I am an astrological dummy.
here is how I am trying to get better. make charts or tables(download, put in a file or whatever) of the basic principles;
the influences of the planets, signs, houses and aspects. (and a reference source for greater detail - 'constellation of words' is a great site for historical and recent views on constellations and stars and has tables and resources for cross-reference)
A table that shows rulership fall detriment etc.
A table that shows the decans; mine has 3; Agrippa, Ibn Ezra, Picatrix. (try The Decans in Astrology Benjamin Dykes via google).
Then I go on First basic construction principles (sun in sign, sun/moon compatibility, chart rulership, etc. ...later I add the decans and significant star placements) but that is more for casting a natal horoscope and it seems you want the astro knowledge for the cards so this bit might not be needed.
e.g. here are some extracts from student's correspondence (I have left out their questions and only show my answers) re 5 swords (they were confused as to why 'Venus in Aquarius' = Defeat.)
This card and that title with the associated astrology IS going to be difficult.
If we take the general formular; i.e.
Meaning = number (sephiroth) x suit (world) x planet/sign it is going to be difficult. We need the full formular of Meaning = number (sephiroth) x suit (world) x planet/sign x Decan.
I suspect ‘something in the sky’ at 10 degrees Aquarius. And also our familiar dynamic (which we encountered before), the Mars (being a 5) / Venus relationship.
Generally, this dynamic occurring in Aquarius doesn’t seem hopeful. Aquarius, being visionary and aspiring … is also very ‘out-there’ and needs good grounding. Venus doesn’t do this for Aquarius. Mars supplies lots of energy in the five but it really needs to be able to go somewhere and be grounded in action, not vision. Aquarius gives the vision, Mars supplies the action but the grounding seems absent, and hence defeat looms. Crowley seems to agree: “ … as Venus here rules Aquarius, weakness rather than excess of strength” (from Mars) “seems the cause of disaster.” Crowley also talks about the good qualities of the intellect (Swords and Aquarius) being “enfeebled by sentiment” (Venus) … it’s too passive for Aquarius, although the 5 provides action, it isn’t directed enough, as explained above.
Read the section in Thoth on the Four Fives, how the 5 disrupts the stability that previously existed, so that is there as well. In this card we have disrupted stability with no outlet for it to restructure and manifest in something. These ‘abortive births’ or disruptions happen often. Some relate them to Qlippothic realms and the ‘lower astral’ level. Hence the imagery on the card; pentagram, reversed, somewhat sinister. Wang says this card is the most destructive in the deck. He takes the same stance as I do here with Mars and Venus …. Worth a read … Oh, I am not sure you have it? I will fetch it and make a quick quote for you …
“ A relationship has already been noted between the Sword of Geburah and the Rose of Venus which is also the Rose of the Rose Cross. They are closely related energies, Mars being the consort of Venus in mythology.”
So; let’s do the usual and examine the planet closely and then the sign and then examine the decan … in this case I still think we might have to go further and try to find why the decan gives such an energy here.
Venus ( ) is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra and is exalted in Pisces. In roman mythology, Venus is the goddess of love and beauty, famous for the passions she could stir among the gods. Her cults may represent the religiously legitimate charm and seduction of the divine by mortals, in contrast to the formal, contractual relations between most members of Rome's official pantheon and the state, and the unofficial, illicit manipulation of divine forces through magic. The ambivalence of her function is suggested in the etymological relationship of the root *venes- with Latin venenum (poison, venom), in the sense of "a charm, magic philtre". etc. etc. (edited due to length)
Also Venus has no rulership, dignity, detriment, exaltation nor fall in Aquarius so that is not significant (except as it relates to the comments about the weakness of the planetary energy here mentioned above).
(... follows a long analysis on Aquarius from Hapi In ancient Egypt to the present)
Here we have a hint of the discrepancy, i.e. if Aquarius has such a positive energy why is 5 swords, attribute to Aquarius = ‘Defeat’ ? Let us ignore Venus for a moment and look at this decan of Aquarius; the 1st Decan of the 3 cards attributed to Aquarius. Note that the next Aquarius card, which is the next card in deck sequence and the next decan, seems the opposite of this card … and that is not JUST because of the number and the planet being different (although significant).
Note that the first hint of a different energy of Aquarius (in this little study) is an ancient correspondence reflected in the early Arabic gnosis, which was inherited from the schools of Alexandrian Syncretism ( the Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt) and held the knowledge of Chaldeans, Babylonians, Egyptians, Zoroastrians, Magi, etc. It is an older and more ancient system than modern astrology and that is what the G.D. was trying to emulate (note I say ‘emulate’ they dont appear to have had it fully; nowadays with our resources and all the further research done in many fields we may, actually ourselves, now have access to deeper mysteries and information than them. . )
I will get back to this difference in decans shortly; but to continue with this rather large look at Aquarius: ]
In Babylonia it was associated with the 11th month Shabatu, the Curse of Rain, January-February; and the Epic ofCreation has an account of the Deluge in its 11th book, corresponding to this the 11th constellation; each of its other books numerically coinciding with the other zodiacal signs. In that country its Urn seems to have been known as Gu, a Water-jar overflowing, the Akkadian Ku-ur-ku, the Seatof the Flowing Waters; and it also was Ramman or Rammanu, the God of theStorm, the still earlier Imma, shown pouring water from a vase,
[ Again … going back to an earlier astro-mythology we find a harsher influence being attributed to Aquarius. ]
Some of the minor stars of Aquarius, — iota, lambda, sigma, and theta, — with others of {Page 48} Capricornus and Pisces, formed the asterism LuyPeih Chin, the Camp with Entrenched Walls.
[ Another hint! Here it starts mentioning not just the constellation but individual stars that make up the constellation … and those stars have different energies and ‘reside’ in different parts of Aquarius (i.e. in different decans.]
Aquarius is not conspicuous, being chiefly marked by the stars gamma, zeta, eta, and pi, — the Urn, the familiar Y, — called by the Greeks Kalpe, Kalpis, Kalpeis, (water jar) and Situla, or Urna, by the Latins, Pliny making a distinct constellation of the latter, and by the line of fainter stars, lambda, phi, chi, psi, omega, and others indicating the water running down into the mouth of the Southern Fish, or, as it is occasionally drawn, uniting with the river Eridanus.
Now … lets look at the make up of some of the stars in Aquarius. First an out line of the decan approach I use:
Early measurements of the sky by Ancient Egyptians related to passage of time through the night and marking equalised segments of the sky in 10 degree lots. These were marked by significant asterisms (not constellations or single stars but related star clusters that seemed linked or associated) or /and significant single stars.
Specific stars had certain qualities and gave those qualities to a decan … the next decan might have another star in it that had the opposite qualities. Later as this system changed and melded with elements of Mesopotamian astrology and after with the Greek influence and the 12 house system gaining precedence each decans got made into signs by grouping three together; the stars and asterisms of 3 decans got melded into a sign.
As time went on and the system became more corrupted general energies were attributed to the sign and people forgot, and now even DENY that the stars themselves have, or even ever had, astrological significance. (And say I am a wacko for thinking so … so mainstream astrologers may not agree with all of this.)
Lets look at a few stars in Aquarius then:
Starting at the first star, 20 hours R. A. (Right Ascension - and note, here is a time measurement to locate it … as the Egyptians used) the beginning of Aquarius or the first decan; selecting some at random and going to ancient sources relating to the influence of individual stars;
This star, Albali, along with Ancha, are indicative of danger and can cause persecution and even death, but are also said to give good fortune. [Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.40.]
The astrological influences of the star Sadalsuud; According to Ptolemy it is of the nature of Saturn and Mercury; to Simmonite, of Uranus; and, to Alvidas, of Uranus in sextile to the Sun. It is said to cause trouble and disgrace. [Robson]
The astrological influences of the star Ancha. This star along with Albali can cause danger and can cause persecution and even death, but are also said to give good fortune. [Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.40.]
The astrological influences of the star Sadalmelik. According to Ptolemy it is of the nature of Saturn and Mercury; to Simmonite, of Saturn and Jupiter; and to Alvidas of Jupiter and Uranus in sextile to the Sun from Pisces and Taurus. It causes persecution, lawsuits, extreme and sudden destruction and the death penalty. [Robson*, p.200.]
These, to me, describe the title and imagery on the 5 swords quiet well.
Now, let’s move on:
The astrological influences of the star Sadalachbia. "The Lucky Star of Hidden Things". In horary it indicates the ability to discover that which is hidden or lost. 'The Lucky One for Hidden Things, or for Tent dwellers'; Abhbiyah is the plural of a word once common for a tent but also meaning a place of seclusion. It is said that, when the Sun rises conjunct this star, about 25th February, then all the worms and insects come out of their winter holes and tent dwellers can move to their Spring pasture-lands. That is the warmer climes of Arabia, of course, not London or New York. The meaning we find in this star is, as an indicator of the right time for making moves, entering upon new ventures, a likelihood of general success in enterprises if Sadachbia be well placed and aspected on the horoscope. [The Living Stars, Dr. Eric Morse, p.111.]
What happened!!!???? All of a sudden things got great!
What happened was; Sadalachiba is further along in Aquarius ( further in Right Ascension i.e. it rises over the horizon slightly later than the previous set of stars). And I would say it is in the next decan … and that star’s influence is what gives influence to the 6 of swords.
See how it works?
Now all the stuff about Venus is still valid … she is just operating in this sphere, that’s the bit to be remembered … NOT just Venus operating in a sign like Aquarius, but Venus in the first decan of Aquarius.
Again …. If it gets hard to nut out look at the decan.
And remember the formulae.
Meaning = number/sephiroth x suit/world x planet and sign x decan.
In this case the energy of the card just seems to be a downer … failure …. you lost dude … shit happens.
Some stars are nasty … as I said at the beginning … “I suspect ‘something in the sky’ at 10 degrees Aquarius.” Cant tell you why as a philosophical reason … life just is like that some times we have to lose and get trashed … balance to the good.
But it is interesting this thing about gnarly stars … its cross cultural, even for the same star; e.g. Looking for my Three Books of Occult Wisdom now … what does Cornelius Agrippa say about it again … ?
Here it is; Ch XXXI Of the Observation of the fixed stars, and of their nature.
(Annoted by Donald Tyson) “The Head of Algol in the 18th degree of Taurus …”
A nasty character indeed – cross-culturally; Tryson annotes: “Algol is a white variable star that brightens and dims, making it conspicuous in the northern heavens. The Arabs call it the Blinking Demon. The Hebrew’s named it Satan’s Head and Lilith, after the demon lover of Adam. The Chinese called it the Piled-up Corpses. It was everywhere regarded as violent, dangerous and highly unlucky.”
Occasionally it gets ‘angry’ and flares up red (at times of disaster and famine or war and ‘piled up corpses’ ?). Al Sufi described it as red when he observed it, and later described as red by an astronomer (in 1841 at Athens) named Schmidt.
That star is in the first decan of Taurus = 5 of pentacles (G.D.) “The Lord of Material Trouble”. It seems to explain it better than Mercury in Taurus.
Now to me this seems obvious … but apparently some cant see it ???
