» Sun Oct 04, 2009 1:31 am When I was in my teens, trying to figure out alot of things about myself that seemed f'd up, someone (my mom I think) turned me onto astrology. From then on, my life was never the same. Not only did I learn alot about myself and others, I became a better person overall. I learned that alot of the weird, antisocial things I was into as a kid were neatly symbolized (somehow) in my horoscope. I did tons of reading on the subject; bought lots of books. I have done people's charts and read Tarot cards for money. I even read for the Tarot Card Hotline back in the late '80s for awhile! I tried to practice witchcraft (which I'm simply not cut out for) and practiced meditation (which I am cut out for). Now that I'm in my 40s, I don't actively pursue alot of this new-agey stuff so much like I used to. But I occasionally delve back into it.
Some of you may think I've gone mental, while others might find some insight here. But I have really pushed the boundaries of what a PC (Player Character) is all about lately. I did a horoscope...for one of my characters.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, astrology can be a useful key for gaining insights into ourselves, or it can be used as a method of divination (looking towards the future). Those are the 2 main uses. Now I'm not talking about the sort of astrology that's found in a common newspaper or magazine (which takes only a person's Sun sign into account), nor am I talking of the in-game character Starsign, I'm talking about actually making a full horoscope, cast from the moment my character was "born".
...So this means I noted the exact time (down to the minute) and date of when she showed up on-screen in jail at the beginning of the game. Then I did a horoscope for her using this information. I didn't read her horoscope right away; matter of fact I actually didn't read it until last week, which is about 3 months after her creation.
The reason it's so interesting is: alot of her personality traits (as I imagine them to be) actually match-up with the horoscope. From my perspective, it is downright spooky at times.
...Here goes. There's alot of text below, and I don't expect everyone to agree or understand it all, because there's alot of concepts that may be new to you, but I'll try my best. But those of you who know anything about horoscopes should be able to get what I'm saying (assuming you agree).
NAME: Dyan phor a'Cauze
AGE: 25
RACE: Nord
CLASS: Paladin (custom class)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
CREATED: May 17, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Press the link below to see Dyan's horoscope.
http://interactive.0800-horoscope.com/cgi-bin/astro/natal0800?name=Dyan+&six=f&d1day=17&d1month=5&d1year=2010&d1hour=18&d1min=18&adjust=0&citylist=Baltimore,+MD+(24),+United+States&lang=en
The link above takes one to the computer/internet-generated horoscope description. Sometimes, it's consistent with what Dyan is all about, but other times it's not. Computer-generated horoscopes are like this; kinda wishy-washy. I think it's impossible to truely interpret a horoscope unless other extenuating factors are known. In other words, the best astrology is performed when an actual human is doing the interpreting. So I've provided my own interpretations.
Like the computer's text says, the 3 main personality traits a person has are usually represented by his or her Ascendant, Sun, and Moon signs. Whatever planets rule the ascendant, sun, and moon signs also are often important (I'll explain the concept of ruling later).
The Ascendant is sort of like our "mask". It's the personality trait we use, for instance, when we're just meeting somebody new, or if we feel uncomfortable in some situation. It's the basic way we present ourself to the world-at-large.
Ever notice how some people often behave much differently at first than they do once you get to know them? While other people are much more consistent from the time you meet them to the time you get to know them? Whatever sign is on the Ascendant colors that first side of our personality, while the sun and moon (sometimes other planets and factors) show the rest.
Dyan's Ascendant (or first house...there are a total of 12 houses and the Ascendant is the first one) falls in Virgo, an Earth sign with mutable quality. Mutable means changeable, as in: here's someone who's constantly trying to adapt to current circumstances. Many real-life Virgos (or people with alot of Virgo in their chart) I've known have a crafty quality to them; often they're good with their hands (or they try to be) and can be very or somewhat down-to-earth. Not always...it depends. Some of them are very high-strung...it all depends on what else is going on in their horoscope (as well as how they were brought up and other environmental factors).
The Sun sign is our core, (as is the Moon) and both of these symbolize who we really are inside and outside (as opposed to the Ascendant, which is often more of a mask). Dyan's Sun is Taurus, which is the fixed-Earth sign. "Fixed" means (obviously) unchangeable, and many Tauruses I've known definitely are very patient, easy-going, laid-back, but also stubborn and fix-minded.
Dyan the Paladin is definitely stubborn and fixed-minded, but usually in a good way. She's currently after the KotN quests, Fighter's Guild quests, and various independant tasks here and there. Any task with overall good intent she's up for. But basically: she wants to save Cyrodiil's fair lands from evil and will stop at nothing until it's done! She will also do the Main Quests at some point.
...It takes a woman of determination here, not somebody who's gonna give up halfway down the path. Taurus Sun combined with an Ascendant in Virgo: here we have someone who prefers working with concreteness, (rather than abstract concepts) who is fix-minded, but also has the ability to balance this with adaptability.
An Earth-type person (as Dyan is) is rarely rash in his or her decisions, as a fire-type person would be. Nor is she too emotional or intellectual (Water and Air) in her approach. Though she never sneaks when approaching an enemy, neither is she too rash. When adventuring, she plans everything beforehand if she can. THEN she rushes in. But she never sneaks. She always presents herself to her enemy in an honest way, and she wants her enemies to KNOW who they're dealing with. Again, this is a person who deals with concreteness. Who is more hands-on and immediate in her environment.
The Sun is the outward, shining part of most people's personality, while the Moon is the inner, reflective part. Inside emotions and all that. Some people don't have very strong Moons in modern society, while others do. People with stronger Moons (even guys) usually are very sensitive. In our society, they either hide this sensitivity (or try to) or they're very vocal about it. Depends.
Dyan's Moon is in Cancer, a water sign with cardinal qualities. What's interesting is; "Moon in Cancer" is just about as emotional of a person as you could find. Although I don't picture Dyan as being this crying, laughing, mood-driven being (her more practical Sun and Ascendant signs contradict this often), she is very caring. Very empathetic. Very good at seeing life thru the eyes of the unfortunate. ALWAYS gives a coin to a beggar (especially if they're older and weathered), and she never turns away a quest in which a weaker person can't get something done. Her motivation here is often empathy. Not money (although many earthy people tend to be materialistic), not fame, and not ego. She can't help but care constantly for the good people of Cyrodiil when or if they're down-trodden, a reaction shown by Moon in Cancer. She then uses this caring approach when she moves toward action (more on this later).
...I also like to think that when she was younger, Dyan had problems keeping her emotions in check, resulting in some problems as a kid & teen. Nothing too drastic, no murders or nothing like that, but she seems to have been somewhat of a trouble-maker in her youth. But she would get into this trouble while trying to perform a good act. This is how she wound up in jail, but I'm not sure of the full story yet. I do know that as an advlt, she's managed to channel these emotions into something constructive (again, she's after the Crusader's relics, she's into helping the unfortunate, bla bla bla).
...What gets interesting now is that the planet Saturn is in her first house/Ascendant. So she's got Saturn in Virgo. In astrological terms, whatever planet sits in your first house is often a very huge force affecting your personality (first house is all about "you", your personality, how you present yourself to the world).
...The reason it's interesting that her first house has Saturn sitting in it is that Saturn is the planet of discipline. Of seriousness. People with strong Saturns are often successful in our money-driven society, simply because they're often tireless status-seekers. Or they're workaholics. Even poorer Capricorns I've known are often very dependable workers.
Although Dyan is not in this business of adventuring for the money, she does have a very serious side to her. Matter of fact, even before I did her horoscope, I imagined her as this very serious type who never jokes and rarely cracks a smile. She's VERY determined at her "job".
Bottom line: she is after success. Not the fame, attention, or money it can garner. She likes feeling important. As she becomes inevitably famous throughout the land of Tamriel, it won't be her money or her ego that's on display, it'll be her good works. But performing good works on such a huge scale as KotN (and other quests, no matter how small)requires determination, planning, and seriousness (in Dyan's eyes, anyways). I find it interesting that even before I did her horoscope, I was picturing all of this...the seriousness, the determined persona. I wasn't picturing somebody who's ill-focused, lazy, or a party animal.
The next point of interest: Venus. In typical astrology, the planet Venus is said to rule one's approach to pleasure, their ability to get along with others, love, attractivness, vanity, etc. It often can also indicate what sort of spouse or lover one feels comfortable with or attracting. Well, none of this applies to Oblivion (vanilla, anyways) because it's impossible to have a lover in this game who actually sticks around, adores you (well...), and eventually starts nagging you.
But I'm looking into Venus anyways, here. Why?Each sign has a planet that rules it. Cancer is ruled by the Moon, for instance, while Leo is ruled by the Sun. Since Dyan is a Taurus (her Sun is in Taurus), her persona is going to be colored by whatever sign Venus is in, because Venus rules the sign of Taurus.
So Venus was in Gemini the moment Dyan was created. Gemini is an air sign (strongly intellectual) that has mutable (changeable/adaptable) qualities. Geminis, or people with alot of Gemini in their charts, are often good with words. Gabby. Social. They're also often multi-tasking fiends. Several projects going at once, none of them getting finished sometimes! Several books being read at the same time, etc. etc. Geminis sometimes have lots of diversity, but not a whole lot of organization.
While I don't picture Dyan as a super-social, super intellectual human, she does do quite alot of talking (and listening) to various NPCs, usually with her serious intent. And she definitely feels comfortable having several quests (i.e. projects) going at once, the difference is she's got the determiation (Saturn in Virgo in the 1st house, as well as Sun and Mercury in Taurus) to see these projects thru.
She's also always travelling, and several people I've known IRL who have alot of Gemini in their charts are the types who "can't sit still" very long! That's Dyan to some extent (especially while she's questing), although all that Earth in her chart (the Taurus Sun especially, as well as Mercury in Taurus) also gets its say, since Dyan does put aside time to relax (especially if a chapel is nearby). She loves slashing enemies, true; but she also loves just sitting in a chapel (or somewhere outside) just reading a book she's never read before. She does ALOT of reading, actually.
Next is Mars. Dyan's got Mars in Leo. More specifically, she's got Mars at 19.5 degrees of Leo. Ah, degrees. There are 30 degrees in each sign, and the planets can fall on any of these 30 degrees. Mars represents our drive, the way we channel energy towards whatever: building a house, six, accomplishing a task. Mars is all about action and war, while Venus is (typically) more about relaxing, peace, harmony, and pleasure. Obviously, whatever sign Mars falls in is going to be very important to someone who's constantly fighting.
With a Mars in Leo, here we've got someone who's somewhat leonine and bossy when she's motivated (in effect, when she's doing quests), trying to get things done. All of this is right on the money so far as Dyan goes. I always picture her SCREAMING her intent as she goes into battle: I AM DYAN PHOR a'CAUZE, AND I AM HERE TO BANISH THEE UNHOLY CREANTS FROM THIS PLACE!
She's very valiant in this regard, very vocal, quickly aggressive once she's fighting, but she also makes mistakes at times due to these habits. Leo is the fixed fire sign. So that means: she's stubborn, fiery, and strong-willed when in action, but also leonine. Leos are often very much like lions. They roar when they're angry, they need alot of affection, they're often very playful, too. Fire signs are often more rash and action-oriented than Water, Earth, and Air signs; the problem is they also often burn up their energy wastefully if this energy isn't channeled correctly.
Let's talk about aspects. Aspects are mathematical relationships between two planets, or between a planet and a house. Conjunctions (zero degrees), sixtiles (sixty degrees), squares (90 degrees), trines (120), inconjuncts (150), and oppositions (180) are the strongest aspects. The closer to the actual number, the stronger the energy created by the aspect; in effect, if two planets are at 29 degrees Scorpio, they'll have a stronger conjunction than if one planet is at 29 degrees but the othe is at 22. Some aspects create harmonious relationships, while others create difficult ones.
...it's not so much the "Mars in Leo" that's interesting, it's the fact that Dyan has a Mars which is square (approximately 90 degrees) to her sun. Mars is at 19.5 degrees in Leo, while the Sun is at about 26 degrees of Taurus. These are two fixed signs.
In this case, Mars square to the Sun is creating a "difficult" aspect, and the more difficult aspects generally create the most energy. In real-life, someone with such an aspect might be overly aggressive, enthusiastic, or have problems with anger management, especially since both the signs (Leo and Taurus) are fixed and therefore stubborn. On the other hand, another person with this aspect might be able to turn this aggression around into something positive. A lot of energy is created by a square like this one, not only because both planets are in fixed signs, but also because one is earth and one is fire. Dyan is a heroic-type of Paladin, very energetic once she's out "in the field" and being called to action; and alot of this is due to the fact that she's very driven, which is symbolized by the relationship between these 2 planets in her chart.
...that's enough for now. If this thread doesn't get locked
I'll write more insights as I study the rest of the planets Dyan's got in her chart. Good journey to you! 
