CHAPTER 1
The Celestial Sphere
In the night if we direct our regard toward the starry sky, we can see, if theweather is clear, an enormous quantity of stars, more or less brilliant, and sooverwhelming that it seems impossible to even recognize anything at first. Whileobserving all these brilliant points in the sky more closely, we begin to noticethat some of them form distinct groups of stars separate from one another.
How to Recognize these in the Mass of Stars
In antiquity, people formed these groups of stars, figures to which theimagination of the wise ones assigned some shapes. Some are merely geometric,but most often people used the shapes of animals, of people, or of objects. Onegave the name of constellations to these clumps of stars, and there are someunique constellations in the Northern Hemisphere which are directly overhead inEurope, and some others unique to the Southern Hemisphere, on the other side theequator.
The Starry Route
One should also note, that besides some stationary stars that appear studded inthe sky like so many lights, there are also mobile bodies that promenade throughthe constellations. These stars are first the Sun, then the Moon. Of the rest,the planets, we will speak later. Let us hold on, for the moment, to theexterior sensations that they produce on the Earth. We will see that a lot ofobvious movements are actually due to the movement of the Earth, but we willignore this at present, because it would interfere with the clarity of ourdescriptions. Therefore, in observing the sky, people realized that in itscourse the Sun traversed the constellations, always the same; they noted thatthe Moon followed the same course, as well as all the other wandering stars, orplanets.
The Zodiac
This pathway followed by the celestial wanderers through the sky was called theway of the celestial animals, or the divine starry way or zodiac. This zodiac iscomposed of twelve constellations, and this study is most important for theastronomer, as much as for the astrologer. We will return to it for more detaillater.
Divisions of Sky
All the bodies in the sky therefore divide in two major types; first thestationary stars forming the constellations, then the wandering stars movingthrough the twelve constellations of the zodiac.
Stationary Stars
The word "fixed" applied to the stars is relative; these stars indeed don'tdisplace individually, this is what differentiates them from the wanderingstars. But the sky displaces around the Celestial Pole; behold why the ancientsconsidered the sky like a large ocean, within which the constellations rose orset.
The Celestial Sphere
A set of astronomical observations ancient and modern based on the rising andsetting of the constellations.
The Celestial Sphere (According to the Ancient System of Ptolemy)
In order to navigate, people divided the celestial sphere in a very simple andanalogous way to the division of the Earth. The celestial sphere has two Poles;a North or Arctic Pole, and a South or Antarctic Pole. Between these two Polesand in the middle of the sphere is the celestial Equator, parallel to the Poles;the zodiac, acting in the sky like the ecliptic on the Earth; cuts the Equatorin two places, in such a way that six signs of zodiac are above the Equator,toward the North or Arctic Pole, and six beneath the Equator, toward the Southor Antarctic Pole. The accompanying figure will clarify this situation of zodiacand Equator. (See figure 2 on page 4.)
The sign that is the most northern point of the zodiac is Cancer; the sign that
is the most southern, closest to the Antarctic Pole, is Capricorn.In addition to the equator and to the parallel circles in the celestial sphere,there is another circle that passes through Capricorn and is called the Tropicof Capricorn. (See figure 3 on page 6.)
The two signs of zodiac of which we have just spoken, Cancer and Capricorn,forming the extreme northerly point and the extreme southerly point of thezodiac, constitute the line of the solstices; two other signs, the eastern point(Aries), and the western point (Libra), constitute the line of the equinoxes.
These last two signs are exactly placed at the two points where the zodiac cutsthe equator. In the starry way, one finds, therefore, the grand celestial cross,defined by the line of the equinoxes and solstices, and constituted by foursigns, North-South, and East-West; Cancer-Capricorn, and Aries-Libra.
The astrologers call these four signs, the angular houses, because they occupythe four angles of sky, or the four cardinal points. (See figure 4 on page 6.)
These four angles indicate the beginning of the four seasons. It is necessarynow to memorize in order the names of the twelve zodiacal signs. These signs arethe following, with the corresponding months, because the astrologers' yearbegins in March:
These dates indicate the entrance of the Sun in the different signs in 1916.
In order to learn the signs of zodiac in sequence by heart, you may use thefollowing mnemonic:
In small doses, you will manage to memorize the succession of the signs of thezodiac, which is indispensable to memorize for astrological studies.
Each one of the twelve signs of zodiac is composed of groups of stars, which,united together, comprise geometrical figures. All of antiquity assigned to thezodiacal signs the symbolic figures of animals, personages, or objects whoresemble their name. Finally, each one of the zodiacal signs is also given aglyph (see figure 4), and we enlist the reader to combine the glyph and themnemonic formula above.
We will proceed, for the moment, but let's retain what we have learnedconcerning the zodiac, which will give us the opportunity to discuss it ingreater detail later.
CHAPTER 2
The Planets
The zodiac is the road followed by the planets or mobile stars. All the planetstraverse successively through the twelve signs of the zodiac, but each one witha different speed. Let us take as our first example the march of the Sun, whichserved as the basis for the establishment of a mass of allegorical stories inancient mythology.
We will give some elements of plain astronomy first, and it is only in afollowing chapter that we will bring back the astrological point of view ininterpreting the physical data of the astronomers.
First Hierarchy of the Plants
For the astronomer, the Sun is at the center of our planetary world. (See figure5, page 10.) If we move away from the position of the Sun, we have the planetsin the following sequence:
1) Sun
2) Mercury
3) Venus
4) The Earth and the Moon
5) Mars
6) Multiple asteroids
7) Jupiter
8) Saturn
9) Uranus
10) Neptune
11) [Pluto]
We highly recommend the works of our master and friend Camille Flammarion to theserious student.
Let's summarize the main elements in the following section.
The Sun
To all Lords, all honor.
The Sun is 108 times larger than the Earth, in diameter.
The Sun's mass and volume follow some analogous connections
If the Earth is represented by a head of a pin, the Sun would be a small melon.One sees therefore the enormous mass of this star. For the observer ofappearances, the Sun traverses the twelve signs of the zodiac in 365 days and afraction (0.2564). It moves through a sign in approximately thirty terrestrialdays. The Sun travels through a sign of zodiac every month and takes one year totake a tour of the zodiac and to return to its point of departure.
We may note in passing, that the Sun, at the end of the year, doesn't returnprecisely to the point where it was at the same time the previous year. At thespring equinox, for example, March 21st, the Sun reaches the equinoctial pointsome time before the same point of the previous year; as a result of precessionof the equinoxes, of which we spoke in a previous survey.
Don't forget that it is the Earth which produces all these movements, but, onceagain, we argue from visual appearances in order to remain clear, when itinvolves these topics.
The ancients, who placed the Earth to the center of world (see figure 6) saw theSun arrive March 21st at the beginning of the ascending signs of zodiac, thesigns of Northern orientation from Aries to Cancer. In those days, they supposedthat the Sun was the greatest force, and the source of all happiness. But let usnot anticipate, but remain at present in astronomy and continue our elementarysurvey.
Mercury
Of all the known planets, it is closest to the Sun; Mercury finds itself alwaysplunged into the solar rays. This planet, which is rarely visible to the nakedeye, is the smallest planet and the most dense. Its diameter doesn't quite reachthe half of diameter of the Earth.
Venus
Venus is the most brilliant star of sky: its appearance surpasses the mostbeautiful stars. Venus is sometimes so vivid that the planet becomes visible infull daylight.
Venus has close to the same diameter as that of Earth, but its density is alittle weaker. The planet is surrounded by an analogous atmosphere to theterrestrial atmosphere.
The Earth
The Earth has the shape of a sphere flattened a little toward the two poles; itrotates from West to East in a uniform movement around an axis; it is themovement of rotation that defines the length of day. The second movement is therevolution around the Sun, completely accomplished in one year or 365 days.
The great circle that one gets through cutting the surface of the Earth by aplane passing through the line of the poles (or the Earth's axis), is called theMeridian. The length of a terrestrial meridian is 40,000 kilometers. Theradius of the Earth is 6,366 kilometers.
Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by the oceans; the otherquarter contains the continents. The biggest area of land mass is situated inthe hemisphere which would have Paris for the pole.
The continents are composed of plains, valleys, and mountains. The highestmountain, Mount Everest (Himalayas), has a height of 8,840 meters, that is tosay a little more than a thousandth part of terrestrial radius. The unevennessof the Earth is proportionally less appreciable than that of an orange peel.
The deepest known depth in the ocean is 9,425 meters.
The Moon
The Moon is a satellite of the Earth, that is to say, a smaller planet thatrevolves around the Earth while the Earth revolves around the Sun.
The radius of the Moon is about 3/11 of the radius of Earth, and its volume is 1/50, ofthe volume of Earth. The density of the Moon is 6/10 of the density of the Earth.The mean distance of the Moon to the Earth is 60 terrestrial radiuses. The Moonaccomplishes its revolution around the Earth in 27-1/3 days. The Moon goes aroundthe Earth about thirteen times for one turn of the Earth around the Sun.
The solar inequalities are relatively more pronounced on the lunar globe than onthe terrestrial globe.
There is no water on the lunar surface, nor substantial atmosphere.
The effects of attraction of the Moon on the Earth are very appreciable and peaknearly twice a day in the phenomenon known as the tides.
Mars
This planet, of which the diameter is half that of the Earth, is distinguishedby its very pronounced reddish hue. Mars has two satellites, Phobos and Deimos,discovered in 1877 by an American astronomer. Mars has a volume seven timesless than that of Earth. On Mars, the days are nearly the same as ours.
Multiple Asteroids or Minor Planets
Their revolutions around the Sun are between three and eight years. The firstfour, ranked by order of seniority of discovery, are: Ceres, Pallas, Juno andVesta. One knows today of more than 800.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest of the planets, the most brilliant after Venus. Itsdiameter is 1/10, that of the Sun and exceeds the diameter of the Earth by 11 times;its density is a little superior to that of water. This enormous globe completesa revolution in 10 hours or less.
Jupiter is surrounded by eight moons. The first four were discovered byGalileo in 1610; the fifth by Barnard in 1892; the last three were discoveredfrom photographs in the period from 1904 to 1908. The eighth moves in aretrograde fashion.
Saturn
Saturn is the largest planet after Jupiter; its diameter is equivalent to ninetimes that of Earth, its density is less than that of water. Saturn is thelightest and the most flattened of all the planets.
The factor that distinguishes Saturn from the other planets is the large andthin ring which surrounds it at a distance from the planet; the ring's width isnearly equal to the diameter of the planet. With a good lens one sees the ringsplit in two others, separated by an empty space which appears dark by contrast;a very powerful telescope makes out a further detail to the interior ring, withtwo other rings separated by a dark band.
In 1656, Huygens discovered the existence of the ring that Galileo had seen forthe first time in 1610, but without being able to distinguish its shape; thedivision into two distinct rings was discovered in 1663 by Cassini.
Saturn has ten satellites. The ninth is very distant from the planet, andmoves in a retrograde sense, that is to say in inverse direction of movement ofthe planet.
Uranus
This planet was discovered by Herschel in 1781. This great observer of the skyexplored a region of the constellation Gemini with the goal of searching therefor double stars; he saw a star with a very rounded contour that he took firstto be a comet, but after having followed its movements over the course of years,recognized it as a new planet. Uranus' volume is 70 times that of Earth.
Uranus has four satellites who move in the retrograde direction. The two moredistant from the planet were discovered by Herschel in 1785, and the two otherby Lassel in 1851.
Uranus
Its diameter is worth about four times that of Earth; it is an invisible planetto the naked eye. Neptune has a satellite that moves in the retrograde sense.A young French astronomer [Urbain Jean Joseph] Le Verrier, discovered Neptune bymass calculation, and the discovery of this planet in 1846 caused a universalsensation.
This brief survey of the planets, from the astronomical point of view, allows usto return to our astrological survey.
We will study successively and synthesize the meanings of the diurnal andnocturnal domiciles of the planets, their aspects of dignity or of fall, theirrespective positions, each with respect to the other, and we will complete thisbrief information with a detailed survey of the truly initiatory nature of theplanets, according to the scholarly author of The Light of Egypt.
We saw that the astronomers only concern themselves with the Exterior Sky. Theystudy celestial anatomy. Astrologers claim to be able to describe the intimatelife of every planet, its friends and enemies, its temperament, its place ofstrength, and the places where it loses strength; finally its physiology andpsychology.
Astrologers also describe the character of each sign of the zodiac, and theirconnections with planets in a particular manner.
When a royal child was bom, the astrologers attached to the court noted withcare the position of every planet in each sign of the zodiac at the preciseinstant of the birth. The astrologer delineated, by this means, the meaning ofthe horoscope of the future sovereign, by calculating the strength or theweakness of each planet and the reactions of the signs and some constellationson these planets. One understands that astronomers, alarmed by these pretensionsof the astrologers, have considered them like dreamers, and that astrologers,full of mercy for the elementary science of the astronomers, have consideredthem like black sheep and as profaners of the art.
Our goal is to put the reader in the position to read either the old or modernastrologers without any other expectation.
Two fundamental remarks seem indispensable from the beginning. First: how manyplanets is it necessary to study in order to understand astrology? The ancientmasters of the astrology used only seven planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, theSun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon.
The modern astrologers, wanting to act scientifically, added Uranus andNeptune. In my personal opinion, this is a gross mistake.
If we wanted to calculate the influence of every moving body of the heavens, itwould be necessary to add the asteroids that orbit between Mars and Jupiter tothe count'; astrology would become so complicated that all horoscopes would beimpossible to prepare. It would be also necessary to take into account some ofthe comets.
The ancients had divided the sky in seven zones of influences, and while anyzone may contain one or more stars, it didn't change the zone count. Uranus andNeptune must be considered to be in the zone of Saturn, as well as placing theasteroids in the zone of Jupiter. But we won't consider Uranus nor Neptune inour exposition.
For a clear understanding of astrology, we must begin, like small children, withthe alphabet. Just as we gave a mnemonic method for the signs of zodiac, in thesame way we will ask the reader to learn by heart the following mysterioussentence:
SA-JU-MA-SU-VE-ME-MO
It is the order of the planets adopted by astrologers, according to the systemof Claudius Ptolemy.
