Nuance versus Number

Lilly and other 17th century English astrologers have been the key sources for the 20th and 21st century revival of traditional astrology in great measure because they are available in English, albeit early modern English. We should remember, however, that the 17th century astrologers represent the very tail end of the tradition and were already coming under the influence of "Enlightenment" ie, mechanistic/atheistic thinking.

One of the key tools of mechanistic/atheistic Science is linear, analytical logic which dovetails well with reductionist, analytical thinking. This entails breaking things down to their most basic constituents and then finding invariant relationships between these parts. Chemistry is a good example. You can analyze a rock and find out what chemical compounds it consists of, then what molecules make up the compounds and what atoms make up the molecules. You can then set out the chemical composition of the rock in detail and establish the chemical reactions if the rock were placed in acid.

As useful as this thinking is with regard to some areas, it is not so useful in other areas. In logic you cannot say A = not A, yet how often have we personally been in a situation where we loved and hated someone simultaneously? Traditional astrology is actually quite good at predicting questions of love and in fact, a very typical configuration expressing just this simultaneous love/hate can be found with Venus as the significator of the quesited in a horary in Scorpio, where she is both in detriment and at various times, dignified by triplicity, term and face.

This "points" us toward a frequent cul-de-sac for modern practitioners of traditional astrology, the points system. Older traditional traditional sources do express the essential dignities in terms of points, a planet in sign (+5) in exaltation (+4) in triplicity (+3) in term (+2) in face (+1). Lilly then takes this and expands it dramatically in his 1647 Christian Astrology. At page 115 he lists not only essential dignity points, but essential debility minuses (detriment, fall) and then goes ahead and gives points for accidental dignities and debilities, like being direct, or combust.

Contemporary astrologers and in particular contemporary astrological software designers are all over this and you have software that automatically calculates the points and tells you that Jupiter is +16 or Venus is -22.

My view is that popularity of these point scales comes from the modern prestige of the analytic/reductionist methods of modern atheistic/materialist Science. The nuance of each dignity and debility are eliminated and these conditions are reduced to nothing more than different ways to increase or decrease the planet's strength. Unfortunately, Jupiter being +16 doesn't tell me much, certainly a lot less than Jupiter is rising, combust in Sagittarius. (no, the points don't add up, this is just an example!)

Our older sources and Lilly, too, for that matter, if you can drag yourself away from that darn points table, prefer to express the dignities and debilities in terms of nuance. For example see Bethem's Centiloquim Aphorism 15: A Planet in his House or Exaltation, is as one in his Castle or strong hold. Aphorism 19: Fortunate Planets Retrograde are unfortunate; if Cadent from Angles or their Houses, &c. as one hoping for good, but misses it.

One of the less well known contemporaries of Lilly was William Thrasher who wrote Jubar Astrologicum, The Light of Astrology. Thrasher says in Chapter 17,

"A Planet Retrograde in his own House, denotes to outward appearances, he is a man plentifully endued with the Good of this World, as in time past, and the Person seemeth to be in a very happy condition; but nevertheless, in reality, all things go contrary to him, his Trading decays, and he goeth down the wind. If the Significator go Retrograde out of his House, his state is doubtful, he is in a moving condition.

If a Planet be in his Exaltation, it personates one of haughty condition, arrogant, assuming to himself more than his due; If the Planet be Retrograde and in his Exaltation, he then wastes and consumes his Estate prodigally."

Each dignity and debility and the combinations of dignities and debilities provide a very subtle, nuanced way to interpret the chart, be it horary, natal, electional or mundane. Reducing everything to a numerical score appeals because it is easy, but also because our cultural conditioning by reductionist Science is so strong. We increase the efficacy and accuracy of our astrological prediction by refusing the siren call of linear logic, while at the same time recognizing philosophically that linear logic is inadequate as a model for significant portions of reality.

Electional Advice from Ali Aben Ragel

I have just received some very interesting material, several books from Ali Aben Ragel's Complete Book of the Judgment of the Stars. This is fascinating material, but it is in Spanish. This is one of many books of astrology translated from Arabic in the court of the Castilian king Alfonso X, known as El Sabio, "The Wise" Just like Picatrix!


People often ask if they can alter their fate with elections. The traditional answer seems to be that you must start with the natal chart, but that it can be worked with.

Here is an interesting section from Ali Aben Ragel's Complete Book of the Judgment of the Stars, Book VII, on Elections, chapter one,

For example, a man who in his nativity has manifest indications, firm and true, that he will not engender children, or if he has them they will not live or will not be able to feed, as [the nativity] has the astrological significations harming the children, or having in his nativity malefic significators for spouses, that is Venus and some other significator combust, or in its fall [usually includes detriment as well] or badly placed, with aspects to the significators of the nativity, or because infortunes dominate in the trajectory [?] of the house of birth in the radix and because the significators of an unfortunate house are the significators of the native.

If these significations are [found to be] malefic in the radix of the nativity, then elections for children or marriage or for a trip and or an election to generate children will not be successful or the election will not be of as much power [or will] be delayed, but you can hope that [the election] changes the signification of the planets in the radix of the nativity and indicates good fortune.

However the elections appear clear and are opportune if in the natal significations indicate that it is possible to have children, or if the significations are moderate or good, because if the election were good and the significations of the radix were medium or not very detrimental the election makes them good. Also, if the significations are good a good election will make them even better because the benefic effect of the elections helps the radical [i.e. natal] significations.


It is interesting to compare this to Ramesey's Astrologia Restaurata, page 122.

I like Aben Ragel's statement that if the natal indications are bad, well you can hope to make them better with an election and that a good elections increases even benefic natal indications.

More on Electional Astrology

Is Traditional Astrology Just Cold Reading?

One of the arguments that professional "skeptics" use against astrology is that it is cold reading.

Let me step back and say that these skeptics are moderns and thus atheistic materialists. Knowing that there is only matter and energy (they are the same E=mc2) they "know" without any investigation that a spiritual science like astrology must be completely bogus. They therefore explain the public's belief in it as foolish credulousness and the astrologer as the conniving conman relying on the technique of cold reading.

Cold reading is a method where the reader uses statements that appear to be specific to the individual being read, but are actually generally applicable. It actually takes a good deal of skill to do well. The cold reader carefully observes the gender, age, social class, clothing, demeanor, etc, of the subject and then gets the subject to provide the reader with information which can be woven into a very convincing reading.

Here are some examples of cold reading statements from a Psychic Hotline page for psychic readers:

(Career) You wonder if your career is going in the right direction. You feel restless and unfulfilled. I do see many changes in the next few months. Be on the look-out for new opportunities outside your field, or a chance for
advancement within it.

(Death) Death is not a stranger to you. It has knocked on your door more than once. You have feared for your own life, or the life of someone you love. Basically, you are a strong person who is able to endure.

(Money) I see dollar signs. Money is in your future, but you'll have to work to get it.

(Luck) People may talk about how lucky you are, but you know the truth. Your success is due more to hard work than good fortune.

(Marriage) Marriage has not always been a blissful state of affairs. I see a marriage that at one time was missing any things that bring security and joy. In the future, I do see a happy marriage full of promise and financial security.


Note how these questions apply to you individually!!!! Of course, everyone has that reaction because they are pretty generally applicable.

Note also how the reader puts a positive spin on things, always promising good results, in the future, of course. I have noticed that people usually do a reading because they consciously say that they want to accurate get their question answered, but in fact, they are really looking for a positive and reassuring answer. Here is another quote from a different page on the psychic section,

"If something comes up negative in a reading you should always look for what can be done to change it, like "The cards show this could be a problem but they also show what can be done about it". Get the idea, it's easy to do, and it's why they called."

Another technique used in cold reading is call self serving bias. People will generally agree with any positive statement made regarding them. This accounts for the fact that 80% of people agree that they are above average drivers, clearly statistically impossible!

So, now that we know what cold reading is, can we attribute the predictive ability of traditional astrology to it?

Well, cold reading certainly might have a hand in modern astrology. It is obviously the basis of all Sun sign columns since each signs prediction could be switched around and still be just as appropriate. Modern psychological astrology also tends to be rather vague and all inclusive, so while it is more individual, cold reading could still play a part.

Traditional astrology is quite concrete and precise. If I predict that someone will not get married to X, and they do then I am clearly wrong, so we have a good testing mechanism. However, it is still possible that predictions are driven,at least partially, by the additional personal information provided.

I have been somewhat paranoid about doing a cold reading rather than an actual astrological prediction so I have been aware of the issue for a while. I have sometimes erred on the side of getting too little additional information beyond the question, information that could be useful for the question. Typically I asked for the question in a sentence plus a paragraph or two of background.

I don't always get this much information however. Here is an excellent example and one that I think shows that traditional astrology is not dependent on cold reading.

I received an e-mail that said simply, "Will X and I make up and be friends again?" No background, no additional information and from a new client that I knew nothing about other than her name.

Question: Will X and I make up and become friends again?
Time Question Received & Understood: 4:15 pm EST, November 18, 2003

Place Question Received & Understood: Washington, D.C. 77 W 55 38 N 55

In this chart Taurus rises and it is Moon hour. As the Moon rules earth signs by night, the chart is radical and has indications of accuracy.

As Taurus rises, Venus is the significator of the querent (person asking the question). Venus is peregrine and in the malefic 8th house. Venus has just separated from Pluto.

When considering X as a friend, we look to the 11th house and its ruler Saturn. Saturn is in detriment, retrograde and in the cadent 3rd house. We also look at Mars who is in the 11th house as a co-significator of X. Mars is peregrine. Mars is also the ruler of the 7th house of marriage and romantic relationships.

The Moon shows action. The Moon is peregrine in the 5th house. The Moon has separated from an opposition of Mars, co-significator of X. The Moon applies to a square of Venus, significator of the querent, without reception.

Venus, significator of the querent, has no contact with Saturn, the ruler of the house of friendship, which is probably a good thing since Saturn is so afflicted. Venus does separate from a square of Mars, co-significator of X.

All the action in this chart is going on between Venus and Mars. But Mars really is M considered as a romantic relationship as well as friend. Certainly the 7th house of romance is afflicted by the presence of the South Node. The extreme affliction of Saturn seems to be indicating that X would not be a good prospect for friendship. I suspect that the querent would really prefer X as a romantic interest.

So the chart tells us that the X is unlikely to be the querent's friend. Saturn, ruler of the 11th is afflicted and there is no contact between him and Venus, significator of the querent. Venus separates from a square of Mars, co-significator of X as friend, indicating, not a reconciliation in the future, but a past argument. The Moon, significator of action also separates from an opposition of Mars, and then applies to a square of Venus showing past problems and events going against the querent, so far as this question is concerned, in the future.

While this may be off base, I note that Venus eventually is conjoined by Mercury, who is in the 7th. This may indicate that X pursues the querent in a romantic way. However, with Mercury only dignified by face and afflicted by being in detriment, this is unlikely to work out long term. As I said, however, this is getting off of the question and may not be relevant.

Here is the client's response,

Damn you're good! That was one unbelievable read on my subconscious.

So, with nothing more than the chart and my judgment I gave a very accurate delineation of the situation, which was not as it immediately appeared from the question.

Verdict: Not cold reading!

Here is more information on Horary Astrology and
Traditional Astrology

Top 10 Reasons I Don't Use the Outer Planets

Not a week goes without someone, by e-mail, on discussion groups or by phone, asking me why I don't use the outer planets. Here's my top ten list why I do not use the modern planets.

1. I don't like saying Uranus. Your anus? Urinous?

2. It irritates Glenn Perry

3. I am stuck in a time warp.

4. I fell on my head as an infant and damaged the section of the brain that governs channeling, crystal healing and chakra cleansing.

5. What was good enough for Lilly is good enough for me.

6. I can't count past 7.

7. I am possessed by the spirit of a cranky old man.

8. What outer planets?

9. I am an idiot.

10. Pluto is a dog.

The Wisdom of "I Don't Know"

I've been thinking recently about what might termed the wisdom of "I don't know"

If you go to an astrology conference you will find that modern astrologers (there aren't enough traditional ones to get a decent sample) have a habit of explaining everything astrologically. The weather was caused by Pluto, the late start time of the conference by Uranus sesquiqadrate the asteroid Ceres and the spate of food poisoning by Neptune progressed to the Sun. What I always found confusing was how absolutely confident they were in their diagnoses. I had an astrologer at a conference try to analyze me based on progressions in my chart. He was similarly confident, but way off. I was too polite to mention that he was incorrect, but I did enjoy having the focus on me.

I wonder how much astrology consists of this misplaced overconfidence on the part of the astrologer and clients who are too polite and too entranced with being paid attention to to mention that the astrologer is flat wrong? I get a lot of people asking me about the effects on the country or world of things like planets changing signs or transits, etc, or the astrological cause of mundane events. I always say, "I don't know, as I have not studied mundane astrology" They always seem rather disappointed.

Plato in his Apology quotes Socrates that the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Since I am not a wise man, I must content myself with a careful and searching analysis to know what I really know.

So I will continue to say, despite the blow to my image as omniscient sage, "I don't know" Thus I will be deluding neither myself nor my clients and I will be spurred on to learn more rather than rest satisfied in my ignorance.

Planetary Rings from The Book of Treasure of Alexander

The planetary rings from
The Book of the Treasure of Alexander are very interesting and quite characteristic of astrological magic. We note that they are created when the planets are in the degrees of their exaltations, translated here as the degree of their honor.

The tenth century Islamic astrologer Al-Biruni notes that there is some controversy as to whether the planets are only exalted in their particular degrees or in the whole sign. In traditional astrological practice we use the entire sign, however, the degree of exaltation is considered to be particularly powerful.

Here are the exaltations of the planets:

Saturn-Libra
Jupiter-Cancer
Mars-Capricorn
Sun-Aries
Venus-Pisces
Mercury-Virgo
Moon-Taurus

The Book of the Treasure of Alexander has some variations from both Al-Biruni and the medieval Jewish astrologer Abraham Ibn Ezra as far as the degrees of exaltation:

Saturn-all sources say 21 Libra
Jupiter-all sources say 15 Libra
Mars-Al-Biruni & Ibn Ezra say 28 Capricorn, TA says 21 Capricorn
Sun-all sources say 19 Aries
Venus-Al-Biruni & Ibn Ezra 27Pisces, TA says 28 Pisces
Mercury-all sources say 15 Virgo
Moon-all sources say 3 Taurus

A very interesting point is the instructions given for construction of the rings. Here is the Sun ring, "You need to labor to make sure that the beginning of your effort is when the Sun enters this degree, and so is completion of the etching and the construction so that all your work is completed within that degree. If it isn't completed then stop the work until the Sun enters this degree again." I have always felt that this was implicit in the construction of talismans and that they should not only be started, but also completed while the selected astrological factor was in operation. The suggestion to finish when the factor occurs again is logical and perhaps some opportunities for recharging talismans are possible.

Also very interesting are the "activation" instructions. For example, after making the Jupiter ring one is advised, "You keep the ring until Jupiter is conjunct the Moon in Cancer is the fifteenth degree or somewhere close to it then wear and what was mentioned will occur." After making the rings under particular conditions, then we must wait until the happening of another astrological condition for it to be fully activated. Generally this second condition involves the Moon.

This is also quite logical since Picatrix, the premiere grimoire of astrological magic says,

"And draw your attention to the Moon in all works [of magic] as if it were the chief of all the other planets because it brings about evident manifestations and judgments in all things in the world and it pertains to the power of generation and corruption and she is the mediatrix [female intermediary] in the advance of your work, receiving the influences and impressions of the stars and planets and pouring them out to the inferiors of this world. "

Picatrix Book II, ch. 3

Again, I have felt that the importance of the Moon was implicit in all elections and have attempted, whenever possible, to have the Moon aspecting the planet or fixed star in question.

The metals are what we would expect, with interesting example of the ring of Mercury which is made of mixed iron, gold and silver. Mercury as signifying mixed things is typical of traditional sources, Cornelius Agripa noting that Mercury rules "divers" and mixed colors. Three Books of Occult Philosophy Bk I, ch 29.

The effects of the rings are quite in line with the traditional planetary attributions. All in all, very interesting and clearly in the tradition.

Saturn Rings from Magia Astrologica

I just discovered and translated an interesting section on the rings of Saturn from Magia Astrologica by P. Constantius Albinius, whom I had not previously even heard of!

Saturn Rings from Magia Astrologica

He merits a mention in the magisterial "History of Magic & Experimental Science" by Lynn Thorndike and the passage is of some interest to us as practitioners.

Written in 1611 we might well term this part of the late flowering of Renaissance astrological magic, but the theory and practice are still very recognizably in the tradition of Picatrix, written 600 years early and itself the product of a millennium of Neoplatonic/Hermetic theory and practice.

There are several things I find interesting about this section on the creation of the rings, sigils and talismans of Saturn. First, the author gives us some timing for the preparation of the materials similar to what we see in De Imaginibus of Thabit Ibn Qurra at chapter 10.

Next and I think most salient is the focus on the uniting the intent and acts of the mage in making the talisman. The author makes this point several times and mentions that if you use an artist or artisan to make the talisman, that you must ensure that they, too, have the proper intention to create the talisman.

This parallels what Picatrix says,

What is necessary in these workings, and cannot be dispensed with, is the union of your whole will and belief in the work, so that the power of your spirit is united with the power of the heavens; then all things will be accomplished effectively. Plato says in his book of aphorisms that when someone speaks a word with intention, and belief concords with it, whoever hears it is moved; and the converse, if you wish to do the contrary. This is the root of uniting the will with belief in prayer, and this first of all in asking that which you wish to ask from that Lord to whom you ought to pray.

Picatrix, Bk I, ch 5 Greer & Warnock trans at 39.
Note that I have one paperback and two hardcover editions of our translation of Picatrix book I & II available at the moment.

The union of the proper materials, characters, and timing along with the focus magical intent of the mage is key for the production of talismans. This is one of the reasons that I am so pleased to have Wade, who is a very experienced ceremonial magician, as the jeweler who is producing talismans for Renaissance Astrology!