7 Steps to Astrological Prediction: Part 1

The following 7 step process is the method I have adopted for dealing with Horary questions. I have had some pretty good results as well. Mind you, the majority of my work is based on William Lilly and Zadkiel (minus the more modern planets such as Uranus). And as I am still learning, I’m sure Frawley fans will be quite willing to point me in the right direction where I may have erred. In subsequent posts, I will expand on each of the seven steps to try and assist other students if they are looking to begin the exciting study of the Hermetic arts.

Step 1 Ask the question

Step 2 Cast the chart

Step 3 Determine if chart is radical or fit to be judged

Step 4 Delineate the condition of each planet and luminary

Step 5 Determine primary significators

Step 6 Observe relations of significators

Step 7 If an outcome is determined, then predict the time it is determined for

Step 1 can not be overstated. It’s simple yet absolutely necessary in the process. It’s like plugging in a GPS machine and saying “Give me directions”. Well, it can give you directions but the odds are pretty good that it’s not going to give you directions specific to a) your location and b) the location you want to get to. Asking an astrologer or, as the astrologer, understanding the question is essential to a proper reading. It’s also not an instantaneous reading. As you can see from the above, there are several steps involved, and the above is an extremely over simplified method. There are loads of details that the astrologer must consider before s/he can even begin to look at the chart – one of those details is the question itself.

A proper question should be asked, and not simply to “fool” the astrologer to prove that astrology is a fake. Zadkiel and Lilly both record incidences where the chart will actually reveal that this is in fact the case and when the client is pressed, he confesses the truth. If the client waits until a pressing question actually prompts them to ask it of the astrologer then the astrologer should be able to answer it for the following reason. It is assumed that the planets have inspired the question. For a practical application of this concept, please see the post on Prediction.

When the planets have properly aligned, the matters of the earth will also align inspiring those affected at that moment to be troubled by a particular question. This exact moment can be termed the event horizon. I encourage you to read up on light cones to fully grasp this concept. If the planets have prompted the question, then the chart should be radical and the skilled astrologer should be able to give a proper reading and predict when the resolution will culminate. As I have said in another post, there are multiple details to consider, circumstances that must be accounted for so patience is necessary by both the Astrologer and the client.

Once the astrologer has fully delineated the chart he can make his prediction. In general, it is safe for an Astrologer to predict an estimated time. I have only been lucky enough to predict the time within an hour of the event on about 50% of the charts I have read. This is not enough to declare a rule, so I will refrain from providing the math when we get to the post on prediction. Other astrologers have warned me against trying to predict too exactly, so I offer the same warning to other aspiring astrologers.

As a final disclaimer, keep in mind that there are quite a few quality courses out there that teach astrology with one on one tutoring by many people much more versed than I am and I don’t want to do the art a disservice by leading the novice astray. Christopher Warnock is the first instructor that comes to mind if anyone is currently looking for a course. I will however encourage the reader, should they be so inclined, to seek out the Christian Astrology books and attempt to learn on your own as well as seek out an instructor if finances so permit. The language of the Christian Astrology books is Medieval English so sentence structure, and often print quality, makes learning it a practice in cipher decoding.

You can also find other suggested books below.

Prediction

Please read this brief introduction if you are new to this blog before reading the following post.

Predictions are made every day, but as Robert Zoller points out in his Diploma Course, prediction is impossible without proper delineation.  So what does this mean and what predictions are we talking about?

The meteorologist studies atmospheric conditions and based on previous events, anticipated occurrences and details too laboring for the layman to research, s/he makes a mathematical prediction of when it will rain, snow or even when a hurricane will make landfall.  We all know that it's not an exact science, and the joke is quite consistent that the "weatherman" is always wrong.  Actually, meteorologists are pretty accurate 80%-90% of the time, but the few times that they're wrong give us the fuel to joke about their inadequacies.

The origins of the meteorologist actually stem from man's constant need to know what's coming.  For this, we have always looked to the stars.  The word meteorology comes from the Greek meteorologia, meaning "treatise on celestial phenomena".  Even in the Book of Genesis, we read that God put lights in the firmament and said "let them be for signs and for seasons", evidence that early man was dependant on celestial activity to predict events.

Traditional Astrology, including Horary, Natal, Mundane and many other branches, is no less a complicated matter or any less effective of a technique than modern meteorology.  Its only perceived folly is that it is antiquated in comparison to our moern understanding of the cosmos.  The Astrologer knows different, but the layman does not.

It is imperative that the novice, apprentice, and sometimes even the experienced astrologer understand and remember that "planetary rulership" does not necessarily mean that the planets empirically affect any person or object.  Instead, rulership is demonstrable evidence of the Hermetic adage "As Above, So Below".  For instance, our solar system is representative of cellular activity and molecular activity within us and all things.  The very simplest example is that of an atom, wherein we observe an electron orbiting the nucleus, just as the planets orbit the sun.  Before we understood the galaxy to be heliocentric, we still understood the planets and stars to orbit the earth - either way its the same concept as an atom.  So we observe the motion of the planets because that same motion is happening here on earth on a smaller scale.

To provide a working example of just how astrology works, imagine two solar systems, containing exactly the same shape and orbiting the planets but occupying two separate spaces and oriented in two different directions.  We'll call them S1 and S2.  S1 is horizontal meaning that the planets orbit the sun of S1 counterclockwise from left to right as we look at it.  S2 is vertical, where the planets orbit the sun counterclockwise up and down as we look at it.  As these two solar systems come within each others spaces, the planets orbiting them, and the gravity which each planet owns, affects those of the other.  When we have two people interacting with each other, we understand that the habits and personality traits affecting each of their decisions will also affect the reaction of the other.  As a hypnotist, I have had multiple opportunities to observe the motivations and habits of individuals as well as relationships and found this to be unequivocally true.

In order to properly predict when an event will occur, the Astrologer must take into account as many details of the circumstance as he can determine.  This process is called delineation.  Once he has accurately delineated all of these interactions, he can then mathematically calculate the time the outcome will culminate.

It should go without saying, but I'll mention it anyways, that the reason we look to the stars to determine these events is because of the scale.  The simple question is then asked, is it easier to observe the motion of the stars than it is to observe the motion of atoms? Obviously.

Suggested Reading:
John Frawley's The Real Astrology

John Frawley's The Real Astrology Applied

William Lilly's Christian Astrology

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