Astrology through the Centuries

This will be an ongoing and not a definitive post where I will continually update chronological and historical information about astrologers from the past, and also, about people who wrote against astrology or in defense of astrology. The aim of the post is acquiring better understanding of he times and climes in which this Art was developed.

The list will not take the chronological order immediately. I will ‘throw’ into this post names and events from time to time, not in a chronological manner, but in accordance with my own continual acquiring of information through reading different books, papers, articles et cetera.

Umar al-Tabari (full name: Umar bin al-Farrukhan al Tabari) was a Persian astrologer and architect who wrote in Arabic and lived in 8th century (fl. Baghdad, Iraq, 762–815). Around 800 he translated Dorotheus’ five books from Middle Persian into Arabic. He was one of the most celebrated astrologers in his own time, and was chosen to establish the election chart for the foundation of the city of Baghdad (31 July 762), alongside Masha’allah, Newbakht, al-Fazārī, and several other astrologers.

His works:
- A tafsīr or paraphrase of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos (812) was a paraphrased translation from the Pahlavi version.
- A tafsīr of the astrological work of Dorotheus of Sidon, again from a Pahlavi version from 5th century.
- Mukhtasar masā’il al-Qaysarānī (“Abridgment of the Caesarean Interrogations”) in 138 chapters.
- Kitāb fi’l-mawālīd (“Book About Nativities”). This is most probably the most famous work of his, which was translated into Latin by Iohannes Hispalensis with name De nativitatibus secundum Omar in three books.
- Kitāb al-‘ilal.

His name is also translated as “Omar Tiberiades”.

Abu Bakr (full name: Abu Bakr al-Hassan ibn al-Khasib [lat. Albubather]) was an Arab astrologer and physician who lived in 9th century. He wrote astrological work in 4 parts, of which the 3rd part “On Nativities” was most popular throughout medieval period [lat. 'De Nativitatibus]. First and second part of his work is dedicated to introduction into astronomy and astrology, and in part to mundane revolutions; the 4th part is dedicated to solar revolutions. His astrology approach is clearly based on that of Umar al-Tabari’s, and Abu Bak’r even states in his book that his own father was “an observer” of the astrological practice of Umar.

Omar Khayyám (full name: Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Abu’l-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm al-Khayyām Nīshāpūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131;) was Persian polymath:poet, astronomer, mathematician, physycian, court astrologer et cetera. He wrote on many different subjects, such as geography, music, theology and other. He was commissioned by Malik Shah, sultan of the Seljuk Turks, to work on reforming the calendar. His later years were spent in teaching mathematics and astrology.

I was unable to devote myself to the learning of this al-jabr and the
continued concentration upon it, because of the obstacles in the
vagaries of Time which hindered me; for we have been deprived of
all people of knowledge save for a group, small in number, with
many troubles, whose concern in life is to snatch the opportunity,
when Time is asleep, to devote themselves meanwhile to the investigation
and perfection of a science; for the majority of people who
imitate philosophers confuse the true with the false, and they do
nothing but deceive and pretend knowledge, and they do not use
what they know of the sciences except for base and material pur
poses; and if they see a certain person seeking for the right and
preferring the truth, doing his best to refute the false and untrue
and leaving aside hypocrisy and deceit, they make a fool of him
and mock him.^[1]

Tommaso di Benvenuto da Pizzano was a 14th century physician, court astrologer, and Councillor of the Republic of Venice. Father of the famous Christine de Pizan – a poet, writer who was famous for raising her voice against misogyny and other medieval stereotypes. Tommasso was highly learned man, and after the birth of his daughter he went to the court of Charles V of France and appointed himself as astrologer, alchemist and physician. He graduated at University of Bologna and lectured on astrology often throughout his life. In 1357 he moved to Venice where Christine was born in 1364. In 1368 he and his family moved to Paris. He was highly respected as astrologer, so he had several offers from most famous courts in that time; the major were from the Hungarian king and from the French king Charles the V. He decided to take the second job offer and settled at the court of Charles V of France (1338 – 1380). Here he was called in French style Thomas de Pisan and gathered a nick name “the Wise”.^[2]

Christine had very changeable fortune. On the one hand life provided her with a wonderful father who allowed and nurtured her gift for writing and poetry, on the other hand, she became a widow very early in life. Somewhere around the same time she lost her father too (in 1387) and she was left alone with her children and taking care of her mather. Here is where she become melancholically introverted and dedicated her self into writing. What follows is an excerpt from her famous poem “Mutation of Fortune”:

Mutation of Fortune

I wish to tell my history,

‘Twill seem to some pure mystery.

But even though they won’t believe,

I’ll tell the truth and won’t decieve.

It all happened to me, really;

I was twenty-five, or nearly,

It was no dream when it occured,

No need to evoke the absurd

When one has seen what I have seen,

These wonders that have really been,

That we do not see every day

Because of Fortune’s clever way,

Of disguising her mutations,

Those deceptive situations

Which I hope to unveil here…

…Before my discourse grows in size,

Let me summarize, this moment,

Just who I am, what all this meant.

How I, a woman, became a man by a flick of Fortune’s hand

How she changed my body’s form

To the perfect masculine norm.

I’m a man, no truth I’m hiding,

You can tell by how I’m hiding

And If I was female before-

It’s the truth and nothing more-

It seems I’ll have to re-create

Just how I did transmutate

From a woman to a male:

I think the title of my tale

Is, if I’m not being importune,

“The Mutation of Fortune.^[3]

Charles V king of France (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380) called “the Wise” (in French: ‘le Sage”). He was known for hi promotion of culture and literature, and his vast library is a subject of admiration even today. For us as astrologers, most interesting are the astrological books contained in his library, some of which I will expose here.

Ptolemy: Quadripartitum, with gloss by Ali Ibn Ridwan, French translation by Guillaume Oresme

Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France MSS Français 1348

You can download free digital copy from here.

French version.

Leovits Cyprian (1524 – 1574) lat. Cyprianus Leovitus, was a Czech (Bohemian) astrologer and mathematician, also a court astrologer of Otto Heinrich and Maximilian II. He is author of several astrological treatises, some of which were particularly popular in his own time. Here is a list of his treatises:
Tabulae directionum et profectionum … – Aug. Vindelic., 1552. (Tables of Directions and Profections)
Eclipsium omnium ab anno 1564 usque ad annum 1606 accurata descriptio et pictura etc. – Aug. Vindelic., 1554, 1556. (“All of the eclipse from 1564 until the year 1606, precisely described and painted”)
Ephemeridum novum atque insigne opus ab anno 1556 ad annum 1606. – 1557.  (New Ephemerides for years 1556 to 1606)
De conjunctionibus magnis … – Lauingae ad Danubium, 1564. (On great conjunctions)
Strauch-Leovitius. Astrologische Aphorismen.  Grimm, 1924. (Astrological Aphorisms)

Michael Servetus (29 September 1509 or 1511 – 27 October 1553) was a remarkable Spanish polymath. He wrote on many different subjects, such as: theology, medicine, geography, mathematics, astronomy et cetera.
In 1538 he wrote Apologetic discourse of Michel de Villeneuve in favour of Astrology and against a certain physician. (Michaelis Villanovani in quedam medicum apologetica disceptatio pro Astrologia). In this discourse Servetus criticizes Jean Tagault, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris for attacking astrology and astrologers, while arguing that very great names such as Plato, Galen, Aristotle and Hipocrates, were of the opinion that the stars are related to certain aspects of the health of the patient, and how a good physician can use Astrology to predict the effects and consequences of some illness. He was also arguing about the influence of Sun and Moon on the sea, on women and winds. He was of the opinion that it is not wise to criticize astrology and based his reasoning on the above mentioned names and effects, arguing that they were wise enough not to dispute astrology.

He was a Protestant reformator and was well known for his Nontrinitarian Christology. He was versed in many languages and read the Bible in its original languages. He believed that the doctrine of the Trinity is not based on the Bible. He believed that this doctrine was influented by the Greek philosophers and argued that every Christina need to devote his time to study the Gospels in their simplicity, without the premises from outer influences upon the Christianity, such as was, according to him, the doctrine of the Trinity. He was condemned as a heretic by Chatolic Church but by the Protestants too. He was arrested in Genova and burned at a stake.

Here is a an excerpt from a very interesting interview with Servetus, in which he was asked about the rumors that he is foolish t apply faith in the validity of astrology.

INTERVIEWER:  While later practicing medicine you were charged with being a quack,
mainly because you believed in astrology. Was the charge true?

SERVETUS: I believed that a doctor should be versed in weather forecasting, and in
geography, and other sciences as well. I pointed out that Plato, Aristotle,
Pythagoras, Galen, Hypocrites and others recognized the validity of astrological
medicine. Why have signs been established by the Creator if they may not signify
something? I said that those are blind who  never lift their eyes to the heavens to
behold the most beautiful mechanism of Creation, and that doctors who decline to
avail themselves of all aids are ignoramuses.^[4]

John Chamber (1546 – 1604) was a canon of Windsor born in Swillington, Yorkshire. Graduated on Oxford, he was quite familiar with the Greek literature. His particular interests were medicine, astronomy and astrology, with not so good opinions about the later. He wrote the back then famous ‘Treatise against Judicial Astrology‘ (Lond. 1601), to which Sir Christopher Heydon replied with his ‘Defence of Judicial Astrology‘ (Camb. 1603). To this, Chamber replied again in his ‘A Confutation of Astrological demonology in the Devil’s School‘, which was never printed. In addition to this, Chamber received help from George Carleton, bishop of Chichester, writing the treatise ‘The Madnesse of Astrologers‘, printed in 1624.

Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton (1540 – 1614) wrote ‘A Defensative against the Poyson of supposed Prophecies (1583)’, was a very controversial figure among the English aristocrats, though very learned and eloquent. Francis Bacon regarded him as: “the learnedest councillor in the kingdom to present to the king his Advancement of Learning.”

Howard’s main argument against the credibility of astrology was probably the oldest and more frequent one: if every individual possess its own destiny according to the astral influences, how can be that the twins born in the very near amount of time, has different destiny, that is, different kind of death, diseases and time of death.

Philip Stubbes (c. 1555 – c. 1610), English writer who wrote the famous ‘The Anatomie of Abuses‘, work dedicated on the fashions and customs of the time, in which he didn’t escape mentioning astrology. He argued that stars incline the soul, that is, they effect the soul through their operations, but that they do not cause (that is, they are not efficient cause) neither bad nor evil. In other words, man is responsible for his actions, and one should not to blame it on the stars. Man through free will, can choose his actions.

References:
1. The great Umar Khayyam, a global reception of Rubaiyat. A.A. Seyet-Gohrab (ed.)1
2. Middle Ages Biographies by Judson Knight, edited by Judy Galens. An imprint of the Gale Group, 2001.2
3. Pizan, Christine de. “From the book of the Mutation of fortune” in The Writings of Christine de Pizan trans. Nadia Margolis ed. Charity Cannon Willard (New York: Persea Books, 1994), 110 & 112.3
4. Servetus, Our 16th century contemporary, A brief introduction to the life and teachings of Michael Servetus, a pioneer of religious freedom. (© Copyright of the International Association for Religious Freedom 2011), p.58.4

Sources:
Carrol Camden – Astrology in Shakespeare’s day.

Persian Nativities II, introduction into the nativities of Umar al-Tabari and Abu Bakr by Benjamin N. Dykes. The Cazimi press, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2010.

D. Pingree, “The Fragments of the Works of al-Fazārī,” in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 29 (1970), 103–123, esp. 104.

“ʿUmar Ibn Al-Farrukhān Al-Ṭabarī.” Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 6, 2013). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2830904414.html

Wikipedia.org

Forecasting death through Descendant

“..ὅταν δὲ περὶ θανατικῶν ἢ μεταβολῆς ἢ σκυλμῶν, ἀπὸ τοῦ δυτικοῦ”
[transliteration: 'hotan de peri thanatikōn hē metabolēs hē skulmōn, apo tu dutiku']
{translation: ..for [matters] concerning death or change or trouble, [forecast] from Descendant}.

This is from Book IV of Valens where he speaks about the transmissions or the ‘profections’ as we know them today.
He says that transmissions starting from Descendant are pertaining to times relating to danger, troubles, death.
It is interesting that rarely people today connect the setting place with death, but Hellenistic astrologers did connect the setting place with death. The same regard to this place is still holding practical value in Hindu astrology today. They call 2nd and 7th Place – Maraka Sthana or death afflicting place, and the time-lordship of the lord of Maraka Sthana is considered to bring the time of death. For example, when Lord of 7th rules the Dasha period, if all things are equal, this lord can cause death.
I think we should re-examine this place and ponder more on the original doctrines of the Hellenistic astrologers and try to use them in our practice. Look for the profection of Descendant over critical places, or sensitive points profecting to descendant, but since this will repeat in 12 years interval, look for repetition of testimonies in other time-lord techniques.

As an exemplification of the previous quote, let us check the chart of Jackie Kennedy. She died on 19 May 1994 when was 64 years old.

The profections of the Ascendant in her 65th year of life, or 64th birthday, are to the 5th sign Pisces. Now we move all places 5 signs forward. The death-indicating place (Descendant) moves to 11th sign Virgo where Mars is positioned. Mars is Lord of Ascendant and hence the profection of Descendant to Mars is highly sensitive, since Mars is determined toward rulership of the overall disposition of the native: body, soul, character, life. This is one indication of dangerous period, especially because Mars as natural malefic, from 11th is in opposition to the profected ascendant in Pisces. Saturn is in a Pivot from profected ascendant and is overcoming [being in 10th sign from it] the profected ascendant. Remember that Pivots (angular signs from) are very important in any case study. So, we can expect dangerous year, but we could not announce danger to life yet, it is too soon from these testimonies only.

Now we would use some long-term time lord technique like Decennials. On the right side of the screen, you can notice that in 1993, Jackie entered Mercury Decennials period on major level and this is problematic due to the reasons that Mercury rules the 8th – also place of death. Mercury rules the months also, Moon the days and Sun the hours. We can see here how the Lord of the Place indicating Death (8th), is distributing to itself, to Moon and Sun. Moon and Sun are the source of life, so the Lord of Death by virtue of ruling the 8th, is handing over to the Lords of Life naturally. Moon is the body and Sun the Life itself, the organ of mental perception, of consciousness if you like.

In the month of her death, Saturn already made an ingress to the sign of profected Ascendant (Pisces), which makes this period of time really dangerous to her life, because Ascendant and its profections represent the length of life (according to Valens again) and both malefic is transiting it. Profected Ascendant is the Esse (being) of the native for that particular year, or the disposition of her body and soul if you like. We can see from all this that the times are dangerous to her body and life.

General and Specific effects of the Time-Lords

This is an ad hoc examination I posted on the FB page of this blog, so I will just copy it for those of you who have no Facebook page.

I just read this quote and found it very interesting so I want to add few thoughts in relation to what is said in it:

“There are two kind of effects of dashas – general and specific. The natural qualities of the planets cause general effects, and the specific effects are caused by the position of the planets, etc” [Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra, 47:2].

Dasha is the most famous timing system in Hindu astrology. There are more then 30 Dasha systems in Hindu astrology and some say much, much more. In Western traditional astrology (WTA) we also have not one time-lord system. Here are the Firdarias (Firdariyyah), Decennials, Quarters of the Moon (Valens), then the Profections and Zodiacal Releasing from those which move zodiacally, etc.
I think what Parashara is saying here is applicable to the Western methods of timing too. Basically, Parashara is saying that the natural significations of planet would give the general effects of the times, while its disposition in the chart: placement, rulership, aspects, etc., will give the specific effects of the times. This is what is meant by ‘etc’ in the quote above. Let me exemplify this with the chart of Hans Christian Andersen. His father died when he was 11 years old (year 1816). I will use the technique of Firdariyyah as the time-lord technique for the example.
We see that in 1814 Saturn become time lord. What are the natural significations of Saturn? Solitariness, misery, care, guilt, gives good rank also when well disposed, but obstacles in work and business when bad, lawsuits, property, laziness, malignancy, secretiveness, death, etc. In relation to people, in a night chart Saturn represents the father! Now we should examine all the significations of Saturn which would have their general effect in the times when Saturn is time-lord. So, Saturn would have something to say about the father of Hans by the virtue of its natural significations. Now, this is general. The specific effects of this Saturn are related to both MC and 11th house because it is in 11th sign. What is 11th house? Friends, hopes, ambitions, expectations, but also if we turn the chart: father’s death because it is 8th from 4th! So, the specific effects of this Saturn who by virtue of its nature signifies the father, will be that of the things pertaining to father’s death because it is positioned in the 8th from 4th. Saturn also rules 2nd and 3rd, but if we turn the chart that is 11th and 12th of the father which would say will relate with father’s friends, ambitions and chronic illness and hospitalization.
The sub-lord in the Firdaria, is said to distribute the times of the general lord. So in the time of death of his father, we see that Jupiter is distributing the firdar of Saturn. We again look at the natural significations of Jupiter and the specific ones as well. Jupiter’s specific effects are such that he rules the 4th of father, so he is determined to say something about the father. Both planets, the one ruling the father (Jupiter) and the one ruling the father’s death (Saturn by virtue of exaltation in Libra and by virtue of being positioned in 8th from 4th) are ruling the times and hence the death of the father occurred in this period of time.

How Cardan exercised Astrology

I am reading Cardan’s “De exemplis centum geniturarum” (Examples of 100 Horoscopes) this morning, so I want to share with you his approach in examining a natal chart, which I think is more of an exercising of his astrological abilities presented in this book.

In the 4th geniture, he gives and explains the chart of his father Fazio Cardan. Fazio Cardano (1444 – August 28, 1524) was famous mathematician and professor, lover of the occult sciences and friend with Leonardo da Vinci. In his 50′s married a young widow in her 30′s whose all 3 children from the first marriage died, and Jerome Cardan was actually a child born after a failed abortion. Fazio was pretty old when Jerome was born.

This is the geniture as it is given in Libelli Quinque:

His chart calculated in modern astrology software (with longitudes of certain planets slightly off of the values giving by Cardan):

Here Cardan uses the so called Equal House system (Iuxta gradus aequales) and later in his life, in his commentaries on Ptolemy (published 1554), he used Regiomontanus house system.
As you can see in the box with information, inside the chart, it is given the degree of the MC because in the Equal House system, this doesn’t coincide with the 10th house cusp.

Cardan is pretty much basic-oriented in his explanations of these charts. He gives the longitudinal coincidences of certain planets (and angles) with fixed stars and then tries to find correlation with the significations of the stars and planets with certain accidents in person’s life.

He starts with giving the coincidence of the longitudinal positions of the planets with certain stars.I will give the Latin names of the stars as they are given in his book.

Saturn is with Borealis Cancris, nature Saturn/Mercury, 5th magnitude.

Jupiter is with Extra Formam Cancri, nature Saturn/Mercury, 4th magnitude.

Mars is with Extremitas Pedis Dextri Praecedentis, nature of Mercury and little bit of Venus, 4th magnitude.

Sun is with Asinus, 4th magnitude, nature of Mars/Sun.

Ascendant with Apolline, nature of Mercury, magnitude 2.

Co-ascends Orion Cingulus, nature of Saturn and Jupiter.

With MC is Ventre Piscis, 5th magnitude, nature Mercury and Mars.

He names all the stars just to have them as a point of reference in his future analysis, and then he goes on to explain the position of the planets

Calculating the length of life, Cardan notices Sun in its own sign in Ascendant with Jupiter. Venus and Saturn also on ascendant, increase the strength of life, yet there are malice effects also. His length of life was 79 years, concludes Cardan. So, he doesn’t follow the Hyleg & Alcocoden procedure or any other established practice of the predecessors, he just follows his astrological logic and examines the planets on ascendant, although very briefly, just makes a short notice.

Next Cardan makes notice about his father’s immense love for study. He sees the star Orionis Cingulus co-ascending, while Saturn adds patience and labor. The genius is given by the star Apolline (nature Mercury), but also by Orion Cingulus (nature Saturn and Jupiter).

Fazio’s interest in occult matters, Cardan delineates through Saturn on ascendant and Moon in 6th in trine with Mercury. Saturn is very esoteric planet, and being on ascendant is one indication of a person whose nature is to study the secrets and mysteries. Fazio was involved in the practice of Necromancy too, and here it is why Cardan adds the point that Moon (representing mind) is in 6th (bad fortune, diseases) in trine with Mercury (curiosity, interest, intellect). So, the interest in such a non-orthodox type of divination such as Necromancy, is seen by Cardan to has something to do with the bad placement of Moon, lady of ascendant, in 6th house, a house filled with bad significations, with Saturn on ascendant adding to that.

Fazio lost all his teeth in his 58 year, and then lived 21 year without teeth.
Saturn [representing the teeth] in ascendant in debilitated sign, under the Sun’s rays, is the cause for the lost of the teeth, according to Cardan. Probably the star of Saturn’s nature in the longitudinal position of Saturn, added to this, concludes Cardan.

Sun with unfortunate star Assinus, and Moon in 6th, corrupted his eyes.

That he was a man of integrity, is seen by the presence of Moon, Lady of Asc, in domicile of Jupiter and trine Mercury in domicile of Sun. Also, Jupiter with Sun in its own domicile in the 1st house. These are the factors according to Cardan, which added to his integrity and dignity.

What is interesting for me in studying Cardan and Gauricos (from the Renaissance masters) is that they even though read the old masters, they used their own logic and made the experience their greatest teacher. They drew charts and studied them day by day, making connections and concluding with deductions as to why something in someone’s life happened according to which symbols in the natal chart. Thus, examining hundreds and hundreds of horoscopes, they build their enormous corpus of knowledge and experience which later on gave them the ability to predict future events.

Hard year for Cristiano Ronaldo – How to use Decennials and Profections

All those of you who enjoy watching or playing football know who is Cristiano Ronaldo. Regarded as one of the best football players in the world today, not many of us know of the fact that back in year 2005 he was accused for raping a woman in London. This was in October 2005 just month after he lost his father. No doubt this was very hard year for Ronaldo. He was still very young and promising football player but was not the famous Ronaldo we know today. He was only 20 years old.

Without too much introduction to his life, and basic natal delineation of his chart, I would like to go ahead with picturing this event and the natal promise for the same through the technique called by some Decennials [even though the name is somewhat inappropriate, but it is widely used today]. I already wrote here about this technique and how you can calculate it.

Here is Ronaldo’s chart:

Right click on the photo to view it in another tab and bigger resolution.

We can see his Mars and Venus on Ascendant. Mars in its own sign, brilliant for a football player, in Aries very fiery-like and domineering. Venus, the Lady of Performance is joined with Mars in his heart. Venus rules the 7th of other people in general but also that of women. This planet on ascendant shows signs of why women are into him. The combination of Mars and Venus, especially on Ascendant gives great sexual strength and attractiveness to the opposite sex.

This conjunction of Mars and Venus for this particular ascendant brings some problems also. Both planet rule 7th and 8th respectively, places not very much favored. 7th rules conflicts, litigation, lawsuits, and 8th is that of anxiety, fear, and according to Valens, also lawsuits. Saturn and Mars naturally rule accusations and Mars is Saturn’s dispositor, so by being on ascendant, is connecting 8th house with 1st house and the significations of Mars and Saturn together. So, we know now that whenever Mars would rule the times, he would activate all the things I have mentioned above, but also many of his natural significations which are too many to name here.

I think that many people today forget about the natural significations of the planets, and these are one of the basic failure reasons in our delineations. Whenever Mars is activated, his natural significations are also activated. So even though Mars in your horoscope may be the best planet in beneficial terms, he is still naturally malefic, and his natural tendencies can not be passed.

On the photo I provide above, on the right side of the screen you can see the activation of the decennials calculated in Delphic Oracle. For those of you who don’t have DO software, I recommend you to read my article on Decennials and learn how you can calculate them by hand, that is, using some Web tools.

We can see that Mars is disposing the years or the general times, and out if its own years, Mars disposes months to the Sun, and days to Saturn. So the lordship for this particular event in Ronaldo’s life is Mars/Sun/Saturn. You can see here how problematic this month could be in his life. Mars disposing to Sun and Sun handing over to Saturn is not good at all. In only 1 month he lost his father and was accused for rapping a woman. The whole world can turn over your head in such a short time.

Here are some keywords for Mars/Sun chronocratorship which I took from many different sources like Valens/Hephaistio and Gaurico:
Dangers/Disturbances/Pain/Illness related to eyes/Violence/Torture/Unavoidable things [fated events]/Risks/Risk taking/Dangers to life/Lawsuits and lost of reputation/

Mars rules lawsuits and Sun reputation. Sun and Saturn also rule the father. So, we can see how these natural qualities of the planets are pretty much descriptive of the situation into which Ronaldo was involved at that particular time in life. Now, the trick is how to choose before hand, in prediction, which of these qualities will prevail and actually happen. There is no golden rule for this, the practice and talent of the astrologer will have the final judgment call. Using the accidental significations of the planets (their position in chart and rulership), one can narrow down the possibilities and particulars, but still, there is no rule and no substitution for astrologer’s talent and experience.

Mars rules 8th, is found with Venus who rules 7th on ascendant. This combination itself points out that the native (Mars) at particular time in life could be involved in litigation (Venus and 7th).
Now when Mars rules the times, his position, rulership, natural qualities, and also aspects (association with Venus) are activated. Mars is Saturn’s dispositor, so we know that when Saturn will rule the minor periods, some danger related to 1st and 8th house can happen. As I said, Valens often times takes 8th as representative of lawsuits, and Saturn itself represents lawsuits.
Sun rules 5th of love affairs and sex, but Mars/Venus conjunction also signifies the same, so we have two pointers toward one direction

Furthermore, the year of profection is counted by 9 signs since he was living his 20th birthday.
Ascendant, Mars and Venus are profecting to Sagittarius in 9th, but what is more important is Moon’s profecting to Ascendant, Mars and Venus. Moon handing over to Mars is never easy. Here it is what Valens says about this kind of distribution:

The moon transmitting to Mars brings a hard year, especially if the moon is waxing (for day births): it causes dangers and illness, bleeding, falls, accidents with fire, penalties, domestic disorder, the deaths of or separations from females, hostility, trials, imprisonment, and upheavals of the masses. [Valens - Anthologies, trans. Mark T. Riley, p. 85, underline mine]

This is another indication for the problematic year. Saturn is transmitting to 4th house, that of parents and particular the father. Saturn represents death and is positioned in the place of death, transmitting to 4th house. Sun natural significator of the father for day birth, being found in 8th from 4th (death of father) is transmitting to 7th house, another place indicating death for the Hellenistic astrologers. Mars [Ascendant and Venus] transmitting to 9th can indicate problems while being abroad. Ronaldo is being abroad in England, since he is from Portugal.

With this kind of practicing one is building experience and skills needed for not only delineating things in hindsight, but for being able to predict for the future after some years doing the same on a daily basis. Using the right principles, the right techniques, and drinking from the ocean of wisdom of the old sages, we can become better astrologers if the Fates wants us to become

Year without trophy for Jose Mourinho

Football club Real Madrid last night lost the final of Copa del Rey from FC Atletico Madrid. This was their last chance to win a title in this year, and in that way to justify all the money they gave to buy expensive players over the past few years. They finished with empty hands and to hurt even more, in front of their fans on Santiago Bernabeu (their football stadium).

Famous self-proclaimed Special One (Jose Mourinho) received red card for the inappropriate behavior and leaved the match in the 2nd period, exclaiming after the game that this was the worst season in his life. He never had a season without a title.

The whole year was pretty much controversial for Jose Mourinho, and the attention of the press was all on him and his broken relationship with some of the key players for Madrid (like Casillas, Pepe and Ramos). His whole year was one of infamy and constant quarrels with the press, other coaches and the players inside the club. There were rumors that tension even existed between him and Florentino Perez (the president of R. Madrid).

Personally, I didn’t believe he will end up without winning any title (I speak as a fan of football game, not as an astrologer). I think despite his professionalism, he has huge luck in life (and in sports you must have that!) and it is hard to imagine him without any title in his hands. After loosing this title last night, I was curious to look at his chart from the yearly perspective, and here are my improvisations, ad hoc, in regard to that.

He celebrated his 50th birthday this year, so the annual profections are in Pisces or third sign from ascendant, where Jupiter its Lord is found. Now, any superficial astrologer would pronounce very potent year by noticing this only and without getting into more details delineating all factors that give their influence in certain year.

I would not go in all the details, but will try to give some few important ones, and those of you who are familiar with the Hellenistic and Perso-Arabic astrology techniques, would investigate further in to the heavenly influences.

This is his Solar Return chart:

We can see here Jupiter, the Lord of the Year, pretty much weakened. He is in his anti-domicile, the place where according to Serapio, planets ‘turn bad’, and retrograde. So two weakened conditions for this planet which is quite powerful in his birth chart. In natal this Jupiter is in 3rd sign and 2nd division, in Revolution it is in 4th sign and 3rd division.

In the chapter called “On the significations of Jupiter if he were the Lord of the Year, and were of a bad condition”, Abu Ma’shar says:

“If Jupiter were the Lord of the Year and in both the nativity and the revolution appearing retrograde or under the rays, or in an alien place, or occidental or in the domicile of a malevolent, or cadent from the angles and in contrary places, it takes away the renown of him whose revolution it is, and decreases his luckiness, and puts down his glory. It even signifies a multitude of expenses and a troublesome pouring out of riches, and he will do these things with a voluntary and spontaneous will, for the reason that he craves praise from many people“. [Abu Mashar, On Solar Revolutions, trans. Benjamin N. Dykes, PhD, p.93, underline mine]

Abu Mashar here speaks about the amount of bad conditions Jupiter has in certain year, and in another place he speaks, or advices us to look into the ‘proportion’ of the bad conditions of certain planet according to the factors listed in the quote above. This Jupiter is in: 1) Contrary or alien place, 2) Retrograde, 3) Occidental. So, the ‘according to the proportion’ factor here, we have 3 out of 6 conditions. This Jupiter is not of a good condition.Abu Ma’shar says that this will diminish his luckiness, which really did, he won nothing! He claimed himself that this was the baddest season in his life. However, this Jupiter is not baddest of the bad simply because he is in good condition in natal chart, even though, there also appears to be cadent, occidental, and contrary to the sect in favor. Still, he is in his own sign without heavy influence of malefic planets.

But for analyzing this furthermore, I would like to see few more factors involved.

I just could not ignore the transit of retrograde Saturn currently on his MC. Saturn rules his sub-period in Firdaria and hence it is relevant for examining his circumstances by transit. Actually, I am of the opinion that the transit of Saturn would be pretty much important even if he was not involved in Firdaria rulership, but this is accentuating him even more as to analyzing his conditioning.

In the chapter “On the ingress of Saturn to his own places and those of the rest of the planets”, Abu Mashar gives us indications as to what means when Saturn ingresses (enters) certain sign where a planet is positioned or certain place a planet owns. Now, I have talked with some people about these chapters in Abu Mashar’s On Solar Revolutions, and some of them were of the opinion that what is meant here is Saturn’s ingress in places where certain planets are positioned, and others were of the opinion that what is meant here is the ingress of Saturn in places which certain planets rule. I think that both these approaches to the delineation tips given by Abu Mashar have relevance. About Saturn ingress of Saturn into the places of Mars, Abu Mashar says:

“And if Saturn at the time of the revolutions will reach the [natal] place of Mars, and Saturn will have dignity in either the Ascendant of the nativity or in the revolution, or in the Lot of Fortune…
…he will be deceived about his own operations and will be idle in [his] education, and his thoughts will be unjust; and he will be of middling faith in his own tenets, and he will be accused on account of this“. [Ibid. Dykes]

Now this is extremely exciting passage, because Abu Ma’shar explains the whole situtation of Mourinho at the moment. His Saturn rules Ascendant, Lot of Fortune and Spirit, so he has relevance very much for his personal actions and behavior. Now, Saturn entering sign of Mars, Abu says that his thoughts will be ‘unjust’. What he does to the icon of R. Madrid, Iker Cassilas, is according to most of the fans and people who are more objective to the situation, real injustice! “He will be accused on account of this”, says Abu Ma’shar, and he really is. This year in R. Madrid brought him infamy and pretty much lost to his reputation as one of the best coaches in history of football game.

This Saturn transiting over MC in sign of natural malefic, is clearly not a good sign for his career and actions (MC), also for his reputation. Look at the stakes [angular signs] from Saturn. Saturn transiting is dominating planets in Aquarius: Moon, Sun and natal Saturn, and in the same time is dominated by natal Mars in the 10th from Scorpio.

Abu Ma’shar ends with: “And if Saturn will have no dignity with the aforesaid, he will suffer evils and be saddened on account of brothers and friends [because Mars signifies this, I.S.], and he will jump at the chance for travel and will go on a foreign journey“.

I think that he will leave R.Madrid this summer and will go to coach another football club ‘in foreign country’. Saturn ingress in the sign of his natal MC in sign of Mars, alongside the other indications would bring him [as he already brought him] infamy, loss of reputation and leaving not in a good terms. I suppose this Saturn brought him a good lesson regarding his thoughts and unjustified actions which contribute for the loss of harmony inside the team of R. Madrid in the past year.

As a P.S. I want to add one more thing, looking at the chart now after I wrote the post. Saturn is sub-lord of Firdaria in which Sun is overall lord of the times. So, Saturn will dispose the years of Sun, and we should look at the natal position and inter-relation of these two planets and their relationship in the Solar Return chart. Saturn is technically combust and invisible, but according to the Hellenistic astrology principles, planets in their own places bear the combustion better then in other places. But still, Saturn and Sun are natural enemies, the connection between these two is rarely good. One is the lord of the light and the other of the darkness. Mars is regarding this conjunction from opposition and this is not good for his reputation at all. Now in the year chart Saturn is dominating (being in 10th from the Sun) the Sun and even though he receives the Sun, I really don’t think that this mitigating condition is mitigating the natural enmity of these two planets 100% and turns them into cooperatives. Sun natally rules the 8th  and is in its anti-domicile where promises more then it can deliver, and Saturn is lord of Mourinho’s actions in his chart, by ruling Fortune, Spirit, Ascendant and being exalted Lord of 10th sign in natal. 8th Place rules the alliances of the public enemies (2nd from 7th) and Sun ruling the main period in Firdaria would awake such dispositions in his chart and life. Being in its anti-domicile, it is probably good to have it ruling the 8th since this would make the public enemies and their alliances weaker, and it is interesting how Mourinho very often wins his wars. When he substituted Casillas, the fate brought him exceptionally good goalkeeper in the name of Diego Lopez who saved them in many important matches. This was kind of proof to Mou that he didn’t put Casillas on the bench for nothing. But still, the fans didn’t like this decision of Mou, because Casillas is their favorite. Many of the players took the side of Casillas, so we could say that they are the alliances of Mou’s public enemy (Casillas). Their war is obviously public, they do not hand shake before nor after the matches. It is really interesting to notice these details in the birth chart when Sun and Saturn are disposing the times, and the activation of the things they promise in Mou’s natal chart, with the addition of the yearly chart and transits. I think we need to look at the overall picture, the more broader one, even when we look at the yearly divisions and charts like the Profections and Solar Return. Firdaria or the disposition of times gives an overall picutre of the times into which yearly charts and divisions happen to play role.

What makes a Philosopher – Karl Marx’s Chart

“If Saturn aspected Jupiter by a trine aspect, the native will be wise, of good counsel and wits, sound thinking, and experienced in all the secrets of nature, so that it will be said about him that he is a philosopher, and he will be a narrator of great deeds, and he will predict [or preach] serious matters just like the haruspices”
[Abū Bakr - On Nativities II, trans. Benjamin N. Dykes, PhD, p.150]

I am continuing with the examination of the Abū Bakr’s aphorisms [at least some of them] I started in my previous entry on this blog. In the chapter called ‘On the native’s knowledge’ Abū Bakr gives the aphorism I gave you above. Now, Abū Bakr speaks about the trine aspect between Saturn and Jupiter, but I think that this is also applicable to other connections between these two planets, and while I was searching through my philosophers database, I found that great deal of philosophers in history had some type of connection between Saturn and Jupiter, mostly opposition [Russell, Roussou, Vaihinger], conjunction [Proclus,Saint Martin] and sextile. I decided to work with this chart of Karl Marx, even though the aspect is that of a sextile, because in the further aphorisms Abū Bakr seems to put the clause ‘trine OR sextile’, while here the ‘sextile’ was omitted. This and the reason that Karl Marx’s chart has Saturn on ascendant in its own sign, made me to choose his chart for examination. I think that this configuration between Saturn and Jupiter would require these planet to be somehow connected with the personal factors, and even then, some additional factors need to be examined, because many people are born with that configuration in their horoscope and not all of them would be philosophers.

I made the chart in Lahiri Ayanamsa. This chart makes more sense to me in Lahiri Ayanamsa, more then in tropical. I open every chart first in tropical and then in siderial and in this way I am building the necessary practice in order to be able to judge with more assurance after some years of practice. It is just that this chart makes more sense to me with Saturn in first, and some further points I will add later in this post.

One more digression. The Hellenistic astrology techniques like Zodiacal Releasing, seems that work better in tropical. This is the experience of Robert Schmidt, Chris Brennan, and my humble experience too. The reasons for this are yet to be judged. When I work with Jyotish, I exclusively use siderial, but I was surprised not once, when I compare some chart made in siderial and using Vedic astrology techniques, and the same chart in tropical using Western astrology techniques, how one can come to the same conclusion through many different paths. I was witness of the beauty of complementary usage of these two branches of astrology using different zodiacs and different techniques. Some things which are not seen by Jyotish techniques, are very well complemented using Western astrology techniques. One of this is the usage of the concept of Primary Motivation which I use every time in my practice. I have an interesting story to tell regarding this, but it is not the place here. I will do that in some further entry. My point here is that the usage of the zodiac should not be a war, even though we people want to make wars and we split each other into many different categories in order to fulfill that innate desire for defending and attacking. I do not think that ever will be consolidation. The war between modern and traditional, western and eastern, right and wrong will exist, we live in dual world, that’s a fact.

OK, back to the chart.

You remember from my previous entry that after finding the aphorism fulfilled in full or partially, the second step is to find the logic behind it. Why would Jupiter and Saturn give wise man and man who is profound in knowledge, with great council and thinking?

Well, Jupiter and Saturn are the furthest planets in our system, they are the two superiors furthest away from our plane, this is associative with an old wise man, someone who walked the path of life, who walked the distance and is now ready to give the council of his wisdom to the younger generation. Jupiter signifies law and lawful thinking, it is the archetype of a Guru or teacher in Hindu astrology, and the Judge in Western astrology. Saturn is regarded as very spiritual planet in Hindu astrology, but in Western also, it is the planet – especially if well placed – which gives deep thought, which can go behind the scenes and visible and enter in to the plane of the invisible, the occult planet par excellence. The combination of Jupiter and Saturn would give a man who is young in his body but old in his mind. I remember that in my early 20′s I read some letter that Karl Marx wrote in his 14th or 15th year of life [don't remember well]. I was astonished by the profound wisdom, a wisdom of an old man, I read in that letter. If I didn’t know that the latter is written by a boy, I would thought that it is written by an old man. This is his Saturn in first house in its own domicile. Jupiter is moving away from the hexagonal figure with Saturn because of the retrograde motion. Jupiter is also in its own sign, and even though the retrogradation would take off some of the good significations [or at least, some of its strength], it is still, Jupiter in its own sign in the 11th house of Good Spirit. Saturn is also Lord of the Lot of Fortune and Lot of Spirit, and being in 1st in its own domicile, makes for a very profound intellect and deep thinker. Because of Saturn, his action would be of a prolonged style, because Saturn rules Spirit and is on ascendant.

This Saturn as out of sect and Lord of 12th in 1st would add some bad significations too. His health was not so good, he was poor with many ups and downs in his life, and all this fits with Saturn contrary to the sect in favor and L12 in 1st. But let’s stick to his philosophy side.

Abū Bakr offers us another interesting aphorism:

“If Mercury were with Venus in the 4th house, the native will be a disputer, lawyer, and an inventor of words, and more strongly so if it were in a peregrine sign.”
[ibid. Dykes].

Dykes in the footnotes gives explanation as to why peregrine. His reasoning is that the peregrination would make someone frivolous and take pleasure in debating without sincerity.
We know that Karl Marx studied Law in the University of Berlin, his father was actually the one who insisted that he need to study law because of the many possibilities that degree offers after the graduating. Karl even though studying Law, was fascinated by philosophy and spent all his free time reading and studying philosophy. In his 4th house we have Venus and Mercury together, just as the aphorism requires, ‘he will be an inventor of words’. Now, that he was a disputer is not a secret. He is well known for his criticizing of the established society, and Saturn is the critic par excellence in astrology. But why would Venus and Mercury in 4th give someone who is a disputer and a lawyer? I think that these need to be connected with some personal factors in the horoscope, just like in this case, they are connected with Saturn who is in the first house. In 4th they are regarding the 10th from an opposition and 1st house through square, this may be an indication of using harsh words and be known for that. Harsh words produce conflict, and 4th is the most invisible place in the horoscope, as to be caught with words by surprise.
4th House is also the place of Heart according to Hermes and according to Hindu astrology.
So, Venus and Mercury being placed here may be an indication of having pleasures [Venus] for debate [Mercury]. 4th house may be taken into this examination also because of the thing that it is a Pivot, just like this combination would do the same in any other Pivot. Now, they are not both peregrine, only Mercury is. But Mercury is in its own bounds, which makes him very independent, because in that way it and its significations don’t need to be channeled through some other planet.

As an end note, I would want to point out his South Node in 9th, which is one of the indications, given by the old sages, for the native’s bad attitude and connections with religion. Karl Marx’s sum up of his religious views are given here:

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium for the people The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions.

[ Karl Marx; Joseph O'Malley (26 August 1977). Critique of Hegel's 'Philosophy of right'. CUP Archive. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-521-29211-5. Retrieved 23 April 2011.]

His both Lights are found in 3rd Place which was seen by the monotheistic astrologers as a place of the unorthodox religions. The Lights are most important in the horoscope, the intellectual light (Sun) and the fortune (Moon), showing our deepest and most innate, metaphysical nature of ours. Being in 3rd house and almost eclipsed, in sign and bound of Mars [channeled by Mars] in the narrow minded and intellectually over thinking Gemini is showing his harsh criticism toward the established norms of the religion.

The Art of Memorizing

I decided to take a few days break from my Indian astrology studies, and since I can not live my days without reading something related to astrology, I decided to re-read some of the aphorisms which Abū Bakr offers in his book On Nativities.

It is really interesting to get back to Perso-Arabian astrology after my intense Jyotish studies, and the wider dimension these studies give, offer me the opportunity to be able to connect some things and create more precise deducting reasoning. My deeply innate curiosity, I hope, is starting to pay off, and I feel more assured in the practical side of astrology.

It is not an easy thing to read the aphorisms of the sages. After reading a few, your mind starts becoming dizzy and you feel the need either to stop reading or to get back to the aphorisms you already read and re-read them again carefully. My teacher in Jyotish advised me to develop a habit of memorizing the charts in my mind, something which is very useful, in that case you always have anything you need in the store of your mind, no need for notebooks or stored charts on your computer, or even paper. I mean, you will still need all that for further calculations, but the point is that you will develop a habit of training your mind to recall the charts you already examined in the past, this is called photographic memory. India – although I have never been there, but I was told stories about – is full with astrologers who memorize the whole books from the old classical sages like Parashara or Saravali. This is not useless! In India, the young astrologers are trained in that way, to memorize many slokas [aphorism-like astrological rules] from the classics, and even though they do not understand some of the principles yet, they can easily recall them later in life when they’ll meet with a chart containing the slokas said by the sages. I remember in one occasion, on some private astrological group, I was posting aphorisms and certain person was making fun of how the aphorisms are sure way to stop thinking on your own, and the wise astrologer Steven Birchfield, to whose teachings I owe much my self, replied that  aphorisms really may not always be true, but that they contain a valuable experience of some very great astrologer from the past and certainly it is not wise to be neglected.

The Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita, Talmud scholars, etc., are famous for their memorization of the whole scripture. In an instance, they can start reciting you from any place or passage of the book. I think, we the Westerners, need to develop the art of memorizing our ‘scriptures’. An easy way to do this is to search for charts where you may find this particular aphorism already applied. Once you found a chart which contains, at least partially the aphorism, you will remember it almost instantaneously. This is why it is said that the picture is worth thousand words. This will not be always easy though. There are many aphorisms, and great amount of time doing this would need to pass, many charts examined, in order to be able to find greater deal of aphorisms which correspond with the charts you already have in your mind. But you can make a fun out of this. You can make it exciting thing, like putting certain goals in front of you: to find at least one aphorism in a chart per day, or weak, according to your schedule. Astrology need to be fun, exciting and to be done out of enjoyment, not to be a bag of burden on your back.

The aphorism I found for today, as fulfilling my scheduled goal is this one:

“If Mercury were direct in the Midheaven, and appearing in one of his own dignities, [and] aspected the Moon, by the square or opposite aspect, and the Moon were in her own domicile or exaltation, the native will be wise, sensible, and an examiner of the stars”.
[Abū Bakr, On Nativities, trans. Benjamin N. Dykes PhD, p.151]

While I was reading, I remembered that I saw this kind of opposition at Paul Faster Case’s chart of which I already spoke here:

Right click on the image to open it in a new tab with bigger resolution.

Paul Foster Case was a famous occultist, tarot and astrology writer from the early 20th century. He was known for participating in many back then famous esoteric [occult] societies and later on formed his own (B.O.T.A. ). In his younger days he was very good musician, his mother was piano player and teacher, and thought him to play. He was considered as very gifted musician, but the curiosity toward the secret knowledge, forced him to decide to move his life in that direction.

In his chart we have Mercury on MC in its own sign and direct, just as the aphorism of Abū Bakr requires. Moon is in opposition though not in her own sign or exaltation, which doesn’t fulfill the requirement of the aphorism 100%, but we have pretty good matching here. At least, Moon is not peregrine or debilitated.

The point after we found this matching, is to try to find logical explanation as to why Abū Bakr would consider this configuration as to bring: wisdom, sensitivity, and person who examines the stars.

Now, Mercury alone, direct and in its own dignities, on MC, is capable of giving wisdom, intelligence and being recognized for those qualities, by the world. In this case, Mercury rules the actions (MC) which lead to choosing certain career. Having Mercury’s qualities accentuated, not being debilitated, and in this case, not being harmed by malefics (Mercury receives Saturn, so the tension is somewhat meliorated), would give success in everything that Mercury signifies, and he signifies wisdom, intelligence, curiosity, skillfulness with words, etc.
Moon is the planet which rules our sensitive nature, or sensitive part of the mind, while Mercury rules the rational, logical part of our mind. Moon/Mercury opposition would give sensitivity, which he certainly had (as every mystic and musician after all has). Mercury is the planet of astrology and astronomy, while Moon in 4th would give a mystic (according to both Valens and Ptolemy: the one who investigates the hidden things, mysteries), so this is a perfect combination for occultist.
Furthermore, in this case, Moon is in the mystical sign of Pisces, accentuating his mystical nature even more. The tension which this opposition (just as the square would do) is I think channeled through his overwhelming curiosity toward these hidden subjects.

As a side note, even though this is one of the most important things in this charts (but not a part or requirement of the aphorism), I would add that this Mercury as powerful as he is, made an appearance [get out of the Sun's rays] in the 7 days prior the birth, which makes him really the most powerful  and most visible planet in his horoscope. Mercury is in the bound of Mars which means that some of the significations he owns will be channeled through Mars in 12th in his own sign. 12th is another house of secrets, so his mystical-mystery nature is furthermore noted through this configuration. Moon is also in the bounds of Mars.

So, the next time you will find this configuration, in full or partially fulfilled, you would recall this aphorism I am sure. I think this is great way of practicing the astrology as was transferred to us through the practice and wisdom of the old sages. I do not think that we should follow them blindly, instead, to think with our own heads, but not to neglect their extremely valuable experience!