Minderwiz
In the next few weeks I hope to start a series of readings using the techniques of horary astrology - I need the practice as far as my Astrology course goes - and I will be asking for volunteers (that means you!)
As a lead in I am going to do one or two posts on the nature of horary astrology. This first one is a little out of order - but it has come up twice in my reading recently so I thought I would start off with it, whilst it was fresh in my memory.
We are so used to the day beginning at midnight that we never question whether this has always been so. A few weeks back I was reading about the seventeenth century astrologer, William Lilly and it was pointed out in passing that in his time the new day began at Noon. Thus the morning of November 18th was followed by the afternoon of November 19th and the morning of November 19th in that order.
This was an interesting idea but I paid little attention till last week when I was reading a book on horary astrology by Marc Edmund Jones. Jones mentioned that in early civilisations the day began at Sunrise (not at midnight or even Noon). Three days later the latest edition of the Mountain Astrologer came through my letterbox and there was an article by Maria Simms discussing the same ideas.
This approach divides the day into two parts - 'day' (diurnal) and 'night', (nocturnal) each consisting of twelve hours. However as the diurnal part lasts from Sunrise to Sunset and the nocturnal part lasts from Sunset till Sunrise, these 'hours' are not of equal length. Basically you take the time between Sunrise and Sunset and divide it by twelve to get the length of a diurnal hour (and the same for nocturnal hours)
Thus here in the UK the Sun rose at 07:48 and sets at 16:02 GMT today - for ease of maths I will take that as 8 hours. Divide by 12 and each diurnal hour is 40 minutes long. The nocturnal hours, will of course be longer, as there are 16 hours nocturnal hours - making each one 80 minutes long. This is clearly based on local solar time - not on clock time.
The only time when diurnal and nocturnal hours are the same length is at the two equinoxes. Diurnal hours are shortest at the Winter Solstice and longer at the Summer Solstice.
As you know each day is called after a planet - Sunday after the Sun, Monday after the Moon, Tuesday after Mars (Norse Tiw), Wednesday after Mercury (Norse, Woden), Thursday after Jupiter (Norse, Thor), Friday after Venus (Norse, Frigga) and Saturday after Saturn.
Today being Monday, the first diurnal hour after Sunrise is ruled by the Moon. The following hours are ruled by each planet in turn but the order is that established by the Chaldeans (or Babylonians) - from slowest moving to fastest moving. As the Moon is the fastest moving planet of all, the next hour after the hour of the Moon starts a new cycle and that hour is ruled by Saturn, the next by Jupiter, the next by Mars, the next by the Sun, then next by Venus, then next by Mercury and the next by the Moon. This cycle continues on into the nocturnal hours, finishing in the hour before dawn - on a Monday this last hour is ruled by Jupiter.
At Sunrise on Tuesday the planetary rulership is transferred to the day ruler - Mars, which rules the first hour and the other planets follow in Chaldean order.
You can use these planetary rulers to help you make decisions. The hours of the Sun are good for success, the Hours of Jupiter good for almost anything, the HOurs of Venus good for social events, parties, partnerships, etc. The hours of Mars and Saturn may prove to be more difficult. As I'm writing this during the Hour of Mars this post might not be as easy to understand as if I waited till the Hour of Mercury (but I will have other things to do at that time - such as get ready to go back to work).
If you know the Chaldean order of the Planets and the day ruler, then all you need is the Sunrise and Sunset times from your local newspaper and you can work out the planetary rulers for the next 24 hours.
As a lead in I am going to do one or two posts on the nature of horary astrology. This first one is a little out of order - but it has come up twice in my reading recently so I thought I would start off with it, whilst it was fresh in my memory.
We are so used to the day beginning at midnight that we never question whether this has always been so. A few weeks back I was reading about the seventeenth century astrologer, William Lilly and it was pointed out in passing that in his time the new day began at Noon. Thus the morning of November 18th was followed by the afternoon of November 19th and the morning of November 19th in that order.
This was an interesting idea but I paid little attention till last week when I was reading a book on horary astrology by Marc Edmund Jones. Jones mentioned that in early civilisations the day began at Sunrise (not at midnight or even Noon). Three days later the latest edition of the Mountain Astrologer came through my letterbox and there was an article by Maria Simms discussing the same ideas.
This approach divides the day into two parts - 'day' (diurnal) and 'night', (nocturnal) each consisting of twelve hours. However as the diurnal part lasts from Sunrise to Sunset and the nocturnal part lasts from Sunset till Sunrise, these 'hours' are not of equal length. Basically you take the time between Sunrise and Sunset and divide it by twelve to get the length of a diurnal hour (and the same for nocturnal hours)
Thus here in the UK the Sun rose at 07:48 and sets at 16:02 GMT today - for ease of maths I will take that as 8 hours. Divide by 12 and each diurnal hour is 40 minutes long. The nocturnal hours, will of course be longer, as there are 16 hours nocturnal hours - making each one 80 minutes long. This is clearly based on local solar time - not on clock time.
The only time when diurnal and nocturnal hours are the same length is at the two equinoxes. Diurnal hours are shortest at the Winter Solstice and longer at the Summer Solstice.
As you know each day is called after a planet - Sunday after the Sun, Monday after the Moon, Tuesday after Mars (Norse Tiw), Wednesday after Mercury (Norse, Woden), Thursday after Jupiter (Norse, Thor), Friday after Venus (Norse, Frigga) and Saturday after Saturn.
Today being Monday, the first diurnal hour after Sunrise is ruled by the Moon. The following hours are ruled by each planet in turn but the order is that established by the Chaldeans (or Babylonians) - from slowest moving to fastest moving. As the Moon is the fastest moving planet of all, the next hour after the hour of the Moon starts a new cycle and that hour is ruled by Saturn, the next by Jupiter, the next by Mars, the next by the Sun, then next by Venus, then next by Mercury and the next by the Moon. This cycle continues on into the nocturnal hours, finishing in the hour before dawn - on a Monday this last hour is ruled by Jupiter.
At Sunrise on Tuesday the planetary rulership is transferred to the day ruler - Mars, which rules the first hour and the other planets follow in Chaldean order.
You can use these planetary rulers to help you make decisions. The hours of the Sun are good for success, the Hours of Jupiter good for almost anything, the HOurs of Venus good for social events, parties, partnerships, etc. The hours of Mars and Saturn may prove to be more difficult. As I'm writing this during the Hour of Mars this post might not be as easy to understand as if I waited till the Hour of Mercury (but I will have other things to do at that time - such as get ready to go back to work).
If you know the Chaldean order of the Planets and the day ruler, then all you need is the Sunrise and Sunset times from your local newspaper and you can work out the planetary rulers for the next 24 hours.
