All Time Lord Techniques

Mohammad690

Well-known member
Peace to you all,

Let this thread be a comprehensive list of all Time Lord Techniques from all the traditions, like Hellenistic, Medieval, Vedic et al.

Please list every timing technique that you know with its explanation and say what it is used for if it has a special use. Also it is appreciated if you can provide references for further study.

I update this message and compile them in a list.

For those who are new to Time Lord techniques:

They are a set of techniques that show which planet is activated in somebody’s life at any given moment.

The most well-known technique is Profection, used in Western astrology. It is basically to take each sign for a year of life and go through them in zodiac order, starting from Asc, Sun or Moon (or any other planet or point).

There are other sorts as well, like Persian Firdaria and Vedic Vimshottari Dasha, which assign a number of years to each planet and go through them in order.

Of course these are the very basic explanation for these techniques and I leave it to more knowledgeable members to fully delineate them.

Here’s the list that will be updated as we go on:

1. Annual Profection
2. Circumambulation Through the Bounds
3. Firdaria
4. Vimshottari Dasha
5. Zodiacal Releasing
6. Dodekatemoria
7. Monomoira
8. Lunar days
9. Sign Ingress
10. Revolution of the year (most notably of Great Conjunction years)
11. Dawr
12. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary directions
13. Ascensional Times
14. Planetary Years
15. Synodic Cycles
16. Transits
17. Progressions
18. Returns
19. 129 Years Method
20. Exaltation Method


Thanks in advance for contributing to this thread.
 
Last edited:

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
Peace to you all,

Let this thread be a comprehensive list of all Time Lord Techniques from all the traditions, like Hellenistic, Medieval, Vedic et al.

Please list every timing technique that you know with its explanation and say what it is used for if it has a special use. Also it is appreciated if you can provide references for further study.

I update this message and compile them in a list.

For those who are new to Time Lord techniques:

They are a set of techniques that show which planet is activated in somebody’s life at any given moment.

The most well-known technique is Profection, used in Western astrology. It is basically to take each sign for a year of life and go through them in zodiac order, starting from Asc, Sun or Moon (or any other planet or point).

There are other sorts as well, like Persian Firdaria and Vedic Vimshottari Dasha, which assign a number of years to each planet and go through them in order.

Of course these are the very basic explanation for these techniques and I leave it to more knowledgeable members to fully delineate them.

Here’s the list that will be updated as we go on:

1. Annual Profection
2. Circumambulation Through the Bounds
3. Firdaria
4. Vimshottari Dasha

Thanks in advance for contributing to this thread.
An introduction to the ancient Hellenistic time-lord technique
called annual profections begins by introducing
the concept of time-lord techniques :smile:
before proceeding with a detailed treatment
of how to use the basic method of annual profections
in order to make yearly forecasts and predictions
starting from the day of a person's birthday or solar return.
This is the video version of episode 153 of The Astrology Podcast,
presented by Chris Brennan.

Annual Profections: A Basic Time-Lord Technique

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBwfIMnBKZk&t=239s
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
A detailed introduction to
an ancient timing technique called zodiacal releasing
which divides a person's life into chapters
and helps to establish your overall life story :smile:

Zodiacal releasing is a Hellenistic time-lord technique
that was recently recovered from
the work of the 2nd century astrologer Vettius Valens.
This is episode 192 of The Astrology Podcast
with Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim.

Zodiacal Releasing: An Ancient Timing Technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBSLHj8ddBc&t=751s
 

petosiris

Banned
One of the most widespread time-lord techniques in Hellenistic astrology is referred today as annual profections. The Hellenistic astrologers did not have a specific name like most of their techniques, although some refer to a method for “determining the lord of the year”. There are many variations of the so-called annual profections that do not focus on a single houseruler, and for the most part there is lack of agreement on how to calculate monthly, daily and hourly types of profection.

Annual Profections
The earliest surviving reference to profections is found in the third book of Astronomica by the Roman poet Manilius. According to Manilius, the first year belongs to the sign of the Sun, while the next and subsequent years belong to the signs that follow in zodiacal order. The rationale given by Manilius for using the Sun is that it takes one year for the Sun to complete one course. This method to annual profections seems to be unique to Manilius.

The Anthology by Vettius Valens contains an abundance of different time-lord procedures. One chapter, attributed to a “Hermetic” source (Valens, 4.27) also suggests counting from the Sun, although only when it is found at an angle. This chapter describes a predomination method that considers four possible releasing places. If the Sun does not happen to be angular, one begins from the Moon if it is at the “degree of an angle”. If both are inapplicable, one begins from the Lot of Fortune if it happens to be angular. If all three points are inapplicable as specified, one counts from the Ascendant. If both luminaries are “approaching the angles“, one should start counting from the luminary that is of the sect in favour. The remaining of the chapter describes more predomination rules, although the passage is short and fragmentary.

Manilius states that some approved of an alternative approach where they counted years, months, days and hours from the Ascendant. This is the most common method of annual profections in the Hellenistic tradition and remained such in the Arabic tradition. It is mentioned by Dorotheus of Sidon, Firmicus Maternus, Paulus Alexandrinus and Hephaistio of Thebes. David Pingree translates the Arabic passage of the fourth book by Dorotheus as follows:

When a native is born, the lord of the year is the lord of the house [ascendent] in which the native was born. Thus count from the ascendent a year for each sign until you reach the year which you desire; the lord of that house is the lord of the year. Look at the lord of this sign, whether it is a benefic or a malefic, and in the base nativity how its position was and in which foundation it was. From the base-nativity is known what is concerning him [the native] at the beginning of the year, and the beginning of the year is always when the Sun enters the beginning of the minute in which it was on the day of the native's nativity. (Pingree, Dorotheus, 4)

Although Firmicus Maternus (Mathesis, 2.27) states that one should count from the rising sign, he mentions that some astrologers count from the Sun for day births, and from the Moon for night births. This presents additional evidence for counting from other places besides the rising sign based on considerations of predomination. Claudius Ptolemy in book 4, chapter 10 of the Tetrabiblos also describes annual profections from each of the releasing places he outlines previously in the same chapter. Rhetorius of Egypt in chapter 54 of the Compendium also mentions releasing not only from the Ascendant, but also from the Sun, the Moon, and the Lot of Fortune. A brief passage in CCAG 2.212.30-213.1 mentions Rhetorius in relation to counting from the parents’ lots for that topic.

Most astrologers focus on the planetary condition of the domicile ruler of the sign the year has come to. Some astrologers such as Dorotheus and Rhetorius also mention examining the sign and its configurations, and transits in relation to the quality of the year. In Books 4, 5 and 6 of the Anthology, Valens introduces a more complex method of profections, which evidently is partially derived from a lost work of an earlier author known as Critodemus.

The summary of Cridodemus (CCAG 8.3.102) mentions briefly that he dealt with the giving over (paradosis) of one planet to another, which sounds similar to the delineations given in Anthology 4.17-24. This does not represent conclusive evidence that Vettius Valens took his delineations for annual profections from Critodemus since the consideration of which planet is imparting to another is also used in the exaltation method of Balbilus, decennials (referred to as the method of dodekatemoria by Valens) and ingresses. Thus the chapters on the effects of the transmissions of the Ascendant, the planets, and the four lots in Valens could be unique to him.

According to Valens, one can profect from every planet, place and lot, and not just from the Ascendant, although he does emphasize the luminary of the sect in favour, the Ascendant and the other luminary. What seems to be different from other authors, is that the planets that occupy the sign take over the role of the houseruler. The releaser handles over the year to the houseruler only if the sign is empty.

In Book V, Valens introduces an elaboration of the previous rationale. The giving over of one point to another is also active in the years of the native that are multiple of the distance of signs, both taken as ordinal numbers. For example an Ascendant in Virgo would profect to Mars in Libra every second year from birth, and to Jupiter in Sagittarius every fourth year from birth. Both Valens and the Liber Hermetis credit Critodemus for a table of numerical profections of the Moon in relation to health crises. Critodemus emphasizes profections to planets in years which are multiple of 3 for Saturn, 9 for Jupiter, 7 for Mars, 18 for the Sun, 5 for Venus, 8 for Mercury and 13 for the Moon. The rationale behind those numbers is unknown. Valens says that if the year is not composite, one should extend the preceding interval as active for that given year.

Another method attributed to Hermes (Valens, 4.29) says that one should count from the Sun for mental matters, from the Moon for physical matters and the mother, and from the Lot of Fortune. These texts indicate that approaches to annual profections in the Hellenistic tradition were quite varied and often few starting points were used depending on the topic. Hermes states that one should use the Sothic year, which was equivalent to the year mentioned in Dorotheus.

Monthly Profections
There is even greater difference of opinion when it comes to monthly profections, perhaps partially because of disagreement on what period of time constitutes one month. Manilius states that one should begin counting from the Moon, and the rationale given is that it takes one month for the Moon to complete its course. Strangely, given his rationale for annual profections, Manilius later implies that there are 12 months in a year. Perhaps “course” is meant in the sense of an approximate or idealized synodic month rather than as the length of a sidereal month.

Most manuscripts of the Tetrabiblos present 28 day monthly profections, albeit from the sign the year has come to. This makes the domicile ruler of the sign assigned the year - time-lord over the first and the thirteenth month of that year. 28 days approximates the lunar month, and 13 months make 364 days which is approximately the length of the year. In the Arabic tradition, Al-Biruni describes monthly profections as consisting of 28 days 1 hour and 51 minutes to make it align with the 365 day year. Only two conflicting MSS. of the Tetrabiblos describe profections using 30 day months (Robbins, 1940).

Paulus and Hephaistio also describe profecting every month from the sign assigned the year, although they do not specify the length of the month. Since Hephaistio specifies that the daily profections are counted every two and one half days, it seems reasonable to make the assumption that he meant a year consisting of 12 months, each comprising approximately 30 days. This variation became the most prevalent one in the Arabic, Medieval and Renaissance traditions.

This approach of counting signs from the profected signs seems relatively absent in the rest of the Hellenistic tradition and its later popularity may have been partially influenced by Ptolemy. Most of the earlier authors present lot-like calculations for finding the sign of the month. One variant (Valens, 4.29) has a brief passage attributed to Hermes which says to take the distance from the transiting Sun to the Moon at the nativity, and then count the same distance from the sign assigned the year (profected Ascendant).

Similar calculation is later attributed to Nechepso by Valens (Anthology, 5.4), although it counts from the Ascendant of the nativity instead of the profected Ascendant. Levente László in private communication affirmed that the translation by Robert Schmidt and Mark Riley on the second part of the passage are mistaken. Schmidt and Riley both mistook the calculation being given for the operative “days” (τὰς δὲ ἡμέρας) for implying reversal of the monthly calculation for “day” births. This translation is also inconsistent conceptually, since it would imply that the diurnal calculation is thirteen times faster than the nocturnal calculation.

Firmicus Maternus (Mathesis, 2.28) does not even mention monthly profections. Instead, he describes an alternative technique using a division of the year. Beginning with the lord of the year, one assigns the days of the year among the planets following in zodiacal order, each star given a specific amount of days in proportion to its minor recurrence years. In other words, the year is divided by the sum of the minor years and multiplied by the minor years of each star. Annual divisions are also described by Valens (Valens, 4.30) and Hephaistio (Apotelesmatics, 2.36) with slight variations of the exact length of time because only Valens calculates the hours.

Hephaistio mentions an alternative division in which each sign is assigned the minor years of the domicile ruler, beginning from the sign that is given the year, although Saturn is assigned only 30 days, with the reasoning given by Hephaistio is that the two domiciles of Saturn are adjacent. After 184 days, the same division is repeated until the year is completed. Valens mentions that some astrologers made “monthly” forecasts according to the houserulers of New and Full Moon, although his opinion is that the transiting Sun foretells the outcome of the month due to arousing the power of signs and time-lords (Anthology, 5.4).

Daily and Hourly Profections
Few astrologers describe daily profections and even fewer mention hourly profections. Manilius says one should count daily and hourly profections from the Ascendant with each sign being given a day twice a month (2 1/2 days?) and one hour once a day. Goold (1977) suggests that double-hours are meant, rather than planetary hours.

Ptolemy uses 12 daily profections in a month with most MSS. giving the length of 2 1/3 days, while only those that give the 30 day monthly profections report a length of 2 1/2 days. Paulus also says that one should count daily profections from the sign assigned the month, albeit every sign given one day rather than 1/12 of a month. Hephaistio gives the length of 2 1/2 days.

Valens describes a method of multiplying the years of the nativity by 5 1/4, adding the days from birth, and dividing the result by twelve, giving one to each sign. He says that some astrologers count from the sign just following the Moon. This handy calculation yields one sign per day. Dorotheus gives a lot-like formula, saying one should measure the distance from the transiting Sun to the transiting Moon, and the same distance from the Ascendant at the nativity.

Different calculation is attributed to Nechepso by Valens (Anthology, 5.4). The operative day is determined by counting from the transiting Moon to the Sun at the nativity, and then the same distance from the Ascendant. The length of these two profections vary according to the speed of the Moon. Perhaps the appeal of these lots is that they dispense with the ambiguity of calendars and are instead based on concurrent astronomical positions and planetary revolutions.

Bibliography
Dorothei Sidonii Carmen Astrologicum, ed. David Pingree, Teubner, Leipzig, 1976.
Firmicus Maternus, Ancient Astrology, Theory and Practice: Matheseos Libri VIII, trans. Jean Rhys Bram, Noyes Press, Park Ridge, New Jersey, 1975.
Greenbaum, Dorian Gieseler (trans.), Late Classical Astrology: Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus, with the Scholia from Later Commentators, ed. Robert Hand, ARHAT, Reston, VA, 2001.
Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics, Book II, trans. Robert H. Schmidt, The Golden Hind Press, Cumberland, MD, 1998.
Kraus, P. al-Biruni: The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, transl. by R. Ramsay Wright (Book Review). Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 38, 692, 1935.
Manilius, Astronomica, ed. and trans. G. P. Goold, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1977
Pingree, David, Vettii Valentis Antiocheni anthologiarum libri novem, B.G. Teubner, Leipzig, 1986.
Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, ed. and trans. F. E. Robbins, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1940.
Rhetorius the Egyptian, trans. James Herschel Holden, American Federation of Astrologers, Tempe, Arizona, 2009.
Schmidt, Robert (trans.) and Robert Hand (ed.). The Astrological Record of the Early Sages in Greek, The Golden Hind Press, Berkeley Springs, WV, 1995.
Vettius Valens, The Anthology, Book V & VI, trans. Robert Schmidt, ed. Robert Hand, The Golden Hind Press, Cumberland, MD, 1997.
Vettius Valens, The Anthology, trans. Mark T. Riley, online, December, 2010.

This overview can serve as technical and historical basis for a discussion on the complicated and mutually conflicting systems of profections in one relatively short historical period.

Natural Timing Systems
1. Those who use oblique and latitudinal <primary> directions, and those who accept as prorogators the five wandering planets regardless, when it is obvious that their <accidental> powers are aroused only by the Sun, the Moon and the angles of the nativity.
2. Those who use sidereal revolutions, rather than the topocentric returns of the Sun and the Moon for the current place of the individual, and those who do not observe the five prorogatory <authoritative> places within them, Ascendant, Sun, Moon, Lot of Fortune and Midheaven.
3. Those who do not observe the ingresses </transits>, or those who neglect their power in the aforementioned configurations, their applications and separations.

Fictitious Timing Systems
1. All annual, monthly, daily and hourly progressions with all their variations of progression, whether by whole sign, or by degree, or by mean, or by true motions, by tropical month, or by synodic month, or by mean fictions, or by counting days, and the like. Likewise Secondary, Tertiary and other more logical progressions, yet not as natural in principle compared with the hourly movements, solar and lunar revolutions, and the ingresses of the planets.
2. 3rd, 7th, 40th and other ''days of the Moon''.
3. Dodekatemoria/Decennials, ''Zodiacal Releasing'', 129 years, lunar quarters, the exaltation method, the monomoiria method, the nine years of the Moon method, Firdaria, Indian Dasas, and all similar methods, whether they observe fictional or seasonal years.
4. Those who observe planetary years, ascensional times and their numerological combinations, rather than natural astronomy.
5. Likewise those who divide the life into two or three parts to the triplicity rulers...

And much much more...
 

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
Peace be upon you, brethren.

Two techniques that have not been touched upon is the mundane techniques of Dawr and Aries Ingress charts during grand conjunction years (ingresses of Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are derivatives of this)
 

Mohammad690

Well-known member
Peace be upon you, brethren.

Two techniques that have not been touched upon is the mundane techniques of Dawr and Aries Ingress charts during grand conjunction years (ingresses of Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are derivatives of this)

Thanks for mentioning. Added. I have read a brief explanation of Dawr, but have no working knowledge of it. Would you explain it in full? Thanks.
 

petosiris

Banned
Thank you for your comprehensive post. What is the exaltation method?

It survives in a summary of Balbilus and is also mentioned by Valens as a popular method along with decennials. The principle is the same as decennials, only the times are different. You start with the predominator, and then allot years as many as the minor recurrence years of the planets in zodiacal order (sun - 19, moon - 25, saturn - 30, jupiter - 12, mars - 15, venus - 8 and mercury - 20). The difference between this and the 129 year method is that if the stars should not be upon the degrees of their exaltations, it will be necessary to substract as many days as there are years, by sign, as many months. One can further divide each time into 129 parts as many times as necessary.
 

petosiris

Banned
Peace be upon you, brethren.

Two techniques that have not been touched upon is the mundane techniques of Dawr and Aries Ingress charts during grand conjunction years (ingresses of Cancer, Libra and Capricorn are derivatives of this)

If we are going to include mundane astrology, we can also add Sun ingresses, new moons and full moons (of which those which most nearly precede the equinoxes and solstices are authoritative).
 

petosiris

Banned
1. Eclipses
- solar
- lunar
2. New moons, half moons and full moons
- syzygies most nearly preceding equinoxes and solstices
- syzygies of the same type (new moons or full moons) following equinoxes and solstices
- all new moons, half moons and full moons
3. Sunrise
4. Luminaries at angles
5. Primary directions
- 1, 5, 10 or 20 prorogators
- zodiacal or mundane
- Ptolemy/Placidus with semi-arcs, Regiomonatus or using oblique ascensions
- using latitude only to change interpretation
- order of the following signs or order of the leading signs
- Ptolemaic, Cardan, Naibod and Tycho keys
- nodes, cusps, bounds and fixed stars as significators
6. Revolutions
- solar revolutions
- lunar revolutions
- topocentric lunar revolutions
- tropical and sidereal revolutions
- current or nativity birth place
- what is one looking for here
7. Transits
- ingresses by sign
- transits with orbs
8. Saturn and Jupiter conjunctions
- in Aries
- new triplicity
- any conjunction
9. Saturn, Jupiter and Mars stations
10. Sun ingresses
- Aries ingresses
- Cancer, Libra and Capricorn ingresses
- Sign ingresses
11. Firdaria
- nodes where
12. Dashas
- Vimshottari is only one of many
13. Decennials/Dodekatemoria
- solar year
- Egyptian year (on which the minor recurrence years are based)
- 360 days
- from predominator
- from sect light
- according to the seven-zone
14. Zodiacal releasing
- Lot of Fortune or Lot of Spirit - one that is operative according to Valens?
- solar year
- Egyptian year (on which the minor recurrence years are based)
- 360 days
- Capricorn - 27 or 30
- new cycle by trine (contemporaries of Valens) or opposition (Valens)
15. Critodemus 28 years/monomoiria method
16. Quarters of the Moon
17. Exaltation method
18. Profections
- 1, 5, 10 or 20 releasers?
- by sign or by degree
- one lord or many
- lord or planet in sign
- numerical profections - Critodemus and Valens
- how long is a month and a day - the astrologers don't agree, see above
19. Annual divisions
- Valens, Firmicus and Hephaistio
- alternative one by Hephaistio
- Junctinus with solar revolution
20. Secondary and other directions
21. Ascensional times
22. Planetary years
- how long is a year - 365 days or 365.24?
23. Dividing into three - days of the Moon and triplicity rulers can be conceived as chronocratorship
24. Nine years of the Moon
25. Others
 

conspiracy theorist

Well-known member
Mohammed, a detailed paper on Dawr can be found online. It's entitled "The Fardarat in Mundane Astrology" by Steven Birchfield.
here

Here are the 6 levels of important mundane charts according to Abu Ma'shar:

- Aries Ingress preceding great conjunction in Aries
-Aries Ingress preceding great conjunction in New Triplicity (The upcoming one in Aquarius is not the first, that occurred in 1980 in Libra)
- Aries Ingress preceding Mars-Saturn conjunction in Cancer
- Aries Ingress preceding a great conjunction
- Three quarterly charts
- Three monthly charts
(Petosiris has already mentioned the last two types of charts in his previous list)

The exposition of these charts can be found in The Book of Religions and Dynasties by Abu Ma'shar.

With regard to eclipses, some astrologers pay attention to the Saros cycle series that the specific eclipse falls into, in order to further delineate chart details.
More detail on the usage of Saros cycles in astrology can be found at this link
https://www.astro.com/astrology/tma_article151106_e.htm
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
a tribute to the astrologer Robert Zoller
who passed away in January
and was a pioneer in the revival of the study and practice of medieval astrology.
Zoller's book The Arabic Parts in Astrology:
A Lost Key to Prediction (1980)
was one of the first books which helped to contribute to
the revival of traditional astrology in the 1980s and 90s.
Later he was one of the principal founders of Project Hindsight
in 1992, alongside Robert Schmidt and Robert Hand
and he produced several translations from Latin
under the auspices of that project, including parts of Guido Bonatti
Al Kindi’s On Stellar Rays, and the Liber Hermetis.

Robert Zoller, Pioneer in Reviving Medieval Astrology :smile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5a4Y1U9IW8

Zoller left Projet Hindsight due to creative differences
relatively early in the project
but continued teaching and promoting medieval astrology.
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
.

Introduction to different time lord systems
and variations of how these time lord systems are calculated.
We briefly look at the writings of Vettius Valens
and how modern science views ancient astrological theories
to get a sense of how we can proceed
to evaluate the accuracy and usefulness of Hellenistic astrological theory :smile:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLEBKNurmQ
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
It survives in a summary of Balbilus and is also mentioned by Valens as a popular method along with decennials. The principle is the same as decennials, only the times are different.
You start with the predominator,
and then allot years as many as the minor recurrence years
of the planets in zodiacal order

(sun - 19,
moon - 25,
saturn - 30,
jupiter - 12,
mars - 15,
venus - 8
and
mercury - 20).

The difference between this and the 129 year method is that
if the stars should not be upon the degrees of their exaltations,
it will be necessary to
substract as many days as there are years, by sign, as many months.

One can further divide each time into 129 parts as many times as necessary.

tma_brennan_7zrperiods.png
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
6. Revolutions
- solar revolutions
- current or nativity birth place

- what is one looking for here

guidance to get the most out of solar returns :)
with ancient techniques that will dramatically increase the accuracy of your predictions.
This presentation includes the use of annual profections, applied advanced techniques,

fixed stars, and reception presented by Nina Gryphon



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