Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Tables for planets with respect to the Sun

I have been making universal tables for planets with respect to the Sun. A number of people have expressed interest in these as I can make them to suit any timezone and daylight saving requirements.
As it stands, I have done 4 timezones so far. I can do any number of them. 

There is a chronological table, a table for each planet, a 15 degree table, and invisible planets and cazimi tables.

Their use is mainly for astrologers at this stage. 

The ancients viewed the cycle of the planets with the Sun as very important in working out what "mood" a planet was in. Rather than re-create what the ancients did, I would prefer to go into what the ancients saw and perhaps how they thought, and therefore come up with a philosophy that works.

If one takes the Sun and Moon as the basis for ancient astrology, then planets which move faster than the Sun (Mercury and Venus) are seen as essentially lunar or feminine (though Mercury is seen as hermaphrodite by the ancients). Of course our ancients lived in various male dominated societies where all things feminine had a very particular (and subordinate) place. I prefer to use the Chinese symbols of Yin and Yang where classically "feminine" influence is "yin" and classically "masculine" influence is "yang". Neither can exist without the other, and neither is dominant over the other, and yin contains a tiny part of yang, as does yang contain a tiny part of yin lest we ever fall into the trap of making sweeping generalisations.

OK, having dealt very briefly with ancient ascriptions of gender and how I personally deal with those, lets have a look at planetary mood.

The Sun is in control of proceedings,  regardless of gender. (There is no year, and no zodiac without the Sun). The Moon is complementary to the Sun, and sometimes seen as its subordinate or its competitor.

As already stated, the Moon is seen as Yin and it runs ahead of the Sun before it makes its opposition or full moon transit. In life in general, the Moon refers to subtle energy. When we ascribe personality to planets, the Moon is seen as a compliment to the Sun. In many ways, it is preparing the way for the Sun’s stately precession. The Moon in this mode is concerned primarily with image, (the image of the Sun first, then its own image) especially when it is in the same sign or two signs ahead (ancient sextile) of the Sun. In the next sign, it makes no apparent sense to the Sun and in the sign square of the Sun (quarter moon phase) it is expected to be troublesome. (It is expected the Moon will smooth things over next trip around). Then there is the sign trine the Sun, where it is expected to prepare long-term for the Sun’s arrival. It also builds its own alliances here. Next there is the sign next to opposition from the Sun while the Moon is still waxing (growing in apparent size) where again the Moon’s antics make no sense to the Sun. At Full Moon, the Moon is a light in its own right and stands as a complimentary (sometimes seen as competitive) influence.

From Full Moon to New Moon its influence is primarily on details. The next sign from opposition is its first port of call where the waning (diminishing in apparent size) Moon can again make no sense to the Sun. Then there is the waning trine, where it gathers information and reports it to the Sun. The waning Square is a most troublesome aspect for the Moon where it is often required to deliver bad news to the Sun. Waning sextile it delivers more positive feedback, then the sign next to the Sun sees the Moon making its own plans again. New Moon sees the Sun and the Moon in unison again ready for the Moon’s next adventure.

Solar eclipses are where the Sun (as ruler of the people) is influenced by the Moon (as mood of the people). Lunar eclipses are where the Moon (as mood of the people) is altered by physical events.

To summarise the cycle, the Moon has 4 discreet phases, New to Waxing  Quarter (building image for the Sun from scratch), Waxing Quarter to Full (getting stronger in its own image while still building the Sun’s), Full to Waning Quarter (gathering details and fruit from its image building exercises), and then Waning Quarter to New (tying up details and preparing to start again). The two quarters of the Moon’s cycle are where it is seen as most troublesome to the Sun, and it takes some serious investigation to find common ground between the Moon and Sun. Less problematic are the Full and New Moons which present as complimentary energies to the Sun. To an ego-centric Sun, these can appear competitive, but it does not have to be that way.

In a similar way, the 4 quarters of a planetary cycle can be seen as similar to the cycles of the moon, but they are of less regular duration.

For an outer planet, they are from Conjunction to Retrograde (having its own energy yet doing the right thing by the Sun), Retrograde to Opposition (doing something quite different from the Sun), Opposition to Direct (Bringing the outrageous under control), and Direct to Conjunction (committing its talents back into the Sun’s control). The square transit is still the most challenging, the Opposition  is always retrograde and is a very different take, but it is the place where the planet and the Sun can see common ground if they are willing.

For an inner planet, there are likewise 4 parts to the cycle. Direct Conjunction to Maximum Elongation Evening (dealing with matters of image pertaining to the Sun), Maximum Elongation Evening to Retrograde Conjunction (dealing still with matters of image, but this time figuring it knows better and therefore out of control), Retrograde Conjunction to Maximum Elongation Morning (better controlled but still a force to be reckoned with), Maximum Elongation Morning to Direct Conjunction (dealing with matters of detail and working with the Sun). To add to this, Mercury can never move more than 28 degrees from the Sun, and Venus 46. Whenever they are within 15 degrees of the Sun, they are said to be in the Sun’s Beams, which puts them under the Sun’s influence. This makes a retrograde pass very interesting, while in the beams of the Sun it is our leaders who make mercurial or venereal blunders. Where the inner planet transits the face of the Sun, expect it to assert itself beyond what is normal during retrograde. The “hot button” time for a retrograde of an inner planet is the time from its greatest evening elongation to the time it is  15 degrees from the Sun and retrograde. For this period it is far enough out to be seen as distinct from the Sun and it is unpredictable.

So that is why I made these tables.

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