Tag Archives: anonymous of 379

Give Yourself the Gift of Traditional Astrological Texts: HOROI Project

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Introduction

Hellenistic astrology has long suffered from a translation problem. Ancient Greek is a difficult language to translate into English for a number of reasons. Translations by astrologers can sometimes lack the erudition of those by classics scholars. On the other hand, translations by scholars can sometimes lack the attention to details which are important to the practicing astrologer. A translation project started earlier this offers new scholarly translations of Greek texts at an affordable price to an astrological audience.

Astrologer Translations

Translations of many early Hellenistic texts have been made by astrologers like Robert Schmidt, James Holden, Andrea Gehrz, and Eduardo Gramaglia which range from sufficient to exceptional in quality of translation. Astrologer-led translations can also sometimes suffer from assumptions and/or inexperience which leads to poor interpretations and/or fanciful speculation. I, as a beginning Greek student, also run into this with my own attempts to translate Greek. Additionally, there are times when the best English translations are difficult to hunt down or prohibitively expensive.

Scholarly Translations

A few translations also exist from true scholars of the classics, such as Frank Robbins translation of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos and Mark Riley’s of Valens’s Anthology. As translations by scholars, they bring with them an overall higher quality of translation from someone more experienced with the nuances of the language. However, as translations by non-astrologers, they can potentially suffer from a failure to recognize specific wording, technical details, or terminological distinctions critical for a practicing astrologer as particularly significant.

The HOROI Project

The HOROI Project was started on Patreon earlier in 2020 by Levente László, a classical philologist from Hungary who is working on a PhD pertaining to Greek-language astrology. For as long as one makes a $5 recurring monthly donation, the project provides access to all of the Greek-language texts that László has published there. Currently, more than a dozen full text translations are available, many of them of long texts which were provided in installments.

Levente László

Given the translator’s philological background and active focus in that area, we can expect quality scholarly translations from him. In fact, we can expect that the quality of the translations and his insights into the texts will only improve as he translates more and more texts.

It is unclear whether László is himself an astrologer. I am unaware of him demonstrating any astrological analysis, or even publicly expressing an interest in practical astrological analysis. Still, he has ample familiarity with the history of the subject. He also appears to keep up with many of the concerns of astrologers in the community. He answers questions posed by astrologers within the project page and the project’s audience is largely traditional astrologers.

László has provided some additional information about his background, views on translation, and views on traditional texts in an interview. He has a more down-to-earth perspective on issues of textual reconstruction and the translator’s mission.  For instance, he has a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to issues of reconstructing and authenticating controversial texts like those attributed to Antiochus. In this sense, he offers a valuable and refreshing new scholarly perspective on many textual issues.

Selection

You may have noticed that I often describe the translations as Greek-language astrology, rather than Hellenistic astrology. This is on purpose as some of the project’s translations are of Byzantine texts originating after the period of Hellenistic astrology proper. For instance, some texts are from the 10th and 11th centuries, and some are Greek translations of Arabic works.

That’s not to say that Hellenistic astrology has only a small place in the project. The amount of Hellenistic astrology translated for the HOROI Project is immense. Some highlights so far include Anonymous of 379 on the Bright Fixed Stars, Paulus Alexandrinus (ongoing), a Teucer text on parans, some fragments of Julianus of Laodicea (5th century), Porphyry’s Introduction to the Tetrabiblos, an Anonymous Commentary on Ptolemy (post-Porphyry but pre-7th century), and various texts attributed to Rhetorius. Another highlight is the summary of Antiochus, which, contrary to Schmidt’s problematic “reconstruction”, doesn’t include a concept of “detriment”.

For those interested in Perso-Arabic medieval astrology, there are also some gems. Most notable is “Abū Saʿīd Shādhān, Discourses with Abū Maʿshar on the Secrets of Astrology” (9th century). It was translated from Arabic into Greek as part of a late 10th or early 11th century Byzantine collection.  This is a large text of nearly 100 chapters on Abu Ma’shar’s astrology and it repays study.

Importance of Primary Source Texts

I’ve long recommended that traditional astrologers move from secondary sources to traditional texts as quickly as possible. I appreciate many astrologers coming to my site to learn traditional astrological techniques and explore my perspective. I hope I have something to add to what can be gained from a reading of primary sources. Still, no one should consider themselves a traditional astrologer if they do not regularly revisit the actual primary source texts. Today, there appear to be far too many astrologers who have learned Hellenistic or medieval astrology from a modern “authority” yet are ignorant of the actual content and variety present in traditional texts.

Learning Greek, Arabic, and/or Latin is a noble and ideal way to approach the source texts. You will have the most intimate access to the words of the ancient astrologers. However, learning such languages is not necessary and sometimes not even practically possible for the common traditional astrologer. Additionally, it is not always enough to gain a better understanding of a text, as sometimes anything less than an advanced scholarly proficiency in the language yields false assumptions. Therefore, there is always a strong need for more quality, scholarly, astrology-conscious translations of ancient texts into modern languages, such as those found at the HOROI Project.

Today, a significant number of important texts can be found online for free. Those texts and the HOROI Project are vital sources of ancient texts for the student on a budget while at the same time worthy of the attention of even the most experienced traditional astrologer of means.

Cost

As I’ve noted, the “subscription” provides access to all of the texts that the project has translated, as well as those it will translate while you’re an active subscriber. At $5/month it is the best deal you’ll find this holiday season.

Additionally, the access allows one to comment on translations. You can ask questions of the translator, and he has been very responsive in the past.

Conclusion

This Solstice/Great Conjunction/Christmas/Hanukkah Holiday give yourself or a loved one the gift of quality English translations of traditional Greek astrological texts. Support the translation efforts of the HOROI Project with a monthly subscription.

Featured image of the Greek alphabet by Nerd271, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Current Events | Fire at Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral Transits

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Update 4/16/19:

Note that some sources say the first signs of a fire appeared around 6:20-6:25 pm local time. These times would put the first or second degree of Libra on the Ascendant of the event. This is even more striking! The twelfth-part of Mars rising conjunct the antiscia of Mercury would coincide with the first awareness of the fire.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most famous cathedrals in the world. This Catholic cathedral is a marvel of French Gothic architecture from the High Middle Ages. Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, was set at the cathedral. Hugo’s novel planted the cathedral vividly in the imagination. In our times, it is the most visited monument in Paris.

Unfortunately, on the 15th of April, 2019, just before 6:50 pm local time, it caught on fire. The cathedral was significantly damaged. It lost its spire and two-thirds of its roof in the blaze.

Notre-Dame Fire

Transits at the Start of the Fire

Astrologers have puzzled over the indications coinciding with the events, pouring over the transits coinciding with the event. Here, I’ll be examining the transits from the start of the blaze using traditional factors.

In traditional astrology, major events are not signaled through the strength of the transits involved. One should examine developments from a hierarchy of mundane charts centered on ingresses and lunations preceding the event. Additionally, one would also want to examine the chart of the building’s founding (if known).

Moon-Mars Square at the Mars Hour of a Moon Day

In the matter of any fire, an astrologer should first look to Mars. Mars is traditionally the “hot” malefic symbolizing fiery destruction and violence. Additionally, it is the Moon which holds the key for the final timing of important earthly events.

In Hellenistic astrology, the Moon applies to a planet when she is within her daily motion from exactly aspecting it (about 13 degrees). The fire happened as the Moon was directly applying to Mars (about 6 degrees). The aspect is a square which is itself an aspect of the nature of Mars, eventful, tense, and overly energized. Mars is in the superior position – a superior square is said to “dominate” or “overcome” the inferior planet. Therefore, the Moon applies to a Mars that dominates her.

Notre-Dame Fire Moon-Mars

Mars

Mars is in an air sign. the Mars-air combination is symbolic of fire itself (gaseous destructive heat).  It is in a dualistic sign which is unpredictable. Mars is in the bound of Jupiter, planet of religion, and opposes Jupiter by sign. It is very symbolic of the fire that the Moon should apply to a Mars oriented toward air, unpredictability, and opposition to Jupiter.

Moon Day, Mars Hour

The planetary ruler of the day of the event was the Moon, highlighting its configurations for the day. Interestingly, the ruler of the hour was Mars. The Moon-Mars square was highlighted.

I’ve addressed the importance of planetary days and hours as time lords in Hellenistic astrology in a previous article.

Mars on the Bull’s Eye

The fire started with Mars at 10 Gemini conjunct the fixed star Aldebaran. Aldebaran is literally the star that marks the bull’s eye of the constellation Taurus. Anonymous of 379 noted that this star is of the nature of Mars (destruction/fire) and Venus (arts/beauty).

Mars on the bull’s eye, a star pertaining to both Venus and Mars himself is a cogent initial symbol of the cathedral fire. Notre-Dame Fire Fixed Stars

Mars-Saturn Contra-Antiscia

When Mars reached 10 Gemini, something else happened as well. Mars and Saturn became equidistant from the starting point of the zodiac, 0 Aries. Mars at 10 Gemini is 70 degrees from 0 Aries, as is Saturn at 20 Capricorn. These are degrees of equal ascension, also known as contra-antiscia.

Contra-antiscia is an important traditional planetary configuration on par with degree-based aspects. I have discussed contra-antiscia’s history in an article on traditional symmetrical configurations. When one uses a chart of antiscia positions, contra-antiscia shows up as an opposition between the planets.

Notre-Dame Fire with Antiscia Positions (outer)

The contra-antiscia of Mars and Saturn involves both malefics, fiery violence (Mars) and unfortunate collapse (Saturn). It also involves the lunar nodes, as Saturn was transiting on the South Node at the time. The nodes are the points of intersection of the paths of the Sun and Moon, where the eclipses take place. As they are the eclipsing points, they were traditionally viewed as malefic and powerful.

Sun-Moon and Venus-Ascendant Antiscia

You may have noticed some additional interesting configurations by antiscia in the chart above. At the time of the start of the blaze the Moon conjoined the antiscion of the Sun, while the Ascendant conjoined the antiscion of Venus. These connections highlight publicity and importance (Sun and Moon) as well as the involvement of a work of beauty (Venus).

Notre-Dame Fire with Antiscia (outer)

Twelfth-Parts of Mars and Saturn

We’ve seen the very important role played by antiscia positions. Another subtle but very significant factor is the twelfth-part positions of the planets. The twelfth-parts are subdivisions of each sign into 12 micro-signs. They have been used since Babylonian times. For some Hellenistic astrologers they were regarded as a necessity for accurate chart examination. I regard them as so important that I find them mentally when I look at any chart.

The fire started just as the Moon conjoined the twelfth-part of Saturn (at 4 Virgo). Additionally, the twelfth-part of Mars is in Libra, so its rising was something of an ignition point. Some have reported to me that the fire actually started at about 6:25 pm which is when 2 Libra (twelfth-part of Mars) was right on the Ascendant. Additionally, see the antiscia chart above, as 2 Libra is also the antiscia of Mercury. The Moon’s own twelfth-part was also in Libra, opposing the Sun in Aries.

Notre-Dame Fire with Twelfth-Parts (outer)

Conclusion

Transits are rather ephemeral. One should not attempt to predict mundane events on the basis of transits at any given moment. This is because transits realize a potential promised in more important root charts, including foundation charts, ingresses, and lunations. Nevertheless, the transits of the moment of a major event tend to be vividly symbolic, as we find here.

The transits at the time of the Notre-Dame fire highlight the important role played by Mars and the Moon. They also highlight the significance of fixed stars, antiscia, and twelfth-parts. These are traditional factors too often overlooked, especially in transit analysis today.

Image Attributions

Featured image (cropped by me) is of Detail of the west facade of Notre-Dame, Paris, France by Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons / “Paris, Notre Dame — 2014 — 1477” / CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo of the fire by LeLaisserPasserA38 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Top Seven Free Ancient Astrology Texts Online in English | Valens, Ptolemy, Maternus, and more

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Online Hellenistic and Persian Texts

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?

Free Astrology Texts from the First Millennium

1. The Anthology by Vettius Valens, Mark Riley trans.

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.

2. The Tetrabiblos by Cladius Ptolemy, Frank Robbins trans.

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).

3. Mathesis by Firmicus Maternus, Jean Rhys Bram trans.

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.

4. Treatise of the Fixed Stars by Anonymous of 379, Daria Dudziak trans.

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.

5. Definitions by Serapio of Alexandria, Eduardo Gramaglia trans.

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.

6. Carmen Astrologicum by Dorotheus of Sidon, David Pingree trans.

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 (Song of Astrology) in verse in the 1st century CE. It has 4 books on interpreting charts of birth time (natal astrology). It also has 1 book on choosing lucky times to start activities and judging matters from the time of an event (electional/inceptional astrology). Dorotheus is perhaps the astrologer with the greatest influence on Perso-Arabic astrology. In addition to containing important natal astrology, he is the source for original Hellenistic electional astrology. His rules for electional astrology also form the foundation for the later practice of horary astrology.

7. Centiloquium by Pseudo-Ptolemy, Henry Coley trans.

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.

Hellenistic Critical Editions Online

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.

Note on 2018 Update

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.