Hand - Night & Day

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Night & Day Planetary Sect in Astrology by Robert S. Hand

T able of Contents Introduction . ...

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Introduction to Sect ........ • . . . . .. . . . . . . .

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Basic Definitions ....

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Additional Basic Definitions Concerning Sect

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Other Sect Issues .. . . . . . . . A Sample Chart - FDR

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The Meanings of the Planets in Diurnal and Nocturnal Charts . .

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General Natures of the Planets According to Sect

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Other Manifestations of Sect. . . . . . . . .

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Lots and Sect . . .................. . .

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Sect and the Hyleg or Apheta

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Sect and Firdar ....... .

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Sample Charts ......... ..... . Chart # 1: Adolf Hitler Chart #2: Eleanor Roosevelt . ....•. . ........ • ....•.. Chart #3: President Clinton ..... . .. . . . ... . .. .. • .. . ..... Chart #4: Ric hard M. Nixon ..... . . . . . .. .• . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........... . .... . ..... Chart #5: Charles Dederick Chart #6: Tony Costa ...

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Concluding Remarks . . . .

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References . .

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Introduction This is the first of a series of short works designed to assist both students and more advanced astrologers in understanding particular features of traditional Western astrology, features that are either unfamiliar to modem astrologers, or that are employed in ways in traditional astrology that are unfamiliar to modem astrologers. Those of us who have been working with the original writings of ancient and medieval astrology feel very strongly that the best way of becoming familiar with their teachings is to read them directly. However, we also recognize that the language, even in translation, of these works is difficult, and the concepts often unfamil iar. We, who have been doing the actual translations, have had, and continue to have in some cases, our own struggles with their language. Therefore we are writing these short works to provide the reader with assistance based on our understanding of the major principles in traditional astrology derived from our work. The reader must be aware of several matters, however. First of all, this and all subsequent booklets in this series must be regarded as preliminary. Neither we, nor anyone else that we know of, has fully mastered all of the concepts involved in ancient and Medieval astrology. We are learning as we go just as the reader is. As we work more with these texts, it is safe 10 say that we will learn more, and Ihat some of what we learn will force us to modify what we say here now in these booklets. As we learn more, we will make the proper changes in these texts. Therefore these texts are of necessity somewhat fluid, for now is not the time 10 try to make definitive statements. Second, the reader should be aware that these booklets will suffer from the same flaws as other secondary sources, namely, that there is a layer of perception, that of the author, between the reader and the original authors. Whatever may be our point of view, whatever may be our limitations, these will be imposed upon these writings however much we may try to prevent it. Therefore we urge our readers to use these booklets to assist in reading the original works, and not to use them as a substitute for the originals. Only the original works can serve as a corrective to any errors or distortions that may arise within these booklets. We will do the best that we can to be adequate guides, but we are only guides. The original authors themselves are the territory.

Introduction to Sect

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To an astrologer of the late classical period one of the most important questions that influenced the interpretation of the chart was very simple

and yet very fundamental: was the native born by day or by night? In other words, was the Sun above or below the horizon? This simple criterion affected the computation ofJife expectancy, the computation of most orthe lots (known to us somewhat incorrectly as "Arabic Parts"), the succession of planetary rulerships in time ' and the rulers of the triplicities. However, what was even more important than any of Ihese is that eve!), planet, every aspect, and every house position was interpreted differently according to whether the chart was ofa day or a night birth! Nor was it so

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that the day birth was more powerful and benevolenl than the night birth. In fact this was not true. Day births and night births were equally powerful, but had to be interpreted differently, with the planets having different capabilities, powers, and functions in the two types of charts. This monograph deals with the changes that occur in planetary symbolism in night and day chans, and is intended to provide the reader with the basics for applying this teaching to modem interpretations.

Basic Definitions Sect or Condition - In Greek this was hairesis, in Latin condido or conditio_ The English word 'sect', however, comes from the Latin seco which means 'to cut' or 'divide '. A sect is therefore a division. In the case of the planets there are two divisions. 1 All of the planets are either of the

I This refers to two systems, the first of which will be touched upon somewhat in this work, triplicities and their rulership over the thirds of life, and the second of these systems Firdar or Aljridaries, a system of planetary period rulerships simi lar to the Hindu dasa system. These will be taken up only briefly in this monograph, but will be taken up in greater detail in a latcr onc. 1 This derivation is from the standard Lewis and Short, A New Larin Dictionary, originally published by Oxford University. However another derivation is given by the OED. It states that the English word 'sect' comes from the Latin secta, a point on which both sources agree, but that the Latin secra comes in tum from seCl jtus, the past participle of the sequor, 'to follow ', The problem that I have with this etymology is that a stressed 'u', such as in secutus,

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solar, diurnal secr or of the lunar, nocturnal sect. The sect of a planet is independent of its sex. I The following passages from Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, Book l, refer to these matters. Chapters 5 and 6 provide introductory material that IS useful fo r understanding the logic of sects set forth in chapler 7. 5. Concerning Benefic and Malefic Planets

With these things being so, since of the four fluidities two are the fertile and productive ones, that of the hot and that of the wet (for, everything is compounded and increased by them), while two arc destructive and passive, that of the dry and that of the cold (through which all things are in tum separated and destroyed), the ancients accepted two of the planets, the star of Zeus {Jupiter] and the star of Aphrodite [Venus] , and the Moon as well , as being benefic because of being temperate and having their surplus in the hot and the wet. But they accepted the star of Kronos [Saturn] and the star of Ares (Mars] as being productive of the opposite nature, the one on account of its excessive coldness, the other on account of its excessive dryness. And they accepted the Sun and the star of Hermes [Mercury] as being capable of both because of the commonality of their natures, and as changing in keeping with that planet which they should happen to be attending. 6. Concerning Masculine and Feminine Planets

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Again, since the primary genera of natures are two, the masculine and the feminine , while, of the powers mentioned above, that of the wet essence happens to be especially feminine (for, in general this part is innate to a greater degree in all females , but the others arc more in males), they have fairly handed down to us that the Moon and the star of Aphrodite [Venus] arc feminine because of having their excess in the wet. But the Sun, the star ofKronos [Saturn1, the star of Zeus [Jupiter], and the star of Ares [Mars] arc traditionally masculine. And the star of Hermes [Mercury] is common to

tends not to be dropped as a word evolves, so that it seems to difficult to sec how secuws could have become 'sect'. Otherwise this etymology is plausible. I Actually the division of planets into diurnal and nocturnal may be a rival system of polarity to the division into masculine and feminine, rather in the way that sign-rulerships and exaltations may have originated as rival systems of rulerships.

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both ge nera, in accordancc with which he is productive eq ually of the dry essence and the wet essencc. And the y say that thc stars are being made masculine and femini ne during their fi gurations to the Sun. For, while they are cast relative to the Sun and preceding' him, they are becoming masculine, but while they are west relative to him and fol1owing/ they are being made feminine. This also happens during their fi gurations relative to the horizon. For, in the figurations from rising up to culminating, or from setting up to anti-culmination under the earth, they are becoming masculine, since theyare eastern; but in the remaining two quadrants they arc being made fcminine, since they are western. 7. Concerning Diurnal and Nocturnal Planets Similarly, since the two most conspicuous of the intervals which make up time are these, and the interval of the day happens to be more masculine because of the heat and vigor in it, but night is more femin ine because of its moisture and gift of rest, they have accordingly handed down that the Moon and the star of Aphrodite [Venus] are nocturnal, but that the Sun and the star of Zeus [Jupiter] are diurnal , and the star of Hermcs [Mercury] common in regard 10 these, being diurnal in the morning figure and noclUmal in the evening figure .l And they also assigned to each of the sects the lWO planets of the destructive essence, not howcver for the same physical reasons but for the opposite ones. For, when stars that are similar to stars ofa good mixture become familiar with them, they make their beneficial character greater, though when unfamiliars to the destructive stars hold intercourse wi th them, they undo much of the ailliction.' Whence, since the star ofKronos [Saturn]

That is, earlier than the Sun in the ordcr of the zodiac. That is, later than the Sun in the order of the zodiac. ~ The preceding references to figures are to the Greek word, schema, and the phrasing is translated literally. However, we and virt uall y everyone else assume that morning figure .. morning star, and evening figure = evening star. Also Ptolemy in the Phases defines ' phase' as a 'figure' , so that we can mentally subslilUte 'phase' for 'figure', which makes it even clearer. • This implies an interesting defi nition of what other astrologers call "benefic" and "maldie." A benefic is a planet which improves its nature when that nature is reinforced, whereas a malefic is a planet whose nature is improved when it is counteracted. I

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is productive of cold, they apportioned it to the heat of day. But sinee the star of Arcs {Mars] is dry, they apportioned it to the moisture of the night. For, thus each star, in meeting with due measure by mixture, is made akin to the sect that provides the tempering. The table at the right shows the planets in order of sect from most diurnal 10 mosl nocturnal although there might be some question as to whether the Moon or Mars is the mosl nocturnal.

Solar & Diurna l

0 Additiona l Basic Definitions Concernin g Sect

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As already staled a chart is diurnal if the Sun is above d the horizon, i.e., in houses 7 through 12. The chart is } nocturnal if the Sun is below the horizon, i.e., in houses I through 6. Lunar & Signs are also diurnal or nocturnal. The diurnal Nocturnal signs are the same as those signs which are called masculine or positive, T, n, Q. ~, ;t, =, while the nocturnal signs are the same as those which are called feminine ones, ts. 0, T1], ffi. 1"l. H. A planet may be placed diurnally or nocturnally in a chart regardless of whether the planet is diurnal or nocturnal according to its own nature, and also regardless of whether the sign in which the planet is located, or the chart itself, is diurnal or nocturnal. Any planet is placed diurnally when it is above the horizon in the daytime or below it at night. Any planet is placed nocturnally when it is below the horizon by day or above it by night. Therefore we have three facto rs which can relate to the sect of a p lanet: I) Whether the chart itself is diurnal or nocturnal. 2) The nature of the placement, that is (whether the p lanet is diurnally or nocturnally placed). 3) The sect of the sign (whether the sign is diurnal or nocturnal). A diurnal planet is most benefitted when it is in a diurnal chart diurnally placed in a diurnal sign. Similarly a nocturnal planet is most benefitted when il is in a noclurnal chart nocturnally placed in a nocturnal sign. In Medieval astrology this set of relationships was one of a set of conditions pertaining to a particular planet that was generally known as "being in its own similitude." In addition to sect a planet's similitude also 5

included agreement between its sex and the sex of the sign, which is the same as agreement between the sect of the sign and planet for all planets except Mars, which is masculine but nocturnal. There was also possible agreement in sex between a planet and its quadrant. (See Ptolemy Book J, chapter 6 quoted above.) The quadrants in the southeast between the Ascendant and the Midheaven and opposite in the northwest between the Descendant and the I.e. were considered to be masculine. The quadrants in the northeast between the I.e. and Ascendant, and the opposite in the southwest between the Midheaven and the Descendant were considered to be feminine . I As will be seen below, the conflict between the sex and sect of Mars has given rise to some ambiguity. Although no ancient writing ever states this explicitly, it would seem from these writings that the most important of these relationships is that a planet is of the same sect as the chart. Diurnal planets work best in diurnal charts and nocturnal planets in nocturnal charts. That the condition of the chart is the most important of the three sect factors can be inferred from the fact that many of the Greek texts only mention the chart's diurnal or nocturnal status in relation to the sect of the planet. Little is said about the agreement of the sect of the planet with that of the sign or placement. Second in importance is that a planet is correctly placed above or below the horizon; diurnal planets are best above the horizon in the daytime or below it at night, while nocturnal planets are best above the horizon at night or below it by day. A planet whose sect is not in accord with the chart is more effective than it would otherwise be if it is correctly placed by hemisphere within the chart. Last in significance, a planet is reinforced somewhat by being located in a sign whose sect agrees with its own. If a planet's sect is not in accord with anyone of these three factors, the planet is to that degree out of sect and is to that extent altered in its expression in the chart. The manner of the alteration as we have inferred it from the ancient writings seems to be a mixture of quantity and quality, that is, in some ways a planet out of sect seems to be merely inhibited in

I The logic of this seems to be as follows : Planets in the southeast and northwest quadrants are either ascending to their extreme high altitudes or descending to their extreme low altitudes. This seems to have been perceived as masculine. The planets in the other 1\.,.0 quadrants are corrung back toward the horizon from their upper and lower extremes of altitude. This seems to have been perceived as feminine.

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its expression, as if its power were lessened; but some planets, especially the malefics, seem to be made more malefic in quality, and not lessened in quantity of power at all. Similarly if a planet's sect is in accordance with the chan, its placement in the chart, and the sect of its sign., it is a quite powerful dignity which was called Hayz, Haim, or Aym, 1 all of which are Latin corruptions of the Arabic word Hayyiz. There was one curious exception to the definition of Hayz, however. Mars, while nocturnal in sect is and was considered masculine in sex. Mars was considered to be in Hayz only when it was in a nocturnal chart, above the horizon (nocturnally placed), in a masculine (diurnal) sign. The logic of sect suggests that this is a later change from an older doctrine in which Mars should have been in a nocturnal (feminine) sign. However, this has not yet been completely proved. The opposite condition in which a planet is completely out of sect has no traditional name. However, it seems to be an important debility, especially for the malefics. Therefore I have taken the liberty of giving it a name derived from the Latin word for sect mentioned above, condicio or conditio. I prefer the second spelling of the word as it is more familiar to us through the English word 'condition' . I have simply translated the phrase ' out of sect ' into Latin as extra conditione. The pronunciation can be considered close enough if it is pronounced exactly as written except that the 'e' at the end is not silent. Whenever the English word 'condition ' by itself occurs in this text it should be understood in the conventional, general sense, not having any technical meaning with regard to sect. One last basic matter pertaining to sect has to do with the phase of the Moon. The Moon is always at its root a nocturnal planet. However, according to Julius Firmicus Maternus, it is favorable applying to diurnal planets when it is waxing and unfavorable when applying to nocturnal planets. Similarly the waning Moon is favorable when applying to nocturnal planets and unfavorable when applying to diurnal planets. There is no one place in his writing where he states this principle, but one finds examples of it all over his work. It is as if he assumes that the reader is familia r with the idea. I have found this distinction between the applications of the waxing and waning Moon to be useful in my work.

1 The 'm' at the end of the last two variants of the word may be a typographical misinterpretation . In Medieval calligraphy thc terminal 'm' and thc letter 'z' were nearly identical and easily confused.

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Examples will appear the sample charts.

Other Sect Issues In addition to the above there is another kind of placement that is sometimes related to sect It is also sometimes related to masculine and feminine. This has to do with the morning star, or matutine phase, as opposed to the evening star, or vespertine phase. It is generally held by the old astrologers that a star rising ahead of the Sun, a morning star, is either in a masculine, or a kind of diurnal, placement. Similarly a star setting after the Sun is held to be either feminine or nocturnal. This has very old roots. In Babylonian astrology, according to Knappich, a morning star Venus was considered to be a warrior goddess, whereas the evening star Venus was the very feminine goddess oflove. ' This idea is preserved in later associations with Latin version of the Greek name for the morning star Venus, Phosphoros. which in Latin is Luciferl Closely related to this is the idea that planets that rise ahead of the Sun, especially within one or two signs of the Sun, are better and more effective if they are diurnal planets. Planets that set after the Sun or Moon are better if they are nocturnal planets. However, as the doctrines relating to sect were passed to the Middle Ages, the relationship between the phase of a planet with respect to the Sun was related to the masculine and feminine sexual polarity rather than to sect, and only the three basic principles mentioned above remained connected to the diurnal-nocturnal polarity of sect.

1 Wilhelm Knappich, Die Geschichteder Astrologie, chapter 2. "The divinity most revered in the Near East was Ishtar (Phoenician Astarte), who also was reputed to be the daughter of the moon god and revealed hersclfin the shining star of Venus. Her identity as the morning and evening star was recognized in the earliest times and interpreted as a polarity. In the morning fonn she had a more masculine character and was known as lshtar of Akkad, a goddess of war. In the evening position she had a more feminine character and as Ishtar ofUruk she was the goddess of the sensual life and priestess of the gods." (Translation by the author.]

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A Sample Charl - FDR I

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