A Sleepy Reading From A Vintage Astrology Handbook

Hello sleepy listener,

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I'm Fran and I'm so grateful to have you with me as we delve into another old book together.

Tonight,

I decided to take inspiration from the stars.

We are reading an old astrology book.

Now,

You don't have to be deeply into your horoscopes or anything like that to enjoy this reading.

In fact,

Astrology used to be a subject you'd study as a mathematician.

I'm selecting a few chapters from Astrology,

How to make and read your own horoscope by Sepharial whose real name was Walter Richard Ault.

He was a 19th century astrologer.

This book is interesting enough to keep you listening and gentle enough to hopefully help you drift off to sleep.

There's no pressure to fall asleep listening to this.

Sleep often doesn't come when we want it to.

All you need to do is get comfy,

Perhaps in bed or in a chair and listen.

We will start with a meditation to help you relax your body and get ready for sleep.

Then we'll dive into the book.

Before we begin,

I want to take a moment to say thank you so much for choosing to listen to this recording.

I can't wait to grow this wonderful community with you.

Now,

Let's meditate together.

Just follow along as best you can.

Start by noticing where your body is.

Feel the surface underneath you,

Your bed,

Your chair,

The floor.

Let your body be supported.

Let it be still.

Take a slow,

Steady breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.

And again,

Breathe in and out.

Now bring your attention to your feet.

Let your toes loosen.

Let the tops of your feet soften.

Notice your heels resting and your ankles letting go.

There's no tension needed here.

Now move your attention up to your calves.

Let them grow heavy.

Let the muscles loosen.

Knees too,

No effort.

Let gravity do the work.

Now into your thighs.

Just let them soften and sink a little deeper.

Let the backs of your legs relax into the surface beneath you.

Bring your focus now to your hips.

Let that whole area feel supported.

Just let your hips drop gently.

You don't need to hold yourself up anymore.

Now the belly.

Let it be soft.

There's no need to pull it in or hold it tight.

Let your stomach rise and fall with your breath.

Easy and natural.

Move up to your chest.

Let it relax across the front.

The sides of your ribs go loose like unclenching a fist.

Now your back.

Feel each part of it from the lower back up to the middle up to your upper back and shoulders.

Release just a bit like a knot untying.

Relax your shoulders.

Notice if they're holding any tension.

Just let them fall a little.

No pressure.

Just let go.

Now your hands.

Unclench your fingers.

Let your palms rest.

Wrists nice and soft.

Forearms still and elbows at ease.

Letting your arms go heavy.

Now your neck and your face.

Let your jaw be loose.

Maybe part your lips slightly.

Your tongue is just resting.

Your cheeks feel soft.

And your eyes are closed,

Feeling heavy.

Finally your forehead.

Unfurrow those brows.

Unscrunch.

Just let it smooth out.

Now take one last slow breath in.

And breathe it out long and gentle.

You're now ready.

Let's begin.

This is Astrology.

How to make and read your own horoscope.

By Sepharial.

Introduction.

From the earliest ages of the world's history,

The subject of astrology has excited the interest of,

And exercised a great influence over,

The minds of a certain order of thinking men.

The science has never been universal in its acceptance,

Though it is safe to say that,

With its countless adherents in the East and the ever-increasing number of its advocates in the West,

There is no faith which has a more universal application than the belief in the influence of the heavenly bodies over the destinies of human beings.

It is not possible within the limits of a small handbook such as this to adequately consider the philosophic paradox which makes a free will in man a necessity in play.

But it is obvious that the concept is not altogether unscientific,

Seeing that it is customary to speak of the free path of vibration in chemical atoms,

While at the same time it is known that these atoms have their restricted characteristics,

Modes of motion,

Etc.

,

And are all subject to the general laws controlling the bodies of which they form integral parts.

Let it suffice that if we can trace an actual connectedness between the disposition of the heavenly bodies at the moment of a birth,

And the known life and character of the individual then born,

And an exact correspondence between the course of events in that life with the changes occurring in the heavens subsequent to the moment of birth,

We shall do well to accept the fact for what it is worth and arrange our philosophic notions accordingly.

As far back as the year BC 2154,

We find mention of the great importance attaching to the celestial phenomena in the minds of Chinese rulers.

It is recorded in the historical classic of China that at that time the astrologers He and Ho neglected their duties so that when,

On the 10th of October,

There was a great eclipse of the sun at Peking between seven and nine o'clock in the morning,

The people were wholly unprepared for it and ran about here and there in the utmost consternation.

For this offence He and Ho were deprived of their offices,

Their estates were confiscated and they were driven from the kingdom.

Among the Hindus we have the classical writers Garga,

Parashara and Mihira,

Together with their legions of commentators.

The Assyrian records are full of astrological allusions regarding the influence of planetary conjunctions and stellar positions.

The Greek mythology is nothing but a vast system of cosmographical astrology and there is no other history in it than what you may read in the constellations of the heavens and the corresponding evolution of the human race.

Aristotle made it a part of his philosophy.

Hipparchus,

Hippocrates,

Thales,

Galenius and others subscribed an intelligent belief in its principles.

To Claudius Ptolemy,

However,

We are indebted for the first concise and scientific statement of its principles and practice so far as Europe is concerned.

He wrote the Tetrabiblos or Four Books and laid the foundations of a true astrological science.

Julius Firmicus confirmed Ptolemy and enlarged upon his observations.

The subsequent discovery of the planets Uranus and Neptune by Herschel and Adams widened the field of research and gave to later astrologers the clue to much that hitherto had been imperfectly understood.

Not that these discoveries overturned the whole system of astrology as some have imagined and foolishly stated or that they negative the conclusions drawn from the observed effects of the seven anciently known bodies of the solar system.

But it became possible after a lapse of time to fill in the blank spaces and to account for certain events which had not been traced to the action of any of the already known planets.

The discovery of Argon did not destroy our conclusions regarding the nature and characteristics of oxygen or hydrogen or nitrogen nor give an entirely new meaning to the word atmosphere.

If even so many as seven new planets should be discovered there would yet not be a single paragraph of this book which would need revising.

What is known regarding planetary action in human life is known with great certainty and the effects of one planet can never be confounded with those of another.

Incomplete as it must needs be it is yet a veritable science both as to its principles and practices.

It claims for itself a place among the sciences for the sole reason that it is capable of mathematical demonstration and deals only with the observed positions and motions of the heavenly bodies.

And the man who holds to the Principia of Newton the solidarity of the solar system interaction of the planetary bodies and their consequent electrostatic effects upon the earth cannot,

While subject to the air he breathes deny the foundation principles of astrology.

The application of these principles to the facts of everyday life is solely a matter of prolonged research and tabulation upon an elaborate scale which has been going on for thousands of years in all parts of the world so that all the reader has to do is make his own horoscope and put the science to the test of true or false.

The present writer is in a position to know that the study of astrology at the present day is no less sincere than widely spread.

It is believed that the present work will be of considerable assistance to those who seriously contemplate an initial study of the science of horoscopy and although it by no means exhausts what is known on the subject yet it will be found accurate and reliable as far as it goes and will enable anyone of the ordinary intelligence to test the claims of astrology for themselves.

This is as much as can be expected in the limits of a small handbook.

The literature of the subject is considerable and the present writer only takes credit to himself so far as his own wide experience and practice have enabled him to present the subject in a simple and brief manner.

Section 1.

The Alphabet of the Heavens Chapter 1.

The Planets,

Their Natures and Types The luminaries and planets are known to astronomers under the following names The Sun,

Moon,

Neptune,

Uranus,

Saturn,

Jupiter,

Mars,

Venus and Mercury.

Neptune revolves around the Sun in its distant orbit once in about 165 years.

Uranus completes its orbital revolution in 84 years.

Jupiter in 12 years.

Mars in about 15 months.

Venus in 11 months.

And Mercury in 18 weeks.

If you imagine these bodies to be revolving in a plane around the Sun and yourself to be standing within the Sun the motions of these bodies will appear almost uniform and always in one direction.

Were the orbits of the planets circular and the Sun holding the centre of the circle their motions would be constant that is to say,

Always in the same direction and at the same rate.

But the orbits are elliptical and the Sun holds a position in one of the foci of each eclipse.

Consequently,

The planets are at times further from the Sun than at others and they are then said to be in their aphelion the opposite point of the orbit where they are nearest to the Sun being called the perihelion.

When at aphelion the planets move slower and when at perihelion they move quicker than at the mean distance.

Astronomers employ an imaginary circular orbit for the planets in which they move at a uniform rate of velocity which is called the mean motion.

This is subject to an equation depending on the position of the planet in its orbit and it determines the difference between the imaginary planet and the true planet.

The equation itself depends on the eccentricity of the orbit that is to say,

Its relation to a circle drawn around the same focal centre.

The Earth follows the same laws as all other bodies of the same system.

But if we imagine the Earth to be stationary in space and the centre around which the planets revolve their motions present several irregularities.

Mercury and Venus will then appear to revolve around the Sun while the Sun revolves around the Earth sometimes being between the Earth and the Sun which is called an inferior conjunction.

Sometimes on the further side of the Sun away from the Earth as at their superior conjunction and again at other times to the right or left of the Sun in east or west elongation.

The other planets having orbits greater than that of the Earth will appear to revolve around it at constantly varying distances and velocities.

At certain points in their orbits they will appear to remain stationary in the same part of the zodiac.

The annexed illustration will assist the lay reader perhaps.

The body M is Mercury when at inferior conjunction with the Sun as seen from the Earth.

The letter V is the planet Venus at superior conjunction with the Sun.

The points W and E are the points of greatest elongation west and east.

And the letter S shows the points in the orbit at which those bodies appear to be stationary when viewed from the Earth at G.

As seen from the Earth,

Venus would appear to be direct and Mercury retrograde.

Astrologically we regard the Earth as the passive subject of planetary influence and we have therefore to regard it as the centre of the field of activity.

If we were making a horoscope for an inhabitant of the planet Mars we should make Mars the centre of the system.

The planet's positions are therefore taken as from the centre of the Earth,

Geocentric and not as from the centre of the Sun,

Heliocentric.

An astrological ephemeris of the planet's motions is employed for this purpose and there are 480,

000 of these sold to astrologers or students of astrology every year from which fact it is possible to draw one's own conclusions as to the state of astrology in the West.

These figures,

Of course,

Do not include the millions of almanac readers nor the Eastern students who prepare their own ephemerides.

Knowing the simple natures of the several planets we are able to arrive at an estimate of their effects when acting in combination.

Neptune acts upon the mind of man to produce a highly strung nervous temperament often allied to either insanity or genius,

Neurosis,

Aphasia etc.

It produces complications in business and an involved state of affairs generally.

Uranus gives an eccentric mind,

Waywardness,

Originality,

Inventiveness.

Acting on the affairs of business,

It produces sudden and unexpected developments,

Irregularities,

Rapid rise and fall,

Instability,

Unexpected turns of good and bad fortune.

In the body it has relation to the nervous system.

Saturn produces a thoughtful,

Sober,

Ponderable mind,

Steadfastness,

Patience and endurance,

Disposition to routine and habit,

Method.

In financial affairs it gives steady results commensurate with labour,

Success that is slow but sure,

Endurance,

Hardships.

In the body it is related to the Osseous system,

Which for the listener is related to your bones.

Jupiter gives joviality,

Optimism,

Bountifulness,

Generosity,

A rich and fruitful mind.

It renders the subject fortunate in their affairs,

Giving success and frequently opulence.

With this planet strong in the horoscope,

A person never goes under.

In the body it is related to the arterial process.

Mars confers a sense of freedom,

Much ambition and executive ability,

Frankness,

Truthfulness and scorn of consequence.

It renders the mind forceful and militant,

Stimulates to new projects and enterprises and in the body has relation to the muscular system.

Venus confers good taste,

Fine feeling,

Artistic powers,

Gentleness,

Dalliance and love of pleasure.

It renders the affairs pleasant and prosperous,

Giving profit from both artistic and rustic pursuits.

Next to Jupiter it is the most benefic of the planets in its action on mankind.

In the body it has relation to the Venus system.

Mercury renders its subjects active,

Versatile,

Apt and businesslike,

Disposed to much commerce,

Whether of the mind or the market,

And eager in the pursuit of knowledge,

Alert and well informed.

Its influence on affairs of life is variable,

For it always translates the nature of that planet to which at birth it is in nearest aspect.

In the body it is related to the sensorium,

And by sensorium I'm talking about the nervous system and the centres of sensation.

The Moon gives gracefulness of manner and suavity of speech,

Softness and adaptability of nature,

Variableness,

Love of change,

Romance and adventure,

Disposed to exploration and voyaging.

In the body it corresponds to the glandular system.

The Sun renders its subjects magnanimous,

Noble,

Proud,

Despising all mean and sordid actions,

Loyal,

Truthful and fearless.

It produces honours and the favour of dignitaries,

And renders the subject fortunate in the control of his affairs.

In the body it controls the vital principle,

And I had to do a little bit of digging on what the vital principle is referring to,

And the closest I could find was it describes the soul really,

The life force.

Chapter 2.

The Signs of the Zodiac The Zodiac is an imaginary belt of the heavens through which the Sun and planets move in their apparent revolutions round the Earth.

It extends from 23 degrees,

27 minutes above the plane of the equator,

To the same distance below it,

Being bounded by the Tropic of Cancer on the north and by that of Capricorn on the south.

The ecliptic is a circle transecting this belt at an angle of 23 degrees,

27 minutes to the plane of the equator.

The points where it cuts the equator are called the equinoxes.

The ecliptic is divided into 12 equal sections,

Counting from the vernal equinox.

These are called the signs of the Zodiac.

Each sign occupies 30 degrees of the circle.

Their names and symbols are as follows.

1.

Ares,

The ram 2.

Taurus,

The bull 3.

Gemini,

The twins 4.

Cancer,

The crab 5.

Leo,

The lion 6.

Vertigo,

The virgin 7.

Libra,

The balance 8.

Scorpio,

The scorpion 9.

Sagittarius,

The hunter 10.

Capricornus,

The goat 11.

Aquarius,

The waterman 12.

Pisces,

The fishes For astrological purposes,

They are grouped according to the element and the constitution which they represent thus.

Elements Fire Ares Leo Sagittarius Earth Taurus Virgo Libra Aquarius Water Cancer Scorpio Pisces Constitutions Moveable Ares Cancer Libra Capricornus Fixed Taurus Leo Flexed Gemini Virgo Sagittarius Pisces Every alternate sign beginning with Ares is male and the rest are female.

Ares male Taurus female Gemini male Cancer female etc.

The signs Ares,

Leo,

Capricornus are called barren,

While Taurus,

Cancer,

Scorpio and Pisces are fruitful.

Ares governs the east,

Cancer the north,

Libra the west and Capricornus the south.

The double-bodied signs are Gemini,

Sagittarius and Pisces.

It is important that all these classifications should be learned as they form an essential part of astrology and are frequently employed in the reading of a horoscope.

The types of people under the various signs should also be known as intimately as possible.

A person is said to be under a sign,

That is to say,

Under its influence,

When that sign is rising in the east at the moment of birth.

You will recognise these types among your friends and associates.

The planets rising in each sign will always alter the type by impressing their own characteristics on the subject.

Each sign has a ruler and the position of the ruler of the arising sign has much to do with the physical conformation.

Rulership of the planets in the signs is as follows.

Saturn governs Aquarius and Capricornus.

Jupiter governs Pisces and Sagittarius.

Mars governs Aries and Scorpio.

Venus governs Taurus and Libra.

Mercury governs Gemini and Virgo.

The Moon governs Cancer and Leo is governed by the Sun.

When a planet is found in a sign over which it is said to govern,

It acts more strongly than usual.

And when in the opposite signs to those it governs,

It is said to be in its fall,

When it is weaker than usual.

Planets governing opposite signs to one another are said to be enemies.

Such do not produce harmonious and favourable results when acting in conjunction.

The imaginary circle which passes immediately over your head as you face the south is called the prime vertical.

This is divided for astrological purposes into twelve equal divisions called houses,

Six of which are above the horizon and six below it.

They are counted from the east horizon under the earth to the west and thence through the zenith to the east again.

Each such division or house carries its own signification,

And it has been ascertained beyond all doubt or cavil that the ruling of the ancients in this matter is altogether reliable,

However empirical it may appear.

The first house governs the personal appearance,

But chiefly the face and head.

The second house rules over finance,

Moveable effects,

Commerce.

In the body it governs the neck and throat.

The third house governs short journeys,

Letters and other means of communication,

Near relations or neighbours.

In the body it governs the arms and lungs.

The fourth house governs real estate,

The residence,

The produce of the earth,

The mother of the subject and the end of life.

In the body the thorax.

The fifth house governs progeny,

The sex instincts,

Domestic relations and social pleasures.

In the body the back and heart.

The sixth house governs the health and personal comforts of the subject,

Clothes,

Food and other physical requisites,

Sanitation,

Hygiene.

In the body it rules over the abdomen and lower viscera.

The seventh house has dominion over marriage,

Contracts,

Agreements,

Partners and matters of exchange.

In the body it has relation to the loins and kidneys.

The eighth house rules death,

Loss,

Legacies and diaries and matters appertaining to the deceased.

In the body it is related to the excretory system.

The ninth house is said to govern long journeys,

Publications,

Religious beliefs,

Foreign lands and legal affairs.

In the body it rules the thighs.

The tenth house rules over position,

Honour and fame of the subject,

The father,

Superiors of all orders.

In the body it rules over the knees.

The eleventh house governs friends,

Social relations,

Societies and companies with which the subject is concerned.

In the body it has relation to the legs from calf to ankle.

The twelfth house rules ambushes,

Restraints,

Confinements and all limitations of the personal freedom.

In the body it rules the ankles and feet.

Chapter 4 The Astronomical Aspects Aspects are certain angular distances measured on the ecliptic and they form a fundamental part of astrological science.

Any planet may be good or bad in its effects on the character and destiny,

According to the aspect that it throws to the chief points of the horoscope.

The aspects are the semi-square aspect of 45°,

Sextile of 60°,

Square of 90°,

Trine of 120°,

Sesquiquadrate of 135° and the opposition of 180°.

There is also the conjunction when bodies are in the same degree or part of a sign.

The good aspects are the trine and sextile,

The evil being the semi-square,

Square,

Sesquiquadrate and opposition.

The aspect of a planet determines its effects,

Whether for good or bad.

The conjunction is good with good planets,

Such as Jupiter and Venus,

And bad with malefic planets such as Mars and Saturn.

When planets are the same distance north or south of the equator,

They are in parallel declination,

And then they act as if in conjunction.

Also,

When planets are in mutual disposition,

That is to say,

Occupying one another's signs,

They act as if they were in conjunction.

Planets in conjunction act according to their simple natures,

But when in aspect,

According to the nature of that aspect.

The benefic planets Jupiter,

Venus,

Sun,

Moon and also Mercury,

When in good disposition with another planet or in a congenial sign,

Produce good effects by their conjunctions and by their trine and sextile aspects,

But when in square,

Semi-square or sesquisquare aspect,

They are uniformly bad in effect.

On the other hand,

The malefic planets Neptune,

Uranus,

Saturn and Mars,

Together with Mercury when ill-disposed or in uncongenial signs,

Are negative in their effects when in conjunction with the significant points of the horoscope,

Also when in bad aspect,

But they nevertheless produce good effects when in good aspect.

The significators The more important points of the horoscope to which aspect can be thrown are called significators.

The general significators in any horoscope are the Sun,

The Moon,

The Midheaven,

The degree which holds the meridian of the horoscope,

And the Ascendant,

The degree which is rising.

But every planet can be a particular significator in its own province,

Namely,

In the sign which it rules,

And the house in which it is found at birth.

In a general sense,

The Moon is significant of the mother,

Female relations,

The personal health and fortunes,

And the changes incident to these.

The Sun in the same way indicates the father,

Male relations,

The vital principle and position.

Mercury is the significator of the mind and intellect,

The faculties generally.

Venus is significatrix of love affairs,

Domestic relations,

Pleasures,

And of young female relations,

Sisters,

Etc.

Mars is significator of enterprises,

Strifes,

And young male relations.

Jupiter is significator of increase and emoluments,

Saturn of legacies,

Inheritance,

And aged persons.

Uranus of civic and governmental bodies.

Neptune of voyages and psychic experiences.

The chief points to be regarded,

However,

Are the Midheaven,

The Ascendant,

And the places of the Sun and Moon.

We've now reached the end of this reading of Astrology,

How to make and read your own horoscope.

Thank you so much for listening.

Good night.