Here are some considerations on the time to cast a chart for an horary question.
Questions of clients
Cast the chart when the astrologer understands the question. Practically speaking, when is that time?I find it helpful to think of the question as a foetus, which is first conceived at an earlier time/date and undergoes some sort of transformation. At some point in time in the future, the person having the question is in labour and seeks to have it delivered. She/he looks for an astrologer who acts as the midwife and have it delivered, resulting in the birth of the question.
Cast the chart when the question is born, not when it’s conceived.
Example 1: A client could be contemplating a question since 10 years ago (conceived) and finally decided to ask face-to-face an astrologer the question today, 10 years later (born). The chart is cast for today, when the question is asked.
Example 2a: A client emailed a question at 3pm on Monday, the astrologer checked his email at 4pm on the next day, Tuesday, finished reading the email at 4.05pm and understood the question in the email at 4.06pm (maybe after some thought). The astrologer is kind of like a midwife. Figuratively speaking, the client was in labour since 3pm on Monday and only finally has her/his question delivered by the astrologer’s understanding and born at 4.06pm. The chart is cast at 4.06pm based on the astrologer’s location as that’s where the question is born.
Example 2b: A client emailed a question at 3pm on Monday. The astrologer checked his email at 4pm on the next day, Tuesday, finished reading the email at 4.05pm, and called the client at 9pm (say due to time zone differences) to clarify the question. The astrologer finally understood the question over the phone at 9:07pm. Figuratively speaking, the client was in labour since 3pm on Monday and only finally has her/his question delivered by the astrologer’s understanding and born at 9.07pm in the astrologer’s location.
Which Location to Use – the client’s or the astrologer’s?
In the modern world, the client could be situated from the other side of the world with a time zone difference of say 10 hours. Which location (and time) is used for horary readings then?Renowned horary astrologer, Olivia Barclay, said “For many years I used the astrologer’s location to calculate the chart for the question, but now I have concluded that, like a photograph, the “picture” can be taken from more than one position. This is especially so if the question is asked by telephone and the astrologer fully understands it while it is being asked. In these circumstances, provided the chart gives a clear description of the situation and the chart is in no way invalid, I would use the querent’s location rather than the astrologers, but otherwise I use my location.”
I suppose it’s really a case of preference and beliefs of the astrologer on which location to use. I think the most straight forward way is to use the astrologer’s location.