About The Bonification Project

I first encountered the word bonification in an astrology class, and it struck me as far too good a word to leave trapped inside a textbook.

In traditional astrology, a difficult placement in a chart could be “bonified” by the presence of a benefic planet such as Jupiter or Venus. A chart that looked troublesome at first glance might reveal unexpected help once the whole sky was considered.

The word lingered with me long after the class ended, because it resonated with my feelings about the aging process—was there any way to mitigate what is generally thought to be a lessening, fallow period?

When you get to a certain age, the world begins to deliver a rather discouraging message: the interesting part of life is over. You’ve had your moment. Please move quietly toward the exit.

At which point one begins to wonder whether the aging process might also benefit from a little planetary bonification—perhaps in the form of a stray beam from Jupiter.

An altered view of the later chapters can bring a different kind of richness, if allowed. Patterns become clearer. Curiosity returns. Legacy becomes a concept. And the ordinary world begins to reveal small pockets of magic that might have been missed earlier.

It turns out the third act can be a surprisingly peculiar and provocative place.

A record of those discoveries.

Nothing here claims to be definitive. This is simply an ongoing exploration of a possibility:

That time does not only weaken things.

Sometimes it bonifies them.

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The Bonification Project is an exploration of astrology, ancestry, everyday magic and the unexpected richness of the third act of life.