Introduction
The rules, or to use the more common 20th century term, strictures,
governing whether a horoscope may be judged in horary astrology (which have been
unquestionably followed by the adherents of William Lilly during this last century) were
never really rules or strictures in the first place. What Lilly stated in his
Christian Astrology, pages 121 - 3, has been misread and misinterpreted by recent
generations of horary astrologers.
Throughout the past decade, the debate in horary astrology concerning
the so-called "strictures governing the judgement of horoscopes" has continued
unabated. This debate refers to a number of what Lilly called considerations before
judgement. These have been misinterpreted as meaning that the astrologer can be
prevented from reaching a judgement when one or more of them appear in a horary
chart. Nearly all the books published on horary within the last hundred years agree
that there are horoscopes which can be judged and others that cannot.
Christian Astrology is regarded by many today as the Bible of
horary. Although this belief is somewhat exaggerated, it is nevertheless true that
its pages offer a comprehensive guide to the rules of interpretation. The question
is, did Lilly in practice diligently follow the considerations before judgement that he
had outlined? Did he flatly refuse to judge horoscopes when one or more of the
considerations appeared?
The word consideration, according to the 17th century usage. (The
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, OUP, 1983 ed.) means "the action of looking at;
beholding, contemplation, reflection, meditation". This definition throws a new
light on what have always been regarded as strictures, the rules forbidding interpretation
which the astrologer was forbidden to break and which could not be infringed. In my
opinion the astrologer is asked to look at, contemplate, or reflect upon the
considerations when they appear in a horary question, not to decide if one chart is
judgable and another is not.
There is no cause to doubt the validity of the answers that Lilly gave
to the questions in Christian Astrology. At no time during his life did any of his
contemporaries ever accuse him of cheating; in fact, several of his political predictions
have been confirmed by history. Therefore we can proceed along the lines that he
successfully obtained the correct results, and use his charts for testing the
considerations. (See Peep's diary where Booker accused Lilly of giving the answers clients
wanted)
I propose to write this article as a reference guide only, and not a
study of Lilly's methods of judging horoscopes. I shall refer to each so-called rule
of stricture and show where Lilly ignored them in his analyses of various
horoscopes. For easy reference the considerations have been numbered 1 to 12 and
quoted from Lilly's own definitions.
Consideration 1
"All the ancients that have wrote of questions, do give warning to
the astrologer that before he deliver judgement he well consider whether the figure is
radical and capable of judgement; the question then shall be taken for radical, or fit to
be judged, when as the Lord of the hour at the time of proposing the question, and
erection g the figure, and the Lord of the ascendant or first house, are of one
triplicity, or be one, or of the same nature.
As for example; let the Lord of the hour be Mars, let the sign of
Scorpio, Cancer or Pisces ascend, this question is then radical, because Mars is Lord of
the hour, and of the watery triplicity, or of those signs Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces.
Again, let the Lord of the hour be Mars, and Aries ascend, the question
shall be radical, because mars is both Lord of he hour and sign ascending.
Let the lord of the hour be Mars, and let the sign Leo ascend, here,
although the Sun is one of the Lords of the fiery triplicity, and sole Lord of the sign
Leo, yet shall the question be judged; because the Sun, who is Lord of the ascendant, and
Mars who is Lord of the hour, are both of one nature, viz. hot and dry."
Although Lilly judged 11 charts where the lord of the hour did not
comply with this consideration, in this study they are referred to as non-radical.
He also judged 14 horoscopes where the consideration applied and which are listed below as
radical. There were 10 horoscopes where he omitted the lord of the hour and
proceeded to judge them nevertheless. The horoscopes can be identified by their page
numbers in Christian Astrology on the far left hand side of the following tables.
Non-Radical
| Page |
Lord of the
hour |
Nature |
Ascendant |
Asc. ruler |
Nature |
| 177 |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
Libra |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
| 219 |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
Libra |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
| 238 |
Jupiter |
Hot/moist |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 286 |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
Scorpio |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
| 385 |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
Leo |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
| 392 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Capricorn |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
| 395 |
Jupiter |
Hot/moist |
Scorpio |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
| 417 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 419 |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
Taurus |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
| 468 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Gemini |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 472 |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
Aquarius |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
Radical
| Page |
Lord of the
hour |
Nature |
Ascendant |
Asc. ruler |
Nature |
| 135 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Leo |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
| 162 |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
Cancer |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
| 165 |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
Cancer |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
| 200 |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
Libra |
Venus |
Cold/moist |
| 240 |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 289 |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 389 |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 389 |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 401 |
Sun |
Hot/dry |
Scorpio |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
| 421 |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
Capricorn |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
| 436 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Aries |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
| 439 |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 442 |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
Virgo |
Mercury |
Cold/dry |
| 452 |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
Capricorn |
Saturn |
Cold/dry |
| 467 |
Mars |
Hot/dry |
Cancer |
Moon |
Cold/moist |
Where the lord of the hour is omitted:
Pages 152, 196, 290, 397, 399, 415, 437, 455, 470, 471.
Consideration 2
"When either 00 degrees, or the first or second degrees of a sign
ascend especially in signs of short ascensions, viz. Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries,
Taurus, Gemini, you may not venture judgement, unless the querent be very young, and his
corporature, complexion and moles or scars of his body agree with the quality of the sign
ascending".
The only horary with an early degree is found on page 417. The
ascendant is a 2.29 Virgo.
Consideration 3
"If 27, 28 or 29 degrees ascend of any sign, it's no ways safe to
give judgement, except the querent be in years corresponding to the number of degrees
ascending; or unless the figure be set upon a time certain, viz. a man went away or fled
at such a time precise; here you may judge, because it's no propounded question".
There are no examples of an ascendant with a late degree in any of the
horoscopes in Christian Astrology.
Consideration 4
"It's not safe to judge when the Moon is in the later degrees of a
sign, especially in Gemini, Scorpio or Capricorn".
There are no examples of the Moon in the later degrees of any of these
signs.
Consideration 5
"It's not safe to judge when the Moon is in the Via Combusta, which
is, when she is in the last 15 degrees of Libra, or the first 15 degrees of Scorpio".
(Since the Sun and Moon are effected by the Via Combusta, these degrees could be the
moiety of their orbs)
There are two examples of the Moon in this area of the horoscope,
especially in its weakest position in Scorpio, where it's in fall, and in the rulership,
triplicity and face of the lesser malefic Mars.
p. 415. The Moon is at 8.20 Scorpio.
p. 468. The Moon is at 6.20 Scorpio.
Consideration 6
"All manner of matters go hardly on (except the principal
significators be very strong) when the Moon is void of course; yet somewhat she performs
if void of course, and be either in Taurus, Cancer, Sagittarius or Pisces".
p. 152. The Moon is at 26.43 Pisces.
p. 238. The Moon is at 29.53 Virgo.
p. 385. The Moon is at 28.09 Sagittarius.
p. 401. The Moon is at 27.33 Leo
p. 471. The Moon is at 29.10 Aquarius.
NOTE: When I first wrote this article in 1992 it was my belief
that the Moon appearing at the end of a sign and not applying by aspect to another planet
before changing sign was void of course. I do not accept this theory today.
Consideration 7
"You must also be wary, when in any question propounded you find
the cusp of the seventh house afflicted, or the lord of that house retrograde or
impedited, and the matter at that time not concerning the seventh house, but belonging to
any other house, it's an argument the judgement of the astrologer will give small content,
or any thing please the querent; for the seventh house generally has signification of the
artist".
p. 196. The seventh ruler, the Moon is at 15.29
Scorpio in fall and applying to combustion.
p. 200. The seventh cusp is at 4.37 Aries. Mars
is in fall square Saturn conjunct the 7th cusp.
p. 415. The 7th cusp is at 12.14 Aries. Saturn
is conjunct the cusp of the 7th at 17.33 Aries, although this horary is a 7th house
matter.
Consideration 8
"If Saturn be in the ascendant, especially retrograde, the matter
of that question seldom or never comes to good".
p. 437. Saturn is retrograde in the first house at
20.57 Aries and in fall.
Consideration 9
"Saturn in the seventh either corrupts the judgement of the
astrologer, or is a sign the matter propounded will come from one misfortune to
another".
p. 200. Saturn is conjunct the 7th within 2.30
degrees.
p. 395. The 7th cusp is 8 Taurus with Saturn in the
7th at 24.22 Taurus.
p. 415. The cusp of the 7th is 12.14 Aries with Saturn
at 17.33 Aries.
Consideration 10
"If the lord of the ascendant be combust, neither the question
propounded will take, or the querent be regulated".
p. 219. The ascendant is Libra with Venus in the 7th
house at 14.25 Aries, the Sun is at 20.56 Aries.
p. 238. The ascendant ruler is Mercury in the 10th at
24.45 Gemini while the Sun is at 00.31 Cancer.
Consideration 11
"The Lord of the 7th unfortunate, or in his fall, or terms of the
infortunes, the artist shall scarce give a solid judgement".
There are 22 horoscopes where the lord of the 7th is in a weak position,
17 of these show the ruler to be peregrine, 3 in fall and 2 in detriment.
p.135. Saturn is at 10.09 Sagittarius retrograde and
peregrine.
p. 152. Mars is at 11.00 Sagittarius and peregrine.
p. 162. Saturn is in fall at 14.40 Aries.
p. 165. Saturn is at 15.05 Taurus and peregrine.
p. 177. Mars is at 16.12 Libra in detriment and
peregrine.
p. 196. The Moon is at 15.29 Scorpio and in fall and
peregrine.
p. 200. Mars is at 1.50 Cancer in fall.
p. 219. mars is at 11.06 Virgo and peregrine.
p. 238. Jupiter is at 5.00 Leo and peregrine.
p. 240. Jupiter is at 2.57 Gemini in detriment.
p. 289. Jupiter is at 25.12 Gemini in detriment and
peregrine.
p. 385. Saturn is at 14.53 Taurus and is peregrine.
p. 390. Jupiter at 25.24 Taurus is peregrine.
p. 392. The Moon is at 4.10 Leo and is peregrine.
p. 399. Saturn is at 11.59 Aries and in its fall.
p. 415. Mars is at 20.53 Gemini and is peregrine.
p. 417. Jupiter is at 4.40 Gemini in detriment.
p. 421. The Moon is at 10.20 Leo and is peregrine.
p. 442. Jupiter is at 5.41 Leo and is peregrine.
p. 467. Saturn is at 11.25 Taurus and is peregrine.
p. 468. Jupiter is at 28 Leo retrograde and is
peregrine.
p. 473. The Sun is at 3 Gemini and is peregrine.
Consideration 12
"When the testimonies of fortunes and infortunes are equal, defer
judgement, it's not possible to know which way the balance will turn; however, defer your
opinion till another question better inform you".
This is a sound piece of advice which leaves the decision up to each
astrologer as to whether to judge the chart or not. Since Lilly judged all the
horoscopes in Christian Astrology we have no evidence as to how he would have dealt with
this consideration.
NOTE. In fact we do have the evidence of the previous 11
considerations. Also it seems very suspicious that he recommended waiting for a
second more clearly defined question to arise.
In the following table, the numbers on the far right hand side show the
number of times that each consideration before judgement is to be found in his collection
of horoscopes.
See below:
| 1 |
No lord of the hour |
10 |
| |
Lord of the hour disagrees |
11 |
| 2 |
Early degree |
1 |
| 3 |
Late degree |
0 |
| 4 |
Moon in later degrees of Gemini, Scorpio
or Capricorn |
0 |
| 5 |
Moon in the Via Combusta |
2 |
| 6 |
Moon void of course * |
5 |
| |
except Taurus |
0 |
| |
" Cancer |
0 |
| |
" Sagittarius |
1 |
| |
" Pisces |
1 |
| 7 |
Cusp of the 7th afflicted |
5 |
| 8 |
Saturn retrograde in the ascendant |
1 |
| 9 |
Saturn in the 7th |
2 |
| 10 |
Ruler of the ascendant combust |
2 |
| 11 |
Ruler of 7th unfortunate, in fall or
terms of infortunes |
22 |
* At the time of first writing this article, the generally
accepted version of a void of course Moon was that being at the end of a sign it could not
aspect another planet or the ascendant before changing signs. This of course was not
really what Lilly intended. See void of course Moon in the tutorial.
The only truly radical charts according to the modern interpretation of
Lilly's considerations are: pp. 389, 436, 439 and 452.
Strictly speaking, by today's standards, these are the only horoscopes
that are fit to be judged.
It should be noted that only three considerations were not demonstrated,
namely numbers 3, 4 and 12. Therefore we can't tell from Christian Astrology how
Lilly would have dealt with them. Yet judging from his methods, it is reasonable to
say that he would not have allowed them to prevent judgement.
The lord of the hour was the only consideration that Lilly regarded as a
rule which clearly stated whether the horoscope was radical and fit to be judged.
None of the remaining considerations were referred to as being radical or non-radical.
there is enough evidence to show that the lord of the hour does not prevent the radicality
of a horary. Lilly did not allow it, when in disagreement with the ascendant and
its ruler, to prevent him from judging charts, therefore there is no good reason for
retaining it.
The only horoscopes free from any considerations are on pages 389, 436,
439 and 452. Only 4 out of 35 judgements! If Lilly had been as rigid with the
considerations as some of today's astrologers, he could never have written Christian
Astrology.
Conclusion
The lesson of this reference guide is that Lilly did not allow any of
the consideration before judgement to prevent him from judging horaries. He
obviously did not see them as total barriers to resolving questions as many modern
astrologers do. They were not commandments handed down on tablets of stone, but were
to be thought about and brought into the interpretation of the chart as an aid to
answering the question. When any of the considerations before judgement appear in a
horoscope, the astrologer is advised to take them in to the judgement. It now seems
that every horary can be judged. The astrologer is helped and guided by the
considerations before judgement and not hindered by them or prevented from judging the
chart, in fact they can be a blessing in disguise.
It is now time for a change in thinking in the practise and teaching of
horary astrology. Students of horary have been mislead for far too long having been
taught that the rules cannot be broken. In fact, there are no rules or strictures
preventing judgement of a horary chart but rather a number of considerations which guide
and assist the astrologer in answering the question.
First published in The Astrologers' Quarterly. Vol
63. no. 1 Winter (December) 1992.
©
Maurice McCann 1992
Postscript
Writing now on the 25th February 1998, I would firmly state that the
considerations before judgement in my experience cannot prevent the judgement of
horaries. In my practise I ignore them completely and have never found that they
have caused me to make mistakes or been the cause of giving wrong answers. If they
do have any influence, which I doubt, it may be in descriptions of people or
articles.
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