Predicting Fertility and Children

One of the great strengths of Traditional Astrology is the many techniques it includes for looking closely at specific topics in one’s life. Modern Psychological Astrology, especially the Tyl School approach, has mastered the art of quick synthesis and meaningful client engagement absent any specific question. When the client does have a specific question about a topic like fertility and the desire to conceive a child, the focused techniques of Traditional Astrology afford additional layers of insight and nuance, not to mention predictive accuracy, that can be simply astonishing.

What follows is a Traditional fertility assessment with a prediction on possible conception in the coming year, 2023. The approach is grounded in Medieval Arabic techniques translated and taught by Dr. Benjamin Dykes as part of his Traditional Natal Astrology course. We will begin with a look at how to assess the natal chart for indications of fertility or sterility, and then apply several Traditional predictive techniques to determine possible times of conception and birth in the coming years. Finally, we will look at two techniques for planning conception of a child, the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning, and the Jonas Method of timing conception using the phases of the Moon.

Concerns About Fertility

Fertility in the United States has dropped by 50 percent between 1950 and 2021, falling from 25 births per 1,000 people in 1950 to 12 births per 1,000 in 2021. Iowa State University Sociology Professor Ann Oberhauser argued in a 2021 World Economic Forum article that this decline was due largely to women’s changing roles in society, employment shifts, and improved reproductive health. Women are putting off childbearing until later in their lives owing to increases in education and broader employment. The shift in fertility, it seems, is largely intentional, the result of couples seeking to avoid pregnancy until later in life, or perhaps entirely.

At the same time, one in eight couples will experience concerns surrounding infertility at some point in their relationship, according to a 2011 article by Dr. Pamela Wiegartz in Psychology Today entitled “Coping with the Anxiety of Infertility.” The anxiety associated with these periods, Dr. Wiengartz contends, can contribute to infertility in both men and women due to irregular ovulation, lower testosterone and sperm production, and other chemical imbalances. Little wonder, then, that fertility remains a common question for astrologers even in this age of IVF and other high-tech approaches to conception and pregnancy.

If fertility remains elusive for so many even in the modern era, it is not surprising that it featured highly among the questions asked to astrologers more than 1,300 years ago, as we can see from 9th century writings of Baghdad astrologer Sahl bin Bishr. The fifth chapter of Sahl’s monumental study of natal astrology On Nativities sets up a systematic astrological process for assessing a client’s fertility that includes consideration of several key indicators, including Jupiter as the natural significator of children, its triplicity lords, the fifth place and its lord, the Midheaven, and two lots. Predictive techniques are then used to determine potential periods of peak fertility that could result in pregnancy and the birth of a child.

At the time of this writing, in November 2022, an astrologer posted a request to the Traditional Astrology Facebook page, seeking insights into the fertility of a married couple who were friends of his. The couple had grown frustrated after years of trying to get pregnant. The woman was reportedly growing increasingly upset, and the astrologer inquired whether the nativities of the two people, which he posted, suggested that the couple could get pregnant at all. The wife was born on 18 February 1997 at 12:11 am in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The husband was born 25 July 1995 at 6:06 pm in Fort Worth, Texas.

With the permission of that astrologer and his clients, we will apply the techniques in Sahl, as taught by Dr. Dykes, to assess their chance and timing of conception and pregnancy. In the manner of Sahl and his contemporaries, we will use whole sign houses to determine topical rulership, and Alcabitius quadrant houses to assess planetary strength, that is whether a planet is advancing or withdrawing from the angles. To clarify our use of whole sign houses to define topics in the quadrant chart, I will refer to these whole sign houses as “places” rather than houses. You will find these “places” numbered around the outside of the charts below.

What we will see is that both nativities suggest some clear challenges with fertility that reflect the difficulties they have faced conceiving. The charts include several indicators of what Sahl calls “sterility.” This does not necessarily mean they are sterile, but rather that they likely have a low baseline fertility. They may well conceive, but may only have a few children. Indeed, these two charts are not nearly as limiting as we might expect in the nativities of couples likely to remain childless. Moreover, timing indicators include several suggestions of potential children in the coming years, most notably 2023 and 2025. If this couple combines these insights with the timing available to them in the proven sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning and the Jonas Method of lunar phase conception, they may yet conceive and become parents in their mid- to late 20s, well within the average for first-time parents in the United States.

Sahl’s Assessment of Fertility

The picture that Sahl bin Bishr paints of fertility and children from the nativity is a composite drawn from four significators, or more precisely four groups of significators, as some of the four involve multiple planets. Each significator either reinforces or weakens the general prospect of the native's overall fertility, while also contributing nuanced insights of its own into the many questions surrounding children. These include whether there will be many children or few, what their character will be like, how they will relate to the native, etc. The five significators are 1) Jupiter and its triplicity lords, 2) the Lot of Children, 3) the Midheaven, and 4) the 5th place and its lord. Let's look at what each of these mean in the composite, and how to assess them in the chart.

Jupiter and its Triplicy Lords

Sahl begins his fertility assessment of the nativity with Jupiter as the natural significator of fertility and children. Its placement and condition speak to the fertility impulse that prompts us to create something that will live beyond us for posterity. Jupiter suggests whether someone is liable to have children, as well as what the native’s experience is liable to be from their children. Sahl also advises us to pay attention to the triplicity lords of Jupiter, especially to assess how the experience of having children will improve, stay consistent, or worsen over time.

In addition to looking at whether Jupiter is advancing or withdrawing in the nativity by quadrant, as well as at its condition by dignity, direction, and aspects, Sahl focuses on the relative fertility of the sign in which it resides. This is something he suggests across the board for multiple fertility significators in this process. While the water signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are universally regarded as most fertile, there are variation in the assessment of which signs are the most infertile. These definitely include Leo and Virgo, with the prospect as well of Aries, Gemini and/or Capricorn, depending on which of the Hellenistic or Arabic sources one reads. The remaining signs are all considered average for fertility.

Lot of Children

Next we look at the Lot of Children, which is calculated in a day chart–one in which the Sun is above the Ascendent-Descendent axis–as the distance from Jupiter to Saturn cast off from the natal Ascendant. If the native was born at night–with the Sun below the Ascendant-Descendent axis–the lot it is calculated as the distance from Saturn to Jupiter cast off from the Ascendant. So in a day chart, if the distance from Jupiter to Saturn is 29° 10’ and the natal Ascendant is at 10° Aries 5’, then we would add 29° 10’ to the Ascendant degree of 10° 5’, giving us 9° Taurus 15’.

As with Jupiter, the delineation of the lot as an indicator of fertility suggests whether there will be children, and whether they will be numerous. As a descriptor, the focus of the lot is on the character of the children themselves rather than on the native’s experience of the children, which is more the purview of the 5th place and its lord. This is admittedly a subtle distinction, as one of the considerations of the lot is whether the children will be in regular contact with the native, for instance, in adulthood. The distinctions are useful, however, to avoid having all of these indicators mix together into a kind of Fertility Soup with no clear meaning. The considerations for the lot–as with any lot–are whether it is in a “good” place (i.e. a favorable house), a fertile sign, whether it is ruled by a fortune or an infortune, and what planets are in the whole sign angles of the lot.

Midheaven

After the Lot of Children, Sahl recommends assessing the Midheaven of the chart, in particular what planets are located here, and the aspects they receive. The idea seems to be–at least at the time Sahl was writing–that an abundance of children contribute to one’s status and reputation. So, for instance, the presence of Jupiter or Venus in the Midheaven would suggest many children contributing to one’s reputation for success. Think of the words of Psalm 128:

Happy are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways!

For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;

happy shall you be, and favored,

your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

in the recesses of your home;

your children like the olive plants around your table.

Behold, thus is the man blessed

who fears the Lord.

Of course, modern attitudes toward large families vary greatly, so indicators of a strong reputation may not reliably translate into numerous children. This is not one of the key indicators that I use in my own analysis; but it is something one might consider for specific clients whose view of children echoes more traditional attitudes.

5th Place and its Lord

The last indicator Sahl recommends for fertility is perhaps the most familiar to a modern audience, namely the 5th place of children and its lord. While this is likely to be where most of us might start our assessment of a question pertaining to children in a nativity, Sahl first establishes the baseline of fertility using the other significators we’ve just reviewed. Here again, delineation of differences between this and the other significators of children is very nuanced and often overlapping. The 5th place and its lord carries a broad meaning as basically all issues involving children. Still, if the Lot of Children speaks to the nature of one’s children, the 5th place and its lord reflect especially the manner in which children affect the native. In fact, planets in the 5th can mean something different for one’s children than they do for the native. An infortune in the 5th, for instance, might suggest difficulties for the children, but could work for the native, since planets in the 5th naturally trine the Ascendant.

In terms of overall fertility, the presence of a fertile planet like the Moon or Venus in the 5th place would suggest more children, while Saturn would suggest fewer, or even sterility. Similarly, if the fortunes were in aversion to the 5th, while the infortunes aspected the place by whole sign aspect, one might expect fewer or no children, especially if the lord of the 5th place if falling, burned, or otherwise harmed in the chart. Note the use of whole-sign aspects to the house alone here as a consideration–a common facet of Medieval Arabic astrology. The Lord of the 5th in good condition, connected with the lord of the Ascendant suggests abundance, and good relationships with one’s children, whereas a lord in poor condition, in aversion to the lord of the Ascendent, would suggest few/no children and a poor relationship with any the native may have. Infortunes that aspect the 5th with reception suggest fewer problems, but the possibility that one’s children might have difficulties of one kind or another.

Natal Assessment–the Wife

Now that we have a clear process laid out, let’s turn back to our Facebook couple and look at the fertility indicators in the the wife’s nativity. Here is the Alcabitius chart from Janus:

Jupiter is the natural significator of fertility and the impulse to have children. It is withdrawing, albeit in an angular whole sign house, suggesting middling strength. Jupiter is assembling in Aquarius with fertile Venus, the fortune of the sect in this night chart, and is out of the rays of the Sun, both positive indicators. While both infortunes can "see" Jupiter, they do so by a trine (Mars) and a sextile (Saturn). Sahl is often uncomfortable even with soft aspects from the infortunes–particularly one in its fall like Saturn here in Aries–reasoning that even cooperative engagement with them can entail challenges. Perhaps what we can say here is that the native’s fertility may benefit by hard work on her part to conceive a child? On the whole, the picture of Jupiter across the board here is middling to fairly good. There is an impulse towards fertility, albeit perhaps not a powerful one.

The triplicity lords of Jupiter are first Mercury, then Saturn, as this is a nocturnal chart, and Jupiter is in an air sign. Their signs are Aquarius and Aries respectively, the latter of which is considered by some as leaning sterile. Both can see Jupiter to support, Mercury by conjunction, Saturn by sextile, and Mercury is also the domicile lord of the lot. Mercury is angular but withdrawing, like Jupiter. It is also besieged by the two fortunes, Jupiter and Venus, and is making a phase just before going under the rays of the Sun, suggestions of considerable support and importance. Mercury affords middling to strong support to the native on fertility issues–perhaps as encouragement from family and friends, being located in the 4th whole sign house, and ruling the 11th.

The second triplicity lord, Saturn is cadent but advancing, so middling to weak in strength. It is the infortune contrary to sect, in fall, and is in the 6th, a difficult place. It is opposed from the 12th place by Mars Rx in detriment, but does receive supportive sextiles from Jupiter and Venus. This is arguably a challenging placement for a triplicity lord, alongside its being in a potentially sterile sign, offering comparatively weak support to Jupiter in fertility issues. On balance, the triplicity lords, like Jupiter itself, are middling. There could be children, but likely few in number and involving some effort or delay.

The wife’s Lot of Children is in Virgo in the 11th whole sign house, the so-called place of Good Spirit. It is dynamically angular in a “good” succedent house. However, it is in a sterile sign, and is in aversion to its lord, Mercury. Indeed, the Lot of Children is in aversion to every planet in the chart except the 9th-place Moon in Cancer, which sextiles the lot. As the Moon receives a superior square from Saturn in fall in the 6th place, it affords a comparatively weak suggestion of fertility to the Lot of Children, or to the native on the whole.

Apart from its presence in the 11th, the Lot of Children does not contribute much to the prospect of fertility in this chart. While it is not harmed by the infortunes, nor is it supported by the fortunes, nor managed by its lord, Mercury. We are left with a Lot of Children in a sterile sign, receiving some support by an afflicted Moon in Cancer. The Moon is in the 9th, allowing for the prospect that a recourse to doctors, fertility specialists, or perhaps simply to her religious or spiritual life may support efforts to have children.

Turning to the 5th place, herein we find the South Node. The South Node draws energy out of the places where it is located, so this once again is not a strong suggestion for the wife’s fertility. Jupiter is the lord of the 5th, but it is in aversion to the place itself, and so provides little management. Both of the infortunes are in aversion to the 5th, but so too are the fortunes. As with her Lot of Children, only the Moon aspects the 5th place, in this case by trine, but it is weakened as we noted earlier under the superior square from Saturn. So the 5th place and its ruler are comparatively weak. While sterility seems unlikely, neither does fertility appear strong. We might anticipate pregnancy with some time and effort, though perhaps not many children.

There are admittedly two indications in this nativity that Sahl addresses directly in his discussion of “sterility” and a scarcity of children, namely the Lot of Children in a sterile sign, and the Moon receiving a superior square from Saturn in the 6th. While the Moon is not one of Sahl’s primary indicators of fertility, it has bearing on the physical body, and in general on many aspects of life. The square in this chart from Saturn in the 6th may suggest medical challenges to fertility, or that work and the daily requirements of life create stresses or other impediments to conception.

Natal Assessment–the Husband

The nativity of the husband frames a similar picture of challenges facing issues of fertility, while still affording the real prospect of children. The suggestion here, as with the wife, seems to be that effort and preparation may lead to promising results with time. Here is the husband’s nativity:

Jupiter is angular and withdrawing, as it is in the chart of his wife. It is the fortune of the sect in this day chart, and has dignity in its own domicile of Sagittarius, but it is also Rx. Fertility here appears to be solid, but middling in strength, and likely to manifest more slowly, perhaps with some delays. Jupiter makes a sign-based square to Saturn Rx, reinforcing this expectation of obstacles or delay, but it also conjoins the Lot of Fortune, suggesting that ultimately circumstances will conspire in his favor.

The diurnal triplicity lords of Jupiter in Sagittarius, a fire sign, are first the Sun, then Jupiter itself. Both are supportive, the Sun by trine to Jupiter, and then Jupiter can support itself. The Sun is advancing in a cadent house, so is middling in strength. It is nonetheless dignified in its own sign of Leo, and trines Jupiter. It is in aversion to Saturn, and sextiles Mars, so while there is contact with an infortune, the Sun is not maltreated. Jupiter, as we have already seen, is also middling in strength, Rx, and makes a sign-based square to Saturn Rx. While not as capable of supporting itself as it is with the Sun’s assistance, there is some self-reliance in this Jupiter that should reinforce the topics of fertility and children.

The husband’s Lot of Children is succedent and advancing in the 5th place of children–certainly a promising sign for fertility. The lot is in the sign of Aries, which some Traditional authors include among the sterile signs, as noted above. Jupiter trines the lot, and both Venus and the Moon are in the whole sign angles of the lot–in the fertile sign of Cancer. All of these are strong suggestions of fertility and children. Mars in detriment does oppose the lot in a day chart, but it is lord of the lot, so some kind of contact here is important for management.

The fact that Mars is the infortune contrary to sect in a day chart, and in detriment, is another suggestion that areas of fertility, sex, and children may be an area of particular challenge in this man’s life. Mars in detriment suggests as well some degree of awkwardness or unorthodox practices that complicate fertility issues. This would require some discussion with the husband to sort out. However, Mars applies to a sextile with Jupiter, the fortune of the sect and lord of the Ascendent, which should bonify Mars and improve fertility The involvement of Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon here is promising, and seems likely to overcome whatever awkwardness or complications in execution might be in play surrounding conception of children.

Much of what we have already looked at for the lot is true as well of the 5th place of children, so there is no need to repeat it. It is worth adding that the lord of the 5th is located in the 11th place of Good Spirit, which is certainly a bonus for fertility and children. For the purposes of assessing overall fertility, the placement of the 5th place lord in the 11th enhances the prospects of conception and children despite the challenges associated with Mars in detriment in a day chart. The addition of the applying sextile from the lord of the 5th, Mars, to the lord of the Ascendent, Jupiter, effectively is the opportunity for children to come to the native. Overall, there may well be challenges or delays–but very possibly results.

Forecasting Pregnancy--Dykes Method

Experiences of pregnancy vary widely, so conception and birth can be very challenging to forecast reliably. Predictive techniques that encompass long periods of time, such as distributions through the bounds of the nativity, can be particularly tricky, as they may capture not simply the conception, but also the challenges of pregnancy, and possibly the first few years of parenthood. These experiences may look very different in aggregate from couple to couple, or even from person to person within a given couple. Nevertheless, the broad principles of the following method have proven reliable and are an exciting area for new research into Traditional techniques. Credit for the overall approach goes to Dr. Benjamin Dykes, and his interpretation of predictive techniques proposed by Sahl bin Bishr, Abu Mashr, and other 9th century Arabic astrologers.

The Dykes approach to predicting conception and the birth of children involves three steps and four techniques, 1) distributions/profections, 2) solar returns, 3) transits.

Distributions/Profections

Distributions of the natal Ascendant through the bounds of the nativity are used to find a likely period within a woman’s typical child-bearing years when conception might be suggested. This would usually involve one of the fortunes (Venus or Jupiter) as the distributor or partner planet. The Moon could also be the partner planet. Distributions of Jupiter and the Lot of Children are also useful here to determine the broad period when children might be expected.

Profections are then used to narrow the period down to specific years. Pay particular attention to years when the distributor of the Ascendent or its partner become also the lord of the profected natal Ascendent–that is, the Lord of the Year. Note additionally when the profected natal Ascendant advances to the 5th place, the lord of the 5th, the Lot of Children or its lord, or to the fertile planets, Moon or Venus. We might also note when these two planets or Jupiter are the profected Lord of the Year.

Solar Returns

Look at the solar returns of the years suggested in the distributions for indications of fertility involving the significators we have looked in the natal chart. Take note of notable aspects from Jupiter or Venus in the solar return to the Lot of Children (natal or solar return), or to the “Lot of Transit,” a lot used specifically to time pregnancy and the birth of children. It is calculated as the distance from Mars to Jupiter in a day chart–or the reverse in a night chart–cast off from the Ascendant. These considerations should help determine the specific year(s) when a child may be born.

Transits

To time conception, look at transits of Jupiter to natal Mars during the period that extends nine months prior to the promising solar return and ends three months afterwards, especially for female nativities. Nine months before the solar return would still allow for a birth in the designated solar return. Three months afterwards would see the birth occur before the conclusion of that solar return. Jupiter transits to the Lots of Children or of Transit are worthy of note here, too.

There will be years when transiting Jupiter is in aversion to Mars all year, making a Ptolemaic aspect impossible. If the distributions, profections, and solar return are nonetheless promising, look in those years for transits of Mars to natal Jupiter and/or the Lot of Children within the same period. This is admittedly my own variation on the technique. My wife conceived our first child when transiting Jupiter was in aversion to her natal Mars–but transiting Mars almost exactly sextiled both natal Jupiter and the Lot of Children. To time the birth, look for transits of Jupiter and Venus to the two lots roughly nine months after the aforementioned conception markers.

Variations on a Theme

The Dykes Method of predicting fertility and children is far from foolproof in its separate components, but as a system of overlapping techniques it is remarkably effective. For instance, one of my clients conceived and gave birth to her only child, a daughter, during a Saturn-Mercury distribution. This is not the kind of Jupiter or Venus distribution we might expect, nor do we see either of these planets or the Moon as the partner planet. Mercury in the client’s chart does conjoin fertile Venus, and it is squared by Mars, lord of her 5th place, so fertility and children are part of the deeper delineation. But this distribution would admittedly be hard to spot quickly as the time for a pregnancy. However, the did turn out to be a very Saturnian period for her and her husband, as the delivery was extremely difficult, as were the new responsibilities of parenthood.

Contrast this client’s astrological indications with my wife’s distributions at the birth of our three children–Mercury-Moon, Jupiter-Moon, and Saturn-Moon. The Moon as partner planet in each distribution offers a more common example of what we would expect to see for childbirth. My own distributions for the same three children were Mars-Moon, Mars-Jupiter, and Venus-Jupiter, again involving the Moon, Venus, or Jupiter in each. The lesson of my client’s unusual indicators is to look closely at the distributions, not simply at natural significations, but also at house rulerships, planetary conditions, and overarching life circumstances.

While my client’s Saturn-Mercury distribution did not reflect what we might expect for childbirth, her profection and solar return that year easily suggested the birth of a child in ways that we would notice immediately–especially if she inquired into the prospect of pregnancy. The year her daughter was born, Venus–one of the fertile planets–was the Lord of the Year. Its closest aspect in her nativity is a square from Mars, the lord of the 5th place of children. Moreover, the sign of her natal 5th place was rising in the solar return that year. The Lot of Fortune in the solar return was in the solar return 5th. Solar return (SR) Venus closely conjoined the Lot of Children in the SR chart. Solar return Jupiter, the natural significator of children, exactly opposed the SR Ascendant. It also conjoined the natal Lot of Transit. Finally, the Lot of Children in the solar return chart closely opposed the natal Ascendant. Multiple suggestions of pregnancy that year were unmistakable, despite the uncertain distribution for that period.

The Dykes process also closely timed the daughter’s conception AND birth. If we look back at the last Ptolemaic aspect between transiting Jupiter and her natal Mars prior to the solar return described above, it was within the standard three degree orb between mid-November and mid-December. The client conceived about two weeks later at the start of January with transiting Jupiter still around five degrees from the square with natal Mars. It is tempting to see the Jupiter transit to natal Mars identifying the monthly cycle within which she might conceive, and then turning it over to her own body’s natural cycles. Her daughter was born in September, when transiting Jupiter trined her natal Lot of Children within two degrees. With the exception of the unusual distribution, the Dykes process timed this conception, pregnancy, and delivery to within weeks.

Forecasting–the Wife

Let’s apply the Dykes process now to the charts of our Facebook couple seeking to conceive their first child, beginning with the wife.

Distributions

Here are the distributions of the wife's natal Ascendant through the bounds of her nativity:

At the time of this writing, in late 2022, she is still in a Jupiter-Sun distribution that began in February 2017. In February 2023, she will move into a Jupiter-Mars distribution, then in July 2023 Jupiter-Saturn. Since Jupiter is the continuing distributor in each of these periods, pregnancy could be on offer throughout. Indeed, this likely explains in part the efforts that she and her husband have made to conceive for the past few years.

In November 2024, the wife will move into a Jupiter-Jupiter distribution, where the natural significator is both distributor AND partner planet. This promising distribution lasts for six and a half years until June 2031. This period continues until she is nearly 34 years old. These are prime child-bearing years, and the distributions suggest favorable astrological indications as a general background. Let’s look at some of the near term profections and solar arcs to see what we might anticipate in the coming years.

Profections

At the start of this period, the wife will be 25 years old, and in a 2nd place profection. Looking back to her natal chart, we see that this corresponds with the sign of Sagittarius, making Jupiter the profected Lord of the Year. It is located in the 4th place of family, with Mercury, the lord of the Lot of Children, and also rules the 5th place of children. Its closest aspect is the sextile to Saturn in fall in the 6th, lord of the 4th place of family.

Jupiter is the fortune contrary to sect, but is co-present in Aquarius with Venus, fortune of the sect. While the support it receives from its closest aspect is weak, and Jupiter carries no dignity in Aquarius, this is a fairly promising statement about this year, during which we might expect issues of family and children to be front and center, alongside those of finances and lifestyle suggested by the 2nd place profection. It is worthy of a closer look with the solar return.

Solar Return

Here is her nativity alongside the solar return for February 2023:

The first things we typically look at in assessing a solar return are the three Ascendants–solar return, profected, and natal–as well as their rulers and the closest aspects to those rulers. We also typically look at the location and ruler of the Lot of Fortune. Notice immediately that the sign rising in the solar return is Pisces, the sign of the natal 5th place of children. Moreover, the SR Ascendent has landed within one of the angles of the natal Lot of Children–indeed, it is within three degrees of an exact opposition. The lord of both the SR Ascendent and the profected Ascendent–that is the Lord of the Year–is Jupiter. Its closest aspect in the solar return is the sextile from the Moon, lord of the 5th place of children. An exalted Venus is present in the SR Ascendent, a good sign for fertility, as is the conjunction of the SR Moon with natal Jupiter. Mars, the lord of the natal Ascendent, is located in the SR 4th of family. Its closest aspect is the trine from Mercury, lord of the SR 4th, as well as of the natal Lot of Children. Clearly, the topics of fertility and children will likely be central this year for the native.

So when might we expect conception and delivery? Transiting Jupiter opposes natal Mars in late January 2023, just weeks before the wife’s birthday, and could suggest a general time of conception for a child born in 2023. Roughly nine months later, in late October, transiting Jupiter will trine her natal Lot of Children and sextile the natal Lot of Transit. Venus at that time will sextile the Lot of Transit and conjoin the Lot of Children. If this is to be a textbook case, we might anticipate the birth of a child in late October, 2023.

Forecasting–the Husband

There is some debate over when we are most apt to see evidence of childbirth in the chart of the child’s father. Sahl addresses the matter of paternity in Chapter 4.1 of On Nativities, noting in part that the solar revolution for the year after a child is born is more likely to reflect the presence of that child than the revolution in the year the child was actually born. Is this a cultural vestige from an earlier age when men might have multiple wives, and the care of infants was largely the responsibility of the mother?

Fathers today are likely more engaged in the care of their children, suggesting we might expect to see astrological evidence the year the child is born. However, even today the immediacy of a mother’s experience of pregnancy and childbirth is unquestionably stronger than that of the father. So we should be open to the prospect that children may be more evident in the astrology of the mother than of the father.

Distributions

This would-be father saw his distributed natal Ascendent enter a Saturn-Moon distribution in September 2021 where it will remain until January 2024:

The Moon as partner planet here is a promising indication of fertility during this three year period. Looking down the road, Venus will become the partner planet in November 2024 through January 2029, which suggests another possible window of enhanced fertility. Here is the husband's nativity alongside his solar return for July 2023:

Profections

The period will still fall under his Saturn-Moon distribution, the husband will be 28 years old in July 2023, and entering a 5th place profection. Not only does the 5th place rule children, but the profection triggers his natal Lot of Children located in the 5th place. Mars is the Lord of the Year, is in detriment, is the infortune contrary to sect, and also rules the 12th place–all challenging indications. This is unlikely to be an easy year for the husband. However, his Mars is located in the 11th place of Good Spirit, which is a very good placement. The suggestion is that children are certainly possible this year, but the process may not be an easy one.

Solar Return

Turning to the husband’s solar return for 2023, we see the SR Ascendent has moved to his natal 11th of Good Spirit, where it is co-present with natal Mars, the Lord of the Year and ruler of the natal 5th place of children. Venus Rx, one of the fertile planets, is lord of the SR Ascendent, and it is in the SR 11th with the SR Lot of Children. The condition of Venus is admittedly not comfortable in the SR chart. It is retrograde, conjoins Mercury, the lord of the SR 12th, and is co-present with the Moon’s South Node in the SR Ascendent.

The lord of the husband’s natal Ascendent, Jupiter, may afford some relief from these challenges. It is in the 10th place from the SR Lot of Children, and planets in the angels of a lot are very consequential in the affairs of that lot. Admittedly, Jupiter is located in the SR 8th place of fear and anxiety. However, it is also the fortune of the sect in a day chart, the natural indicator of fertility and children, and ruling the native’s natal Ascendent. All of this speaks to children, as does the fact that the SR Lot of Fortune is in the SR 4th place of family, sextile to its lord, Saturn, and trine to Jupiter. Challenges notwithstanding, there are many reasons to anticipate a child in the husband’s life this year.

Let’s look a bit closer at the causes of possible of the husband’s anxiety this year. Mars, the Lord of the Year, rules the SR 7th place of his spouse, as well as the natal 5th place of children, and is in the SR 12th, suggesting the prospect of hospitals, bed rest, or anxiety involving his wife this year. The closest aspect to Mars in the solar return is the opposition from Saturn in the SR 6th place of illness. This need not disallow the prospect of children. All of these issues would be quite natural in the case of a couple who has had difficulty conceiving and wants to ensure a successful pregnancy. Moreover, Mars receives a close trine from Jupiter, the fortune of the sect, and lord of the SR 6th place. This is not simply the place of illness, but of medicine, and the superior trine from Jupiter in a day chart suggests this may represent medical care his wife receives in hospital this year, possibly surrounding a pregnancy.

While the husband’s distributions, profections and solar return speak to the prospect of a child in 2023, the timing techniques speak more loudly to the issues of hospitalization, medical care, and anxiety, possibly involving his wife. This seems quite natural, and indeed could afford us some nuance into Sahl’s suggestion that a child may show more strongly later in that child’s life than at the time of birth. Perhaps for some fathers the more immediate concerns of getting the woman safely through the challenges of pregnancy, delivery, and early parenthood is more likely to show up astrologically than the actual care of the child? In this case, time will tell.

Let’s Say We Were Wrong

The psychologist Dr. Gary Klein published a 2007 article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Performing a Project Premortem,” in which he offered a process for predicting possible causes of failure of any given initiative. In 2015, Sarah Beebe and Randolph Pherson included the premortem technique in their book, Cases in Intelligence Analysis, a collection of structured analytical techniques intended to help government analysts challenge their existing assumptions and make better predictions about the behavior of foreign adversaries.

The technique is based on the concept of the postmortem analysis, where people work to assess failure after it has already occurred. Instead, we pretend it is months or years after we have made a prediction, and we assume that prediction was wrong. By assuming in advance that our approach was wrong, we are able to help us think more critically about our initiative or prediction. By doing this in advance, this mind game technique aims at avoiding failure.

The Dykes technique for predicting fertility and children is still under reconstruction by a comparatively small group of astrologers and draws on a comparatively new translation of Sahl bin Bishr. If the prediction for a child in late 2023 turns out to have been wrong, there are several places we can look to for an understanding of how. For instance, the repeated indications of children and fertility that we clearly see in every timing technique we have used for this prediction may correlate not with the conception and birth of a child, but rather with the attempt to conceive and birth a child. In short, they may show the effort rather than the outcome. Further, it is possible that the indications that we have interpreted as medical intervention, bed rest, and hospitalization involved in the delivery of a child actually reflect continued difficulties in conceiving.

The reason that I am sticking with my prediction for 2023 is that the indications we have examined are not simply indications of children, but of fertility itself. The technique speaks to the fertility of the couple, and not simply to the focus on children. That is the contribution of significators like Jupiter, its triplicity lords, and the fertile planets Venus and the Moon. Certainly, the timing of the prediction could be off.

While the significators of conception and delivery are broadly consistent in the examples of past conceptions and births that a group of Dykes students have researched, the combination of those factors has not always been consistent. Fertility is evident in the distribution of Jupiter or the Lot of Children rather than of the Ascendent. Children are conceived with aspects from transiting Mars to natal Jupiter rather than the reverse. Or with Jupiter and/or Venus transits to the Lot of Children. In short, we have all of the pieces, and some of the rules of the game, but we are still filling in the variations and the strategies. These could explain any mistaken predictions–should they arise. In my own practice with the technique, it has proven impressively consistent.

Other Possibilities

Let’s look quickly at a few other possibilities down the road, should the prediction for 2023 not manifest as expected.

The Wife--2025

In 2024, when the wife turns 26, she enters a 3rd place Capricorn profection, with Saturn as the profected Lord of the Year in fall in the 6th place, close to the South Node, and ruling as well the 4th place of family. Its closest aspect is the opposition from Mars Rx in detriment in the 12th place. On the face of it, this does not seem a very promising year to anticipate the birth of a child. In 2025, however, she enters a 4th place profection, where she finds Jupiter, the lord of the 5th of children in the place of the profection along with Mercury, lord of the Lot of Children, and Venus, the fortune of the sect.

Saturn remains the Lord of the Year, complete with its presence in the 6th and opposition to Mars Rx in the 12th. Now, however, it is balanced by multiple statements of fertility and children. While we might anticipate some medical hurdles during this year, perhaps through a challenging pregnancy, bed rest, or the like, the suggestions of children are striking in this profection year. These indications continue the following year, when the profection moves to the 5th place of children, and Jupiter, the natural significator of children becomes Lord of the Year. So we have three years worthy of our attention, ages 25, 27, and 28.

Here is her nativity (left) alongside her solar return for February 2025:

There a number of indications here suggesting the possibility that children will be a central topic for the wife in 2025. The Ascendent of the solar return has moved to the natal 11th place of Good Spirit, and that SR Ascendent exactly conjoins the natal Lot of Children at 14 Virgo. The lord of the SR Ascendant, Mercury, is located in Pisces, the sign of the natal 5th place of children. Moreover, it makes its closest aspect to Jupiter, the natural ruler of children, the lord of the natal 5th of children, and the lord of the SR Lot of Children. Jupiter conjoins the SR Midheaven, suggesting that the issue of children is liable to define in part how people see her this year. Mercury and Jupiter are in mutual reception. Remember that Mercury is lord of the natal Lot of Children. So we have the lords of the natal and SR Lots of Children in close aspect to one another and mutually reinforcing one another. The Mercury-Jupiter aspect here is a square; but it involves a fortune and mutual reception, obviating many of the concerns suggested by the square. The issue of children is hard to escape in this solar return.

Meanwhile, SR Mercury is in fall in Pisces AND under the rays of the SR Sun. The SR Sun rules the SR 12th and Mercury is lord of the wife’s SR Ascendant, so we see an echo here of some medical hurdles, possible isolation, and possible efforts to keep the details of the wife’s personal life hidden from scrutiny. Saturn opposes the SR Ascendant in a night chart–and the natal Lot of Children at the same time–reinforcing the prospect of some challenges this year associated with the woman’s health and fertility. Saturn is the profected Lord of the Year, and so carries special importance for the year. Aquarius is the profected sign of the year, and it is the 6th place of illness in the solar return, reiterating the themes we’ve just reviewed.

Saturn also rules the SR 5th place of children and is also located in Pisces, the sign of the natal 5th place. Its closest aspect is the trine to Mars Rx in fall in the 11th place of Good Spirit. Mars is lord of the natal Ascendant, and its presence in the 11th, in trine with the lord of the SR 5th in the sign of the natal 5th, reiterates the prospect of a child during this year, whatever the challenges.

Note that each of the three Ascendants–solar return, profected, and natal–or their respective lords point in some way to the prospect of children in 2025, through contacts with Jupiter, the natural significator of children, through the natal and SR Lots of Children, and through the signs and rulers of the natal and SR 5th places of children. Add to this the location of the SR Lot of Fortune in the SR 5th, and we have all of the primary significators of the solar return speaking to the prospect of children in 2025. Here again, though, both Mars and Saturn are in the Fortune angles in the solar return, accentuating the challenges we’ve already reviewed above.

The Husband--2025

The husband in our Facebook couple will be in a 6th place profection at the start of 2025, shifting mid-year into the 7th place at his birthday. Of the two choices, the 7th place seems more likely to involve the birth of a child. Mercury will be the Lord of the Year beginning in July 2025. In the husband’s nativity, Mercury closely trines Jupiter, the natural significator of children, and sextiles Mars, lord of the natal 5th place. As in the case of his wife, the husband’s Mercury is under the rays, with the Sun ruling the 8th place. Here again, there is a suggestion of keeping personal affairs to oneself, particularly those that involve his wife–Mercury rules the 7th place of marriage and spouse.

Let’s have a look at the solar return that begins July 2025 for the husband:

The sign that is rising in the solar return is Aries, the sign of the husband’s 5th place of children. Mars, the lord of the SR Ascendent, is located in the SR 6th place of illness, reiterating the issues of children and illness suggested so strongly in the wife’s solar return for this year. In another echo of his wife’s solar return, the husband’s SR Ascendent conjoins his natal Lot of Children, reiterating that the issue of children could be central to this year for the husband.

Mercury, the Lord of the Year, in the SR 5th of children, conjoined with SR Moon, lord of the 4th place of family. The lord of the natal Ascendent is Jupiter, natural significator of children. It is exalted in Cancer, in the 4th place of family, conjoined with the IC and almost exactly opposing the Midheaven. This is an echo of his wife’s Jupiter conjoining the Midheaven of her own solar return in 2025, and once again accentuates the issues of fertility and children for this couple that year.

This assessment of 2025 looks nearly as promising as 2023 for fertility, though the issue of possible medical intervention, hospitalization and the like is notably accentuated in both the husband’s and wife’s astrological charts. Certainly both are possible–there could be two children a couple of years apart, though this would seem to belie some of the natal challenges to fertility if it were true. The 2025 period could also simply be suggestive of managing a baby born in 2023. It could even suggest illness of the parents alongside all of the challenges involved in raising their new baby, with no connection between the illness and the child One would want to be sure to suggest to the parents-to-be that they get in regularly for an annual physical, eat right, get sufficient exercise, and in general adopt a healthy lifestyle, not just in 2025, but in general, so they are prepared to meet the challenges of parenthood in the coming years.

Natural Family Planning

We should always be prepared to share the wisdom and experience of our own lives with our clients, family, and friends who come to us for astrological insights. Astrology does not have the answer to most of our problems–our experience as thoughtful, compassionate people with lived experiences has those answers. The job of astrology is to frame a question sufficiently that the answer becomes clear to the client in conversation with the astrologer. That is my own opinion in any case, and I think it is particularly valid in this question of fertility.

My wife and I are both life-long practicing Catholics who have used the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning for the whole of our marriage–which at this writing has been nearly 30 years. While enjoying a close, intimate married life, we have never had an unintended pregnancy, and we have conceived three healthy children. All three were intentional, and all were conceived within a month or two of deciding to have a child. While this may speak to our own natal fertility, in practice our success was due largely to the familiarity with the right timing afforded by the sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning.

The sympto-thermal method of Natural Family Planning is definitely not what is often referred to as the “rhythm method,” which mistakenly assumed that all menstrual cycles were basically the same length. The idea was that if you simply used that generic cycle to guestimate when a woman was ovulating, and then had sex–or avoided it–during that time, it was possible to conceive–or avoid conception. Since the menstrual cycle lengths vary widely, the accuracy of the rhythm method understandably became the punchline of many jokes. One goes, “What do you call people who practice the rhythm method of family planning to avoid pregnancy? Parents.”

By contract, the sympto-thermal method uses regular monitoring of three physical symptoms by the woman to assess precisely when she is ovulating. There is no guessing at ovulation times–the symptoms tell you when it is happening. Once you know when a woman is ovulating, it is possible to use that knowledge either to conceive, or to avoid conception, as one prefers. This is genuine Natural Family Planning, and it is remarkably effective at increasing one’s chances of conceiving quickly. There are a lot of resources on the Internet, as well as books and articles available for learning the sympto-thermal method of NFP. One good website that can direct you to resources and classes on the subject is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops here: Sympto-Thermal Methods | USCCB.

One additional technique worthy of attention is the Jonas Method of Lunar Conception, developed in the 1950s by a Czechoslovakian scientist named Eugen Jonas. Dr. Jonas concluded that a woman is at her most fertile at the time when the phase of the Moon in the sky echoes the phase that existed at the time she was born. The technique acknowledges that this echo phase may occur at a time when fertility would appear very unlikely, owing to the inconsistent length of menstrual cycles.

Nonetheless, the purveyors of the Jonas Method argue that it is even possible to conceive during one’s menstrual period if the fertile period falls at that time. This is not a technique that I have any experience with; but several people whom I know and respect speak very highly of it. As in the case with the sympto-thermal method of NFP, you can find many, many references to the Jonas Method online and in bookstores. As the method is quite popular in Australia, one place you may want to start your research is here: The Lunar Cycle - Natural Fertility - Natural Parenting Australia.