Decans

Fixed stars have been associated with the decans but I don't know a lot about it. I found this site about Egyptian decans. It gives a list of the constellations associated with each decan. I have a book that describes the European system and it varies a little bit from the Egyptian.

sapienza said:

Well, it's been a busy week or so for me and I've only now had time to have a good read through of ravenests post. Lots of interesting info there. I have to be honest and say that an awful lot of this is completely new to me and so I can't really make any kind of wise comments I do really appreciate all the info though ravenest.

So, one question.....are the fixed stars linked to the Decans? Only since I've begun (slowly) reading up on traditional astrology have I started to think about the fixed stars.

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Ta S. I'm not sure how or if the fixed stars were linked to the decans ... but they are deffinatly associated with them.

If they are big, brigth or significant, all peoples, everywhere will use them. I've been powering through the Wardaman Aboriginal astronomy book Dark Sparklers ... finnally got over some blocks, wee .......

Thanks for the above link Abrac ... v. interesting site!

Gack... I've been so out of it. Swamped with work.

With regard to the fixed stars... strong and well-documented connections exist, though precession guarantees that those associations have shifted and that those shifts are obsessively documented by star-watchers over thousands of years. Even the Egyptians catalogs differ over constellational/decan associations because of the millenia involved. By the time the Decans are absorbed into Hellenistic astrology the overlaps are blurry and extreme... BUT, for some interesting thoughts, ravenest, see especially Paul Kunitzsch's Arabs and the Stars: Texts and Traditions on the Fixed Stars and Their Influence in Medieval Europe. It's crazy expensive, but present in many good Uni libraries. Essays in German and English many of which are worth the time. Consider poking around the Behenians too...

Many thanks for the site link, Abrac. Some caveats: the writer there has a strong bone to pick in favor of sidereal astrology which is a really contentious point for a lot of traditional astrologers, because it ignores some of the basic realities of premodern astronomy (and thence the literal roots of astrology). Also, the author appears to be a big Steiner and Theosophy buff so a lot of the references skew in that direction with some negative impact. And note that the constellational associations are deeply wonky, relying as they do on the Rolleston's drastically outdated and anachronistic Mazzaroth and on authors who treat it as gospel. Like a lot of 19th century apologists, Rolleston is largely concerned with finding Judaeo-Christian explanations for astrological systems to "prove" the inevitability of the Messiah by situating the biblical narratives in the constellations which is silly and bizarre. Whatever the Yahwists want to say, Astrology predates both Christianity and Judaism by a long stretch, and the astrology that leaks into Yahwist theologies comes from without, not within. Rolleston and to a lesser extent Robert Powell operate with some big dumb Christian preconceptiions, so a lof of their conclusions are built on sand.

Must dash, will return.

I been out of it too. . . .

In regard to that above site, I would say it goes a little further in that not just Steiner/Anthroposophical based but (a hunch) specifically from the 'Christian Community' - a 'mystical' Christian Anthroposophy, (who seem to be 'advertising' their Christian flavour more than their Anthroposophical flavour) hence their 'research' will go back to traditional perspectives, but those perspectives as understood by Steiner - with a heavy bias on their mystical Christian interpretation. (And perhaps a bias on material that supports that perspective - ah well . . . most of us do that .)

I'm still trying to nut out their astrological / biodynamic system . . . but let's leave that ingedient to another stew.

(Thanks for the tips Scion)

I wanted to bump this thread and add a link to this thread which also has some great insights about Thoth/Liber T/Golden Dawn and consequently the decans as well.

I'd love to continue on our decan discussion but need to find time to re-read this thread again and try and pick up where we left off.

How did I miss this? Here I am poking around in the Liber T study threads.
And what the heck have I gotten myself into?



AW

sapienza said:

I wanted to bump this thread

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Thanks...never knew it was here .....

Scion said:

I'm a big Ficino fan, natch, because of his astro-magickal focus... but with several caveats. I think there are a couple other (less abstract) folks I'd nudge us towards before going there. Ficino occupies a funny place int he history of Hermetism and REALLY takes exception to the dæmonic aspects of magick, preferring instead to go with a more theurgic "aspirational" magick: More Plato than Aristotle (or Neoplotinus even), as it were. In all these thigns I feel like the active, practical magick is the one to examine. All that bloodless theorizing starts to smack of Ptolemy and his idiosyncratic revision of Astrology which became the "true source" by a quirk of western history. Even so, the other, older, funkier, occult traditions survived sub rosa.

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Can you nudge me toward something akin to "natural daemonic magic for dummies"?
Funky is good.

AW

A google of "natural daemon magick" has brought up an intresting mix from Vampiric magick to the Holy Guardian Angel.
Is there a left hand/right hand issue that needs to be delt with first?

AW