What is Causing My Eczema?

The querent has been dealing with eczema flare-ups over the course of the Autumn and Winter season. The eczema especially flared over the last month of Winter. The querent is looking to find out the underlying cause to properly treat the condition.  

Venus is Lord 1 in this chart representing the body. Venus is a cold and moist planet in the sign of Taurus, a fixed cold and dry Earth sign, so this shows the imbalance. Venus in Taurus shows us the cause of the condition. In Richard Saunders book, The Astrological Judgement and Practice of Physick (1677), he describes this planetary position as being, “…cold in the beginning of the second degree, and dry in the beginning of the first, ingendring Diseases of thick Melancholy and thin Flegm, Melancholy predominating…” this means there is a fixed melancholy (black choler) condition causing the Eczema. The thin Phlegm comes from the cold and moist planet Venus, but the main cause of the disease is shown by the sign Taurus. The long-term issue of Eczema is shown by the fixity of the sign and placement in the 8th house, a weak house, indicating the condition is slow to change.

Additionally, Saunders recommends this condition should be counteracted with “hot and moist things”, an example of treatment could be ingesting certain types of foods like olive oil, butter, grapes, and chicken but also avoiding coffee, for instance, which is cold and dry and will increase melancholy in the body. An herb like Lemon Balm can be effective against a black choler excess. Psychologically speaking, developing a sense of sanguinity, the opposite of melancholy will help, trying to have more fun and casualness in the life by hanging out with friends, laughing, or drinking a glass of wine to help loosen up the Earth element can be effective at balancing out the excess humor.

It’s also a good to look at Saturn, the natural ruler of skin, in the chart. Saturn is naturally a cold and dry planet and has entered the fixed hot and moist Air sign Aquarius. Saturn is not in great shape here, Saunders writes, “…mixed with Melancholy and superfluous Flegm, breeding Fevers of two fits, with heat inward, and cold outward, small Pocks, Meazles, and Cankers.” One must take this description in a more universal way in which smallpox can refer to the actual disease, but also a serious rash on the skin. We know this chart is referring to eczema, so this makes sense, and we can also see that Saturn is tucked in the 4th house.

Medically, the 4th house represents the lungs, but also generally the hearth and home. Mars in Capricorn ruler of the 2nd (throat, possessions) and 6th house (afflictions) is tightly conjunct the 4th house cusp. Could something in the home be exacerbating the eczema? I would say yes. Mars is a hot and dry planet in a cold and dry sign Capricorn. Mars is exalted in Capricorn. The chart is likely showing the mechanical heating system (Mars) is causing the air (exaltation) in the home (4th house) to be too cold and dry (Capricorn). The air is drying out the skin and causing eczema, because in this case, the skin cannot stay moist on its own. Another treatment recommendation could be to obtain a humidifier to moisten the air while the heating system is active.

Bibliography

Hofman, Oscar, Classical Medical Astrology Healing with the Elements, Wessex Astrologer, Bournemouth, England, 2009.

Saunders, Richard, The Astrological Judgement and Practice of Physick, originally 1677, Astrology Classics, Abingdon, Maryland, 2003.