I just learned about a new timing technique for both mundane and natal astrology that seems to yield surprisingly accurate and useful results: the Huber Age Point Cycle, also known as the Huber method.
The Edmonton Astrological Society recently hosted a workshop by Faye Blake, an Amsterdam-based astrologer. This past Saturday, Faye did a session on vocational astrology and another on the Huber Age Point Cycle, and both were fascinating.
I was particularly struck by the Huber method because I did a few tests on it right there in the workshop and the results were immediate and striking.
I’ve been playing around with the Huber method since the workshop and I’m working on some articles applying it to the charts of both Canada and the US. In the meantime, I wanted to post a primer on this method for those who are unfamiliar.
What is the Huber Age Point Cycle?
This technique was developed by astrologers Bruno and Louise Huber, two twentieth-century Swiss astrologers. They developed this technique from their own research and practice of modern psychological astrology.
The Huber Age Point Cycle is a method of progressing the natal chart forward in time. The basic premise is that each house corresponds to six-year increments. At birth, you start at the Ascendant and are transiting the first house. At age six, you move into the second house. At age 12, you move into the third house. At age 36, you reach the Descendant and start transiting the seventh house. At age 72 you start over again in the first house.
This is a similar principle to annual profections, where you move around the chart into a different house/sign each year.
The Huber Age Point Cycle is based on the Koch house system. This system results in houses that are not equal sizes – some are very big and some are very small, and this is doubly true the farther away you get from the equator. For myself and my fellow Canadians up here in the north, Koch will give you a chart with massively different house sizes.
However, it always takes six years to transit a house, regardless of how big or small the house is. This means that planets in small houses are going to be felt for a longer period of time than planets in big houses.
To calculate where the age point is in any given year, you have to take the number of degrees of the house it’s currently transiting, and divide that by six. Each of these divisions is the distance the age point travels in one year.
Here’s a visual picture of the Huber Age Point Cycle. I’ve noted the age range for each house – when the age reaches a multiple of six you move to the next house:
When the age point makes an aspect to any natal planets, that will have an influence over the events and experiences during that time period. Conjunctions are the most important, followed by oppositions. Sign changes within a house are also very important.
Energy has a different quality at different points in the cycle. It peaks at the cusp of a house – so around ages 6, 12, 18, 24, etc. Planets that fall close to these cusps tend to have a more prominent or noticeable effect.
The energy ebbs at “low points” in the middle of each house. When the age point transits a low point, sometimes things can feel more stagnant or inward. The focus becomes less on changes and things happening and becomes more about integration. Any planets near a low point tend to have a harder time expressing themselves.
Within the first 36 years of life, you’ve travelled through the bottom half of the natal chart and have therefore experienced the influence of every planet by conjunction or opposition. This means that when you get to age 36, you can make some predictions about what might occur in the future based on what happened a half cycle (36 years) prior.
I will also note that the Hubers developed their own robust interpretive system of astrology that they applied to all of their work, including their Age Point Cycle. They had a lens of modern psychological astrology and are very 12 Letter Alphabet in their approach. I do not favour this approach. While I think the Huber method is a really interesting timing technique, I’ll be using my own interpretations that are more traditional in nature.
There is a LOT more to the Huber method than this, but that’s the very general overview.
The Huber method works for both natal astrology as well as mundane astrology, and it is the latter that gave me some immediate “ah-ha!” moments when I started applying it to history. I started looking at world events going back 36 and 72 years from certain dates, and was really surprised at the number of examples of history “rhyming.” I’ll get more into this in subsequent posts.
As with all timing techniques, the Huber method can be used alongside other techniques like secondary progressions, transits and solar arcs. The more “hits” you get using multiple techniques, the more accurate your forecast.
I’ll share some posts soon using the Huber method on the Canada and US charts.