Fixed Stars within the span of Tropical Zodiac Sign Aquarius
Tarazed the Plundering Falcon 0*56
Sham 1.04
Albireo 1.15
*Altair the Eagle 1.47
*Algede Giedi Prima 3.46
Bos 5.34
Albali 11.43
Dorsum 13.51
Alnair 15.54
Castra 20.12
*Nashira 22.12
Kitalpha 23.07
*Sadalsuud 23.46
Glenah 27.45
There's no key to indicate significance of the stars placed before 4 of the Fixed Star names - perhaps they relate to a level of super-brightness?
Additional Aquarius stars, or alternative names of stars, as listed elsewhere:
GIEDI - [2 degrees into Aquarius]
ARMUS - [11 degrees into Aquarius]
DENEB ALGEDI - [23 degrees into Aquarius]
SADOR 24*50 Aquarius
Any passing reader with planets or sensitive points in their natal charts corresponding, within a degree or so, to any of the above, will be able to search easily enough online for more detail on the star's significance, while I shall continue, in a moment, my descent down a tempting branch of a rabbit hole I've spied. First, a refresher: although I've posted on the subject of Fixed Stars several times before (see relevant link in the Label Cloud in my sidebar), here are a few words from Astrotheme on the topic in general:
"In astrology, fixed stars are quite a special subject, a controversial one like for instance the so-called karmic astrology, the meaning of the black Moon, the Lunar Nodes, and the planets' retrogradations. Nevertheless, one must bear in mind that whenever a star is in very tight conjunction with a personal element of the natal chart (any fast-moving planet, or any angle, ASC, MC, DS, or IC), results are often amazing, and it may be interesting to take them into account, in addition to more traditional factors of the natal chart. They may also yield good results when used on the progressed chart (secondary progressions). Ancient astrologers certainly had good reasons to do so, and anybody with a passion for astrology can realise that when fixed stars are used, very strange coincidences are bound to be experienced.
The topic of fixed stars is similar to that of symbolic degrees. They are not very much utilised. However, they sometimes offer quite stunning and spectacular information.
Among the many thousands of stars in our skies just 15 were categorised by ancient astronomers/astrologers as
Behenian Stars. The word Behenian comes from an Arabic word meaning "root"...so they are "root stars". The Behenian Stars are: Algol, the Pleiades, Aldebaran, Capella, Sirius, Procyon, Regulus, Alkaid, Gienah, Spica, Arcturus, Alphecca, Antares, Vega, and Deneb Algedi.
Why, one wonders, were these 15 stars chosen ?
From ancient writings it appears these stars were used by astronomers, astrologers but especially by magicians and occultists, from very early times, in the Arab world and in Europe. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa attributed them to Hermes Trismegistus, though their true origins remain unknown. One member of a Tarot-based forum had contributed that Agrippa possibly named the 15 stars from material in the Liber Hermetis [Book of Hermes] and Thabit Ibn Qurra; and that both sources could have been taken from the anwa tradition
(" pre-Islamic Arab astrology, which when blended with the Greeks gives us the strange magical astronomy of the renaissance by way of Agrippa".)
Nothing I've read so far relates the Behenian Stars directly to astrology. Each of the 15 was given a special glyph, and connections to a gemstone and a plant, to be used in rituals intended to draw the star's influence (into a talisman for instance).
Still though, whoever first chose that particular group of 15 - why? Was it, perhaps, because they were ideally placed to serve as an aid to navigation? In that long ago era astrology was not what it is today. Planets, signs and stars, their positions in the sky, appearance and temporary disappearances were noted for reasons far removed from horoscope interpretation! Farmers, travellers, and sea going people needed points of reference. Were these 15 stars an ancient GPS-system-cum-weather-forecast, also made use of by occultists?
A post at the blog of "Mister Black Magic: The Blog of Clifford Hartleigh Low", titled Astrological Magic: The 8th Sphere and the Behenian Stars threw up some interesting ideas and tid-bits. Do go read it all - it's fascinating and not an arduous read by any means.
SNIPS ~
I particularly liked what the author wrote, in that first snipped section, about planets acting as markers or beacons. I've written several times among posts and comments here that I suspect astrology has more to do with some kind of time/space waves each carrying a different "atmosphere", with planets acting as markers/beacons. I also liked this: The Behenii are to the planets, what the planets are to us. Reading this article definitely made me go, "Hmmm!!"In the astral cosmology of Aristotle onward until the modern era, the Earth was believed to lay at the center of about ten invisible spheres, nesting inside one another like Russian dolls. Each revolved around our world at a somewhat regular pace, and in most cases carried along a wandering star called a planet, embedded in the sphere. Planets served as markers or beacons, indirectly revealing the movement of these invisible realms; like a conspicuous chip or flaw in an otherwise perfectly translucent bubble of glass......
Above the Seven Spheres [tracks of 7 planetary transits depicted as circles], however, was the Eighth Sphere; the realm of the fixed stars....
Even among the fixed stars, there were a selection of very bright and prominent stars which were of even greater power. These were the Behenian Stars; behen being the distortion of an Arabic word for “root.”..........Supposedly, at the precise beginning of the universe, these fifteen stars infused their own power and influences into the Seven Planets, in varying combinations. Much like human beings’ spirit body is initially composed of seven rays of astral light from the planets (or really, planetary spheres,) the planets in turn were infused at the dawn of time by the power of two or more Root Stars. The Behenii are to the planets, what the planets are to us.........
That being understood, the Root Stars are best not thought of as routine or typical astrological influences in human lives. They were a part of the scaffolding of the cosmos’ creation, and today form part of the plumbing of reality which makes everything else we normally interact with work. They are hidden behind a wall in the galactic basement where even astrologers and magicians today seldom descend, and then only for quick errands..........
So much of our human, historical culture and beliefs have been lost to the ages past. Impossible to know with certainty what significance the fixed stars and-or constellations imparted. There is tremendous debate regarding the ancestral stone monuments' (Stone Henge, Egyptian pyramids, etc) role in ancient human endeavors. The more these structures are studied, the more complex the possibilities.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious the fixed stars were multipurpose, much like our modern equivalent of the smart-phone. Time keeping and navigation being the more practical usage, but most ancient cultures held beliefs that our genetic and-or spiritual roots either came from and-or went to these stars. And some ancients left behind indications they actually communicated with and-or traveled between these distant locations, as preposterous as that may seem to us now.
Our modern "electric universe" physicists postulate that planets, suns (stars) and galaxies are simply aggregates of matter responding to lines of energy distributed throughout the universe, ie electrical rather than gravitational. Therefore these aggregates indicate important electrical distribution grids of plasma energy. Maybe the ancients understood this aspect of our universe that modern man is just now realizing. Many individuals propose that the global pyramids are aligned with an invisible electric grid surrounding the Earth and that the Earth is aligned with our Sun's electrical grid, which is likewise aligned with other Suns' (stars) connecting grids.
Modern astrology requires a correct time of birth to determine the asc, dsc, IC, and MC. The ancients would be aware of these four important natal chart points simply by comparing the moment of birth against the map of fixed stars. It's known that the ancient astrologers-astronomers knew the daytime positions by comparing the fixed stars just prior to sunrise and just after sunset, and extrapolating.
Most modern astrologers use a synthetic basis for astrology. There are 88 constellations, to which only 12 are utilized and assigned to signs of the zodiac. Those 12 signs are divided into 30* segments, NOT reflective of the ACTUAL width of the constellations, eg the constellation of Virgo is five times wider than Scorpio's constellation, or that the constellation of Pisces greatly overlaps Aquarius. As such, the fixed stars are far more accurate in determining astrological implications regardless of precession or delegated zodiac signs.
mike ~ Such a lot of irreplaceable knowledge went up in flames with the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. Answers to many of our questions and mysteries would have been there, I feel sure.
ReplyDeleteI've read only a little about the "grid" theory - related to the ley lines I guess too. It has the feel of being right.
Re your last paragraph - I suppose our tropical system of astrology blends Earth's seasons with planetary matters, whereas if all 88 constellations were to be utilised and divisions consistent with their sizes assigned - astrology would be even more of a jungle and never have survived to 2015, or even 1915, except maybe among a handful astro-geeky mystics! Whether its survival has been a good thing or not, I can't tell - but at least it leaves us with a basis for research and adjustment. There's SOMETHING there, as I've often written, but not necessarily what we think that SOMETHING is.