A Visit to Potsdam: a Weather Horary

My wife and I recently visited Potsdam, renowned for the Sans Souci summer palace built by the Prussian king, Frederick the Great. About a week before leaving I took the opportunity to ask a horary on what the weather would be like during our visit.

Here is the chart:

Weather in Potsdam for June 8-12

It always fascinates me how often a horary chart reflects a clearly formulated question (of course the opposite is usually true, a fuzzy question  has a fuzzy chart). The question was a ‘we’ question and so it is not surprising that a double-bodied sign is on the Ascendant and that the ruler, Mercury should also be placed in the 9th house of journeys. Taurus a cold and dry sign is on the cusp of the 9th house. Along with Mercury, the Sun is also in the 9th, but in the warm and moist sign, Gemini. What interested me in this chart was whether Mercury could be used not only as the Significator of my wife and myself but also as a Significator for the weather as well.

I predicted cool but dry weather with some stormy weather, little rain. Cool means cool for the season. If it had been winter than freezing weather could have been expected. But in summer this means temperatures that are below normal. I was also interested to see if it would also be stormy.

How was the weather in Potsdam? It was partly cloudy with the Sun peeking through. The clouds were low, but there was little rain. There were also longer sunny gaps inbetween. The temperatures were between 14-21 * C (57 -  70* F). Only on Thursday was there really stormy weather with rain. Where did the rainy day come from? Mercury is applying square to Jupiter at 26*53 Aquarius and interestingly enough when partile also conjuncts Algol.

Here is a photo that pretty much sums up how the weather was:

Potsdam

A Reevaluation of the Outer Planets

From time to time it is a useful and important exercise to reexamine the premises upon which astrological judgement is based (other areas of life and study are not excluded!). Traditional astrologers are traditionally (although the use of the concept  ‘traditional astrologer’ is fairly recent) reticent to use the outer planets. This is understandable as there are no rulerships or dignities that can be ascribed to them.

I have recently been thinking of the outer planets and their possible roles in organ transplantation, dementia and euthanasia. All three are issues of deep moral responsibility so please do not be offended if I do not represent your view on these matters. It is not my intention to discuss in detail all aspects of the relevant discussion I will only try to characterize them.

Dementia and euthanasia are not new to mankind, the transplantation of organs from the ‘brain-dead’ or newly dead is however very modern. The question is, can the outer planets be used in their signification? And which ones?

Let us begin with dementia. In the industrial nations life expectancy can be extended beyond what traditionally is considered the full span of a human life. If we take the Firdaria as a base, this is 75 years. Anything beyond that is considered grace. But what if high old age is not a period of grace? What if it is attended by a deterioration of memory and independant conscious activity as in the case of dementia? Traditionally high old age belongs to Saturn but it doesn’t take very much to also find a signification using the planet Neptune, which in modern astrology has signification for fuzziness and indeterminate decrepitude. Reinhold Ebertin describes Saturn/Neptune in terms of biological signification as “chronic and inexorable dissolution and disintegration of the organs” (Das chronisch unaufhaltsame fortschreitende Übel. Organverfaulung. Organzersetzung).

The transplantation of organs from the dead or dying is not only a Mars activity, but as it involves the dead also belongs to Saturn. But could not Uranus, the ripping out of context and forcing of a new context (the immune system of the recipient must be convinced to accept something foreign), also be given signification? Or would Pluto also be given signification as something dead or dying is placed in a living organism? Here Reinhold Ebertin gives Saturn/Uranus a signification for operations in which something is removed from the body. An amputation for example. For Mars/Pluto he writes of the replacement of organs through a prosthesis.

The issue of euthanisia, as the personal and legally sanctioned choice of the terminally ill to end their life before the disease that is killing them has run full course, may also be considered a Saturn affair. But could Pluto, often given signification of death in modern astrological practice, also be considered in this light?

Of course there are a few fixed stars with unsavoury characterizations, see the recent discussion of Algol, that may also be considered.

It is still possible to use a combination of Saturn along with the Moon and Mercury for dementia, of Saturn and Mars for organ transplantation and Saturn and Mars along with the Sun and Ascendant and maybe Algol or Antares for Euthanisia.

Algol and the Pleiades: the Stuff of Tragedy

Among traditional astrologers Algol has the reputation of being the most malefic fixed star in the heavens. But close by is a group of stars, equally famous and equally of unfortunate reputation. The Pleiades, or the Weeping Sisters.

According to Ptolemy they are of the nature of the Moon and Mars. Wm. Lilly speaks of  some characteristics when describing their directions to the Ascendant and Midheaven.

• To the Ascendant there is danger of wounds or hurt to the eyes, but also towards obscurity and loss of reputation. This in the form of imprisonment or banishment mostly self-induced through quarrelling.
• To the Midheaven there is wrangling and controversy, also quarrels. The native is “thrust into troublesome, pernicious and dangerous business”. If he meets with sudden preferment it will end unfortunate.

Algol is described by Ptolemy as having the nature of Saturn and Jupiter. It is associated with uncontrolled emotion and violence through which the native literally or figuratively loses his head. At first it seems curious that it should be of the nature of Jupiter and Saturn. But if you meld the warmth and expansiveness of Jupiter with the coldness and brittleness of Saturn you have a noxious combination. You can imagine it this way:

Suppose someone falls deeply in love, their heart expands and enfolds the beloved with warmth and joy. But what happens if this love isn’t returned in the way expected, or worse, appears to have been given to another? Then all the joy and generosity bestowed upon the beloved becomes poisoned. The bitter cold and above all jealous voice of Saturn turns the beloved into a calculating and heartless creature full of deceit. Love becomes hatred and fury and vindictiveness are now directed towards the ‘beloved’. All rational thought is put aside, one loses one’s head with an emotional surge that strives to damage and hurt, cost what it will. This is the stuff of tragedy and Shakespeare’s “Othello” comes to mind.

Now what about the Pleiades? How are they different from Algol? They are of the nature of the Moon and Mars. Again, opposites meet. And if we take our lead from what Wm. Lilly describes then the tendency is towards obscuration. Either literally, which is damage to the eyes, or figuratively through banishment from a former favourable state. The Moon, as a Light, becomes obscured or eclipsed by the impulsive violence of Mars. Hence the wrangling and quarrelling that Wm. Lilly describes. Here the story might go this way:

Someone knows of the love of another. They can be sure of it. But they must have a demonstration of it that surpasses anything that they can imagine. So others must also express their love but it must be shown to be of lesser quality. But what happens if the person is unable to distinguish truth from flattery? And instead of hearing some absurd fabrication of love they hear only simple truth? And being blinded by some fancy (lunacy?) they quarrel and disown the love given? This is also the stuff of tragedy. It is the story of Lear. Blindness leads to banishment, despair and weeping.

When we find these particular fixed stars prominent in a chart it might be a great help to evoke the story of Othello and Lear in our minds eye. In a birth chart it may be helpful for the native to know that they have great potential to cast themselves as the major figure of a tragedy and that they may perhaps fend away the worst if they could learn in a difficult situation to see clearly through their emotions, as if they were looking at a play on a stage.

Ye Quizze Questionne for Maye

Who or what is Alchabitius?

1. Alchabitius is a little used rectification technique. A habitual planet is taken as the recification token and directed to the bounds of its progression.
2. Alchabitius (120-181 A.D.), a Roman, was the first to name Mercury, ‘Mercury’. Before his time Mercury was known as ‘Stilbon’.
3. Alchabitius is the latinized form of Abû al-Saqr al-Qabîsî ‘Abd al-’Azîz ibn Uthmân, an an Arabian astrologer of the 10th century. A system of houses is named after him.
4. Alchabitius has nothing to do with astrology. It is a rare form of stick-insect alchabitius nominerii found only on the island of Koror in Micronesia. It is noted for its unique neck ruff, 12 spikes mimicking thorns, that fan out from below its head.
5. Alchabitius is the escape key in most astrology software. If calculations for primary directions end up in an infinite loop the only option is to press the Alchabitius key. This is different from programme to programme so check with the instructions before you dare calculating primary directions.

Getting Started with Rectification: the First Steps with Primary Directions

Not too far back a reader asked for a demonstration of calculating primary directions by hand. It would be far to wearisome, and very boring reading to demonstrate all of the calculations, all at once. Instead I will only give them piecemeal, enough for anyone to gain confidence in trying the calculations themselves and with a bit more explanation as to what is being done. If you do have problems there is always the comments section to express what the problem is.

We will be concentrating our attention first on the MC and in the next article on the Moon. As both of these belong to the ‘big five’ Significators of directions, the other three being Sun, Ascendant and Part of Fortune.

Now the MC is probably the simplest Significator as only right ascension is considered when directing to it. And it is very easy to discover the RA (right ascension) of the MC or any other position with respect to the MC. If you look into your Tables of Houses, here those published by the Otto Wilhelm Barth Verlag, publishers of the Deutsche Ephemeride:

Tables of Houses caption

You will find at the top of each page the sidereal time, the longitude of the MC and its right ascension or RAMC. It is simply a matter of interpolation to calculate the exact degree of the RAMC. Our sample chart has 25 Sagittarius 07 on the MC. So we take the difference between 25 Sag 07 and 24 Sag 30 (0 deg 38) multiply by 60 (the difference in minutes between RAMC 265 and RAMC 264) and divide by the difference between 25 Sag 25 and 24 Sag 30 (0 deg 55). This gives us 0 deg 41 which we add to the earlier RAMC. So the RAMC of 25 Sag 07 is 264 deg 41.

If you refer to Wm. Lilly’s Christian Astrology you will see that he made a speculum (table) of the position of all major planetary aspects, antiscia and term positions. It is a very good idea. So for our example chart we have the antiscion of Jupiter at 28 Capricorn 31 and the sextile of Mercury at 2 Aquarius 12, to take two examples. Using the above method the RA position with respect to the MC would be 300 deg 38 and 304 deg 28 respectively. If we were to direct them to the MC the difference in arc would be:

antiscion Jupiter at 28 Cap 31, RA = 300 deg 38 – RAMC 264 deg 41 = 35 deg 57
sextile Mercury at 2 Sag 12, RA = 304 deg 28– RAMC 264 deg 41 = 39 deg 47

If we use the Ptolomaic Key of 1 deg = 1 year then the first direction would occur at the age of 36 (in 1995) and the second at roughly 40 years (1999)

According to Wm. Lilly the direction of Jupiter (either in body or by antiscion) gives “everyone preferment according to capacity” and the sextile of Mercury advances the native “in the study of Learning…” As you note the emphasis is always on 10th house affairs. So Jupiter will be beneficial and help expand one’s professional affairs, according to capacity. So a crown prince might find himself king and someone in higher management might find themselves head of the board of directors. Someone unemployed might finally be given employment. The same with Mercury. The sextile encourages learning in respect to profession. So the crown prince might find himself motivated to study the laws of the land more closely. The head of the board to learn the language of his major foreign customer and the newly employed person the chance to qualify themselves by going to evening school. Then of course the condition of the chart must be accounted for. What are Jupiter and Mercury Lords of? What is their celestial state in the radix? Are they dignified and well placed or the opposite? All of these factors modify the general statement. So Jupiter in bad celestial state might offer the opportunity but it might not be strong enough to give the crown prince the crown, he might just add another order to his collection of honours or the manager becomes vice chairman instead of chairman of the board or the newly employed person gets the secondbest job on his list.