In the outer world of human activities Uranus appears now to be exercising more sway. Electrical and mechanical enterprises and inventions of all kinds, railways, educational short cuts,’ index systems, the comparative study of religions, etc., etc., are all more or less under his direct influence and illustrate his peculiar mission—to cause man to seek by the destruction of a lesser form the added life and intelligence dwelling in the higher form of which that lesser form was an integral though separated part; in short, regeneration as distinguished from generation.
NEPTUNE, the last discovered planet, has, on the whole, but a faint influence upon our earth and its inhabitants. The undeveloped psychic who is unable to control the mediumistic tendencies induced from without, and those who are easily obsessed or of very weak will, always subject to changing impressions, will in one sense come under Neptune as will also those who are very highly advanced psychically. Experience tends to prove that the influence of an afflicted Neptune as a rule is undesirable. There is a possibility of there being such a thing as a lost personality, metaphorically speaking, and such may be in some peculiar manner under this influence. Depravity and exceptional immorality seem to be under the influence of Neptune, but many years must elapse before sufficient tabulation is made to warrant a reliable opinion concerning Neptune’s vibrations.
Much fuller information on these and the other planets will be found in the next volume of this series, where a separate chapter is devoted to each. The beginner, however, will do well to leave these until he arrives at the book in the natural course of his studies; otherwise, he will find himself bewildered with a multitude of ideas for which he has not yet prepared due receptacles. What has been given above is quite sufficient at his present stage, and will furnish him with clear fundamental ideas regarding the natures of the planets, ideas which will form a substantial foundation upon which he can subsequently erect any superstructure which the processes of his thought, aided by further reading, and matured by his own experience and observation, may incline him to devise.
To those who have carefully studied the series of Introductory Manuals issued by the Author, this caution will not, of course, apply, as they will (or should) have already obtained a clear outline idea of the essential natures of the planets.
1 Since the first Edition of this work was published, in 1903, the scientific basis of Astrology has been definitely laid down. Those who wish to enquire further into the matter are referred to The Foundations of Physical Astrology by G. E. Sutcliffe, member of the Leeds Astronomical Society.
CHAPTER IV
IN the first volume of this series, Astrology for All. Chapter VII, a list was given of the aspects formed between the heavenly bodies as they pass along the zodiac, and for convenience sake this list may here be repeated in the following form:—
The formation of these aspects will be made clear to the mind by the following illustration. At the time of the New Moon, the Moon and Sun are in conjunction, i.e., they occupy the same degree of the zodiac, but as the Moon moves faster than the Sun, they very soon separate, and in fact two-and-a-half days later the Moon is 30° further on in the zodiac than the Sun is, and five days later 60° further on; hence they are said to be respectively in ‘semi-sextile’ and in ‘sextile’ to each other at these dates. Seven days after the New Moon they are 90° apart or in ‘square’ to each other, this being the date of the First Quarter. Ten days after, they are in ‘trine,’ and when half a month has elapsed we have the Full Moon, which means that the Moon is opposite to the Sun, 180° away, or in ‘opposition’ to the Sun. After that, the aspects given in the above list are re-formed in the reverse order, namely,
To the aspects just enumerated may be added the Parallel of Declination, when the two bodies are the same distance, whether north or south, from the equator; its nature is variable, like the conjunction. The following minor aspects are taken into account by some astrologers, but in reality their influence, if they have any, is so slight as to be negligeable.
Those who pay attention to them believe them to be slightly good; the ancient astrologers ignored them, and the moderns may safely do the same. Omitting these, it will be seen that the table of aspects may be divided into three sections, the good, the evil, and the variable. Let us consider the latter first.
Conjunction is when two heavenly bodies are together at the same point of the zodiac. It therefore stands, symbolically if not practically, for union, synthesis, the blending of two in one. What effect the union will have depends upon the nature of the combined planets. When two torces meet, the resultant varies according to the angle between them and the strength of each force. When two notes are sounded together upon a musical instrument, the resulting sound depends upon whether the two sets of vibrations harmonise or not. And so with planetary conjunctions. If we suppose the planets to transmit their influence by means of vibrations sent through the subtle ethers of the solar system, the effects detected by the astrologer in a horoscope will vary according to whether the waves of the one supplement or contradict those of the other.
Planets, as we know, may be divided for convenience into three classes; first those which are in the main benefic—Jupiter and Venus; second, those which are very often malefic, more or less—Mars, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; third, those which may be described as more or less neutral and variable—Sun, Moon, and Mercury. A benefic planet is one the influence of which harmonises and blends sympathetically with our own, the Earth. Jupiter and Venus both stand, at least in relation to our humanity, for growth, increase, harmony, balance, the avoidance of extremes; while the so-called malefics bring about exactly those extremes which it is desirable to avoid; at least that is their effect when considered as malefics, although as we have seen in a previous chapter there are various ways of interpreting planetary influence. Broadly speaking, the conjunction of a neutral planet with a benefic is good and tends to harmony both in terms of fate and of character. The conjunction of a neutral planet with a malefic is exactly the reverse: Mars tending to extremes of heat, disintegration, and impulse, Saturn to coldness, selfishness, devitalisation, and isolation; Uranus being moderately Saturnian in its degree of cold, with an added tendency to suddenness and reversal, while Neptune along with some sensitiveness and intuition gives sensuousness and instability. The conjunction of one benefic and one malefic is neither wholly good nor wholly evil, but strikes a mean between the two; and that of two benefics or two malefics is neither so good nor so bad as might be expected.
To take an illustration, when Mars is in conjunction with Saturn the result should, theoretically, be a harmonious unity, but really is not so, for the combination is in effect not unlike the influence of the planet Uranus in some respects. If we look upon Mars as heat and Saturn as cold, the effect upon the weather is less cold than Saturn and less hot than Mars, and to this extent the two may be regarded as modifying one another. But in spite of this they do not blend or unify; they act irregularly as if now one and now the other had obtained control, reminding one of a gusty and chilly day with spells of heat at intervals.
In terms of character the result is similar. If we look upon Saturn as caution and Mars as boldness the result is not that prudent balance of judgment which is to be desired: to some extent