Sunday 29 January 2017

Is horary an advanced technique?

Just like any students of astrology in modern times, I began my astrological journey with natal analysis.  This was then followed by forecasting techniques.  Finally, I moved onto what were described as advanced techniques:  midpoints, harmonics, synastry, horary, electional, mundane astrology etc.  I had always assumed this is the standard astrological pathway, from foundation to advanced astrology.   Until one day, I came across the following  passage in John Frawley's 'The Horary Textbook' p3:

'Horary was traditionally regarded as being the student's point of entrance to the study of astrology.  One reason for this is that it is much simpler than other branches of astrology, such as natal or mundane.  It thus enables the student to achieve with comparative ease a mastery of the techniques that form the bulk of those used, with greater elaboration, in these other branches.'

My mind completely restructured itself after reading this, as I had always believed natal analysis is the foundation of astrology.  I recall feeling rather lost after studying natal astrology, but everything began to fall into place when I embarked on forecasting techniques.  Suddenly, natal work made more sense to me.  Now I know why - if natal work is the last part the ancients used to assimilate, then no wonder it is a challenge for us moderners to grasp as the starting point!  It is like beginning our education at University level and working our way down to kindergarten.  However, this trend is likely to continue as newcomers are more interested in understanding about themselves rather than in learning about asking horary questions.  At least, that was my intention initially; I was interested in knowing more about myself, but when I encountered traditional astrology and witnessed the power of horary astrology, my loyalty began to wander!

So to answer my original question 'Is horary an advanced technique?' No, it is not an advanced technique per se, as you only need to have a basic grasp of the planets, signs and houses to begin learning it.  However, as with other branches of astrology (and anything else we learn), it can become advanced as we refine our methods.  For me, during the early stage, I found it helpful to have a firm grasp of the essential dignities and debilities, reception and house placements.  Later on, as I became more comfortable with the technique,  I added in fixed stars, the concept of collection and antiscia.  And of course, copious amounts of practice is a necessity.

I have a predominance of planets in earth signs so I like to take things slowly and steadily.  I used to think that horary is one of the last pieces to add to the top of the astrology tower, but now I know otherwise - it can come much earlier, at the discretion of the learner.

Saturday 28 January 2017

VOC diary for the week beginning 30th January 2017


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 30th January: ******************************

Tuesday 31st January: VOC in Pisces from 17:35 to 21:46

Wednesday 1st February: ****************************
                                                        
Thursday 2nd February: VOC in Aries from 16:50  

Friday 3rd February: VOC in Aries ends at 01:49  

Saturday 4th February: VOC in Aquarius from 22:41
                                
Sunday 5th February: VOC in Aquarius ends at 04:44

Hong Kong Time

Monday 30th January: VOC in Aquarius ends at 00:10

Tuesday 31st January: ***************************

Wednesday 1st February: VOC in Pisces from 01:35 to 05:46
                                                        
Thursday 2nd February: **************************

Friday 3rd February: VOC in Aries from 00:50 to 09:49

Saturday 4th February: ****************************
                                
Sunday 5th February: VOC in Aquarius from 06:41 to 12:44

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Friday 27 January 2017

New Moon in Aquarius 2017

On 28th January 2017, we have a new moon in Aquarius, which, incidentally, falls on the first day of the Chinese new year.  It is interesting to note that on the first day of the lunar new year, the new moon always falls in the fixed air sign of Aquarius.

Aquarius is ruled by Saturn, a planet which respects tradition.  Being an air sign, Aquarius is about staying focused on your ideas, however weird and out of this world they may be.  There is the tendency to be too fixated on a concept though, so getting a healthy balance is the key.

Where this new moon falls in your chart is the area of your life where you get a chance to start anew.  Try something different.  The new moon's ruler, Saturn, is in mutual reception with Jupiter (Saturn in Jupiter's sign and Jupiter in Saturn's exaltation) and also sextiles one another.  Be realistic (Saturn) and think about what you want to expand on (Jupiter).  It is worth noting that Jupiter is on the fixed star Spica, which indicates success and riches.


Do you have planets in fixed signs at 8 degrees?  If so, those planets/points will get a little tickle from this new moon.  

Which area of your life can do with an injection of fresh and radical ideas, urging you to move beyond the existing borders?

2017 marks the year of the rooster, I wish you all a happy, healthy & prosperous year ahead!

Monday 23 January 2017

VOC diary for the week beginning 23rd January 2017


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 23rd January: ******************************

Tuesday 24th January: VOC in Sagittarius from 17:33 to 22:43

Wednesday 25th January: ****************************
                                                        
Thursday 26th January: *****************************

Friday 27th January: VOC in Capricorn from 07:17 to 08:36

Saturday 28th January: ***************************
                                
Sunday 29th January: VOC in Aquarius from 05:52 to 16:10

Hong Kong Time

Monday 23rd January: ******************************

Tuesday 24th January: *******************************

Wednesday 25th January: VOC in Sagittarius from 01:33 to 06:43
                                                        
Thursday 26th January: *****************************

Friday 27th January: VOC in Capricorn from 15:17 to 16:36

Saturday 28th January: ***************************
                                
Sunday 29th January: VOC in Aquarius from 13:52

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Journeying into the World of Astrological Houses

This is not a discussion arguing on which house system is great and which is not.  Rather, I just want to share my own thoughts on how I became interested in exploring various house systems and ended up settling on one - one that I didn't expect to end up with at all.

An astrological birth chart is like a map showing a native's potentials and challenges.  It is basic astrology to know that a birth chart is divided into 12 sections, each slice representing an area of life to be experienced on this planet by the native.  I never paid much attention to the computational side of how the sphere is divided up, not until I dabbled into traditional astrology two years ago.


Equal House

I began my formal astrological journey with the FAS, where the Equal House system was introduced to me. It is a simple yet elegant way of dividing up the heavens into 12 equal parts, with each house cusp beginning on the same degree.  The simplicity is perfect for beginners.  One of the earliest system used, possibly dating back to the 1st century BC, this method is unaffected by altitude so there is no issue of interception.  The degree of the ascendant marks the degree cusp of all the subsequent house cusps.  This system has been criticised for having the MC falling in the houses other than the 10th, though this in itself can be advantageous as it can add another layer to the interpretation. 

Placidus

As I continued with my astrological journey, I was keen to experiment with other forms of house divisions.  I opted for Placidus, the default system used by almost all the astrological sites online.  This system dates back to the 17th century (devised by the mathematician Placidus de Tito) and is among the popular option in modern time, especially in Europe and US.  Its rise to fame was likely to be attributed to the fact that tables for calculating this system became readily available.  I stayed with this system for the longest time - over a decade.  However, this system is latitude-sensitive and contorts the houses, rendering them unbalanced in size, giving rise to the concept of interception.  This is a quadrant house system, using the MC/IC as the 10th/4th house cusps. 

Koch

I briefly tried out this system as I convinced myself it is healthier to be more experimental and adventurous in seeking alternative views of analysing charts. I am a creature of habit (Moon in Taurus!) and found next to no significant difference between Koch and Placidus when applied to my own chart, so in the end, I abandon this quite quickly - entirely due to my personal preference and nothing to do with the system itself.  This system cannot work near the poles.  

Regiomontanus

Devised by a 15th century astronomer Johannes Muller, aka Regiomontanus, this method is based on the earth's movement around the sun, with reference to the equator and the horizon.  It was used by 'the most abused as well as the most celebrated astrologer of the 17th century' William Lilly, who had phenomenal results applying this system to his horary work.  I began to selectively use Regionmontanus for horary charts only, until I met another system....

Whole sign

As I began my journey into traditional astrology, I came face to face with Whole sign system, which, at first, I was rather suspicious about as it seemed too simple.  I gave it a go anyway, as it was the oldest house system used.  In the end, I found this is the system which works the best for me, my clients, friends and family, from the perspectives of natal, forecasting and horary work.  If whole sign is used, the data collected by Gauquelin would make much more sense too.


There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing a house system, as each method comes with its pros and cons.  In essence, it's just using different ways of dividing up the firmament.  Instead of blindly defending one system, why not give the others a go and see if there is a hidden treasure within?  

References





http://wiki.astro.com/astrowiki/en/Koch_House_System

Sunday 15 January 2017

VOC diary for the week beginning 16th January 2017


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 16th January: ******************************

Tuesday 17th January: VOC in Virgo from 06:09 to 11:15

Wednesday 18th January: ****************************
                                                        
Thursday 19th January: VOC in Libra from 08:54 to 22:09

Friday 20th January: *****************************

Saturday 21st January: ***************************
                                
Sunday 22nd January: VOC in Scorpio from 01:23 to 10:44 

Hong Kong Time

Monday 16th January: ******************************

Tuesday 17th January: VOC in Virgo from 14:09 to 19:15

Wednesday 18th January: ****************************
                                                        
Thursday 19th January: VOC in Libra from 16:54

Friday 20th January: VOC in Libra ends at 06:09

Saturday 21st January: ***************************
                                
Sunday 22nd January: VOC in Scorpio from 09:23 to 18:44 

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thursday 12 January 2017

Why I choose the 4th as Father and 10th as Mother

'The 4th house is father but the 4th sign is Cancer, and the 10th house is mother but the 10th sign is Capricorn.  How confusing!'  commented an astrology student.

I answered, 'Yes, that's why we have a debate in modern astrology as to which house should be mother and which should be father.  They can go either way.  You can try them out and see what works for you.  I'm afraid I don't have a better answer at the moment.  According to traditional methods, the 4th is father and the 10th is mother.'

Before I was introduced to traditional astrology, I followed the modern approach and went with the notion that the 10th is the dominant parent, i.e. the one who cares for the child or the parent the child sees the most.  This is usually the mother so I opted to go with 10th as mother and 4th as father for consistency.  However, this theory falls apart when the child is looked after by a grandparent,  another family member, or even someone unrelated (in the case of orphans).  But the 4th -10th axis shows the parents - whether they take an active role in the child's life or not.  Besides, in the cases of grandparents and other relatives, we can turn the chart to find their own designated houses:

Mother's mother (maternal grandmother) is 10th from 10th = 7th
Mother's father (maternal grandfather) is 4th from 10th = 1st

Father's mother (paternal grandmother) is 10th from 4th = 1st
Father's father (paternal grandfather) is 4th from 4th = 7th

Mother's sibling (maternal aunt/uncle) is 3rd from 10th = 12th
Father's sibling (paternal aunt/uncle) is 3rd from 4th = 6th

We can go one step further if your great grandparents featured in your childhood significantly (which is so in my case) but we'll stop here for now.

So back to my student's question, it started to make me wonder about why on earth we have Cancer in the father house and Capricorn in the mother house (if we go with father as 4th and mother as 10th).  I decided to look into the matter using traditional astrology.

4th/Cancer/father

Cancer, the 4th zodiac sign, is ruled by the Moon.  The Moon represents mother. The Moon also rules Cancer, but, Cancer does not rule mothers, only the Moon does. [1]

The 4th house is associated with our roots and heritage, hence it is tucked away at the lowest point in the chart.  The ancients have assigned Saturn to rule this house and since Saturn represents fathers, this is the father house. [2]

This makes perfect sense to me as to why we have Cancer in the father house, now that we know Cancer doesn't represent mothers.  However, Cancer is a feminine sign so this is still leaving a question mark in my mind.

Let's move on to the opposite house.

10th/Capricorn/mother

The 10th sign, Capricorn, is ruled by Saturn.  Saturn represents father.  Saturn rules Capricorn, but Capricorn does not rule fathers, Saturn does. [3]

If Capricorn doesn't represent fathers then the Capricorn-mother combo makes sense too, plus it is a feminine sign.  The 10th being the house of mothers is derived from the fact that the opposite house (4th) is the house of fathers.

We still have a missing piece - Cancer, a feminine sign, in the father house.

As I was pondering why we have a feminine sign in the house of fathers (masculine), suddenly, an image of the yin yang symbol appeared in my mind:




Take a look at the yin yang symbol, the white indicates daylight (yang - masculine) and black moonlight (yin - feminine) [4].  The area with the most white represents the summer solstice - which in the astrological calendar corresponds to the sign of Cancer.  The area with the most black represents the winter solstice, which corresponds to the sign of Capricorn astrologically.

I-Ching is a Chinese philosophy where balance is the key concept.  The yin yang symbol shows there's yin in yang and yang in yin (i.e. the white background has a black spot and the black background has a white spot), hence although Cancer is a feminine sign, it is embedded in the 4th house of father (masculine) - yin in yang.  The 10th has Capricorn as a feminine sign but is at an elevated position in the 10th house - the most prominent/midday position, when the sun is at its highest i.e. the most yang time of the day, so again we have yang in yin.  Basically, mothers have their toughness and fathers have their softness.

Astrologers have their own preferred way of determining the parents in the chart.   For me, I'm even more convinced by the traditional way of assigning 4th to father and 10th to mother, especially that it coincides with another form of ancient wisdom.

References:
[1] Horary Astrology Rediscovered, Olivia Barclay, p65  
[2] Maniilius Astronomica, ed. Loeb, book 2. 936
[3] Horary Astrology Rediscovered, Olivia Barclay, p68
[4] http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/YinYang.htm

Saturday 7 January 2017

VOC diary for the week beginning 9th January 2017


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 9th January: ******************************

Tuesday 10th January: VOC in Gemini from 21:38 to 22:48

Wednesday 11th January: ****************************
                                                        
Thursday 12th January: VOC in Cancer from 11:33  

Friday 13th January: VOC in Cancer ends at 00:07   

Saturday 14th January: VOC in Leo from 15:16        
                                
Sunday 15th January: VOC in Leo ends at 03:52        

Hong Kong Time

Monday 9th January: VOC in Taurus ends at 06:06

Tuesday 10th January: *****************************

Wednesday 11th January: VOC in Gemini from 05:38 to 06:48
                                                        
Thursday 12th January: VOC in Cancer from 19:33  

Friday 13th January: VOC in Cancer ends at 08:07   

Saturday 14th January: VOC in Leo from 23:16        
                                
Sunday 15th January: VOC in Leo ends at 11:52  

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sunday 1 January 2017

VOC diary for the week beginning 2nd January 2017


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 2nd January: VOC in Aquarius from 07:58 to 09:57

Tuesday 3rd January: *****************************

Wednesday 4th January: VOC in Pisces from 16:14 to 16:19
                                                        
Thursday 5th January: ****************************

Friday 6th January: VOC in Aries from 18:41 to 20:17

Saturday 7th January: ***************************
                                
Sunday 8th January: VOC in Taurus from 02:22 to 22:06

Hong Kong Time

Monday 2nd January: VOC in Aquarius from 15:58 to 17:57

Tuesday 3rd January: *****************************

Wednesday 4th January: ***************************
                                                        
Thursday 5th January: VOC in Pisces from 00:14 to 00:19

Friday 6th January: ******************************

Saturday 7th January: VOC in Aries from 02:41 to 04:17
                                
Sunday 8th January: VOC in Taurus from 10:22

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

VOC diary for the week beginning 26th December 2016


Moon Void of Course Timetable

Greenwich Mean Time

Monday 26th December: VOC in Scorpio ends at 03:18

Tuesday 27th December: *****************************

Wednesday 28th December: VOC in Sagittarius from 01:44 to 15:11
                                                        
Thursday 29th December: ****************************

Friday 30th December: VOC in Capricorn from 08:06

Saturday 31st December: VOC in Capricorn ends at 01:28
                                
Sunday 1st January: ******************************

Hong Kong Time

Monday 26th December: VOC in Scorpio ends at 11:18

Tuesday 27th December: *****************************

Wednesday 28th December: VOC in Sagittarius from 09:44 to 23:11
                                                        
Thursday 29th December: ****************************

Friday 30th December: VOC in Capricorn from 16:06

Saturday 31st December: VOC in Capricorn ends at 09:28
                                
Sunday 1st January: ******************************
Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Flowing with Moon in Gemini

The Moon is currently in Gemini and will remain for 2.5 days until 11th May.   Gemini is an air sign, with a hot and wet temperament.   When...