Horary Astrology: The Practical Way to Learn your Fate

NEW REVIEW TMA Feb 2018

Horary Astrology: The practical way to learn your fate by Petros Eleftheriadis, The Wessex Astrologer Ltd, 4A Woodside Road, Bournemouth, BH5 2AZ, England. 2017. 146 pp.$16.49 (£12.50) (ISBN 9781910531211). Available from any online bookseller. Many astrologers who take a serious look at horary become fascinated by it. Petros Eleftheriadis has written a manual clearly demonstrating his approach to horary astrology, which is a fine addition to the literature on the subject. The author serves as Head Tutor for the Qualified Horary Practitioner (QHP) course founded in 1984 by Olivia Barclay and now headed by Barbara Dunn. After practicing astrology for a while, he became convinced that “everything is written in the stars” and that fate is a reality. This refreshingly unambiguous position leads to very explicit guidelines in practice. He adheres to the considerations before judgment, and only asks questions that have a “yes” or “no” answer. Eleftheriadis is not interested in negotiating with one's fate, but rather accepting it; as the title suggests, horary astrology is the “practical way to learn your fate.” The book begins with a brief theoretical exposition of horary, and explains the terms before delineating the example charts that form the heart of the book. The 55 charts are divided by topic: Money; Relationships; Career and Achievement; Sport; Health, Sickness, and Death; and Various Issues. As we have come to expect from Wessex, the book is beautifully designed: The relevant chart is displayed, the question and its context are stated, the Querent and other significators are identified, and Testimonies for and Testimonies against are listed. This is followed by the Judgement, the Outcome, and Astrological conclusions - a nice feature that encapsulates the process, e.g., “When the Sun receives the combust planet, especially by domicile or exaltation, combustion is not completely destructive.” There is also a Glossary and a Bibliography. Although the book is exceptionally well written, it is not particularly a beginner's book, as it assumes that the reader has some familiarity with horary. (Eleftheriadis includes his thoughts on such matters as the logic behind the sequence of the planets in the Egyptian bounds.) No matter how you currently approach horary astrology, you will learn a lot from Horary Astrology: The practical way to learn your fate. Victor Olliver, editor of The Astrological Journal Horary Astrology: The Practical Way to Learn your Fate: Radical Charts for Student and Professional Petros Eleftheriadis The Wessex Astrologer, pb £12.50 The key word in the title is ‘practical’. Eleftheriadis assumes that the reader is familiar with traditional theory (and if not, you are kindly invited to get up to speed with Barbara Dunn’s Horary Astrology Re-Examined) before he presents over fifty charts from his client files, used to illustrate various techniques to find answers to such questions as: “Will I get a divorce?” or “Will my blood tests be OK?”. Rather refreshingly, Eleftheriadis states baldly that the whole point of consulting an astrologer is to find out about one’s future, though he has sharp cautionary words on not encouraging clients to pursue questions designed to avoid ‘fate’. He dares to differ from Lilly on certain matters, states that Ptolemy didn’t understand the logic behind the Egyptian terms (which Eleftheriadis prefers – his essay on this at the back is informative and fascinating)) and he is not terribly keen on fixed stars or antiscia in horary. Having doubtless ruffled a few feathers, the book moves onto exposition. Structurally and logically, life theme queries are addressed by relevant house e.g. ‘Tenth House Matters – Career and Achievement’ or ‘Seventh House Matters – Relationships’. The tone is direct, and techniques and interpretation are treated succinctly under crossheads which encourage a step-by-step application. This ensures rigour. Not all traditionalists will agree with his approach yet it will be hard to find a more cogent analysis of horary charts. Before he came to astrology, Eleftheriadis studied Law and French Literature in Greece, and one senses a polymath at work who (happily) wears his learning lightly. Even if you’re new to horary, this book is likely to whet your appetite, while students and practitioners will find rich pickings here to add nuance to their knowledge and work.   A Review by Joe Polansky Diamond Fire Magazine August 2017 A very deep and interesting book. This is definitely not for beginners or casual readers of astrology. They will be lost. Nor is this beach reading material. It is for the advanced student and the professional who wants to learn the techniques of Horary Astrology. Don’t let the lingo confuse you. A horary chart is a natal chart. It is the chart cast for the “birth” of a question. But the rules of horary (taken mostly from the ancient writers like Al Biruni, Ibn Ezra, Lilly and Ptolemy) are different from the rules of Natal Astrology (though it seems to me that it shouldn’t be so - we should apply the rules of a Natal Chart to it - since it is basically a Natal Chart). What I personally found most interesting is how he evaluates the strength or weakness of a planet. A complicated process. He goes beyond, rulerships , exaltations and detriments, but into almutens,terms, faces and receptions. He goes into it much, much deeper than in typical Natal Astrology. The best way to read this book is to follow along with his charts and case histories. He has chapters on finance, career, health and death - and there is even a chapter on sports. Look at the chart and follow his explanations. The trick with Horary is to determine the rulerships and significators of the activity in question. This, it seems to me, is 90% of it. What is interesting and powerful here is that he able to predict the winner of sporting events and elections by his methods. This warrants much further study and research. The book is clear, well written and highly informative. Many of the techniques (not all) can easily be transposed to Natal astrology. But there is only one issue that needs to be dealt with. Our author (may he be blessed) is a fatalist. Everything is fated. There is nothing a person can do to avoid or better his or her condition. The best the astrologer can do is to help the person to accept it. He is not the first to espouse this. The arguments over fate and free will have been going on for millenia. But this is not the spiritual perspective. Free will was the greatest gift given to us by our creator. Yes, there are many things that are fated - they will happen not matter what a person does. But the person has the power to soften the effects of these things. And, in many cases, to even avert fated events. Life, say the sages, is in the interaction between fate and free will. Personally I’ve seen many “death aspects” that didn’t result in death - they did bring life and death crisis - but not death. The way we handle fate changes the fate. Omraam Mikhael Aivonhov, the great Bulgarian adept explains things this way - I’m paraphrasing. Imagine that you booked a cruise to England. Before you booked you were shown the pamphlets, the sights you would see, the accommodations and the costs. Of your own free will, no one forced you, you book the cruise. Now you are on the cruise. You can’t suddenly decide that you want to be off it. The captain will not turn the ship around. You’re stuck. Certain experiences will happen. This is fate. (But notice, this fate arose out of your free will choice). However, in spite of this fated experience, you have much free will. How will you spend your time on the cruise. Will you eat non stop? Will you moan and wail about your fate? Perhaps you will read a book, exercise, or romance that interesting lady that you met at dinner? Depending on your free will choices, the cruise will either be a nightmare or a very pleasant experience. Before incarnation the soul made free will choices. Not every little thing was foreordained. But the major events of life were shown to it. It made the choice to incarnate. Now, in incarnation, it cannot say I want out. But must go on with the “cruise”. The free will choices that are made in life will determine whether the life is happy or sad. It all depends on how we exercise the free will.