Hour of birth of Julian Assange discovered by TMA

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Learn about astrology? Not the General Sun sign things you find in newspapers and magazines, but serious astrology. The type of advanced where can really determine specific information about a person's life through the observation of the planets and other celestial phenomena. Here are some tips to help you get started.

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««Inicio» birth time discovered Astrology newsJulian by TMAPosted by Chris Brennan Assange on December 19, 2010 at 8: 55 pm20 comments»

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The Natal chart reveal everything?

A student of astrology of Kepler made me a question recently:

"Do the natal chart reveals everything that happens to a person?" "Why or why not?"

This was my somewhat improvised response:

My first impression on this issue it seems that although it seems very specific, there is no way that is somewhat ambiguous. It is the question whether or not the chart of a person is capable of revealing details about the life of a person, or is the underlying emphasis to the question if or astrology in general not disclose all the details about a person's life? This is important, I think, because there are a lot of other lists that one finds in the course of his life as well as the Astral.

There are synastry and composite graphics that describe the nature and the course of the relationship between people and things. There are graphics inceptional to first meetings for important events, the foundation of buildings and cities, to even for the purchase and sale of goods. There are mundane for large groups of people, or graphic graphics horary questions simply unique and specific.

Almost everything has a graphic. When you realize and start to pay attention to some of the other lists, you begin to see how they tend to line one with the other in weird ways and sort of echo the same. There are certain level where I think the conscience of all the lists of the life of a person in the final analysis, would reveal everything what was going to happen to a person, although it is not humanly possible to take each graphic a person never interact with account.

Therefore, what we have, then, seems mainly the natal chart, although it is the graphic that is most relevant and revealing when it comes to life, difficult to say could you explain everything by itself. Although rare on the chart is indicating simply not important events in a person's life. In additional indicating all the important events, which I believe it can be done and is also surprising how that may indicate events relatively minor, as well. As brief emotional States with temporary transit of the Moon, or get a minor cut or burn when Marte hit a half point, or have problems of equipment under a brief transit of mercury. There are all these techniques and subdivisions that can be applied to the chart that seem to show different perspectives or shadows of the life of the native, with different levels of detail. In a way it is only the fact that we can not take into account all these different factors and measurements minutes that prevents us from knowing all of the main and secondary events in a person's life.

This leads to the final and perhaps the more important than all of this is underlying, that is what is within the capacity of the astrologer to do. Can the natal chart reveal everything that happens to a person? Yes, probably.  Is it possible that the astrologer know and process all the factors involved in the graphic of a person for the duration of his life? No.

It's a large part of which requires the withdrawal in the underlying multivalence of symbolism and find ways to move, focusing on the wider archetype or formal meaning that surround a certain locations or symbolism. The school of thought dominant in modern Astrology probably better articulated in the work of Richard Tarnas, today, is that the underlying multivalence symbolism is what allows some flexibility and essentially free - will. If things are only widely "determined archetypally" or "predictive archetypally," as Tarnas says, there is space for people to perhaps choose what specific manifestation of the archetype will occur in your life through some kind of conscious or deliberate decision.

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The Tropical, Sidereal and Constellational Zodiacs

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about the zodiac in the mainstream media.  Unfortunately most of it has been misinformation and false reports, deliberately designed to make people question the validity of astrology.

In order to set the record straight, I’m writing a two part series of articles on the zodiac and the recent zodiac controversy.

In this article I will focus on what the zodiac is as a reference system, and what the difference is between the zodiacs in the east and west.

This will be followed up by a separate article which documents the recent zodiac controversy and answers some questions about it from an astrologer’s perspective.

The Constellational ZodiacAncient astronomers noticed that the Sun, Moon and five visible planets regularly wander through a very specific path in the sky.   Because the planets never deviate from this path, which we call the ecliptic, there are certain constellations on that path that the planets repeatedly walk through.

This is how the constellational zodiac was first developed.  It included every constellation that the planets actually moved through, and it excluded constellations that they didn’t move through.

This is what that looks like if you were to observe the planets moving through the zodiacal constellations over the course of a year:

Notice that the constellations are of unequal size.  Some are kind of small, such as Cancer, while others are really large, such as Virgo.   Some of them even overlap a little bit.

The Sidereal ZodiacEventually by the 5th century BCE astrologers/astronomers in Mesopotamia standardized the zodiac so that it contained 12 signs of exactly 30 degrees each.   This is what is referred to as the sidereal zodiac.

Its reference point is the constellations, although the constellations themselves vary in size, some of them being relatively small and some being relatively large.  So, the sidereal zodiac is sort of an idealized or symbolic division of the constellations into 12 equal segments or “signs.”

The Tropical ZodiacThe system of astrology that most western astrologers use came together a few centuries later, around the 1st century BCE.   Most of the things that we associate with astrology, including many of the characteristics of the signs of the zodiac, originated during this time.

Around this time the seasons were roughly aligned with the sidereal zodiac, so that the beginning of the seasons coincided with the beginning of the cardinal signs — Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn.   The middle of the seasons coincided with the fixed signs — Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.  The end of the seasons coincided with the mutable signs — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

This alignment of the seasons with the signs of the zodiac is important because astrologers made symbolic associations between the nature of the seasons and the nature or meaning underlying certain signs of the zodiac.  So, it wasn’t just about the appearance of the constellations or the myths associated with them, but information was also derived from the specific part of the season associated with certain signs.

For example, the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are thought to reflect the initiation of new activities and changes because they coincide with the beginnings of the seasons, just after the equinoxes and solstices, where there is a distinct change in the weather and the things that depend on it.  On the other hand, the fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are said to reflect the stabilization of existing activities and circumstances since they coincide with the middle of the seasons, when there is a sense of stability in the heat and temperature.  The mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are thought to reflect circumstances in which things are in transition because they lie at the end of the seasons, when there is a transition from one season to the next.

So, there are symbolic associations being made between the nature of different parts of the seasons and certain types of actions, circumstances or qualities that share a formal similarity.  This is the basis of what is referred to as the tropical zodiac, which is measured relative to the seasons, with its starting point at the vernal equinox.

This is what that looks like if you were to observe the planets moving through the tropical zodiac over the course of a year, starting from the vernal point and then moving through each of the twelve 30 degree signs:

The Three ZodiacsThis means that there are essentially three zodiacs, or three reference systems that are all referred to as “zodiacs” (which is somewhat unfortunate since this convention is the source of quite a bit of confusion):

Constellational Zodiac: based on the uneven constellations that lie in the path of the Sun, Moon and planets (a.k.a. the ecliptic)Sidereal Zodiac: the idealized zodiac with 12 signs of 30 degrees each that is roughly aligned with the constellationsTropical Zodiac: the idealized zodiac with 12 signs of 30 degrees each that is aligned with the seasonsPrecession and the Adoption of the Tropical Zodiac in the WestAround the time that the basic principles of western astrology were systematized, in the 1st century, the sidereal zodiac associated with the constellations and the tropical zodiac associated with the seasons were roughly aligned, and astrologers drew information from both the constellations and the seasons associated with certain signs in order to determine the characteristics of those signs.

However, by this time astrologers and astronomers had already become aware of the phenomenon known as “precession,” in which the signs of the sidereal and tropical zodiac slowly drift apart from one another, at a rate of about 1 degree every 72 years or so.

Because of this gradual drift between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, there came a point when western astrologers had to make a decision about which reference system was the basis of what they were doing with the signs of the zodiac.  What they ended up doing was choosing the tropical zodiac associated with the seasons as their primary reference point, and continuing to call the tropical “signs” by their old names, which were originally derived from the constellations.

This happened definitively in the 2nd century CE when the famous astrologer/astronomer Claudius Ptolemy defined the first degree of Aries as the vernal equinox, which coincides with the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.  Western astrologers have been deliberately following this reference system, the tropical zodiac, for the past 1,800 years or so.

As a result of this decision to use the tropical zodiac of the seasons rather than the sidereal zodiac of the constellations, the zodiac used by most western astrologers is no longer associated with the constellations or the fixed stars.    As a result, the two zodiacs differ by roughly 24 degrees at this point, which is almost one full sign, although not quite.   So, a planet at 24 Aries in the tropical zodiac would be somewhere around zero degrees Aries in the sidereal zodiac.

The following diagram roughly depicts the difference at this point:

The inner wheel shows the tropical zodiac, which is aligned with the equinoxes and the solstices.The middle wheel shows the sidereal zodiac, which is roughly aligned with the constellations, being about 24 degrees off of the tropical zodiac at this point.The outer ring is a really rough sketch of the constellations that fall on the ecliptic, just to give you an idea of how they vary in size.   (Astrodienst has an option in its extended chart selection to include the zodiacal constellations, and a more accurate depiction of the constellations as they are aligned with the sidereal zodiac would look something like this.)

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Conference on traditional astrology in September

The American Federation of astrologers is organizing a Conference from September 22-24 entitled traditional astrology in the 21st century, in Honor of James H. Holden.  The main speakers at the Conference are Benjamin Dykes, Demetra George and myself, Chris Brennan.

The purpose of the Conference is to give an overview of the forms of 20th century pre "traditional" of astrology.  This will include coverage of the Babylonian traditions, Hellenistic, Medieval and Renaissance. The first day of the Conference will cover the basics, while the second day of the Conference deals with more advanced synchronization techniques.  A full schedule of the Conference is available on the Web site of the AFA: www.astrologers.com/convention/

James Holden wrote a book about the history of Western Astrology entitled history of the notably horoscopic astrology, and has also published a series of important ancient astrological texts from Greek and Latin translations.  We are holding the Conference in order to honor his contributions to the field, and he's going to be giving a Conference speech on the night of the 22.

Demetra, Ben and I have been working together on various projects for a few years now, and hope to have the opportunity to bring traditional astrology more integrated with this Conference.  So we set out some goals for what we would like people to make attending the Conference:

Familiarize yourself with the concepts and basic terminology in traditional astrology.Gain confidence in the use of traditional techniques: making predictions and more accurate natal interpretations.Be able to read and study more advanced material.Understand our heritage and the motives of many techniques and ideas that is used today.Learn the teachings of the ancient wisdom for a modern context.This month we have recorded a podcast of Radio of traditional astrology in which we talk about some of our more comprehensive plans and hopes for the Conference.  You can listen to the interview on BlogTalkRadio WTAR page.

One of the things I am very happy about is that the Conference is quite affordable, especially in comparison with the majority of conferences.  It only costs $150 to attend if you register before August 1 and after that is only $200.  I am also helping to organize a programme of actions of the room through a Facebook page for people who would like to split the cost of a hotel room by having a partner.

This has the potential to be a historic event, and we have a pretty fantastic choice gathered for the start of the Conference:

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Not associate Astrology 2012

In recent years a well-intentioned group of astrologers called cosmic intelligence agency has led a campaign to "make 2012 the year of astrology".  Its objective is to use some of the hype surrounding predictions about the significance of the year 2012 to draw greater attention to astrology and the astrological community as a whole.   In a moment even go as far as to see if I could press the United Nations to officially designate 2012 as the year of astrology.

I would like to respectfully point out that this is not a very good idea, at least in my opinion.  Let me explain why.

Most of the hype around 2012 really not have generated by astrologers, astrologists were not that had originally been designated 2012 an important year.  Rather, the majority of the claims surrounding 2012 made by writers associated with the movement New Age as José Argüelles, Carl Johan Calleman and John Major Jenkins, Daniel Pinchbeck.

While it is true that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, the same Maya really does not say a lot about the importance of this event.  In addition, aren't really any terribly unique astrological alignments that stand out in a way that makes that year seems incredibly important on its own.  As a result of this lack of important astrological alignments, they weren't really any predictions about the importance of 2012 made by astrologers before the theme was popularized by the above-mentioned New Age writers.  As a result of a preconceived notions that something important is going to happen this year because that is what the New Age writers have told people that the Mayans predicted have practically all claims by the astrologers about the meaning of 2012.   Thus most contemporary predictions about 2012 by astrologers are attempts to justify why 2012 could be important from the perspective of contemporary astrological theory, to try to take into account the preconceived notion rather than identify something that stands out as astrologically significant in their own right.

What is the problem with this?  As well, if the predictions for 2012 really does not originate with the Maya, and that really do not originate with contemporary astrologers, then that means that they are mainly derived from a handful of New Age authors who have published a wide range of different speculations in recent decades.  These authors have a variety of different agendas and their predictions for 2012 oscillate between fantasy and absurdity.  The large number of different predictions about what will happen in 2012 means that many of them, if not all or most of them, won't pan out.  By "bread not" I mean that once that 2012 and we have moved in 2013 many of these predictions have turned out to be flat out wrong.  This is where lies the problem.

My concern is that any measure the cosmic intelligence agency is successful in public associated 2012 astrology, to the same extent astrology will be seen to be discredited in the public eye, a time that 2012 and many of the predictions about is considered to they have been false.  Instead of helping the astrology, this campaign to promote the notion of some sort of connection between astrology and 2012 really could end up doing great damage to the reputation of the subject.  And astrology is already in a very precarious situation from a social point of view, because the majority of people think it's bad reputation, so you certainly does not need any additional damage at this time.

Now, I realize that the intentions of those who wish to make this partnership between the two themes are really very good and sincerely want to help promote astrology and put it in a positive light, and think that this is a good way to go.  For those of you that keep this view that I'd like you to consider the possibility that this could be counterproductive.  Some of you may say it is worth the risk, especially if you believe in some New age hype that surrounds the subject, but I personally do not.  This is not because I think that its too risky, but can not see any particularly good astrological reasons for placing so much importance in 2012.   The majority of the cycles that astrologers have recently noted as important astrologically during that interval of time seem to be more indicative of much wider types, long term evolution will take place in the course of the years, decades and centuries.  I suspect that those who are waiting for a defining moment in the history of the world which will take place on December 21, 2012 will find to be deeply disappointed.

Thus, rather than attempting to associate Astrology 2012, I would suggest exactly the opposite, astrologists really should go out of his way to dissociate the Astrology of 2012 and to distance the astrological community than it is sure that it will be a disappointment for many people.  There is nothing dishonest about this since, as I noted above, this fashion does not originate within the astrological community, and his main supporters are not astrologers.  To be clear, this does not mean that astrologers can not watch a number of mundane astrological trends for next year or the years continue to speculate about its potential importance for the world in general, but I think that we should be much more careful in going out of our way to contribute to the hysteria of 2012 and associate our practice with him.

The only real obstacle here is that it is often quite a bit of overlap between astrologers and those who are in the New Age movement, and it is sometimes difficult for people to distinguish between the two.  I want to be very clear in pointing out the astrological community and the New Age movement is not the same.   Astrology has existed for a long time and has been a part of the civilizations and cultures that have existed even in the short period of time that the New Age movement has existed, and I dare say that astrology will still be here long after that the New Age movement has become a relic of the past.  The hype surrounding 2012 belongs to the New Age movement, not to the astrological community.   One of the last is great works of ancient tradition that is so typical of this movement and perhaps even some of the cultural fears that our society has collectively shared during this time around and only after the year 2000.   And as the Y2K phenomenon, 2012 is another trend that they come and go.  We do not allow astrology to become victim of a cultural fad.

 

Related posts: 2012 and MillenarianismEveryone should calm down on 2012

Tags: 2012 millenarianism, Maya, mundane astrology, New Age movement

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