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Early Astrology
 The Journey of the Moon
What is Astrocartography?
What is a horoscope?

 


   
 
Early Astrology

Were you aware that the first Astrological text-book was written by the Greek, Ptolemy, in 150-180AD ? We know the study of Astrology dates back to 3000 years BC yet it was the Greeks who first defined the Zodiac ( 'circle of animals' in the Greek language) as a 12 stage lunar cycle with the Sun passing through each of the 12 constellations. Then in 250BC Natal Astrology was born and Greek scientists began using the Zodiac to determine the character traits of individuals and to attempt to forecast their major events and challenges in life. The study of Astrology was undertaken as a science and was linked to medicine and astronomy up to the beginning of the 18th Century, when the disciplines separated due to the specialization of the natural sciences.
 
  
 
The Journey of the Moon

Did you know that although the Sun is very important in the calculation of the Zodiac, the Moon also journeys through the twelve signs ? The moon always moves forward through the Zodiac, spending a bit more than two whole days in each sign, completing its cycle through all 12 signs in one tropical month of, on average, 27,3216 days. The average time from one full moon to the next is 29,5306 days (a synodic month) which is about one day less than the average calendar month and this is why the pattern on the calendar slopes upward to the right. This patttern continues if you put calendars for successive years side-by-side. The very last moon shown in each month (after the last day-of-the-week) represents the same midnight as the one at the very top of the next month's column.
 
  
 
What is Astrocartography?

Were you aware that astrology can in fact be used to calculate the planetary influences for you in a particular location ? We all feel more comfortable in certain places than in others and usually attribute this to a 'feeling'. Astrocartography is a discipline which determines the positive and negative influences which a particular geographical zone can have on your personality and has its roots in astronomical diagrams used to show solar and lunar eclipse paths. Versions of these maps appeared in the 1930s and 1940s in astrological magazines. The energies inherent in any birth planet can be enhanced or released through contact by transiting and progressed planets, contact by a planet in another person's chart, or via a planetary line of angularity as shown on an Astrocartography map
 
  
 

The word 'horoscope' was once written as 'oruscope' in Middle English, 'horoscopus' in Latin and as exactly 'horoscope' in Middle French, one of the European languages used between the 14th and 16th centuries. The word originally comes from the Greek 'hOro skopos', the last word meaning 'watcher'. Interestingly enough, 'hora' translates as 'horah' in New Hebrew and indicates a Romanian and Israeli circle dance.