Primary Directions in Astrology: A Primer by Anthony Louis

Author:Anthony Louis [Louis, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 8: Gadbury's chart for Henri II of France, Regiomontanus Houses

Gadbury reasoned that when the zodiacal degree of Mars (13o 03’ Cancer) rises to cross the horizon, the violence promised by Mars will affect the life (signified by the ASC) of the king. Based on the data in Figure 8, Gadbury calculated this zodiacal primary direction as follows:

The oblique ascension of the ASC is 35o 58’.

The oblique ascension of the zodiacal longitude of Mars is 76o 16’.

The arc of equator between the oblique ascensions of the ASC and the zodiacal longitude of Mars is 40o 18’.

Morin, for example, writing in the 17th century gives four reasons why the timing calculated by primary directions can be off by several months. First, the astrologer may be working with imprecise data. Garbage in, garbage out. Primary directions are quite sensitive to even small variations in the accuracy of the initial data. Second, primary directions represent only the potential for an occurrence which will manifest when “conformable” solar returns, lunar returns and transits also take place. Things happen only when the majority of conditions are just right. Third, the nature and dignity of the planets involved in the direction can alter its timing. Saturn (the planet of delay) and debilitated or retrograde planets, for example, are notoriously slow whereas the Moon, Mercury, Mars and strongly fortified planets tend to act quickly and sometimes prematurely. Just ask the partner of a Mars-dominated lover. Fourth, the response on Earth may hinder or negate the influence of direction. For example, a person can resist an external influence through the exercise of free will or obstinacy.

We can add to Morin’s four reasons for the imprecision of timing with primary directions two facts: one, that no single “key” has reliably adjusted Ptolemy’s one degree per year rule, and two, that our calculations are done on the celestial sphere which is a mental abstraction always slightly at variance with empirical reality. Although primary directions are an extremely valuable predictive tool in astrology, anyone who claims consistently to get precisely timed accurate results with primary directions is either self-deluded or a con artist. In either case the student does well to avoid such individuals.

For further details about Gadbury method for calculating primary directions to the ASC with oblique ascensions, I recommend Deborah Houlding’s article at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/easy_directions.pdf. She reviews the math which Gadbury employed to calculate directions to the ASC in a clear and step-by-step manner.

A simpler way to view what is happening in the primary direction of Mars to the horizon in King Henri’s chart is to consider the rising time of Mars. Since Gadbury calculated a primary direction in zodiaco, we are concerned only with the ecliptic longitude of Mars and not with the actual location of the body of Mars on the celestial sphere.

The method: We want to know how long it takes the location of Mars on the ecliptic to reach the horizon after the king’s birth. We will then divide that amount of time by 4 to

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