Skyscript issue 10 - July 2023

#10 July 2023

Newsletter Edited by Deborah Houlding

The Sun is in Cancer www.skyscript.co.uk/cancer.html

– Contents – • Newsletter Thoughts & Skyscript News • Al-Qabisi’s ‘Nature of the Moon’ (& Nodes) • Mystical Mirroring Moon: Receptive, Reflective, Originative • Dreams & the Ninth House • Planetary themes for July • What Happened to the Books?

• Two of my Favourite … Books • Chaldean Glimmers, II: Gathering the Data

Contributors: Jason Burns • Abigail Joy • Morgan Le Gall • Sheila Roher

IN THIS ISSUE

Memories, Dreams, Reflections (to coin a famous person’s phase) This issue is dedicated to the Moon, Queen of the Night. Have you noticed the gender unfairness of the nocturnal sovereign ascending to power on the shortest night of the year? Someone should look into that.† Some weeks ago, I was reflecting on the intriguing relationship between astrology and the dream world, thinking how nice it would be to incorporate that theme into this issue. Knowing my plate was too full to write another piece myself, I decided to sleep on it.

The next morning I read an email from Sheila Roher, who wondered if her astro-dream experience might be of interest for the newsletter. Thank you, Moon. And thank you, Sheila: your incredibly poignant story pays perfect homage to the Moon as the mediatrix which binds all individuals into a greater whole, unaffected by distance, time or comprehensible dimensions.

I took great pleasure personally this month, working the second part of the series on the ancient Mesopotamians. Revisiting that old text invoked the mellow sense of self-indulgence I felt years ago when squirrelling myself away from other pressures to make time for it. It all had a scent of ‘Sunday afternoons’– old-style Sunday afternoons (if you work, you do it unrushed, for your pleasure or creativity, not because it’s your day job). But it also brought to mind a bizarre experience I had whilst deeply submerged in Mesopotamian mythology research. Here it is: It was a balmy night. Unable to sleep, I got up for a drink of water. Passing through the living room, I noticed a mark on the mirror and went over to check it. As I got close, the mirror started to mist. Then the air in the room became heavy and ominous as I perceived a dark shadow presence reflected in the back of the room, behind me.

Increasingly paralysed with fear, the shapeless mass grew and took form as it drew closer, behind my reflection. It was a Babylonian demon and I felt its power, which was terrifying.

The mirror continued to mist as I saw my face dry out and lacerate around tiny, cracking, blood-filled slashes. That mist was my moisture, drawn out of me by this entity merging with my energy. I tried to scream, but my mouth would not open. Only by an immense effort of will could I finally emit a guttural howl, just as it came close enough to touch me.

This line connects to your line

Then I woke up, relief flooding over me as I realised none of it was real. But it had felt real. It left me too unsettled to sleep, so I got up to make a cup of tea and shake off the unnerving aftereffects. On the way, I noticed there really was a mark on the mirror, so I went over to see what it was. As I got to the mirror, I really did start to feel that ominous darkness and heavy oppression. Then that mirror really did begin to mist up as I looked at it ...

You can imagine the rest – the disturbing experience repeated on a cycle the whole night, each time increasing its sense of ‘this is really happening now, in reality’. Then I would wake with the sharp relief of having escaped a nightmare, only to realise I was still trapped in it, unable to regain my own reality. It bothered me so much that I ceased the Babylonian research for a good while afterwards. I was always careful not to over-absorb myself in heavy mythology after that.

I didn’t draw a chart for that experience, though I regularly cast dream charts now if I have one that seems significant. I treat it like every other event chart, setting it for the time I wake with the dream on my mind, or for whatever time it is later when something triggers the recollection of it. The correspondence of dream theme and planetary alignment with angles is remarkable – but only when those planets are making strong connections to natal placements too (dreams where I wake myself up laughing have benefics on angles; Mars moves me to weird adventures, and Saturn clouds the dreamscape with dark emotions as it passes over my local angles).

It has been 30 years since I had the demon dream, but revising that material again brought it to mind the morning I read the article from Abigail Joy on the ‘Mystical Mirroring Moon’. I had just been wondering why that dream had been so focused on the living room mirror… †

Yes, I know, Southern Hemisphere winter, and all that … but I can’t make a case for planetary gender equality and astro-hemisphere equality at the same time, so give me a break.

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Coincidence? Nah. I love how Abigail takes us on a curiosity trail of metaphorical musings. My veins chilled when she asked: “… did you spend hours staring into a mirror, imagining it was a portal to a different world? Did you wonder, “what if the other side of the mirror is actually the real world, and I’m the one that’s just a reflection?”. Hmm. There was a reason I recalled my own mystical mirror experience at this time, but it took Sheila to lead me to it, and Abigail to show me where to look. My younger self never had any prospect of figuring it out. My older self gets it, in awe of how life gives a heads-up, then takes its sweet time letting the message drop. But every answer spawns new questions. Working with symbolism is enigmatic, enticing, and enchanting, but also confusing, challenging, frustrating. We never know it all and that drives me crazy (and keeps me addicted). It’s all so bizarre and utterly crazy* – I love it!

This issue sees the front-end return of Morgan Le Gall with the final instalment of Al Qabisi, book two: ‘On the Nature of the Planets’.† The series culminates with the most inferior (yet most significant) planet of them all. You may think you know about the Moon already, but Alcabitius shares a trick about contentions and slipping in and out of hiding that will add a string to your bow. If you’ve paid attention, you’ll have noticed how both the Moon and Saturn share governance of lands and waters, including their management and problems – keep that in mind, as you read the next bit, below.

And BIG thanks to Jason Burns this month for offering book recommendations, thoughts on the month ahead and sharing a fascinating horary. There are layers to this one, and note how so much of the symbolism makes little sense until the whole thing makes perfect sense. The divinatory system loves to tease, giving just enough to string us along until ‘time’ is ready to let all the threads connect.

Onions have layers to them – reminding us that life is never straightforward or one dimensional, onions might be signified by the Moon (if you’re thinking round, white and watery, and reading Lilly p.82), or by Mars (if you’re thinking fiery heat and reading Lilly, p.68).

47 SURFING … OR SINKING … IN THE TIDES OF CHANGE? There is nothing constant in the universe. All ebb and flow, and every shape that is born bears in its womb the seeds of change –Ovid (Metamorphoses V.177)

As the Sun entered Cancer, the sign of the sea, world focus turned to the ocean with the tragic loss of the tourist pod at the site of the Titanic. This was more than a Cancer theme, and we should be noticing much more than this one-off incident, but the global attention given to this by international media; its echos of a past nautical tragedy; and its dynamic connection to the active lunation symbolism, mark this event as emblematic of broader issues arising now with the astrological theme so strongly marked by affliction in the water signs. This was specifically warned about in our last issue:

“

On the New Moon, as the luminaries make that tight square with Neptune, Saturn stations retrograde in Pisces, seeding an awkward watery theme for the next lunar cycle. Consider setbacks for religious or philanthropic organisations, and political concerns of pollution or corruption of water (as well as ocean/water disasters/deaths by floods or drowning) – Jason Burns, ‘Planetary Themes for June’, Skyscript newsletter, #9, p.20.

Talking of craziness, my husband is telling me to stop reading Abigail and threatening to burn my books (yeah, good luck burning this digital issue, matey). He refuses to grow a crop of chickweed after spending decades weeding it out.

Apparently, my mixed messages of “get rid of the nettles” and “don’t get rid of the nettles!” is generating stress. I’ve explained this is exactly why we need the calming chickweed, but does he listen? † Morgan’s never really far away, but doesn’t always get his name in lights. *

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The Titan sub began its dive within hours of that ominous lunation, having commenced its journey two days earlier when its pilot ship, the Polar Prince, launched from St John’s, Canada, at 9:44 am NDT on the 16th of June. The journey began with Mars conjunct the ascendant and Saturn in Pisces on the 8th house cusp. Jupiter (ever the logo of the Titanic) culminated on the MC, on the nodal axis, charged with the baleful role of ruling the destructive 8th house.

Having reached the dive site, the sub descended at 9iam NDT on the 18th (the day of the New Moon) as the Moon entered Cancer, translating between that square to Neptune in Pisces, and the sextile of the nodal Jupiter on the MC. Jupiter was, again, ruling the 8th house which, again, had Saturn – now stationing to retrograde – on its cusp.

Those of us familiar with the Titanic launch/collision charts recognise the familiar signatures. The shadow of Scheat (see over) falls across all charts, and we see the resonance of afflicted Jupiter in this oceanic dark spot where immense personal wealth fails to protect against the perils of the sea.

No champagne libation was offered to the sea at the launch of the Titanic. That age-old ceremony, designed to invoke good luck, was avoided, to spare the ill reputation attracted when the bottle doesn’t break on its first pass (why would luck be needed for an unsinkable ship?). The launch chart’s ruler conjoined a nodal Saturn-Jupiter opposition. The Moon in Cancer applied to the trine of the 8th-ruler, Mars in Pisces, which was exactly conjunct Scheat, then at 28°ä09. The radical theme then repeated at the time of collision when the Moon in Pisces took rulership of the 8th house and transited the launch placement of Mars as it reunited with its natal position by its trine to Neptune on the 8th house cusp. A strong, but retrograde Jupiter was angular on the ascendant.

The Titans bring huge publicity as grandeur turns to disaster through inflated confidence, blindness to limits and responsibilities dropped. But we are entering into an extended and worrying period for all kinds of ocean and water-management issues now, while we have the harsh combination of Saturn in the early degrees of Pisces and Neptune at the end of it, the namesake of the god of the sea inching closer to Scheat in the anaretic degree of that sign, and now at 29°ä42, conjunct the very vernal point itself.

marinetraffic.com shows the Polar Prince launched on 16 June at 9:44 am NDT (Newfoundland Daylight Time).

NDT is 2½ hrs behind UTC. CNN reported the dive time “according to Miawpukek Maritime Horizon Services”, owners of the Polar Prince.

From our last issue

Take your Time:

Pegasus & Equuleus

Scheat

75 29°W

Scheat

(0°E)

Mag: +2.4 (3rd) Lat: 31N, Dec: 28N RA: 23h03m

The Upper Leg of the Flying Horse

b Peg - beta star of Pegasus; 83rd brightest star; red giant, situated on the thigh of the upper foreleg of the flying horse

Scheat

As heart-wrenching as it is, the Titanic tourist sub is a mere drop in an ocean of water-themed calamities that broke the news this month. The Kahvova dam, destroyed in the early hours of 6th June was “… a catastrophe. Everything was washed away. Deer, wild pigs, fish, so many endangered species, and about half a million people now left without water” a local councillor reported to the BBC. Further disruption comes in the discovery that its reservoir (one of the largest in Europe) is drying up and canal networks have disconnected.

The ocean is a painful mirror in throwing back to us questions about our response to migration. At 2:04 am on the 14th June, as the Moon joined the nodes and aspected Saturn, and Neptune-Scheat rose on the ascendant (29°ä32), hundreds of migrants perished when a massively overcrowded boat sank off the coast of Pylos, Greece. At least 35 died a similar death off the coast of the Canary Islands a week later (early hours 21st June).

Uraguay has declared a water emergency after its worst drought in 75 years. All around the world, local adversities result from water pollution, leaks, floods or shortages. Perhaps it is time to get superstitious again with the aim of honouring and invoking the blessing of the waters: at least finding some way to enter into a mindset where water resources are seen as sacrosanct, precious, and dangerous – worthy of much more respect and investment!

Red giant star; beta star of Pegasus, being second in brilliance to Markab. At the end of the zodiac, it now marks the vernal point, moving into exact alignment with 0°~ in 2045. Its name derives from the Arabic Al Sā’id, ‘upper arm’; in some texts it is Mankib al Fara ‘horse’s shoulder’. Mythological Pegasus was born from the union of demonic Medusa and Neptune (the god of horses) and its constellation is linked to all things ridden on: horses, carriages and ships, etc.

Scheat is easy to identify as part of the ‘great square’ formed with Markab and Algenib of Pegasus and Alpheratz of Andromeda; this was known as the ‘water bucket’, of which Scheat was the ‘Upper Spout’.

It is widely regarded as an extremely dangerous star, which pours forth floods, disaster and misfortune associated with water. Catastrophies, shipwreck, mining accidents, airplane accidents, and suicide attempts have been recorded as the effects of this star

by Ebertin and Hoffman, whilst Robson acknowledges it as a star of extreme misfortune.

Honour the God of the Sea? Join the Skyscript Neptunalia 22nd July – details: back page

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I’ve made this issue especially meaty as I’m giving you longer to digest it. I’ve looked at my transits, my schedule of imminent development tasks for Skyscript, my ‘Granny helps out in the school holidays’ calendar, and have predicted the next issue is not going to be doable this time next month. But I don’t favour skipping an issue entirely – I’ll play around with the theme and relax it from the ingress emphasis. Think: Augusty instead of the end of July.

Check out: Kirk Little’s review of A Scheme of Heaven by Alexander Boxer www.skyscript.co.uk/rev_boxer.html If you haven’t read it, make time for Kirk Little’s review of Boxer’s book about the history of astrology – important points are made about why the ‘data-science’ approach doesn’t do justice to astrology (especially relevant now with the rise of AI) and the need to protect the way our history is told.

A few of the many valuable astrology texts you can read in full from the links in the Skycript Study Library: www.skyscript.co.uk/texts.html

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

Full Latin text available online at www.loc.gov/item/2021666822/

THE MOON: benefic, feminine, nocturnal, cool and moist. She signifies mothers in nocturnal births, is of the phlegmatic temperament and signifies childhood and the initial period of growth.

Of activities, she has mediations,1 messages, and the management of waters and lands according to how much she is fortunate or unfortunate; if she is beneficial, she signifies prosperity and wealth. She also signifies sovereignty if she has dignity or governs what pertains to authority and is fortunate, in good aspect with the Sun and in a good place. Of property, she signifies silver, and cultivated land if she governs the fourth [house].

And she signifies religious faith.

And of infirmities: epilepsy, paralysis, dropsy, falls and facial spasms, dislocation of limbs and concussion, and whatever is of the nature of coldness and moisture.

The quality of the mind is according to the planets she is joined with. If joined to a benefic, and if the benefic is Venus, she signifies courtesy and kindness, congeniality, good manners, light emotions, and divine obedience; if it is Jupiter, she signifies honesty, care, fellowship, benevolence and an honourable lifestyle. And if joined to a malefic, and the malefic is Mars, she signifies zeal, murmurings between men and efforts exerted in such [nefarious] practices; if Saturn, malice, falseness and envy. If the Sun is in good aspect, she signifies a regal disposition; if Mercury, she signifies rhetoric, fluency and excellence in languages and writing.

And some have said that she signifies imaginative thought,2 naivety,3 weak reasoning and slowness of speech; noble women; the nurturing of children, mothers, aunts, and the preparation of food. And others have said that she especially signifies the brain, and the lungs.

The text says legationes; a legation is a diplomatic representation, or the work of an ambassador. … cogitationem the word can mean ‘contemplation/reflective thought/meditation/consideration/imagination’.

3 … novitatem animi, an alternative translation would be novelty or strangeness of mind. The Warburg edition translates as ‘premonition’ which fits the context nicely but stretches the Latin.

1 2

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left eye of men / right of women Selina means ‘Moon’: round faced Selina Gomez, born with an angular Moon square the Sun in Cancer, has strong lunar signatures in her appearance

And of the colours, she has yellow;4 and of savours, the salty.

And the size of her orb is 12 degrees. And she signifies the left eye of men and the right of women. Of days she has Monday daytime and Friday night.

The years of her firdaria are 9; her greater years 108;5 her greatest years 520;6 her mean years 66½, though according to some 39½,7 and the least 25.8 And its strength in the zodiac is to the right of the west.9 And Mash’allah said of human appearance: she signifies a pale person flushed with red, joined-up eyebrows, having fair eyes not entirely dark, a round face, a fine stature, and a mark on the face.

Of regions, it has the land of the Turks and Armenia, and Daylam.10 4

The text says crocus which generally describes a golden yellow, the colour of the dye produced from its stamens. Most historical astrologers associate yellow or pale yellow with the Moon (see skyscript.co.uk/colour.html); according to E.W. Barber, “yellow was the colour of women’s garments in the ancient world. Saffron was used to dye the garments of women of high status, such as priestesses” (The Crocus as Fertility Daemon to the Mother Goddess, www.paghat.com/saffronmyth.html).

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Correcting the error in the Latin which has 180 instead of 108. For most planets, the greater years show the total number of terms each planet rules throughout the signs i.e., Saturn 57 + Jupiter 79 + Mars 66 + Venus 82 + Mercury 76 = 360. Paulus Alexandrinus (Introductory Matters, I.3) explains that the luminaries are not attributed terms since they have general rulership over the whole, so their greater numbers signify the maximum number of years of life for day and night births respectively. There are various theories to account for the attributed numbers of 120 for the Sun and 108 for the Moon: some see importance in 120 being the sum of 12 x 10 whilst 108 is the sum of 12 x 9. According to Paulus translator, Robert Schmidt (Introductory Matters, I.3), Pliny claimed these were the longest rising times that a quadrant of the ecliptic can have for a given longitude, converted to years. It may also be significant that the Sun’s number equates to 4 x 30, or 4 signs (one quadrant) of the zodiac, whilst the Moon’s number equates to 3 x 36; 36 being a prominent number in ancient astrology, as seen in the 36 good stars and 72 evil stars of Chinese astrology (36+72=108) and the 36 decans (or 10-day ‘weeks’) which made up the ancient Egyptian year and set the foundation for astrological faces. On the widespread attention given to the number 108 in ancient symbolism and cosmology, see On the Numbers 54 and 108 in Ancient Worldwide Traditions, Spedicato, Univ. of Bergamo, 2006.

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For most planets the greatest years indicate when the synodic phases repeat in a nearby degree at a similar time of year. However, the Moon’s greatest year has generated disagreement. Ancient authors such as Antiochus and Rhetorius claimed it is 25; because after 309 lunations the Moon repeats its cycle of phases to within a few degrees of the zodiac, there being 309 lunations in 25 solar years. So this seems to be the correct number based upon the logic which determines that of the other inferior planets; however, this is the same logic used to determine the value of the Moon’s least year (see footnote 8) which would make its greatest and least year exactly the same. Later authors, including Al-Qabisi, Al Biruni, and Ezra, made it 520, a number which relates to the ‘double year’ of ancient 260-day divinatory calendars, such as used in Mayan calendars and the traditional calendar of the Canary Islands. It was possibly uncertainty concerning its basis, combined with simple transmission errors which led Bonatus to record it as 420, whilst Lilly records it as 320.

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Mean years simply average the greater and least years, so it should be 66½: (greater) 108 + (least) 25 = 133 ÷ 2 = 66½.

8

Least years indicate the period between recurring synodic returns that fall in approximately the same part of the zodiac; the Moon’s value of 25 years derives from the use of the ancient Egyptian year which measured 365 whole days (later amended to 365¼ days in the Julian calendar). We see the effect by turning 25 Egyptian years into its equivalent of 9125 days (365x25); for example, there will be a New Moon at 20°Ü on 13 November 2023 and adding 9125 days to this date brings us to 6 November 2048, when there will be a New Moon at 15°Ü – for the ancient civilisations using the Egyptian calendar this would have occurred on the same calendar date. Within that period there are 309 lunations and if we divide the number of days by the number of lunations we identify precisely the length of the lunation cycle, which is 29.53; i.e., 9125 ÷ 309 = 29.53.

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These associations are a bit of a mystery since they don’t appear to have been used in practice and don’t fit neatly with any commonly employed astrological principle. The directions identified over the series are: Sun = East; Moon = right of the west; Mercury = north; Venus = right of the East; Mars = South; Jupiter = West; Saturn = right of the north.

10 Aldeilaz, identified as a deviant spelling for adaylem or ad-Daylam in the Warburg edition; a mountainous region of present-day Gilan

which borders the Caspian Sea in Northern Iran.

And some have said she signifies childhood from the beginning of the [lunar] month up to 7 days, and from 7 days up to 14 days, youth. She signifies the completion of maturity, which is middle age, up to 21 days and nights, and old age up to her conjunction, which is at the end of the month when she joins the Sun. And when she is under the rays of the Sun she signifies secrets and hidden things. The same goes for every planet.11 And at the beginning of the month when she is waxing, she signifies everything that needs to be made; and when she is full and waning that which needs to be destroyed. And at the beginning of the month, she and the Sun signify accusers, and at the end of the month the accused.12 At the beginning of the month she signifies profit and acquisition, and at the end, payments and dispersion.

And at her opposition, she signifies contention, and at the beginning of her change to opposition, that is, when there are 15˚ between the Moon and the opposition, she signifies the beginning of contention and its cause; and when she is separating from her opposition, it signifies the reason for withdrawal from contention.

And as she comes out from under the rays of the sun, she signifies emergence from obscurity and the like: as she enters under the rays, she signifies getting ready to hide; at the time of separation from the Sun, she signifies getting ready to exit hiding; at the time of her emergence from under the rays, she signifies the apparition and reappearance after an absence.

And when she is in a square aspect of the Sun, she signifies the decline of something or its descent from the highest to the lowest, and likewise in the second square aspect except that in the first square aspect it signifies the emergence of things and profit and increased acquisition, and in the second square aspect of the sun, it signifies the opposite of this.

And some have said that from the conjunction until its first quarter13 the Moon’s nature will be moist, and from the quarter to the Full Moon its nature will be warm, and from fullness to the second quarter its nature will be dry, and from the second quarter until the union, its nature will be cold.

But the rest of the planets will be moist in nature and signify childhood from their rising to their first station, and their nature will be warm and signify youth from their first station to the opposition of the sun, and from this point until their second station their nature will be dry and signify maturity,14 and from their second station until their concealment their nature will be cold and signify old age.

Al Qabisi’s Lunar Cycle

11 A principle used in horary to determine the age of a thief or unknown person (e.g., CA, p.337-8).

12 This comment is problematic and appears to be garbled since it reads differently in the Arabic and Latin manuscripts. The Warburg

edition has “It indicates the plaintiff who is making a claim in the beginning of the month; <whereas> the Sun indicates the plaintiff who is making a claim at the end of the month” (p.85). The point is annotated with a note about how all this section referring to the effect of phases bears a close resemblance to the section on the Moon in Al Kindi’s Forty Chapters, (ch.1). The Latin translations of that state that the Moon signifies accusers at the beginning of the month and defendants at the end of the month, but adds “The Sun to the contrary: in the beginning of the month he signifies the accused, at the end, the accusers”. From my understanding of the principles employed more broadly, it makes sense that the Sun and Moon are opposed in their signification since they are usually treated as a conflicting pair in matters concerning exposure or justice, the Moon generally signifying the fugitive, hunted person, or accused person standing trial against charges, and the Sun generally signifying the authorities that hunt the fugitive, expose the whereabouts of a missing person, or pursue the cause of justice.

13 The text reads dimidium luminis sui primum ‘the first half of its light’, this being the first quarter square of the Sun. This detail about

shifting temperament throughout the cycle is a founding principle of Ptolemy’s work, explained in his Tetrabiblos, I.8.

14 Perfectam etatem, literally completion or fullness of age.

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[Of plants it signifies truffles, mushrooms, hashish, grass, arable land, leeks, herbs and every plant that needs to be cut.]15

4 Al-Qabisi: characteristics of the MOON

And some have said that the Sun signifies the spirit, that is, the vital soul; the Moon imagination and sensation; Saturn sadness, melancholy, baseness, and affliction; Jupiter wisdom and reason; Mars anger, fury and haste; Venus gaming and enjoyment; Mercury reasoning or logic and study. And as we said in this chapter on the signification of the planets that their meaning changes in accordance to whatever planet they are joined to, the same to be considered of the other things the planets signify.

Definitions: Principles:

Traits: Appearance: People/professions:

With Saturn: Jupiter: Sun: Mars: Venus: Mercury: Age: Activities: Minerals/resources: Illnesses: Anatomy: Colours: Savours: Orb: Days: Years: Territories

Feminine | nocturnal | benefic | cool and moist | phlegmatic Childhood, new growth, nurturing of the young; its phases show cycles of growth and decay, profit and decline, and temperamental shifts from moisture (new); warmth (full); dryness (waning); coldness (old).

Imaginative, contemplative, inclined to novelties, and tending towards reflective thoughts and emotions rather than critical reasoning.

Complexion is pale with some redness, eyebrows are heightened or joined, eyes are pale and face is round; perhaps a blemish on the face.

The mother (especially in nocturnal charts), aunts, women generally and noble women or queens (or any kind of ruler/sovereign) if dignified, well placed and beneficially aspected to the Sun. Work involving mediation and messages, the preparation of food or the provision of nourishment, and the management of waters (or cultivated land if she governs the 4th house).

Warns of the character being tainted with malice, falsity or envy.

Suggests honesty, benevolence and an honourable lifestyle.

Good aspects to the Sun show nobility/regal disposition. Conjunction with the Sun shows times of secrecy/hiding; squares show times of crisis/downfall.

Warns of zealous engagement in malice to undermine others.

Suggests courtesy, kindness, congeniality, and light emotions.

Good aspects to Mercury show skill in words, languages, and study.

The earliest period of youth. For humans, ages 1-4 especially.

The care of the young, preparation of food.

Silver. [Truffles, mushrooms, hashish, grass, arable land, leeks, herbs and “every plant that needs to be cut”.]

Epilepsy, paralysis, falls and facial spasms, dislocation of limbs and concussion, and all ailments of a cold and moist, phlegmatic nature.

The brain and the lungs. The left eye of men; the right eye of women.

Yellow (crocus).

Salty.

12°.

Monday / Friday night.

Firdaria: 9 |lesser 25 | mean 66½ | greater 108 | greatest 520.

The lands of the Turks, Armenia, Daylam (Gilan in Northern Iran)

15 A footnote in the Warburg edition explains that this comment is present in some of the Arabic manuscripts but lacking in the Latin texts

– the text shown between the square brackets is Burnett’s translation (II.41; p.87). In the Warburg edition this is curiously placed between the two paragraphs above it, awkwardly interrupting the discussion of lunar phases, perhaps because it originally appeared as a margin note or addendum that eventually worked its way into the text. Appendix III in that text includes a short Latin treatise attributed to Alchabitius concerning the price of commodities and here the Moon is attributed to “incense, milk, cheese and the like” (p.379).

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[Book II of Al Qabisi’s Introduction to Astrology concludes:] As for the order and rulership of the planets in the conception of children and their duration in the mother’s womb, know that the first month from the time of conception is of Saturn, the second of Jupiter, the third of Mars, the fourth of the Sun, the fifth of Venus, the sixth of Mercury, the seventh of the Moon, the eighth of Saturn – therefore, that born in the eighth month does not live as it is born under the dominion of Saturn – and the ninth of Jupiter.

As for the order and rulership of the planets over human life, that is, how the dispositorship of life is arranged, the Moon begins from the natal commencement, that is, from the birth of the child, and manages the subsequent span of years concerning nurture, which is four years, then Mercury the 10 years after that, then Venus 8 years after that, then the Sun 19 years after that, then Mars 15 years after that, then Jupiter 12 years after that, then Saturn until the end of life.

m= n=

The Head of the Dragon is masculine. It is similar to a benefic and its nature is like a mixture of the nature of Jupiter and Venus. And this signifies power, good fortune and subtance. And some say its nature is to augment, as when it is with the benefics it increases their benevolence and when it is with the malefics it increases their malice; and the years of its firdaria are three.

The Tail of the Dragon is malefic and its nature is like a mixture of the nature of Saturn and Mars: and it signifies degradation, falls and impoverishment. And some say that its nature is to decrease, as when it is with the benefics it diminishes their benevolence and when it is with the malefics it diminishes their malice; and the years of its firdaria are two.

Therefore the Moon, the governess of floods, pale in her anger, washes all the air, that rheumatic diseases do abound – Shakespeare

Midsummer Night’s Dream, II.1

Selene oil on canvas, 1880

Albert Aublet

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Mystical Mirroring Moon Receptive, Reflective, Originative ABIGAIL JOY bybyABIGAIL JOY

R=

WWW.SEEBYSTARLIGHT.COM

Hurrah for the Cancer Solstice! The time of year when the sun reaches its highest point in the Northern Hemisphere and begins to head downward. According to Bonatti, the season is named after the Crab because:

“

Just as a crab is said to go sometimes forward and later backward, so, when the Sun is elongated from the equinoctial line to its furthest elongation, from there it returns towards it, and then it is said to go back as a crab goes. 1

Pivoting backwards creates a line of symmetry, and the solstices mark the zodiac points where symmetry occurs. The solstice axis forms a mirror, creating an inverted reflection of seasonal themes. As the sign guarding the northern solstice point, Cancer reminds us: what goes up must come down, what comes in will go out, and every action is reflected back out to the universe in equal and opposite strength.

The Moon rules the metal silver, which, like her domicile sign of Cancer, is reflective. Mirrors, with their silvery, reflective nature are Cancerian objects. Mystically, a mirror is more than just a carbon copy of the image it receives. When you were a child, did you spend hours staring into a mirror, imagining it was a portal to a different world? Did you wonder, “what if the other side of the mirror is actually the real world, and I’m the one that’s just a reflection?” (Or was that just me?).

The mirror is a deep metaphor, which is why it has earned its place in fairy tales. A mirror seems like an exact copy of the real world, but is it? The image is reversed, so there’s the first difference. Despite its dimensional appearance, it is flat to the touch. The tint and hue of the glass create subtle effects that alter our perception. A slight, imperceptible bend of the glass skews the image fatter or thinner. In other words, the mirror imparts itself into the image, adding more than it receives. The medium affects the message.

Similarly, the turning point of Cancer does not mark a simple reversal of light, but a transformation of it.

The Moon co-rules the eyes with the Sun, and modern neurology tells us that the eyes actually send their signals to the brain as images that are upside-down. The brain has to flip the image the proper way to understand it. How fitting for the mirror-like Moon to be involved with this backwards-reflecting process.

The stomach, also ruled by the Moon, is similar to her in being both receptive and reflective. The stomach receives food, then reflects its properties out to the rest of our being. Ancient medical texts speak of four powers of the body: attraction, retention, digestion, and expulsion. All organs participate in these activities to varying degrees, but the most powerful centre for them is the stomach.

The stomach receives food (attraction), detects what is in it and what resources must be marshalled (retention), begins to break it down and distribute the nutrients (digestion), and passes it along to the next organ (expulsion). The 15th-century astrologer-doctor, Marsilio Ficino, directly compares these bodily processes to the four phases of the Moon and the four elements through which the Moon passes.

“

Fiery things help her attractive power, earthly things help her retentive power, airy things help her digestive power, and watery things help her expulsive power.2

Cancer’s mystical themes contain powerful parallels. Crabs walk backwards; mirrors reflect transformed truth; eyes send reversed images, and the stomach transmits the virtues of our food into our bodies. In this way, the properties of our food, whether healthful or harmful, are reflected in the rest of the body, just as a mirror reflects an image. Cancer is the sign that teaches us: “You are what you eat”.

The ancients saw in the Moon’s reflection much more than a simple duplication of energies. The Moon, the generative source, is the mother that birthed the world into existence. According to the Thema Mundi as described by Valens and Firmicus, “Cancer is the ascendant to the universe”3 and the Moon, at the origin of the universe, distributed all the qualities of the other planets from her own self. First, she gave Saturn the power to “harden [humanity] by uncivilized ferocity”. Then she gave Jupiter the charge to “cultivate humanity”, and so on for the rest of the planets.4 Being the original source of all things, the Moon has a universal quality. In a horary chart the Moon is the querent, but also the entire situation. You can often get a quick answer to a question simply from the Moon alone. In medical astrology, the Moon is the stomach and eyes, but also the entire body. As Firmicus says:

“

The whole essence of the human body is related to the power of that divinity [the Moon].

For after life-giving breath has entered the completed human being and the spirit of the Divine Mind has poured itself into the body, the Moon by her courses maintains the shape of the already formed body. [p.118]

The Moon is the source of everything; rules everything; keeps everything going. She is all things to all people. She contains the universe, distilled into every being, and in turn, she distributes the light of every being back into the universe. Perhaps the Mirror is the real world, and we are the mere reflections?

As the generator of all other astrological properties, the Moon correlates to the ancient medical concept of the spirit, or soul, as the prime mover of the body. We often talk about her rulership over emotions and the soul but the modern understanding of these concepts is quite different from ancient perspectives. To modern minds, the soul is abstract and nebulous; it exists in a different dimension from the physical body.

We might admit intersections between the two (e.g., in psychosomatic diseases) but, generally, we tend to conceive of the soul as completely abstract. For the ancients, the soul was much more literal.

Last month, when I wrote about Mercury’s rulership over the nerves and the rational part of the mind, I said I could find little discussion about nerves in astrological literature before the 1500s. The only early mention I found was Valens, who gave nerves to the Sun. However, in researching this article, I started to realise that language may have obscured the truth.

Let us step back to the 3rd c BCE, when the famous founder of medicine, Hippocrates, postulated that the body has three spirits: natural, vital, and animal.5 The term ‘animal Spirit’ contains our first linguistic trap. The Latin term is spiritus animalis, and early English writers translated that as ‘animal spirit’. Anima in Latin means ‘soul’ or ‘motion-producing force’. The -lis ending simply makes the word an adjective.

Perhaps older English preserved the original meaning better than modern English, but today’s connotation for ‘animal’ is beasts, birds, and bugs, not the original animating force. The Greek is pneuma psykhikon; a clearer translation might be “the Animating Spirit” instead of the “animal spirit.”

The tripartite soul theory was further developed by Galen in the 2nd c. CE,6 and passed to generations of doctors after him. The spirits progress in purity and function, and reside in specific bodily centers:7 ● ● ●

The Natural Spirit is produced in the liver and distributed through the veins.

This is converted into Vital Spirit in the heart, then distributed through the arteries.

Finally this is converted into the noblest type, the Animal Spirit, in the brain. The Animal spirit then travels through the body via the nerves.

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Note that the starting point is the stomach. Just as the Moon is the starting point of creation (Thema Mundi), the stomach originates the generation of Spiritus Animalis in the body. (Have you noticed that the stomach is crescent-shaped, like the Moon?)

Galen classifies the first two types of spirits (Natural and Vital) as ‘irrational’, which is our second linguistic trap. Today we interpret this word to mean ‘illogical’. A better modern translation might be ‘involuntary’ or ‘subconscious’. The Natural and Vital Spirits rule the bodily movements that are not in our conscious control, such as heartbeat, digestion, blinking, and emotional reactions. On the other hand, Galen classifies the Animal Spirit as ‘rational’. Again, a better word for today would be ‘voluntary’ or ‘conscious’, since this spirit controls the muscular movements the body makes on purpose.

The ancient understanding of the soul was much more grounded than how we conceive of it today. Its purpose was to move the body. It was not a ghost floating around; it was generated in the body and observed certain rules within the body. Once I understood this, I was better able to grasp what was being said when astrological authors declared that Mercury ruled the ‘rational soul’ and the Moon ruled the ‘irrational soul’. This is not an abstract statement about psychological processes in an immaterial mind.

When Ptolemy says that Mercury rules the rational soul, he is almost certainly referring to the Spiritus animalis, which lives in the brain and nerves! And the Moon rules the animating forces imbued in everything else.

Soul-type

Natural Spirit

Vital Spirit

Animal Spirit

Terms

Gr: Pneuma épithumêtikon La: Spiritus naturalis Other terms: Vegetative, Desiderative, or Appetitive Spirit

Gr: Pneuma zotikon La: Spiritus vitalis

Gr: Pneuma psykhikon La: Spiritus animalis

Where produced

liver

heart

brain

How distributed

veins

arteries

nerves

Rational or Irrational

Irrational (involuntary)

Irrational (involuntary)

Rational (voluntary)

What it does

Controls digestion.

Controls emotional Generates the four humors responses & involuntary movements

Astrological ruler(s)

R=h=

Moon – because it is irrational (Ptolemy)b Jupiter – because of the liver (Culpeper)c

M=R=

Sun – because of the heartb & Moon – because it is irrational (Ptolemy)d

Controls intentional muscle movementsa _=

Mercury (most authors agree)

Sun (Culpeper)

a

Sepper, D. L., ‘Animal Spirits’, Cambridge Descartes Lexicon, ed. L. Nolan, 1st ed., (Cambridge University Press, 2015), pp.26-28.

b

Ptolemy’s, Centiloquium (2nd c. CE); tr. Henry Coley (17th c.), ed. D. Houlding (Skyscript, 2006); con. 86.

c

Culpeper, N., Complete Herbal & The English Physician (1650); ed. C. Curnow, 2015, p.212; (published online at Project Gutenberg).

d

Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos (2nd c. CE); tr. F.E Robbins, (Harvard, Univ. Press, 1940); III, ch. 13, p.333 (reproduced online at LacusCurtius).

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A lunar herb: CHICKWEED Chickweed (Stellaria Media) is a really cute lunar plant with charming, white, star-like flowers. It is diminutive, creeping, soft-stemmed, and unassuming in form and feature (I added my finger to the picture, to show how small the flowers are). It grows in almost every part of the world, reflecting the universality of the Moon. Its common name notes how chickens and several species of birds adore it and will eat an entire patch in no time. Chickweed treats can be quite beneficial for many pet birds.

Stellaria Media is in the category of nutritive herbs, meaning it has a high mineral and vitamin content when eaten as food. It is wonderful in a salad, and rich in vitamins, minerals, omega-6 fatty acids, and more. The flavour is mild with a faint trace of vanilla, but this is easily covered by other flavours. It can be added to soups, sauces, or sautees and will not alter the flavour of other spices in the dish.

Stellaria has another superpower that enhances its nutritive status: it increases the body’s nutrient absorption from other foods. Depending on a lot of factors, people can vary as much as ninefold in their ability to absorb nutrients that exist in food.8 Astrologically, poor gastric absorption is shown by a weak Moon and this is where Chickweed can help: it softens the lining of certain cells in the stomach, gently allowing for greater nutrient entrance than otherwise possible.9 We see a remarkable parallel to the Moon’s power to absorb, reflect, and transmit the energies she encounters.

The ancients did not have the same understanding of vitamins and minerals that we have today, so it’s doubtful this nutrient-boosting feature was what put Chickweed under the Moon’s rulership. However, there are other lunar signatures in this beautiful plant, which they did notice. Nearly every herbal materia medica, past and present, agree that Chickweed is highly moistening, softening, and cooling. The 16th-century herbalist John Gerard praises Chickweed’s many powers, saying it:

“

… taketh away the swellings of the legs or any other part; bringeth to suppuration or matter [discharge] hot apostemes; dissolveth swellings that will not willingly yield to suppuration; easeth members that are shrunk up; comforteth wounds in sinewy parts; defendeth foul, malign, and virulent ulcers from inflammation during the cure: in a word, it comforteth, digesteth, defendeth, suppurateth very notably.10

Many herbalists note Stellaria’s beneficial effect on dry eyes (another lunar connection): make a tea from the leaves, let it cool, then use a dropper or eye cup to apply the infusion. It is soothing and effective.

The Moon is a friend to all, and Stellaria’s anti-inflammatory nature can soothe any hot, irritated body part. Try Chickweed tea for sore throats, heartburn, arthritis, or bronchitis. The tea also helps with edema, high cholesterol, and constipation, since Chickweed gently removes blockages, and stimulates fluid movement in the body. Try a salve externally for rashes, bug bites, haemorrhoids, or sunburns.

According to 20th-century Gypsy herbalist Baïracli-Levy, the salve can help with cutaneous infections.

Again, notice the Moon-like properties of attraction and absorption where she explains that it “possesses remarkable drawing powers, absorbing quantities of impurities when applied to the skin.”11

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HOW TO MAKE A CHICKWEED SALVE: 1. Pluck several handfuls of fresh chickweed and lay them out for 30 minutes, to let them wilt slightly (wilting reduces the possibility of developing mould). If you don’t have access to fresh chickweed, dried is fine as well.

2. Fill a small jar (a little goes a long way!), tramping the leaves down to add as much fresh herb as you can. If using dried herbs, fill the jar about 2/3rds full.

3. Add a skin-safe oil, such as olive oil. Fill the jar to the top, covering all the leaves.

4. Cover the jar and place it in warm sunlight for three days. Heat causes the plant constituents to diffuse into the oil. Turn or shake the jar at least once a day.

5. Strain the infused oil into a small saucepan, pressing the herb to squeeze as much extract out as possible. Discard the herbs into a compost pile.

6. Using low heat, slowly warm the oil. Add 1 tablespoon of beeswax flakes, stirring constantly until they melt.

7. Spoon some of the mixture into a shot glass and place it in the fridge for one minute. Then take it out, and test the consistency of the salve. If it is too soft, add a little more beeswax to the pan.

If it is too hard, add a little more oil.

8. When the mixture is just the right consistency, pour the oil into small jars or chapstick tubes.

The final result has a pleasant surprise. The infused oil starts out greenish-yellow but as the salve cools it changes into a beautiful, pale, milky colour! I don’t know what chemical process is responsible for this effect but, to me, it is another confirmation of the Moon’s rulership of this gentle soothing herb.

Abigail Joy is trained in Horary & Medical Astrology (STA) and Family Hebalism. She offers a practice aimed at client empowerment and finding joy. Find more of her work and details of her client services at: seebystarlight.com

Notes & refs:

1 Bonatti, G., Liber Astronomiae (1491); tr. R. Zoller (Golden Hinds Press, 1994), p.51.

2 Ficino, M., The Book of Life (1489); tr. C. Boer (Spring Publications, 1980), pp.103-104; (online at archive.org).

3 Valens, V., Anthologies, Books I-IX. (2nd c.); tr. M. Riley; ed. Jane GCA (anonymous, 2022); (online at Skyscript).

4 Firmicus, Matheseos Libri VIII (334 CE); tr. J. R. Bram (Noyes Press, 1975), p.74; (online at archive.org).

5 Barco-Ríos, J. et al, ‘From Animal Spirits to Scientific Revolution in Medicine’ I; Revista de La Facultad de Medicina (2018) pp.233-6.

6 Singer, P. N., ‘Galen’; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. E. N. Zalta (Stanford Uni., 2021).

7 Blitz, D. ‘Galen’s Physiological System’; class notes for Phil 135 (Nature, Mind & Science, n.d).

8 Reinagel, M., ‘How Much Nutrition Do You Absorb from Food?’; Scientific American, Oct. 2014.

9 Weed, S., ‘Chickweed is a Star’; Mystic Pop Magazine, 2007.

10 Gerard, J., Herbal & General History of Plants; London, 1597, (online at archive.org).

11 Baïracli-Levy, J., Common Herbs for Natural Health. Rev., expanded ed. (Ash Tree Pub., 1997).

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16

Dreams & the 9th House

by Sheila R. Roher, MPH astrologyforgrowth.com

An Example Using Lilly’s Guidelines Title image shows detail from ‘Penelope’s Dream’ by John Flaxman (1805)

The following is adapted from a recent presentation and discussion from Reading Lilly, an online Facebook group initiated in 2021 to provide a shared collegial platform in which to systematically read and discuss William Lilly’s classic Christian Astrology. In addition to diving into CA chapter by chapter, we also reference other astrological texts and teachings and share charts from our own lives and/or clients (preserving anonymity for clients).

A

ccording to the Jewish Talmud: “a dream uninterpreted As always with astrology, we pay is like a letter unopened”.1 The idea that dreams present attention to the guidelines but let the meaningful messages is ancient and shared by many symbolism of the chart speak to us. cultures, so it’s not surprising that astrology also addresses this enigmatic issue. William Lilly engages the question in chapter 77 of Christian Astrology: ‘Of Dreams, whether they signify anything or not’ (p.434). He begins his chapter with a slightly back-handed compliment to the 13th-century astrologer Guido Bonatti, noting that “Bonatus in judging this Question far exceeds Haly, in many others he is not so judicious”.2

”

After comparing Lilly’s chapter to Bonatti’s treatment of dreams, it’s apparent that much of Lilly’s instruction on this topic is simply a more concise and less nuanced version of Bonatti’s guidelines.3 Bonatti notes that dreams may be terrifying or happy, and that “sometimes they have some effect, and sometimes none”.4 The art of the astrologer is to try to discern whether the dream truly signifies something important or not, and if it does, to identify the topic of concern.

Lilly identifies the 9th house, the lord of the 9th and any planets emplaced in the 9th as key significators for the dream. Borrowing directly from Bonatti, Lilly illustrates the principle using the example of Saturn in the 9th house (and therefore acting as a significator of the meaning of the dream); in such a case, the astrologer should look to the house that Saturn rules to identify the affected topic of the dream. If Capricorn or Aquarius are on the ascendant, “the fear proceeds from himself” whereas if Saturn rules the 2nd house, issues of money or possessions are in play.

But the real question is: does the dream have significance in one’s daily life? Is the dream telling us something real or portending an actual change or warning or is it ... just a dream?

1 Attributed to Rabbi Hisda in Berachot 55a; see www.sefaria.org/Berakhot.55a.15?lang=bi.

2 William Lilly, Christian Astrology, retyped & annotated by D. Houlding (1999); p.211, online at www.skyscript.co.uk/CA. 3 Frankly, the material is so similar in substance and sequence that had this been a school paper in contemporary times, it would have been flagged for plagiarism. But the Medieval and Renaissance period had not yet formalized our modern method of footnotes. All Bonatti references taken from Guido Bonatti’s Book of Astronomy Treatise 6: On Questions, tr. B.N. Dykes, (Cazimi Press, 2010).

4 Guido Bonatti’s Book of Astronomy Treatise 6: On Questions, tr. B.N. Dykes, (Cazimi Press, 2010), p.562.

Some of the key significators for a genuine warning or portent are as follows: • • • •

The Lord of the 9th house or a planet in the 9th in hard aspect (square or opposition) to the Lord of the 1st, then “assuredly the querent shall receive prejudice thereby in one kind or another, usually crosses or afflictions to his person”.

Similarly, the lord of the 9th or a planet in the 9th in hard aspect to the ruler of the 2nd indicates a risk of financial injury.

As usual, an angular benefic mitigates any danger or harm.

If there are no planets in the 9th, check if any planets are in the following houses (and Lilly follows Bonatti’s exact sequence of houses here): 10th, 1st, 7th, 4th, and 3rd. These are the houses that, if a planet is emplaced, are more likely to indicate a manifest event or risk.

As usual in horary, the angular houses are always the most powerful. However, it is interesting that in this instance Bonatti and Lilly give more weight to the 10th than the 1st (the usual sequence of strength moves from 1st, 10th, 7th and finally to the 4th). One possible explanation is that the 10th is the 2nd from the 9th, and therefore likely to describe the resources of the dream. Another hypothesis discussed by private correspondence with fellow astrologer Morgan Le Gall is that the 10th house takes prominence because of its closeness to heaven “and having an overarching significance for the whole chart”.

Bonatti and Lilly also identify the houses which suggest the “vanity of the dream”, meaning the dream is insignificant, lacking in consequence, so the planets in those houses will not signify any ‘real’ effect. They are the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th houses. Usually, the 11th and 5th are seen as positive houses, associated with good fortune, so their inclusion in the ‘vain’ houses puzzled me. Once again, Morgan offered an interesting suggestion, noting that while these houses are usually helpful, they are both cadent from the 9th: “Cadency gives sluggish vibes, and in the tradition, cadency makes perfect conditions for people to disappear.

In the same way, planets ruling over the dream in houses cadent from the 9th could show that planet as elusive, rendering the dream insignificant”.

Lilly on Dreams (CA, ch. 77) … Behold the ninth house, and give it to signify the Dream; if any of the seven Planets be therein posited, he shall have signification of the Dream. If i be therein, he dreamed of some things that frightened or terrified him, & it was some inordinate matter, not really natural, as it is believed by the querent: if n be in the ninth, he beheld somewhat in his Dream more terrible, and which more affrighted him; he was afraid some prosecuted him, and would have killed him, and that he had much ado to escape: Behold in what house à and â fall, they being the houses of i, for from some matter signified by either of those houses shall this horror proceed, or disturbance by Dream: If either of those signs ascend, the fear proceeds from himself; if they be on the cusp of the second, money or personal estate occasioned that Dream; if à or â be on the cusp of the third, the matter proceeded from some occasion concerning his kindred or brethren, or ill neighbours, or bad reports: you must run all the houses in order in the same nature, as I have formerly both in the second and third house aquainted you, &c. and from thence find the occasion.

If you find no planets in the ninth, consider the tenth and see if any planet be therein, and judge as formerly by the ninth house; for whatsoever planet is in the tenth, the signification of the Dream hath signification thereof, either for good or evil: If no planet be in the tenth, see if any be in the ascendant, he shall signify the matter of the Dream; if no planet be in the ascendant, behold if any be in the seventh, he shall then manifest the Dream; if no planet be there, see to the fourth, for a planet therein shall demonstrate the quality and effects of the Dream; if no planet be in the fourth, see to the third; if none be there, see to the second, fifth, sixth, eighth, eleventh or twelfth, all which have signification of the vanity of the Dream, and that it hath no effects to follow it.

The very true way of judging whether Dreams, how terrible soever, have or shall have any influence upon the querent, is by observing whether the Lord of the ninth, or any Planet posited in the ninth, doth behold the Lord of the ascendant with r or u, for then assuredly the querent shall receive prejudice thereby in one kind or other; usually crosses or afflictions to his person: But if the lord of the ninth afflict the lord of the second, he receives from prejudice by one or other in point of Estate, &c. and so do in all the other houses, (consideratis considerandis.)

A good planet in the ninth, no ill shall happen by the Dream; a good planet in the ascendant signifies the same; or the lord of the ascendant in s of M, h or ` argues the same, the infortunes the contrary. I hold it vain to be more large upon this discourse.

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A Dream and its Astrological Interpretation This dream dates from a Sunday night in September 2020. By way of background, it’s useful to know that my mother, then age 93, was then living in a skilled nursing home and had been dealing with dementia for years.

This is the dream, as recalled the next morning: My mother came to me in a dream. Although she didn’t look like herself, I recognized her instantly. She looked beautiful and very alive, and in some mysterious way, I knew that she was visiting me at night. In the dream, we stayed up all night until dawn, talking about the ways in which we had served and helped each other. She told me that she wouldn’t see me again, and that she’d be leaving in the morning.

I woke up, burst into tears, and wrote down the dream. And then I cast the chart.

So, was this a real portent or a vain dream? As always with astrology, we pay attention to the guidelines but let the symbolism of the chart speak to us.

It is the day and hour of the Moon, which rules the intercepted 10th house, fitting the topic of the dream; moreover, my mother’s ascendant is at 0° Ç, in exact alignment with the MC. I judged the chart radical.

It is striking how all four angles fall at 29°55, clearly marking a fraught moment of change from common signs to cardinal signs – something was about to shift; an ending was already in play. The nodes on the MC/IC angles indicate something fated.

Venus, the 9th house ruler, is in the ‘vain’ 11th house. But Mercury is in the 1st house and governs both the 10th house (my mother) and the ascendant (myself). The Moon in the 11th is translating light from a conjunction with Venus (9th-ruler) to a sextile with 1st-ruler Mercury. To me that clearly shows the dream to be a 9th house divine message between my mother and me.

I also looked at Jupiter, at 17° à, in fall, in the 4th house, within a degree of my mom’s natal Sun at 16° à. I felt that Jupiter, as exalted ruler of the intercepted Cancer in the 10th house, also signified my mother. My mother had been a teacher – definitely ‘in fall’ in her condition at the time of the dream but an essentially noble person who loved learning and was a teacher to many. Jupiter, ruler of the 4th and emplaced in the 4th, applying to the ruler of my mom’s derived 8th house, Saturn, was going home (the 4th house being the ‘end of the matter’ of this lifetime).

Two other points of synastry between the dream chart and my nativity seemed relevant. The horary Sun at 22° Ñ, is exactly square my natal MC/IC, highlighting the parental axis. Also, the horary Moon at 11° É, is within half a degree of my South Node. The dream’s content – this intense review of our past together and ways of helping each other which was now going to stop – seemed to me to be described by the Moon on my South Node, a review at a soul level of where we have been. The South Node is often referred to as a point of decrease, release, letting go. Like the angles at the 29th degree, the horary Moon’s connection with my natal South Node echoed the message in the dream that this was our last communication prior to a great shift.

Of course, I couldn’t miss Mars sitting prominently on the radical 8th house cusp, retrograde and applying to a square to Saturn, the ruler of my mom’s derived 8th house, which we might delineate as my concern about my mother’s death (which by that time, had been a concern for several years). But these were, to me, the background details to the real action of the chart, namely the Venus/Moon/Mercury contacts describing the contents of the dream and its purpose of relaying a message from my mother to me.

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Events following the Dream That Monday morning (September 14), only a couple of hours after I awoke from the dream, a nurse from my mom’s facility called me to say there was “a change” in her condition and I should come to see her. Until then, our visits had been severely limited due to Covid-related restrictions.

I arrived to find my mother sitting in a wheelchair with her head resting on her chest and her eyes closed. No matter what I said, she was unresponsive.

Finally, after we sat silently for a little while, I said, “Mom, I think you came to me in a dream last night”. At that time – and only at that time – my mother, with great difficulty, raised her head, opened her eyes slightly and nodded. Then she closed her eyes and rested her head again on her chest. I burst into tears again.

My mother died four days later, the following Friday, the evening of Rosh Hashanah, a particularly sacred time to die according to the Jewish tradition.

The bi-wheel shows the dream chart on the inside and the chart for the time of my mom’s death in the outer wheel. Venus, the significator of the dream in the dream chart, was exactly sextile Mercury, my significator in the dream chart, which received that sextile at the time of my mother’s passing, as the message of the 9th house became fully manifest. The Moon was now conjoined to Mercury as it made its partile applying square to Jupiter.

This was a validating experience for – the chart described the dream and confirmed it to be ‘real’, that is, it was a real message that affected waking life. vvv

We often speak of the 9th house as the house of divination (as well as longdistance travel, philosophy, law), all vehicles that provide ‘higher’ perspectives (as contrasted to the third house of the daily mind, short journeys, relatives, and neighbours). I am reminded of Eric Wargo’s book Precognitive Dreams and the Long Self, in which he suggests that many dreams are messages from our future selves. Wargo uses the term ‘long self’ like the way that the Iroquois Native Americans speak of the ‘long body’, the idea that we embody and sense past/present/future all the time – if only we would pay attention.

We might view casting a chart about a dream as a kind of ‘meta-divination’, a divination about a divination: a 9th house art applied to a 9th house event. As I hope this example shows, casting a chart about a dream (diving into the 9th house to explore the 9th house) can be a powerful practice to illuminate the mystery of the dream and the nature of life itself. Both the dream I had and this chart continue to influence me, reminding me that we are in communication with many levels of existence across our conventional perceptions of time and space. And I am grateful to my mother for the visit and advance notice.

Sheila Roher, MPH has been studying and practicing astrology for three decades, whilst pursuing a

lifelong fascination with the way our stories (personal and collective) frame our experience. A playwright and social activist with a Masters degree in public health, Sheila’s availability for consultations, workshops, and speaking engagements can be found on her website: www.astrologyforgrowth.com

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20

PLANETARY THEMES FOR

[JULY]

by Jason Burns of astraiosmirror.com

5’s (fortunate) Superior Conjunction (1st July) Mercury enters its occidental phase on 1st July when it perfects a superior conjunction with the Sun at 9°°Ç°08 – a conjunction flavoured by the sextile cast to Jupiter at 9°Ä, which Jupiter receives by exaltation. Good aspects between the Sun and Jupiter – two naturally magnanimous planets – signify opportune moments for ease Though the q is not an especially strong aspect, of mind, health, wealth, honours, gain, and advancement. In those cast to h in Ä are notable because they certain contexts, this is certainly providential and the come from the signs where h has strong essential ‘cherry on top’ of this alignment is the shadow support given dignity (ä rulership or Ç exaltation) whereas any to Jupiter via the antiscia interplay with Venus the same day s to h in Ä will come from the signs where it (on 1st July Venus, at 21°É, throws its antiscia to 9°Ä, while experiences debility (Ñ detriment or à fall) Jupiter throws its antiscia back to at 21°É).

What does this mean for world astrology? In earth and water signs, the benefit can be found in careful, cautious optimism. But also consider that Jupiter has an affinity with judges, justice and legal matters, while the Sun provides a symbol for those with authority and celebrity, and Mercury has an association with lawyers and documents. Mercury’s superior conjunction is given further nuance by its alignment with the fixed star Alhena at 9°°Ç°25, emphasizing “artistic skills, especially with the written or spoken word and ability to negotiate a peaceful settlement in disputes”.1 With these points in mind, it is reasonable to expect litigations and arbitrations to become highlighted as these three planets bring their influence together.

We’ve already seen this theme build in recent weeks as ex-political leaders Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon all broke headlines by coming under investigation. Note how Mercury’s new cycle falls directly on Trump’s natal, 11th-house Mercury (8°°Ç°51) while Jupiter is transiting his 9th house. This heralds a period bringing issues of supporters (11th house) and legal issues (9th house) into focus. Currently facing federal charges in a classified documents scandal, the fact that this Mercurial seed-point lights up his chart on Gemini a day when Mars (at 25°=É on 1st July) applies to Alhena his natal Mars-ascendant conjunction is obviously 56 9°Y striking. That Mercury is hidden by the Sun at the time makes for a rather apt symbol of an issue Mag: +1.9 (2nd) Lat: 7S, Dec: 16N related to top-secret documents, don’t you think?

RA: 6h37m

Alhena

The ‘brand’ in the LEFT FOOT of Pollux

g Gem – third brightest star of Gemini; 42nd brightest star; white, on the left foot of the Southern Twin (Pollux)

… continued ...

Alhena

Brilliant white star on the left foot of Pollux (the Southern Twin); the third brightest star of the constellation Gemini and 42nd brightest in the sky.

Ptolemy claimed that the stars in the feet of both figures are of the nature of Mercury with a moderate influence of Venus. The name – Alhena or Al Hena – has been said by various authors to refer to a wound or affliction, with Vivian Robson relating it to “the wound in the tendon of Achilles”. The Arabic term is loosely translated to mean a brand or burnt-in mark, creating a symbolic association with a point of sensitivity or affliction, for which reason Robson attributes a liability to accidents affecting the feet.

More generally, Al Hena’s influence is reputed to bestow eminence in art, literature, science and persuasive diplomacy. Eric Morse reported artistic skills, “especially with the written or spoken word and ability to negotiate a peaceful settlement in disputes” while Ebertin-Hoffman note that this star confers a spiritual orientation and “an artistic inclination, with interest in the sciences”.

1 Morse, E., The Living Stars, (Amethyst Books, 1989); p.44.

HIGHLIGHTS (UT) 3F5 6K-

1st: 05:06 2nd: 14:34 3rd: 11:39 9th: 23:57 10th: 11:40 10th: 20:48 11th: 04:11 17th: 12:49 17th: 18:32 20th: 13:07 20th: 20:39 22nd: 03:53 23rd: 01:33 23rd: 01:51 23rd: 21:39 27th: 15:16 28th: 21:31

Full Moon 5L= 7→I 5a; 5→U 5K8

New Moon

3L= 7a0 3a; 6 St. Ret. 3→U 5K5F6 5→I

JULY 2023 Monday

Tuesday

31 4 L 7

4J0 4L8 4a3 4a5

Thursday

Friday

The Summer looks out from her brazen tower, through the flashing bars of July

4L8 4L4J=

3

Wednesday

Saturday 1

4K0 3F5 5J8 3J8

2

4L6 4L7 4K= 6K4→}

8

4J4L5 4F= 4J; 4→E

9

5L=

- Francis Thompson, A Corymbus for Autumn

4

4L4J= 4F; 4→Q

5

4K8

6

4K4a6 4a7 4→W

7

4F0 5J4J8 4L3

Sunday

10 4 K 3

11 4 L 7

12 4 J 3 4F-

13 4 K 6

14 3 J -

15 4 J 6

16 4 L 0

5→U 4J0 4F8

17 5 K 8

18 4 a ;

19 4 K 8

20 4 K -

21 4 a 0

22 3 a ;

23 4 a =

24 void

25 4 J 5

26 4 L 0

27 4 a -

28 4 → M

29 4 K =

30 4 → }

7→I 4L6 5a; 4K; 4K5 4→R

4J4F3 4L=

4→U

4J6 4K; 4→P 4K3

4F5

4J7 4a8

4J= 4L; 4→T 4K7 4J5 4K0

3L= 4F6 4→I 7a0

5F6 4L= 4K6 4K5 4J;

4F7 4L8

4L3 4K0 4K7 5→I

4K= 4→Y 4J7

4L-

4L6

4J8

6 St. Ret. 3→U 4L; 4→O 4J3 5K-

4L5 4J0

21

COMING UP

August 2023 UT q FM 09â15 1st 18.32 5 GEE 14Ñ33 10th 01:47 w NM 23É17 16th 09:38 5 SR 21Ñ51 23rd 20:00 7 " 00Ö00 27th 13:20 - SR 23Ä04 29th 02:39 q FM 07â25 31st 01:36 September 2023 6 SD 8 SR w NM 5 SD 5 GEW 3 EQX q FM

12É12 15Ä34 21Ñ58 24Ç56 11Ñ26 00Ö00 06~00

4th 4th 15th 15th 22nd 23rd 29th

01:20 14:11 01:40 20:21 13:16 06:50 09:58

October 2023 5 " 6 " ; SD 7 " w S Ec 5 " 6 GEW q L Ec

00Ö00 00Ñ00 27à53 00Ü00 21Ö07 00Ü00 13Ñ52 05Ä09

5th 9th 11th 12th 14th 22nd 23rd 28th

00.09 01:11 01:10 04:04 17:55 06:49 23:15 20:24

It is in your hands to make a better world for all who live in it - Nelson Mandela (3 in Y chart)

EPHEMERIS

JULY 2023

22

23

The Full Moon (3rd July) This month’s Full Moon at 11°à 18 is very pushy with its virtue: it separates from a trine with Jupiter at 10°Ä (its sign of exaltation) as it perfects its opposition to the Sun in Cancer (its sign of rulership). But we cannot expect too much benefice from this Moon as it moves through its own sign of its detriment. With its own dispositor, Saturn, playing into the mix with an aspect from Pisces, that strong and watery lunar-Saturnian theme is likely to play out through dramatic themes connected to land and waters. With Mercury masking itself under the Sun’s beams, another likely scenario is that the Sun’s flooding light exposes some corruption or flaw symbolized by the debilitated placement of the Moon (and, as previously noted, issues of ‘missing papers’ will remain 7: ingress into Virgo (10th July) in the air).

This month’s energy reaches a critical juncture on July 10th when Mars enters Virgo just as its new dispositor, The New Moon (17th July) Mercury, makes a partile opposition to Pluto in The New Moon on the 17th, at 24° Ç, occurs anaretic degrees (_: 29°Ç°/ ;: 29°à). The interplay as the luminaries separate from Pollux and of late and early degrees, coupled with planets known apply to Procyon (26° Ç), two prominent for disruption, suggests themes of situations reaching fixed stars, of a martial nature. The lunation a crisis point, and much talk of sudden collapses lacks aspects to any of the classical planets accompanying fresh starts, resets and unsettling but makes strong ties to all three outers, changes. Power plays and sharp rhetoric are set to falling between the sextile of Uranus and the dominate the days surrounding this period. applying trine to Neptune / opposition to Pluto. These martial stars surrounding it, and the fact that it occurs as Mars moves into opposition with Saturn, a troublesome aspect to say the least (perfects on July 20th at 6° Ñ/ä), should raise red flags about the need to exercise caution. Perhaps eyes will move at this time towards the tensions that have developed between the US and China, since the Mars-Saturn opposition perfects on the asc/desc axis of the Aries ingress charts for both Beijing and Washington DC. °

Gemini

Pollux

724°Y Mag: +1.1 (2nd) Lat: 7N, Dec: 28N RA: 7h45m

Pollux

The HEAD of the Southern Twin

b Gem – brightest star of Gemini; 17th brightest star; orange, on the head of the Southern Twin

Pollux

(or Hercules)

Castor

(or Apollo)

Alhena

Orange giant star on the head of the Southern Twin; beta star of Gemini but the brightest of the group and the 17th brightest in the sky. Its influence is Martial, contrasting with that of Castor, its Northern Twin, which is blue in hue and Mercurial in influence – giving the notion of Castor being the brains and Pollux the brawns (more ‘beefy’ and fierce). The name is an abbreviation of ‘Polydeuces’ which derives from a Greek term meaning ‘leader of foals’, alluding to the mythological Pollux as a horseman as well as a skilled boxer and warrior. Astrologically, Pollux denotes an adventurous, rambunctious nature and love of sport.

Both Pollux and Castor are beneficial, but either can promote sickness or trouble when afflicted, with Pollux leaning to heated emotions, violence and rashness. Robson defines it as “subtle, crafty, spirited, brave, audacious, cruel and rash” adding an association with poisons and “dignified malevolence”.

Ebertin considered it “brutal and tyrannical, violent and cruel” when conjoined with the Sun, Moon, Asc or MC and connected to malefics.

24

What Happened to the Books?

A horary probe into a mystery with a strange & sinister twist I had a friendly relationship with a neighbour, a woman in her mid-20s who was starting to learn astrology. She was bewildered because some astrology books I’d given her had vanished.

She had searched her apartment carefully since last using them two days earlier, so with no possibility of the books being anywhere else but in her apartment, I agreed to cast a horary.

15:51 EST, 22 January 2023; 42N06 / 72W37 | Regio | Day: M / Hour: R

by JASON BURNS

Immediate thoughts: The horary ascendant falls within 3° of the querent’s natal ascendant, illustrating the chart’s radicality and the aptness of the Moon as her main significator. It doesn’t look good: the Moon cosignifies the missing item, so its placement in the 8th house – an area associated with loss that cannot be ‘seen’ by the ascendant – argues against the hopes of recovery.

I also noted that Mercury (natural significator of books) is darkly placed in the cadent 6th house, the only planet hidden below the horizon.

The Judgement The Sun, as ruler of the 2nd house of ‘personal possessions’, signifies the books. Although angular, the Sun is peregrine in its sign of detriment, and since both luminaries are disposited by Saturn – placed in and governing the 8th house – I wondered if the books had been taken or were in some way damaged.1 With the Sun in the 7th house, I asked if she had checked among her boyfriend’s things, or if he might have moved them to his own home. She said she had asked him, but he hadn’t seen them. This seemed odd since the chart’s pronounced 7th and 8th houses point to another person’s involvement.

1

Lilly, W., Christian Astrology (hereafter CA) – of the Moon’s affliction by the 8th-ruler: “it is in the hands of an ill person that will not depart from it” (p.323); otherwise, the Moon’s application to the 8th-ruler might indicate destruction (a strayed animal may be dead, a lost item may be destroyed, etc; CA, p.358).

Looking to the Moon’s last aspects for clues on how the loss occurred, I noted its separating trine from Mars, and the precarious square from the nodes which adds an element of concern.2 Lilly explains that separation from Mars suggests loss through “fear, or by some hidden passion, provoking the loser to anger, fury, fire, or for enmity, or upon a quarrel” (CA, p.321). This troubling detail made me reflect on how strong Saturn actually is in this chart, dispositing the main significators, ruling the 7th and 8th houses, and receiving the applying conjunction of the Moon and Venus.

The closeness of Venus to Saturn brought my mind back to the notion of partnerships or relationships.

The Sun, in the 7th, applies to a received square of Jupiter on the midheaven, so some sort of truth seems set to come to light, and I couldn’t shake the sense that if her boyfriend was the only other person with access to the books, he probably knew their whereabouts. The Moon and Saturn in the 8th house ought to mean the books are among someone else’s possessions, or another person has taken possession of them. I explained this to the querent, but she brushed the idea off, saying her boyfriend would not lie about such a thing.

So we carried on exploring the chart and its multiple arguments that the books were unlikely to be recovered, given the debilitated and peregrine state of the luminaries, the separation of the 1st and 2nd house rulers, the heavy hand of Saturn, the heightened 8th house emphasis, and the Moon’s besiegement between the aspects of Mars and Saturn. Peregrine planets wander away from their intended environment;3 with both significators in this state and the Sun applying to Mars, I concluded that even if the books could be recovered, they would probably be damaged.

I did mention that lost items signified by an angular planet (as the books are by the Sun in this chart) remain close by or are easily discoverable, but I also explained that horary judgments require various indications to be weighed against each other, and this chart’s theme is negative overall, so there wasn’t much here to get her hopes up.

We spent some time trying to decipher what Jupiter’s placement on the MC might mean (along with the Sun’s application to it). Jupiter’s rulership of the 6th and 9th houses made me ask if any maintenance workers had been in the apartment, or if she could have taken the books to someplace like a library to study. She answered no to both questions. With Jupiter at the midheaven, could she have taken them to work, or might a parent have stopped by her apartment? Again, the possibility of this was denied.

Following Jupiter’s connection to the Sun in the 7th, I approached the topic of her boyfriend again.

Deriving signification from the 7th as his house, Jupiter rules the turned 3rd (communications, including rumours and lies) and the turned 12th (hidden, secret things), and is placed on the turned 4th cusp (the end of the matter, also hidden treasure). Was she sure he hadn’t taken or moved them and wasn’t admitting to it? She explained: “He’s more obsessed with morals than most people I know. I doubt he would lie about this”.

So, giving up on that, and with most significators in the air sign Aquarius, I suggested the books might be somewhere west by north and advised her to search in high places off the floor,4 adding that the books could have got mixed in with clothes, bed linens, or distinctly feminine things (given the union of Venus with Saturn). Also, noting the darkness of the Moon in the 8th and Mercury in the 6th house, I suggested she check dark, obscure locations such as closet shelves. With both significators in fixed signs, I mentioned that wherever the books were, they would likely stay put.

The Outcome Two weeks later, on February 5th, the same day a Full Moon fell across the cusps of the 2nd and 8th houses of the horary and perfectly aligned with the horary Moon, the querent called me, furious, as the underlying meaning of the horary’s debilitated Venus had been revealed. She had just had a fight with her boyfriend, and he had confessed to throwing the books away, along with some other ‘Venusian’ items of hers (clothing he thought too risqué, and body oils he accused her of using for erotic purposes)! She explained they had been having problems for a while since he had become involved with an online group devoted to Esoteric Christianity. He had started to believe that some of her interests and behaviours were dangerous.

2

3 4

Referred to as the ‘bendings’, Lee Lehman explains: “…any planet square the nodes is in a critical, that is to say, dangerous position”; Classical Astrology for Modern Living, (Whitford Press, 1996); p.207.

Houlding, Deborah, ‘Understanding Planetary Dignity and Debility’ (online at skyscript.co.uk/dig4.html).

CA, p.204: “Aquarius, West by North … airy signs, above ground”.

25

The querent realised that her boyfriend had become very controlling. She relayed how she had searched for the books daily, even questioning her own sanity, while he would become frustrated with her, pretending to help while trying to convince her to give up. After learning what he had done, she ended the relationship.

When we looked at the horary again with fresh eyes, we were struck by the clarity of its symbolism: § § §

§

§

§

Saturn, strong with essential dignity but unfortunate by placement in the 8th, ruling the 7th, and dispositing all the Aquarian planets, showed the boyfriend’s total control of the situation.

The Moon, still under the Sun’s beams while the Sun was in the 7th house, added to the symbolism of secrecy and subversive control by the boyfriend.

The stellium of planets in the 8th, which includes the querent’s significator, her boyfriend’s dispositor, and Venus (natural significator of relationships), trines the 12th-cusp, showing themes of loss, secrets, and unforeseen enmity gliding through this situation like an undertow.

Jupiter, the natural significator of religious and faith-based activities, rules the boyfriend’s turned 12th (his secrets) and the radical 9th (her interest in astrology) and yields its influence over the whole chart as it stands upon the midheaven.

Mercury, ruler of the boyfriend’s turned 9th house (his religion) is located in his derived 12th (secrets, self-undoing), having recently squared Jupiter, ruler of the horary’s radical 9th (the querent’s involvement with astrology). Mercury is also the radical 12th-house ruler, in a strong partile aspect with the nodal axis.5 The next aspect to perfect in the chart is the conjunction of Venus with Saturn in the 8th house, which speaks not only to the disappointment and decay in the relationship but also provides a textbook depiction of where the books had been deposited – in the trash.6

The transits to the horary at the time of the discovery are fascinating: a Full Moon lit up the horary Moon to reveal all; Mercury, universal significator of books and communicative exchange, joined the 7th cusp, depicting the boyfriend’s admission and discussion of books; and culminating Venus was in a partile square to Mars during the heated argument that revealed the truth and ended the relationship.

Another realised observation was that the dumpster which services our apartment lies to the northwest of the property, surrounded by a fence. This fence has a gate which has been broken for years, bringing to mind Anthony Griffin’s passage on noting the door of the thief:

“

If the Moon be in conjunction, quartile, or opposition of Saturn, the door or gate of the thief is broken or black … If the Moon is unfortunate (while in aspect to Mars) the door is either cracked or broken.7

Finally, returning to Jupiter’s placement upon the midheaven of the horary, we now realized how this encapsulated the overarching themes of faith and religion that pervaded the whole situation.

Even though the circumstances were not ideal, or happy, we both agreed that Jupiter had lived up to its title of Greater Benefic. Its crowning of the chart of the question she had asked symbolised her imminent liberation from a suffocating situation – ultimately, this small loss offered her the necessary, if awkward, spiritual protection that she needed at that time. – 4 – 5

6

7

Horary astrologer Barbara Watters considered the nodes to be extremely sensitive points in any horary and claimed “any planet falling in the exact degree of the Nodes, regardless of what sign it is in, is a fateful testimony” (her italics); Horary Astrology and the Judgment of Events, (Valhalla, 1973); p.96.

In horary, the 8th house is naturally associated with things that are ruined or places where rubbish is heaped (see for example, Al-Biruni, Elements of the Art of Astrology, ch.462).

Griffin, Anthony, An Astrological Judgement Touching Theft (1665); annotated by D. Houlding, (Skyscript, 2014); p.14.

26

Two of my favourite books – and why:

27

by Jason Burns

Astrological Chart Calculations An Outline of Conventions and Methodology

by Bruce Scofield Given the widespread availability of computer software capable of performing tasks on our behalf, does it matter whether today’s astrologers are trained to understand the astronomical concepts and basic calculations involved in producing an astrological chart? Bruce Scofield believes it does matter, and I agree. This comprehensive reference guide is packed with valuable information, covering primers in the mathematics behind a chart’s construction, astronomical concepts, conventions and conversions of time, the characteristics of various house division systems, and even a brief historical overview highlighting astrologers’ contributions to the advancement of trigonometry as a technical discipline over the past two millennia. The book concludes with tables that can be used for chart calculation.

I highly recommend this textbook for anyone looking to grasp horoscopic astrology’s technical underpinnings. Without this knowledge, Scofield says, “astrology has no backbone, fails as a real subject with a possible future in the academic world (where it once was), and becomes merely a kind of divination and pop psychology dominated by those with charisma and natural promotional and sales abilities”.

(First published 2002 / revised edition published in 2022; paperback edition on Amazon: 238 pages, $30)

The Classical Seven Planets Source Texts & Meaning

by Charles Obert This book is indispensable for enhanced understanding of the seven classical planets. Obert has masterfully curated descriptions of planetary meanings sourced from prominent traditional astrologers: Valens, Abu Ma’shar, AlBiruni, Ramsey, and Lilly. Additionally, he offers invaluable guidance on how to effectively read traditional texts for maximum benefit, highlighting their distinctions from most contemporary works. Accompanied by insightful commentary, the author adeptly presents fundamental concepts clearly and concisely. By providing contextual information on planetary meaning and deftly unravelling the intricacies and depth of the classical seven, Obert’s book is an enlightening companion to the study of traditional astrology works.

(Published 2020; paperback edition on Amazon: 180 pages, $14.99)

Jason Burns of astraiosmirror.com A student of astrology for over 20 years, Jason Burns has been certified as a skilled Horary Practitioner by the School of Traditional Astrology (STA). He writes a monthly column for the Skyscript.co.uk newsletter, has been drafting a book (or two), and is currently developing a workshop series on the fundamentals of astrology to be delivered in his local community at their public library. For consultations or commissions contact: Jason@astraiosmirror.com

28 When at the Moon’s appearance its right horn is long and its left horn is short, the king’s hand will conquer a land– Enuma, Anu, Enlil, tablet 30

Chaldean Glimmers: II GATHERING THE DATA Deborah Houlding

Part I of this series considered the Mesopotamian magical mindset. Although some of their divination practices were sophisticated, this was not what made them remarkable. Their magnificence lies in their skill as mathematicians, which came out of their societal willingness to be patient, careful and organised observers, prepared to gather and record a vast amount of information over many centuries.

The immense resource of extremely valuable data the Mesopotamians collected provided the necessary knowledge base for innovative improvements in technology and engineering, bringing expediency to the mundane structure of society. As greater analysis improved their understanding of astronomical cycles, they were able to create a workable calendar at a very early stage of human history, allowing advance planning and efficient administration of religious festivals, state events, military manoeuvres and agricultural output. With a reliable calendar the whole of society flowed with greater ease. The Mesopotamian ‘Cradle of Civilisation’ arose out of small, patiently collected details, with the benefits of observation fully extracted to generate a self-perpetuating cycle of proficiency in social organisation, logistical administration and scientific discovery. Astrology acted as the kingpin at the root of all this.

Observations & Omens The Mesopotamians had no distinction between astronomy and astrology: all astronomer-observers were trained in mathematics and divinatory arts and expected to draw their principles together. No part of mathematics, geometry or even engineering was free of sacred significance, since each developed out of a symbolic perspective which expected that physical laws were embedded in and discovered by exploring spiritual laws. As Mesopotamian methods spread to other nations this outlook perpetuated and all these studies remained closely related. We see the extension of Mesopotamian influence in how the word ‘Chaldean’ (originally applied to an Aramaic tribe who conquered Babylon in 625 BCE) developed into a blanket term for anyone informed in both the objective and subjective applications of astronomy, mathematics, and geometry.

As with most ancient cultures, the cosmological view of the Mesopotamians offered a representation of their mythological values. The Earth, consisting only of Mesopotamia and its neighbouring regions,

was envisioned as a disc floating on an ocean of clear water, surrounded by a rim of high mountains.

Resting on the mountains and separated from the Earth by the atmosphere was the sky vault along which astral bodies travelled. A similar hemisphere beneath the Earth formed the underworld, which held the spirits of ancestors. This was their universe, itself immersed like a gigantic bubble in a boundless, uncreated, primordial ocean of brine.

The Mesopotamian temples, called Ziggurats, were built as ‘spiritual mountains’, the whole structure dedicated to worship, with the central observation tower used for recording astronomical movement. The oldest example, at Uruk,1 was built in the 4th millennium BCE and dedicated to Inanna, an early representation of Venus. It consists of a high terrace about an acre in extent, rising above the plain with its four corners oriented to the cardinal directions. Other Ziggurats had four gates aligned to the cardinal points, and many consisted of seven decreasing platforms. The temple stood at the top of

1 Now at Warka, Iraq. In the late 4th millenium BCE Uruk centered the largest urban area in the world, with over 100,000 residents in its district.

29

“Knowledge of the sundial and the gnomon and the twelve divisions of the day came into Greece from Babylon” Herodotus – 500 BCE, The Histories, II. 109

the terrace, with access gained by a stairway or ramp.

The size of a ziggurat varied from city to city, but its base could be 300 sq. feet, with the whole structure several hundred feet high. It dominated the landscape and played a central role in Mesopotamian city life, acting as a focus for religious ceremonies and affording astronomers a panoramic field of vision.

The astronomers were blessed with relatively cloudless skies, but since their interest mainly concerned the appearance or disappearance of stars around the horizon, they were disadvantaged by haze and dust in a region subject to sandstorms. Other than their high towers, they had only crude instruments to aid them. We know they used the polos (a small ball suspended over a hemisphere) and the gnomon (a stationary arm), both rudimentary sundials used for tracking shadows. Cuneiform texts show the use of clepsydra (clocks based on water flow)1 and some kind of instrument is alluded to where a device called the “measure-governor” was reported to have “stopped in the night”.2 The intriguing discovery of crystal lenses also shows their knowledge of magnification, leading some scientists to speculate that the Mesopotamians could have been early pioneers of telescopic observation.3 R. C. Thompson, who interpreted many of the cuneiform texts in the early 20th century, describes the basic time measure: the kasbu (a term which means ‘to measure, march, travel’). Each kasbu lasted two hours; two kasbu formed a 4-hour ‘watch’ or observational shift, and three watches covered the observation of the sky at night. In this sense the kasbu were measuring seasonal (or ‘temporal’) hours, and equating to two astrological planetary hours which vary in length based on shifting times of sunrise and 1 2 3

4

5 6

The Great Ziggurat at Ur (present day Dhi Qar, Iraq) shown in a drawing based on archeological reports and as a photograph of its partially reconstructed facade

sunset to generate an equal number of equal divisions within the overall period.4 Each observational watch had its own name, and – given the symbolic reliance – we can assume an associated relevance, possibly underpinning the concept of house division, which splits passage between the ascendant and descendant into equal partitions according to the same principle.5 W. Muss-Arnolt reports: “The old rough division of the night into three watches, which is also found in the Old Testament, remained long in use … This system of time was gradually superseded by a more accurate system … corresponding to the division of the equator”.6 The use of equatorial time generates the unvarying ‘standard’ (or ‘civil’) hours, which uniformly measure 60 minutes. Most historians assume this to be a later development that improved precision, yet both systems allow equally accurate measurement and they were undeniably used together for different purposes. In the same way that observed lunar months and calculated calendar months were simultaneously employed, temporal hours suit the needs of astronomical observation, while standard hours are best for coordinating public activities and social events. A kasbu, as a measure of a ‘double-hour’, might be referred to in either system.

Left: crystal lens; center: polos; right: gnomon

D. Pingree, ‘Legacies in Astronomy and Celestial Omens’ in S. Dalley’s Legacy of Mesopotamia. (Oxford Univ. Press, 1989), pp.125–126.

Thompson, R. C. The Reports of the Magicians & Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon, (AMS Press, 1977); Intro. p.xix.

G. Roux, Ancient Iraq; (George Allen & Unwin, 1964) p.84; Saggs, H.W.F. The Greatness that was Babylon (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1962), p.458. The image shows the 3000 year old Numrud Lens housed at the British Museum. Created with twelve cavities and polished with a slightly convex surface giving 3x magnification, this has (controversially) been taken as evidence of telescopic observation, to explain why ancient astronomers “saw more in the night sky than was possible with the naked eye alone” (en-academic.com).

O. Neugebauer, in ‘The Water Clock in Babylonian Astronomy’ (Isis. 37 1947, pp.37–43) explains how water clocks were seasonally adjusted: “To define the length of a ‘night watch’ at the summer solstice, one had to pour two mana of water into a cylindrical clepsydra; its emptying indicated the end of the watch. One-sixth of mana had to be added each succeeding half-month. At the equinox, three mana had to be emptied in order to correspond to one watch, and four mana was emptied for each watch of the winter solstitial night”.

This is specifially the principle used in Placidus house division which perfectly aligns to the use of seasonal/planetary hours.

W. Muss-Arnolt, ‘The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents’, Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 11, no. 1, 1892, pp.72–94.

Enuma Anu Enlil & the Astronomical Diaries The most detailed group of cuneiform tablets concerning astrology is known collectively as Enuma Anu Enlil. The title depicts the opening words, which mean ‘When the gods Anu and Enlil’, alluding to the realms of the sky (Anu) and wind (Enlil).1 A series of 70 tablets, it comprises over 7000 omens concerned with planetary and meteorological phenomena: Tablets 1-22 Tablets 23-41 Tablets 42-49 Tablets 50-70

Omens concerning the Moon … concerning the Sun … meteorological phenomena … planets, stars, constellations

The series was composed over several centuries, its development stretching through the first dynasty of Babylon (c.1900-1650 BCE), and its final form appearing around 1000 BCE. The Mesopotamians also left a huge collection of Astronomical Diaries dating from the 7th century BCE, and presumably similar documents were compiled during the older period to collect the raw data for the omens.2 Each Diary covered a period of six months and contained daily observations of astronomical positions and the events they correlated to. Entries included details of political problems; threats of invasion; times of plague; the corresponding weather and river levels; agricultural production, and such trends as the rise and fall of the price of commodities.

Dutch historian Jona Lendering described the compilation of the diaries as “probably the longest research program ever”, stressing that the methods used to observe the skies, collate the data, discover irregularities and then associate these with witnessed events set the method for deriving scientific proof that later established a standard in classical Greece.3 These endeavours were the last truly grand-scale statistical survey of the sky, with resources made readily available for the simple purpose of watching, recording and learning.

This is not to suggest that the omens arose from purely objective analysis. Such records allowed the Mesopotamians to check and verify calculations and interpretations over a long period, and to monitor their effectiveness and reliability; but from the start, we can assume that celestial movements were ‘read’ to reveal meaning through their underlying symbolic 1

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principles. The sense of light and motion, and also the qualities attached to directions or the act of rising and falling, were very significant. As noted, the direction east was indicative of growth and increase (because planets rise in the east), whilst the west suggested destruction or hostile influences (planets set or ‘perish’ in the west).4 Some of the basic symbolic principles that were relevant include: Luminosity, clarity, colour – light symbolises creativity, vitality, activity, brilliance and power, and that which is exposed for all to see, therefore truth and justice. Darkness suggests the lack or inversion of these qualities. Planets that shine brightly resonate importance, with the Sun naturally taken as the primary symbol of kingship.5 Planets that increase in luminosity show expansion of power and status, those that are dimming or becoming invisible show weakening and the possibility of destruction or retreat. A planet that occults another planet or star indicates one power either obliterating another or absorbing its strength into its own. Clarity or distinction also represents the expression, or gain, of personal power, vitality, strength and single-minded commitment to purpose. Star clusters that are indistinct or nebulous suggest forces of weakness, dissipation of energies, confusion, blindness, or the inability to be focused and strike with decision.

Height, speed, motion – height offers a simple representation of prestige, esteem and resource; the higher the planet, the more superior it becomes in signification.6 A planet gaining latitude (therefore appearing higher than usual in the celestial sphere) suggests an increase in status; those losing latitude (drawing closer to the horizon) suggest depression or subservience.

Speed of movement symbolises efficiency of action and vigour; planets moving more quickly than normal demonstrate greater energy, urgency and confidence; those that are slowing show hesitation and incompetence. The Mesopotamians considered the periods where planets station and then change direction as especially ominous, indicating confusion, retreat, or the repeat of previous actions or experiences. In a world which strove for order, all strange change symbolised unfortunate elements of chaos, as seen in this astrologer’s warning to the king:

In his review of Rochberg’s Heavenly Writing (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2004) Hermann Hunger says the full title includes reference to Ea, the god of waters, but the name of the third god got dropped by abbreviation; ircps.org/publications/aestimatio/pdf/2004-12-06_HungerBW.pdf.

Hunger & Pingree, Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia. (Brill, Leiden, 1999), p.2: “They are preserved in a fragmentary sequence from Babylon from -651 to -60, but probably began to be compiled in -746 and continued to about 75 A.D.”.

J. Lendering, ‘Astronomical Diaries’; livius.org/articles/concept/astronomical-diaries. Extracts of the diaries with transliteration and English translation by H. Hunger and A. J. Sachs are available online at http://www.attalus.org/docs/diaries.html.

The original meaning of the Latin term for the west, occident was ‘falling’, ‘setting’ or ‘perishing’ (as in sunset). The Latin term for the east derives from oriens, which originally meant ‘rising’, or ‘emerging’ (as in sunrise).

Omens such as No. 170 translated by Thompson proclaim: “The Sun is the king’s star”. See also Simo Parpola’s illuminating article on how the king’s purity of body and mind was essential to guarantee his alignment with the Sun: ‘Sons of God - The Ideology of Assyrian Kingship’.

Archaeology Odissy Archives, December 1999.

The basic instinct to enhance esteem/superiority through an increase of height is seen in the wearing of crowns, horns and extended headwear.

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When the planet Mars comes out from the warfare.4 Out of similar reasoning, a planet or star constellation Scorpio, turns and re-enters Scorpio contained within the halo of the Moon suggests … do not neglect your guard, the king should not constraint or capture. One report presents the omen go outdoors on an evil day.1 “when a halo surrounds the Moon and Jupiter stands within it, the king will be besieged” but reassures the The symbolic connotations of movement were king that this phenomenon need not point to evil also applied to the direction of winds, which brought because the halo was not fully joined, and so an outlet the movement of clouds, thunder and lightning. To was available whereby danger could be evaded.5 the Mesopotamians, motion was the first principle of life, and all movement, such as that possessed by the Other omens show emergence of now-established wind, represented an active life-force. Strong winds meteorological principles, such as those that from the east suggest powerful forces of benefit to the proclaim the likelihood of rain from the presence of a ruler; those from the west warn of destruction. North halo around the Moon (halos are formed by moisture winds, ever associated with in the atmosphere) or those Jupiter,2 were beneficial for that state that when the Moon agriculture because they were is large there is increased cooling in a naturally hot and possibility of eclipse (eclipses arid region; south winds were only occur when the Moon is often feared because they on or close to the ecliptic). brought most of the storms.

Risings and settings – all Also, the direction of a strong tablets reveal a focus of wind in an ominous omen such attention on the heliacal rising as an eclipse indicated the and setting of planets and prospect of invasion from “The more observant farmers and herdsmen stars, showing that the territories in that direction. indeed, conjecture, from the winds prevailing Mesopotamians, like the at the time of impregnation and of the sowing Periods of no wind were of the seed, the quality of what will result” Egyptians, regarded the Sun as worrying too, suggesting a (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, I.2) a source of creative power and lack of impetus and life force placed a heavy emphasis on through the disinterest of the planetary cycles as they air god Enlil – they might be emerged from, and then drew associated with stagnation or back into the Sun’s light. A famine, in the same way that an Four-winged ‘helical setting’ is where the absence of rain brought the Air god: Enlil Sun has moved close enough 3 problem of drought. to a planet or star to render it Lunar manifestation – invisible by day and night (the planet moves through many omens concern the colour and visual the sky together with the Sun and is therefore appearance of the Moon as it moves between the masked by its light). Having become invisible, the planets or surrounding constellations. Whether the Mesopotamians considered such a planet to have lost Moon is brightening or darkening, rising above all its power of active expression. As the two bodies another body (symbolising supremacy) or appearing separate, eventually the planet reemerges, at first low on the horizon were crucial points of very briefly, in the east before sunrise.6 This reappearance is the ‘heliacal rising’, the emergence consideration. Attention was given to the inclination from the glare of the Sun, representing a newly of the crescent, the appearance of its horns, and halos invigorated cycle of planetary or stellar activity. around the Moon. If the horns are bright or sharply When the Mesopotamian or even classical pointed they suggest the potential for attack, being astrologers talk of planets or stars ‘rising’ or ‘setting’ likened to the horns of animals or the tools of 1

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Simo Parpola, Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Earshaddon and Assurbanipal I; (Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1970) pp.9-11. To this interpretation is added a note that it comes “not from the ‘series’ but ‘from the oral tradition of the masters’”.

Keep in mind with regard to an upcoming exploration of planetary exaltations: M=exalted in ~ (E), h in Ç (N); i in Ö (W); c in à (S).

An example reported in Weidner, ‘Historiches Material in der Babyonischen Omina-Literatur’ Altorientalische Studien, (Leipzig, 1929): “When the Jupiter turns his face whilst rising towards the west … and no wind blows, there will be a famine and disaster will rule” (236).

Examples from Thompson: tablet 26: “When at the Moon’s appearance (its horns) are pointed, the king wherever his face is set will rule the land, wherever he presses on will overcome”; tablet 30: “When at the Moon’s appearance its right horn is long and its left horn is short, the king’s hand will conquer a land other than this”; tablet 35 “When at the Moon’s appearance its horns are sharp and bright, the king … wherever his face is set will rule the lands”.

Ibid. tablet 92, lii.

Heliacal = Gk: ‘Sun’. The ‘setting’ of the superior planets and fixed stars (that is, their last moment of visibility) occurs in the west after sunset.

They remain invisible until the Sun has separated by about 8-20°, enough for the planet or star to become visible in the east shortly before sunrise. Venus and Mercury, because they revolve around the Sun within the orbit of the Earth, are capable of rising or setting in the east before sunrise or in the west after sunset, depending upon whether they are experiencing inferior or superior conjunction. The Moon, because it is always moving faster than the Sun, is the only body to always rise in the west after sunset and set in the east before sunrise.

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they often mean emerging from or setting into the light of the Sun, in reference to major periods of moving from invisibility to visibility (some of which could last for months), rather than the daily rising or setting over the horizon.

Every disappearance and reappearance of the Moon is a heliacal setting or rising – these were obviously important for both symbolic and practical reasons since the commencement of each new month was tied to the noted visible reappearance of the Moon. Above all, the most important responsibility the astrologers held was to keep the civil calendar aligned to observed astronomical cycles. They knew that each lunation (the return from New Moon to New Moon) was just over 29½ days, so their civil calendar worked on an approximation of each month lasting 30 days, with an extra month added every few years to correct the discrepancy when the civil and lunar calendars started to drift.

Although they were brilliant mathematicians, the Mesopotamians had a hard task predicting when the New Moon would become visible – its appearance depends on more than local weather conditions since the daily motion of both the Sun and Moon can vary from the average, the Sun being fairly consistent but the Moon ranging in motion between 11°-15° per day. The variability between the ecliptic and horizon (for Babylon, between 30°-80° depending on the time of year) and the shifting latitude of the Moon also affected the calculation.1 Many omens show that the Moon’s appearance on the day calculated as the first of the civil month was auspicious; this confirmed that the calendar month was concurrent with the lunar month, so order had prevailed. The appearance of the Moon on, say, the 30th day of the calendar month was troubling, bringing predictions of coldness, the “clamour of the enemy”, devastation, or “a foreign tongue gaining ascendancy”.2 For the same reason, the appearance of the Sun and Moon “with one another” (i.e., in opposition: a Full Moon) on the 14th or 15th days of the month was beneficial and indicative of peace or calm. But if the Full Moon fell on the 12th, 13th or 16th day of the month, this augured that the Moon was out of its proper place, portending hindrances, delays, threats and hostilities. The following reports show the trepidation that arose when New and Full Moons contradicted the calculation of the calendar: When the Moon appears out of its expected time, the market will be low…. When the Moon and Sun

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are seen with one another out of their expected time, a strong enemy will overcome the land.

When the Moon on the 14th or 15th of Sebat is not seen with the Sun, a copious flood will come and the crops will be diminished.

When the Moon on the 14th or 15th of Tammuz is not seen with the Sun, the king will be besieged in his palace. These five months on the 14th day the Moon has not been seen with the Sun. May the king, my lord, know and give heed.3

Eclipses Eclipses were of special interest to the king since the darkening of the luminaries was an ill omen, often recorded alongside reports of plague or danger to the ruler. When an eclipse presented threatening symbolism, attempts to balance the malice and draw celestial favour were made by prayers, sacrifices, or commitment to the expansion of temples. There are also many reports of a pseudo-king being appointed to act as a scapegoat for the prophecy.4 The following record shows the sort of factors that went into the interpretation of an eclipse: … an eclipse occurs in the Siwan on the 14th day and the [Moon] god, darkening, darkens at the east side above and brightens on the west side below, a north wind gets up in the first night and abates. In the middle night watch the [Moon] god, who in his darkening darkens at the east side above, and brightens at the west side below ... will give therein a decision for the King of Ur: Ur will see famine, the dead will be numerous. [As to] the king of Ur, his son will do violence to him.5

The Substitute King

Astrologer-priests played a role in choosing the substitute king. After ceremonial selection, he was furnished with the king’s robes and led through various rituals to secure his vestiture.

A young woman would be chosen to be his queen – she was as destined to doom as he was. The real king withdrew from public view until the danger period passed, during which the substitute monarchs were offered as sacrifices to avert the malice suggested by the omen. Only after the substitutes were killed and all rituals were completed, would the real king emerge again to reassume command.

For detailed discussion of the problems involved, see Neugebauer, Exact Sciences in Antiquity, (Dover Publications, 1969), I, 7-8 and V, 106-109.

Thompson, pp.xliv – xlvii.

Ibid. tablets 88, 119, 168, 166 and 164 respectively.

For a detailed account see, see J. Bottero, Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the Gods, ch.9: ‘The Substitute King and His Fate’, (UCP, 1992).

E. Reiner and D. Pingree, Babylonian Planetary Omens II: Enuma Anu Enlil Tablets 50-51; (Undena Publications, 1981) 2.II.

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The movement of the shadow across the Moon was scrutinised to judge the regions most likely to be affected by the malice of the eclipse, with the lunar disc divided into quadrants, each given to a bordering territory.1 Here the darkening “at the east side above” and the brightening “on the west side below” presents a threat to the established power from a younger or emerging inferior force, as seen in the reference to the son. Another eclipse omen described in the ancient Enuma Anu Enlil series offers a more detailed warning of invasion: If on either the 13th or 14th Ulûlu the Moon is dark … as it covered, the west wind blew; the sky is dark; his light is covered. The son of the king will become purified for the throne but will not take the throne. An intruder will come with the princes of the west; for eight years he will exercise kingship; he will conquer the enemy army; there will be abundance and riches on his path; he will continually pursue his enemies; and his luck will not run out.2 This omen has been explored by Jona Lendering as one that bears spectacular resonance to the events preceding Alexander the Great’s defeat of the Persian king Darius at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE, which led to Alexander’s conquest of Babylon and the effective demise of the Mesopotamian civilisation. A lunar eclipse of this nature did indeed fall on the 13th Ulûlu that year, which equates to 20 September in the Julian calendar, days before the Battle of Gaugamela

commenced.3 It was noted in the Astronomical Diaries of the time as follows: Day 13: Sunset to moonrise: 8º. There was a lunar eclipse. Its totality was covered at the moment when Jupiter set and Saturn rose. During totality the west wind blew, during clearing, the east wind.

During the eclipse, deaths and plague occurred.

A follow-up entry explains that at that time Jupiter was in Scorpio; Venus was in Leo; Saturn was in Pisces; and Mercury and Mars were not visible (because they were with the Sun). The diary goes on to record that Alexander’s army caused panic when it camped in front of the king’s forces, and that Alexander “erected his standard and attacked” on the morning of the 24th Ulûlu (1st October). The Persian king suffered a “heavy defeat” and his remaining troops (perhaps following the direction of the wind in the clearing) “fled to the east”.4 Lendering suggests that widespread awareness of the older omen would have contributed to the panic in the camp. The western wind at the beginning of the eclipse warns of the threat from a western power, and with Saturn visibly rising in the east in conjunction with the eclipsed Moon, and Jupiter setting into the west, the element of doom was compounded. With respect to the older prophecy, Alexander’s luck did continue to flow unhindered for eight years, the period in which he “exercised his kingship” until his death in Babylon in June, 323 BCE.5

This is the second in a series of related articles about the development of astrology in ancient Mesopotamia. The next issue will consider their astronomical advances, development of the zodiac, and use of horoscopes.

Omen eclipse: Babylon 8pm LMT 20 Sep -331 JC

Above: 4th century Bas relief of Alexander attacking in the Battle of Gaugamela.

Right: the eclipse that presaged the fall of Babylon (backdrop shows scene of the battle).

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Hunger & Pingree, p.16.

29th ahû tablet of Enûma Anu Enlil; obv.59-61.

The Julian calendar dates are: eclipse 20 September 331 BCE; the battle commended in the morning of 1st October, at modern day Erbil, close to Mosul in Iraq. The Gregorian calendar dates are 15 September and 26 September respectively.

The omens, as they relate to the events of Alexander’s conquest and death, are explored at length in Lendering’s book Alexander de Grote. De ondergang van het Perzische rijk (Alexander the Great: The demise of the Persian Empire), (Athenaeum, Amsterdam, 2004).

Based on the report of the king’s death in the astronomical diaries, Jona Lendering calculated the time of Alexander’s death as late afternoon, 11 June 323 BCE (JC). There is an excellent article by Lendering covering the astrological and eclipse omens that had forewarned of Alexander’s death, and the attempts he made to divert the danger through ceremonial acts, donations to temples and the execution of a ‘scapegoat king’: https://www.livius.org/articles/person/alexander-the-great/alexander-3.6-last-days/.

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SKYSCRIPT MEMBER TALKS If you subscribe to this newsletter, you are invited to both of these upcoming events: Friday 7th July 2023

AN INTRODUCTION TO ESOTERIC ASTROLOGY The mysteries embedded in the prolific works of early 20th-century mystic Alice A. Bailey, including her Esoteric Astrology, have lain dormant for decades. Where interest has been piqued, it has quickly dissipated, its subject matter too impenetrable or abstruse or simply incompatible with mainstream astrology which, despite the occasional nod to the philosophy of antiquity, generally steers well clear of the notion that humans are somehow inhabited by an immortal soul – and worse, that we astrologers might be having open discussions with our clients about it!

In this talk, LARA VAN ZUYDAM will present the basics of Bailey’s Esoteric Astrology from Lara’s perspective, offering information in a digestible form to those who might find it helpful in their practices (or simply want to find out more!)

Start: 5:30 pm UTC – New York: 1:30 pm | London: 6:30 pm [other local times on this link] | duration ≈ 60 mins

ALL MEMBER-TIERS INVITED TO ESOTERIC ASTROLOGY & NEPUNALIA Saturday 22nd July 2023: NEPTUNALIA Imagine the inverse of Saturnalia. The Roman festival of Neptunalia, honouring the God of Waters, was always held in the height of summer (around 23rd July). Equated with Poseidon, Lord of all things moist or misty, and also known as Neptunus Equester, ‘nebulous horse-lord’, Jupiter’s older brother is the god of horses, horsemanship (and horse racing), as well as the sea, whose rage produces storms, floods, tempests and earthquakes. This festival is still held in parts of the world under different guises (e.g., the Tunisian Carnival of Awussu), but why in the hottest, droughtfilled time of year? Think manifestation!

Let’s gather together and merge as a collective to reflect on the god’s origins and mythology, the planet’s discovery and astronomical details, and Neptune’s astrological characteristics and value in chart work.

If you have views, anecdotes, or interesting chart experiences to share in this meeting, please give me a heads up by email – I have various historical and modern chart scenarios to explore but am keen to incorporate group thoughts and encourage debate.

Neptunalia Detail of Poseidon riding a sea-horse from an Etruscan drinking cup 6th c. BC

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Start: 3:30 pm UTC – New York: 11:30 am | London: 4:30 pm [check other local times on this link] | duration ≈ 2 hrs

Manilius reading group begins 3rd August – full details on the Skyscript member’s page

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