Introduction

Confusion exists in the world of astrology as to what the definitions of the different disciplines and their fundamental differences are and terms that are not understood are very loosely used thereby adding to the confusion. The terms medieval and traditional astrology are viewed as synonymous when in fact they are not - in principle medieval is part of traditional astrology. Every tradition must change if it is to remain alive and astrological tradition is the same as any other tradition - in different places at different times certain parts of the overall picture become more relevant. An example of this pertaining to astrology is the house systems. Whole sign house systems were employed by the nomadic people – how on earth could fixed houses have relevance when there was no permanency to their physical abode? Only when man became sedentary could fixed cusps apply and although whole sign house systems are now redundant based on their original use, this does not mean that their efficacy was questionable.

The astrology disciplines

However, in practice this becomes a bit more complex and if the fundamental differences are not understood by the astrologers themselves then ignorance prevails which is not how it should be when you are a student of astrology. Classical astrology is astrology that teaches the “old stuff” and just as we loosely apply that term to music, so it is applied to classical astrology - most classical music is not really classical at all, it is simply romantic. Medieval astrologers today adopt the work of Bonatti as astrological gospel and this is a fundamental difference with the tradition of astrology. Bonatti is not the all inclusive reference when it comes to astrology and just like all the other astrologers, us included, he is not infallible. Medieval astrology as it was practiced in its day was as varied as modern astrology is today - there are many sources which vary in their approach, methods and house systems and true medieval astrology is not anything like the people who practice it say it is. When it was practiced in medieval times it was barely equivalent to the sun sign astrology of today and there was an awful lot of rubbish that passed as astrology in medieval times, just as there is today. So, who your source is, is what it boils down to on a superficial level.

Traditional astrology

There is something very wrong in trying to pin traditional astrology down to any one point of time and place as much of the work done in ancient times is anti traditionalist in its approach. Many authors of the traditional period (1200 – 1700) upheld the belief that we were born perfect and then fell further and further away from perfection as we aged, and their work was aimed at reclaiming the golden age when men were men and women knew their place. Traditional astrology has nothing, and I repeat nothing to do with a time period. Traditions must change and develop and these authors were leaning on the romanticism of the period and not on the tradition. We do not decline in life, we get wiser, so their attitude of being born perfect and then declining is anti traditionalist. Most of the traditionalist literature is largely Islamist and even Mohammed said that the Islamic prophets needed to be emulated and that mankind had deteriorated since their day.

In Christianity we do not have the idea that the disciples are holier than anyone else and there is a definite growth in wisdom and a growth in understanding as we age, not a falling away from perfection at birth. Traditional astrologers today are as much part of the tradition as William Lilly or any of the ancient authorities were – there never was an iron curtain that came down on the tradition when the age of enlightenment commenced – that we have traditional astrologers alive and well today is testament to that. The misunderstanding that traditional astrology is old astrology needs to be addressed by astrologers themselves and the misconception that everything before the 1700s was traditional must be set straight as it is simply not true. It is a temporal difference that exists between traditional and modern astrology and not a time period.

Monotheistic astrology

Traditional astrology is a monotheistic astrology known also as western astrology. This astrology dates back to very much earlier than the Greek astrology also known as Hellenistic astrology. Contrary to what many people believe the Greeks are not the source of astrological matters - it was the Jews. Too many people studying astrology today are doing it through the lens of modern academia and have the idea that things only have importance if they are written down. What the Greeks did was to write lots of books and what the Jews neglected to do was to write things down – as John Frawley says you will not find the Book on T Squares by Moses. It is also not perceived as being acceptable to look into the Bible from an academic perspective and to most people the Bible is a seriously “uncool source”. There is strong evidence of horoscopic astrology in the Old Testament – especially at the time of the Pentateuch when the Jews were captives. This quite blatantly shows that the Greeks were not the fathers of astrology, they got it from the Jews as did the Arabs and Greek astrology is a cul de sac which shares techniques with the astrology of the Arabs.

The philosophy of traditional astrology

The philosophical distinction is which side of the Red Sea are you on – are you still in Egypt adopting relativism or in the desert in the world of monotheism? Only after the crossing of the Red Sea do we have the idea of true and false gods and that is why Abraham is known as the father of monotheism – this did not exist before this period. Before the “crossing” we had a variety of tribes with an equal variety of gods who were all acceptable and only once we cross into the desert with the children of Israel do we have monotheism - this is the philosophy of the tradition and it is positivist, not relativist – simply put, if my God is the true God then your God is not – if my astrology is the real astrology then your astrology is not. The astrologers who lean on the relativist philosophy – Egyptian, Vedic (which derives from Hellenistic astrology) and modern astrology have far more in common with each other than they do with the western tradition of astrology – they depict relativist astrology – this is in complete contrast to the tradition and this is the fundamental difference. Vedic and Egyptian astrologers are speaking the same language as the modern astrologers whereas what we are doing as traditional astrologers is utterly different - this is the real distinction.

The application of traditional astrology

This is not an article on the technical aspects of traditional astrology, but once again I believe it is of value to clarify a common misconception. It is wrongly believed that traditional astrologers do not acknowledge or utilise the outer planets – Uranus, Neptune and Pluto – and that traditional astrologers are thus stuck in a time warp refusing to acknowledge modern discoveries. As stated the craft that we study is not archeology, it is not dead and must grow and adapt with the times. However, this does not mean that astrology is remade in modern man's image or that the philosophy of the tradition is altered in any way. The outer planets are most certainly acknowledged and even used in a chart if they have bearing. They are treated in the same manner as fixed stars and if a significator is in very close conjunction or opposition to an outer planet then it is used as a highlighter pen in the same manner that a fixed star is used.

What is very important to understand is that this placement will tell you nothing that the chart hasn't told you already using the 7 traditional planets, provided you know what you are doing. In the traditional model planets that cannot be seen with the naked eye have no light and therefore no power and it is for this very reason the outer planets are not allotted rulerships in any form or manner. How can something with no power rule over others? But, the tradition is certainly adapted to suit modern times within the parameters of the traditional frame work – another example of this is that in the days of William Lilly your tenants were your inferiors – landed gentry utilised the lower classes to work their land as tenant farmers and it was only the nobility that could afford to own property – thus tenants were allotted the 6th house. In modern times this is no longer the case and tenants are allotted the 7th house as your partners in a deal.

Conclusion

I have heard it said that John Frawley is arrogant to call his astrology the Real Astrology. Firstly no one owns astrology or knowledge and no astrologer of the tradition with any credibility has ever called it their astrology or remade it in their own image. With a little knowledge, common sense and a sincere desire to learn something new, one can truly grasp the meaning of the Real astrology – the Real Tradition equals the Real Astrology. I recently read a book called Abraham by Bruce Feiler – in his quest to know Abraham, the father of the three monotheistic religions, Bruce spent time talking with a priest, a rabbi and an imam in Jerusalem. While engaging with the rabbi the topic of the shofar came up – this is the horn that is sounded during certain times of the year – and the rabbi declared that a shofar that bends to the right is superior to one that bends to the left as to the right is closer to God's ear.

In the tradition of astrology the planet closest to God is Saturn and he rules the right ear of man. So we speak to the right ear of God and he in turn speaks to us via Saturn. Saturn is the planet that will aid us in our return to God as he will ensure that we experience all of the trials and tribulations needed in the human life which force us to reach out and call for God - we certainly do not do this when we are enjoying Venusian or Jupiterian times. We are separated from God through Saturn as he rules the 1st house of the physical body and we return to Him via the 8th house of death which is also ruled by Saturn. In the tradition, astrology, philosophy, psychology and religion are all interwoven – once again this is a fundamental yet deeply profound factor in the definition.

Footnote – it is with the deepest gratitude that I thank my tutor and mentor John Frawley who readily and willingly shares his extensive knowledge and has the ability and patience to answer my never ending questions. The real meaning of the Tradition was taught to me by him.