Thor’s Hammer is an aspect pattern consisting of a square (90 degrees) and two sesiquadrate (135 degrees) interconnecting aspects.
It is part of the dynamic series of aspects that are based on the 8th harmonic (45 degree) aspect series.
This is a particularly difficult pattern as the sesiquadrate aspect tends to give quite severe criticism from others and this produces considerable personal tension. To work at its best it needs at least one planet in the pattern to have an outlet i.e. an easy flow aspect to another planet or planetary pattern. The outlet planet can describe people who help and/or a talent or ability that eases the pressure.
I think any aspect pattern that involves an angle is much stronger than those that just involve planets as the angles make them very personal indeed.
Sarah, Duchess of York
To illustrate I will use the Chart of Sarah, Duchess of York as she has received severe criticism most of her life.
Sarah was born on the 15th October 1959, 9.03 am London England. Here is her natal chart. Click it to enlarge.
As you can see in the chart below, she has a Thor’s Hammer aspect pattern involving Ascendant-Uranus-South Node Moon, making a close midpoint structure of South Node (Moon) = Uranus/Ascendant. This pattern has given her a considerable amount of personal tension.
Her Thor’s Hammer involves two sesiquadrate aspects involving the Moon. Sesiquadrates give criticism from others and Fergie has suffered an enormous amount of criticism from the public (Moon) throughout her life, partly about her physical body (Ascendant), partly through her affairs (Moon in 5th) and on an international level through the Press (Uranus in 9th). She seems to get caught doing what everyone else also privately does and scorn is poured on her. Her fellow Princess, Diana, had a huge number of affairs and was also caught out, but received no scorn at all.
The midpoint structure this Thor’s Hammer pattern makes of Moon =Uranus/Ascendant tends to give considerable emotional tension connected to the environment or physical body, with matters flaring up suddenly and unexpectedly. After her “Duchess of Pork” days she learned to turn the energy around and use it to benefit her through becoming the spokesperson for Weight Watchers.
This Thor’s Hammer has a most interesting outlet – a YOD pattern also involving the Moon as the focus point with quincunxes to Neptune and Pluto-MC.
The YOD pattern can be very helpful at times as it stimulates both flexibility and a sense of humour (see article on quincunx) The YOD pattern requires one to be on their toes and able to quickly adjust to situations. The Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable emphasis gives access to the ability to take action (cardinal), remain stable (fixed) and use skilled communication (mutable) to handle a situation. Sarah’s Neptune and Pluto components increase her ability to personally (Moon) tap into global issues (Neptune) and work with powerful people (Pluto). The disadvantage is that the midpoint structure of Moon = Neptune/Pluto considerably increases her sensitivity and this can increase the pain of the Thor’s Hammer configuration. Her best help is her sense of humour as this can help her handle most high pressure situations.
Transits to Thor’s Hammer
Dynamic series transits to Thor’s Hammer can be very stressful as they bring a high level of criticism from others. The trick is to carefully listen to the criticism and take on board the components you feel may be accurate. You can then work on finding ways to turn that energy into a positive – as Sarah did when she became spokesperson for Weight Watchers. It is wise to discard all criticism that you feel is unfair or unjust as trying to please the critics can destroy you.
Transits to Fergie’s South Node-Moon configuration would activate the Thor’s Hammer, (8th harmonic) YOD (12th harmonic) and a quindecile (24th harmonic) to the Sun, so these periods would always be rather stressful for her. Note that transiting Pluto is currently ( May 2010) square her South Node and moving into square to her Moon and she is the focus of yet another huge scandal and scathing personal criticism because she accepted huge amounts of money to give someone an introduction to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. This practice is quite common in her circles, but yet again she has been the critical focus for actions that others consider normal. It interests me that she has turned to her YOD’s sense of humour to handle the pressure.
Copyright (C) Alice Portman May 2010
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