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	PRIMARY DIRECTIONS: A Definitive Study - Sepharial, $17.95 Contents: 1. Astronomical Definitions 2. Example Horoscope 3. Directions in Mundo 4. Directions in the Zodiac 5. Zodiacal and Mundane Parallels 6. Order of Directing 7. Effects of Directions 8. Planetary Indicators and the Measure of Time 9. Illustration 10. Ptolemy and Placidus 11. Directions Under Poles 12. The Part of Fortune 13. Lunar Parallax and Semi-Diameter 14. Lunar Equations 15. Cusp Distances 16. Suggested Method of True Directing 17. Conclusion Appendix—Tables of Sines, Tangents, etc. Tables of Right Ascension and Ascensional Difference Tables of Proportional Logarithms Comment: The definitive text on Primary Directions, written by a 20th century master. Sepharial (1864-1929) was one of the leading astrologers in the early 20th century English astrological revival. Primaries were his favorite means of forecasting. Primaries, unlike simple transits or secondary directions, are not immediately obvious to the average student. So in this book, the author starts with the basic definitions. He then explains how to calculate directions in mundo, directions in the zodiac, as well as parallel directions. He suggests methods of organization and describes what effects primary directions may produce. In the process he gives an overview of the three main schools of forecasting: The Fatalists, the Casuists, and the Idealists, and gives the pros and cons of each. Sepharial then discusses the two major individuals behind primaries. These are Claudius Ptolemy, who invented the semi-arc (primary) method in the second century AD, and the 17th century Italian monk, Placidus de Titis, who devised the complex house system that enabled primaries to be calculated easily and rapidly. Sepharial next tackles directions under Poles, which were a favorite of R.C. Smith, the first of several men known as "Raphael". Then, the resolution of problems unique to Primaries: The proper method to calculate the Part of Fortune (Oblique Ascension/ Descension, rather than simple zodiacal longitudes), various unique challenges with primary directions and the moon, and the true way to calculate directions to house cusps, along with some novel shortcuts. Expanded and revised, this book, originally entitled Directional Astrology, was the successor to the author's earlier Prognostic Astrology. It is also superior to the better known Primary Directions Made Easy. Using this system, Sepharial made many notable forecasts, most famously that of the end of World War I and the abdication of the Kaiser. Interest in this fascinating system has increased since the mid-1990's. This is the finest book ever published on the subject, one that will repay study. Click here for an excerpt (pdf). Astrology Classics, 168 pages.

	PRIMARY DIRECTIONS: Astrology's Old Master Technique - Martin Gansten, $22.00 Contents: Preface Symbols used in this book 1. The basics: what are primary directions? 2. A brief history of primary directions 3. The three-dimensional chart 4. Directing planets 5. Directing aspects 6. The quest for precision 7. Getting technical: more variables 8. Modern innovations 9. The hyleg & the length of life 10. Primary directions & other predictive techniques Appendices: I. Formulae for calculating primary directions II. Software offering primary directions III. The Egyptian terms & years of the planets Glossary Bibliography Index Comment: The new book on primaries. I had heard this to be the best of the many presentations of primary theory, but I found the book difficult. The author has an excellent grasp of the subject, but somehow fails to tell us what we need to understand him. Some examples: Direct & converse .... In both cases, the astronomical motion of the celestial sphere from east to west is the same, but from the point of view of the signficator, one direction is formed along the zodiac, the other backwards. This distinction is related to the Hellenistic concept of aspects, where an aspect formed against the direction of the zodiacal signs (a dexter aspect) was known as aktinobolia or 'casting of rays' and perceived of as more powerful than one formed in the opposite direction (a sinister aspect). At no time was the celestial sphere imagined to move backwards, carrying planets from west to east. (pg. 7) Huh? Here's another: The longitude of Mars is 25 degrees 56 minutes of Leo. This point in the ecliptic reached the horizon 92 minutes after birth, corresponding to 23 years of age. However, as Mars has a latitude of 0 degrees 55 minutes north of the ecliptic, the planet itself will rise a little earlier than its ecliptical degree - about 3 1/2 minutes earlier, corrresponding to nearly a year in primary directions. This means that while the zodiacal direction of Mars to the ascendant is completed around the age of 23 years, the mundane direction of Mars to the ascendant is completed a month or two after age 22. (pg. 52) Gansten had previously given the formula for translating zodiacal longitude into primary years, which is: One degree equals four minutes which equals one year (pg. 50), but then baffles the reader with the murky, undefined mundane. Nearly two pages later (bottom of pg. 53) we are referred to Appendix 1 for the trigonometric formula (sines & cosines, etc.) for planet-to-planet semi-arc aspects, and then are given a simplier formula that works in conjunction with (unspecified) computer programs, using the time it takes for a given zodiacal point to rise & to reach the nadir ("anti-culminates") at a given latitude on the planet. How do you find this? With the rectification option on most astrology software. Find the times, convert to minutes, add or subtract, calculate the same for the second planet, convert to percentages, then figure out A is to B as C is to D, then convert to years to find the moment when planet A made primary aspect to planet B. Note well: you are not working in zodiacal longitudes. You are working in clock time. (I want to do this for what reason, exactly? Oh, yes. If the answer is 90 years or less, it might happen at some point during my life.) At several points Gansten refers to calculation of Right Ascension. Which he is slow to tell us can be found in Appendix I. Long before this point I had thrown down the book & reached for Sepharial (above). I don't know if Sepharial is the same thing or not (Gansten says he's not, but then that's what I expect him to say), but Sepharial isn't gibberish. Gansten's simple formula for calculating Right Ascension (RA), from Appendix I. See if you like it: sin-1 (sin epsilon x sin delta). where "-1" is given in superscript, and "epsilon" and "delta" are given as Greek characters. Gansten then works out an example, where sine epsilon is for 23.44 degrees of latitude & sine delta is for 128 degrees 25 minutes of zodiacal longitude, which become 0.39779 and 0.78351, respectively, which are multiplied & then converted into degrees. Gansten himself supplies no tables, you are presumed to already be in possession of such. (CRC are the traditional tables. Amazon lists new copies at $40, used copies at $13.00. Know the book has remained identical from the very beginning. Gansten does not list any such tables in his Bibliography.) On his website, Mr. Gansten appears to be about 40. (The site is in Swedish, Google will make an approximate translation.) It would appear that Greek is still taught in Swedish public schools. It has not been taught in the US for half a century, perhaps longer. Gansten is better than Sepharial? Sepharial has tables. I won't trouble you with Gansten's advanced formula for RA (tangents & cosines), but you should be thinking about them as you read the various chapters. Gansten is critical of modern authors (Regiomontanus & Makransky among them) when they do not adhere to the traditional formulas, but Gansten does not say why strict adherence is necessary, nor does he give any reason why new formulas would not give valid results. (Do they?) I basically got stuck by chapter 4. Realizing defeat, I decided to skip all the chapters on all the many different kinds of calculations, and move on to chapters on delineation. So I advanced to Chapter 9, Hyleg & the Length of Life. But I didn't get much further. In his example, the hyleg is somewhere between the 10th & 7th house cusps, ie, in the 9th, as the 8th is forbidden: Thus, if a planet's point of longitude, at the place of birth, remains above the horizon for exactly 16 hours of clock time each day, its diurnal horary times will be 16h / 12 = 1h20m, or 80 minutes of clock time. As each degree of right ascension corresponds to just under 4 minutes of time, the diurnal horary times express in such degrees would be just over 20 degrees, corresponding to some 20 years of life. The same zodiacal point would then remain below the horizon for 8 hours every day, making its nocturnal horary times 8h / 12 = 40 minutes, which is to say 40/4 = 10 degrees of right ascension. (pg. 110) This is confusing & incorrect. It implies that 16 hours of travel equals 20 years of life, after which we would presume death arrives. (Or, if at night, 8 hours or 10 years of life, but this would place the hyleg between the ascendant & IC, which is prohibited.) What Gansten means by this example, but somehow cannot figure out how to state, is that for each hour the hyleg takes before it sets, it gives 20 years of life. (Presuming that when the hyleg sets, death ensues, which is not always the case.) That's why he divided 16 by 12, which converts civil time to planetary hours. If you have a 9th house hyleg, subtract sunset from sunrise on the day of your birth, convert to minutes, divide by 12 to find the length of the planetary hour. Then subtract your birth time (civil time) from the civil time of sunset, convert to minutes, divide by the length of the planetary hour for the day of your birth, to get planetary hours from birth-time to sunset. Multiply those hours (and any fraction) by 20, and that's your life expectancy. On the one hand it won't make much difference which 9th house planet is hyleg, since the time each planet spends above the horizon, on any given day (except for the Moon, which is speedy) is virtually the same, but on the other, if it isn't the Sun, declination means you have to convert to Right Ascension, which means all those nasty sines, etc. Since there are six hours between noon & sunset, six hours times 20 years per hour equals a maximum 120 years of life, for those who have the hyleg in the 9th. Do the math & find your very own life expectancy, but know that your mileage may vary. So I tried it out. On the day I was born, the Sun - my hyleg - was in the sky 10 hours, 89 minutes, which is 689 minutes. Divide by 12 & each hour was actually 57 minutes, 28 seconds. From its position in the 9th house, the Sun took 5 hours, 10 minutes of astrological time to set. At the rate of 20 years per hour, that gives me a life expectancy of about 103 years. No need for the RA stuff. No one in my family has ever lived so long, but then, Gansten says this isn't such a reliable method. In Appendix III, Gansten gives useful reviews of nine primary-calculating software programs. If you're serious about primaries, Appendix III is probably worth the price of the book. If you haven't got the money I will cut to the chase & reveal that he likes Morinus, by Robert Nagy. Which Gansten says is free. Otherwise, Rumen Kolev did better work than this, but he was such a fussy vendor that I gave up on him. Which was a pity. Good authors on primaries are scarce. Go get Sepharial. If you're a math whiz & enjoy solving examples, get Ivy Goldstein Jacobson's Turn of a Lifetime. Wessex Astrologer, 193. Read the book? Want to tell the world? How many stars (1-5) would you give this book? Tell us!

	SATURN IN TRANSIT, Boundaries of Mind & Soul - Erin Sullivan, $19.95 Contents: Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The evolution of an archetype: Kronos the Titan, The mythic Kronos & the Roman Saturn, The old malefic, The midwife of insight, The alchemical lead, The master of time; 2. The natural cycles of Saturn: A journey towards individuation, Birth to Saturn square (0-7), Square to opposition (7-14), Opposition to square (14-21), Square to return (21-29), Return to square (29-36), Square to second opposition (37-44), Second opposition to square (45-52), Square to second return (52-59), Second return onwards; 3. The heroic round: Heroism, Hamartia: the hero & the tragic flaw, The mythological round, The angles; 4. The personal heroic journey: Experiencing boundaries, definition & containment; Seeing the inside on the outside; The transit of Saturn over the angles; The call to adventure (MC); The threshold struggle (ASC); The atonement (IC); The call to return (DESC); 5. The transit of Saturn to the planets: Aspects: The eye of Saturn, The story of Job, Saturn in transit to natal planets. Notes; Bibliography; Index; About the author. Comment: Saturn's influence, its quest for meaning as it transits around the zodiac, helps us to destroy the old & outmoded. By throwing us into periodic chaos, Saturn encourages redefinition & regrowth & so becomes an agent of change (for the better) in our lives. Make Saturn your friend, you'll never regret it. Weiser, 337 pages.

	TRANSITS SIMPLIFIED - Sakoian & Acker, $14.00 Contents: Introduction; How to use this book; The transits: Keywords for the transiting Sun Keywords for the transiting Moon Keywords for transiting Mercury Keywords for transiting Venus Keywords for transiting Mars Keywords for transiting Jupiter Keywords for transiting Saturn Keywords for transiting Uranus Keywords for transiting Neptune Keywords for transiting Pluto Comment: Delineates transiting planets (Sun, Moon & planets) to other planets, through the houses, in aspect to the angles & nodes. Aspects: Conjunctions, sextiles, squares, trines & oppositions. Gives interpretation for faster transiting planets to slower natal planets. For the reverse, when slow planets make transits to faster planets, the text refers the reader to the earlier sections. So, for example, the text delineates transiting Sun to natal Pluto, but for aspects of transiting Pluto to the natal Sun, the text refers the reader to the Sun to Pluto section. This is not exactly kosher, but if you're clever, it will do. Some years after this book was first published, the authors took these keywords & wrote them into a proper book, Predictive Astrology, which was published by Harper. It's been out of print since 1998. If you're looking for a copy, you might try the used vendors at Amazon. It's a book some enterprising person should reprint. NESA, 227 pages.

	WHAT'S A DIURNAL - Maxine Taylor, $10.00 Contents: 1. What's a diurnal?; 2. How do you cast a diurnal chart?; 3. Example charts - marriages, births, deaths, divorces/separations, new business ventures, miscellaneous, A congressional race; Patricia Hearst; 4. When the diurnal doesn't work; About the author. Comment: From chapter 1: To calculate a diurnal, the birth chart is first relocated to the place of the event or activity. Then, using the relocated calculations, another chart is cast for the day in question. This is the diurnal. Once the cusps for this chart have been found, there is no further calculation. Allowing a one degree orb, we simply see if any of the natal, progressed or transiting planets as well as natal or progressed cusps are conjunct any of the diurnal cusps. (Converse motion, solar arc, progressed relocation and natal relocation planets and cusps can also be included.)... Events occur in the life when a natal planet is conjunct a diurnal cusp, or when more than one progressed or transiting planet is conjunct a diurnal cusp. The more planets conjunct any one cusp, the more important the event. (pg. 1) To clarify the calculation instructions, the "relocated calculations" refer to the relocated house cusps, which are generated from the relocated Sidereal time of birth. The rest of the instructions are murky. To clarify, they are: To cast a diurnal for today for your place of birth, take your natal time of birth (with your natal time zone), your natal birth place, and add today's date. To cast a diurnal for today for a relocated place of residence, take your natal time of birth (with your natal time zone), your present location, and today's date. So if you were born in New York on January 15, 1973 at 3:32 am EST, your New York diurnal for October 4, 2005, would be calculated for 3:32 am EST, New York, October 4, 2005. To calculate for October 5, 2005 (the next day), change only the date. If you were born in New York but now live in Los Angeles, a diurnal for October 4, 2005 would be calculated with your original birth time, (3:32 am EST), the latitude/longitude for Los Angeles, and the date of October 4, 2005. In both cases, it is helpful to place natal planets & angles outside the diurnal chart. Once you get into diurnals, you'll do this every day, especially if you have a computer program. The day's diurnal becomes of interest when natal planets & angles are in conjunction with diurnal angles. They become even more interesting when joined with transiting planets on diurnal angles. AFA, 51 pages, small paper.

	URANUS IN TRANSIT WITH ASPECTS - Clara M. Darr, $10.00 Contents: Uranus transits houses; Uranus aspects Sun; Uranus aspects Moon; Uranus aspects Mercury; Uranus aspects Venus; Uranus aspects Mars; Uranus aspects Jupiter; Uranus aspects Saturn; Uranus aspects Uranus; Uranus aspects Neptune; Uranus aspects Pluto. Comment: For each of the natal planets, Darr gives delineations for the conjunction, sextile, square, trine & opposition. Features a psychological approach, with much left between the lines. Here is Uranus conjunct Venus: You will probably experience some unexpected alterations in the pattern of the lighter side of your life. Get your attitude toward others very clear because upsetting unconventional influences are at hand. You are apt to spend a little extra on amusement or adornment in this cycle. Look your best, add to your sense of comfort and well-being. Pleasurable and/or emotional affairs should be improving. You can purchase articles of dress & personal interest to advantage. You probably will find an increase in craving for thrills. It is up to you to keep this desire from getting out of hand. Be sure you comprehend just where each individual stands & what his or her rights are before you express an opinion involving important considerations. Be logical & impersonal. Stick to customary behavior. (pg. 21) Self-published, 48 pages, small paper.

	NEPTUNE IN TRANSIT WITH ASPECTS - Clara M. Darr, $10.00 Contents: Neptune transits houses; Neptune aspects Sun; Neptune aspects Moon; Neptune aspects Mercury; Neptune aspects Venus; Neptune aspects Mars; Neptune aspects Jupiter; Neptune aspects Saturn; Neptune aspects Uranus; Neptune aspects Neptune; Neptune aspects Pluto. Comment: The emphasis is on practicality. Here is Neptune opposing natal Mars: Be prepared for the unexpected in a business offer which seems too good to be true. It might be advantageous to turn it down because instead of becoming a huge success, the plan may fall apart at the last moment. Tendency to bring out your worst enthusiasm. Sensational and Ultra-romantic ideas can dominate you. This goes on for a long time and you may get used to it as time goes on. Be careful that you aren't taking your weaknesses too much for granted. Examine yourself, your pursuits, your pleasures, your associates; and you will find that a lot of them are profitless and wasteful, if not worse. Look within yourself, and discover the root of the evil, then cast it out of your life, through a careful campaign to redirect your energies into more progressive channels. (pg. 27) Self-published, small paper, 43 pages.

	MAPPING YOUR FUTURE - Kris Brandt Riske, $19.95 Contents: List of charts; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Natal chart overview; 2. Predictive techniques; 3. Natal chart delineation; 4. Progressions; 5. Progressed planets in houses, signs & aspects; 6. Outer planets & eclipses; 7. Outer planet transits, houses & aspects; 8. Inner planet transits; 9. Inner planet transit, houses & aspects; 10. Relationships; 11. Job/career; 12. Money; 13. Relocation; 14. Health. Glossary; Appendices: 1. Step-by-step guide to making predictions; 2. Map your future using the CD-Rom; Bibliography. Comment: Riske is the author of a fine book on weather forecasting, she is also in charge of publishing at the AFA, so there's no question she knows her stuff. This is a quick overview of astrological forecasting, lacking many useful details. We are told what progressions are, we are told what transits are, we are given tiny snapshot delineations of transiting & progressed planets, we are given one fully worked-out example (of David, born in 1966) and his sudden breakthrough job of 1991. In the chapters dealing with specific topics (Relationships, Job, Money, etc.) there is a smorgasboard of configurations, preceeded with, Listed here are the aspect configurations present at the time of marriage or commitment. Each component must be "active"; that is, each appropriate planet & angle must be aspected by an outer planet transit or progression. Usually there are multiple aspects, but it's only necessary for there to be one to each. For example, there could be an aspect to the progressed Ascendant/Descendant, but not to the natal angle. The same applies to the planets. (from pg. 142) In this instance, there follows 33 itemized configurations: Eclipses, natal planets, natal angles, progressed planets, progressed angles, progressed ruling planets, progressed planets in houses, outer planet transits to houses, natal planets, progressed planets, new & full moons, stationaries/retrogrades. Which would seem to be a puzzle. Does nothing happen unless it's indicated a dozen times over? Of course not. What the author is trying to give us is the entire range of possibilities, from which only a few need be operational. The confusion seems to stem from the editing of the book and not the author's text itself. So, in general, are Llewellyn's editors to blame for the flabbiness of the Mapping series? (What do they know of astrology, I wonder?) The CD-Roms with the books are taken from programs by David Cochrane (Cosmic Patterns Software). They will calculate & display a chart & as an added bonus, also include the author's interpretation, keyed to the book. In this case, forecasts. This just might be what you're buying for your twenty bucks. Llewellyn, 216 pages.

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