Horoscope of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain
The rising sign gives nervous energy and enormous capacity for work, which is due to high nervous tension supported by a sound vitality. The only hereditary predisposition is that indicated by Mars, which induces to fevers, and gouty affections due to acidity.
The Moon is strong in the sign Taurus, but not particularly well placed in the 12th House. It has, moreover, the square aspects of Neptune and Venus from fixed signs. These indications point to functional disorders of the heart, throat and excretory system. On the other hand, there are the good aspects of the Sun, Jupiter and Uranus to counteract these adverse tendencies, and it is certain that strong recuperative powers together with a normally good co-ordination of functions would induce a speedy recovery from any illness to which he may be liable. Considerable immunity from sickness of all sorts may therefore be predicated.
The majority of the planets being in Cardinal signs, with three planets (including the Moon) in Fixed signs,indicates a character that is energetic, ambitious, active, sharp, ingenious, lively, and persevering; capable of cutting out a line in life for himself and making headway against obstacles; disposed to ride roughshod over the weaknesses and prejudices of those who oppose him; gifted with a pioneer spirit, incisive manner, and disposed at times to effect his ends regardless of the feelings and opinions of others. At the same time there is sufficient patience, method, caution, and watchfulness to make this extreme definition of purpose very effective. Laborious, firm (at times obstinate), systematic, and self-reliant, he is capable of waiting for opportunities. But finally he carries his purpose with atour de force.
That which he lacks is adaptability, suavity, and ability to enter into the feelings of others. He is too ambitious to be self-centred, but yet too intent to be sympathetic.
The rising of Mercury in trine aspect to Saturn and Uranus gives considerable mental capacity, a wide grasp of facts, a well-informed, apt and business-like mind; some originality, constructiveness, and power of marshalling facts and figures; patience, caution, and secrecy. There is not much imagination, and the sympathies are not wide. His methods and actions are governed by literal fact and mathematical certainty. He is an omnivorous devourer of the accessible. He takes the small fish by the handful and makes a meal of them; but he leaves the ponderous whales for those of greater imagination and more leisurely habit.
The quadrature of Mars to Uranus will induce momentary outbursts of temper and some irritability of nature, but the character I am delineating is not suchas can easily be played upon, for it is remarkably lacking in emotional susceptibility. Nevertheless, the inspirational faculty is by no means absent, and the presence of Neptune in the 9th House in trine to the rising Mercury, is an index of considerable inventive genius, extreme range of mental perception, and telescopic discernment of future events. Venus in the 3rd House shows some artistic tastes and fancies, considerable appreciation of art and culture, a fondness for flowers, bright lights, &c. But dominant above all are the two angular influences of Uranus and Mercury, which render the mind mathematical and precise, commercial, apt, business-like, energetic, and eminently magnetic.
The position of the Sun in conjunction with Jupiter in the sign Cancer, in sextile to the Moon, is the index of a high fortune and means exceeding a competence. It is here worthy of note that Cancer, which in this horoscope holds the Sun, Jupiter, and Mercury, is the ruling sign of South Africa, with which Colony Mr. Chamberlain’s fortunes have been for a long time so intimately associated. It is also worthy of note that both Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato were born on the same day of the year, the 5th of July, with the Sun in the 14th degree of Cancer. In the former case the Sun was conjoined with Moon and Venus, in sextile to Uranus and trine to Neptune, while in the latter case the Sun was in trine to Jupiter. In regard to Mr. Chamberlain’s horoscope, it will be observed that Jupiter, which holds such effective power for increase in the 2nd House, is also the ruler of the 7th, and it is to be remembered that all partnerships,commercial or social, which he has contracted have so far proved highly satisfactory from a merely monetary point of view. Further, the Moon is affected with the good aspect of the Sun in the 2nd House, which is a further indication that on a purely financial basis Mr. Chamberlain is a man worth going into partnership with.
All the planets except Neptune and Saturn are rising, and this at once indicates a man ambitious of independence and honours, one who is confessedly a candidate for responsibility.
Uranus in the Midheaven and close to the meridian indicates that association with civic and governmental bodies in which Mr. Chamberlain has rendered himself so conspicuous a figure, and whereas the trine aspect of Mercury in the Ascendant to Uranus in the Midheaven and the sextile of the Moon to Uranus also are sure indications of a wide popularity, the square aspect of Mars to Uranus from the 12th House, will not fail to engender many veiled enmities, machinations, and inimical plots, which have for their object the overthrow of Mr. Chamberlain’s prestige, and which, failing, will find expression in vituperative abuse and bitter animosity. But those who understand the virtue of the orientality of planets in a horoscope will retain their confidence in Mr. Chamberlain’s ability to hold his own against all opponents.
It will be observed that the direction of the Ascendant to the place of Uranus in the horoscope coincides with the age of Mr. Chamberlain at the outbreak of hostilitiesin South Africa, while the direction of Midheaven opposition Saturn coincides with the progress of the Boer War. Did space permit it would be possible to adduce a long list of directional arcs coinciding with the time and nature of all the more important epochs in Mr. Chamberlain’s career. The student is invited to make some test of this matter by the aid of the rules already given in these pages.
Mr. Chamberlain has been thrice married. It will be observed that not only is there a double-bodied sign on the cusp of the 7th House, but the Moon also applies to both the Sun and Jupiter in the sign Cancer. (SeeSect. III., chap. 8.) The aspect of the Moon being benefic to both the Sun and Jupiter, the marital state would be both harmonious and fortunate. It is, of course, well known that Mr. Chamberlain has, from a merely worldly point of view, married most advantageously. This observation may be called “wise after the event,” but I would observe that this geniture preceded my judgment of it, and the rules from which I judge are to be found in the Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy, written in the second century, and since tested and found reliable by successive astrologers during some seventeen centuries. Saturn’s aspect to Jupiter, the ruler of the 7th House, and the Moon’s quadrature to Venus must be held accountable for the successive bereavements which have disturbed the conjugal life in this case.
The position of Saturn in the 5th House, and theaffliction of Venus by Neptune and the Moon, will serve to account, in connection with the marriage conditions, for the small family which has been born to Mr. Chamberlain, for observe that Venus is the ruler, jointly with Mercury, of the 5th House, while Saturn is in the 5th and ruler of the 8th House. The same positions and aspects threaten to curtail the succession.
The position of Mercury, joint ruler of the 5th, in the sign Cancer, and just about to rise in the horoscope, promises honours and distinctions to the first-born.
The Moon and Mars are cadent in the Horoscope, and Mercury, the “winged messenger” (symbol of the trading-ship), is rising. These are indications of many journeys and changes and constant unrest. But fixed signs being on the cusps of the 3rd and 9th Houses, and the Moon also in a fixed sign, will suffice to account for the fact that Mr. Chamberlain is not a great long-distance traveller. Cancer and Leo holding the benefics and the Sun also well aspected in Cancer, the Moon being in Taurus, shows at once that France, South Africa, Holland, Scotland, and Ireland are parts of the world in which the operations of Mr. Chamberlain would meet with success, if it be not superfluous to detail specific territories in face of the abundant evidence of general success which this horoscope affords.
It was the boast of Bismarck that he was the “best-hated man in Europe,” and it would be strange indeed if Mr. Chamberlain had passed through life and attained soprominent a position without incurring the enmity, or arousing the envy and malice of a considerable number of individuals. Nevertheless, there are only two aspects in this horoscope which seem to point to any sort of trouble from such causes. The points are those of Neptune, which afflicts both the Moon and Venus, and of Mars which afflicts Uranus in the Midheaven and the Sun in the 2nd House.
By referring these two points to the Ecliptic we find they correspond to the Sun’s position on or about the 24th of May, and the 26th of January, and I shall leave the reader to look up his Almanac and find the individuals (illustrious they must needs be to find chronicle in Whittaker) who were capable of filling the requirements of the case.
As to friends, Mr. Chamberlain should lack nothing. With the Moon in sextile to the Sun and Jupiter, the ruler of the 11th House, in the same benefic relations with the Moon, he would always be able to count upon a strong adherence, and the only adverse indication in this matter is that Mars, part ruler of the 11th House, holds the 12th House in square aspect to Uranus in the Midheaven. This would be interpreted to mean that some of his friends will be disposed to become his enemies, and to militate, although ineffectually, against his credit and position. Why ineffectually? Because Mercury, the ruler of the Ascendant and prime significator of Mr. Chamberlain, is angular and well aspected, while Mars is weak and afflicted by Uranus which is in elevation above it.
Let it not be thought that the fame and position which Mr. Chamberlain has attained in the political world is due entirely to the benefic position of the principal planets in his horoscope of birth. Opportunity is not everything. The ability to use it counts for much, and only a man of exceptional industry, firmness, and decision, could have won for himself such peculiar distinction; and only a man of singular faculty could have sustained his position in the face of so much determined opposition. It will doubtless be a matter of extreme interest to the student of this horoscope, as to every one interested in the political situation of to-day, to observe the concurrent influences at work in the year 1904–5. Mr. Chamberlain attained his sixty-eighth birthday anniversary on the 8th of July, 1904, and by adding that number of degrees to the 22nd degree of Aquarius we obtain Taurus 0 as the point which has attained the meridian by “direction.” This is called the Progressed Midheaven. Referring this point of the Zodiac to the places of the planets at birth, it is observed that the Midheaven is approaching the sextile aspect of Mercury, having recently passed the opposition of Saturn, and having attained that aspect in 1905, it passes in 1908 to the sextile of Uranus, the planet which holds the greatest elevation in the horoscope of birth. The Ascendant under the Midheaven of Taurus 0 is Leo 16° 28′, which is the Progressed Ascendant for the year 1904. It is in semisquare aspect to Mercury, and is the occasion of many anxieties, worries, and annoyances, and some journeys by water.It also indicates some derangement of the health due to nervous strain, and affecting the stomach (ruled by Cancer). The Sun is directed in similar manner to the 24th degree of the sign Virgo, where it meets the sextile aspect of Jupiter in the 2nd House, in the sign of its exaltation, Cancer. This gives access of good fortune, increase of honor and prestige, and as Jupiter rules the 11th House, many adherents and supporters. But being also in semisquare to Venus, Mr. Chamberlain is in danger of losing a brother or other near male relative. The Moon by the same measure is within 4 degrees of the place of Jupiter, again marking the year 1908 as one of exceptional advantage, and in July of that year Jupiter passes over the Progressed Ascendant.
During the year 1904 Saturn has been close to the Midheaven of the radical horoscope, being in Aquarius 21, and stationary therein, during the month of June. In March, and again in October, it transits the opposition of the Progressed Ascendant in Aquarius 16, while in February, June, and December Uranus is in transit over the opposition of the radical Ascendant in Sagittarius 28° 16′.
In 1905, Saturn will transit the Midheaven in the horoscope of birth, and in the summer of the same year Mars will be Stationary in opposition to the place of the Moon at birth. Both these periods will be fraught with cares and anxieties, and the latter influence will act detrimentally on the health, disposing to attacks of gout and inflammatory action in the system.
But while the approaching and concurrent Primary directions are of a highly benefic nature, there will be no hint of a breakdown either in health or reputation, andit needs only the additional good influence of a transit or Secondary Lunar direction to carry Mr. Chamberlain at full swing to the summit of popular esteem and political power.
The curious who seek for coincidences will not be surprised and may be gratified to note that Merx, the root of the name of Mercury, signifies trade, and that the planet Mercury is rising in this horoscope of Mr. Chamberlain, who won great distinction for himself as President of the Board of Trade. Those who in more earnest vein seek for causes will do well to trace the transits of the major planets through this horoscope over the places of the Significators, the Sun, Moon, Midheaven, and Ascendant at all the important epochs in the life of the late Colonial Secretary. The working out of the more important directional arcs for the same period I can safely leave to the reader whose desire to thoroughly test the claims of Astrology has been sufficiently aroused by the perusal of these pages. It is at all times easier to dispute than to disprove, and this apparently is the reason for so much that is said, and so little that is shown, against Astrology.
As to themodus operandiof planetary influence I conceive that the brain cells are infilled with a nervous pabulum of such delicate nature as to be capable of responding to the finer etheric vibrations instituted by the planets; that the electrostatic condition of the earth’s atmosphere at the moment of birth determines the particular mode or modes of vibration to which the individual brain is syntonically responsive; and I could, did space permit, immediately adduce hundreds of instances to show that whenever the same positions or planetaryaspects recur in the heavens as were in existence at the moment of a birth, the individual immediately responds to the excitation, and gives instant evidence of such excitation by actions in agreement with the nature of the planets involved.
We now come to the point where it will be necessary to explain more fully the various elements with which so far the reader has only been dealing in a more or less mechanical way. It is, of course, of first importance that the student of Astrology should have a correct method, and this has been given as fully as space will permit in the preceding pages. But it is also necessary that one should know why he is doing a thing, as well as how to do it. Henry Ward Beecher once said that if a man turned soil with a spade knowing why he did it, the work was more effectively done than if he did not know. For this reason it will be convenient for the student to have a general view of the cosmical elements that he employs in his calculations and of the factors that enter into his consideration when studying a horoscope.
For purposes of calculation, the astronomer regards the planets as moving around the Sun in circular orbits at a uniform rate, and the positions thus obtained are called the mean longitudes of the planets. But it is known that the orbit of a planet answers to the functions of an ellipse,of which the Sun is presumed to occupy one of the foci. Then it becomes necessary to correct the Mean Longitude of the planet by an equation which is called the Centre equation.
Let us make this quite clear. The circular orbit supposed in the first instance is what may be called the Mean Orbit of the planet, as compared with its true orbit, which is elliptical. Similarly, the motion of the planet in the circular orbit is called the Mean Motion, as compared with the true motion, which is variable, being quickest at the perihelion and slowest at the aphelion.
The difference between the Mean longitude and the True longitude is determined by the Anomaly, which is the distance of the planet from its Aphelion, or farthest distance from the Sun. The anomaly is thus L-A, i. e., longitude minus aphelion.
But it will be seen that ellipses may be of greater or less eccentricity, and the equation to centre depends on the eccentricity. This may need a word of explanation. Suppose a circular orbit. Draw the two diameters at right angles to one another; they are of equal length. Now suppose another figure in which the one diameter is longer than the other. The circumference of this figure will be an ellipse. The greater diameter is called the Major Axis, and the diameter at right angles to it is the Minor Axis. The proportion of one to the other axis determines the amount of eccentricity. Twice the eccentricity gives the equation to centre, and to reduce this to degrees and minutes of a circle it has to be multiplied by the chord of 60 degrees, which is 57°·29578. This gives the maximum equation to centre when the planet is 3 signs or 90 degrees from its aphelion, and therefore on the Minor Axis.
The eccentricity of the various planets may be here stated: Mercury, 0.2055; Mars, 0.0931; Jupiter, 0.0482; Saturn, 0.9562; Uranus, 0.9467; Earth, 0.0168; Venus, 0.0068. These quantities undergo a gradual change. Thus it is found that Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury are increasing the eccentricity of their orbits, while Venus, the Earth, and Saturn are reducing it. The orbit of Venus is now almost circular, and it affords an example of the perfect astronomical paradigm.
Thus by the mean motions and the equation to centre the true longitudes of the planets in their heliocentric orbits are obtained. But inasmuch as the orbits of the planets do not lie in the same plane as the Sun, but cross its apparent path at various angles of inclination, a further equation is due to reduce the orbital longitudes of the planets to the ecliptic.
To further reduce these true longitudes into their geocentric equivalents, i. e., as seen from the Earth’s centre, we have to employ the angle of Parallax, which is the angle of difference as seen from two different points in space. This will vary according to the relative distances of the bodies from one another. The Moon’s longitude is always taken geocentrically. When approximate longitudes are required, the employment of a mean vector, which is equal to half the minor axis of the planet, is found convenient. For the convenience of astronomical students I may here give the constant logarithms of the values of the tangent, which, being added to the logarithm of the tangent of half the distance of the planet from the Sun in longitude, will give the tangent of the complement.
Neptune, 9.97107; Uranus, 9.95479; Saturn, 9.90858;Jupiter, 9.83114; Mars, 9.32457; Venus, 9.20812; Mercury, 9.63210.
To these add the bog, tangent of half the angle between the planet and Sun, taken by heliocentric longitude, which call A. Call the result B. For major planets add A and B, and for minor planets subtract B from A. In either case the result will be the angle of longitude between the planet and the Sun as seen from the Earth, and hence its geocentric longitude may be known.
But a more convenient method of obtaining the approximate longitudes of the planets geocentrically is by means of the Planetary Geocentric periods. Thus Uranus has a period of 84 years, after which it returns to the same longitude on the same day of the year and will be further advanced in its orbit by 1° 5′. Saturn has a period of 59 years, after which it comes to the same place in the zodiac and will be further advanced by 1° 53′. Jupiter has a period of 83 years, when it is found to be only 4′ advanced upon its former longitude. Mars’ period is 79 years plus an advance of 2° 4′. Mercury’s period is also 79 years, and its advance is 5° 32′. Venus has a period of 8 years, when it is further advanced in the zodiac by 1° 32′.
For the calculation of the approximate geocentric longitude of the major planets these periods are very useful, but are of less value in regard to the minor planets Venus and Mercury.
Suppose I want the longitude of Uranus in the year A. D. 827. I have its longitude on the first of January, 1912, in Capricorn 28° 17′. Then 1912-827 gives 1,085 years, which being divided by the period of Uranus (84 years), yields 12 periods and 77 years. The incrementfor 1 period being 1° 5′, that for 12 will be 13°, and 77-84ths of 1° 5′ will be another degree, making 14 degrees. As the date is anterior, this amount must be subtracted from its longitude on the first of January, A. D. 827, and in effect we obtain Capricorn 14 degs. 17 mins. as the longitude of Uranus on the first of January, 827, as seen from the Earth.
For the purpose of determining the effects, if any, due to the presence of a planet in its Aphelion, Perihelion, or Node, the following values are given for the year 1800 A. D.:
The longitudes of the Aphelia are increased in 100 years by the following quantities: Neptune, 1° 25′; Uranus, 1° 28′; Saturn, 1° 50′; Jupiter, 1° 35′; Mars, 1° 52′; Venus, 1° 43′; Mercury, 1° 34′. These quantities are additive for years after 1800, and subtractive for years before that epoch.
In the present state of astronomical science it is not certain that these values are absolutely correct. Calculated from the Tables of Kepler, the differences are only slight, but still sufficient to make considerable error in testing for exact conjunctions or ingresses.
Lilly, who predicted the Great Plague and Fire of London some years previous to the event from the ingress ofthe Aphelion of Mars to the sign Virgo, evidently made use of the Rudolphine Tables constructed by Tycho and Kepler, and according to these the ingress took place in 1654, while according to more modern Tables it did not take place until 1672. It is probable, however, that the positions of the Aphelia here given will be sufficiently close for all practical purposes.
A word or two may now be said regarding the periodic conjunctions of the planets.
As will be seen from the periods given, five periods of Jupiter are nearly equal to two of Saturn. It is found that the two planets form their conjunctions every 20 years. Thus there was a conjunction in Virgo in 1861, another in Taurus in 1881, and another in Capricornus in 1901. The next will be in Virgo in 1921. The two planets are thus now forming their successive conjunctions in the Earthly Tripicity; but in 1981 will make their mutation conjunction by falling together in the Airy sign Libra.
Uranus and Jupiter form their conjunctions every 14 years. Thus there was a conjunction in Sagittarius in 1900, and there will be another in Aquarius in 1914, another in Aries in 1928, and so on.
The conjunctions of Neptune with the other major planets are necessarily in terms of the periods of the latter, those of Neptune and Uranus being very infrequent, while those with Jupiter will be proportionately more frequent. For the period of Jupiter is only 12 years, while Neptune remains in the same sign for 15 years. The conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune in Cancer in 1907 will be followed by another in Leo in 1919, and this again by another in Virgo in 1932.
Obviously, if the planets by their transits effect anything whatsoever, the double transit of major planets must havea correspondingly greater effect. The careful student of Astrology will institute a number of tests in order to find what effects are due to the combined action of the planets when in conjunction at transit, and also when in opposition or quadrature. The chief points to be noticed in connection with the transits of the planets are the Midheaven, Ascendant, and the places of the Sun and Moon, as already mentioned inChapter IIof this section.
The ancients also included the places of the Moon’s Nodes, and it is usually found that the transit of the South Node over any of the Significators is attended by unfortunate results.
With these observations as a general guide to the cosmical factors involved in the planetary motions, the reader will be able to take a more intelligent interest in the foundations of his study than is the usual case from the pursuit of the subject by rule-of-thumb methods.
When we come to the consideration of the Moon as a cosmical factor we are face to face with one of the most difficult and evasive problems. For many centuries astronomers grappled with this inconstant factor with small success, and at the present day the problems attaching to the vagaries of lunar motion are in anything but a satisfactory condition. Prior to the time of Ptolemy nothing was known of the Moon except that it had a certain mean motion and formed its syzygies at definite periods, the mean values of which were very closely known. But certainly nothing was known regarding the inequalities of motion which are found to exist. Ptolemy discovered the equation due to the action of the Sun upon the Moon in its orbit. This is called the Evection. Tycho later discovered that a further equation was due to the disturbance caused by the Sun along the vector. Both these equationswere employed by Kepler. But of these, later astronomers have added one after another equation, going so far as to employ the action due to Venus and Jupiter, while ignoring that due to the action of the other planets upon the Moon. Buckhardt, whose formulae were used in the calculation of the Nautical Almanac for many years, employs no less than 37 equations of the Moon’s mean longitude. Indeed, the whole business has become farcical. The fact is that only three of these equations are necessary in order to obtain the Moon’s true place in the ecliptic at any time, and for the syzygy only one equation is necessary. The trouble has arisen from the fact that the eccentricity of the Moon’s orbit has been wrongly estimated, and most of these equations now employed by astronomers are effectual only in correcting this false estimate. Kepler gives the maximum equation to centre as 4° 59′ 59′′, while modern astronomers have given it as 6° 18′ 28′′. Neither of these is quite correct, though Kepler is much nearer the truth.
Another problem in connection with the Moon that has puzzled astronomers for a long time and is still in the region of experimental science is what is known as the Secular equation. It is found that by taking the present mean motion of the Moon and applying the various equations, found necessary to bring the calculations into line with observations of the Moon’s position in the zodiac, a considerable difference is found to exist between the calculated place of the Moon and its recorded position at the time of ancient eclipses. According to our modern Tables, ancient eclipses happened sooner than they should have done, or, in other words, the Moon was more advanced in its orbit than our Tables require. The inference is that the Moon was formerly moving quicker in a smaller orbitthan now, or conversely, the Moon is now receding and getting farther from the Earth. Consequently its action on the tides must be diminishing, and also its action on the equatorial mass of the Earth, which is considered to be the chief factor in the production of what is called the Precession of the Equinoxes. Yet whereas by one statement the disturbance due to the Moon is diminishing, another statement shows that the Precession of the Equinoxes is increasing!Voila le debacle.
All these anomalies and contradictions are due, as I shall show in my new Tables and Thesis, to the importation of false factors into the problem of the Moon’s motion, which, in fact, is extremely simple, perfectly regular, and affected only by its anomaly or distance from the aphelion and, where the time equation is employed, by the increase of radius. Jupiter and Venus have no more action on the Moon than have Mars and Saturn, in fact none at all, and the only body that has any action upon the lunar orb is the Sun, which it exerts indirectly through its action on the Earth.
These problems need not, however, vex the minds of the student of Astrology. It is sufficient for him that he has the place of the Moon calculated for him in the ephemeris reduced from the Nautical or other official Almanac. It is important, however, that he should know that such problems exist.
Sir Isaac Newton was first led to the subject of Astronomy by his thoroughness and scientific propensity. He studied Astrology, and proceeded to the study of Astronomy the better to understand and deal with the problems that the predictive science presented. For it is to be observed that Astrology in his day was entirely in the hands of astronomers, who calculated their own ephemerides and pursued the higher methods of astrological calculation as presented in my “Profnostic Astronomy.” Kepler avowed himself to be convinced of the truth of the science of Astrology, and showed himself to be a competent critic as much by his understanding of the astronomical problems involved as by his marvellous forecast of the rise and fall of Wallenstein. Tycho, his colleague and collaborator, also a great astronomical discoverer, was a professed Astrologer, and added to his stipend by the calculation of horoscopes. Astrology is quite a reputable study, and needs but to be emancipated from the service of a horde of half-educated plagiarists and parasites in order to take its place once more among subjects of serious consideration by the learned. Astronomy is interesting, but to be made useful it must find interpretation in terms of our daily life and common needs. It is in this connection that Astrology has played Cinderella since the days of official science. The day is not far off when it will come into its own.
Beyond the various time measures and indicators mentioned inSection IV, Chapter II, there are others which have a certain reputation among astrological students. The chief of these, and one that has been in vogue for many centuries, is the
or Birthday Figure, as it is sometimes called. It consists in a map of the heavens for the return of the Sun to the exact zodiacal position that it held at birth, and this sidereal revolution is made the basis of an annual forecast of the general trend of affairs in the life of the subject. To find the time of the Sun’s return to its own place in the zodiac is, of course, a simple matter of proportion from the ephemeris for the current year. This is effected by comparing the radical or birthplace of the Sun with the longitude of the Sun in the Ephemeris on the anniversary day, which will give the increment more orless required to be equated. Then with this difference of the two positions of the Sun (a) at birth and (b) at noon of the anniversary, find the diurnal proportional logarithm and subtract from this the logarithm for the Sun’s motion in 24 hours. The result will be the logarithm for the hours and minutes from Noon at which the Sun was in the exact position it held at the birth. Thus you have the time of the solar return, and all that is necessary is to erect a horoscope for this time and set the planets in the figure.
Then, if the benefic planets are in elevation and the Lord or Ruler of the Ascendant is well placed and aspected, there will be commensurate results, and a beneficial year may be predicted; but if, on the contrary, the malefic planets are elevated and the ruler of the horoscope is badly aspected, the year ensuing will be fraught with many troubles and vexatious events.
But inasmuch as the time-factor is here the return of the Sun to its radical place, chief attention must be paid to the aspects of the Sun, and conclusions agreeable to the nature of the afflicting planets or those that favourably aspect the luminary may be made accordingly.
As regards the time at which events signified by the aspects may be expected to transpire, I have found that they usually occur during the transit of the Sun over the places of the planets in the annual horoscope. Thus a person born in August may have the Sun in the annual horoscope in square aspect to Saturn, the Sun being in Leo and Saturn in Taurus. Then the evil signified by the aspect of Saturn to the Sun would transpire about the date that the Sun passed the opposition of Saturn in the sign Scorpio some time in November, or again in May of the following year when the Sunwas in conjunction with the place of Saturn in the horoscope for the Solar return.
Events that are benefic in nature may be produced from the transit of the Sun over the places of the benefics in the Solar figure, or over the good aspects of the planet which in the annual horoscope gives promise of benefit.
In similar manner the return of the Moon to its own place may be taken as a monthly guide to the nature of ensuing events, but it is to be observed that the Moon’s place cannot be taken with the same degree of accuracy as that of the Sun, owing to the varied acceleration of the Moon from hour to hour. The Nautical Almanac gives this hourly acceleration, so that by means of it the Moon’s longitude can be arrived at with great accuracy for any time of the day, but the cheaper ephemerides do not contain more than the longitude for noon and midnight. The student will find, however, that the general purposes of a Lunar horoscope may be served with sufficient accuracy from this source if chief regard be had to the aspects of the Moon at its return and not to the mundane positions of the planets.
Arguing from analogy, one would suppose that a similar horoscope could be made for the return of any of the planets to their radical places, but until we have a popular publication in which the planets’ places are given with a greater degree of accuracy than at present, we cannot pretend to indicate the true time of the revolutions of these bodies.
Another means of prognosis to which some astrologers have attached considerable importance is what is known as
This consists of a horoscope set for the time of the Moon’s return to the same distance from the Sun that it held atbirth, which distance is called the elongation. This measure is based upon the relative motions of the Sun and Moon in the zodiac after birth. Thus if the mean motion of the Sun for one day be taken as 59′ and that of the Moon as 13° 11′, then the mean elongation of the Moon will be 12° 12′. But the Sun and Moon are both subject to a variation from the mean motion, and thus the elongation of the Moon is an inconstant quantity. The only means of effecting the calculation, therefore, is by reference to the ephemeris for the year of birth. Then, having the Moon’s radical elongation, the successive dates at which this elongation is repeated are to be noted, and each of them is accounted as one year of life. Thus for the 20th year of life one must count 19 synods or conjunctions of the Sun and Moon after birth, and thereafter proceed to fix the date after the last synod at which the Moon’s elongation is the same as that of birth. This idea seems to give grounds for the ancient belief in effects attaching to the Moon’s age. For the Moon’s age denotes the distance of the Moon from the last conjunction with the Sun, and if a person was born on the tenth day of the Moon, then every tenth day of the Moon in successive revolutions will be of importance, since the Moon will be in the same relations with the Sun as at birth. The aspects that the Moon bears to the other celestial bodies at these times is held to be a guide to the nature of succeeding events. But more attention is paid to such horoscopes thus calculated wherein the Moon falls on the place of any of the planets at birth.
are of two kinds, mundane and zodiacal. A mundane ingress is made when a planet in the heavens comes tothe cusp of one of the Houses in the horoscope of birth—that is to say, to the degree of the zodiac which held the cusp of such House. Thus if the 8th degree of the sign Aquarius were on the cusp of the 2nd House of the horoscope and Saturn in the heavens made transit of that degree of the zodiac, then the Ingress of Saturn to the 2nd House would be effected and would be followed by a period of considerable financial stress. Similarly with other planets in the horoscope. Each will make its periodical transit through the several Houses of the horoscope of birth, and these will be attended by events in terms of the nature of the planet, the House it transits and its affections at birth.
Zodiacal ingresses are those that are made by the planets into the signs of the zodiac successively, and it is held that a change in the trend of affairs will take place in that department of the life ruled by the House wherein that sign is placed at birth. This, however, appears to be an extension of the former kind of ingress, and should be taken with some reserve. Certainly it will be found that very marked effects are due to the transits of the planets through the Houses of the horoscope, and if the aspects of these planets in the ephemeris are taken into account, it will be found that a very accurate basis for a forecast of the various incidents of individual life is thereby afforded.
In this connection the periodical synods of the planets should be observed, for it is evident that if we ascribe an influence to the transit of Saturn we must set a still more important value upon the transit of that planet when in conjunction or opposition with any other body in the heavens. Thus the planets Mars and Saturn form their conjunctions in successive signs after an interval of about twoyears, during which period it may be said that the effects of the last conjunction are in play. Thus Saturn and Mars formed their last conjunction in August, 1911, in the sign Taurus, and, according to the position of that sign in various horoscopes, effects more or less detrimental and disturbing would be experienced during the course of two years after that date.
Jupiter’s period of 12 years will be watched with interest by those who are studying the effects due to its action, for it passes through one sign or one House every year on an average, and therefore constitutes a good chronocrator or time-marker. But Jupiter can effect little for good if at the time of its transit it is afflicted in the heavens by the adverse aspect or conjunction of another planet. Similarly, Saturn or Uranus or Neptune has to be judged according to its condition and aspects at the time of transit or ingress.
whether of the Sun or Moon, are significant of evil according to their positions and aspects in the horoscope. For if an eclipse of the Sun happens it will afflict male members of the family, and an eclipse of the Moon will denote evil to female members. Eclipses falling in the sign occupying the 10th or 4th Houses will afflict the parents, and those which fall in the 3rd House will similarly affect collateral relatives, such as brothers and sisters, according to the sex indicated.
The effects of eclipses last for eighteen months, and will be great or small according to the magnitude of the eclipse and considerations due to aspects. When falling on the places of benefic planets or those well aspected in thehoroscope, the eclipse will portend good arising out of some catastrophe or bereavement. But when falling on the places of the malefics, or on places in the horoscope that are badly aspected by the planets at birth, they portend nothing but evil.
Falling in other parts of the figure, they are not of such significance, but generally it may be said that eclipses have a detrimental effect on such affairs as are governed by the House wherein the eclipse falls.
It has been said that unless an eclipse is visible in that part of the world where the subject was born, it will have no effect upon his health or fortunes. But this cannot be the case, for then those planets that are beneath the horizon at the time of birth could with equal reason be exempt from any share in our consideration, whereas, on the contrary, we know full well that in whatever part of the circle the planets may be situated at the moment of birth they will affect the life and fortunes in equal degree, but especially such department of the life as may be ruled by the House a planet occupies.
The following is a list of the visible eclipses that will be witnessed in Great Britain during the next ten years:
The years 1805 and 1917 are great eclipse years, for in both those years there are no less than seven eclipses. From like causes we argue like effects, and therefore we may anticipate a great convulsion in the political world during the year 1917 and thereafter. At that time Mars and Saturn will form their conjunction in the sign Leo together with Neptune, and these successive conjunctions of the three major planets cannot fail to produce greatmutations, more especially in those countries that are ruled by the sign Leo.
So far as individual horoscopes are concerned the effects of these conjunctions and the eclipses which fall in the sign Capricornus and Cancer must be judged by the particular Houses of the horoscopes in which they occur. The general effects due to any eclipse or conjunction of the larger planets are distributed and find their expression through individual horoscopes, the influence filtrating as it were through a variety of channels for the ultimate purpose of human evolution and government.
Thus by many lines of evidence the patient student may confirm his belief in the influence of the stars in human life, which involves the yet higher concept of the government of humanity by the greater Intelligences according to preordained laws, divine in their origin and cosmical in their expression. To this concept as a final expression of faith and of scientific experience we must eventually submit our beliefs and opinions, and haply our willing compliance.