astromancy Ptolomy DCLVIII Rationally, it seems ridiculous. Oh, alright; I confess that the moon seems to influence people in ways that are sometimes quite unignorable. So it seems plausible that an equivalent, diminished effect is had upon us by more distant objects. That our fates lie in the stars, however, seems absurd, especially given that the ramifications of a spring birth would have been very different had the starry dots been connected in a different way. Despite this, I am glad that I remained open to astrology having some sort of value. There have been so many strange and improbable coincidences in conjunct with the expectations of my natal chart (including many of the arabic parts and lots) that to write it all off as mere "chance" seems as absurd as the idea that the location of certain planets in a bygone sky affected anything whatsoever about some random person's future, if not moreso. Surely I will admit that we can often find meaning in things as suits our mood. However the location of certain planets in certain signs in certain houses, combined with my internal symbolic language, grants certain implications far more personally telling than would be found should various planets shift sign or house. On the note of personal associations, there are some points of interest on my natal chart that are wildly astounding if viewed through the lenses of my inner world but that lack equivalent poignance if I merely accept the signification present by traditional astrologers. For this reason I am more inclined to accept astrology as "Astromancy" - augury via "Astrology" (or "astral augury"). In augury, personal symbology is often of paramount importance. However, as an active -mancer, such Astromancy presents an unusual scenario, wherein the (possible) key to the augury is a reading concerning long ago, i.e. the natal chart. Someone could, of course, simply use a Book_of_the_Ephemeris to chart the present or a future date and proceed via their own associations. This is without the aleatory device found in other -mancies, such as Geomancy (the casting of stones), Necromancy (contacting bygone spirits), or Numeromancy (sometimes random numbers). The idea that some sort of energy will communicate with the Augurist via a seemingly random device (yes, I know many physicists disdain "true" randomness) is not as readily found in Astrology, and that is probably why it is an -ology and not a -mancy. (Though it flies in the face of our present -ologies, Astro-ology was one of the first "-ologic" pursuits.) Coincidence, however, is a curious thing. Some cast it aside after a moment, while others revel therein. If I could find much personal significance from the placement of a given planet in half the signs or houses, then it would seem reasonable to deride my natal chart as mere chance and desire to infer something. Given, however, that the location of this or that planet would mean little to me if found somewhere else (I've investigated other charts) I am challenged to accept that I chance upon personal meaning merely due to an incidence procured from 1 in 10^36 odds. Perhaps I will learn someday that may natal chart was accidentally confused with someone else and my "real" natal chart will hold no meaning for me whatsoever. Perhaps in this other chart I will find much meaning, though it would seem unlikely. Or, perhaps there really is something to this Astromancing ... something ephemeral, beyond the scope of our definitions, our logics, and attempts to control. 060830 ... Ptolemy DCLVIII See wut a gud spellir I em? 060830 what's it to you? who go blather from