CHAPTER XII

.

CONCERNING DIRECTIONS AND HORARY QUESTIONS

We have seen in the chapter on the judgment of a nativity that by the consideration of the position of the planets and of the Sun and Moon in the twelve houses, what the _general_ fortune of the native will be in the whole course of his life; but the art of Direction measures out the time into years, months, weeks and days and thus informs us when we may expect in _particular_ what is _generally_ promised us in the nativity.

Directions are of two kinds, _primary_ and _secondary_, and are based upon arithmetical calculations of the time of the events caused by the aspects of the significators (that is, of the Sun or the Moon), with the places of the planets. They are founded upon the familiarities of the stars amongst each other in the zodiac (_after the nativity_), and show, by calculations, the distance of the place of a significator at the moment of the nativity from the place it must reach before it can join the aspect, which distance is called _the Arc of Direction_. Some astrologers consider what are called "_Mundane Directions_," which are distances in the world measured by the semi-arc, and are wholly independent of the zodiac. These were invented by Placidus, but as Ptolemy does not treat of them they will not be considered here.

It must always be remembered that--in directions--the place of a planet, at the time of the nativity, is called the planet itself, although it may not be there when the significator arrives; thus, if we wish to direct the Sun to the conjunction of Jupiter, we must do so to the position which that planet occupied _at the moment_ of the nativity. When the Arc of Direction is found the Sun's right ascension must be added to it, and the Sun will be the right ascension (without latitude) of that place in the zodiac at which, when the Sun arrives, the direction will be completed. For every day of the Sun's approach to this point a year must be added, and thus the time when the event is likely to happen is pointed out: these primary directions, however, cannot be depended upon to produce an event of great importance unless the secondary directions agree; but where the nativity is weak the primary direction alone is powerful enough to kill (especially if it should be opposed to the Hyleg), and misfortune will always happen if the positions of the planets, at the moment of birth, are unfortunate, _without_ the coincidence of any secondary direction.

_Secondary Directions_ are those daily aspects to the luminaries which happen after birth, every day of which is reckoned for a year, two hours for a month, thirty minutes for a week, and four minutes for a day.[13] Thus, whatever aspects take place in the _first day_ of the native's life will develop their effects in the first year and those of the second day in the second year, so that, should the native live fifty years, his secondary direction for his fiftieth year will arise from the aspects which took place on the fiftieth day after his birth. The ancient astrologers--particularly the Egyptians--used to predict the events of a nativity _wholly_ from these secondary directions,[14] in which the Moon should be chiefly considered; for in those days on which she comes to an evil aspect with the malefics, Saturn or Mars, the years corresponding to those days will be peculiarly unfortunate and dangerous to the native; and where, on the contrary, the Moon is well-aspected to the benefics, the years corresponding to those days will be very fortunate: a good direction gives prosperity in that matter which the significator indicates; thus we direct the Sun to signify the native's preferment or disgrace, his good or bad health, and the favour or disesteem of great personages.

[13] These aspects can all be judged from the Ephemeris of the year of birth.

[14] And these secondary directions being so much easier to calculate, students are advised to follow the ancient methods in this as in all else relating to this old-world study.

The direction of the Moon refers to the nature of the native's journeys, whether prosperous or the reverse, his marriage, his wife, his women friends and kinsfolk.

The direction of Saturn signifies the native's inheritance, buildings, possessions, and also his fears, jealousies and mistrusts.

Jupiter is directed as regards glory, renown, riches, children and religion.

Mars is directed for the native's law-suits, animosities and victories; he also shows the estates of brethren.

Venus is directed for marriage, love and pleasure and all matters in connection with women.

Mercury is directed for a knowledge of the amount of wit, understanding, trade, industry, and journeys of the native; also for distinction in scholarship and all intellectual pursuits.

The Horoscope or Ascendant is directed to signify the life, affections and manners of the native.

The Mid-heaven's direction affects the position and career of the native.

If the directions are to good aspects of benevolent planets, they signify prosperity both of mind and body, cheerfulness and all manner of earthly happiness; but if the horoscope should have directions to the ill aspects of the malefics, Mars or Saturn, then evil is to be expected of the nature given by the malevolent star. If directed to the good aspects, such as the trine or sextile of these evil planets, the misfortune is not so great, and even in some instances good may be predicted. As, for example, the horoscope directed to the trine or sextile of Mars gives preferment by arms; the same aspects towards Saturn would indicate success in building or in mines, or some calling connected with metals.

The occasional differences in the life, tastes, health, marriage and pecuniary affairs of twins, born within ten or twenty minutes of each other, are accounted for by the fact that at the birth of the first child the last degree of a sign may ascend with planets therein, or a planet in the 2nd house at 5 p.m. may be in the 1st at 5.15 p.m. and the early degrees of another sign may be exactly on the ascendant at the birth of the second child.

A planet may reach the M.C., or any other of the four cardinal points at, say, 10 p.m. and ten minutes later have passed off, when its powers would have greatly diminished. Though the signs rise and set at the rate of 15° per hour, in our latitude from 50° to 60° North, it often happens that 30° will ascend in fifty-two minutes.

Horary questions are questions asked at a certain time when a person feels anxious concerning any undertaking or impending event. A figure or map of the heavens, like that erected for a nativity, is drawn out for the minute in which the question is asked; and, if the astrologer be skilful, and the querist sincere--that is, not putting the question from frivolous motives--the answer will, in general, be true, for the whole is the effect of that sympathy which pervades all nature and which is the keynote of all divination under whatsoever form it is practised.

In horary questions the sign ascending and its lord represent the querent, and to these the Moon is added and must be considered with the lord of the ascendant.

The house to which the thing belongs--about which enquiry is made--is the significator of that person and thing, and every other house and its lord are to be considered according to their respective significations, so as to indicate the means and persons by which the event, about which the enquiries are made, will be accelerated or retarded.

The dates of events are regulated by the signs and angles. For example, should the significator of the event be in a movable sign and an angle the event will come to pass in the same number of days as there are degrees between the significator's aspect and the star to which it is directed if the aspect be by _application_; if by _separation_, the thing will _not_ take place at all. In one of the succedent houses movable signs give months, common signs years and fixed signs bring about the event, after much delay, and when all hopes of it are past.

Significators in any of the cadent houses seldom do anything and, should they bring about an event at all, they do so after much waiting and with much trouble and vexation.

The matter of horary questions is very well treated in Lilly's _Grammar of Astrology_, published in 1647, and, by way of explaining the manner in which this branch of astrology is worked, we give a _fac-simile_ of a map of a horary question to be found in this book, with (verbatim) Lilly's method of dealing with that particular question.

_Judgment of the Figure given in Plate._--"Living in London, where we have few or no small cattle as in the country, I cannot give example of such creatures, but I once set the figure preceding concerning a Dogge (which is in the nature of small beasts), which dogge was missing. The question to me was what part of the city they should search and if he should ever be recovered.

"The querent was signified by the sign ascending and the lord thereof, for, in his person, he was Saturnine and vitiated (according to the Dragon's Tail in the ascendant) in his nature, mind and understanding--that is, he was deformed in body and of a covetous disposition. The sign of the sixth house and his lord signifies the dogge, for that sign stands for sheep, hogs and small cattle.

"The sign of Gemini is west, and by south the quarter of the heaven is west; Mercury (the significator of the dogge) is in Libra, a western sign, but southern quarter of heaven, tending towards the west; the Moon is in Virgo, a south-west sign, and verging towards the western angle. The strength of the testimonies being thus examined I found the plurality to signify the west, and therefore I judged that the dogge ought to be westward from the place where the owner lived, which was at Temple Bar, wherefore I judged that the dogge was about Long Acre, or the upper part of Drury Lane. In regard that Mercury (the significator of the beast) was in a sign of the same triplicity as Gemini the ascendant, which signifies London, and applied to a trine aspect of the cusp of the sixth house, I judged that the dogge was not out of the lines of communication, but was in the same quarter, of which I was more confirmed by the trine of the Sun and Saturn. The sign in which Mercury appeared was Libra--an airy sign; therefore I judged that the dogge was in some chamber or upper room, and kept privately, or in great secrecy, because the Moon was under the beams of the Sun; and Mercury, the Moon and the Sun were in the eighth house: and because the Sun on the Monday following would apply by trine to Saturn, the lord of the ascendant, and the Moon to trine of Mars having exaltation in the ascendant, I intimated to the owner of the beast that, in my opinion, he should have his dogge again, or news of his dogge or small beast, upon the Monday following, or near that time, which was true; for a gentleman of the querent's acquaintance sent home the dogge the very same day, about ten in the morning, who, by accident, coming to see a friend in Long Acre, found the dogge chained up under a table, and, knowing the dogge to be the querent's, sent him home as above said, to my very great credit," and no doubt also to the great satisfaction of "the dogge" himself.

##