A deep dive into the complexities of mediaeval astrology and its relevance to present day predictions comes in a revised edition of Alexey Borealis’ two volumes of the “Mysteries of Medieval Astrology” merged into one comprehensive Predictive Astrology Textbook. For anyone keen to expand their understanding of horary as well as natal astrology, it is a rewarding read.
The author’s dedicated aim is to resurrect astrology as a predictive discipline in the face of what he sees as its modern role as a ’pseudo-psychological science.’
Alexey Borealis with a background in mathematics, physics and astrophysics, understandably has a focus on precision and claims to make horary predictions with near-perfect accuracy and to consistently time the occurrence of predicted events within days, and sometimes within hours. In the course of his studies he found the writings of the 17th century French astrologer, J.B. Morin de Villefranche his guiding star when answering two fundamental questions: What can the native expect during the life the chart represents? And when will events occur?
‘Morinus wrote that a person can principally influence any aspect of their life, except for choosing parents and siblings. However, it’s challenging for a person to resist their inner nature.’
Borealis: ‘My assumption is the stars, to some extent, imprint a person’s destiny in the brain’s neural network. Psychologists would agree that a person can change many aspects of their stereotypical behavior, but not everything. Some deep configurations of neurons are so stable that it is nearly impossible to alter them in adulthood.’
Horary astrology is not my area but one reviewer writes:
“The book – a methodical, well-structured guide to horary astrology. Each chapter is thoughtfully designed to build upon the last, progressively deepening the reader’s understanding and practical skill. What helps sets this work apart from others is the inclusion of exercises and “homework” at the end of each chapter—complete with answers and chart analysis — which transforms passive reading into active learning.”
This is a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to the knotty problem of prediction which for those who wish to expand their technical knowledge will be an invaluable addition to their astro-library.
[Both Morin and Alexey Borealis have their Moon at mid Pisces which serendipitously was triggered by the recent Lunar Eclipse.]From: www.wessexastrologer.com
Yes André, change of civilization, it is a must! We are still stuck into neoliberalism & industrialism and so many disruptive & distorting & distracting ism….selfdestroying ourselves. Raphael Liogier French philosopher & sociologist (born in November 1967) has already published on Khaos 1, digging deep on many topics. Khaos with K, from the Greek language and for the ‘raw transcendence’
First, a qualification: I am an amateur, on-again-off-again student of astrology. I have studied charts for over 40 years, and had discussions about horary astrology, especially with a well known but now deceased horary practitioner. As a student, I think textbooks are great and essential, but not a substitute for a whole lot of experience and an open mind. There are no recipes in horary charts, even though the books are full of aspects and explanations. It takes time staring at charts and trying to match them up with the reality before they sink in. The significance of planets and aspects often does not become apparent without a goodly amount of head scratching, if then. In other words, in my humble experience, you get no brilliant interpretations in a couple of minutes or even hours.
On the other hand, despite the difficulties, I believe horary works very well, but the astrologer has to be honest, not push the work, and stick to the rules. If you break the horary rules, you get garbage interpretations. Some charts are extremely complex, especially ones involving questions about relationships, jobs and politics. For those, you can ask the question, but probably best to do a natal, progressed and transit chart as well.
Simple horary questions (where is the cat?) are usually pretty easy to figure out, but even simple questions can be mysterious and seem to refuse to give an answer, even when the chart is otherwise valid. I think that has to do more with the astrologer than the chart – it’s the universe’s chart, after all. And sometimes the astrologer is just not up to the job. Just like driving a taxi, there are good days and bad days. The astrologer interacts with, and is literally in the chart of the question. That part is often overlooked.
I’m thinking of a chart about a missing female cat from years ago (she never did come back). The mystery was the chart indicated she was both lost and somewhere dark, maybe underground, possibly in a hole or behind a wall. Only there were no holes or walls anywhere in the area and she was not in a city where someone might have picked her up. There were eagles and hawks and owls in the area, but they don’t operate underground. Did she get relocated somehow? The chart could not answer that (or I couldn’t find the answer). So, the cat was gone for good, and the owner wanted to know why and how she got lost, but the essence of the question got no answer. The chart did not cough up that part of the question and I have come to the point where I believe some charts can outright “refuse” to be read, even when the elements are all in place to be read. Moon void of course, invalid ascendant, etc. etc. do not explain everything.
In short, it’s great to have a good textbook, but be prepared to work for results and also to be stumped. Sometimes you just have to wait and see what happens as the question plays out in real life (and thus, no credit to you as an astrologer!). We think we can use astrology for our analytical purpose, but it can also feel like astrology just plays with us. It’s not a ouija board, but watch what it can do to your own head. It can be too close to divination for comfort in a logic-dominant culture.
Thanks Marjorie for sharing info abput the book, it is a must read. I learned about horary some years ago, it has capabilities of predicting match games, lottery numbers and many more,same like combinatorics in mathematics. Though some people often say combinatorics are difficult, well they are also used in Artificial Intelligence for redictive text, market predictions and many more. So Astrology is one fascinating topic, it is linked to mathematics and AI, is is futuristic. I was telling someone the other day that yes AI will replace some careers and jiobs, but Astrology a definite NO. I have science in my veins and I love Astrology.
It is always fascinating when someone with a scientific background becomes an astrologer. They have so many cultural, psychological and conceptual hurdles to oevercome. Similarly, a book featured in Sunday’s New York Times just came out called « On drugs: Psychedelics, philosophy and the nature of reality», another sign of the new zeitgeist. I believe this is all about Uranus sextile Saturn-Neptune. When you add Pluto in favorable aspect all in the most early degrees, this is not just a change of era, it’s a change of civilization.