From time to time I see posting on blogs about Yods. And recently someone told me there was a Yod in her natal chart (she was really excited), so I took a look and surprise, no such creature. So to clarify the term, I’d like to briefly define and say a bit about Yods. A Yod is composed of three planets, a sextile connecting two of the planets, and a third planet connecting those two, at a 150 degree angle (quincunx). I prefer to think of the configuration as a double quincunx. Anyway between the three one can draw the shape of a Capital “Y”, the end of each arm being the point a planet will be located at.
What make it unique is that the pointing arm, or key point, can suggest a major change in one’s life (for the better or not so better!). It reminds me a bit of the idea in Palmistry that broken lines suggest new paths or major disruptions. But it does not seem to specifically name that time, except when a transit passes or is in conjunction with the key point. Yet loads of transits can pass the same point in the course of ones life. So how to sort through or separate all those transits to determine the time for the “big change”? The answer to this puzzle is to look at other measurements suggesting key times. Then narrowing down a limited number of significant dates look for transits on or around those dates. If a date or two really pops out as “wow” with interesting transits near the key point, look at those transit events and see if they relate to the house and sign the key point is located in. This bit of sleuthing can narrow down the “big time” date in a manageable fashion. Of course if you end up with an event that is let’s say sixty years away in a twenty-something’s chart, do you think she/he is really going to care?
