rmcfarron
I'm beginning my study of Progressions (generally a year for a day) and I'm looking for some good resource books on this topic. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
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Resources on Progressions
Barleywine
I'm beginning my study of Progressions (generally a year for a day) and I'm looking for some good resource books on this topic. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
The book that got me started on secondary progressions, and the one that I still find the most straight-forward, is Ronald Davison's The Technique of Prediction. (However, he added a few minor wrinkles of his own that may not be "mainstream.") Nancy Hastings has a couple of books on prediction - Secondary Progressions: Time to Remember and The Practice of Prediction - but I never warmed up to them. And then there is Alan Leo's The Progressed Horoscope, that I still occasionally try to read but that continues to defeat me. I haven't bought a book on progressions in decades, so I'm sure the astrological publishing industry has passed me by. I'm not sure when the technique came into general use; there may have been earlier texts on the subject, before the time of Alan Leo. All of the book's I've mentioned are conspicuously lacking in any historical framework, though. Others here might know.
ETA: You might also consider solar arc direction - the practice of moving all of the planets the same distance that the Sun moves in a day. This has the advantage of imparting some perceptible movement to the outer planets over the course of the progressed period. Noel Tyl has a book on the subject, but I don't own it.
dadsnook2000
Some thoughts
There are quite a few possible variants of how to calculate day-for-a-year progressions. The rational behind them in terms of advantages or applications seems to be lacking in many of the more popular books. To make it worse, many software applications either offer a "single" approach or a limited number of approaches. Two or more astrologers calculating a progressed chart for a given date will typically come up with differing results. Which results are correct or more useful. It doesn't make sense to use a tool when you don't know what to expect, how to use it, or what the results indicate.
I gave up on secondary progressions three decades ago and decided to use solar arc directions. The logic is simple, the calculations can be verified manually, the results are clear and their usefulness has been well documented by many. Use of the midpoint system of Ebertin with Solar Arc Directions is a tool one can use with satisfaction, IMHO. Dave
There are quite a few possible variants of how to calculate day-for-a-year progressions. The rational behind them in terms of advantages or applications seems to be lacking in many of the more popular books. To make it worse, many software applications either offer a "single" approach or a limited number of approaches. Two or more astrologers calculating a progressed chart for a given date will typically come up with differing results. Which results are correct or more useful. It doesn't make sense to use a tool when you don't know what to expect, how to use it, or what the results indicate.
I gave up on secondary progressions three decades ago and decided to use solar arc directions. The logic is simple, the calculations can be verified manually, the results are clear and their usefulness has been well documented by many. Use of the midpoint system of Ebertin with Solar Arc Directions is a tool one can use with satisfaction, IMHO. Dave
DavidMcCann
A very good general work which includes progressions is March and McEvers "The only way to learn about tomorrow". I like the many examples they give.
Barleywine
I gave up on secondary progressions three decades ago and decided to use solar arc directions. The logic is simple, the calculations can be verified manually, the results are clear and their usefulness has been well documented by many. Use of the midpoint system of Ebertin with Solar Arc Directions is a tool one can use with satisfaction, IMHO. Dave
I've always been a big fan of Ebertin's Combination of Stellar Influences, but hadn't thought of using it in concert with solar arc directions. Good idea! Regarding secondary progressions, I pretty much gave up on them years ago, except for the progressed Moon, which covers enough real estate in a progressed "lifetime" to perhaps mean something, especially if it coincides with important transits. (I used to know an astrologer who used the progressed Moon and transiting Mars to try to pin-point the timing of events.) The other progressed planets I pay very little attention to unless they cross a cusp, change apparent motion or perfect a conjunction or opposition to a natal planet during any given year. Even then, I'm not entirely convinced there's much utility in the technique. They are, after all, purely symbolic and, unlike transits, do not represent an objective celestial reality. Since discovering this forum, I have been using solar returns more rigorously as an annual predictive tool. But Dave can give you that overview.
