Anthony Louis's Blog, page 45

Bonatti: Will I occupy the besieged castle?

In his Treatise 6: On Questions Bonatti discusses a horary chart whose outcome is not obvious on first glance (Dykes translation, p. 515).  Apparently Count Guido Novello was besieging the castle of his enemy, the Luccans, and he asked Bonatti whether he would be able to capture it. The data for the chart is 11 October 1261 (Julian) at 9:36 AM LMT in Lucca, Italy. Here is the chart with Alcabitius houses.

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It is a Mars day during a Mercury hour. Mars rules war and is in detriment in Libra. Mars is also conjunct the South Node. Mercury rules the 7th of open enemies and occupies the unfortunate 12th house. Thus, the general astrological ambiance at the time of the question is rather negative, so the Count is probably worried about failure. The chart has an early Ascendant, so the situation is in its early stages and it may be premature to try to get indications a definitive outcome.

The Count (querent) is shown by the 1st house, ruled by Jupiter. The castle is shown by the 4th house, also ruled by Jupiter. It is not uncommon for the same planet to rule both the querent and quesited in a horary chart, so it will be interesting to see how Bonatti handles Jupiter as the same signifier.

Bonatti says that at first glance the chart looks pretty good. Jupiter rules both the Count and the castle, indicating a kind of “harmony” between the two. Mercury, the enemy, is weak in the cadent 12th house. The Moon, exalted in Taurus, is about to trine Jupiter, the greater benefic. It looks very good. What could go wrong?

Bonatti then tells the count that his army is a bunch of goof-offs who are so lazy and sluggish that they couldn’t wrest a toy castle from a bunch a toddlers. He says this because Jupiter in Capricorn is in his fall (Jupiter is exalted in Cancer), and Jupiter (the Count) is applying to the 4th cusp (the castle) but is not applying to the 1st cusp (in fact Jupiter is in aversion to the Ascendant), which indicates that the 4th house castle is not coming to the 1st house Count.  Furthermore, the Moon (which looks favorable) is cadent in the 6th house and in aversion to the Ascendant. Although Bonatti does not mention it, the Moon is also the ruler of the 8th house of loss and death. Bonatti also does not mention the Part of Fortune in the 7th, which could certainly benefit the Count’s enemies.

Bonatti’s judgment was correct. Even though the Count’s army outnumbered the Luccans and could have captured the castle, they were so incompetent and undisciplined that they accomplished nothing. Apparently Bonatti was traveling with the Count and his army, so he could observe firsthand what a bunch of slugs they were. Did he really need a horary chart to be able to advise the count about what he was up against?

When the same planet rules both the querent and the quesited:

Although Bonatti does not mention it in this example, elsewhere he discusses an approach to the same planet signifying both the querent and the quesited.  As I understand it (p. 366, Dykes translation), Bonatti says that if the same planet is the significator of both the querent and quesited, then the astrologer should consider the dispositors of that planet (especially by domicile and exaltation) and whether the dispositors receive the mutual significator. In other words, if the significator of both the querent and quesited applies to aspect its dispositor by domicile or exaltation, then there is reception and the matter should turn out well for the querent. But if the receiving planet is impeded by being combust, Rx, or in its fall, then matters will end badly.

In the horary for Count Novello, Jupiter rules both the querent (the Count) and the quesited (the castle). Jupiter in Capricorn is disposed by domicile-ruler Saturn and by exaltation-ruler Mars. Saturn is in bad shape because it is Rx, peregrine and in its fall in Aries. In addition, Jupiter is separating from an aspect with Saturn rather than applying. Thus, Saturn will be no help in besieging the castle.

What about exaltation ruler Mars? The good news is that Mars is approaching a square with Jupiter from a superior position, so it may be able to help. Unfortunately, Mars in Libra is in its detriment. Mars is also peregrine and closely conjunct the malefic South Node, so Mars is more likely to do more harm than good for Jupiter.

Is all hope lost? Jupiter also lies in the triplicity and terms of Venus, so maybe she can help him. Venus looks nice and strong in Libra which she rules. Unfortunately, Venus is separating from an aspect with Jupiter rather than applying to him, so her beneficence is departing Jupiter. In addition, Venus is combust and applying to the body of the Sun, which Bonatti says is the worst possible debility a planet can undergo, combustion being “harmful beyond all other impediments” (Dykes, p.353). In addition, the Sun is not a happy camper in Libra, the sign of his fall.

Thus, Jupiter will receive no help from its dispositors by domicile, exaltation, triplicity or term. Also, Jupiter occupies the Capricorn 2nd house which is the resources of the Count, so his lazy good-for-nothing army will be of little avail. Saturn, which rules the 2nd, is in bad shape in this chart.

When the quesited involves two or more options:

Yet another technique which Bonatti discusses elsewhere in his text is how to analyze a chart with two or more options. His method is the assign the various options to the triplicity rulers of the quesited (Dykes, p. 552). If we conceptualize this chart as, “Will I capture the castle, or will the Luccans remain in control of it?”, then the first triplicity ruler of Jupiter would be for the Count and the second triplicity ruler of Jupiter would be for the Luccans.

Here Jupiter in Capricorn in a day chart has Venus as its first (day) triplicity ruler and the Moon as it second (night) triplicity ruler. We have already seen that Venus, being combust  and applying to the Sun, is suffering from the worst debility possible in a horary chart, so things don’t look good for the Count. The Moon, on the other hand, is exalted in Taurus and is applying to trine benefic Jupiter; the Moon’s only significant impediment is being cadent in the 6th house. Thus, the Moon is in much better shape than Venus, indicating that the Luccans will triumph in the end.

 

All original material in this blog is copyright Anthony Louis, 2017.

 

 

 

Sloppy Guido

Recently I’ve been reading through Ben Dykes translation of Guido Bonatti’s Treatise 6: On Questions.  As I read these ancient texts, I like to put up the charts for the case examples on my computer.  In the previous post I wrote about two examples Bonatti used (transfer and collection of light) for which the chart he describes could not have existed in his working lifetime.  The planets simply did not align as they do in his examples at any time during which Bonatti was practicing astrology in the 13th century CE.

Nonetheless, Bonatti says that the question underlying the chart for the transfer of light was posed to him by one of his clients.  Ben Dykes estimates that Bonatti was born in 1207 CE, so the client who asked about his uncle’s goods (the transfer of light example) would have consulted Bonatti when the astrologer was but 5-years-old.  If Bonatti had simply invented the chart to illustrate a point, he should have said so.  Instead, he says that it is a real chart for an actual question.  On the other hand, maybe Guido was an extremely precocious child and he was indeed doing horary consultations at age 5.  After all, Mozart was already a gifted musician at the same age.

I next turned my attention to Bonatti’s chart for “perfection by joining” (Dykes, p. 356).  According to the text, this chart has an Ascendant at 13 Taurus, Venus at 7 Gemini, Sun at 12 Gemini, and Moon at 9 Aries.  The question is about whether the querent will obtain some landed property (a 4th house matter), and Bonatti says that the Sun rules the quesited, implying that Leo is on the cusp of the 4th and Aquarius is on the Midheaven.

Bonatti wrote his book around 1277 CE, so I worked backward in time, looking for a chart that fit these conditions.  The earliest date prior to 1277 in which a similar chart occurs is June 1, 1255 at 3:04 AM LMT in Florence, Italy.  (I used Florence because Bonatti worked in this part of Italy.)  Prior to that, there is a similar chart on May 31, 1247 at 3:09 AM LMT in Florence.  I did not search for charts prior to 1240 CE.  When the Sun is in Gemini and mid-Taurus rises, it is a few hours before sunrise in Italy.  It seems a little odd to me that Bonatti was taking questions at 3 AM, but maybe he and his clients were night-owls.

The next odd thing about these charts is that if the Sun is in Gemini and 13 Taurus is rising in Italy, then Cancer is on the 4th cusp and Capricorn is on the Midheaven.  In fact, it is not until about 23 Taurus rises that the MC switches to Aquarius and the IC to Leo.  This discrepancy may simply be due to a copyist error, mistaking 23 Taurus for 13 Taurus.  Or maybe Bonatti was so bleary eyed, calculating charts by candlelight at 3 in the morning, that he mistook 23 for 13.

Here are the two charts I came up with (between the years 1240 and 1277 CE) that roughly fit Bonatti’s description of his “Perfection by Joining” example:

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In both charts Taurus rises, so Venus signifies the querent.  The quesited property is signified by the Sun, which ruls the 4th cusp of real estate.  Venus applies to conjoin the Sun in Gemini, suggesting that the querent will get the property.  In addition, the Moon in Aries (in an earlier degree than Venus or the Sun) applies to sextile both these planets in Gemini.  The Sun in Gemini receives the Moon in Aries (the Sun’s exaltation), so there is a strong reception as the Moon sextile Sun perfects and brings the matter to fruition.

I am still left with the lingering doubt about whether Bonatti was simply inventing hypothetical examples to illustrate the theory or whether these were actual charts prompted by real clients who asked horary questions.  I much prefer real world examples to see how or even whether the theory works in practice.

 

All original material on this blog is copyright Anthony Louis, 2017.

 

Bonatti: Will I get my dead uncle’s goods?

Guido Bonatti (? 1207 – ? 1296 CE) published his famous compendium of astrology around the year 1277 CE.  In Treatise 6 On Questions he gives the example of a horary chart for the question, Will I get my uncle’s goods?  The uncle had apparently died childless, so the querent had an apparent claim to the inheritance as his nephew and next of kin.

Ben Dykes translation (p. 358) gives the following data for the question:  Ascendant at 16 Scorpio, Mars at 20 Scorpio, Venus at 12 Libra, and Mercury at 17 Pisces.  Unfortunately, there is no date between 1100 and 1400 in which the planets occupied these positions, so either Bonatti made an error in calculating (or mis-remembered) the chart or there are typos in the Latin manuscript (which is not uncommon in manuscripts copied by hand).

The only chart in the three centuries which I investigated (1100 – 1300 CE) that closely resembles Bonatti’s description occurred on March 15, 1211 at around 9 PM in Florence, Italy.  (I chose Florence because Bonatti lived in this area of Italy; I do not know where the actual chart was cast.)  We do not know Bonatti’s year of birth, but he would probably have been a boy or at most a precocious teenager in 1211.  It is not possible to get a chart with Mercury in this position relative to Mars and Venus during these three centuries, but on March 15, 1211 the Moon was roughly in the position attributed to Mercury in Bonatti’s text. Moon and Mercury both begin with ‘M’, so a copyist could easily have confused them and introduced an error into the text.

Here is the only chart I could produce in the three-century span that more or less fits Bonatti’s description:

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The querent (Scorpio Ascendant) is signified by Mars in Scorpio.  The querent’s uncle is the father’s brother (3rd from 4th) which is the 6th house.  The dead uncle’s goods are the 2nd of the 6th, which is the 7th house ruled by Venus in Taurus.  Venus applies to oppose Mars, which brings the querent and quesited together via an aspect of opposition.  Furthermore, Mars lies in the detriment of Venus, and Venus lies in the detriment of Mars.  Venus receives Mars only by Face, the weakest dignity of all.  Mars does not receive Venus in any of his dignities.  There is little to suggest that the querent will get the uncle’s goods.

But wait!  The Moon in Pisces has recently separated from a sextile to Venus in Taurus, and Pisces is the exaltation of Venus, that is, Venus received the Moon in her exaltation.  The Moon next applies to trine Mars, and the Moon at 22 Pisces lies in the triplicity, term and face of Mars, which is the equivalent of Mars receiving the Moon in a major dignity.  Thus, the Moon transfers the light of Venus to the planet Mars, indicating that the querent will indeed receive his uncle’s goods (which would otherwise have been denied by the opposition of Venus to Mars without reception).  Or as Bonatti puts it, Venus “committed her disposition” to the Moon, who took the Venusian disposition and committed it to Mars.

Bonatti adds that the planet which transfers the light (Moon), being in the 5th house of legates, ambassadors and envoys, indicates that someone would intervene to bring the matter about.  Because Bonatti erroneously believed that Mercury transferred the light (which was impossible because such a chart did not exist in his lifetime), he got hung up on Mercury ruling the 8th cusp (allies of the 7th house partner).  If in fact the Moon transferred the light, then the intermediary would be a 9th house person, like a lawyer or member of the clergy.

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Twelfth-parts in horary – a Sirius example from Lilly

Ever since reading about the use of 12th parts in horary, I have been impressed by their usefulness.  Recently I was reading Lilly’s example (CA392) about a dog that went missing.  The querent asked Lilly where in London to search in order to find the dog.  Here is Lilly’s chart, set for a Saturn day during a Mars hour:

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The closest I could come with a modern computer to reproducing this chart is with the following data: 8 September 1648 NS, 4:03:16 pm (16:03:16), London, UK.  The modern chart with Regiomontanus houses looks like this:

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I added Sirius (the Dog Star) to the chart for obvious reasons.  Sirius lies at 9 Cancer 13 at the time of the horary inquiry.

The Ascendant at 15 Capricorn 46 is ruled by Saturn and has its 12th-part at 9 Cancer 12, almost exactly conjunct the Dog Star Sirius in the 6th house of small animals.  The querent is concerned about his dog who has disappeared.  The star Sirius is close to Mars, perhaps indicating the dog’s impetuous spirit.  The ruler of the 12th part is the Moon, a natural signifier of fugitives and wanderers.  The sign of the 12th part of the Ascendant is Cancer, which governs the 7th cusp, so perhaps an acquaintance of the querent will play a role in the dog’s recovery.

The querent wanted to know what part of the city to search to find the dog.  Lilly reasoned as follows:

The 6th house rules small animals (like dogs) and has Gemini on its cusp.
Gemini indicates a direction West by South.
Gemini’s ruler Mercury signifies the dog and lies in Libra, a Western sign in the 8th house, which is in the southwest part of the heavens.
The Moon, natural signifier of fugitives, lies in Virgo, a southwest sign, near the cusp of the 8th house.  The Moon is just leaving the 7th house, which is western, and heading south toward the MC.
Therefore the querent ought to search to the West and somewhat South.

The outcome:

On the Monday following the Saturday question, an acquaintance of the querent happened to be in that part of London when he noticed the querent’s dog tied up under a table.  He then sent the dog home to its master.

This sequence of events is probably shown by the Moon (the missing dog as well as the 7th house acquaintance of the querent) perfecting its sextile to Mars (exalted ruler and almuten of the Ascendant) in 30 minutes of arc, indicating a short period of time.

The Moon’s most recent aspect to a visible planet was a square to Asc-ruler Saturn in Taurus.  The Moon then advanced to enter Virgo (after squaring Uranus, which is probably when the dog ran away).  The Moon’s next aspect to a visible planet is its sextile to Asc-almuten Mars, which indicates the dog’s return to its owner.

An interesting 3-card tarot reading

The following reading, which illustrates the usefulness of astrological associations in tarot, was done using the Llewellyn Classic Tarot deck.  The querent is a high school senior who asked for a general reading about what issues were currently most important in her life.  We decided on a 3-card reading and she drew the following cards:

Two of Wands
Seven of Wands
Nine of Swords

Here is the spread:

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There is a predominance of Wands (cards 1 and 2, associated with the element Fire), which symbolize enterprise, initiative, expansion, adventure, goal-directed activity.

The Two of Wands often represents someone making an important decision about their future, often involving travel to a new location or beginning a new season of life (symbolized by the red and white blossoms on the flag).  The Golden Dawn associates the Two of Wands with Mars in fiery Aries, an initiatory Fire sign.  The Seven of Wands (associated with Mars in fixed and fiery Leo) shows someone stubbornly defending their position against opposing forces.

The final card is the Nine of Swords, associated by the Golden Dawn with Mars in airy and mutable Gemini.  The woman on the card lies in bed, looking worried and distraught.  She touches the red blossom with her right hand and holds her forehead with her left.  Behind her is the image a a bird being pierced in the heart by a sword.  The planet Mars is associated with all three cards.

Two of Wands (Mars in Aries)
Seven of Wands (Mars in Leo)
Nine of Swords (Mars in Gemini)

I said to the querent that the theme of the reading has to do with taking the initiative about what she wants to do with her life.  She may be in the midst of making an important decision, which may meet with opposition and which she will need to defend staunchly (7 of Wands).

The planet Mars pervades the reading, so there may be issues of strife, anger and separation in the air.  The final card could suggest that she is worried about making the right decision or that someone in her life is worried and upset by the initiative she plans to take.

The young woman revealed that she and her mother were currently in conflict about her desire to attend a university in another state, which would cause a significant separation from her mother who strongly preferred that she attend a local college and commute to classes from home.  Her mother was having a very hard time letting go and allowing the querent to separate and leave home.  On the positive side, the Nine of airy Swords suggests that her mother’s worries are more products of her mind and imagination that something bad that would manifest in the real world.

An interesting horary chart

I  also posted this in a horary group in which I participate and will update this post once the outcome is known.  The chart and dignity table are from the Janus 5 astrology program (a recent update).

Question: The querent is a private tutor who was helping one of his clients prepare for an important exam. As the time of the exam approached, he was worried that his student was not well enough prepared to pass the exam, so he asked a horary question, “Will he pass the exam?”

Date 24 October 2017, 4:13 pm (16:13) EDT, Orange, CT, Asc = 20 Pisces 34.

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It is a Mercury day during a Jupiter hour, and Jupiter rules the Ascendant. Jupiter is combust and Mercury is under the beams and both lie in the 8th house (loss), so planetary conditions are not very favorable at the moment of the question.

The 12th part of the Ascendant lies at 6 Scorpio 48, where it conjoins the 8th cusp and Jupiter and is combust the Sun, reflecting the querent’s concern that his student will fail. The dispositor of the 12th part is malefic Mars in Libra, the sign of its Fall.

Saturn, which conjoins the MC, is of the diurnal sect of the chart and has dignity by term and face, suggesting that the exam will be quite challenging and will require hard work if he expects to pass.

I took 7th ruler Mercury to represent the querent’s client (the student). The 9th from the 7th (radical 3rd), also ruled by Mercury, signifies the client’s knowledge and preparation. Mercury has dignity only by term (bound) and is under the sunbeams, so the student is not well prepared and will have difficulty displaying what he does know. In addition, Mercury is disposed by Mars, which lies in an angular house in its sign of detriment and is the malefic of the contrary sect of the chart.

If we take the 10th to represent success, then Mercury (the student) lies in the 8th (loss) and is separating from Jupiter (lord of the 10th), suggesting that he will not pass the exam. The Moon is separating from a sextile to Jupiter and applying to sextile Mercury, a translation of light, giving some hope that he could pass, but the Moon lies in her own detriment and occupies the Fall of Jupiter and none of the dignities of Mercury, so it’s a long shot.

Finally, Mercury in Scorpio (the student) is in in a sign opposite to the Part of Fortune (in Taurus) and in aversion to the dispositor of Fortuna (Venus in Libra), so sheer luck is not on his side.

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I’d appreciate any thoughts about this chart. The outcome will be known in about two weeks. Frankly, I’m hoping that my analysis of this chart is mistaken and that the student will pass the exam.

Could Donald Trump have Virgo rising?

In the 2016 presidential elections many astrologers were surprised that Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton. Part of the problem in making an astrological prediction was that we did not have a verified birth time for Mrs. Clinton. In addition, Donald Trump was born so close the the change of signs from Leo to Virgo on the Ascendant that it was hard to be sure which was his true rising sign. For Hellenistic astrologers especially, the correct ascending sign is crucial to making an accurate prediction.

Preceding the election, I used an 8 AM time for Clinton and a 10:54 AM time for Trump (from his birth certificate). When asked directly, Hillary Clinton usually says that she was born at 8 PM, but astrologers doubted her. Donald Trump was born at Jamaica Hospital in Queens where his birth time was recorded as 10:54 AM, which gives a Leo Ascendant. A mere 13 seconds later, at 10:54:13 AM the Ascendant shifts into Virgo, so it is entirely possible that if the hospital staff rounded to the nearest minute (10:54 AM) that Trump may have a Virgo Ascendant.

For the sake of argument let’s assume that Trump was born at 10:54:13 AM or a few seconds later so that his Ascendant would be in Virgo. His Whole Sign chart would look like this:

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In this Virgo rising chart, Trump’s zodiacal releasing from Daimon at the time of the 2016 election would look like this:

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He is in a 25-year-long Cancer period on Level I, which began in 2000. This activates his fortunate 11th house which contains 10th-ruler Mercury as well as Saturn, Venus and his Lot of Exaltation. Because Jupiter, the benefic of the day sect, lies in Libra, it too is activated through the square with Cancer.

At the time of the 2016 election Trump was in a Gemini period on Level 2. Gemini is his 10th house of career, and its ruler Mercury is already activated by its placement in Cancer in square to benefic Jupiter. The Moon, which rules Cancer, lies opposite Gemini.

This pattern of zodiacal releasing from Spirit is certainly consistent with his winning the election.

Next consider his Solar Return in June of 2016 about five months before the election:

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It is interesting that in his 2016 Solar Return the Lot of Spirit lies exactly on the Midheaven.  In addition, Mercury (ruler of the natal 10th of career) conjoins the Lot of Exaltation in Gemini, the solar return 11th of hopes and wishes and the natal 10th of profession.

Clearly, this speculative chart does not prove that Trump has Virgo rising, but it does illustrate that a Virgo Ascendant is a distinct possibility.

 

A note on planetary hours in horary and electional astrology

Horary astrologers are familiar with the advice of William Lilly (1647):

“All the ancients that have wrote of questions do give warning to the

astrologer, that before he deliver judgement he should consider whether the

figure is radical and capable of judgement. The question then shall be taken

for radical, or fit to be judged, when the lord of the hour at the time of

proposing the question, and erecting the figure, and the lord of the ascendant

or first house, are of one triplicity, or be one, or of the same nature.”

Other than this “consideration before judgment” astrologers of the Lilly school rarely take into account the planetary hour or the day ruler as part of their delineation. In Hellenistic times such was not the case.

For example, in the 5th century CE the general Leontius of the Eastern Roman Empire led a rebellion in an attempt to usurp the throne of Emperor Zeno.  To assure success Leontius planned his coronation with the aid of astrologers who calculated a favorable electional (katarchic) chart in July of 484 CE.  Emperor Zeno was not happy and sent his army to confront the usurper.  After four years of conflict, the forces of Zeno triumphed over Leontius who was captured and beheaded in 488 CE.

According to Neugebaur and Van Hoesen in Greek Horoscopes (p. 147), the electional chart for Leontius’ coronation was set for the first hour after sunrise on a Wednesday (a Mercury day during a Mercury hour) with the following planetary positions according to the tables of the epoch:

Horoscopos (Ascendant) at 23 Cancer
Sun at 23 Cancer
Moon at 7 Scorpio
Mercury at 19 Leo
Venus at 26 Gemini
Mars at 20 Cancer
Jupiter at 5 Cancer (possibly a copy error, modern calculation is 15 Cancer)
Saturn at 15 Scorpio
Fortuna at 17 Scorpio (possibly a copy error, modern calculation is 7 Scorpio)
Daimon in Aries (at 10 Ar 18 by modern computer)
Lot of Exaltation in Aries (at 19 Ar 12 by modern computer)

The following chart is a close approximation to the data provided.  I cast it in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri) with the Sun just above the Ascendant.  Although it is technically an electional chart, we could also view it as a horary in which Leontius asks something like, “Will my effort to lead a rebellion and become the new Emperor meet with success?”

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Neugebaur and Van Hoesen go on to translate the original comments about the chart:

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Most likely the astrologers who cast the chart thought they had elected a time that guaranteed success. The Sun is strong on the Ascendant and applies to benefit Jupiter. The  Moon, ruler of the Ascendant, is in mutual reception and in trine with Mars, god of war.  Moon also applies immediately to conjoin the Part of Fortune in the 5th Place of Good Fortune.  The Lot of Spirit/Daimon is conjunct the MC, and the Lot of Exaltation occupies the 10th house at 19 Aries, the degree of exaltation of the Sun, and exactly trines Mercury in Leo in the 2nd which is the 10th house from the Lot of Fortune.

The hour ruler Mercury, unfortunately, squares malefic Saturn in Scorpio.  Saturn rules the 8th house of death of the radical chart, and Mercury rules the 8th house of death in the turned chart with Pars Fortunae on the Ascendant.  The two rulers of death in square aspect is not a good omen.  Saturn ruling the 8th of death and occupying Scorpio, the domicile of violent Mars, could symbolize a violent death.  In addition, benefic Jupiter is combust the Sun, and Mars (god of war) will soon be under the sunbeams and eventually combust the sun, suggesting an inability to fight effectively as leader of the rebellion.

The failure of the chart to indicate success was also attributed to overlooking the importance of the planetary ruler of the day and of the hour, which is Mercury on both counts.  Mercury always lies within 28 degree of the sun, and in this chart is almost at its maximum elongation from the sun, which the ancient author says is a position of “passivity.”  Once Mercury reaches its greatest elongation, it will begin to approach the sun and will turn stationary Retrograde on 8 August 484.

Dorian Greenbaum translates Olympiodorus’ comment about this chart as:  “but they [the astrologers] did not pay attention, first, that the presiding and managing [planet], Mercury, had fallen into misfortune (εἰς πάθος). For it was at its greatest [distance] from the Sun, which brings about violent death, and it was aspected only by Saturn.”  [The ‘presiding’ planet rules the day and the ‘managing’ planet rules the particular hour of the day.]

Interestingly, on the date that Mercury turned stationary retrograde (8 Augsut 484) Emperor Zeno’s army defeated the rebel army of Leontius who, according to wikipedia, was “forced to take take refuge inside the fortress of Papurius, where the insurgents held out for four years. In 488 the fortress fell through treachery; Leontius was put to death, beheaded at Seleucia on the Calycadnus, and his head was sent to Zeno.”

Had the astrologers paid attention to the lord of the hour in this chart, Leontius might have been spared beheading.

In another instance, I recently consulted with a colleague at a horary chart she did regarding what had happened to brother of the querent’s boyfriend.  The question was asked on a Mars day during a Mars hour, so there was a strong emphasis on Mars.  It turned out that the young man had cut himself in a suicide gesture which led to his being hospitalized.  Again the ruler of the day and of the hour gave an important clue as to the outcome, so maybe horary astrologers need to be paying more attention to the presiding and managing planets at the time of the question.

 

Harvey Weinstein fired: aversion, nodes, eclipses and quincunxes

This week’s news from Hollywood centered around the firing, on Sunday 8 October 2017, of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for sexual harassment by the company which he founded.  According to the NY Times:

“The sexual harassment allegations uncovered by The Times stretched back decades and came from actresses as well as former employees of the Weinstein Company and Miramax, the previous company that Mr. Weinstein and his brother founded.”

Weinstein was born in Flushing, Queens, NYC on 19 March 1952, time unknown. Here is his natal chart cast for Noon with average planetary positions for the day. It is noteworthy for demonstrating the power of the Hellenistic concept of “aversion” in the interpretation of a chart.

Harvey Weinstein Natal Chart for Noon

[image error]Features of this chart which stand out are:

Sun at the end of Pisces in partile inconjunct with the South Lunar Node at the end of Leo.  The Sun disposes the South Node, which lies in the terms of Mars, a planet associated with male libido. The Sun is also in a wide (or whole sign) inconjunct with Pluto in Leo.
Mars (male sexual desire) very strong in Scorpio mutually applying to square Pluto (intense emotion, powerful hidden forces) in Leo. In mythology, Pluto’s lust prompted him to abduct Propina (the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone) and take her to Hades.
Mercury (modes of thinking) in Aries (ruled by Mars) mutually applying to oppose Neptune in Libra (egalitarian relationships) and closely applying to quincunx Mars in Scorpio.
Jupiter in Aries in partile opposition to Neptune in Libra.
Venus in Pisces rules Libra, which is inconjunct to Pisces.
Venus and the Sun in Pisces are in aversion to Jupiter and Mercury in Aries, to the North Lunar Node in Aquarius, to Pluto and the South Lunar Node in Leo, and to Saturn and Neptune in Libra.
Mars in Scorpio lies in aversion to its sign Aries where Jupiter and Mercury are located. Thus, Mars has little say in how Jupiter and Mercury behave, especially with regard to their opposition with Neptune in Libra, another sign which is in aversion to Scorpio where Mars resides in this chart.

In Hellenistic astrology the modern quincunx (inconjunct) relationship is referred to as “aversion” and occurs when planets occupy signs that are 30 degrees or 150 degrees apart, and thus unable to “see” each other. Interpretive key words and phrases for the configuration of planets in “aversion” include:

out of awareness
not visible
not seen
out of control
unregulated
poorly integrated or unintegrated
turned away from
averse to
unconnected
not communicating
hidden from each other
controversy, separation or exile by peers (Paulus of Alexandria)
“While the cat’s away, the mice will play.”

When the planet is in aversion to a sign that it rules, then the ruling planet is unable to manage the affairs symbolized by that sign or any planets residing therein. Paulus of Alexandria tells us that a planet in aversion to its own domicile indicates controversy, separation and exile because that planet cannot “see” its home sign and is thus unable to manage the affairs signified by its sign in a way that benefits the native.

In Weinstein’s chart, the Sun is averse to Leo and thus unable to manage the affairs of Leo as well as Pluto and the South Lunar Node therein. In other words, whatever Leo, Pluto and the Lunar Nodes signify in his chart remains unintegrated with the part of his personality represented by the Sun.

In addition, Venus in Pisces, being inconjunct to Libra, has little say over how Saturn and Neptune behave in her home sign Libra, which is associated with intimate relationships. Being averse, Venus is unable to regulate what goes on in her own Libra home, leaving Saturn and Neptune free to do whatever they feel like. When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Weinstein’s career has certainly been eclipsed this fall, so let’s look back to the most recent solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 to see how it played out in his chart.  Here is Weinstein’s natal Noon chart with the August solar eclipse superimposed.

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Interestingly, the 21 Aug 2017 solar eclipse occurred exactly quincunx Weinstein’s natal Sun, which rules Leo where the eclipse took place, and also closely conjunct Weinstein’s natal South Lunar Node. The following in an interpretation of this configuration from page 74 of the Eclipse Interpretation Manual by Rose Lineman:

“Self-centered tendencies surface during the period these aspects are effective. They reveal egotistical attitudes associated with the natal south node which have created handicaps in the past and presently conflict with positive experiential potentials described by the natal north node. The self-awareness fostered by these aspects contributes to the capacity to develop selfless attributes that promote personal growth and reinforce constructive solar eclipse activity. Events that manifest under this configuration stem from selfish action which the individual perpetrates or action of which he or she is the victim.”

According to Lineman, when a transiting solar eclipse hits the natal South Lunar Node, we can expect activation of the following:

self-centered tendencies
egotistical attitudes which have created handicaps in the past
events that stem from selfish action which the individual perpetuates

Obtaining sexual satisfaction at the expense of women in one’s employ certainly qualifies. There are many other interesting connections between the August solar eclipse chart and his natal chart, but I will leave those for the reader to explore.

Further Reading:

Steven Birchfield: Aversion or the “Inconjunct”: Dignities, Strengths, and Weaknesses – a closer look

 

Original material in this post is copyright Anthony Louis 2017.

 

Shooting in Las Vegas

On Sunday 1 October 2017 at around 10:08 pm a gunman opened fire from one of the top floors of the Mandalay Bay Casino onto a crowd attending a nearby concert, killing at least 50 people and injuring more than 400. In violent events of this type, such as this mass shooting, one often finds Mars (weapons, violence) and Pluto (immense dominating power) to be active, and so they were:

Transiting Pluto turned stationary direct on 28 September 2017, forming an almost exact square with the Ascendant-ruler of the Las Vegas incorporation chart.  Here the 1st house ruler is the Moon, which symbolizes the masses.
Transiting Mars perfected a trine to transiting Pluto several hours before the shooting.
Transiting Mars perfected a sesqui-quadrate to natal Mars about 3 hours after the incident.

According to astro.com, Las Vegas was incorporated on 16 March 1911. Here is the natal chart of Las Vegas (time unknown) cast with the Sun symbolically on the MC with the tropical zodiac and Placidus houses. Surrounding the inner wheel of the city’s incorporation are the transits for the beginning of the incident.

Inner wheel: Las Vegas Incorporation Chart with Sun on MC

Outer wheel: Gunman open fire on concert near Mandalay Bay

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As you can see, at the time of the shooting the transiting Ascendant was stimulating natal Pluto in the natal 12th house of hidden enemies. Natal Pluto is opposed by transiting Saturn, an aspect which usually indicates conflicts with authority figures.

Transiting Pluto, which is near the 7th cusp, has just made a station in square to natal Moon, the Ascendant ruler of the Las Vegas incorporation chart. The Moon is a symbol of the masses and large groups of people. Transiting Pluto also opposes natal Neptune in the 1st house of the Las Vegas Chart.

Transiting Mars has just perfected a trine to transiting Pluto (which made a station three days earlier).  Transiting Mars also applies to sesqui-square natal Mars in 06 minute of arc; this aspect perfects at 1:16 AM, just 3 hours after the start of the incident. Natal Mars conjoins the cusp of the natal 8th house of death and is also in an out-of-sign conjunction with natal Uranus.

Jupiter, which rules the incorporation MC, opposes transiting Uranus (sudden disruptive events) in the 10th and almost exactly squares natal Uranus in the 7th of open enemies.