Lilly and Gadbury

Peter Stockinger and I have just completed a paper entitled "Monster of Ingratitude" and which will be published in the forthcoming edition of The Tradition journal (due to be released in September).

Scholarship into the history of astrology has improved over the last ten or fifteen years and has brought us a huge amount of information regarding astrology's development from many perspectives. However, biographical information about those who practiced astrology in centuries past is not of such a high standard. There are several reasons for this, not least a lack of autobiographical material. It was from this point of view that Peter and I examined the relationship between William Lilly and John Gadbury.

This rather large piece of research has taken several months to complete, but still leaves many questions unanswered. However, what we did discover was that those few biographies of William Lilly are markedly flawed. Most researchers rely upon Derek Parker's "Familiar to All" which, whilst it presents one of the earliest biographical texts about Lilly and which hasn't been bettered, presents very few sources as grounds for the author's opinions. Nonetheless, it is those opinions that we find most frequently in subsequent biographies of the astrologers of 17th century England, particularly those of Lilly and Gadbury. Indeed, much of the personal detail regarding Lilly's life found in Parker, can be found nowhere else. It may be that Parker had access to material unknown to us, but there are no references with which to follow this up. (It may be that a full and detailed review of "Familiar to All" is required in order to test the assertions made there against known sources.)

We have attempted to address these, largely unsubstantiated, opinions and present source material which leads to alternative, and often very different, conclusions. As an example, the main theme of our paper is the infamous contention between Lilly and Gadbury and our research shows that it has been misconstrued by historians throughout. This study has brought to light a number of other doubtful areas relating to Lilly's contemporaries, too, but our remit precluded going very far with that; we had already far exceeded our original intentions.

The paper contains:

• brief biographies of the two men;
• the beginning of their acqaintance and how it came about;
• how the enmity began, developed and ended;
• the rather one-sided pamphlet war;
• others involved in the contention;
• a study of the published material;
• all sources of information;
• alternative conclusions based on the above.

We hope to draw the attention of astrologers to an area which requires far closer attention than it has attracted hitherto, and perhaps encourage others to proceed in this research. Furthermore, we hope to demonstrate that Gadbury's work is far from reliable and could easily be replaced by that of a better qualified author of the period, such as John Partridge. That is, if astrologers want to investigate the art as it stood post-Lilly and as it collided with the new science.

An Explanation of Horary

I've uploaded to my web site another video presentation entitled An Explanation of Horary: How it Works. It is a brief, introductory view of the subject, but I hope that you'll find it helpful.

The Primary Problem with Venus

I want to present a few thoughts on the nature of Venus, but I don't pretend that they are definitive. These ideas are supplemental to my lecture, God, the Universe and Everything which can be found at my web site as a video presentation.

The problem is that the nature of Venus is variously described as cold and moist, and/or hot and moist; Lilly states in Christian Astrology that Venus is both of Air and Water, both phlegmatic and sanguine (p73). (For a discussion of the humours, please refer to the Traditional Horary Course materials and Luis Ribeiro's article in The Tradition journal, both of which also refer to the application of the humours.) However, taking Lilly's statement that Venus has two pairs of primary qualities, and because this is difficult to apply in practice, I'll address the question of why or how this situation arises. I will not go into great detail here, and so interested readers are referred to my other articles and lectures for more information, but perhaps most appropriately the presentation mentioned above.

I have been lecturing on the philosophy and basis of astrology for some years now, and it is to those ideas that I now refer. Genesis I says, "In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.", this describes a primary division and can be interpreted in a number of ways. However, the next lines state, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep [water], and [then] the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The imagery produced here is one of gender and generation, thus the masculine (active) Heaven and the feminine (receptive) Earth. So, for our purposes, the first or primary division of Creation was one of gender. When we talk about the primary qualities or natures of the planets, it is to this that we refer, otherwise it isn't primary. Thus, Venus is primarily feminine.

The next division, after the creation of Light, is of day and night, representative of time, and these are connected with the previous division of space, above and below. In my interpretation of Genesis I, these two divisions overlap and lead to the creation of the four elements by secondary division. The whole story is one of fertility through division, and through that we can deduce the source of the creation of benefics and malefics. The former corresponds to fertility and productivity, the latter to barrenness and destruction. Jupiter and Venus are designated as benefics because of their power of moderation, or fertility. The two qualities required for fertility are heat and moisture, thus Venus, as a benefic, can correspond to these qualities. However, primarily it is feminine and thus corresponds to coldness and moisture, and the qualities of the night, thus phlegmatic.

This is one way of explaining how it might be that Venus can be both Airy and Watery. In application, the context will be important, thus if you are searching for beneficence, the hot and moist natures are important; if you are looking for a primary quality, then coldness and moisture have priority. For example, when we are examining the planetary hour, we should look at Venus in its primary mode as cold and moist; its secondary nature as a benefic might be used in other applications, such as in the calculation of temperament. In the latter, because it provides a guide to balance or imbalance, productivity or non-productivity, we need to look at the planets and their positions as significant of one or the other. Thus, Venus would be dealt with as the lesser benefic, productive, fertile, and progressive and thus, sanguine.

Something to Think About

Life and Training of an Astrologer

Firmicus Maternus, “Matheosos Libri VIII (The Mathesis)” c.334 AD,

trans. Jean Rhys Bram, Noyes Press, New Jersey 1975.

1. Now you, whoever you are who try to read these books, since you have received the whole knowledge of this divine science and are now endowed with the secrets of the stars and have learned the first principles of the art, shape yourself in the image and likeness of divinity.

2. Therefore study and pursue all the distinguishing marks of virtue and, when you have trained yourself in these, be easy of access, so that if anyone wishes to consult you about anything, he may approach you without fear. Be modest, upright, sober, eat little, be content with few goods, so that the shameful love of money may not defile the glory of this divine science. Try with your training and principles to outdo the training and principles of worthy priests. For it is necessary that the acolyte of the Sun and Moon and the other gods, though whom all earthly things re governed, should so educate his mind always that it be proved worthy by the attestation of all mankind.

3. See that you give your responses publicly in a clear voice, so that nothing may be asked of you which is not allowed either to ask or to answer.

4. Beware of replying to anyone asking about the condition of the Republic or the life of the Roman Emperor. For it is not right, nor is it permitted, that from wicked curiosity we learn anything about the condition of the Republic. But it is a wicked man and one worthy of all punishment who, when asked, gives a response about the destiny of the Emperor, because the astrologer is able neither to find out nor to say anything. You must know that even the Haruspices, as many times as they were asked by private citizens about the condition of the Emperor, and wanted to answer the one who consulted them, always disturbed the entrails which were intended for this purpose by tampering with the arrangement of the veins and cartilages.

5. In fact no astrologer is able to find out anything true about the destiny of the Emperor. For the emperor alone is not subject to the course of the stars and in his fate alone the stars have no power of decreeing. Since he is master of the whole universe, his destiny is governed by the judgment of the Highest God, since the whole world is subject to the power of the Emperor and he himself is also considered among the number of the gods whom the Supreme Power has set up to create and conserve all things.

6. This consideration also makes things difficult for the haruspices because, whatever divinity is invoked by them since it is of lesser power, is not able to explain the character of the greater power which is in the emperor. For all free-born men, all classes, all the rich, all the nobles, all the officials, all powers serve him; endowed with divine authority and immortality he is numbered among the first ranks of the gods.

7. Therefore, if anyone asks anything about the emperor, I do not want you to disturb him with a harsh of stern answer, but convince him with persuasive words that no one can discover anything about the life of the Emperor so that, warned with your arguments, he may put aside his madness and his wrong intention. Nor do I wish you to give a report, if anyone asks you anything wrong lest, after he has received the death sentence because of his forbidden desires, you should seem to have been the cause of his death. This is foreign to the purpose of a priest.

8. Have a wife, a home, many sincere friends; be constantly available to the public; keep away from all quarrels; do not undertake any harmful business; do not at any time e tempted by an increase in income; keep away from all passion of cruelty; never take pleasure in others’ quarrels or capital sentences or fatal enmities. Employ peaceful moderation in all your dealings with other people; avoid plots; at all times shun disturbances and violence.

9. Bind your friends’ loyalty to you with strong ties; be careful to keep your honesty uncorrupted in all your activities; never stain your self-respect by becoming a false witness. Never ask interest on money lest you accumulate an increase in income from the needs of others. Do not give or take an oath, especially if it has to do with money, lest the divine protection of the gods appear to be asked by you for money.

10. To erring men, especially those bound to you by ties of friendship, show the right road of life so that, trained in your principles, they will easily avoid the errors of life. Never be present at nocturnal sacrifices, whether they are held publicly or privately. Do not bring forecasts to anyone by stealth, but openly, as we have said before, and in the sight of all exercise the discipline of this divine art.

11. In drawing up the chart I do not wish you to show up the vices of men too clearly, but whenever you come to such a point, delay your responses with a certain modest reticence, lest you seem not only to explain but also to approve what the evil course of the stars decrees for the man.

12. Keep away at all times from the enticements of the shows, lest anyone think you are a patron of this kind of thing. For the priest of the gods must be apart from low, base pleasures.

13. When you have equipped your mind with the characteristics and protections of virtue, approach with confident boldness of mind this book as well as the following books which we have written on forecasting from the stars. But if your mind has strayed in any way from these principles which we have laid down about human character, see that you do not approach the mysteries of this doctrine with a perverse instinct of curiosity or sacrilegious rashness.

14. Do not entrust the secrets of this religion to the sinful greed of men’s minds; for one should not initiate souls of depraved men into the holy rituals. This divine science cannot at any time adhere to a mind captured and stained by wicked greed, and it always sustains the greatest loss when it is defamed by improper intentions.

15. Therefore be pure chaste; and if you have separated yourself from all kinds of wicked activity which destroy the spirit; and if the desire for the right way of life has freed you from any suspicion of crime, and if you conduct yourself as one mindful of the Divine Seed, approach this work and commit to memory the following books. In this way, having attained the true knowledge of this divine art, when you calculate the destinies of men and chart the course of their lives, you will be directed not only by your readings but also by the conclusions of your own reasoning. Thus your own divinely inspired ideas may be of more profit to you than the traditions of the written word.

Manilius on Hard Work

There would be no harm in emphasising Peter Stockinger's comment below on House Systems where he tells us that the secret to becoming a competent astrologer is hard work. It reminded me of a passage in Astronomica by Marcus Manilius which was written in the 1st century AD and which very eloquently explains the principle.

The object of your quest is God: you are seeking to scale the skies and, though born beneath the rule of fate, to gain knowledge of that fate; you are seeking to pass beyond your understanding and make yourself master of the universe. The toil involved matches the reward to be won, nor are such high attainments secured without a price; so wonder not at the winding route and the intricacy of things. It is enough that we have been given the power to make the search: let the rest be left to us. Unless you mine mountains, gold will elude your grasp, and the earth that is heaped above will bar access to the wealth it hides. Men will traverse the entire globe to make jewels available, and will not shrink from occupying the sea to gain the precious pearl. Each year the anxious farmer will utter every prayer he knows, and yet how small is the yield of the treacherous countryside! We shall face the perils of the sea-winds in our search for gain and follow the god of war in hope of booty. Ah, shame on those willing to pay so high a price for perishable goods! Luxury too entails a kind of military service: the glutton keeps sleepless watch over that which proves his ruin, and profligates oft pant for their own undoing. What then shall we give for heaven? What is the worth of that, with which we may purchase all? Man must expend his very self before God can dwell in him.

Nothing much has changed in 2000 years.

Lilly's Nativity in Finnish

My article regarding William Lilly's true nativity has been translated into Finnish by Petri Laakso and can be found at

http://parsaprojekti.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/william-lillyn-syntymakartta/

William Lilly's Nativity - continued

My decision to publish William Lilly's true nativity here was made after much thought.In terms of circulation, the internet is second to none, but it has many drawbacks, too. I wanted the widest possible audience for an astrological fact. Too often astrologers are deluged with opinion and it is time that a few facts were introduced into a daily diet of pre-digested whimsy. William Lilly's nativity, offered for your interest here, is a fact, but not a universal truth. It is a fact because it exists and because it was the calculation which Lilly himself used (Elias Ashmole tells us so). It is not a universal truth because it is a personal instrument rectified to Lilly's own satisfaction and so broadly comes under the heading of opinion. Nevertheless, it is Lilly's opinion, not that of an enemy. I don't understand why it is that astrologers appear to accept so readily that Gadbury's approximation is good enough to work with. But, unfortunately, this is just an example of an attitude which helps to perpetuate less than rigorous scholarship. I am not a scholar, I am an astrologer who has engaged in serious study and research, even so, I am capable of providing the sources of my information so that readers may form their own opinions.

There is only one astrological system. It may have evolved over the centuries, but it remains fundamentally the same and anyone who has even looked at the authors of the past will see that. However, method does vary and we can link that to cultural changes, yet the system remains recognisable from one age to another - until the 20th century that is. William Lilly is important because he presents the system in a way that modern minds can readily understand because his time is much nearer to our own. Still we have to deal with the cultural differences, but nothing so vast as that when we try to approach the medieval period or the classical. William Lilly is important because he speaks of astrology as it was, not as it became through the Enlightenment. He speaks of astrology as a magical art, inextricably linked with the other hermetic arts. William Lilly is important because he practised what he preached and his success will never be matched by anyone in this age, we simply do not have that level of understanding. Our culture has robbed us of the means by which we might approach the subject and we have lost innocence, as William Blake might say. And yet we still claim astrology as our own...

The very least we can do is to get our facts straight.



My thanks to Luis Ribeiro of Academia de Astrologia (link shown right) who produced this video.