Section IV. The Stars in Their Courses

Chapter I. The Time-Measure

The planets, in their motions after birth, come into certain relations with the planets in the horoscope of birth, and also form aspects among themselves owing to the diversities of their motions in the Zodiac. In Astrological science there are two separate means of calculating the time of events, but both methods consist of bringing the body of one planet to the body or aspect of another, which process is called “Directing,” and the arc described by the moving body is called an “Arc of Direction.”

The first of these methods is the discovery of Claudius Ptolemy, the famous mathematician and geographer, the author of the Syntaxis, as set forth in his work the Tetrabiblos, or Four Books on the influence of the Stars. This method had the support and confirmation of the great Kepler. It has respect to the rising, setting, and meridian passage of the planets after birth, whereby they are brought to the places or aspects of the planets in the Radix (the Root), which is the horoscope of birth.

The limits and nature of this work do not permit of a thorough exposition of this method, which entails some little knowledge of spherical trigonometry, but the reader who desires to perfect himself therein is referred to the author’s work, entitled “Prognostic Astronomy.” A facile application of the method is here given, by which any one may, by the aid of the Tables of Houses, make certain of the more important calculations by rule of thumb, and predict thence the times of remarkable events.

The principle involved is this: The number of degrees which pass over the meridian between the moment of birth and the rising or culminating of a planet, will equal the number of years which must elapse from birth until the influence of that planet becomes dominant.

Thus, if Jupiter at birth is coming to the meridian, that is to say, if it be in the 10th, 11th, or 12th House, count the number of degrees between the meridian and Jupiter, and in so many years from the time of birth there will be an access of good fortune. Similarly, if Saturn or other of the malefic planets be coming to the meridian, the number of degrees between it and the Midheaven will indicate the age at which troubles will abound.

Also, when the planets have passed the meridian, the measure is made in the same way, by bringing the Midheaven to the place of the planet, counting the degrees between the planet and Midheaven for the number of years at which it will operate.

But the same and other planets may be directed to the horizon, by taking the Table of Houses for the latitude of the birthplace (Sect. I., chap. iii.) and finding therein under the column marked “Ascen.” (Ascendant) the longitude held by any of the planets. Observe then what degree is on the Midheaven in the column marked 10 (10th House), and count the number of degrees between this Midheaven and the Midheaven at birth. The result will give the age at which the effects of such planets will be experienced.

Thus, for a person born in or near Liverpool or in the same latitude, suppose the Midheaven at birth to be in Scorpio 0, and Saturn to be in the 2nd House in Aquarius 8 degrees. I wish to bring Saturn to the horizon. In the Table of Houses I find that Aquarius 8 is on the Ascendant when Sagittarius 9 is on the Midheaven, and I therefore count from Scorpio 0 to Sagittarius 9. This gives the age of 39 years, and as Saturn is in the 2nd House at birth, I say that at 39 years of age the Subject would experience financial disaster, and because Saturn comes then to the Ascendant, I also say there would be serious illness and depression of spirits.

When planets are setting at birth they are brought to the opposition of the Ascendant in a similar manner, only the opposite point of the zodiac must be found in the Tables under the Ascendant. Thus, if Mars were in the 7th House at birth in the 11th degree of Cancer, I find the opposite point (Capricornus 11) under the column of the Ascendant, and I note that Scorpio 19 is then on the Midheaven, so that from Scorpio 0 to Scorpio 19 gives 19 years, at which age the Subject would have a serious illness due to inflammatory action in the stomach and probably produced by overwork and worry, as indicated by the sign Cancer and the planet Mars, or if there be indications of an accident, then an accident by scalding with hot water or acids would be predicted.

Planets are brought to the opposition of the Midheaven by counting the degrees which intervene between the longitude on the lower meridian at birth and that held by the planet.

In all such directions the conjunctions of benefic planets are advantageous when directed to the Midheaven or Ascendant, and the conjunctions of the malefics are indicated of periods of bad fortune. The oppositions are uniformly evil, whether the planet involved in the direction be a benefic or malefic. (Sect. I., chap. iv.)

These are the directions of the planets to the two Significators, the Midheaven and Ascendant. The Midheaven appertains to honours and credit, while the Ascendant has relation to the personal and bodily welfare and the general fortunes.

To direct the Midheaven or Ascendant to the other aspects of the planets, such as the sextile, trine, semisquare or square, it is only necessary to note the degrees in which these aspects fall and bring them to the Midheaven or Ascendant as if the body of the planet were itself there, and in the manner already indicated.

The Sun is directed after birth by its motion in the zodiac, which can be found in the Ephemeris for the year of birth, and the aspects it forms to the planets in the horoscope and in the daily progress should be tabulated. In most Ephemerides they are already calculated, so that the labour is considerably lightened. Each day after birth will represent one year of life, the mean motion of the Sun being about 1 degree per day. All that is necessary, therefore, is to count the number of days from birth to the date when the Sun forms an aspect, and that will give the age at which the planet aspected will produce its effects.

As the Sun goes through the zodiac the other bodies make progress along with it, in which course they form aspects to the Midheaven, Ascendant, the Sun and Moon in the horoscope of birth. These are called “Secondary” directions, and in connection with the Sun’s aspects after birth, constituted the system in use among the Arabian astrologers.

Minor periods of good and bad fortune, subsidiary to the above periodic influences, are taken from the Moon’s progress after birth, in which one day equals one year of life, and two hours equal one month. These directions of the Moon afford a monthly prognosis of the course of events, and are useful in the conduct of minor affairs in life. When they are contrary to the general trend and import of the periodic directions made to the Midheaven, Ascendant and Sun, they act indifferently, and frequently produce only passing benefits or annoyances; but when they are in agreement with the Primary Directions cited above, then they accentuate and define the nature and time of events. As if the Primaries be good and the Lunar directions evil, then there will be a predominance of good fortune with some current disturbances; but both being good there will be abundant success and satisfaction; while if the Primaries be evil and the Lunar directions good, the latter will serve only to moderate the effects for the time being of the Primary evil indications.

An intelligent apercu of the principles of directing will greatly enhance the value of any prognostications made from the horoscope of birth, as it will enable the student to select those periods in the life when the effects due to any planet are most likely to eventuate. Thus, if Saturn be in the 2nd House at birth, it may be said that there would follow some periods of great financial stress, and the rising of Saturn by direction after birth would show the time when one, at all events, of such periods would be experienced.

And here is the great fact upon which astrologers the world over are prepared to stand or fall. If the planets have no effect in the lives of men, their directions to the angles of the horoscope can have no effect; but never was it found that a man had evil fortunes at the period when the planet Jupiter was directed to the Midheaven or Ascendant, or anything but bad fortune when Saturn was similarly directed. The fact is there, and we cannot get away from it. The only question is as to how far we can intelligently carry our investigations beyond that point, and intelligibly convey our discoveries to the world by their application to the affairs of daily life. The reader may judge for himself from a perusal of these pages.

The directions being calculated and tabulated in order of their occurrence, the time and general nature of the influences operating in successive periods of the life will stand revealed. The particular nature of the events indicated by the several directions may be known from (a) the House in which the directed planet is situated; (b) the Sign it occupies; and (c) the aspect it forms, considered in relation to the nature of the planet. For example: If Uranus at birth were in the 9th House and the sign Gemini, its direction to the Midheaven would be the index of litigation in connection with writings, publications, or means of transit; because the 9th House, among other things, has relation to litigation and legal affairs, and Gemini (the 3rd House sign) to communications, writings, &c., while Uranus denotes sudden and unexpected events, ruptures, alienations, and complexities.

So if Saturn were in the 6th House in the sign Aquarius, its direction to the opposition of the Ascendant would indicate chills to the blood, anemia, &c., constituting a serious illness with probability of low fever; because the 6th House rules sickness, and Aquarius rules the blood, while Saturn is the cause of chills, paucity, and impediments.

Thus the time and nature of events may be known with great certainty.

Chapter II. The Effects of Transits

Among the number of important indicators to which Astrologers refer in making a forecast of concurrent events, there are the transits of the planets over the places of the Significators at birth, the positions of Eclipses, and those of the lunations.

The first of these chronocrators depends upon the revolutions of the planets in their orbits. Each planet has a period in which it completes its revolution in the heavens, in the course of which it passes the places of the Sun, Moon, Midheaven, and Ascendant of the horoscope. This passage over the radical Significators is technically termed its “transit,” and it will be found that such transits afford a very precise and reliable source of prognostication, for the time of a planet’s transit is known in advance of its occurrence (see Sect. II., chap. iv.), and the effects of such transit are in exact terms of the nature of the planet concerned. It is only necessary to add that the Midheaven and the Sun have relation to the position and honour of the Subject, while the Moon and Ascendant have relation to the personal health and general fortunes. The Sun and Midheaven also signify the father, and the Moon has general signification of the mother. Venus signifies domestic and love affairs, the affections and sentiments; while Mercury signifies the mental disposition. So Uranus in transit over the place of Venus will give a love affair, a romantic attachment. Mars over the place of Venus will engender passionate love. Saturn over Venus will give disappointment or bereavement; and Neptune thereover will bring entanglements and complications, with danger of being led astray. Saturn over Mercury will produce melancholy and many errors of judgment. Mars over the same planet will excite the mind and dispose to impulse and unreasoning anger, quarrels and disputation. Uranus over Mercury will render the mind wayward and headstrong, disposed to erratic courses and egotistic methods. Neptune passing the place of Mercury produces deceits, treacheries, and apprehension of impending evil, a sense of espionage and ambush. It involves the mind in tortuous and complicated schemes, and disposes to secrecy and wariness.

The transits of the major planets are of chief significance, and their effects are rendered more weighty and lasting when at the time of transit they are retrograde in the zodiac; while their stationary positions on the places of the Significators have almost the same power as Primary Directions.

Of Eclipses.

An Eclipse of the Sun or Moon falling on the place of any Significator in the horoscope of birth is of a sinister import, and cannot be too seriously considered. Falling on the Ascendant or the Moon they affect the health and general fortunes very seriously, and only a series of subsequent good directions can avail to restore the Subject to his normal condition. On the Midheaven or the Sun, the honour and fortunes may both be affected, and in the same serious degree. The Eclipses falling on the places of the other planets will produce effects in accord with the nature of those planets and the Houses they occupy. To have any appreciable effect, the Eclipses must be within two degrees of any of the radical positions, or of their opposition aspects.

Of Lunations.

The Lunations recur in the same part of the Ecliptic every nineteen years. Considered in relation to the current indications they afford the means of a monthly forecast of events. Thus, if the lunation for the month falls on the place of Jupiter in the horoscope of birth, it will produce good effects in that department of life which is governed by the House in which Jupiter is situated; as if in the 11th, through friends; in the 4th, through property or rental; in the 6th, through servants and health; in the 8th, through a financial colleague, &c.

The effects of Lunations are subsidiary to the current Lunar directions, and these in turn are subsidiary to the transits, and the transits to the Primary Directions. By this it is not meant that they are inoperative, nor that they fail to indicate the events of the month, but their power and degree of influence is subject to the greater influence of superior causes. And as a general observation it may be affirmed that the less frequently any celestial position occurs in a horoscope, the greater is its influence. This fact gives to primary directions their great influence in the life, for they can only occur once in a lifetime; and for the same reason Eclipses have a major significance, for the same Eclipse only recurs after an interval of 649 years. The transits of Neptune, of Uranus, of Saturn and Jupiter and Mars follow in their order of frequency. Neptune has a revolution of about 165 years, Uranus 84 years, Saturn 30 years, Jupiter 12 years, and Mars 1¼ years.

Major effects must not therefore be referred to inferior causes, and minor effects must not be referred to superior causes. In universal or even national cataclysms, individual fortunes are submerged.

Chapter III. How to Summarise a Horoscope

Before leaving the exposition of this subject, it may be of advantage to the reader if I give some idea of the method to be pursued in the complete handling of a horoscope.

First, then, erect the figure of birth, taking care to use the Ephemeris of the year of birth, and also the correct Table of Houses for the latitude of the place of birth.

Next proceed to attempt a description of the chief personal traits of the Subject, following in succession with a well-considered judgment on the constitution, hereditary tendencies, the health and pathological predispositions, the mental traits and disposition, considering these latter in relation to the state of health indicated. Then pass to a consideration of the environing conditions of life; the financial condition and outlook; the position in life; the occupation; prospects and conditions of marriage; of progeny. Judge next concerning voyages and journeys. Finish with a statement regarding the predominance of friends or enemies, and select dates by Solar positions, as already instructed. In cases where it is not objected to, an approximation may be made to the time and nature of death.

Throughout the whole of this judgment, the periods when these predicted effects will come into force should be made by reference to the rising, setting, and meridian passage of the planets, the solar aspects, and transits.

Care should be taken to weigh justly and impartially the evidence set before you in the figure of the heavens for birth. Major importance should be given to those planets which are in angles, and those which are in elevation, for the nearer a planet may be to the Midheaven, the greater is its influence for good or ill, according to its nature and aspect.

Read what you see, not what you imagine should be the destiny of an individual. If you are in complete ignorance of his person, position, and environment, so much the better. If you follow carefully the various rules which are contained in this book, you may at first make some errors of judgment, but as you become familiar with the task, even these errors will become few and far between, and in the end the language of the horoscope will become so intelligible and clear that it will interpret itself, and the whole trend and potentiality for good or ill of any birth-figure will force itself upon you in just the same way as when a man walks into your presence with his character clearly stamped upon his face, so that you have only to look and know.

Having become proficient in the judgment of birth-figures, you will do well to proceed to a closer study of the mathematics of astrology, making yourself proficient in the various methods of directing, so that you may at any time refine upon your general prognostics, and make predictions which are clear, sharp, and to the point.

Undoubtedly there is a modicum of intuitive perception at work in the judgment of any horoscope, which will enable you to seize upon the small details and exact pointing of any matter, and this perhaps constitutes the whole difference between the rule of thumb worker and the inspirational reasoning of the intuitive worker. The one exhausts the books and the other embellishes them. It is so with science in every department. The books will take you up to a certain point of proficiency, and a strict regard for the formulæ will keep you within the bounds of safety. But if you are ever to make a discovery or become a recognised exponent of any science, you must be naturally gifted with what is called the “scientific imagination,” another name for intuition. But at no point does true intuition part company with exact reasoning. There is no lesion. The one is an extension of the other. It is the higher reason, which argues from the known to the unknown. And the Astrologer is in this respect as the poet, “born, not made.” But a moment’s reflection will suffice to convince you that the more facile you may become with the book-learning and technique of Astrology, the more you will leave the intuition free to act. When a lad is struggling with his multiplication tables, his appreciation of the binomial theorem or the differential calculus cannot be said to amount to much. And, in the same way, a person who is stuffing down the Alphabet of Astrology cannot be expected to intuit anything concerning the potential of the Sun’s direction to the quadrature of Saturn.

Chapter IV. How to Become a Successful Astrologer

I take it that nobody nowadays can afford to fritter away time in the study of subjects which are not likely to become a source of benefit to himself and others. If there be such people among my readers, which I consider unlikely, I may dismiss them offhand with the remark that they will never become successful astrologers, for the first word of practical astrology is Utility. If the science had not its practical application to the affairs of everyday life, if its principles contained no word of assurance and hope for the myriad toilers of this world, no word of admonition for the self-indulgent parasites of modern social life, if, in short, it did not make for the betterment of human life and thought, it would never have attracted the attention of Aristotle, Cicero, Galen, Claudius Ptolemy, Thales, and others of the old world, and such men as Bacon, Cardan, Archbishop Usher, Naibod, Mercator, Ashmole, Kenelm Digby, Sir Christopher Heydon, Dryden, Dr. John Butler, Sir George Wharton, Vincent Wing, George Witchel, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, and Flamstead of more recent biography. Indeed, in whatever age or country we may elect to make our inquiries concerning Astrology, there are to be found a host of intelligent and even illustrious advocates in every department of life and learning. Suffice it to say that the modern student of this most ancient of all sciences is at all times in very good company.

Let it first be understood that there is an object to be attained in the study of Astrology, and that the pursuit of it in the gratification of an idle curiosity alone will inevitably entail the waste of time which invariably attaches to idleness of all descriptions, and we may then profitably consider whether or not the subject is worth the labour which it will demand from the man who has something to do in the world and little enough time in which to do it. These are stressful times, and we have to be economical in our efforts. We have strength enough to carry us through, but neither strength enough to thresh the wind nor time enough to fish in puddles.

What, then, does Astrology offer to the patient worker, the man who would become a successful Astrologer?

First and foremost it will enable him to gain an insight into individual motive and character which no other science can possibly afford. It will enable him to know himself, his own strength and weakness, and so fit him to deal harmoniously and justly with others. It will enhance his opportunities to the extent that he is able to foresee and make use of all benefic influences operating through his own environment. It will give him timely warning of his approach to the quicksands and pitfalls which occur in his passage through life. He will discern his special physical weaknesses, and the times of his predisposition to sickness, the nature thereof, and the precautions which are necessary. He will know whom to cultivate and whom to avoid, and in selecting a partner in business or a wife for his home, he will be guided by a foreknowledge of evils to be avoided and of good things to be gained. He will choose his path in life with the confidence that it is for him the line of least resistance and therefore that of greatest progress. He will not become obsessed by ambitions beyond his power to achieve. He will learn the power of adaptation to environment, and thereby effect his work in the world with the least possible friction and waste of force. He will know when to make provision against sickness, accident, and death. He will not invest capital where interest is not to be gained. He will see the end from the beginning. It may not make him a brilliant success in the world, but it will assuredly save him from being a failure. He will find causes for inexplicable things, and his mind will rest content in the knowledge hat while he is working out the highest potentialities of his own horoscope, the major problems and intricacies of life are not of his making or needful of his solving. And finally, when his time comes to “shuffle off this mortal coil,” he will be prepared, and will know that it is the will of Heaven, expressed and determined from the moment of his birth. Rightly employed, Astrology cannot fail to improve the man who makes of it a serious study, fitting him to be of greater use to others and of higher service to the race at large.

But to become a successful Astrologer he must study patiently for several years, testing each statement that is made in the books by reference to his own and several other horoscopes. He must be able to erect a figure of the Heavens with mathematical accuracy for any given time and place, work out directions by the use of the sphere or trigonometrical tables, and have a competent knowledge of the motions and periods of the various planetary bodies. When thus satisfied in his own mind that Astrology is a dependable science, and that he is capable of demonstrating it under test conditions, he must be generous in the use of it. Here and there he will find one who is opposed to the belief that the stars have any influence in human affairs. Let him not waste logic with such a man, but go straight to the task of convincing him by an appeal to facts.

For preference, select a period when the directional influences are such as seem likely to hit the sceptic with considerable force, define the event, make a careful calculation of the time of its fulfilment, and put them on paper, which, being yet unread by the man of Common-sense, should be placed under cover, sealed, and endorsed to be opened only after a certain date.

Now a man who has been hammered rather severely and in quite an unexpected manner, is usually open to conviction of truth when he finds that the nature and date of his disaster have been accurately foretold. Being a man of “common-sense” and not of intuition, he will probably think that the Astrologer might even have saved him from the consequences of his own lack of foresight. So indeed might the Astrologer have done had he taken the management of affairs from the beginning; but to step in half-way to arrest causes which are already in operation and charged with inevitable effects, is requiring too much of any man short of a Prime Minister!

There are certain things which even the most astute deductive reasoner cannot foresee, and these are the points that should be utilised by the Astrologer who seeks to convince others of the truth of his science. A man cannot reason from his doorstep to a street accident. If he could he would avoid it. All men are not subject to accidents, however. But almost all are subject to bereavements, losses, sicknesses, and changes of fortune. Those are the points which the Astrologer intent on proselytising, usually makes use of. But events need not be in futurity to carry conviction. If it can be shown that by mathematical calculations the events of the past can be recited with precision and exactness, it is evident to the meanest intellect that nothing hinders from an extension of such calculations into the future. And once convinced of the reliability of such claims to foreknowledge, the practical man of the world is not slow to avail himself of its uses.

But Astrology is not exhausted in the study of individual horoscopes, for there are other departments of this extensive science. The influence of the planets upon the weather, as embodied in Astro-meteorology; the rise and fall of Empires, political changes, the outbreak of wars, of revolutions, of epidemics, as defined by State Astrology so much in repute among the Oriental rulers; the occurrence of tidal waves, earthquakes, and other seismic phenomena, all form a part of the complete equipment of the practical Astrologer.

It would be superfluous to recite here the numerous and strikingly accurate forecasts which have been made by modern exponents of the science, but it is only right to say that they reflect considerable credit upon their authors, for the above-mentioned departments of astrological learning are by no means in the same efficient state as Genethliacal Astrology, to an outline of which this work is devoted. Anciently it was otherwise, and even in the East at this day they hold some secrets of traditional knowledge, concerning which they are unduly mysterious and of which we have only the evidence afforded by more exact prediction upon certain points.

Prejudice and Ignorance are the twin giants which bar the path of the world’s progress to-day, even as they have ever done. Step by step they have been beaten back, baffled by the light of Reason, harassed by the arrows of Truth. The world is redeeming its ancient heritage. All that is now required to establish the paramount truth of Astrology as a science is an impartial and thorough investigation, preferably at the hands of scientific men, of its methods and principles. Not that the truth is to be ratified at the hands of modern scientists, seeing that their own teaching constitutes a mere shifting orthodoxy, liable at any moment to undergo a fundamental change in theory by the discovery of a single new fact—but that to such men rightly belongs the duty of disproving the claims of Astrology to be considered as a science, for it is a fact to be regretted that certain members of their body have written against the subject in a spirit of prejudice and without adducing any data in support of their contention, which ill becomes any man of scientific pretensions and is above all things detrimental to the cause of Truth.

Chapter V. A Popular Illustration

In order to summarise and illustrate the principles which have been enunciated in the course of this work, I shall avail myself of the horoscope of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who was born on the 8th of July, 1836, at Highbury, the time of birth being stated to have been at about 2.30 in the morning. Calculations have since enabled us to fix the exact time of birth as at 2 h. 36 m. a.m. I subjoin the horoscopical figure for that time, the calculation of which is as follows:—

H. M. S.

Midheaven in R.A. at Noon 7th July, 1836… 7 1 58

Add time elapsed since … … … 14 36 0

Equation for 14h. 33m. at 10 secs. 2 25

Midheaven in Right Ascension at Birth … 21 40 23

The Constitution.

Born under the sign Gemini, with Mercury rising in the sign Cancer, the Sun near the conjunction with Jupiter and in close sextile to the Moon, there is little doubt that the late Colonial Secretary is by nature gifted with an excellent constitution. The sextile of the luminaries is a powerful co-ordinator, and whenever sickness supervenes there will be a speedy recovery. The semisquare aspect of Mars, while disposing to gouty affections of the hands and feet, will contribute vital energy and power to throw off diseases, while at the same time predisposing to accidents and wounds to the right shoulder or clavicle.

The rising sign gives nervous energy and enormous capacity for work, which is due to high nervous tension supported by a sound vitality. The only hereditary predisposition is that indicated by Mars, which induces to fevers, and gouty affections due to acidity.

The Health.

The Moon is strong in the sign Taurus, but not particularly well placed in the 12th House. It has, moreover, the square aspects of Neptune and Venus from fixed signs. These indications point to functional disorders of the heart, throat and excretory system. On the other hand, there are the good aspects of the Sun, Jupiter and Uranus to counteract these adverse tendencies, and it is certain that strong recuperative powers together with a normally good co-ordination of functions would induce a speedy recovery from any illness to which he may be liable. Considerable immunity from sickness of all sorts may therefore be predicated.

Character and Disposition.

The majority of the planets being in Cardinal signs, with three planets (including the Moon) in Fixed signs, indicates a character that is energetic, ambitious, active, sharp, ingenious, lively, and persevering; capable of cutting out a line in life for himself and making headway against obstacles; disposed to ride roughshod over the weaknesses and prejudices of those who oppose him; gifted with a pioneer spirit, incisive manner, and disposed at times to effect his ends regardless of the feelings and opinions of others. At the same time there is sufficient patience, method, caution, and watchfulness to make this extreme definition of purpose very effective. Laborious, firm (at times obstinate), systematic, and self-reliant, he is capable of waiting for opportunities. But finally he carries his purpose with a tour de force.

That which he lacks is adaptability, suavity, and ability to enter into the feelings of others. He is too ambitious to be self-centred, but yet too intent to be sympathetic.

The rising of Mercury in trine aspect to Saturn and Uranus gives considerable mental capacity, a wide grasp of facts, a well-informed, apt and business-like mind; some originality, constructiveness, and power of marshalling facts and figures; patience, caution, and secrecy. There is not much imagination, and the sympathies are not wide. His methods and actions are governed by literal fact and mathematical certainty. He is an omnivorous devourer of the accessible. He takes the small fish by the handful and makes a meal of them; but he leaves the ponderous whales for those of greater imagination and more leisurely habit.

The quadrature of Mars to Uranus will induce momentary outbursts of temper and some irritability of nature, but the character I am delineating is not such as can easily be played upon, for it is remarkably lacking in emotional susceptibility. Nevertheless, the inspirational faculty is by no means absent, and the presence of Neptune in the 9th House in trine to the rising Mercury, is an index of considerable inventive genius, extreme range of mental perception, and telescopic discernment of future events. Venus in the 3rd House shows some artistic tastes and fancies, considerable appreciation of art and culture, a fondness for flowers, bright lights, &c. But dominant above all are the two angular influences of Uranus and Mercury, which render the mind mathematical and precise, commercial, apt, business-like, energetic, and eminently magnetic.

Finance.

The position of the Sun in conjunction with Jupiter in the sign Cancer, in sextile to the Moon, is the index of a high fortune and means exceeding a competence. It is here worthy of note that Cancer, which in this horoscope holds the Sun, Jupiter, and Mercury, is the ruling sign of South Africa, with which Colony Mr. Chamberlain’s fortunes have been for a long time so intimately associated. It is also worthy of note that both Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato were born on the same day of the year, the 5th of July, with the Sun in the 14th degree of Cancer. In the former case the Sun was conjoined with Moon and Venus, in sextile to Uranus and trine to Neptune, while in the latter case the Sun was in trine to Jupiter. In regard to Mr. Chamberlain’s horoscope, it will be observed that Jupiter, which holds such effective power for increase in the 2nd House, is also the ruler of the 7th, and it is to be remembered that all partnerships, commercial or social, which he has contracted have so far proved highly satisfactory from a merely monetary point of view. Further, the Moon is affected with the good aspect of the Sun in the 2nd House, which is a further indication that on a purely financial basis Mr. Chamberlain is a man worth going into partnership with.

Position.

All the planets except Neptune and Saturn are rising, and this at once indicates a man ambitious of independence and honours, one who is confessedly a candidate for responsibility.

Uranus in the Midheaven and close to the meridian indicates that association with civic and governmental bodies in which Mr. Chamberlain has rendered himself so conspicuous a figure, and whereas the trine aspect of Mercury in the Ascendant to Uranus in the Midheaven and the sextile of the Moon to Uranus also are sure indications of a wide popularity, the square aspect of Mars to Uranus from the 12th House, will not fail to engender many veiled enmities, machinations, and inimical plots, which have for their object the overthrow of Mr. Chamberlain’s prestige, and which, failing, will find expression in vituperative abuse and bitter animosity. But those who understand the virtue of the orientality of planets in a horoscope will retain their confidence in Mr. Chamberlain’s ability to hold his own against all opponents.

It will be observed that the direction of the Ascendant to the place of Uranus in the horoscope coincides with the age of Mr. Chamberlain at the outbreak of hostilities in South Africa, while the direction of Midheaven opposition Saturn coincides with the progress of the Boer War. Did space permit it would be possible to adduce a long list of directional arcs coinciding with the time and nature of all the more important epochs in Mr. Chamberlain’s career. The student is invited to make some test of this matter by the aid of the rules already given in these pages.

Marriage.

Mr. Chamberlain has been thrice married. It will be observed that not only is there a double-bodied sign on the cusp of the 7th House, but the Moon also applies to both the Sun and Jupiter in the sign Cancer. (See Sect. III., chap. 8.) The aspect of the Moon being benefic to both the Sun and Jupiter, the marital state would be both harmonious and fortunate. It is, of course, well known that Mr. Chamberlain has, from a merely worldly point of view, married most advantageously. This observation may be called “wise after the event,” but I would observe that this geniture preceded my judgment of it, and the rules from which I judge are to be found in the Tetrabiblos of Ptolemy, written in the second century, and since tested and found reliable by successive astrologers during some seventeen centuries. Saturn’s aspect to Jupiter, the ruler of the 7th House, and the Moon’s quadrature to Venus must be held accountable for the successive bereavements which have disturbed the conjugal life in this case.

Progeny.

The position of Saturn in the 5th House, and the affliction of Venus by Neptune and the Moon, will serve to account, in connection with the marriage conditions, for the small family which has been born to Mr. Chamberlain, for observe that Venus is the ruler, jointly with Mercury, of the 5th House, while Saturn is in the 5th and ruler of the 8th House. The same positions and aspects threaten to curtail the succession.

The position of Mercury, joint ruler of the 5th, in the sign Cancer, and just about to rise in the horoscope, promises honours and distinctions to the first-born.

Travelling.

The Moon and Mars are cadent in the Horoscope, and Mercury, the “winged messenger” (symbol of the trading-ship), is rising. These are indications of many journeys and changes and constant unrest. But fixed signs being on the cusps of the 3rd and 9th Houses, and the Moon also in a fixed sign, will suffice to account for the fact that Mr. Chamberlain is not a great long-distance traveller. Cancer and Leo holding the benefics and the Sun also well aspected in Cancer, the Moon being in Taurus, shows at once that France, South Africa, Holland, Scotland, and Ireland are parts of the world in which the operations of Mr. Chamberlain would meet with success, if it be not superfluous to detail specific territories in face of the abundant evidence of general success which this horoscope affords.

Friends and Enemies.

It was the boast of Bismarck that he was the “best-hated man in Europe,” and it would be strange indeed if Mr. Chamberlain had passed through life and attained so prominent a position without incurring the enmity, or arousing the envy and malice of a considerable number of individuals. Nevertheless, there are only two aspects in this horoscope which seem to point to any sort of trouble from such causes. The points are those of Neptune, which afflicts both the Moon and Venus, and of Mars which afflicts Uranus in the Midheaven and the Sun in the 2nd House.

By referring these two points to the Ecliptic we find they correspond to the Sun’s position on or about the 24th of May, and the 26th of January, and I shall leave the reader to look up his Almanac and find the individuals (illustrious they must needs be to find chronicle in Whittaker) who were capable of filling the requirements of the case.

As to friends, Mr. Chamberlain should lack nothing. With the Moon in sextile to the Sun and Jupiter, the ruler of the 11th House, in the same benefic relations with the Moon, he would always be able to count upon a strong adherence, and the only adverse indication in this matter is that Mars, part ruler of the 11th House, holds the 12th House in square aspect to Uranus in the Midheaven. This would be interpreted to mean that some of his friends will be disposed to become his enemies, and to militate, although ineffectually, against his credit and position. Why ineffectually? Because Mercury, the ruler of the Ascendant and prime significator of Mr. Chamberlain, is angular and well aspected, while Mars is weak and afflicted by Uranus which is in elevation above it.