Horary 0137: Will I Get the Job?
Overview
The querent had a job interview the same day for which they felt well suited. The job would be a move to another department within the same organization, entailing a salary raise and a shift from working directly on multimedia creative projects to managing them. The querent knew the hiring manager; they had worked together on projects in the past. The manager reached out to the querent for an interview, saying they found them to be an impressive candidate, so the querent was optimistic.
Judgment
I immediately made note of two considerations before judgment: an extremely late 29º24' ascendant with Saturn at 01º18' of the next sign, right on it.
I described the late ascendant as indicating that the querent may be overdoing it with the divination on this question, which can interfere with the judgment. I added the qualification (from Lilly) that if the number 29 describes the querent’s age or some other relevant factor, this consideration can be lifted.
I described Saturn on the ascendant as an indication that the querent would question my judgment.
What I said to the querent was, “I leave it to you to answer whether either of those considerations are in play,” but if not, the judgment seemed clear to me.
I have found in other horaries where the considerations before judgment did not affect the outcome that these conditions are often performing an important function in the chart. In this case, the late ascendant preserves Saturn as the querent’s main significator, rather than Jupiter as it would have been moments later. Given that, the angular Saturn shows powerful charge and potential for the querent, but by sign Saturn’s reception is for Jupiter, significator of the job. This seemed radical so far.
Jupiter only rules one house cusp — the midheaven — and so he clearly signifies the job. I noted his position in the 2nd house, indicating his significance to the querent’s finances. I also noted that he exalts the Moon from Taurus — the Moon being another significator of the querent — describing the querent’s statement that the hiring manager found them impressive.
As for the Moon herself, she is also angular, in this case in the 7th house of the other or counterparty, immediately applying a harmonious trine to Jupiter. I took this event to indicate that the querent would get the job, but at the end of my judgment, I reminded them to report back on the considerations before judgment before accepting this verdict.
Outcome
The querent responded fairly immediately, calling my description “hilariously and ridiculously accurate.” They reported that they were overcome with anxiety immediately upon ordering this reading and rushed to their tarot deck for more information. The tarot gave a “very clear” response that they were overdoing the divination. The querent also reported that they had been agonizing for a long time about what horary question to ask me, hesitating on matters of “belief in” the practice. They said that the accuracy of my statement about over-divination “shocked” them into a new relationship with all this.
I was pleased to hear this, but I responded with a self-deprecating statement about how they’d better get the job now, or else “this will have been a whole lot of snazzy hocus pocus for nothing.”
They did not get the job.
Analysis
I felt horrible about this outcome considering how invested the querent was both in the outcome I predicted and the whole process of divination. They had agonized for months about asking me a horary question — any horary question — they chose this one, and I biffed it.
What happened, unfortunately, was quite clear. I failed to do my job of considering before judging. When the querent responded immediately to tell me that my delineations of the considerations before judgment were accurate, that would have been a good time to say, “Oh, then I guess the considerations apply and this chart is invalid.” Instead, I went, “Ooh! Accurate! That’s good!” and stuck to my judgment of the chart as positive.
Obviously, the delineation that Saturn on the ascendant indicated the querent would question my judgment was… correct. Because my judgment was incorrect.
I also noted a secondary possibility that the Sun — ruler of the 7th (thanks to the late ascendant) and thus significator of an opponent — dominating the 10th house cusp as he does could mean another candidate was too well positioned for the company to give the querent this job despite all appearances of having made a strong connection. However, I told the querent and still believe that I would not have made that judgment without the considerations present, given that both of the querent’s significators are angular and the Moon’s aspect with the job’s significator is so immediate. The mistake I made was being told the considerations before judgment applied and not considering them.
So it goes. I apologized to the querent for this clear mistake, and I hope they are able to repair their relationship with divination and — infinitely more importantly — find a job that sustains them.
