Besieged!: Seeing Challenges in the Natal Chart through Malefic Enclosures

In traditional astrology, the only house closely configured to the native, their psychology, personality, health and vitality, is the first. Any planets in the first house have a direct bearing on the interpretation of the native themselves, as does the planet ruling the ascendant. If the ruler of the ascendant resides elsewhere in the chart, then it’s a safe bet that whatever topics that planet signifies will be amplified in the native’s life owing to its connection to the ascendant. As for the rest of the planets — they symbolize other people, events and circumstances in the life; they’re not all a reflection of an individual’s psychology.

In natal chart delineation, we want to examine the good as well as the “bad.” I use “bad” in quotation marks, since experiences are relative and sometimes objectively “bad” experiences can turn out to be blessings in disguise or set us down unexpected and surprisingly beneficial paths. We can use synonyms like “salty,” “challenging,” “difficult,” or “frustrating” — all of which still emphasize the fact that every life has its ups and downs. While I don’t believe the natal promise is a life sentence, I do believe that we need to balance our assessments of the chart. No life is completely rosy; without acknowledging where we can encounter more challenges, we are doing ourselves and those we read for a disservice. Unquestionably, we need to be careful about the ways in which we transmit information — this is why it’s so vital that delineations are a…