Living in a remote village, far from town and without a car, means that even a simple trip to the city centre requires careful planning. Limited public transport and unpaved roads make bad weather particularly important, as heavy rain can turn the final part of the journey back home into deep mud and fast-moving streams of water.

After seeing a forecast warning of severe thunderstorms, I became concerned about an important appointment scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I asked the horary question as soon as the forecast ended—not because I reject meteorology, but because I also wanted to hear what the planets had to say.

In this chart, the ruler of the 1st house is the Sun, and the Sun therefore signifies “here”—the broader local area in which the question is being asked. The sign occupied by the Sun describes the general condition of the weather. Since the Sun is in Aquarius, an air sign traditionally classified as hot and moist, the weather is expected to express these qualities.

In the middle of winter, however, “hot and moist” should not be understood as literally hot weather. These qualities are relative to the season and the place. They are more likely to indicate temperatures that are milder than usual for January, together with increased humidity, cloud cover, mist, dampness, or rain. The atmosphere may feel moist and somewhat soft rather than sharply cold, dry, or frosty.

The Sun’s dispositor, Saturn, is also in Aquarius and adds a distinctly cold influence. This modifies the sign’s hot and moist temperament, preventing it from producing genuine warmth. The final indication is therefore of cold or cool winter day that nevertheless remains humid, cloudy, and damp, possibly with temperatures that are somewhat milder than the season would normally suggest.

The icing on the cake is the Sun’s quickly applying sextile to Jupiter. Most of us will recall the familiar mythological image of Jupiter seated upon his throne, holding thunderbolts in his hand. As the natural ruler of rain, Jupiter reinforces the indication that this is precisely what is about to occur—and very soon: storm is on the way.

On the day for which I asked the horary question, the village I live in experienced cold and highly unsettled weather, with heavy rain and thunderstorms.