What Are Annual Profections?
Annual Profections are a classical technique where the chart is rotated to give information about the coming year. There are 12 houses in the astrological chart beginning with the ascendant, creating a recurring 12 year cycle. The ascendant represents from birth to 1 year of age, from 12 to 13 years of age, from 24 to 25 years of age, etc. Each consecutive house of the chart then becomes the ascendant for each passing year afterwards
Where I see a breakdown of understanding is in a lack of realization that the entire chart profects, not just the ascendant. So, if you’re 25, the ascendant will profect to the 2nd house, which now becomes the ascendant for a new chart for the year. This means that the 8th house is now the 7th house for the year, the 5th house is now the 4th house for the year and the 11th house is now the 10th house for the year. The entire chart profects every year, not just the ascendant.
As I mentioned previously, profection is a technique from the Renaissance, and thus is steeped in the techniques of the time period. Because the technique looks simple, I see a lot of beginning astrologers with very little foundation in astrological knowledge trying to use it, resulting in a lot of confusion.
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Annual Profections and the Lord of the Year
The planetary ruler of the profected ascendant becomes the lord of the year. In order to assess how the year will go for the native, a few things need to be taken into consideration:
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The Essential Dignity of the planet involved. Essential dignity refers to the strength of the planet by sign placement, ie. domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term, face, detriment and fall. One must have a strong understanding of essential dignity to get a clear picture of how the year will operate and fare.
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The Accidental Dignity of the planet involved. Accidental in this case means “circumstance,” and refers specifically to the strength of the planets by house placement. Ancient astrologers had a specific hierarchy of planetary strength by sign (essential dignity) and house. From strongest to weakest, the house strengths are 1, 10, 7, 11, 4, 5, 9, 2, 8, 3, 6, 12.
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Any factors that are known to debilitate or impede a planet, such as retrogradation, combustion, aspects to malefics, contrariety of sect, the conjunction, square or opposition with/to malefics, and essential debility such as detriment and fall.
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Any aspects being made to the planets.
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The position and condition of the lord of the year (for whatever house, because the entire chart profects) in the solar return chart for that year. For instance, if one is in a 2nd house profection year and Gemini is on the cusp of the 2nd, Mercury becomes lord of the year. You would look to the condition of Mercury in your natal chart AND in the solar return for a complete picture of the year. If you are interested in love or marriage prospects for the year, you would look to the condition of the 8th house ruler, who in this case would be Jupiter, in both the natal chart and the solar return.
Monthly and Daily Profections
You can also profect the chart by month, starting from your birthday. If you’re birthday is October 15, the 1st house would span from October 15 to November 14. This is especially important when trying to predict when whatever is promised by the chart will come to pass. Using our example, the ascendant of someone born on October 15 has come to a 2nd house profected year, the cusp of which contains Gemini, making Mercury the lord of the year. Mercury is retrograde in the 11th house in Pisces, squaring Mars. Pisces is the fall of Mercury, and this, in addition to the Mars square and his retrogradation, tell us that the year might be challenging. To find out when the events promised may happen, you would start profecting the chart by month:
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The 2nd house, which is now the ascendant for the year would represent the period from October 15 to November 14.
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The 3rd house would represent the month beginning November 15.
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The 4th would represent the month beginning December 15.
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The 5th would represent the month beginning January 15.
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The 6th would represent the month beginning February 15.
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The 7th would represent the month beginning March 15
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The 8th would represent the month beginning April 15.
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The 9th would represent the month beginning May 15.
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The 10th would represent the month beginning June 15.
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The 11th would represent the month beginning July 15
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The 12th would represent the month beginning August 15
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The 1st house would represent the month beginning September 15
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On October 15, the year would profect to the 3rd house.
Based on these calculations, the native would experience whatever was promised regarding the year sometime between July 15 and August 14, as Mercury, lord of the year, is occupying the radical 11th house (radical in this context means original or real).
You can also profect the chart to find the exact date that the event may take place, giving 2.5 days to every house.
Profections are a shockingly effective and accurate technique that require a solid foundation of astrological knowledge in order to make judgements.
