I’m going to let you in on a little warm and fuzzy fact. Jupiter stations direct right on Christmas afternoon this year! Stationing direct is a powerful factor of planetary strength. Furthermore, Jupiter, the greater benefic, is often described as a Santa Claus like figure. Therefore, enjoy this Christmas gift! 🙂
The truth is that essential dignity tells you quite little about the “essential dignity” of a planet.
Let us examine the curious case of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Turner. Their birth charts strikingly illustrate how misleading essential dignity can be, particularly when it comes to evaluating the “essential dignity” of a planet’s significations.
Sign-based dignity is often evaluated as the name would imply, as indicating whether a planet signifies something that is worthy of respect and admiration. For instance, whether a planet’s significations tend to be more stable and fortunate or unstable and unfortunate. Also, whether a planet is signifying people in admired or lofty positions or those with low status.
While this approach makes sense in theory, in practice it is often a poor indicator of “dignity”. Over-reliance on sign-based dignity, often to the exclusion of other more reliable indications, causes many traditional astrologers to strongly mis-read charts.
In another article, I explore in greater depth traditional astrology’s obsession with dignity pointing, almutens, and sign-based indications of fortune/misfortune. This obsession has done more to harm today’s practice of traditional astrology than anything else. First, let’s look at sign-based dignities failings in practice.
Astrology suffers from cherry-picking and reinterpreting factors in inconsistent ways. This is true of both traditional astrology and modern astrology. In traditional astrology, an astrologer may put most of their emphasis on sign-based dignity for evaluating the good or bad of a signification, but then when confronted with a chart where it doesn’t work, change gears just for that chart and look at a different factor such as sect or house position. In this way, chart factors are interpreted in an inconsistent fashion, in which one “finds the life” in the chart.
There is nothing inherently wrong with finding the life in the chart. When we know something is true, we want to understand how the chart signifies it, so we look for that information in the chart. However, charts are complex with many factors and often contradictory information. More importantly, when we look at a chart blind and have to interpret it, are we just doing so using prevailing assumptions (such as that sign-based dignity signifies dignity) or are we doing so from real experience?
The problem is that experience without critical thinking is simply a process of confirming assumptions in different ways on different charts. George Soros is very successful and his chart is full of sign-based dignity, therefore dignity indicates success, or so it goes. Astrologers seldom ask the hard questions that would enable them to think critically and say this factor is more important than this other factor for this type of signification, and then consistently rank them that way.
It takes negative examples to determine whether an approach is really working. Let’s say we assume that by examining dignity we can determine “the dignity” associated with a factor (as in goodness or loftiness). Later, we run across some charts where that assumption leads us to the wrong conclusions. Then we need to adjust our practice and re-interpret sign-based dignity, even if it runs counter to our assumptions or sources. This is the “art” part of astrology and is necessary for improvement.
Mixed indications similarly further our practice. Let’s say dignity is not successfully indicating what we thought it was indicating. Now we need to consider some other factors, such as sect and place position (dark place), as well as the influence of malefic planets. Perhaps we didn’t really consider these factors important before. Now we find we must incorporate them into our practice to fill the gaps. Our astrology improves again.
Let’s say we experiment with sect, place, and malefic planet influence. We find that these often do show hardship or harm associated with an indication. If sign-based dignity is a strong indicator of goodness or loftiness, especially when we are talking about a lot of positive dignity, then we would assume that it could mitigate against any extremes shown by these other indications. If it fails to indicate mitigation against extremes, both against negative extremes, and in the case of negative dignity, against positive extremes, then we must conclude that it either has to do with something other than ideas of “dignity” (i.e. has nothing to do with goodness or loftiness) or that it is an exceedingly weak indication of such as to be almost insignificant.
Dahmer was exemplary in how undignified the display of aggression, sexuality, depraved mentality, and fear was throughout his adult life. His first kill occurred in response to a male hitchhiker refusing to have sex with him. Later kills were of men and underage boys he lured into abusive sexual relations and then raped, dismembered, raped while dead, etc. He even ate flesh from many of his victims.
His life was a series of failures. He became an alcoholic in his teenage years and was an outcast with few friends. Discharged from the army due to poor performance, he did not associate with any lofty individuals, worked only menial jobs, and was frequently in trouble with the law. When captured after his killing spree, he was imprisoned, where a fellow inmate ended his miserable life.
He just so happened to have been born with a whopping 4 planets in domicile (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn; i.e. the planets of aggression, sexuality, mentality, and fear). The planets in domicile include the ruler of the Ascendant (Venus) and the almuten of the Ascendant (Saturn). To most traditional astrologers using a dignity pointing system, Dahmer had an extremely dignified Venus (+8), an extremely dignified Mercury (+8), a very dignified Mars (+5), and a very dignified Saturn (+5). The Sun and Moon were peregrine and only Jupiter was negatively dignified. In other words, there is an unusually high amount of planetary dignity in Dahmer’s chart.
Jeffrey Dahmer’s Natal Chart
For those unfamiliar with Ted Turner, he is a billionaire philanthropist and media tycoon. He inherited his father’s billboard business at age 24 and developed a huge media empire, including CNN. At his worst, he has been known to put his foot in his mouth.
Poor Ted has 3 planets in detriment, another 1 in fall. Not a single planet in his chart has two forms of minor dignity or one form of major dignity. Turner’s chart is a virtual vacuum of essential dignity.
Ted Turner’s Natal Chart
The condition of the ruler of the Ascendant and that of Mercury are typically used as strong indicators of the character and moral disposition (c.f. Masha’alah: On Nativities (Sec. 5); Abu’Ali Al-Khayyat: The Judgment of Nativities (Ch. 5); Ptolemy: Tetrabiblos (Book 3, Ch. 13). Ptolemy also looked at Mercury for the mind/reason (i.e. conscious mind) and the Moon for the senses/irrationality (i.e. subconscious mind).
For later astrologers like Bonatti (c.f. Treatise 9, Part 3) the ruler of the Ascendant is typically the most important signifier in this matter. The most common alternative is to look at the strongest planets in the chart for this information, particularly planets in the 1st, 10th, or one of the other angles or “stakes” of the chart (c.f. Abu Bakr: On Nativities (Book 2)).
If essential dignity is the most important factor, or even one of the major factors, in consideration of the good/bad quality of planetary significations, then Dahmer should be of stellar character and moral disposition. Consider that the ruler of the Ascendant is highly dignified in domicile, the exalted ruler of the Ascendant is highly dignified in domicile, Mercury is highly dignified in domicile, and the most angular planet, Mars, is also highly dignified in domicile.
One could argue that other factors might mitigate. However, if dignity is a significant factor, then dignity itself would mitigate against any extremes indicated by those other factors How could those other factors, typically considered minor relative to dignity, significantly diminish Dahmer’s moral greatness, let alone completely subvert it?
If you’re learning, or even more importantly, if you’re practicing traditional astrology, then you owe it to yourself and your clients to get out of the essential dignity trap. Investigate those factors more important to making a planet fortunate or unfortunate in the western tradition.
Personally, I am against the contrived weighted dignity pointing system accepted as scripture by most traditional astrologers. I find dignity to be a “STRENGTH” consideration of medium to low level importance. It must be considered relative to advancing/retreating, stationing, phasis/combustion/cazimi, place, and regard by lights.
I find sign-based dignity to be insignificant in consideration of planetary beneficence/maleficence (and “dignity” in the dictionary sense). In Hellenistic astrological texts, there is a stress on the fundamental nature of the planet, sect, place, and the influence of other planets for analyzing good/bad quality. Sign-based rejoicing conditions are discussed but are less consistently stressed than sect, place, and planetary influence.
I’d rather have a malefic in fall, in sect, in a good place any day over a malefic in exaltation, out of sect, in a bad place. I actually have a malefic that is exalted but out of sect and in a bad place in my own natal chart. Activations of that exalted planet haven’t been so fun.
In honing the art of astrology, strong minimal pairs we can at least disprove the effectiveness of certain approaches. This minimal pair provides some of the strongest evidence against the use of dignity for analyzing “dignity”.
Sign-based dignity does not confer or impede significant fortune or positivity in natal charts (nor in other charts). If it did then Dahmer would have lived a life surrounded by admirable and lofty circumstances, while Ted Turner saw lows of depravity. The sooner astrologers downgrade essential dignity to a lesser consideration, the sooner they will move away from mere confirmation-bias and toward the art of astrology.
Note: This article was significantly edited and revised in August of 2018. For more analysis of these two charts see the character analysis article and the analysis with twelfth-parts. A deeper exploration of dignity can be found in this article on dignity scoring. For alternative techniques for assessing strength and beneficence please see the series of lessons.
The Mathesis of Julius Firmicus Maternus is a large and influential astrological work written in Latin in the early 4th century. It is one of the longest and most important texts in the Hellenistic tradition. The four most notable long texts of the Hellenistic tradition that were written prior to 400 CE, are, in my opinion, this Mathesis, the Anthology of Vettius Valens (2nd century), the Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy (2nd century), and the shorter Introduction by Paulus Alexandrinus (4th century).
The translation released this year by James Herschel Holden, marks the first translation by an astrologer who is well versed in ancient astrology. Unfortunately, my copy of the text has not yet arrived so this article will not be a review. As I await my copy of the new translation, I’d like to discuss what makes the Mathesis important.
One of the great things about the Mathesis is that there are countless examples of sect in action. Numerous interpretations of planets in houses are given, and we see the sect principle illustrated in nearly all of them, as even a malefic planet in sect in a house is judged able to produce some good there, while even a benefic planet out of sect is accompanied by some problems or instability.
For example, this from Book 3, p. 77 of Bram’s 1975 translation:
18. Saturn in the ninth house will make famous magicians, renowned philosophers, or temple priests noted for their reputation for magic. According to the nature of the signs he also makes seers, diviners, and astrologers. These are always outstanding in their responses. Some carry on the rites of tempIes or are in charge of rituals. Sometimes they become long-haired philosophers or interpreters of dreams.
19. Saturn in this house by night indicates wrath of the gods and hatred of emperors, especially if the waning Moon is moving toward him in any way. But greater evils are predicted from gods and emperors if Mars from any direction is in aspect to Saturn and the Moon.
The Mathesis is a book of natal delineation with a few timing techniques thrown in for good measure. This means that you get a cookbook approach at times. The cookbooks shouldn’t be taken literally as a pronouncement of the gods. Rather they are used to gather illustrations of broad principles that will allow you to make more accurate judgments in your chart work. Maternus himself says as much near the end of the fifth book.
The topics of the 8 books are discussed in the following sections.
Maternus given his reasons as to why astrology is important and how it is useful.
A presentation of the signs, houses, aspects, and other basics.
A few more advanced fundamentals are discussed. Next, there is a cookbook-style delineations given for each planet in each place by day and night. Also, delineations are given for Mercury with each other planet in each place, and the Moon in the sign of the Lot of Fortune applying to each planet.
This book includes in depth delineation of possibilities with the Moon, including its regards, applications, and separations in a natal chart. There are also sections on the Lots of Fortune and Spirit, the chart ruler, length-of-life, profession, and different degree types (full and empty, masculine and feminine). The book ends with additional Moon considerations.
This book includes delineation of the different signs in each place and the delineation of the planets in the terms of each planet by day and night. Maternus concludes with some advice as to consider the whole picture and not just make pronouncements based on single factors such as a single planet in a sign.
This book contains some additional material on places. It also has some delineation of fixed stars. However, this book is primarily a lengthy set of delineations on planetary aspects or regards. Maternus includes complex aspect situations. There is also some predictive material on each planet as chronocrator (lord of the time).
At the end of Book 6, Maternus noted that this Book 7 would present the more complete picture of astrological practice. This is a book on delineating special topics, such as birth condition, deformation, slavery, illness, family, marriage, sexuality, children, power/fame, occupation, and so forth.
Much of this book is commentary on various special degrees, constellations, and other things of note to Firmicus.
Many have hoped for a new translation of the Mathesis by someone well-versed in ancient astrology. The earlier 1975 translation by Jean Rhys Bram had some confusing passages and possible mistranslations. Finally, James Holden, an astrologer specializing in ancient astrology and translation, has produced this new, sought-after, 620 page translation.
Featured image By Amphipolis (Naples Museum 111) [CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons
It is rather exciting time in the study of ancient astrology. Most of the Hellenistic and Persian source texts available in English today were first translated in the last two decades. Additionally, a lot of that material has become available online. What are the seven best free online ancient astrology texts?
Last year (2010), something amazing occurred in traditional astrology. Classics scholar Mark Riley released, for free on his website, his full translation of The Anthology of Vettius Valens in searchable PDF format. While it is a translation by a non-astrologer, it is the first full English translation ever released. Books VIII and IX were previously unpublished in English. Those familiar with the Project Hindsight translations of Books I-VII should know that they were relatively expensive to purchase.
The Riley translation is a high quality English translation of what is arguably the most important text of Hellenistic astrology as far as predictive techniques are concerned. The Anthology was written in the 2nd century CE. It consists of nine books of practical ancient astrology. There is a stress on predictive techniques and Valens provides a wealth of examples.
The Tetrabiblos is another pivotal 2nd-century Hellenistic text. Click here to read the Tetrabiblos in English in its entirety online. The 1940 Robbins translation has its flaws but it is a decent translation overall and great as a free reference. Bill Thayer re-typed the entire text onto his website as the text is now in the public domain.
Ptolemy is the most famous of the Hellenistic astrologers, namely due to his astronomical work (e.g. the Almagest). His intricate geocentric model of the heavens was the standard prior to the Copernican revolution. In terms of Hellenistic astrologers, his influence on European astrology of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance is considerable. As a Hellenistic astrologer he was atypical in that he rejected some elements of the typical Hellenistic system and sought a naturalistic explanation for astrology, rather than one based on signs.
The Tetrabiblos has material on birth charts (natal astrology) and also material on interpreting charts for weather and political events (mundane astrology).
In the fourth century CE, Firmicus Maternus wrote one of the most important works of natal astrology of the Hellenistic era. The 1975 English translation by Jean Rhys Bram is not without its defects, due primarily to the fact that the translator was not an astrology. A better translation, by James Herschel Holden, was published in 2011, though it also has some idiosyncracies and comes at a high price (~$60). The Bram translation is freely available in PDF from the Astrologia Humana website of astrologer Clelia Romano.
Maternus is significant for his cookbook-style listing of example delineations for factor combinations. What might it mean to have Saturn in the 9th house during the day, as opposed to at night? Maternus will give you his opinion on some indications. This large work of 8 books is sure to give any astrologer a lot to work with in natal astrology.
Also available for free online is an English translation of the Treatise of the Fixed Stars by Anonymous of 379 (click here). The treatise is the most notable ancient text on the effects of the fixed stars. Those who wish to study the effects of the fixed stars from a Hellenistic standpoint will not be let down by this text.
The fixed stars were primarily used for judging eminence, character, and chronic illness. While there are many techniques for judging eminence in ancient astrology, bright fixed stars in prominent places such as conjunct the Moon or an angle, provide the strongest indications. Perso-Arabic astrologers of the early Middle Ages continued to incorporate bright fixed stars in their approaches to eminence.
The link provided above provides access to the treatise as well as a table of the constellations and maps of the constellations which show the star positions.
Serapio is a Hellenistic astrologer from about the 1st century CE whose works are mostly lost. A nearly complete set of definitions survives from him. The last page of his manuscript is lost to history. However, note that the definitions are from a late Byzantine compilation and are known to contain additions and alterations from the Middle Ages. An English translation of the text by Eduardo Gramaglia was made available as a PDF in late 2013. Click here to access the translation.
The text is notable because it is an early text in the Hellenistic tradition and explicitly defines key parts of the system. For instance, Serapio marks out which houses are malefic and which are benefic. He also discusses how planets earlier in the zodiac have “superiority” over planets later in the zodiac when in aspect, and even when in the same sign.
An even more influential early set of definitions is attributable to Antiochus of Athens. That set of definitions forms a large part of Porphyry’s Introduction to the Tetrabiblos. It is also included in Rhetorius of Egypt’s Compendium. Serapio’s Definitions were translated together with the Porphyry text in one volume by James Herschel Holden, published in 2009. Holden also published a translation of Rhetorius the same year.
While an excellent translation of Dorotheus emerged in 2017 by Ben Dykes (image below), the older Pingree translation is partially available for free. Deborah Houlding has made the first three of the five books available free as PDFs on her website, Skyscript: Book I, Book II, Book III (her notes on Book III). She has stated her intention to make all five books available so stay tuned to the page for updates. This is a pivotal text but I position it near the bottom of this list as only 3 of the 5 books are freely available at this time.
Dorotheus wrote the large and influential Carmen Astrologicum
The Centilogquium is a set of astrological aphorisms by an unknown author, which was ascribed to Ptolemy. The aphorisms likely come from the Perso-Arabic period (~9th century CE). The aphorisms are available for study on Deborah Houlding’s website, Skyscript. While it is a lesser work, and somewhat disorganized, the aphorisms deal with all areas of astrology. They were also historically influential, as discussed on the site.
I’ve focused on free English texts online. However, you may also be interested in critical editions of Hellenistic texts in their original languages. There are many available online. Chris Brennan has organized a valuable list of free critical editions on his Hellenistic Astrology website.
This article was updated on 10/01/2018 to drop a dead link, add more online texts, and restructure the article as a Top 7. Some of the texts – the partial translation of Dorotheus and Serapio’s Definitions – became available after the publication of the original article.
Featured image of third-century Heracles papyrus is in the public domain.
Steve Jobs was a famous business person and technologist. Mercury is the planet that pertains most to business and technology. So we might wonder about the planetary strength of Mercury in Jobs’ natal chart. Take a look as we explore a more well-rounded traditional way to assessing planetary prominence and strength.
According to Astro-Databank, it is stated on his birth certificate that Steve Jobs was born on Feb. 24, 1955 at 7:15 pm in San Francisco, California.
This chart poses a dilemma for traditional astrologers, in that Mercury is in a weak place, the 6th sign from the Ascendant. It is also retrograde.
This man was a thinker, a technologist. To claim that Mercury was weak or not a pervasive influence in this man’s life would be preposterous. Mercury is the primary planet of technology, commerce, and communications, all things central to his life story. It does not play a minor role.
Astrologers tend toward an over-reliance on what is immediately apparent when reading charts. That approach can cause problems. Signs are easy to spot so the sign a planet is in will often be given too much significance as to whether the planet indicates positive or negative things (see issues with dignity scoring). Retrogradation is easy to spot so it retrograde planets easily get blamed for all manner of things which they do not indicate. Cadency is often overused by traditional astrologers in the same manner, preferring its quick-and-dirty indication to a more comprehensive examination of the factors pertaining to strength.
This is a good time to introduce two major conditions that make a planet quite strong from Hellenistic astrology. These are easily missed and mistaken for mild weakening conditions.
While Mercury appears to be retrograde, and therefore some may regard it as somewhat weakened, the truth is that the Rx here is deceiving. Mercury is stationing direct, which is considered one of the major factors that strengthens a planet. Merely being retrograde is not a substantial impediment to a planet. Stationing retrograde, that is turning retrograde within about a week of birth, does weaken the planet’s influence, especially the more proximal it is to the time of birth.
However, stationing direct (within about a week of birth) is extremely fortifying to the planet. It indicates that significations are stronger, more pervasive, more widespread in the life. This is especially so if the planet stations direct very close to the birth time.
In the case of the chart of Steve Jobs, Mercury stations within 24 hours of birth, so this is a very strong direct station. The indication is that Mercury is strong, which is exactly the opposite of what appears to be the case by a cursory observation of retrogradation.
Natal Chart – Steve Jobs
Week After Birth of Jobs
One Week Before Birth of Jobs
Another fortifying condition in Hellenistic astrology is making an appearance, or being in phasis. A planet is in phasis when it is passing into or out of the Sun’s beams. Note that most ancient authors identified it as only being when passing out of the beams, though in my observation both hold but with more strength when passing out of them. The Sun’s beams are standardized to 15 degrees for this condition, and it should occur within about 7 days of birth – the closer in time, the more powerful the effect.
This again marks out a planet as more significant and of more pervasive influence. A planet going into the beams made its last appearance before disappearing for some time. One coming out from the beams makes a first appearance after being shrouded under the beams for a time. Unfortunately, when a planet is under the beams at birth, this condition is confused for the mildly weakening situation of being under the beams. Like with stationing direct, the mildly weakening situation really does not apply if the planet is in phasis.
Phasis was particularly important when it came to the planet signifying the occupation in the chart. When Mercury, Venus, or Mars were in phasis they were more likely to indicate the nature of the occupation. For more information on the use of phasis (as well as other prominence considerations) see the lesson on planetary prominence.
Jobs was born with Mercury at 14 Aquarius and the Sun at 5 Pisces. They are about 21 degrees from each other, though Mercury has no apparent motion as it is stationing. Five days earlier, on Feb. 19, 1955, Mercury was at 16 Aquarius and the Sun at 0 Pisces, so they were 14 degree apart, with Mercury under the beams, passing out of them to make its first appearance.
Mercury is in phasis in his chart, making its first appearance about 4-5 days before his birth. Without specifically checking for phasis we would miss this important additional indication of planetary strength. Mercury is not only strong, but some of that strength pertains directly to the occupation.
Natal Chart – Steve Jobs
The planet ruling the 1st will have some special topical signification over the person themselves, their preferences, and their personality. Jobs has Virgo rising, so Mercury is the ruler of the 1st place, the place of the character and inclinations.
Mercury so far has three powerful conditions making it significant. It is stationing direct, in phasis, and rules the 1st (additionally, it is the 1st triplicity ruler of the sign it is in).
It was customary to use the place/house position (i.e. which ordinal sign a planet is located in as counted from the rising sign which is the 1st place) as a factor in strength consideration in Hellenistic astrology. While I also use the whole sign houses for topics and for assessing dark/light houses, I prefer the later Persian use of Advancing and Retreating (see Abu Ma’Shar and al-Qabisi) for planetary strength. Please refer to the lesson on advancing for a more thorough treatment of this topic.
Natal Chart – Steve Jobs
To find whether a planet is advancing or retreating you take the distance between the horizon and the meridian on either side of the planet and divide by three. If a planet is less than one-third the distance from one to the next one (moving clockwise), but not very close to an angle (i.e. not within a few degrees, more might be allowed for luminaries), then it is retreating (weakened). A planet more than one-third of the way to that next “angle” is advancing (strengthened). One that is very close to an angle or approaching an angle within about 15 or 20 degrees is strongly advancing, i.e. very strengthened.
Advancing/Retreating is easy to conceptualize. The volume is being turned up on a planet as it is lining up with the horizon or meridian of a specific locale on Earth, and quickly turned down as it “retreats” from that location. It is truly a continuum, with a planet getting stronger (or louder, if you will) as it advances closer to the angle. I consider it to be the easiest strength consideration to spot in a chart, but also a very significant one.
In Steve’s chart, Mercury has already set, passing the Descendant at 22 Pisces and approaching the IC at 21 Sagittarius. The distance between the two is 91 degrees, but we’ll round off to 90, as precision is not important in this. One-third the distance is about 30 degrees. Mercury is more than 30 degrees past the Descendant at 22 Pisces, so it is not retreating. Mercury is at 14 Aquarius, which is 38 degrees from 22 Pisces, so it is considered Advancing, albeit just barely.
A careful look at Steve Jobs chart reveals that Mercury is the strongest, most pervasive, planet in the chart. While the Moon is strongly advancing, and Jupiter, Mars, and Venus are all three advancing more strongly than Mercury, Mercury is not only advancing but also stationing direct, in phasis, and the ruler of the 1st. There are only very minor weakening conditions.
Considering additional factors, such as twelfth-parts we see more confirmation of this. The twelfth-part of the MC is conjunct Mercury. Mercury’s own twelfth-part is in the strong 11th house conjunct Jupiter. As the ruler of the 10th and the 1st, located in the 6th, Mercury is particularly relevant for the career.
Steve Jobs’ Natal Chart with Twelfth-Parts on Outer Wheel
Take a look at your own chart and the charts of others that you know, including celebrities. Experiment by weighting advancing/retreating, direct/retrograde stations, phasis, and rulership of the 1st. Personally, I rank them in the order given in the previous sentence, and consider all of them, particularly the first three, as giving powerful general indications regarding the pervasiveness of a planet’s influence.
Remember, a strong planet will express more of its nature in more places. Prominent planets spill out indications well beyond the houses they occupy and rule.
Would you believe that you can do all of your traditional astrology charting and calculations with a free software program?
When I discovered Morinus a few years ago it was quite a revelation. This program does it all, and there’s also a Traditional version that’s tailored to the traditional astrologer.
The program’s most recent update as of this writing was on Oct. 2, 2011, and is version 3.5.
If you are absolutely new to astrology and just need to be able to pull up and print charts in a basic way, then I recommend using the free online chart calculation at Astro.com (Astrodienst) instead. I’ll cover basic use of the Astrodienst charting in another post.
In order to make sure that charts for earlier time periods are accurate, please install the swiss ephemeris files into Morinus by following the instructions below:
I’ll explore some of the uses of Morinus in future articles in the Software category. Click here for an article on doing primary directions with Morinus.
When dealing with the more ancient varieties of traditional astrology, there is not as much need for software beyond chart calculation. An exception is primary directions where Morinus can be of considerable help.
Featured image is a reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism modified from an image by Mogi [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5 ], from Wikimedia Commons
.jpg){kind=link}
