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Article Information |
| Article ID: |
207 |
| Author: |
Marilyn |
| Created: |
7/21/2006 |
| Modified: |
7/21/2006 |
| Views: |
2,257 |
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The full speculum
What exactly is a speculum? It is simply a listing device to aid in the inspection of celestial positions.
The word "speculum" means "mirror" in latin and the speculum, as
astrologers use it, means a mirror of planetary positions in various
coordinates, listed for convenience on a page. Thus, the speculum lists
planetary right ascensions and declinations as well as other
coordinates which may be of interest to the astrologer who wishes to
widen his or her technical proficiency in the astronomy of astrology
and all that this entails.
Uses of the full speculum
One hundred years ago almost every American and European astrologer
set up a speculum when examining charts. The technique greatly
facilitated work with progressions and directions done, as they did
them, "in mundo". Because no computers were available, the work was
long, tedious and prone to error; now an astrologer may quickly set up
an accurate speculum. One should not be intimidated by the amount of
information listed by this option, some of which may actually help you
in your work.
One the top of the page of the speculum of "general coordinates" you
will find identifying information, the birth data of the subject whose
chart is being examined. Next, look at the box marked "celestial
sphere" in the upper left side of the speculum page. Here are the
familiar longitude and latitude coordinates along with the right
ascension (RA) and declination (Decl.). It is the declinations which
let the astrologer determine which planets are in "parallel of
declination."
To the right corner, the "Paran Coord(inates)" are given in degrees
from O to 36O. These are the right ascensions of the MC (RAMC) for the
angle transits of the natal planets and luminaries. Note that while the
moon, for instance, moves in longitude (etc.) between rising and
culmination, the natal moon is fixed in a particular longitude (RA,
Decl, etc.) and only the axial rotation is involved in rotating the
natal planets to and through the angular foreground that is defined by
the meridian and horizon planes.
In the middle of the speculum page is given the
following information; do not be dismayed if this information is not
immediately useful. It is given just in case it might ever be useful to
you or another astrologer using this option.
OA (Oblique Ascension) and OD (Oblique Descension) are "oblique"
because planets rising and setting across the horizon do so at an
oblique angle almost all the time. These quantities should be helpful
for those who are working with "primary directions," which we (at
Astrolabe) will at some point be making available as an option to be
run with the NOVA program.
DSA (Diurnal Semi-Arc) and NSA (Nocturnal Semi-Arc) values show the
length of a planets half (i.e., "semi") arc above (when diurnal) or
below (when nocturnal) the horizon.
Prop. is the proportional part, in decimal form, of a planet in its semi-arc.
CCAD and CAD are, respectively, the counter-clockwise and clockwise
positions of planets measured in ascensional and/or descensional
difference. These show the degree, measured in RAMC (right ascension of
the M.C.), needed to bring a planet to an angle.
Pl. Lg. Placidus Mundoscope longitude (analogy): This is the planet`s
true position in the Placidian ("semi-arc") system, expressed as a
zodiacal analogue. Thus a planet at "15 Scorpio" is in the middle of
the 8th Placidus house, in mundo. A planet at "3 Capricorn", in this
listing, is a planet 3 degrees east of the upper meridian, in the 1Oth
house. These "ZODIACAL ANALOGUES" should NOT be compared to planets
that are actually in 15 Scorpio or 3 Capricorn in the natal chart. THE
SIGN NOTATION IS USED BUT NOT THE ACTUAL SIGNS. PLEASE KEEP THIS POINT
IN MIND TO AVOID SILLY (if seemingly obvious) COMPARISONS.
At the bottom of the speculum page is the following:
Loc. Sp.: "Local Space" coordinates in "zodiacal analogue" from the
EAST point. One might call this "east azimuth." A number of astrologers
worked with "local space," among them L. Edward Johndro and Michael
Erlewine.
Azi: Azimuth is a horizon coordinate and here it is measured from the
NORTH and it will be familiar to navigators. To get your bearings, as
an astrologer, it might help to compare the "Azi(muth)" and "Loc(al)
Sp(ace)" list positions of the Midheaven and the "Vertex." In both
cases the positions are being counted counter-clockwise. Some chart
services (e.g., the "Heart Center" and "Astro Computing Services") have
familiarized users with local space/azimuth as a handy system for
mapping celestial positions on world and regional maps. Most geographic
maps are, by convention, oriented toward the north while astrological
houses are oriented toward the south. The word "oriented" implies
"east" (the orient) but, in practice this seeming confusion of words
should be no problem.
Alt.: This column shows the ALTITUDE of a planet above or below the horizon.
Rg.Lg.: The "Regiomontanus Mundoscope (zodiacal analogue of) longitude"
allows one to see the true position (i.e., in mundo) within
Regiomontanus houses. Naturally, this will be of particular interest to
those who are interested in Regiomontanus houses, but it will also
interest those who wish to closely examine the works of astrologers
like John Gadbury who used Regiomontanus "circles of position" to time
directions forthcoming in the horoscopes of clients. The Regiomontanus
system was used by almost all of the great European astrologers in
Medieval and Renaissance times. The noted German astrologer Johannes
Stoffler, in 1493, made a celestial globe, now in the Germanisches
Museum in Nuremberg, on which the Regiomontanus house circles were
represented, in mundo, by wooden circles.
Rg.Lt.: This is the orthogonal coordinate which is paired to Rg.Lg.
Cp.Lg.: This is the Campanus Mundoscope position, again as a
"zodiacal analogue". Astrologers who have used this have included L.
Edward Johndro, Cyril Fagan (see "AFA Research Bulletin # 1"), Garth
Allen, Charles Jayne and Ralph S. Schaffer, director of New York's
"School of Astrological Techniques".
While strongly advocated some years ago, the "Campanus Mundoscope"
did not catch on, perhaps because the technique, like its "Regio" (Rg.
Lg.) counterpart, was AT THAT TIME difficult to compute. NOVA lets you
look at a wide variety of techniques which were once "too technical"
for the ordinary student of astrology because the technique used to be
too tedious to calculate in sufficient quantity for a fair examination.
H.A.: Hour Angle. Students of astronomy will find this ordinate
familiar. It, like Right Ascension and terrestrial longitude, is an
"equatorial coordinate" and, as with RA, it is often paired with
Declination. Do not be concerned by the fact that this and other
speculum coordinates are not immediately useful or interesting.