Relationship Readings: Modern vs. Traditional

I've just gone through a major revamp of my relationship readings and added two new ones, the Compatibility Reading and a Compete Relationship Reading which includes a Compatibility Reading plus a relationship horary reading.

I've got a lot of relationship readings, here's a guide about how to choose a relationship reading

Ok, let's discuss relationship readings a bit. I'd estimate that relationship readings make up at least 60-75% of my total readings. For the most part these are horary readings. Relationships make very good subjects for horaries because they are so emotionally significant and important, giving very "juicy" charts. Horary relationship readings are very accurate, I can only remember one or two clients that reported back that the horary was incorrect, while it's pretty routine to have clients say "oh, yeah, you were right on the money with that reading"

Of course accuracy can be problematic in a relationship reading when the answer is no. Many clients do appreciate a honest answer even when it goes against their deepest hopes, but there are a significant number that are unhappy. Part of the problem is that other practitioners of the mantic arts, ie our other fortune telling colleagues, tend to give vague, positive answers. Psychics are particularly prone to this, but so, not surprisingly, are modern astrologers. "They told me he loved me but there was a dark cloud over him" as opposed to "he's an unreliable commitment phobe who's taking advantage of you"

Again, part of the problem is the methodology that modern astrologers are using. First they are trying to do a specific, focused prediction with a broad, general vague tool, the natal chart. Since a natal chart is true for your whole life, ALL of your relationships are in it, how are you going to pull out one specific relationship? I'm rather skeptical that it is possible to do accurate timing from a natal chart. When I see someone repeatedly nail accurate timing of events from an unknown chart, as opposed to looking at a known, usually celebrity chart and 20/20 hindsight, then I become a believer. It may be just that contemporary traditional astrologers haven't mastered the technique, but I do suspect that the traditional natal timing technique itself may simple be inadequate, I'm open minded. In any case, even if you can accurate time a transit, primary direction, etc, relating to relationships, how do you know whether it involves the particular person the querent wants to know about?

Secondly, in addition to problems with the lack of accuracy of natal prediction, modern astrology is very much predicated on being relentlessly positive. This is appropriate in the social worker/psychologist setting that informs the approach of modern astrologers. A natal chart is, in fact, an excellent way to model someone's psychology. I have no doubt that if I were a social worker or psychologist that I would do a natal chart for every client as a way to understand and work with their psychological and emotional state. What I would not do, however, is say to them, "only about 1/3 of my patients improve through treatment" I would want them to be enthusiastic and would be positive and upbeat about their prospect in order to encourage them even if their chance of success was not 100%.

Another problem with modern astrology is that they have only one basic tool, the natal chart. This is like a carpenter that only has a hammer and tries to put in screws, plane wood and bore holes with their hammer. Other than natal timing a modern astrologer also tries to use chart comparison or synastry to predict the outcome of a relationship as if compatibility was determinative of relationship success. Now certainly compatibility is interesting and useful, but I make very clear with my readings that my Compatibility Reading is not the way to go if you want to know what will actually happen with a relationship. I used to joke that I was 100% compatible with Scarlett Johansson, but that hardly translates into having a relationship. Of course, there are plenty of "incompatible" people in relationships, after all opposites can attract and complement each other.

One of the things I really prize about traditional astrology is that it has a "full tool box" with lots of different techniques and methods, all useful. When we predict using traditional we always want to try to base our analysis on multiple factors, not just one. This is what makes traditional astrology so accurate.

Mars Talismans & Pentacles!

I got a HUGE shipment of new talismans from Wade yesterday! I was like a kid in a candy store looking at all these new talismans & pentacles. One surprise was that the guy that did the finishing decided to go ahead and gold plate everything, WOW, all that gorgeous gold!

So first up are Mars talismans and Mars pentacles! Hmmmm....Mars? I think it's easy to overlook Mars, but he is very important. Mars gives you strength and determination, plus energy. Jupiter is great for wealth and prosperity, but leaving out Mars can lose you a key ingredient of success, DETERMINATION! Actually I'm finding one of my biggest obstacles these days is feeling tired and dragged out. If you are depressed and worn out, definitely worth considering Mars.

Now if your Mars is in Aries, Scorpio or Capricorn, Mars talismans are a GREAT fit for you. Mars in Libra, Taurus or Cancer, yellow flag! Be cautious, do a divination or paper Mars talisman to check out his effects. Mars in any other sign is fine. Mars combust or retrograde without other dignity, also a yellow flag.

So let's look at our brand new Renaissance Astrology Mars talismans & pentacles. First note that the election for these talismans was VERY STRONG! Mars is dignified by sign, by term and by face, a true SUPER +8!! I don't live and die by the dignity scores, since you can get quite good effects from exaltation (+4) on up, but it sure is nice to have the super strength.

So here are our new Mars talismans these are our STRONGEST Mars talismans and were made in a limited edition of just 5!!!! They are gold plated red bronze and really do look gorgeous with our visionary artist Robert Place's new Mars design from Agrippa.

The Renaissance mage Cornelius Agrippa says a Mars talisman, "makes a man potent in war, and judgments, and petitions, and terrible to his enemies, and victorious against them..." Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Bk II,ch 22. On the front of the talismans is the image of Mars from Agrippa, "...they made another Image of Mars for the obtaining of boldness, courage, and good fortune in wars, and contentions, the form of which was a souldier armed and crowned, girt with a sword, carrying in his right hand a long Lance; and they made this at the hour of Mars, the first face of Scorpio ascending [or culminating] with it." Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Bk II,ch 40.

There are just a few of these Mars Scorpio talismans, our most powerful Mars talismans. They are $299.95 plus shipping. Order info here

We also have Mars pentacles!!! This is the first time we have had Mars pentacles. Again we have just a few of each pentacle and they are also SUPER +8 and gold plated bronze. You can see the Mars pentacles here

I really like the 5th Mars pentacle (cool scorpion design!) for protection against demons and evil spirits!

The 6th Mars pentacle also looks very good for physical protection, very rare powers. We have just 2!!! of these.

So very interesting to check out, very exciting new talismans and pentacles. We will have more new talismans to come in the near future!

Age of Aquarius?

I had a poster ask about the Age of Aquarius, what is it? and what is its significance?

Ok, as always I like to start these discussions with my favorite hippy-dippy Youtube video

Alight! The solar year is 365 days and some hours, and is the time it takes for the Sun to move through all 12 signs/constellations of the Zodiac. The astrological great year is approximately 25,800 years and is the amount of time it takes for the Sun at the Spring Equinox to pass through all 12 constellations. This takes place because of the precession of the equinoxes. Each Sign's age is around 2,150 years.

The cycle goes against the order of the signs so the Age of Aquarius follows the earlier Age of Pisces. This is an example of mundane or geopolitical astrology on a truly vast scale!

Ok, so there's no doubt that the Age of Aquarius exists insofar as the Sun has or will eventually be in the constellation Aquarius at the time of the Spring Equinox, but what does this mean?

First problem is that unlike the boundaries of a sign, which are designed to be very, very precise, the boundaries of a constellation are very imprecise. When you are dealing with thousands of years, a few minutes of longitude make a big difference. Thus no one agrees about whether the Age of Aquarius has already started or when it will start, estimates varying over several thousand years.

Next, since the Aqe of Pisces, Aquarius, etc., each last over 2,150 years, there is an incredible amount of history, culture, etc., taking place, too much to accurate characterize with one sign. Think about Sun signs, with 6 billion people on the planet, each Sun sign has 500 million people each, scattered over the entire globe in many countries, cultures and ages. How accurately does their Sun sign reflect them? Not much, so how accurate can the Zodiacal Ages be?

So given that we have no idea when the Ages start or stop and the vast over generalization that the signs represent when characterizing 1,000s of years of history and culture, while they are very interesting for personal meditation and individual philosophical inspiration, they are of little practical use to astrologers for predictive purposes.

Traditional Astrology Reading List

I've been getting lots of inquiries recently about how to get started in traditional astrology and what books to read.

Here is my Traditional Astrology Reading List

Note that many of these books are traditional sources, ie written before 1700. There are a few good contemporary books written on traditional astrology which I have noted. I do get complaints about traditional sources being in "Old English" Note that actual Wikipedia on Old English was spoken and written in the early Middle Ages and is basically a foreign language. A text from say 1647, like Lilly's Christian Astrology is early modern English and a native English speaker, with some application, can learn to read it easily. Just start googling words you don't know!

One of the key missions of my courses, and I focused in on this specifically in the Natal Astrology Course is to make sure that graduates of my courses are fully able to read and use traditional sources. This allows you to go further than the handful of contemporary traditional astrology books and use ALL traditional sources in English!

Ultimately, it's my belief that if you are serious about learning, practicing and mastering traditional astrology you need to take a course with a teacher. Still by reading the books on my Reading List you can "get your feet wet" and get a good introduction to traditional astrology and magic.

Languages for Invocation?

I had a poster asking about the use of Latin or Greek versus English for invocations. The whole question of sacred languages has been around for a long time.

Iamblichos says, "Because the gods have taught us that concerning the sacred races such as the Egyptians and Assyrians their entire language is adapted to sacred concerns and on account of this we believe that it is necessary for us to address the gods in a language that is natural to them." On the Mysteries, cited in Theurgy and the Soul, Shaw (Penn State 1995) at 180.

Shaw goes on to say that it is not the other languages are not given by the gods, but that some peoples, the Greeks, for example, by constantly changing and innovating, had lost the original divine inspiration that others, like the Egyptians had preserved.

In fact, Iamblichos sounds very Vedic, in emphasizing the very sound of divine names, like the bija or seed syllables of Sanskrit, that work through direct vibration and direct spiritual effect, without needing rational understanding. In fact, that is what makes these names divine, says Iamblichos, because they are beyond human understanding.

This is why I continue to use many planetary, Mansion and star names from many ancient languages in my astrological invocations.

However, Agrippa also says,

It conduceth therefore very much for the receiving of the benefit of the Heavens, in any work, if we shall by the Heaven make our selves sutable to it in our thoughts, affections, imaginations, elections, deliberations, contemplations, and the like. For such like passions do vehemently stir up our spirit to their likeness, and suddenly expose us, and ours to the superior significators of such like passions; and also by reason of their dignity, and neerness to the superiors, do much more partake of the Celestials, then any materiall things. For our mind can through imaginations, or reason by a kind of imitation, be so conformed to any Star, as suddenly to be filled with the vertues of that Star, as if it were a proper receptacle of the influence thereof.

Agrippa Three Books of Occult Philosophy Bk I, ch 66

So, this makes it very useful to be able to understand the invocation we are making. If we read and especially if we speak aloud the qualities, powers and effects of Mars, it inspires us and also serves to connect us to Mars himself.

It is also not as if English is not a sacred language! In 500 years no doubt it will function like Latin in the Middle Ages.

Traditional Treasure Hunting

I recently had a client asking about Jupiter pentacle for finding buried treasure because they really did intend to look for treasure!

I was impressed by the very traditional nature of this search, since the modern equivalent is the lottery for the blue collar aspirant and the stock market for the upwardly mobile modern.

The 17th century author Reginald Scot asks, "How manie have beene bewitched with dreames and thereby made to consume themselves with digging and searching for monie &c whereof they or some other have drempt?"

Reginald Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, Bk X, ch 7. available in the Renaissance Astrology CD Library volume II

I have to say that I tend to agree with Scot, with regard to treasure hunting and its modern form, lottery or stock market picking, but I thought it would be interesting to take a look at astrology, magic and traditional treasure hunting.

Our first problem is finding the treasure. Lilly gives rules for finding buried treasure with horary astrology at pages 215-216 of his 1647 Christian Astrology. We must distinguish between treasure lost by the querent and treasure hunting. In treasure hunting, once we have found a likely spot we can ask if there is treasure there.

We first look to see if Venus, Jupiter or the North Node is in the 4th house, which signifies treasure. If so, there is treasure or something of value. Mars or Saturn well dignified in the 4th also indicate treasure. Christian Astrology 216. Once treasure is indicated, we look to the lord of the 7th to indicate what it is. The Sun ruling the 7th shows gold, The Moon, "silver, plate, crystal or jewels..." Christian Astrology 216. Lilly then discusses the various types of treasure and the question of whether the querent will actually obtain the treasure. Christian Astrology 216-8.

The use of divining or Mosaical rods to find treasure was also quite common. Continuing in Chapter VII of Book X, entitled "The art and order to be used in digging for monie..." Scot states,

"There must be made upon a hazell want three crosses, and certeine words both blaspemous and impious must be said over it, and hereunto must be added certeine characters, & barbarous names." Reginald Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, at 163.

An additional early modern example is provided by John Baptista Porta in his Natural Magick, where he states,

The greater part of Cozners, when they are themselves very poor and most miserable of all men, they profess themselves able to find out Treasures, and they promise to other men what they want themselves, and they use four Rods that are double forked, the tops whereof sticking close together crossways, they hold the lower parts of them with their hands open, neer their belly, they seem to mumble Verses, and the Rods fall down, and where they fall, they bid those men to dig what would find Treasures.

John Baptista Porta, Natural Magick (1658) Bk. XX, Ch. 8 at 405-6.

We find a modern parallel in hoodoo or rootwork, Southern folk magic, which is predominately African magical practice, but took in a good deal of European magical practice as well.

Our first hoodoo parallel is from Rod Davis' American Voudou, a contemporary account of African diaspora religion in the United States. Rod Davis, American Voudou (Denton, TX, Univ N. Texas Press, 1999). Davis' informant is Sarah Albritton of Ruston, Louisiana, who states,

"Her family lived in Clay, but she'd gone to Ruston to visit her cousins. They'd heard some money had been lost out in the woods and went to find it, using a silver spoon dangling from a red string that would "point to the money." Deeper and deeper they ventured into the forest. "Then we saw a light," Sarah said. "It was the spirit of the person who lost the money. Everybody was afraid to go any farther and we ran back. We buried a root under the doorstep to keep away the spirit. But I went back that night and saw the light again...and decided never to go back."

Davis, American Voudou, at 94-5

That treasure was guarded by spirits was a common, basic belief. The Key of Solomon, a medieval grimoire, gives the following admonition,

"The Earth being inhabited, as I have said unto thee, by a great number of Celestial Beings and Spirits, who by their subtilty prevision know the places wherein treasures are hidden, and seeing it often happeneth that those men who undertake a search for said treasures are molested and sometimes put to death by the aforesaid Spirits..."

The Key of Solomon the King, ed. S. Liddell MacGregor Mathers, (1888, reprnt. York Beach ME, Weiser, 1989 ed.) at 57. See Elizabeth Butler, Ritual Magic (1949, reprnt. University Park, PN, Univ Penn Press, 1998) at 47-67 for a discussion of the Key of Solomon.

This connection between spirits and treasure is widespread in hoodoo practice. The key hoodoo sourcework Henry Hyatt's Hoodoo, Conjuration, Witchcraft and Rootwork (1974) has an entire section entitled "Spirits Guard Buried Treasure." Hyatt, Hoodoo, Conjuration at 111-135. After finding the treasure the treasure hunter must then surmount the dangers of the spirit guardian, which might also remove or transform the treasure if the proper precautions were not taken.

Hyatt's informant 1006 from St. Petersburg, Florida states,

There was a man who went to look for a hidden treasure because he had dreamed that in this particular spot there was a treasure hidden...When he arrived at the spot designated in his dreams the wind began to blow. But the old man paid no attention. He began to dig and dig and dig. Finally, the rain began to pour, thunder began to roll, lightning began to flash. But the old man dug just the same. After awhile his pick struck something that sounded like an iron pot...And when the pot was opened he saw that it was filled with gold and silver. The old man forgot that he wasn't supposed to utter a word before he got the silver in the pot and the old man suddenly cried, "Lord have mercy! Look what I have found!" At those words which were spoken...every bit of the silver turned to black charcoal and the pot turned to just a bit of clay.

Hyatt, Hoodoo, Conjuration at 116.

Our master Lilly himself was no stranger to treasure hunting. In his autobiography he discusses a 1634 treasure hunt in Westminster Abbey complete with Mosaical rods, the uncovering of a coffin, and apparent spiritual intervention,

"From the cloysters we went into the Abbey church, where, upon a sudden, (there being no wind when we began) so fierce, so high, so blustering and loud a wind did rise, that we verily believed the west-end of the church would have fallen on us..."

William Lilly, William Lilly's History of His Life and Times, (1715, reprnt. London, Charles Baldwyn, 1822) at 79-80.

One method prescribed for protection for the guardian spirits was the prayer and Bible reading. Scot says,

"And whilst digging treasure is a digging, there must be read te psalms, De Profundis, Missa, Misereatur nostri, Requiem, Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Et nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo, Amen. A porta inferi credi viver bona & c. Expectate Dominum Requiem aeternam. And then a certain prayer."

Discoverie of WitchcraftBook X, ch. 7. This is an odd mixture of the Our Father, Ave Maria and prayers for the dead and the Psalms.

Here are some modern examples of reading the Bible for protection from the spirits. Hyatt's informant 7 from New York City, states,

...[T]here was a big crowd went out one night to hunt money and they were getting to the box. The had a woman reading the Bible. They always say to read the Bible to keep down the spirits...There's certain Scriptures you read for spirits, they say.

Hyatt, Hoodoo, Conjuration, at 127.

Similarly, Hyatt's informant 1120(a) from Waycross, Georgia, indicates that it is necessary during treasure hunting to, "Read de Bible-King Solomon..." Hyatt, Hoodoo, Conjuration at 121.

This barely scratches the surface of this fascinating subject. Additional useful areas to explore are various grimoires, including the Greater Key of Solomon, e.g. the 2nd Pentacle of Jupiter which can be used, "also to discover Treasures and chase away the Spirits who preside over them" page 69.

Ask a Broad Vague Question, Get a Broad, Vague Answer!

I had a poster ask about astrocartography, a modern astrological technique that claims to be able to map your natal chart to a world map and thus provide good or bad places to live. The poster asked if there were traditional techniques that could do this.

First of all, if you have decided to move to Boston, for example, you can ask a horary, "Should I move to Boston?" But to do this accurately, in my experience, you need to have already seriously decided to move there, so that the use of astrology is at the end of the decision making process not the beginning.

When clients are still trying to decide among several alternatives, horary is less accurate and less useful. You can't ask "Should I move to LA, NY or San Diego?" in one question. And if you start asking multiple separate questions, "Should I move to Cleveland?" then next day, "Should I move to Detroit?", then you start losing the emotional "punch" needed for an accurate horary.

Now, Lilly does provide rules for identifying general areas to live in using horary at Christian Astrology page 137 and natal at Christian Astrology page 611. The problem with this method is that we don't have assignments of cities, states or regions to signs outside of Europe and Asia. Also even if we did this is not a very precise method because if Aries was an appropriate sign this could indicate

"KINGDOMS SUBJECT TO ARIES. Germany, Swevia, Polonia, Burgundy, France, England, Denmark, Silesia the higher, Judea, Syria.

CITIES. Florence, Capua, Napels, Ferrara, Verona, Utrecht, Marselles, Augustia, Casarea, Padna, Bergamo." Christian Astrology page 94.

What clients are really looking for is a very specific answer to the very broad question, "Where should I live?" I can understand this, but merely wanting it doesn't necessarily mean it is possible. This reminds me of my wife's moped. She was given a Chinese moped and we found out that Chinese mopeds, typically costing $1000 or less are cheaply made and unreliable. If you want a reliable moped you need to get a Japanese or Taiwanese moped which cost typically $2000. But people want a $1000 moped so they buy the Chinese version. It looks like a moped, but breaks down quickly and doesn't give good results. Wanting doesn't equal getting and in fact can lead you astray.

I question any astrological attempt to get accurate, specific information, particularly timing or location, out of a broad, vague horary question or any natal technique. The native's whole life is in the natal chart, trying to get specific information out of it is like trying to blow up a photograph, try to get too much detail and it just gets fuzzy.

It's pretty hopeless with modern astrology, which lacks technique and is basically hostile to prediction, but in my experience, even contemporary traditional astrologers have been unable to overcome these obstacles. It may be that we lack the experience and skill of our predecessors or it may be that this level of precision simply isn't possible.

It's very easy, however, to give the client what they want. Just be vague, be positive and if possible, put the prediction off aways into the future. "Oh, yes I definitely see you getting married in 2016!" The client is happy now and will likely forget the prediction years later. The astrologer can congratulate themselves on their brilliance and be long gone by the time the predicted time arrives.