Cazimi, combust, under sunbeams and Retrogrades

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Here is a link to a very good classical astrology site
http://www.cieloeterra.it/eng/eng.index.html
Giuseppe Bezza and Marco Fumagalli
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The astrological metaphors from Abû Ma'sar in Libri mysteriorum
English translation by Daria Dudziak

Conjunction to the Sun within
- 0degree 17m = cazimi
- 8 degrees = combust
- between 8 and 17 degrees = under sunbeams
- beyond that, the planet is free of beams.

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II, 177. On the great virtue of the stars. (Free of beams)
The stars, when they become morning and go out of the sunlight, they show clearly their operation and they have great force. - Mars gets free of the Sun, it is similar to a sharp and infallible blade and the wound caused by it is incurable;
- Saturn goes out of the sunbeams it is like a lion which throws itself out of its den and kills whoever it meets;
- Jupiter gets free of the rays of the sunlight it is like a man who loves justice, who is honest and who got free from any bond, reason for which he or she becomes mild and well-disposed towards everything, kind and merciful;
- Venus is free from the sunbeams, it is like a woman who being already subjected to needs and to torments and to diseases, recovers health;
- Mercury goes out of the rays, if in that moment it puts itself near a benevolent star or is configured to it, it means a good thing, but if it is conjunct to a malevolent star, it means a very serious offence.

II, 178. On the virtue of the stars that are in the heart. (Cazimi)
Some people say that when a star is in the heart of the Sun, it becomes stronger; nevertheless, I say that in that moment the star is similar to a man who purifies himself and who therefore does not have strength in the purification, but he regains his health afterwards.
- Saturn burned it is similar to an old shabby man that is not able to bear pains, sorrows and punishments;
- Jupiter burned it is similar to a man put to the test and who is however able to bear pains and sorrows since he hopes to take an advantage of it.
- Venus burned becomes absolutely weak and without strength and it can not really bear combustion;
- Mercury burned is similar to a man accustomed to difficulties and to miseries and poverty and who bears such things since they are familiar to him;
- Mars burned is similar to a very wicked man whose wickedness and offence increase.

II, 179. The reason why people who say that a star which becomes burned in its own domicile or elevation does not offend, are mistaken. (Combust and under sunbeams in domicile or exaltation)
Some people say that when a star becomes burned in its own domicile or in its own elevation it does not cause offence. However
- when Saturn, which is cold and dry becomes burned, it is similar to stone which being burned by the fire, decays and breaks
- when Jupiter becomes burned it is similar to gold that melts and when it moves in the rays of sunlight its pure substance takes on a red hue.
- when Venus and the Moon become burned they are similar to the quicksilver that if we throw it into the fire, the fire escapes from it like from something different from its nature and is not able to tolerate it.

II, 180. On the stars that have direct motion and on the stars that have retrograde motion.
You have to know that these five stars have two different arrangements in their motion: they stop in order to retrograde after and then they stop again in order to proceed by direct motion afterwards; and each of these arrangements has its own meaning. In truth, the star that reaches the first station, by which I mean the station from which it will start to recede afterwards (Stationary retrograde), is similar to an ill man whose strength is failing, his vigour and energy weakened by the illness.
When the star gets to its second station (Stationary Direct) it is similar to a man who has already started to recover his health and finally, when it moves by direct motion, it is like a man recovered from an illness.
- Venus in particular is offended by receding: indeed, when it retrogrades, it gets burned, that's why we have a kind of double distress: one is given by receding, the other by burning.
- Mercury is also distressed when it recedes since it gets burned as well, but it is not offended by its receding and by the fact that it is burned as much as Venus.
- Also as far as the superior stars are concerned we can say that the offence of their receding is slighter than the offence of the receding of the inferior stars , especially when they recede from a non- familiar place towards a place in which they have some right of dominion or also if while they recede they move from a malefic towards a benefic star. Then, they are similar to a man who travels and who wants to pass through the fairs and who after being stopped by someone who he meets during his walk, goes back and is safe.
However, the superior stars are different in their receding and in their stations as well as in their burning and in other distresses:
- when Jupiter recedes it is similar to a rich man subjected to a lot of bondage and therefore distressed or to a wise , sensible and careful man who submits to the mediocre anxieties of the rational part of his mind;
- for Saturn it debases itself completely in its receding and it is similar to a slave who escapes and who is caught by his master again and put in chains; finally
- Mars ,when it recedes it is similar to a son of a fugitive that escapes from his father and then returns relying on his father's affection. The stars cause offence particularly if in their receding they are in a foreign place or in their adversities or in their humiliations and especially if they are afflicted with a malevolent star in their receding: then, they are similar to an ill man whose strength is failing and who is seized by another bad thing at once. Indeed, the stars which recede alter their nature and therefore they complete their operations in a weak way.

II, 185. What the stars which have direct motion and the stars which go back mean.
The star that recedes means falsities and deceptions, the star that has a direct motion means the truth and all that is upright, but if it is burned mars is like a dull, ill man who does not have confidence in and is not sure of anything except his own weakness.

II, 186. The reason why the stars that recede or are in slow signs bring the results slowly and the stars which are direct in motion are fast in bringing the results.
When the stars have subtractive motion they lead to slow results as well as when they are in slow signs. The signs which have the nature of Saturn and Jupiter such as Capricorn and Aquarius, Sagittarius and Pisces are slow; but when the stars have a direct motion what they mean arrives quickly and especially if they are in a tropical sign.

II, 201. What the morning and occidental stars mean.
It has to be known that when a star is a morning one it is similar to a boy who is in the bloom of youth and is at height of his incentives while the vespertine star is like an old oppressed man whose vigour is lacking.

II, 202. On the configuration of the Moon with the stars.
You have to know that the Moon is like the messenger of the stars: in fact , it transmits their virtues from one star to another.

Ouranos
Blessings!