I'm a Genius??? The Path of Traditional Astrology

I get e-mails asking me about, "my system" or "my astrological methods" and I laugh! As much of an ego boost as I might get from thinking of myself as "the great genius inventor" I certainly didn't invent traditional astrological magic or traditional astrology.

I once said that when it comes to astrology that I had never come up with anything original. Someone commented that this was sad. But not being original is hardly an admission of failure except to a modern who would prefer mediocre individuality to being part of something glorius, but not self created.

In the movie, "Amadeus" the mediocre composer Salieri is the only one to recognize Mozart's genius. Salieri curses God for giving him the insight to see (& hear) how sublime Mozart's music is, but not create similar music himself. My reaction was that Salieri was a fool! I feel incredibly blessed to have recognized the importance and brilliance of Hermetic philosophy and the Hermetic arts of astrology, alchemy and magic, in their transcendent traditional forms. To be able to accurately predict the future, to do great feats of magic is enough for me, I needn't create some new "CHRISMAGIC"TM

The advantage is that traditional astrology and magic, therefore, doesn't rest on some particular individual quality of mine, it is teachable! Yes, it takes actually sitting down and working through the learning process, but it is definitely doable. In terms of my ability to use traditional astrology and magic, yes I'm good at it, but I just got there first. If you are lurking or actually started studying, you can go down the same path.

And I've got a perfect example in our new Fountain of Wealth talismans. Great election and for the most powerful, but most difficult type, the house based talisman. This election was found and brought to my attention by one of my Astrological Magic Course students, Quero Lux! Thanks so much! A perfect example of how once you learn the methodology, these great elections start popping out at you. I'm finding that my advanced students find just the same great planetary elections that I do, once they learn how.

This confusion of the sublime material and the current often mediocre presenter of the material is one that has plagued traditional astrology. We've had a succession of translators and popularizers lose sight of the fact that they didn't invent the stuff. We have a crop of astrologers who claim the label of "traditional" I guess for the cachet, and then using modern or their own invented methods, without making this clear. Nothing wrong with innovation, but sailing under false colors does a disservice to everyone. If they'd just lose the overwhelming ego involvement all would be well!

What's great about traditional astrology and astrological magic is that you too can learn the ancient methods and duplicate the ancient results! You don't have to be a genius to do astrology and magic like one, you can just use their methodology. I fully expect that I will eventually be surpassed by my students and this is not a disaster, but very heartening. To be a link in the Golden Chain is glory enough for me!

True Prediction

Thought I would provide a very interesting natal chart to ponder. Chart is for one of Victorian England’s worst serial killers, said to be the model for Jack the Ripper. Chart data is 9 am GMT, October 2, 1869 for London, England. 9 Scorpio rises.

We can immediately see the heavy emphasis on sex and death as Scorpio, a sign of obsession, jealousy, secrecy, lust and death rises. Mercury, ruler of the 8th of death is in Scorpio and conjunct the Ascendant. Venus, natural ruler of love is in her detriment, again in the nasty sign of Scorpio and also conjunct the Ascendant. Finally the Scorpio triumvirate is complete by Mars, ruler of violence and a natural significator of violent death, in Scorpio, conjunct Venus and rising.

Can there be any doubt why this is the natal chart of a depraved serial killer? Whoops! Actually this is the chart of Mahatma Gandhi, adjusted for London.

“Scorpio rising with Mercury, Venus, and Mars gives Mahatma Gandhi his small compact features and intense focus and determination. Midheaven in Leo conjunct India's stellium in that sign binds their destinies together. Sun in Libra(Midheaven ruler) wants peaceful and harmonious co-existence with others. Moon in Leo near the MC is proud and fierce and gets public recognition and support. Mercury in Scorpio is shrewd and penetrating and thinks deep and passionate thoughts. Venus in Scorpio is passionate, possessive, intense and a shrewd dealer. Venus conjunct Mars is amorous and popular with the opposite sex. Mars in Scorpio can sink to depravity and destruction or rise to regeneration or rebirth. They are intensely passionate and emotional and fearless in the face of danger or death.”

from www.librarising.com/astrology/celebs/mahatmagandhi.html

Hmmm…the point is if you know the outcome, you can make any chart fit it! True prediction requires that you work from the chart itself without knowing the outcome of the horary or the person for whom a chart is read.

Timing Using Natal Charts

Modern astrologers tend to just use transits to the natal chart and attempt to predict based on that. Traditional astrologers would have looked at primary directions, then added solar revolutions and then used transits as the triggering points if a primary direction and/or solar revolution was in effect.

Even then I have to wonder about the accuracy of this timing! At the moment, we have not gotten the software implemented for primary directions, plus we haven't used them enough to actually predict in advance without knowing the outcome.

Personally, I am more and more taken with horary as my main technique for accurate and precise prediction and timing. Natal charts, of necessity are loose and vague. You have the same natal chart when you are 3 as when you are 90, but of course there are huge differences in you and your life. Every single relationship you have is in your natal chart, so think how difficult it is going to be untie the knot and find the single strand that relates to whether or not you will marry Jane X?

Trying to take the vague and imprecise natal chart and get precise timing out of it by applying various techniques is like taking a messed up, sideways scan at lo-res and clean it up with Photoshop. No matter what you do to it, the original lacks detail.

No, the absolute completion and total insistence on using natal comes, IMHO, not from its efficacy and accuracy, but just because modern astrologers have no awareness that any other method exists.

Let me mention another problem. I had client recently with a horary regarding a court case. It was clear to me that the chart was very negative and I said that they would lose their case. They came back to me and told me, yes they lost their case, but that a psychic and 2 other astrologers had said they would win!

The vagueness of natal astrology and the overwhelming positive and upbeat stance of modern astrology all tend toward giving universally positive results to clients. But an even more powerful influence is the fact that many clients, whatever they might say, are unconsciously looking, not for an accurate prediction, but for a prediction that things will go their way.

The great advantage of using natal timing techniques, in particular, for marriage and relationships, is that you can tell the client that yes, in March of 2014 you will find the love of your life. The client is happy, you get your fee and when March 2014 runs around and no marriage ensues the client will likely have forgotten the inaccurate prediction. In addition, the astrologer need never be confronted with the failure of their methodology.

When I do a Soul Mate Reading, I do a horary, looking at romance in general for the next 6-12 months and then general trends, without timing, looking at the natal chart.

Frankly I get a good amount of @#$& from clients when I say that I can't accurately predict timing other than through a horary. Even horary timing is about 50-50 or 60-40 accurate.

Personally and this will not make me very popular, I have not seen consistent, accurate and precise results from timing using the natal chart, when the outcome is unknown. Timing using Hitler's chart or other celebrities, doesn't count. Getting it right once or twice when the outcome is unknown, doesn't count either. I've done about 2500 horary charts for clients. I've kept a written record of each one. I record any feedback I get regarding accuracy. I can say that horary works! Unless we can get that large a sample of accurate natal timing, I think the jury is still out, as much as we or our clients might want to believe in it.

I'm not saying that we will never be able to do natal timing, but we aren't there yet.

2 Riffs on Retrogradation & Single Planet Mundane Prediction

Riff #212-B "What is the Obsession with Retrogradation?"

From a traditional perspective the complete and total modern obsession with retrogradation as the APOCALYPTIC END OF ALL CIVILIZATION!!!! is rather odd.

Granted retrogradation is an affliction, but combustion is probably worse, as are being in detriment and fall. Plus we have about 20 other things that can go wrong with a planet.

Yet, I never have clients calling me up saying, "Oh, dear, Mercury is in Pisces and is both in detriment and fall, help, help, HELP!" or "I could really feel the effects when Venus went into combustion this time, it was awful"

So what's up here? First of all, everybody does modern psychological astrology, particularly if they have no idea they are doing it. Ask an astrologer what type of astrology they practice and if they say, "astrology" rather than Vedic, traditional, etc., then they are a modern astrologer.

Modern astrology is psychological and has social work and therapy as its template. You don't go into a therapist and have them say, "Oh man, only 30% of my patients recover" The therapist is upbeat and gives you a chance to benefit from the therapy, even if statistically the chances are against you.

In addition, modern astrology is very New Age, in other words, set up to always put on a happy face. After all there is no fate, we can have anything we want and all we have to do is think good thoughts and all our dreams and desires will be fulfilled.

So, for a modern astrologer nothing in the chart is bad, Venus in Pisces, means sensitive and loving, Venus in Aries, straightforward in love. Whereas a traditional astrologer is going to say Venus in Pisces is exalted and very strong and positive, while Venus in Aries is afflicted by being in detriment and negative.

So everything is positive in the modern system, but clearly negative stuff happens out in reality, so there was a hole in modern astrology. A hole filled by two imports from traditional astrology, the void of course Moon and retrograde Mercury. Since these are the only negative things in all of modern astrology, they have to carry the weight of all existing negativity and now in common parlance have become catastrophically disastrous and the END OF ALL EXISTENCE!!!!

Retrogradation has begun a relentless creep as well. We now have "shadow" periods before and after retrogradation that are VERY, VERY BAD! Where originally retrograde Mercury meant "don't sign any contracts" it now means "DON'T DO A BLESSED THING!" Where only retrograde Mercury was of concern, now any planet retrograde is EXTREMELY WORRISOME.

Which brings us to the second point

Riff #446-C/77 "The Affliction or Fortunation of the Natural Planetary Ruler Has an Unpredictable Effect on the Things Ruled"

Ok, so what if Mercury (or another planet) is retrograde or otherwise afflicted, what does this mean?

The standard modern answer is "RUN FOR THE FRIGGIN HILLS!!"

A more nuanced modern response would be that since Mercury rules contracts or travel or all the other stuff he rules then you should avoid doing them when Mercury is retrograde. Logically this would apply to all afflictions of Mercury, but modern astrologers aren't aware of any other afflictions.

Now let's think about this. Mercury rules communications, for example. Does this mean when Mercury is retrograde that the whole Internet shuts down? No, I guess not!

"But my car, computer, travel plans, always have problems with Mercury retrograde!"

Ok, anecdotal evidence, fine. But what specifically is going to go wrong when Mercury is retrograde?

"I don't know"

Hmmmm, that's odd, since when I do a horary I can predict pretty clearly what's going to happen.

Bottom line, if you can't predict with it, you don't know what's really going on.

And to oppose that anecdotal evidence, plenty of the 6 billion people in the world have no communication, travel, contract problems with Mercury retrograde. Plenty have the best contracts, travel, communications of their lives when Mercury is retrograde.

Traditional astrology has to take a more nuanced view because we are focused on accurate prediction. Certainly if Mercury rules a significant area of your chart, or ends up in a horary or other chart, when he is afflicted, then yes, that will affect you personally, but there has to be more than simply being afflicted since that's the same for all 6 billion people on the planet!