The opening of a new business...

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I have been asked by a local shop owner to look at the chart the opening of her tiny business. I am working on my own interpretation of the date, time and location, but told her not to take anything I said as "cast in concrete", and that I would try to get other competent astrologers to take a look and give a quick interpretation to show that this isn't an exact science...

Here is the date, and location, of when she opened her doors for the first time:

May 17th, Bemus Point NY, at 7:00 AM.

That is all I am going to tell you, but hope that those of you experienced in such charts will give a quick opinion of what you see.

One question I have in traditional interpretation is which house do I use for the "public". I tend to look at the Midheaven to see the "reputation/public standing", but wonder if that is the proper house. What does the descendant represent?

I will post my quick comments later on, and would welcome any criticism of where I have gone off in the wrong direction. I also will do a "copy and paste" of your feedback and give them to her...

Thanks in advance, friends...

P.S. my sister is being a typical Taurus... she has decided on her own to leave California around 6PM on October 19th...

I haven't even looked at the chart for that date and time for Auburn CA, for I worked so long and hard to pick the best date, and now she has decided to do it when a friend can help her with the drive...

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One question I have in traditional interpretation is which house do I use for the "public". I tend to look at the Midheaven to see the "reputation/public standing", but wonder if that is the proper house. What does the descendant represent?
She?s trading, so the event chart for the opening will associate her with the ascendant, and those she trades with are associated with the descendant ? the 7th represents her customers, suppliers, and the general situations she has to deal with, so you want to avoid affliction there.

The 10th house is more about the profile of the business; as you say, the business reputation, the power of the ?brand identity?, the logo; the way it is able to place itself in the public eye generally ? so it is the house that demonstrates the attention of the public even though the 7th house signifies her dealings with others and the kind of issues she will have to face in her trade.

But also consider the Moon as a general significator for public reaction.

I?m a bit confused by the data, which has no year in it. If it already opened at that time this year, it has a lot of disadvantages. The Moon rules the 2nd house but is placed in the 8th in opposition to Mars in the 2nd. That could suggest too much outlay (Mars in the 2nd: dispersion of substance). All four rulers of the angles are cadent. Neptune is on the midheaven but the midheaven ruler is essentially and accidentally weak. The ascendant ruler is combust and peregrine in the 12th. It doesn?t look like the kind of chart you get when someone has created and is sticking to an effective business plan.

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You are correct, Deb. The date is for this year.

What I found interesting about the chart is that the business has two components, A small bakery/light lunch side, and a gift/knitting/beads/jewelry/antiques side.... Gemini/Sagg Asc/Desc.

With Neptune on the midheaven, I thought it amusing that the shop is named "Imagine!"

I have told her that it might take three or 4 years for the shop to "break even". I am looking for the most encouraging aspects of the chart to comment on, for I hate to be a wet blanket.

Is why I posted, hoping someone would see something positive that I missed.