The 5th House, the planets therein and the position and aspects of the Moon, have to be considered in this matter.
If the 5th House be occupied by benefic planets, or planets well aspected by others, then the progeny will be a source of satisfaction and credit to the Subject, and will be reared to maturity. But the contrary is the case when the 5th House is occupied by malefic planets and such as may be heavily afflicted.
The Moon represents the tendency in the male and the capacity in the female, and when well aspected, or free from evil aspects and well placed, then there will be good fortune in connection with the progeny.
When Uranus afflicts a planet in the 5th House, there will be some premature births, and generally it will be observed that when planets are opposed from the 11th and 5th Houses, or malefic planets occupy those houses, there is trouble through the progeny, and usually the loss of one or more during infancy is to be feared.
As to the number of children, no empirical rules exist for the judgment of this matter, which necessarily is a difficult one owing to the fact that we have no means of comparing the horoscopes of man and wife, but the nature of the sign on the cusp of the 5th House is usually to be depended upon for an approximation. Thus Aries, Leo, and Capricornus give small families. Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, and Pisces give large families, and the other signs yield a moderate family. When the Moon is strong, angular, and not afflicted, the number is increased. Twins are born from double-bodied signs occupying the cusp of the 5th House, or planets in the 5th in a double-bodied sign.
The condition of each child is known in a general manner from the alternate Houses, commencing with the 5th. Thus the first child is (in a male horoscope) ruled by the 5th House, and planets therein; the second child by the 7th House; the third by the 9th House, and so on. In a female horoscope the first child is ruled by the 4th House; the second by the 6th House, and so on.
Thus if it be found that there is probability of loss of some of the progeny, the children most liable to affliction may be known by this method; for the Houses which contain the malefic planets, or the afflicted planets, correspond to the afflicted progeny.
Illustrious children are born to the Subject when the ruler of the 5th House is in elevation and well aspected, and in a congenial sign. But if the ruler of the 5th House be badly placed and aspected and in a sign of debility,i.e., opposite to one over which it rules, then the progeny are ill-equipped for the battle of life, either mentally or morally. The particular qualities andfortunes of the progeny can only be known from their individual horoscopes.
When malefic planets hold the 12th House in a female horoscope, there will be danger in confinement; and the same happens if either of the luminaries, but particularly the Moon, be afflicted in the 5th House.
The indications of short journeys, inland and around the coast, are to be judged from the 3rd House and the planets therein. If a movable sign be on the cusp of the 3rd House, or planets in a movable sign occupy the 3rd House, then there will be much travelling and many short journeys to and fro. The aspects to these planets in the 3rd will indicate whether such journeys will be mainly successful or not. When there are no aspects to the planet or planets in the 3rd House the fortune of short journeys is to be judged from the nature of the planet in the 3rd, as if Jupiter, they will be fortunate and lucrative; but if Saturn, unfortunate and subject to many hindrances and delays. When malefic planets are afflicted in the 3rd House, or malefic planets in the 3rd throw evil aspects to the Sun or Moon, then there will be dangers and accidents.
Watery signs on the cusp of the 3rd House, or planets in watery signs in the 3rd, indicate cruising and yachting, short journeys by water around the coast. If the Moon be in good aspect to these planets, then there will be safety in passage; but if afflicted bythe planets in the 3rd there will be danger of collision, capsizing, &c., according to the nature of the planet in the 3rd House.
Long voyages are to be judged in exactly similar manner from the 9th House, the planets therein and their aspects.
The 4th House indicates the place of birth, and if this House hold a benefic planet, or either the Sun or Moon, well aspected, then there is fortune in the place of birth, and journeys should only be undertaken when they are without doubt fortunate in their issues and admit of a return to the native place. When, however, the 4th House is occupied by evil planets or planets heavily afflicted, it will be advisable to remove from the place of birth and seek fortune in more propitious localities.
In this matter the choice is made by reference to that planet which holds the greatest power for good in the horoscope of birth, and the quarter of the Heavens which it occupies will indicate the direction, as from the place of birth, to which the Subject should repair.
Thus, if between the East horizon and the meridian, South-east; between the meridian and the West horizon, South-west; and so of the rest. The points of the compass follow the cardinal points of the Heavens, the Midheaven being South; the Nadir, North; the Ascendant, East; and the Descendant, West. If a malefic planet is rising or setting at birth it is advisable to fix the place of residence so much to the Eastward of the birthplace as will suffice to bring the malefic planets out of the angles of the horoscope. The same if malefic planets occupy the 10th or 4th Houses. On the contrary, if benefic planets are in the 3rd and 9thHouses the Subject should move Westward so as to bring the benefic influences into the 10th and 4th Houses.
When benefic planets or planets well aspected occupy the angles of the figure at birth the Subject should not travel far, nor reside long away from the place of birth.
Indications of many voyages are as follows: Many planets in watery signs, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, and also in the sign Virgo. When the majority of the planets are in cardinal and flexed signs, Aries, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, Libra, Sagittarius, Capricornus, and Pisces, there will be many changes and journeys. Also if the Sun, Moon, Mars, and Mercury are in either the 3rd, 9th, 12th, or 6th Houses, there will be many journeys and long explorations in foreign countries.
When planets are afflicted in watery signs there will be danger in voyages, and if the Moon or Sun be afflicted in Virgo there will be submersion due to wreck.
Also, when there are planets, especially malefics, in Scorpio, Leo, Taurus, and Aquarius, afflicted by the aspects of other planets, or themselves afflicting the Sun or Moon, then there is danger of drowning.
When the signs of voyaging are propitious, and especially when the indications in the 4th House are not so, then removal from the place of birth to some other permanent centre of activity will be advisable. But when good planets or planets well aspected are either rising or in the 4th House, the Subject should remain in his native place, and in the end his patience will be justified.
The general harmony of the horoscope consists in the positions and aspects of the planets and their relations with the luminaries. When this is conspicuous there will be many friends and supporters, and the associations of the Subject will be pleasant and profitable. But when the horoscope is fraught with evil aspects and angular positions of the malefics there will be much strife and many enmities.
In a particular sense the friends and associations of the Subject are to be known from the 11th House and the planets therein. For if there be a benefic planet in the 11th, especially if in good aspect to either of the luminaries, there will be many friends and adherents.
Similarly, the enemies of the Subject are known from the 7th House, and secret enemies from the 12th. Malefic planets therein, especially in evil aspect to the Sun or Moon, shows many opponents.
Neptune in any malefic aspect to the Sun or Moon shows danger of deceit and treachery being practisedupon the Subject, and if violent testimonies concur from the ill aspects of Mars or Uranus he will be in danger of an ambush. Saturn in the 7th or 12th shows long feuds and implacable enmities. Uranus therein shows litigation and heckling of creditors. Mars therein is an index of violence and passionate hatred. Mercury therein shows much scandal and many petty annoyances.
Now observe the places of the malefic planets and the Houses wherein they are situated. Take the date when the Sun is in the same longitude as any of these malefic planets, which will be the same in any year, and this will be the birthday of persons who are to be avoided as likely to bring mischief into the life. Supposing, for instance, that Saturn is found at birth in the 10th House, in the 13th degree of the sign Aquarius. Reference to the Ephemeris (Sect. II., chap. i.) will show that the Sun is in Aquarius 13 on the 1st and 2nd February. Hence it would be unfortunate for the Subject to serve any man who was born between the 28th January and the 3rd February in any year. Also, if Uranus were in Leo 23 in the 7th House he should not go into partnership or marriage with anybody born on or near the 15th August in any year.
Take now the places of the benefic planets, and also the place of the Moon, and find the corresponding Solar dates, for these will be the birth dates of such persons as should be cultivated and drawn into close association for mutual benefit.
Observe also the trines and sextiles of the benefic planets and of the Moon, and the squares and oppositions of the malefics, for these will operate in a minor degree in a similar manner as already indicated.
A comparison of the horoscopes of persons, whether kings or plebeians, with those of others who have wrought great good or evil in their lives, will immediately establish this observation. Indeed there is nothing more dependable in the whole range of scientific observation than this sympathy and antipathy of horoscopes and their corresponding results. It is an argument for the claim of its advocates that Astrology should be regarded in the light of a science, for if the planets act not at all upon the dispositions and tendencies of men their squares and oppositions in two separate horoscopes would have no signification. Let those who are unhappily mated compare their horoscopes and they will find the signs of discord to which reference has been made above. On the other hand, let any man who has been lifted to wealth, fame, or position by the patronage of another compare his horoscope with that of his benefactor, and it will be found that the benefic planets in the latter hold the places of the Sun, Moon, Midheaven, or Ascendant in his own. This frequently accounts for the fact that men with comparatively unfortunate horoscopes are sometimes found in positions of influence and in the enjoyment of considerable fortune. The complex fabric of life has its warp and woof wherein many coloured threads are woven together for the completing of the grand design, and the great loom of life has its wheels within wheels which only the Great Artificer can understand and regulate. We here below, subjects all of interplanetary action, must content ourselves with the design asrevealed to us in the history of mankind, or we must seek to understand the purpose of life, its motif, the complex laws which operate to bring about the unfoldment of the great plan, and thence to prognosticate that which hereafter shall be revealed to the commonplace observer.
The end of life is judged from the planets occupying the 8th and 4th Houses, for the 8th denotes Death, and the 4th denotes the final resting-place of man. When benefic planets, or the Luminaries well aspected, occupy these Houses, you may judge that the end will be peaceful, normal, and that death will take place in the midst of congenial and even exceptionally agreeable surroundings.
When, however, the malefic planets hold these Houses, or afflict the luminaries therein, you may judge greater stress and privation.
Uranus in the 8th House denotes a sudden death, and the same result is observed when the Luminaries therein are afflicted by Uranus. Neptune in the 8th denotes danger of trance, coma, and simulated death, and when this position is observed it is necessary that all the signs of mortification should be present before interment is effected. Saturn produces death by privation and obstructions, by chills and colds. Mars induces death by fevers and inflammatory action, and frequently by hæmorrhage.
Planets in Fixed signs in the 8th House show death from heart or throat affections, affections of the excretory system and the blood. In Cardinal signs, the head, stomach, kidneys, or skin are the seats of the fatal disease. In Flexed signs, the lungs, bowels, and nervous system become fatally affected.
Violent or unnatural deaths are shown when either of the luminaries is simultaneously afflicted by the evil aspects of more than one of the malefic planets, or when both luminaries are separately afflicted by the malefic aspects of malefic planets, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, or Mars.
When these testimonies occur, it will be found that Neptune produces death by assassination, Uranus by sudden catastrophes, explosions, hurts by electricity and machinery, Saturn by blows and falls, and Mars by cuts, burns, scalds, and effusion of blood. Particular judgment is drawn from the nature of the signs in which the significant planets are placed. Thus Saturn in Watery signs would produce drowning; in Taurus, strangling or decapitation; in Aries by the blow of a truncheon, &c. Similarly, Uranus in Gemini would produce accidents on short journeys, railway collisions, bicycle or motor accidents, and the like effects. It is impossible to cite all the effects due to the several planets in the different signs, but if the simple natures of the planets, signs and Houses are thoroughly understood, a combination of their significations will readily lead to an appreciation of exact effects. If I say that a certain fluid is H2SO4, any one having a knowledge of elementary chemistry will know that it is sulphuric acid, and similarly, if I say that a certain horoscope contains Saturn in Cancer inthe 3rd, which is astrologically expressed ♄ ♋ 3, any one who has read the first pages of this book with attention will be able to say: Let the Subject beware of short journeys by water! It is all chemistry of a kind.
When the 4th House contains benefic planets, or planets that throw good aspects to the luminaries, there will be peace and comfort in old age, or in the end of life whensoever it may be determined. Neptune therein shows retirement and sequestration, and when afflicting the luminaries or itself afflicted, it denotes death in an asylum, hospital, or other place of detention. Uranus in the 4th, in similar conditions, denotes a sudden and remarkable death. Saturn similarly placed and aspected shows death in exile, privation or great trouble. Mars in the 4th House afflicting the luminaries or itself afflicted by other adverse planets, denotes a violent death by gunshot or wound and in the midst of strife, or on the field of battle.
Before any catastrophic death be predicted, it should be carefully decided whether or not the death is compassed with uncommon and violent indications, not that one need have fear of the mere going out or coming into the world, but there is some choice of gates, and rather than affright the weak-minded with a sinister judgment, it is better to leave them to find their own way.
The planets, in their motions after birth, come into certain relations with the planets in the horoscope of birth, and also form aspects among themselves owing to the diversities of their motions in the Zodiac. In Astrological science there are two separate means of calculating the time of events, but both methods consist of bringing the body of one planet to the body or aspect of another, which process is called “Directing,” and the arc described by the moving body is called an “Arc of Direction.”
The first of these methods is the discovery of Claudius Ptolemy, the famous mathematician and geographer, the author of the Syntaxis, as set forth in his work the Tetrabiblos, or Four Books on the influence of the Stars. This method had the support and confirmation of the great Kepler. It has respect to the rising, setting, andmeridian passage of the planets after birth, whereby they are brought to the places or aspects of the planets in the Radix (the Root), which is the horoscope of birth.
The limits and nature of this work do not permit of a thorough exposition of this method, which entails some little knowledge of spherical trigonometry, but the reader who desires to perfect himself therein is referred to the author’s work, entitled “Prognostic Astronomy.” A facile application of the method is here given, by which any one may, by the aid of the Tables of Houses, make certain of the more important calculations by rule of thumb, and predict thence the times of remarkable events.
The principle involved is this: The number of degrees which pass over the meridian between the moment of birth and the rising or culminating of a planet, will equal the number of years which must elapse from birth until the influence of that planet becomes dominant.
Thus, if Jupiter at birth is coming to the meridian, that is to say, if it be in the 10th, 11th, or 12th House, count the number of degrees between the meridian and Jupiter, and in so many years from the time of birth there will be an access of good fortune. Similarly, if Saturn or other of the malefic planets be coming to the meridian, the number of degrees between it and the Midheaven will indicate the age at which troubles will abound.
Also, when the planets have passed the meridian, the measure is made in the same way, by bringing the Midheaven to the place of the planet, counting the degrees between the planet and Midheaven for the number of years at which it will operate.
But the same and other planets may be directed to the horizon, by taking the Table of Houses for the latitude of the birthplace (Sect. I., chap. iii.) and finding therein under the column marked “Ascen.” (Ascendant) the longitude held by any of the planets. Observe then what degree is on the Midheaven in the column marked 10 (10th House), and count the number of degrees between this Midheaven and the Midheaven at birth. The result will give the age at which the effects of such planets will be experienced.
Thus, for a person born in or near Liverpool or in the same latitude, suppose the Midheaven at birth to be in Scorpio 0, and Saturn to be in the 2nd House in Aquarius 8 degrees. I wish to bring Saturn to the horizon. In the Table of Houses I find that Aquarius 8 is on the Ascendant when Sagittarius 9 is on the Midheaven, and I therefore count from Scorpio 0 to Sagittarius 9. This gives the age of 39 years, and as Saturn is in the 2nd House at birth, I say that at 39 years of age the Subject would experience financial disaster, and because Saturn comes then to the Ascendant, I also say there would be serious illness and depression of spirits.
When planets are setting at birth they are brought to the opposition of the Ascendant in a similar manner, only the opposite point of the zodiac must be found in the Tables under the Ascendant. Thus, if Mars were in the 7th House at birth in the 11th degree of Cancer, I find the opposite point (Capricornus 11) under the column of the Ascendant, and I note that Scorpio 19 is then on the Midheaven, so that from Scorpio 0 to Scorpio 19 gives 19 years, at which age the Subject would have a seriousillness due to inflammatory action in the stomach and probably produced by overwork and worry, as indicated by the sign Cancer and the planet Mars, or if there be indications of an accident, then an accident by scalding with hot water or acids would be predicted.
Planets are brought to the opposition of the Midheaven by counting the degrees which intervene between the longitude on the lower meridian at birth and that held by the planet.
In all such directions the conjunctions of benefic planets are advantageous when directed to the Midheaven or Ascendant, and the conjunctions of the malefics are indicated of periods of bad fortune. The oppositions are uniformly evil, whether the planet involved in the direction be a benefic or malefic. (Sect. I., chap. iv.)
These are the directions of the planets to the two Significators, the Midheaven and Ascendant. The Midheaven appertains to honours and credit, while the Ascendant has relation to the personal and bodily welfare and the general fortunes.
To direct the Midheaven or Ascendant to the other aspects of the planets, such as the sextile, trine, semisquare or square, it is only necessary to note the degrees in which these aspects fall and bring them to the Midheaven or Ascendant as if the body of the planet were itself there, and in the manner already indicated.
The Sun is directed after birth by its motion in the zodiac, which can be found in the Ephemeris for the year of birth, and the aspects it forms to the planets in the horoscope and in the daily progress should be tabulated. In most Ephemerides they are already calculated, so that the labour is considerably lightened. Each day after birth will represent one year of life, the mean motion of the Sun being about 1 degree per day. All that is necessary, therefore, is to count the number of days from birth to the date when the Sun forms an aspect, and that will give the age at which the planet aspected will produce its effects.
As the Sun goes through the zodiac the other bodies make progress along with it, in which course they form aspects to the Midheaven, Ascendant, the Sun and Moon in the horoscope of birth. These are called “Secondary” directions, and in connection with the Sun’s aspects after birth, constituted the system in use among the Arabian astrologers.
Minor periods of good and bad fortune, subsidiary to the above periodic influences, are taken from the Moon’s progress after birth, in which one day equals one year of life, and two hours equal one month. These directions of the Moon afford a monthly prognosis of the course of events, and are useful in the conduct of minor affairs in life. When they are contrary to the general trend and import of the periodic directions made to the Midheaven, Ascendant and Sun, they act indifferently, and frequently produce only passing benefits or annoyances; but when they are in agreement with the Primary Directions cited above, then they accentuate and define the nature and time of events. As if the Primaries be good and the Lunar directions evil, then there will be a predominance of good fortune with some current disturbances; but both being good there will be abundant success and satisfaction; while if the Primaries be evil and the Lunar directions good, the latter will serve onlyto moderate the effects for the time being of the Primary evil indications.
An intelligent apercu of the principles of directing will greatly enhance the value of any prognostications made from the horoscope of birth, as it will enable the student to select those periods in the life when the effects due to any planet are most likely to eventuate. Thus, if Saturn be in the 2nd House at birth, it may be said that there would follow some periods of great financial stress, and the rising of Saturn by direction after birth would show the time when one, at all events, of such periods would be experienced.
And here is the great fact upon which astrologers the world over are prepared to stand or fall. If the planets have no effect in the lives of men, their directions to the angles of the horoscope can have no effect; but never was it found that a man had evil fortunes at the period when the planet Jupiter was directed to the Midheaven or Ascendant, or anything but bad fortune when Saturn was similarly directed. The fact is there, and we cannot get away from it. The only question is as to how far we can intelligently carry our investigations beyond that point, and intelligibly convey our discoveries to the world by their application to the affairs of daily life. The reader may judge for himself from a perusal of these pages.
The directions being calculated and tabulated in order of their occurrence, the time and general nature of the influences operating in successive periods of the life will stand revealed. The particular nature of the events indicated by the several directions may be known from (a) the House in which the directed planet is situated;(b) the Sign it occupies; and (c) the aspect it forms, considered in relation to the nature of the planet. For example: If Uranus at birth were in the 9th House and the sign Gemini, its direction to the Midheaven would be the index of litigation in connection with writings, publications, or means of transit; because the 9th House, among other things, has relation to litigation and legal affairs, and Gemini (the 3rd House sign) to communications, writings, &c., while Uranus denotes sudden and unexpected events, ruptures, alienations, and complexities.
So if Saturn were in the 6th House in the sign Aquarius, its direction to the opposition of the Ascendant would indicate chills to the blood, anemia, &c., constituting a serious illness with probability of low fever; because the 6th House rules sickness, and Aquarius rules the blood, while Saturn is the cause of chills, paucity, and impediments.
Thus the time and nature of events may be known with great certainty.
Among the number of important indicators to which Astrologers refer in making a forecast of concurrent events, there are the transits of the planets over the places of the Significators at birth, the positions of Eclipses, and those of the lunations.
The first of these chronocrators depends upon the revolutions of the planets in their orbits. Each planet has a period in which it completes its revolution in the heavens, in the course of which it passes the places of the Sun, Moon, Midheaven, and Ascendant of the horoscope. This passage over the radical Significators is technically termed its “transit,” and it will be found that such transits afford a very precise and reliable source of prognostication, for the time of a planet’s transit is known in advance of its occurrence (seeSect. II., chap. iv.), and the effects of such transit are in exact terms of the nature of the planet concerned. It is only necessary to add that the Midheaven and the Sun have relation to the position and honour of the Subject, while the Moon and Ascendant have relation to the personal health and general fortunes. The Sunand Midheaven also signify the father, and the Moon has general signification of the mother. Venus signifies domestic and love affairs, the affections and sentiments; while Mercury signifies the mental disposition. So Uranus in transit over the place of Venus will give a love affair, a romantic attachment. Mars over the place of Venus will engender passionate love. Saturn over Venus will give disappointment or bereavement; and Neptune thereover will bring entanglements and complications, with danger of being led astray. Saturn over Mercury will produce melancholy and many errors of judgment. Mars over the same planet will excite the mind and dispose to impulse and unreasoning anger, quarrels and disputation. Uranus over Mercury will render the mind wayward and headstrong, disposed to erratic courses and egotistic methods. Neptune passing the place of Mercury produces deceits, treacheries, and apprehension of impending evil, a sense of espionage and ambush. It involves the mind in tortuous and complicated schemes, and disposes to secrecy and wariness.
The transits of the major planets are of chief significance, and their effects are rendered more weighty and lasting when at the time of transit they are retrograde in the zodiac; while their stationary positions on the places of the Significators have almost the same power as Primary Directions.
An Eclipse of the Sun or Moon falling on the place of any Significator in the horoscope of birth is of a sinister import, and cannot be too seriously considered. Fallingon the Ascendant or the Moon they affect the health and general fortunes very seriously, and only a series of subsequent good directions can avail to restore the Subject to his normal condition. On the Midheaven or the Sun, the honour and fortunes may both be affected, and in the same serious degree. The Eclipses falling on the places of the other planets will produce effects in accord with the nature of those planets and the Houses they occupy. To have any appreciable effect, the Eclipses must be within two degrees of any of the radical positions, or of their opposition aspects.
The Lunations recur in the same part of the Ecliptic every nineteen years. Considered in relation to the current indications they afford the means of a monthly forecast of events. Thus, if the lunation for the month falls on the place of Jupiter in the horoscope of birth, it will produce good effects in that department of life which is governed by the House in which Jupiter is situated; as if in the 11th, through friends; in the 4th, through property or rental; in the 6th, through servants and health; in the 8th, through a financial colleague, &c.
The effects of Lunations are subsidiary to the current Lunar directions, and these in turn are subsidiary to the transits, and the transits to the Primary Directions. By this it is not meant that they are inoperative, nor that they fail to indicate the events of the month, but their power and degree of influence is subject to the greater influence of superior causes. And as a general observation it may be affirmed that the less frequently any celestial position occurs in a horoscope, the greater is itsinfluence. This fact gives to primary directions their great influence in the life, for they can only occur once in a lifetime; and for the same reason Eclipses have a major significance, for the same Eclipse only recurs after an interval of 649 years. The transits of Neptune, of Uranus, of Saturn and Jupiter and Mars follow in their order of frequency. Neptune has a revolution of about 165 years, Uranus 84 years, Saturn 30 years, Jupiter 12 years, and Mars1¼years.
Major effects must not therefore be referred to inferior causes, and minor effects must not be referred to superior causes. In universal or even national cataclysms, individual fortunes are submerged.
Before leaving the exposition of this subject, it may be of advantage to the reader if I give some idea of the method to be pursued in the complete handling of a horoscope.
First, then, erect the figure of birth, taking care to use the Ephemeris of the year of birth, and also the correct Table of Houses for the latitude of the place of birth.
Next proceed to attempt a description of the chief personal traits of the Subject, following in succession with a well-considered judgment on the constitution, hereditary tendencies, the health and pathological predispositions, the mental traits and disposition, considering these latter in relation to the state of health indicated. Then pass to a consideration of the environing conditions of life; the financial condition and outlook; the position in life; the occupation; prospects and conditions of marriage; of progeny. Judge next concerning voyages and journeys. Finish with a statement regarding the predominance of friends or enemies, and select dates by Solar positions, as already instructed. In cases where it is not objectedto, an approximation may be made to the time and nature of death.
Throughout the whole of this judgment, the periods when these predicted effects will come into force should be made by reference to the rising, setting, and meridian passage of the planets, the solar aspects, and transits.
Care should be taken to weigh justly and impartially the evidence set before you in the figure of the heavens for birth. Major importance should be given to those planets which are in angles, and those which are in elevation, for the nearer a planet may be to the Midheaven, the greater is its influence for good or ill, according to its nature and aspect.
Read what you see, not what you imagine should be the destiny of an individual. If you are in complete ignorance of his person, position, and environment, so much the better. If you follow carefully the various rules which are contained in this book, you may at first make some errors of judgment, but as you become familiar with the task, even these errors will become few and far between, and in the end the language of the horoscope will become so intelligible and clear that it will interpret itself, and the whole trend and potentiality for good or ill of any birth-figure will force itself upon you in just the same way as when a man walks into your presence with his character clearly stamped upon his face, so that you have only to look and know.
Having become proficient in the judgment of birth-figures, you will do well to proceed to a closer study of the mathematics of astrology, making yourself proficient in the various methods of directing, so that you may atany time refine upon your general prognostics, and make predictions which are clear, sharp, and to the point.
Undoubtedly there is a modicum of intuitive perception at work in the judgment of any horoscope, which will enable you to seize upon the small details and exact pointing of any matter, and this perhaps constitutes the whole difference between the rule of thumb worker and the inspirational reasoning of the intuitive worker. The one exhausts the books and the other embellishes them. It is so with science in every department. The books will take you up to a certain point of proficiency, and a strict regard for the formulæ will keep you within the bounds of safety. But if you are ever to make a discovery or become a recognised exponent of any science, you must be naturally gifted with what is called the “scientific imagination,” another name for intuition. But at no point does true intuition part company with exact reasoning. There is no lesion. The one is an extension of the other. It is the higher reason, which argues from the known to the unknown. And the Astrologer is in this respect as the poet, “born, not made.” But a moment’s reflection will suffice to convince you that the more facile you may become with the book-learning and technique of Astrology, the more you will leave the intuition free to act. When a lad is struggling with his multiplication tables, his appreciation of the binomial theorem or the differential calculus cannot be said to amount to much. And, in the same way, a person who is stuffing down the Alphabet of Astrology cannot be expected to intuit anything concerning the potential of the Sun’s direction to the quadrature of Saturn.
I take it that nobody nowadays can afford to fritter away time in the study of subjects which are not likely to become a source of benefit to himself and others. If there be such people among my readers, which I consider unlikely, I may dismiss them offhand with the remark that they will never become successful astrologers, for the first word of practical astrology is Utility. If the science had not its practical application to the affairs of everyday life, if its principles contained no word of assurance and hope for the myriad toilers of this world, no word of admonition for the self-indulgent parasites of modern social life, if, in short, it did not make for the betterment of human life and thought, it would never have attracted the attention of Aristotle, Cicero, Galen, Claudius Ptolemy, Thales, and others of the old world, and such men as Bacon, Cardan, Archbishop Usher, Naibod, Mercator, Ashmole, Kenelm Digby, Sir Christopher Heydon, Dryden, Dr. John Butler, Sir George Wharton, Vincent Wing, George Witchel, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, and Flamstead of more recent biography. Indeed, in whatever age or countrywe may elect to make our inquiries concerning Astrology, there are to be found a host of intelligent and even illustrious advocates in every department of life and learning. Suffice it to say that the modern student of this most ancient of all sciences is at all times in very good company.
Let it first be understood that there is an object to be attained in the study of Astrology, and that the pursuit of it in the gratification of an idle curiosity alone will inevitably entail the waste of time which invariably attaches to idleness of all descriptions, and we may then profitably consider whether or not the subject is worth the labour which it will demand from the man who has something to do in the world and little enough time in which to do it. These are stressful times, and we have to be economical in our efforts. We have strength enough to carry us through, but neither strength enough to thresh the wind nor time enough to fish in puddles.
What, then, does Astrology offer to the patient worker, the man who would become a successful Astrologer?
First and foremost it will enable him to gain an insight into individual motive and character which no other science can possibly afford. It will enable him to know himself, his own strength and weakness, and so fit him to deal harmoniously and justly with others. It will enhance his opportunities to the extent that he is able to foresee and make use of all benefic influences operating through his own environment. It will give him timely warning of his approach to the quicksands and pitfalls which occur in his passage through life. Hewill discern his special physical weaknesses, and the times of his predisposition to sickness, the nature thereof, and the precautions which are necessary. He will know whom to cultivate and whom to avoid, and in selecting a partner in business or a wife for his home, he will be guided by a foreknowledge of evils to be avoided and of good things to be gained. He will choose his path in life with the confidence that it is for him the line of least resistance and therefore that of greatest progress. He will not become obsessed by ambitions beyond his power to achieve. He will learn the power of adaptation to environment, and thereby effect his work in the world with the least possible friction and waste of force. He will know when to make provision against sickness, accident, and death. He will not invest capital where interest is not to be gained. He will see the end from the beginning. It may not make him a brilliant success in the world, but it will assuredly save him from being a failure. He will find causes for inexplicable things, and his mind will rest content in the knowledge hat while he is working out the highest potentialities of his own horoscope, the major problems and intricacies of life are not of his making or needful of his solving. And finally, when his time comes to “shuffle off this mortal coil,” he will be prepared, and will know that it is the will of Heaven, expressed and determined from the moment of his birth. Rightly employed, Astrology cannot fail to improve the man who makes of it a serious study, fitting him to be of greater use to others and of higher service to the race at large.
But to become a successful Astrologer he must studypatiently for several years, testing each statement that is made in the books by reference to his own and several other horoscopes. He must be able to erect a figure of the Heavens with mathematical accuracy for any given time and place, work out directions by the use of the sphere or trigonometrical tables, and have a competent knowledge of the motions and periods of the various planetary bodies. When thus satisfied in his own mind that Astrology is a dependable science, and that he is capable of demonstrating it under test conditions, he must be generous in the use of it. Here and there he will find one who is opposed to the belief that the stars have any influence in human affairs. Let him not waste logic with such a man, but go straight to the task of convincing him by an appeal to facts.
For preference, select a period when the directional influences are such as seem likely to hit the sceptic with considerable force, define the event, make a careful calculation of the time of its fulfilment, and put them on paper, which, being yet unread by the man of Common-sense, should be placed under cover, sealed, and endorsed to be opened only after a certain date.
Now a man who has been hammered rather severely and in quite an unexpected manner, is usually open to conviction of truth when he finds that the nature and date of his disaster have been accurately foretold. Being a man of “common-sense” and not of intuition, he will probably think that the Astrologer might even have saved him from the consequences of his own lack of foresight. So indeed might the Astrologer have done had he taken the management of affairs from the beginning; but to step in half-way to arrest causes which are already in operationand charged with inevitable effects, is requiring too much of any man short of a Prime Minister!
There are certain things which even the most astute deductive reasoner cannot foresee, and these are the points that should be utilised by the Astrologer who seeks to convince others of the truth of his science. A man cannot reason from his doorstep to a street accident. If he could he would avoid it. All men are not subject to accidents, however. But almost all are subject to bereavements, losses, sicknesses, and changes of fortune. Those are the points which the Astrologer intent on proselytising, usually makes use of. But events need not be in futurity to carry conviction. If it can be shown that by mathematical calculations the events of the past can be recited with precision and exactness, it is evident to the meanest intellect that nothing hinders from an extension of such calculations into the future. And once convinced of the reliability of such claims to foreknowledge, the practical man of the world is not slow to avail himself of its uses.
But Astrology is not exhausted in the study of individual horoscopes, for there are other departments of this extensive science. The influence of the planets upon the weather, as embodied in Astro-meteorology; the rise and fall of Empires, political changes, the outbreak of wars, of revolutions, of epidemics, as defined by State Astrology so much in repute among the Oriental rulers; the occurrence of tidal waves, earthquakes, and other seismic phenomena, all form a part of the complete equipment of the practical Astrologer.
It would be superfluous to recite here the numerous and strikingly accurate forecasts which have been madeby modern exponents of the science, but it is only right to say that they reflect considerable credit upon their authors, for the above-mentioned departments of astrological learning are by no means in the same efficient state as Genethliacal Astrology, to an outline of which this work is devoted. Anciently it was otherwise, and even in the East at this day they hold some secrets of traditional knowledge, concerning which they are unduly mysterious and of which we have only the evidence afforded by more exact prediction upon certain points.
Prejudice and Ignorance are the twin giants which bar the path of the world’s progress to-day, even as they have ever done. Step by step they have been beaten back, baffled by the light of Reason, harassed by the arrows of Truth. The world is redeeming its ancient heritage. All that is now required to establish the paramount truth of Astrology as a science is an impartial and thorough investigation, preferably at the hands of scientific men, of its methods and principles. Not that the truth is to be ratified at the hands of modern scientists, seeing that their own teaching constitutes a mere shifting orthodoxy, liable at any moment to undergo a fundamental change in theory by the discovery of a single new fact—but that to such men rightly belongs the duty of disproving the claims of Astrology to be considered as a science, for it is a fact to be regretted that certain members of their body have written against the subject in a spirit of prejudice and without adducing any data in support of their contention, which ill becomes any man of scientific pretensions and is above all things detrimental to the cause of Truth.
In order to summarise and illustrate the principles which have been enunciated in the course of this work, I shall avail myself of the horoscope of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who was born on the 8th of July, 1836, at Highbury, the time of birth being stated to have been at about 2.30 in the morning. Calculations have since enabled us to fix the exact time of birth as at 2 h. 36 m. a.m. I subjoin the horoscopical figure for that time, the calculation of which is as follows:—
Born under the sign Gemini, with Mercury rising in the sign Cancer, the Sun near the conjunction with Jupiter and in close sextile to the Moon, there is littledoubt that the late Colonial Secretary is by nature gifted with an excellent constitution. The sextile of the luminaries is a powerful co-ordinator, and whenever sickness supervenes there will be a speedy recovery. The semisquare aspect of Mars, while disposing to gouty affections of the hands and feet, will contribute vital energy and power to throw off diseases, while at the same time predisposing to accidents and wounds to the right shoulder or clavicle.