Anthony Louis's Blog, page 19

Reflections on the Coronation of the Raven King

This post was prompted by Aswin Subramanyan’s blog about Matthias Corvinus, aka Matthias I, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. “Corvinus” comes from the Latin word for raven, the bird which was emblazoned on his coat of arms.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Matthias I, byname Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian Mátyás Corvin, original name Mátyás Hunyadi, (born Feb. 24, 1443, Kolozsvár, Transylvania [now Cluj, Romania]—died April 6, 1490, Vienna), king of Hungary (1458–90), who attempted to reconstruct the Hungarian state after decades of feudal anarchy, chiefly by means of financial, military, judiciary, and administrative reforms.”

In his research, Aswin learned that astrology played a major role in the life of King Matthias, who had an astrologer elect an optimal day and time for his coronation as King. In his blog, Aswin discusses the electional chart for the coronation in detail. The creator of this chart may have been the Polish astrologer Marcin Bylica z Olkusza (born in Olkusz, Poland on October 22, 1435 at about 10 AM LMT, 50N17, 19E34). Bylica arrived in Hungary in the mid-1460s with the famous German astrologer Johannes Regiomontanus (1436 – 1476). Bylica did not move to Hungary until after the date of the coronation, so it is possible that some other astrologer prepared the 1464 electional chart, or that Bylica prepared it from his home in Poland. After moving to Hungary in the mid-1460s, he remained there until his death around the year 1493.

Because Aswin has reproduced a copy of the original electional chart on his blog, I will not repeat it here. Below is a modern version of the same chart, calculated in the program Solar Fire. There are slight discrepancies between the original chart and the modern chart because the original was done by hand, using Tables of the 15th century. Most notably, the original electional chart has the Sun at 18 degrees of Aries whereas the computer-generated chart has the Sun at 17 Aries 35′. This is significant because the Sun is at its most exalted in the Western tradition in the 19th degree of Aries, which runs from 18 Aries 00′ to 18 Aries 59′.

Electional chart for the Coronation of Matthias Corvinus

I wondered how this electional chart compared with the birth chart of the King, so I contacted Aswin to see if he had a copy of Matthias’s natal chart. After doing some research, Aswin wrote back with the following birth chart:

Natal chart of King Matthias Corvinus

According to Aswin, the above birth chart of King Matthias was used by the poet, Latinist and diplomat Janus Pannonius (29 August 1434 – 27 March 1472), whose work was preserved in the Jagiellonian Library of the Jagiellonian University (Poland). Below is the same chart calculated with Solar Fire. The slight difference in planetary positions is due to the fact that one chart was done by modern computer and the other was done by hand, using Tables available in the 15th century.

Natal Chart of Matthias Corvinus, based on the records of Janus Pannonius at the Library of the Jagiellonian University, Poland.

What stands out immediately is that the king’s astrologer chose a time for the coronation when transiting Moon was exactly conjunct the Matthias’s natal Ascendant and exactly sextile his natal Midheaven. In mundane astrology, the Moon symbolizes the people, and a king does best when he is in harmony with the general populace.

The Moon in the electional chart is separating from the conjoined planets Venus-Jupiter-Saturn (with Saturn ruling the electional MC) and is applying to Mercury, ruler of the electional Ascendant. Venus lies in the domicile of Jupiter, and Jupiter lies in the exaltation of Venus, so they are in mutual reception and both benefics dispose the 10th-ruler Saturn.

I already commented on the fact the the Sun of the electional chart lies almost exactly in the degree of its exaltation, the 19th degree of Aries. In that degree the electional Sun is closely sextile the king’s natal Mercury (at 21 Aquarius 35) and is sextle the electional Ascendant at 24 Gemini 08.

We know from his work that Bylica used Helenistic annual profections. The king was crowned at the age of 21 so that with Capricorn rising at birth, his annual profected Ascendant in 1463 would have been in Libra, making Venus the Lady of the Year of his Coronation. Not surprisingly, Bylica (if he is the author of this electional chart) placed transiting Venus in Pisces (the sign of her exaltation) in the 10th house (kingship) very close to the powerful Midheaven degree. At the same time the coronation MC (at 24 Aquarius 07) closely conjoins his natal Mercury (at 21 Aquarius 35) and trines the elections Ascendant (at 24 Aquarius 09). The electional MC is also closely sextile his natal Venus (at 26 Aries 14), and Venus is the Lady of the Year.

This is a clever electional chart, which carefully takes the birth chart into account. It is worth further study and likely contains many other astrological subtleties.

Addendum: I contacted Darin Hayton of Haverford College, who has expertise in these matters, and he responded to my inquiries as follows:

“Thank you for reaching out and the kind words about my article. Unfortunately, I have not identified the chart Bylica might have used for any coronation or other significant events in Corvinus’s reign. I will note that Bylica was not yet at the Hungarian court when Corvinus was elected/crowned king. We can’t place him at the court until ca. 1468.

That said, there are a number of charts (many in Bylica’s hand) in a couple manuscripts in Krakow. I have not yet worked through them all, so I can’t give you a full catalog of contents.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the coronation chart that Bylica drew up (found in this post: https://dhayton.haverford.edu/blog/2011/12/30/the-politics-of-astrology-in-renaissance-hungary/) was certainly a post-hoc chart (much like the chart he and Regiomontanus drew up for the University of Pozsony, which you can read a bit about here: https://dhayton.haverford.edu/wp-content/uploads/publications/Boudet-Hayton.pdf).”

There is also a good article by Marton Veszpremy about astrology and Matthias Corvinus at academia.edu.

The Birth Chart of Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg (January 29, 1688 O.S. – March 29, 1772 O.S.) was a Swedish scientist, inventor, philosopher, theologian and Christian mystic, who at the age of 57 began to experience dreams and visions and allegedly communicate with the spirit world. According to a wikipedia article:

“In April 1745, Swedenborg was dining in a private room at a tavern in London. By the end of the meal, a darkness fell upon his eyes, and the room shifted character.
Suddenly he saw a person sitting at a corner of the room, telling Swedenborg: ‘Do not eat too much!’. Swedenborg, scared, hurried home. Later that night, the same man appeared in his dreams. The man told Swedenborg that He was the Lord, that He had appointed Swedenborg to reveal the spiritual meaning of the Bible, and that He would guide Swedenborg in what to write. The same night, the spiritual world was opened to Swedenborg.”

It seems a bit odd that God’s first words to Swedenborg were, “Do not eat too much!”, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Curious about Swedenborg’s chart, I checked astro.com and various historical sources, and learned that his date of birth in the Gregorian calendar was 8 February 1688, but there was not certainty about the time of birth. The British astrologer Ebenizer Sibly (1751-1799), who published the chart of the USA Declaration of Independence, also included the chart of Swedenborg in his text.

Sibly gives Swedenborg an Ascendant degree of 16 Capricorn in the topical zodiac for the Julian date 29 January 1688 at latitude 59 degrees 29 minutes North. There is a typo of the year in his published chart which lists the year as 1686, even though the planetary positions are those of 1688. As he does with the USA Independence chart, Sibly lists the time in London rather than the time at the location of the event. He has Swedenborg’s birth time as 5:30 in London, which would correspond to 6:43 AM LMT in Stockholm with an Ascendant of 13 Capricorn. As with the USA chart, Sibly’s tables appear to be a few degrees off.

To produce Sibly’s chart for Swedenborg, we would need to adjust the birth time to about 6:52:33 AM in Stockholm, which would correspond to 5:39:41 AM in London. Unfortunately, Sibly does not tell us where he obtained the birth time for Swedenborg. Here is Sibly’s version of the chart:

Sibly’s version of the birth chart of Emanuel Swedenborg based on a birth time of about 5:30 AM LMT in London, which corresponds to a birth time of about 6:43 AM in Stockholm.
(There is a typo in the original figure in the year of birth, which was 1688, not 1686.)

Assuming that Sibly had a reliable source for Swedenborg birth time, we can assume the Ascendant fell roughly between 13 and 16 degrees of Capricorn and that he was born between about 6:43 and 6:53 AM LMT in Stockholm, Sweden. Given that Swedenborg was a prominent spiritual leader and mystic, let me suggest the following chart with 10th-, 11th- and 12th-ruler Jupiter exactly conjunct the Ascendant as a start for a possible rectification, which is consistent with Sibly’s presentation.

Possible natal chart of Emanuel Swedenborg based on Sibly’s text and Swedenborg’s accomplishments.
(Sibly’s original chart has the Ascendant at 16 Capricorn, rather than 15 Cap 14′ as in this slightly modified chart.)

There is a strong symbolism of psychic mediumship and communication with the spirit world in this chart. Jupiter rules the 10th, 11th and 12th Placidus houses and conjoins the Asc. The Moon in the 3rd of communication is exactly trine the Jupiter/Asc conjunction. The Moon is also conjunct Uranus and Chiron.

Asc-ruler Saturn is Rx and exalted in Libra in the 8th house of hidden knowledge and occult experiences. Mars rules the 9th of religion and opposes Ascendant-ruler Saturn in the 8th. Venus rules the 3rd of communication and occupies the beginning of the spiritual 12th house. Venus is also closely sextile to Neptune in otherworldly Pisces in the 1st house. Pisces is associated with both mysticism and Christianity.

Pluto, god of the underworld, opposes Jupiter across the horizontal axis. The Sun in Aquarius in the 1st is almost exactly trine the Part of Fortune in the 8th of death and matters related to the dead.

It appears that this chart describes Swedenborg quite well. If Sibly’s data for the birth time is correct, this chart for about 6:50 AM LMT in Stockholm is probably quite close to Swedenborg’s actual birth chart.

Here are the transits and secondary progression for April of 1745 when God first appeared to Swedenborg while he was enjoying dinner in a restaurant (5th house symbolism) and told him to stop eating so much:

God first appeared to Swedenborg in a restaurant in April of 1745.
This month featured a solar eclipse at 12 Aries 27, and a lunar eclipse at 26 Libra 24 which triggered his natal Saturn/Mars opposition.
Transiting Jupiter entered his natal 9th Placidus house of religious experience on 2 April 1745.
In addition, in April the secondary progressed Moon at 19 Aquarius in his natal 5th house trined his natal Sun and Part of Fortune.

Noel Tyl, Geocentric Latitude and the Celestial Sphere

On March 19th, I watched a discussion of the Vedic birth chart of Noel Tyl, presented by Kepler College in honor of Astrology Day. The sidereal Ascendant given was 07 Gemini 04′ (Lahiri ayanamsa), which at quick glance would mean that Tyl was born with his Ascendant degree at the very end of Gemini or the very beginning in the tropical zodiac. Looking up his birth data on astro.com, I found the following:

Noel Tyl’s birth data from astro.com

Sure enough, Tyl’s natal Ascendant for the birth time, which he recalled from memory, fell at 00 Cancer 04′, so that if he were born roughly 15 seconds earlier (around 3:56:45 pm), he would have had a Gemini Ascendant. Having chatted with Noel at several conferences and attended his lectures and workshops, I could see how a Gemini Ascendant could easily fit his personality and behavior style. In the Vedic chart, there is no question that Tyl’s Ascendant lies in Gemini. However, I believe that Noel used Cancer as his Ascendant in his own work with his chart.

There is yet another twist to the story. Noel, like many astrologers, calculated his Ascendant on the basis of the geodetic or geographical latitude of his birthplace. My own preference is to use the geocentric (planetocentric) latitude, because it is measured in the same coordinate system which we use to locate the stars and planets in the heavens. My math teachers always taught that we should not mix coordinate systems, often admonishing “don’t mix apples with oranges.”

A notable example of the problems caused by mixing measurement systems is the loss of NASA’s Mars orbiter, as reported by CNN in September of 1999: “NASA lost a $125 million Mars orbiter because a Lockheed Martin engineering team used English units of measurement while the agency’s team used the more conventional metric system for a key spacecraft operation, according to a review finding released Thursday.”

What, you may ask, is the difference between geodetic and geocentric latitude, and why does it matter? The Earth is not a perfect sphere. Instead, our planet is spheroidal and bulges a bit around its middle as it spins on its axis. On the other hand, astrological measurements are based on a model of the Celestial Sphere, which is a perfect sphere whose center is the center of the Earth. The following diagram from https://proj.org/operations/conversions/geoc.html should make this clear:

Geocentric (planetocentric) versus geodetic (geographical) latitude

You can see in the above diagram that geocentric (planetocentric) latitude projects the place of birth onto the Celestial Sphere from its center at the center of the Earth. The geodetic (geographical) latitude, in contrast, ignores the center of the Earth and instead projects the birthplace onto the Celestial Sphere on the basis of a perpendicular to the tangent to the birthplace on the Earth’s spheroidal surface. Thus, the use of the geodetic latitude in chart calculations mixes two distinct coordinate systems — tantamount to confusing apples with oranges and expecting to get a valid result. We measure the positions of the stars, planets, asteroids and the zodiac itself on the idealized Celestial Sphere with reference to the center of the Earth, but we abandon the Earth’s center when we calculate our personal Ascendants. Does this make sense, or does it introduce errors into our astrological reasoning?

Fore example, if we calculate Noel Tyl’s Ascendant using the geocentric latitude of his birthplace (the same system by which we measure the planets, stars and zodiac signs), we find that his Ascendant at 3:57 pm falls at 29 Gemini 54′ rather than 00 Cancer 04′. In other words, in the geocentric model of the universe, which is fundamental to Western astrology, Noel Tyl has a Gemini Ascendant for the birth time of 3:57 PM, and his chart with Placidus houses looks like this:

Noel Tyl’s birth chart calculated with geocentric latitude

We can test the Gemini Ascendant with a well-timed event from Tyl’s life. For example, he died on 31 December 2019 at 11:11 AM in Arizona, as a result of Lewy Body Dementia.” He had turned 82 years old the previous December (2018) and was about to complete his solar return at age 83 several hours after the moment of his demise. Thus, we must consider his annual profections at age 82, as they were still active at the time of his death.

At age 82 his profected Ascendant in the Gemini-rising chart was Aries on the 11th Placidus house cusp, making Mars the Lord of the Year. Mars is the out-of-sect malefic, and thus likely to be of harm to the native. Natally Mars in Libra squares Asc-ruler Mercury in the Placidus (and Whole Sign) 8th house of death. Mars also rules the Placidus and Whole Sign 6th of illness. In the Vedic system he was in the Saturn/Saturn Vimshottari dasa when he passed. The symbolism certainly fits with the risk of death at age 82 when Mars is activated by profection as Lord of the Year.

If the consider the birthplace solar return which was active at the time of his demise, we see the following:

Noel Tyl’s Solar Return at age 82, active during the year of his demise

In the solar return at his birth place, his natal Asc-ruler Mercury occupies the 8th house of death and conjoins its cusp. The Sun in this return also occupies the 8th house and closely conjoins Saturn, which rules the natal 8th of death. Again, the symbolism generated by the Gemini-rising chart is quite apt for a year in which the native might pass on to the afterlife.

I would argue that Tyl’s Gemini Ascendant produces symbolism far more descriptive of the year of his demise than does the symbolism generated by the Cancer Ascendant. In this case, at least, the geocentric latitude of the birthplace generates a more reliable chart from the point of view of astrological prediction.

Did Plato invent astrology’s secondary progressions?

In studying Hellenistic astrology, I was surprised to learn that Vettius Valens had mentioned secondary progressions in the 2nd century CE when he discussed his “day for a year” method of forecasting. Here is a direct quote:

“… add a number of days to the birth date equivalent to the age (in years) of the native.  Then, having first determined the date, whether in the following month or in the birth month itself, cast a horoscope for that day.  which star, if any, is in the Ascendant or is coming into conjunction with another star, and whether it is moving from an angle to a point following or preceding an angle, or from a point preceding an angle to an angle, or whether it was rising at the date of the delivery but is now setting or coming to some unrelated phase, or to something better.  You may consider these to be the periodic forecasts.”  — Vettius Valens, Anthologies, Book IX, Ch. 3, Mark Riley trans., 2010, p. 154.

Did Plato invent secondary progressions?

Recently while reading about the so-called Peters–Hilprecht controversy, I learned that six hundred years earlier than Vettius Valens, the Greek philosopher Plato (428 – 348 BCE) proposed that a day in the life of man corresponds to a year in the life of the universe. Here is a quote from Robert W. Rogers, Ph.D., of the Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, NJ, published on page 344 of the 1908 Proceedings of the Committee Appointed by the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (source: https://archive.org/details/socalledpetersh00petegoog/page/n353/mode/1up):

From Appendix B of the Proceedings of the University of Pennsylvania, 1908, regarding the Peters-Hilprecht controversy.

In the above quote, we see a reference to the Babylonian idea of a 36,000-year aeon for the universe and a 100-year lifespan for human beings. There is also mention of Plato’s use of 360 days (rather than 365.25 days) as the duration of the year, just as is found in Valens discussion of the method of Zodiacal Releasing. From these references, it seems likely that Plato’s philosophy, mathematics and cosmology had a major impact on the development of Hellenistic astrology in the period between the time of Plato and that of Vettius Valens.

Dariot: Will I get any of my brother’s goods? — a 16th century horary

The 16th century French physician and astrologer Claude Dariot (1533, Ponnar – 1594, Dijon) received his medical education at the University of Montpellier in France. He published several books on both medicine and astrology. His work on horary astrology was translated into English and influenced the practice of horary in William Lilly’s time. Dariot includes only one example chart in his horary book, a question in which the querent asks whether he will be able to obtain any of the the goods of his brother. Presumably, his brother is deceased and he is referring to an inheritance. Here is the chart:

The querent asks whether he should get or obtain any of his brother’s goods.

Here is the same chart calculated in Solar Fire:

Horary chart from Dariot’s 16th century text, calculated in Solar Fire with Regiomontanus houses, which were in vogue in the 16th century.

Dariot tells us that with Virgo rising, Mercury rules the querent.

The brother is ruled by the 3rd house, and the brother’s goods are ruled by the 4th house (2nd from the 3rd). Scorpio on the cusp of the 4th makes Mars the primary ruler of his goods. (Dariot does not mention Sagittarius intercepted in the 4th Regiomontanus house, but astrologers like Morin in the 17th century would regard Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, as a co-ruler of the 4th.)

Dariot points out that Mercury in early Gemini in the 10th does not apply within orb of an aspect to Mars in 22 Virgo in the 1st house, so that there is no aspect between primary significators which will bring the matter to perfection.

The Moon, which can co-ruler the querent, is separating from Mars, the brother’s goods, so again there is no applying aspect between significators to indicate that the querent will receive his brother’s goods.

Next Dariot looks for translation or collection of light. He notices that the Moon has recently separated from a trine to Mars (the brother’s goods), and that this is a trine in which Mars in Virgo receives the Moon in Capricorn from the sign of Mars’ exaltation (Capricorn).

In Dariot’s tables, the Moon has just separated from a square to Jupiter Rx in Libra. In modern tables, the Moon is next applying to Jupiter Rx in Libra. Dariot ignores this square and focuses on the Moon being within orb of a trine to Asc-ruler Mercury in early Gemini, once the Moon leaves Capricorn and enters the Mercury term (bound) of Aquarius. Dariot concludes that the Moon’s translation of light from Mars to Mercury indicates that the querent will get his brother’s goods.

In addition, Mars (the brother’s good) occupies the 1st house (the querent) — an example of “emplacement” or “dwelling of planets in houses,” which suggests that the brother’s goods (Mars) are coming to the querent (the 1st house). Dariot notes that “he shall have that which he desires [Mars, the brother’s goods], because the significator of the thing [Mars] doeth possess the ascendant [1st house], and his light is translated to the lord of the horoscope [Mercury].”

Left unaddressed is the influence of Moon square Jupiter Rx on the outcome of the question.

Elemental Dignities in Tarot Readings

Recently someone asked about the use of elemental dignities in tarot, a topic which I addressed extensively in my book Tarot Beyond the Basics. This blog is a brief overview of the topic.

The basic idea comes from the teachings of Aristotle who believed that everything in the world consisted of four basic elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. In turn, each element had two major qualities, one active and one passive. Heat and coldness were considered active qualities, associated with energetic dynamism. Wetness and dryness were regarded as passive qualities, associated with the form in which energy was expressed.

The book Hot Dry Men, Cold Wet Women by Zirka Filipczak illustrates how these philosophical ideas were expressed in European art. Men were viewed as “hot and dry” (masculine, fiery, centrifugal and outer-directed) while women were considered “cold and wet” (feminine, watery, centripetal and inner-directed).

Aristotle’s Four Elements and their Primary Qualities

The Golden Dawn tradition assigned elemental qualities to each of the suits and cards of the tarot. The Major Arcana were all linked to planets or signs of the zodiac. The pip cards belonged to one of four suits which were assigned as follows:

Wands – Fire
Cups – Water
Swords – Air
Disks (Pentacles) – Earth

The following table shows the qualities which the various elements have in common. H = hot, C = cold, W = wet (moist), and D = dry.

Qualities which the 4 elements have in common.

Certain characteristics are associated with each of the primary qualities:

Heat expands and signifies energy, vitality, excess, enthusiasm, activity, dynamism, extroversion and outward expansion. Think of someone described as “hot” or “being on fire.”Coldness contracts and signifies inactivity, self-control, cooling, containment, receptivity, contraction, internalization, introversion, putting the brakes on, and keeping energy in reserve. We describe someone who is calm and self-composed as being “cool as a cucumber.”Dryness desiccates and hardens by removing moisture and thereby increases rigidity, brittleness, inflexibility, resistance, and definition of form. As plants dry, they shrivel and wither. A starving person is often described as being reduced to “skin and bones” for lack of access to moist nutrition. As the body loses moisture after death, we speak of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”Wetness softens by adding moisture and tends to make things more malleable, flexible, pliable, soluble, moldable, adaptable, and plump. Someone who is strongly moved emotionally “dissolves into tears.”

Let’s look at an example to see how elemental qualities might apply to a reading. At the beginning of August, 2021, a man in his 20s asked how the coming month might go for him. He drew the following four cards:

The first two cards suggest a great deal of haste and rushing about, which might lead to some sort of legal complication or dealing with the system of Justice. The World card at the end of the sequence could mean that he will bring some important matter to a conclusion.

If we consider the elemental properties, the 8 of Wands if a Fire card (hot and dry) and is followed by an Air card (hot and moist). The double dose of heat in the combination of these two masculine cards implies a situation of expansive or excessive dynamic action. There is no cold to temper the enthusiasm.

Justice is a Major Arcana card associated with the Air sign Libra (hot and moist). The adjacent Knight of Swords also belongs to Air. A pair of adjacent cards of the same element stand out in a reading. Somehow a man riding hastily on his horse combined with Justice will set the stage for the month of August for this querent. This Knight has already received an extra dose of heat from the 8 of Wands and now receives even more heat from the Justice card. The Knight of Swords in this spread is “on fire”, and perhaps his excess haste will cause a problem for the querent. In addition, the Knight receives extra moisture (wetness) from the Justice card, which increases his adaptability and flexibility. Clearly this Knight is “supercharged” by its adjoining cards and dominates the reading. The elemental dignities reveal that the main issue in August belongs to the Knight of Swords and whatever he represents in the querent’s life.

Justice (an Air card, hot and moist) lies next to the World (an Earth card, cold and dry, associated with the restrictive planet Saturn); they have no primary qualities in common and do not support one another. If anything, the elemental dignities of the World next to Justice suggest some sort of problematic legal issue.

Here’s what happened. A few days after the reading the querent was riding his bike late at night in the city where he lives. A car, traveling too fast for the city street, swerved to miss the querent on his bike but ended up hitting him anyway, destroying the bicycle and leaving the querent with muscle sprains and spasms but fortunately no broken bones or head injuries. It turned out that the driver of the car, a young man, had been drinking and driving too fast and did not have auto insurance. This led to legal complications because the querent needed to have the treatment for his injuries paid for. In the end, the driver agreed to pay the medical bills to avoid being taken to court to cover the cost of medical treatment.

*****

All original material in this post is copyright Anthony Louis 2022.

Distortions due to the Astrological “12-letter Alphabet”

One of the banes of modern astrology is the adoption of the 12-letter alphabet which equates planets with signs and with houses. In such a system there is no difference in signification, for example, between Mars, Aries and the 1st House. This type of thinking ignores the long history and development of horoscopic astrology since its birth in ancient Hellenistic times. As a result, modern astrology sometimes twists astrological symbols to become gross distortions of what they originally signified.

The original universal horoscope in Western astrology was the Thema Mundi which had Cancer rising in the 1st place (topos), and Aries at the Midheaven. The 12-letter alphabet considers Aries rising as the first sign of the universal horoscope and locates Cancer in the 4th place and Capricorn in the 10th place (which is where Aries appeared in the Thema Mundi).

Recently I’ve seen several references to Taurus being a “hedonistic” sign. The reasoning appears to be that Taurus equals Venus, the planet of sensual delights, so that Taurus is thus a sign in constant pursuit of sensual pleasure. By the same faulty reasoning, Venus is thought to equal money because Taurus falls in 2nd place in the Aries-rising chart, even though Taurus occupies the 11th place in the original Thema Mundi of Western horoscopic astrology. Here is a typical “modern” astrological delineation of Taurus based on the 12-letter alphabet, which ignores tradition and substitutes a modern misunderstanding as the basis for delineation:

“Taurus is an earth sign, and it’s ruled by love-and-money planet Venus. This gives those born under this sign an immense connection with sensuality and earthly pleasures. As such, they can be big lushes – sipping fancy cocktails, wearing gorgeous outfits, knowing the best chef in town. Their favorite drug is MDMA, because they’re constantly chasing ecstasy. Few people can luxuriate like Taurus! However, with such expensive tastes, it can be easy for them to rack up a high balance on their credit card or a debilitating hangover.” (Source: https://www.vice.com/en/article/vbxpv9/taurus-worst-traits-zodiac-sign)

If we contrast the above delineation of Taurus with that of a traditional astrologer, say William Lilly, we find that Taurus meant something quite different in the 17th century. Lilly writes (CA 538) that if the significator of manners in a natal chart falls in Taurus, then the native is “laborious, for the Oxe or Bull is represented by Taurus.” In Lilly’s time, “laborious” meant “devoted to labor, hard-working and industrious” (See https://www.etymology-online.com/laborious).

Again in England’s Prophetical Merline Lilly discusses a horary question from a woman who asked whether she should marry a much older man for his money?

A Gentle Woman desired to know is she should have an Aged Man; yes, or no.

Lilly studies the chart and determines that the man inquired after, signified by the 7th house and its ruler Jupiter, must be “worldly and cautious, for Jupiter being in Taurus, the emblem of labour, doth insinuate so much.” Here again, Lilly views the Earth-sign Taurus the Bull as hard-working, industrious, worldly and cautious, partly because the bull is an animal of labor and spends his days sweating and plowing fields under the hot sun. This is hardly the modern 12-letter image of Taurus as the hedonistic, pleasure-seeking lush who spends his or her day in pursuit of ever more sensual delights.

Woman asks if she should marry the old man for his money.

Lilly interprets the chart as follows. Mercury signifies the woman querent, and Jupiter signifies the old man whom she might marry. Mercury is separating from a sextile to Jupiter, so their significators are not applying to any type of union.

Mercury lies in Cancer, the exaltation sign of Jupiter, so the old man is hot to get married to this younger woman. Mercury (the woman) will next square Mars in Aries. The Moon separates from a square to Jupiter and next applies to sextile the Mars in Aries, so the woman has the hots for some younger man, perhaps a soldier. Unfortunately, the Moon lies in the 6th and Mars in the 8th, and there Mars does not receive the Moon or Mercury in any of his dignities, so this young virile soldier has not interest in her.

Lilly also advised the woman that the presence of malefic Saturn in the 8th, the house of the old man’s money, with Saturn peregrine and in Aries, the sign of its fall, meant that she would have problems getting at his money. It turned out that even though the old man owned property, there were legal claims against it and she would not fare well financially if she were to marry him. Nonetheless, Jupiter (the old man) in Taurus the Bull meant that he was very hard-working, industrious, cautious and worldly, like a bull pulling a plow all day, working hard in the fields.

A Useful Predictive Feature of the Moon’s Nodes

The Nodes of the Moon are points in space where the orbit of the Moon around the Earth crosses the apparent path of the Sun (the ecliptic) in its annual journey around the Earth in the geocentric model of the solar system used by astrologers. Because the lunar nodes mark points in the sky near which solar and lunar eclipses occur, they have been given special significance in astrology. In the Jyotish of India the Moon’s nodes (Rahu and Ketu, the North and South Nodes respectively) are regarded as shadow planets with a malefic nature, and there is an elaborate mythology that correlates with this view of the lunar nodes.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_node

For centuries astrologers have used the “mean” or average position of the lunar nodes, which are calculated average positions of the nodes which travel “backward” or Retrograde around the zodiac circle at a rate of about one 360-degree cycle every 18.6 years. With increasingly precise telescopes computers and observations in modern times, scientists are now able to calculate the exact position of the lunar nodes at a given moment. These are called the “true” lunar nodes and, unlike the “mean” nodes which on average always move Rx in the zodiac, the true nodes periodically become stationary and briefly travel direct before resuming their Retrograde motion.

In 2019 I was invited to do a presentation about Solar Returns at a conference in Donostia, Spain. In preparing for the talk, I examined about 50 solar returns of famous individuals who had major life events occur during that solar return year. I was struck that the vast majority of the solar returns in my sample had the lunar nodes stationary or moving very slowly during years in which life-altering or dramatic changes occurred.

Upon further investigation, I learned that this phenomenon of the very slow or stationary movement of the Moon’s true nodes has been observed by other astrologers, especially those who practice Jyotish. For example, in a newsletter by David Hawthorne who writes about the “systems approach to Vedic astrology” I found the following comment, which I have paraphrased and converted to the tropical zodiac for Western astrologers:

According to Hawthorne, in the year 2021, Rahu and Ketu [the Moon’s north and south nodes, respectively] are stationary within a 7-degree range from October 19th until January 2nd of 2022. Whenever Rahu and Ketu are slow-moving for a prolonged period of time, they can cause serious issues worldwide. This transit may also be challenging for persons, companies and countries with a rising sign or planet(s) in the same degrees as these slow-moving transiting lunar nodes.

Just how fast do the lunar nodes travel? Their cycle is 360 degrees around the zodiac about every 18.6 years. More precisely, Wikipedia tells us: “Because the orbital plane of the Moon precesses in space, the lunar nodes also precess around the ecliptic, completing one revolution (called a draconic or nodal period) in 18.612958 years (6,798.383 days).”

If we divide 360 degrees by 18.61 years, we find that the nodes travel on average 19.34 degrees per year, which is equivalent to 1.6 degrees per month, or to 0.053 degrees per day. Let’s look at the Swiss ephemeris from astro.com for December of 2021 to see how much the true lunar node is moving:

Ephemeris December 2021
Note the positions of the Moon’s True Node

At the beginning of December 2021, the true lunar node is at 01 Gemini 43 in the tropical zodiac. During the month this becomes stationary and changes direction several times, so that at the end of the month Rahu lies at 01 Gemini 13 and have moved only 30 minutes of arc in the course of one month. The average rate of motion of the lunar nodes is about 1.6 degrees (96 minutes of arc) per month. The nodes have moved only about one-third of their average distance and are considered to be in slow motion, which symbolically is a warning of problems or unexpected changes for those affected by the nodes in their birth charts. If we view the lunar nodes as a dragon that devours the Sun and the Moon, we would of course be concerned if that dragon paused and dawdled on a planet or important point in our nativity.

The implication for December of 2021 is that anyone with a natal position within a few degrees of the 2nd degree of Gemini (tropical zodiac) may experience this month as particularly difficult, challenging or marked by unpleasant surprises.

Rahu
Public domain image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahu#/media/File:Rahu_graha.JPG

A question about primary directions

Recently a fellow astrologer, who had rectified her chart using several life events and various predictive techniques, asked whether primary directions would clearly indicate the passing of her father, which occurred in November of 1995 when she was 34 years old. The loss of a parent is a major life event, which should show up in the directions of the natal chart. Such directions are more pronounced when a parent dies early in life because parental loss in childhood has a major impact on the individual. As we and our parents age, the demise of a parent becomes a more expectable event, and the primary directions around the time of the event may be less dramatic in an individual’s chart and may reflect more the person’s reaction to the death of a parent than the actual event. She has kindly given me permission to discuss her chart, but I will keep her identity anonymous.

The first and most important step in analyzing primary directions is to study the natal chart. Directions can only predict what the birth chart promises. Here is the person’s natal chart, and we need to pay special attention to the factors that signify the father and death in her birth chart.

Birth chart of a woman whose father died in November of 1995.
She asked whether primary directions would show this event in her chart.

In this natal chart Sagittarius rises, making Jupiter the ruler of her Ascendant. Jupiter also rules Pisces on the 4th house cusp, and so Jupiter is also a signifier of her father. (In the Hellenistic tradition, the 4th house refers to the parents, and especially to the father.) In a day chart the Sun is often taken as a natural ruler of fathers. In our analysis of her primary directions in 1995 we will be particularly interested in any aspects or conjunctions involving Jupiter, the 4th cusp (meridian axis), or the Sun.

Significators of death include the ruler of the 8th house, which is the Moon in this chart. In addition, Saturn is traditionally a natural ruler of death, and many modern astrologers include Pluto, lord of the underworld, as a signifier of death. To be complete, I should mention that Richard Houck in his classic text The Astrology of Death borrowed concepts from Jyotisha and included the rulers of the 2nd and 7th houses, Saturn and Mercury in this chart, as signifiers or marakas of death.

Because Jupiter rules her father, we must study Jupiter’s aspects in her birth chart. Jupiter in Capricorn in Rx and conjoins Saturn Rx, also in Capricorn, and also conjoins the Moon in 0 Aquarius. Jupiter is squared by a Mercury/Mars conjunction from Libra. Mars and Mercury lie at the end of the 10th Placidus house and conjoin the 11th Placidus cusp, which (using derived houses) is the 8th house cusp from the 4th house of the father. Thus, if Mars and Mercury become activated by primary direction, their square to the Saturn/Jupiter conjunction becomes active and could indicate the passing of the father.

For those who use the Lord of the Orb (ruler of the planetary hour of birth and its annual ‘profections’), this nativity occurred on a Mercury day during a Venus hour (the 7th hour of that day, just after the Sun culminated on the MC). Thus, Venus is the Lady of the Orb at birth. Abu Ma’shar distributed the lords of the hour in Chaldean order around the chart, beginning with the Lord of the Orb in the 1st house. This system would make Saturn a co-ruler of the father in the birth chart, as follows: Venus (1st house) – Mercury (2nd) – Moon (3rd) – Saturn (4th house – father).

According to Ben Dykes translation, Ma’shar continued the sequence of Lords of the Orb around the wheel throughout life. Thus, at age 34 the native would be in a 12-year period which began with Saturn the Lord of the Orb of the 1st house, placing the Sun in the 4th house as Lord of the Orb during this particular period of her life. These are fine points used by Abu Ma’shar in his delineations of solar returns, and few astrologers have paid attention to the lord of the orb in the history of the art. For our purposes here, we should keep in mind that, according to this Lord of the Orb technique, the condition and aspects of Saturn and the Sun can give further information about what happens to the father in the year 1995.

At age 34 this native enters an 11th whole sign profection. In other words, Libra becomes the profected Ascendant in this chart, and Venus becomes Lady of the Year. Because Libra is the 8th sign from Pisces on the 4th of the father, Libra and Venus become signifiers for the potential death of the father. When Libra becomes the profected Ascendant sign, the square aspect of Mercury/Mars in Libra to Saturn/Jupiter in Capricorn gets activated, indicating a difficult period for her father (Jupiter) at this time. By the Lord of the Orb technique, Saturn co-rules the father in the birth chart. As we shall see below, at age 34 Mercury is her “divisor” and the Sun, via its square to the directed Ascendant, is the “participant” as well as a signifier of the father (as lord of the orb of the 4th house) when she is 34 years old.

In studying primary directions, I like to advance the birth time of the natal chart by the amount of time that corresponds to the age of the native at the time of an event. This person was born in late September and her father died in early November. She was about 34.12 years old at the time. Using the Naibod key to advance the chart, we must move the birth time forward 3.932 minutes of clock time for each year of life: 34.12 years of age X 3.932 minute on the clock = 134.16 minutes.

Here is her birth chart advanced by 134.16 minutes on the clock from her birth time:

Birth chart directed to age 34.12 by adding 134.16 minutes of clock time to the time of birth. (This method of advancing the chart allows the planets to advance in secondary motion. Primary directions keep the birth positions fixed, but the movement is negligible, except for the Moon which might move a couple of degrees.)

Age 34 was a major year in her life because she underwent a change in her ascendant sign by primary direction. She was born with her natal Asc in Sagittarius and at age 34 by primary motion the sign Capricorn rose to the horizon and became her directed Ascendant. It is as if after 34 years of living as a person with Sagittarius rising she were reborn with Capricorn rising and Saturn ruling her natal Ascendant. In addition, Saturn as her “new” or directed Asc-ruler activates Jupiter (her father’s ruler) because of their conjunction in Capricorn.

Furthermore, as Capricorn rises to become her directed Ascendant at age 34, the first term of Capricorn is ruled by Mercury, which also becomes activated. Traditionally the ruler of the term that rises to the eastern horizon becomes a “time-lord” known as the “divisor” (or some say the “distributor”). Active Mercury stimulates Mars, which Mercury conjoins, and jointly the Mars/Mercury conjunction activates the natal square to Saturn/Jupiter, indicating a difficult period of the native’s father.

The visible planet that most recently aspected the directed Asc is called the “participant”, and in this chart it is the Sun whose square to 27 Sag also becomes a factor in interpretation. Since the Sun is a natural ruler of fathers, the Sun’s square to the directed Asc, which is active because the Sun is “participant”, also indicates that a difficult period for the father is at hand.

Now let’s calculate the primary directions (without latitude) around November of 1995, using the Naibod key. Here they are in the method of Placidus:

Directions around November 1995 calculated by the method of Placidus proportional semi-arc.
Note the involvement of Saturn and Mars in late September, and of Jupiter and Mars in early December. These directions activate the natal square between Mars/Mercury and Saturn/Jupiter, indicating a difficult period for the native’s father, signified by Jupiter.

Here the directions for the same period calculated with the “circle of position” method of Regiomontanus:

Regiomontanus primary directions around November of 1995.
Note the involvement of Mars and Jupiter in late October, activating the natal Mars/Jupiter square. In late November Neptune (a planet of dissolution) squares the meridian axis whose 4th house cusp signifies the father.

Morin tells us that primary directions alone do not manifest as events since they are symbolic indicators. There must be some kind of “real” astrological trigger to “reduce” the primary direction to action in the world. For example, a similar or activating transit, solar or lunar return, eclipse, etc., could act as a triggering astrological factor that allows the primary direction to manifest in real time. Morin noted that lunar returns often indicated the month in which a major event would take place. Here is this person’s lunar return of 30 October 1995, shortly before her father passed.

Natal chart with lunar return of 30 October 1995 superimposed in the outside wheel. Note that return Uranus conjoins natal Jupiter (her father) and both planets are closely square the lunar return nodes, with the north node on the cusp of the natal 11th house, which is the father’s turned 8th house. In addition, return Neptune conjoins natal Saturn, and return Pluto is about to enter the native’s rising sign, Sagittarius, in early November. Return Saturn is about to turn stationary in November and it will make its station in square aspect to return Jupiter (the father).

Divisors and Participating Planets as a Team

Recently during a discussion with a group of astrologers someone asked how to interpret the interaction of the divisor and the participating planet in an annual forecast. The study of divisors and participants is an ancient predictive technique which Dorotheus extensively reviews in his 1st century text Carmen Astrologicum.

The basic idea is straightforward. After the moment of birth, the sky continues in its apparent 24-hour rotation around the Earth — the so-called primary motion of the heavens around the Earth in the geocentric model. This clockwise motion carries the signs of the zodiac that are below the horizon up to the eastern horizon where they cross the Ascendant and then continue to rise toward the Midheaven, where they will culminate in their daily journey around the Earth.

Each zodiac sign is divided into 5 unequal “terms” or “bounds” or “divisions”. As each term rises to the eastern horizon by primary motion, the planet ruling that term (division of a sign into 5 parts) becomes a time lord (chronocrator) which governs the period of the native’s life during which that planet’s term (division) is passing over the eastern horizon. The planet ruling the term crossing the Ascendant by primary motion at a given moment is called the “divisor” because it is the planet that rules the “division” (term) which is on the eastern horizon at the time. Because the measure of time is about 1 degree crossing the MC in Right Ascension (along the Equator) equivalent to one year of life, a particular planet can remain the divisor (time lord of the term of the primary directed Ascendant) for several years.

In addition to the planet which rules the term (bound, division) of the primary directed Ascendant, other planets in the chart may be projecting their rays into that term. Planets beholding the term of the Ascendant by major aspect are considered partners of the divisor and are often called participants or participating planets. Abu Ma’shar (9th century CE) defined the participant as the planet that most recently connected with the Ascendant by major aspect or bodily conjunction.

Dorotheus discusses an example of a chart of a man born in October of 44 CE. He tells us the the chart has 6 of Scorpio rising and describes the positions of the planets. Based on Dortheus text, I have reconstructed a close approximation to the chart, using a sidereal zodiac for the 1st century CE. The birth data I used are 02 October 0044 CE, 8:31 AM LMT, Sidon, Lebanon, Djwhal Khul ayanamsa. Here is the chart.

A modern approximation of the natal chart discussed by Dorotheus to illustrate the interpretation of divisors and participants. I cast this with Porphyry houses but Dorotheus may have used Whole Sign houses in his delineation.

Let’s focus on Dorotheus’ delineation of this chart when by primary direction the term of Saturn at the end of the rising sign Scorpio begins to cross the Ascendant. This occurs when the native is 22 years old. Here is the birth chart directed to age 22 at Ptolemy’s rate of 1 degree of R.A. across the MC = one year of life:

Natal chart directed to age 22 at Ptolemy’s rate of 1 degree of R.A. = one year of life. I cast this with Porphyry houses but Dorotheus may have used Whole Sign houses in his delineation.

As the native turns 22 years old, the term of Saturn at the end of Scorpio crosses the Ascendant where it will remain for the next 7 years. Here is Dorotheus’ delineation of what the native can expect during this 7-year period (quoted from Pingree’s translation, 1976, p.244; comments in brackets are mine):

“Then the prorogation [primary directed Ascendant] comes to [term of] Saturn while Venus casts rays to [aspects] the 27th degree of Scorpio from quartile [square], so that Saturn and Venus govern this prorogation together.
Saturn indicates his slowness in work and disease and distance from his land and grief and obstruction and difficulty, and this is worse because Mars is elevated over Saturn.
If it were not that Jupiter aspects Saturn it would be worse.
Because of the place of Saturn his mother will die in this period, but he will acquire goods because Saturn indicates these, and he will marry a wife with a dowry, and [a child] will be born to him who will live a short while and die in the third year; his enjoyment of women and children will be from Venus, but his lament and the death of his child will be from Saturn.”

Let’s go through this comment by Dorotheus step-by-step:

Because the terms of Saturn at the end of Scorpio have risen by primary motion to the eastern horizon, Saturn is the “divisor” for the next 7 years.Because Venus casts its square aspect from 27 Leo into 27 Scorpio, which is in the terms of Saturn, Venus becomes the participating planet and will act together with Saturn to govern this period. It is noteworthy that the term of Saturn begins at 24 Scorpio, yet Dorotheus regards Venus as the participant even though the primary directed Asc has not yet reached the degree of the square of Venus. Apparently, for Dortheus, the fact that Venus is casting an aspect into the term of Saturn at the moment when the directed Asc enters the term of Saturn is sufficient for Venus to begin to participate with Saturn in governing this period of the native’s life.
[Haly Aben Ragel makes a similar comment in Book 6 of his Libro Conplido (translated into Castillian in 1254): “Advierte que todo planeta que se presente en su partición y proyecta sus aspectos hacia el térmno en que está en el origen, significa en ese año los presagios propios del planeta.”]As divisor (ruler of this term), Saturn, through its general significations, portends slowness in his work, possible illness, loneliness or isolation from being far from home, grief, delays and other difficulties during this 7-year period. These troublesome significations of Saturn are magnified by the fact that Mars casts a superior square to Saturn. On the other hand, Jupiter lends a somewhat protective influence by beholding Saturn via a whole-sign opposition aspect. Saturn without Jupiter’s benefic gaze would be even more malefic.Because Saturn rules the 4th Whole Sign from the Ascendant in the natal chart, his mother may die during this period.Because Saturn occupies the natal 2nd Whole Sign house, he will acquire goods.Because Venus rules the natal 7th Whole Sign (the wife) and Venus casts her aspect into 27 Scorpio, the directed Asc at 24 Scorpio will arrive at 27 Scorpio in about 3 years, at which time the native is likely to marry and have a child (signified by the benefic nature of Venus). The wife will bring with her a dowry (Jupiter in Gemini, the 2nd sign from Taurus, the wife). That she will have a child may be indicated by Jupiter, ruled of the 5th Whole Sign from the Asc, being in the wife’s 2nd house (radical 8th). Unfortunately about 3 years after the directed Asc conjoins the ray of Venus at 27 Leo, it moves into the sign of Sagittarius, specifically into the first term of Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter (5th Whole Sign = children; Jupiter is also a general signifier of progeny), which the directed Asc encounters by the superior square ray from of (a killing planet) and the body of Saturn (a symbol of loss and death).

In summary, the directed Ascendant is the significator. As it passes through the term of Saturn (the divisor), the tone of the period and the types of experiences are symbolized by the general nature of Saturn and by its specific significations by house placement and rulership in the chart. As the significator makes contact with the participating planet (Venus in this case), events of the general nature of Venus tend to occur, as well as events specifically related to the house placement and rulership of Venus (ruler of the 7th natally).

Martin Gansten in his book Annual Predictive Techniques (2020, pp.27-29) notes that the medieval Arabic authors “give priority to the terms currently occupied by the significator” (the directed Asc in this example), attaching major importance to planets connected to the term (division) by bodily conjunction or major aspect. He agrees with Dorotheus that “the influence of a planet may begin before its [primary] direction perfects, provided that it (or its aspect point) in in the terms being activated.” After reviewing several examples from the literature, Gansten also notes that the combination of two planets as divisor and participant is interpreted in a similar manner, regardless of which is divisor and which is participant.

Benjamin Dykes in his translation of Abu Ma’shar On the Revolutions of the Years of Nativities (2019) comments that the divisor “sets the tone an parameters, it says what the period is fundamentally like; it has more to do with the native himself; it shows how things are fundamentally resolved, even if the partner [participating planet] alters it somewhat or grants some other kind of actions” (p.66). In Dykes’ view, the participant modifies the general significations of the divisor, helps to explain why things happen as they do during the period of this division, and indicates specific people and types of events which may occur related to the themes associated with the divisor.

Upon further reflection, one might argue that the divisor and participant form a type of dasha system in which the divisor acts much like a mahadasha and the participant acts like a bhukti.