Extraterrestrial Astrology by Luciano Drusetta

Article by Luciano Drusetta, Italy

The Extraterrestrial Astrology (hereinafter: EA) is an attempt to extrapolate the rules of traditional astrology in order to answer to the following question: how would an Astral Map look like – any astral map, I mean: a natal chart, a transit chart or a return chart – if drawn for an event that took place outside the planet Earth – that’s to say, anywhere in orbit around the Earth, on the Moon, or on another planet, or on the satellite moon of another planet, or even more: in another solar system?

Science fiction, extrapolating the scientific and technological knowledge of a period, helps us understand the limits and possibilities of the scientific and technological progress of that time. Today, watching again the naive science-fiction films of the 50’s, we realize how much progress has been made, but also how many results are still to be achieved. Similarly, the EA extrapolates but doesn’t twist the traditional rules of our discipline, making us think over the limits and potentials of modern Astrology.

In his lecture on the “New Problems and Evolution of the Astrology” [“Nuovi problemi ed evoluzione dell’astrologia”] held at the astrological congress of Milan in 1975, Massimo Frisari dedicated some paragraphs to what he called exoterrestrial

astrology. With my series of articles “Hypotheses of Extraterrestrial Astrology” [“Ipotesi di Astrologia Extraterrestre”] published on Ciro Discepolo’s quarterly bulletin Ricerca ’90, I have developed Mr. Frisari’s original idea, put the basements for further developments on this subject; given preliminary indications on how to face and solve some of the problems left undeveloped by Mr. Frisari; even pointed out a possible oversight of his. These pages summarize that series of articles.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL ASTROLOGY: WHAT IT IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT.

How could we define the potentials and the aims of this newborn discipline, bound to become a hinge of the daily astrological practice of the Third Millennium? Because of the prevailing hypothetical nature of its statements and the virtual impossibility to verify (at least, up to this day) certain hypotheses, we could call it science-fictional astrology or astrological science-fiction. Just like science fiction, in facts, also EA outlines scenarios based upon “scientific” suppositions and it values the feasibility of applying to such scenarios the consolidated astrological rules – the rules that we usually employ (often automatically and unwarily) when we cast, draw and interpret a normal, “banal”, let me say: “terrestrial” horoscope.

Yet, EA does not hypothesize scenarios that aren’t justified on the basis of current scientific and astrological knowledge. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t divide the Zodiac into 15 or 37 signs on the pretext of a hypothetical alien mathematics. It doesn’t figure fabulous mythologies or symbolisms coming from an extraterrestrial civilization that may have developed according to criteria foreign to our mentality. In other words, EA is neither a fantastic astrology nor a fanta-astrology.

It is indeed a kind of extreme astrology. But even the most bored countryside astrologer finds himself, sometimes, before extreme astrological situations. For example, let us consider Placidus domification on a chart cast close to the Polar circle and for a date close to the equinox: we’ll see two Houses extending over almost 180° embracing six signs each; while the other ten Houses reduce to a section concentrated into little more than 5°. Such a chart leads us to a choice: to abandon Placidus domification or to stick to our interpretative techniques – the ones we have employed successfully so far – to their extreme consequences. I choose the latter way, because before large distortions of the Houses even at home latitudes, Placidus domification and the traditional interpretative standards have always led me to satisfactory results.

Exobiology searches for and studies possible alien forms of life, i.e. born and developed outside our planet. Exoastrology should therefore deal with aliens only; while the EA addresses to us, human beings that already carry out complex activities in outer space. If it’s true that feline and canine astrology, and even impersonal astrology prove to be working, there is no reason for not fancying to cast the horoscope even to an alien being from another world (provided that he/she/it gives us all the required data…). It would certainly be the first, sensational example of an alien astrology.
Ours is certainly a terrestrial astrology, or better said: a geocentric one – but only because man is born and acts on Earth. In the Natal chart, the Earth is the dot at the very centre of the drawing. Somebody disagrees, but also Mr. Frisari says so in his afore mentioned lecture: “The first baby born on the Moon […] The chart should be cast drawing – obviously – the Moon at its centre; in the map we’ll draw also our Earth, which – to all intents and purposes – becomes a planet like just all the others”. Consequently, the Lunar astrology would be a selenocentric or a lunocentric one, as one prefers; the Martian one would be a marsocentric astrology, the Venusian one would be venerocentric and so on. What a job for linguistics! The term universocentric astrology is therefore appropriated if we use it in accordance to the First Principle of Extraterrestrial Astrology: the horoscope must be cast – always, in any case – with the birth place (be a planet or a satellite moon) at the centre of the chart. Nevertheless I would oppose an extension of such a concept to its extreme limits by considering a… “shuttleocentric” astrology if the event takes place inside or by a star ship or a scientific base orbiting around the Earth.

SOME DEFINITIONS OF ASTRONOMICAL GEOGRAPHY.

CELESTIAL VAULT or SPHERE: it’s a sphere with an indefinite diameter, at whose centre there is the observer, and on whose internal surface, at the same apparent distance from its centre, one thinks projected all we can see on the sky. Please note that the Earth is at the centre of this sphere only because it’s the place where the observer is located. If the observer moves, also the centre of the sphere moves with him: it’s the same concept of shifting the system of reference that we’ve been taught at school referred to the Cartesian axes.

ECLIPTIC: it’s the orbit described by the Earth in its revolutionary motion around the Sun; it is called so because eclipses take place only on this line. Also: the geometrical plane on which the Earth revolves around the Sun. Or: the orbit in which the Sun seems to move on the Celestial Vault. When we mention a Lunar, Martian, Venusian ecliptic, we’ll mean either the orbital plane of each of those celestial bodies, or the route of the Sun on the Celestial Sphere, as seen from each of those planets.

ZODIAC: it’s the belt on the Celestial Sphere in which we observe the motion of the Sun, of the Moon and of the planets. Such a belt extends some degrees (4 to 17 according to different authors) above and under the Ecliptic, and it is ideally divided into twelve 30-degree sectors (the twelve signs) starting from the equinoctial point called vernal point or gamma.

A short flash-back to our studies of plane geometry: two oblique planes meet along a straight line. The two planes we are talking about are the Ecliptic and the Celestial Equator (the latter being perpendicular to the rotation axis of the Earth); they meet along a line that meets the Celestial Sphere in two points, called equinoctial points.

VERNAL POINT or spring equinox or spring equinoctial point: one of the two points in which the circle of the Ecliptic meets the Celestial Equator. On the day of the equinox the daylight lasts exactly as much as the night anywhere on Earth. During the spring equinox the Sun is located at the point called vernal point or gamma, while six months later it is located at the opposite one called autumnal point or omega. Each year the Sun passes through the equinoctial points at a different time and sometimes even in a different day.

The planets and their moons are like spinning tops that turn around their own axes and, at the same time, they orbit around the Sun or around their fatherplanet. Among the numerous movements they perform, in astrology we consider two in particular:

ROTATION: the movement performed by a body that spins around its own axis.

REVOLUTION: the motion of a planet, of a comet or of an asteroid around the Sun, or the motion of a moon around its planet.

Until the spinning top keeps velocity, its rotation axis remains stable; then it starts oscillating, it loses speed and eventually – it falls down. Similarly, the axes of the rotation of celestial bodies keep their obliquity constant, except for light movements such as the nutation and the precession. We don’t wish to define here the nutation because it is not normally considered in astrology (anybody knows why?).

PRECESSION OF THE EQUINOXES or of the equinoctial points: it’s a slow conical motion of the axis of a spinning body. The cone is drawn in the opposite direction as the rotation of the body. The axis of Earth draws a double cone (whose vertex is located at the centre of the terrestrial sphere) in approximately 26,000 years; as a consequence of this movement, the Equator plane shifts on the Ecliptic plane, and the equinoctial points slowly shift backwards through the Zodiac so that the days of equinox occur earlier in each successive year. This very slow retrograde motion along the Ecliptic involves not only the vernal point, but also the whole zodiacal belt.

THE ASSUMPTIONS OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL ASTROLOGY.

The EA starts from the assumption (that somebody opposes) that the chart must be drawn – always, in any case – for the place where the subject is located on a given moment. A top manager was born in Rome; he spends his birthday in New York, then travel to Lima, where he remains for the following three months; eventually he flies to France to inaugurate a new boutique in Paris. Well, we’ll cast his Natal chart for Rome, his Solar Return for New York, the following transits and at least two Lunar Return charts for Lima, while the Natal chart of his boutique should be certainly be drawn for Paris. If we accept this kind of astrology, EA can already be applied in different fields. At least 44 astronauts have certainly experienced a Solar Return while in orbit, and heaven knows how many Lunar Returns! Neil Armstrong must have had a transit of the Earth on his Natal chart, while he was frolicking on the Moon… Space probes are “born” when they leave the Earth at the take-off, but they have their own Lunar and Solar Returns in outer space and/or on the surface of some other celestial body.

Often the astrologers are criticized because they “believe that the Earth is at the centre of the universe, while everybody knows that it is the Sun that is placed at the centre of the solar system, and the Earth revolves around it”. But our astrology is based upon a system of projections with reference patterns (the Zodiac, the horizon) that, just like the Cartesian axes, can be shifted with appropriate mathematical formulae. The Natal chart has its origin on the Earth, and everything else is referred to Earth – but only because we were born here on the Earth, and not on the Sun, on the Moon or on Mars.

An empirical way to shift from the heliocentric view (the one preferred by the astronomers) to the geocentric view (the one of the Astral charts) is to trace with a ruler a series of rays starting from the centre of the Earth to each of the other celestial bodies; these rays should be prolonged to touch the zodiacal circle, that we are now supposing to be external to our solar system. This way we project the celestial bodies onto what, for the time being, we consider being an external, unchangeable Zodiac, valid for the whole solar system.

From the comparison between the heliocentric chart and the geocentric one, we note that the positions and movements of the planets in the birth sky are simply due to a projective effect. Conjunctions, oppositions, squares and even retrograde motions are all apparent: caused by the mere fact that from the Earth we deem them to be projected onto the Celestial Sphere. From the heliocentric point of view, in fact, the retrograde motion does not exist. At least, in our solar system it doesn’t: for we cannot exclude the existence of such a planetary system in which some of the planets revolve around the central star clockwise and some others counter-clockwise: the former would move through the Zodiac with perennial, or prevailing retrograde motion.

Some astrological software offers us the chance to put at the centre of the chart any of the celestial bodies of our solar system. Unluckily such a “shift” option is not enough to cast a real extraterrestrial chart, because these programs maintain the original domification of the geocentric map, while an extraterrestrial map should obviously be domificated according to the geographic coordinates of the place (the Martian one, or the Lunar one…) in which the birth or any other event considered takes place. Geographic maps of the most important planets of our solar system have already been drawn; for any event, I am working on an article to demonstrate how it’s possible to create empirically a valid system of coordinates on any planet or moon we are on, by simply using rough science. Beside that, these programs use for the shifted chart all the planets that we use here on the Earth, including our Moon; and they use only those planets that we use here on the Earth. But having assumed that astrology is essentially a system of projections, depending upon our point of view we should choose which planets or Luminaries (meaning for Luminary either the Sun or the Moon) should play a role in the chart – and which ones should be simply ignored.

LUNAR ASTROLOGY

On the Moon the choice is simple: the First Principle of Lunar Astrology affirms that the Moon becomes the dot at the centre of the Natal chart, and at its place we have the Earth, in the diametrically opposite zodiacal position than the Moon, linked to the other elements of the drawing by the supplementary angles of the angles that involved the Moon in the corresponding geocentric map. In other words, if in a terrestrial Natal chart the Moon is on the first degrees of Gemini at an angular distance of 150° from the conjunction of Sun and Saturn in Libra, at the same time on the Moon the Earth is on the first degrees of Sagittarius at an angular distance of 30° from the same conjunction. The Sun remains where it is, in Libra. The handbook of Lunar Extraterrestrial Astrology would describe this situation like this: “Earth in Sagittarius, semisextile to the Sun”.

I propose to draw the Earth on the lunar charts using the same crossed circle that we are presently using as the glyph of the Part of Fortune. To draw the Part of Fortune on a lunar map one should find another glyph. But above all I find it appropriate to tie the Earth to the centre of the chart by drawing a straight, solid, thick line that make us remember that particular fixity of the Earth that Mr. Frisari apparently forgot to mention in his lecture of Milan. Seen from the Earth, the Moon shows always the same face to us because its revolution around the Earth has the same duration as its spinning motion around its own axis. I used to think that this was an exceptional fact, but to my best knowledge of today, apparently all the “moons” of our solar system act exactly the same way. From this point of view, the planets cannot be correctly considered as the “satellites” of the Sun because they miss the typical feature of the natural satellites of planets: i.e. they do not show always the same face to the Sun. Astronomers used to believe that Mercury had such a feature, but more recently they have found that it is not so. If such a planet existed, it would possess a period of rotation (“day”) equal to that of revolution (“year”) and on its surface there wouldn’t be any alternation of night and day. On such hypothetical planet the Sun would move through the signs but would be immobile compared to the local horizon: therefore half a planet would be constantly touched by the solar light, while the other half would live in a perennial night.

On the Moon something very similar happens: the Earth is still compared to the local horizon, but in motion on the Celestial Vault. Second Principle of Lunar Astrology: on the Moon – but only on the Moon – the Earth moves across the signs but not across the Houses. This may seem to be a banality, but it’s a fact that carries huge implications, with heavy consequences for the interpretation of the chart. Let us assume that we land (“moon-land”) on an area of the Moon where the Earth is at the Zenith. Well, all life on we’ll see the Earth:

• cross the twelve sign at the same speed with which we see the Moon move across the Zodiac, namely with a daily pitch variable from 12° to 15°30′ approximately
• show phases, exactly like the Moon show phases to the observer on the Earth; but its phases would be opposite to the lunar ones: we’ll have Full Earth on the Moon when there is New Moon on the Earth, and New Earth when there is Full Moon on the Earth, and so on
• and it would stay always, constantly, forever at the Zenith!

In his already mentioned lecture, Mr. Frisari wonders what would be the effect of an Earth at the Ascendant of the lunar map. But to have the Earth at the Ascendant one must simply be there at the extreme edge of the visible surface of the Moon (i.e. visible from here, from the Earth), in an area that, precisely for this reason, it is not likely to become the ideal place where a stable lunar base would be built and where human births would possibly happen one day. Such a building would be likely erected in an area that assures the best visibility of the lunar hemisphere that faces the Earth: precisely that area where we have assumed to moon-land shortly before. At an astrological level we should therefore concern about the Earth at the Medium Coeli rather than the Earth at the Ascendant.

Considered the fixity of the Earth in the Houses and the reduced dimension of our satellite, shifts of a few kilometres on the surface of the Moon would be sufficient to obtain substantial relocations of the maps, whilst the same result can be achieved here on the Earth only by means of expensive intercontinental travels. In other words, on the Moon it would be much easier to relocate one’s own Solar Return. As a counterpart, at least during the first decades of lunar colonization, moving few kilometers on the lunar surface would certainly mean high costs and complex technological hindrances to overcome.

MARTIAN ASTROLOGY

There are two moons on Mars: Phobos and Deimos. When casting a Martian chart we should place Mars at the centre of the drawing. We could therefore consider: 1) Sun, 2) Mercury, 3) Venus, 4) Earth, 5) Moon, 6) Phobos, 7) Deimos, 8) Jupiter, 9) Saturn, 10) Uranus, 11) Neptune and 12) Pluto = twelve planets? Too good to be true! In fact my humble opinion is that we must ignore both Mercury and our Moon on Mars. I stated that astrology is based upon a projective system: if this is true, seen from Mars (and much more if we observe them from farther planets), the Moon and the Earth form a strict planetary couple always in conjunction; at most, they detach from time to time, but of a few degrees only if not less. Mercury, on the other hand, will be always combust by the Sun. Besides, the Moon is the satellite of the Earth – but in terrestrial Astral maps we don’t use the satellites of other planets.

For eventually, what does “count” in a Natal chart? Among the many-many objects that turn around us, either visible or invisible, huge and little, natural and artificial, real or hypothetical – comets, shuttles, airplanes, asteroids, meteors, UFOs, fix stars, space rubbish etc. – what makes a celestial body (any celestial body) an eligible element to be placed into a birth chart as a valid and significant element at an astrological level? It’s the Second Principle of Extraterrestrial Astrology that tells us: in the interpretative practice it’s not the distance or the actual observability of a planet that counts (for if it were so, the transaturnian planets would not count, and Pluto would have got a substantially different interpretative weight depending upon its position being inside or outside the orbit of Neptune). It rather counts its “individuability”: in other words, in order to become part of an extraterrestrial horoscope as a valid and useful element for its interpretation, a celestial body must be easily individuable; it must possess individual features such as a cyclicity of its motion that differs from any other celestial body. Particularly it must have got (seen from the planet at the centre of the chart) a discreet elongation; i.e. it must be able to detach from the other celestial bodies as much as needed to deserve an individual interpretation. For this reason, if per absurdum there would be two planets in mutual and perennial opposition or trine or square, I think we should consider only one of them.

So we don’t use Mercury on Mars, but that doesn’t mean that the native Martians would be idiots without brain and no communication ability! Of course the Martians will possess cleverness and communication ability; but with a missing Mercury in their Natal charts, we’ll be forced to find their mercurial values elsewhere in the chart. Thanks God on Mars we can count on the help of Phobos and Deimos to replace the Moon (amalgamated to the Earth) and Mercury (combust by the Sun); for them we must find precise interpretative attributes. As an example, we should understand which one plays the “role” of the Moon and which one plays the “role” of Mercury.

HOW MANY PLANETS?

Extending our reasoning: on each planet or moon where we act (it seems that some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn may actually support forms of life) we’ll have a different set of celestial bodies to draw in our Astral charts. This means problems of two kinds.

One kind of problems is practical: among all the things that turn around on the birth sky – which we could potentially use “all” of them – according to what criteria do we use some of them and do we reject others? Why, in geocentric astrology, do we consider significant the position of the Moon but not that of the ISS? Why do we use Pluto but not its companion, Charon? Why do we consider some of the asteroids, but ignore other thousands of them? As we said before, dealing with EA leads us to a serious reflection over details that we take for granted in our daily practice of astrologers.

Somebody says that all this doesn’t make any sense, because we must first wait until the first human being be born on the Moon or on Mars, and only then could we make some attempts to cast his/her horoscope in order to evaluate its practical effectiveness. It is my opinion yet that knowledge doesn’t step forward this way. It isn’t true what the inductivist galileans say. They say that a theory comes out from the careful, detached and “objective” observation of the reality. Neither are right the falsificationist popperians, who claim that if it’s not possible to prove the certainty of a theory, one could at least prove its possible falseness. Epistemologists overcame such “naive” positions ages ago, claiming that it’s sufficient to consider the history of science to clearly understand that the scientific knowledge works in a very different way indeed: namely, there is always a theory that precedes and leads the observation. Hence the importance to create – with the EA – a logical and coherent structure to precede and lead the first empirical and statistical observations in this field.

The second problem refers to the ideal, or absolute, number of planets to be used in EA. We have two extreme positions. Lisa Morpurgo’s followers on one hand: they support the “12 planets 12” ideal that lead the perfect universal harmony of the astrological system to its fulfilment: 12 signs, 12 Houses, 12 planets, 12 domiciles. André l’Éclair’s position on the other hand: he used – based upon astrological considerations and reflection rather than direct observation – almost twenty celestial bodies. My proposal is an in-between way that represents a sensible compromise to both positions. I suggest dismissing any dogma and accepting what we are verifying in the practice. The Second Principle of Extraterrestrial Astrology helps us remember that only the celestial bodies with an appropriate mutual elongation can have an appreciable interpretative meaning.

For the above mentioned reasons I find it counterproductive to fix an ideal number of planets. Some talk about the harmony and the symbolic perfection of the number 12, and make comparison with the world of music: but the real world is complex and irregular, and man often simplifies reality, thus forcing himself to operate little later with a number of elements other than the ideal one. Even the musical theory is a bookish simplification without a perfect correspondence in the complex variety of the world of real sounds. Even further, there isn’t perfect match between the ingenious periodic table of chemical elements (best known as Mendeleyev’s table) and the reality of facts. The real world shows many missing elements and the redundancy of some others, that we are forced to compact into a single “cell” of the periodic table.

HOW MANY ZODIACS?

So far we have assumed the existence of a unique universal external zodiac, valid and usable in the whole solar system, if not in the whole universe. Is it really so? The vernal point starts the division of our Zodiac into the twelve signs and it coincides with the first degree of Aries. Since each planet (except maybe Mercury) has got a rotation axis oblique respect its own orbital plane, there is a different vernal point for each planet. As a consequence it is possible (although it may not be useful) to build a different zodiacal circle for each single planet of the solar system. It is therefore extremely important to know the exact date of the equinox for each planet, because from their point gamma starts the division of their local zodiac into the twelve signs.

To locate and study the position of the vernal point of each planet means to know the lag or phase difference of each individual local zodiac (that of Mercury, that of Mars etc.) compared to the hypothetical belt of the zodiac constellations that we have already named universal external zodiac. Hence we should be able to deduce useful information on the Astrological Age reached by the considered planet, therefore on the degree of “evolution” of a possible autochthonous civilization. As a mere hypothesis, let’s say that Mars’ vernal point be in the first degrees of Sagittarius in the external zodiac belt (universal zodiac). Mars would consequently be in its Age of Sagittarius, like the Earth many thousands years ago… or like the Earth in some thousands years from now.

Sooner or later it would be convenient (if not necessary) to use a mixed system of three zodiacs, fully similar to the method we are using here on the Earth to measure time. In fact here on the Earth we use:

• a universal time measured on the GMT zone (the time zone of Greenwich meridian), particularly useful for astronomic or international measures;
• a local mean time of the zone time we are in, widely used to settle innumerable aspects of the daily life of a nation (transports, communication); and last but not least
• a real local time, whose noon corresponds to the culmination of the Sun on the local meridian (useful for the domification and questions of local geography).A businessman takes a flight for an intercontinental travel. He then uses both the local mean time (time zone) of the place of departure and the local mean time of the place of arrival. He can adjust his watch as he prefers, choosing the best moment for him (at the departure, at the arrival or during the flight) to better cope with the lag caused by the phase difference between the two ways of measuring time. In any case, our top manager should use the time of the place of arrival to sleep, to eat, to communicate with the other people, to live in society, to make dates; but to phone home, to send a fax to office or even to think of what his family is doing home at any moment, he should definitely use the time of the place of departure. Probably the astronauts in space communicate with the Earth according to the time zone of the base they are in touch with at any moment, and in order not to loose the natural rhythms of sleep and wakefulness, they likely stick (at least this is how I think) to the time zone of the place they left from, or of the place where they are to land.Similarly, the EA should use a mixed system of zodiacs that comprises:

1. a terrestrial zodiac to be referred constantly to, especially if we study the birth of a human being or the launch of a space probe towards others planets.
2. a universal external zodiac corresponding to the “belt of zodiac constellations” described by von Klöckler; although we cannot determinate it with precision, for we cannot know exactly when and if the terrestrial zodiac matched the universal external one.
3. a local zodiac (the Martian one, the Venusian one etc.) based on the position of the vernal point of the planet that we consider to be at the centre of our chart; certainly this local zodiac will be “out of phase” as compared to the other two zodiacs.I would preferably use the terrestrial zodiac during the first generation of star trekking, interplanetary missions, orbiting bases and lunar or Martian colonies: for except unexpected developments in the ufological field, their crew would be surely formed by human beings born on the Earth; terrestrial will be the building and the launch place of rockets and shuttles; terrestrial will also be the origin of all the components and rough materials.In a following phase I would introduce the local zodiacs for the human births on other planets, for possible alien beings we should meet there; but also to study at an astrological level the degree of success of a single lunar or Martian mission: be it a mere landing of a probe or – in a much more advanced age of space – be the more or less daily problems that may take place on a stable space colony. It will also be useful to consider the lag between the terrestrial zodiac and the local one in order to evaluate from an astrological point of view the flux of communication and traffic (commercial, touristic one) between the space base and the Earth, the degree of autonomy achieved by the space base, the degree of nostalgia or emotional involvement (or au contraire: the detachment, the wish of political autonomy etc.) that the human beings born in space would feel towards their ancestors’ planet.

   The universal zodiac (still to be defined exactly) will be useful in a further phase of the space age, to harmonize astrology of the cosmic enterprise considered in its globally; to “date” and evaluate (like we are doing now with the universal time) astronomical/astrological events of wide consequences that may involve different planets or a whole sector of the galaxy. As an example, one could use the universal zodiac for the astrological study of the diplomatic relationship, of the traffic, of the business, of the communication, of the migratory flux between a space colony and another; or to consider the influence of an external event (asteroid, comet, alien menace…) on each celestial body of the solar system.

ORBITAL PLANETS

Let us consider a hypothetical birth on a natural satellite (moon) of a planet. The orbits of natural satellites around their planet have an obliquity as compared both to the terrestrial Ecliptic and to the orbital plane of their own planet. So which zodiac should we consider in this case? For our Moon we could use either the terrestrial zodiac or a lunar zodiac; the latter would have its own 0° of Aries in the ascendant lunar node (“vernal or gamma point of the Moon”). I know that some astrologers have already cast charts in which the ascendant lunar node plays the role of starting point, taking the place of the cusp of the first House or of the first degree of Aries. Of course such astral maps have nothing to do with hypothetical birth outside the Earth.

If we imagine being on the surface of other natural satellites, like Io or Europa (they are two moons of Jupiter) we should extricate ourselves among three orbital planes with mutual obliquities:

1. The orbital plane of the satellite around Jupiter
2. The orbital plane of Jupiter around the Sun (Ecliptic of Jupiter)
3. And the plane of the proper Ecliptic (the terrestrial one).

If we considered the ascendant node of a moon as the “vernal point” – i.e. indicates the starting point of a local zodiac – this would actually mean that we attribute to its planet the overwhelming astrological role usually played by the Sun. It is interesting to note that the giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn) seem to produce such intense radiations that may able to “replace” the solar light itself and support the existence of forms of life on some of their moons. At an interpretative and symbolic level, such a central role of the father planet should be very significant. If this hypothesis should reveal coherent, the role of the Sun, so much vital in our geocentric astrology, in the EA could be limited to second-plane or subsidiary roles.

Maybe the Earth could replace the Sun in a lunar chart too, but I find this hypothesis a little bit overstated. It is true that seen from the Moon, our Earth looks like 70 times brighter than our Full Moon; nevertheless I believe that on a lunar chart, the Earth may rather play the role of Lesser Luminary. In other worlds, it would take the place of our Moon, rather than the place of the Sun.

The rotation axis of Mercury is almost exactly perpendicular to the Ecliptic: Ecliptic and Equator lay virtually on the same plane; over there on Mercury it makes no sense to talk about equinoctial points. Without a starting point for the zodiac, on Mercury it would make no sense even to talk about a zodiac! Or to be optimistic, a zodiac exists, but we would not be able to divide it into the twelve signs because we couldn’t know where to begin from. I therefore plant two hypotheses: on Mercury there is a kind of space-temporal-zodiacal continuum in which the twelve signs fuse, merge, superpose so that they aren’t identifiable in any case; or the zodiac of Mercury is made of… one, huge, unique zodiacal sign of 360°!

DOMIFICABILITY OF A PLANET.

It is well known that there are different methods of domification, and that most of them share the calculations required to determinate the ASC and the MC with Placidus domification (that we can surely define the most common method). The other methods differ for the way they determine the cusps of the other Houses. For the sake of brevity here we’ll discuss Placidus method only.

The equinoctial or equatorial domification system gives twelve 30-degree Houses at any latitude; this way we can overcome one of the most serious limits of Placidus domification, namely its impossibility to domificate beyond the Polar Circles. Here on the Earth it is quite difficult to find inhabited territories beyond the Polar Circles, while on other planets the polar circles may be found at much lower latitudes: the consequence being that over there, on wide lands that might be theoretically colonisable and inhabited, it would be practically impossible to apply Placidus domification.

There is one concrete reason why Placidus domification doesn’t work beyond the Polar Circles: it is the fact that in his complex trigonometric formula, Placidus considered a fix angle corresponding to the obliquity between the Equator and the Ecliptic (on Earth this angle is 23°27′). In order to determine the Ascendant point and the following cusps, the latitude of the birth place is added to this fix angle. So if a birth takes place on the terrestrial Polar Circle, the resulting angle is 23°27′ + 66°33′ = 90°. Without considering Placidus formula in details, a vague notion of mathematics is enough to understand that a 90°-angle represents a limit value for many trigonometric functions. The aforesaid lets intuitively understand why a 90°-angle is enough to “tease” the complex system of calculations upon which Placidus domification is built.

The extension of the Tropics and Polar Circles is strictly linked to that fix angle of Placidus; let us remember that this angle is equal to the mutual obliquity of the rotation axis and the orbital plan of the Earth. This is the reason why on the Earth the Tropics has latitude of 23°27′ and the Polar Circles has latitude of 66°33′. On each planet the latitude of the Tropics corresponds to the degree of obliquity between the Equator and the Ecliptic, while the latitude of the Polar Circles corresponds to its complementary angle.

The rotation axis of Mercury is virtually perpendicular to its orbital plane. Equator and Ecliptic of Mercury lie on the same plane; therefore over there we’ll have got twelve regular 30°-degree Houses all year long and at any latitude. On Mercury one could not perceive any seasonal cycle. The Sun would always be at the zenith on the Equator of Mercury, and it would always be at the horizon at the Poles of Mercury. Over there it would be extremely easy to domificate, except if the birth takes place exactly on one of the two Poles of Mercury.

Venus has got a 3°-degree only obliquity on its Ecliptic, therefore we’ll have a thin tropical belt on its surface, measuring only 6° – three above and three under the Equator; and two Polar Circles at the latitude of 87° North and 87° South. In other words, on Venus we’ll have a very wide domificable area: it would be impossible to use Placidus domification only if a birth took place beyond the latitude of 87°. To be more precise, actually the obliquity of the rotation axis of Venus is of 177° approximately: because Venus rotates “upside down”, its North Pole is “down” and its South Pole is “above”. In other words, Venus spins around its own axis in the opposite direction than the Earth. So on Venus the cardinal points are inverted: over there the Sun rises at West and sets at East.

Mars is the most similar planet to the Earth from the point of view of domification: the obliquity of its rotation axis is about 25°, so that we have a tropical belt that extends 25° above and under the Equator and two Polar Circles at the latitude of 65° North and 65° South.

It is worth to mention also our Moon, which orbits around the Earth on a plane whose obliquity on the Ecliptic is of 5°15′. The lunar tropical belts are narrow, they extend only 10° approximately, five above and five under the Lunar Equator; and the Lunar Polar Circles locate at latitude of 85°. The lunar situation – exclusively from the point of view of Placidus domification – appears very close to that of Venus.

Extrapolating what we have seen so far, as a general rule I define domificable area of a planet the belt between the Equator and the Polar Circles. Inside this area we can determine a narrower or wider tropical belt in which the Houses are virtually regular (30°-Houses all year long) and an intermediate belt (between the Tropics and the Polar Circles) in which the Houses have got variable extensions depending upon the seasons. At last, there’s the non-domificable area corresponding to the Polar Caps.

Now we can imagine we are able to change gradually the obliquity of the rotation axis of Mercury from 0° to 45°. What do you think it would happen? As the obliquity increases gradually from 0° to 45°, the tropical belt increases too: it would actually “lift” towards higher latitudes. At the same time also the Polar Caps would widen, because the Polar Circles would “go down” towards lower latitudes. At a mutual obliquity of 45°, Tropics and Polar Circles would meet, obviously, at the 45th parallel. Exactly half of the surface of such a planet would be domificable, and the other half would be non-domificable.

What if the orbital obliquity overcomes the 45°? Let us consider as an example Uranus, whose rotation axis has got an obliquity of almost 98° on its orbital plane. Uranus is virtually “lying” on its orbital plane, and in certain periods of the year one would say it actually “rolls” around the Sun. Its Equator is oblique to the Ecliptic, yet it is quite hard to talk about equinoxes and solstices, of an alternation of nights and days on Uranus. If we pretend we are on Uranus, what would we see?

On Uranus the Sun lights one of the Poles for a good portion of the year, leaving the opposite Pole on shadow, while it hardly laps the Equator. As a consequence, if we were on the lit Pole of Uranus on the day of solstice we would see the Sun at the zenith draw little circular movements on the sky similar to the ones of the miracle of the three suns of Fatima. As day go by, the circles in sky would become wider and wider and they would gradually decline towards the horizon. When the day of the equinox come, from the Pole of Uranus we would see the Sun rolls all around us along the whole horizon, without ever setting! Then the Sun of Uranus would eventually set and it would repeat its wonderful show of decreasing circles in the night hemisphere for the following half a year.

But if we were on the Equator of Uranus at the moment of the solstice, we would see the Sun repeatedly wink at the horizon, almost rising and setting in the proximity of the South point. As days go by the Sun would draw wider and wider day and night arcs approaching the culmination line East-West; then the equinox come, and we would see it rise exactly at West and set exactly at East. We would then observe the Sun continue its annual path reducing gradually the width of its arcs northward. After that it would come back to cross the Celestial Vault in the opposite direction, “rising back” from North, culminating on the line East-West and “setting back” at South.

I am planning to illustrate these and other odd behaviours of the stars on the Celestial Vault, as seen from some of the planets and moons of our solar system, in a future series of articles. You will then discover how and why, during the long and boring days of Mercury, the Sun can rise in Aries, culminate in Libra and set in Aries again; whilst on Venus the Sun can rise in Aries, culminate in Cancer and set in Libra!

But what I wish to remark now is the inversion of Poles and Equator that we get on Uranus means the practical swap of “year” and “day”, consequently on that planet it would be extremely hard not only to use Placidus domification, but even to perceive and determinate the ascendant and descendant point.

ROTATIONS AND REVOLUTIONS.

We are not usually aware of that, but in our geocentric astrology the speed rate between the rotation and the revolution of a planet plays a fundamental role. Each planet performs, in fact, two rotational movements, which are extremely important for astrology:

1) a proper rotation (around its own axis), which causes an apparent motion of the Celestial Vault compared with the visible horizon; therefore this motion concurs to determinate the Ascendant sign. To make things simple, let’s call “day” the time in which a planet makes a complete “spinning-top-line” turn around its own axis.
2) a revolutionary motion (around the Sun), which causes an apparent motion of the Sun along the Ecliptic. Let’s call “year” the time in which the planet makes a complete turn around the Sun.

Now let us forget for a while that there are two kinds of signs, of rapid and slow ascension; for the sake of simplicity let us assume that all the twelve signs raise regularly one after the other at the Ascendant horizon, each every 12th fraction of the day (i.e. every two hours, speaking of the Earth).

Let us also ignore that there are different kind of “days” and “years” (sidereal, solar, civil ones). Let us define the day as the time in which a planet makes a complete turn around its own axis taking the Zodiac as a reference, that’s to say the time needed to watch the same zodiacal degree rise once again at the East horizon. Let us similarly define the year as the time in which the planet makes a complete orbit around its central star (“sun”), equivalent to the period needed for the Sun, as seen from that planet, comes back to occupy the same zodiacal degree.

The Earth has got a revolution period corresponding to approximately 365 rotations around its own axis. Each day we see the Sun shift along the Ecliptic of about one degree, and return at the same identical zodiacal position every 365 days approximately. In other words, on the Earth, the ratio between year and day is about 1:365. This implies an alternate occurrence of not only nights and days, but also of months and seasons that we take for granted. On other celestial bodies, yet, things may be quite different.

On the Moon the rotation (around its own axis) and the revolution (around the Earth) have exactly the very same duration. Moon and Earth perform together also a common motion: their revolution around the Sun. This implies that on the Moon:

– you perceive a motion of the Celestial Vault, which makes a complete turn each 28 days approximately; therefore on the Moon the Ascendant changes every 28:12 = 2 days and 1/3 approximately
– you can also perceive an apparent motion of the Sun on the Ecliptic, which lead it to perambulate the twelve signs in a period approximately corresponding to our terrestrial year
– the fact that the Moon shows us always the same face implies that on the Moon the Earth appears still compared to the lunar horizon. Yet the Earth, seen from the Moon, moves along the signs at the same speed in which, seen from the Earth, the Moon changes sign, namely every 2 days and 1/3 approximately.

Given such conditions, it is possible to domificate on the Moon. A nice spring morning on the Moon Base, the Sun rises in Aries, i.e. Aries is the Ascendant sign. At the same moment the Earth is Capricorn at the lunar MC (as we have explained earlier, this depends exclusively on our location on the lunar surface, regardless from the time of the day). The following lunar morning, the Sun rises again, but in the meanwhile 28 terrestrial days have past, so the Sun is now in Taurus. On the Moon Base we’ll have a dawn with Ascendant Taurus, while the Earth is still over there, at the lunar MC, although it would have moved to Aquarius. Let’s keep in mind that, seen from the Moon, the Earth moves in the signs but not in the Houses, because it progresses along the Zodiac with the same speed in which the Celestial Vault turns in the opposite direction.

Let us fancy of a planet linked to the Sun, the way the Moon is linked to the Earth: like a stone girded to a string that we make rotate with our hand. Let us call this planet Hot, because the name Romulus is already covered by copyright (or at least I think so); because it is a short name; and because on its hemisphere perennially lit by the Sun it would certainly make sultry weather. Yes, because Hot keeps always the same face towards the Sun. Seen from Hot, the Sun appears fixed compared to the horizon: Hot has got a rotation that lasts exactly as long as its own revolution. Up to not so many years ago, scientists used to believe that Mercury had exactly this characteristic. More recent observations tell us that, although extremely slow, the rotation of Mercury is out of phase compared with its revolution. Yet such a planet as Hot might well exists in the reality – no one can exclude it.
On Hot the year lasts one day and the day lasts one year. There is no alternate occurrence of night and day over there, because the Sun of Hot never rises and never sets. The zodiacal signs of Hot do. There is an Ascendant: you can domificate on Hot. When a news sign rises at the ascendant point, the Sun of Hot has moved 30° and is located in the following sign. In other words, seen from the surface of Hot the movement of the Sun along the Zodiac compensates exactly the movement of the Celestial Vault in the opposite direction. So the Sun moves across the signs but remains still compared to the Houses. Exactly like the Earth, seen from the Moon.

Dot is another odd planet: it orbits around the Sun but does not turn around its own axis. It has got a revolution but not a rotation. This doesn’t mean that we cannot determine geographic coordinates of Dot: an equator, two poles and a local meridian. We can also develop a system of orienteering with the classical four cardinal points. So we have now landed on Dot and we see the Sun at the East Horizon, in the sign of Aries. During its motion around the Sun, Dot doesn’t spin, therefore the Celestial Vault remains still and we’ll have a rising Aries at the horizon all over the year. Well, under the circumstances one cannot really say that there is any ascendant sign at all on Dot. But we could well define it in some other way (“the sign intersected by the Eastern horizon”) and proceed to a domification in any way.
Nevertheless we should keep in mind that, since the Celestial Vault of Dot is still, the cusps of the Houses of a Dotian astral map keep still – they change sign only if we move on the surface of this planet. Light oscillations of the cusps may be possibly perceivable as the planet approaches the equinoctial points or moves away from them. The cusps of the Houses are still, the sign too are still compared to the local horizon; but surely the Sun and the other celestial bodies that we can observe from Dot would move along the Celestial Vault, either across the signs and across the Houses: therefore a Dotian Astrology can exist.

Also on Dot, from a certain point of view, one “year” corresponds to a “day”: for the Sun takes six months to cross the diurnal arc, then it sets and six months later it rises again. In the meanwhile it also moves of six signs. So, if we suppose that also Dot orbit around the Sun in anticlockwise direction (just like any other known planet of our solar system), on Dot we could see the Sun rises in Aries, culminate in Capricorn, and set in Libra. The constantly “retrograde” motion of the Sun of Dot is due to the fact that it is not compensated (as it happens here on the Earth) by a rotation motion quicker than the revolution.

Spot performs rotations around its own axis, but it does not orbit around the Sun. Therefore we have got “days” without “years” on Spot. The Spotian Sun rises and sets, but is still on the Celestial Vault; nevertheless the latter makes a complete turn every 21 Spotian “hours”. Then the Sun of Spot rises, culminates and sets always in the same only sign. Nevertheless there will be an ascendant sign and it is possible to domificate.

Lot is a still planet that doesn’t spin; neither shows it any revolution around the Sun. It is not such an absurd hypothesis: in the first months of the year 2001 some “orphan” planets were discovered, i.e. shattered in the outer space without any central star to orbit around. Not knowing how those celestial bodies sustain themselves in space, we may well consider them to be still or at least without those two motions that we are taking about. So on Lot the Sun doesn’t move, either on the horizon and in the Zodiac; so in my opinion this Sun would be of no astrological importance at all in a Lotian astrology. In facts, to possess an interpretative value, a celestial body must show some basic features, among which the apparent speed (i.e. movement) plays a fundamental role. All the celestial bodies that we consider in our geocentric Astrology move, both in the Houses and in the signs. A body stationary in one sign but moving in the Houses may theoretically have an interpretative weight; a body stationary in one House but moving in the Zodiac may theoretically have an astrological weight; but an object immobile either in the Zodiac and compared to the horizon! I would immediately exclude it from any possible astrological research. I ask whoever disagrees to rise his/her hand and explain me why on Earth (…or on Moon, Mars and so on) should we give any symbolic and interpretative attribute to such an object.

Let’s finally land on the planet Wot, which spins around its own axis slower than its revolutionary movement around the Sun. So one day lasts much more that the year on the planet Wot. Let us assume that the day/year ratio on Wot be 3:1, such as Wot makes three complete revolutions around the Sun in the same exact time in which it makes a complete turn around its own axis. We can also say that the “day” on Wot lasts 3 “years”: the Sun perambulates the Zodiac three times between a dawn and the following one.
The Sun of Wot comes back to the same degree of the sign of Aries three times a year, i.e. once every third fraction of a day. A third of a day on Wot corresponds to one year. In a 12th of Wotian day (the time in which a new sign rises from the Eastern horizon) Wot makes a portion of orbit corresponding to 360°x3:12 = 90°, equal to the shift of its Sun across three zodiacal signs. So, if the Sun rises in Aries on Wot, when the Ascendant changes to Taurus the Sun has moved 90° and is located in Cancer, at the nadir or Imum Coeli. When the ascendant is Gemini, the Sun is in Libra. With the ascendant Cancer the Sun is in Aries once again, but at the MC. With the ascendant Lion the Sun is in Cancer, with the ascendant Virgo it is in Libra once again, with the ascendant Libra is still at the IC in Capricorn, with the ascendant Scorpio it is in Aries for the third time, and with the ascendant Aquarius is still in Cancer. When the Ascendant is Pisces the Sun of Wot is in Capricorn, and when the Ascendant comes back to Aries the Sun is once again rising in Aries, after having completed the full turn of the Zodiac three times!

This is only a theoretical example of one of the innumerable astrological combinations connected with the different duration of the rotation compared with the revolution. I am preparing some articles in which – from “real” astronomic figures – I’ll show you how the particular combinations of revolution and rotation of some of the planets of our solar system imply quite bizarre and fascinating astrological scenarios – as odd as those of the planets Hot (also known as: Sultryweather), Dot, Spot, Lot, and Wot.

HYPOTHESES ON THE SIMBOLOGY OF THE EARTH IN LUNAR ASTROLOGY.

We have explained why the Earth, seen from the Moon, appears practically still as compared to the twelve Houses. What might this mean, at an interpretative level?

A first working hypothesis may be to ignore the position of the Earth in the 12 Houses. Maybe we might refer to the slogan: “No motion? No meaning”. In fact, here on the Earth it is the passage of the Moon over the waters to provoke tides and refluxes; but on the Moon, even if there were water in its liquid state, the Earth wouldn’t cause any tide, because it doesn’t “pass”: it is simply there, fixed over a given lunar area. On the other hand it appears logical to suppose that the gravitational influence of the Earth on the lunar surface depends in a significant measure upon its own angular position, and that you could feel it if you were there, on the Moon. I mean, it is likely that the same body having the same mass, would weight more if it is located on the dark side of the Moon (with the Earth at the Imum Coeli); would be a little lighter at the visible edge of the lunar globe (with the Earth at the Ascendant or at the Descendant); and would weight much less with the Earth at the MC.

In a word, the apparent fixity of the Earth must have a huge importance in the interpretation of a lunar horoscope. Speaking for myself, the notion of having a huge Earth hanging over my head makes me feel uncomfortable: seen from the Moon, the Earth appears much larger, up to 70 times brighter than the full Moon on the Earth. The Earth in a lunar chart might then have something to do with impending facts, such as e.g. a necessary and predetermined doom, maybe tragic and distressing, against which the subject can do little, if not move, run away from it; or au contraire act positively, firmly, definitely facing any limiting situation. From this point of view, the Earth in a lunar chart might indicate the degree of free will of the hypothetical native Selenite. An indirect confirmation to this hypothesis seems to arrive from Mr. Frisari and Ms. Morpurgo, who trace interesting parallels between the astronomical features of the Sun, the Moon and the planets and their respective symbolic meanings. According to what they write, the rapid motion and the phases of the Moon imply a symbolism of instability, variation, mobility. If this is how things are, in analogy to its fixity in the Houses, the Earth might have got a symbology connected to the immobilism, the stability factors in the ever-changing, and the fixations.

The remarkable apparent dimensions of the Earth seen from the Moon may indicate its stronger importance in the lunar horoscope. On the other hand, the fixity of our planet in the lunar Houses might downplay its effective astrological weight. Certainly an angular Earth would be very important but, according to this logic, not so much as the importance of an angular Moon in a terrestrial horoscope. Let me repeat that, in my humble opinion, in our astrology what counts is the motion of each element of the chart rather then the position itself. We shouldn’t forget that the astral map is a snap picture of a situation in complex and perennial motion, and that the good astrologer doesn’t forget to notice if the motion of a planet is fast or slow, stationary or direct or retrograde. The fixity of our planet over the lunar horizon might therefore considerably mitigate the importance of the position of the Earth in the 12 Houses of a selenocentric horoscope. Yet we should assign a precise astrological meaning to the position of the Earth in the 12 signs, in the 12 Houses and in its angular aspects with all the other elements of the lunar chart. During the interpretation of a lunar horoscope, we should nevertheless take care not to give too strong importance to the position of the Earth in the Houses.

Another hypothesis on the role of the Earth in lunar astrology may be the following. In a lunar chart Moon and Earth swaps their position? Well, if so they also probably swap their interpretative role. If it were so, on the Moon we would have an Earth having domicile in Cancer, which would be connected to the meanings of the element Water and to the same female variability feminine that we assign to the Moon in the terrestrial horoscope. Seen from the Moon – do not forget it – it is the Earth that has got phases: this could be one reason more to believe that the “lunar” Earth might well support “lunar” astrological meanings. The terrestrial surface covered by waters is much wider that the emerging continents, so it shouldn’t be such a bizarre hypothesis to assign Water values to the Earth. Somebody even proposed to call our planet “Water”, and for the same reason our planet is also called the “Blue Planet”.

It is a fact that in a lunar chart Earth and Moon swaps their position; but it is another fact that the Earth occupies the diametrically opposite zodiacal position than the one occupied by the Moon at the same time in the homologue terrestrial chart. When the Moon is in Gemini seen from Earth, the Earth is in Sagittarius seen from the Moon. Also the “terrestrial phases” are opposite compared to the lunar ones. This might mean that the Earth behave like a kind of antimoon with antithetic, opposite or complementary values than the lunar ones. It would then have its domicile in Capricorn and it would carry earthly values.

I find it likely that a celestial body have got a definite, profound influence for those who are born on it. The Selenites, only for their having been born on the Moon, they might have clear lunar characters such as being easily influenced, or femininity, ciclotimy…). And the Martians, only for their having been born on the Red Planet, they might have evident martian features like bellicosity, irascibility, aggressiveness… What some people contacted or abducted by aliens from another planet say seems to validate such a hypothesis. The inhabitants of Venus described by the discussed contacted George Adamski show indeed venusian features; the (hypothetical, of course…) inhabitants of Mercury could reveal to be smart businessbeings with a shrewd and juvenile aspect. For the supporters of Star Trek: aren’t mercurial people the Ferengi, born businessaliens who live following their terrible “Rules of Acquisition”? And the Martians, who ever knows, would they really be as aggressive as the monsters depicted in “The war of the worlds”? For if it were so, also we human beings, only for our having been born on the Earth, we should possess some typically terrestrial characters. We are hardly aware of such characters because we haven’t had yet any occasion to meet living beings born elsewhere. Discovering such earthly characters would help us much fully understand the symbolic value of the Earth in the EA.

In which sign could be the domicile of the Earth? What criterion hides behind the sequence of domiciles traditionally used by the astrologers, that put Mars domiciled in Aries, Venus in Taurus, Mercury in Gemini, Moon in Cancer, Sun in Lion, again Mercury in Virgo, Venus in Libra, Mars in Scorpion, Jupiter in Sagittarius, Saturn in Capricorn, again Saturn in Aquarius and finally Jupiter in Pisces? It is simple:

1. the Main Luminary takes place in Lion “per definitio”
2. the Lesser Luminary places in the preceding sign (Cancer)
3. we place all the other planets, in order of distance from the Sun, into the preceding and in the following signs than those of the Luminaries.

This is the reason why Mercury finds “home” both in Gemini and in Virgo; Venus has got a domicile in Taurus but also in Libra, and so on. With the discovery of the planets beyond Saturn the sequence has been completed by simply eliminate progressively the “doublets” from the signs after the Lion: thus Uranus has been inserted into the Aquarius instead of Saturn, Neptune has been given a domicile in Pisces instead of Jupiter, and Pluto has taken the place of Mars in Aries. By the way, so far no one could explain why the sequence has been completed starting from the Virgo, rather than the opposite way, starting from Taurus.

For the domicile of the Earth in the lunar horoscope we have therefore three possibilities:

1. the Sun keeps its domicile in Lion and the Earth takes domicile in Cancer; the rest of the sequence doesn’t change.
2. the Earth becomes, on the Moon, the Main Luminary (thanks to the analogy planet-star and satellite-planet; but we have discussed that this analogy is faulty and scarcely coherent); per definitio the Main Luminary has got domicile in Lion; the Sun, having become a secondary Luminary, takes domicile in Cancer; the rest of the sequence doesn’t change.
3. if the Earth is an “antimoon” whose domicile is in Capricorn, if we want to stick strictly to the above mentioned criteria, the Earth would be a lesser luminary and it would have domicile in the sign preceding the solar domicile; namely, the Sun of the Lunar Extraterrestrial astrology would have its domicile in Aquarius; this would imply a very bizarre sequence like: Mercury in Pisces, Venus in Aries, Mars in Taurus and so on.

THE INTERPRETATIVE VALUE OF THE TWO MOONS OF MARS.

From the point of view of a “marsocentric” Extraterrestrial astrology, in the hypothetical TN cast on the Red Planet there wouldn’t be place either for our Moon and for Mercury (too much close, the former to our Earth and the latter to the Sun, to possess a significant astrological meaning); on the other hand we should be able to interpret the horoscopic position of either Phobos and Deimos, the two natural satellites of Mars. Consequently we’ll have three Luminaries on Mars: the Main Luminary, the Sun; and two Lesser Luminaries, Phobos and Deimos. The sequence of domiciles of the Martian astrology would be based upon the “pillar” of the Sun in Lion (as we have already pointed out, the Main Luminary has its domicile in Lion per definitio), while in my opinion one between of Phobos and Deimos would take place in the preceding sign (Cancer), and the other one would take place in the following sign (Virgo).

Although it doesn’t match the criteria of domiciliation seen so far, I find it a reasonable hypothesis to assign a double domicile to one of the moons of Mars, as in the following example: Venus domiciled in Taurus, Deimos in Gemini, Phobos in Cancer, the Sun in Lion, Deimos in Virgo, Venus in Libra and so on.

We have no elements at all to tell us which one, between Phobos and Deimos, should have the double domicile in Gemini and Virgo, and which one would consequently have its domicile in Cancer. For the time being it’s a mere working hypothesis. Of course, if it would be Deimos to have its domicile both in Gemini and in Virgo, it would be Deimos to possess (in a martian horoscope) symbolic attributes of mercurial kind, thus fully substituting the apparent “disappearing” of Mercury from the sky of the Red Planet, as we have already explained before. In this case, in the Martian EA Phobos would “take the place” of the Moon and Deimos would “take the place” of Mercury. If we realized that it’s Phobos to have a double domicile, it is logical to understand that it would be Phobos to be the “mercurial” planet while Deimos would have “lunar” attributes.

This is the reason why I spent so many words to examine different possible sequences of domiciles: because finding out the correct sequence of domiciles on each celestial body that occupy the centre of an EA chart would certainly help us deduce the interpretative value to be assigned to those planets or luminaries that we don’t normally use in our terrestrial charts – while we would be forced to use currently in the Lunar, Martian etc. Astrology.

As for the interpretative value to assign to the two moons of Mars, I propose four directions of research.

The first one is to accurately examine their astronomical (physical-chemical) features. Lisa Morpurgo and Massimo Frisari seem to suggest that it is possible to create associations between the astronomical features of each planet and Luminary and their respective astrological meanings. If it is so, it is also possible to operate the opposite way: i.e. to deduce (at least, partly) the interpretative, symbolic and archetypical value of a celestial body also based upon its physical-chemical features.

A second way to argue the interpretative weight of a celestial body is to consider its apparent speed in the signs and in the Houses. Phobos changes sign every 40 minutes, Deimos every two and a half hours. On the Moon we had assigned a particular meaning to the fixity of the Earth over the horizon; on Mars we should keep in mind the exceptional speed of its moons. On a psychological level it might imply suddenly changing moods, apparently unjustified emotional reactions, unexpected and quickly passing intuitions, maybe the capacity of reacting very quickly (“in real time”, with a quite stereotyped expression) to any external stimulation. The transits of Phobos and Deimos might help us date the Martian events with a precision of a few minutes, while here on the Earth we can exclude that we’ll ever be able to reach such a precision with any predictive method at all.

A third research should be to consider the name assigned to a celestial body by the tradition or by its discoverer. This may be obvious until we consider the traditional celestial bodies, but it comes to incredible if we consider more recent facts. It appears particularly incredible the case of Pluto, whose name, they say (it may be a metropolitan legend, of course), doesn’t derive from the name of the god Pluto but from the name of Mickey Mouse’s pet! Allegedly the idea of this name occurred to one of the discoverers’ daughter, who was very kin of Disney’s characters. The astronomers Pickering and Lowell accepted the suggestion because the first two letters of this name were also their respective initials (one of the glyphs used by the astrologers for Pluto is a kind of fusion between a capital P and a capital L). We can easily understand this human side of them. Yet at a rational level it is quite hard to understand why such a casual and banal choice of a name would reveal to be fully functional and working at an astrological level. The only possible explanation in my opinion, if we expect the mere choice, is that the name of the things contains much more information than a mere conventional denomination. It is not by chance that in the garden of Eden God spurs Adam to assign a name to every living being. Very probably, then, the astrological meaning of Phobos ad Deimos is already there: in their names, too.

Last, considering the sequence of the domiciles as well may be the fourth direction of research that, together with the previous three ones, may help us understand the correct interpretative meaning of the celestial bodies that we would be forced to consider and use while casting and interpreting an extraterrestrial chart.

What about statistics? Of course, statistics and the astrological practice would have the last word in this field. But until we collect a sufficiently wide statistical specimen, we should be forced to proceed by attempts, trying to make up some empirical interpretation, anticipating the statistics, trying to be logical, using our common sense, sticking to the astrological tradition and maybe, to these guidelines of mine.

SLICED ZODIAC, SPHERICAL ZODIAC.

At the present stage of scientific knowledge, we don’t know for sure if certain features of our Solar system represent an exception, or the rule in the Universe. For example, let us consider the sequence of the planets in order of orbital distance from the Sun: the closer planets are smaller, they have a rock mass, and they have an atmosphere, and few moons or no moon at all. The central belt of our Solar system is the home of the giant planets made of gas, and with many moons. The more external planets are quite large ones, yet they are smaller than the central giants, and – as far as we know – they have few moons or no moon at all. Such a distribution of the planets (little rocks close to the star, gas giants in the middle, medium-sized on the edge of the system) is it an exceptional fact, something typical of our Solar system, or is it a common feature of all the planetary systems of the Universe?

Let us consider the orbits of the planets around the star. All the planets that orbit around the Sun move “virtually” on the same plane, as if they were planet on a disc, or on a… pizza. The only two planets that detach meaningfully from the “dish” on which all the others seem to be placed are Mercury (with an obliquity of 7°) and Pluto (about 17°). Pluto, in particular, sometimes orbits “outside” the zodiacal belt, having defined the latter as the belt that extends “of some degrees” (4° to 12° depending on the Authors) above and under the Ecliptic. We don’t know if in other solar systems all the planets orbit on a restricted plane as well, or if they move around their own sun on differently oblique orbits, like the electrons do in the typical simplified drawing of an atom. For if it was so, we would have planets that constantly go out and come back to and from the Zodiac. In the extreme cases, we might even imagine a polar orbit (of 90°, i.e. perpendicular) compared to the Zodiac.

If such a planet be discovered in our solar system, we should be forced to widen our definition of Zodiac. If a planet be observed whose orbit is strongly oblique on the Ecliptic, we should determine on the Celestial vault an extra-zodiacal belt (which extends many degrees above and under the zodiacal belt that we consider traditionally). Within this extended belt we should find the way to make a simple projection of any celestial body onto the Zodiac – whatever is its position on the Celestial Sphere – by applying appropriate corrective trigonometric formula, similar to those the most common domification methods are based upon.

Let us imagine that a planet exist whose orbit remains for most of the time outside the traditional Zodiac. We could project on the celestial sphere the same “domificable belts” of the Earth, namely:

1. in the tropical belt of the Earth (0° to +/- 23°27′) Placidus Houses are equal. In the corresponding extra-zodiacal belt of the Celestial vault (up to 23°27′ above and under the Ecliptic) we could proceed with a simple orthogonal projection of the object that transits on that area.
2. at medium latitudes (23°27′ to 66°33′ over and under the Equator) Placidus method implies a gradual deformation of the Houses. In order to project onto the Zodiac an object that orbits in the corresponding extra-zodiacal belt (between 23°27′ and 66°33′ over and under the Ecliptic), we should use gradual corrective formula.
3. here on the Earth it is not possible to use Placidus domification beyond the Polar Circles. So, it would not be possible to project onto the Zodiac any object whose angular distance from the Ecliptic is more than 66°33′.The values of 23°27′ and 66°33′ are obviously referred to a geocentric astrology. On other planets they would have other values, strictly connected to the mutual inclination between the rotation axis and the orbiting plane of the planet that we considered as our point of observation, i.e. the centre of the Celestial sphere.Such division of the Celestial sphere would have two consequences. The first one, an effective expansion of the zodiacal belt, which would lead the astrologers to consider in the astral charts celestial bodies that they usually ignore in their traditional astrological analysis, simply because they move normally on orbits even more oblique than Pluto. The other consequence would be the exclusion of celestial bodies too much distant from the Zodiac; they would still be ignored even if potentially relevant at an astrological level.

   There is another possible solution to the problem of the projection of planets onto the zodiacal belt in the “atom-like” planetary systems: to take in due consideration the hypothesis of a spherical zodiac. This does not necessarily mean a “sliced” Zodiac. Let me elaborate, above all, what I mean for a “sliced Zodiac”. Here on the Earth the Equator is touched by a series of lines perpendicular to the Equator itself and parallel to each other. They are the meridians, they divide the terrestrial surface into 360 slices (the same can be said for the 24 time zones, each made of 15 degrees-meridians). Let us imagine now to apply the same pattern to the Celestial vault, extending the zodiacal belt we normally use by prolongating perpendicularly up and down the ideal segments that delimit the 12 signs. We’d have thus divided the celestial sphere into 12 slices (we could call them “zodiacal time zones”) that meet all together at the “zodiacal poles”.

   Now we ideally incline gradually the orbit of a hypothetical planet from 0° to 90° compared to the centre of an ideal Ecliptic taken as reference. Like the meridians and the time zones on the Earth meet at the Poles, in the “sliced zodiac” the extension of the 12 signs or “zodiacal time zones” progressively decreases up to becoming null where the slices meet. This way, a planet with an extremely oblique orbit crosses signs with different extensions: larger ones in the intersection area closer to traditional zodiacal belt, and much narrower ones in the area closet to the zodiacal poles.

   Seen from the planets whose orbit has an obliquity of 0° (coinciding with the Ecliptic of reference, taken as the centre of the zodiacal belt), the Sun would cross the 12 sign of the Zodiac with a very regular motion, except light variation in speed at the perihelion (minimum distance from the Sun) where the planet accelerates, and at the aphelion (maximum distance from the Sun) where the planet decelerates.
   For less oblique orbits (up to 45°) the difference in the extensions of the zodiacal slices may be negligible. But in the event of an orbit inclined more than 70° we would have a planet that remains in the same only sign for half an year; then it would rapidly cross five signs in a few days; and it would eventually transit in the following sign (the opposite one, referred to the starting sign) during another half an year, and so on. I say, the planet transits: but of course it would be the Sun, seen from that planet, to move along the Zodiac in such a bizarre way.
   The limit case is a polar orbit of 90° (perpendicular to the Ecliptic). In this case the planet would touch two zodiacal signs only (more precisely, the Sun seen from that planet would do it): one each half an year, except two very short moments of the year when it would pass exactly over the “zodiacal pole”, the point of conjunction of all the 12 signs-slices.

   It is interesting to note that the different extension of the 12 signs has its correspondence in the deformation of the Houses of a chart, cast with Placidus, at extreme latitudes, such as the “extreme” birth charts that we mentioned at the beginning of our study. In such charts, some Houses extend until almost 180°, while the others reduce to this “pieces” of a few fractions of degree each.

   We have figured a Zodiac made up of 12 signs-slices similar to the 24 time zones of our planet Earth. To cross over a time zone on the Equator one must go about 1,670 km in direction East-West, but to do the same by the Poles one must walk a few meters only. On the other hand, if we travelled around the world in direction North-South along the same meridian, like Monty Python’s actor Michael Palin in the BBC series “From Pole to Pole”, we’d never change time zone and we’d never be in the need to adjust our watch. This is due to the particular “sliced” pattern in which we divide the terrestrial surface.

   But I imagine (at least for the “atom-like” solar systems) a spherical zodiac not necessarily sliced. A zodiac in which all the signs are 30° for all the planets along the whole celestial sphere. How this could be possible, sincerely I don’t know. I guess it would be necessary a revision or an extension of the spherical geometry we use now – and this is not so absurd, if we consider that the spherical geometry represents an extension of the Euclidian plane geometry.

   In plane geometry, in fact, we meet axioms that nobody would ever dare contradict: yet the very same axioms are not valid in spherical geometry (which is one of the possible non-Euclidian geometries). As an instance:

1) In plane geometry the parallel straight lines never meet; they do meet in the spherical geometry (it’s the meridians: they are parallel straight lines that meet at the poles).
2) In the Euclidian geometry the sum of the inner angles of a triangle is equal to 180°; in spherical geometry it may be more or less than 180° (depending upon if we draw the triangle on a convex or concave surface).

So maybe I commit no heresy if I declare that a spherical zodiac in which all the 12 sign have a constant extension of 30° each, in whatsoever point of the sphere, is certainly a bizarre notion, but maybe it is feasible with an adequate mathematical model.

MANY LUMINARIES.

Some solar systems are formed by planets that turn around double or triple stars. Astrologers might live over there that daily have something to do with astral charts with two or three Main Luminaries. Should we live on a planet with many moons, we’d have also an undefined number of Lesser Luminaries. In which sign would they have their own domicile? According to the Theory of Domiciliations previously detailed, to answer to this question we should:

1. first of all, determine the principal Main Luminary: this would have “per axioma” its domicile in the sign of Lion.
2. distribute the domiciles of the other suns (ancillary Main Luminaries) in the signs immediately following and/or preceding the Lion.
3. assign the domiciles, before and after the “solar” signs, to the Lesser Luminaries (i.e. the moons, the natural satellites).
4. the sequence of domiciles of the planets of that solar system would be completed by assigning them, in order of distance from their central star – be it a single, double, triple or multiple star – in the signs that precede and follow the signs already assigned as domicile to the Luminaries.At an interpretative level, what about a natal chart with, say, three suns and seven moons? Well, the answer of course is not easy, but even in this case I would suggest the four criteria of astrological research already mentioned, namely:1. consider the physical aspect of the celestial body whose symbolic and astrological meaning we are investigating. A dwarf yellow sun wouldn’t probably carry the same astrological weight of a giant red star as the source of life, light and heat; an imposing and splendid moon like ours wouldn’t have the same astrological weight as a natural satellite with minute dimensions, scarcely visible from the surface of the planet it orbits around, and so on.

   2. consider the apparent speed of the celestial body, both in the signs and in the Houses. Seen from a hypothetical planet orbiting around it, a little star that orbits around a larger star would show an oscillating behaviour on the local zodiac with frequent period of retrograde motion (just like Mercury that, seen from the Earth, constantly “oscillates” around the Sun). Such a little star would therefore carry a different interpretative value compared to a Sun like ours, perennially in direct motion along our Zodiac. Stick to the Second Principle of Extraterrestrial Astrology, which refers to the elongation of a celestial body compared to any other. In more complex star systems, if a smaller star doesn’t detach much from its larger companion, my opinion is that the lesser partner may be simply ignored when interpreting an astral map, especially if the birth (or any other event that we wish to study from an astrological point of view) should take place on one of the more external planets of that solar system. Elongation, in facts, is a phenomenon due to the projection and it decreases if the astronomical distances increase.

   3. consider also the name assigned by man or by the inhabitants of that alien world (the one at the centre of the astral map, I mean) to the celestial body whose astrological meaning we would be investigating: be it a star, a moon or a planet.

   4. pay particular attention to the sequence of the domiciles, for should be find out that, following the logic of domiciles, a celestial body “finds home” e.g. in the sign of Virgo, it appears logical the supposition that such a celestial body carries mercurial astrological values, and so on.

   A UNIVERSAL ASTROLOGY.
   
   Until now I haven’t mentioned possible births in orbit around the Earth. This scenario (which appears the most likely to become reality in the short terms) actually implies different problems, that I have studied in my article on “Orbital Astrology”, a study of the Solar Returns of astronauts in space. If we consider the space shuttle or the International Space Base ISS as “the celestial body on which the birth takes place” should be cast a horoscope having the shuttle or the orbiting station itself at the centre of the chart? I didn’t even consider this hypothesis. I found it exaggerated to hypothesise a… “starbasocentric” or “shuttlocentric” astrology. The dimensions and the mass of the artificial satellites are so insignificant at an astronomical level that I find it superfluous and time-consuming to calculate the “ascendant” or the “Medium Coeli” of such a small body like the space shuttle. Do you wish to try, yet? Well, you should be able to create a coherent system of “geographical coordinates” to be applied to the space shuttle, establishing on it a rotation axis, two poles, and an equator and so on. But if we force the shuttle or the orbiting station a spinning motion, its crew or inhabitants could see the Sun set and rise even many times a day. Should we consider then “orbital days” of a few hours? On the other hand, especially on certain orbits, the space shuttle might remain in shadow or – on the contrary: be continually lit by the Sun – for days and days, if not even… for ever. Thus it would make no sense at all to talk about days and night, which are the fundamental elements for our astrology.

   Considering that a vertical shift of a few kilometres only is enough to find ourselves in orbit, seen from a shuttle, the Earth keeps such dimensions to occupy a good portion of the visual fields. So in a “shuttleocentric” natal birth should we draw a huge Earth covering four or five signs? This seems to be another exaggeration. So I think that you should rather ignore the factor altitude and take rather in consideration the so called subsatellital place, i.e. the place over flown by the satellite at any moment. I guess that the factor altitude is ignored even in the case of births that take place on high mountains or in airplanes.

   I have not hypotized zodiacs made of more or less than 12 signs. Absolute and indiscerptible dogma of the EA is that the Zodiac (be it terrestrial or martian, local or universal, internal, external, spherical or in slices) is always divided in 12 signs, starting from the vernal point. As a consequence, there is no room for the Ophiucus in any of the zodiacs described so far.

   Now let us imagine a planet that orbits around a remote star much far away from our Sun. What constellations would touch their zodiac? In that case, the signs might touch different constellations from the ones known down here, and the 12 signs used over there might carry names and symbols different from ours. Still, my opinion is that the signs would be 12 in any case, not 15 or 24.

   We could imagine of an extraterrestrial civilization that use different mathematical rules than ours. One would say: “This is impossible! Mathematics is a universal language!” This postulate is not fully true. I know a teacher of maths who asked the classroom to demonstrate “why x to zero is equal to one”. The following day, after some pupil uselessly tried to find a logical demonstration of that, the teacher explained that x to 0 = 1 is a “dogma” of our algebra: therefore it is not demonstrable. She added that nothing prevents us from creating a different mathematics, in which x elevated to zero be equal x, or in which x to zero be equal zero, or even more: be equal… three. The brave genius who were able to invent such a “personal” algebra should be also able to derivate from this initial dogma, without contradictions, all the patterns of coherent mathematics corollaries and rules. Something similar happens in the numerations whose base is different from 10. We normally use a decimal system in which 1 + 1 is equal 2: everybody knows! But in the binary system 1 + 1 is not equal 2! In the sexagesimal system 55′ + 38′ is 1°33′ (even if the expression 93′ is not wrong). And in the system of computation of time, 23 + 5 hours is not 28 but 4!

   Who cultivates the illusion of dialoguing with an alien visitor by tracing “universal” symbols and figures on the sand forgets that the man himself use different method of computation and numeric writing. The most known is the system in which the position of the figures multiplies their decimal value: as an example, 1,434 implies that we mentally multiply the figures (1×1,000, 4×100 etc.) and then we sum the results (1,000+400+30+4 = 1434). It is not the only possible system. The ancient Romans used a logical of sum and subtraction. The ancient Roman started from the higher figure (M, in this case) and went on towards right summing the lower figures (D, C, L, X, V, I), with the following important exception: when he met, after certain symbol, a letter with a higher value (for instance a C=100 preceding a D=500, or an I=1 coming before a V=5) instead of summing the two values, the Roman subtracted them. It is according to this rule, which is neither intuitive nor “logical” at all, that even today we know that MCDXXXIV is not to be read like MC D XXXI V (one thousand and a hundred, five hundred, thirty one, and five), but M CD XXX IV, namely on hundred four hundred and thirty four.

   Having stated that mathematics is not that universal language, or at least it is not a language universal enough as to grant us a sane and civil “chat” with a hypothetical extraterrestrial civilization, what does remain to us of truly universal? Heaven knows; maybe Astrology…