So as I mentioned in my last post, I'm reading Predictive Astrology by Christine Shaw. (You can find the book here on Amazon, but I got mine here through Thriftbooks. Not to worry, none of these are affiliate links :) ) There's a wealth of information in the book - but unfortunately the woman is a ghost, and I find it hard to reach out to her. I even reached out to the FAA (Federation of Australian Astrologers) to see if they had heard of her or if she was a member. She's not, but we'll see if anything else comes from it :) Thank you so much for checking.
The book is basically all progressions. And while I'm already familiar with them, she explains things in a way that is easy to understand and very clear. She also covers techniques I'd never heard of, such as converse progressions. So while regular progressions represent a day after birth for each year of life (for example, 34 years of age would be calculated by going 34 days after your birthday in an ephemeris), converse progressions are a day before your birthday for every year of life. To my knowledge, you'd read a converse progressed chart much like how you'd read a progressed chart - alone and then overlapping the natal with a biwheel.
And since I am my own best guinea pig, I though I'd put them to the test. If you're looking to calculate your own converse progressions, you can calculate them on most astrology softwares. You can also calculate them for free on Astro-Seek here. Just go from Angles & Direction and press Converse Prog. (Backward Direction, ARMC 1 Naibod).
So, here is my regularly progressed chart:
And here is my converse progressed chart:
One thing I noticed was the importance of the chart ruler (both natal chart ruler and converse progressed chart ruler) in my converse chart. My regularly progressed chart has not changed Ascendant signs yet (though that should be sometime this year / the next), though my converse progressed chart has long had Libra as the rising sign. This is important for transit work, which I'll explain in a minute.
I mentioned in my last post that this most recent Venus retrograde in Leo was an absolute doozy for me. Like, changed my perspective on love, rocked my world, type of event. Venus happens to be my converse chart ruler, and also happens to be in retrograde. Now, this is interesting for a few reasons. (Not to give you all the hot gossip about my life, but it will make more sense as we dive into the importance of the chart ruler.) In December of 2019, I made the decision to be conciously single. I wasn't ready to date, knew that, and decided to just take time to be me. That month was when Venus turned retrograde in my converse progressed chart.
So I thought, huh, I'll go back through my transits and when Venus has been retrograde within the last four years. It's been retrograde three times - once in Gemini in 2020 (May through June), once in Capricorn in 2021-2022 (late December to late January), and most recently in Leo in 2023 (July through September). The Gemini retrograde I clearly remember focusing on myself. The pandemic had just hit, and it was a time of self reflection and growth. I was able to focus a lot on therapy. (note: Gemini is my 8th house sign.) So this one wasn't a biggie as far as the rest of them go - but still worth noting.
The Capricorn retrograde was when I started this astrology blog, started writing interpretation reports, and had my first paid reading. I started the business officially in the retrograde shadow period, so just two days after the official end of Venus retrograde. Something important to note is that this is the sign of my natal Venus, so I had three Venus returns that year (yeah, three). Capricorn is my 3rd house sign.
This most recent Venus retrograde in the sign of Leo has been quite a learning experience as well. I feel ready to love again, and though I find the apps endlessly frustrating, I'm willing to wait. It's a nice balance, I suppose.
So, let's discuss the importance of the natal chart ruler in the converse progressed chart. My Mars is conjunct my natal Jupiter (please see below), and almost seems to be more important in my converse progressed chart than my reguarly progressed one. I suppose this is because it rules my converse progressed Descendant, my natal Ascendant, and my current progressed Ascendant. I also suppose it's because it rules that Saturn, which rules Venus, and so on. You can find more brief articles on rulerships here and here. Speaking of which, my converse Descendant is conjunct my natal Saturn - the story is all starting to come together.
Now, onto the 18th degree. My Venus is at this degree in my converse progressed chart. For some reason I couldn't get it out of my head - until I realized Venus is at a t-square with my progressed Ascendant and Descendant and sextiling my natal Chiron at this degree. The 18th degree is associated with disease, misfortune, and is considered downright diabolical. Let’s set one thing straight - there is nothing diabolical about love. Anything past that becomes obsession, delusion, or something entirely perverted or distorted from its original meaning. That’s not love. So how am I experiencing this?
First of all, I'm healing. I can thank Chiron for that. Did that most recent Venus retrograde hurt? Yep. Am I okay and learning more about myself? Also yep. That is the nature of life, with an added dash of Scorpio. Sometimes we don't learn until we have some skin in the game. In this case, the game is love. That's always something good to learn about.
With the t-square being in Cardinal signs, I'm reminded once again of the square and the themes between aspects and signs. The theme between Aries and Libra is equality and independence, love and war, and rebellion and peace. What do the two signs look like when they're working together? They look like fighting for what you love. Throwing Capricorn into the mix means that I'm willing to wait for a relationship and what is right for me, but I'm also willing to work for it. The Ascendant and Descendent is a time to shedding relationships and doing what feels free to me (Saturn and the Descendent in Aries!) but also realizing that, like Marina once said, I'm not a robot. No one should have to go without love (no matter how sappy that sounds). But we should also be our true selves (she's got another song on that here), because love flourishes in the truth. The AC and DC to me is finding where I fit in my relationships and my approach to love, feeling it out, changing my perspective, and fitting in.
On to the important part: what do converse progressions mean? Like an analyzed chart is great and all, but I'm sure you want to know about the symbolism behind the technique. And here is where I tell you something rather unfortunate: There isn’t a whole lot of consensus on what converse progressions mean that I can find. This doesn’t mean it isn’t out there, but just that I can’t find it. (please feel free to comment or email me to correct me if I'm wrong!)
But, I have a theory. If progressions show us how we grow, would our converse progressions show us where we've come from? If progressions show how we grow, like a little flower, would converse progressions be our roots, or seed? Would converse progressions show us all of the little events that have made us who we are? Progressions and converse progressions work in tandem - would they not show us the greater story of how we evolve? Roots keep growing as flowers keep blooming.
For example, if we think about how our progressions are how we grow as a person, like how a flower grows, would we not think of our converse progressions as the roots, the seed, or even the gardener that tends to its crops? All of the little events that have lead us to who we are today: better, stronger, and wiser - would those not be represented by our converse progressions?
So anyways, I hope this helped with your understanding of the technique, but also reframing things. Sometimes we see a massive configuration (like a big t-square to Venus) and freak out, but a good way to re-center is to put you at the center of it: how are you experiencing it? How is this energy playing out in your life? And most importantly, what can you do with that energy in your hands? Put other interpretations aside for a moment. What is your interpretation?
If this article helped you or gave you a little bit of hope, please consider donating to support the cause of the blog. Or, maybe just sign up for the newsletter to get updates on all things no fear astrology. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it.
Thanks for reading,
Abby
For more info on progressions:
How to read your progressed chart in astrology
If this article helped you or gave you a little bit of hope, please consider donating to support the cause of the blog. Or, maybe just sign up for the newsletter to get updates on all things no fear astrology. Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it.
