5 June 2008 Tucson, Arizona US 110W56, 32n13. 2:22pm 21:22 UT ASC 12 Libra.

He has been sick for about three weeks with swollen glands, fever, night sweats, fatigue and loss of appetite. In the time it took to get a doctor's appointment, I did some Googling and found that his symptoms appear to line up exactly with Lymphoma.

The doctor did blood work and found liver problems. (Lymphoma can easily spread to the liver.) Further tests ruled out hepatitis. The doctor wants to wait another two weeks to see if the liver improves by itself before doing any more tests. (Managed care at its worst!)

If he does, indeed, have lymphoma, I would rather know sooner than later, so I can press the doctor to move ahead and treatment can begin.

I have been studying astrology for many years, but I am a beginner at Horary. Here's what I think about the chart:

His significator is Mars, which is Peregrine and therefore weak.

His health is seen in the turned chart, radix house 12, with its cusp in Virgo. Thus the significator of his health is Mercury. That planet is retrograde, combust, and cadent, and thus highly debilitated.

I am thinking that if he has cancer and is unaware of it (he knows nothing at all about my concerns), the hidden enemy would show up in his twelfth, radix six, ruled by Jupiter, which is retrograde and in its fall in the fourth. In natal astrology Jupiter can symbolize cancer, as in excessive growth of malignant cells; I don't know if it's the same in horary. If it is, would that mean that the enemy is weak?

His twelfth house also contains Uranus, so I would expect he's in for a bad surprise.

I am really a rookie at this kind of astrology, and my own concerns are no doubt clouding my judgment, but all in all, I would say he has it.

Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

Dear Ellen,

I'm also new to horary, although, like you, I've been studying natal for quite a while. About the only useful comment I can make is to draw your attention to the following fact:

Your husband's disease (whatever it is) would be represented by his 6th house, whose ruler, Mercury, is cadent, retrograde, and combust. This would indicate that the disease is indeed weak.

Here's a quote from one of Deborah Houlding's lesson on this site to back me up:

"Angular planets are powerful, so the people or matters that they signify are strong and attract a lot of attention. If representing a person, such a planet would indicate someone with the power to 'get things done'. If it is signifying a disease, the disease has the power to do damage, which is why in illness charts it is better to find the ruler of the 6th house cadent."

In any case, I'm sure you will get plenty of advice from the more qualified astrologers on this site.

If your husband does have lymphoma, do not lose heart!

My uncle had the symptoms you describe for AN ENTIRE YEAR before being diagnosed with lymphoma. Although he was not a young man (age of sixty-eight) at the time of his diagnosis, and despite the fact that so much time had elapsed, he still managed to beat the disease, and has been cancer free for almost two years. There is much hope.

Wishing you and your husband strength and excellent health,

I.