Celebrating Yalda
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Category Archives: Persia
Spring Equinox – Nowruz 2018
Aries Ingress 2018-03-20 G 16:15:25 UT Greenwich, United Kingdom 000° e 00′ 51° n 29′ Asc: 00°00′ Virgo, Moon: 08°36′ Taurus – showing Hermetic Lots
The Ingress of the Sun into zero degrees Aries marks the Spring Equinox and Nowruz. In some respects, this astrological event is the most important in the yearly cycle because it marks the astrological New Year and the chart provides us with insights into the entire year. Most importantly, we can derive the identity of the Lord or Lady of the Year – an influence which will be felt throughout.
This year the Moon exalted in Taurus in the Ninth House is the Lady of the Year. The Sun is Exalted in Aries and we find Mars in his Exaltation with Saturn in his Domicile in the Fifth House. The planetary Day is Mars and the Planetary Hour belongs to Mercury. The Almuten of the charts is also Mars. Venus is in her Fall and Mercury is not strong in Aries. Both are Under the Beams – invisible due to the light of the Sun.
The Hyleg according to Ptolemy is the Moon. Much of this chart is a balancing act between the natures of Mars and Moon, but the Lady carries the day in the third Lunar Mansion. According to Cornelius Agrippa, this Mansion is called Aldebram or Aldelamen: eye or head of Taurus. 8°34’17” Taurus. destruction and hinderances of buildings, fountains, wells and gold mines, the flight of reptiles and creates discord revenge, separation, enmity & ill will A soldier on a horse, holding a serpent in his right hand. However, Ibn Arabi suggests the Mansion is Universal Substance, prima materia – the last Divine Attribute. For those of you who have an interest in the Mansions, I recommend studying the principal stars of each one.
Illustration from the Divan of Hafez 1585 miniature. Iranians of all faiths – Muslims, Baha’is, and Zoroastrians turn to Hafiz on Nowruz, the Persian New Year, for guidance about the year to come. According to my friend in Afghanistan, the Divan is used as a kind of divination where the book is opened at a random page to read what it says.
I don’t go into great detail on the charts for the four Equinox/Solstices unless it is part of a specific prediction for two reasons. First of all, the chart will be significantly different for various locations. The Equinox chart for Tehran, for example, has a Libra Ascendant and the Moon in the Eighth house. More importantly, I think, these events are primarily a time of celebration and reflection. The Aries Ingress is the New Year and in Iran and other countries with a Persian diaspora, it is a time of cleansing and renewal in other spiritual and religious traditions also. The seasons resonate with us all.
The writer at http://www.mihanam.com tells us that “Nowruz ceremonies are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts – the End and Rebirth. About 3000 years ago Persian’s major religion was Zoroastrianism, named in honor of its founder Zoroaster, and arguably the world’s first monotheistic religion. Zoroastrians had a festival called “Farvardgan” which lasted ten days and took place at the end of the solar year. It appears that this was a festival of sorrow and mourning, signifying the end of life while the festival of Nowruz, is at the beginning of spring signified rebirth, and was a time of great joy and celebration. Nowruz was officially acknowledged and named “Nowruz” by mythical Persian emperor, Shah Jamshid, from Achaemenid Dynasty (500 BC).”
Persian woman playing the traditional Kamancheh at Nowruz celebration.
For Nowruz, each household will display symbolic items on a table, called a haft seen. On the haft seen, there is a minimum of seven items, the names of which begin with the Iranian letter that looks like an “s.” Each and every item carries a meaning – coins are for wealth, hyacinth flowers for rebirth, apples for health and beauty and germinated wheat or barley seeds for fertility. It’s a celebration of renewed life and the waxing light force. Comparable celebrations occur around the world, including Easter. The latter is timed using the Lunar Calendar, which is why it’s a moveable feast. The theme remains new life, resurrection, and fertility.
Canadian Iranian Foundation – Nowruz-Gala 2006
Vernal Equinox & Nowruz 2015
Bas-relief in Persepolis, . A Zoroastrian symbol of Nowruz – on the vernal equinox the powers of the eternally fighting bull (personifying the Earth) and lion (personifying the Sun) are equal. (Licence Wikipedia)
Nowruz is among the most ancient and significant astrologically based holy days celebration in the world. It began with Mithraism and Zoroastrianism and is still celebrated with zeal in several countries from Azerbaijan, Russia, Syria, Turkey , India and of course Iran. A repeating theme is the allegory of the balance of light and darkness illustrated by the bas-relief shown above. This is echoed in the celebration of Ostera or Easter which falls on the first Sunday after the first full Moon in Spring. It represents earthly fertility in the waxing day force as well as spiritual resurrection. What is above, is below.
The Aries Equinox chart is always of great significance, but here we have the confluence of a Solar Eclipse just hours before the Ingress, @ 29°27′ Pisces. This is a rare event and worthy of our close attention. This is a rare event and worthy of our close attention. We start with a reading of the chart of the year. The undisputed Lady of the Year is Venus in Taurus: Occidental, direct, free of the beams, in sect and of course in her domicile She protects from external enemies. .Mars is also in his domicile,in sect and in hiss house of Joy.and Aries is the Exaltation of the Sun. 
The sixth house is the house of the common people in Mundane charts and here there are in a strong position, even with the unfortunate Moon in Aries. That leaves us with an unremarkable Mercury in Pisces, in his Fall but nicely placed by house and both Social Planets retrograde. Saturn in Sagittarius, Peregrine isn’t well placed at the best of times, but in the Second House income is seriously restricted and curtailed
This applies to the nation more specifically than to the individual. Jupiter in Leo, the domicile of the Sun occupies the Tenth House and is indicative of rulers, Although he enjoys some elemental sympathy from the Common People, we can say Jupiter is inflated and worst of all retrograde, symbolically moving away from the “throne.” The sympathy is amplified by the Sun in the Sixth House.This denotes the fall of a leader, Considering the pomp and circumstance of Leo, this may very well refer to a prominent member of the aristocracy or Royal Family. 
The video below shows the progress and visibility of the eclipse. Eclipses affect most those nations and cities that fall under the sign of the eclipse as well as where it is visible. This would include Egypt, Normandy, North Africa, Portugal and Scandinavia. My primary focus is on the United Kingdom and those places in the same time zone and visibility of the eclipse although much of what I have to say would apply in a lesser extent to Europe, Western Russia and the Piscean nation of Egypt, the latter of course in a very volatile state. The time if the eclipse at GMT falls ominously in the 10th House. It`s almost as if the eclipse sets the stage for the fall of the *monarch* Jupiterean Pisces turns off the lights while Saturn holds the Seventh House. It isn’t hard to read this fairly literally. We could say that the strong Mars in the Eleventh House lends support to the Tenth, but with the S, Node and really no mitigating elements, it might very well do more harm than good.
The significance of an Eclipse is in the larger picture of the nation or nations rather than on the lives of individuals specifically, but of course whatever affects the nation will affect the people, sometimes in major ways and more often in ways that are not immediately detected. If you celebrate only one or two things a year, the Vernal Equinox is highly significant – the forces of darkness and light are balanced with the forces of light, with the Sun waxing in the Sign of his exaltation.
Shah Tahmasp I and Humayun. Novrouz festival From Chehel Sotoun Palace, Isfahan. Artist unknown. C. 1820
Fire Incarnate – The Choleric Humour
It seems to be very easy for people to forget the actual physical attributes of the elements and think of them as symbolic only. This is regrettably the case with some some students of astrology. It’s easy to say “I’m a Fire Sign” without thinking much about what Fire really is and how it relates and interacts with the other elements.
With this in mind I’ve put together a four part series on the elements in the hope of elucidating the physical characteristics and symbolic power of the Elements at the same time. There is no contradiction here. What is above is also below.
The element of Fire in Astrology is Initiated by Cardinal Aries. Zero degrees Aries marks the Spring Equinox and the transit of the Sun through the sign of its exaltation.
It’s the astrological New Year in the Northern Hemisphere and charts are drawn in order to divine the nature of the following twelve month cycle. This chart is also how we determine the Lord of the Year.
The Fire triplicity then moves to Leo – Fixed Fire – and Sagittarius common or mutable. The unfolding of this triplicity gives us a great deal of insight into the nature of Fire in astrology. Fixed Fire is Solar and Mutable is Jupiterean. The latter disseminates the essence of Fire.
The ingress of Aries is a time of renewed hope in the waxing Sun and the subsequent growth it produces – think of photosynthesis as well as long, warm days to nurture the crops.
Zoroastrian Chaharshanbe Suri
Fire and Sun worship is ubiquitous. This should come as no surprise because it satisfies two very basic human needs – heat and light. The second of these has been raised to the level of divinity by virtually every spiritual teaching, even if be as metaphor for the inner light or light of God.
There are many, many fire festivals held at this time of year in a multitude of cultures.
Amongst the most ancient is the Zoroastrian Festival of Naruz or Chaharshanbe Suri. Fire worship and a Solar deity are central to Zoroastrianism.
The Hindu Festival of Colors, Holi, is among the greatest of ceremonies in the world, with many million ecstatic participants. The festival takes place in honour of a youth who escaped, without injury, from the clutches of a demoness named Holika after she lit him on fire.
The festival also marks the beginning of spring and is celebrated with bonfires, throwing colored powder and water on everyone
Perhaps just as ancient are the Rites of Spring celebrated by the Celts in honour of the waxing Sun and renewed life. They were all Solar or Fire festivals and the theme of fertility is integral to them all. The Celts refer to the Vernal Equinox as Alban Eiler which translates as “Light of the Earth.” At this time, when the day is equal to the night and waxing , is a traditional time for sowing crops. Solstices and Equinoxes were powerful places places on the wheel. This time of balance between.the forces of day and night were highly auspicious events for the Druids
Festival of Holi – India
Let’s look at the element of Fire and it’s relationship to the other elements. Fire needs Earth for fuel and Air to sustain it. In the process of burning, water is usually released. So what do we mean when we say someone is “fiery”?
The traditional response would be to refer to the Choleric humour. But please keep in mind that the Sun sign gives very little information about humours. It is quite possible for a Solar Pisces to be more Choleric than a Sagittarius, although they are likely to express it differently. It’s unusual to find someone with only one humour active, so the art is to learn how the four of them interrelate, combine and repel.
Galen’s system gives us the bodily fluid Yellow bile, for choleric. The season is Summer. The primary organ of interest is the Spleen. The humour is warm & dry, the native often idealist However the Choleric Humour is easily angered and bad tempered. You will find that very often those who have a strong choleric Humour dominant tend to treat people like fuel. Fire is volatile. It is visible but has no fixed form. It can burn us as well as cook our food. 
This is immediately recognized in the physical element of fire. When channeled properly it provides us with warmth and light. There is something about flames that fascinates us.
However, if it gets out of control,, all Hell can break loose : the fire consuming everything in its path, feeding on Earth and sustained by Air. It repels water, but water can extinguish the flame if caught in time or in a massive enough measure.
Fire is a purifying, masculine energy. It is the source of strong will and energy, just as we temper steel in a forge. Fire creates and destroys. Learning to start and harness fire must have been the single most significant event for human beings.
If you can think of human interaction in these terms, imagining all the possibly combinations, interactions and repulsions, you will have a deeper understanding of Traditional astrology.
Alchemical Symbol for Fire
The Classical Astrologer 