The Case for Astrology 0356029379, 9780356029375

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The Case for Astrology John Anthony West and Jan Gerhard Toonder

COW ARD-McCANN,

New

York

Inc.

The Case for Astrology

Copyright © 1970 by John Anthony West and Jan Gerhard Toonder First American Edition 1970

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the Publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: Printed in the United States of America

79-104692

Contents

Introduction

13

Part One History and Technique

17

1 Dreams the Chaldeans Never Dreamed

19

Ww

The Whore of Babylon : She Seduces Greece; She Corrupts Rome 54 Foolish Daughter Carries On Sleeping Beauty Awakes 99

Part Two

Objections

1 The Queen of Humbug Queen’s Counsel 131 Part Three

Part Four

115

The Evidence

117 145

The Future and Significance

of Astrology 199 Appendix 1 251 Appendix2 257 Notes 260

Bibliography

Index

76

279

275

Illustrations follow page 144

Acknowledgements

The authors and publishers would like to thank the following:

FOR THE FIGURES — Oxford Illustrators Limited. Mlle Lucie Lamy. Figs.g and 10 adapted from those in Le Miracle Egyptien by R. A. “Schwaller de Lubicz, Flammarion,

1963.

M.

Gauquelin. Figs. 12 and 13 adapted from those in Les Hommes et les Astres, Denoel, 1960.

The Astrological Journal. Figs. 14 and 15

adapted from those in ‘The Scientific Point in Astrology: A New Discovery’ by John M. Addey, Vol. III, No. 2, March 1961. FOR THE PLATES -— Radio Times Hulton Picture Library.

Plates 1, 11, 12 and 13. Mlle Lucie Lamy and Editions Caracteres.

Plates 2, 4 and 6 originally reproduced in Le Temple de Homme,

Vol. II, by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, 1958. Mlle Lucie Lamy and Le Caire. Plates 3 and 5 originally reproduced in Le Temple dans l’Homme, by R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz, 1948.

A. Burgess and B.

Sandkuhler. Plates 7 and 8. Sam Siegel, Metropolitan Photo Service Inc. Plateg. C. Bernstein, Black Star Publishing Co. Plate 10.

Dr Johnson said it was easy to be on the negative side. . . . ‘I deny

that Canada is taken, and I can support my assertion with pretty good arguments. The French are a more numerous people than we;

and it is not likely that they would allow us to take it. — “But the

Ministry tell us so.” — True. But the Ministry have put us to an

enormous expense, and it is their interest to persuade us that we have got something for our money. — “But we are told so by thous-

ands of men who were at the taking of it.” — Ay, but these men

have still more interest in deceiving us. They don’t want you should think they have gone on a fool’s errand; and they don’t want

you should think that the French have beaten them, but that they have beat the French. Now suppose you should go over and see if it is so, that would only satisfy yourself; for when you come home

we will not believe you. We will say you have been bribed . . .’

Boswell’s London Journal 14 July 1763

Introduction

Vilified by science for three centuries, derided by philosophy, psychology, medicine, the law and every other orthodox branch of modern learning, astrology refuses to die. As we enter the space age it enjoys a popularity unmatched since the decline of Rome. Yet other superstitions, rudely uprooted by science, have withered away and died. The Flat Earth Society puts forth few convincing claims these days; its appeal is limited. Witches survive, but, like the Whooping Crane, receive rather more publicity than their number or significance justifies. Why then should astrology be so much with us? Is its appeal purely that of wish-fulfilment - as Freud would have it? Can it be ascribed entirely to man’s (or woman’s) eternal

immunity to reason, and equally eternal susceptibility to humbug? Or is it possible - as Jung thought — that there might be something to it? Most educated men dismiss the subject. How can distant planets affect our lives and characters? Is it not a biological fact that physical and mental traits are transmitted by heredity? And so on.... But what proof actually exists to support the objections to astrology? How do astrologers answer, or pretend to answer, such objections? Is there any legitimate evidence in favour of astrology? ... there is some evidence that supernovae can be a factor in epidemic diseases, as well as a possible major influence upon evolution. There is at least one sense in which

our lives are influenced by the stars, even

though we have freed ourselves from the superstition of astrology. [Our

italics.] G. Maxwell Cade, Chief Research Engineer (Infra-red Devices) and Manager (Medical Physics) with Smith Industries Ltd, writing in New Scientist, 19 September 1968 The further we go in science, the more we become convinced that the universe is a unity. ... We thus have a right to suspect, when we find

rhythms in so many kinds of phenomena . . . that we may be dealing with related parts of a whole.

14.

INTRODUCTION Dewey

and

Dakin,

Cycles,

The

Science

of Prediction,

Holt,

1950.

(Edward R. Dewey is President ot the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh) ... certain phenomena which take place in geophysical space and all of the phenomena which take place in solar space and astrophysical space act at a distance. No matter what the nature of far-off spacial phenomena, their action is exercised by means of radiations of an electromagnetic or corpuscular nature, or by means of variations in the general

field, electrical, magnetic, electro-magnetic or gravitational. All of this

may today be listed as distant actions. [Our italics.]

Giorgio Piccardi, The Chemical Basis of Medical Climatology, Charles C. Thomas, 1962, p. 120. (Professor Piccardi is Director of the Institute

of Physical Chemistry, University of Florence)

In the last few years some strange and inexplicable links appear to be

emerging

between

lunar

phase,

rainfall,

meteoric

impact,

magnetic

storms and mental disturbances. It almost seems as though we are moving through a series of scientific fantasies to a proof of the ancient belief in the connection between the moon and lunacy. Sir Bernard Lovell, Director of Jodrell Bank, writing in the London Sunday Times, 15 March 1963

However foolish the astrology in the newspapers may appear, astrology is based upon the fundamental premise that celestial phenomena affect life and events on earth; the quotes above —

made by scientists, not by astrologers — suggest that such effects exist and are recognized. Particularly interesting is the statement by Sir Bernard Lovell,

who

only four years earlier, in his Reith

Lectures, had declared

that he looked upon astrological doctrines ‘with amused contempt’. Is it possible that the astrologers will have the last laugh after

all? This question, after three centuries of rationalism, is suddenly

a valid one. Yet there can be no doubt that the attitude of science in genera] remains unaffected, and the following extract may be regarded as typical.

First there is still some confusion between the science of astronomy on the one hand and the medieval hocus-pocus of astrology on the other. ... Astronomy is the study of the universe; astrology, which purports to foretell human characteristics and destinies by observing the positions of the planets, is without any scientific foundation, and may be aptly summed up by the word ‘rubbish’. I cannot resist making a slight digression here in order to dispose of

INTRODUCTION astrology,

the so-called science according to which

15

the positions of the

planets affect the lives and characters of human beings. Suppose, for instance, the planet Mars is in the constellation of Scorpio. . . . Astrologers claim that this will have profound effects upon the child (born under this configuration). Yet, what precisely is meant by saying that a planet is ‘in’ a constellation? Planets are very near to us in comparison with the stars. .. . Taxed with arguments of this kind, astrologers usually

retire baffled, muttering in their beards about Ancient Teachings and Esoteric Influences. No more need be said.*

In the name of science, Mr Moore is practising magic; hoping

to ‘dispose’

of astrology

by

incantation,

rather

as

the less en-

lightened among ancient Egyptian physicians ‘disposed’ of their patients’ ills: ‘Flow out, fetid nose, flow out, son of fetid nose! Flow out, thou who breakest bones, destroyest the skull . . . go out into the ground, thou fetid one, thou fetid one !”! The statement that astrology is ‘without any scientific foundation’ is not the same as presenting evidence to this effect.

“What, precisely, is meant by saying that a planet is “‘in

9?

a

constellation?’ asks Moore.

No one pretends that astrologers are all savants, but all have heard of the telescope, and it is certain that the giddiest and most hysterical among

them — bearded or otherwise — would never be

reduced to mutterings by this enigma. Rather, he or she would answer: ‘When, in relation to the earth, the planet Mars appears against that portion of the celestial sphere which astronomers call Scorpio, Mars is said to be “in Scorpio”’.’

Now astrologers do indeed claim that a child born under this

planetary configuration will be affected by it. And this claim may be without foundation and ill-conceived. But if so, why

descend to incantation to dispose of it? Why not bring inexorable scientific disproof to bear? ‘There does not exist, it is true, a single immediate and decisive proof making the astrological error apparent,’ comments Paul

Couderc, a French astronomer, whose hostility towards astrology blinds him to the illogic of talking of the ‘astrological error’ and

the lack of proof of its erroneousness within the same sentence.” If astrology were dead and buried, there would be no need to exhume it. But in view of its current resurgence, a full scale inquiry

would seem long past due. What has happened to that spirit of * Patrick Moore. Naked Eye Astronomy, Lutterworth, 1966, pp: 2, 17-18.

16

INTRODUCTION

objective curiosity upon which science so prides itself? Surely,

a society willing to spend billions to put a man on the moon ought to be willing to spend a few million to study the effects of the moon

on the man. Particularly since mounting such effects exist. Our dual purpose in writing this book correlate this evidence, and to analyse the ogy. But before we discuss the case as it

make an important distinction. To the credulous,

the nonsense

evidence

suggests

that

has been to collect and prejudice against astrolstands today, we must

in the newspaper

is astrology.

Unfortunately, to the educated sceptic as well, the nonsense in the newspaper is astrology. Yet it ought not to take much reflection

to realize that the astrology that engaged the minds of such men as Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus, St Thomas Aquinas, Kepler and

many others was an astrology of an entirely different order. To make

this distinction clear we shall have to look closely into astrology’s

long history.

Part One

History and Technique

1 Dreams

the Chaldeans Never Dreamed

The birth of astrology took place in the distant past, under unknown conditions. Astrology is one of the oldest and most widespread of superstitions,

prevailing in very carly times among

the Egyptians, Hindus, Chinese,

and Etruscans and especially among the Babylonians through whom it

came

to Greece

in

the fourth

century

B.c., spreading

to Rome

a few

centuries later. The rise of astrology may be regarded as produced by man’s impatient curiosity and desire for harmony. Regularly operating laws were discerned in the more marked changes of material nature, among which the motions and influences of the heavenly bodies were conspicuous. The movements of the sun ruled and vivified the earth. The rains, the storms and the floods also came from the heavens. It was natural then, to suppose that the overruling powers

which ordered the apparent chances of human life resided in the heavens

and that their decrees might be read there, the motions of the heavenly bodies proving on trial to be predictable. The sun, the moon and the

planets were regarded as divine powers and given the names of gods and goddesses. If one could read and interpret aright the activity of these powers, it would be known what the gods were aiming to bring about. So along with the growth of a system of interpretation based largely upon the relative positions of the planetary bodies and, later, the fixed stars, there developed the study of the position and movement of these bodies. Thus there grew up a strange mixture of science and fantastic imagery ...

The fundamental flaw in the whole system of astrology is the arbitrary character of the presumptions made. In part they were derived from recollections or written records of past happenings accompanying certain phenomena, with the assumption that the same phenomena occurring again would be associated with a similar event; in part they depended upon the association of ideas, a phenomenon being regarded as favourable or unfavourable according to whether it had been associated with something good, such as victory over the enemy, or something

bad, such as a famine or a flood; in part they were mythical based on the supposed transference of the character of a deity or a planet. The

20

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

spell with which astrology bound men’s minds was due to its apparently scientific basis..." When I try to see the Universe as a 3000 B.C., | must grope my way back to my of four I had what I felt to be a satisfactory the world. I remember an occasion when my

Babylonian saw it around own childhood. At the age understanding of God and father pointed his finger at

the white ceiling, which was decorated with a frieze of dancing figures,

and explained that God was up there, watching me. I immediately became convinced that the dancers were God. . . . Much in the same manner, I like to imagine, did the luminous figures on the dark ceiling of the world appear as living divinities to Babvlonians and Egyptians...

Some six thousand years ago, when the human mind was still half asleep, Chaldean priests were standing on watch towers, scanning the stars ...?

The watchtowers built by these dreaming Chaldeans were hun-

dreds of feet long, hundreds of feet wide and a hundred feet high;

lined with glazed brick, and in the topmost chambers finished richly in mosaics of gold and precious stones. Meanwhile, over in

Egypt, the drowsy Pharaohs had already built the greatest of their pryamids and temples (see plate 1), structures of such magnitude, and involving such prodigious architectural and logistic problems

that even wide-awake modern man cannot quite figure out how it

was done.

Something is wrong.

If astrology is superstition produced by man’s impatient curiosity, what happened to the same impatient curiosity after the develop-

ment of astrology? Why was it inadequate to the task of unmasking the error for some six thousand years? Can men patient and tena-

cious enough to calculate the motions of the planets have been so dim-witted

as to neglect

based upon those motions?

to put to a similar trial the predictions

In view of the astrology that has actually come down

to us, it is

worth trying to visualize an astrology as it might be put together

by dreaming Chaldeans on watchtowers. The dreaming Chaldeans would be bound to notice the rising and setting of the sun; the fact that the sun gives light and warmth,

and that its strength appears to regulate the seasons. Since nature herself obeys the sun, it would be a logical step for our proto-

DREAMS

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

21

astrologer to attempt to calculate the influence of the sun in ad-

vance; and we should expect this influence to bear a direct relation-

ship to the actual season of the year. We might also expect to find special provision made for cloudy days, since, obviously, the influence of the sun cannot be operating at full force under such conditions. The second most important planet is the moon. Our Chaldean would not fail to be impressed by its fickle changes of phase. He might well observe that his own wife shared in this inconstancy of behaviour and, by analogy, conclude that the moon was feminine. He would, if he could see the sea from the top of his watchtower, notice that the tides were in some way controlled by the moon. He would not fail to observe that, despite the swift changes of mood, if observed long enough, the moon, like his wife, was predictable. And he would attempt to add observations made on the moon to those he was making simultaneously on the sun. Though infinitesimal and one-dimensional compared to the sun and moon, the planets are the next most striking objects in the sky. They move in very erratic courses indeed. So much so that the ancients called them ‘goats’ or ‘wanderers’. The planets exert no visible

or

detectable

influence

upon

the

events

of

the

earth.

Nevertheless, having deified the sun and moon, it might perhaps seem right to our Chaldean to apply the same logic to the planets. And while it is difficult to see why there should be any agreement between any two Chaldeans over the characters of these deities, to say nothing of agreement from nation to nation, still it is possible that at some point definite characters would be ascribed to the planets, and their alleged influence incorporated into the canon. Meanwhile, efforts would be made to systematize the knowledge gained. Knowledge of the motions of the sun and moon would serve the immediate, practical purpose of making calendars, arranging planting schedules and so on; while observations of the planets, serving no immediate practical purpose, and far more complicated a procedure than observing the sun and moon, would in the end serve to provide employment for an increasing and greedy priesthood, bent upon hoodwinking the public. Having nothing else to do, the Chaldeans would also fancy they saw strange beasts — bulls, crabs, lions, centaurs — in the patterns of

22

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

the fixed stars. And when

the sun, moon or any of the goats

happened to be in that portion of the sky presided over by one or the other of these star-figures, they might like to think that its

influence was modified by the nature of the particular constel-

lation.

And apart from all this, we might expect our Chaldean to be

duly impressed by abnormal phenomena of all kinds: earthquakes,

floods, comets; perhaps even striking events of a purely human sort; famines, wars, pestilences, and so on. And all of this would be added into the increasingly unwieldy and topheavy doctrine,

which

ultimately

might

be expected

to topple

weight. But the actual astrology we find does not much

under

its own

resemble

this

postulated astrology of associations, analogies, and omens. In one sense, the actual astrology is much more illogical. For instance,

what kind of mind could it have been that would maintain that a child born 18 March under Pisces would be ‘watery’, mystical, reclusive, artistic, while the child born a week later, under Aries, would be hot-headed, ‘fiery’, rambunctious, militant? Why should

the Cancerian, born 18 July, come under the influence of the moon

and tend to poetry and introspection, while the Leonian, born a week later, come under the influence of the sun, and take after his

Leonine prototype? Either

the

ancients

were

even

sillier

and

sleepier

than

modern scholars believe, or there was some method to their mad-

ness which the same scholars are unwilling or unable to countenance.

The Principles of the Zodiac and Astrological Technique Let us look at this actual astrological picture of the universe. In its purest, symbolical sense, far removed from the astrology of the marketplace, the astrological doctrine may be seen as an expression or afhrmation of the harmony pervading the universe, and as a guide to the understanding of its laws. Apart from the fact that it never existed, the astrology accumulated from the observations of dreaming Chaldeans was ugly — though logical. The real astrology is illogical, but elegant; the representation or choreography of a cosmic dance.

DREAMS

SUN

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

23

SIGNS

The zodiac, or circle of the heavens, is divided into twelve equal sectors.? These are the signs — Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, etc. — with which everyone is familiar. These sectors are supposed to be, or to represent, or to embody cosmic functions, and the animal or character applied to the particular sector is more of a mnemonic aid, a shorthand to what would otherwise be a cumbersome terminology. HOUSES

AND

ANGLES

The earth revolves about the sun but it is the sun which appears to move about the circle of the zodiac, and it is this apparent position of the sun at the time of birth that determines the so-called

sun sign in the horoscope. This is the familiar, ‘Are-you-a-Gemini? I’m-Aquarius’ of cocktail conversation.

Meanwhile, the earth turns on its axis every twenty-four hours. It therefore goes through the same circle of ‘influence’ in a day as the sun dees in a year, making logical the division of the zodiac into

a corresponding twelve. These divisions are the ‘houses’ of astrology; and this further but crucial complication enters but rarely into the cocktail conversation. Thus _a child may be born in April, with the sun in the first degree of Taurus, but at his moment of birth the degree of the zodiac rising at the Easterly | horizon may be 25 ° Libra. Libra is then ‘Rising the sign’, and the degree rising is called the ‘Ascendant’. The highest point the sun will reach on the day of birth— which will depend upon the place of birth and the season of the year — will determine the Midheaven, or Medium Coeli, or MC. And from the position of the Ascendant and MC the division of the ‘houses’ is ascertained (see fig. 1).

point opposite the Midheaven is called the Nadir. “These four apparently arbitrary points are the ‘angles’ which have had imputed to them astrological importance. In a general way it may be said that the position of sun, moon and planets in the sun signs determines the character of the individual while the placing in relationship to the angles and in the houses determines his ‘destiny’, his circumstances and relationships; the uses to which he will put the character he has been given.

24

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

Planets :

Sun ———— (¢) Moon ----—— ) Mercury ——

Venus —----—

0

Mars----—- O

NM 5 & 4% 3

\

MC.

Desc.

n a

ie

Jupiter Saturn —— Uranus —-Neptune--~— Pluto--- -——

I.C.

Figure 1. Horoscope for child born 20 April 1889, 6.22 p.m., Braunau (Austria). The individual to whom this horoscope belongs was born with the Sun

in 1° Taurus. His Ascendant

(marked

Asc.) is in 25° Libra, however.

An

astrologer interpreting this horoscope would expect its owner to be psychologically ‘Taurean’. (‘Taurus is a sign of great fixity of purpose and willpower. As a Taurean you are apt to decide to decide early in life what you want. You may be a slow starter, but you have determination and persistence, and once you have set your goal there is almost nothing that can stop you.’ Caroll Righter, in The Astrological Guide to Marriage and Family Relations.) In this case, the generalization seems particularly apt — the horoscope is Hitler’s. Other Taureans may decline to conform to the standard in quite so striking a fashion.

DREAMS

THE

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

125

PLANETS

The planets, according to astrology, differ in nature; they are held

to represent or symbolize specific cosmic functions, and individual planets are supposed to ‘rule’ over the signs corresponding to their functions, which in turn correspond roughly to their distances

from the sun. The table below gives, in much abbreviated form, the

astrological nature of the planets and the signs they rule (see fig. 2).

Planet Saturn

Rules Aquarius and

Principles Symbolized Contraction, Crystallization

Mars Venus

Capricorn Pisces and Sagittarius Aries and Scorpio Taurus and Libra

Passion, Energy, Virility Harmony, Artistry, Sympathy

Sun

Leo

Creativity, Consciousness

Jupiter

Mercury Moon

The

Expansiveress, Prodigality

Gemini and Virgo Cancer

‘new’

planets,

Uranus,

Neptune

Intellect, Mobility Receptivity, the Subconscious

and

Pluto

present

¢#

an obvious

challenge to the ancient allocation of planets to signs. We shall be

discussing

Pp: 132-4). THE

the

problems

raiscd

by

the

new

planets

further

on

(see

ASPECTS

In interpreting a horoscope, the astrologer must take all these factors into account. The planets in the signs allegedly give the key

to character. Thus, a child born with Mars in Taurus will be, be-

cause of this, significantly and

predictably

affected by this fact.

Similarly, his character will manifest itself differently — claim astrologers — if Mars is found in the seventh house than it would

if he had been born an hour earlier and Mars had been instead in the sixth house.

But above and beyond these complexities, both character and its

manifestation

are modified

by the relationships formed

by

the

planets to each other: When planets stand in certain specific angles to each other, which correspond to the laws of harmony, they are

held to be in ‘aspect’.

Thus when two planets are separated by a distance of 180° they

26

HISTORY

Planets: Sun ————— Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn

AND

TECHNIQUE

0

©

9

»)

8

2 Co Ve

Figure 2. The Signs of the Zodiac, and the planets that are held to ‘rule’ them. This drawing illustrates the traditional rulerships before the discovery of the new planets. These rulerships are not arbitrary but are made upon the basis of complex numerological considerations. Modern astrologers wonder whether or not the new planets should be incorporated, and if this can be done without destroying the rich, interrelated symmetry of the traditional scheme. It is thought possible that Uranus is co-ruler of Aquarius, and Neptune co-ruler of Pisces.

are said to be in ‘opposition’, when separated by a distance of go°

they are in ‘square’ aspect, etc.; and these aspects are held to be different in nature, some tending to be ‘harmonious’, others ‘dis-

harmonious’. The principle aspects are as follows (see fig. 3). Angle

0°

Name of Aspect

Conjunction

Nature

Neutral, depending

upon other relevant

60°

Sex tile

{actors Harmonious

120°

Trine

Harmonious

go°

180°

Square

Opposition

Disharmonious Disharmonious

DREAMS

Planets:

Venus

Q

Mars Saturn

Co

THE

Figure 3. Aspects. Venus

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

27

and Mars in a double ‘square’ (go° distance) to

Saturn. Venus is the ‘ruler’ of Hitler’s horoscope both by sign and by house, since both Taurus, Hitler’s ‘sun-sign’ and Libra, Hitler’s Ascendant, are held to be ‘ruled’ by Venus. The power of Venus is even further enhanced by its position in the seventh house, held by analogy to have affinities with the seventh sign — which is Libra. Here Venus could scarcely be more seriously ‘afflicted’ than it is. The conjunction to Mars, by itself capable of blending ‘the charm of Venus with the energy of Mars’, is turned both sour and violent by their mutual square to Saturn. The Venus-Saturn square is held to bring out the worst and most selfish aspects of any given nature, while the Mars-Saturn square is traditionally conceded to generate the most violent qualities of which human nature is capable. Needless to say, not all people born with such a configuration turn out to be Hitler, but an astrologer would expect something ‘Hitlerian’ from anyone with such a Venus-Mars-Saturn configuration.

28

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

°°

,

.

~

PAINS

P\

0

>€

Lf

Figure 4. The Signs of the Zodiac, divided into polarities.

This means, for Taurus, in square house, will mean Mars conjunction

example, to Saturn something Venus in

that Mars in conjunction to Venus in in Leo, from the seventh to the tenth quite different to the astrologer from Virgo, in trine to Saturn in Capricorn,

from the first to the fifth house (see fig. 4).

Types of Astrology Signs, houses, planets in signs and houses, aspects between the planets, and between planets and the angles — especially between planets and the Ascendant and Mid-heaven — are the chief factors taken into consideration in the erection of the ‘horoscope’ or map of the hour. In theory a horoscope can be set up for any contingency, and — again in theory — if a horoscope is valid for one sort

of analysis, it ought to be valid for another. Thus a business ven-

DREAMS

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

29

ture, a baby and an idea or question all ‘born’ the same instant

share an identical horoscope. In theory, the same cosmic ‘influences’ attend their birth. Astrol-

ogers believe — with widely divergent degrees of confidence — that the ‘character’ of a business, a baby and an idea can be determined

upon the basis of the horoscope; and — with still more widely varying degrees of confidence — that the future of the business,

baby and idea can be determined by studying the positions of the planets at any given time as they relate to the positions on the root or ‘radix’ horoscope.* Though the methods employed for the casting and interpretation

of horoscopes is much the same no matter what the nature of the

subject

under

consideration,

astrologers make

a distinction in

nomenclature between the different sorts of analysis. Astrology used to analyse and predict the future of businesses, states, nations,

races, political parties, etc., is called Mundane Astrology; astrology used to analyse and predict the future of individuals is called Genethliacai Astrology; and astrology used to determine the answer

to a question upon the basis of a horoscope erected at the time of its asking is called Horary Astrology. Generally speaking,

the more cautious modern astrologers have

little faith in astrological prophecy of any sort but rather more in

the

ability

to

determine

‘character’

upon

the

basis

of

the

horoscope. Since the popular interest in astrology is, and always

has been, in its putative ability to prophesy we find a situation

such as the present in which astrology is widely and flagrantly misused. But leaving open for the moment the problems of use and

misuse,

it should

be clear

that

astrology

is of a complexity

far

beyond what the casual reader would be led to expect from the stargazer columns in the newspapers.

However, complexity and nonsense are by no means mutually

exclusive.

And

if the principles underlying

the division of the

zodiac into signs and houses within the signs are false; if the principles that dictate the ascription of meaning to the planets and to

the relationships formed between

them are purely arbitrary and

based upon fancy, complexity becomes no more than an intellectual

exercise.

*The methods used to attempt to read the future in the stars are many, complex and often ‘symbolic’ and there is little agreement among astrologers as to what is valid.

30

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

So let us look briefly at these principles, while bearing in mind

that an adequate treatment of them would require far more space than we can allot in this book.

The Principles Underlying the Zodiac The division of the zodiac into twelve sectors (or into eight, sixteen,

or twenty sectors) is based fundamentally upon the belief that the

universe is coherent and that numbers are not mere inventions of man allowing him to make purely quantitative distinctions but rather the symbolic keys to qualitative laws that govern the coherent

universe.

All esoteric traditions have

always

sought

to

express the multiplicity within unity, and this has always involved the use of numbers, and the use of symbols; astrology is a particularly ingenious method of combining them. If we look at the way the zodiac is divided, we see that the signs are arranged in such a way as to express first the Law of Two, the

law of duality, or of polarity: familiar to us as male-female, positive-

negative or active-passive. We find that Aries is positive, Taurus negative, Gemini positive, Cancer negative, Leo positive, and so on around the zodiac (see fig. 4). Next we find that the signs are divided so as to express the Law of Three, the principle of relationship. The triad, the principle of three, expresses relationship. If the universe were homogeneous, nothing could happen. If it were merely dual, nothing could happen either. A state of eternal and unbridgeable tension between two equal and opposite forces would result. There must be a reconciling principle, a Third Force. A sculptor and a block of wood will not produce a statue — he must have an idea; a man and woman are not enough to produce a child — there must be love, or at least desire; a scientist and a test tube will not result in an experiment — he must have curiosity. But polarity is incorporated within triplicity. Three is not merely two plus one — though it sounds illogical put that way. In esoteric terms, the descent of unity into multiplicity is sometimes expressed

as: one becomes two and three simultaneously. And this is shown schematically thus:

DREAMS

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

31

ei Figure 5. The Signs of the Zodiac divided into triplicities: the ‘Modes’.

Impossible to put clearly into so many words, it can nevertheless be seen here that one has become both two and three depending upon how the diagram is regarded. In astrology, the Law of Three finds expression in what are called the ‘Modes of Action’. The signs, as we have seen, are either positive or negative, in accordance with the principle of duality, but at the same time they reflect the principle of triplicity.

Man-Woman is a polarity, but Lover-Beloved—Desire is a relationship. Lover—Beloved are not the same as they were when they were merely Man—Woman, no matter that their external appearance is the same and their bills still come to the same address. The Law of Three is superimposed upon the Law of Two. The modes are superimposed upon the polarities; the polarities pervade the modes,

32

HISTORY

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TECHNIQUE

Thus, in astrology, the modes of action are called ‘Cardinal’

(that upon which all else depends), ‘Fixed’ (that which is acted

upon), and ‘Mutable’ (that which effects the exchange of force).

Aries

is cardinal,

Taurus

is fixed, Gemini

is mutable;

Cancer

is

cardinal, Leo is fixed, Virgo is mutable, and so on. And the signs begin to differentiate themselves. Aries is positive and cardinal, but

Gemini, though also positive, is mutable, and Leo is positive and

fixed (see fig. 5).

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Figure 6. The Signs of the Zodiac divided into quadruplicities: Elements’.

the ‘Four

Three terms, however, are insufficient to describe either a thing,

or an event. A relationship is theoretical. It cannot be said to exist. Lover—Beloved—Desire is not a household, or even an affair. For it to be a household four terms are necessary, four terms which incorporate the three of the relationship within it. The four terms of a

family might be Father-Mother-Responsibility-Household itself.

DREAMS

THE

CHALDEANS

NEVER

DREAMED

33

But the fourth term is not merely tacked on‘ and Father—-Mother-

Responsibility are not the same as Lover—Beloved—Desire (as most married men — and women — are well aware).

In most ancient traditions this foursome is the four ‘elements’: Fire, Earth, Air, Water — from which all matter is derived. We are brought up on schoolbooks that deride and dismiss this notion as superstition. And of course, if taken literally, the four elements are meaningless. But the principle of the four elements was

sound and remains sound, though the terminology may ring quaint

and medieval to our ears. Organic chemistry is principally concerned with the interaction of four chemical elements: Hydrogen, Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen. The functions of these elements, the parts they play in organic life, can be shown to correspond neatly to the roles played by Fire, Earth, Air and Water.’ Though imprecise from a scientific point of view, the ancient terminology has the advantage of being more fluid and therefore more easily applicable to the manifold contingencies of life than modern terminology. Everyday language continues to reflect the wisdom of the words chosen by the ancients to symbolize the ‘elements’. It makes sense, still, to refer to personalities as ‘Fiery’, ‘Earthy’, ‘Airy’, ‘Watery’. One need only try

to imagine the opposition that would greet an imposed esperanto designed to weed out old ambiguities and that would have us refer to people as ‘hydrogenic’ or ‘carbonic’.

In astrology, then, four elements are superimposed upon the

modes and upon the polarities. Aries is Fire; Taurus, Earth; Gemini,

Air; Cancer, Water; Leo, Fire and so on. Aries is positive, cardinal, fire; Leo

is positive, fixed,

fire (see fig. 6).

fire, Sagittarius

is positive,

mutable,

Each sign is different, no two are alike, there are no repetitions;

all possible permutations of polarity, triplicity, and quadruplicity work themselves out within a twelve-sign system. The modes — representing force — are linked together by the square, or cross — representing matter. The elements — representing matter — are linked together by the trine (triangle), reprsenting force (sce fig. 7).

The diagram of the zodiac, constructed in this fashion, may be regarded as containing all the consonants of a language containing all potential, upon which, like moving vowels, the sun, moon and planets play, creating the inexhaustible and ever-changing words that make up the world we call reality. Cc.

F.A.—2

34

HISTORY

AND

TECHNIQUE

And it is this celestial language that the astrologer believes he

can interpret.

Whether or not he can does not concern us at this moment. The point we wish to make here is that this system, with its simultan-

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