Primary Directions

Hi Everybody,

I hear that Primary Directions is the best Predictive Astrology tool to obtain an acute position of the planets within 12 hours a day.

Anybody can give me more material to calculate Primary Directions in a Chart?
And what is the interest of Primary Directions over Secondary Progressions?

Can someone help in this subject?
N.B.: Primary Directions used frequently among French Astrologers/

Best Regards

Amtares

Antares,

Fortunately Primary Directions are about as clear as mud by most if not all of the ancient authorities. There is a very good reason for their being called 'Primary' which is obvious by its name. Today people tend to jump straight to 'Secondary' progressions and transits as a way of predicting, even though the most obvious (for specific reasons) Primary should be first. Without some 'primary' directions, secondary progressions are almost meaningless.

Firstly primary directions are/were only used from the Mc, though other reliable authorities such as Ptolemy, Antiochus, Rhetorius and Valens etc used to direct the Five primary places; Mc, Asc, Sun, Moon & Lot of Fortune. Their methods for directing were about as diverse as their names, if not more. I will summerize a few.

The most common method in use today is to take one degree in Right Ascension across the Mc as equal to one year in the life of the native. Right Ascension has to be used to maintain the correct angle between the natal ascendant and Mc.

Another method crudely takes one (longitude) degree and adds that to any planet or angle in the time method of one degree is equal to one year of life.

Yet another crude method takes the actual daily arc of the Sun on your day of birth as equal to one year of life. This also can be added to any planet or angle as above.

Other versions use the latitudes, others use zero declination by directing the ecliptic degrees and others the mean solar arc. There are other methods too.

Personally I have been using Ptolemy's method as laid out in his Tetrabiblos. This method divides longitude degrees into the proportionate times in respect of the rising times of any given sign. It is quite a complicated process and I do not know of any program or website that calculates them in this manner. Because of the complexities of the math and the human evolution of becoming lazier these more precise methods have been all but forgotten.

Hopefully this makes them a little clearer for you, lol.

Bob

A very accurate natal chart is required for this method. It is used for timing events in the life of the native. The ASC and MC are the main significators. Four minutes of time equal one degree, and one degree equals one year of life. One hour equals fifteen degrees or fifteen years of life.

If the native desires to know of events in his life when he is forty-five, advance his chart three hours or forty-five degrees. The planets will not move in the signs, but they may change houses. In this new chart examine the conjunctions and major aspect of the planets to the cusps of the first, tenth, seventh, and fourth houses and judge accordingly.

This is the brief explanation, but Mr Lilly goes into great detail in the third volume of --Christian Astrology--; however, he is not very clear. The explanation I gave is what I remember from an old edition of a book by Llewellyn George.(Found in a public library.) I use it with my own chart.

Culpeper

Hi,
On AW home page, left-hand side panel under 'LEARN ASTROLOGY' (and above astro. forum), you will see ' ASTROLOGICAL DICTIONARY'. Click and follow alpabetical order down to P to 'PRIMARY DIRECTIONS'. Explanation is provided.

My latest teacher swears by primary directions for exactness of date which, because of the complexity of their calculation, are only computer calculated. She finds sec. progr. lacking. I find sec. progr. just as accurate used in combination with solar arc and transits.

F.