TIME AND SPACE IN ASTROLOGY
An Introductory Comment by Nicholas Campion
President of The Astrological Association of Great Britain
Jung’s oft-quoted dictum that ‘whatever is born or done
at this moment of time, has the quality of this moment of time’1 is,
perhaps, the presiding manifesto of modern astrology. But, we may ask,
whatever happened to space? Jung had nothing to say about the quality
of the place at which an event happens, at least not in relation to
astrology.
Students of astrology are taught that the three items of
data required for the calculation of any horoscope are time, date and
place, and those concerned with astrology’s advanced technicalities
argue the pros and cons of different house systems, yet for these purposes
space is treated as neutral, as a means merely of working out the ascendant
and midheaven. But apart from this, spatial questions scarcely ever
make an appearance in contemporary astrology. Yet it was not always
so. The placing and construction of sacred sites from Megalithic circles
to Egyptian, Greek, Mesoamerican and Hindu temples, reflect a concern
with both the universe’s metaphysical structure and observations of
horizon phenomena. The beliefs of the architects and builders responsible
for these monuments indicate a concern with space that equals that with
time. And that this concern was once widespread is demonstrated in the
evidence provided by the modern historical disciplines of archaeo-astronomy
and ethno-astronomy. When we turn to astrology itself, we find that
the Babylonian astrologers were deeply concerned with such questions
as the direction in which a celestial omen was observed, the part of
the sky in which it took place, or the quadrant of the Moon which was
obscured during an eclipse. The Babylonians, armed with this knowledge,
believed that it was possible to ascertain the region in which an omen’s
significance would be experienced. Ptolemy rationalised and simplified
the Babylonian model, inventing a crude system in which the twelve zodiac
signs corresponded to twelve regions and peoples. Medieval horoscopy
retained the allocation of houses to different places, and horary astrology
has preserved the link between the four angles and the cardinal directions.
Yet ninety-nine percent of twentieth century western astrology has focused
on the inner journey rather than the outer experience. The question
that psychological, natal astrology has failed to answer, for all its
perceived advantages, is why an individual might have an inner experience
in one place rather than another. It has tended to ignore the ancient
notion that place, space and direction might possess quality, reveal
symbolic significance or indicate divine intent.
Astrocartography, so ably developed and popularised by the late and
sorely missed Jim Lewis represents a major innovation in the field,
and offers a substantial aid to answering the question of why, within
the terms set by astrology, people experience diverse cultures and places
in different ways. And in this respect Roy Firebrace, the first AA President,
deserves an honourable mention for featuring ACG maps in Spica, his
magazine, in the 1950s. Local Space is less known than Astrocartography,
but equally capable of providing insights into the question of ‘where?’
rather than ‘when?’. Together these two additions to the astrologers’
tool kit restore the divinatory link between space and time. Martin
Davis’ eloquent exposition of both techniques provides a comprehensive
and welcome account of one of the most significant developments in modern
astrology.
NOTE
1. C.G. Jung, In Memory of Richard Wilhelm, memorial
address delivered in Munich 1930.
