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The Living Signs Part 2:
A Quality of 'Life'- - Seeing and Perception
Aspects were the sense of sight
to the zoidia. In fact the word "aspect" comes from
the Greek word "to look". The different types of glances the
zoidia have towards each other are the same in all respects
that a person would make. Psychologically we make a distinction
between things that we see (which is a passive action) and things that
we perceive or behold (when something "catches your eye" and
we consciously receive an impression). Similarly, the zoidia
made distinctions in how they looked or saw ahead in the order of the
Zodiac while they perceived those following them. In Medieval
astrology seeing ahead became known as 'sinister' and perceiving
behind as 'dexter'.
Curtis Manwaring gives a simple and precise explanation of this aspect
of 'seeing'. [See figure 1]
"What
determines the signs seeing and perceiving is the angle between the
signs. The angles must be perfect divisions of a circle until 7 rays
(one representing each of the visible planets) are fulfilled, and it
also must be divisible by 30 degrees with no remainder (because a
whole zoidion sees or perceives, not a part of it). First we divide
the zodiac circle into 2 equal portions. We get half a circle or 180
degrees. This represents the opposition and first ray. Then we
divide it into 3 equal portions and we get a trine, which is 120
degrees. This forms the 2nd and 3rd rays because the sign looks
forward and perceives behind. Then we divide it into 4 equal
portions and we get 90 degrees each, which each forms a square ray.
Since the opposition is already accounted for, we have the addition
of the 4th and 5th rays 90 degrees forward and backward in the order
of the signs. When we divide by 5 we get 72 degrees, but it is not
divisible by 30, so it is not an aspect. When we divide by 6 we get
the hexagon (or sextile) of six equal portions of 60 degrees. Since
the 2 trines and opposition have been accounted for, we have the 6th
and 7th rays, both ahead and behind in the order of the signs."
[5]
The relative strength of this 'seeing' aspect, or the strength of the
relationship, was also based on a simple relationship of familiarity.
From Leo to Capricorn was the 'diurnal' half as the Sun is the diurnal
sect Lord and from the Cancer to Aquarius was 'nocturnal' because the
Moon was the nocturnal sect Lord. Leo looked forward to Libra and
Cancer perceived Taurus. The aspect, being made through three signs,
was a sextile ray of the benefic nature of the common ruler to Libra
and Taurus; Venus. So the sextile was profitable. The look forward
from Leo to Scorpio was similar in nature as the Moons perception back
to Aries; a square, which was of the nature of Mars the ruler of
Scorpio and Aries- difficult. The ray forward from Leo to Sagittarius
and from the Moon to Pisces were similar and of the nature of Jupiter,
a trine and very beneficial. And finally the ray from Leo to Aquarius
was the same as the ray from the Moon to Capricorn, an opposition and
of the nature of Saturn. [See figure 2]
Of course there is an order and geometry to the Greek concept. Ibn-Ezra
in his 'Book of Reasons',
gives us a unique perspective as to the harmonics involved in the
Hellenistic model - but it was not necessarily just the geometry that
decided it or made the rules by which it applied. It was not just an
applied science that determined how the aspects were formed but also a
quality of life through 'familiar' relationships, which the
mathematical concept supports and gives testimony to.
What a zoidion sees or perceives, just like with us, is
dependant upon its position in respect to the other zoidia.
When we look straight ahead at an object what happens? You see that
object and the things which are immediately on either side, fall out
of perspective. Extreme cases of this are called "tunnel
vision". As I am writing this I am looking straight ahead at my
screen and that is where my attention is focused. I have a coffee cup
standing on my desk next to my screen but although it's in my field of
vision it falls out of perspective. In order to 'perceive' that cup I
have to shift my eyes and attention. If Aries looks at Libra then the
immediate zoidia on either side of Libra fall out of our
perspective. The object of focus is Libra, the opposition, while the zoidia
Scorpio and Virgo, are no longer in the field of perception. These two
zoidia then were in "aversion" to Aries or what we
know as inconjunct. Likewise again looking straight ahead from Aries,
our vision does not cover a full 180 degrees or what we call
peripheral vision, and neither could the zoidia. They could
not see or perceive those zoidia that were immediately beside
them. So Aries could not see or perceive Taurus or Pisces or what we
call the semi-sextile.
"The two
signs, which are each side of the one (sign) in question and their
opposites, viz. the second and twelfth and the sixth and eighth are
not in aspect and are known as inconjunct." [6]
"The signs that have no aspect between them nor [are they
of the same element] nature are four - the 2nd, the 6th, the 8th and
the 12th. The weakest among them are the 6th and the 12th.[7]Some
of the signs have enmity by aspect yet friendship in another way
either because they have the same ascension [time], or same
strength, or by ecliptical position." [8]
"The position of the zoidia unconnected to one another has
the numerical interval from 2, 6, 8, 12, and the zoidia taken in
such intervals are also called averse to one another. And so the
stars found in these zoidia become inharmonious. And sometimes they
bring about hostile conditions, sometimes separations and
banishments when such a condition has befallen all, whether by
parents to children, by brothers, by man and wife, by fellowship, or
by slaves and masters, and all resembling these." [9]
Good vision made better
Being able to see each other by
aspect, the perception of the zoidia could be strengthened
through also having a sense of familiarity with others. This kind of
'looking' or 'perceiving' was based on being equal distances from the
two solstice signs of Cancer and Capricorn. They could see and
perceive each other because of equal authority, based on the fact that
they are the same height with respect to the celestial equator and
because their diurnal arcs [10]
were equal in length. [See figure 3]
Table 1 [11]
| Sign |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Diurnal
Arc |
180° |
200° |
212° |
216° |
212° |
200° |
180° |
160° |
148° |
144° |
148° |
160° |
By examining Table 1 and looking at figure 3, we can see that Gemini
and Leo are first, equally placed above the celestial equator. And in
the table we see that Gemini has a diurnal arc of 212° and Leo also
has 212°. Ptolemy tells us that,
"Any two
signs, equally distant from either tropical sign, are equal to each
other in power; because the Sun, when present in one, makes day and
night, and the divisions of time, respectively equal in duration to
those which he produces when present in the other. Such signs are
also said to behold each other, as well for the foregoing reasons,
as because each of them rises from one and the same part of the
horizon, and sets in one and the same part." [12]
Abu Ma'shar gives us a little
different perspective by also telling us that while Gemini and Leo are
equal in power, Gemini obeys Leo.
"It may be
said of the signs that are direct and oblique in rising that one of
them obeys another in the other way; for example, that Gemini obeys
(sees) Leo, Taurus Virgo, Pisces Scorpio, and Aquarius Sagittarius.
[13]
. . . As for Aries obeying
Libra, and Capricorn, Cancer, even if one of the two obeys its
companion, neither pair of them indicates agreement and friendship
because of their being in opposition to each other."
[14]
Abu Ma'shar gives us those zoidia
that are of short ascension (direct) as obeying those of long
(oblique) ascension. [15]
Paulus is very precise also in distinguishing those
zoidia that are just 'seeing' and those that 'perceive'. You
probably notice that Paulus' relationships of 'seeing' and
'perceiving' are reversed in the lower half of the zodiac. It is most
likely that this 'seeing/perceiving' relationship represents the true
realities of the hemispheres. In our northern hemisphere Pisces is of
short or direct ascension, however if you are in the southern
hemisphere Pisces is of long or oblique ascension. Thus Pisces
'perceives' or commands and Scorpio (short ascension in the southern
hemisphere) 'sees' or obeys.
I think too, that perhaps the terms 'command' and 'obey' are a little
misleading. In the military you have a clear 'command and obey'
relationship. However here we have more of a business relationship or
partnership. In a large company you may have several department heads
or in a law firm you may have senior partners. These heads are on
equal authority but there is a co-operation that exists because they
are working towards a common goal for the company. In the company I
work for in the ship industry, we have heads of engineering, heads of
design, heads of specifications and heads of production etc. It is not
unusual that the head of engineering needs the principle drawings from
the design department head. In order to produce a ship on time, the
formers' need becomes a 'command' that the latter 'yields' to in order
for a harmonious functioning in the company. Both have 'equal'
authority but there is this sense of need and yielding. And this is
the relationship that the zoidia that see and perceive have
to each other. In successful close personal relationships there exists
this same familiarity.
The strengthening of an aspect
Paulus describes the effects of such a relationship by saying,
"The zoidia
which see one another contribute to sympathy and friendship and
goodwill . . . They harmonise also for every association and things
resembling these." [16]
Now if most of you are like me,
while enjoying and appreciating perhaps, the more 'romanticist'
symbolism in this, I like to see the practical application. It is the
practical application that brings us to the heart of the whole purpose
in the concept of the 'living signs'; and that is perfecting
the function of the planets that may be positioned there.
Going back to Paulus, he gives a clearer purpose for this familiarity
between zoidia when he states,
"And while
(on the one hand) the side of a triangle [the trine aspect] is
harmonious and harmless, that of the square (on the other hand)
makes the result of the final outcome discordant and irregular. The
hexagon [the sextile aspect], if found in zoidia which hear or see
one another [I'll come to the 'hearing' zoidia further in this
essay], has the power of a triangle, but when in other zoidia
[is only] half [as powerful]." [17]
Basically what we have in this
statement is the idea that the familiar relationship the zoidia
have to each other could significantly strengthen the effect of the
aspects between the planets posited there. The sextile between Gemini
and Leo was greatly increased in strength as compared to the sextile
between Leo and Libra. In fact the relation between Leo and Libra half
reduced the sextiles efficiency. This is quite similar in fact, to the
result of a harmonious work environment on the job being conducive to
higher productivity.
As an example, if you had the Moon posited at 12° Leo and the Sun was
at 15° Gemini, the Moon is applying a sextile aspect to the Sun. In
this case however, the Moon would appear to have some difficulty in
functioning, as in the domicile of the Sun she is lacking any
essential dignity. You would have the same results if you invited a
total stranger off the street to run your household and family and
take care of your financial affairs while you took the week away from
home. In order for her to regain some dignity here she would need to
be received by the lord of this domicile. She is, by the sextile
aspect from the Sun to some degree, although the sextile is the
weakest of the favourable aspects and the Sun is also without
appreciable dignity in Gemini. Applying the aforesaid 'familiarity'
between the zoidia, there is already a stronger mutual
friendship and the sextile is made into the strength of a Trine. There
is less demand on the planets themselves to be dignified. Since the
Sun is in Gemini, the yielding partner, then the Moon is receiving
considerably more support in her position, thus the zoidia
themselves contribute to the planets effectiveness.
Ptolemy gives us another example of how zoidia that see and
obey can increase the effectiveness of the planets. In chapter 14 of
the third book in Tetrabiblos He is discussing the number of modes of
a prorogation [a primary direction] and tells us that certain degrees
are anærectic (destroyers) to significators. These are degrees for
example that the malefics may cast their rays (aspects) to and to
which the significator may be directed. He says,
"But in the
prorogation made into succeeding signs, the places of the malefics,
Saturn and Mars, are anærectic, whether meeting the prorogator
bodily, or by emission of rays in quartile, from either side, or in
opposition;"
The trine and sextile aspect
could cause problems but were not usually deadly except in one
situation, namely when the malefic was in a sign that "sees and
obeys" the sign where his ray fell.
"They are
sometimes anærectic by sextile ray, if in a sign of equal power,
obeying or beholding the sign of the prorogator."
In this particular case then the
effectiveness of these zoidia works contrary to the good of
an individual. The effectiveness is then indiscriminate to the planets
and what they signify will be increased in efficacy whether for good
or ill.
So one attribute or characteristic of the 'living' zoidia is
that they have sight. Let's move on and see if we can discover others.
A Quality of 'Life'- -
Hearing
Sight is by far the most used
sense perception we have and the one we rely on the most. However as
those who are sight-impaired can tell you, hearing is a sense
perception that we undervalue. Hearing becomes especially important
when we lose our ability to see. The zoidia also have this
ability to hear each other. [Figure 4]
"Similarly, one must come to an understanding of the hexagonal
hearing and seeing zoidia by means of ascensions, thusly. For
example, Pisces looks at Taurus. For the second zone, the ascensions
of 6 zoidia from Pisces becomes 160, and from Taurus to Libra 200.
Pisces becomes[i] less than Taurus and hears it. And the ascensions
of the 2 zoidia amount to 360." [18]
"The commanding zoidia have this order: Taurus commands
Pisces and Pisces obeys it, Gemini commands Aquarius, Cancer
Capricorn, Leo Sagittarius, Virgo Scorpio." [19]
These zoidia have an
unequal but cooperative relationship with each other. Valens calls
them 'hearing and seeing zoidia' and they are equally distant
from the equinoctial zoidia. This relationship is also based
on the diurnal arc of the zoidia.
| Zoidia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Diurnal
Arc |
180° |
200° |
212° |
216° |
212° |
200° |
180° |
160° |
148° |
144° |
148° |
160° |
The Zoidia 'seeing' AND 'hearing'
Once again if we look at the table of diurnal arcs we see for example
that Taurus has a diurnal arc of 200° and Pisces has one of 160°.
Together they equal 360°, the complete circumference of the zodiac.
This is a little different relationship than we saw previously where
both zoidia had equal authority. We also have the sense of
sight here as these zoidia also have a relation by aspect,
only here we have a stronger sense of authority and compliance. In our
previous example was also compliance but it was based on a common
purpose and good will. In this case it isn't just a question of good
will but of service. If we digress to my previous analogy in the
business place, here we have the department head and his subordinate.
A department head isn't a head unless he has a body under him, and
that is those who perform the task required so he can be free to do
the things that only he can do. It's called delegating responsibility.
In order for the department head to effectively do his job he needs a
complimentary staff: together they get the job done. As any good
leader knows, in this kind of relationship familiarity can easily
breed contempt, so there is a certain respectful distance between the
two. I liked very much the way Curtis Manwaring describes this
relationship.
"It may also
be that if a planet-pair is on this commanding-obeying axis, then
the commanding planet may represent the subject matter and the
obeying planet, the outcome." [20]
As with the zoidia that
'see and perceive', these that 'see and hear' also produce effective
results. The sextile between Taurus and Pisces and Virgo and Scorpio
are especially benefited from this relationship as Paulus told us, "if
found in zoidia which hear or see one another." So here as
above, the same rule applies and these sextiles take on the
characteristics of a trine.
If you'll study closely the table of diurnal arcs, you'll notice that
Pisces is not the only 'complementary' zoidion to Taurus, so
is Scorpio. This presents us with some very interesting insights into
the nature of oppositions, which I will discuss later. Following is a
table that I've made to represent these relationships.
Table 2
| Sign
Pairs |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Relationship |
On
equal terms |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
orders
obeys |
[5]"The
Secrets of the Lost Horoscope . X-Files"
- - Chapter 5 'Aspects and Seeing', an
e-book
from Curtis Manwaring - - available
from his site Zodiac-X-Files
[6]
¶373 of Al-Biruni's "The
Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology"
- - Translation by R. Ramsay Wright
1934 - - Published by Ascella
[7]
This is because the 6th and 12th are
"in Decline" or cadent, while the 2nd and 8th are post-ascensional
or successive. SB
[8]
Chapter III of Ibn-Ezra's - - "The
Beginning of Wisdom" -
- Translated by Meira B. Epstein - - an ARHAT publication © 1998
[9]
Chapter 11 of of Paulus' Introductory
Matters, "Late Classical Astrology:
Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus with the Scholia from Later
Commentators" -
- Translation by Dorian Greenbaum - ARHAT Publications.
[10]
The diurnal arc is the number of
degrees required for 6 signs to rise based on their degrees of RA
over the Meridian. In simpler terms this is the amount of degrees
that one sign requires to traverse the sky during the daytime, to
rise and then set. SB
[11]
The table is based on the Babylonian
table A of ascensions for the signs. I could have used the actual
ascensional degrees for today but the relationship is identical
and for the purpose of this demonstration, simpler to use the nice
round numbers the Babylonians used. The following is their table
of ascensions for the signs. - - SB
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 360°
= |
20° |
24° |
28° |
32° |
36° |
40° |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[12]
Chapter XVIII BkI of Ptolemy's "Tetrabiblos"-
- J.M. Ashmand Translator - - Astrology Classics Publishing ©
2002
[13]
In Abu Ma'shar's original text the
pairs are listed wrong as he pairs Taurus and Cancer, Virgo and
Capricorn, and Scorpio and Capricorn. These combinations however
do not accomplish his description of "the length of
daylight of one of the two is equal to the length of night of the
other." - - Chapter 1, 94, "The
Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology"
- - Edited and translated by Charles
Burnett - - ARHAT Publications © 1997
[14]
Chapter 1:94and 95 in Abu Ma'shars' -
- "The Abbreviation of the
Introduction to Astrology" -
- Edited and translated by Charles Burnett - - ARHAT Publications
© 1997
[15]
Signs that are 'direct' rise at an
angle to the horizon that is nearer to a vertical 90°. The 30
degrees of longitude of these signs require 30+ degrees of equator
to rise across the horizon and take more than 2hrs to rise and so
they are termed 'signs of long ascension'. Signs that are
'oblique', some authors called these 'crooked', rise at an angle
that is more slanted. This slant ensures that the whole sign rises
before 30° of the equator has passed the horizon and is why they
were called 'signs of short ascension'.
[16]
Chapter 8 of Paulus' Introductory
Matters, "Late Classical Astrology:
Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus with the Scholia from Later
Commentators" -
- Translation by Dorian Greenbaum - ARHAT Publications.
[17]
Chapter 10 of Paulus' Introductory
Matters, "Late Classical Astrology:
Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus with the Scholia from Later
Commentators"-
- Translation by Dorian Greenbaum - ARHAT Publications.
[18]
Bk I ch.7 - - "The
Anthology" of
Vettius Valens, Translated by Robert Schmidt and published by
Golden Hind Press.
[19]
Chapter 9 of Paulus' Introductory
Matters, "Late Classical Astrology:
Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus with the Scholia from Later
Commentators"-
- Translation by Dorian Greenbaum - ARHAT Publications
[20]"The
Secrets of the Lost Horoscope . X-Files"
- - Chapter 5 'Aspects and Seeing', an
e-book
from Curtis Manwaring - - available
from his site Zodiac-X-Files
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