Anthony Louis's Blog, page 2

Response to AJ’s comments in the parallax Moon post

This post is a respone to the many question AJ raised in a previous post about the parallax Moon.

AJ wrote:

First, while you now clarify that the example wasn’t intended as proof, the original post’s language—suggesting that the direction “fit more precisely” thanks to parallax—does carry the weight of an implicit conclusion. In a domain like primary directions, where interpretive margins are already quite broad, the way a finding is framed can easily tip the scale between speculation and implied validation. If the real aim was to encourage further inquiry, a clearer statement to that effect—especially given the uncertainties around the birth time—might have helped avoid the impression that this single case supports a general rule.

While it’s true that astrologers working with primary directions often find internally consistent methods that seem to yield “reasonably reliable results,” this very flexibility is part of the problem—not a point in favor of the technique’s robustness. Like Gansten, if one practitioner uses a sidereal zodiac and another uses a tropical one, one favors the Ptolemaic key and another Naibod, each a slightly “different method of directing”—and all can nonetheless claim success so long as their results are “refined” by other predictive techniques—then it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that primary directions possess any independent predictive power.

Continuing using Gansten’s methodology as an example. His practice differs significantly from your own, and these distinctions can markedly affect predictive outcomes. The difference between zodiacs alone affects house rulerships, not to mention the added contrast that Gansten uses Alcabitius houses and you use Placidus, which, for any given horoscope under scrutiny, would in almost all cases give a totally different delineation path to any significant PD. The number of differences between significators that has been mentioned before—none of these can be brushed aside. 

When divergent technical setups lead to equally acceptable results, the appearance of accuracy risks being little more than a product of interpretive elasticity. The core methods are no longer falsifiable or even meaningfully comparable. Instead, they function more as narrative scaffolding retrofitted around known events. Without a shared set of first principles—such as consensus on the zodiac, the timing key, the valid significators, and the treatment of latitude and parallax—the technique lacks the methodological coherence required of a disciplined predictive system. The idea that all systems “work” if sufficiently massaged by other techniques isn’t a strength—it’s a red flag pointing to the absence of a discriminating standard.

I do appreciate your point that different astrologers find reliable results using different combinations of settings. But here again, the larger issue is not that variation exists—it’s that there appears to be no clear methodological consensus about which of these variables matter most. If equally “accurate” results can be obtained using different zodiacs, keys, points, etc., then what exactly grounds the claim that one approach (such as the use of parallax) is more valid than another? The high degree of flexibility, while useful for retrospective interpretation, undermines any strong claim to predictive rigor unless it is paired with a clear evaluative standard and repeatable results.

On the question of timing precision, I agree that Morin’s view—that primary directions are indicative within a broader window and should be confirmed by solar revolutions—is historically accurate and contextually fair. But this again raises a critical point: if the timing of directions is inherently flexible by months or even a year, then why would a correction like lunar parallax—which often adjusts timing by a matter of days or weeks—carry significant practical weight? Either the technique is precise enough for such fine-tuning to matter, or it is not. If we accept a looser interpretive window, then we also need to be careful not to overstate the meaningfulness of small adjustments.

Lastly, the claim that primary directions serve best as “time-lords” active over extended periods risks conflating two fundamentally different conceptual frameworks. The time-lord model originates from systems such as the Dasha in Indian astrology and the Chronocrator techniques in Hellenistic and Persian astrology. These systems are structurally defined, governed by internally consistent rules (e.g., planetary periods or synodic cycles), and are not subject to the same degree of computational variability found in primary directions. While one critique of time-lord systems is the existence of multiple competing models, each tends to follow a fixed logic once adopted. If primary directions are now being reinterpreted to function like time lords—broad periods rather than sharply timed events—it suggests a retreat from their original premise: that angular distance can be precisely mapped to temporal intervals. If the model is being reshaped to accommodate imprecision, then its predictive role should be re-evaluated in light of that shift.

Again, I appreciate the refreshing spirit of inquiry in your post and your openness in engaging with critique. These kinds of discussions are essential if primary directions are to develop into a more robust and widely applicable tool. It’s an ironic thing to say, given that PDs have had over 2,000 years to evolve—but I’d argue that meaningful progress still depends on establishing clearer methodological foundations and adopting a more critical approach to validating the technique itself.

The questions AJ asks appear to apply to astrology in general and not just to the predicitive value of primary directions. For example, many astrologers today use as a main predictive tool “secondary directions” (aka “day-for-a-year secondary progressions”) which were introduced by Placidus in the 17th century. Years ago Michael Munkasy wrote an article (https://ncgrsandiego.org/articles.htm) outlining the multitude of different ways that secondary progressions could be calculated, yet in publications astrologers seldom clarify which parameters they are using to calculate their secondary progressions (how they are advancing the MC, how they are defining a day and a year, etc.), and there appears to be no consensus about how to do so. Solar Fire, for instance, offers five options for advancing the MC: Mean Quotidian, Solar Arc in longitude or Right Ascension, or Naibod in longitude or Right Ascension; and you also need to choose between standard Q2 and bija Q1 progression day types. Is there a standard, best, or most accurate way to do secondary progressions?

And then there is the question, why should a day be equivalent to a year in secondary progressions? This appears to be a matter of belief rather than science. And what kind of day, solar, sidereal, or some other measure? And what kind of year, tropical, sidereal, civil, true or mean durations, etc.? My own view is that astrology is a divinatory system that makes use of scientific techniques and findings but is not per se a science in the modern sense of the work. How does astrological truth differ from the truth of modern science?

Regarding Einstein’s chart, AJ was concerned that the birth time might be rounded and thus not the true time of birth. Such is often the case, but my own use of the 11:30 AM time of birth given for him has yielded good results over the years. Other astrologers who have discussed Einstein’s chart with this time of birth have been satisfied with its astrological reliability. Astro.com publishes a photocopy of the original birth certificate which reads: “am vierzehnten März des Jahres tausend achthundert siebendzig und neun vormittag um elf ein halb Uhr ein Kind männlichen Geschlechts geboren worden sei”  (on the fourteenth of March in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine at eleven thirty in the morning a child of the male sex was born).

Rectification is a tricky business. Some astrologers believe it is possible to find an accurate time of birth using astrological techniques. If you look through AstroDataBank, you will find that different astrologers commonly arrive at different birth times when they try to rectify the same chart. At best the rectified chart has a birth time in the ballpark of the actual time of birth, which is a time that produces a chart that “works” with the particular astrologer’s favorite techniques.

This illusion of precise timing also applies to primary directions. Some astrologers believe that if you know a birth time precisely, as well as the other astronomical parameters for casting the chart, then the primary directions will also time events precisely. This belief is common among modern astrologers, but even Morinus fell prey to it in the 17th century. On the one hand, Morin explains the many reasons why directions do not provide precise timing; and on the other, he goes to great lengths to construct a circle of aspects to take into account the latitudes of planets in aspect so that he can minutely adjust the timing of the Queen of Poland’s directions to precisely time important events in her life.

My own experience with primary direcitons is that they perfect in the ballpark of a few months of an event, but sometimes are surprisingly precise. In rectification with directions you test a large number of significant events, try to find their associated directions, and then adjust the birth time so that all the directions fit more or less, looking for the best fit as the preferred rectified time of birth, producing a chart that works best with your method of doing and timing primary direcitons, but not necessarily the actual time of birth.

There are several charts in the older literature which appear to have been “rectified” based on a single event, the death of the native, which raises suspicion about the validity of the birth time derived by the rectification. I have in mind the proposed charts of Pico della Mirandola, Henri II of France, and one of the versions of the chart of King Sebastian of Portugal.

The earliest type of primary direction appears to have been the circumambulation through the terms of bounds. Here, a Significator is identified to represent a particular area of life. Different authors used different groups of significators, which included the MC, ASC, Sun, Moon, Lot of Fortune, and the syzygy before birth. As astrology developed, newer generations of astrologers added more planets to this list. The natal positons of the birth chart were allowed to rotate with the sky, passing over these natal significators and the alignments were thought to represent significant moments in native’s life.

The terms or bounds appear to be of Mesopotamian origin, predating Hellenistic astrology. The reasoning behind these five divisions of each sign is unclear and may be based on sidereal rather than tropical factors. If so, Martin Gansten is correct in using the sidereal zodiac with techniques that use the bounds. In reading Gansten’s texts, I convert his chart examples to the tropical zodiac and use tropical terms, generally with good results. This puzzles me because the charts seem to “work” in either zodiac, which probably speaks to the divinatory nature of astrology. It seems to me that the argument about using the sidereal zodiac applies to the techniques used by the early Hellenistic astrologers. Years ago I asked Chris Brennan about doing “Zodiacal Releasing” with the sidereal rather than tropical zodiac, and he responded that in his experience it worked well with the tropical zodiac, even if the origianl zodiac when the technique originated was sidereal.

My own approach is fairly similar to Gansten’s. I consider profections, Lord of the Year, Lord of the Orb, Ptolemy’s Seven Ages of Man, cicumambulation through the terms of the relevant Signifiers, and directing by proportional semi-arc rather than circles of position (which Morin and Lilly preferred). I use the Naibod key, which in my experience has timed events most closely to when they happen but usually a little later than they actually occur (so I often use the midpoint of the Ptolemy and Naibod key). Morin also found that Naibod provided the best estimate to timing primary direcions. The difference betwen the Placidus and Naibod key beomes more significant with age; for example, at age 72 the difference is one degree = one year of life. For theoretical reasons, I prefer Placidus houses, but I also look at whole sign places and Porphyry houses to judge a chart.

Let’s look at one of Gansten’s examples from page 72 of Annual Predictive Techniques. The chart is that of an academic who gives Gansten many details of his life. I have converted it to the tropical zodiac with Placidus houses and have inserted the antiscia outside the wheel:

On page 74, Gansten notes that the native reported age 36 as being “hellish” for him. With reference to Ptolemy’s Seven Ages, this person was in a Sun period at that age. In his chart the Sun occupies the 12th house, is disposited by Jupiter in Aquarius in the 1st, and co-rules the 7th Placidus house and also rules whole sign Leo in the 8th place. The Sun is also closely trine a dignified 10th-ruler Mars at the end of Aries in the term of Saturn at the end of the 2nd Placidus house. The Sun opposes the antiscion of an afflicted Saturn, ruler of the Asc and occupant of the 7th. These factors color the background of his life from ages 22 to 41, when he enters a Mars period.

At age 36 in the sidereal zodiac the Asc was being directed through the bounds of Mars in Aquarius, and sidereal Mercury, ruler of the 7th of marriage, was casting a square into those bounds. During this year, his marriage fell apart and his wife suffered mental health problems. The following year (age 37), the directed Asc entered the terms of Saturn in sidereal Aquarius and the divorce was finalized. Gansten does not discuss the favorable celestial state of the “divisor” Mars in Aries in the sidereal chart and how Mars dignified in domicle relates to the year being hellish.

In the tropical zodiac, Capricorn is rising and Cancer is on the 7th cusp. Saturn is Lord of the Year, and with the Sun as the hour lord at birth Venus is Lady of the Orb. The profection at age 36, with Saturn conjunct the 7th cusp and the lunar south node and opposing the Asc, suggests a difficult time for marriage and a potential breakup. Lady of the Orb Venus naturally signifies love relationships. Its close quincuns to the cusp of the Placidus 8th suggests some type of crisis or major adjustment. With Venus ruling the 9th cusp and its antiscion on the MC, this adjustment would probably affect his academic and professional life.

At age 36 in the tropical zodiac, the directed Asc enters the Jupiter term (12-16) of Pisces, making Jupiter the “divisor” of the period; and at age 37 the directed Asc enters the Mercury term (16-19) of Pisces, making Mercury the “divisor.” The dispositor of Jupiter in Aqaurius is Saturn, which is Rx in the sign of its exile, Cancer, on the cusp of the 7th house.

Natal Jupiter in Aquarius is trine the Moon which rules the 7th (marriage, wife, conflicts) and occupies the 8th, with the antiscion of the Moon opposing the 8th. Natal Mercury casts a partile square to 14 Pisces 06′ which is the position of the antiscion of the Moon at 14 Pisces 02. Mercury occupies the natal 11th and rules the natal 8th, 6th, and 5th. The natal 6th is the derived 12th of undoing of the 7th of marriage. The dispositor of the 8th house Moon is Saturn Rx in exile in Cancer on the cusp of the 7th.

Here are the primary directions during this 2-year period from 2010 to 2012, calculated with Morinus freeware, placidus semi-arc, with and without latitude, Naibod key:

Primary Directions, Zodiacal. 2nd column = promissors. C = converse. D = direct. 4th column = significator. 5th column = arc. 6th column = date of perfection.

The native was born on December 18, 1973, almost at the end of the year.

In 2010, he was 36 years old. He began age 36 with the direction of an afflicted Saturn trine his Asc, and then the converse direciton Mars square his Moon in the 8th, ruler of the 7th cusp of marriage and his wife. In mid-year, the direction of the square of Mercury to the Asc (and opposing the Dsc or 7th cusp) perfected. The dates are based on the Naibod key, which at age 36 is roughly 6 months later than the Ptolmey key. The converse direction of Moon square Mars at the beginning of 2010 (age 36) fits well with his describing the year as “hellish” since Mars is the contrary to sect malific and the Moon, besides ruling the 7th cusp (wife, marriage, conflict) is a general signifier of his emotional life.

Gansten tells us that at age 40 the native began a new romantic relationship, which resulted in marriage in the following year (age 41). In the tropical chart, by primary motion the sextile of Jupiter arrived at the Moon (without latitude) in February of 2014 (age 40). At the time the directed Asc had just left the term of Saturn and the end of Pisces, and was changing sign and entering the term of Jupiter at the beginning of Aries, making his “divisor” Jupiter and his participating planet the Sun, which is exalted in Aries. With Saturn at the beginning of Cancer, the Sun would soon hand over management of the partnership to Saturn, which occupies the 7th house and is conjunct its cusp.

Morin on Mars ruling the 3rd and placed in the 4th house

One of the puzzling passages in Morin’s Book 21 on Determinations appears at the end of Section II Chapter 9 in which he explains how planets act through their aspects, and in certain cases a planet’s action through an aspect predominates over its action through rulership of a house cusp. For example, Morin explains that it is worse for the Ascendant to receive a square or opposition from Mars or Saturn than to be ruled by one of these malefics. On the other hand, it is better for the Ascendant to receive a trine from a benefic Jupiter than merely to be ruled by Jupiter (other things being equal). He explains that a well conditioned Jupiter occupying the Midheaven and ruling the Ascendant is significantly more favorable for the Ascendant than a poorly conditioned Jupiter, ruling as well as trining the Ascendant, while at the same time occupying the malefic 8th house.

“Indeque non abs re deduci potest* quod Planeta significet efficacius domui cui opponitur, quam ipsius domus dominus extra domum illam constitutus, si praesertim sit debilis, nec ellam apiciat. Ad haec notandum, quod Planetae aspectus agit efficacius ratione domus in qua est ipse Planeta quam ratione domus cui ille dominatur. Sicque Marte dominus tertiae in quarta & trigono Asc alicujus nati, fecit hunc parentibus dilectum, fratri autem odiosum.”

“Thence [from the examples just cited], it is not unreasonable to infer that a Planet signifies more effectively the house to which it is opposed than does the lord of that house, placed outside that house, especially if it [the Planet ruling the house] is weak and does not aspect it [the house]. In addition to these things, one should note that the aspect of a planet acts more effectively by reason of the house in which the planet itself is located than by reason of the house it rules. And so, Mars, as lord of the third in the fourth and in trine to the Ascendant of someone born, makes this person beloved by parents, but odious to a brother.” (my translation, italics and bold mine)

What is Morin’s reasoning about the 3rd-ruler Mars occupying the 4th house and in trine to the degree of the Ascendant? Let’s take it apart.

Morin repeatedly emphasizes that the house actually occupied by a planet more strongly and efficaciously determines the significations of that planet in a particular chart than its rulership of a house from which it is absent. In Morin’s example, Mars occupying the 4th house is more strongly detetermined toward matters related to the native’s parents than to 3rd house issues related to siblings. Thus, a favorable trine from Mars in the 4th (parents) to the Ascendant (the native) more effectivly signifies a positive relationship between the parents (4th house where Mars is located) and the native (Ascendant) than it would a positive connection between the native and a sibling of the 3rd house (which Mars rules but does not occupy).

But why does Morin comment that Mars ruling the 3rd and occupying the 4th makes the native detestable (odious, offensive, disagreeable, troublesome, bothersome, annoying) to a brother: fecit fratri autem odiosum? I’m not sure but possible reasons might include:

Mars is naturally a malefic planet, signifying conflict, angry exchanges, disputes, bloodshed, and disagreements. Hence, from the native’s perspective Mars ruling the 3rd cusp can indicate hostile, vexatious, irritating, and warlike siblings.The 4th house rules the parents, but is also the 2nd house from the radical 3rd of siblings, so Mars locaed in the radical 4th occupies the 2nd from the radical 3rd of siblings and lies in aversion to the radical 3rd house which it rules. In other words, Mars located in the radical 4th, which is the derived 2nd house from the radical 3rd, cannot see his own house in the chart. Such aversion makes the aspects of Mars (as ruler of the radical 3rd) much less efficacious because Mars is not connected to his own house.Morin regards a planet occupying a house as accidentally signifying the matters of the opposite house. Thus, Mars in the radical 4th also signifies radical 10th house issues via its opposition to the radical 10th. However, by derived houses, the radical 4th is the derived 2nd of the radical 3rd of siblings, whose opposite house is the derived 8th from the radical 3rd of siblings — a malefic house associated with mortal danger, fear, and anxiety. The natural signfiications of Mars are strongly analogous the the meanings of the 8th house, making Mars located in the radical 4th accidentally malefic with respect to the radical 3rd.Hence, the trine of Mars, as an accidental malefic with regard to the radical 3rd house, to the radical Ascendant loses its favaorble quality and indicates hostility between native and brother.

I looked for a chart to illustrate Morin’s example but have not yet found one. The chart of Richard Nixon has some similarities to what Morin is discussing. Richard Nixon had a complex and often tense relationship with his brothers, particularly Donald Nixon, whose business dealings repeatedly embarrassed Richard and potentially damaged his political career. I don’t know how Nixon got on with his parents, but a Wikipedia article reports that he always spoke kindly of his parents, even though his father was “mean-spirited” and sometimes abusive (4th ruler Jupiter conjunct Mars and opposite Pluto).

In Nixon’s chart Mars rules the 3rd house of siblings and occupies the 4th with Sagittarius on the cusp. With Virgo rising, Mercury rules the Ascendant (Nixon). 1st-ruler Mercury closely conjoins 4th ruler Jupiter in the 4th Placidus house (5th whole sign place), suggesting a close bond between the native and his parents.

Mars in the radical fourth lies in aversion to the radical 3rd and, by its actual presence in the 4th, is strongly determined toward 4th house issues. The 3rd ruler Mars is closely conjunct 1st-ruler Mercury (Nixon) but across a sign boundary. Morin would argue that Mars here more strongly signifies the parents than a sibling because Mars is physically present in the 4th but is only the absent ruler of the 3rd house and is in aversion to the 3rd.

In addition, Mars ocupies the derived 2nd from the radical 3rd and is opposed to the derived 8th from the radical 3rd, making Mars an accidental malefic from the perspective of the 3rd house sibling. It seems like Morin views Mars (ruler of the 3rd house of siblings) as especially harmful because it is an accidental malefic, signify the sibling’s 8th house matters, with regard to the 3rd house in such a chart.

—————–
* Morin here uses an idiom commonly found in Latin academic and philosophical texts: “non abs re deduci potest” in which “non abs re” means “not without reason” or “not without cause,” and “deduci potest” means “it can be deduced” or “it can be inferred.” In other words, “it is not unreasonable to infer …” or “it can reasonably be inferred”.

The 12th house and Travel Abroad

In Hindu astrology the 12th house is associated with “moksha” — freedom or liberation from the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Moksha involves letting go of attachments to free oneself spiritually from the contraints of karma. By analogy, the 12th house is connected with loss, illness (loss of health), expense, exile, solitude, isolation, renunciation, confinement, imprisonment (loss of freedom), hospitalization, separation from loved ones, and many other forms of detachment, including relocation and living abroad which necessitates letting go of attachments to homeland, friends, family, and familiar persons or things.

Image from https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/relocation-services-3821165591.html

In traditional “Western” astrology, travel was linked to the planet Mars, as con-significator of the 3rd house of siblings and short-distance travel according to William Lilly, and to the Moon which rejoices in the 3rd house, undergoes frequent changes in its appearance, and travels quite rapidly through the sky.

Traditonal astrologers also associated the “cadent” houses with travel because they represented a “falling away” from the Angles of the chart. Medieval astrologers regarded planets in succedent or angular houses to be “advancing” toward an Angle and thereby growing stronger, and planets in cadent house to be “retreating” or moving away from an Angle and thereby growing weaker.

Bonatti, who was well-versed in the medieval Arabic texts which had been translated into Latin, wrote in his Treatise 6 on Questions regarding the 9th House: “… the 9th house and its lord signify a long journey or pilgrimage; the 3rd house [and its lord] a short journey; the 5th house [and its lord] a moderate one; and the 12th house [and its lord] the longest journey of all.)

In the last post I discussed the chart of Albert Einstein. Here, let’s consider that same chart with regard to his decision to leave Nazi Germany (go into exile, a 12th house issue) and renounce his German citizenship as the Nazis threatened his life in the early 1930s. In 1932, Einstein was in the USA as a visiting professor at CalTech. After Hitler became Chanecllor of German on 30 January 1933, Einstein publicly announced his self-exile from Nazi Germany on 15 March 1933, and he officially renounced his German citizenship on 28 March 1933 while in Belgium. He emigrated to the USA later in 1933, arriving on 17 October 1933. 

Einstein’s 12th house of relocation abroad has Gemini on the cusp and Mercury as its ruler. Mercury lies in 3 Aries in the 10th house, makes a partile sinister sextile (60-degree aspect) to the cusp of the 12th house of renunciation and dexter sextile to 3 Leo in the Placidus 8th and whole sign 9th house, and closely conjoins Saturn and the Part of Fortune. Saturn rules the 8th house of mortal danger and the 9th house of higer learning, universities science, religion, and long distance travel.

Let’s look at his primary directions at age 54 (in 1933) when he renounced his German citizenship, went into exile, and relocated to the USA to teach at Princeton University.

These are Einstein’s primary directions between November 1932 and March 1934, calculated in Janus 6, Placidus semi-arc, Naibod key, using the latitude of both planets and “3D aspects” which are measured in the plane of the Great Circle that passes through both planets making an aspect to each other.

Here we see that in March of 1933, when Einstein renounced his German citizenship, primary motion connected the sextile aspect of Mercury, with latitude, to the body of Mercury.

A month later primary motion connected the sextile aspect of Venus, with latitude, to the body of Venus. Among her significations in this chart, Venus conjunct the 11th cusp refers to his finding a safe haven in time of difficulty.

The direction of the sextile of the Sun to the body of the Sun perfects in March of 1934. At that time he is an honored professor at Princeton University, and later that year he receives an honorary doctorate from Yeshiva University in New York.

The Parallax Moon in Primary Directions

In Book 16, Chapter 5, Morinus suggests two options for the “true place” of a planet on the Primum Mobile: (1) the position in the Ephemeris, which is based on a straight line drawn from the center of the Earth to the center of the planet on the Celestial Sphere, and (2) the position based on a straight line drawn from the EYE of the observer on the surface of the Earth to the center of the planet on the Celestial Sphere. Here, Morin has in mind “parallax view,” the apparent change in an object’s position that results from being viewed from different different angles of observation and the object’s distance from the observer. Of the two possibilities, Morin prefers the planet’s position as seen from the human eye on the surface of the Earth, that is, the so-called “parallax view” of the planet, especially so if we are dealing with the Moon whose ecliptic longitude may vary by as much as a full degree when it is near the horizon.

Morin writes (my translation): “Concerning these two true places, controversy ensues regarding which [“true place”] should be chosen, especially since the Moon being subject to parallax [view] should not be ignored. However, because we are significantly affected by the stars via their rays flowing into us, the true place on the Primum Mobile [as seen] by the [human] eye should be especially regarded as the true place of the Planet with respect to us and as the starting point of its aspects. Thus, minimally, the place of the Moon as derived from the Ephemerides will need to be corrected by parallax when doing [primary] directions, especially if it [the Moon] be close to the Horizon, as is more fully stated in Book 22. But the parallax [view] of other planets scarcely amounts to one or two minutes of arc” [which makes very little difference in primary directions].

Image from https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/attic/sunearthday.nasa.gov/2008eclipse/materials/LunarParallaxChallenge.pdf

Morin’s argument is that the Moon is so close to the Earth that its parallax position is preferred in calculating primary directions because the planets affect us by their rays impinging directly on our bodies. It is the parallax Moon whose rays land directly on us and are therefore more effective in directions. Morin makes the same argument in Book 17, Section 3, Chapter 2. Nonetheless, an examination of his charts reveals that he does not follow his own dictum in practice, since his published charts do not use the parallax lunar positions.

One of the few astrologers who takes the parallax view of the Moon into account is Martin Gansten, and he finds that it does work better in primary directions, just as Morin said it would.

To test Morin’s theory, I looked for a chart with a prominent Moon fairly near the horizon and came up with the chart of Albert Einstein who was born with Cancer rising, the Moon ruling the Ascendant andoccuping the 6th house not too far below the western horizon. Here are two birth charts for Einstein, one with and the other without the parallax Moon:

Albert Einstein: Moon’s position with respect to the Center of the Earth Albert Einstein birth chart with parallax Moon as viewed from the native’s postion on the surface of the Earth

As you can see, the “normal” chart used by most astrologers has the Moon at 14 Sag 31′. The other chart has the Moon with its parallax position at 13 Sag 57′ — a difference of 34 minutes of arc (a little more than half a degree).

To check what difference the parallax Moon might make in primary directions, I looked at the directions in the period surrounding his passing on April 18, 1955.

With the parallax Moon, the following directions occurred, as measured in Solar Fire, Naibod rate, without latitude, using Placidus semi-arc. Here is the list:

Directions with the parallax Moon show the directed Uranus square MC on April 9, 1955, very close to the date of his demise, and directed Asc-ruler parallax Moon opposing natal Sun on May 17, 1955, just a month later.

The same directions calculated with the same parameters in Janus 6 without the parallax Moon are as follows:

Einstein’s directions without latitude, Naibod rate, Placidus semi-arc. Note that Uranus square MC occurs on April 8, 1955, but the opposition of the Moon to the natal Sun occurs on Dec 25, 1955 — about 7 months after the same direction calculated with the parallax Moon.

The Moon, as Asc-ruler, signifies the native’s body and life-force. The Sun is dispositor by exaltation of 8th-ruler Saturn in Aries and of 12th-ruler Mercury, also in Aries. Thus, the directed opposition of the Moon to the Sun can signify the native’s serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Here, the parallax position of the Moon gives a much closer timing (about a month) to Einstein’s passing than the longitude of the Moon without parallax, which times the event to late December, more than 8 months after its occurrence. At least in this instance Morin’s advice to use the parallax position of the Moon in primary directions produces a much more accurate result.

A Review of the Predictive Astrology Textbook by Borealis

Last week I came across some comments by Penelope Sitter and Sharon Knight about a recently released book by Alexey Borealis. Intrigued, I ordered the book which arrived a few days ago. Alexey is a scientist with a strong background in mathematics and physics. He is also an astrologer who has studied medieval astrology with Robert Zoller and horary with John Frawley. What piqued my interest was Sitter’s mentioning that Borealis had made a careful study of Morinus, explained Morin’s methods in his text, and focused on Morin’s approach to primary directions, including the mathematics and spherical trigonometry involved in their application.

I first met Robert Zoller many decades ago at an astrology conference in New York City. At the time he was translating Bonatti from Latin into English in the basement of the NY Public Library and presenting his findings to the astrological community. During our conversation Zoller recommended studying Morin’s Astrologia Gallica because of its rigorous and logical approach to traditional astrology. His own mentor, Zoltan Mason, had made the same recommendation to him. Thus began my fascination with the work of Morinus. Fortunately, James Holden had been translating the work of Morinus into English — a daunting task given the immense volume of his writings and the need to translate technical Latin into English. When Robert Corre, a student of Zoltan Mason, offered a course on Morinus, I signed up right away. Corre eventually put me in touch with Holden with the proposal to translate Morin’s Book 18 into English. Fortunately there was a Spanish translation of Book 18 by Pepa Sanchis, which I read and used to guide me through the Latin text. James Holden then read each section of Book 18 as I translated it, to make sure it was faithful to Morin’s Latin.

Unfortunately, there were no really good books in English that explained Morin’s vast understanding and critiques of traditional astrology. Reading Morinus is not an easy task, at least to me, and I felt that a good explanatory text has been needed for a long time. For this reason I was delighted to read that Alexey Borealis had finally published such a book. Having read the bulk of it now, I think that Alexey has done a fine job. He comes across as an excellent teacher who, in Chapter 3 on Natal Astrology, guides the student step by step through the process of analyzing a chart as Morinus would. (Chapter 1 is introductory, Chapter 2 deals with horary, and in the final sections of the book he discusses the problem of “cherry picking” charts to support a technique, and also the mathematics and spherical geometry that underly Morin’s methods.)

This book will be of great value to students of Morinus. Alexey Borealis discusses his own birth chart in great detail to show how Morin’s methods work in delineating his natal chart and forecasting accurately based on Regiomontanus houses and primary directions (circle of position method), solar and lunar returns, and transits. He also uses and explains Morin’s modification of the 15th century method of Bianchini to calculate aspects according to an “aspect circle” based on the latitude of the planet with reference to the ecliptic. Morin argued that such an aspect circle should be based on the maximum latitude of the planet in the period under consideration rather than the just planet’s current latitude in the chart, as Bianchini proposed.

From the Blog of Alexey Borealis at Morinus-Astrology.com

Other than Morin, I don’t know of any astrologer who used Morin’s version of Bianchini’s “circle of aspects.” Morin, of course, felt that his circle of aspects was far more accurate than Bianchini’s and claimed that he found it to be so in practice. Unfortunately, as James Holden points out in his translation of Morin’s Book 16 on Aspects, even the best tables of planetary positions in Morin’s time contained errors in the Moon’s longitude that were equal to, and commonly greater than, the correction of the longitude of lunar aspects derived from Morin’s theory, making it scientifically impossible for Morin to have verified his theory experientially furing his era. In addition, Morin’s theory necessitated the use of the parallax position of the Moon but, in practice, Morin ignored his own postulate about using lunar parallax in calculating lunar aspects. As far as I can tell, Borealis also ignores the parallax position of the Moon, which can make a substantial difference in the timing of primary directions of the Moon in Morin’s method. Interestingly, Martin Gansten does use the parallax lunar position routinely with Placidean primary directions and finds the timing to be more accurate, as Morin had argued.

If you are interested in the method of Morinus, I recommend this book. Unfortunately, it’s rather expensive and may not be affordable for many students. Nonetheless, it’s quite well done and worth reading if you are an avid fan of Morinus. I did an internet search and found the following video by Borealis in which he makes a prediction on a “blind chart” for one of his students, using Morin’s methods as explained in this book; he is surprisingly accurate in his delineation and forecasting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwloctunTzE

Dasha Systems and the Greater Years of Planets

In ancient astrology, the seven visible “planets” were each allotted a certain number of years, which were of three types: Small, Medium, and Large. Planetary Years became an important feature of “length of life” techniques involving the hyleg and alcochoden. Here are the classical assignments derived from various sources:

YearSun MoonMercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMinor1925208151230Middle69.566.5484540.545.543.5Greater1201087682667957 Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Eurasia

The small or minor periods are derived from recurrence cycles, at the end of which the planets conjoin the Sun at approximately the same degree of the zodiac. The Sun’s period of 19 years is its metonic cycle of 19 years, which is when an eclipse occurs in the same degree as it did at the beginning of the cycle. The Moon’s small period is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar of 365 days and the fact that 25 Egyptian years correspond to exactly 309 lunation cycles.

The greater years are not astronomically derived, but rather represent the sums of the degrees allocated to each non-luminary planet in the system of terms (bounds) used by Dorotheus (the so-called “Egyptian terms”) and also in the terms used by Ptolemy. Each zodiac sign is divided into five unequal parts, called “terms,” each of which is ruled by a different non-luminary planet.

According to Robert Hand, the Greater Years of the Sun and the Moon are not related to the terms (bounds) but rather to the apparent size of the ancient civilized world, which extended from the west coast of Africa eastward to the outer limits of Asia, so that the life-giving Sun’s maximum diurnal semi-arc was 120 degrees, equivalent to a period of 120 as its Great number of Years. Because the Moon is not visible until it is at least 12 degrees away from the Sun, the Moon was allotted 120 minus 12, or 108 degrees as its Greater number of Years.

Rob Hand speculates that this ancient tradition in Hellenistic Greece influenced the Indian dasha systems so that 120 years became the maximum lifesapn in the Vimshottari system, and the Moon’s 108 Greater Years becamse the maximum lifespan in the Ashottari system. In addition, three Yogini dasha cylces of 36 years each are equivalent to the Greater Lunar period of 108 years. Is this just coincidence, or was there an interchange of astrological lore among cultures in the ancient world?

Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer

Joe Biden diagnosed with prostate cancer

On May 18, 2025, the office of former President Joe Biden announced that he has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of prostate cancer, which has metastasized: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday [16 May 2025], he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”. A Gleason score of 9 places this cancer in the Grade Group 5, one of the most severe classifications in prostate cancer diagnosis. The spread of the cancer to his bones raises further.

Many have been concerned about Biden’s health since his dismal performance in last fall’s presidential debates in which he looked frail, confused, incoherent, debilitated, and sickly. Here is Biden’s birth chart (Rodden rating A) with “Egyptian” bounds and Placidus houses. The sources of the birth data are Marion March who quotes Celeste Longacre for the 8:30 AM time from Biden in “Welcome to the Planet Earth,” 4/1987; and Sy Scholfield who quotes the birth notice from The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania), 20 November 1942, page 26: “A son was born this morning in St. Mary’s Hospital to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Biden of Baltimore, Md.”

Katherine Suchy did a tentative rectification of this chart, using primary directions, and arrived at a rectified time of 8:31:48 AM EWT, which gives a rectified MC of 20 Virgo 24′ (vs. 19 Vir 54′) of and a rectified Asc of 3 Sagittarius 33′ (vs. 3 Sag 11′). I tested Katherine’s finding againt a single event, the vehicular accident of 18 December 1972 in which his first wife and daughter perished. Using Placidus semi-arc and the Naibod Key, I came up with a rectified time of 8:31:46 AM EWT — virtually the same value as in the Katherine’s video cited above.

Joe Biden was born on a Venus day during a Venus hour, the 1st hour of the day. His is a diurnal chart. Bonatti would choose the Sun as his hyleg, whereas Ptolemy would choose the Ascendant.

Biden’s profected Ascendant at this time (May 2025, age 82) is Libra, which contains natal Neptune. Thus, his Lady of the Year is Venus, which occupies the natal 12th (misfortune, hospitalization, confinement, etc.) and rules the natal 6th (illness) and 11th (friend, hopes, wishes). Venus is in detriment in Scorpio, conjoins the Asc degree, and is combust the Sun. Venus is also in partile square to Chiron (painful and persistent wounds, hurts, injuries).

The ruler of Libra (Profected Ascendant Sign) is Saturn which lies in the natal 7th, conjoins Uranus, and opposes the Asc degree. Uranus closely squares the Lunar Nodes (lies “at the bendings”) and tightly opposes the degree of the Ascedant. The symbolism suggests a serious and unexpected health issue this year.

With Venus as his hour lord at birth, his Lord of the Orb at age 82 is Mars, which rules the natal 12th, conjoins the 12th Placidus cusp, and square Pluto in the 8th. Again, the possibility of serious illness, possibly requiring hospitalization, surgery, or chemotherapy is indicated.

On the day he was diagnosed with cancer (Friday, 16 May 2025), Biden was 30,128 days old = 82.487 years old. To advance the MC of his natal chart from the MC at birth, by primary motion at the Naibod rate, we would need to add 324.33 minutes on the clock to 8:30 AM EWT, which produces a chart with the following Angles and Placidus cusps:

Biden’s natal chart Angles & cusps DIRECTED by primary motion at Naibod rate to 16 May 2025.

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If we had used a rectified birth time of 8:31:46 AM EWT, the directed chart would look like this:

Biden’s RECTIFIED natal chart Angles & cusps DIRECTED at Naibod rate to 16 May 2025.

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If we consider Biden’s circumambulations (distributions) from the Asc, we see in the directed charts that the “distributor” (“divisor”) this year is moving from Saturn (ruler of the last term of Aquarius) to Venus (ruler of the first term of Pisces). In other words, Saturn who has been the time-lord since age 79 is handing the time-lord baton to Venus who will govern the next several years (till age 89.8). If the rectified birth time is accurate, the switch from Saturn to Venus as distributor time-lord took place on 20 April 2025. It is also noteworthy that the hand-over took place with the natal South Lunar Node (a point associated with detachment, spiritual liberation, and “letting go”) on the directed Ascendant.

By casting its square into the end of Aquarius, natal 6th rulrer and Lady of the Year Venus becomes the partnering planet during the current circumambulation period, which activates Chiron lying in square to Venus and opposing the directed Asc. Again, the theme of persistent health problems that are difficult to heal is signaled as a major theme for the current year.

A surprise award

Revisiting the Mayerling Incident

The Mayerling Incident is the name given to a series of events surrounding the alleged suicide pact of 30-year-old Rudolf, the Crown Prince of Austria, and his 18-year-old lover, baroness Mary Vetsera, who were found dead on 30 January 1889 in an imperial hunting lodge in Mayerling. That lodge today is apparently a carmelite monastery.

According to official sources, namely, the Wiener Zeitung of 22 August 1858, page 1: “Amtlicher Theil. Ihre Majestät die Kaiserin sind gestern den 21. August um 10 Uhr 15 Minuten Abends zu Laxenburg glücklich von einem Kronprinzen entbunden worden.”  (Official Section: Her Majesty the Empress was happily delivered of a Crown Prince yesterday, August 21, [1858] at 10:15 p.m. in Laxenburg.”)

Laxenburg is a market town in the Central Bavarian district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. According to Google Maps, the GPS coordinates of the hunting lodge in Larenburg, Austria are about 48.066 N and 16.359 E. The birth chart here was calculated with Solar Fire software.

Birth Chart of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria

Assuming the official birth data is correct, Crown Prince Rudolf has late Taurus rising, as he was born as the cusp of the 1st house was about the change from Taurus (ruled by Venus) to Aries (ruled by Mars). If he were born just a bit later than the official time, he would have Aries rising.

Are there astrological indications of a potential suicidal death? Suicide is often associated with the 12th house (exile, self-undoing, misfortune). In this chart with its Placidus cusps, Mars rules the 12th and Pluto resides therein. Mars occupies fiery Sagittarius and opposes the natal Ascendant (the body and life force of the native) from the 7th house (intimate partners) near the western horizon. Mars in the 7th also opposes Uranus which sits just inside the 1st house, conjunct the Ascendant, which can symbolize sudden or unexpected violence affecting the native’s physical well-being. With Mars ruling the 12th, such violence can be self-directed and may involve a partner.

The Mars-Uranus opposition lies in square to the Moon’s nodes and the Sun, which occupy the 5th house (love affairs), with the Sun ruling the 5th cusp. The square of the 5th house Sun to the 7th house Mars connects the sudden or unexpected violent action to his love life.

Jupiter, ruler of the 8th of death, is in his detriment in Gemini in the 1st house and is loosely connected to Mars by a whole-sign opposition aspect.

Jupiter, ruler of the 8th (death) in the 1st, is also square to the Mercury-Neptune opposition, with Mercury in Virgo occupying the 5th of love affairs, suggesting confused or irrational thinking involving a lover. With Gemini occupying most of the first Placidus house, Mercury co-rules the 1st house (the native’s physical health and well-being).

The violent death of the two lovers occurred on 30 January 1889 when Rudolf (born 21 August) was 30 years and 5 months old (roughly 30.4 years old).

This chart is also striking for its mundane aspects. Uranus, conjunct the Ascendant, opposes Mars, conjunct the Descendant, and this opposition is closely aspected by Saturn, conjunct the IC (end of life) — a mundane T-square involing both traditional malefics and the modern planet Uranus. Here what the chart would like like at 10:28 pm, not longer after his birth:

If we look as the ancient method of “distribution” or “cicumambulation” we see that Mars was the divisor and the Sun was its partner during the period of Rudolf’s demise:

In January 1889, the directed Asc was in the MARS term (bound) of Cancer, the sign of its FALL. The Sun was the participant with Mars, through Sun sextile directed Asc at the end of Gemini.

His profected Taurus-rising birth chart would have a profected Asc of Scorpio at age 30, with Mars as Lord of the Year, thus activating the natal 6th house and the natal Mars-Uranus opposition and natal Mars-Asc opposition, which could symbolize a sudden, unexpected threat to his life. The Lord of the Orb during this profection year is the Sun (his natal hour lord is Jupiter) which rules the 4th cusp (end of life matters) and conjoins the 5th house cusp (romantic affairs).

The Prince’s Solar Return for this period has Leo rising and is ruled by the Sun, which tightly squares SR Jupiter in Scorpio, with SR Jupiter ruling the solar return’s 8th house of death and occupying the SR 4th house of endings, also occupied by SR Mars which squares SR Saturn in the 12th (misfortune).

Also, SR Jupiter squares SR Mercury in the SR 1st house, which conjoins the natal 5th house cusp (love affairs). In addition SR Jupiter, lord of the SR 8th of death, closely opposes the natal Ascendant.

The SR Moon rules the SR 12th of self-undoing and conjoins the Dsc, tightly opposing the SR Asc.

Crown Prince’s Solar Return for the year of his demise.

Finally, let’s look at the primary directions active in January 1889. These were calculated in Solar Fire, Placidus semi-arc, no latitude, Naibod key.

Crown Prince Rudolf’s primary directions around the time of his passing

On the morning of 30 January 1889, Rudolf and his lover Mary were found shot dead in the hunting lodge at Mayerling. The Royal Family apparently covered up the double suicide so that their son could have a proper Roman Catholic funeral and burial. Suicide was considered a mortal sin by the church. In 1915, letters found in a safe deposit box revealed that Baroness Mary Vetsera had planned her suicide alongside Crown Prince Rudolf out of love.

The bodies were apparently found on the morning of 30 January 1889 in Mayerling. I don’t know the exact time. The next chart shows the 8 AM transits around the natal chart of the prince on the day of the incident.

Transits on the morning of the death of Rudolf and Mary, exact time unknown, so the transiting Asc, MC, and Moon may not be very accruate.

I leave it to the reader to see all the connections among the various predictive methods discussed here.

If the Profected Ascendant Ruler is Batman, who is Robin?

Recently the Astrological Society of Kentucky invited me to speak about planetary hours. After giving the matter some thought, I decided to do a presentation about the Lord of the Orb, a profectional technique widely used in medieval and Renaissance astrology. For some reason, it was neglected in the English-language astrological literature. The Lord of the Orb, however, is discussed extensively by Abu Ma’shar in the 9th century CE, and several European texts also explain its use in the 16th century. Junctinus, who was widely read and often quoted by Morin in France and Lilly in England, clearly outlines the technique. Morin felt that such methods were non-scientific fantasies of the medieval Arab writers and dismissed them for that reason. William Lilly, as far as I know, never mentions the Lord of the Orb, even though he apparently read Junctinus in the Latin. Guido Bonatti, whom Lilly frequently quotes, defines the Lord of the Orb in his Latin text, so Lilly must have been aware of the concept.

What is the Lord of the Orb? It goes by various names including Lord of the Orb, the Circle, the Turn (probably referring to the turn of the native’s year at the annual solar revolution), etc. The basic idea is that each of us is born during a particular planetary hour, whose ruler is then “profected” in Chaldean order (Sa, Ju, Ma, Su, Ve, Me, Mo) annually for the rest of our life. The Lord of the orb is a time-lord which is interpreted together with the Lord of the Year (the ruler of the annual profected Ascendant sign), and other predictive techniques, in judging the solar return each year after birth. The Lord of the Orb and of the Year are time-lords that act as a team in highlighting important themes in the year ahead.

Let’s look at a case example of the use of these two time-lords in practice. Stephen Spielberg cast 5-year-old Heather O’Rourke in his movie Poltergeist. According to her Birth Certificate, Heather was born in San Diego, CA, on 27 December 1975 at 00:28 AM on a Venus day during a Jupiter hour. It was shocking to learn that at the age of 12 she died of cardiac arrest and septic shock caused by a misdiagnosed intestinal stenosis on 1 February 1988. Here is her chart in the tropical zodiac with Placidus houses:

Heather O’Rourkes’ birth chart with planetary hour rulers in Chaldean order around the outside of the chart.

The Lord of the Orb during the first year of life is the natal planetary hour, in this case, Jupiter. Because she has Libra rising, the Lord of the Year during the first year of life is Venus. We then “profect” the Ascendant at the rate of one whole sign per year (birthday to birthday, as judge by solar return). The ruler of the profected Asc become the profected Lord of the Year.

Similarly we “profect” the Lord of the Orb yearly in Chaldean order. In the 1st year of life, the Lord of the Orb is the planetary hour lord, Jupiter in this chart. In the 2nd year of life, the Lord of the Orb is Mars, which is also associated with the 2nd whole sign from the birth Asc. In the 3rd year, it’s the Sun, which is also associated with the 3rd whole sign from the natal Asc. And so on, around the wheel.

She died at age 12, which is her 13th year of life. Her Lady of the Year (profected Asc ruler at age 12) was Venus, ruler of Libra. Her Lord of the Orb at age 12 was the Moon, which comes in Chaldean order after Mercury (the Orb Lord at age 11). Hence, two important time-lords in the year of her demise were Venus and the Moon.

What do Venus and the Moon signify in the natal chart? The Lord of the Orb Moon occupies the 1st house, so it refers to her body and state of health. The Moon rules the 10th cusp (career, public reputation). The Moon is square Mercury (ruler of the 12th of hospitalization and the 9th, and occupant of the 4th of endings). In addition, the Moon rules the 8th of death through its exaltation in Taurus, which is ruled by Venus, the dispositor of the Moon.

Venus, the Lady of the Year, rules the 8th of death, disposits the Lord of the Orb Moon, and occupies Scorpio in the 2nd house, which Morin says accidentally signifies death through its opposition to the 8th. In the sequence of 12 hour lords paired with the 12 houses of the birth chart, Venus is associated with houses 4 (final endings) and 11 (hopes, wishes, friends).

In the second cycle of 12 houses, ages 12 to 23, in Chaldean order the Moon is paired with the 1st (body) and 8th (death) houses, and Venus is paired with the 6th (illness) house. This listing from an Excel sheet shows which houses the Lord of the Orb Moon is associated with at various ages during the first 36 years of her life:

In her birth chart, the Moon is Lord of the Orb at age 5 and is paired with the 6th house, so the Moon has an association with 6th house issue natally and throughout life. In the second 12 years of life, the Moon is Lord of the Orb of the 1st house and is paired with the 1st and 8th houses during this second 12-year period of life. Hence, at age 12 we would expect 1st, 6th, and 8th houses to become prominent because the Moon is Lord of the Orb at that age.

Next we must study the solar turn that was active in February of 1988 when she passed.

Solar Return at birth location during the year of her passing. Lady of the Year was Venus, and Lord of the Orb was the Moon.

In the solar return for 1988, the Lord of the Orb Moon occupies Aries in the SR 7th house. The Moon closely applies to square the Sun, which is in the 4th house of final endings, and the Sun is conjunct SR Asc-ruler Mercury and SR Neptune, all in the 4th house. The SR Moon in Aries occupies the natal 6th house of illness.

The Lady of the Year Venus occupies Aquarius in the SR 5th house (associated with the heart in medical astrology). SR Venus applies to square Pluto, which opposes the 8th house cusp. SR Vensu in Aquarius occupies the natal 4th house of endings.

The Solar Return Ascendant degree, 16 Virgo, is the same as that of the natal 12th house of hospitalization. In addition, the SR Jupiter is conjunct natal Jupiter in the SR 8th house, so she is undergoing a Jupiter return. In the pattern of planetary hours associated with the 12th houses of the birth chart, the birth planetary hour ruler Jupiter signifies the 1st and 8th houses, the body and its death respectively.