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What Evangeline Adams Knew Review

I was very pleased to read Sara Rose Diamond‘s review of my update of What Evangeline Adams Knew: a Book of Astrological Charts and Techniques:
Christino has done the world of astrology a major service by compiling, and presenting in such a lively way, a lot of valuable information that would otherwise fall by the wayside… vital scholarship for the safeguarding of astrological history.

Brooklyn Author Betty Smith

Betty Smith, the well-known author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, had an early play produced in New York City this season.  I was surprised to learn that she had actually been a playwright for most of her career, and had no real success until her novel was published when she was 47 years old.

A Sagittarius, Smith was born on December 15, 1896 at 6:00 p.m. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, according to her biographer (though no source is given for the time).  She had many trines in her birth chart, but her life often wasn’t easy.  With Cancer rising, her Moon in Taurus in the 11th house is exalted, suggesting popularity and a good income from her career.  A grand trine with Jupiter in Virgo in the 3rd house and Mercury in Capricorn in the 6th house shows her facility for writing.  With Cancer rising and a prominent Moon, her best work drew on her memories.

Betty’s mother was practical and down-to-earth (shown by the Moon in Taurus and 10th ruler Jupiter in Virgo).  But her father, well described by the Sun in Sagittarius opposite Mars and Neptune in the 12th house, was a dreamer who couldn’t support his family and died of alcoholism when his daughter was just 19.  The Moon also squares Venus on the cusp of the 8th house, showing other family issues and their modest circumstances.

Betty was forced to work at around age 15, and she worked diligently for most of her life, often struggling to get by.  She returned to school twice but never completed her high school degree.  And while she later attended college and then completed a master’s program in playwriting at Yale University, she never received those degrees because she lacked the prerequisites.

There are no angular planets in this chart, and aside from the Moon, there’s a lack of essential dignity.  The 7th, 8th and 9th houses are all traditionally ruled by Saturn, but its near-exact conjunction with Uranus, the modern ruler of Aquarius, covers these houses either way.  Placed in Scorpio in Smith’s 5th house, we can see her relentless pursuit of education and creative work, and her focus on her two daughters throughout her life.  But there was often an element of both responsibility and unexpected change in each of these areas.  Saturn may delay things, but with a close trine to the Midheaven, the author always found opportunities and had great success after middle age.

Smith’s sometimes rocky marriages also come under the rulership of Saturn and Uranus.  After splitting with her first husband following his infidelity and some separations, she essentially raised her girls alone.  She became bored with her younger second husband when their relationship stabilized, and her third husband, also younger and reflecting the Neptunian pattern in her chart, was a drinker who secretly cashed large checks and pawned household items before he died of a sudden heart attack when his wife was 63.

Smith worked in North Carolina for the depression-era Federal Theater Project and stayed there the rest of her life.  She wrote many plays, mostly with others, and earned some money through publication.  She drew on her personal experience for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and writing about urban poverty from a female point of view was innovative at the time.  The novel also resonated with many during the war years, as it reflected a simpler time and depicted women struggling to hold their families together and survive.

Many astrological events combined at the book’s publication on August 18, 1943 which radically changed Betty’s life as it quickly became a best-seller.  Smith neared a progressed Solar Eclipse in her 8th house (she had been in debt before immediately receiving a large royalty check).  Her progressed Midheaven at 13 Taurus in her 11th house of career earnings trined her 3rd house Jupiter and sextiled her Ascendant.  The progressed Ascendant at 21 Leo trined and sextiled her Sun-Mars-Neptune oppositions from her 2nd house of money.  The progressed Moon and Mercury in Capricorn through her 7th house kept her focused on her goals and added the help of her publisher and the public as both planets sextiled her MC and natal Saturn-Uranus conjunction. And transiting Pluto also squared her ruler, the Moon, from the 2nd house.

Smith continued writing; her fourth novel Joy in the Morning (1953) took a nostalgic look at her first marriage and was also a best-seller.  In early 2023, when her early play was first produced in New York, transiting Uranus in Taurus was near the progressed MC of her break-out novel, and squared her Nodes from the 11th house.

Like her mother, Betty Smith tragically suffered from dementia as she aged, and she began having trouble with words.  Jupiter in the 3rd house square Pluto in Gemini in her 12th contributed to her writing abilities, but ironically also suggests the possibility of mental challenges.  In her early 70s, Betty began forgetting names and her daughters eventually institutionalized her.  She died less than a year later at 75.

Perhaps due to her strong Moon in Taurus and its grand trine with Midheaven ruler Jupiter and IC ruler Mercury, we still share in Betty Smith’s memories of her family and the old neighborhood from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  No wonder, since the image of a tree growing in a harsh environment is so aptly symbolized by her Moon-Jupiter-Mercury grand trine in earth signs.

More on Betty Smith on Wikipedia.

About the 2023 NYC production of her early play.

Valerie Raleigh Yow’s biography of Smith.

Lynn Wells and Evangeline

Evangeline Adams practiced astrology in her New York Carnegie Hall studios from 1905 until her death in 1932, reading thousands of charts, with many more processed for mail order work by her assistants.  One of these was Lynn Wells, who wrote the introduction to the 1970 edition of Adams’ autobiography The Bowl of Heaven.  I could never find much information on Lynn Wells, until I located the publisher’s files and discovered that she actually used a pen-name.

Wells’ father, Clarence C. Smith, worked at Carnegie Hall and became its manager around 1911.  The family lived next door until the Hall was sold in 1925.  Lynn’s mother was friendly with Evangeline, who draw up her chart when she was a baby.  She became interested in astrology, and beginning at age 17, “I was trained by Miss Adams and worked with her for many years.”

Lynn married in 1925 and started her own astrology practice with her husband.  In 1946 they were pictured as some of astrology’s “top practitioners” in a Life magazine feature that said: “Most dignified of astrologers are Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Wells, who have an early American apartment in Greenwich Village, deal chiefly with professional men, are considered a little high-hat by competitors.  They married soon after Evangeline Adams predicted they would.”  Adams’ home was done in an early American style, too, so maybe she inspired Wells.  Holden and Hughes in Astrological Pioneers of America say that both Lynn and Charles wrote for astrological publications in the 1950s.

In The Bowl of Heaven, Lynn said that Adams “referred hundreds of people to me.”  A newspaper article in 1940 stated that Evangeline “left Miss Wells a collection of some 7,000 to 8,000 charts.”  But in her reply to an astrologer in 1982, Wells said that Adams’ “files contained at least 50,000 charts of clients, these no doubt lost or destroyed by now as I destroyed my own thousands of charts when I retired a few years ago.”  I have never found any trace of Adams’ charts or office files; all are probably gone.

Lynn Wells was born on February 23, 1901 in Norwalk, Connecticut, according to her marriage record.  In The Bowl of Heaven, she said that “my chart indicates that I cannot be a successful speculator.”  The couple also appear to have had no children.  So I’ve somewhat arbitrarily placed Uranus in her 5th house.

Leo rising would explain the way Wells inserted her own story into her introduction to Evangeline’s book, as well as the somewhat high-handed manner in which she responded to the astrologer in 1982 who asked for information about Adams’ Windsor Hotel forecast.  Unable to answer the question, she offered, for no apparent reason, “I note your chart contains the Part of Fortune and the Moon Nodes, which I consider superfluous now being invented by earlier astrologers searching for the source of Uranus and Neptune influences…”  I don’t know who would agree today.

If she was born at about 4:00 p.m., Lynn’s Venus in Aquarius would conjoin her 7th house cusp, and her husband was an Aquarius with the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars all in this sign.  Lynn also seemed to have a compelling need to identify herself through her relationship with Aquarius astrologer Evangeline Adams (Pluto in the 11th trine Venus).  In accepting the assignment to write the introduction to Adams’ autobiography in 1969, she wrote the publisher, “The original Bowl of Heaven is inscribed to me by Miss Adams.  Also her Astrology, Your Place Among the Stars is inscribed, “For Mollie, with sincere regard and affection from her teacher and co-worker.”  In a P.S., Lynn added that “Mollie was my young nickname.”  (Neither book was dedicated to Wells; by “inscribed” she means that Adams signed a copy of the book for her.)  Decades after her death, she continued to remind folks of her association with her famous employer.

The name rang a bell for me, and I recalled two pictures of Adams sold on Ebay addressed to “Mollie,” both were dated after Wells had her own practice.  One said, “For ‘my girl’ Mollie with much affection and all good wishes – Evangeline Adams, 1929.”  (Adams was warm, if not effusive, in all of the signed photos I’ve seen from her.)

In fact, Mollie Smith was Lynn’s birth name, and Mollie Wells was her married name, according to her marriage and Social Security records.  “Lynn” appears to have been a pseudonym.  With Mercury in Pisces square Neptune, the difference between the two was blurred.

It seems rather strange that I came across two pictures Mollie owned.  What are the odds?  How many must Adams have signed for Mollie/Lynn in the first place?  Lynn’s Sun opposite Mars fell right on Adams’ Nodes, and her Mercury conjoined Evangeline’s Ascendant, showing points of connection and identification.  Her Moon conjoined Adams’ Pluto, hinting at the potential for an obsessive focus on the older woman.  As Adams was the best-known astrologer of the time, their association served as something of an endorsement.

Mollie/Lynn Wells and her husband had moved to Florida by the 1960s, and later to North Carolina.  Lynn died at the age of 90 and left quite a bit of money to her local library to expand its building.

Presidential Cycles

In my book, Tecumseh’s Curse, I studied the cyclic patterns in Inauguration charts.  Since all three previous Sun-Saturn administrations “were limited in time and by circumstances,” I still think Joe Biden will be a one-term president.

Previous Sun-Saturn presidencies faced contentious issues.  Examples are Zachary Taylor (1849), Rutherford B. Hayes (1877) and JFK (1961).  In each, the country was divided as we addressed major conflicts regarding race, so I felt that “racial justice will once again feature during the 2021 administration,” which has proven to be true.

I expected previous Sun-Uranus and Sun-Pluto administrations to show similarities to 2021 as well.  These cyclic patterns indicated that “financial affairs were often highlighted, with important changes in policies and trends,” the “political parties themselves underwent change,” and “the country’s territory, alliances and antagonisms came to the forefront.”  We can already see how these influences have played out in the first half of the Biden administration with inflation, recession and rising interest rates; the changes in both parties notable in Congress; and developments involving relationships with China and Russia in particular.

I believe that planetary cycles are an extremely important forecasting tool.  They reveal the patterns of history, and how certain themes are reiterated with each new generation.  Since Joe Biden, inaugurated with the Sun conjunct Saturn, is presumed to be running for president again in 2024, I’m not sure exactly how things will play out, but time and further astrological study will tell.

Read more about my book Tecumseh’s Curse:  Indigenous Wisdom, Astrology and the Deaths of U.S. Presidents.

The Milky Way

To start her new book, The Milky Way: an Autobiography of our Galaxy, Moiya McTier reminisces about her relationship with her “celestial mom and dad” – the Sun and Moon.  As a girl in rural Pennsylvania, she felt they watched over her, and she’d speak with them regularly, sharing her news and feelings:  “I sought comfort from the Moon well into my adolescence.” 

And no, she’s not an astrologer.  She considers herself both an astrophysicist and folklorist (which is probably about as close as you can get) who found “science and myth weren’t as contradictory as they seemed on the surface.  Both are tools that we humans use to understand how we fit in with the rest of the universe.”  I suspect that McTier represents a new generation of astronomers who don’t find astrology quite as threatening, offensive or absurd as those who came before them.  In fact, she goes so far as to have the Milky Way say that “You might think they [astrologers] would annoy me but I like them; they remind me of my sufficiently awestruck ancestors.”

The marvelously organic conceit of the book is that it’s dictated by the Milky Way galaxy itself, who’s charming and pompous at the same time, as well as all-knowing, even admitting that, “consciousness is an inherent quality of the universe.”  I loved the idea that a galaxy’s black hole holds their angst and negativity.  This is a far cry from the typically materialistic astronomers we’ve come to know.

Dr. McTier mentions lots of sky myths from around the world, as the Milky Way waxes nostalgic for a time when humanity was more connected with the cosmos.  Much of the astronomical information is accessible and even entertaining due to the Milky Way’s compelling persona; but some of it was still a bit too technically involved for this astrologer’s taste (reminding me that we, too, have the same problem communicating more detailed astrological analyses to the inexperienced).

They still don’t know exactly what dark matter is, though it comprises over a third of the universe.  And there are only about 10,000 astronomers and 1,000 radio astronomers in the world.  We exponentially outnumber them, interestingly enough.  The Milky Way admits that measuring galactic distances is very derived and indirect, a thought that’s often struck me, too.  A defense of astrophysics is that “some sciences are observational in nature, not experimental,” and related critiques have regularly been leveled at astrologers by skeptics.

Often accessible, The Milky Way is a refreshing and informative journey through the history of the cosmos.  On her website, McTier says she was born in 1995, giving her the Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn signature of the times, which perhaps explains her gentler, more inclusive astronomical point of view.  It’s notable that Dr. Percy Seymour’s The Scientific Basis of Astrology and Dr. Anthony Aveni’s Conversing with the Planets were both published in 1992, when the Uranus-Neptune conjunction was already nearly exact; both seemed to open the door to broadening views of astrology.

As Moiya McTier has not yet reached her first Saturn return, I’m eager to see where the coming years take her and what other topics she’ll address in the future.

Buy The Milky Way on Amazon.com.

About my reviews and links.

Birthday Twin Tragedy

Tyre Nichols and Breonna Taylor are birthday twins – an astounding astrological fact.  They were both born on June 5, 1993, Tyre in Sacramento CA and Breonna in Grand Rapids, MI.  We don’t have birth times for either of these young people, but we can gain some insights from their noon charts.

Tyre’s mother, RowVaughn Wells said at his funeral that, “my son was sent here on an assignment from God…”  With this unique synchronicity, I think we have to agree. 

The two were born a day after a total lunar eclipse, sometimes referred to as a “Blood Moon” since the Moon appears reddish in color.  Many people were born near this date, so it certainly doesn’t imply violent outcomes for all.  But the symbolism in these cases is chilling.

Eclipses can make for eventful lives.  Lunar eclipses are full Moon charts that may bring things to light.  The lives and deaths of Breonna and Tyre both highlighted irresponsible and abusive law enforcement practices.

The Sun in Gemini conjoined the South Node, and Mercury in Cancer was Out of Bounds in declination.  Mercury also very closely conjoins the U.S. Jupiter – symbol of justice and the law.  So we can see why their legacy has made them messengers and teachers of important lessons for the U.S.

The most notable thing about the charts to me is how normal they seem.  There’s a Moon-Venus-Mars grand trine and many flowing aspects.  I don’t believe either had essential problems with authority figures, since Saturn is very well aspected.  There’s also an openness of expression in the Sun-Mercury-Jupiter T-square.

Mars in Leo gives courage and a love of life.  But its inconjunct aspects to the generational Uranus-Neptune conjunction might show the forces outside of their own control that overtook them.  And while Mars square Pluto in Scorpio gives perseverance, focus and self-sufficiency, this aspect might point to the tragic violence that they both encountered.  We’d need full horoscopes to say more.

Breonna’s mom reveals that Breonna and Tyre shared the same birthday.

Update: What Evangeline Adams Knew

I’m very pleased to announce my update of What Evangeline Adams Knew:  A Book of Astrological Charts and Techniques – now available in digital and print.  Originally published 19 years ago (a nodal return), the book was ready for a renovation.

I corrected some errors (including a few birth times) and made it a little easier to read.  It’s essentially the same book with a few additions.  Evangeline’s teacher Catherine Thompson’s chart for her second wedding shows why it was problematic.  Edgar Cayce biographer Thomas Sugrue’s account of his reading with Adams gives us another example of how she worked.  And a short excerpt on astrological investing from Sepharial’s The Law of Values clues us in on the state of financial astrology in the early 20th century.

What Evangeline Adams Knew introduces us to Adams through the charts and work of several of her teachers.  We get to know her through her relationships with Aleister Crowley, her marketer husband and many of her friends and associates.  I include the transcript from her 1916 trial for fortune telling in New York City, and analyze many of her forecasts for individuals, public figures (including politicians running for office) and mundane affairs.

Read the reviews and more about the book here.

If interested, be sure to buy the 2023 corrected and updated edition with the new cover above.  What Evangeline Adams Knew is available on Amazon.com, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Hoopla and other outlets.

About my reviews and links.

Judge Freschi and Evangeline Adams

Judge John J. Freschi famously tried Evangeline Adams for fortune telling in New York City in 1914, concluding that “The defendant raises astrology to the dignity of an exact science.” He exonerated her of all charges. It always seemed to me he was unusually sympathetic to Adams, and both his experiences with women and his horoscope give us some clues why.

The son of Italian immigrants, Freschi was born in Manhattan on March 9, 1876 according to New York City birth records. He graduated from NYU Law in 1898 and continued in private practice before being appointed a Magistrate by the Mayor in 1910 at the age of 34. He was married with two sons and they lived in an apartment in the West Village.

Freschi had been a member of the press club at school, regularly gave interviews to the press, and wrote for publication himself. Around the time of Evangeline’s trial, the judge advocated women’s suffrage in the Scarsdale Inquirer, saying, “Women have a right to be represented… The spirit of 1776 still lives! Why should any class have to live and be governed and taxed without just representation? Is it any wonder that there lurks in the hearts of some of the women of civilized nations, a spirit akin to rebellion?”

Judge Freschi had also presided over the Court of Domestic Relations where he heard many divorce cases and became known as “the judge who understands.” He had found that mediation and communication were key and was able to resolve many of the cases presented to him, saying, “The secret of a happy marriage can be told in three words: compromise, compromise, compromise.”

Evangeline Adams was born on a lunar eclipse, and John J. Freschi was a Pisces born right before a lunar eclipse. This may explain his ability to address complicated human issues, his compassion and pragmatism (since his Moon was in Virgo). His Mercury in Aquarius opposed Uranus, making him open to new ideas, and he realistically considered astrology in court, without jumping to conclusions. Jupiter in Sagittarius must have attracted him to the law and encouraged him to voice his opinions. But Jupiter squared Saturn in Pisces, once again tempering idealism with practicality and understanding.

Freschi played a short but significant role in Evangeline’s life. We don’t have his time of birth, but his Sun fell right on Adams’ Ascendant and Venus, so he was able to support her. His Mercury also conjoined her Sun, so he must have genuinely understood what she was all about. Since Adams was single and self-supporting at the time, he may have even admired her independence.

The judge’s Jupiter also conjoined Evangeline’s Saturn in her 9th house, clearly showing his legal boost to her reputation. I often feel that this combination can show a karmic influence, giving a sense of paying back something owed. Adams’ Nodes also fell right on Freschi’s own Jupiter-Saturn square, adding another note of destiny to their encounter.

Judge Freschi’s Saturn also conjoined Adams’ Mercury and South Node in her 12th house, so that his authority had an impact. Some have suggested that the judge was bribed with an astrological stock market tip, and the 12th house connection might show that possibility. But we’ll probably never know exactly what happened.

The often random relationship with a judge can have a huge impact on a person’s life. Evangeline gained much from Judge Freschi’s thoughtful decision, and talked about it for the rest of her life. It may actually be the main reason she’s remembered today. These two eclipse charts had an impact when they combined their energies!

Read about Evangeline Adams’ Court battle in my books Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America and What Evangeline Adams Knew: A Book of Astrological Charts and Techniques.

A T-Square and a Tough Time

I was remembering the therapist who’d helped me out of a funk over 20 years ago. Over the better part of a year, I learned she was a wise woman with a strong character. I only recently found that she’d been called to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee! A surprise, though it made sense since this difficult experience certainly made her more grounded and strengthened her ideals.

I met Eleanor through a blind referral from my HMO. Saturn was on my Ascendant and many things seemed difficult. But I felt comfortable with her right away. She spoke softly, was a good listener, and always gave me some sound advice to consider or a practical, constructive action to take. I talked about being an astrologer and she shared that she was a Taurus. She was always sensible, reliable and supportive. It seemed inappropriate to ask more since she always kept a professional distance.

(Photo is of Eleanor and her lawyer at the McCarthy hearings.)

I did think that she had some Aries, since she had occasionally become impatient with me when I wasn’t seeing the bigger picture. She once referred to the years of World War II, so I knew she was older than she appeared. And I also thought she had some mutable placements, as she encouraged me to be assertive but also understood when to let go and adapt.

When I recently looked her up online, I found Eleanor’s birth date and discovered that her Sun, Venus and South Node all conjoined my Ascendant, creating a resonance between us and explaining why I had found her at this time, as we shared the Saturn transit. Her Jupiter trined my Mercury, so she calmed my fears. Her Saturn trined my Moon and she helped me stabilize my emotions and resolve my issues. She also had a Libra Moon like both of my parents, and her Jupiter and Saturn in Virgo seemed to increase her helpfulness and practicality.

The only other thing that turned up online was a photo of her with her attorney as she was being interrogated by Senator Joseph McCarthy and attorney Roy Cohn as a young woman in 1953. Her life had an element of destiny to it. I had been in the right place at the right time to benefit from her experience, and she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was forced through a frightening and potentially life-altering situation.

Eleanor had gotten a job right after college with the Army Signal Corps labs in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where her older sister also worked during World War II. Eleanor subsequently returned to school for her MSW, got married and worked at various counseling jobs.

A decade later, during the Red Scare, Eleanor and her sister were called in to testify and asked for the names and addresses of their co-workers, friends and associates. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg had been executed only a few months before. Rosenberg had also worked at Fort Monmouth, and Eleanor’s sister had dated a close associate of his who had fled the country several years earlier.

Cohn and McCarthy were relentless in their questioning of Eleanor, her sister and their husbands (who knew nothing first-hand of the events or relationships). Eleanor answered that she’d never been a spy or involved with espionage, but pled the Fifth Amendment many times so as not to incriminate herself. Eleanor and her family were variously threatened with contempt, perjury and further legal action.

Despite being a minor witness, Eleanor’s photograph was taken by an AP reporter and reprinted in Life magazine and newspapers across the country. I’m speculatively placing Neptune on her Midheaven for the press’ misinterpretation of her role and her career as a counselor. Scorpio rising would highlight her personal reserve, and places her Taurus planets in the 7th house of relationships. Her Libra Moon would then fall in the 12th, giving her empathy and the ability to work for large institutions like the HMO.

Eleanor’s most notable chart pattern is a probable T-square with her Moon, Mercury and Pluto. This may certainly show the tough circumstances she faced due to her sister’s previous relationship. But it also indicates resilience and the ability to put down boundaries, called into play when she faced Cohn and McCarthy. I always think of those with notable Pluto aspects to the lights as survivors.

At the time of her testimony, an astrologer could have told Eleanor that all would work out before too long. There were no close aspects from the outer planets, which are associated with longer-term issues and challenges. Transiting Saturn was opposing her Sun (showing the difficult situation with authority figures), but would soon pass. Transiting Mars had just conjoined her Saturn, probably helping her say only what was required. The North Node had squared her Sun and would go on to square her Nodes in a few weeks. But Jupiter in Gemini was at an exact station and closely trined her North Node, providing a release.

No charges were ever brought against the former Fort Monmouth employees. Six months after the sisters’ testimony, the McCarthy hearings were televised, leading to the Senator’s decline in popularity. He was censured on December 2, 1954, and died a few years later at the age of 48 (biographers suggest from alcoholism).

Eleanor and her sister continued their lives as therapists and counselors. Eleanor lived to 98 years old and her sister to 96! Her obituary was short and to the point, calling her “a remarkable woman who cared about family, people, social justice, and made a difference in the world.” I’m sorry I didn’t get to know her better; she made a big difference to me. Astrology helped me understand why.

 

The Master Class

I recently found my notes from a class with Robert Zoller on his length of life method.  I was interested in the ancient techniques he had recovered from Guido Bonatti, which were something of a holy grail to him.  The longevity class was eye-opening.  But the Medieval techniques?  Let’s just say I leave them to others!

In the 1990s, I was part of Bob’s study group on Plato and later Neoplatonic thinkers, and I attended a number of his astrology classes and lectures.  We had both studied with Zoltan Mason and had an interest in forecasting and the history of astrology.

I also enjoyed several of Zoller’s books, especially Tools & Techniques of the Medieval Astrologers (1981), an exploration of the late 13th century astrologer Guido Bonatti’s Liber Astronomiae and Medieval and ancient methods.  Bonatti’s work was published in 1491 and included opinions from other astrological sources, notably the 9th century Muslim astrologer Abu Ma’shar.

The determination of length of life presumes the astrologer is studying a chart shortly after a child’s birth.  We first astrologically eliminate those who would die before the age of 3 or 4.  If the child is judged to survive, the astrologer proceeds to further analyze the chart.  The technique includes delineating planetary rulers, the Hyleg (the “giver of life,” indicating times of illness and danger), the Alcocoden (showing the years of life), the anaretic (or “killing”) planet, and various Arabic Parts.  Planetary aspects and connections with the Nodes may add or subtract years, providing a range.  A full analysis would also need the confirmation of Primary Directions. There are numerous variations and methods to direct to the key points, and the calculations become rather involved (as they should be for such an important topic).

Zoller actually offered the longevity analysis to clients. My notes from the time show that he charged $200 (his fees were always reasonable), provided no guarantee, and could give a 5 to 7-year range.

I asked Bob for a class on this method since it wasn’t clear to me.  One of my grandmothers was German, and we had the official family book with birth times (to the quarter hour) of her and her 12 siblings from the turn of the century.  I thought this was great data to explore the technique.

We began with my grandmother, who had a strong constitution and lived to her late seventies.  We spent at least an hour in lengthy calculations, only to find that Bonatti would have eliminated her to the “dies in infancy” pile!  This was disappointing.  Based on the recorded birth time, she had 1° Virgo rising, with a 25° Leo Moon.  Undaunted, Bob insisted that, “I think she must have had Leo rising.”  I shared with him that Ida had kept a spotless house and had worked as a domestic for years.  While she always took good care of her appearance, my father had succinctly described her as “a little mouse.”  And this is how I remember her – definitely not Leo rising.  (I wrote about her chart here.)

Still, Zoller, remained adamant about the Leo Ascendant; the technique simply wouldn’t work without it!  Well, we’ve all done it.  And certainly with Mercury in Aquarius opposite Saturn and Pluto, he could be opinionated.  (And what I believe Jung had actually found with his married couples data is that, quantum-like, the person considering it will affect the result).

But the lesson was over, and with it my interest in Medieval astrology as a practical tool.  It was too involved, too tedious, too annoying. As Zoltan Mason used to remind us, “Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult” (after Hippocrates).  Bob had once waxed poetic about Medieval monks sitting up late into the night with calculations, as I imagine he must have done, too.  Not for me.  And, I felt, it was no more accurate than the 17th century techniques I was brought up with, and the 19th century methods I was already becoming attached to.

The astrological experience, though, had definitely stretched my mind.  I still have tremendous respect for Robert Zoller’s scholarship, research and results.  But I ultimately feel there is no one-size-fits-all, definitive, hardline technique in astrology.  What we can all do, though, is use what resonates with us, and get to know the values and limitations of our methods.  That will always give us much to think about.

See my post about Robert Zoller.

Zoltan Mason taught the 17th century astrologer Morin’s techniques.  More on Morin here.