A s t r o l o g i e - Mandala

ROBERT HAND
Night and Day: Planetary Sect in Astrology
$10.95 US

Night and Day in print since 1995 is the first work to introduce in any detail the ancient and medieval doctrines of sect. The sects were the followers of the Sun and of the Moon respectively from among the planets. But the most important aspect of the doctrine is way in which charts of daytime and nighttime births are read differently. Sect issues affect dignities, and even the manner of reading the individual planets. The text is aimed at any astrologer who has a reasonable basic knowledge of modern astrology. No extensive knowledge of traditional astrology is required.

The contents include basic introductory material and definitions understandable by anyone with a decent knowledge of modern astrology, plus case studies, a discussion of the ways in which the various planets change their meanings in day and night charts, and several other issues affected by sect such as the computation of the Parts, planetary periods, and calculations involving health and life-expectancy.

ROBERT HAND Compiler
Chronology of the Astrology of the Middle East and the West by Period
$4.95

The newly revised and expanded version of the Chronology is a compilation in outline form of the major events in the history of astrology along with the major events of the history of the time. The sections covered are as follows:
I. Early Period -- From the early roots in Mesopotamia up to the development of Horoscopic astrology. II. Early Greek Period -- The Pre-Socratics through Aristotle. III. Hellenistic Period -- The founding period of horoscopic astrology in Egypt up until the Roman Period. IV. The Roman Era -- The high point of Greek language astrology up until the fall of the Western Empire. V. The Byzantine Period -- Greek language astrology after the fall of the Western Empire in Byzantium. VI. The Classical Period in the Middle East -- The rise and fall of the various empires in the Middle East up until the advent of Islam. VII. The Arabic Era -- The high point of Arabic language astrology in which Western astrology assumed something like its current form. VIII. The Latin Period -- The period of the transmission of astrology from the Arabic world to the Latin West. IX. Renaissance -- The high point of astrology in the Latin West and the beginning of efforts to reform and remodel astrology. X. The English Period and the Decline -- The period of Lilly and Placidus in which astrology reached a peak in the English world and began the decline from being a generally recognized discipline.

In addition there has been added a revised version of my essay on the origins of astrology in ancient times now entitled "On the Roots of Horoscopic Astrology." This essay clarifies an number of murky areas in the early history of astrology such as where astrology originated and what is the relationship between Western and Eastern astrology.

36 Pages -- Now Available

Summary of Contents

Introduction by the translator -- Introduces the book and some of the more important methods by which Masha'allah analyzes a question.

"Introduction -- Here begins the Book of Masha'allah On Reception." The section briefly sets forth the objectives of the book.

"Chapter I: What is Reception?" This chapter defines reception which is the cornerstone of the method of this book.

"Chapter II: Concerning Whether a Matter about Which One Has Hopes Will Be Accomplished or Not." This chapter describes Masha'allah teachings concerning perfection, what accomplishement and what does not. The method of relaying disposition by means of successive applications is introduced as well as a method for determining which better indicates the querent, the ruler of the Ascendant, or the Moon.

"Chapter III: Concerning Whether One Who Is Ill Will Be Delivered or Will Die." This is the first of two case studies on someone suffering from an illness. A complete description of how Masha'allah deals with such a question. This is the first of six of completely worked out chart examples, one of the features of this book which makes it so valuable for students of traditional horary methods.

"Chapter IV: A Question Concerning an Ill Person." This is a second case study on illness. This case study has been placed on this website in full. Chapter from Masha'allah on Horary

"Chapter V, Concerning Substance." This chapter deals with questions concerning getting substance (i.e., money or other forms of wealth) at some future time regardless of the source.

"Chapter VI, Concerning Money Which Has Been Lent." The subject of the chapter should be self-evident!

"Chapter VII, An Interrogation Concerning Things Left by a Certain Dead Person." This is another case study which concerns inheritance.

"Chapter VIII, Concerning Kingship, Whether It Will Be Acquired." This is a general introduction to the matter of whether or not a querent will obtain a kingship or other high office. Today we might apply the same logic to getting a job or a promotion if such a job or promotion involves a sufficiently high-status position.

"Chapter IX, A Question Concerning Kingship." This is the first of three case studies involving the acquisition of high office.

"Chapter X, A Question Concerning Kingship." This is the second of the three case studies involving the acquisition of high office.

"Chapter XI, Concerning the Discovery of the Hyleg." This chapter comes right in the middle of all the proceeding and following horary material. This chapter is straight natal astrology and does not seemingly belong in this text. But it is here and it seems to come from a separate tradition not closely related to the Book of Nativities attributed to the same author.

"Chapter XII, A Question Concerning a Kingship." This is the third and by far most elaborate case study involving high office. This study shows just how much one can squeeze out of a simple chart involving only seven planets.

Appendix: The Charts of On Reception, Technical Details. This is contributed by your translator. It is a technical analysis in modern language of the most important details pertaining to Masha'allah's methods. The section also investigates questions of house division, zodiac and other technical details. This should be very useful to help those who have a bit of trouble with learning techniques directly from translations.

Now Available.

Ibn Ezra: The Beginning of Wisdom
$18.95 US
Translated from the Original Hebrew

The Beginning of Wisdom is a one of the most important of the basic medieval texts of astrology. Originally written in Hebrew by Ibn Ezra it was translated into old French by Hagin de Juif and thence into Latin by Peter of Abano among others. It served as the backbone to an extensive and quite complete textbook of astrology by Ibn Ezra which which also included The Book of Reasons, The Book of Nativities and others which we expect to have from Ms. Epstein over the next few years.

We can do no better to summarize the contents of Ibn Ezra's books than to give you Ibn Ezra's own introduction to The Beginning of Wisdom.

Ibn Ezra's Introduction to The Beginning of Wisdom

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, for it is the instruction. For when a man does not follow his eyes and heart to fulfill his [worldly] desire, then wisdom will rest in him. Moreover, the fear of God will protect him from the laws and ordinances of the heavens all the days of his life, and when his soul separates from his body, it (the fear of God) will endow him with eternity and he shall live forever. So, here I shall begin to interpret the laws of the heavens according to the rules as practiced by the ancients, generation after generation, and after I complete this book I shall compose a book of interpretation of the reasons, and to God I shall pray for help, amen.

This Book Is Divided into Ten Chapters.

The first chapter [deals with] the form of the wheel, its parts, its signs and its images, the seven planets, their elevation, their strength, their motion, and their rulership.

The second chapter [deals with] the influence of the signs, their ascension, their effect, the co-mixture of the [fixed] stars, and the images.

The third chapter [deals with] the aspects of the degrees, the influence of the quadrants of the wheel, and the twelve houses.

The fourth chapter [deals with] the nature of the seven planets, their influence, and whatever they indicate for all that are created on Earth.

The fifth chapter [deals with] the planets, when their power increases, and when it diminishes [based on their house position and aspects].

The sixth chapter [deals with] the strength of the planets themselves [based on their orbital motion and position], and [also] according to their position before the Sun or after it.

The seventh chapter [deals with] the aspects of the planets and their conjunctions, their co-mixture, their separation, and the general rules regarding the mixture of their powers with one another, and all that these indicate.

The eighth chapter [deals with] the judgment of the planets in inquiries, nativities, and revolutions.

The ninth chapter [deals with] the lots of the planets, the lots of the houses, and all other lots that astrologers have mentioned.

The tenth chapter [deals with] the orb of light of the seven planets, the way they are directed, and their translation over the degrees of the wheel, and what these indicate in general.

Every learned [person] who investigates this science can observe the motion of the seven planets, that they are faster in their motion than their motion in the superior wheel, their motion in their [own] spheres against the superior stars which are in the wheel of the zodiac, and all the motions around the solid, which is the Earth, like the point inside the circle.

Then one will realize that although these motions are even and direct, their effect will vary according to the regions. This is known from the number of degrees of the wheel, its left (northern) and southern images (signs), and the knowledge of the seven planets, their nature -- general and particular -- and all their actions.

JOSEPH CRANE
A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology
$14.95 US

Professional astrologer, psychotherapist and teacher, Joseph Crane writes openly to modern astrologers about ideas and techniques from the past. A gifted teacher, Crane conveys the most difficult material from the late Hellenistic and medieval periods in a manner that is easy to read, understand and apply to your own charts. As our first secondary source work, A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology is a first must read for all astrologers. Crane is empowered with an understanding of both ancient and modern technique that is difficult to master, and for this deserves much respect.

A Practical Guide to Traditional Astrology consists of an introduction plus six chapters. The first chapter, titled Traditional Planetary Dignity and Disposition, is a thorough introduction to nature and usage of the five essential dignities, both in the ancient and medieval traditions. The following is a complete listing of the table of contents of the first chapter.

The second chapter, Angles and Houses, covers the differences between ancient and modern uses of houses and pays special attention to the most ancient house system of all, still in use in Jyotish or Hindu Astrology, the whole-sign or sign-as-house system in which each sign makes up one entire house.

The third chapter, Aspects in Hellenistic and Medieval Astrology, covers the uses of aspects in both ancient and medieval astrology and reveals a number of facets of ancient aspect theory largely unknown to modern astrologers.

The fourth chapter, Planets as Significators in Ancient Astrology, reveals the role of the planets in indicating types of personality, categories of employment and many other functions which modern astrology tends to assign to signs or houses.

The fifth chapter, Planetary Sect, is a concise, yet comprehensive, introduction to the behavior of astrological symbols in daytime and nighttime births, also known as sect. Other important issues described include the symbolism of the four qualities, Dry, Hot, Wet, Cold, which are much less well known than the four elements but which are more fundamental than the elements and actually are the basis of the elements.

The sixth chapter, The Phases of the Planets, deals with one of the most difficult areas of traditional Western Astrology, the movements of the planets with respect to the Sun. The tradition is split on basic definitions and how to emply them. This chapter goes a long way to clarifying the issues involved.

Each chapter is liberally illustrated with examples from modern practice designed to illustrate the principles clearly in a way that modern astrologers can understand.

NOTE: This is a new edition with corrections and has been published in the standard trade paperback perfect bound format. A few copies of the older saddled stitched first edition are available at the old $12.95 price.

Abu Ma'shar: The Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology
$9.50 US
(Based on the original translations By Burnett from Arabic published by E.J.Brill)

This is a special edition of the previous work published by Brill. Edited by Cornelius, Tobyn, and Wells under Dr. Burnett's supervision, this edition of the Abbreviation, (also known as the Lesser Introduction) has been specially prepared for the use of astrologers interested in both the techniques and their history. Extensive notes have been added to the text explaining all of the important technical terms and their history. The translation from the Arabic (which forms the basis of this edition) has been cross-referenced to the Latin translation of Adelard of Bath so as to supply portions missing from the Arabic as well to note differences between the Latin and the Arabic no doubt resulting from different manuscript traditions. This was one of the most important introductory texts for both Arabic and Latin astrologers. And it is now accessible to the astrological community.

Now Available

JOHN GADBURY

The Nativity of the Most Valiant and Puissant Monarch
Lewis the Fourteenth King of France and Navarre. A facsimile of the 1680 edition electronically edited and enhanced.
$5.50 US

The Nativity of Lewis the Fourteenth is one of Gadbury's short little handbooks in which he delineates the chart of a major personage of his period. This is a fascinating glimpse into the methods of 17th century astrologers complete with hylegs, alcochodens, primary directions, solar revolutions, etc.

This edition has been prepared from a copy of the original, but has been edited in bitmaps to repair broken letters, remove spots and spurious lines, and all of the other printing glitches that make facsimiles from this period hard to read.

36 Pages -- Now Available

COMING SOON

A New Book by Robert Hand

This is an original work by Robert Hand based on his studies of ancient and medieval astrology. It is a comprehensive study of the nature of the signs, the dignities of the signs, and how these were used in ancient and medieval astrology. It covers material from the most basic issues of how the qualities of the signs were described up through essential dignities, reception, Almutens, and complex uses of the Almuten technique to cover life expectancy, and the rulership of the various areas of life including the chart as a whole. This is a new work but its material is based closely on ancient and medieval material. This is due out by U.A.C. near the end of May.

Translated by Robert Hand