Timing Techniques

Transits, progressions, solar returns, midpoints, declinations and directions, are

the timing techniques in most common use for assessing an event, whether past,
present or future.

The five steps: lunations, ingresses, eclipses, outer planetary aspects and great
conjunctions, focus on the short term (lunations) or long term backgrounds
(great conjunctions) of the timing techniques. Each will be the focus at a
particular time.

Underlying the entire set of building blocks, is the national chart, or charts. The
national chart represents the "face and fate" of the nation. While every nation is
affected by all of the elements represented by the astrological building blocks,
each responds differently, to a greater or lesser degree, depending on its
national pattern. Either we must be willing to spend time and trouble
delineating a national chart, (or charts), or we will be continually reacting to
events rather than forecasting them.

Transits
Astrologers use a wide variety of timing techniques. The fastest are transits -
the day-to-day movements of the planets and the aspects they form to one
another. Transits are very general in their effects, since they affect everyone,
every day, to some extent.

For instance a square between Mercury and Uranus has the high possibility of
indicating a plane crash - somewhere in the world. It can also indicate a large
thunderstorm or damage from winds. It may mean a power outage affecting a
major city, or parts of one. Transits and their aspects only acquire meaning
when they are placed in the context of a national chart or national event, tied to
a specific locale.

The effect of the transiting aspects depends on the relative speed of the planets
involved. Thus, fast-moving inner planets such as the moon are continually
creating new aspects while the slow outer planets remain within a fairly small
area of a chart for a much longer period of time.
In mundane astrology, transit watching is one of the most interesting techniques
in assessing the potential in the aspects formed daily by the planets. Transit
watching is a valuable learning tool, too. As the news breaks each day, we can
match the type of event to the transits and discover the how planetary positions
tell their own story.
Progressions
The second most common tool used in timing techniques is called secondary
progressions, based generally on the "day for a year" method and its variations.
So day 1 after inception in a national chart, or event corresponds to year 1 in
that chart, day 2 to year 2 and so on. Generally, the progressed chart indicates
when the "change of focus" occurs in the national chart.

For instance, a country with Aries rising may be viewed by the world as
progressive, aggressive and pioneering, but once its ascendant progressed into
Taurus, it may become more stable and staid in its dealings. It's still an Aries-
rising country, but in its Taurus phase, which lasts approximately 30 years (one
sun sign) it may become quieter, more prosperous and peace loving. Both
progressed planets and birth planets need to be compared to judge how this
phase will likely manifest.

Some astrologers favor tertiary progressions. Not as common as secondary

progressions, this method is based on the "day for a month" idea. Thus, each
day after the birth of the country or event represents one lunar month. This may
yet prove to be an interesting timing tool in mundane astrology.

Converse secondary progressions are in even less common use. Here each day
before the nation's birth is equivalent to a year of life. In a national chart it is
difficult to assess how useful converse progressions may be, though it is always
possible that some resourceful astrologer will show its worth in the future.
Some astrologers also favor the use of tertiary progressions. Not as common as
secondary progressions, this method is based on the "day for a month" method.
Using this method, each day after the birth of the country or event represents
one lunar month. This may yet prove to be an interesting timing tool in
mundane astrology.

Solar Returns
Highly favored by astrologers doing natal work in assessing the year ahead, this
remains one of the most under-used timing techniques in mundane astrology.
The solar return, also known as the annual solar revolution, is the chart cast for
the exact moment when the sun returns to its birth position. The solar return
can be cast for any given year after the "birth" of the nation or event. In
mundane astrology the sun holds a particularly important position and
represents the "ruler" of the country - and by implication, the government in
power. Hence the importance of the solar return chart in assessing where the
focus will lie for that year.
Midpoints
Many astrologers use Midpoints as a timing technique. The midpoint between
two planets, usually otherwise unaspected by any others, constitutes a marker
of sorts and events are often triggered when a transiting planet reaches the
midpoint between the two. Deciding which midpoints to use and when they are
significant is often highly debated by astrologers. Midpoints can be used in
regular charts as well as dials. The use of midpoints was revived and brought
back into major use when Alfred Witte founded Uranian Astrology and later
developed further by Reinhold Ebertin, who founded the school of
Cosmobiology.

Declinations
The territorial equator of the earth is projected out into space - i.e. the celestial
equator in order to determine which planets lie north an south of this equator,
that is their declination.

Declinations add another dimension of aspecting when two or more planets are
found in the same degrees north (or south) - namely a parallel; or one planet is
north and the other south in the same degrees - namely a contraparallel. When a
natal chart carries an aspect in longitude and the same in declination the effects
are very powerful. When declination aspects are found exclusively of the
longitude placements, they are to be considered as influential as a longitude
aspect for they carry an intensification of the planets found in the chart.
For instance, the Sun reaches its maximum declination (23.6N or S) at the
Solstices, when it reaches the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. The Moon
crossing the equator by declination seems to influence geomagnetic forces on
earth, since many earthquakes occur at this time.

Although this technique enjoyed much attention decades ago, it fell largely into
disuse. Currently it is undergoing a slow and steady revival as a viable
technique it is an area of astrology that deserves more attention than it presently
gets.

Solar Arc directions

Among the many variations on the use of directions, the solar arc remains the
most common. Like secondary progressions, it is a very useful timing tool. This
is another way of using the degree-for-a-year system, measuring degrees of
celestial longitude along the ecliptic. In this method, all of the planets in the
nation's "birth chart" are advanced at the same rate as the sun's motion. Each
planet or angle is then compared to the national chart to see what new
relationship is formed.

Primary Directions (by Alessandro Barone)

Primary Directions is an ancient system of predicting the time of events, based
on the apparent diurnal motion of the planets across the sky, not on their
apparent motion on the ecliptic, as is the case with transits and secondary
directions.

We say "apparent" because neither of these motions corresponds to the real

motions of celestial bodies: both are looked at from the earth (geocentrically),
and both are projected on a reference circumference: the equator or the ecliptic.
The distinctive character of this technique is the use of the diurnal motion of
the sky, which is based on the equator and the parallels of declination, since all
celestial bodies move on them when they rise, culminate and set, instead of the
ecliptic.

This "sky" (the sky of fixed stars, or "Primum Mobile", as it was called) moves
at an exact rate of 15 degrees per hour of Sidereal Time, i.e. 1 degree in 4
minutes, returning to its starting point exactly after 24 hours of S.T. (360/24 =
15).

Celestial bodies rise in the East, culminate in the South and set in the West
(apart from circumpolar stars, which neither rise nor set, and culminate in the
North). They repeat this pattern everyday, which is why it is called "diurnal"
motion. Fixed stars repeat this course identically: after a sidereal day, (which
lasts about 23h56m4.1s, that is about a day minus 4 minutes). They repeat their
course, forever and ever the same - with marginal variations over millennia.
The Sun, the Moon and the planets ("planet" meaning "wandering" in Greek)
rise, culminate and set at different sidereal times instead. For instance, at the
end of May, beginning of June, the Sun culminated with Aldebaran, the red star
in Taurus, at about 4h32m of S.T; by early next December it will culminate
with Antares, the formidable red giant in Scorpio, at about 16h29m of Sidereal
Time.

The measure employed in the method is the elapsed time during which one
complete degree of Right Ascension passes across the meridian, namely 4
minutes of Sidereal Time.
The ratio of degrees to years is called the "key" to primaries. One degree for a
year is the key given by Ptolemy, who first described the method, but many
other keys were suggested afterwards, some of them with good reason.
It follows that all Primary Arcs between the sensitive points in a Nativity,
which can have practical importance during a lifetime, are formed during some
6 hours after birth - since 6 hours, with Ptolemy's key, correspond to 90 years
of age. Primary Arcs are produced solely by the rotation of the Earth on its
axis; the planets retaining their radical places and thus carried round the
heavens to form aspects to the places of the significators.

The number of degrees and minutes of right Ascension passing over the
meridian between the moment of birth and that moment when the aspect is
complete, constitutes the Arc of Direction, each degree equivalent to one year
of life, according to Ptolemy's key."

Primaries are founded on a very basic symbolism. Rising, culminating and

setting correspond intuitively to the phases of human life. When the Hyleg
culminates, the native will achieve the maximum he is allowed in life. When it
sets, or meets the malefics in some detrimental manner, he will die. The
premise is as simple and basic as that.

(Hyleg: the luminary or planet that generally signifies the native, or, in its
absence, the most important point on the ecliptic in his chart.)

Symbolic directions
Symbolic Directions are a somewhat simplified version of primaries. They are
simply computed as the difference in ecliptical longitude between the two
points of the ecliptic, and turned into years with the usual key: one degree =
one year.

The Timing of events, according to Vettius Valens.

This system, completely and unjustly forgotten today, joins the equatorial and
the ecliptical systems together. It offers an easy alternative to Ptolemaic
directions for astrologers who do not have much inclination for mathematics,
but are basically intuitive.

Firstly, its tribute to the equatorial system is the consideration of the "rising
time" of signs. As with primaries, the rising time is the number of degrees of
right ascension that pass over the meridian in order for a sign to rise, or cross
the ascendant.

Secondly, its tribute to the ecliptical system is the consideration of planetary

cycles. Each planet has three cycles, the greater, the lesser and an intermediate
one, which correspond to the number of years the planet takes to return to the
same aspect with the Sun, in the same degree of the Zodiac.
To judge the nature of the events, the ordinary rules of astrology apply: the
houses and their connection through aspects and rulership.

The Basic Building Blocks

Lunations
After the daily transits, the casting of lunation charts is the next most common
tool in assessing events, from local weather forecasting to international news. A
lunation, also known as a synodic month, is the period from one new Moon to
the next, measured from the exact moment of the Moon's conjunction with the
Sun, according to the time shown in any good ephemeris. Its influence is
generally regarded as being active for the entire period of the synodic month
(29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2 seconds.) Older astrological texts were of
the opinion that the events promised by the new Moon would actualize around
the time of the Full Moon, some 14 days later.

Lunation charts can be broken down further into lunar phases, corresponding to
the moments of the four phases of the Moon - New Moon, First quarter, Full
Moon and Last quarter Moon. These charts set up the "week ahead" and are
helpful in analyzing an existing situation to see "what will happen next", in the
course of the approximately 7 days that each phase lasts.

Cardinal Ingresses
The cardinal ingress chart is cast for the moment when the Sun enters one of
the four cardinal signs and coincides with the solstices and equinoxes. The
solstice point is when the sun (sol) appears to be standing still (sistere in Latin)
as it reaches its furthest declination point north or south before appearing to
"turn back. At the summer solstice, the longest day is in June in the northern
hemisphere, when the sun enters 00 Cancer. The winter solstice, the longest
night, is in December, when the sun enters 00 Capricorn.

The equinoxes (meaning equal night), occur when the Sun enters 00 Aries and
00 Libra, the time of year when the days and nights are of equal duration. Seen
from earth, the Sun appears to be at the precise meeting point between the
ecliptic and the celestial equator, or 00 North or South declination.

The four cardinal ingresses also mark the four seasons of the year. From an
astrological point of view they divide the year into four primary charts, set for
the moment of the ingress, but for any locale of interest. The Aries ingress is
particularly important in western astrology, as this is the point where the
western zodiac begins. Some astrologers like to get the "year ahead" view from
the Capricorn ingress chart, while others prefer the Aries ingress.

The lunations successively activate various points of the cardinal ingress charts,
which is why the lunations are usually viewed against the backdrop of the
larger ingress charts.

Solar and Lunar Ingresses

Many astrologers also use these ingresses (the moment the Sun or Moon enter
zero degrees of a sign) as monthly indicators of events. They are considered
less important than the cardinal ingresses, probably because their influence is of
shorter duration and the fact that the lunation charts are better indicators of
"what the Moon will highlight". Nevertheless there are times they may have
more impact than usual.

For instance, the Virgo ingress of 2000 heralded the start of renewed hostilities
in the Middle East. The chart, set for August 22 2000, (the Virgo Ingress) at Tel
Aviv, coinciding with the day of the last quarter moon, holds the upcoming
Jupiter-Pluto opposition in the 1st and 7th houses. Violence began to escalate
soon after the first Jupiter-Pluto opposition became exact on September 4 2000,
at 10 Gemini/Sagittarius, with Jupiter conjunct Israel's Mercury. Even now, in
2002, the major media trace the start of the violence in the Middle East back to
that time frame.

Eclipses
Eclipses, which can be partial or total, occur about 5 or 6 times a year. A lunar
eclipse is when the Moon's light is cut off from the Sun by the earth. Lunar
eclipses only occur at full moon, during the Sun-Moon opposition, when the
Moon's nodes are close to the Sun and Moon. A Solar eclipses occurs when the
Sun's light is cut off from our view by the Moon. They only occur at the new
Moon, when the Sun and Moon conjunct near the Moon's nodes.

The influence of eclipses is another highly debated topic in astrological circles.

An eclipse chart, (like an ingress), sets up a pattern in the sky, which may or
may not manifest immediately, although generally lunar eclipses tend to
manifest their influence more quickly than solar eclipses.

Eclipses are sometimes considered to set up particular sensitive points in a

chart, which lie dormant until affected by a transiting planet. Older texts tend to
go with the idea that an activating planet, principally Mars, needs to activate
the eclipse, either by conjunction, opposition or square. The same school of
thought holds with the idea that the effects of an eclipse are only wiped out
once Saturn transits the eclipse degree. At this point there isn't enough research
on this concept to reach a conclusion on its validity, but it deserves closer
scrutiny.

Older texts also considered the actual path where the eclipse was visible to be
the main area affected by the eclipse, as well as those countries where the
ascendant was hit directly by the eclipse degree. This idea has been largely
tossed aside, but it too merits more attention. For instance, the dreaded August
11 1999 solar eclipse extended from the north eastern seaboard of the USA,
(near New York and Washington) to India and Pakistan - two areas which have
been in high focus since then; the former since the 9/11 attacks on the World
Trade Center and the latter since the escalation of conflicts over Kashmir. More
recently, the eclipse of June 2002, visible in the Western US coincided with
some of the largest wild fires ever in the western US.

Eclipses belong to a larger cycle too, since they repeat themselves about every
18 years. At this point the Sun and Moon return to almost the same positions
again, except that the area of visibility is not the same in the next set of
eclipses.

Along with the cardinal ingresses, the eclipses set up further patterns for the
year, with the lunation affecting both the ingresses and eclipses at various
points in time.

Outer Planetary Aspects

The outer planets - Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto - are those
planets that lie at a larger distance from the Sun and whose motion appears to
us to be much slower than the inner, or faster moving planets. Each year the
outer planets slowly move into various, fairly long-term aspects and remain
more or less in that aspect for long periods of time. The delineation of all the
possible manifestations of these long-term aspects is important to
understanding the ongoing "focus" for that time frame in mundane astrology.
For instance, the Jupiter-Pluto opposition in Gemini/Sagittarius, which first
clicked into place in September 2000, carried with it the suggestion of these
two concepts opposing each other, in various (interchangeable) combinations:

Opposed
Jupiter Gemini Pluto Sagittarius
by
The Masses/The
Religion People Foreigners
Enemy
Big Communications/Telephones Income Long Distance
The Clergy Young People Secrets/Sex The Church
Large Information National Debt Affairs Abroad
Immigrants
Hidden financial Foreigners/Religious
and Movement/s
connections differences
immigration
Religious
Like-minded people Terrorism/Death Places far away
movements
The CFO or
Multinational Communications and energy Large scale dealings
company
companies partnerships and trade
treasurer
These are just a few examples of the polarization of ideas and goals that
becomes activated by an opposition between two outer planets. As the Jupiter-
Pluto opposition moved away, Saturn moved in on Pluto, in turn, to create the
next set of Saturn-Pluto oppositions. At this time the conditions set up by the
expanding and widening polarity in Jupiter opposing Pluto became the "new
reality", beginning August 5 2001.

The outer planetary conjunctions are like beacons in the sky, indicating a
specific set of astrological principles that will be constantly at issue and in the
news headlines, either favorable or unfavorable, according to the aspects
involved.

The Great Conjunctions

Strictly speaking, the Great Conjunctions belong to the outer planetary aspects,
but the Great Conjunctions between two outer planets occur over such long
intervals of time that they are accorded special reference and importance in
mundane astrology. These are charts set up for the precise moments when two
outer planets reach their exact (partile) conjunction. This is another area of
mundane astrology that needs more attention from mundane astrologers.
Charles Harvey said of the Great Conjunctions of the outer planets that they
"mark out the key seed-moments of history." (Mundane Astrology, by M.
Baigent, N. Campion and C. Harvey). As in nature, the seed carries with it all
the potential to become a giant tree - or a noxious weed. Harvey goes on to say,
"Because the conjunction represents both the final fulfillment of the preceding
cycle and at the same time the birth of the new cycle, it is usually accompanied
by some measure of instability and the initiation of new direction and
activities."

One of the most important of the Great Conjunctions is the Jupiter-Saturn

cycle, which occurs approximately every 20 years. The most recent of these
occurred on 28 May 2000, in the earth sign Taurus and holds sway till
December 21 2020! The last time the two chronocrators (markers of time)
appeared in a Great Conjunction in Taurus was during World War II.
In order to properly assess the long term - 20 year impact of these two planets,
it is necessary to see them as the main backdrop against which all the other
aspects, both short and long term will play out for the next two decades. Once
again, we need to look at all the key words associated with the three: Jupiter,
Saturn and Taurus:

Jupiter Saturn Taurus

Politics Conservative Values
Money and
Multinationals Reality Check
Spending
Long distance Older and
communication Established Wealth
and transport Business
Bigger Stability/instability Banks
National Financial
Foreigners
Security/limitations Implications
Large Weakened Economy
Fixed Ideas and
Sweeping Law and
Slow, Steady
Changes Order/restructuring
Implementation
Travel Restriction/security Costs
International
Governments Financial Aid
Alliances
Laws/Strict
Religions Conservative/Fixed
Adherence
Large Scale Retirement/Losses Money
Again, these are just a few of the possible implications of the latest Jupiter-
Saturn Conjunction and some of the major topics that will constitute recurring
themes for the next two decades in the world.

The National Chart or Charts

The national charts should form the foundation for all the processes and
techniques described above. The national chart and its locality on the planet
pinpoint just how and when important changes and events can be expected to
occur.

A natal astrologer's first task with a new client is usually to draw up the natal
chart and read it as a whole, to better understand what makes that client tick.
Having done that, the astrologer moves on to the transits and progressions to
learn about the current focus and where the concerns are.
All too often, this important step is either skipped or ignored in mundane
astrology, in the quest to "look at the transits", to understand what is happening
"now" about some event. Merely obtaining the Independence chart, or
whichever chart is currently regarded as the key chart, is all that seems to
count.

But just as a consulting astrologer would seldom immediately launch into the
"what's happening" phase of the reading for an individual client, we should be
prepared to spend time and energy on delineating the basic national chart, for
each and every country we wish to explore astrologically.

One of the key conceptual mistakes in mundane astrology is the idea that a
country, like a person, can only have one birth "moment". This is a
fundamental error. A country is not a person. It doesn't suddenly enter the
world, as a new baby does. It was always there, a piece of land, either inhabited
or uninhabited at various times in its history.

Nor does a country die, as a person must inevitably do. It may change its name,
or its form of government, or it may expand and contract its borders. Unless it
disappears off the face of the earth, in its entirety, it "lives on" through the ages.
It's true that for most places on earth, the record and dates of the earliest phase
of a country's beginnings have usually been lost in the mists of time. This
brings us to the next most obvious question: which chart should we use?
The short answer to that question must surely be: all of them. The (slightly
longer) answer is: it depends on a variety of factors. This is an even less
satisfactory answer and is perhaps one of the main reasons that astrologers are
inclined to give up on mundane astrology. Most countries, particularly the more
ancient ones, have many different charts, representing many different eras of
their development. An ancient chart may still be widely used in a country
because it is still valid, despite its history, or perhaps, because of its history.
Astrologers who live in those countries and use those charts are usually the best
source in that regard.

Some countries, such as India have an Empire chart, an Independence chart and
a Republic chart to consider, reflecting the various phases of its growth and
perhaps even a few more.

Each chart has its own significance. We need to judge whether a major event
signals a "brand new country", as independence often does, or whether the new
form of government merely represents a new phase in the country's
development. If it is merely a "new phase" it should be clearly shown in the old
chart by secondary progressions or one of the major timing techniques.
But here's an interesting point. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries a
great many countries were "reorganized", as they were granted independence
from one of the countries that had previously ruled them. The Dutch, the
Germans, the British, the French and the Portuguese for instance, all granted
independence to their colonies and territories sometime in the 20th century. The
world essentially became a different place. With the creation of these
independent states came modernization and new forms of government. Many
others reverted back to their old ways; those they had lived with long before
their imperialist rulers had arrived.

But whether they went forward or backward in our view, the fact remains that
the large majority of these countries were given their independence in the last
century. Some gained more land and some countries lost some of their land
under various agreements and conflicts. With the possible exceptions of
Palestine and Kashmir, the new borders were set and internationally recognized
as such by the end of the 20th century.

These are dates we do have and dates we can use to draw up national charts, for
those countries, which have no records of their earliest days.

As astrologers we deal in symbolism. Mars is symbolic of war, amongst other

things. The symbol has a meaning. It represents the event, or potential event. In
assessing national charts and deciding which chart or charts to use, it is
important to take a long hard look at the symbolism implied by the event. An
important announcement or event may take place, but without considering what
it actually symbolizes in the chart, the true importance of the event may be
missed.

For instance the official proclamation of the Palestine Liberation Organization

(PLO) was November 15 1988. But at that stage there was no state yet created.
It took another five years, until September 10 1993 before Israel's Prime
Minister Itzhak Rabin signed the document recognizing the PLO. So it seems
much more appropriate that the best PLO chart to use would be the 1993 chart.
We have to resign ourselves to the fact that countries are multi-faceted in the
sense that they resonate to a variety of official charts, some more potent than
others. It is up to us, as a group of mundane astrologers to painstakingly
discover which charts are most "active" for each country. We can do this by
using all of the various timing techniques available to us, to decide which
charts are dormant and which are active. It requires a large group endeavor and
a worldwide sharing of information.

In the end, we can cast charts till we are blue in the face, but mundane
astrology, with all its wonderful timing techniques will not easily reclaim its
historical importance unless and until the national charts are properly
delineated and used as the real foundation for all the events which unfold in
each country of the world.

ote:
The Book of World Horoscopes, by Nicholas Campion, contains the available
data, dates and history surrounding the creation or inception of most of the
countries on planet earth and is the most comprehensive book written on this
area of mundane astrology to date.