Fixed Stars and Astrology

The reason there isn't more written about fixed stars in astrology is because astrologers never go out and actually look at the night sky. Metaphysically, each and every star is a unique personality. Should one want to know what kind of personality a star may have, he/she needs only spend time out of doors meditating while gazing steadily upon it, though some ancient writers caution that meditation upon some particular stars can cause insanity, so you're warned. The night sky is awesomely beautiful. Few of us get to see it in all its glory.

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	THE FIXED STARS & CONSTELLATIONS IN ASTROLOGY - Vivian Robson, $19.95 Contents: 1. The fixed stars in astronomy; 2. The influence of the constellations; 3. The lunar mansions; 4. The fixed stars in natal astrology; 5. The influence of fixed stars, nebulae & clusters; 6. The fixed stars in mundane astrology; 7. Stars & constellations in medieval magic; 8. The fixed stars in astro-meteorology. Appendix: Mathematical formulae. Index Comment: In Astrology, stars are known as "fixed" to distinguish them from planets, which were once known as wandering stars. This is mute testimony to the great antiquity of astrological star-study. This book is the distillation of practically everything published on fixed stars since the Middle Ages, the gist of some 200 books. Among the many authors cited are Ptolemy, Wilson, Simmonite, Pearce, Bullinger, Alvidas & R.H. Allen. The heart of the book is a comprehensive treatment of fixed stars in natal astrology, their value, their effect when combined with angles & planets. Convenient tables & a comprehensive index make this volume easy to use. This book includes some 110 named stars, as well as 48 ancient constellations & 60 modern ones. Arabic, Hindu & Chinese lunar mansions are discussed, as well as fixed stars in mundane astrology, stars & constellations in medieval magic & fixed stars in astrometeorology. The classic book on fixed stars. Of the few books available on fixed stars, this is by far the best. It's also the one some of the others cribbed from & to which everyone since refers. So get the original. Click for a PDF excerpt. 264 pages. Astrology Classics, paper.

	BRADY'S BOOK OF FIXED STARS - Bernadette Brady, $34.95 Contents: The first Rose Window; Charts; Figures; Paran maps; Star maps; Acknowledgements; 1. In the beginning: Introduction; The background to the astrological decline of fixed stars; Parans: the foundations; Planets & orbs; Deciding what stars to use; The four angles & the fixed stars; The effect of stars on natal planets; Summary: How to work with parans & fixed stars; 2. The constellations (40 traditional constellations, plus 33 new); 3. The zodiac, the ring of life; 4. Star phases; 5. Fixed stars & the natal chart; Appendices: A. Locating, measuring & naming the stars; B. Stars that rise & set for any given latitude; C. Heliacal & Acronychal zodiac maps; D. Mundane heliacal rising maps; E. Ecliptical degrees: Ptolemy's method versus the modern system; F. Birth data; G. Star guide; Bibliography; Index. Comment: Brady organizes her book by constellation, then by the stars in them. For each star, Brady gives its rising & setting parans & for each, a paran map, star phase & heliacal rising & acronychal setting tables. Stars are said to be in paran if they rise or set at the same time. Going beyond Robson, Brady says that when planets rise & set with stars, they are in paran aspect to them. This greatly enlarges the influence of fixed stars in most nativities. She bases her work on a close study of ancient Greek astrologers & has attempted to reconstruct their methods of observation. With each star, Brady briefly cites the opinions of Ptolemy, Robson, Rigor (now out of print, alas) and Ebertin. This is the best book on fixed stars since Robson's & an excellent addition to your library. Weiser, 461 pages, paper.

	STAR & PLANET COMBINATIONS - Bernadette Brady, $37.00 Contents: About the author Acknowledgements 1. Working with the sky & the stars 2. The star tables 3. Star & planet combinations. Stars include: Achernar, Acrux, Acubens, Aculeus, Acumen, Agena, Al Rescha, Alcyone, Aldebaran, Alderamin, Algol, Alhena, Alkes, Alhilam, Alphard, Alphecca, Alpheratz, Altair, Ankaa, Antares, Arcturus, Bellatrix, Betelgeuse, Canopus, Capella, Capulus, Castor, Deneb Adige, Deneb Algedi, Denebola, Diadem, Dubhe, El Nath, Facies, Fomalhaut, Hamal, Markab, Menkar, Mirach, Mirfak, Murzims, Phact, Polaris, Pollux, Procyon, Ras Algethi, Ras Alhague, Regulus, Rigel, Rukbat, Sadalmelek, Sadalsuud, Scheat, Schedar, Sirius, Spica, Sualocin, Thuban, Toliman, Vega, Vindemiatrix, Zosma, Zuben Elgenubi, Zuben Eschamali Sources Comment: This book deals with stars & parans. A paran (short for paranatellonatato) is a relationship among stars, planets, and the local horizon. Stars & planets that seem to rise and/or set together, ie, at the same time, in your neck of the woods, are said to be in paran. Stars rising and/or setting are also in paran with the local midheaven & whatever may be passing through it. Which means parans are what is visibly angular, the IC being ignored. Brady develops this in terms of star-worship. The Egyptians divided the zodiac, aka year, into 28 unequal segments & assigned a rising star to each. Each of which was worshiped as it came over the horizon with the rising sun as the most recently resurrrected god. Stars that set in the west when the sun is rising in the east are said to be setting. These setting stars, visible at night, are said to have left the realm of mortal earth & are transiting through the world of the immortals. Such stars - collectively, all those visible at night - are said to be unavailable for worship or guidance. (As a personal aside, there are more things in life than worship.) As another aside, the 28 segments are presumably related to lunar mansions & the monthly cycle. This Brady does not mention. I am uncertain if she is aware of it or not. There are tables of heliacal rising & setting stars for South: 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 degrees. North: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 degrees. In my case, my rising star had been in the sky for 34 days at the time of my birth, while my setting star had been out for two full weeks. I'd like something a bit more specific to my day of birth, if not the hour. To find the parans of your chart, note your planetary positions - and their reflections on the opposite side of the zodiac, and then go to the table of latitude for your birth. These are given every five degrees, from 50 degrees south, to 65 degrees north. Each one lists all the 64 stars which Brady uses, stars below the horizon excluded. You note any stars that may be in conjunction with your MC, as well as any that are within 2 degrees of any of your planets, including north node. You then go to the text & read the delineations. Brady cautions this is not a very accurate way of going about business, as planetary latitudes (north or south of the equator) further complicate things, but offers no correction for them. In a footnote on pg. 47, we learn of a computer program, Starlight, which is available from Zyntara.com. This program will precisly calculate all the parans in your chart as well as show you what the sky looks like where you live. As of May, 2008, the price is 195.00 Sterling, or approximately $400 US dollars. As an alternative, leave them your details & your email address & they will email a simple list of your parans. Which, at the moment, seems to be free of charge. Wessex, 261 pages.

	FIXED STARS & THEIR INTERPRETATION - Reinhold Ebertin & Georg Hoffmann, $14.00 Contents: Preface; Some of the history of interpretation of fixed stars; Fixed stars & their interpretation (interpretations for 73 fixed stars); Radio waves & structural elements of fixed stars; Bibliography & other remarks; Explanation of the fixed star table; Tables Comment: Describes the influence of 73 major stars. Original research by Ebertin's mother, Elsbeth (a noted astrologer in her day) with Ebertin & a mutual friend finishing the book. Personality traits & health influences of the stars, notes on charts with these stars prominent, their actual effects. 96 pages. AFA, paper.

	FIXED STARS & JUDICIAL ASTROLOGY - George Noonan, $21.00 Covers constellations & stars in the Zodiac, as well as stars & constellations north & south of the Zodiac. Sort of a generalized account, cites Ptolemy & Robson (both available from us), adds little new material but does cover a lot of ground. Positions are given in Right Ascension & Declination, which is helpful for advanced predictive work. Includes a brief chapter on how to find out what stars were rising, setting or culminating for any chart & a much longer & more interesting section on Judicial Astrology, now known as mundane astrology, which is worth the price of the book all by itself. It includes notes on eclipses, weather, geography, history, national horoscopes, solar ingresses, comets, major conjunctions (eg, Jupiter & Saturn) & more. With diagrams. Appendices: The mathematics of astrology; Rulership of a point in a chart; The stars you are born under. 92 pages, not including (unpaginated) appendices. AFA, oversize paper, spiral.

	STAR NAMES: THEIR LORE & MEANING - Richard Hinkley Allen, $16.95 From 1899, a comprehensive listing of hundreds of star names, along with constellations, lunar mansions & more. Based on study of dozens of ancient astrologers, this is a fascinating history of the names various cultures have given the constellations, the literary & folkloristic uses that have been made of the stars through the centuries, and the often incredible associations ancient peoples had with the stars. Included are the origins of the solar & lunar zodiacs (eg, the classic 12 signs, plus the lunar mansions, aka nakshatras), stars & constellations in the Bible & other sacred works, the idea of the Milky Way, how star pictures were originally set up & why, and stars & astrology. Includes constellations dropped from star catalogs long ago, as well as important individual stars, such as those in the Hyades, the Pleiades, the Great Nebula of Andromeda, and the Magellanic Clouds. The only complete coverage of its kind in English, was used as a reference by Robson in his Fixed Stars. 563 pages including General, Arabic and Greek indices, an index to astronomical references, and a "partial list" (several hundred entries) of references cited. Dover Publications, paper.

	THE LIVING STARS - Dr. Eric Morse, $9.95 Contents: Disaster - the great catastrophe; signs and constellations; The physics of stars as creative forces in the universe and in ourselves; How stars are classified; Which stars are important; How all stars can be applied to benefic purpose; Folklores of the stars; Constellations of the zodiac; Beyond the zodiac; An ephemeris of the main stars (about 130). 214 pages including bibliography and index. Amethyst Books, paper.

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