Thus each planet is judged according to its nature and the aspect it throws to the Moon or Sun, while the planets in the 2nd House are judged by their own natures and the aspects which they receive.
Inheritance is shown by a benefic planet in the 5th or 11th House in good aspect to Saturn; but indirect inheritance can be the result of Saturn in good aspect to Jupiter from any part of the figure.
Legacies are shown by good planets, or planets well aspected, in the 8th House; or by Jupiter in good aspect to Uranus from any part of the heavens.
Gain by marriage is shown by benefic planets in the 8th House, because the 8th is 2nd from the 7th, and the 7th House rules over the partner.
The potential of each horoscope is capable of being increased by due attention to the sources of gain, as shown by the position and aspects of the planets in various parts of the heavens; but chiefly by associating oneself with persons whose horoscopes are in harmony with one’s own. Thus it happens that individuals are lifted to position and affluence through their association with persons whose horoscopes are in sympathy with theirs. (See [Chap. XI.] of this Section.)
The Sun and Moon being in good aspect to one another will prevent disaster, or will always provide a means of restoration of fortunes, because it is an index of general good fortune and continual support. Such persons as have this aspect in their horoscopes need never fear misfortune, for if they should fall into disasters in one place, they will always turn up in another with a complete adjustment of their position. But when the Sun and Moon are in evil aspect, and particularly when the malefic planets are in elevation in the heavens, continual misfortune dogs the footsteps, and though there be spells of good fortune, they are brief and attended with troubles.
The benefic planets, Jupiter, Venus, and Sun, being well elevated in the heavens, that is to say, in the 10th or 11th Houses, it is a sign of preponderating good fortune. But when the malefics are in elevation the reverse results happen.
The Line of Least Resistance.
It is a law in Nature that the line of least resistance is that of greatest progress. The lightning flash does not come straight to earth, but zigzag by the line of least resistance. The great rivers do not come by a direct course to the ocean, but by many turns and backward reaches, because they follow the path of least resistance. When one comes to take account of the years of human life that are spent in the vain endeavour to achieve the impossible, the lessons of Nature are worth reciting. But what is impossible to one man is facile to another, and the greatest economy of effort is therefore to be secured by proper regard to suitability of occupation and direction of effort.
The principles of Astrology enable us to determine the line of action which at all times will be the most fruitful of results, and in the matter of money-making the matter is decided in the following manner: That planet which has a trine or sextile aspect of the Moon, and is at the same time elevated above the malefic planets, especially if it be itself assisted by the good aspects of other planets, receives first consideration. The House it is in will indicate the source of benefit, but the Sign it is in will show the means through which it will come. Thus if Uranus should be in the Midheaven, in trine aspect to the Moon, and itself receiving a good aspect from either the Sun, Jupiter, or Venus, it will indicate gain through governmental bodies, authorities, and persons of high rank. If Uranus should be in the sign Cancer, it would point to matters associated with the ocean, marine affairs, or those in which water is the element in chief employ; as in marine engineering, shipping, dock building, &c. But if Uranus had been in the 11th House, and in the sign Scorpio, then the source of gain would be by means of companies, syndicates, and associations of a collective nature, and the sign Scorpio would show it to be connected with naval defence (because Scorpio is a martial and watery sign) or the utilisation of waste materials, inflammable oils, &c., or by systems of drainage, which represent the excretory system of a town. By looking chiefly to the nature of the planet concerned, and that of the sign it occupies, a good artist will readily describe the particular line which is to be pursued.