Advanced Astrological Topics

Asteroids, Nodes, Fixed Stars, etc.

ARABIC PARTS

There are hundreds of Arabic Parts. The most popular one is the Part of Fortune.

The formula for calculating the Part of Fortune is: Ascendant+Moon-Sun. To perform this calculation manually, you must first convert the zodiac position of the the planet to 360 degree form. The zodiac sign Taurus begins at 30 degrees so therefore 10 degrees of Taurus equals 40 degrees. Similarly 10 degrees of Gemini = 70 degrees (60 degrees + 10) and 10 degrees of Cancer = 100 degrees (90+10). If the Ascendant is 5 degrees of Cancer, the Moon is 20 degrees of Gemini, and then Sun is 8 degrees of Leo then the position of the Part of Fortune is 95 (5 degrees of Cancer) + 80 (20 degrees of Gemini) - 128 (8 degrees of Leo) which equals 47 degrees, or in other words 17 degrees of Taurus.

Recent research into ancient astrological texts indicates that the formula used for the Part of Fortune depended on whether the Moon was above or below the horizon, but most astrologers use the formula as described in the previous paragraph for all charts.

The sign, house, and aspects to an Arabic Part are believed by many astrologers to be important.

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ASTEROIDS AND CHIRON

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter are thousands of pieces of rock which

orbit around the Sun in similar fashion to planets. These small bodies are called asteroids. Four of them are significantly larger than the others and these 4 major asteroids are named Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta. Interest in the 4 major asteroids appears to be growing among astrologers.

Some commonly believed meanings of the 4 major asteroids are:

Ceres: Nurturing, caring, supportive, protective, maternal, helpful, unprejudiced.

Pallas: Creative, talented, creative blending of creative and technical skills.

Juno: Bonding very closely to loved ones, marriage, loyalty, commitment, jealousy, possessiveness.

Vesta: Self-controlled, disciplined effort. Modest, simple, plain, creative.

The smaller asteroids have also been given names, and a few astrologers have experimented with using them in the chart interpretation as well. Because there are thousands of these very small asteroids, it is not unusual for their to be an asteroid with a name identical, or similar to, a person, place, or situation that you are interested in. A few astrologers who have worked extensively with these asteroids believe, for example, that an asteroid with a name similar to the first name of your spouse is likely to be prominent in your chart, perhaps conjunct the Ascendant, seventh house cusp, or an inner planet. Only a very few astrologers have experimented with the thousands of very small asteroids, and many astrologers are highly skeptical that they can be of any importance.

Chiron is another body used by some astrologers. It was originally believed to be similar to a planet, but astronomers now classify it as a comet. Many astrologers believe that Chiron gives talent in healing arts and gives wisdom. Some believe it gives ability in working with one's hands.

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DEGREE MEANINGS, DECANATES, NAVAMSA CHARTS, ETC.

The great majority of astrologers interpret the zodiac sign that a planet is in, and perhaps most of them do not put a great emphasis on what degree of the sign the planet is in. In other words, the astrologer may not be concerned with whether the planet is in 1 degree or 10 degrees or 20 degrees of the sign. However, some astrologers distinguish different shades of meaning throughout the zodiac sign.

One commonly used division of zodiac signs is the decanate. Each zodiac sign is divided into three 10 degree sections. One theory holds that the first 10 degrees has the "pure" influence of the zodiac sign, while the second 10 degrees is toned by the next sign of that element and the last 10 degrees is toned by the last sign with that element. For example, the first 10 degrees of Leo is a pure Leo influence, 10 to 20 degrees of Leo has a Sagittarius influence (Sagittarius is the next fire sign after Leo), and 20 to 30 degrees of Leo has an Aries influence. One more example: the first 10 degrees of Capricorn is a pure Capricorn influence, 10 to 20 degrees of Capricorn is toned by a Taurus influence, and 20 to 30 degrees of Capricorn has a Virgo influence.

Another division used by some astrologers is the dwadasamsa, a section of 2 1/2 degrees in length.

There are other divisions of the zodiac that are used by some astrologers. For example, some astrologers divide each zodiac sign into 9 equal divisions of 3 degrees 20 minutes each. This division is used in Vedic astrology, and is referred to as the navamsa zodiac sign. The navamsa chart used in Vedic astrology is identical to what harmonic astrologers call the 9th harmonic chart.

You can determine the navamsa zodiac sign of any planet simply by multiplying the planet's position by 9. For example, a planet at 20 degrees of Taurus in the navamsa chart is at 50 (20 degrees Taurus equals 50 degrees) times 9, or 450 degrees. Subtracting 360 from 450 = 90, or 0 degrees Cancer. Therefore, a planet at 20 degrees of Taurus is in the navamsa sign of Cancer, and specifically at 0 degrees Cancer in the navamsa chart. Vedic astrologers believe that the 9th harmonic chart shows a great deal about a person's marriage. According to this theory, the planet at 20 degrees Taurus has a strong Cancerian quality, especially as regarding issues of love and marriage.

Another interesting division of the zodiac signs is the theory that each degree of the zodiac has a different influence. According to this theory, the first degree of Aries is different from the 2nd degree, which is different from the third degree, and so on so there are 360 different influences. Many astrologers have worked with the concept of degree meanings. American astrologers Marc Edmund Jones and Dane Rudhyar wrote extensively on degree meanings and popularized the concept. Jones and Rudhyar associated symbolic images with each degree of the zodiac.

Astrologer David Cochrane pointed out that the 30th harmonic chart has zodiac signs of a length of exactly one degree and perhaps the degree meanings are a result of these 30th harmonic signs, in the same way that 9th harmonic signs have been used for hundreds of years in Vedic astrology. Interestingly, the 30th harmonic chart has 30 zodiacs of 12 degrees in length while the regular birth chart has 1 zodiac of 12 signs each of a length of 30 degrees, so interestingly the numbers 12 and 30 are prominent in both the regular chart (or first harmonic chart) and the 30th harmonic chart, which may be indicative of an especially important significance of the 30th harmonic signs. It may also be that the degree meanings are a composite of various harmonic signs such as the 30th, 7th, and 9th. Many astrologers feel, however, that each degree has a unique symbolic meaning that can not be explained by harmonic signs such as the 7th, 9th, and 30th harmonic signs.