Sagittarius. The ninth sign of the zodiac. v. Signs.
Saros. (1) A Chaldean and Babylonian interpretation of a cycle
of 60 days as 60 years. (2) 60 sixties, or 3,600. (3) A
lunar cycle of 6,585.32 days - 223 lunations; or 18 years, 11 1/3 days. In this
period the centers of Sun and Moon return so nearly to the same relative places
that the eclipses of the next period recur in approximately the same sequence -
but with their zone of visibility shifted 120° to the Westward. (v. Eclipses.)
Because the Node recedes 19.5 a year,
the Sun meets the same Node in 346.62 days - the eclipse year. As this does not
coincide with the Lunar periods, the Sun moves past the node a degree a day for
as many days as it takes for the Moon to reach a conjunction or opposition. Thus
either a Solar or Lunar Eclipse may occur before or after the Sun reaches the
Node, or both before and after. If the Lunation occurs within 2 or 3 days
before or after the Sun reaches the Node there may be no accompanying Lunar
Eclipse, as on Dec. 3, 1918 and May 29, 1919 (Saros Series 11).
If the Lunation or Full Moon occurs
from 4 to 9 days before the Sun reaches the Node, there will be a Lunar Eclipse
followed by a Solar Eclipse, or the reverse. If the Lunation occurs from 10 to
12 days before the Sun reaches the Node there may be a series of three
Eclipses: a Solar before the Node, a Lunar at the Node, and another Solar when
the Sun has passed beyond the Node. Associated with this are certain values:
......................................................Days
...242 returns of the Moon to a particular Node.......6585.36
....19 returns of the Sun to the same Node............6585.78
...233 Synodic months.................................6585.32
Saturn chasing the Moon. This is one of the most powerful of Saturnian conditions. Since
the progressed Moon takes twenty-eight and Saturn thirty years to complete the
circle, the two may in rare cases, approximately coincide. An affliction of the
Moon by Saturn is of itself one of the most unfortunate of aspects; for when
the aspect is close and the progressing Moon moves at about the same rate as
Saturn, a transit of Saturn to the Moon can persist indefinitely - often for a
lifetime: thus resulting in a double affliction. However, the condition can
occur only where the Moon at birth is in conjunction, square or opposition to
Saturn.
Saturnine. One of a dour disposition - a meaning borrowed wholly from
Astrology, which defines it as one who has a strong Saturn accent.
Saturnalia. The Roman festival of Saturn which annually on Dec. 17 began a
week of feasting.
Satellite. A planet or moon that revolves about another. The Moon is a
satellite of the Earth; and according to Newton, both are satellites of the
Sun. In modern Astrology it is confined to a body which revolves around one of
the planets in our solar system.
Satellitium. Stellium. A group of five or more planets in one Sign or House.
In an angle it portends great changes of fortune, the good and the bad coming
in patches. Heavy falls are succeeded in due course by a spectacular comeback,
and vice versa. Such persons usually have many acquaintances, but few real
friends. They can hardly fail of considerable recognition at some periods of
their lives.
Scorpio. The eighth sign of the zodiac. v. Signs.
Secondary Progressions. Zodiacal aspects formed by the orbital motions of the planets on
successive days after birth, each day accounted the equivalent of one year of
life. Aspects are calculated to the birth positions of the luminaries, planets
and angles, and mutual aspects are formed between the progressed planets. The
application of this system of forecasting future conditioning that may be
expected to crystallize in events, involves the directing of the Midheaven,
Ascendant and the Sun by their natural progress in the heavens after birth. The
Sun and the Midheaven progress at an average rate of 59'08" per day (the
so-called "Naibod Arc"), to form aspects to the radical positions of
the planets, while the planets move at varying rates to form aspects to the
radical positions of the Significators. The most dependable factor in Secondary
Progressions is the advancing of the progressed Moon, forming aspects to the
radical and progressed places of the planets and to the places of the
Significators, which are interpreted according to the places in which the
aspects fall by Sign and House.
With specific reference to the
progressions of the Moon it is generally considered: that such aspects produce
strong though gradual effects of about one month's duration; that the month
when the progressed Moon is approaching a square to her own radical place is
generally marked by accidents and infirmities, the next preceding semi-square
usually giving an indication of the nature of the crisis or physical ailment
that can be expected to develop; that trine and sextile aspects of the
transitory and of the progressed Moon to the radical Moon generally outline
favorable days and months; and that square and opposition aspects also strongly
influence and that adversely, forming critical periods around the 7th, 14th,
21st and 28th day and year.
In general it is held that directions
act in terms of the Radix and that when the Nativity is unfortunate no
favorable direction can have the same efficacy as an adverse one; and vice
versa when the Nativity is fortunate. In other words, the accidental good
cannot overcome the radical evil. (v. Radix System.)
The revised Sepharial Dictionary
defines Secondary Progressions somewhat misleadingly as those based upon the
progress of the Moon in the zodiac. However, the aspects formed by the Moon in
the Secondary system are important, and some authorities hold that unless they
are of the same nature as the Primary Directions, hence tend to strengthen
their operation, the primary directions will have little effect; but when they
do coincide, a decided influence will be traceable in the life of the person
whose chart is under consideration. According to this a Primary Direction would
not function until such time as the progressed Moon forms an aspect of a
similar nature. v.
Directions.
In calculating Progressions by the
system of taking the positions of the planets as given in the Ephemeris for the
next day following birth, as the equivalent of their progressed positions at
the end of the first year of life, use may be made of this table. [Apolo's Note: 'd.' means 'day'; 'h.' means 'hour(s)'; 'm.' means 'minute(s)'; 's.' means 'second(s)'.]
......1 d. = 1 year
......2 h. = 1 month
.....30 m. = 1 week
......4 m. = 1 day
......1 m. = 6 hours
.....10 s. = 1 hour
......1 s. = 6 minutes
Seer. One who sees; a crystal gazer; a person endowed with second
sight; one who foresees future events - a prophet; astrologically, one whose
extra-sensory perceptions enable him to vizualize the ultimate effects that will
result from the cosmic causes portrayed in a birth Figure.
Semi-Arc. That portion of a celestial body's apparent daily travel, during
which it remains above the horizon, from its rising to its setting, is called
its diurnal arc; hence half of the arc, from horizon to midheaven, is its
Diurnal Semi-Arc. The other half, most of which is under the earth, is its
nocturnal arc, and half of it becomes the Nocturnal Semi-Arc. The Sun's
semi-arc, diurnal or nocturnal, when in 0° Aries or 0° Libra, is six hours or
90° all over the Earth. At other seasons the one is greater or less than the
other, according to the time of the year and the latitude of the place. The
greatest discrepancy occurs where the N. or S. latitude is high, and when the
Sun is in 0° Cancer or 0° Capricorn. The semi-arc is usually measured in
degrees of R. A. passing over the Meridian; although it can be expressed in
terms of time.
Semi-Quintil. An 36º aspect (v. Quintile).
Semicircle. v.
Lunar; Solar.
Semi-sextile. A 30º aspect. (q.v.)
Semi-square. A 45º aspect. (q.v.)
Senses, Significators of the. Generally accepted as the significators of the five physical
senses, are:
Mercury,...sight
Venus,.....touch
Mars,......taste
Jupiter,...smell
Saturn,....hearing
Separating, separation. v. Aspects.
Sesqui-quadrate. A 135º aspect (q.v.)
Sesquiquintile. A 108º aspect (q.v.)
Seven. Anciently the number of the bodies presumed to make up our solar
system, to which number was ascribed a magical significance. Identified with
them were the days of the week and the seven notes of the Diatonic scale. In
1666 Newton ascribed to them the seven hues of the spectrum.
Man was presumed to be a seven-fold
being:
Sun:......His life-forces; the spiritual being within.
Moon:.....His psychic being; the vegetable kingdom.
Mercury:..His intellect; the realm of Mind.
Venus:....His divine, immortal self; the benevolent nature.
Mars:.....His bestial nature; the animal nature.
Jupiter:..His higher physical nature; the quality of optimism.
Saturn:...His physical being; the mineral kingdom.
The seven deadly sins of the ancient
theologians were said to have been of astrological origin: Pride, Jupiter;
covetousness, Saturn; lust, Venus; wrath, Mars; gluttony, Mercury; envy, Moon;
indolence, Sun.
Also the seven virtues: Chastity,
Moon; love, Venus; courage, Mars; faith, Jupiter; hope, Sun; wisdom, Mercury;
and prudence, Saturn.
There were also seven wise men of
Greece; the seven-fold Amen; the Seven Wonders of the World; the Book of the
Seven Seals (Rev.
5,5), and the seven angels (Rev. 5,8).
The Seven against Thebes were the
seven heroes who undertook an expedition to aid Polynices against his brother
Eteoclus. The oracle promised success to whichever brother Oedipus favored; but
he cursed both, and the brothers slew each other.
Seven has been explained as compounded
of "The Ternary of God and the Quarternary of the world," as
representing "three-fold and four-fold happiness," making 3 + 4 = 7 a
sacred number: a reference to the 4 quadruplicities and the 3 triplicities. Any
multiple of seven became a "great number": a jubilee year of
restitution.
Since every seventh year from time
immemorial was believed to form some material alteration, it has been observed
in some professions as a sabbatical year of rest, comparable to the seventh day
on which the Creator rested from his labors - as recounted in the Book of
Genesis. For the Seven Ages of Man, v. Planetary, Ages of Man.
Sexagenary. (1) A scale of numbers or a method of computation that
proceeds by sixties - as in degree, minutes and seconds. (2) Said
of tables prepared for the purpose of showing proportional parts of the number
60°: giving the product of two sexagenary numbers multiplied; or the quotient
of two such when divided.
Sextile. A 60º aspect (q.v.)
Sextiles. A body sextiles another toward which it is approaching from a
distance of from 53º to 60º.
Sidereal Clock. A clock found in every astronomical observatory, which is set to
register oh om os when 0° Aries is on the Zenith. Formerly a noon point, but
since 1925 a midnight point, it moves forward in the zodiac by 1°, or 4
minutes, each day, hence the Sidereal Time at noon (or midnight if since 1925)
on any day shows what sign and degree is on the M.C. at that particular moment.
For example, ST at 0h, or midnight, on May 1, 1945 is 14h 34m 14s: approx.
874m / 4 = 218 degrees = approx. 8° Scorpio on M.C. The Sidereal Clock
indicates 24h, while the solar chronometer registers 23h 56m 4.0906s of Mean
Solar Time. It does not register A.M. or P.M., but divides the dial into 24
hourly periods. The so-called Army and Navy time of World War 11 indicates the
eventual universal use of the same system applied to solar time, whereby for
example, 2 P.M. will be known as 1400.
After the Sidereal clock has been set
at 0h to coincide with the moment of the Earth's crossing the intersecting
point of the Ecliptic and Equator, the next noon it will read something like
12:04 - the distance the Earth has travelled in orbit in one solar day, shown
in units of time. Thus each successive day at noon it shows the cumulative
amount of the Earth's orbital travel since noon on the day of the equinox.
Thereby sidereal time becomes the hour angle of the Vernal Equinox, and the
Earth's position at Greenwich Noon on any day can be expressed in terms of
hours, minutes and seconds. Its position along the ecliptic is expressed in
degrees and minutes of longitude, and along the equator in degrees and minutes
of Right Ascension.
Sidereal Day. The interval between two successive transits of the first point
of Aries over the upper meridian of any place. The Sidereal Day is equal to 23h
56m 4.09s of mean solar time, and it has sidereal hours, each of 60 sidereal
minutes, each minute of 60 sidereal seconds.
Sidereal Time. A method of time-reckoning based upon the period elapsing
between two successive passages of some particular star, taken as a fixed
celestial point, over a given point on the circumference of the Earth. During
one such rotation the Sun's apparent orbital travel has amounted to
approximately 1°, hence the return of a given point on the Earth to the same
relationship with the Sun requires added travel to the extent of 1° of arc or 4
minutes of time. Thus each calendar anniversary shows an annual net gain of 1°,
which is the basis of all systems of progressed influences. The S.T. at any
moment is the angular distance along the Ecliptic from 0° Aries, the point of
the Spring Equinox, to the meridian of a given place at noon on a given day,
expressed in h. m. s. The Right Ascension of the Meridian (RAMC) is a similar
angular distance along the Equator expressed in degrees and minutes of arc.
When the Spring equinoctial point is
on the observer's meridian it is S.T. 0h. When that degree has moved 15° it is
1h S.T. Thus the time required for the equinoctial degree to move to a certain
advanced position becomes the unit through which that position is expressed. To
determine the sidereal time for a given moment at a certain place, take from
the ephemeris the ST for that date and apply certain corrections, viz.: If the
ephemeris is for any other meridian than Greenwich make sure to take that into
account, adding or subtracting your distance from this meridian, not from
Greenwich; also add or subtract 12 hours if you are calculating your
time-interval from midnight.
Additions to this S.T. for stations
west of the zone meridian are made in degrees expressed in solar mean time,
four minutes for each degree, which must be further converted by adding 0s.657
for each degree to reduce the additions to sidereal time. The hours added for
the elapsed time since oh must also be adjusted in the same proportion. v. Time.
Sidereal Year. v.
Year.
Sign. One of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. The annual revolution of
the Earth round the Sun is divided into the 360° of a circle, a division that
mathematically and astronomically is universally accepted. The subdivisions of
the circle into 12 equal arcs, distinguished by names, are known as the Signs
of the Zodiac. They no longer bear any relationship to the constellations of
the same name.
These arcs are measured from the point
where the Sun crosses the celestial equator at the beginning of Spring on or
about March 21st each year. As this is coincidental with the position of the
Earth's axis at right angles to the radius of its orbit, the days and nights
are of equal duration all over the Earth. The point is termed the Vernal
Equinox. That the Zodiacal year seems at one period of history to have begun
with Taurus indicates that these records date from between 2,000 and 4,000
B.C., during which period the equinoctial point fell in Taurus.
The further fact that the Equinox
still continues to fall in 0° Aries indicates that at some time since the
beginning of the Christian era the fixed Zodiac of constellations was abandoned
and the names reapplied to a moving Zodiac based upon the equinoctial point,
then recognized as the beginning of the astrological year. The year's arc of
precession was thus ignored - an annual loss of a moment of time that shows up in
no calculation at present in use, other than in a consideration of the
Precession of the equinoctial point and the one degree revision of star
positions every seventy years.
Can it be that our only record of one
of these early readjustments of the calendar is that of Joshua having commanded
the Sun to stand still?
Thus for at least 40 centuries
astrologers have recognized the receding point of the Node of intersection of
the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator as the commencement of a scheme of
magnetic conditioning. (v. Solar System.)
Of the twelve signs there are four
basic groups:
The Inspirational Group - the Fire
signs.
The Emotional Group - the Water signs.
The Mental Group - the Air signs.
The Practical Group - the Earth signs.
These are termed the Elements, or
Triplicities - since three signs are embraced in each group, as follows:
...............Cardinal.....Fixed......Mutable
.....Fire:.....Aries........Leo........Sagittarius
.....Water:....Cancer.......Scorpio....Pisces
.....Air:......Libra........Aquarius...Gemini
.....Earth:....Capricorn....Taurus.....Virgo
As the English language abounds in
words which had their origin in the symbology of the ancients, the use of terms
such as fire, earth, air and water, do not indicate any present-day adherence
to the ancient concept that matter is composed of these four primary elements.
They are merely terms, but as such they appear aptly to symbolize, now as then,
an outstanding characteristic of each of the four basic groups into which mankind
is classified according to astrology. In fact, it becomes doubtful whether this
grouping was ever intended to apply to the elements of matter, since fire could
hardly have been looked upon even in that day as a physical element. More than
likely it is a modern misconception of their symbolic interpretation of the
psychological elements discerned in zodiacal influences.
Of each of these elemental groups or
triplicities there are three types, or qualities, as shown in the previous
arrangement: the Cardinal or Initiative signs, the Fixed or Executive signs,
and the Mutable or Deductive signs. As there are four of each, these are known
as the Quadruplicities.
Key words often associated with the
twelve Signs are:
..Aries:....Aspiration...|..Libra:.......Equilibrium
..Taurus:...Integration..|..Scorpio:.....Creativity
..Gemini:...Vivification.|..Sagittarius:.Administration
..Cancer:...Expansion....|..Capricorn:...Discrimination
..Leo:......Assurance....|..Aquarius:....Loyalty
..Virgo:....Assimilation.|..Pisces:......Appreciation
Another classification into four
groups representing the four seasons, is known as the Trinities:
..Intellectual..Maternal....Reproductive....Serving
..(Spring)......(Summer)....(Autumn)........(Winter)
..1. Aries......4. Cancer...7. Libra........10. Capricorn
..2. Taurus.....5. Leo......8. Scorpio......11. Aquarius
..3. Gemini.....6. Virgo....9. Sagittarius..12. Pisces
Cardinal Signs. So called because they are placed at the East, West, North and
South points of the astrological figure, hence compare to the four Cardinal
points of the compass-the points usually marked by a red arrow. They are
variously termed, the Leading, Movable, Acute, Changeable or Initiating signs
or types, and as they represent the active temperament are said to partake of
the nature of the Ascendant.
Fixed Signs, because they represent a balance of conflicting forces, are more
uniformly referred to as the Fixed or Grave signs or Executive types; although
occasionally referred to as the "foundation" signs - those which most
distinctly typify each element, because of which they were said to have been
dominant in the formulation of the Mosaic laws. They have also been called the
Seismic or "earthquake" signs, on the assumption that earthquakes most
frequently occur when the Sun or Moon is in a Fixed sign. They are the
power-houses of the zodiac - reservoirs of energy; the Formators of the
Chaldeans, the Cherubim of the Hebrews - the builders of the world. The fixed
sign tenacity is depended upon to support or stabilize the leading signs.
Mutable Signs, representing the arcs in which there is a perpetual condition of
slowing down in readiness to turn a corner; a mobilization for action, and the
indecision which results or accompanies it; were symbolized by concepts which
would express this duality - the twins, the two deep-water sea-horses, or the
half-man, half-horse of the Archer; hence also called the Dual or the
Double-bodied Signs; and by some, the Common or Flexed Signs. They are the
minds of their Triplicity, with their quickness and versatility acting as
mediators between the Leading and Fixed Signs. They have been called the
"reconcilers of the universe."
The Signs of the Zodiac should not be
confounded with the Zodiac of Constellations with which they have only an
historic relationship. Somewhat before the Christian era the Constellations (q.v.) and
the Signs coincided. Since then the Precession (q.v.) of the Equinoctial point
has produced a separation of approximately 1° in seventy-two years, or a total
of about thirty degrees in 2000 years. It is not possible to establish with
exactness the date upon which they coincided, for there is no sharp line or
boundary between the general areas associated with the group of stars that make
up a constellation, as compared to the Signs which are measured in 30° arcs
along the Ecliptic beginning at the point of the Spring Equinox. Aries 0° is
now in or about to enter the last degrees of the constellation of Aquarius,
hence current references to the Aquarian Age; also to the two thousand years of
the Piscean Age through which the Equinoctial Point has receded since the dawn
of the Christian era - an epoch symbolized in the parable of the Loaves and the
Fishes.
The four elements go farther than the
mere locating of the Sun position. The qualities contained in the signs
positing the Moon and the planets are gradually developed by every stimulation
that reaches the native through these points of receptivity. Every planet and
every angle, as it passes over each birth sensitivity, results in an accent.
This means that each of a dozen points of receptivity are daily stimulated by
an accent from each of a dozen points of electro-magnetic radiation, resulting
in something like 144 daily accents - not counting the changes resulting from
the orbital motion of each energy-radiating body. That is why planets well
distributed among signs of the different elements, produce the well-rounded
individual. The Greek philosophers built on this basis their thesis that the
whole man consisted of the interweaving of the four categories, into one of
which can be placed every human activity. These are:
...Category..........From contemplation
of....................Because of accents in
1. Physical......Body: functions and needs....................Earth
2. Intellectual..Mind: concepts and thought processes.........Air
3. Aesthetic.....Soul: yearnings; emotional
processes.........Water
4. Moral.........Spirit: aspirations, conduct, and
character..Fire
The terminology of the trigons, or
triplicities of Elements, is universal: fire, water, air and earth; although
some moderns prefer to call them the Inspirational, Emotional, Mental and
Practical Natures.
These four Elements, as represented by
the fixed type of each group, are symbolized in the figures of the Cherubim,
and in the Assyrian "winged lion." Also in the Egyptian Sphynx, in
which the Bull's body (Taurus), the Lion's paws and tail (Leo), the Eagle's
wings (Scorpio), and the Human head (Aquarius), repre- sent the four types
which combine to form the body politic.
They are also embodied in the deck of
cards: clubs for fire, diamonds for earth, hearts for water, and spades for
air; the black suits representing the positive signs and the red suits the
negative signs.
They are depicted symbolically in the
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and are builded into the Paris Notre Dame
Cathedral, which is as completely an astrological edifice as is the great
Pyramid. In Revelation
V:7 one reads that "the first beast was ne a lion, and the
second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the
fourth beast was like a flying eagle." Later on are described horses with
the faces of men, the teeth of lions, wings, and a sting in the tall like unto
a scorpion. In Chaucer, Shakespeare and all the writers of the Elizabethan age,
astrological allusions are frequent; in fact, the symbolism of the fixed signs
as representing the four elementary types of the genus homo, are the subject of
innumerable allusions in art and literature.
The "earthiness" of the
materialistic or practical Earth sign group is quite generally represented by
the thick-necked bull - the Taurus. In Hindu lore the chariot of Vishnu is
symbolized by a Bull. The Legend of St. George and the Dragon depicts the
opposition of Taurus to Scorpio.
In Chinese astrology, Taurus was the
White Tiger: Leo, the Red Bird; Scorpio, the Black Dragon; and Aquarius, the
Black Warrior - again a "human" sign.
The inspirational Fire sign group are
almost universally symbolized by the Lion.
The sympathetic, sensitive and often
vindictive, emotional Water sign group are frequently represented by the
Scorpion, not only because of its "sting" but also for the frequency
with which it was anciently supposed to sting itself to death rather than face
a ring of fire. It is also symbolized by the serpent - perhaps connotating the
"wisdom of the serpent" of the Garden of Eden. In the Roman Sphynx it
is represented by the asp on the man's forehead. Its "lone wolf"
proclivities, and the frequency with which strength in Scorpio is reflected in
a Roman nose - the eagle's beak - have been symbolized at some periods of
antiquity by the Eagle, as evidenced by the eagle's wings on the Egyptian
Sphynx.
The intellectual or mental Air sign
group is almost universally represented by a man, usually pouring out water
from a jug - symbolizing the giving of the water of knowledge to a thirsting
world. The three air signs have been spoken of as the "triangle of
harmony, peace and equilibrium."
Signs, and the Disciples. It is commonly considered from the many New Testament
pronouncements of astrological doctrine, that the Twelve Disciples were chosen,
each to represent a different one of the twelve fundamental types and qualities
with a ruling Trinity of the central Sun (the Father) whose spiritual and
intellectual light (the Holy Spirit) reflected by the Moon (the Son) flowed out
through these twelve apostles into all the world-representing humanity divided
into its twelve basic types. The disciples considered this order so important
that after Judas's betrayal Mathias took his place as one of the twelve.
Aries: Peter, the fiery, impulsive, changeable, pioneering leader, who
eventually became the rock upon which was founded the New Church "of the
Lamb." (Initiating: inspirational)
Taurus: Simon Zelotes, the dogmatic, determined zealot; who was
concerned with property and finances, rebelled against the payment of taxes,
and received from Jesus the admonition - "Render unto Caesar the things
that are Caesar's." (Fixed: materialistic)
Gemini: James, "the lesser." Slow to accept the authenticity of
the Messiah, but became the eloquent preacher of the church in Jerusalem, and
an active evangelist and exhorter. (Mutable: intellectual)
Cancer: Andrew, the sympathetic homebody, a follower of John the
Baptist, whose first thought when he discovered the Messiah was to run quickly
and fetch his brother Simon. (Initiating: sympathetic)
Leo: John, the most beloved apostle. (Fixed: inspirational)
Virgo: Philip, always precise, calculating, enquiring, and practical.
(Mutable: materialistic)
Libra: Bartholomew-Nathaniel, the innocently pure one "in whom
there is no guile." The tactful, persuasive evangelist. (Initiating:
intellectual)
Scorpio: Thomas, the doubting skeptic, yet bold and courageous. (Fixed:
sympathetic)
Sagittarius: James, the great teacher, who with Peter and John became the
spiritual leaders of the early church: the three fire sign types cooperating.
(Mutable: inspirational)
Capricorn: Matthew, the tax gatherer, the politician, the one in authority
in the governing seat in Rome. (Initiating: materialistic)
Aquarius: Thaddeus-Jude, who considered the lot of the peasant, and sought
to better the living and working conditions of the masses; and who interrogated
Jesus at the Last Supper as to how he would manifest himself. (Fixed:
intellectual)
Pisces: Judas Iscariot, who when he succumbed to temptation suf- fered
severe pangs of remorse. (Mutable: sympathetic)
Signs, The Symbology of Twelve. Dr. Curtiss characterized the evangelistic authors of the four
gospels, in terms of the fixed types of the four elemental groups, in this
fashion:
.......Matthew-Aquarius........To Know.
.......Mark-Leo................To Dare.
.......Luke-Taurus.............To Do.
.......John-Scorpio............To Keep Silent.
In the Book of Revelations we read
that by the River of Life grew a Tree of Life and of its twelve manner of
fruits whereby it yielded a different fruit for each month of the year.
Elsewhere in the Bible, which is a
great repository of astrological truths, we find God referred to as the Logos,
out of which went four rivers. In Abraham's effort to restore the Logos, we
find the symbol of an earlier Trinity: Abraham, the spiritual father; Isaac,
the thought concept; and Jacob, the physical externalization.
Jacob's twelve sons were the chiefs of
the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These are listed at birth in Genesis XXIX, and
again shortly before his death (Gen. XLIX). Ezekiel lists the tribes in the
distribution of land, substituting Manasseh and Ephraim, as perhaps the sons of
deceased fathers, Joseph and Levi; yet in the last chapter in listing the
Temple dates he employs the names of the twelve sons, as recounted in Genesis.
The symbolic descriptions accompanying the names leave little doubt that they
were representative of the twelve astrological types.
In the order of their birth the twelve
sons were named Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher,
Issacher, Zebulon, Joseph and Benjamin. There is disagreement among authorities
as to which Sign represents each one, but none as to the fact that they were
astrological. In fact Dan is definitely established as representing Scorpio in
Jacob's last blessing, when he said: "Dan is a snake, a serpent in the
path, that biteth at the horse's heels so that the rider falleth
backward," referring to Scorpio at the heels of the Centaur or
Sagittarius.
It is generally considered that the
modern prototype of the tribe of judah is the British nation; of Dan, Italy; of
Naphtali, the United States; and of Reuben, the Jews.
The twelve layers of the foundation
walls of the New Jerusalem (Rev. xxi: 19-20) were builded of:
1. Jasper, an opalescent or greenish
stone.
2. Sapphire, a blue, transparent gem.
3. Chalcedony, pale gray, translucent
quartz.
4. Emerald, green, transparent beryl.
5. Sardonyx, onyx with layers of sard,
a brownish, red chalcedony.
6. Sardius, probably a ruby.
7. Chrysolite, blue-green magnesium
iron silicate.
8. Beryl, probably bluish-green or
aquamarine.
9. Topaz, a yellow sapphire.
10. Chrysoprase, a light green
chalcedony.
11. Jacinth, a stone the color of
hyacinth.
12. Amethyst, purple or blue-violet
quartz.
From another period we find the Twelve
Labors of Hercules, as emblematic of the tasks which Destiny metes out to each
of the twelve basic types, whereby to attain to an heroic stature. Hercules, or
Heracles, is a mythological hero celebrated for his strength in the performance
of super-human tasks, imposed by Eurysthcus because of the hatred of Hera (Juno)
for Alcmena, the mother of Hercules by Zeus (Jupiter). After the death of
Hercules he was deified as the husband of Hebe.
The Twelve tasks are not listed in the
same order by all his- torians, and there are differences of opinion as to the
signs to which they pertain, but presumably the hero took the worst traits of
each sign and transmuted them into the nobility of which each sign is capable.
The "labors" are:
1. Wrestling with and killing by
strangulation the invulnerable Nemean lion.
2. Destruction of the Lernean hydra.
3. Capture of the Arcadian or Cerynean
hind - or stag.
4. Capture of the boar of Erymanthus,
when he fought the Centaurs, killing two friends, Chiron and Pholus. v. Demeter's mysteries
(not in this dictionary!)
5. Cleansing the stables of Augeas.
6. Killing of the man-eating
Stymphalean birds.
7. Capture of the Cretan bull -
afterwards killed by Theseus.
8. Capture of the man-eating mares of
the Thracian Diomedes.
9. Seizure of the girdle of Hippolyte,
queen of the Amazons.
10. Bringing the oxen of Geryones from
Erythria in the Far West. On this adventure he set up the Pillars of Hercules
at the Straits of Gibraltar.
11. Bringing the golden apples from
the garden of the Hesperides.
12. Carrying Cerberus from Hades to
the upper world.
Sign, Aries.
The Ram. The first sign of the zodiac.
Its symbol represents the head and horns of the ram. It is a symbol of
offensive power - a weapon of the gods, hence an implement of the will. The
Babylonians sacrificed rams during the period when the Sun occupied this sign,
which occurs annually from March 21 to April 20. Astrologically and
astronomically it is the first thirty-degree arc beginning at the point of the
Spring Equinox. It is the Leading quality of the Fire element: positive,
diurnal, movable, dry, hot, fiery, choleric and violent.
Ruler: Mars. Exaltation: Sun. Detriment: Venus. Fall:
Saturn.
Temperamental Aries
...Who works from morn to set of Sun,
...And never likes to be outdone?
...Whose walk is almost like a run?
......Who? Aries.
Symbolic interpretation: Sprouting seed; fire in eruption; a fountain of water; a ram's
horns.
Aries is the embodiment of Self, the
will to manifest, the adventurous spirit; desire, initiative and courage.
...First from the east, the Ram
conducts the year;
...Whom Ptolemy with twice nine stars
adorns. -
Aratus.
First Decan: activity, adventure, zeal, notoriety, dishonor, misfortune. Second Decan:
noble affections as the source of power to sway others - the head joined to the
impulses of the heart. It is the decan of Exaltation, in that the Sun is
exalted in the nineteenth degree of the Sign.
Third Decan: Propaganda, the spiritual possibilities of the valiant heart at
grips with sordid conditions.
Sign, Taurus. The Bull. The second sign of the zodiac. Its symbol represents
the head and horns of a bull. The sacred Apis was presumed to be the
incarnation of the god Osiris - hence a symbol of a sepulchre or tomb. The
Sun's entry into Taurus was celebrated as a Feast of Maya (Maia) - our May Day
- the Sun represented by a white bull with a golden disc between his horns,
followed by a procession of virgins, exemplifying the fecundity of Nature in
Spring. The Sun is in Taurus annually from April 21 to May 20. Astrologically
and astronomically it is in the second thirty-degree arc from the Spring
Equinox, from 30° to 60° along the Ecliptic. It is the Fixed quality of the
Earth element, conferring external will power that, ordinarily passive, and
negative, becomes obstinate and unbending when aroused. Negative, nocturnal,
cold, dry and melancholy. Ruler: Venus. Exaltation: Moon. Detriment:
Mars. Fall:
Uranus.
........Headstrong Taurus
...Who smiles through life - except
when crossed?
...Who knows, or thinks he knows, the
most?
...Who loves good things: baked,
boiled or roast?
......Oh, Taurus.
Symbolic interpretation: The head and horns of a bull; the sacred Apis in whom the god
Osiris was incarnate; a sepulchre or tomb.
Taurus represents the manifestations
of the Self, hence his basic possessions, and inherited tendencies.
...........The mighty Bull trudges the
stellar lanes.
- Aratus
First Decan: Determination, the soul's exaltation; materialistic and
mediumistic tendencies.
Second Decan: Struggle, the conflict for supremacy.
Third Decan: Mastership, triumph over physical limitations and environment;
utilizing physical things for spiritual progress.
Sign, Gemini. The Twins. The third sign of the zodiac. Its symbol represents
two pieces of wood bound together, symbolical of the unremitting conflict of
contradictory mental processes. The Sun is in Gemini annually from May 21 to
June 20. Astrologically it is the thirty degree arc immediately preceding the
Summer Solstice, marked by the passing of the Sun over the Tropic of Cancer,
and occupying a position along the ecliptic from 60° to 90°. It is the Mutable
quality of the element: positive, dual.
Ruler: Mercury. Detriment: Jupiter.
................Worrisome Gemini.
...Who's fond
of life and jest and pleasure;
...Who vacillates and changes ever?
...Who loves attention without
measure?
........Why? Gemini.
Symbolic interpretation: Castor and Pollux; Bohas and Jakin, of Solomon's Temple; the
Pillars of Hercules.
Gemini establishes a relationship
between the Self and substance, the linkage of rhythm and form.
.....Fair Leda's twins, in time to
stars decreed,
.....One fought on foot, one curbed
the fiery steed. - Virgil
First Decan: Mastership, activities on the mental plane, deduction after
assimilation.
Second Decan: Fidelity, the espousal of progressive causes.
Third Decan: Reason, the power of the objective mind.
Sign: Cancer. The Crab. The fourth sign of the zodiac. Its symbol presumably
the folded claws of a crab, probably is intended to symbolize the joining
together of a male and female spermatozoa -- as indicative of the most maternal
of all the signs. The Sun is in Cancer annually from June 21 to July 22.
Astrologically and astronomically it is the first thirty-degree arc following
the Summer Solstice, marked by the Sun's passing of the Tropic of Cancer, and
occupying a position along the Ecliptic from 90° to 120°). It is the Leading
quality of the Water element: negative, cold, moist, phlegmatic, nocturnal,
commanding, moveable, fruitful, weak, unfortunate, crooked, mute. Ruler,
Moon. Exaltation:
Jupiter. Detriment:
Saturn. Fall:
Mars.
...............Hard-Shelled Sympathetic
Cancer.
.......Who changes like a changeful
season:
.......Holds fast and lets go without
reason?
.......Who is there can give adhesion
............To Cancer?
Symbolic interpretation: The claws of
the celestial crab; two spermatozoa intertwined, signifying the male and female
seed, implying retirement and nurturing; the crab or scarab.
Cancer expresses the living organism,
its capacity to grow.
............Soon as the evening shades
prevail
............The Moon takes up the
wondrous tale,
............And nightly to the
listening Earth
............Proclaims the story of her
birth.
....................................- Addison.
First Decan: Moods, strong emotions, poetic and dramatic expression.
Second Decan: Revelation, resourcefulness, energy; powerful emotions; the
struggle with sex.
Third Decan: Research, curiosity, discontent, restlessness; love of Nature; a
stormy life.
Sign: Leo. The Lion. The fifth sign of the zodiac. Its symbol is possibly
an emblem representing the phallus, as used in ancient Dionysian mysteries. It
is also an emblem of the Sun's fire, heat or creative energy. The Sun is in Leo
annually from July 23 to August 22. Astrologically and astronomically it is the
second thirty-degree arc after the Summer Solstice, marked by the Sun's passing
of the Tropic of Cancer and occupying a position along the ecliptic from 120°
to 150°. It is the Fixed quality of the Fire element, conferring an internal
will motivated by an impulse of the heart. It is positive, hot, dry, choleric,
eastern, diurnal, commanding, brutish, sterile, broken, changeable, fortunate,
strong, hoarse, bitter, and violent. Ruler: Sun. Detriment: Saturn.
Fall:
Mercury.
...........................Loving Leo
..............Who praises all his kindred do;
..............Expects his friends to
praise them too
..............And cannot see their
senseless view?
...................Ah, Leo.
Leo exemplifies the principle of
cosmic splendor; wherein character defects due to planets in Leo persist
through long periods, and good qualities from planets favorably aspecting the
Sign are never lost.
..........The Lion flames: There the
Sun's course runs hottest.
..........Empty of grain the and fields
appear
..........When first the Sun into Leo
enters.
...................................................- Aratus
First Decan: Rulership, fiery love, and the desire to rule others; extremes
of pleasure whether in love or asceticism.
Second Decan: Reformation, a convincing leader, given to ruthless onslaughts
against his enemies; clear vision as to weaknesses in politics and religion.
Third Decan: Ambition, a determination to rise in life, at the sacrifice of
anything and anybody.
Sign: Virgo.
The Virgin. The sixth sign of the
zodiac. Its symbol is probably a representation of the Girdle of Hymen, and has
reference to the Immaculate Conception of a Messiah. It is usually pictured by
a virgin holding in her hand a green branch, an car of corn, or a spike of
grain. Spica is a star in the constellation of Virgo. Here was commemorated the
Festival of Ishtar, goddess of fertility. The Sun is in Virgo annually from
August 23 to September 22. Astrologically and astronomically it is the
thirty-degree arc immediately preceding the Sun's passing over the Fall
Equinoctial point, occupying a position along the Ecliptic from 150° to 180°.
It is the Mutable quality of the Earth element: negative, cold, dry, sterile,
human; also critical, practical, helpful. Ruler: Mercury. Detriment: Jupiter.
Fall:
Venus.
...............Critical Virgo
........Who criticizes all she sees:
........Yes, e'en would analyze a
sneeze?
........Who hugs and loves her own
disease?
................Humpf, Virgo.
Symbolic interpretation: A green branch; an car of wheat or corn; the Immaculate Virgin
who gives birth to a world-saviour.
Form and the differentiation of sex.
Discrimination through a critical analysis of the fruits of action.
..........But modest Virgo's rays give
polished parts,
..........And fill men's breasts with
honesty and arts;
..........No tricks for gain, nor love
of wealth dispense,
..........But piercing thoughts and
winning eloquence.
.........................................................- Manilius
First Decan: Achievement, a good mentality, gigantic tasks.
Second Decan: Experience, an assimilative mind, skilled in diplomacy; great
temptations; powers of discernment and compassion; love of worldly honor;
susceptible to allurements of the flesh.
Third Decan: Renunciation, the Crown of Thorns: work on behalf of others or
of science, without thought of reward; forsakes everything for duty.
Sign: Libra. The Balances, or Scales. The seventh sign of the zodiac. Its
symbol, representing the balancing scales, is emblematic of equilibrium and
justice. The Sun is in Libra annually from September 23 to October 23.
Astrologically and astronomically it is the first thirty-degree arc following
the passing of the Sun over the Fall Equinoctial point, occupying a position
along the ecliptic from 180° to 210°. It is the Leading quality of the Air
element: positive, hot, moist, sweet, obeying: also restless, judicial. Ruler: Venus.
Exaltation:
Saturn. Detriment:
Mars. Fall:
Sun.
.................Introspective Libra
.......Who puts you off with promise
gay,
.......And keeps you waiting half the
day?
.......Who compromises all the way?
..............Sweet Libra.
Symbolic interpretation: The setting
Sun; the central part of a balance, signifying equilibrium and justice.
The sign of cosmic reciprocity, of
cooperation rather than competition, of consciousness objectified through
associations and partnerships.
............Now dreadful deeds
.....Might have ensued, nor only
Paradise
.....In this commotion, but the starry
cope
.....Of heaven perhaps, or all the
elements
.....At least, had gone to wrack,
disturbed and torn
.....With violence of this conflict,
had not soon
.....The Eternal, to prevent such
horrid fray,
.....Hung forth in heaven his golden
scales, yet seen
.....Betwixt Astraea and the Scorpion
sign.
.....................- John Milton, in
Paradise Lost
First Decan: Policy, the quality of wisdom; subtlety in public relations;
adventurous in human relations.
Second Decan: Independence, strong individuality; exponent of liberty in
thought and action; in rebellion against restrictions and centralized
conservatism; espouses progressive movements.
Third Decan: Expiation, a superiority in art and letters; mind often used to
enslave others, ending in a fatality.
Sign: Scorpio.
The Scorpion. The eighth sign of the
zodiac. Its symbol resembles that of Virgo, but with an arrow on the tail -
doubtless to represent the sting. It is symbolized by the asp or serpent,
harking back to the serpent of the Garden of Eden, and indicating that the will
governs or is governed by the reproductive urge. It is sometimes symbolized by
the Dragon, and is frequently linked with the constellation Aquilla - the
Eagle. The Sun is in Scorpio annually from October 23 to November 22.
Astrologically and astronomically it is the second thirty-degree arc after the
Sun's passing of the Fall Equinox, occupying a position along the Ecliptic from
210° to 240°. It is the Fixed quality of the Water element: negative,
nocturnal, cold, moist, watery, mute, phlegmatic. Ruler: Mars.
Exaltation:
Uranus. Detriment: Venus. Fall: Moon.
...................Ultimate Scorpio
.............Who keeps an arrow in his bow,
.............And if you prod, he lets
it go?
.............A fervent friend, a
subtle foe -
.................Scorpio.
Symbolic interpretation: The legs and tail of: a scorpion: the tail with the sting, the
serpent.
The alembic of the Zodiac, the sign of
cosmic purpose, Scorpio is a success Sign. Self-contained, self-centered, and
concentrated, it usually succeeds in what it sets out to accomplish; great
personal magnetism and healing power.
...........Bright Scorpio, armed with
poisonous tail, prepares
...........Men's martial minds for
violence and for wars.
...........His venom heats and boils
their blood to rage,
...........And rapine spreads o'er the
unlucky age.
.....................................................-
Manilius.
First Decan: Resourcefulness, an excess of creative energy that ever goads to
action; creatice imagination; fertility of ideas; absence of repressions.
Second Decan: Responsibility, restrictions in expression; strong character,
for good or bad; vivid passions.
Third Decan: Attainment, the Laurel Crown of Victory. Intense intuitions,
vivid ideals, the potency of sex to stimulate ideals and ambitions.
Sign: Sagittarius.
The Archer. The ninth sign of the
zodiac. In Hindu astrology: Dhanus. Its symbol represents an arrow and a
section of a bow, typifying aspiration. It is usually pictured as the Centaur:
half horse, half man - representing the conflict between the philosophical mind
and the carnal instinct of conquest; also aspiration supported by effort that
aims at the stars. Said to have been named for the Babylonian god of war. A
typical Sagittarian sentiment is:
.................Go plant a ladder:
climb it!
....................Even if it doubles
up
.................'Tis better than to
lounge below
....................And sip Life's
idle cup.
The Sun is in Sagittarius annually
from November 23 to December 21. Astrologically and astronomically it is the
thirty-degree arc immediately preceding the Sun's passing over the Tropic of
Capricorn, occupying a position along the Ecliptic from 240° to 270°. It is the
Mutable quality of the Fire element: positive, hot, dry, changeable, bicorporeal,
obeying. Ruler: Jupiter. Detriment: Mercury.
.......................Pursuing Sagittarius
.................Who loves the dim
religious light:
.................Who always keeps a
star in sight?
.................An optimist, both gay
and bright -
....................Sagittarius.
Symbolic interpretation: The centaur; an arrow with a short section of the bow, the symbol
of enthusiasm and effort, aiming at the stars.
Significator of cosmic progress and
abundance, that perverted becomes prodigality.
...............Midst golden stars he
stands resplendent now
...............And thrusts the
Scorpion with his bended bow.
...................................................-
Ovid.
First Decan: Devotion, cosmic consciousness, operating from instinct rather
than upon advice.
Second Decan: Expiation, a restless search for new fields to conquer; demands
work of a definite importance.
Third Decan: Illumination, piercing the illusion of matter.
Sign: Capricorn.
The mountain-climbing goat. The tenth
sign of the zodiac. In Hindu astrology, Makarar - and considered by the
ancients to be the most important of all the signs. Is it possible the ancients
recognized in the Winter Solstice the point of gravitation that controls the
Sun's orbit? Its symbol represents the figure by which the sign is often
pictured - that of the forepart of a goat, with the tail of a fish - vaguely
suggesting the mermaid. Sometimes also by the sea-goat, or dolphin.
It is said to have a reference to the
legend of the goat and the Sun gods.
Dryden makes reference to it:
.....And, what was ominous, that very
morn
.....The Sun was entered into
Capricorn.
The Sun is in Capricorn annually from
December 22 to January 20. Astrologically and astronomically It is the first
thirty degrees following the Winter Solstice, marked by the passing of the Sun
over the Tropic of Capricorn and occupying a position along the ecliptic from
270° to 300°. It is the Leading quality of the Earth element: nega- tive,
nocturnal, cold, dry, obeying. Ruler: Saturn. Exaltation: Mars.
Detriment:
Moon. Fall:
Jupiter.
....................Relentless Capricorn
........Who climbs and schemes for wealth and place,
........And mourns his brother's fall
from grace -
........But takes what's due in any
case?
.............Safe Capricorn.
Symbolic interpretation: A goat with a fish's tail, signifying extremes of height and
depth; changes wrought by time; union of the Christian and Jewish religious
dispensations.
The sign of Initiation, of Cosmic
Order and justice, wherein the Individuality is developed, and humanity
fulfills its obligations to others.
.....................Pitiless
................Siroccos lash the
main, when Capricorn
................Lodges the Sun and
Zeus sends bitter cold
................To numb the frozen
sailors. -Aratus.
First Decan: Organization, coordination, a forerunner of better things;
conciliates factions.
Second Decan: Martyrdom; dauntless, again and again it comes back for more; by
indefatigable effort, scaling heights of success.
Third Decan: Idealism, natural ability to grasp high ideals, and to express
them in concrete form; powerful imagination joined to intensive labor; draws
knowledge from the infinite.
Sign: Aquarius.
The Water Bearer. The eleventh sign of
the zodiac. Its symbol represents a stream of water, symbolizing the servant of
humanity who pours out the water of knowledge to quench the thirst of the
world. The Sun is in Aquarius annually from January 21 to February 20.
Astrologically and astronomically it is the second thirty-degree arc following
the Sun's passing of the Winter Solstice, occupying a position along the
Ecliptic from 300° to 330°. It is the Fixed quality of the Air element, in
which the will is largely motivated by reasoning processes - whether sound or
unsound. It is positive, hot, moist, sanguine, rational and obeying. Ruler: Saturn;
or by some moderns: Uranus. Exaltation: Mercury. Detriment: Sun.
.................Deliberate Aquarius
......Who gives to all a helping hand,
......But bows his head to no command
-
......And higher laws doth understand?
......Inventor, Genius, Superman -
Aquarius.
Symbolic interpretation: Waves, of water, or the vibrationary waves of electricity;
parallel lines of force.
The humanitarian principle
coordinating spirit and matter, that prompts all acts of unselfish love; that
secs, feels, and acts for others as though all were one Self.
............Men at some time are
masters of their fates;
............The fault, dear Brutus, is
not in our stars,
............But in ourselves, that we
are underlings.
..........................Shakespeare,
Julius Caesar.
First Decan: Originality,
remarkable knowledge of human nature; progressive tendencies; ever in pursuit
of this own ideas; ability to handle people; to impart to others his enthusiasm
for advanced ideas and methods.
Second Decan: Inspiration, ability to gain ideas from the invisible;
imaginative power; dramatic, convincing.
Third Decan: Repression, reaches highest expression through association with
opposite sex; must work with and for others.
Sign: Pisces.
The Fishes. The twelfth sign of the
zodiac. Its symbol represents a pair of great sea-horses or sea-lions, yoked
together, who dwell in the innermost regions of the sea; symbolical of life
after death; of bondage - the inhibiting of self-expression except through
others; and of the struggle of the soul within the body. The Sun is in Pisces
annually from February 21 to March 20. Astrologically and astronomically it is
the thirty degree arc immediately preceding the passing of the Sun over the
point of the Spring Equinox occupying a position along the Ecliptic from 330°
to 360°. It is the Mutable quality of the Water element; negative, cold, moist,
obeying, fruitful; also effeminate, idle, sickly and unfortunate.
Ruler: Jupiter; or by some moderns: Neptune. Exaltation: Venus.
Detriment:
Mercury. Fall:
Mercury.
.................................Soulful Pisces
.............Who prays, and serves,
and prays some more;
.............And feeds the beggar at
the door -
.............And weeps o'er loves lost
long before?
.................Poor Pisces.
Symbolic interpretation: Bondage, captivity; the inhibition of natural expression.
Silent, passionless,
all-comprehending, granting to every creature the power to act according to its
development and capacity. Its imaginative faculties are a great contradiction.
The ability to abstract one's self from his immediate surroundings and throw
himself into an imaginary life. often termed the Sign of Self-denial and of
withdrawal; of the Messiah or Outcast.
........Westward, and further in the
South wind's path,
........The Fishes float; one ever
uppermost
........First hears the boisterous
coming of the North.
........Both are united by a band.
........Their tails point to an angle
........Filled by a single goodly
star,
........Called the Conjoiner of the
Fishes' Tails.
..........................................- Aratus
First Decan: Verity, mystic, psychic; seekers of truth through psychic
faculties rather than through the exact sciences; detectives of a high order,
either materially or spiritually.
Second Decan: Self-sacrifice, lives hemmed around by restrictions, often
voluntarily assumed, as the price exacted by the world for the sake of
assisting in its progress; gets most from life through alleviating the distress
of others.
Third Decan: Vicissitudes; sex decanate of the Sign of Imprisonment; eventful
lives; wide variety of careers, recapitulating in their lives the events and
conditions expected from other decanates; reach highest expression through
psychic research, and in adopting and advocating a regime that best prepares
Man for a life after death.
Signs, Classifications of: There are many groupings and classifications of Signs
according to a variety of characteristics and effects. It must be emphasized
that these are not based solely on the presence of the Sun in the Sign, but may
be evidenced in greater or lesser degree by virtue of any accent in the Sign;
such as the presence therein of the Ascendant, Moon, several planets, or a
strongly aspected planet. Some of the following classifications are ignored by
modern authorities:
ASCENDING :: DESCENDING. The Ascending signs are those from Capricorn to Gemini,
inclusive, proceeding counter-clockwise in the order of the signs. These are
the signs through which the solar sys- tem bodies approach the North celestial
pole, and wherein the declination of the Sun is increasing.
The Descending signs are those
from Cancer to Sagittarius.
ASCENSION - LONG :: SHORT. The Signs of Long Ascension are those which, due to the
obliquity of the Ecliptic, require more than two hours to rise over the Eastern
horizon. The Signs
of Short Ascension are those which rise in Less than two hours. For
example, in Latitude 40°N, approximately that of New York, Leo may require as
much as 2h 45m to rise, while Aries and Pisces may rise in 1h 10m. In the
Northern hemisphere, the Ascending signs are the signs of Short Ascension; the
Descending signs, those of Long Ascension. In the Southern hemisphere, these
are reversed. Thus by the law of averages the majority of birth maps in the
Northern hemisphere have an Ascendant in an Ascending sign; while in the
Southern hemisphere the majority of Ascendants are in a Descending sign.
BARREN :: FRUITFUL. The so-called Barren or
Sterile signs, are Gemini, Leo and Virgo; and by some authorities, Aries - with
a mild tendency attributed to Sagittarius and Aquarius. Generally classed as
the Fruitful signs are
those the Water triplicity, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces, in that the Lord of the
Ascendant or of the Fifth house in a fruitful sign, or such sign on the Asc. or
the cusp of the Fifth, are taken as an indication of the probability of
offspring. Taurus and Capricorn, and by some Libra and Aquarius, are classed as
Moderately
Fruitful.
BESTIAL :: HUMAN. The Bestial Signs are those named after animals: Aries,
Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Capricorn and the last half of Sagittarius; also spoken
of as feral, or four-footed. The Human Signs are Gemini, Virgo and
Aquarius, and the first half of Sagittarius, so-called to distinguish them from
Signs named after animals. Sepharial insists that the first half of Sagittarius
is the animal portion and that the human portion is the last half, and cites in
proof Jacob's words concerning Dan. (Genesis 49:17) In a different sense
Ptolemy rated Libra a humane Sign, since he discovered that the Lord of the
Ascendant posited in Libra conferred a humane disposition.
BICORPOREAL. The Double bodied, or dual Signs: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and
Pisces.
BITTER :: SWEET. Older authorities classed Aries, Leo and Sagittarius as hot,
fiery and bitter, and often referred to them as the Bitter
Signs. The Sweet
Signs, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius, were presumably
sweet-tempered.
BOREAL. From Boreas, the north wind. The six northern Signs: Aries to
Virgo inclusive.
BROKEN AND WHOLE. Perfect :: Imperfect. Signs deemed more likely to produce
distortions of the body or limbs, when in the Ascendant and unfavorably
aspected, are variously known as Broken, Mutilated, or Imperfect Signs. These
are Leo, Scorpio and Pisces, to which many authorities add Capricorn and
Cancer. Any rising Sign may have its defects if severely afflicted planets are
posited therein. The Whole or Perfect Signs are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius
because those born thereunder are said to be strong, robust and less liable to
accidents.
BRUTISH. Leo and the last half of Sagittarius were so classified,
because unfavorable as cots accenting these arcs appear to produce savage,
coarse mannered, intractable and inhuman traits.
CHANGEABLE. Certain Signs were so classed because they are said to change
their natures according to their positions. These are:
.........................In
the East.......In the West
...Taurus................Hot...............Cold
...Gemini................Hot and dry.......Cold and moist
...Leo...................Hot and dry.......Hot and Moist
...Virgo.................Hottish Cold......Moist
...Sagittarius...........Cold and moist....Hot and dry
...Capricorn.............Cold and dry......Cold and moist
Wilson in his dictionary calls these
foolish distinctions.
CHOLERIC: said of the Fire Signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.
COLD::HOT. THE COLD SIGNS: The ancients classed all the even-numbered Signs as Cold Signs,
but most modern authorities list only Cancer and Capricorn in this
classification. The odd-numbered Signs were termed Hot Signs.
The modern terms Positive and Negative have largely displaced the designations
Hot and Cold.
COMMANDING. v.
Northern.
COMMON.
v. Mutable.
CONCEPTIVE. The four Fixed Signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.
CROOKED. Taurus, Capricorn, Pisces are listed by Wilson as liable to
produce crooked legs or arms when an afflicted Moon is posited in one of them;
yet he scoffs at the classification.
DESCENDING.
v. Ascending.
DIURNAL.
v. Positive.
DRY AND MOIST. The Dry Signs are Aries, Taurus, Leo, Virgo, Sagittarius and
Capricorn; the Moist,
Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces, and by some, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.
DUAL, or DOUBLE-BODIED. v. Bicorporeal.
DUMB. v. Mute.
EFFEMINATE. The Sign Pisces is so characterized by Wilson.
EQUINOCTIAL :: TROPICAL. The Equinoctial Signs are Aries and Libra: those marked
by the Sun's passing of the Equinox at the beginning of Spring and Autumn. The Tropical signs
are Cancer and Capricorn: so called because they limit the course of the Sun,
which reverses its direction after entrance therein, and thereafter diminishes
in elevation. The Sun's passing over the Tropic of Cancer announces the
beginning of summer; and of Capricorn, winter.
ESTIVAL (aestival) :: HIEMAL (Hyemal). The Estival Signs
are those belonging to the Summer; the Hiemal, the Winter.
FEMININE. v. Negative.
FERAL. v. Bestial.
FLEXED. Applied by Sepharial to the Mutable Signs (q.v.).
FORTUNATE. v. Positive.
FOUR-FOOTED: Aries, Taurus, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn.
FRUITFUL. v. Barren.
HIEMAL, or Hyemal. v. Estival.
HOARSE or MUTE. According to Manly Hall these are Cancer, Scorpio
and Pisces.
HOT. v. Cold.
HUMAN. v. Bestial.
IDLE. Pisces is so classed by Wilson.
LONG ASCENSION. v. Ascension.
LUXURIOUS. Aries is so classed, because of a propensity to luxury and
intemperance.
MASCULINE. v.
Positive.
MELANCHOLY. The Earth Signs Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are so classified by
Wilson.
MOIST. v. Dry.
MOVEABLE. The Cardinal Signs.
MUTE. The Signs of the Water element, Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Also
termed Dumb Signs, in that afflictions to planets therein often produce speech
defects.
NEGATIVE. v.
Positive.
NOCTURNAL. v.
Positive.
NORTHERN :: SOUTHERN. Northern, or Commanding Signs constitute the first six,
Aries to Virgo inclusive since planets posited therein are said to command,
while those in the opposite Signs obey. They are considered to be more powerful
because nearer to our Earth, hence by some are presumed to confer the ability
to command. The scientist who first applied the term possibly and perhaps
properly assumed that this portion of the Earth's orbit lay above the plane of
the Sun's orbit. The Southern, or Obeying Signs are those from Libra
to Pisces inclusive.
Strictly speaking, the Northern Signs
are those in which the Sun has North declination from March 21 to September 23;
the Southern Signs, those in which the Sun has South declination, from
September 23 to March 21. The commanding and obeying appears to apply more
properly to Houses than Signs. v. Ptolemaic Astrology.
OBEYING. The Southern Signs. v. Northern.
PERFECT. v.
Broken.
POSITIVE :: NEGATIVE, or MASCULINE :: FEMININE. The odd-numbered Fire and
Air Signs are considered to be more fortunate when rising, and are spoken of as
the Positive, Masculine, Diurnal or Fortunate Signs; while the even-numbered
Earth and Water Signs are termed the Negative, Feminine, Nocturnal or
Unfortunate Signs. For some untenable reason the ancients deemed the Negative
Signs to be unfortunate in the general tenor of their lives; Capricorn,
particularly, possibly due to its Saturn rulership. The extent to which good
aspects from well-placed planets, and the reverse, can overbalance the
intrinsic nature of the Sun Sign has largely thrown these classifications into
the discard. Nevertheless it can readily be seen that for objective results,
public acclaim and personal glamor the Fire and Air Signs hold a certain
advantage over the more self- contained and introspective Earth and Water Sign
groups. An ancient aphorism held that the first half of each Positive Sign and
the last half of each Negative Sign is dominated by the Sun and thereby has a tendency
to lightness of complection; while the reverse half is dominated by the Moon
and tends to the brunette types.
RUMINANT. Those named after animals that chew the cud: Aries, Taurus and
Capricorn. Some authorities advise against the administering of drugs during
the Moon's transit through these Signs.
SHORT ASCENSION. v. Ascension.
SOUTHERN. v.
Northern.
SPEAKING. v. Voice.
STERILE: v.
Barren.
STRONG :: WEAK.
Cancer, Capricorn and Pisces are
termed Weak
Signs; and Scorpio and Aquarius, said to give strong, athletic
bodies, are termed Strong Signs. One can see why Cancer and Pisces, which
compare to the Fourth and Twelfth Houses, might be reckoned weak and
unfortunate, but why Capricorn should be so classed is less apparent unless
because of its rulership by Saturn. These terms are little used by modern
authorities. Some class all of the Fixed or Foundation signs, as Strong Signs,
in that they confer strength of character, fixity of purpose, and general
ruggedness of constitution.
SWEET. Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. v. Bitter.
SYMPATHETIC. Those of the same polarity, consisting of each opposition Sign:
Air and Fire, or Earth and Water. Some confine the term to those Signs which
together form either a trine or a sextile. Planets in trine are always in the
same element; those in sextile, are in elements that are sympathetic.
TROPICAL. Cancer and Capricorn. v. Equinoctial.
VIOLENT. Those ruled by the malefics, or wherein the malefics are
exalted, viz: Aries, Libra, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius; also applied to
parts of Signs in which are any remarkably violent stars, such as Caput Algol
in 25° Taurus. v.
Stars.
VITAL. The Fire Signs, Aries, Leo and Sagittarius; so termed not
because they have more vitality, but because they spend it to excess - hence
are often prone to anemia and nervous debility. Since the measure of lung
capacity in actual use is the index to vital energy, one must limit this
classification to a certain psychological quality of vitality or
"punch."
VOICE. Gemini, Libra, the latter part of Virgo, and the first part of
Sagittarius; so-called because when posited upon the Ascendant, with Mercury or
the Moon well placed and unafflicted, it is deemed to indicate one with the
capacity to become a good speaker or orator. Some authorities include Aquarius.
WATERY. The Signs of the Watery Triplicity: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
WHOLE. Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Aquarius; also
termed Strong Signs, by Alvidas, since the Sun in these Signs, unafflicted or rising,
gives a strong body and greater powers of endurance.
Significator. A planet may be taken as a significator of a person or of an
event, or of affairs ruled by a House. Its strength by virtue of its Sign and
House position and its relationship by aspects are then consulted in arriving
at a judgment concerning a desired condition. In general the strongest planet
in the Figure, usually the ruler of the Ascendant, is taken as the Significator
of the native. Similarly the Ruler of the Sign on the cusp of the Second House
is taken as the Significator of wealth, of the Seventh House of the partner, of
the Eighth of the partner's wealth, and so on. Sepharial speaks of the Sun,
Moon, Ascendant and Midheaven as Significators, but Alan Leo prefers to speak of
them as Moderators, and includes Fortuna. The Sun and Midheaven are by some
authorities deemed to have affinity as Significators of the honor, credit, and
standing of the subject of the Figure, or of the surviving male head of the
family; the Moon and Ascendant to have affinity as Significators of the
personal fortunes, changes and accidents befalling the native; Mercury, of his
learning, intellectual accomplishments or business acumen; Venus, of his
love-affairs, social arts and accomplishments; Mars, of strikes, contentions,
enterprises and risks; Jupiter, of wealth and increase; and Saturn, of disease,
loss, death and decay. In this use there is danger of confusing the distinction
between a Significator, as representing persons in Horary Astrology, and Promittors
as representative of things promised or desired; but every planet in the Figure
can be taken not only as the significator of something, but also as the
Promittor of something.
Sinister. A left-handed aspect - not, however, with reference to the
proper motion of the aspecting body, but to its apparent motion. v. Dexter.
Slow of Course. v.
Planetary Motions.
Sol. The Sun.
Solar Astrology. The presumption that the Solar Horoscope is of value only as a
make-shift when an exact hour of birth is unobtainable, is rapidly giving way
to a realization of its genuine merits. Strictly speaking, it is not an
hour-scope but a day-scope; yet it is the same cycle of hour-to-hour dally
experiences through a rising series of sensitive points, whether it begins with
an ascendant degree or with the omnipotent Sun degree.
When the Arabians devised their system
of Parts, it evidenced a realization of the importance of the relationship
between a planet's position and the Sun's position. The Part of Fortune merely locates
in a Rising Sign Figure the position the Moon occupies in a Solar chart.
Similarly the Part of Commerce or Understanding is the Solar house position of
Mercury: the Part of Love, that of Venus; of Passion, that of Mars; of
Increase, that of Jupiter; of Fatality, that of Saturn; to which the moderns
have added the Part of Catastrophe, that of the Uranus position; of Treachery,
that of Neptune; and of Organization, that of Pluto.
The Sign positions of the planets are
an important clement in any horoscopic analysis and these are the same in a
Solar chart as in a chart based upon an ascending degree. Likewise the birth
aspects, and even the aspects of transitory planets to birth sensitivities,
remain the same. Thus the entire daily cycle of sensitive points is identical,
except for those of or based upon the ascendant and Midheaven.
To appraise the relative importance of
Ascending degree and the Sun's degree as a point of beginning, consider the
first return of the Ascendant degree on the second day of life: With the Sun
advanced to a new position, one senses the incompleteness of the sidereal
cycle, and the added four minutes necessary to complete a solar day. One must
either advance the Ascendant by one degree, or retard the Sun four minutes. The
next day and each succeeding day repeats the process. A year later the
Ascendant has gained a day, but while one can revise the memory of a Rising
degree, one cannot order the Sun to stand still.
In a few years the unvarying
regularity of the Sun's return begins to exercise a rapidly augmented potency.
Since life is lived by the Sun - the Giver of Life in a keenly actual sense -
it is no make-shift that one gradually finds he reacts less and less to the
reiterations of the advancing Ascendant cycle, and more and more to the
eternally unchanging cycle of Solar returns.
This helps to explain why the Rising
Sign influence is so largely physical, pertaining to bodily growth during the
first plastic weeks and months of life, and why individuality and character take
on the quality of the Sun Sign as we approach adulthood. It also explains why
some young people undergo such radical changes of individuality on their
approach to the age at which they are said to have attained their majority, for
when an Aquarian Sun takes command over a Pisces-rising boy, it is a shock to
his family, his friends and himself; while the transition from a Gemini-rising
boy to one with the Sun in Libra is so imperceptible as hardly to occasion
comment.
The Solar chart is in reality only an
assumption that to the native of each Sun Sign the independent absorption of
life-giving energy begins with its first sunrise. The cycle of sensitivities
which daily passes over the horizon is a vital experience, but the cycle is the
same cycle whether one begins with the Sun, or with an annually-advanced
ascendant. That you eventually count your laps on the daily and annual course
by the Sun instead of the Ascendant, makes less difference than at first
appears - otherwise a removal to another time zone would create a far greater
condition of pandemonium, and entail a tar greater degree of readjustment than
seems proven by experience. The Solar House cusps have added significance in
the fact that each cusp represents an aspect to the Sun, in a series that is
unalterable and unvarying
Secondary progressions can even be
applied to the Solar chart, and despite the lack of enthusiasm with which some
astrologers contemplate the Solar chart, it is doubtful if a
tenth-of-one-percent of them compute primary directions. To what extent the
Table of Houses is fallacious, which system of cusp division is the more nearly
correct, whether to employ the Latitude of birth or of domicile, and doubt
concerning the authenticity of the birth moment, are only a few of the embarrassing
questions obviated by its use. The Arabian astrologers discovered the
importance of the solar houses, as demonstrated in their system of Arabian
Points (q.v.).
As Astrology evolves out of the realm
of prestidigitation, wherein it seeks only to impress by the predicting of
specific events, into that of a psychological diagnosis of predispositions,
wherein it defineates reactions to cosmic stimuli in terms of traits, trends
and tendencies, the Solar chart wig become increasingly acceptable as a true
cycle of adult experience, and a reliable index to the character development of
the matured individuality.
Solar Cycle, or Cycle of the Sun. A 28-year period applicable to the Julian calendar, in which the
first day of the year is restored to the same day of the week. Since the days
of the week are 7, and the number of years in an intercalary period are 4,
their product (4 x 7 = 28) must include all possible combinations. At the end
of each cycle, the Dominical letters return again in the same order on the same
days of the month. v. Calendar.
Solar Day The time clasping between two consecutive passages of the Sun
over a fixed point on the Earth. It is in excess of one complete revolution, by
1° of longitude or 4 minutes of time. v. Day.
Solar Equilibrium. A term used by recent astrologers with reference to the Solar
Figure: one cast for sunrise on a given day, but with houses of uniformly
thirty degrees each.
Solar Revolution. A horoscopical figure erected for the moment in any year when
the Sun has reached the exact Longitude it occupies in the Radix. From this
figure and from aspects of Radical planets to significators - Sun, Moon,
Ascendant and Midheaven degrees - in the Solar Revolution map predictions are
made cov- ering the ensuing year. For example, the Solar Revolution Moon
conjunct radical Mars, indicates a year ominous of accidents - especially on
the days on which the Sun or Moon conjoins Mars. Also it can be judged within
itself, in which case, current Solar transits should be observed.
Revolutionary Additives. For computing the time of the return of the Sun to its radical
longitude, the following table gives the amounts to be added to the sidereal
time of the meridian of the radical map to ascertain the meridian for the solar
return for any given year of life:
.....................REVOLUTIONARY
ADDITIVES.....................
YEARS H. M. |YEARS H. M. |YEARS
H. M. |YEARS H. M. |YEARS H. M. |
..1...
5..49..|.19...14..36..|.37...23..23..|.55....8..10..|.73...16..56..|
..2...11..38..|.20...20..25..|.38....5..12..|.56...13..59..|.74...22..45..|
..3...17..28..|.21....2..14..|.39...11...2..|.57...19..48..|.75....4..35..|
..4...23..17..|.22....8...3..|.40...16..51..|.58....1..37..|.76...10..24..|
..5....5...6..|.23...13..53..|.41...22..40..|.59....7..27..|.77...16..13..|
..6...10..55..|.24...19..43..|.42....4..29..|.60...13..16..|.78...22...2..|
..7...16..45..|.25....1..32..|.43...10..19..|.61...19...5..|.79....3..52..|
..8...22..34..|.26....7..21..|.44...16...8..|.62....0..54..|.80....9..41..|
..9....4..23..|.27...13..11..|.45...21..57..|.63....6..44..|.81...15..30..|
.10...10..12..|.28...19...0..|.46....3..46..|.64...12..33..|.82...21..19..|
.11...16...2..|.9.....0..49..|.47....9..36..|.65...18..22..|.83....3...9..|
.12...21..51..|.30....6..38..|.48...15..23..|.66....0..11..|.84....8..59..|
.13....3..40..|.31...12..28..|.49...21..14..|.67....6...1..|.85...14..48..|
.14....9..29..|.32...18..17..|.50....3...3..|.68...11..50..|.86...20..37..|
.15...15..19..|.33....0...6..|.51....8..53..|.69...17..39..|.87....2..27..|
.16...21...8..|.34....5..55..|.52...14..42..|.70...23..28..|.88....8..16..|
.17....2..57..|.5....11..45..|.53...20..31..|.71....5..18..|.89...14...5..|
.18....8..46..|.36...17..34..|.54....2..20..|.72...11...7..|.90...19..54..|
Continental astrologers use a table in
which the Revolutionary Additives are given in degrees, to be added to the
degree of the Midheaven in the Radical Figure to yield the Midheaven degree of
the Solar Revolution Figure. The relative cusps are then taken from the Table
of Houses.
...........Revolutionary
Additives, in Degrees.........
....y....º.......y....º.......y....º.......y....º.......y....º
....1....87.....16...315.....31...183.....46....51.....61...279
....2...174.....17....42.....32...270.....47...138.....62.....6
....3...262.....18...130.....33...358.....48...226.....63....94
....4...349.....19...217.....34....85.....49...313.....64...181
....5....76.....20...304.....35...172.....50....40.....65...268
....6...163.....21....31.....36...259.....51...127.....66...355
....7...250.....22...118.....37...346.....52...214.....67....82
....8...338.....23...206.....38....74.....53...302.....68...170
....9....65.....24...293.....39...161.....54....29.....69...257
...10...152.....25....20.....40...248.....55...116.....70...344
...11...239.....26...107.....41...335.....56...203.....71....71
...12...326.....27...194.....42....62.....57...290.....72...158
...13....54.....28...282.....43...150.....58....18.....73...245
...14...141.....29.....9.....44...273.....59...105.....74...333
...15...228.....30....96.....45...324.....60...192.....75....60
By referring this meridian to the
sidereal time at noon on the given anniversary of birth, one determines the
time before or after noon for which to erect the figure, and to calculate the
planets' places.
An adaptation of this principle is to
cast the Figure for the day when the Sun is nearest to the longtitude it had at
birth, and the hour and minute when R.A. of the M.C. is the same as at birth,
whereby the cusps will be the same as those in the Radix. The one method
employs the Sun's position as the measure of time, and is equivalent to placing
the transitory positions of the planets in a Solar Nativity; the other, to
placing the transiting positions of the planets in a Geocentric Nativity. If
Primary Directions are to be considered within the year, from either Figure,
the time of day on which the revolution will be complete (either the Sun's
return or the Ascendant's return), and the places of the planets, must be computed
with great exactness for that precise moment. Otherwise it suffices to insert
in the Nativity, the current noon positions of the transiting planets.
Modern practice considers that a
lingering aspect from a Transitor, a slow-moving major planet in transit, to a
radical sensitivity produces displacement of equilibrium; which is activated by
an additional aspect from a Culminator, a faster moving body such as the Sun or
Moon, to the same or another planet, thereby precipitating the externalization.
The interpretation, however, is based not alone upon the aspected planet, but
upon the entire radical configuration in which it participates, and which is
thereby altered by the addition of the transiting planet's influence.
Solar Semicircle. Leo to Capricorn, inclusive.
Solar System. The cosmic influences by which a dweller on the Earth is
conditioned (v.
Cosmic Conditioning), and motivated, are almost exclusively
confined to forces present and manifest within the Solar System, which consists
of the Sun, and the planets which revolve in orbits around the Sun chiefly in
response to its gravitational pull. The Sun is the sole source of radiating
energy that makes possible every form of life found on the Earth. This energy
is received, both direct and by reflection from the planets and the Moon. Due,
however, to the varying chemical constituency of the Sun's reflectors, each
absorbs certain frequencies of the Solar emanations, and delivers to the Earth
an altered spectrum. The Sun's energy raditaion is estimated in a continuous
flow of 80,000 horsepower from each square year of its surface.
Around it are so far discovered ten
planetary cycles, the bodies of which emit no light except that reflected from
the sun. These, in order from the Sun outward, i.e: Mercury, Venus, the Earth,
Mars, the Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The
astrological significance of the Asteroid has not received sufficient study to
warrant any judgments in reference thereto, but it is generally presumed that
they consist of the matter for what was intended to be another planet in the
vacant orbit between Mars and Jupiter, but which was dispersed by the influence
of the ponderous nearby planet Jupiter.
Astronomers and astrologers have
speculated on the possible existence of an intramercurial planet, so close to
the Sun as to be lost in its rays and indistinguishable by any known method -
but this is mere hypothesis. As three of the known planets have been discovered
since i781, and Pluto as late as 1930, there is an everpresent possibility that
additional outside planets may yet be discovered. In this connection it should
not be forgotten that Pythagoras, on both astrological and mathematical
evidence, contended some 2500 years ago that there must be 10 planets in the
Solar atom. From Pythagorcus came the concept that Copernicus developed into
his heliocentric theory, and that gave Einstein, no doubt, a Vision of the
Creator as a mathematician rather than an engineer.
In occult teaching there are in our
solar system ten schemes of evolution, each presided over by a planetary Logos.
As the ancients knew of only the Sun, Moon and five planets, each system
consisted of a chain of seven globes, and each chain had passed through seven
incarnations. Their idea of ten schemes of evolution was a further prophetic
indication of the three additional plants since discovered.
However, with the inclusion of the
Earth and the orbit of the asteroids, we now recognize in the solar system
twelve planetary cycles: the Sun, moving in an undetermined orbit around some
remote galactic center; the 8 planets, the Earth and the asteroids, moving in
10 channels around the Sun; and the Moon moving in an orbit around the Earth.
Astronomically the Moon is too tiny an
object for inclusion in such an enumeration. Besides, there are other moons
revolving around other planets in our solar atom. Astrologically, however, our
Moon, because of its nearness to us, assumes an importance that is
disproportionate to its size, while the moons of other planets have no
significance for us, other than as they enter into the composite ray reflected
in our direction.
In this general picture of our solar
system we find three distinct and known forces in evidence: energy radiations,
orbital motion, and gravitation.
Considering the Sun, particularly, one
must take cognizance of the fact that its influence as a source of energy
radiation should bc entirely disassociated from the influence it exerts by way
of gravitational pull and orbital motion. Experiment with the little ball on
the end of a rubber string, and you will find that a horizontal motion of the
hand will change the vertical motion of the ball into a circular motion that
can become an orbit. While the Sun is exerting a pull upon the Earth, it is
moving at right angles to the direction of its pull. If in response to the pull
the Sun exerts upon the Earth at this particular moment we were to plunge
precipitately in that direction, by the time we arrived the Sun would be gone.
From the continuance of such a pursuit an elliptical orbit must necessarily
result. However, both radiation and the gravitation from the Sun, considered
alone, are constants. To introduce differences in different portions of the
Earth's orbit, other and changing factors must be introduced.
As to the Sun's energy radiations, we
have long recognized the differentiating effect of variously combined
reflections from the planets, each of which by virtue of its chemical
components absorbs certain bands of the spectrum and thus emits an altered ray.
Hence aspects are the differentiating factor that alters the constant of the
Sun's energy radiation.
To find the differentiating element in
the constant of the Sun's gravitational influence, suppose we consider
relationship between two known orbits: those of the Moon and the Earth, and the
Earth around the Sun.
The constant of the Earth-Moon
gravitation is altered by the Sun-Earth gravitation whereby at the lunation,
the Sun and the Earth are pulling from opposite sides of the Moon, while at the
Full Moon, both Sun and Earth are pulling in the same direction. Furthermore
from the dichotome at the end of the First Quarter to that at the end of the
Third the Moon's travel is faster than that of the Earth, its own motion added
to that of the Earth, while in the other half of its orbit it is traveling
slower than the Earth. Thus the dichotomes are the points where the Moon's
orbit intersects that of the Earth.
Applying this to the Earth-Sun orbit,
one sees that the direction of the Sun's travel, and at right angles thereto
the source of the gravitational pull that governs the Sun's motion, are the
missing factors necessary to an explanation of the changes of conditioning in
the various arcs of the Earth's annual orbit, the so-called signs of the zodiac,
the heliarcs into which the Ecliptic path is divided.
If we assume 0° Capricorn to be the
direction of the Galactic Center, then the Aries-Libra cusps must represent the
line of the Sun's travel. The fact is that the Galactic Center has to be
0º Capricorn, or astrology needs revision. Assuming this factor, let us
see what we discover: The inclination of the North polar axis in the direction
of the Galactic Center suddenly appears to have a plausible justification. Also
it explains the coincidence of the Equinox (when the inclination is at right
angles to the radius) and the points where the Earth crosses the Sun's path.
Tracing some of the conditions the
Earth encounters in the course of one annual cycle, we see that when the Sun is
at 0° Capricorn the Earth is actually at the opposite point 0° Cancer, hence at
its greatest distance from G.C. From this point it moves toward and in the
direction of G.C. accelerating to its maximum speed at the midway point, and
slowing down to a dead center when the Sun reaches 0° Cancer, where it reverses
its motion and for the next half year travels against the gravitational pull
from G.C. This identifies four points at which a motion in a given direction
comes to a dead center and reverses itself. From Aries 0° to Libra 0° the Earth
would travel slower than the Sun-its orbital motion subtracted from that of the
Sun; and faster than the Sun during the other half of the orbit. Also that with
the Sun at Capricorn 0° the Earth is farthest from the Galactic center, hence
the gravitational pull from the Sun and the G.C. operates in the same
direction. After traveling half its orbit in the direction of the Galactic
Center the Earth comes to the closest point where the gravitational pull from
the two centers comes from opposite sides of the Earth.
In the motion from these points of
reversal to the opposite points, there can be recognized a division into two
periods: one of acceleration, and one of retardation. The motion from Capricorn
oº, in reference to gravitation, reaches its maximum at the point where
the motion against momentum reverses itself; also at a midway point in that
quadrant the second motion balances the first-after which the first slows down
to a full stop, and reverses its direction.
Thus there results a natural
subdivision of the year in accordance with this formula:
...............PORTION
OF ORBIT.........
|Sun in-............|....................|
|....Aries..........| M c 1 a :: G w 3 r |
|....Taurus.........| M c 2 a :: G w 2 r |
|....Gemini.........| M c 3 a :: G w 1 r |
|....Cancer.........| M c 3 r :: G c 1 a |
|....Leo............| M c 2 r :: G c 2 a |
|....Virgo..........| M c 1 r :: G c 3 a |
|....Libra..........| M w 1 a :: G c 3 r |
|....Scorpio........| M w 2 a :: G c 2 r |
|....Sagittarius....| M w 3 a :: G c 1 r |
|....Capricorn......| M w 3 r :: G w 1 a |
|....Aquarius.......| M w 2 r :: G w 2 a |
|....Pisces.........| M w 1 r :: G w 3 a |
|...................|....................|
G - Gravitation: w - with, or c - contra to attraction from
Galactic Center
M - Momentum:... w - with, or c - contra to the Sun's
orbital motion
at: 1, minimum; 2, mean; or 3, maximum rate of speed.
a - acceleration
r - retardation
From this it can be judged that the
line of demarcation between any Mutable Sign and the Cardinal Sign which
follows it, is a sharp and thinly drawn line; while those between a Cardinal
and Fixed Sign, and between a Fixed and Mutable Sign, are a gradual merging or
dissolving effect which culminates in a complete balancing of two forces in the
middle of each Fixed Sign. Therefore one finds occasion for consideration of
cuspal influences only in connection with the intermediate cusps, in which case
the orb should be fairly large - as much perhaps as five degrees on either
side. This would mean that a person with the Sun in 25° Aries or in 5° Taurus,
or any of the degrees between, would be spoken of as an Aries-Taurus cusp; and
so on for all but the Cardinal cusps.
In addition, there is undoubtedly a
third-dimensional motion above and below the plane of the Sun's travel. Latest
astronomical opinion is that the 14° band in which the planets revolve is
inclined by approximately 60° to a similar band in which the stars in the Milky
Way galaxy revolve around the Galactic Center. This would appear to indicate
that the locating of the Earth's nodes of intersection of the Sun's orbital
plane are a third factor that is necessary to a true three-dimensional analysis
of the conditioning one acquires by virtue of birth when the Earth is in some
one of these twelve heliarcs of its annual travel.
There are thus (a) four arcs in which
there is a reversal of motion and a new start in the opposite direction; viz:
The four Initiating Cardinal or Leading signs: (b) four arcs wherein two
motions strike a balance, the Executive or Fixed signs; and (c) four arcs
wherein a motion is retarding to a dead center, preparing for a reversal of
motion; the Deductive Common or Mutable signs. These three groups of four signs
each are generally spoken of as the Quadruplicities or Qualities.
Another and quite different
relationship exists between the arc in which a motion starts, that wherein it
is balanced by another motion, and that wherein the overcoming motion slows to
a dead stop. These four groups of three signs each, are spoken of as the four
basic types: the Elements or the Triplicities. These are:
..........Inspirational type: Spirit - aspirational, imaginative.
..........Emotional type:.....Soul - intuitive, passionate.
..........Mental type:........Mind - reasoning, intellectual.
..........Practical type:.....Body - matter-of-fact,
materialistic but sensory.
Thus of each of the four types, there
are three qualities - Initiating, Executive and Deductive, as follows:
Qualities
..............Inspirational.....Emotional.....Mental.........Practical
Initiating....1 Aries...........4 Cancer......7
Libra.......10 Capricorn
Executive.....5 Leo.............8 Scorpio....11
Aquarius.....2 Taurus
Deductive.....9 Sagittarius....12 Pisces......3
Gemini.......6 Virgo
Out of the cosmic conditioning
inherent in these formulas, it is possible to deduce delineations of each of
the twelve arcs, that to an amazing extent are in accord with the analyses that
are the cumulative result of some 50 centuries of observation.
Solar System bodies: Sun.
To the Egyptians it was Ra, Amen,
Aten, or Osiris, each with a different religious significance. The winged globe
in Egyptian art is a familiar representation of the solar orb. Atenism, the
first impersonal concept of the Deity, worshipped only "the power which
came from the Sun," and forbade any emblem or idol that would tend to
substitute a symbol for the thing itself. To The Persian it was Mithras; to the
Hindu, Brahma; to the Chaldean, Bel; and to the Greek, Adonis and Apollo. In Free-masonry
Sol-om-on, the name of the Sun in three languages, is an expression of light.
Actually the Sun has no visible
motion, although we know it moves because nothing in the universe can hold its
place by standing still. However, ancient astrology dealt with things as they
appear rather than as they are; just as the wind which blows South was to the
ancients the North wind because it came out of the North. Therefore, when
astrology speaks of the Sun's motion we must not overlook the fact that what we
actually mean is the Earth's motion which we measure by or describe in the
terms of the apparent motion of the Sun. That the ancient masters knew this,
can be seen in the order of the planetary hours: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun,
Venus - the placing of the Sun between Mars and Venus clearly showing that it
represents the Earth in this sequence.
The Nodes at which the Earth
intercepts the plane of the Sun's equator, lie at heliocentric longitudes 75°
and 255°, which the Earth crosses in Junc and December. The Sun's North Pole is
inclined toward the Earth by 7° in July, and away from the Earth by 7° in
January. The plane of the Sun's orbit is not known, but since the Milky Way
galaxy is a flat disc of stars it is probable that the Sun's orbit does not deviate
to any great extent from the average of the stars within the galaxy - similar
to the orbits of the planets which lie within a narrow band that extends some
7° on either side of the Ecliptic.
We do know that the plane of our
ecliptic is inclined to the plane of the Milky Way galaxy at a steep angle of
approximately 50° hence the three-dimensional motion of the Earth with
reference to the orbit of the Sun must involve a considerable degree of
elevation and depression above and below the plane of the Sun's orbit; also
that there must be a considerable declination of the Sun's pole with reference
to its orbit, not unlike that of the Earth's pole to which we ascribe our
seasonal variations. Because of this, the Nodes where the Earth intersects the
Sun's equator are not the same as those at which the Earth intersects the plane
of the Sun's orbit. It is not improbable that the latter nodes may pursue a
precessional cycle not unlike that of the Moon's Nodes.
The Sun is a variable star, unlike any
other star yet discovered. It revolves from East to West; i.e., looking down on
its North pole, it moves counter-clockwise. Its period of rotation at the
Equator is 24.65 d.; at the pole, 34 d. Its mean period as seen by the Earth is
25.38 d.; but its synodical period of rotation is 27.25 d.
The diameter of the Sun is 864,392
miles. Driving in an automobile at the rate of 500 miles a day, it would
require 14 y, 10 m, 2 d, to circle the Sun.
Its weight in tons is 2,200 plus 24
ciphers, or 2.2 octillion tons. In bulk it could contain 1,300,000 Earths.
The Sun-Earth distance - 92,897,416
miles - is taken as a unit of measurement of inter-solar system space, and is
known as one Astronomical Unit. Its light requires 498.59 seconds, or about 8
1/3 minutes, to reach the Earth. To travel the distance by an airplane at 300
miles per hour, would consume 35 years; to walk at 4 m.p.h., 6300 y.
Hugh Rice, astronomer of the Hayden
Planetarium of New York, says, "The Sun is the source of almost all the
power, heat and life on the Earth." Heat reaching the Earth amounts to
1.94 calories per minute, per square mile of the Earth's surface. One caloric
is the amount of heat required to raise one gram of water by one degree of
temperature.
In terms of power the Sun's radiation
amounts to 1.51 h.p. per sq. yard of the Earth's surface, or 643,000 h.p. per
sq. mile. Were it not for loss by curvature and reflection it would amount to
4,690,000 h.p. per sq. mile, or for the entire surface of the Earth, 127 plus
twelve ciphers, or 127 trillions of horsepower - more than we could possibly
use. Actually our absorption amounts to from 0.34 to 0.38 h.p. per sq. yard, or
the equivalent of a 60-watt lamp in continuous operation. When it is recalled
that the Earth as seen from the Sun is a point in the sky apparently less than
half as large as Venus when it is our brilliant evening star, and that this is
the tiny object which intercepts a total of 230 million-million horsepower of
solar radiation, it becomes evident that the Sun radiates an incomprehensible
amount of energy. Indeed, we find that it radiates nearly 2,200,000,000 times
as much energy as that which lights and warms and gives life to our planet, and
hundreds of millions of times as much energy as is intercepted by all the
planets, satellites, and planetoids combined.
Most of the Sun has a temperature of a
million degrees. Its energy travels at the rate of 186,271 miles per second.
The Sun's heat would melt a block of ice the size of the Earth in 16.6 minutes;
a block of iron of the same size, in Less than 3 hours. Its heat for a year is
equal to the burning of tons of coal amounting to 400 Plus 21 ciphers.
The Sun's Spectrum of visible light
extends from 7700 Angstrom units on the red end, to 3600 Angstrom units on the
violet end. An Angstrom unit is one ten-millionth of a millimeter. A millimeter
is 1/25th of an inch. A wave of red light measures one 32-thousandths of an
inch; of violet, one 64-thousandths. Hence the visible Spectrum consists of one
octave, although 40 octaves are known to Science. The ultra-violet band extends
from 3600 to 1000 Angstrom units. However, the ozone in the Earth's atmosphere
cuts out all rays shorter than 2900 A.U. Tanning is nature's way of protecting
the body against an excess of ultra-violet radiation.
The light of the Sun is 465,000 times
brighter than the Full Moon; 900,000,000 times brighter than Venus at its
brightest. In the Zenith this has been computed at 103,000 meter-candles. A
meter-candle is the light received from a candle at a distance of a meter.
According to the latest astronomical
computations the Sun's proper motion in orbit is approx. 200 miles per second;
its apparent motion towards a point in the constellation Hercules is 12 miles
per second.
Solar System Bodies: Moon.
A satellite of the Earth, which to
different civilizations has also been known as Luna, Soma, Isis; the
"mother of the Earth." It has given us the name for the first day of
the week-Monday; also lunacy, lunatic, moonstruck.
The Moon, reflecting the light of the Sun,
emits a degree of heat which can be registered by concentrating the rays on the
bulb of a thermometer. It may have some slight vegetation, but because of the
apparent absence of atmosphere or clouds it lacks sufficient water to support
vegetation such as is on the Earth.
The period of the Moon's axial
rotation is the same as its period of revolution, hence the same side of the
Moon is always turned toward the Earth. That its orbit was formerly smaller and
its velocity correspondingly greater is proved by comparing records of ancient
eclipses to tables based on observation of its present motion. The Moon's mean
distance from the Earth is 238,840 miles, or 60 times the Earth's radius. It
travels a trifle faster than its diameter per hour. Nor is it entirely the
nearest body to the Earth, for in part of its orbit the minor planet Hermes
(disc. in 1937) approaches to a distance of only 200,000 Miles. Traveling by
airplane at 200 m.p.h. one would traverse the Earth-Moon distance in 5o days;
but it would take a rocket ship speed of 7 m.p.s. to get beyond the Earth's
gravitational field-at which rate we could arrive in 2 days.
Lifetimes have been devoted to the
study of its incredibly complex motions. Among its various perturbations are
the Equation of the Center, the retrogression of the Nodes, Evection, the
anomalistic period, Lunar Variation, Annual Equation, and Secular Acceleration.
Galilee, in 1610, was the first
selenographer to study the Moon through a telescope. In 1647 Hevelius published
a chart of the Moon's surface that was not improved upon for a century. Its
phases are familiar: The crescent of the new moon, and the reverse crescent of
the fourth quarter of its circuit; the gibbous phase of the second and third
quarters, when more than half of the moon is light; and the Earth-shine, when
the Earth reflects a dim light upon the surface of the Moon during a few days
before and after the Lunation.
Because of its faster motion near
perigee we are able to see 7°45' around the Eastern and Western edges. This is
termed its Libration in Longitude. Because of the inclination of the plane of
the Moon's orbit to that of the Earth, we are able at times to see 6°41' beyond
each of the poles. This is termed Libration in Latitude. There is also a
Diurnal Libration of 1° on the Eastern limb of the Moon when rising, and on the
Western when setting. The net combined result is that 41% of the Moon's surface
is visible all the time, with another 18% that is visible part of the time,
leaving 41% that has never been seen from the Earth.
Meton discovered the recession of the
Moon's node in 432 B.C. and reformed the calendar in accordance therewith. He
determined that there were 235 synodic periods in 19 years, varying by i day
according to the number of leap years contained in the period.
The node recesses 360° in 6793.5 days
or 18 2/3 years, or roughly 1½ years to a sign.
The Draconitic period of the Moon's
motion, that from node to node, is 27.2122 days.
The moon rises 50 minutes later each
night.
Harvest Moon. At this season of the year the Moon's path more nearly parallels
that of the Earth, hence it remains near to the horizon for several days, at
the same hour. Similarly with the Hunter's Moon, which is the nearest Full Moon
to September 23rd. This effect is further intensified when the descending node
is at 0° Aries. For example, with the Ascending node at 0° Aries : 23° 27',
Plus 5° 9', equals 28° 36'. With the Descending node at 0° Aries : 23° 27',
minus 5° 9', equals 18° 18°'. The Full Moon rides low in Summer but high in
Winter, thus making Winter the season of least sunlight but of most moonlight.
Moonlight contains streaks of bright
rays, apparently from some special mineral that fails to absorb light, or which
may have some such property as radio-activity - to conjecture on a point
regarding which scientists fail to agree. The rays consist largely of shades of
yellow and gray, and from certain areas a shade of green. The Earth's surface
has a reflective power six times greater than that of the Moon.
The Lunar spectrum is much the same as
that of the Sun, except that the light is yellower, and more diffused because
of the roughness of the Moon's surface. At the quarter, the Moon's light has a
brilliance of one-millionth that of the Sun; at the Full, 1/465 thousandths.
However, the Moon absorbs 93% of the light it could reflect.
The Moon's aspects by Right Ascension
differ some minutes from those by Geocentric Longitude.
Tropical period minus Precession from
0° Aries : 6.9 seconds per period.
The color white is often associated
with the Moon to symbolize purity. That it is chemically white is due to the
absence of all color. Prismatically it is the presence of all colors of the
spectrum, or the three primary colors in the proportions of three parts of
yellow, five of red, and eight of blue.
Solar System Bodies: Mercury.
A small planet, with pale bluish
light; the planet closest to the Sun. Never more than 28 degrees from the Sun,
it is rarely visible to the naked eye. The Roman god Mercury and the Greek god
Hercules, the winged messenger of the Gods, were endowed with the qualities
that are associated with the influence of the planet Mercury. To the Chaldeans
it was Nebo, the planet of warning; also associated with Buddha, the wise.
Ancient astrologers considered the
existence of a planet nearer to the Sun than Mercury, to which they gave the
name Vulcan. It has not as yet been discovered by astronomers.
From a stationary point about 28° in
advance of the Sun, it retrogrades to an inferior conjunction with the Sun -
after which it becomes a "morning star," visible on the Eastern
horizon shortly before Sunrise. From a stationary point about 20° behind the
Sun, it advances by direct motion to a superior conjunction with the Sun - after
which it becomes an "evening star," visible on the Western horizon
shortly after Sunset.
As with the Moon, and all satellites
with reference to the planet around which they revolve, Mercury always turns
the same face toward the Sun, except for a libration of 23° 7' in both
directions: making a 47° zone of temperate conditions, and 132° zones of
perpetual heat and cold.
As seen from the Earth, Mercury
presents phases, similar to those of the Moon, because of which its visible
size varies from 30' to 104' -- its crescent or new moon phase occurs at its
inferior conjunction; its full moon phase at its superior conjunction. Its
minor elongation, about 18°, occurs 22 days before and after its inferior
conjunction; its major elongation, about 28°, 36 days before and after its
superior conjunction. At its maximum its visible size is 3¼ times its
diameter. Two of Jupiter's moons are larger than the planet Mercury.
To locate Mercury in the evening sky,
find in the ephemeris the dates of its major elongation before or after a
superior conjunction, and for 10 and 5 days before and after. Transfer into
hours its R.A. and declination on these five dates, and plot its course on a
star map, making note its nearness to known bright stars. Tilt this map toward
the celestial North pole, and assume a horizon about 23° below the Mercury
position. If weather conditions permit it can be seen with the aid of a field
glass - sometimes even with the naked eye.
Mercury made a transit across the face
of the Sun on May 11, 1937.
Solar System bodies: Venus.
A brilliant planet reflecting a
silvery-white light, it is the most brilliant object that illuminates the
evening sky. The Greeks associated it with Aphrodite. To the Romans, it was
known as Lucifer, when the Morning Star: and Vesper, when the Evening Star. To
the Chaldeans it was Ishtar, and compared to the Sumerian virgin mother, the
"Lady of Heaven," and the goddess of fertility.
Like Mercury, Venus exhibits phases,
from a large twin crescent at the Inferior Conjunction, when it is closest to
the Earth, and some- times visible in daylight if you know where to look for
it, to a small round orb at the Superior Conjunction, when it is on the
opposite side of the Sun from the Earth. After the Superior Conjunction it is
an Evening Star, and thus is visible in the evening, sky after sun-down,
setting later each evening until it reaches its maximum elongation of about 47°
- at which time it sets about 3 hours after the Sun.
Shortly thereafter it attains to its
greatest brilliancy, then grows rapidly smaller as it again comes closer behind
the Sun, until at its Inferior Conjunction it becomes invisible. Thereafter it
reappears on the other side of the Sun and becomes again visible as the Morning
Star. Its motion as a Morning Star, as measured from the Earth, is slower
because of its greater distance from the Earth: 26 million miles at the
Inferior Conjunction, as compared to 160 million miles at the Superior
Conjunction.
Its rotation period has never been
established because of the layer of clouds in which it is perpetually
enveloped. Its period has been variously estimated at from 68 hours to 225
days. Its axis is inclined to its orbit plane at an angle of 5 degrees. Its low
albedo, or reflecting power (.59), is due to this constant cloud covering. The
periods when it is a Morning and Evening Star are of about 10 months' duration
each.
Transits over the Sun are rare and
occur only when the Sun is within 1°45' of the node, with the Earth also at the
node. Though infrequent, they come in pairs. The last such transits occurred in
1874 and 1882. It will not recur until June 8, 2004 and June 6, 2012. The
duration of such a transit is about 8 hours.
Solar System Bodies: Earth.
The planet we inhabit. Astrologically,
the Earth is the center of its universe, since one is concerned not with the
position of the planets in reference to the Sun, but with the angle from which
their reflected frequencies enter into the experience of those who dwell upon
the Earth. When one speaks of the Sun's position he is but expressing the
position of the Earth in its orbit in terms of the apparent position of the
Sun. The Earth's orbit is an ellipse, of an eccentricity of about 1:60 - but
which is slowly diminishing. Its longest diameter is its major axis. Its half
length, or semi-axis, taken as the Mean distance from the Earth to Sun, amounts
to about 92,900,000 miles. At perihelion the Earth is more than three million
miles closer to the Sun than at aphelion; or about 3% of the maximum distance.
The velocity of the Earth in its orbit is approximately 18.5 miles per second.
The Precession of the Equinoctial
Point amounts to 360 degrees in about 24,800 years. The Earth's rotation
appears to be slowing down at a rate which if continued will amount to 1 second
in about 120,000 years.
The common center around which the
Earth and the Moon revolve has been computed to be about 3000 miles from the
Earth's center - or 1000 miles below the crust of the Earth. That this point is
a variable one has been used by some as a basis for a computation based on the
assumption that as this point approaches the surface of the Earth there result
phenomena known as Earthquakes. The Earth curves from a straight line at the
rate of about 1/9th of a degree per second. Its Diameter at the poles is 7900
m.; at the Equator, 7926 m.
The inclination of its axis to the
Ecliptic, 66°33'.
Solar System Bodies: Mars. The nearest planet to the Earth, and frequently visible, it may
be recognized through the distinct reddish hue of its ray. Mars was known as
Ares, the god of war; and as Nimrod, the god of the chase, whose mission it was
apparently to dispel terror and fear. To the Greeks, it was Pyrois, the fire.
The Romans celebrated the festival of Mars in March, before an altar in the
Campus Martius. From it comes our word martial, war like - as martial music. To
the Chaldeans it was Nergal, called the "raging king" and the
"furious one"; to the Babylonians, the god of war and pestilence,
said to preside over the nether-world. For the Alchemists, it represented Iron.
Mars has two satelites: Deimos, 6 miles in diameter, distant from Mars by 6.9
radii; and Phoetus, with a revolutionary period of 7h 39M. Deimos has a
sidereal period of 30h 18m. Phoetus makes 1330 eclipses a year.
Solar System Bodies: Asteroids. An orbit, approximately midway between those of Mars and
Jupiter, occupied by a large number of planetoids or minor planets: variously
explained as fragments of a major planet broken up in some prehistoric
catastrophe; or particles drawn out of the Sun which failed to coalesce into a
single planet. In all there are estimated to be some 50,000 of these Asteroids,
of which 1380 had been identified in 1937. As many as 5000 are estimated to
have been seen, and again lost. Many of them are more readily visible than
Pluto, and may have some astrological significance not as yet identified. Their
average diameter is less than 100 miles.
The Astronomischer Rechen-Institut at
Dahlem, near Berlin, was world headquarters for Asteroid research, and up to
World War 11 published a yearly ephemeris of the larger Asteroids for the
periods when they are best observed.
Statistics of the five principal
Asteroids are as follows:
............Diameter..................Albedo
...Name......(miles)...Magnitude...(rel. to Sun)...Discovered
...Ceres.......480........7.4..........0.06...........1801
...Pallas......304........8.0..........0.07...........1802
...Juno........120........8.7..........0.12...........1804
...Vesta.......240........6.5..........0.26...........18O7
...Astraea................9.9.........................1845
The next five, in the order of their
discovery, are Hebe (1847), Iris (1847), Flora (1847), Metis (1848), Hygeia
(1849).
The orbit of 944 Hidalgo has an
eccentricity of 0.65 - more elongated than some comets. At its aphelion
distance (9.6 units) it extends into Saturn's orbit.
That of 1177 Gounessia, has an
eccentricity of 0.006399, more circular than that of Venus, the most circular
among the major planets.
That of 846 Lipperta, is almost
parallel with that of the Earth, with an inclination of 0°.244 - more nearly
parallel than that of Uranus 0°.77.
That of 2 Pallas has an inclination of
34°.726 - double that of Pluto's 17°.1.
Three Asteroids come closer to the
Earth than do any of the major planets. They are Amor, Apollo, and Adonis. 1936
CA or Adonis was discovered in 1936 by Delporte in Belgium. Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.78, an inclination to the Ecliptic of 1°.48, and a major axis
of 1.969 units. On February 7, 1936, it approached to within 1,200,000 miles of
the Earth, in the sign Leo. It had reached perihelion in December 1935, at a
point slightly outside Mercury's orbit, at a distance of less than half an
astrom. unit. Its diameter is less than ½ mile. At aphelion it will
go almost to the Jupiter orbit. Its period is about 2 years.
Another asteroid was discovered in
1940 that had approached to within 110,000 miles beyond the Moon's orbit. v. Hermes.
Solar System Bodies: Jupiter.
The largest planet in the solar family:
larger in fact than all other planets combined. Yet it is exceeded in
brightness by Venus, because of her greater proximity to the Earth. To the
Greeks, known as Zeus; also associated with Marduk, one of the gods of the
Pantheon; known to the Hindus as Brahmanaspati. Jupiter has 11 satellites. The
first four were among the earliest discoveries of Galileo, and can be seen with
the aid of a field glass. Statistics concerning the first five are as follows:
...................Period........Distance........Diameter
....Io.............1d.8...........262,000.........2109
....Europa.........3d.6...........................1865
....Ganymede.......7d.2...........................3273
....Callesta......16d.7.........1,000,000.........3142
....V.............11h.57m.........112,600..........100 est.
....VI.............................................100
....VII.............................................40
The dates of discovery are V, 1892;
VI, 1904; VII, 1905; VIII, 1908; IX, 1914; X, 1938; XI, 1938. The orbits of the
outer four are so far distant from the planet that their motion is affected by
perturbations due to the Sun's attraction, to such an extent that they can
hardly be said to have an orbit.
No. IX has an orbital inclination in
excess of 90°, to that of Jupiter's orbit. No. VIII has an orbital eccentricity
of 0.38, whereby its distance varies from 9 to 20 million miles.
Solar System bodies: Saturn.
The planet next smaller in magnitude
to Jupiter, and next more remote from the Sun, is remarkable for its engirdling
system of rings. It was the most remote planet known to the ancients. The
surface of Saturn shows markings somewhat similar to those of Jupiter, but
fainter. Spectroscopic observations have confirmed the theory that the rings
are composed of a dense swarm of small solid bodies. of ten identified
satellites of Saturn, the brightest is Titan. The ninth, Phobe, is fainter and
more distant than any of the others. The tenth, Themis, lies between Titan and
Hyperion. When the Alchemists and early Chemists used the name Saturn they
referred to its association with the metal lead. Lead poisoning was once called
the Saturnine colic.
Saturn was the ancient god of the seed
sowing. His temple in Rome, founded in 497 B.C., was used as a state treasury.
In 2I7 B.C. the worship of Saturn was conformed to that of its Greek
counterpart, Cronus, son of Uranus, and god of Boundless Time and the Cycles.
There was a myth that Saturn in Italy, as Cronus in Greece, had been king
during an ancient golden age - hence was the founder of Italian civilization.
Also associated with the Greek god Phoenon, "the cruel one," and the
Assyrian god Ninib, patron of Agriculture, and one of the gods of the Pantheon.
From it we have the English word Saturnian or Saturnine. The Saturnine colic
was lead poisoning. Its atmosphere contains a high percentage of methane and
ammonium gases, with no oxygen. For some unexplained reason it changes color
from year to year.
There are 25,824 Saturn days in one
Saturn year.
The Saturn rings consist of: A, the
outermost ring, about 11,000 miles in width; B, the middle ring, about 18,000
miles in width; and C, the inside ring, the gauze or crepe ring, about 11,000
miles in width. Between it and the surface of the planet is a gap of about
5,000 miles. Separating A and B is the Cassini division, a dark strip some
2,300 miles in width.
Because the planet's equator is
inclined about 28° to the plane of the ecliptic, the Saturn ring as seen from
the Earth passes through phases: from Saturn's equinoctial point, where the
rings are visible only as a thin line, to Saturn's solstices, where they lie
transverse to us in a wide expanse. The edgewise view occurs in longitudes 172°
and 352°; the maximum elongation, in longitudes 82° and 262°. The edgewise view
was had in 1921 and 1936; the full-faced view in 1929 and 1944. As this
constitutes a 15-year cycle, it is possible that there are related variations
and fluctuations in the resultant astrological influences, which further
research will be able to reduce to usable distinctions.
...Saturn's....................Distance.....Period...................Diam.
....Moons..............Disc.
..Thousands.....Days......Eccent........Miles
.1...Mimas.............1789.......115.........0.9......0.0190.........370
.2...Enceladus.........1789.......148.........1.4......0.0046.........460
.3...Tethys............1684.......183.......001.9......0.0000.........750
.4...Dione.............1684.......234.......002.7......0.0020.........900
.5...Rhea..............1672.......327.......004.5......0.0009........1150
.6...Titan.............1655.......759.......015.9......0.0289........3550
.7...Hyperion..........1848.......919.......021.3......0.119..........310
.8...Iapetus...........1671.....2,210.......079.3......0.029.........1100
.9...Phoebe............1898.....8,044.......550.4......0.1659.........160
10...Themis............1905.....c.800
Solar System Bodies: Uranus.
Its discovery by Sir William Herschel
on March 13, 1781, added a new factor to the problems of Astrology, and incidentally
widened the horizon of observation of planetary influence upon human life.
Inserting the planet into the existing horoscopes, revealed that Uranus had
been the previously inexplicable cause of violent dislocations, fractures,
separations, mental disturbances and deaths. With its discovery there came a
new interpretation to the old phrase "by visitation of God." Herschel
called it Georgium Sidus, but England continues to use the name Herschel - from
which derives the symbol although the rest of the world adopted the name Uranus
by which Bode referred to it in 1783. Astrologers had long speculated upon its
existence, referring to it as Ouranos. It is sometimes called "The
cataclysmic planet."
The astronomers' symbol is one of the
few cases in which astronomers and astrologers fall to employ the same symbols.
As its Equator is inclined by 82° to
the plane of its orbit, the regions of perpetual day and night reach to within
8° of the Equator.
Its satellites are:
...............Disc.
..Sidereal period...Magnitude..Diam.
...Ariel.......1851.......2d 12.489h.........16......560
...Umbriel.....1851.......4d 3.460h.........16-17...430
...Titania.....1787.......8d 16.941h.........14.....1000
...Oberon......1787......13d 11.118h.........14......900
Solar System bodies: Neptune.
Until the discovery of Pluto in 1930,
Neptune was supposed to be the outermost member of the solar system. It was
discovered September 23, 1846 by Galle in Berlin, in the region suggested by
Leverrier of Paris; but later was identified as the "star" observed
in 1795 by Lalande of Paris. Agrippa dedicated a temple to Neptune in honor of
the naval victory of Actium. To the Greeks, known as Poseidon. It is a greenish
disc of the magnitude of 7.7, and is distant from Earth by 30 astrom. units.
Its revolutionary period is 164y.
It has one known satellite, Triton,
about the size of our Moon, and 220,000 miles distant from the planet. It has a
magnitude of 13. Its period is 5d, 21h, its orbit inclined to the Neptune orbit
by an angle of 40°; its motion retrograde, with a recession period of 580y, or
140° direct. Inclination of Triton's orbit to Neptune's equator is 20°.
Neptune was in Virgo from 1435 to
1449; from 1600 to 1614; from 1761 to 1778; and most recently from 1921 to 1942.
It was in Libra from 1450 to 1465; from 1615 to 1635; from 1779 to 1793; and
1943 to 1957.
Solar System bodies: Pluto.
The outermost planet of the solar
system so far identified, was discovered in 1930. It lies 800 million miles
beyond Neptune. The nearest conjunction of Neptune and Pluto occurred in 1892..
A previous exact conjunction occurred in prehistoric times, and will not recur
for several thousand years, when they will remain close together for 100 years.
As 3 Neptune revolutions take 494y. and 2 of Pluto 496y, an approximate
conjunction occurs every 492.328 years.
Pluto was discovered by Percival
Lowell, who delayed publication of the news until his birthday, March 13, 1930
- the day on which Uranus had been discovered 140 years before.
The name Pluto, beginning with P.L.,
the initials of the discoverer was suggested by an eleven-year-old English
girl.
The size or volume of Pluto has not
been ascertained, but its mass is less than that of the Earth. The extreme
eccentricity of its orbit brings it at times nearer to the Sun than Neptune.
There is no certainty that the orbits do not cross, in which event a collision
is not impossible. Experience seems to increase the probability of the eventual
discovery of other Trans-Neptune planets.
Solar Time. v.
Time.
Solar Year. v.
Year.
SOL-om-on. The name of the Sun in three languages: an expression of light,
knowledge, understanding.
Solomon's Seal. Two interlaced triangles, the angles of which form the
six-pointed star. often one of the triangles is dark and the other light,
symbolizing the union of soul and body. According to occult symbology the apex
of the emblem represents the human head or intelligence; the two upper
outstretched points, sympathy with everything that lives; the two lower, human
responsibility; the angle at the bottom, pointing earthward, procreative power
- the cryptograph, in its entirety, denoting complete individuality or human
entity.
Solomon's Temple. Solomon, Son of David, by Bathsheba, King of Israel in the 10th
century B.C., was noted for his superior wisdom, and his great wealth. To the
great temple he built at Jerusalem has been attributed many symbolic
interpretations. In occult literature the human body, as developed by divine
principle, is referred to as Solomon's Temple.
Solstices. The points in the Ecliptic at which the Sun is at its greatest
distance north or south of the Equator, so-called because the Sun then appears
to stand still. The Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun is at 0° Cancer, about
June 21; the Winter Solstice, at 0° Capricorn, about December 21.
South Latitudes. Those south of the celestial equator. In utilizing the Table of
Houses for South Latitudes, change the signs to their opposites: Aries becomes
Libra, and so on.
Southern Signs. v.
Northern Signs.
Spectroscope. A device whereby to disperse and separate a beam of radiation
into its component wave lengths. Spectroscopic observation of moving bodies
shows that with an approaching body there is a shift to the violet end, while
with a receding body the shift is toward the red end: the angular amount of the
shift proportional to the velocity of motion of the light source and inversely
to the wave length and velocity of the light. This is a confirmation of the
altered astrological influence resulting from motion toward or away from a
gravitational center, and with or contra to the orbital motion of the
controlling body.
Speculum. A table appended to a horoscope, comprising its astronomical
elements: the planets' latitude, declination, Right Ascension, Ascensional
Difference, Pole and Semi-arc. It is employed in the practice of directing by
Primary Directions (q.v.) as taught by Ptolemy.
Sphere. A globe. Also applied to a planet's orbit.
Sphinx. The most famous sphinx in Greek mythology was that of Thebes in
Boetia, mentioned by Hesiod. It was symbolic of the fixed types of the four
elements: the body of a bull - Taurus; the feet and tail of a lion - Leo; the
wings of the eagle - Scorpio; a human head - Aquarius. Variations are found in
all parts of the ancient world, showing its art influence upon those who knew
naught of its symbolic significance. of interest is the parallel found in
Ezekiel's description of the Markaba. (Ez. 1:10.)
Square. n. A separation of 900 between any
bodies or zodiacal points (v. aspect). Syn. quartile.
Square, vb. Moving to form an aspect, through an arc of approximately 7
degrees, according to the bodies involved, on either side of the point where
their Longitudinal separation becomes exactly 90 degrees.
Standard Time. v.
Time.
Star of Bethlehem. Commonly conjectured to have been the conjunction of Saturn,
Jupiter and Mars which occurred about 2 B.C. It is supposed that the
astrologers, the "wise men of the East," were endeavoring to locate a
child born at the point in terrestrial latitude and longitude from which this
triple conjunction would occur in the same celestial latitude and longitude,
and in the midheaven of that particular geographical location. As this was one
of the grand mutations (q.v.) it was presumed that a child born at the exact place
and hour that would posit this important satellitium (q.v.) at
the cusp of the Tenth House, would be marked by Destiny to become the initiator
of a new epoch in world history. It may be that the legend of the manger was
devised as a record of a birth, connotated to this grand conjunction in 2 B.C.
Stars. Stars were classified by the ancients as "fixed stars"
to distinguish them from the "wandering" stars - which, when their
orbits were discovered, became known as planets, in that they revolve in a
plane. Stars have a proper motion of their own, but owing to their remoteness
this motion could be measured only by observations taken over a protracted
period - far in excess of a mere lifetime. There is no reason why the term
should not now bc abandoned in favor of the simple designation of
"star."
By some astrological authorities the
stars are credited with an influence of their own, when in conjunction and
parallel with a planet, either at birth or in transit. A star of the first
magnitude on the Ascendant or Midheaven at birth is said to indicate that the
native will become illustrious within his sphere of life - a "star"
in social, political, or commercial life. The two large stars, Aldebaran and
Antares, which are in the tenth degree of Gemini and Sagittarius, respectively,
when directed to the angles of the horoscope, are said to produce periods of
severe stress. They are deemed more powerful when in the angles.
Those who include the stars in their
delineations appear to agree that the influence is entirely confined to a close
conjunction with a birth planet to within from 2° to 5° in Longitude, and 1° in
Latitude, and that it has no influence by aspect. Certain individual degrees-of
the zodiac appear to possess specific influences, and these may have some
connection with stars which tenant these degrees, even when untenanted by
planets. Further confirmation of this theory is to be found in a work by
Salmon, wherein he divided each sign into six Faces of 5 degrees each,
"because in every sign there are various stars of differing natures." v. Degrees, Individual.
Stars visible to the unaided eye
number less than five thousand. Those near Polaris can be seen only in the
Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Cross and nearby stars can be seen only
from the Southern Hemisphere.
Stationary. A planet appears to be stationary in its orbit at that point, or
station, from which it reverses its motion from direct to retrograde, or the
reverse. The Sun and Moon are never stationary. v. Stations.
Stations. Those points in the orbit of a planet where it becomes either
retrograde or direct; so termed because it remains stationary there for a few
days before it changes its course. The first station is where it becomes
retrograde; the second station, where it abandons retrograde and resumes direct
motion. From these Stations orientality is reckoned. From apogee to the first
station it is matutine, because it rises in the morning before the Sun, hence
is in the first degree of orientality. From the first station to perigee, the
lowest apsis, it is vespertine, because it rises in the evening before Sunset,
hence is in the first degree of occidentality.
Stations of the Moon. The Moon is never retrograde, but in a different sense her first
and second dichotomes are often loosely termed her first and second stations.
Stellium. v.
Satellitium.
Strength of a planet. v.
Dignity, accidental or essential.
Succedent Houses. Those which follow the angular houses: 2, 5, 8 and 11. v. Houses.
Sunspot Cycle. The phenomenon of Sunspot cycles is one which has increasingly
engaged the atteention of astrophysicists for more than two centuries. Useful
records of the sunspot cycle are available from 1610 to the present day. For a
long time the cycle was said to be of a duration of 11.3 years, but more
recently it has been noted that successive eleven-year cycles produce similar
but opposite phenomena, and that a complete cycle is of a duration of 22.6
years. It has also been noted that while the Sun's surface is hotter at times
of sunspot maxima, the Earth's land surface is cooler, apparently due to the
increased cloudiness that attends the phenomena. It is also found that magnetic
disturbances in the Sun - are reflected on the Earth with increased display of
the aurora
borealis and magnetic disturbances that interrupt telegraphic
service. Economic cycles are also found to correspond with the Sunspot Cycle.
Trees grow more during the years of Sunspot maxima, when ultra-violet radiation
increases by as much as 30 Per cent. Some plant life grows better with an
excess of ultra-violet light, while other species thrive better on an excess of
infra-red rays. Ellsworth Huntingdon, of Yale University, says solar radiation
affects the health and behavior of man. Harlan E. Stetson, of Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, finds business activity, output of automobiles and new
building construction follow the Sunspot cycle. For lack of reliable data on
weather conditions, Dr. William Herschel used the price of wheat as an index on
which to base his observations of this and similar cosmic cycles. Thus sciences
establish the fact that man is influenced by cosmic phenomena, and the step to
recognition of the validity of astrological influences has only the hurdle of
prejudice to overcome before it is accorded scientific recognition.
Supercycle. A term applied by Richard and Jaggar to a cycle of 132 years, or
approximately 6 sun-spot cycles.
Superior Planets. Those which lie outside of the Earth's orbit. v. Planets.
Synodical Lunation. v.
Lunation.
Synthesis. The art of blending together separate influences in a nativity,
and deducing a summary thereof. The ability to synthesize a nativity is the
mark of an experienced astrologer.
Syzygy. Literally a yoking together. often loosely applied to any
conjunction or opposition; particularly of a planet with the Sun, and close to
the ecliptic whereby the Earth and the two bodies are in a straight line. In
its use in connection with the calculation of Tide Tables it applies to the
conjunctions and oppositions of Sun and Moon near the Node.