learning primary directions

1
Hello everyone,

Just joined this forum. I would love to know of any web sites that teach a beginner how to calculate primary directions using right and oblique ascensions. I have never used them before. I ordered Lily's CA book3, but I think I will need a Primary Directions for Dummies kind of tutorial to begin using them.

Thanks

2
Hi,

A) Don't feel dumb. There is a lot to learn about primaries, and not a lot of places to learn them.

B) Sometimes I amaze myself due to my own obtuseness, if there is a such a word. I have all these books and I continue to buy more books, yet virtually everything any astrologer would ever need is right there in Christian Astrology. So learning primaries from Lilly is a good way to start. Furthermore, while other works concentrate on calculating them, Lilly, ever the pragmatist, spends a good deal of time delineating them. God bless the man.

3) If Lilly and some rocky 17th century English puts you off, try these works, both available from www.astroamerica.com

a) Primary Directions A Definitive Study by Sepharial
b) The three booklets on primaries by Rumen Kolev

Caution: There is some disagreement on terminology and no consensus on symbols for primary directions. For example Lilly and Kolev use opposite meanings for Significators and Promittors. Others, A.J. Pearce for example are even less clear. So don't assume anything until you are sure where the author is going. And be prepared to do a lot of thinking in order to keep these things straight.

Lilly and others emphasize directing to fixed stars, but Lilly also directs to the terms and to antiscia. These are really neat ideas, and they deserve more attention.

Good luck with your work. Try to stay organized and methodical in your studies (if my wife heard me giving this advice, she would probably never stop laughing at the hypocrisy), keep an open mind, and expect contradictions. I think this is an area of immense importance and while everyone is busy wondering about Sedna, a serious student could make some significant breakthroughs with this nearly forgotten technique.

Best

Tom

5
Technoseer
Thanks for the link. I was rather daunted by the idea of caluculating the primary directions by hand.
You may find it easier to comprehned the data if you click on the additional tables in the top right hand corner(at least it's 2-d).

Learning primary directions

7
The works by Bob Makransky are good and can be found at:

http://www.dearbrutus.com/primarydirections_1.pdf
http://www.dearbrutus.com/primarydirections_2.pdf
http://www.dearbrutus.com/primarydirections_3.pdf

These are a bit technical but very informative.

There is also a calculation program at Ed Falis home page:
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze6qirr/myindex.html

Makransky points out that there are many ways to calculate primary directions and lots of misunderstandings and misinformation in the literature. Having struggled with the math, I'm still not sure I fully understand all the nuances. The method of calculating directions varies with the house system. Directing the angles seems to be the same, but directing intermediate points differs. As far as I can tell, Placidus comes closest to doing what Ptolemy recommended in the Tetrabiblos. Most other authors and house systems (except maybe Alcabitius) seem to be based on a misreading of Ptolemy.

If you find other sources, please post them because I too would like to learn more about this technique in which I feel like a novice.

8
Hi Tony,

Have you tried Astrologia Gallica Book 22, translated by James Holden (AFA)? The entire work (165 pages plus appendices and translations from other parts of Astrologia Gallica) is on directions. I have the book, but I haven't tackled it yet.

Rumen Kolev's current e-mail address is: rumen_k_kolev@yahoo.com His books go into great depth. They can also be ordered from www.astroamerica.com.

Like you I'd like to know more about this subject. I have Kolev's program, but even though it does the math, a pretty good understanding of directions would be a big, big help in using it.

Tom

9
Hi
I recommend:
1.-Nelson Page and Vendel Polich:"The rectification of Queen Elizabeth II birth Chart", Magazzine SPICA, Jan 1966, London,ENG.
2.- Publication in SPICA
2.1.- The Computation of Primary Directions, Apr, Jul, 1973
2.2.- Origin and Significance of Primary Directions, Oct 1973
3.- Page and Polich: "Tablas de Ascension Recta Ecliptica con Manual de Direcciones Primarias" Buenos Aires, 1970.
4.- Erich Carl K?hr:"Primar Direktions-Tabellen,Austria, 1934
5.- Erich Carl K?hr:"Prim?r-Direktionen",Austria, 1932
6.- Alexander Marr: Analisis y PrediccionII, Buenos Aires,Arg, 1986
After send more!!!
Regards
Mario
www.siderum.com