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Besieged And Aided PlanetBesiegement and aid are composite conditions of the planets in an astrological chart. They are both related tospecific patterns of applying and separating aspects of a given planet.

Besiegement, the better known of the two, occurs when a planet is in aspect between two malefics. It isone of the traditional accidental debilities, often mentioned in the ancient astrological texts and interpretedas a strong sign of problems and difficulties.Aid, the opposite condition, refers to a planet aspecting both benefics simultaneously. Although it isequally important, and one of the accidental dignities, aid is not so frequently mentioned, especially in laterworks.

Most traditional astrologers apply these conditions in horary chart interpretation, but only a few extend its usage tonativities. However, its interpretation adds important information, not only to natal chart delineation but also topredictive techniques. This article will present some examples of the practical application of besiegement and aidto nativities.

BESIEGEMENT

A planet is besieged when it separates from one of the malefics and applies to the other. In besiegement only theconjunction, square and opposition are considered. Just like a besieged city, the planet in this condition is inserious trouble which will be difficult to escape. We can say it is between a rock and a hard place. All that isrelated to, and signified by, the besieged planet will encounter difficulty and impediment.

Besiegement especially afflicts the faster of the planets -Moon, Mercury, Venus and the Sun -for they are the onesmost likely to became trapped by hard aspects between the slower malefics. Jupiter can also be besieged, butonly under very particular conditions; because it is slower than Mars, it can only be besieged by mutualapplication to either of the two malefics. Besiegement is particularly significant when it afflicts one of the majorsignificators of the chart, for example, the ruler of the Ascendant, ruler of the MC, the Moon or the ruler of theyear. When one of these points is afflicted by besiegement, the problems implied by this condition become moreexaggerated.

Examples of besiegement

In this page we will examine three examples of besiegement which produced extreme results. Needless to say,besiegement cannot by itself lead to these extremes, and these example charts present other signs of difficultieswhich reinforce the afflictions signified by besiegement.

Marie Antoinette (November 2nd 1755, Vienna, Austria)

Daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria,she married Prince Louis, heir to thethrone of France and four years laterbecame Queen of France. After theFrench Revolution (14th August 1789)the royal family moved to Paris, wherethey lived as virtual prisoners for threeyears. Marie Antoinette was brought totrial on a charge of treason and on 16 thOctober 1793, shortly after noon, shewas beheaded.

In Marie Antoinettes nativity thebesieged planet is the Moon, which isalso the ruler of the Ascendant. It is inLibra in the 5th house, separating from asquare of Mars and applying to a squareof Saturn. Its location in the 5th house isalso relevant when we consider theQueens taste for amusement andflirtation in fact, after the revolution, thisformed the major accusation against her.The Moon is also in Via Combusta ,which adds still more debility.

The planets besieging the Moon remind us that throughout her life although joyful and carefree on the surface she was surrounded by intrigue, jealousy and court gossip. Some of her enemies were powerful people describedby Saturn, ruler of the 7th, essentially dignified and squaring the Moon, ruler of the Ascendant. The other planetafflicting the Moon is Mars, ruler of the 6th and of the 11th, suggesting harm coming from her servants and badfriends (bad because Mars is debilitated). The Queen, who was already held in low esteem by the public, didnothing to enhance her standing by surrounding herself with those whose behaviour was regarded asscandalous. This contributed largely to her eventual execution.

Marie Antoinettes unpopularity with the French people was due partly to her Austrian descent, and partly to herapparent lightheartedness in the face of widespread suffering. Confronted by public rejection on severaloccasions, she was literally besieged by intrigue and concealed jealousy. However, it was only after theRevolution that the danger of this situation began to unfold. By the time of the Reign of Terror4, she was alreadythe main focus for public resentment and hatred. The besiegement finally overcame her in October 1793:abandoned by all her friends, slandered and accused of all sorts of crimes from treason to incest, the Queen wasexecuted in Paris. By that time she was under a firdaria of the two besieging planets, the ruler of the year5,Mercury, also being afflicted by combustion and by an opposition to Saturn, a malefic and ruler of the natal 8th .

Benito Mussolini (July 29 th 1883, Dovia Il Predappio)

In this example both malefics aspect theMoon by conjunction in the 7th house ofopen enemies. The Moon rules the 9thhouse in this chart, so we ought to expectsituations related with religion; Mussoliniwas indeed devoted, not to religion but tohis political beliefs, especially socialism 6.He took this interest from his father, amilitant socialist, and carried it to furtherextremes. Note that the Moon, the 9thruler, is in one of Mercurys signs with thetwo malefics, which inclines to a morerational mindset, adverse to religion.

In the course of his life he made manyenemies, politically and personally,because of his aggressive behaviour. Hesupported his political beliefs withviolence which motivated his opponentsto respond with equal violence. The threeaforementioned planets (Moon, Mars andSaturn) are disposited by Mercury, whichis combust in the 9th house, reinforcingthe affliction. Furthermore, Mars rules theAscendant, suggesting that he was the main cause of his own problems. Mars and Saturn are also significators ofmanners in this chart, suggesting harshness and cruelty. This triple conjunction falls close to the fixed starAldebaran (08Gem10 in 1883), of the nature of Mars. This confers eloquence, honours and popularity, but alsoferocity, aggression and the danger of a violent death, further increasing the signification of the besiegement.

Giovanni Falcone (May 18th 1939, Palermo, Italy)

Judge Falcone was well known for hisanti-mafia stance. He began dealing withorganised crime in the 70s and soondeveloped a plan to dispel the mystiquesurrounding the Mafia. Working as alone crusader, he became a popularhero. His incorruptibility gained himpowerful enemies both among theMafiosi and corrupt politicians. Hemanaged to escape severalassassination attempts, but on May23rd 1992 he met his death: his caractivated a high-explosive bomb set inthe highway. The explosion killedFalcone, his wife and his three securityescorts.

In this case the besieged planet isVenus, again ruler of the Ascendant.Venus is essentially debilitated in Aries,separating from a weak Saturn (in fall)and applying to a very strong Mars (inexaltation). As all three planets areangular, his struggle against the Mafiaand his murder received great publicity.Venus is also disposited by an exalted Mars, ruler of the 7th signifying that his enemies eventually overcame him,the weak Venus ruling the Ascendant.

Besiegement in prediction:

The effects of besiegement are much easier to identify when applied to the solar return, for they usually indicate adrastic turn of events for the native in that year. This is particularly true if in the solar return the besieged planet isthe ruler of the year, the Moon or the ruler of the natal Ascendant. The matters signified by the besieged planet willdescribe the areas of life affected by these problems. So for example if the besieged planet rules or is placed inthe 6th house of illness and health problems, they will become the main feature of that year, if it is connected tothe 2nd house, the difficulties will arise in matters of finance.

AID

Besiegement has its benefic counterpart in a configuration called aid (or sometimes besiegement bybenefics). A planet is aided when it separates from one benefic, either Jupiter or Venus, and applies to the other.In this case only trines, sextiles and conjunctions are taken into account. All that is represented by the aidedplanet will have some kind of help or relief. Again, some planets can benefit more from aid than others; the majorbeneficiaries are again the fast planets: Moon and Mercury. The other planets, which are slower than Venus, canonly be aided when there are mutual applications, which is not as frequent. As a besieged planet implies difficultyand hard work, an aided planet signifies ease and assistance in its significations.

Example of besiegement by benefics

George Sand (July 1st 1804, Paris)

Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin,Baroness Dudevant (aka George Sand)was a highly regarded French novelist,well known for the social and emotionalacuteness of her writings. Being of nobledescent she was expected to behave ina conventional way, but instead sherevealed herself as a freethinker. Shebecame a political activist with verydefinite socialist ideas. As a novelist, sheadopted a masculine name GeorgeSand and sometimes she appeared inpublic wearing mens clothes andsmoking a pipe, however her subjectswere always concerned with romanticand social matters. She died on June 8th1876.

Unsurprisingly, the aided planet inGeorges chart is Mercury, the planet ofwriting skills and communication. Theaid from the benefics is enhancing analready favourable situation, for Mercuryis strengthened by essential dignity in itsown sign, and by its angularity (closely conjunct to the IC). With such a strong Mercury, and some help from thebenefic planets, she had the chance to express her literary talents by writing several books and plays. Notice thatMercury is translating the light from Venus, ruler of the 3rd, to Jupiter, ruler of the Ascendant and MC, thusbringing these facets of her life into public view and bestowing success on her career.

The ruler of the 4th, Mercury, can be related to her nobility, as her father was a French aristocrat. Her privilegedsocial position allowed her to expand her horizons and granted some degree of tolerance for her eccentricities.Mercury also rules the 7th house of marriage; George not only had a good marriage to a nobleman (Baron M.Casimir Dudevant), but also had relationships with several influential and famous men, Alfred de Musset, FranzLizt and Frederic Chopin, among others.

BESIEGEMENT AND AID TOGETHER IN THE SAME CHART

On some rare occasions we find these two conditions together. They do not cancel each other out, but expressthemselves in different areas of life according to their context in the chart.

Example Of Besiegement And Aid Together In The Same Chart

The film actress Natalie Wood is a good example of this.

Natalie Wood (July 20th 1938, San Francisco, California)

In Natalies chart, we have an aidedMoon, separating from a sextile toJupiter and applying to a trine withVenus. As the Moon rules the MC, it iseasy to understand that this configurationhelped to boost her career and public life,giving even more prominence to a Moonexalted and angular. Indeed, she becamea movie star at a very young age, andhad an incredibly successful career. Sheis considered by many as one of themost popular actresses of hergeneration. But this aid is a double-edged sword because Venus, to whichthe Moon applies (and which dispositsthe Moon), although a benefic, isdebilitated by being in fall and in thecadent 12th house. Venus is the ruler ofthe Ascendant and its debilitated positionsuggests a certain degree of self-undoing towards which the Moon, hercareer, moves and by which the Moon isdisposited. So the promise of successindicated by the strong positions of theMoon and Jupiter (a significator through its exaltation in the MC) is dissipated by the weaker Venus.

Natalie could never enjoy a normal lifestyle. During her childhood and early teens she lived secluded in herparents house and was never left alone because her parents feared she might be kidnapped. It was only in herlate teenage years that she began to go out regularly and started a more normal social life. Even so, many of herdates were arranged and controlled by the studios. Therefore, her glamorous life was in fact more apparent thanreal, her luxurious Venus lifestyle was, in some respects, a gilded cage. This is further aggravated by thepresence of a besieged planet in the MC, the Sun. A strong luminary in the 10th house is usually a good sign offame, but in this particular case the Sun separates from a square of Saturn and applies to conjoin Mars (bothdebilitated by fall). Her fame also extended to the rather strange relationships that she made, for example,Raymond Burr and James Dean. Note that the besiegers are both related to the 7th house: Mars rules the 7th andSaturn is placed there.

Although these are difficult configurations, the Sun-Mars conjunction in Cancer is disposited and received by theexalted Moon. This ameliorated some of the difficulties and allowed a notable degree of success. However it didnot cancel the negative effects which ultimately led to her premature and somewhat mysterious death at the ageof 43.

Natalies nativity is a good example of how the wider context of the chart is crucial to the interpretation ofbesiegement and aid. The dignity or debility of the planets involved, as well as their positions in the chart, canmodify the beneficial effects of aid and the harsher effects of besiegement.

When correctly interpreted, besiegement and aid can add usefully to chart delineation as they reveal importantpatterns of difficulty or ease in the natives life. They dont necessarily produce such dramatic effects as thosepresented in this article, but their action is nevertheless present and identifiable in any chart where they occur. Itis vital that these configurations are always observed in the chart and never interpreted as isolated indicators.

Notes:

Mutual application occurs when one of the planets involved is retrograde, and both move towards the aspect.

Ruler of the yer is the planet ruling the Ascendant of the profected nativity, in a given year

Via Combusta is usually defined as the area between 15 Libra and 15 Scorpio, and it is said to promoteinstability, particularly if the Moon is placed there.4 The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 28 July 1794) or simply The Terror was a period of about ten monthsduring the French Revolution when struggles between rival factions led to mutual radicalisation which took on aviolent character with mass executions by guillotine.5 By the time of her death, Marie Antoinette was under a Mars-Saturn firdaria and her profected Ascendant wasVirgo, so the ruler of the year was Mercury.6 It is not being suggested here that politics is signified by the 9th house, but rather any for of beliefs, whetherreligious or not.

Helena Avelar

Besieged And Aided PlanetBESIEGEMENTExamples of besiegementBesiegement in prediction:AIDExample ofbesiegement by beneficsBESIEGEMENT AND AID TOGETHER IN THE SAME CHARTExample Of Besiegement And Aid Together In The Same Chart