Steve,
Since chart reading can be a never ending tiresome exercise I will just focus on my strengths which is personality analysis - areas of strengths and weaknesses. Let me know how I did, since you didn't mind the initial reading to be in public I'm posting it to FFL. A note of caution - I have pointed out areas of strengths and challenges as indicated by the positions. It's quite possible that you have identified and worked on dealing with the challenges since you are a mature adult now but I have laid them out as I see it in your chart. Not sure how comfortable you are with astrological jargon but I can't resist using them. The rising sign is Virgo which indicates a service oriented nature soul, someone who is humble unassuming and a caring perfectionist. You are keenly observant of your environment and pay attention to details that others would miss. The ascendant lord Mercury in the 8th house with Sun shows the powerful influence in your functioning.You have a very sharp penetrating intellect and powerful intuition. You arevery quick to grasp people's motivations, developing strategies and subjects requiring research and investigation. 8th house also represents the metaphysical and this would explain your strong interest in spirituality. You love to explore the deeper meaning in life, going beyond the ordinary sensory experiences, unexplored, hidden, or taboos. 8thhouse is using the powerful creative energy to heal, transform and rejuvenate. The 8th house is colored by the sign of Aries you are bold, energetic, independent, and quick to take initiative in the areas of metaphysics or anything that requires deep research, more of a sprinter than marathon runner, love challenges. You get bored with minute details because of your ability to see the big picture right away. You don't like to get stuck in a rut and are eager to move forward. Sun conjunct Mercury indicates much mental energy. You are a strong thinker and proud of it. You love to explore hidden meaning in different angles at a high level without getting stuck in details. You have a strong belief in destiny. The other important combination is the Mars and Jupiter opposition along the 5th-11thaxis. Both Mars and Jupiter are exalted and Mars and Jupiter is a good combination here and you are bold and energetic. Mars in the 5th house indicates you love action, sports, being competitive. The position of Mars indicates you are a very level headed guy in control of your emotions withlot of self control, your energy is well directed towards goal oriented pursuits. Jupiter in the 11th house indicates you are a very noble, charitable humanitarian and you love friends, social gatherings and circles. Usually Jupiter here indicates association with spiritual/philosophical groups because of the Jupiterian qualities of knowledge, wisdom, generosity and an eagerness to share this. You have a lot to offer in spiritual groups or circles. Now coming to the nodes Rahu & Ketu that I pay close attention to. Rahu shows the areas of entrapment, the cause of rebirth, the things that keep you bound and Ketu shows moksha or liberation. Rahu shows where you are trying to grab or overcorrect, Rahu and Ketu are always opposite to each other, so Ketu shows the area where there is a void that you need to fill for your spiritual progress, liberation from the material plane. Sautrn in the 3rdhouse shows your difficulty in taking a stand and taking initiative. You may bea man of few words and coming across as cold, distant and reserved. The nodes along 3rd/9th axis show that you avoid confrontation and conflict and find it very hard to a take a moral stand or decision. You may be overwhelmed by mental overload to the point where you may not commit to anything which might cause problems to others around you. You might have lot of conflict and battles in the mind which might leave you exhausted. You most likely wouldn't want to offend anyone and use logic to avoid taking a stand. Venus, the planet of love, emotions and refinement is also eclipsed by the nodes and Saturn. This suggests that your ability to express and receive love is one of the weakest areas. There might be issues of emotional blocks and feeling of worth. Venus conjunct Ketu shows that you have trouble in expressing love and you would rather stick tologic and reasoning. This pattern seems to berepeated by Moon in 12th. This is the one feature of your chart where the masculine planets Mars, Jupiter and Sun are all very strong whereas the feminine planets Venus and Moon are weak. Moon in 12th shows a very sensitive and emotional person but these are hidden. These could be related to issues with women or that you have been unconsciously emphasizing your masculine qualities at the expense of love, feelings and emotions. This is also repeated where your 4th house is trapped by malefics on either side. Moon in 12th does however show that you have deep emotional attachment for things that are etherealand eternal 12th house is for liberation and moksha. You might be flooded with deep emotions and need solitude, you are also sympathetic to people's sufferings but might not be always able to express it, this pattern indicated earlier with the nodes and Venus along the 3rd/9thaxis. However Moon is in the royal nakshatra of Magha in Leo and you might be too regal, proud, noble and dignified to even admit all this. So for total harmony, balance and happiness, the positions indicate developing the need to develop feminine qualities of love in the interaction with others and use intuition and faith at the expense of logic, mental overload and not be afraid to take stands/decisions based upon your value system even if it makes others unhappy. Thank you Ravi Yogi.
