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Twelve Easy Lessons for Beginners | 2. Charting, Angles, Advancement

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Some Planets Are Louder than Others

Have you ever felt like the things associated with one particular planet pervade every aspect of your life in every possible way? In this post, you’ll learn which planets in your chart are the loud ones which want to be heard in every area of life. This is part of a series of lessons on the basics of applied Hellenistic astrology.  In the last lesson, we looked at the basic significations of the planets. There is also a zero lesson on some history and preliminaries. In this post, we’ll learn about planetary advancement, also known as the operative degrees or busy degrees. This will allow you to start figuring out which planets are louder or more pervasive. If you haven’t already done so, please read the past lessons and spend a little time thinking in terms of the planets before proceeding.

Download Valens’ Anthology

Please download the PDF of the full English translation of the Anthology of Vettius Valens (click here to open the PDF or right click and choose “save as” to download).  Not only is it an indispensable and enormous text of Hellenistic astrology, but it begins immediately with Valens on the significations of the planets.

Pull Up Your First Chart

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to obtain really good software for traditional astrology.  As we learn about how to read a chart in this lesson, I’ll walk you through pulling up charts using the free online Astrodienst (astro.com) charting service.  In a future lesson, I’ll show how to use Morinus, a free and advanced open-source traditional astrology program.

Registering on Astrodienst

First, you should pull up a copy of your chart using Astrodienst, which is at Astro.com.  It is free to register with the site and the process is easy.  Click Login in the upper right corner, then “Create a free registered user profile” and follow the instructions.  After registering, you will find that you are faced with many options for computer-generated readings.  I don’t recommend any of the readings on the site.  We are going to use the free chart-drawing service.

You Will Need an Accurate Birth Time

The section of the site called “My Astro” allows you to store birth data for easy access to your charts from the internet. First, you will want to have your birth information handy.  The information that you’ll need is the date, location (city), and time of birth.  Typically, a birth certificate is the most accurate source of this information.  Obtain this information before proceeding, either of your own birth or that of someone of interest.

Entering Chart Information on Astrodienst

With the birth info in hand, log in to Astrodienst and click the “Add new Astro data” link.  Fill out the Birth Data Entry and click “Continue”.  Make sure the correct town is selected and click “Continue” again.  If this is your first time using the program you might be taken directly to the Free Horoscopes page, but if not then click the “Free Horoscopes” link from the top bar.  Scroll down and choose “Chart Drawing Ascendant”.  This is the option that will do for now, even though it includes a lot of additional information we will try to ignore.  Click on the chart to pull it up in a window of its own, where you can right-click and choose “Save Image As” to save the chart to your computer, or press CTRL-P to print the chart.  The chart should look something like what is below.

Angelina Jolie’s Birth Chart (CTRL-Click to open in a new tab)

Adding Celebrity Data from Astro-Databank to My Astro

In your astrological studies, a time will come when you’ll want to check out the charts of celebrities.  There is a database of celebrity charts that is now maintained by Astrodienst and integrates with its My Astro chart collection.  This database is called Astro-Databank (click to go there).

Let’s say that you want to add Angelina Jolie’s chart to your own chart collection.  You would type “Angelina Jolie” in the Search box and then click her name from the list of results.  This will pull up her biography and chart information, with a small chart that you can click to enlarge (click here to go there).  Make special note of the “Rodden Rating” which is an evaluation of the accuracy of the birth information (AA is best, while anything C or below usually shouldn’t be trusted).  To add birth information to your collection click the link “add Angelina Jolie to ‘my astro'” which appears below the grey box.

Finding The Angles: The Crosshairs of a Given Location on Earth

There is much on this chart drawing that you should ignore for now, including all the red and blue lines jutting around the chart.  For now imagine that the small center circle inside the chart, around which the numbers appear, is the sphere of the Earth.  Look at the four bold black lines that jut out from that sphere.  These 4 lines are much like the “cross-hairs” of the location.  It is as if planets on them have arrived at the location. Those moving toward them (clockwise) are arriving. After passing them, a planet is leaving the location. These 4 points are called the “Angles” or “Pivots” of the chart.  Planets on them signify extremely prominent or pervasive influences on life circumstances.

The Horizon

The horizontal line is the horizon at the place you were born. Horizon is in the word horizontal so that should be easy to remember. Notice on the left that it is marked with an AC, for Ascendant.  On the opposite side, there is a DC, for Descendant.  The Ascendant is where planets rise or “ascend”, while the Descendant is where they set or “descend”.  The Ascendant is toward the east and the Descendant is toward the west, as “the Sun rises in the east, and sets in the west”.  A planet above the line is above the horizon, in the sky.  A planet below the line is below the horizon, under the earth.

You will notice that there is a planetary symbol at Angelina Jolie’s Ascendant.  The symbol is that of Venus. Matters symbolized by Venus are therefore pervasive in the circumstances of Jolie’s life. The significations of beauty, love, creativity, the arts, and sensuality are very “loud” in her life.

Finding The Sect of the Chart

For astrological purposes, a chart is a day chart or diurnal if the Sun is above the horizon, while a night chart or nocturnal if the Sun is below the horizon.  This is known as the sect of the chart.  The symbol for the Sun is above the horizon in Jolie’s chart, so she was a day birth. We may think of Angelina as of the diurnal sect.

The Meridian

The vertical, nearly perpendicular lines, are the meridians, like the vertical lines you see on a globe.  The top one is where the Sun reaches its highest point or “culminates” up in the sky, at the natural “Noon” position.  The bottom one is the meridian on the other side of the earth, where the Sun anti-culminates under one’s feet at the natural “Midnight”.  The top line is called the angle of the sky, medium coeli (“middle of the sky”), or midheaven, abbreviated MC.  The bottom angle is the angle of the earth, called the imum coeli (“bottom of the sky”), abbreviated IC.

If one is in the northern hemisphere, the MC is exactly due south, because we are looking south toward the equator of the Earth when we see a culminating planet (for example, the Sun at about Noon).  The IC is due north.  Thus the astrological chart is like an upside-down map as far as directions go.  The top is south, the left is easterly, the bottom is north, and the right is westerly.

Looking at these additional two “Angles” we see that Angelina Jolie has one planet on the MC.  That planet is Jupiter, the planet of fortune, opportunity, gifts, generosity, and social benefits.

On an Angle

The numbers next to Jupiter’s symbol are the degrees and minutes of the sign where Jupiter is located.  These are coordinates of its location.  Notice Jupiter is at degree 17, as is the MC.  They are in the same degree out of the 360-degree circle.  Similarly, Venus was in the same degree as the Ascendant.  Because the degrees on the angles shift about every 4 minutes (of regular clock time), it is rare to find a planet in the same degree as an angle.

We will consider a planet on an angle when it is within about 3 degrees of the angle (a little more than that when dealing with the Sun and Moon).  Notice that Mars is at degree 10, which is about 7 degrees from the MC, so we wouldn’t consider it on the angle.  The Moon is at 13, which is about 4 to 5 degrees from the MC, so we would judge the Moon to be of increased prominence as well in this chart by this method.

Planetary Advancement

This idea of a planet becoming more prominent when it reaches one of the angles predates the advent of horoscopic astrology. It is a feature of geographically disparate astrological traditions, and it is an easy concept to grasp. It is also evident in Hellenistic and Persian astrology (more on this below). Additionally, it is related to one of the most important predictive techniques of traditional astrology, primary directions. This is why I feel it is important to learn it early in one’s studies.

Pre-Hellenistic Origins

A quick survey of archaeoastronomy reveals that for thousands of years people paid close attention to the moments when important planetary phenomena would reach the angles. This is evident in the construction of temples, monuments, and sacred sites the world over.  For example, El Castillo, a step-pyramid at the center of the Mayan Chichen Itza, has a western face that points to sunset (Sun on Descendant) on the traditional date of the start of the rainy season.  Similarly, Stonehenge has important alignments to risings and settings marking the annual transitions of midsummer and midwinter.  Karnak (in Egypt) and many other such sites reveal similar attention to risings, settings, and culminations on key days of the year.  These monuments all draw attention to the time of a planet’s “arrival” to the location by using its crosshairs, the angles.

The Primary Motion

You’ll notice that few people have planets actually conjunct (i.e. on or at) an Angle.  However, while this is the most powerful position, Hellenistic astrologers did attach increased importance to a planet approaching an angle, and decreased importance to one receding from an angle (more on this below).  The exact definition of when a planet is considered to start advancing and when it is considered to stop retreating varies slightly with different authors but the idea is the same.  The idea is that a planet’s significations become increasingly strong or busy as it moves closer and closer to the angle, becoming strongest when it is conjoined to the angle, and then quickly dropping off until it has traveled sufficiently toward the next angle.

You may recall that a planet rises at the Ascendant, culminates at the MC, sets at the Descendant, anti-culminates at the IC, and then rises again at the Ascendant.  This clockwise motion is called the Primary Motion and is shown below.

Quadrant House Systems Are Great for Advancing/Retreating but not for Topics

The concept of advancement and retreat was confused for a method of assigning topics to the signs, called the house system.  In modern charts, including this one provided by Astrodienst, the space between any two angles is divided up into three segments. These are numbered for houses, but actually should be used for evaluating advancement and retreat.  Planets in one of the segments that is right after an angle by primary motion (marked 3, 6, 9, and 12 on the chart) are “retreating” from the angle or “inoperative”.  Those that in other segments are advancing.  Those that are in the segment just before and up to the angle (1, 4, 7, and 10) are even more advancing or “operative”.

Therefore, looking at Angelina Jolie’s chart, we judge Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon to be especially busy or “loud” because they are conjunct angles.  By contrast, we judge that the significations of Saturn and Mars are overall much quieter in the life because they are retreating.  The Sun and Mercury are advancing but not very strongly, so they are middling in terms of the “loudness” of their significations in the life.

Continuous Change in Volume

Rather than viewing advancement and retreat in a discrete way, where we chop things up into strong, middle, and weak, I tend to view it as a continuous matter of a planet being of very low volume after separating from an Angle and then volume gradually being turned up on it as it nears it.  Planets approaching an angle within about 15 degrees or actually conjunct an Angle I take to be especially loud, and I will call them “strongly advancing”.

Busy vs. Relevant to a Specific Topic

A beginner should take some time getting used to the significance of this technique. This busy-ness is not necessarily in terms of personality or what someone’s known for.  It is quite possible for a retreating planet to have great significance for a person’s character or profession, and likewise possible for a strongly advancing planet to have little relevance for characterizing these things.  The basic idea is simply one of general strength or busy-ness, where I think the metaphor of “volume” as on a stereo, comes in handy.

Because the volume of Venus and Jupiter are at the full crank in Angelina Jolie’s chart, we imagine that the things those planets stand for are pervasive through the life, including the people, events, and things encountered in it.  It’s as if the life is being pumped full of Venus and Jupiter energy or those gods are very busily at play there. In Angelina’s case, Venus and the Moon are also very significant for the character and personality, but this is not because of the advancement, but due to other factors we’ll cover later.  The only thing that advancement tells us is that the significations are loud and likely to be quite broad.  The person is nearly constantly encountering things signified by that planet for better or worse.

Ben Dykes on Advancement

I largely follow Dr. Benjamin Dykes interpretation of advancement and retreat as found in his commentary on his translations of Persian introductory astrological works, Introductions to Traditional Astrology. Discussing the commentary on advancement and retreat by Al-Qabisi and Abu Ma’shar he notes the following:

What this suggests is that advancing planets will show active assent, engagement, and success in whatever they signify–whether that is helpful or harmful. (Dykes, 2010, p. 121)

Taken with advancement, retreat suggests that such planets are more likely to show opportunities missed, ignored, or responsibilities dropped. (Dykes, 2010, p. 121)

Busy Places Versus Good Ones

I follow Dykes and Robert Schmidt of Project Hindsight in distinguishing these busy degrees from the advantageous places of Timaeus (more on those in later lessons). The advantageous houses or places are those that have a certain relationship with the rising sign (signifying the self) so they are advantageous in a more personal sense (i.e. good for the individual). Advancement is a relationship to the birth itself (the location of the chart), so pertains to the life circumstances as a whole (i.e. busy in the life).

Schmidt suggests an interpretive difference which seems promising: (1) by being related to the angles alone, the Nechepso version […] identifies planets busy or advantageous or advancing in the life as a whole, regardless of the specific relation they have toward the native as an individual. […] But (2) by being configured to the ascending sign, the Timaeus-Dorotheus version […] identifies planets which are more directly busy and advancing relative to the native and his interests as an individual. (Dykes, 2010, p. 122)

From Busy Degrees in the Length of Life Technique to Advancing Planets

Advancement is a concept that tends to be ill-understood today.  Advancement was used primarily within the context of the longevity techniques of Hellenistic astrology (techniques to determine the length of life). It became a more basic part of astrological technique during the Persian period. In the Hellenistic period, the regions approaching the angles were often singled out as particularly busy or operative degrees. Those receding from the angles were singled out as inoperative.

The origin of the doctrine appears to be an early lost foundational text attributed to Nechepso. In this work, the four places of the angles and those places following them (in the order of the signs) were viewed as the 8 busy or advantageous places. The other four were seen as diminished in operation. As a number of separate Hellenistic astrologers set up quadrant-based divisions  (i.e. based on the four regions created by the angles) to find the busy degrees in the context of the length of life technique and the 8 advantageous places of Nechepso appear to figure into the technique, it is likely that quadrant-based divisions, the 8 advantageous places, and the operative degrees all come to Hellenistic astrology from the Nechepso text in the context of the length of life technique.

Quadrant Division but Not Quadrant Houses

As this technique is quadrant-based, it inspired the later widespread adoption of quadrant house systems (Lesson 6 will discuss houses). A house system is a means of assigning twelve major topics of life (such as marriage, children, friends, etc.) to different areas of the chart. However, in Hellenistic astrology the quadrant divisions are almost exclusively used to determine the busy-ness of the planets, not to assign topical categories to areas of the chart. When it comes to assigning topics we will do so according to the order of the houses of the planets (i.e. the signs) as the Hellenistic astrologers did.

Advancement/Retreat is Terminology of Arabic Origin

I adopt the Arabic terminology for the technique which uses the language of advancement (‘iqbal) and retreat (‘idbar). This terminology readily captures the physical phenomena of the planet advancing toward the key crosshairs of the location and then retreating. It also captures the most salient indication I’ve observed related to it, which is that of increasing and decreasing loudness across life circumstances. The Greek terminology in which it is characterized as busy (chrematistikos) is also helpful.

Busy-ness in Hellenistic Astrology

Valens

Valens gives a good thorough exposition of advancement in Book III, Chapter 2 of the Anthology.  The chapter is dedicated to explaining the concept which for Valens defines the “operative”, “average”, and “inoperative” degrees (not to be confused with the operative and inoperative places which are another matter).  Valens finds the operative and inoperative degrees by dividing the distance into thirds by zodiacal degrees.  For instance, if there were 120 degrees between two angles, then each third would be 40 degrees in length.

Then it is necessary to take the distance in degrees from the Ascendant to the IC (moving in the order of the signs), to consider one-third of that total distance to be the “operative” degrees in the configuration of the angles, and to consider the stars in these degrees, whether benefics or malefics, to be powerful.  (Valens, Anthologies, Book III, Ch. 2, Riley trans., 2010, p. 59)

Thirds of Varying Power

He instructs to make the same type of division between each of the angles. He describes the power of the thirds as follows.

So then, the first third from the Ascendant will be operative and powerful, the second third will be average, the third third will be crisis-producing and bad. The stars <in these regions> will act in the same way.  (Valens, Anthologies, Book III, Ch. 2, Riley trans., 2010, p. 59)

In the above quote, he seems to imply that a planet becomes more malefic (i.e. “bad”) when retreating.  However, I think Valens is referring to it being bad when a major health significator is in such a position because it is weakened. The section is presented in the context of a length of life technique. My experience is that retreating planets do not signify as prominently, but do not signify more malefic things, i.e. that it is a general strength consideration only.

Dorotheus

Dorotheus does not discuss advancement much but does have a few instances where he brings up a 15-degree rule. A planet that is not in the rising sign but which is approaching the Ascendant within 15 degrees is said to have equal power as a planet in the rising sign.  This rule is found Book I, Chapter 7, #7, as well as book III, Chapter 1, #23, of Carmen Astrologicum.  The rule also appeared in Porphyry in a section attributed to Antiochus.

Ptolemy

Ptolemy also defined certain regions of power where a planet relevant to longevity matters was to be found.  In his discussion (Book III, Ch. 10) one of his regions is from 5 degrees above the Ascendant to the 25 degrees below it.  Thus the region of strength here appears to be the 25 degrees up to the angle, and the conjunction seems to extend 5 degrees.

Practice Using Advancement

Now let’s look at some example charts using a fluid sense of advancement. We are interested in finding the busiest planets.  The chart drawings are from the Morinus program, but the charts are also available on Astro-Databank. I’ve provided the link to the Astrodatabank chart. Remember that here we are looking at one factor of general prominence in the life, which may be compared with volume or busy-ness.  Later we will look at other factors of general prominencend factors as well as factors that signify personal prominence and even self-identification.

Hitler

In Hitler’s chart, Saturn (darkness, death, challenge), Mercury (rationality, writing, voice), and the Sun (leadership, power, confidence) are all very strongly advancing, while the Moon (deep significance, nurture, the irrational) and Jupiter (generosity, spirituality, loftiness) are retreating. Mars and Venus are advancing fairly strongly.

Adolf Hitler’s Natal Chart (Ctrl-click to enlarge)

Kurt Cobain

In Kurt Cobain’s chart, Mercury (rationality, writing, voice), Venus (beauty, creativity, love), and Saturn (darkness, death, challenge) are strongly advancing together.  The Sun (leadership, power, confidence) is retreating.

Kurt Cobain’s Natal Chart (Ctrl-click to enlarge)

Billy Graham

In Billy Graham’s chart, Jupiter (generosity, spirituality, loftiness) and the Moon (deep significance, nurture, the irrational) are strongly advancing.  Mars (violence, physical work, aggression) is retreating, but is also closely with the Moon.

Billy Graham’s Natal Chart (Ctrl-click to enlarge)

Conclusion

Take the celebrity examples from the last lesson, for Bjork, Obama, and Einstein. Look up their charts on Astro-Databank and evaluate advancement as an exercise.  You will find that some planets that you thought would be strongly advancing are not so, and vice-versa.  Advancement is only one piece of the puzzle.  Prominence involves additional factors which we’ll get to in subsequent lessons.

Think of advancing planets as loud and busy, signifying across many areas of life.  Think of retreating ones as quieter, and more directed toward specific topics.

Look at your own chart, and those of your friends, family, and favorite celebrities.  Make note of the planets you would expect to be advancing compare that with what you find.  As we proceed you’ll come to better understand the exceptions, where you met the unexpected.

References

Dykes, Benjamin, trans. and ed., Introductions to Traditional Astrology: Abu Ma’shar & al-Qabisi (Minneapolis, MN: The Cazimi Press, 2010).

Valens, V. (2010). Anthologies. (M. Riley, Trans.) (Online PDF.). World Wide Web: Mark Riley. Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/r/rileymt/Vettius%20Valens%20entire.pdf
Image Attributions

Featured image of Astronomical Clock from Cathedrale St-Jean in Lyon, France (cropped from original): This Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons image is from the user Chris 73 and is freely available at //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedrale_Saint_Jean_Lyon_Astronomical_clock.jpg under the creative commons cc-by-sa 3.0 license.

Horn Speaker with Girl by Paul G. Andres, in public domain.

Glyphs and Crosshairs images are in the public domain.

 

Astrology of Profession or Calling | 1. Technique

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The Astrology of Profession

Classical astrologers frequently explored the astrology of profession. They even had techniques to focus in on the planets most relevant to profession. Special techniques for the delineation of one’s calling appear early in the Hellenistic tradition. Anubio (1st or 2nd century CE), Ptolemy (2nd century CE), and Paulus Alexandrinus (4th century CE) all provided techniques for determining profession from the astrological chart.

Praxis

The Greek word used is “praxis”. It is often translated as actions, though I’ve also seen it translated what one does (Greenbaum’s translation of Paulus). The reckoning of the descriptions for varieties of praxis in Greek texts are what we’d call a profession or a calling. One of the meanings of praxis is “practice”. As the professional indicators pertain to skill-development, but not always and necessarily to what one does to make a living, practice may be the better definition. The professional indicators indicate what we practice and thus what we become skilled at.

Background

My own strategy for the delineation of actions follows Ptolemy, Paulus Alexandrinus, and Rhetorius in approach. My emphasis lies on Paulus Alexandrinus as he is relatively early (4th century) and used the places.  I am more concerned with effectiveness than historical reproduction, so you will find some minor deviations from Paulus in my approach to actions. The differences are minor and are similar to the differences in the use of technique by the various Hellenistic astrologers and later Persian ones. Medieval European authors, such as Bonatti, deviated even further.  After years of exploring the technique, I find Paulus the most reliable.

Lords of Actions

The technique pertains to identifying the planets that most pertain to actions. These planets will describe the nature of the calling. I urge astrologers not to think in terms of there being only one true calling for each and every person.  Rather, planets signifying actions will give indications as to skill people try to develop for their calling. We will call the planets that signify actions the lords of actions.

The 10th Place and the Lights

The 10th place of the chart is the one that pertains most to this reckoning. It dominates the 1st place (i.e. it is in a right-side square to the place representative of the person themselves, like an authoritative influence). The 10th place is sometimes called the house of actions. It also pertains to status, recognition, achievement, and rank. The 1st place is also relevant because it pertains to temperament, talents, and self-identification.  In addition, the Lights (Sun and Moon), the planets most representative of power, are important.

Three Swift Lords of Action

I break the technique into three steps. My first step is to identify planets with relevance to actions, closely following Paulus. Secondly, I find the strongest planets in the chart. The third step is to delineate the nature of the profession or calling based on the strongest indications from Mars, Venus, and Mercury from the other two steps.  This is just to assess the basic nature of the profession or calling.

Mars is indicative of violent, dangerous, or highly competitive callings. Venus is indicative of aesthetic, artistic, or sensual callings. Mercury is indicative of intellectual, analytical, or highly transactional callings. All 7 planets are relevant to this matter but these three are the focus. Rhetorius (Holden, 2009, p. 134-145) does give indications for all of them, but he too stresses the importance of Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

Mars

Mars does not just show more physical activities, pertaining to things like athleticism, building trades, mechanical work, or dangerous work, but also tends to show development of competitive skills, such as those involved in leadership.

Venus

Venus will show development along aesthetic lines as well as that pertaining to women, attraction, and sexuality, so there is likely to be some sort of artistic discipline.

Mercury

Mercury will show a developmental stress along intellectual lines. Whether it is in academics, business, or mystical study, there will be intense mental development.

Eminence and Social Mobility

There are other techniques pertaining to eminence or social-mobility. Whether the attempt to develop a skill into a profession is successful will depend to some degree on class and social mobility. The specific form and nature of the profession will also depend in part on class and social mobility.

Many of the typical Mars professions appear to apply to those of lower social standing. Those of higher social stnading are more likely to channel that competitiveness into political strategy (e.g. many popes have Mars connected with profession). Along this vein, Rhetorius does make a statement connecting the signs of Mars with “weapons or fire or iron or iron-working or public affairs” (Holden, 2009, p. 135).  Similarly, in the commentary on Paulus by Olympiadorus, he associated Mars with positions of command, especially military ones, like generals and professional soldiers, when it is made more authoritative (Greenbaum, 2001, p. 124). When very malefic, however, Mars can show those who engage in criminal acts for a living.

Jupiter, Saturn, and the Lights

Jupiter will tend to show development of a quest for truth.  Law may also be indicated. If Jupiter is prominent then there may be more development along religious lines. In either case, there is a sense of a commitment toward an ideal which is being worked upon.

Saturn is associated with land, farmers, sailors, the soil, natural resources, the dead, misery and poverty, as well as discipline, control, and management. Rhetorius also associated a strong Saturn with public service and management (c.f. Greenbaum, 2001).

In my opinion, both the Sun and Moon in relation to profession show publicity or prominence, as the Lights are associated with power.  The Sun is associated with things being more heroic, public, or publicized. The Moon is associated with things being more idiosyncratic, natural, subjective, nurturing, and/or group-oriented (counseling is something I often see strongly connected to the Moon).

Paulus Alexandrinus on Actions

Paulus Alexandrinus (4th century CE) presented the best early explanation for how to find the professional indicator. While Ptolemy’s exposition is earlier (2nd century) and provides many useful pointers, he also did not use houses and his method is not as reliable. Therefore, let’s examine Paulus’ method in some detail.

Mars, Venus, or Mercury in the Effective Places

He advised to look at Mars (Ares), Venus (Aphrodite), and Mercury (Hermes) and to see which of them are in the nine places which are effective (10th, 1st, 7th, 4th, 2nd, 11th, 5th, 8th, or 6th). He also points out which places provide better indication. Paulus appears to view the 10th (status, rank, actions) and 2nd (income, possessions) places as the most authoritative.

These are the places which are useful when these [three] are present: all the pivots, the post-ascensions of these and the sixth from the Hōroskopos, but of course the culminating zōidion being preferred among the pivots, and the second for the Hōroskopos among the post-ascensions. (Alexandrinus, Ch. 26, 2001, Greenbaum trans., p. 57)

The Lot of Fortune and the Lights

If Mars, Venus, and Mercury are not in one of those nine places then Paulus suggests also seeing if one is in the place of the Lot of Fortune. If the three are also not on Fortune then he suggests looking at which are in an applying aspect with the Sun or Moon, as well as if Saturn, Jupiter, or Mars are coming out of the beams while oriental to the Sun or Venus or Mercury are coming out of the beams while occidental to the Sun, within a week of birth.

But if none of the aforesaid stars is set up on one of these places, nor indeed on the Lot of Fortune, it is proper to seek which one of them has been bound under application of the Moon or the Sun, or a morning appearance of Kronos, Zeus, Ares – in regard to this, also an evening rising of Aphrodite, Hermes — if it should happen to be made seven days before or seven days after the birth. (Alexandrinus, Ch. 26, 2001, Greenbaum trans., p. 57)

Distinguishing the Types of Indications

The anonymous authors of the Greek Scholia (as well as that by Olympiodorus) on the chapter by Paulus point out that the planet in the more authoritative of the nine places will show a more authoritative profession, while one in a less authoritative place shows a more common one. Also, that each planet in one of such places indicates a skill, so many such planets show many skills. The more important skill will be indicated by the one in the more authoritative place. The authors of the scholia also give examples of the types of professions indicated by each of the three planets, both with upper and lower class forms.

Ares makes generals in the stronger places, or soldiers or goldsmiths; but in the worse ones butchers or locksmiths. (Alexandrinus, anonymous authors, Scholia for Ch. 26, 2001, Greenbaum trans., p. 58)

However, the point about the quality of the profession being indicated by the authoritative nature of the place may be overstated. As I noted above, I would rely more upon the judgment of eminence or social mobility in the chart to assess the upper or lower class nature of the profession.

Rhetorius on Actions

Rhetorius (7th century CE) provided a lengthy treatment of actions (chapters 82-96 of his compendium), incorporating information from Paulus, Ptolemy, Anubio, and others. He recounted the technique of Paulus, provided some notes from Ptolemy’s technique, gave another technique and some pointers from Anubio, and a thoroughly discussed specific configurations.

The discussion of profession in Rhetorius is placed after that of general good fortune. This implies that a delineation of general good fortune (eminence or social mobility) is important to contextualizing indications regarding profession.

Anubio and the Syzygy

Anubio’s text is poetic verse from the 1st or 2nd century CE and has not yet been translated. Rhetorius is currently a good source for much of Anubio’s commentary on actions. According to Rhetorius, Anubio advised to first delineate health and injury from the chart, as injury can rule out some professions.

Rhetorius also presented a technique from Anubio in which we examine the prenatal syzygy (the new or full moon which preceded the birth, depending on whether the birth followed a new moon or a full moon) to examine to which planet (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, or Mercury) it was applying an aspect. However, I have not had luck with this particular technique and find it much less effective than that of Paulus.

Look to Rulers

Rhetorius suggested that it is important to examine the configurations and domicile ruler of the lords of action. A planet in its own domicile will pertain to professions characteristic of the planet, while one in another planet’s domicile will blend the significations with things associated with its ruler: Jupiter makes for delightful and splendid activities; Saturn makes for difficult or dirty ones; Mars makes for dangerous, hot, or political activities; Venus makes for sensual or artistic activities; Mercury makes for intellectual or commercial activities; the Sun makes for public or hot activities; and the Moon makes for personal or self-taught activities.

And if on the one hand the [star] granting action chances to be in its own domicile, that one grants the characteristic action that it has obtained by its appearance; but if it chances to be in an alien sign, it also takes along the characteristic action of the [star] receiving it. (Rhetorius, Ch. 82, 2009, Holden trans., p. 135)

Look to Aspects

Rhetorius spends a lot of time analyzing planetary aspects to the lords of action. In this he follows Ptolemy relatively closely. The aspects are very important so I advise one to read over Ptolemy’s treatment of actions from Book IV, Ch. 4 of the Tetrabiblos (available free online by clicking the link). Ptolemy treats of aspects as well as combinations of two planets in the same sign as lords of action.

Sign Type and Actions

Rhetorius also follows Ptolemy in advising to look at the sign type for the sign of the lord of actions. For instance, in signs of human form the lord of actions tends to indicate relating to scientific and useful arts, while earth and water signs tend to indicate concerning earthy or watery activities. I find this to be less reliable than the ruler and aspects, but it is worth a mention.

On the other hand, the quadruplicity of a sign can be very important to professional indications. Cardinal signs tend toward swiftness, impact, change, extraversion, and turning points. Fixed signs tend toward the opposite, as in long-term progress, introversion, steadiness, writing instead of speaking, depth, and so forth. Mutable signs tend toward a mix of the two and to duality, interaction, back-and-forth, and mingling.

Steps to Reckoning Actions

Find Planets with Relevance to Actions (in order of importance)

  1. Places:

    The planet should be in one of the following places (which include all but the 12th, 9th, or 3rd), in the following order of relative importance:  10th (place of actions), the “stakes” of the 10th (1st, 7th, and 4th), the triplicity of the 10th (2nd and 6th), the 11th, the 5th, and the 8th (i.e. succedent places). Look at Mars, Venus, and Mercury and see which are in such places.

    If none are in these places then, and only then, see if any are in the sign of the Lot of Fortune.

  2. Rulership:

    Among the planets that are in effective places, a planet will be more relevant to the profession if it has some dignity at the 10th place or the Ascendant (especially the 10th).  If the planet does not have any dignity at either place, consider it less important.  The domicile ruler of either, and/or a planet with some minor rulership in both places (especially if the term ruler of the Ascendant) is preferred.

    If none of the potential lords of action have dignity at the 10th place or Ascendant then see which have dignity at the Lot of Fortune.

  3. Phasis and the Lights:

    This is reiterated below in relation to strength, but there is a special relevance to actions when a planet is in phasis (particularly, if moving out from the beams rather than in towards them). Also, check if the planet is the ruler of the bound of the sect light (and to a lesser extent the other light).

    Orientality/occidentality considerations, particularly relative to the Sun, also often show up in the literature, although I don’t stress them here, as I haven’t yet found them to be consistently strong indicators in this matter.

Find Planets that are Generally Prominent

I have dealt with general prominence in the series of lessons (see the second lesson and the third lesson) so it may be helpful to read those lessons. The three considerations below are the most important in terms of assessing general prominence and strength.

  1. Advancing/Retreating:

    Look at the Ascendant, Descendant, MC, and IC. If a planet is more than 1/3 of the distance from one to the next it is “advancing” and strengthened.  The closer the planet is to the angle (Asc, MC, Dsc, or IC), the more it is as if the volume is turned up on the planet.  By contrast, when a planet passes the angle it is as if the volume quickly turns down on the planet.  A planet that is approaching the angle within about 15 degrees should be considered “strongly advancing”.  If a planet is conjunct an angle within about 5 degrees (even if separating, I use about 10 degrees for considering a Light to be conjunct an angle) then that is also extremely strong.  Remember that the planets move clockwise in this regard, rising in the east and setting in the west.

  2. Relationships to Lights:

    The following relationships to the Sun or Moon will make the planet more relevant to profession: the planet the Moon is separating from or applying to, a planet in phasis, and to a much lesser extent a planet regarded by a Light (more so by trine or sextile, and/or if from the sect light, and/or if closer to exact).   There are other relationships to the lights that are sometimes looked at but I think these are most important.  It is rare, but if a planet is cazimi the Sun it may be extremely strengthened.  By contrast, a planet within 8 degrees of the Sun at birth, which is not in phasis, is likely to be quite weakened.

  3. Stationing:

    Look 7 days before the birth and 7 days after to check for planetary stations.  This is very important.  A planet stationing direct within about 7 days of the birth will be extremely strengthened.  The closer the station is to the time of birth, the more powerful.  By contrast, a planet that is stationing retrograde is quite weakened, particularly if the station occurs closer to the birth.

Put it Together

It is most important to know which planets are relevant to actions and to what degree. Of the planets in the proper places, which have important dignities at the 10th place and to a lesser extent at the Ascendant. Also, are any in phasis or some other strong relationship to the lights.

There will typically be one planet that is much more relevant to actions than others. You will want to explore that planet in more depth in terms of its natural significations, configurations, rulers, and so forth to get a better sense of what it signifies for actions. All planets with relevance to actions, especially if they also have dignity at the Ascendant will pertain to some type of skill development.

Prominent planets will influence many areas of life. They will often impact the profession and actions. As there is overlap between general prominence and relevance to actions, prominent planets will also often be lords of actions. Quickly spotting the prominent planets will reveal strong influences in the life overall and they will be influential upon actions. When there are multiple planets equally relevant to actions, then the more prominent one will typically take the lead in characterizing the type of profession.

Note on Special Configurations

While variations on this technique are common in Hellenistic and Persian astrology, there were also a large number of special, career configurations.  Maternus, Rhetorius, and many other authors give indications specific to many professions, that are aside from this method. Use this technique to focus your exploration of more specific configurations. Research into the configurations noted in Maternus and Rhetorius will help with fine-tuning.

Where to Go From Here

The rest of this series is devoted to applying the technique to chart examples. I’ll consistently stick to the rules set out here as I analyze charts. Consistency is the key. If the technique doesn’t consistently work on celebrity charts for whom the profession is already known then we cannot hope to delineate the chart of a stranger.

Note: this article was thoroughly updated and revised in April of 2018. Among the changes, there is now a detailed exploration of the technique of Paulus Alexandrinus.

References
Alexandrinus, P., & Olympiodorus. (2001). Late Classical Astrology: Paulus Alexandrinus and Olypiodorus. (D. G. Greenbaum, Trans.). Reston, VA: Arhat.
Rhetorius of Egypt, & Teucer of Babylon. (2009). Rhetorius the Egyptian. (J. H. Holden, Trans.). Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers.
Featured image of the Labor mural from the North Corridor of the Great Hall of the Library of Congress by Charles Sprague Pearce (1896) is in the public domain.

Steve Jobs and Mercury | Strength in Ancient Astrology

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Steve Jobs’ Mercury: Strong or Weak?

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.

Weak? Mercury is Cadent and Retrograde

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.

Appearances can be Deceiving

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.

Stationing Direct

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

Making an Appearance: Phasis

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 and the Occupation

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

 

Ruling the First Place

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).

Advancing and Retreating

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.

The Logic of Advancement

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.

Wrapping Up

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.