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Astrology
by Hand Week 11
Evidence
the Mind Is Linked to the Chart
Let’s
look some more at the ideas introduced last
week concerning the mind and the chart. We know a couple
of things: The last aspects the Moon made in a horary chart describe energies
passing away, and therefore, they should describe the past. When this
is the case, we know that the applying aspects of the Moon describe what
is coming with regard to the question. We also know that in general, the
chart should show some kind of relationship to the chart of the person
asking the question, such as a similar Ascendant or one that strongly
connects to important points in the birth chart of the one asking the
question, or something of the kind. Also, the chart should reveal the
general nature of the question and the environment that leads up to it.
If
a chart has all of these features, the astrologer can assume that the
chart will answer the question and it is only up to the skill of the astrologer
to answer it correctly. (This is one of those very big “only” statements!)
If the chart lacks several of these confirming qualities, it is a sign
that the chart will not answer the question, and, as I have said, this
is due to something wrong in the mind of the questioner. The questioner
may not have a clear idea of the issues involved, the questioner may be
confused, the questioner may not have a very strong involvement with the
issues of the question, and so forth.
The
Mind Is Active in the Process
Here
is my key point. If the mind were simply the passive object of the effects
of the planets and zodiac, then there is no way that this could be true.
The chart would always have to show the question clearly because it would
force the questioner’s mind to adapt to the nature of the planetary arrangements.
But instead we have this: It may be putting it too strongly to say that
the mind of the questioner affects the arrangements of the planets, but
it is certainly true that the mind of the questioner can choose (at least
unconsciously) to be or not to be “in tune” with the planetary arrangements.
And the clarity of the chart in making a statement about the question
is a statement about the mind of the questioner, rather than a cause of
the state of the mind of the questioner. The mind has to “reach out,”
so to speak, to the heavens and choose a moment that accurately makes
an astrological statement about its intention.
Is
Astrology Related to Magic?
When
we passively observe phenomena at a symbolic level in order to get an
idea of what is going on around us, such as anaylizing the flight of birds
or the entrails of sacrificial victims (a style of divination that has
fortunately gone out of date), and the like, we are doing a passive form
of divination. When we shuffle a deck, or throw coins for an I-Ching divination,
we are more actively involved. Many people think that some kind of “field”
surrounds the questioner that controls the arrangement of the cards or
the falling of the coins, and thereby the questioner becomes actively
involved in the answering of the question.
However,
it is much more difficult to believe that a questioner can affect the
movements of the planets. These are programmed into the nature of the
cosmos by arrangements that long predate any questioner. Yet the ability
of some faculty of the mind to link or not link itself to the cosmos in
order to answer a question goes beyond passive divination. It becomes
an active form of divination like cards or the I-Ching. The intention
of the questioner becomes something like a magical force that determines
the efficacy of the divination. The only problem is exactly what is meant
by “magical,” outside of the obvious notion that it involves some kind
of active power on the part of the questioner.
This
is something that I will be dealing with over the next several weeks.
For the moment, we just have to leave it at this: Critics of horary astrology
have been correct in saying that horary is more akin to magic than any
other branch of astrology. My quarrel with these critics is that they
have raised this as an objection to astrology. I am going to be arguing
that this is a central point. If we were to understand what lies at the
base of magic, we would not have a problem with the magical foundations
of astrology.
I
will talk about this more next week. Then I will ask the question of whether
natal astrology is like horary in this regard or not.
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