Anthony Louis's Blog, page 16

Lilly on Planets that Impede What Is Demanded

On pages 184-186 of Christian Astrology, William Lilly gives a rather dense account of conditions
under which the thing demanded in a horary question can be either hindered or assisted in coming to pass. Because Lilly’s 17th century English can be hard to decipher, I have attempted to state his argument more clearly without distorting his original explanation. Nonetheless, I may have misunderstood something that Lilly wrote, so please let me know in the comments if you find errors in my interpretation of Lilly’s text.

What are “Impediting” Planets, according to Lilly?

When analyzing a horary chart, the astrologer must carefully identify any Planets that impede or hinder the matter inquired, thereby preventing “the effecting or performance of what is demanded.” Such impeding planets may be called Strong, Hurtful, Destroyer, Abscissor, Obstructor, or Impediting because, by their action alone, they can destroy or pervert the nature of the Question, which otherwise would come to a good conclusion.

Possible Candidates for Impediting Planets:

A Hurtful or Impediting Planet is one which, by its action alone, can prevent the matter inquired after from reaching a favorable conclusion.  Such a planet will be one “unto whom” a key significator in the horary chart is joined, by which I believe Lilly means the planet to whom the significator is applying within orb and which will form the next aspect that the significator will perfect. Candidates for the role of “Impediting Planet” include:

the planet unto whom the Lord of the Ascendant is joined,the planet unto whom the Significator of the Quesited is joined,the planet unto whom the Moon, as a co-significator in every chart, is joined.

To identify a Hurtful Planet, consider “the Planet unto whom the Significator of the Querent is joined, or the Significator of the thing required, or the Moon, and observe how that Planet is disposed, and unto whom he is joined, for if the Lord of the Ascendant, or Moon, or Significator of the matter propounded, is joined to an evil Planet, evil disposed, without reception; or if he be not ill disposed, but joined to an Infortune, and he [the Infortune] ill disposed, and receive him not, it prenotes the destruction of the thing quesited.”

In other words, to identify the Hurtful Planet or Planets, study the planets unto whom the key significators are next joined in the chart. For each of these planets, answer the following questions:

Is the planet unto whom a key significator is joined an “evil Planet” which is ill-disposed (evilly disposed, unfortunate) and joined to the significator without reception?
If all three conditions are met, it “prenotes the destruction of the thing quesited.”Is the planet unto whom a key significator is joined NOT ill-disposed (not unfortunate) but joined to an ill-disposed Infortune (a malefic) without reception with the significator, then this condition also “prenotes the destruction of the thing quesited.”

On “Pushing Management”

Although Lilly does not mention it by name, he appears to have in mind the medieval Arabic concept of “pushing,” sometimes referred to as giving or pulsation. The idea is that each planet has a particular task to accomplish, so that when one planet applies to aspect another, it pushes, gives, or pulsates its light (which contains information about its particular task) to the next planet unto whom it is joined. This process is called “pushing management” and involves the planet receiving the application by aspect taking over the management of the task of the applying planet. It’s similar to a relay race in which one runner hands the baton to the next, who takes over running the race.

In a horary chart, the key significators are charged with bringing about the matter inquired after. If one of these significators applies without reception to a malefic or to an ill-disposed planet, then the malefic or the unfortunate planet will take over the management of that significator’s task and will carry it out badly. An analogy might be that you want to increase your income, so you invest with a firm run by a dishonest person who embezzles your money and leaves you penniless.

Here is a quote from Ryhan Bulter’s article on reception in which he explains pushing management:

“Pushing management occurs during any applying aspect.  The basic idea is that faster planets (classically thought of as ‘inferior’ due to their placement in the Ptolemaic Spheres) will push their significations to the heavier or superior planets they apply to. … When the faster planet applies to the heavier planet, it implores the heavier planet to assist it in bringing its significations to pass. The success or failure of pushing is determined by several factors including, but not limited to, the aspect type involved and the heavier planet’s nature.”
To this list of factors should be added whether the heavier planet is ill or well disposed.
Deb Houlding also has an excellent article on reception at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/reception2.html.

What does it mean for a planet to be ill-disposed, unfortunate, or evilly disposed?

According to Lilly, a Planet is considered ill-disposed or unfortunate under six possible conditions, namely, when it is:

1) Peregrine (without any essential dignity)
2) Retrograde
3) Combust (Lilly defined a combust planet as being in the same sign and within 8° 30′ of the Sun.)
4) In Aversion (“Cadent“) to the Ascendant and its Lord, or in aversion to the House of the thing demanded and its Ruler. If a planet is unable to see the House (or Sign) which it manages or the Ruler of that House (or Sign), it cannot effectively manage the affairs of that House. It would be like trying to drive a non-self-driving car on a major highway while blindfolded.
5) In its Fall (opposite its sign of exaltation)
6) In it Detriment (opposite its home sign)

Lilly uses several expressions for “ill disposed,” including evil disposed, unfortunate, badly disposed, etc. He also describes malefic planets as evil or malevolent, or as Infortunes.

Reception to the rescue:

Lilly’s model emphasizes the role of the Planets unto whom the Significator of the Querent, the Significator of the Quesited, and the Moon are joined. If any of these three key significators is joined WITH RECEPTION to an ill-disposed planet (peregrine, retrograde, combust, in aversion, in Fall, in Detriment), there will be perfection of the matter but it will come about with “weariness and much solicitation.” The Reception will help bring the significator’s issue to fruition but with some difficulty because of the unfortunate state of the ill-disposed planet to whom the significator is joined. Planets that find themselves in unfortunate circumstances have a hard time accomplishing what they intend to do.

How is Reception Defined?

According to the traditional definition,  two planets are “in reception” when:

The two planets are within orb of perfecting an aspect, ANDOne of the two planets occupies a major dignity (domicile or exaltation) or two minor dignities (triplicity, term, face) of the other planet.

In such a case, the planet that owns the dignity acts as a host who “receives” the planet occupying its dignity as its guest, or like a landlord who receives the planet occupying its property as a tenant.

Possible Scenarios Involving Reception

The matter will be perfected with ease, if:

The key significator (Lord of the Ascendant, Lord of the Quesited, or Moon) is received by the Planet unto whom it is joined by aspect, ANDthe planet that receives the key significator is free from misfortunes, neither receiving a misfortune nor being received by misfortunes. I believe by “misfortunes” Lilly means “malefic” planets.

The matter will NOT be perfected or come to a good conclusion, if:

The planet unto whom the key significator is joined with reception is free from the Infortunes (malefics) ANDthe receiving planet is joined to a benevolent planet which is aspecting a malevolent (malefic) ANDthe malevolent planet is impedited (peregrine, combust, etc.) AND the malevolent planet does not receive the benevolent planet.

Lilly cautions the astrologer to always take into account whether an aspect involves planets in reception “for when they are in reception, things are brought to pass, though [it may be] with some trouble [because the astrologer must be] ever considering whether any Planet do cut off the light and virtue of the Significators before their perfect conjunction with an evil [malefic] Planet; if such a thing happen, it [the abscission of light] hinders not, but that the matter may be perfected and accomplished; but if no abscission of light intervene, whereby the malevolence of the Infortune may be taken off, the matter is prohibited, and will not be effected.”

In this quote I believe Lilly has in mind the situation of a significator applying to aspect a malefic without reception, which is a destructive influence. If the significator perfects an aspect with another planet with which it is in reception before it can perfect the aspect with the malefic, then “the malevolence of the Infortune is taken off” and the matter can come to pass.

What if two planets apply with reception to a square or opposition?

If two planets WITH RECEPTION apply to a square or opposition aspect, AND one of the planets is “evil disposed” (peregrine, combust, retrograde, etc.), then “the reception profiteth nothing”, even less so when the planet that is received is impedited.

BUT if two planets WITH RECEPTION apply to a sextile or trine aspect, “you may confide the matter will be effected;”

“OR if the Planet who receives be at that time well-disposed, let the reception be by any manner of aspect, the matter is performed, be the aspect a square or opposition;”

“if the aspect be a trine or sextile, it performs the thing, whether the Significator be received or not;  but provided the aspect be not separated, but applying;”

“if the Significator be joined with a Fortune [benefic] not impedited, the thing will be perfected.”

How does reception work with transfer of light between Significators?

If any Planet transfers the light from one Significator to another, and the Significator to whom the light is transferred is an impedited Malefic, “the Question or matter is destroyed, unless the Infortune be again received.” I believe Lilly means that a reception between the planet transferring the light and the impedited Infortune accepting the transferred light of the first Significator must be in reception for the transfer to be effective.

[Note: Lilly defines “translation of light and nature” (CA 111) as “when a light Planet separates from a more weighty one, and presently joynes to another more heavy.” ]

How does reception work with collection of the light of the Significators?

If the Significator of the Querent  or of the Questited, or the Moon be joined to an Infortune (malefic) or an unfortunate (impedited) Planet, the collector of the light “destroys the matter, and permits it not to be accomplished,” UNLESS the collecting planet receives both Significators. If the collecting planet receives only one of the two Significators, “the matter will not be performed.”

[Note:  Lilly defines “collection of light” as “when as the two principal significators do not behold one another, but both cast their several aspects to a more weighty planet than themselves, and they both receive him in some of their essential dignities, then shall that planet that collects both their lights bring the thing demanded to perfection” (CA 126).

Emplacement

Lilly states that when the Significator of the Querent occupies the House of the Quesited or is applying to perfect and aspect with its Lord, the Querent “is going to the thing quesited after.”

On the other hand, when the Significator of the Quesited occupies the Ascendant or House of the Querent, or is applying to perfect and aspect with its Lord, then “the matter enquired of, or thing desired shall come to the Querent, receptions notwithstanding, the Moon and other aspects remaining in their proper being.”

All original text in this blog is Copyright Anthony Louis 2023.

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Seasons and Temperament

Frequently astrologers ask whether the principles of astrology, which were developed in the northern hemisphere, apply equally in the southern hemisphere. This question is prompted by the fact that the Summer north of the Equator corresponds to Winter south of the Equator, and the same goes for Spring and Autumn. Also underlying this question is a notion that the principles of human “temperament” were originally derived from observations of the four seasons of the year. Such is not the case.

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_%28classical_element%29

The development of the idea of “temperament” is a complex issue that has to do with the philosophical principles which the founders of astrology in the Hellenic world decided to incorporate into their invention of Western astrology. Centered in Alexandria, these early astrologers inherited the astrology of Mesopotamia, to which they added concepts drawn from Egyptian religion and culture and philosophical ideas from Thales, Anaximander, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, etc.

Among these philosophical concepts, the idea of the four basic qualities (hot vs. cold, and wet vs. dry) was fundamental. Each of the fundamental four elements consisted of combinations or pairs of the basic qualities; that is, each element was either hot or cold, and wet or dry.

The planets, arranged in spheres or orbs geocentrically according to their relative speeds and distance from the Earth, were then categorized with reference to their primary qualities and elemental natures. For example, the Sun in the central concentric sphere of the scheme of nested spheres was obviously hot and dry, whereas Saturn (the outermost planet at the edge of the known universe and furthest from the Sun) was cold and dry.

Apiani Celestial Sphere 1539

All physical things were thought to consist of various combinations of the basic 4 elements.

In human terms, the elements could be seen in the behavior and physical characteristics of human beings. This led to the idea of temperaments and and the concept humors in medicine:

Fire – choleric (yellow bile, hot and dry).
Air – sanguine (blood, hot and wet).
Earth – melancholic (black bile, cold and dry).
Water – phlegmatic (phlegm, cold and wet).

This scheme was not derived from the seasons, but rather from the philosophy and religious beliefs of the epoch. The seasons were an example of the functioning of the four elements in nature. Ptolemy in the 2nd century attempted to apply these astrological concepts to weather and climate because he viewed astrology as a natural science, but the original ideas about temperament were based in the four primary qualities and the related four elements of ancient Greek philosophy.

Claude Dariot’s System of Moieties

Claude Dariot was a 16th century French astrologer who influenced the way in which aspects were being evaluated, in his 1557 French text L’introduction au jugement des astres (Introduction to the Judgement of the Stars). William Lilly refers to Dariot’s system and the use of “moieties” of the orbs of planets. By “orb” Lilly meant the arc of influence of a planet as measured forward or backward from its zodiacal position (what Dariot refers to as “beams”), in other words, the radius of the planet’s sphere of influence. Lilly’s use of the term “orb” differed from the older usage of the term to refer to the diameter of the sphere of influence of the planet.

Here is a relevant page from Dariot’s text:

Transcribing and modernizing a bit the above text:

Of the applications and separations of the Planets.

Chapter VI

“The application happens when the Circles or beams of the Planets come to join together by a corporal Conjunction, or by aspect of the one half of the Diameters:

or when one Planet is distant six degrees from a true aspect to another, or that he do join unto another by the half of his beams.

These Circles or Radiations are diverse and different one from another, because the one is great and the other, little.

For Saturn casts his beams circularly, 9 degrees forward, and so much backward, wherefore the half-diameter of his radial circle contains 9 degrees, and the whole Diameter 18 degrees.

The radial circle of Jupiter is of the same quantity and bigness.

But the circle of Mars contains in his Diameter only 16 degrees, which is 8 degrees for his half.

The Sun casts his beams in compass 15 degrees upon every part, which makes the whole Diameter of his Circle to contain 30 degrees, and the one half, 15 degrees.

Venus and Mercury cast their circular beams 7 degrees every way in length, so their whole Diameter is 14 degrees.

Finally, the Moon sends forth her beams on every side 12 degrees, for the half of the Diameter, and the whole [Diameter] contains 24 degrees.

Then, the right application of the Moon to unto Saturn by a sextile aspect shall be when as between the center of their two bodies there is contained 49 degrees and 30 minutes, or at most 54 degrees.

The left application, when as between the two centers is contained 70 degrees and 30 minutes, or at the most 66 degrees, for so much as the moitie of the half-Diameter [that is, the moitie (half) of the Radius] of the Circle radiant of Saturn is 4 degrees 30 minutes, and the half of the Circle of the Moon is six degrees, if then these parts be joined together, which amount to 10 degrees 30 minutes [that is, 4d 30m + 6d = 10d 30m] and taken from 60 degrees [sextile] for the right application, or added unto the same number for the left, the application will easily be found.

Likewise must you judge of all other aspects of the Planets.”

END OF QUOTE FROM DARIOT.

———————-

In plain English:

Dariot quotes the traditional literature that each planets has an orb or sphere of influence, which has a particular diameter and radius. The planet radiates beams from its body in all directions, and the influence of these beams extends a distance measured by the radius of the sphere (orb) of influence.

For example, the diameter of the sphere (orb) of influence of Saturn is 18 degrees. The radius of this orb is 9 degrees. and the beams that radiate from Saturn are influential up to 9 degrees in all directions from the body of Saturn.

Dariot then proposes using a system of “moities” (aka, moieties) to measure how far apart planets must be to separate from influencing each other. He apparently felt that the traditional method of using orbs was too generous in determining when planets were continuing to influence each other by aspect, so he decided to break with tradition and try something different.

“Moitie” means the exact half-measure of something, as in taking a length and dividing it precisely by 2.

He proposes, for each planet, finding “the moitie of the half-Diameter of the Circle radiant” of the planet, that is finding HALF [the moitie] of the RADIUS [the half-Diameter] of the Circle of beams that radiate out from the body of the planet. Note that half the radius is a quarter of the diameter of the orb of influence of the planet.

For example, the sphere (orb) of influence of Saturn is 18 degrees. The radius (half-diameter) of this orb is 9 degrees, and the moitie of the half-Diameter (radius) is 4 degrees 30 minutes.

You then add the moitie of Saturn (which is half the Radius or a quarter of the Diameter of the orb of incluence) to the moitie [aka moiety] of any other planet aspecting Saturn to determine the maximum distance between the two planets at which the aspect is still within effect.

Image from https://theafi.wordpress.com/2002/09/03/classical-origins-of-aspects/

Dictionary Definition of Moitié

L’une des deux parties égales d’un tout:

One of two equal parts of a whole.

Lilly’s Table for Assigning Natal Planets to Body Parts

On page 119 of Christian Astrology (1647) William Lilly reproduces a table from the traditional literature “showing what members in Man’s Body every Planet signifieth in any of the twelve SIGNS” of the zodiac. This table is based on the archetypal assignment of the Aries-rising zodiac onto the human form and the idea of whole-sign topoi or “places.”

The Body and the Zodiac: image from the Yale University Library collection.

The underlying principle is that, just as Mars when it occupies its home sign Aries signifies the upper part of the head, in an analogous way any planet in its own domicile also represents the head. The signs are counted, starting from the home sign of the planet. The scheme goes approximately like this (assignments may vary slightly depending on the traditional source):

A planet in its home sign = the head (like Aries).In the 2nd sign from its domicile = lower face, the throat and neck to the shoulders (like Taurus).In the 3rd sign = shoulders, arms, hands and upper chest (like Gemini).In the 4th sign = breast, chest and heart (like Cancer).In the 5th sign = mid-chest, heart, belly, stomach, abdominal cavity (like Leo).In the 6th sign = lower abdomen, intestines, hip area (like Virgo).In the 7th sign = the pelvic triangle, sacrum, the “secrets”, and the “reins” or region near the kidney associated with feelings and arousal (like Libra).In the 8th sign = external genitalia and excremental organs, the “secret” parts (like Scorpio).In the 9th sign = buttocks, gluteus and upper thighs (like Sagittarius).In the 10th sign = knees and thighs (like Capricorn).In the 11th sign = shanks (lower legs) and ankles (like Aquarius)In the 12th sign from its home sign = the feet (like Pisces).

Let’s consider a recent example from the news. On Monday 2 January 2023 the American football player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 8:53 PM when he was hit bluntly in the chest by another player. Fortunately, he survived and is recovering well in the hospital as I write this. One would expect the symbolism of the heart to be prominent in his transits, progressions, directions, etc. for that period.

Damar Hamlin’s date of birth is given as March 24, 1998 (age 24 years), in McKees Rocks, PA, time unknown. Without a birth time we are limited in what we can say about a chart. In such cases, Alan Leo used the sunrise chart for the birthplace and I will do the same here. The chart shown is the sunrise birth chart surrounded by the transits for the medical event.

Natal chart with transits for cardiac event superimposed

An advantage of the sunrise birth chart is that it places the Sun, a universal symbol for the heart, on the Ascendant. Thus, we can read this chart as a symbolic of the native’s heart as well as of his nativity. From this perspective, the transiting Asc conjoins the cusp of the Placidus 6th house of medical problems, which happens to have Leo (ruled by the Sun) on the cusp.

From a whole sign “place” perspective, Virgo is the 6th sign from the natal sunrise Ascendant, making Mercury the planet associated with 6th “place” medical issues. Transiting Mercury lies in Capricorn and squares his natal Mercury/Saturn conjunction while, by transit, Saturn (blocks, stoppage) is just setting opposite the transiting Ascendant at the cusp of the natal Placidus 6th house. Capricorn is the 5th sign from Virgo, which in Lilly’s table refers to the ” mid-chest, heart, belly, stomach, abdominal cavity (like Leo).” Thus, the symbolism of body parts fits the medical problem suffered at this moment when viewed from the perspective of transits at the time.

Here are the relevant pages from Lilly’s text. Note that the head is assigned to Saturn in Capricorn or Aquarius, Jupiter in Sagittarius or Pisces, Mars in Aries or Scorpio, Sun in Leo, Moon in Cancer, Venus in Taurus or Libra, and Mercury in Gemini or Virgo.

Space-Time and Astrological House Systems

Around 300 BCE the Greek mathematician Euclid wrote his famous treatise on plane geometry. In it, he presented a small number of axioms about the geometry of a plane surface, from which he logically derived the theorems of his system. Euclid’s geometry shaped the worldview of scholars until the 19th century when mathematicians realized that non-Euclidean geometries could exist and may even better describe the reality we inhabit. The most controversial of Euclid’s postulates was the parallel lines remain at a constant distance from each other and never intersect, even if extended to infinity. Scholars began to realize that if the space in which we live were curved, then parallel lines would either curve away from each other, or curve toward each other and intersect, with increasing distance.

Albert Einstein was one of the scholars who became fascinated by such non-Euclidean geometries. After a series of thought experiments, he came up with his theory of relativity in which there is no time without space, and our experience of time depends on our velocity through space as the observer. In other words, we do not live in a 3-dimensional Euclidean universe in which time is a separate dimension. Instead, we live in a 4-dimension non-Euclidean universe in which time and space are inseparably linked as “space-time.” My belief is that astrological house systems should be consistent with the prevailing scientific worldview of the epoch in which they are used.

Image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GPB_circling_earth.jpg

John Wheeler summarized Einstein’s theory of relativity briefly in two sentences: “Space-time tells matter how to move. Matter tells space-time how to curve.”

Einstein’s theories have important implications for astrological house systems, which the textbooks tend to divide, someone erroneously, into “space-based” or “time-based” systems. I will not discuss here the system of whole sign “places” (topoi) which over time morphed into, and were replaced by, quadrant house systems, especially the Alcabitious system during the medieval period.

One of the earliest space-based quadrant systems was that attributed to Porphyry which divided the ecliptic circle into four quadrants bounded the the horizon and meridian. These quadrants were divided into thirds by taking the arc along the ecliptic between the horizon and meridian in each quadrant and dividing by 3.

Later astrologers who favored space-based systems felt that ideally the terrestrial houses should enclose equal volumes of space within the celestial sphere, which the Porphyry system failed to do by simply dividing each quadrant into thirds along the ecliptic circle.

To achieve houses which enclosed equal volumes of space, Campanus proposed equal divisions of the Prime Vertical, the great circle passing through the East and West Points of the horizon and through the Zenith and Nadir, at the location of birth. He then trisected each quadrant of the Prime Vertical, and projected these divisions onto the ecliptic using great circles connecting them to the North and South Points of the horizon.

Regiomontanus, a brilliant mathematician, felt that a better alternative to the Campanus system was to use the Equator rather than the Prime Vertical to generate house cusps. He favored using the Celestial Equator over the Prime Vertical because it was directly related to the diurnal rotation of the Earth on its axis and because it resembled the method of Claudius Ptolemy in his description of “releasing” and the use of primary directions to determine the length of life. Nonetheless, Regiomontanus was a completely spaced-based system which ignored the role of time in the structure of the universe, as if time had a separate existence.

Interestingly, Ptolemy in his description of primary directions appears to have had an inkling of Einstein’s notion of space-time. It is important to realize that Ptolemy was not describing a system of house division in this passage. In his description of primary directions to determine the length of life, Ptolemy writes (Ashmand translation, bold and italics mine):

__________

“Whenever the prorogative and preceding place is actually on the eastern horizon, we should take the times of ascension of the degrees up to the meeting place; for after this number of equinoctial periods the destructive planet comes to the place of the prorogator, that is, to the eastern horizon. But when it is actually at the mid-heaven, we should take the ascensions on the right sphere in which the segment in each case passes mid-heaven; and when it is on the western horizon, the number in which each of the degrees of the interval descends, that is, the number in which those directly opposite them ascend. But if the precedent place is not on these three limits but in the intervals between them, in that case the times of the aforesaid ascensions, descensions, or culminations will not carry the following places to the places of the preceding, but the periods will be different. For a place is similar and the same if it has the same position in the same direction with reference both to the horizon and to the meridian. This is most nearly true of those which lie upon one of those semicircles which are described through the sections of the meridian and the horizon, each of which at the same position makes nearly the same temporal hour. Even as, if the revolution is upon the aforesaid arcs, it reaches the same position with reference to both the meridian and horizon, but makes the periods of the passage of the zodiac unequal with respect to either, in the same way also at the positions of the other distances it makes their passages in times unequal to the former.”

“We shall therefore adopt one method only, as follows, whereby, whether the preceding place occupies the orient, the mid-heaven, the occident, or any other position, the proportionate number of equinoctial times that bring the following place to it will be apprehended. For after we have first determined the culminating degree of the zodiac and furthermore the degree of the precedent and that of the subsequent, in the first place we shall investigate the position of the precedent, how many ordinary hours it is removed from the meridian, counting the ascensions that properly intervene up to the very degree of
mid-heaven, whether over or under the earth, on the right sphere, and dividing them by the amount of the horary periods of the precedent degree, diurnal if it is above the earth and nocturnal if it is below.”

“But since the sections of the zodiac which are an equal number of ordinary hours removed from the meridian lie upon one and the same of the aforesaid semicircles, it will also be necessary to find after how many equinoctial periods the subsequent section will be removed from the same meridian by the same number of ordinary hours as the precedent. When we have determined these, we shall inquire how many equinoctial hours at its original position the degree of the subsequent was removed from the degree at mid-heaven, again by means of ascensions in the right sphere, and how many when it made the same number of ordinary hours as the precedent, multiplying these into the number of the horary periods of the degree of the subsequent; if again the comparison of the ordinary hours relates to the mid-heaven above the earth, multiplying into the number of diurnal hours, but if it re1ates to that below the earth, the number of nocturnal hours. And taking the results from the difference of the two distances, we shall have the number of years for which the inquiry was made.”

__________

While the above quote may sound rather technical, Ptolemy is saying that the measurement of the distance between points intermediate between the horizon and meridian has to take into account both space and time. A purely space-based or time-based system can only give approximate results.

For some reason Regiomontanus in the 15th century contented himself with a system that was a close approximation to Ptolemy’s thinking. Perhaps he could not find a workable mathematical solution to integrating both space and time into the generation of house cusps. In any case, the Regiomontanus system is rooted in pre-19th century Newtonian physics and Euclidean geometry.

Placidus in the 17th century, influenced by Kepler and his laws of planetary motion, especially the idea that the planets travel in elliptical orbits around the Sun in which they trace out “equal areas in equal amounts of time,” proposed and popularized what we now call the Placidus system of houses, a method was was described earlier by Ibn Ezra which was called the “hour circles” method. Alain G. Cablais comments in an article about Ibn Ezra and Placidus houses: “Ibn ‘Ezra then goes on to state the astronomical principle of this division of the twelve houses. This foundation is none other than the occurrence of a configuration between a celestial body and an angle by virtue of the perpetual motion of the sphere and according to the hourly pace of that celestial body.”

The Placidus system is consistent with Ptolemy’s description of “releasing” and the primary directions of points intermediate between the horizon and meridian, which takes into account both space and time, anticipating Einstein’s notions of space-time and the non-Euclidean geometries of the 19th century, implicit in Ptolemy’s original writings in the 2nd century CE. It is not surprising that Placidus fascinated British astrologers in the 19th century and became the predominant house system in the English-speaking world.

Image from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/kepler.html

A Medical Horary from 1598

The French astrologer Claude Dariot (1533 – 1594) wrote an influential text about horary astrology, which was translated into English by Fabian Withers and published in London by T. Purfoot under the title A Briefe and Most Easie Introduction to the Astrologicall Judgement of the Starres.

An expanded version with additional sections about medical astrology (“mathematical phisick” by G.C.) and the weather was published with the title: Dariotus redivivus: or a briefe introduction conducing to the iudgement of the stars. : Wherein the whole art of iudiciall astrologie is briefly and plainly delivered: by which a determinate judgement may be given upon any question demanded. Written at first by Claudius Dariott, at present much inlarged, and adorned with diverse types and figures, by N.S. Also hereunto is added a briefe treatise of mathematical phisick. Written by G.C. Together with divers observations both of agriculture and navigation, very usefull both for merchants and husbandmen. By N.S.

The identity of G.C. is unknown. In the medical section of the book, G.C. discusses a decumbiture chart about a friend of his who fell seriously ill. G.C. tried to determine from this chart for when his friend “first felt his sickeness” whether he would live or die. Unfortunately, the original chart has some errors. The position of Mercury is markedly incorrect, and the cusps of some of the Regiomontanus houses are slightly off, placing the wrong signs on the cusps of the 3rd and 9th houses. Here is the original chart:

G.C.’s friend first felt ill at this time. Will he live or die?
Mercury day during a Mercury hour.

Unfortunately, G.C.’s ephemeris did not indicate that Mercury was Retrograde at 13 Scorpio 03′ when this time is cast. In addition, his table of Regiomontanus houses places 00 Aquarius 10′ on the cusp of the 3rd but the correct value should have been 29 Capricorn 40′. To use a chart whose cusps were more consistent with those used by G.C., I cast the chart with Alcabitius cusps (the standard house system of the medieval period). Here is what a modern version of this chart looks like, with Alcabitus cusps:

Decumbiture chart of G.C.’s friend. Will he survive his severe illness?

As G.C. mentions, it is a Mercury day during a Mercury hour.

Mars rules the Ascendant (his friend’s body and health) as well as the 12th house of undoing and the end of a cycle.

Mercury, the ruler of the 8th of death, lies in Scorpio in the 12th and is combust the Sun, which is within orb of conjoining Mercury and also of conjoining the Asc degree and Mars, ruler of the Asc. Thus, the Sun is transferring the light of 8th-ruler Mercury to the Asc degree and to Mars, suggesting that his friend will die of the illness. Mars receives both Mercury and the Sun in his domicile Scorpio and, like a good host, wants to carry out their wishes, with is the death of the 1st house person.

The Sun’s next aspect is a trine to Jupiter Rx in Cancer in the 8th, where Jupiter is an exalted signifier of death, suggesting a fairly rapid demise.

The Moon is a key significator in such charts both as a symbol of the body and as an indicator of the flow of events. The Moon at the time the friend first fell ill was in partile quincunx to Mars, ruler of the Asc and 12th house of undoing. With Cancer intercepted in the 8th house, the Moon also has an 8th house signification. Luna is separating from Venus, ruler of the 6th of illness, and is about to change signs (indicating a change of state). Within 2 days the Moon will have entered Taurus and opposed Mercury, the Sun, the Ascendant and Mars in Scorpio. The 8th-coruler Luna will also have sextiled Jupiter in the 8th, quincunxed Saturn (a natural signifier of death) and 6th-ruler Venus, and squared the Lunar Nodes within these two days.

G.C. tells us that his friend unfortunately died within 2 days of falling ill.

What is the “Thema” in Thema Mundi?

The popularization of Hellenistic astrology over the past few decades has introduced the term “Thema Mundi” into modern astrological discourse. Most authors on the topic explain that “thema” means “theme” and is a synonym for “sky map” or “horoscope chart” in the literature. For example, the wikipedia entry provides a diagram of the Thema Mundi and states (italics mine):

“The Thema Mundi (‘World Theme’, with ‘theme’ being a word that also means chart) was a mythical horoscope used in Hellenistic astrology that shows the supposed positions of the seven visible planets (including the Sun and Moon) at the beginning of the universe. It purports to exemplify the logic behind the sign rulerships, exaltations, and meanings of the aspects, among other things. The purely symbolic nature of the chart is readily perceived from the impossible positions of Venus and Mercury in it.”

Image of Thema Mundi from wikipedia

The word “thema” comes into English from the Latin thema, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek théma (θέμα). Over the centuries thema has been used to mean or refer to:

1) a subject, theme, main topic, issue, thesis, subject of discourse.
2) a musical theme or melodic subject of a musical composition. 
3) an administrative military division of the Byzantine Empire (330 CE = 1453 CE).
4) in Stoic philosophy, the principles used to derive a set of statements about a topic from other or prior arguments, in other words, the principles that underlie the reasoning used to justify that one’s view of a matter is correct.

Wikipedia states that the Thema Mundi “purports to exemplify the logic behind the sign rulerships, exaltations, and meanings of the aspects, among other things.” In this sense, the “Thema” of Thema Mundi means the basic principles or assumptions that underlie Hellenistic astrology and from which other statements about this species of astrology can be logically derived. In fact, the Thema Mundi is a hypothetical sky map of the beginning of the world which serves as a visual representation of the fundamental underlying assumptions (presuppositions) of Hellenistic astrology from which the multitude of its other principles, philosophical beliefs, definitions, etc., can be derived.

One can see how well the analogy to a Byzantine administrative military division fits the concept of a Thema Mundi. Both serve to organize and establish first principles for their subject matter so that, in the case of the military for example, the army can function as a cohesive interconnected unit to accomplish its mission.

Primary Directions: Placidus vs Regiomontanus

Primary directions are one of the oldest and most venerated predictive techniques in astrology. Their origin dates back to Hellenistic times during which direction of the natal Ascendant through the terms (bounds) of the signs utilizing the ascensional times of the signs was a basic technique. Ptolemy described a method of primary directing in the Tetrabiblos III.10 in his explanation of how to determine the length of life. According to Ptolemy, there were three possible scenarios, each of which utilized a distinct timing technique:

1) if the Asc (on the eastern horizon) signified the life of the native and a killing planet or its aspect were rising toward the Asc, the arc on the Equator measured in oblique ascension would indicate the length of life, with one equatorial degree being equivalent to one year of life.

2) if the MC (on the meridian axis) signified the life of the native and a killing planet or its aspect were rising toward the Asc, the arc on the Equator measured in right ascension would indicate the length of life, with one equatorial degree being equivalent to one year of life.

3) if a point or planet intermediate between the horizon or meridian signifies the life of the native (for example, the Sun, Moon or Part of Fortune which were possible “hylegs”), then the arc on the Equator between the hyleg and the killing planet would need to be measure by the method of proportional semi-arcs, utilizing temporal hours. Here is what Ptolemy wrote about this third scenario (from Robbins translation, text capitalized by me for emphasis):

“For a place is similar and the same if it has the same position in the same direction with reference both to the horizon and to the meridian.
This is MOST NEARLY TRUE of those which lie upon one of those semicircles which are described through the sections of the meridian and the horizon, each of which at the same position makes NEARLY the same temporal hour.”

Ptolemy apparently realized that the mathematic procedure for calculating directions via proportional semi-arcs was quite complex, so he offered an alternative using “semicircles described through the sections of the meridian and horizon, which mark nearly the same temporal hour.” Regiomontanus in the 15th century developed a mathematical technique grounded in spherical trigonometry, which he learned from a  twelfth-century text by the Andalusian scholar Jabir ibn Aflah and to which he contributed further advancements. A translation of Regiomontanus’ book on triangles is available in English.

Regiomontanus apparently was unable to operationalize in a mathematical procedure Ptolemy’s method of proportional semi-arcs, so he opted instead for Ptolemy’s suggested close approximation to the method, utilizing “circles of position” (the second sentence in the quote from Ptolemy above). These circles of position were great circles, whose center was the center of the Earth, and which passed through the body of a planet creating a kind of artificial horizon circle (or plane in 3-dimensional space) which every point or planet of a birth chart would have to intersect at some moment during the 24-hour rotation of the Earth after the moment of birth. Using spherical geometry Regiomontanus was able to calculate and closely approximate the timings of the perfection of primary directions to intermediate points in the horoscope.

William Lilly understood that the Regiomontanus “circle of position” method was a close approximation to the method originally proposed by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but he also realized that there was no method available to calculate proportional semi-arc directions accurately, so at the time the Regiomontanus method (and the Tables he published) was the best option available. Lilly wrote in Book 3 of Christian Astrology (bold mine):

“…before Regiomontanus did frame Tables, Antiquity was much perplexed in directing a Significator which was not upon the cusps of the House by reason they had no exact method for finding out the true circle of position of any planet, when elongated from the cusps of a house; they did then direct either by Tables of Houses fitted for the latitude where the native was born, or by the Diurnal and Nocturnal Horary Times, a laborious, difficult and obscure way, yet the only method Ptolemy left…”

Lilly says here that the only method Ptolemy left was that of proportional semi-arc (using diurnal and nocturnal horary times, that is, planetary hours) but doing what Ptolemy did was too laborious, difficult and obscure mathematically, so the use of Regiomontanus method and Tables was the reasonable, though less accurate, alternative.

Lily also noted in Book Three that the primary directions calculated by the Regiomontanus circles of position for planets and points intermediate between the horizon and meridian could not be used reliably in chart rectification. Lilly states explicitly that only primary directions to the Angles are reliable when doing chart rectification. Directions to other hylegiacal points, such as the Sun, Moon or Part of Fortune, will not help you to rectify a chart (bold mine): “… verily a Nativity cannot well be rectified but by Accidents belonging to one or both those Angles [MC or Asc]. The Sun in every Nativity is a principal Significator, so is the Moon and the Part of Fortune, yet a significant rectification from these cannot be had.”

It should not be surprising that a method, like that of Regiomontanus, which is only an approximation to Ptolemy’s actual and recommended method of proportional semi-arc for intermediate points, is not reliable for rectifying a chart. Ptolemy also changed the prevailing definition of the Part of Fortune used by practicing astrologers of his epoch, so that directions to the Part of Fortune, as defined by Ptolemy, were really directions to the Part of Daimon in night charts, which would make the use of his version of the Part of Fortune inconsistent with the standard of astrological practice in Ptolemy’s time. Ptolemy was a natural scientist and not a practicing astrologer. Lilly followed Ptolemy is re-defining the Part of Fortune from the point of view of natural science and discarding the original definition in which its pairing with the Part of Daimon was symbolically and philosophically significant. Because Lilly was using Ptolemy’s altered definition of the Part of Fortune, it is not surprising that he found it unreliable for rectification.

Fortunately, Placidus in the mid-17th century found a way to mathematically operationalize Ptolemy’s original method of directing intermediate points between the Angles of a horoscope, utilizing “horary times.” The work of Placidus was brilliant and inspired the British astrologers to cease using the method of Regiomontanus and instead adopt the method of Placidus, based on proportional semi-arc, as Ptolemy had originally proposed. To better understand the conceptual framework of Placidus, I recommend watching Luis Ribeiro’s Astrology Podcast #313 with Chris Brennan in which he reviews the mathematics of house division. Here is a quote from the translation of Placidus into English in which he states the the circle of position method is inconsistent with Ptolemy’s teachings:

It is important to realize that the method of primary directing is distinct from the method of house division, although, as Lilly pointed out, traditionally astrologers “did then direct either by Tables of Houses fitted for the latitude where the native was born.” The fact is that you can do Placidian or Regiomontanus directions with a chart using any house system.

From the 15th century, when Regiomontanus first published his method of circles of position and his Tables, until late in the 17th century when the work of Placidus became known, the main method of primary direction was that of Regiomontanus. It was used by renowned astrologers such as Lilly in England and by Morin de Villefrache in France. As mentioned, Lilly realized that the only method proposed by Ptolemy was that of proportional semi-arc for intermediate points in a chart, but he valued the ease and convenience of using the Regiomontanus Tables despite the decrease in the accuracy of the timing of events. He did notice, however, that he was unable to use Regiomontanus circles of position to reliably rectify a chart when directing to the Sun, Moon or Part of Fortune when they were not on an Angle or house cusp.

Often directions to intermediate points in either system (Placidus or Regiomontanus) are quite close, within a few months, but not uncommonly they can indicate timings years apart, which would explain the inadequacy of the Regiomontanus primary directions for intermediate points when used for chart rectification. Primary directions to the Angles are done the same way by both Placidus and Regiomontanus, following the method originally laid down by Ptolemy, so they are more reliable for rectification.

Some modern astrologers have promulgated the belief that primary directions are an extremely precise timing technique. Traditionally, they grew out of a time-lord technique (directing the Asc through the bounds) and were used in a similar manner to identify years in which certain events might occur. Both Lilly and Morin give primary directions a period of influence of about 2 years or longer. Morin states the the belief that primary directions should provide precise timing is a common tactic used by critics of astrology. He cites Sixtus ab Hemminga who claimed astrology is without validity because primary directions do not provide precise dates for the occurrence of the events which they signify. Morin makes a clear comparison of primary directions to time lords when he writes in Book 22, Chapter 6 (my translation): “when the direction of a promissor to a significator becomes exact, its effect can be delayed by a year or two until a conformable [solar] revolution occurs; and even if the effect were to occur at the very moment of perfection, the force of the direction can remain in effect until a different promissor arrives at the significator [by primary motion].”

Birth Time Rectification — A Book Review

Recently I’ve watched a number of videos on birth time rectification by Vedic astrologers. I was particularly interested in the work of V.P. Goel whose books on Yogini Dasha and Divisional Charts are especially instructive. Unfortunately, Mr. Goel does not appear to have written a text on rectification. Wanting to learn more, I read a recent text by Paul Manley entitled Birth Time Rectification in which he explains his experimentation with the rectification methods of K.N. Rao, who used divisional charts to “correct” the birth time of his clients.

Mr. Manley writes clearly in an engaging manner and explains his method step by step, making it appear deceptively easy. The basic premise is that well-timed events in one’s life should show up in the symbolism of the natal chart (D-1) and the relevant divisional charts which are symbolic of the nature of the event. Manley uses the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa and the Vimshottari dasha system to time events. By verifying the event in a series of divisional charts, he sequentially narrows the potential birth time by adjusting the possible Ascendant signs of each divisional chart.

Manley mentions D-3 and D-60, but he focuses primarily on D-1 (birth chart), D-4 (relocating), D-7 (childbirth), D-9 (marriage), D-10 (career) and D-24 (higher education). He makes a set of assumptions about the symbolism of events, about which some astrologer may disagree. For example, he uses the 5th house for education, but some Vedic astrologers assign it to the 4th house.

Manley then studies the natal chart and the birth chart to see how the dashas in effect at the time of an event play out in the various charts. He states his basic principle on page 86: “Just to have a connection of the dasha lord with the relevant house, house lord, or karaka in the relevant divisional chart can be enough to justify the event happening.” He notes that a dasha lord in the Ascendant of the divisional chart is highly significant and also reminds us that the planetary significations in the natal chart are always effective, regardless of what the planet symbolizes in the divisional chart. Finally, he makes use of bhavat bhavam (“from house to house”) in his delineations; for example, the 5th house from the 5th house, which is the 9th, will also have 5th house connotations related to childbirth or higher education, which are both 5th house issues.

Having described his method, Manley provides a large number of examples of chart rectification, which can serve as models to learn from. One of the most instructive is taken from his tape recording of K.N. Rao rectifying the birth chart of the Paul Manley’s father back in 1993. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

To test the method, I checked my own chart for the “event” of starting my university education in late August of 1963. The Vimshottari dasha (Lahiri ayanamsa) in effect was Mercury-Rahu-Sun. According the Manley, the karakas (signifiers) of education are Mercury and Jupiter, its divisional chart is D-24, and the relevant houses are the 5th and its bhavat bhavam, the 9th. I had rectified by chart using primary directions and came up with a time of 9:04 AM EWT. My birth certificate gives a time of 9:09 AM, and my father’s journal states 9:05 AM. Here is the D-24 chart (sidereal, Lahiri) based on my chart rectified by primary directions:

D-24 “education” divisional chart based on a 9:04 AM EWT rectification.

If my rectified time is correct, the Ascendant of the D-24 chart lies in Libra. If I were born a little bit earlier, say around 9:03 AM, the D-24 Ascendant would have been in Virgo; and if I were born after 9:09 AM, the D-24 Ascendant would have been in Scorpio.

Given the principles outline by Mr. Manley, the Libra D-24 Ascendant makes the most sense. The mahadasha lord Mercury is a karaka of education and it rules the 9th house (bhavat bhavam of the 5th) in the D-24 chart. The other universal karaka of education is Jupiter, which occupies the 5th house of the D-24 chart. Saturn, which rules the 5th house of D-24, lies in the 9th house and aspect the mahadasha lord Mercury.

The dasha sequence is Mercury – Rahu – Sun. Rahu as the sub-lord of this period lies in the 10th house of D-24 and is disposed by the Moon, which conjoins the 1st-ruler Venus and aspects the Sun in the 1st. Venus is the ruler of the 9th house of higher education in my birth chart and retains its natal 9th house signification is all divisional charts.

The sub-sublord is the Sun, which occupies the Ascendant of the D-24 chart and thus signifies a significant educational event, the beginning of my college education.

Given the superior fitness of the symbolism with a D-24 Libra Ascendant (versus Virgo or Scorpio), I feel confident that my rectification is reasonably accurate, and that I could not have been born before 9:03 AM or after 9:09 AM.

The Tithi Pravesh and its Monthly and Daily Iterations

A common method of astrological forecasting the the annual solar return, which is cast for the moment that the Sun returns each year to its precise position in the birth chart. Notable astrologers like William Lilly and Morin de Villefranche used the solar return as a cornerstone in their systems of forecasting. Morin also make extensive use of the lunar return to further subdivide the year in order to see when events implicit in the annual solar revolution would manifest in the coming 12 months. The medieval Arabic and Persian astrologers also made extensive use of solar revolutions, lunar revolutions, and even divisions into days of the month related to these returns.

Vettius Valens had a different notion of annual returns. He felt that the return of the Sun each year was insufficient for forecasting for the year ahead because it omitted the influence of the the Sun’s partner, the Moon. As a result, Valens used a hybrid chart for the annual return which consisted of the positions of the planets when the Sun returned to its natal position each year but these positions were placed in a chart whose Ascendant and houses were determined by the moment the Moon returned to its natal degree during the zodiacal month when the Sun was in its birth sign.

Hindu astrologers, who may have been aware of Valens method, developed a technique called the “Tithi Pravesh,” which is the chart of the annual return of the natal Sun-Moon phase angle each year. Vedic astrologer Narasimha Rao, creator of Jagannatha Hora software, utilizes the annual, monthly and daily Pravesha charts in forecasting. Mr. Rao has a YouTube video in which he explains the value of the daily Pravesha chart as a useful and powerful technique.

Modern Western astrologers refer to the Tithi Pravesh as the annual soli-lunar phase angle return. The program Solar Fire has an option to calculate “lunar phase” charts, which will generate the annual and monthly phase-angle returns but not the daily Pravesha charts. Fortunately, Mr. Rao’s freeware program Jagannatha Hora will generate daily Pravesha charts for those who wish to experiment with this technique.

My own experience with Pravesha charts is that they are a valuable predictive tool. They seem to work better with charts cast in the tropical rather than the sidereal zodiac. Let’s look at an example chart to illustrate their use.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1960 at about 12:30 PM CST. This event ought to show up symbolically in his various Pravesha charts.

This is JFK’s natal chart (data from astro.com, Rodden rating A). Venus rules the natal Ascendant and the natal 8th house Placidus cusp. The 8th house contains a stellium of five planets, three of which in Taurus receive a square from Uranus in Aquarius. The natal Mars square Uranus, with Mars conjunct the 8th cusp, warns of the possibility of a sudden unexpected violent death. Mars rules the 7th of open enemies and conjoins Mercury, ruler of the 12th of hidden enemies.

For those who use annual profections, at age 43 Kennedy was in his Taurus profection year since Taurus is 8 places from the natal Cancer Ascendant. (The Descendant profection years occur at ages 6, 18, 30, 42, 54, 66, 78, 90, 102.) Thus, at age 43, the 8th lord Venus was his profected Lady of the Year.

Next let’s look at JFK’s Tithi Pravesh (annual soli-lunar phase angle return) in 1960, the year of his assassination:

In this Tithi Pravesh chart, the Sun lies in its birth sign Gemini, and the angle between the Sun and the Moon is the same as it was in the birth chart. The Moon rules the Cancer Ascendant and conjoins the 4th cusp (endings) and falls on the lunar nodal axis, conjunct Rahu, where eclipses occur. Saturn rules the 8th of death and receives a tight square from Mars in Aries in the 10th. Uranus is in a close quincunx with 8th rules Saturn. The risk of a sudden violent death is present in this annual return. In addition, Venus (ruler of the natal 8th of death) conjoins the return Sun in the unfortunate 12th house. Both Venus and the Sun square return Pluto.

The next chart shows the daily Pravesh chart for 22 November 1960 surrounded by JFK’s natal planets and angles. I used the data for the daily Pravesha chart from Mr. Rao’s program to generate this chart in Solar Fire. This chart is similar in concept to the Wynn Key Cycle return chart developed in the 1920s.

The angles and cusps of this chart are for the daily Pravesha chart at the birthplace. The inner wheel contains the daily transits at the moment of the daily Pravesha return. The outer wheel shows JFK’s natal placements. The natal Ascendant degree lies exactly on the daily Pravesha 8th cusp at the birthplace! Transiting Mars square the daily 8th cusp and JFK’s natal Ascendant degree. Natal Mars lies in close quincunx to the daily 8th cusp. Transiting Uranus is opposing the natal Uranus/Jupiter square. Jupiter is the Asc-ruler of the daily chart, and thus activates the natal Jupiter square Uranus.