Skyscript newsletter 3

#3 Oct Libra Ingress 2022

Newsletter Edited by Deborah Houlding, contributors: Morgan Le Gall • Wade Caves • Jason Burns • Joni Suller

The Sun is in Libra www.skyscript.co.uk/libra.html

– Contents – • Skyscript updates, news and announcements • Al-Qabisi’s ‘Nature of Venus’ & Translation Notes • John of Saxony & the Alfonsine Tables • John of Saxony’s Murder Mystery • Libran Realities: Will Smith & the Spectre of Judgement • Ann Hall’s Love Twist • Planetary Themes for October • Heads-up on the November Eclipse

WELCOME TO ISSUE 3

This issue of the newsletter is so crammed with juicy, full-bodied astrology that I am allowing myself a few extra, fluffy, non-astrological words to thank each and every one of you for your wonderful support. I am constantly bragging to my husband that the newsletter now has “many tens” of subscribers, and I am confident we will be hitting that magic 100 mark soon. I know other Patreaon Creators give subscribers an extra bonus when they hit important milestones, but I’ve decided that on that day I am going to reward myself by catching up with rest. (I do have something in mind as a later celebration, but need my day of rest first to plan it out).

The Sun keeps whizzing through the zodiac at a ridiculous break-neck speed – and I could do with it going retrograde for a while – but I have never been happier than these last few months, working on the coding of Skyscript and the content of this newsletter at every available moment. I would not be doing any of this were it not for the many tens of subscribers … who are soon to be 100 … (I feel it coming).

Your moral and practical support and interest in the content really do motivate and empower me. As I observe the newsletter strengthening through the collaboration of willing contributors, who have not even been threatened or blackmailed, it feels like something that was meant to be is starting to take shape. It also feels like a huge indulgence to use these pages just for the kind of stuff that interests me personally – to explore some astrological avenues that are rarely trodden by the more commercial astro-journals. It is true that they all have more than 100 subscribers; but they measure their subscribers by quantity whereas we shall measure by quality … there are fewer of you, but you are the best; hence, Skyscript is the winner. Still, it would be nice to have more than 100, so if you have any astro-friends that haven’t heard about this newsletter yet, please share the news. I would really like a day of rest soon.

SKYSCRIPT SITE UPDATES

Quick update on long-term developments There is still a ton of background development going on with the website, which means visitors to Skyscript are not yet seeing results from the efforts being put into it. I am excited that plans are coming together for improved navigation and coordination of content throughout the site and that the research into the forum upgrade is looking very promising. There should be more information about that next month, as server requirements and the feasibility of some options are still being investigated. Many necessary code templates have been developed this past month, which means we are on target to have a new home page design and integrated links showing site-wide by the end of this year.

Another prospect currently being researched by Paul Kiernan is a chart calculation option that will allow a forum user to cast a chart and place its image into a forum post. I have felt frustrated that every online chart calculation service forces the user to cast a chart in the recently invented ‘proportional’ format (with the MC-IC axis askew), rather than the ‘standard’ chart format – which is called ‘standard’ because it has always been standard practice to draw a chart this way.

When did normal stop being normal? More on this later, since we are still exploring what can be done, and in what stages.

Whilst on the topic of chart calculation, has anyone else wondered why astro.com defines charts drawn with equal houses as “English-style” – what is that about?

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NEWLY ADDED/ RECENTLY REDEVELOPED PAGES Jeffery Neve’s Treasure Trove of Horaries https://www.skyscript.co.uk/neve_horaries.html No matter how busy you are, click on the link above right now (don’t question, just do it).

Spend a few moments flicking through the pages of the recently unearthed horary casebook, with over 200 private horary judgements recorded by William Lilly’s contemporary Jeffery Neve.

It is amazing to witness how diligently Neve drew out his manually calculated charts and recorded his case notes.

HUGE thanks to Chris Mitchell for tracking down the text in

the Bodleian library, and for having the patience to photograph it, as well as the benevolence to share it with the rest of us. I tried to do justice to the find by building a great page around the text, with loads of useful links to Lilly resources compiled around it for follow up reading. Whilst at it, I reworked the page with Lilly’s biography and many of other Lilly-related pages that flow from those links, incorporating easily accessed flip-books of texts wherever possible.

Al-Biruni & Arabic Astrology (David Plant) https://www.skyscript.co.uk/albiruni.html Because it was al-Biruni’s birthday last month I gave him a makeover as a birthday present. His natal chart was looking very old and pixelated, and I wanted to illustrate his biography with images, and include all the onsite and off-site related links and resources that an al-Biruni researcher might be searching for.

There are links to a wonderful 3-part YouTube documentary on his life (parts II and III are especially worth watching), and a flip-book copy of his Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology which is now in the public domain. This can be downloaded from the page, or handily viewed and searched online

A Brief Biography of Vivian Robson (James Holden) https://www.skyscript.co.uk/Robson.html Vivian Robson also got the makeover treatment, and the inclusion of an image, to help the new students realise that Vivian was a gentleman, not a lady. The page is currently something of a place-holder but includes a flipbook of his classic text, The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology. Links to more of his texts will be added to that page soon.

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Sign symbolism: Libra the Scales (Deborah Houlding) https://www.skyscript.co.uk/libra.html Thanks to fertilityastrology.com for sponsoring this page!

I had fun creating the artwork for the revamped page on Libra – there is something about a Venus-themed page that requires an extra touch of aesthetic beauty.

It also built in some historical imagery, to drive home the point about Libra being an autumnal return to the season of darkness (for those of us in the northern hemisphere anyway, as we pass the shiny ‘ball’ back to our friends in the Southern Hemisphere).

I added images of St Michael too. Make no mistake, these medieval works of art are zodiac-themed images that come from the symbolism Libra, just as the celebration of Michaelmas on 29th September is a celebration of the autumn festival held around the time of the equinox. There needs to be more universal recognition that astrology is everywhere in history and incorporated into all world religions.

Special thanks to ‘Queen of Hearts’ Danielle Ashley for her voice-over for the Libra article – I’ve already had feedback from a few astrologers to say they appreciated you reading the article out to them, Danielle J (Check out Danielle’s super cool astrology website, which has a stunning design theme: https://www.queenofheartsastrology.com)

What else?

I constantly use Skyscript as a sort of personal filing cabinet, so some pages have been created to host Latin texts I don’t want to lose (e.g., www.skyscript.co.uk/seville.html – more to be added to this page when our current Al-Qabisi translation completes).

There’s also been a mass of chart-image upgrades throughout the site, including additions or upgrades of horoscopes for the Libran celebrities below. To get the neat standard representation chart – with the MC-IC axis correctly depicting the meridian that splits the sky into east and west, as the meridian actually does – each is created as a combination of computer generation and Photoshop finishing (I use Astro-Gold for the basic chart design, having found a way to strip out most of the unnecessary lurid colours – if an astrologer needs coloured sign glyphs to show which signs are earth signs and which are fire, etc, IMO they are not yet ready for the challenge of synthesising those details into a judgement).

There is a particular style to the Skyscript chart and if you have thoughts, or even complaints, on that let me know. Outers are included but slightly more greyed out than the seven classical planets, and they are made especially faint in modern representations of historical charts that preceded their discovery. My view on chart presentation is that less is more – less clutter in the chart means more meaning drawn from its most relevant features. I also believe the line that acts as a representation of the meridian that splits the sky into east and west should always be upright in the chart, as it actually is in reality (at least when we are stood up and facing towards it), but I think I mentioned that already.

Check out the page on the Libran celebrities (and the fancy responsive code at the bottom that displays the images) at https://www.skyscript.co.uk/libracharts.html

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OBJECTIONAL CONTENT: ISSUES I & II Ever the argumentative soul, I wish to object to some of the details published in earlier issues.

1) In issue I (p.10) I said John of Saxony “flourished in the late 12th to the mid-13th century”. No, he didn’t. We don’t know dates for his birth or death, but he was active between 1297 to 1355, i.e., late 13th to mid-14th century. I am disappointed no one wrote to complain about this. He is given more limelight in this issue so please pay closer attention to the reported dates.

2) In issue 2 John of Seville was described as being “Baptised a Jew” (p.7). The lovely Sheila Roher provided a lesson in how to make someone feel good whilst correcting them: “I’ve really loving the newsletter, and thanks for the article on John of Seville! In case you write more about him (which of course I hope you will….), may I suggest that he is not ‘baptized a Jew’ (as the article reads) but rather ‘a baptized Jew’, meaning he was of Jewish origin, and then either chose or was forced to convert (sounds like during the Almohad caliphate). Jews in the middle ages did not use the language of baptism (although there were early birth rituals, including naming and – for males – circumcision). The term ‘baptized Jew’ is in wide use for Jews who converted during various political regimes whether Arabic or Christian).”

Quite right. Thank you, Sheila. I roundly thrashed the submitting author, Wade Caves, stopping only when he reminded me that I was the one who altered his text in my final edits, turning his correct reference of someone who was “A baptised Jew” into the nonsense suggestion of him being “Baptised a Jew”. By the time I had finished beating and berating Wade my energy was spent, so upon this realisation, I calmed myself down with a cup of tea. Mistakes happen.

3) In issue I (p.8) I said Arabian astrologers referred to the Part of Spirit as the Lot of the Absent.1 Apparently, what is absent is evidence to support this. I saw this was a translation used in other works, including the Warburg edition of Al-Qabisi (p.75), so assumed this drew from the Arabic manuscripts, because it is not in the Latin. (What does assuming make of you and me?)

The ever-erudite Martin Gansten emailed to explain that where the term is translated as the “Part of the Absent” this is not a good rendering of the Arabic sahm al-ghayb. He says that phrase “is a fairly close translation of the Greek ‘Lot of the Daimon’ (or Spirit, which is itself an approximative translation) … The notion of ‘absence’ comes from the fact that the pertinent word can mean “absence, the hidden, hidden, the invisible, the unseen, the supersensory, divine secret…”. Remember, we are talking about the Part of Spirit. Martin continues: “Translating ghayb as ‘absence’ or ‘absent’ isn’t wrong in itself, in the sense that if you had no context it could reasonably mean that. But since we do have context, we can understand that the Arabic authors had a different meaning in mind.”

Yet another example of the words being correct, but the translation fails to communicate the true intention of the words, a point I talk about in the very passage where the mistake was made. It is good to get this detail corrected, and what was also rather nice … as I replied to thank Martin for the information, he quickly returned an email response with an image attached for an advert he had just walked past with these thoughts on his mind – such beautiful synchronicity in play.J Just remember this and you won’t go far wrong: because something is spiritual or unseen does not necessarily make it absent.

Want only the most up-to-date, reliable astrology facts? Keep up your subscription. Any misinformation circulated in this newsletter will be corrected in the next.

1 “I wrote: An interesting detail of the Al-Qabisi extract is his reference to what was widely referred to in his era as the Part of

the Sun. To the Latin authors who translated his work, it was Pars Futurorum (the Part of the Future, or the Part of Things to Come), or the Part of Divination. Most of us know it as the Part of Spirit (or Part of Daimon). Arabic authors called it the Part of Absent Persons, presumably because you used it in a divinatory way to find out where absent persons were.”

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE This really is a bumper issue, with a feast of topical content to explore. I’ve been joined by a team of great contributors and together we wind through a heady celestial mix of historical charts, biographies, new Latin translations, horaries, mundane charts, political charts and peeks into the months ahead.

Within the remit of our Libran motif, Wade Caves presents a riveting review of the energies playing out in the nativity of Will Smith, who created one of the big ‘gasp’ moments this year, in his Oscar performance, Slap! Wade goes far beyond this singular moment in his exploration of the relationship dynamics between Will and Jada, and gives us a perfect illustration of the principle I mention in my article on Skyscript … Librans cannot avoid the fact that relationships are significant concerns around which many of their own problems revolve.

I know a lot of “serious astrologers” believe there’s little to be learned from studying charts of modern celebrities, but I disagree. The astro-connections and timing details in that article are so powerful, and subject-reaffirming, they will rise up and slap you in the face. They will apologise for doing that some months later, but for now just “Keep your disbelief out your **** head!” and read it.

I like that explorations of living individuals are kept in this private publication, not posted publicly on the web (except in a very diluted, lighter form). Since we have the finest-quality collection of astrologers here, all truly committed to the subject, who else is thinking what I’m thinking about Joe Biden in that teaser comment Joni Suller leaves at the end of her fascinating article about the November eclipse? I noted in May how the lunar eclipse (25°Ü) fell on the very degree of the Queen’s Saturn-MC conjunction, but hadn’t given thought then to how close it was to Biden’s Sun. (Don’t forget we have a Zoom discussion on 24 Oct to muse more on the eclipses; maybe, look at this then?)

I also like that this issue gives a more ‘full-bodied’ appreciation of the darker, Saturnian, as well as the softer, Venusian, hues of Libra. Morgan has been scribbling away with translations and transcriptions, honouring our topic by producing one by Lilly concerning a romance (`), and another by Saxony concerning a darker deed (i).

Even those names, Lilly and Saxony, evoke the symbolism of ` and i don’t they? It is interesting to note how Saxony interpreted a horary without having studied Lilly’s Christian Astrology. It’s also interesting to note the different styles: Saxony aims to establish what has happened; Lilly finds an answer, but he also creatively scours the symbolism to discover a different potential the querent hadn’t even thought about.

If you don’t know who Saxony is, fear not, all is explained in this issue, along with a detoured remembrance of his learned majesty, Alfonse the Astrologer. Imagine practising astrology without the aid of a computer … now imagine you don’t have a computer or an ephemeris … are you starting to understand why the transmission of ephemerides is an important part of the history of our subject that is well worth knowing about?

In case you hadn’t realised yet, there is a sub-plot going on behind the monthly features from Al-Qabisi. As we explore the lives of those involved with his work we are discovering the template of transmission that affected all historical works, or at least we are discovering one important element of that. So keep paying attention as it all fits together. I will test you at the end to see who is only pretending to read the newsletter.

And finally, I love that Jason Burns has introduced a mundane snapshot of the month ahead, focusing mainly on the details of the seven classical planets. He has promised to make this a regular feature, and I am publicly explaining this so he cannot back out of it now.

Have a great month everyone!

Deb

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THE NATURE OF VENUS Al-Qabisi Translated from Latin by Morgan Le Gall & Deb Houlding

Full Latin text available online at www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_09554/?sp=14

VENUS: benefic, feminine, nocturnal; she is the significator of women and wives, and of the mother in a diurnal nativity. She is moderately cool and moist. Of ages, she signifies youth and adolescence.1 She governs the playing of instruments, ornaments, beautiful images, gambling games, chess, dancing, leisure, fornication, prostitutes and the [illegitimate] children of adultery, orgies,2 all kinds of sensual pleasure, the arrangement of garlands and their enjoyment, beauty, cleanliness, robes and adornment, gold and silver, the delight of play, laughter and joy, perfumes, all kinds of drinking and inebriation and trust in everyone; and she signifies generosity, love, diligence, devotion, justice, houses of prayer and the maintenance of faith.

Of occupations, she signifies mastery of all kinds of melodies such as music, etc.

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If connected with Saturn, she signifies the sound of the chants by which the dead are mourned. Or what builders sing when they construct buildings.3 If Jupiter, she signifies the melodies of recitals or the chants that religious masters use at their altars and places of prayer in praise of God Almighty.

1 Lilly tells us: “In Man, she governeth Youth from 14 to 28”.

2 The Latin text multitudinem coitis could mean ‘a multitude of sex’ or ‘mass sex’, as in orgies.

3 I.e., work ditties: rhythms sung by labourers in synch with pulling heavy loads, etc.

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Al-Qabisi notes how different planets affect the musical expression of Venus; with the Sun she is associated with the lute, the medieval ‘instrument of princes’. Left: Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ (mid 1480s).

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If Mars, she signifies profane songs of common people which mention blasphemy or battles, or which reference prison or labour and such things, or songs which mention capture4 and the beating of the whips.

If the Sun, she signifies lutists5 and who sing in the presence of kings and nobles.

If Mercury, she signifies the rhythms used in the composition of verses.

If the Moon, she signifies the nautical melodies of sailors in ships.

Of ailments, she signifies cold and moist diseases which occur in the private areas, often affecting the members of generation.6 Of possessions, those sought for the sake of beauty, such as women’s adornments, garments, pearls, and paintings. As for the quality of the soul, gentleness, friendship, harmonising and the like, and a love of drinking, eating and intercourse.

Of religions, she signifies the culture of idols and those [whose rites] involve much eating and drinking.

Some say she signifies the haunches7, the spine and the sperm. Others that she signifies plumpness, the flesh,8 the kidneys, the vulva and womb, the belly, the pubic bone, and the navel.

Of colours, she has whiteness, and of savours, she has the unctuous.9 The size of her orb is 7 degrees. And of the days she has Friday, and of the nights, Tuesday night. The years of her firdaria are 8, and her greater years are 82,10 the greatest 1151,11 the mean 45 and the least 8.12 Her power in the zodiac region is to the right of the east.

4 Captionis could refer to deceit and fraud, but in this context, the ‘capture’ of people makes more sense.

5 The Latin word for lute translates as ‘wood’, the Arabic name for the instrument which came to Europe from Muslim

conquerors during the Middle Ages and quickly gained eminence as the preferred instrument of princes. The term may include similar wooden-framed stringed instruments such as the harp which produces beautifully resonant melodies.

6 I.e., reproductive organs; the genital area.

7 The ‘haunches’ relate to the anatomical area around the hips, buttock and upper thighs.

8 Generally thought of as the soft substance consisting of muscle and fat that lies between the skin and bones.

9 The Latin untuosum derives from ungere ‘to anoint’ so in regard to flavours unctuous means oily or greasy. However, the savours describe what is experienced by smell as well as taste, and Lilly appears to associate this word with the effects of incense in telling us (CA, p.75) “In savours she delights in that which is pleasant and toothsome; usually moist and sweet, or what is very delectable; in smells what is unctuous and aromatical, and incites to wantonness”.

10 Also known as ‘final years’ or ‘great periods’, the greater years show the total number of terms each planet rules throughout the signs (see Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos I.20); i.e., Saturn 57 + Jupiter 79 + Mars 66 + Venus 82 + Mercury 76 = 360. The figures demonstrate sensitivity to the speed and benefic qualities of the planets, so that Venus, a quick-moving benefic, rules the most terms, whilst Saturn, a slow moving malefic, rules the least; appropriate because as Lilly explains the greater years set the expectancy of life when the planet in question is lord of the geniture and well situated.

11 Reading 1151 for 151 (we’re missing a 1 in the Latin text; a mistake which was also transmitted by Lilly). The greatest years indicate when the synodic phases repeat in a nearby degree at a similar time of year. For the logic refer back to Newsletter 2, footnote 8 on pp.9-10, or for a more detailed analysis of how the calculation was made by Babylonian astronomers see ‘A study of Babylonian planetary theory II. The planet Venus’ by Teije de Jong (Archive for History of Exact Sciences (2019) 73:309–333) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00407-019-00224-0.

12 The least years indicate the number of years between successive synodic returns that occur in the same part of the zodiac; mean years simply average the greater and least years; e.g., for Venus, (greater) 82 + (least) 8 = 90 ÷ 2 = 45.

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And Masha’allah said that in appearance she signifies a white complexion tending towards darkness,13 with a beautiful body and hair. The face is round, the jawline small, the eyes pretty with large pupils.14 And Dorotheus said she signifies a man with a handsome face, attractive eyes, copious hair, more white in the complexion than red, corpulent, exhibiting benevolence.

Of the Parts, she has the Part of Desire and it signifies friendship, entertainment, love, patience and [sexual] unions with men.15 Of regions, she has Hejaz, Yemen and the Arab lands.16

Traits: Appearance: People/professions: With Saturn: Jupiter: Mars: Sun: Mercury: Moon: Age: Activities:

Minerals/resources: Illnesses: Anatomy: Colours: Savour: Orb: Days: Years: Associated Part Territories

Feminine | nocturnal | benefic | moderately cool and moist.

Beauty, charm, playfulness, entertainment, pleasure.

Easy-going, generous, loving, naturally trusting, pleasure-seeking, selfindulgent, adulterous, morally ‘loose’.

Beautiful body (inclines to curves/plumpness), good-looking face, lovely hair, pretty eyes, large pupils, fair skin with a flush of colour.

Women, wives; the mother in a diurnal nativity. Professions concerned with the arts, music, paintings, beautification, sex, entertainment, etc.

Songs of mourning, funeral rites. Workers’ songs.

Religious chants and choral music.

Bawdy songs and all ditties sung by common people about war or getting captured, being beaten, etc.

The sound of lutes, harps, etc, producing noble sounds.

The lyrical and mathematical structure of poems or verses.

Sea shanties.

Youth and adolescence.

Music, dancing, singing, all games and leisure pursuits, gambling, games of chance, sensual pleasures, beautification, working with flowers and perfumes, enjoying sex and the state of merriment or intoxication, investing in beautiful objects and works of art.

Pearls, gold, silver, and all forms of adornment.

Those of a cold and moist nature. Diseases affecting the sexual organs.

Buttocks, spine, sperm, kidneys, vulva, womb, pubic bone and navel.

White, and by extension any pale colours or those with pastel hues.

Anything pleasant to the taste, or moist (greasy/oily) and intoxicating.

7°.

Friday / Tuesday night.

Firdaria: 8 |lesser 8 | mean 45 | greater 82 | greatest 1151.

Part of Desire Territories of Arabia

13 I.e., a complexion that is fair but not pale, with some flush of red or tanning of the skin to give the sense of healthy vitality. Lilly draws on this in his own explanation that Venus shows “A man of fair, but not tall stature, his complexion being white, tending to a little darkness, which makes him more lovely” (CA, p.74).

14 More literally the text reads “the black is greater than the necessary amount” referring to large pupils, or dilated pupils, which are a biological response to arousal and considered attractive – hence the dangerous medieval beauty practice of dropping extract of Belladonna (L: ‘beautiful lady’) into the eyes because small traces of this deadly herb causes the pupils to dilate.

15 Elsewhere known as the Part of Love and Friendship, its formula for calculation is later given (Bk V) as the distance from the Part of Fortune to the Part of Spirit projected from the ascendant (reversed by night). In formula format: diurnal = Asc + (Spirit – Fortune) | nocturnal = Asc + (Fortune – Spirit).

16 Hejaz is the Western Province of Saudi Arabia, bordered by the Red Sea (the Latin Alhygez translates as ‘Barrier’; Yemen is the area below it in the south West – overall, this Arabic text places the focus of Venus on Saudi Arabia.

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WHAT ARE THE ALFONSINE TABLES?

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WHO WAS JOHN OF SAXONY?

Al-Qabisi’s Introduction to Astrology was an Arabic text written in Syria in the mid-10th century. At this time the conquest of Spain by the Muslim Moors was peaking; most of Spain was under their control, populated by a multi-cultural mix of Muslims, Christians and Jews. This interaction of Islamic civilization with the Latin West began a new era of world development as Arabian science transmitted through Europe to stir it out of its Dark Age. Al-Qabisi’s was one of the Arabic manuscripts brought to the Muslim libraries of Hispania (the southern region of Spain that was most firmly under the control of the Muslims, and the pre-Roman name for the city of Seville).

The text was rendered into Latin in 1130 by the prolific translator of astrological texts known as ‘John of Seville’, or Johannes Hispalensis. Although the name reveals his birthplace, John worked as a translator in the more northern city of Toledo, as part of the translation movement that flourished after Toledo was reclaimed from the Muslims by king Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085. (This marked a critical turning point in the Spanish ‘Reconquista’: the Christian conquest of Muslim Spain by which Castile took control of most of the territory.)

Although Al-Qabisi’s work was available as a Latin manuscript by the mid-12th century, it was the influence of the Parisian lecturer, John of Saxony, who flourished in the early 14th century, that helped to ensure the work would become hugely popular as an essential textbook of European universities in the 15th and 16th centuries.

John of Saxony is believed to have been born in Magdeburg, in the medieval Duchy of Saxony which covered the greater part of present-day Northern Germany. In the 13th century, Magdeburg was one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire, with strong commercial links to Flanders and France.

Although little is recorded about his personal life, it is known that John moved to Paris to study under John of Ligneres, a master of mathematics who compiled various astronomical tables and treatises and was responsible for popularising the use of the Alfonsine Tables in the Latin West. After studying under, then assisting his master, Saxony went on to refine many of these astronomical texts and at some stage turned from being a student at the University of Paris to a well-known, respected lecturer.

The Alfonsine Tables were ephemerides computed using the information and calculations found in Ptolemy’s Almagest. These were initially prepared in the 13th century under the direction of King Alfonso X of Castille, whose interest in reclaiming territories from the Arabs was matched by his desire to preserve and enhance their astronomical works. Most of his later life was dedicated to that pursuit, with this learned monarch being so invested in the production of lavishly illuminated astrological manuscripts that he gained the epitaphs ‘Alfonso the Wise’ and ‘Alfonso the Astrologer’.

A set of the Castilian language Alfonsine Tables made their way to Paris sometime around 1320. They were studied, translated into Latin, taught, and commented on at the University of Paris, initially

by John of Ligneres, then by John of Saxony, and about 20 years later by the French astronomer and music theorist, John of Murs. (Collectively these ‘three Johns’ of Paris made a profound impact on improving 14th-century European understanding of astronomical measurement).

So that his students would be able to use the tables more effectively, in 1327 John of Saxony added an influential set of explanations to his revision of the tables. These instructional notes are known as the ‘Canons’, from the Latin canonicus, meaning ‘relating to a rule or principle’.

The Latin translation and addition of instructions greatly expanded the circulation and understanding of this important astronomical work. Copies of the tables along with Saxony’s Canons were disseminated from Paris to the rest of medieval Europe, where each set needed to be reworked and converted to local meridians.

Thus John of Saxony gained repute for the additional commentary he added to existing astronomical and astrological works, to illustrate their meaning more clearly. Four years later, in 1331, he placed his supplementary commentary into John of Seville’s translation of Al-Qabisi, the full text of which was retained within his edition.

Saxony’s commentary included extra notes that clarified the principles, and a couple of illustrative horary chart examples, one of which has been translated overleaf. The other, concerning whether a messenger with money would return, will be included in a future issue. These give valuable, extremely rare examples of fully-explained 14th-century horary judgements, the interpretation of which rests squarely on the principles set out by Al-Qabisi. The popularity of Saxony’s commentary was such that at least twelve printed editions of Al-Qabisi’s text that included his remarks were commissioned between the late 15th and 16th centuries.

Pages from the first edition of the Alfonsine Tables and Canons published by Radolt, 1485

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The Alfonsine tables were used as ephemerides are used today, to derive ecliptic longitudes, lunar phases, eclipses, aspects and ingresses, as well as calendar dates.

They were the most popular astronomical tables in medieval Europe for 300 years and updated versions were regularly produced.

Nicolaus Copernicus cared enough about the copy he owned to have it lovingly bound with wood and leather. It is widely reported that it was his study of this particular work that enabled him to develop the mathematical principles of heliocentrism.

Ephemerides based on the Alfonsine tables continued to be published until the publication of Johannes Kepler’s improved Rudolphine Tables in 1627.

A printed edition of the tables with Saxony’s Canons was first published by Erhard Ratdolt in Venice, in 1483, at around the same time that Ratdolt commissioned a printed edition of Al-Qabisi’s Introduction which included Saxony’s commentary.

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JOHN OF SAXONY’S MURDER MYSTERY An absent person – whether alive or not?

What has Venus to do with this?

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Translated by Morgan Le Gall A person asked if an absent man was dead or alive. The ascendant of the question was 20˚ Leo and such a figure was drawn.

I considered this query and gave the ascendant and its lord and the Moon to the absent party asked about.1 I found the lord of the ascendant in the midheaven2 and because of this it seemed, on first impression, that he lived in prosperity.

However, because I found Saturn on the ascendant, the angle being only two degrees below, I was afraid for his life, especially because in that position it [i] afflicts the Part of Fortune.

Then I looked at the house of death and found Venus more powerful in that place (i.e., the house of death) because she has more testimonies by exaltation and triplicity. I considered her place in the figure and the relationship she had with the ascendant and its lord and the Moon.

I found her aspecting the ascendant by square, and Saturn which was also there, is separating from the same square aspect.3 This made me more concerned about his life.

Then I considered the Moon and found her oppressed under the rays of the Sun; this was one sign of death. I also found the Moon separating from Venus and going to conjunction with the lord of the ascendant [M] and transferring the nature of the ruler of the house of death to the ruler of the ascendant; a more certain sign of death. From these, I judged the man for whom the petition was made must be dead; which was found to be so.

And because Saturn, which was on the ascendant, was the lord of the seventh house, the significator of the wife of him for whom the question was made;4 and because Venus was the significator of death and aspected him [i], it signified that perhaps the murderer had committed adultery with the wife of the man for whom the request was made. *** Translated from the 14th-century commentary on Alcabitius by John of Saxony – images 51 & 52 of the Melchiorre Sessa Venics edition (1512), reproduced online at https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666822/ 1 As Lilly explains (CA, p.151): “If a Question be demanded of one absent in a general way, and the querent hath no relation to the party; then the first house, the lord of that house and the Moon shall signify the absent party”.

2 That is, within the 10th house, which is called the ‘midheaven’.

3 The modern chart shows computer generated positions – note that in the historical chart Venus is at 18°42Ä, separating from a partile square with Saturn at 18°37É.

4 That is, the 7th house signifies the missing man’s wife.

“Money & success don’t change people; they just amplify what’s already there” – Will Smith

14

15

LIBRAN REALITIES WILL SMITH & THE SPECTRE OF JUDGEMENT

by Wade Caves Will Smith’s natal Moon sextiles a 5th-house Jupiter/Pluto conjunction, which ensures that the creative elements of his life are brought to a grand scale. He has one of the most recognizable faces in the world, and with four Grammys, four Oscars and one Tony, he is one of the most decorated stars in Hollywood. After being nominated for an Emmy in 2021 he became one of only ten Black actors nominated for all four of the major Hollywood awards categories (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony)1 – an impressive showing for someone whose nativity places such a strong emphasis on planets in the nocturnal hemisphere.

But Smith’s Moon is essentially debilitated in Scorpio, its sign of fall, and his Jupiter is debilitated in Virgo, its sign of detriment. For all that glitters around Smith, he is rarely free from the pressure of public scrutiny. Smith was born under the Sun sign of Libra, the exaltation of Saturn – an ever-present symbol of judgment, atonement, and accountability. Saturn rules Smith’s midheaven and is debilitated at every level: peregrine, retrograde, in its sign of fall, and placed on the cusp of the perilous 12th house (tribulations, self-undoing). This horoscope makes an almost certain promise of scandal and public discredit.

The precarious state of his Saturn is known to Smith. In 2018 he visited Haridwar, an important Hindu pilgrimage site in northern India, to visit a Vedic astrologer. The astrologer explained the threat of his natal Saturn. Afterwards, Smith performed rites at a nearby temple, hoping to mitigate the worst of its potential.2 He developed a deep appreciation for Indian forms of spirituality, with a particular interest in the teachings of Sadhguru, one of India’s famed spiritual leaders.3 Capricorn, which signifies the nation of India, falls upon Smith’s 9th house cusp.

With both luminaries in fall and the Sun conjunct the South Node, we would expect reputational damage through themes of spotlighted attention. But the affliction of the Sun and Moon also attests to difficulties at the most foundational part of life – the early childhood environment. The Sun rules the 4th house, so represents the father and home. The Times reported that “As a child, the Hollywood star worshipped his father, but lived in fear of his alcohol-fuelled rages” – as well as the physical abuse that typically ensued.4 Smith’s relationship with his father was complicated, and beyond the scope of this piece. But simply acknowledging the violence that Will and his mother experienced brings a deeper appreciation of Saturn’s placement on the 12th cusp, since (as the 10th-house ruler) Saturn is also the significator of his mother. The 12th house is the first to be mapped to human lifespan (ruling the first twelfth of life), the period when we are most impressionable physiologically, emotionally, and mentally. Saturn shows Smith’s early life to be filled with traumas, and since Mars disposits, we also see elements of violence and physical aggression. The fiery fixed star Regulus (nature: h/c) continues to precess towards Mars, at 2°Ñ, increasing its relevance in what might be likened to a very, very slow progressed transit. It will be instructive to observe how Smith rises to meet the Mars themes that will continue to develop around him in the coming years.

FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MARRIAGE …

Smith’s 7th-ruler Jupiter (20°Ñ) is joined to Pluto. One of the tokens of Virgo is prudence and Smith’s marriage to Jada Pinkett presents an interesting study in the working of that theme.

Pinkett’s natal Venus falls on Smith’s Sun (1°Ö & 3°Ö) – just the kind of synastry we hope to see between partners. But note how her Sun-Moon conjunction (illumination, exposure) falls on Smith’s Virgoan Jupiter, shining an intense light on a planet placed below the horizon in a sign that inclines to discretion. On several occasions, questions have been raised as to the very public nature of their relationship, especially given their otherwise private lives. In each public outburst, their natal placements in Virgo were struck by hard aspects.

Pinkett was born with an ascending Jupiter/Neptune conjunction, presenting similar themes to Smith’s Jupiter/Pluto conjunction, though her conjunction opposes her descending Saturn (6°Å). Her Saturn, in turn, sits right on Smith’s ascendant (7°Å); one might say this pair both married into the symbol of Saturn.

The two were wed on New Year’s Eve, 1997, during Smith’s Saturn return. The wedding chart features a Capricorn Sun in a tight, mutually received square to Saturn in Aries. Pluto transited over Pinkett’s natal Jupiter/Neptune conjunction and opposed her Saturn as it simultaneously transited Smith’s descendant.

The exact degree of the wedding Moon is unknown, but we know that on the wedding day it was in Aquarius and passed over Neptune, Venus, Uranus, and Mars, all in late Capricorn/early Aquarius. Saturn disposited seven of the ten planets.

On Saturn’s first transiting square to its placement in the wedding chart, the marriage showed signs of fracture. Questions rose about the nature of their relationship, with rumours that the two were seeking connections outside the confines of marriage. In 2005, Will explained that he and Jada “don’t avoid what’s natural” and they intentionally removed the phrase “forsaking all others” from their wedding vows. His insistence that this was always part of the plan didn’t assuage speculation that they were moving towards separation. In 2013, Jada declared that Will was “his own man,”5 and that she didn’t play the role of “Will’s watcher.”6 By the end of 2015, the Smiths would separate. The public expected the two to divorce.

But the divorce never came. Will and Jada stayed together and publicly denied rumours of a swingers’ arrangement, or that the two had navigated some type of open marriage.7

16

In 2018, Jada developed her show: Red Table Talk, featuring her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and daughter, Willow – three generations of women offering social commentary on hot issues. The women sit around a red table holding discussions with strong themes related to accountability, agency, advocacy, and self-healing. As Jada’s brand rose, media focus shifted from the Smith separation to the thoughtful style of Red Table Talk and their daughter’s commercial success in the music industry. Rumours subsided.

STATE OF EMERGENCY In June 2020, R&B artist August Alsina made the surprising admission that Jada had recently ended a fouryear relationship with him. The two met in 2015, when Will and Jada’s child, Jaden, introduced his mother to his friend.8 August was 23, Jada 43. The explanation came during Alsina’s interview for The Breakfast Club radio show and was published on his YouTube channel as part of a promotion for his third album.

In this open and earnest interview, Alsina shares his experience of managing a severe auto-immune disease and talks about the supportive role Jada played in helping him cope with his disability and the death of his mother. The video of the interview, which has had almost 4 million views to date, was published from New York at 6:30 pm, as 3° Libra culminated on the midheaven.9 That degree is significant in how it ties our three characters together – Will’s Sun at 3°Ö, Jada’s Venus at 1°Ö, and Alsina’s Venus at 3°Ö. In the interview commencement chart, Venus (6°Å) transits Will’s ascendant and Jada’s 7th house stationary Saturn. Alsina’s Moon falls in early Sagittarius and is also connected – it lies close to the Smith’s wedding Pluto, opposing Jada’s Saturn and Will’s ascendant.

The Sun/Mercury conjunction of the interview provokes the wedding chart’s Sun/Saturn square. Just days before the interview aired Saturn stationed over the wedding Venus. The Saturn/Venus theme is completely resonant between these three individuals.

Alsina’s Breakfast Club interview with Angela Yee

17

In his interview, Alsina claimed he had asked Will’s permission to date Jada, and this had been given. Jada’s PR team initially denied this, but old rumours came back to the foreground and a fuller response was warranted. A fortnight later, Jada came onto her own talk show to clear the air.

Jada’s show was now in its third season. Coming to the Red Table had become synonymous with coming clean, holding oneself to account, and embracing uncomfortable realities in the name of finding a sincere path forward. She named the episode, ‘Jada Brings Herself to the Table’ and was joined only by her husband, Will – a first for the show.10 Jada admitted that she had ended up in an “entanglement” with Alsina (the word “entanglement” became a viral phenomenon for months, and Alsina later released a track with that title). Newly separated from Will, she said she had felt wounded and gravitated to someone new, someone young, someone who could use her help. It comforted her to care for someone else’s hurt.

Recalling the Saturn/Venus theme – it’s unclear here who is Saturn and who is Venus. Is Jada Saturn, the mature, established adult, and Alsina Venus, a younger image of beauty evoking a tender, caring response?

Or is Alsina Saturn, suffering from severe physical hardship, rendering Jada as Venus, a restorative salve mixed with romantic desire? (In trying to describe the possible angles to explore their relationship, I begin to understand what Jada means when she says she and August “became entangled.”)

Jada’s confessional episode of the Red Table Talk aired with 5°Ö rising on the ascendant, thus connecting Will’s Sun (3°Ö) and South Node (9°Ö), Jada’s Venus (1°Ö), Alsina’s Venus (3°Ö), and the midheaven at the time Alsina’s interview was released (3°Ö).

Jupiter factors in here, too: Alsina’s nativity is essentially a Jupiter return for Will, so the Jupiter for both these men stands between Jada’s natal luminaries. The RTT episode’s Moon (24°ä, ok) opposed Will and Alsina’s Jupiter and Jada’s luminaries – all in Virgo. The whole thing seemed far too public and exposed, and questions about discretion and judgment hit centre stage.

The RTT episode ended with Will and Jada reciting their marriage mantra: Bad marriage for life, meant to mean “through thick and thin” but interpreted by the public as a desire to trade happiness for stability. Over the coming week, as Mars closed into the wedding Saturn (13°~) social commentators questioned whether we knew too much about these two, and might all prefer to know a lot less.

In September 2021, as Venus transited Will’s natal Moon, and the Sun and Mars conjoined in early Libra (4° & 8°, respectively), Will spoke of his marriage for a GQ cover profile.11 Interviewer Lesley Lowery narrated how he revealed his own internal sense of self-judgment that he had inherited from his early upbringing –

“

During his first meeting with Michaela Boehm, an intimacy coach, Smith confessed that, if he could have anything in the world, he’d want a harem of girlfriends. “Who?” Boehm demanded, insisting he name specific women he’d invite to his harem. Misty Copeland, Smith replied. And Halle Berry too. For the rest of the session, the two of them researched specific women who could round out his aspirational harem. The plan was to then begin contacting the women.

“I don’t know where I saw it or some shit as a teenager, but the idea of travelling with 20 women that I loved and took care of and all of that, it seemed like a really great idea,” Smith explained to me with a laugh. “And then, after we played it out a little bit, I was like, ‘That would be horrific. That would be horrific.’ I was like, ‘Can you imagine how miserable?’ What she was doing was essentially cleaning out my mind, letting it know it was okay to be me and be who I was. It was okay to think Halle is fine. It doesn’t make me a bad person that I’m married and I think Halle is beautiful. Whereas in my mind, in my Christian upbringing, even my thoughts were sins. That was really the process that Michaela worked me through to let me realize that my thoughts were not sins, and even acting on an impure thought didn’t make me a piece of shit.”

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19

HIGHS & LOWS AT THE OSCARS In March this year, comedian Chris Rock hosted the Oscars. The ceremony opened with Libra on the ascendant, the Sun and Mercury descending in the early degrees of Aries, and the Moon conjunct Mars. In the first hour of the broadcast, Rock teased Jada about her alopecia, saying that she could be cast as the next ‘G.I. Jane’. Smith took a moment to catch the joke. As it registered that Rock had joked about his wife’s illness, Smith walked to the stage and slapped Rock in the face. Then he returned to his seat. Rock attempted to break the tension, but the heat intensified when Smith then yelled at the top of his voice, shaking with anger: “Keep my wife’s name out your **** mouth!”

This was a big moment of career elevation for Will, which turned into a professional shit-storm. The Moon/Mars conjunction of the evening was within 1° of his midheaven, triggering his natal Saturn and all that was left unresolved in its shadows. Jupiter was at 20° Pisces, opposing his natal Jupiter (and Jada’s luminaries). He would go on to accept an award that night for best actor, and then resign from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has been banned from attending Academy functions until 2032.

A dynamically linked pair, just waiting for provocation

“The synastry is stark between Chris Rock and Will Smith. Rock’s ascendant is joined to Smith’s natal Saturn whilst his Sun is joined to Smith’s Saturnruled midheaven”

Big as the story is, those interpreting the moment in isolation miss the full story, which began back in 2016 when Jada boycotted the Oscars due to their lack of racial diversity amongst nominees.12 Will Smith joined his wife and stayed home from the ceremony. Chris Rock, hosting then as he was in 2022, opened his show with a swipe: “Jada got mad, said she’s not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!”.13 That evening the Moon and Mars were conjoined,14 just as they were in the 2022 Oscars commencement chart, but this time over Smith’s Moon (20°Ü) so we can imagine the anger that remark seeded in Smith’s emotions at that time. Jupiter was also retrograde at 19°Ñ, hitting Will and Jada’s familiar Virgo placements. Jupiter would swing back to 20°ä the night Smith confronted Rock earlier this year.

The synastry is stark between Chris Rock and Will Smith. Rock’s ascendant (20°~) is joined to Smith’s natal Saturn (24°~) whilst his Sun (19°â) is joined to Smith’s Saturn-ruled midheaven (14°â). The Sun and Saturn are naturally incompatible, each vying in different ways for the most important or senior position. Their alignments here play out as professional tensions, and that it should lead to joint public humiliation is intimated by the shared theme both Rock and Smith have of the midheaven being ruled by an undignified Saturn, which is situated on the 12th house cusp in both nativities.

Oh, and the lunation preceding the 2022 Oscars was a Full Moon at 27°Ñ, exactly on Chris Rock’s natal Mars and the midpoint of Smith’s natal Pluto/Uranus conjunction.

A FORWARD LOOK I’m not sure what I would say to Smith if he were my client. The patterns are clear enough, but there are entire worlds that exist within a pattern; astrology isn’t always enough to fill in the gaps. But it might help to call attention to the repeated expressions of the two superiors, Saturn and Jupiter, and the sky’s chief luminary, the Sun. The astrology shows these three debilitated titans fighting within him – the immense pressure to rise above debilitating circumstances (Saturn), a liberal spirit in the face of difficulty (Jupiter), and commanding the role celebrity plays in his relationships (the Sun).

We could trace the astrology of the coming months and years, to find times of increased vulnerability. He should be alerted that his solar return in 2027 presents an opportunity to respond to similar provocations with defter handling. This puts his natal Mars on the ascendant, with Venus and Saturn moving into opposition from Libra and Aries respectively. Uranus (9°Å) will also be transiting Will’s ascendant (8°Å) and Jada’s Saturn (7°Å). The Moon (12°É) will be placed upon his natal I.C. (14°É) as it squares the solar return Mars (16°Ü), which is itself in conjunction with his natal Moon (21°Ü).

The astrology on Halloween 2027 looks especially interesting – Saturn and Jupiter will both return to their natal position in Smith’s nativity (2026-2027 is Will’s second Saturn return, and the first Saturn return for his marriage to Jada). The Moon will also be transiting Will’s descendant while opposing Jada’s Saturn, and Venus makes an ingress into Sagittarius and conjunction with Jada’s ascendant.

Perhaps there is someone else on the horizon for Jada, or for Will. Is Will prepared to meet that moment?

1

Notes & Sources: 1 The nine other Black EGOT nominees are: Diahann Carroll, Don Cheadle, Cynthia Erivo, Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, Leslie Odom Jr., Sidney Poitier, and Denzel Washington.

2 Kumar, Y., ‘In Haridwar, Will Smith performed ‘Rudra Abhishek’ to nullify ill-effects of Saturn’, 11 Oct 2018, Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/in-haridwar-will-smith-performed-rudra-abhishek-tonullify-ill-effects-of-saturn/articleshow/66169714.cms.

3 https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/hollywood/i-have-been-following-sadhguru-for-a-while-willsmith-6785327/.

4 Smith’s memoir on the abuse he and his family experienced in his childhood home can be read at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-smith-memoir-father-violence-vdw53k6bh.

5 Video: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jada-pinkett-will-smith-open-relationship-rumor_n_3007718.

6 Jada Pinkett-Smith on the Howard Stern Show: https://www.howardstern.com/show/2015/6/3/wednesdays-show/.

7 Jada Pinkett-Smith on ‘Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen’: https://youtu.be/arASXH4CagI. 8 Lewittes, Elisa. ‘Jada Pinkett Smith Met August Alsina Through Jaden Smith: How Their “Entanglement” Happened’, 11 July 2020, SheKnows: https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/2286073/jada-pinkett-smith-augustalsina-jaden-smith/.

9 Interview hosted YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q91Z1gW_iHw. Time source: https://mattw.io/youtube-metadata/.

10 Available to stream/Facebook Watch: https://www.facebook.com/redtabletalk/videos/718425758995043/.

11 Will Smith for GQ: https://www.gq.com/story/will-smith-november-cover-profile.

12 https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/oscars-2016-everyone-boycotting-the-academyawards-and-why-from-jada-pinkett-smith-to-spike-lee-a6902121.html.

13 https://www.today.com/popculture/awards/chris-rock-jada-pinkett-smith-2016-oscars-joke-rcna21797.

14 Commencement: 28 February 2016, 8:30pm PST. Hollywood, CA.

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JOIN US FOR A SKYSCRIPT ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION

Astrology & Social Media: Pros & Cons ONLINE MEET-UP FOR ALL SKYSCRIPT PATRONS: MIND, BODY & SOUL

Start: 10pm UTC – Friday, 14th October 2022 [check local time on this link] Led by Deb & Dru-ish | Duration: about 75 mins-ish

The relationship between astrology and the media has been a fascinating part of its history. When relationships between astrologers turn hostile and go public bruised egos are the least of it. Who can forget George Wharton’s pseudonym ‘Naworth’ being changed to ‘No Worth’? Or Jonathan Swift’s satirical pretence of being John Partridge and predicting his own death (followed by post-mortem complaints that he must be dead since “no man alive ever writ such damned stuff as this”)? Or almanac reports that the astrologer John Booker’s name derives from an ancient Syrian term meaning “ranting rebel who deserves to be hanged”? These astrologers would deserve our pity if they were not enjoying themselves, engaging in more of the same.

Things have taken a new twist in our “Every prophet has to come from civilisation, but generation with the decline of wit and the every prophet has to go into the wilderness. He rise of social media platforms such as must have a strong impression of a complex Facebook, Twitter and Reddit. It is great society and all that it has to give, and then must that we can connect instantly and serve periods of isolation and meditation. This is simultaneously with large groups of the process by which psychic dynamite is made” friendly, like-minded colleagues, but these Winston Churchill, Thoughts and Adventures platforms have shadow sides too. Has 24/7 access to social media over-socialised us and inverted the freedom of expression we assumed we had gained? Are we now so crippled with fear that every word we post may be scrutinised and criticized that risk aversion has become a more limiting form of self-imposed censorship?

How can we ensure the web creates useful connections between portals of knowledge and supportive resources, instead of entangling traps filled with trolls or political and commercial agendas? Is social media working for you as an astrologer? If not, why not?

“Where we had once been free to be ourselves online, we are now chained to ourselves online.”

J. Tolentino, Trick Mirror: Reflections on Delusion

Join Deb, Dru and others as we share experiences of the best and worst of social media engagement and consider whether working as an astrologer requires a social media strategy.

SKYSCRIPT DISCUSSION

ECLIPSES FOR BODY & SOUL MEMBERS ONLY

“In 1860 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in British America” – Canadian astronomer, Simon Newcomb

Start: 4pm UTC – Monday, 24th October 2022 [check local time on this link] Get ready for eclipse season with an exploration of historical teachings and uses of eclipses and thoughts on what the upcoming eclipses are likely to be foreshadowing in the world at large.

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23

Transcribed extract from Jeffery Neve’s casebook of 207 horaries – online at www.skyscript.co.uk/neve_horaries.html

Ann Hall of Wapping came on the 25 of April a little after high noon1636.1 About a man that was a suitor unto her.

Day: 4 | Hour: _= =

The judgement given upon this figure: (1) Guido. Lib. Par. 2. Fol. 264 (2) Haly. Lib. Par. 2. Fol. 64

Ascendant in U, its lord the 3, and the 4 were the significators of the querent according to (1) Guido. The 7th house being Q and 0 lord thereof were the significators of the suitor as (2) Haly says, who was described to be of a long visage, pale, lean, a downward look and of a melancholy disposition, which was acknowledged.

Now, for as much as 0 was retrograde and also separated from the significator of the querent; and for that there was no aspect between 0 and 6, and likewise the 4 was separated from 0, for that cause I signified that her suitor declined in his affections towards her, and that there was little hope of him.

(3) Haly. Lib. Par. 3. Fol. 142

But I further observed that 8 was situated upon the cusp of the first house and also placed in the house of the 3, the querent’s significator. And likewise, 6 did apply to a J aspect with 8, and also the 4 was in application to a K with 8, and also the 3 did apply to a K with 8. For these reasons I expressed unto the querent that there were good hopes that in some reasonable short time she might obtain to have this 8 man to be her husband, and that at the F of 8 and the 4, which would be about Sunday or Monday next following, according to Haly (3) he was likely to be with her.

All which proved suitable, for within a small distance of time following, the querent was married unto this 8 man, as I was after certified by the relation of the querent.

Transcribed by Morgan Le Gall

6

1 The modern computerised chart has been edited to replicate the details of Neve’s chart exactly. Overall there is good

correspondence, with exact cusp agreement for a chart cast at 11:58:48 am on 25 April 1636 JC (equates to 5th May 1636 GC).

Best agreement is found using rounded coordinates of 0W, 51N for London. High noon means that the Sun is at its highest point, as was the case here – by computer calculation the Sun, at 15°20Ä, had only just crossed the meridian/MC. Neve’s planetary positions are rounded to the nearest degree and his greatest error is the placement of the Moon, which by computer calculation is at 20°15Ä. As Lilly explains in Christian Astrology (p.42), astrologers of his era who manually cast many charts often approximated planetary positions by simple division and addition of their daily motion, only troubling to be more exact if it disturbs the judgement of the horary. This error does not impact upon this judgment, although it affects the calculation of the Part of Fortune – Neve’s placement is correct using his simplified figures, by computer calculation it at 2°04Ñ.

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PLANETARY THEMES FOR OCTOBER

By Jason Burns October is a busy month for the classical planets: Mercury and Saturn both station direct, Venus reaches superior conjunction with the Sun (who undergoes a partial eclipse soon after), Mars reverses course, and Jupiter returns to Pisces. The bulk of the action takes place within eight days at the end of the month. Using the UK and US Libra ingress charts, let’s consider some potential mundane indications of these transits.

UK: The October Full Moon at 16°~ (see chart overleaf)

highlights the MC/IC axis of the ingress chart on the 9th of October. At that time, both luminaries will be closely applying to Mars of the ingress chart (17°Å), which is placed in its 11th house and rules its midheaven. We could see controversy in Parliament flare or revelations regarding the nation’s warring friends and allies.

Simultaneously, Saturn in the 7th house will receive the Sun through exaltation, suggesting an open adversary or other foreign relation may be called on for a deal.

Stagnating matters involving other countries will likely improve or begin to move forward as Saturn turns direct.

The ingress chart itself features the Sun in the 3rd house (neighbouring nations, documents about international agreements) and the Moon on the cusp of the 2nd house (national resources and finances), so expect these themes to be at the root of matters in the UK until the end of the astrological year.

USA: The New Moon at 2°Ü on 25th October falls in

the 6th house of the ingress chart. Mars, which governs the lunation, will then be at 25°Å, sextile the ingress Moon. Expect an energetic boost in the press assessing domestic issues (Moon rules the 3rd & 4th houses in the ingress chart) and in particular the economy (Mars on the 2nd house cusp) as the mid-term election nears.

As far as transits to the ingress chart are concerned, this New Moon isn’t an especially noteworthy moment.

However, Mars stations retrograde shortly after, and both the New Moon and Venus being debilitated in Scorpio (the former being the general significator of ‘the people’; the latter the 1st-ruler in the ingress: overall conditions in the nation) foreshadow a despondent mood being sown, especially among the working classes (6th house).

Planetary visibility in October: Mercury is never very easy to see but is brightest and easiest to spot in the morning twilight between the 3rd-17th October. Mars increases in luminosity all month and is best viewed after midnight into the morning. Jupiter and Saturn are both be visible after sunset and remain so for much of the night. Jupiter is extremely bright now as it opposes the Sun in its closest approach to Earth for more than 60 years.

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HIGHLIGHTS

OCTOBER 2022 Monday 31 4 J =

4F; 4J8 4"Q 4K5

3

Tuesday

Saturday

11

17 4 J -

24 4 L 0

4L5 4F; 4"Q 4J8 4L6

5

4L 3 4K4F0 4L7

6

4"W

7

5L; 4J-

Sunday

1

4J0 4a7 6a8 4K= 4K5

2

4"} 5 St. Dir. 4K8 4K6

8

4K7F= 4J;a5 4"E 4F8 5 M. E West ; St. Dir.

9

4a6 4a3

– (widely attributed to) Mark Twain

10 4 J 0

4F5 4L7

Friday

your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why”

4

4K6 4L= 4K3 4a; 3L7

Thursday

“The two most important days in

4K3 4L4J=

4J7 4K; 4"R 5"O

Wednesday

12 3 L 0

13 4 " T

14 6 L 0

15 4 K =

16 4 K 5

18 4 " U

19 6 L 7

20 6 K ;

21

22 4 L -

23 5 L 0

25 4 K ;

26 4 a -

27 5 L 7

28 8 " W

29 4 K =

30 4 J 3

7K= 4F5a8 4K0 4J=L;

4L8

4"P 4F3 # Solar eclipse 4F6

4J5 3K; 4K4a0

4K0 4L=

4J8 4L5

4J7 4J6 4J3 4"I

4J; 4"M 4L8 5K;

4L0 4L6 4L3

4F7 4"Y 4K8

4a= 4K7 4L; 3F6

4J0

4a7 4J5 4K8 4"} 5"P

4"O 4a8 0 St. Dir. 6"P 3"P

4J6 7 St. Ret. 4L-

26

EPHEMERIS

OCTOBER 2022

U.S. Election Day is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This is when ballots are cast to select local and national public officials. Presidential elections are held every four years, in years divisible by four, while the elections to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are held every two years

HEADS UP ON THE NOVEMBER LUNAR ECLIPSE IS THE U.S. SET FOR A

SOCIAL REVOLUTION?

Joni Suller In ancient times both the solar and lunar eclipses were viewed as evil in nature and greatly feared. Today we understand they may have ominous connotations but they are approached with a different mindset as we search for a deeper meaning of their effects on the human psyche and our environment. A lunar eclipse does not always produce a significant transit effect; they often come and go without incident. The next one may prove different, however, since it lines up directly with Uranus at 16°Ä and occurs on 8th November 2022, the politically charged date of U.S. Election Day. Such a loaded Full Moon presents a potential for extreme disruption – will this be a spark that ignites a deeper Social Revolution? I evaluated the eclipse against the Aries and Libra ingress charts, the closest New Moon, and the nativity of the President.

Collectively they all presented a similar theme of intense political strain and civil disturbance.1 I initially explored the Aries ingress for March 2022 as the primary source of forecast for the astrological year ahead. The Sun in the 10th house places emphasis on the Executive Branch, in particular the President as the national leader. The Moon signifies the electorate (the people in general) and is extremely weak: void of course, peregrine, in the Via Combusta, and placed in the final degree of Libra in the 5th house of children.

The Moon is disposed by Venus, which also rules the 5th house. A natural significator for peace and younger women, Venus is suffering severe besiegement by Mars and Saturn in the 9th house of judicial matters. Mercury, ruler of the ascendant and representative of the news media generally is powerfully placed in the 10th house.

To summarise, we see focus brought to issues surrounding the President, women’s concerns over children, an oppressed and powerless Venus, and Mercury at the centre of everything signifying the influence of the media. In retrospect, this perfectly outlines one of the major political themes of the year. The afflicted condition of Venus in the 9th house signals the Supreme Court decision to send ‘Roe versus Wade’ back to the states, an extremely controversial issue involving women’s rights in the bearing of children.

1 As an aside, there is data to support the U.S. being signified by Gemini, and Washington D.C. by Scorpio, so the multiple

planets in Scorpio in the eclipse chart provide more reason to believe the event will have political consequences.

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The Aries ingress sets the foundation for the year, but the Libra ingress acts as a subsidiary to that, being the ingress that precedes the date of the election and eclipse. Of the many significant points in this chart, the most alarming is Uranus on the cusp of the 1st house, which signifies the general populace. Ascendant-ruler Venus is under the beams and about to join retrograde Mercury in the 5th house (four days later, on 26th September), whilst the Moon on the 5th cusp spotlights national issues concerning children and procreation. Now we see Saturn, elevated but retrograde, ruling the 10th house of the Executive Branch (President) with Pluto conjunct the MC. This chart has notable similarities to the Aries ingress, showing how the themes of that become concentrated in this period. Uranus rising now heightens the potential for disruption amongst the people. Chart-ruler Venus is no longer bound by Mars and Saturn but is weakened in her sign of fall. As she enters combustion in the 5th house, shadows fall on issues concerning women, sex and motherhood.

The next chart to note is that of the New Moon preceding the November eclipse, set for Washington D.C (below left). New Moon charts can be extremely relevant to current events when certain conditions are met, and this one has special importance as a partial solar eclipse. When, in any lunation, the luminaries are in a tight aspect to another planet, or aspecting planets that are prominent upon the angles, it is worth evaluating how the configuration describes the circumstances of the month ahead.

In this chart, the Sun and the Moon bring their focus to the 1st house of ‘the people’ whilst tightly conjoined to Venus which again acts as the ascendant ruler. The lunation has the Venusian fixed star Spica rising (24°Ö09), but although Venus is strongly emphasised and powerful by angularity, she is weakened: by her placement in Scorpio, by her combustion, and by her approach to the South Node, which carries malefic signatures of Mars and Saturn. Venus seems to have an issue to deal with, but overall her state is too weak and too problematic for her to fulfil her agenda effectively.

The ultimate mundane chart to consider is that of the November lunar eclipse itself, set for Washington D.C (previous and next page). Although my perspective on this is relative to the US election held on that date, anyone who has natal planets within a degree or two of the eclipse axis at 16° Ä-Ü will be in the radar for the effects of this event.

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When evaluating the events a particular eclipse can produce, it is important to consider the astrological imprint. This begins as the energy builds prior to the actual eclipse and the effects are later triggered by planets that come to the degree of the eclipse by conjunction or opposition.

To avoid any confusion, the chart should be cast for the exact moment of the Full Moon and the primary considerations for judgement are: 1) the dispositor of the eclipse degree (16°Ä) 2) any planet(s) on the degree of the eclipse, and 3) any planets upon the angles and any major aspects they are receiving.

In this event the Moon is conjoined to Uranus in the 7th house, in Taurus, a fixed-earth sign indicating a longerlasting effect with possible financial undertones. The opposition this pair throws to the Sun-Venus conjunction in the 1st house implies disagreement and conflict between two opposing forces that have no hope of reconciliation.

The significance of Venus is amplified as the dispositor of the eclipse by sign, the Moon also having a dispositorship role as the almuten of the eclipse degree, which it governs by exaltation, triplicity and face. Joint rulership of the eclipse by the two feminine planets, and the prominence of Venus in the preceding charts focuses the lens very sharply on the social concerns of womens’ issues and the chasms that exist within society concerning their controversies.

Whilst Venus is weak in essential dignities the Moon is exalted, showing escalation and elevation of the issues she rules: motherhood and reproduction, although all these matters are disturbed by the conjunction with Uranus. Note that the Moon rules the 9th house in this chart – such a disruptive eclipse shows that matters concerning judicial policy related to women are upset at a very high level.

Looking now from the opposing solar side of the event, the dispositorship falls squarely on asc-ruler Mars, the traditional ruler of Scorpio. Mars is retrograde in Gemini and badly placed in the 8th house.

There is a mutual reception by sign with Mercury, but no aspect by which either planet has the capacity to help the other. Mercury, as the 11th-ruler (parliament), acts as the significator of the Legislative Branch;2 its cazimi status may show some core transformation or transmutation of powers for Congress, whilst retrograde Mars in Gemini warns of warfare through the media.

Although I had hoped this eclipse chart would provide insight into the outcome of the election, the deeper I dug into it, the more I realised the matter is riddled with irresolvable conflict and turmoil, such that the identification of the issues at stake is much easier than the identification of how they will be determined. This is certainly pointing to deep-rooted troubles that are developing, not going away.

In my judgement, the most impactful energy of this chart will come from Uranus, especially as it retrogresses then moves directly over the eclipse point on December 1, 2022, and again on March 14, 2023. Ultimately the influence of this eclipse will be felt for several months, creating a great deal of conflict and disruption, with a significant prospect of social uprisings across the U.S. There are always alternatives to any judgement – we could consider how this eclipse concerns U.S. relations with foreign nations. This may be pointing to the current turmoil with Russia or suggesting an escalation of conflict with China over Taiwan. There are many possibilities but given the predominance of Venus in all of the charts, compounded by the dominance of Uranus on a critical election day, it is hard to overlook the prospect of breakdown in our current structure precipitated by concern which has womens’ issues at the heart of it.

My final thought requires us to consider how the eclipse symbolism ties into the natal chart of President Joe Biden. Note how Venus in the eclipse chart falls upon the degree of his natal MC-ruler Mercury. As the political leader Biden cannot escape the effects of this eclipse but as to what level it may effect him personally I will leave you the reader, to look at the symbolism and be the judge of that.

2 The Legislative Branch is made up of the House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers,

it makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies.

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IMPORTANT PATRON ANNOUNCEMENT NO NEWSLETTER FOR DECEMBER: á There will not be a monthly newsletter released at the end of November to feature the theme of Sagittarius. The Newsletter has evolved into a much more substantial publication than I initially planned and to keep up the quality I have decided there needs to be a one-month break in publication once every five months – it will be a bit like an inconjunct aspect that snakes right through the zodiac over time but never makes a full circle. So we will take a break for November, skip Sagittarius (I’m sure nothing much will be happening that month) and re-publish again with the Capricorn issue in time for Christmas. This one-month break allows me scope for researching and managing other Skyscript projects that need attention and planning.

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