Anthony Louis's Blog, page 36

Morinus falls ill, and the Ptolemy-Naibod midpoint in primary directions

In his book on primary directions (Book 22 of Astrologia Gallica, pp.56-59 of the Holden translation), Morinus describes a serious illness which he contracted in 1652 while observing a solar eclipse.  He fell ill with a fever and catarrh on April 8, 1652 and “was sick for almost a month with such a loss of strength and with an attack of deafness, that until now at the end of May (1652) neither the recovery of strength nor the lessening of the deafness is noticeably apparent to me after the 15th day [from the onset] …”

In his public writings dating back to 1649 Morinus had predicted that 1652 would be “a very unfortunate year, full of sickness and danger,” apparently on the basis of his upcoming solar returns, primary directions, and the transits and eclipses of 1652.  Let’s begin by looking at Morin’s natal chart which he calculated using Regiomontanus houses at his birthplace, a location slightly to the south of Villefranche, France.  This is the chart which Morin used for himself  (he used only the visible planets, but I have included the outer planets for completeness):

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Morin attributed sicknesses to the 12th house and considered that any planet in the 12th could signify his falling ill, as could Mercury which rules the opposite 6th house.  Because the Sun and the Moon both occupy the 12th, he viewed solar and lunar eclipses as potential harbingers of illness, especially if they occurred near sensitive points in his natal chart.

Looking ahead to 1652, he noticed that a total solar eclipse would occur in Aries near his Ascendant and in the unfortunate 12th house of his natal chart — presaging a “year full of sickness and danger.”

To make matters worse, his solar return for 1652 (cast for Paris where he was residing) had 12 Sagittarius on the Ascendant, exactly square his 12th house natal Saturn.  In addition, both the Moon and Saturn occupied the 8th house of death in the solar return chart:

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Since Morin used the quincunx, he would have also noticed that SR Saturn in Cancer in the 8th of the solar return (SR) lies in partile quincunx with SR Mercury in Aquarius in the 2nd.  Mercury rules his natal 6th house of bodily ailments.

Troubling Primary Directions:

Morin also studied his primary directions for this period of his life.  His practice was to use Regiomontanus primary directions because he believed incorrectly that Regiomontanus understood what Ptolemy meant.  Morin also regarded primary directions to be more accurate if they took into account the latitude of the planets and not just their zodiacal longitude.  Morin used the Naibod measure of time rather than Ptolemy’s measure that one degree of right ascension equals one year of life.

Using the Regiomontanus method with latitude, Morin concluded that in 1652 “at the time of the sickness, the direction of the radical Sun to the Moon’s sinister square with latitude was completed.”  He also noted that the primary direction of the opposition of Saturn to Ascendant-ruler Mars from the 6th house would perfect in the coming year.  Here is a list of Morin’s Regiomontaus primaries for 1652 with the Naibod measure of time:

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As you can see, the square of the Moon comes to the Sun, according to Naibod’s measure, in November of 1652, a full seven months AFTER Morinus fell ill.  The opposition of Saturn to natal Mars would occur in May of 1653, a full year after his illness.

If we use the measure of Ptolemy (one degree of RA = one year), we get the following sequence:

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According to Ptolemy’s measure, the square of the Moon to the Sun perfect in November of 1651, about 5 months before the illness; and the opposition of Saturn to Mars occurs in May of 1652, while Morinus is still recovering from his bout of illness.  If we accept the key of Ptolemy, one could argue that the square of the Moon coming to the Sun did not have the import which Morin gave it, but rather the opposition of Saturn coming to natal Mars was the primary signifier of his severe illness in April and May of 1652.

Having found this kind of discrepancy repeatedly between the measures of Naibod and Ptolemy, my practice has become to use the midpoint of the two “keys” to judge timing in primary directions.  Here is a list calculated for the midpoint between Ptolemy and Naibod:

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Basing timing on the midpoint between the keys of Ptolemy and Naibod, we get the square of the Moon to the Sun occurring at the end of May of 1652, as Morin is finally recovering from his illness and about 6 or 7 weeks after the onset of the illness; and the opposition of Saturn to natal Mars occurring toward the end of 1652.

 

An interesting out-of-bounds Mars

On Tuesday morning news sources announced the death at age 81 of former Argentine president Fernando de la Rua, who served a very brief term of office during the severe financial crisis in Argentina.  The earliest report I could find was from ABC News at 8:02 AM ET, so I assume that his death (from cardiac problems and kidney disease) occurred not long before 8 AM ET, which would have been 9 AM in Argentina.

According to ABC News: “De la Rúa served from 1999 to December 2001 when he infamously escaped by helicopter from the rooftop of the pink presidential palace. It came after days of violent protests against his handling of the crisis amid rioting that caused dozens of deaths across Argentina.”

Other reports paint an interesting picture of the former president.  In 1999 the New York Times wrote (bold print mine):

”They call me boring,” says the Mayor of Buenos Aires, Fernando de la Rua, in the opening of his presidential campaign’s signature television commercial. The spot then cuts to some more exciting personalities: first, President Carlos Saul Menem posing in a flashy Ferrari and then an actor who it implies is a political ally of Mr. Menem pocketing a bribe.    …    Mr. de la Rua takes every opportunity to contrast himself with Mr. Menem and to tie his principal opponent, the Buenos Aires Governor, Eduardo Duhalde, to the departing President and his glitzy style of politics. Mr. de la Rua’s campaign offers few detailed proposals beyond the promise of a more sober future, but the blandness appears to be a winning message at a time of mounting Government scandals, street crime and unemployment.    …     

”We need to project austerity,” Mr. de la Rua concluded. ‘     …

Austerity seems to come naturally to Mr. de la Rua, a dour man of few words who appears uneasy kissing strangers or even exchanging small talk on the campaign trail. His nickname, ”chupete,” or pacifier, originated from the teasing he got as a child for his bulbous nose, but now it has come to be the proud moniker for his bland personality. His campaign van, known as the chupete-mobile, is undecorated save for a single photograph of a statue of the Virgin Mary.

”I’m really a university professor more than a politician,” said Mr. de la Rua during an interview in the chupete-mobile driving across sprawling cattle ranches in central Cordoba Province. ”I do serious things and I do them seriously.”

   ———-

Most astrologers would hardly regard as characteristic of the planet Mars the projection of oneself as bland, boring, serious, remote, austere and having the public image of a baby’s pacifier and a devotee of the Virgin Mary.  Let’s look at the birth chart to see what role Mars plays there.

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Mars in this chart lies in the 5th house, a fortunate house, but Mars lacks essential dignity and is therefore peregrine.  In addition, Mars lies in square aspect to his stellium of Neptune-Mercury-Sun in Virgo, suggesting difficulties integrating the qualities of Mars into his personality.  There is a quite favorable trine from Venus in Leo to Mars in Sagittarius.  Mars rules his 9th house of higher education, and he views himself as a university professor.

At first glance, it’s puzzling why Mars in fiery Sagittarius should come across as boring, austere, serious and bland.  Looking further into the chart, we find that Mars is “out of bounds,” meaning that its declination lies outside the maximum declination (distance from the Equator) of the Sun.  The declination of Mars in this chart is 25S36, well beyond the 23S27 maximum of the Sun.

Much has been written about out of bounds planets.  An excellent overview can be found in a video by David Cochrane who explains that people with out of bounds planets often appear detached from the usual routine: “they see the normal lives of people very well but prefer not to be in the normal life.”   It’s as if the out of bounds planet dwells or expresses itself in a different reality.

In the case of Fernando de la Rua, his method of asserting himself (a Mars quality) was to project himself as a baby sucking on a pacifier and worshiping the Virgin Mary — as bland, boring, severe and austere — quite “out of bounds” for a typical politician.

To conclude, let me present his solar return for the current year superimposed around his natal chart.

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A couple of things stand out in this figure.  Transiting Pluto (lord of the underworld and a symbol of death) in the solar return almost exactly opposes his natal ascendant.  The Ascendant of the solar return conjoins transiting Neptune in the return and both occupy the 8th house of death.  Solar return Saturn, which rules the natal 8th of death, closely squares natal Saturn in the natal 8th house from the natal 6th house of illness.  It appears that the solar return for the 2018-2019 period indicates chronic illness (return Saturn in the natal 6th) terminating his his demise (natal Saturn in the 8th).

 

 

 

Solar Eclipse (July 2, 2019)

Today (July 2, 2019) the world will experience a Solar Eclipse.  Here is the chart for the eclipse cast for maximum eclipse time in Washington, DC, USA:

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This eclipse is likely to be significant for the USA because it occurs very close to the Independence Day July 4th Sun.

In Washington, DC, at the moment of the eclipse Scorpio is rising, making Mars the ruler of the Ascendant. Mars is the out-of-sect malefic in this day chart, so we might expect this eclipse to herald a highly stressful period in U.S. history.

Ascendant-ruler Mars lies in Leo in the 9th Placidus house (foreign affairs, air travel, higher education, the legal system, religion, etc.) and the 10th Whole Sign House (the government and its leaders, actions in the world).

Mars is square Uranus, powerful because it is the most angular planet in the chart as it sits directly on the western horizon, opposing the Ascendant.  Mars square Uranus symbolizes sudden, unexpected events (such as accidents, explosions, electrical discharges, natural disasters, etc.) which abruptly disrupt the status quo.  Could the USA abruptly go to war or suffer an unexpected terrorist attack?

Mars also closely conjoins Mercury, lord of the 8th house of death and other people’s money.  This eclipse may precede an important death in the U.S.A. and may also indicate problems with the economy in the months ahead.

Mercury at 3 Leo 26 has it antiscion at 26 Leo 34, which is the ecliptic position of the malefic fixed star Caput Algol (the head of the Medusa), a symbol of beheadings (losing one’s head figuratively or literally), killing, mob violence,  misfortune, death, major illness, etc.  With Mars ruling the eclipse Ascendant and being closely joined to Mercury, we can only hope that this eclipse is not a harbinger of more school shootings or assassination attempts against public figures in the months ahead. Or possibly the USA will need to deal with yet another of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s beheadings of innocent critics.

The eclipse itself opposes Saturn and Pluto across the 9th and 3rd houses, which symbolize communications, travel, religion, laws and foreign affairs.  The eclipse itself joins together the Sun and the Moon, rulers of the 10th and 9th houses respectively, which are then subject to the forceful and frustrating opposition from Saturn and Pluto in the 3rd.

Below is an astrocartography map, showing where the major lines of the planets pass during this eclipse.  Mars/Mercury (whose antiscion activates Algol) passes through the USA central time zone and through the Central American countries whose residents are trying to enter the USA at its southern border.

The Saturn/Pluto conjunction which opposes the eclipse passes through the center of the USA.  Could this mean more flooding and other natural disasters which have plagued this region?  With the 3rd and 9th houses highlighted, could it presage a major transportation accident or an aviation disaster?  Because Saturn rules dark-skinned people, the opposition of Saturn to the eclipse could indicate protests against racism accompanied by violence.

The eclipse’s Sun/Moon/Descendant lines pass through Europe, perhaps highlight mayor disagreements with European allies about 7th house treaty agreements or decision to go to war.

The very prominent Uranus of the eclipse chart highlights the east coast of the USA.  As we are entering hurricane season, could this indicate an unexpectedly severe storm passing along the east coast?

It will be interesting to see how the symbolism of this eclipse chart plays out over the months ahead.

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Addendum (July 8, 2019):  California has been experiencing earthquakes for the past few days.  Eclipses are often associated with natural disasters.  In the astro*cartography map above the Venus line passes along the coast of California and the Chiron line is close to its eastern border.  Venus in the eclipse chart is peregrine (without essential dignity) and lies in the bound of Saturn in the 8th house (in both whole sign and quadrant systems); thus, Venus is a “malefic” in this chart and carries the significations of the 8th house.

Today’s Solar Eclipse

Today (July 2, 2019) the world will experience a Solar Eclipse.  Here is the chart for the eclipse cast for maximum eclipse time in Washington, DC, USA:

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This eclipse is likely to be significant for the USA because it occurs very close to the Independence Day July 4th Sun.

In Washington, DC, at the moment of the eclipse Scorpio is rising, making Mars the ruler of the Ascendant. Mars is the out-of-sect malefic in this day chart, so we might expect this eclipse to herald a highly stressful period in U.S. history.

Ascendant-ruler Mars lies in Leo in the 9th Placidus house (foreign affairs, air travel, higher education, the legal system, religion, etc.) and the 10th Whole Sign House (the government and its leaders, actions in the world).

Mars is square Uranus, powerful because it is the most angular planet in the chart as it sits directly on the western horizon, opposing the Ascendant.  Mars square Uranus symbolizes sudden, unexpected events which abruptly disrupt the status quo.  Could the USA abruptly go to war or suffer an unexpected terrorist attack?

Mars also closely conjoins Mercury, lord of the 8th house of death and other people’s money.  This eclipse may precede an important death in the U.S.A. and may also indicate problems with the economy in the months ahead.

Mercury at 3 Leo 26 has it antiscion at 26 Leo 34, which is the ecliptic position of the malefic fixed star Caput Algol (the head of the Medusa), a symbol of beheadings (losing one’s head figuratively or literally), violence,  misfortune, death, major illness, etc.  With Mars ruling the eclipse Ascendant and being closely joined to Mercury, we can only hope that this eclipse is not a harbinger of more school shootings or assassination attempts against public figures in the months ahead.

The eclipse itself opposes Saturn and Pluto across the 9th and 3rd houses, which symbolize communications, travel, religion, laws and foreign affairs.  The eclipse itself joins together the Sun and the Moon, rulers of the 10th and 9th houses respectively, which are then subject to the forceful and frustrating opposition from Saturn and Pluto in the 3rd.

Below is an astrocartography map, showing where the major lines of the planets pass during this eclipse.  Mars/Mercury (whose antiscion activates Algol) passes through the USA central time zone and through the Central American countries whose residents are trying to enter the USA at its southern border.

The Saturn/Pluto conjunction which opposes the eclipse passes through the center of the USA.  Could this mean more flooding and other natural disasters which have plagued this region?  With the 3rd and 9th houses highlighted, could it presage a major transportation accident?

The eclipse’s Sun/Moon/Descendant lines pass through Europe, perhaps highlight mayor disagreements with European allies about 7th house treaty agreements or decision to go to war.

The very prominent Uranus of the eclipse chart highlights the east coast of the USA.  As we are entering hurricane season, could this indicate an unexpectedly severe storm passing along the east coast?

It will be interesting to see how the symbolism of this eclipse chart plays out over the months ahead.

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Another compelling observation about the true lunar nodes in solar returns

In a previous post I wrote about my observation that in a large number of cases the presence of the Moon’s True Node in or very near its stationary phase in a solar return almost always heralded a year ahead characterized by major or dramatic changes  that would alter the life and daily routine of the native.  I liken this configuration to the Tower card in the tarot.

Today I read in the news that Tyler Skaggs, pitcher Los Angeles Angels, was found dead in his hotel room in Texas.  According to ABC News, “Police in Southlake, Texas, said officers found Skaggs when they responded to a report of an unconscious man in a hotel room around 2:15 p.m. Monday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.”

Given the dramatic turn of events, I wondered whether the Moon’s True Nodes were stationary or about to change direction in his 2018 solar return.  Skaggs was born July 13, 1991, in Los Angeles, CA, time unknown.  Here is his sunrise natal chart with his 2018 solar return surrounding it.

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At first glace, the Lunar Nodes in the 2018 Solar Return appear to be moving retrograde.  However, if we advance the time of the solar return just one hour (see chart below), we see that the Moon’s True Nodes were about to turn stationary at the time of his sunrise chart solar return.  If we had his actual time of birth, most likely the true nodes would have appeared as Stationary in the solar return.

It is also noteworthy that in his 2018 solar return, transiting Pluto (a signifier of death and lord of the underworld) is almost exactly opposite his natal Sun.

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Advancing the sunrise chart solar return for 2018 just one hour reveals that the Moon’s True Nodes are stationary on the day of his solar return, heralding a year ahead of major and dramatic change.

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All original material in this blog is copyright Anthony Louis 2019.

Which House Rules Cars?

In her book on horary astrology (p. 217), Olivia Barclay presents a chart for the question, “I have fallen in love with an 1937 Bentley.  Will I be able to buy it?”  (15 Feb 1987, 4:42 PM GMT, 51N13, 1E25).  The question was asked on a Sun day during a Saturn hour.  Here is the chart with Regiomontanus houses.

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In her analysis of this chart, Barclay uses the 3rd house to signify the car, a practice which is at variance with that of many other horary astrologers who use the 2nd house to represent goods you want to purchase.  Barclay adds that Venus lies in the 5th house where she rejoices, and the 5th house describes honey-colored objects.  The Bentley happened to be honey-colored.  Barclay then generalizes from one chart to all of astrology — a logical fallacy of over-generalization.

According to Lilly, the 2nd house gives judgment regarding the estate or fortune of the querent, wealth or poverty, removable goods, money lent, profit or gain, loss or damage.

When Barclay found out that her assignment of cars to the 3rd house was being challenged by other astrologers, she wrote an article to justify her position, a copy of which can be found at https://www.qhdc.org/barclay/car.htm.  My own view is that color assignments in horary are not reliable, and different horary authors have contradicted one another in the assignment of colors to houses and signs, so that arguing from color  to prove a point is questionable logic at best.  Nonetheless, Barclay in her article gives the following justification:

“... in Christian Astrology (page 52), Lilly tells us about the 2nd house. This, he assures us, shows the wealth or poverty of the querent, all movable goods, money lent, profit or gain, loss or damage. Here, the trouble may be with the word movable, which I take to mean portable. Those things one cannot carry like houses, tenements, lands, towns, cities and castles belong to the 4th house. (There are, of course, many other things, like colours or parts of the body ruled by the 2nd and 4th houses, but mostly they rule tangible objects.)

Some of the other houses also include tangible things. The 5th house, for example, includes taverns. ‘Why?’ you may ask. The reason is that Venus has her joy in the 5th, and gives her qualities of pleasure and entertainment to that house.

The 3rd rules another tangible article, letters. Why? Because the Moon has her joy in the 3rd and extends her qualities of movement and fluctuation to that house. According to Lilly, if the Moon is actually in the 3rd house, it causes much ‘travel, trotting and trudging’. In short, the 3rd house rules short journeys and communications. I would therefore include cars in the 3rd house because you cannot carry them about. They belong in Lilly’s category of ‘trotting and trudging and travelling about’.”

Thus, Barclay appears to be arguing that because you can’t pick up and carry your car, it is not a “removable good,” can’t belong to the 2nd house and therefore must belong to the 3rd house which is related to travel.  In my opinion this is flimsy logic.  In addition, Barclay’s position is not consistent with astrological tradition.  I can find no reference to vehicles or means of conveyance being assigned to the 3rd house in the classical literature.

Instead, in traditional astrology the 2nd house is related to one’s livelihood and one’s income from possessions, and the 4th to the parents and one’s home and possessions.  In fact, Maternus specifically assigns movable possessions (mobilia in Latin) to the 4th house in which he includes one’s parents, patrimony, inheritance from the parents, foundations, substance or assets, movable goods, and latent sources of wealth.  Presumably a child in Rome would inherit the parents’ chariot, which Maternus assigns to the 4th house.

Here is a quote from the W. Kroll et F. Skutsch Latin edition of Maternus (see line 8 of the Latin text for his inclusion of mobilia as an attribute of the 4th house):

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Interestingly in Vedic astrology vehicles and conveyances are also assigned to the 4th house, a fact consistent with the 4th century approach of Maternus.

The following quote from the Harvard Law Review, Vol. 29, page 504, makes clear that mobilia can refer to vehicles of conveyance, in this case ‘horses‘:

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Let’s now reconsider Barclay’s horary from the perspective of vehicles belonging to the 4th house.

It is a Sun day during a Saturn hour.  Saturn on the cusp of the 5th house suggests that the querent is concerned with something he loves or something that will give him pleasure.

The 12th part of the Leo ascendant lies in early Taurus in the 9th Regiomontanus house, suggesting that the querent has 9th house matters on his mind.  The ruler of the 12th part is Venus, which occupies the 5th house (what give us pleasure) and which conjoins Neptune (the querent is dreaming about or idealizing this pleasurable object related to 9th house travel).

The Sun rules the 1st house (querent) and is applying in partile sextile to Mars (4th house ruler) in Aries in the 9th.  He really wants this fast powerful phallic car (Pluto on the Scorpio 4th cusp, 4th ruler Mars in Aries) and is rapidly approaching it, but the question is, will he be able to buy it?  His question is about his money and financial resources, a 2nd house matter.

The querent’s money is shown by the Virgo 2nd house, ruled by Mercury.  Unfortunately, Mercury lies in its detriment (Pisces) in the unfortunate 8th and is peregrine (totally without essential dignity).  Mercury has some support because it conjoins the Part of Fortune and will eventually conjoin Jupiter, but as the least dignified planet in the chart, Mercury may indicate that he will not be able to raise the money to buy the car.

The seller of the car is shown by the 7th house, ruled by Saturn.  The Sun (querent) is separating from a sextile to Saturn, so the two parties in the negotiation are moving apart rather than coming together.

The Moon, which could represent the querent, applies to square Saturn (the seller), but the Moon does not occupy any of the dignities of Saturn, so there is no reception.  In addition, the Moon in Virgo is peregrine and must act through its dispositor, which is also peregrine and the least dignified planet in the chart.

In this chart the MC (directly opposite the 4th house cusp of vehicles) is in exact parallel of declination with the fixed star Denebola in the Tail of the Lion, a somewhat unfortunate fixed star (would you pull the tail of a lion?).  Robson writes: “Denebola is of the nature of Saturn and Venus. It gives swift judgment, despair, regrets, public disgrace, misfortune from the elements of nature, and happiness turned to anger, and makes its natives noble, daring, self-controlled, generous and busy with other people’s affairs.”

In the context of this chart, Denebola parallel the 10th cusp, opposite the 4th cusp of cars, suggests that the querent will end up with despair and regret, such that his pursuit of the Bentley will be comparable to chasing the tail of a lion.

 

 

 

 

Antiscions in the chart of Consul Ceionius Rufius Albinus

In his book the Mathesis (aka Matheseos Libri), the 4th century astrologer Julius Firmicus Maternus discusses the chart of a Roman Consul from the point of view of antiscions.  I used the James Holden translation of Maternus.

The word antiscion derives from the Greek anti (opposite, across from, equal but opposing) and skia (shadow cast by an object).  In astrology each point in the zodiac circle has an antiscion point, which is its reflection across the cardinal axis connecting the summer and winter solstice points, that is, from zero degrees Cancer to zero degrees Capricorn (the Sun’s highest declination to the Sun’s lowest declination with respect to the Earth’s Equator).

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                                    < —————————————————————————————- >                                                    Antiscions are reflections across the solticial axis. A degree on the left side of the meridian in this figure has its antiscion degree directly across the wheel on a line parallel to the horizon, which connects the equinoxes.

In the above figure I have placed zero degrees Capricorn (the winter solstice above the Equator) on the MC and zero degrees Cancer (the summer solstice above the Equator) on the IC, so that the meridian axis connects the summer and winter solstice.

To locate the antiscion of a point, you simply look across the wheel on a straight line parallel to the horizon (which in this case is the axis connecting the Equinoxes).  Thus:

The points in Aries have their antiscions (reflections) in Virgo, and vice versa.
The points in Taurus have their antiscions (reflections) in Leo, and vice versa.
The points in Gemini have their antiscions (reflections) in Cancer, and vice versa.
The points in Pisces have their antiscions (reflections) in Libra, and vice versa.
The points in Aquarius have their antiscions (reflections) in Scorpio, and vice versa.
The points in Capricorn have their antiscions (reflections) in Sagattarius, and vice versa.

Because we are dealing with reflections, as the points in one sign increase from 0 to 29 degrees, their corresponding antiscion (shadow) points in the sign across the wheel on a line parallel to the horizon decrease from 29 to 0 degrees.  Thus, the antiscion of 5 Aries lies at 25 Virgo, and the antiscion of 12 Taurus lies at 18 Leo, etc.  You can imagine shining a flashlight on a point of the wheel, with the beam of the flashlight parallel to the horizon axis, so the the shadow of any point falls on its corresponding antiscion point on the other side of the solticial (meridian) axis.  If you were to fold the above figure in half along the vertical axis, so that the left hemisphere overlaps the right hemisphere, then the “solstice points” or antiscions would align.

Firmicus Maternus in the 4th century tells us that antiscion contacts between the zodiacal positions of planets has the same force or importance as the major Ptolemaic aspects.  Even if two planets lack an aspect such as a trine, sextile, square or opposition but they are connected by antiscion, then those planets are just as strongly related in the chart as if a Ptolemaic aspect existed between them.

To illustrate his point, Maternus discusses the chart of his patron, the Roman Consul Albinus.  Given the limitations of the ephemeris of his epoch, we can reconstruct the chart from Maternus’ description:

Ascendant in Scorpio.
Sun in Pisces in the same degree as Jupiter in Pisces.
Moon in Cancer.
Venus in Taurus.
Mars in Aquarius.
Mercury in Aquarius in the same degree as Mars. (In fact, they are about 15 degrees apart by modern calculations.)

Here is the ephemeris during the period in which these positions were in effect at the time of Maternus:

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Because the Moon was in Cancer, the Consul was born between March 14 and March 16 of 303 CE.  Maternus says that the Sun was in the same degree as Jupiter, which suggests that either March 15 or March 16 are more likely, given that the Sun is approaching Jupiter during that period and the Sun is closest to Jupiter on March 16.

Further clues include Maternus’ comment that Mars sends his antiscion to conjoin the Ascendant and then to trine the antiscion of the Moon.  Assuming that Maternus has the correct position of Mars at about 11 Aquarius, the antiscion of Mars would like at about 19 Scorpio, placing the Ascendant between 18 and 19 degrees of Scoprio.  As Mars advances in Aquarius, according to Maternus it will soon trine the antiscion of the Moon, which thus must be at a degree somewhat greater than 11 Gemini.  A close approximation to the birth chart matching Maternus’ description has this data: March 14, 303 CE at 10:40 PM LMT, Rome Italy and looks like this (whole sign houses):

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The following table shows the dignities and antiscions for this chart.

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As you can see, if the antiscion of Mars conjoins the Ascendant, then the ASC must be at about 18 Scorpio.  Maternus says that Mars at 11 Aquarius applies to trine the antiscion of the Moon, which here lies at 15 Gemini.  Thus, Maternus is allowing planets to aspect antiscion points within the orb allowed to the planet.  Traditionally Mars has an orb or about 7 or 8 degrees.

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William Lilly’s Table of Orbs from Christian Astrology

In another section, Marternus appears to allow whole sign aspects when interpreting antiscions.  For example,  in the above chart Maternus comments that Mars in Aquarius sends his antiscion to Scorpio, a sign which is opposed to Taurus where Venus is posited, resulting in the native’s adulterous behavior.  In addition, Venus in Taurus sends her antiscion to Leo, a sign which is opposed to Aquarius where Mars is posited, thus reinforcing the natal Venus square Mars aspect and further indicating adultery.  It is not clear to me whether Maternus has in mind whole sign aspects or whether he is imagining the unfolding of the chart via primary directions during the course of the lifetime of the native, during which these antiscion aspects will perfect.

Maternus concludes the discussion of the Consul’s adultery with the comment: “But because Venus sent her antiscion from Taurus into Leo, i.e., into the domicile of the Sun, and into the MC [10th house], it made the Emperor pronounce a sentence against him for these crimes” (p.84, Holden translation).  Here the Leo 10th house and the Sun symbolize the Emperor, and the mere presence of the antiscion of Venus in the sign Leo seems to trigger the Emperor to action, which sounds to me like Maternus is thinking in terms of whole sign influences.

To end this post, let me quote the comments of one of my favorite contemporary astrologers regarding the above chart.  Deborah Houlding in her online article on antiscia writes:

“Firmicus gives no degree positions but amongst many of the points he makes regarding the debilitating effects of the antiscia connections in the chart he states that the Moon is positioned in Cancer, the ascendant in Scorpio and Mars in Aquarius.  By aspect alone there would be no recognised relationship between the Moon and Mars because their signs are inconjunct.  However the antiscion of the Moon in Cancer falls in Gemini which aspects Mars by trine.  The antiscion of Mars in Aquarius falls in Scorpio, in the ascendant and, in turn, in trine to the Moon.  Firmicus saw this relationship between Mars and the Moon as indicative of trouble and strife:

‘And so the waxing Moon, attacked from all sides by the many influences of Mars, made this man, weakened in body, finally an exile.’ “

 

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All original material in this blog is copyright Anthony Louis 2019.

 

 

 

Trump’s 2016 Solar Return and the presidential election

Recently I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Vedic astrologer Levi Cosijn regarding Donald Trump’s solar return and the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  Levi recorded the presentation and posted it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKxh59u6M7g if you are interested in watching it.

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“As above, so below” and the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine

Astrology is founded on the belief that life on Earth somehow parallels the workings of the cosmos.  In 2017 the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to three scientists who revealed the molecular mechanism by which our biological clocks, which regulate our circadian rhythms, function.

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“The circadian clock anticipates and adapts our physiology to the different phases of the day. Our biological clock helps to regulate sleep patterns, feeding behavior, hormone release, blood pressure and body temperature.” – 2017 Nobel Prize Press Release

Here is an excerpt from the Press Release of the Nobel Prize Committee (italics and bold are mine):

“Life on Earth is adapted to the rotation of our planet. For many years we have known that living organisms, including humans, have an internal, biological clock that helps them anticipate and adapt to the regular rhythm of the day.     …

Their discoveries explain how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronized with the Earth’s revolutions.

Using fruit flies as a model organism, this year’s Nobel laureates isolated a gene that controls the normal daily biological rhythm. They showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in the cell during the night, and is then degraded during the day. Subsequently, they identified additional protein components of this machinery, exposing the mechanism governing the self-sustaining clockwork inside the cell. We now recognize that biological clocks function by the same principles in cells of other multicellular organisms, including humans.

With exquisite precision, our inner clock adapts our physiology to the dramatically different phases of the day.”

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Essentially what these scientists have done is demonstrate that humans, and other forms of life on this planet, have internalized the pattern of the Earth’s rotation into a molecular mechanism that regulates their essential bodily functions.  In a sense we all have a model of the Earth rotating on its axis and its relationship to the Sun built into our physiology.  As above, so below.

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Earth’s rotation (NASA image in public domain)

Evangeline Adams’ prediction that Caruso would survive

The great opera singer Enrico Caruso began to suffer severe chest pains during the opening season of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC in 1920.  On December 11, 1920 he bled from his mouth during a performance.  On Christmas Day of 1920 Caruso was diagnosed with acute pleurisy as the cause of his agonizing chest pain.  Three days later — on December 28, 1920 — his doctors removed a full gallon of fluid from his pleural cavity.  Caruso’s close associates thought that he was going to die.

In her book The Bowl of Heaven Evangeline Adams describes her involvement in the singer’s health crisis: “… doctors and priests were preparing him for the end. One monring, just before five, I was awakened by the continued ringing of my house phone.”  The woman on the line informed Ms. Adams that Caruso was severely ill and wanted to know if the stars indicated his death at that time.  Adams continues: “I looked up the singer’s chart, saw that he would not die at that time, told the woman so, and went back to bed.”

Karen Christino, a leading expert on Evangeline Adams, speculates that the famous astrologer made use of a “decumbiture chart” to make her accurate prediction.  Decumbiture charts are cast for the time and place that the person first falls ill. Christino details her argument in a fascinating article on skyscript.co.uk.

While Christino’s argument is compelling, it seems unlikely that at 5 A.M. Ms. Adams would have the time or inclination to research the onset of Caruso’s illness, cast a decumbiture chart for the event and then compare the birth chart to the decumbiture chart.  To me it seems more likely that Evangeline Adams used her “new horary” method to answer the question about Caruso’s death.

Adams’ method of doing horary was simply to note the degree on the ascendant at her location at the time of the question and to cast a chart for that ascendant, placing the native’s natal planets in that chart.

According to his birth certificate, Caruso was born on 27 February 1873 at 3 A.M. in Naples, Italy.  There are other versions of his birth data in the literature, but this is the chart that Adams apparently used.  Caruso’s 3 A.M. birth chart for Februay 27, 1873 looks like this:

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Most likely Adams received the frantic call at 5 A.M. on 28 December of 1920.  She would have cast a chart for NYC at that moment and placed Caruso’s natal planets inside.  The ascendant at the moment would have been 5 Sag 03, so I simply recast Caruso’s natal chart with natal ascendant adjusted to be the NYC ascendant at 5 A.M. on 28 Dec 1920 to get a very close approximation to the chart which Adams interpreted. Here is the “new horary” chart for the question, “Will the native die at this time?”

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Interpreting this as a horary chart, the native is signified by Jupiter, ruling the Sagittarius Ascendant.  Jupiter is favorably placed in the 9th house in the fire sign Leo where he trines the rising sign Sagittarius.  Jupiter’s Rx status indicates that the native is ill.

The Part of Fortune rising, conjunct the Ascendant, is one argument that he will survive this illness.

In my readjusted chart, benefic Venus, which rules the 6th house of bodily ailments, is mutually applying to trine Jupiter within one minute of arc, again indicating recovery from illness.  Jupiter disposes the 8th ruler Moon and is the exalted ruler of the 8th.  (Adams would have used Caruso’s natal placements exactly as they were and not have readjusted them as I have done in this chart.  She still would have noted the positive trine between Venus and Jupiter, even though it is just past perfection natally.)

The Moon rules the 8th of death in this chart and does not make any dangerous aspect to Jupiter, ruler of the Ascendant.  One would expect a significant affliction of the 8th lord in a death chart.

There are minimal negative indicators and major positive indicators in this chart, so the native will not die of his illness at this time, especially with the protective Venus trine Jupiter trine the rising sign Sagittarius being so prominent at the time of the question.