Ides. A day in the Roman calendar and seven days before it. It appears
that the term applied to the day on which the Sun passed the points of the
Equinoxes and the Tropics, and that the seven days constituted the orbs
preceding the Sun's crossing of the cusps of the four cardinal signs or angular
houses. Shakespeare refers to the baleful influence of "The Ides of
March" - evidently the last seven degrees of Pisces, or of the Twelfth
House.
Illumination, Period of. That portion of the Moon's orbit, of the duration of
approximately 26d 18h, during which it is visible, supplying light after sunset
and before sunrise. Obviously it supplies light only to the hemisphere which is
turned in its direction; but since the Earth's rotation constantly shifts this
hemisphere, the whole of the Earth's surface is illuminated for some portion of
every night during this period.
Immersion. Applied to the Sun or Moon as it enters into an eclipse, or to
the beginning of an occultation (q.v.).
Impeded; Impedited. Said of a Luminary or planet when badly aspected, especially by
the malefics. Also said of the Moon when passing to a conjunction, square or
opposition to the Sun, Mars, or Saturn. The Moon when impedited by the Sun at
birth was anciently said to produce a blemish in or near the eye.
Imperfect Signs, Broken Signs. Leo, Scorpio and Pisces. v. Signs.
Imum Coeli. The lowest heaven, the North Angle or cusp of the fourth house. v. Midheaven; Celestial
Sphere.
Inclination. (1) Astrologically, the motion of a body toward a position in the
horoscope other than the one it held at birth. (2) Astronomically, the
angle at which the orbit of a planet crosses another orbit, particularly the
ecliptic. A point in an orbit is reduced to the ecliptic by subtracting from
the vector, the cosine of the declination.
The inclination of the Moon's orbit to
the ecliptic varies from 4°59' to 5°18'.
The Earth's orbit is, of course, the
Ecliptic, hence the Sun can have no latitude. That it has declination is due to
the fact that the ecliptic makes an angle with the celestial equator of approx.
23°5' - which is described, not as inclination but as the obliquity of the
ecliptic. For the inclination of the planets v. Nodes of the Planets.
Inconjunct. Dissociate. A planet is inconjunct when it forms no aspect and
is not in parallel of declination or mutual disposition to another planet.
Dissociate was formerly applied by some authorities to the 150° or Quincunx
aspect, which they deemed inconsequential; but is now applied to any two Signs
or Houses which have no familiarity with each other - meaning those which bear
a twelfth, second, sixth and eighth House relationship, as Taurus, with Aries,
Gemini, Libra and Sagittarius.
Increasing in Light. Usually said of the Moon, but equally applicable to any planet
which, on leaving a conjunction with the Sun, increases in light, as viewed
from the Earth; and as it recedes from the opposition, decreases in light.
Increasing in Motion. A planet increases its motion by acceleration from day to day as
it approaches perihelion. When it is approaching its apogee, the Moon may
advance 12° one day and as much as 13° the next. As its mean motion is 13°10'
per day, any excess above this indicates that the Moon is "swift in
motion." The condition is regarded as fortunate. Older authorities term it
increasing in number.
Individual Houses. v.
Houses.
Inferior Planets. The minor planets, those whose orbits are within that of the
Earth: viz.: Mercury and Venus. v. Planets.
Infortunes. Mars and Saturn. v. Planets, Malefic.
Ingress. Said of the entry of any orbital body into a Sign, or a
quadrant. The Sun makes an ingress into the Cardinal Signs at the equinoxes and
solstices. The planets also have their ingresses into the various Signs, which
result in certain alterations of their influence.
Initiating Signs. The first Sign of each season of the year; the Cardinal Signs -
Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, characterized by a constant state of
mobilization for action.
Initiative Type. Referring to a quality liberally possessed by those born when
the Sun was in a leading Sign: Aries, Cancer, Libra, or Capricorn. v. Sign.
Injunct. An abbreviated form of inconjunct (q.v.).
Inspirational Natures. Referring to the quality of sensory receptivity and reaction
that characterizes those born with the Sun in Aries, Leo and Sagittarius -
respectively, the initiative, executive and deductive types of the
Inspirational group. It would appear that their chief motivation derives from a
super-consciousness of the Ego.
Intellectual Natures. Referring to a quality of sensory receptivity through the mind
that characterizes those born with the Sun in Libra, Aquarius and Gemini -
respectively, the initiative, executive and deductive types of the Intellectual
group. To classify this group as Intellectuals, does not imply that other
groups are possessed of inferior intellects.
Interlunar. Of or pertaining to the brief period of time that separates the
old and the new Moon. The period of the Moon's invisibility during a lunation,
the solar period less 26 d., 18 h., or approximately two days.
Intercepted. Said of a Sign wholly contained within a House; or more
precisely, of a House which is intercepted by a Sign which does not appear upon
either of its cusps. v. House.
Interpolation. The process of computing intermediate values in a series of
numbers. In astrology it is applied (1) to computing a planet's
position for a given moment between two known posi- tions, such as the noon or
midnight position prior to and subsequent to the desired moment, as taken from
an Ephemeris for that year; and (2) to compute the house cusps for
an intermediate latitude between two sets of tables computed for latitudes on
either side of that for which the interpolation is required. In making the
calculations necessary for an interpolation, use is frequently made of Tables
of Diurnal Proportional Logarithms. v. Logarithms.
Interpretation. Applied astrologically to an individual judgment as to the
significance of a configuration of birth planets, or of transiting or progressed
aspects to a birth configuration.
Invariable Plane. The Solar System possesses two fixed planes: that of the Solar
Equator; and the Invariable plane - a central plane of the Solar System
discovered by Laplace, which, passing through its center of gravity at a mean
inclination of about 1°35' to the Ecliptic, is independent of the mutual
perturbations of the planets. The inclination of the orbits of Venus and
Mercury to the Solar Equator, slightly more than 3 degrees, is less than that
of the other planets. Since these are the two closest planets to the Sun, the
Solar Equator can be considered as their reference plane. The Earth's
inclination to this plane, of slightly more than 7", is exceeded only by
that of Pluto. The Ecliptic, the Earth's plane of revolution around the Sun,
intersects the Solar Equator in the middle of Gemini and Sagittarius, at which
points the Earth has no heliographic Latitude North or South. However, the
values of these inclinations and the longitudes of the planetary Nodes along
this plane are all variable due to motions of the orbits themselves with
respect to the other great reference plane of the Solar System: the Invariable
Plane - so-called because its position remains unaltered by any forces within
the system. In this plane the combined angular momenta of all the planets is a
maximum. There are two classes of disturbances in the normal undisturbed
elliptical motion of the planets in their orbits in space: periodic
perturbations and secular perturbations. Periodic perturbations are deviations
due to the gravitational pulls of the planets on each other. However, after the
planets have revolved a considerable number of times, and thus have been in all
possible relations to each other, these periodic perturbations cancel each
other. A famous example is the long period inequality in the motions of Jupiter
and Saturn, which shifts their positions by a degree or so - one forward and
the other backward - in a period of about 918 years. Actually their recurrence
cycle in the fixed Zodiac - 46 conjunctions distributed nearly evenly in all 12
Signs of that Zodiac - is about 913½ years, but the inequality lengthens
this to 918 years. Therefore the periodic perturbations are determined by the
second order recurrence cycles of the planets in the fixed Zodiac. However, at
the end of such a cycle of fluctuation the distorting effects have not been
completely cancelled out, and small remaining residues show up in what are
termed the elements of the planets' orbits. As a result of this residue, the
nodical line at which the orbit plane of each planet intersects the invariable
plane, is displaced backward, in a precessional motion of the whole orbit
plane. In addition, the inclination of the orbit plane to the invariable plane
is slightly decreased or increased. A third effect is a shift in the position
of the major axis - longest axis of the orbital ellipse. This shift may be
either forward or backward, but it is more likely to be forward for all of the
planets except Venus. Finally the shortest axis of the orbital ellipse - the
minor axis which crosses the major axis at the center of the ellipse -
increases or decreases its length; i.e, the eccentricity of the ellipse becomes
greater or less.
Two great masters of celestial
mechanics, Lagrange and Laplace, demonstrated that while there are periodic
fluctuations in the lengths of the major axes there are no secular
perturbations - long-term oscillations. Since the duration of a planet's
revolution around the Sun depends on the major axis alone, this means that
except for minor short-term fluctuations the periods of the planets are
constant. They further demonstrated that the inclinations and eccentricities
oscillate within narrow limits which are never exceeded, thus preserving the
stability of the Solar System. Finally they showed that the orbit planes
precess backward along the invariable plane, while most of the major axes
revolve forward - spending briefer periods in actual retrograde motion. Only
the major axis of Venus spends more time revolving backward than forward. Thus
the Solar System, through an intricate process of mutual adjustment, maintains
its basic configurations of orbits, and its stability. As one planet decreases
its eccentricity and inclination, one or more orbits must at the same time be
increasing their eccentricities and inclinations: whereby the total amount of
eccentricity and of inclination to the invariable plane remains constant! This
has been termed the Magna Charta of the Solar System. The late Ernest W. Brown
showed that the effects of resonance could not have been great enough within
the past hundred million years to have destroyed this stability; nor would it
be in the next hundred million years.
Jupiter, the most massive of all the
planets, has an orbital inclination to the Invariable Plane which never exceeds
0°28', nor ever less than 0°14'. Its current value is about 0°21'. Furthermore,
the Nodes of the Jupiter and Saturn orbits on this plane are never separated
from each other by much less than 180°; hence these two planets largely
determine the position of the Invariable plane - especially Jupiter. According
to Stockwell, the mean period of their common precession is 49,972 years.
Similarly the perihelion ends of the major axes of the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus
never get much less than 180º from each other. The common mean period for
a revolution of their major axes (line of apsides) is 348,700 years. Thus
Jupiter is the "flywheel" which balance the Solar System, a perfect
symbol of justice and law.
The Earth's orbit - the ecliptic - can
never have an inclination to the Invariable plane in excess of 3°6'. The value
on January 1, 1850 was 1°35'19.376" - the figures are taken from
Stockwell's "Secular Variations of the Eight Principal Planets," in
the "Smithsonian Annual Contributions to Knowledge," Volume 18, 1872.
According to him the maximum eccentricity of the Earth's orbit is .0693888; the
current value .0159. The period of the orbital precession of the Ecliptic on
the Invariable Plane is indeterminate, since the minimum inclination of the
Ecliptic to that plane is 0°0'0". Similarly, the minimum Eccentricity is
also 0, hence the mean period of motion of the line of Apsides is also
indeterminate.
LeVerrier, the discoverer of Neptune,
and Stockwell, calculated the position of Earth's perihelion, one end of the
line of apsides, over a period in excess of 4,000,000 Years. By counting the
number of times the line of Apsides revolved within that period, one gains a
good estimate of its period in the present Mahayuga. This Mahayuga of the
Hindus is a period of approximately 4,320,000 years, in which they say all of
the planets recur at nearly the same position. The astronomer Stuart showed
that this is correct and that the period is 4,319,936.8663 years: at the end of
which Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn return to a position
in the Fixed Zodiac about 20° behind where they started. He found this also
applied to the "new" planets, Uranus and Neptune; and that an
increase in the period of Pluto of only one part in 100,000, or 0.001 per cent,
will also bring it into recurrence. It would appear that in the present
Mahayuga the mean period of revolution of the Earth's apsides is about 115,000
years from LeVerrier's figures, and about 110,000 from Stockwell's somewhat
more accurate figures: and the average period of revolution of the major axis
of the Earth's orbit must have a mean value of approximately the same order of
magnitude: i.e., 110,000 to 115,000 years.
In the present cycle both of these
periods are near minimums, since the eccentricity and inclination of the
Earth's orbit are decreasing to minimum values. In the current cosmic Era the
length of the Planetary Precession and rotation of the Line of Apsides will be
from 72,000 to 75,000 years. The minimum inclination will be reached in about
20,000 years and the minimum eccentricity about 26,000 A.D., one cycle of
general Precession after Christ. The last Stationary position of the
Perihelion-Stationary-Direct after several thousands of years of retrogressive
motion - was about 26,000 years before Christ: again one cycle of the general
Precession.
The relationships of these cosmic
cycles to the time of the Christ is indeed remarkable, and tends to confirm the
belief that a new cycle of general Precession then commenced. Furthermore at
that epoch the Nodical line of Ecliptic and Invariable Plane was at right
angles to the Nodical line of Ecliptic and Equator - the Equinox - thus making
a Cross! The position of the Nodical line of the Planetary precession in the
Moving Zodiac was 16°14'6.00" Cancer-Capricorn on January 1, 1850. The
present position of the Perihelion end of the Line of Apsides - where the Earth
is nearest the Sun - is about 11° Capricorn, i.e., the position of the Sun on
or shortly after January 1 of every year (deviation due to Calendar variation
or Leap Year effect). Thus it appears that we commence our year at what after
all is astronomically the most logical time.
The minimum eccentricity of the
Earth's orbit, at about 29,900 A.D., will be the smallest minimum since the
greatest maximum, about 850,000 B.C., showing a great cycle, governing all
planetary eccentricities in the Solar System, of a duration of approximately
1,750,000 years. According to Madame Blavatsky's "Secret Doctrine" it
was around 850,000 B.C. that the first and most serious cataclysm destroyed
most of the continent of Atlantis, at the start of what she terms the Fifth
Root Race. As a cataclysm by Water, this suggests that the next cataclysm may
be by Fire, and will occur about 25,900 A.D., at the start of the Sixth Root
Race. Since she maintains that each Root Race has 7 Sub-races and each of these
in turn 7 Family Races, there should be 49 Family Races in a Root Race or
Lifewave. She also states that the period of a Family Race was that of the
general Precession, a little under 26,000 years - although the Root Races
overlap, in that a new one commences before an older one has run its course. It
is easy to show that the Precession which ended with Christ was the end of the
Fifth Family Race of the Fifth Subrace of the Fifth Root Race: making 33 Family
Races or Precessions since 850,000 B.C. Therefore the present Sixth Family
Race, of the present cycle of Precession, may be considered as a bridging cycle
out of which both the Sixth Sub-Race and the Sixth Root Race will in the next
cataclysm approach their start around 25,900 A.D.
The foregoing is not put forward
dogmatically, but as an interesting explanation of the significance of these
long cosmic cycles. The implication is that the present cycle of Precession is
a bridging cycle between two great Lifewaves (Root Races), and thus has
extraordinary importance; that it commenced with Christ and the cosmic Cross
formed by the Equinoxes and the Line of the Planetary Nodes; and that the
significance of the Crucifixion is essentially cosmic, and the Mission of the
Christ one of initiating the great Precessional cycle of Transition from the
Fifth to the Sixth Lifewave. It is a notable fact that on April 1, 25 A.D.
(Julian Calendar), when Jesus was 30 years of age and at the start of his
mission, according to a consensus of historical researches, there was a Great
Cardinal Cross, wherein Uranus in Cancer at its Node on the Invariable Plane
opposing Neptune in Capricorn at its Node on the Ecliptic, was in cross
relationship to Saturn in Aries at its Node on the Equator opposing Jupiter in
Libra - all the Nodes on the three basic planes which at that time were forming
the cosmic cross. In addition there was a Full Moon in Libra with the Sun in
Aries, Mars in Aries also in the Cross, and at its Node on the Ecliptic. Pluto
was in early Sagittarius; and Mercury and Venus were retrograde in the last
decan of Pisces - the Sign of Christianity and of the traditionally first of
the 12 Ages into which the Precessional cycle is customarily divided. Thus
through the crossing of orbit planes, the Nodes, this Planetary Cross shows a
remarkable relationship to the Cosmic Cross made at that time by the Equator,
Ecliptic and Invariable planes.
This full discussion is warranted on
the basis that this date marks the blending of all the chief cycles which
affect the Earth, and the significance of the cosmically-indicated Crucifixion
of Christ, which could never before have occurred in the two-billion-year
history of the Earth. A third Cross is found to be involved, if one considers
the four consecutive
Solar eclipse paths which passed over Jerusalem and Bethlehem, both before and
after the life of Jesus. The total Eclipse of July 4, 336 B.C. at 6.3° Cancer;
the total Eclipse of April 2, 303 B.C. at 7.5° Aries; the annular Eclipse of
January 5, 29 B.C. at 12.6° Capricorn; and the annular Eclipse of October 4,
590 A.D. at 13.2° Libra - all Julian dates. These form a Cross in their
positions on the Ecliptic (Zodiac), the positions in near-agreement with the
Zodiacal places of the four chief major planets on April 1, 25 A.D.: Uranus, at
10.1° Cancer; Neptune, at 13.8° Capricorn; Saturn, at 4.8° Aries; and Jupiter,
at 15.4° Libra - all calculated from Schoch's Tables by Ralph Kraum. Thus the
Planetary Cross activated the Eclipse Cross (zodiacal), and the drama of the
ensuing Crucifixion was enacted in Jerusalem where the four eclipse-paths had
crossed and were to cross (Geographical), while both in turn were the
projection of the basic evolutionary Cosmic Cross of the three fundamental
planes which signified the commencement of the most vital cycle of Precession
(both planetary Precession and general Precession), within the period of two
Lifeways (transition from one to the other) - which is about 100 general
Precessions or 2,570,000 years: the period of a double Polar Inversion. -
CHARLES A. JAYNE, Jr.
Inversion. When any Angle which represents an aspect is subtracted from
180°, that which remains is also an aspect, and either is an inversion of the
other. Thus: the inversion of a sextile is a trine; of a semi-square, a
sesquiquadrate; and so on.
Ishtar. v.
Venus.
Isis and Osiris. Two hypothetical trans-Plutonic planets which have been the
subject of much conjecture.
Issat. (Izzah, glory; from Arabic.) Applied ironically to one who has
delusions of grandeur, or who suffers from an exaggerated appraisal of his
prestige.