Musings from the Star Gazer, One of the many interesting aspects of astrology is that most people have not the smallest concept of it. They pick up a newspaper and read what my children and I laughingly refer to as a Horriblescope and say to themselves, "This is nothing like me? This is nonsense!" And for the most part they are correct. There are one or two reputable astrologers even in newsprint, but really! Such broad one- sentence horoscopes generally do nothing but bring on a bout of giggles. The medieval astrologers began their studies with Horary Astrology, which is basically the natal astrology of a question, learning such things as planetary hours, and how to calculate them. From there they might go on to Electional Astrology, which is the study of event charts. Then to A-HA! The natal chart. the natal chart is not the first thing you would study for very good reasons, which I'll get into shortly. Once you master the natal chart, you might then study the important aspects of Astrology, which are the study of medicinal astrology and mundane Astrology. Mundane astrology is considered to be the most important aspect of Astrology. It is the study of countries, monarchs, dynasties, and large groups, that which effects the global well being. It seems to be the most often attempted practice by those least able to do so. (Occasionally you will read interesting predictions by respected astrologers, but for the most part predictive astrology can get you into hot water. William Lilly was prosecuted in the 17th century for predicting the burning of the English Parliament! Its not generally considered wise to print such considerations.) I am come late to Horary astrology. Like most of my generation I was introduced first to natal astrology. The concept of a Rising Sign, the sign that rules the hour of your birth, was astounding to me. I was not in the least surprised to find that planets affect people, as I have always been an avid moon watcher. However, after even a minimum of study on this subject, I see why the traditional astrologers of the medieval era began a students study with Horary. Horary teaches the concepts of Houses, what each means, why one house placement is stronger than another. It teaches the meanings of planets, which planets are more important or powerful than others, which hold what type of meaning, where they are stronger or weaker in a chart. Horary, in short, is the foundation of understanding astrology. Once you study this form, you should understand what someone means if they mention the triplicity of a sign. You would understand Debility and Dignity of the planets. You would understand the faces of a sign. Are you confused yet? Well, so would anyone be who started with natal astrology. So I begin my first short article by encouraging those who have an interest, to follow an interesting path. I began this journey accidentally, stumbling onto my favorite Astrologer, Robert Hand's web page. He has begun his own journey into the wonderful world of Medieval Astrology. He's written a book on the difference between a day and night chart, (Something which seems to be of great importance to me, having been born at night!) and he is continuing a course of medieval astrological study. Rob's Page led me to one of the best resources on the web for Horary astrology: Deborah Houlding's Web page, www.skyscript.co.uk Deb's web page has a lovely free beginner's course, a plethora of Horary information, articles, quizzes and resources. I strongly suggest one begin here! Now, if after reading all this exciting information you are still as excited about astrology as I am, there are a few books I'd like to suggest. William Lilly's 'Christian Astrology', is both in print and available for free on the web. It is considered to be "the" book on the subject. I found it a bit heavy going so resorted to ordering Anthony Louis' book 'Horary Plain and Simple'. This book can be purchased through Amazon, or by seeking out the Anthony Louis home page online and ordering from there. This is a well planned instructional book with many examples. Louis seems quite stuck on using Horary for finding things as opposed to relational matters, but the foundations for learning the subject are very well set forth for study. Now, I am going to go back and try to wade through William Lilly's work yet again and see if I am better able to apply it! Below are the Astrology pages I find useful! http://www.skyscript.co.uk http://www.robhand.com http://www.astro.com http://www.artcharts.com http://www.aquamoonlight.co.uk http://www.horary.com/ http://members.aol.com/tonylouis/home/glossary.htm http://www.leelehman.com/ http://www.johnfrawley.com/ Some good articles can be found at: http://www.astroinsights.com/ http://www.renaissanceastrology.com/introductiontohoraryarticle.html I'd also suggest that if you can find books or articles by the following authors you are ahead of the game. These are reputable astrologers. I'm sure I've missed quite a few, but these are people whose work is known to be exceptional. Enjoy! Robert Hand John Frawley Deborah Houlding Dennis Elwell Sue Ward Maurice McCann Dr Lee Lehman Karin Tye Chris Warnock Carol Wiggers 
 
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