern denoting a special mission or destiny in life.” (Australian astrologer Jamie Partridge)
to “A yod is a test your soul has set for itself in this lifetime, to see how much you know about a topic. You may never know exactly what the topic is. But you’ve studied it in prior lifetimes and done pretty well, so now you are in spiritual graduate school in this lifetime and this is sort of an exam you’ve designed for yourself to see how far you’ve come. If you pass the test, you can accrue substantial benefits.” This last quote is from my astrologer, Alice Portman (private reading).
Astrologer Manda Selva writes that, “When you have something in your life, whether it is a relationship or a business that kind of works—sometimes good and sometimes not so good—but cannot be easily steered in any one direction, then it is probably propelled by a quincunx (what astrologers call a 150 degree angle) energy. A Yod pattern is a bit more connected than a quincunx as it has a sextile aspect as part of the pattern, and which can facilitate communication and bring in opportunities. The Yod in Astrology can create events, incidents, relationships etc, that occur in a person’s life not out of their choice but in a karmic manner. These circumstances usually come as an opportunity and eventually turn out to be a blessing or a curse.
“A Yod can bestow gifts like a talent or a higher intelligence, bring about an unusual situation or sharp turns in life that cause steep ups and downs. The overlapping factor in all these instances is that the person doesn’t have much control over what can occur and it can be negative or positive. Real or imagined, there is a feeling that another force behind is controlling the show. During these incidents when a person realizes their extraordinary gift, or when one suddenly becomes rich or poor, or when they find themselves in very unusual circumstances, there is usually a transit or progression that triggers the Yod energy, and the planets, sign and area of the chart involved in the Yod and those involved in the transits determine the nature of the outcome.”
Bob Marks writes that “the T-Cross sets out a problem and pushes you to a find a solution in the ‘empty leg’ of the cross. The Yod just pushes you and the solutions are seldom simple. It’s not nicknamed ‘The Finger of God’ for nothing."
However, in my perusal of several yods in about five charts I’ve looked at, I’ve noticed one thing about yods and possible solutions to them that I haven’t seen written about. Obviously, this is a pretty limited sample, so anyone reading more charts with yods in them can tell me if I’m full of … or not. Below, what I know about yods with my observation at the end.
Bailey's Postulates for understanding the astrological yod.
1.) The yod appears to be a description of a problem, issue, or conundrum in the life. The two sextile planets seem to want to do something, but the apex planet reflects something that keeps getting in the way. (Every astrologer says this much.)
2.) (I have seen a couple of astrologers write this one.) If another planet sits in between the two sextile planets, this planet makes the yod a “boomerang yod," and the “boomerang” planet describes what to do to solve the dilemma described by the yod. (What that would look like, is if a fourth planet sat right smack dab in between Uranus and Neptune, up there.)
3.) Anything passing by transit or progression over the apex of the yod reflects a time in the life when circumstances cause the issues described by the yod to come to the forefront in the life.
4.) Anything attached in a stressful aspect to the apex of the yod is commenting on how the problem came to be in the first place. (This is what I haven’t seen anyone write yet, but it appears to me to be the case.)
5.) If you're having trouble figuring this out in a chart, look up where Chiron is by house and sign. Many times it will clarify things a lot.
So, in the astrological yod, we have a complete description of an important problem or issue in a person’s life (especially if there’s a boomerang, or if another person’s chart contains a planet that makes a boomerang with the yod.) We can tell what it is, how it got started, when in the life the issues are going to become important to the person, and sometimes what to do to resolve the issues.
As I said, I’m a student so don’t have a pile of examples. I’m going to post the ones I have, because this set of examples, in my opinion, is nothing less than jaw-dropping. Obviously, some of the examples will be from my chart and my affair partner's. To break this up into shorter bites that are a little easier to "digest," I will be putting the examples up in separate articles after this one.
Obviously, not every relationship will have a yod in it, nor will every relationship triangle be build around yods as this one is. But, after studying what I am about to post, I have little doubt that your relationship, if it's important in your life, is reflected by other important formations in your chart, and if it's impacted by an affair, it will be reflected in the charts of all three people.
Example One: My Own Yod, 1-4.