The element of Air governs intellect and all forms of verbal or written communication. It works with Fire, Water and Earth. Physically it consists of several gases : nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, methane, helium, neon, krypton, hydrogen and many more. It’s invisible. We see it through what it does.
It bends the trees as wind, can carry massive volumes of water in hurricanes. It appears to self propel in tornadoes.
Fire needs air: but a strong wind on a minor fire can soon become a catastrophe. We see it most often when it works with water. The jet stream requires both elements plus heat from the Sun. Clouds are moved. Oceans stirred up into great storms.
octahedrorn
The original meaning of Aquarius isn’t entirely clear. It is said that he got the name Water Carrier because he brought seasonal rains. But Aquarius is in the middle of winter and less *wet* than either Libra or Gemini because of it. He’s under the governance of Dry Saturn after all.Even if we take precession into account, it’s still a stretch; and the greatest rains of all are the monsoons that occur n the late Summer.
In my estimation the Water Carrier operates on a far grander scale and is not dependent on the seasons. Air quite literally carries water.Because Air is Intellect, this power can translate to the ability to move people’s thought in concert with the emotional element of Water.Air can stir things up with Earth or feed Fire. We use terms like a breath of fresh air to describe a welcome change, physical or mental. We might say someone has a breezy or sanguine character Without air, macrocosmically or microcosmically we suffocate.
Air is represented by the sword because of its ability to cut through illusion or confusion. Manjushri is the Buddhist Archetype of Wisdom. In his right hand he holds a flaming sword, a symbol of cutting through the roots of ignorance, including spiritual materialism. See also the Japanese Sword Dance video
The element is associated with the origins of things and particularly ideas. In ritual, Air is in the East, the inspiration, the Rising Sun. All creative action begins with inspiration.
The Air Triplicity consists of Libra, Aquarius and Gemini, ruled by Venus, Saturn and Mercury respectively. We have discussed Aquarius and there is a fairly comprehensive article published here quite recently
Gemini is the Air Element in Mutable – once might even say Protean mode. Gemini spreads ideas with the speed of Quicksilver. Ideas can consist of anything, but Mercury the Element and Gemini the Sign like to roll over the surface of things, rather than penetrating the depths. Libra is Cardinal Air.
Cardinal initiates. Libra is both Masculine and Venusian. Sun in Libra is in his Fall here, opposing the Sun’s exaltation in Aries. Libra seek balance before all things and all of the visual and musical arts are a primary form of persuasion through artistic seduction. We’re drawn to beauty and changed in its presence..
The intended readership of this article is the informed astrological neophyte, although I hope practicing astrologers will find something of value as well.
In Astrology we use the four elements: Earth, Water, Fire and Air. The fifth or Quintessence is the source of them all.
We have become accustomed to thinking of such things in the abstract; but these are live and dynamic elements, each with unique and complex characteristics. The doctrine of As above, So below doesn’t just apply some of the time. It applies always. Consciousness and vital expression is everywhere.
My goal is to use the study of each element from many perspectives to be ultimately used in the interpretation of horoscopes: to experience the elements as not only living, but divine, both in the microcosm and the macrocosm. One of the most regrettable blind allies taken by students of Traditional Astrology is to divorce the Art not only from psychological concerns but spiritual ones as well. This can lead to a very dry materialism that puts little or no value on the spiritual.
Considering the Neo Platonic, Pythagorean and Hermetic philosophies that inform the art, this is a sad state of affairs. I read not so long ago that “Modern astrology has no brains and Traditional Astrology has no soul.” Technicalities can become an end in themselves.
The most concise definition of astrology is ‘the practical application of astronomy to human use.’ Titus Burckhardt writes: “our response to it must necessarily hinge on our understanding of what it means to be human ” (Ibn Arabi p.5). If our essential interconnectedness with all that is and all that will ever be is ignored, we become greatly diminished as human beings; but what might have been a sad fact at another time in history is inexorably linked to our own survival and the survival of thousands of other species in our own lifetime. The deliberate or unconscious pollution of the oceans, for example, is immediately connected with spiritual sickness. It is the act of someone who has no idea of who they really are.
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When we consider this in light of a particular chart, we will of course want to know how a given element expresses itself in the horoscope. This perhaps sounds all too obvious, but you will never meet anyone with the same chart as you, no matter how long you live. ‘
Likewise, no two drops of water are identical. So while it is tempting to think of an element as one thing, we must also take into account that the same element exists in many different states. Most obviously we have water, ice and clouds in the Water Triplicity. but that’s just the beginning.
Cornelius Agrippa discusses this at great length in Bk I of Occult Philosophy, using the language of his own times. However, Jakob Boehme and William Blake were just as expressive of this reality – “To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour” is on the mark. (Augeries of Innocence)”
In Hermetic Philosophy elements are not just things, categories or qualities. Everything is imbued with spirit and everything we can know see has consciousness: “Everything That Lives is Holy” (Blake MHH).
Water is incredibly dangerous. Traditionally this is one reason that Saturn was given governance over seafarers. This also carries the meaning of the extremities or ‘furthest reaches’ as Saturn is the furthermost visible planet. The ocean was regarded as both chaos and the source of life in cultural mythologies.
milky-way-galaxy
Water is essential to life. Either too much or too little can mean the difference between life and death. She gives and takes life.
The human body is approximately 2/3 water. About 83 percent of our blood is water, which helps digest our food, transport waste, and control body temperature. Each day humans must replace 2.4 litres of water, some through drinking and the rest taken by the body from the foods eaten.
Great civilizations grew up around rivers, such as the Euphrates, the Nile, the Indus, the Mekong, the Yangtze, the Danube and the Ganges. The Egyptians refer to the Milky Way as the “true Nile.” The Indians say the Milky Way is the Heavenly Ganges.
Rivers are often a place of worship and most specifically ritual purification. The Ganges is a goddess to Hindus. The bather in the Ganges is letting the waters of the goddess dissolve all physical and spiritual impurities. She is alive and responsive.
Because water retains memory, the person drinking water at the mouth of the Rhine is taking in more information than one drinking at the source of the Rhine (see video 1)
This is science in accordance with the spirit of Hermetic doctrine
Indian mythology equates the river Ganges with the Milky Way. According to Vedic lore Ganga (Ganges) resided in the sky (Milky Way) and was called Akash Ganga’ or Sky-River.
All Signs of the Water Triplicity are Feminine and Receptive. In other words, they are absorbent.
This is more true of Pisces than Cancer and Scorpio because the fishes have no armor. But the principle applies to all three nevertheless.
Water is highly receptive and demonstrably responsive to sound waves or in fact being in contact with anything, It is not malleable as is Earth; but it will conform to any container.
It is not my intent here to go into any detail regarding the signs. That is for another post. But we can take a quick look at a couple of examples to see the principle at play.
Yangtze River
With the Moon in Cancer she is in her own domicile. The Moon is the most reflective of all luminaries and planets.
The Moon governs memory. Both luminary and sign are feminine and receptive.
To put it simply, the Moon functions best in her own home.
Venus is exalted in Pisces. Again we have feminine with feminine.
The selfless nature of Pisces produces what we can call an optimum Venus because she is spiritualized. But she is even better off in Libra or Taurus predominantly through art and sensuality respectively, balanced and stable. Libra and Taurus are her domiciles.
Elements perform best when placed with harmonious planets and luminaries: particularly in their domicile or exaltation. In the case of water signs, they are particularly impressionable and absorbent.
Massive wave near Australia’s Bondi beach
The element of water is highly intuitive and, unless otherwise afflicted, highly empathic.
Those with strong water signatures in the horoscope need to drink more water than most and do well near large bodies of water. Salt water can absorb *negative energy* even is used in a small receptacle at home.
Pisces, the most Feminine sign of all, needs to cleanse themselves from the excess of negative energy absorbed. Pisces is like a sponge and requires more time alone to recharge than any other sign.
Belugas playing in the Arctic
Most I think are aware of the relationship of water to positive or negative ions. A negative Ion is an atom or molecule that has absorbed one or more extra negatively charged electrons. Negative ions are highly beneficial. They are generated by evaporating water, ocean surf, or waterfalls.
It should be an easy task to connect the spiritual and the material by understanding the essential nature of any element. But all the true Arts take many years to master. The doctrine of As above, So below will become increasingly profound in the process
EarthSky Facebook friend Janet Furlong in Culpeper, Virginia took this photo on January 19, 2013. The two brightest objects are the moon and Jupiter. View larger. Janet says: Step outside and lift your head up and view the sky. Totally gorgeous … so much to see tonight.
Mark your calendar for January 21, 2013 – a close conjunction of the moon and Jupiter as seen from around the world – the closest the moon and Jupiter will appear in North America until the year 2026! Courtesy http://earthsky.org/
Here’s the chart for the time of partile conjunction. It’s set for Greenwich Mean Time (22 January 2013 @ 03.12.49 ) Using GMT makes it easier to adapt the chart to your own time zone. May you have clear skies and warm mitttens !
SOL.] The Sun is placed in the middle of all Planets, and is called amongst the Ancients, both Poets and Historians, Sol, Titan, Ilioa, Phebus, Apollo, Pean, Osyris, Diespiter: It’s needlesse to mention his Colour, being so continuallly visible to all mortal men: He passeth through all the twelve Signs of the Zodiack in one yeer, or 365 dayes and certain hours. The Sun governeth the fiery Triplicity, viz. Aries, Leo, Sagittarius by day (W.Lilly CA I).
Vettius Valens begins his anthology in praise of the Sun :” In a nativity the all-seeing sun, nature’s fire and intellectual light, the organ of mental perception, indicates kingship, rule, intellect, intelligence, beauty & …”).
Eye of Horus- Courtesy National Geographic 1
We are literally made of star-dust. The Sun is the primary giver of life on Earth. It’s not hard to understand why the circle with the dot in the middle is among the most ancient of symbols. Also know as the circumpunct, it’s is the glyph of the astrological Sun. It signifies Divine spirit (circle) surrounding the seed of potential – the Solar Essence.
Astronomers tells us that all the elements heavier than hydrogen originated inside stars: “The carbon in the ink on a page, and the silicon in glass and microchips, were created in the heart of a star, long ago, as that star shined by fusing hydrogen. The iron that carries the oxygen in your blood as you read this, was created when a star, in its dying phase, exploded. ” (Gerald Grow 1997) Science is finally catching up to Ancient wisdom.
Worship of the Sun and Sun Gods is ubiquitous. In Egypt it was the beginning of monotheism. The All-Seeing eye of Horus is a variation of the Solar symbol.
The Babylonians usesd the Solar Disk, often with wings, but they also had a number system for the luminaries and planets. The Sun was represented as a four pointed star with rays between each one.
Just as the physical Sun is the centre of the Solar System, the Sun is at the heart of our own being., ruling both visi0n and heart. Both may be taken physically or spiritually.. When we say someone is warm or cold hearted, we are really saying they have abundance or lack of Spirit. Likewise, when we say there is lack of vision, we also mean lack of light – again, physically or spiritualy. As above, so below.
Solar Disk – Church of the sacred tomb in-Jerusalem
I’m reminded of a mantra that translates as ‘all evil vanishes for he who keeps the Sun in his heart.’
This is of course the reason for ancient fear and awe during eclipses. It’s as if the source of life is being consumed, meanng not just loss of human life but of all that exists. That is in fact the language used to describe the event in many cultures.
So, when ill dignified. Lilly tells us that “Solar man is Arrogant and Proud, disdaining all men, cracking of his Pedegree, he is Pur-blind in Sight and Judgment, restlesse, troublesome, domineerning; a meer vapour, expensive, foolish, endued with no gravity in words, or sobernesse in Actions, a Spend—thrift, wasting his Patrimony, and hanging after an other mens charity, yet thinks all men are bound to him, because a Gentleman born. (CA I).
In short, he is everything that is not noble – his selfishness and ego eclipse his solar nature.
These are just a few passing thoughts you may wish to consider when interpreting the Sun in a horoscope
This is to discuss some of the etymological and ubiquitous symbolic qualities of the Sky God known by several names, but most famously as Zeus or Jupiter. He is perhaps best known as the Master of the Heavens.
He was identified by the Romans as Jupiter or Jove. Jupiter is known as the earth-shaker. At will, he could summon rain, snow, hail, and all other meteorological phenomena. He married his sister Hera. Zeus was known for his countless love affairs. Neither chastity nor restraint are jovial attributes.
The son of Jupiter was Bacchus , synonymous with the Greek Dionysus. He shares some of his father’s traits, but in exaggerated form. He is typically depicted as the god of harvest, grapes, fertility and theater: other traits such as drunkenness, altered states including ecstasy makes him the opposite of Apollo.The “Apollonian and the Dionysian” have been identified as archetypes in their own right.
Apollo, Dionysus & Hermes-Feasting. C. 450 BC
Dionysus was very much his father’s son and was the subject of Mystery Cults, particularly in Greece.
Jupiter’s most feared and revered weapon was the lightning bolt, forged for him by the Cyclopes. Most cultures have a deity sharing enough similarities to associate it with Zeus.
Zeus’ name translates to “Bright Sky.” The letter zeta, is the Greek letter z for Zeus. Zeus is Jupiter’s namesake in Greek mythology. The same symbol represents tin, since it is one of the planetary metals in alchemy. His Roman names are Jupiter and Jove. He is usually shown with his characteristic scepter and attendant eagles
I view the planets and luminaries as powerful archetypes, recognized cross culturally and for millenia. I prefer to think of these archetypes as Plato’s Forms.
This isn’t a modern idea as some misguided Traditional astrologers would say. It’s primordial.
Indra, the Hindu king of the gods, is always shown with a vajra (thunderbolt) held aloft in his right hand. He too is an Earth shaker and bringer of all kinds of meteorological phenomena.
Images of Jupiter and Zeus were employed to portray Christ, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church, but there are plenty of examples to be found throughout Christendom. Justin Martyr is said to have converted a man to Christianity by assuring him that the Christian God was just like Zeus ! Read Plato’s On the Soul’s Recollecting True Being and Beauty from The Phaedrus for a the Platonic and Neo-Platonic conception of Zeus.
In astrology, Jupiter is a rich matrix of symbolism greater than the sum of its parts. He is power, excess, benevolence, jurisprudence. philosophy, joviality, exaggeration, generosity, and largesse. The thought of “the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom” comes to mind ( William Blake – The Marriage of Heaven & Hell)
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Europeans , Central and South Asians migrated from a common region in and around what used to be called Aryana. The term Indo European can be taken more literally than it has been.
The Celts had deities which are almost perfect parallels to Greek and Indian gods. There are perhaps thousands of words in English almost identical to Sanskrit: for example, such as naam and name. The Celts had deities which are almost perfect parallels to Greek and Indian gods. See this article for a list of thunder gods
I stress this because our recovery and understanding of ancient astrology depends on having some deeper knowledge of anthropology as well as philology, history. philosophy and geography.
Alexander defeats the Persians 01 Oct 0331 BC 12 00
Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was the king of Macedonia in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. He seemed like the embodiment of Mars. It’s hard to imagine what Aristotle taught him. There has been speculation that he either killed or arrraged the death of his father
Sun Symbol of King-Philip II of Macedonia
Persian Ram C. 350 B.C.
The Achaemenid Persian Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire or First Iranian Empire, was a Persian empire founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation.Darius III, whose original given name was Artashata and was also known as Codomannus by the Greeks. He was the last King of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC.During his brief reign, he sent messages to Alexander offering, money, power and the hand of his daughter in marriage.
The offers became increasingly generous.Alexander had no interest whatsoever. It was a case of winner take all. There have been precious few in the history of humanity with greater bloodlust that Alexander.
Darius wanted Alexander as a friend and made no attempt to stop him from crossing the Euphrates. However he finally realized he had to stop the Macedonians from sacking the Persian Empire.
Attempting to stop Alexander, Darius prepared a battleground on the Plain of Gaugamela, near Arbela (present-day Irbil in northern Iraq), and posted his troops to await Alexander’s advance.His total forces greatly outnumbered those of Alexander, whose forces amounted to about 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry.
Macedonian Empire
The Battle of Gaugamela, also called Battle of Arabela, saw the clash between the forces of Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia. It decided the fate of the Persian empire and beginning of what I’ll call Pan Hellenism. The huge part of Asia previously known as Aryana, Babylon, Egypt and part of India became part of the Macedonian Empire. Increasingly the language became Greek. The victory all but ensured that he would be he master of southwest Asia.
Background and context have always been crucial to the practice of Mundane astrology. We need to know something about who, where and when. Claudius Ptolemy and other astrologer – astronomers have put certain countries, or even large parts of continents under the governance of planets and luminaries. That can only be done with knowledge of the parts of the Earth in question.
Mars Sun & Spica
This is one of the most momentous events in the history of civilzation. Barbaric as it was, it founded a new kind of world where people from all over the world can speak the same language and share thier knowledge on almost anuything. If we move forward a few centuries, this culminates in the School of Alexaandria.
The spherical chart at the top of the page is set for the time of the defeat of Darius or victory of Alexander, depending on your point of view. This is much closer portrayal of the astrology of Mesopotamian, Babylon, Persia and Chadea at that time in history. Theirs was a visual astrology and they didn’t use the horoscopic charts we are familiar with today. The first thing you might notice is the substantial shift due to precession of the equinox.
Darius Defeat
Total Lunar Eclipse : Sept. 20 0331 BC
The horoscopic chart set for the same time of the defeat might seem to be unremarkable. There doesn’t seem to be anything in it that’s good enough to ensure a victory or bad enough to spell the end of a great Empire and the death of its King. But the applying Mars opposition to Saturn, the South Node and the Moon is particularly viscous because of the participation of the Nodes.
When we compare this to where the Eclipse fell, we can see how this could set the stage. However, when we bring the stars into the picture, this opposition is overwhelming. The Sun and Mars are with Spica. Spica is usually associated with brilliance. This can be seen clearly in the second spherical chart. The battle was won because Alexander was one of the greatest military strategists in history. This nullified the huge discrepancy in number or troops. If you are unsure of the exact date of an event, using parans as well as conjunctions to fixed stars can be very helpful
There was a Total Lunar Eclipse 20 September 0331 B.C. at 9:16 pm, not long after sunset at 22 Piscses 45.
John Timperman has brought this to my attention: “Saturn was rising in the path of ANU and Jupiter is setting, it was considered a very bad omen for the reigning king. ”
Darius’ astrologers would have been keenly aware of this and that might explain why Darius III tried to bargain with Alexander and not stop him crossing the Euphrates .
The English Civil War had numerous causes but the character of Charles I must be considered as one of the chief reasons. He had what we might call today, delusions of grandeur. Of course in those times it was better known as the Divine Right of the Monarch.
Like his father, he felt Paliament was there to serve his needs. Being questioned about them was not cheerfully accepted. From 1625 to 1629 the King argued with Parliament over almost everything, but money and religion were at the top of the list. Charles subsequently suspended Parliament for eleven years. The period is now known as the Eleven Years Tyranny.
To add much fuel to the fire, Charles married Henrietta Maria, a devout French Catholic. This would heavily influence the court and to some extent the fate of Charles, particularly during the initial years of marriage. Charles liked to call her Maria, with the Catholic leaning English people calling her “Queen Mary.” The association with Charles’ Catholic grandmother could hardly be missed.
Fear and loathing of *popery* in the English seventeenth century should not be underestimated. Even so, it’s unlikely that most could have predicted that the civil war, started in 1642, would end with the public beheading of Charles. His arch nemesis is considered to be Oliver Cromwell who was among those signing the death warrant of the King. Cromwell and his circle were vindictive, not only seeking the demise of the King but the brutal conquest of Ireland. Regicide was something most would have considered impossible and probably unforgivable, but not so Cromwell.
William Lilly had developed a great interest in the politics of revolutionary England. His first almanac, Merlinus Anglicus Junior, was published in April of 1644. It was immediately popular. In it he predicted the King’s humiliating defeat at the Battle of Naseby in June 1645.
As far as I know, there has been no astrological study published on the Declaration Chart with consideration given to Superior Conjunctions as well as the preceding lunar eclipse. I’ve also drawn a chart for the Vernal Equinox to determine the Lord of the Year according to the rules of Bonatti. Here’s the chart for the equinox.
Vernal Equinox 1642
The Sun is in the Ninth House of his Joy, in Sect and Exalted in Aries. The Sun also disposits the Leo Ascendant. The Moon in Scorpio is separating from a square to the Ascendant, to trine the Sun as she enters Saggitarius.
This is one case where the Lord of the Year is very easy to find. It’s the Sun and the Sign of Royalty. This is the annual background chart, setting the tone for the year of the Declaration of War. Let’s now look at the chart for the declaration itself. The English Civil War between the English King & Parliament began at 6:15pm on 22 August 1642 when Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham, according to John Gadbury (Campion).
It seems clear that no astrologer was consulted. Although it isn’t a complete disaster it is far from ideal for something as important as the declaration of war. It’s as if he had turned a dagger on himself
The Ascendant in Aquarius is disposited by a Peregrine Saturn in Pisces in Conjunction with a dignified, but retrograde Jupiter in the same sign. Saturn is the undisputed Almuten Figura.
The Lord of the Geniture is Mercury in Virgo, opposed to his house of Joy and Under the Beams. The Moon at zero degrees Leo is peregrine. She is below the horizon in the sixth house, representative of the King’s subjects and servants. We can say the King and those closely associated with him were, in this respect, in essential harmony. He did have his supporters. This was to be a civil war after all. She is transiting into her domicile, but is still relatively weak and separating Mars in his detriment, Venus is in her fall.
If we consider the Sun as the Monarch, we find him out of Sect and in Anorectic degree, a polite term for *pretty much toast.* The Year and Epoch of the Sun only brings our attention to the monarch and indeed the monarchy itself.
Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction – 1623
There was a Superior Conjunction at 06 Leo 36 which began 05 July 1623. The next would occur 16 February 1643. It’s the end of an epoch. The element changes to water. The sign changes to Pisces. If we were to reduce the nature of the crisis to Monarchy vs Religion we wouldn’t be far off the mark. A Solar epoch is giving way to the Jupiterian epoch of Pisces..
Lunar Eclipse
Prior to the Declaration there was a Lunar Eclipse @ 29 April 164 2 @ 09 Taurus 39 in partile conjunction with Mars in the Conjunctional Chart. The Moon is in Aquarius and Mars is now in the eighth house. Having Mars marking the same degree as the declaration chart doesn’t bode well. But even in this chart we have an angular Leo Sun in the tenth
The declaration was very badly timed. Many factors were in his favour but his intransigence and rash behaviour changed it all. Ironically perhaps, it was the very strength of the solar forces that gave him a sense of invulnerability
The intent of this article is to introduce the phenomena of the De Magnis Coniunctionibus or Great Conjunctions and provide a general overview. A later article will approach the subject in more depth
The Great Conjunctions are those of Jupiter and Saturn. The last Great Conjunction occurred in May 31, 2000,. The next will be in late December 2020. They take place approximately every twenty years. Consideration of the alignment of the two social planets is most widely used in Mundane astrology.
They have been used since earliest times. Combined with other phenomena such as Solar and Lunar Eclipses. Perhaps most important is their relationship to each other
.During the twenty year period between Superior Conjunctions, they will of course square, oppose, trine or sextile one another. This is were things become a great deal more complex and will be addressed in a second article on this subject.
The great eighth-century Persian astrologer, Masha’allah Atharī (c.740–815 AD) became the leading astrologer of his age. Here’s what he has to say about the great conjunctions and their importance in Mundane divination.
“The principal things happen from the greater kind of conjunction, which is of the superior planets. But these superior planets have other conjunctions, even ones signifying great accidents. For the conjunction and it signifies accidents and sects.
But the knowledge of the accidents from this is had by looking at the Ascendant, and the planets at the hour of their conjunction, and which of them rules the figure. Which if it were a benefic, it will signify good and the fitness of the weather. And if it were a malefic [it will signify] detriment and dryness, and moreover the sterility of the earth, and wars.” (Works of Sahl and Masha’alla “- Trans Dyke. p. 306 )
One of the best ways to get comfortable with interpreting the Great Conjunctions is to study the tables, noting the elements. Invariably, the successive Conjunctions will remain in a given element for a long periods. You can see what happened and when it happened – seeing patterns that follow this phenomena.
Both the thumbnails on the left are the work of Johannes Kepler. If ever the principle of a picture being worth a thousand words were true, it’s right here.
Translation of Albumasar (Venice_1515) De Magnis Coniunctionibus
What is now called the Fibonacci Series was allegedly discovered C. 1200 AD by Leonardo Fibonacci,
It isn’t clear that Fibonacci understood the full import of his discovery or its relation to Phi or the Golden Mean.
There is a good deal of evidence that the ratio was known in ancient times. It has been said that the Pythagoreans considered he planet Venus and the pentagram as one and the same.
Venus, with her 13:8 orbital proportion to Earth, traces out a pentagram in the heavens over an 8-year period.
The numerical ratio is 1.61803398875. We find this expressed in the architecture of the pyramids of Egypt, the Parthenon in Athens, a multitude of Gothic cathedrals and many modern architectural works of art..It’s the ratio expressed in DNA
golden_ratio
Take the nautilus shell for example. Each new segment has a 1.616033 ratio with the one preceding it.
We find it everywhere in some of the most famous works of art, particularly Classical or Renaissance. The Mona Lisa and many other works by Leonardo D’ Vinci demonstrates his familiarity and prolific use of the ratio.
Botticelli’s Venus is a virtual embodiment of the ratio, as is Michelangelo’s David. The Venus pentagram was well know to adepts such as John Dee.
In fact, it is said that whatever expresses itself in this ratio is most pleasing to us.
The Golden Means also manifests abundantly in nature. Everything from sunflowers, fiddle heads and most flowering plants. The ratio recurs throughout the animal kingdom. Some of the best known are the the spiral shelled snails and the nautilus. The human ear has the same ration as do spiral galaxies.
These all have the same ratio as recurring themes, one might say fractals.
It seems appropriate that Venus, the planet of beauty, harmony and attraction should express this ratio on a grand scale. We don’t know which came first: the recognition of beauty and harmony of Venus’ cycle or the attributes given to her.
It seems plausible that the two events were contemporary with each other. That would resonate with the fact that both have been known since ancient times.
In the process of the unfolding cycle, we have the spiral, the triangle and the circle. When her cycle is complete, she has formed a pentagram.
For something so powerful and so beautiful to be unknown to most of humanity is one more symptom of alienatation, not only from nature and the night sky, but from our ancestors. This 8 years cycle is, after all, in her relation to the Earth.
It is usually implied that if one uses the whole sign system one will need to recalculate the chart using a quadrant based system to determine the relative strengths of the planets. I have always considered this highly suspect and self-contradictory. Why use the whole signs in the first place if you cannot tell planetary strength from the chart it yields?
Whole Sign is much older than any quadrant system, so it must have been considered complete in itself. Indian astrologers still use them to this day.
I’ve drawn up a chart for a random time and date for Reykjavík, which is the capital and largest city in Iceland. Its latitude, at 64°08′ N, makes it the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state. Charts for places this far north often have intercepted signs.
The same would occur if a chart were drawn for a similar distance south of the equator. Intercepted signs raise a number of problems, not least that a sign is missing from the horoscope.
The first chart will be drawn using whole sign followed by four common house systems employed by astrologers to establish planetary strength.
Here is the Whole Sign chart: We’ll just take a cursory look before checking the other charts. Let’s pay particular attention to the angles where the planets are strongest. Mars in Aquarius is in the Seventh House, He is disposited by angular Saturn in Scorpio. Mars returns the favour and disposits Saturn. They form a partile square. This looks like a Mutual Reception made in Hades.
The Moon in Scorpio is in her Fall and Void of Course in the Hour and Day of the Moon. She is also the Hyleg if we follow Bonatti. Jupiter is in his House of Joy, but Debilitated and Retrograde. I can’t see that the trine to Mars is much good and it’s separating anyway. Mercury is Under the Beams. The Ascendant in Leo is disposited by a chilly but supportive Capricorn Sun. Taking a few minutes has already given us a good sense of the overall chart and I would say planetary strength as well. Let’s take a look at the quadrant houses
This is the chart using Regiomontanus Most obviously the fifth house is strikingly different. Jupiter is now in the tenth house and angular. Mars, however, is the sixth house. `He is no longer in Hayz. Note the shift in authority. We lose the Scorpio house due to interception. The Scorpio planets are now in a Libran house. Taurus is also intercepted.
Morinus – At first glance Morinus seems to be the most like Whole Sign, until we notice the cusp of the first house is in Cancer Also note the highly significant shift from the fifth house to the sixth. Mars is back in the seventh and ready for war.
Placidus – Jupiter is back in the tenth house Mars in back in the sixth.The fifth house looks fairly good and the malefics have been slightly subdued. Jupiter is angular and Mars is cadent – opposite to the Whole Sign chart. This might give us something if we pretend that Placidus didn’t say his own system was flawed. And it would have to agree with the other quadrant charts, of course
Companus – The planets that were in the fifth have moved into the sixth with Mars. In this chart Sagittarius and Gemini are intercepted. Again, Mars is cadent, but this time Jupiter is back in the eleventh house.
Finally we look at the Porphyry chart: Again, Mars is cadent but Jupiter in the eleventh.
I think these examples show that relying on a quadrant houses system to illuminate a Whole Sign chart is of little or no use. Because each quadrant house yields different results, I think it fair to call the process arbitrary.
Because of the way a Whole Sign chart is read, it tells us all we need to know. We have a plethora of tools by which to determine planetary strength : Fixed Stars, Peregrination, Hayz, Halb, Joy,Void of Course, Face, Term, Retrograde, Besieged, Lunar Mansion, Hour of the Moon, Arabic Parts, Oriental / Occidental and many more. Using a second system is unnecessary.
The element is associated with the origins of things and particularly ideas. In ritual, Air is in the East, the inspiration, the Rising Sun. All creative action begins with inspiration.
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The Classical Astrologer 