Short Answer
A time lord is a planet that takes prominence during a given period. During this time, we are more sensitive and impacted by its significations and movements.
Long Answer
Shakespeare penned:
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
I like to think of the natal chart as a stage, with our years churning through like changing scenes. In this scenario, the scenes enter and exit in one of the twelve houses. Each year, the astrological house changes, which means the scene and the themes also change.
This visual works well for annual profections. Each birthday, a new house is spotlighted. When you’re brand new to the world, you are in a 1st House profection year. When you turn 1, you begin a 2nd House profection year. 2 years old: a 3rd House profection year. You keep going all through the 12 Houses and begin back at House 1 at age 12.
Here’s a helpful chart below. Let’s do a few examples:
27 years: 4th House profection—Theme of family, home
44 years: 9th House profection—Travel, religion, expanding knowledge
60 years: 1st House profection—Self, appearance, style, physicality
So What’s The Time Lord?
Once you know your profected house, look to the planet that rules that house. This is your time lord. For example, if you are Aries Rising and you’re 39 years old, you’re in a 4th House Profection. With Aries on the 1st, Cancer would be on the 4th. The Moon rules Cancer. So the Moon is your time lord. Eclipses might be especially significant for you this year!
Let’s do another one: You are Libra Rising and are 42 years old. 42 is a 7th House Profection year. For Libra Ascendants, Aries is the cusp of the 7th. Mars rules Aries. Mars is your time lord.
Planning Ahead
Once you know your time lord, you can chart out when this planet will be making and receiving aspects to other planets. If Jupiter is my time lord this year, transiting planets aspecting my natal Jupiter—especially hard aspects of conjunction, square and opposition—will be more keenly felt. The same goes for transiting Jupiter making aspects or changing signs. If Jupiter is my time lord, I can maximize the time he’s well resourced which is when he is in Pisces this year and next (as long as he remains my time lord). Perhaps I would use that period to teach a class, for instance.
If Mercury is your time lord, you’ll be more affected by Mercury retrogrades. If you normally sail through these times, you might find yourself subject to all sorts of mercurial hijinks during the retrograde.
Other cycles
Annual profections are one way to establish a time lord. There are others: Firdaria, a Persian timing method, and Zodiacal Releasing used by Hellenistic astrologers to name two others. Astrology is very much like the kaleidoscopes you might have played with as a kid. The mirrors that reflect upon one another to create an image are like the different time cycles that come together to create a present moment.
Working with profections and time lords helps us understand the cycle, stage and themes were are dealing with for a certain period of time… the mere players that will have their entrances and exits.