Primary Directions Books
Primary Directions Book | Bob Makransky | pdf
The primary directions are the elite tool for predictions. They are described by Ptolemy in his “Tetrabiblos”, Book 3, Chapters XIV and XV.
They were the main tool employed by all famous astrologers of the past: Placidus, Regiomontanus, Argolus, Bianchinus, Maginus, W.Lilly, Coley, Naibod, Kepler, Tycho de Brahe, Cardanus, Gauricus, Morin, Sepharial, Alan Leo and others.
The basis of the primary directions is the apparent 24-hour rotation of the celestial sphere around the earth. In the authentic primary directions, we note the natal position of a point as relative to the birth horizon and meridian. Then we observe how much time is required for this point, carried with the motion of the celestial sphere, to reach a new position. This second position of the point has to satisfy certain conditions depending on the kind of direction we calculate.
A major division of the primaries is that of MUNDO and ZODIACAL directions.
The mundo are calculated with the bodies of the planets or their mundo aspects. The mundo aspects are points on the diurnal path of the planet that are a certain number of house-distance away from the planet.
The zodiacal directions are being calculated with the zodiacal aspects of the planets.
The mundo directions are much stronger.
If we compute mundo directions of planets to the horizon and the meridian, then we have to see how many minutes and seconds after the birth the planets in question will rise, set, culminate or reach lower culmination.
If we calculate interplanetary mundo conjunction between two planets, such as for Jupiter and the Sun, we need to compute how much time after birth one of the planets, let it be Jupiter, will be carried to the same proportional position relative to the meridian and the horizon which the Sun occupied at the birth moment.
In this respect, the primary directions are real and observable. They correspond to real astronomical phenomena. Venus in culmination on a clear night can be a spectacular thing to see. Logically, employing primaries, we can expect clear and spectacular results.
Historically, there have been two major traditions of primary directioning: the Placidian and the Regiomontanian. Lately, there have been attempts to formulate primary directions in other house systems such as Campanian, Horizontal, Meridian, Koch, Topocentric, etc. The Campanian system is identical with the Regiomontanian except for the mundo aspectual directions other than conjunctions and oppositions and never has had practitioners. From the rest, only the Topocentric system of directioning has presently an observable following. However, after close scrutiny, the Topocentric system of primaries turns out to be practically the same as the zodiacal Placidian Under the Pole directions. And formulating a mundo position in this system runs in unsurmountable obstacles.
Primary directions in the Horizontal or the Meridian house system are not possible as far as the fact that in these house systems, the mundo (house) position of the planets does not really depend on the place of the planet relatively to the meridian and the horizon. Similarly, in the Koch system, the definition of mundo position leads to very serious incongruities, should we try to direct. What is left to deserve the label Primary are the Placidian, the Regiomontanian, the Campanian and, after some proviso, maybe the Topocentric directions.
Since the primary directions are due to the apparent rotation of the celestial sphere and seek for the proportional positions of the planets as related to the birth horizon and meridian, all claims on the title primary directions by a technique which does not take these two considerations into account, have to be brushed aside as invalid.
HISTORY
As early as the first century A.D., Dorotheus of Sidon describes the primary directions in the third book of his “Carmen Astrologicum”. He gives detailed examples for the calculation and interpretation of primary zodiacal directions to the ascendant.
One century later, in Book III Chapters XIV-XV of “Tetrabiblos”, Ptolemy describes the primary mundo directions to the angles as well as the interplanetary conjunctions and mundo parallels. His method of directing now would be called Placidian.
Astrologers who followed this method were Alcabitius, Lucas Gauricus, Placidus, Alan Leo and others.
Regiomontanus (1436-1461) formulates the laws of the spherical trigonometry and invents a house division and a primary directions system that carry his name.
After Regiomontanus a number of astrologers direct according to his system. Among them: Argolus, Maginus (1555-1617), Manginus, Zobulus, Leovitius (1529-1574), Naibod (1527-1593), Morin de VilleFranche (1587-1656), William Lilly (1602-1681), Henry Coley.
Cardanus (1501-1576) was another famous scholar and astrologer of this time. He directed in a different way, which comes close to the method of Ptolemy and Placidus.
The Italian astrologer of the 17th century Placidus de Titti (1603-1668) was the one destined to remain in the history of Astrology as the first astrologer to systemize and clearly explain almost all the kinds of primary directions. Even now, his brilliant treatise “Primum Mobile” remains a classic. He was also the inventor of the house system that carries his name.
Placidus rediscovered the methods of house division and primary directioning of Ptolemy.
The teaching of the primary directions survived well into the middle of our century. First it was the astrological school thriving during the end of the last century in Britain.
Alan Leo employed Placidian primary directions. Sepharial worked more with Placidian under the Pole of the Significator.
Later, in the first half of our century, the tradition found fertile ground in Germany. Such illustrious astrologers as Kuehr, Kuendig, Pracht, Kloeckler, Knappig, Korsch and some others made the second “golden age” of the primary directions.
All of them worked with the Placidian system; either with the Placidian directions proper or with the Placidian Under the Pole.
At present there are only a dozen astrologers scattered all over the world, who still keep the tradition alive. In USA (Guatemala) Jerry Makransky is the authority on all kinds of primary directions.
See also
