What is katarchic astrology?

The ancient Greek branch of astrology that judges the chart of a specific moment — either the beginning of an undertaking (an inception or election) or the moment a question is asked (an interrogation or horary chart).

How do the four pivots work in an inception or horary chart?

In Dorotheus of Sidon, the first place (Ascendant) signifies the initiator or querent, the tenth place (Midheaven) signifies the action itself, the seventh place (Descendant) signifies the other party or destination, and the fourth place (IC) signifies the final outcome.

Why is the Moon so important in horary and inceptions?

The Moon carries the flow of the moment: the planet she last separated from describes the recent cause of the matter, and the planet she next applies to shows what happens next and how the undertaking resolves.

Who wrote the primary Greek texts on inceptions and horary?

Dorotheus of Sidon (Book V of his didactic poem), Hephaistio of Thebes (Book III of the Apotelesmatics) and Serapio of Alexandria.

Horary and inceptions (katarchic astrology)

Not every chart is a birth chart. In the Greek tradition, a chart cast for the moment a venture begins or a question is asked is read by the rules of katarchai.

What katarchic astrology is

Alongside natal astrology (genethlialogia), the ancient Greek astrologers practised katarchic astrology (katarchai) — judging the sky at a specific moment to see how an undertaking will turn out or to answer an urgent question. Book V of Dorotheus of Sidon's Carmen Astrologicum, Book III of Hephaistio of Thebes's Apotelesmatics, and the surviving chapters of Serapio preserve the classic rules.

The tradition distinguishes two closely related uses of a moment chart:

Inceptions and elections. Choosing or judging the moment an action begins — setting sail, marrying, laying a foundation, opening a business, signing an agreement or starting a journey.
Interrogations (horary). Casting a chart for the moment a clear, pressing question is posed, reading the pivots and the Moon's next application to judge the outcome.

The four pivots and the Moon's course

In Dorotheus and Hephaistio, the four angular whole-sign places (the pivots or kentra) form the frame of every katarchic judgment:

The Ascendant (first place). The person asking or initiating the action, and the beginning of the matter.
The Setting place (seventh place). The other party — the partner, opponent, buyer, seller, physician or the place travelled to.
The Midheaven (tenth place). The action itself, the authority, the praxis and the visible middle of the enterprise.
The Subterranean pivot (fourth place). The foundation, the buried thing and how the matter concludes at the end.

Above all, the ancient authors watch the Moon: the planet the Moon has just separated from shows what has already happened and why the question arose; the planet the Moon next applies to within her current sign shows how the matter develops; and the condition of that planet (by sect, dignity and place) decides whether the outcome is swift, delayed, profitable or frustrated.

How Occult Astrology shows it

Occult Astrology includes a dedicated Horary screen that casts a chart for the exact moment of your question, computes the planetary day and hour lords, the Moon's last separation and next application, Void of Course status, the four katarchic tripods, and a full written judgment following the classical rules of Dorotheus, Hephaistio and Serapio.

Questions

What is katarchic astrology?: The ancient Greek branch of astrology that judges the chart of a specific moment — either the beginning of an undertaking (an inception or election) or the moment a question is asked (an interrogation or horary chart).
How do the four pivots work in an inception or horary chart?: In Dorotheus of Sidon, the first place (Ascendant) signifies the initiator or querent, the tenth place (Midheaven) signifies the action itself, the seventh place (Descendant) signifies the other party or destination, and the fourth place (IC) signifies the final outcome.
Why is the Moon so important in horary and inceptions?: The Moon carries the flow of the moment: the planet she last separated from describes the recent cause of the matter, and the planet she next applies to shows what happens next and how the undertaking resolves.
Who wrote the primary Greek texts on inceptions and horary?: Dorotheus of Sidon (Book V of his didactic poem), Hephaistio of Thebes (Book III of the Apotelesmatics) and Serapio of Alexandria.

Occult Astrology reads a birth chart the way the Greek-language astrologers of antiquity did. Cast a chart and compare it with a Vedic and a modern reading of the same sky.

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