Astrology In Theory & Practice Your how-to manual for utilizing the greatest tool you never knew you had Bill Duvendack 418 Ascendant LLC Copyright © 2020 Bill Duvendack All rights reserved. Cover & Layout: Asenath Mason Edited by Laura Knight The materials contained here may not be reproduced or published in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author and/or publisher. This book is dedicated to the true practitioners of this timeless Hermetic subject. Introduction What can be said about astrology that hasn’t been said before? When you’re dealing with a subject that is thousands of years old, there is truly nothing new under the Sun. There are plenty of modern schools of thought that are taking the principles of astrology into somewhat new and unfamiliar territory, but everything comes down to fundamentals. However, what can be addressed are new ways to apply astrology. After all, if one is not putting astrology to work for oneself, then what is the point of learning it? This book is written as a beginning compendium to help you learn astrology. It is not meant to be a one stop shop like a lot of cookbook astrology texts, but rather it is a working manual, full of exercises and a brief holistic overview of the royal art. I hope you enjoy, and it is my intent that this serves to carry you further into putting astrology to work for you. Be warned though, there are no images in this book. There are other parts of the brain to use other than the visual learning center. So, grab a pencil and a notebook, and away we go! As always, ever discerning…. LVX, Bill Duvendack Winter Solstice 2017 Chapter 1: Foundation In this chapter, I am going to give a very brief history of astrology, as well as an explanation of why it works. I will keep this short because this is not the intention of the book, but I do feel there are a few things that should be considered as a working platform so all of us are on the same page. Let us begin, and we will cover a few thousand years in a few pages. Roots No one truly knows the age of astrology. It can be argued that it is the second oldest science on the planet behind agriculture. As long as humanity has taken what could be considered elementary steps into scientific method, humanity has been staring at the night sky asking questions. Let’s also address the facts in the case because much has been discovered over the last few decades, and much has been neglected as well in the face of dogmatic history champions. Therefore, let’s address the facts in the case that can be proven. I share them with the reader so that one can see for themselves. These facts also serve as subjects of interest for those inclined to research, as each point has been written about extensively. Fact 1: There are cave markings that trace back to 25,000 B.C.E. They cover a rudimentary outline of movements of the luminaries across the sky. Usually, these are accompanied by other pictures and artworks that illustrate principles and messages the artists were trying to convey. Fact 2: The pyramids in Egypt trace back thousands of years, according to recent scientific research. They are astrologically aligned, even to the point that there are new patterns being found every day with the discovery of new pyramids throughout the world. There are also still patterns being uncovered at the site of the Great Pyramid. The view listed here conflicts with other archaeological findings, though, and thus the time of creation of the pyramids is in dispute. Some sources say the pyramids date back approximately 4,500, years while other sources claim they are older. Fact 3: The oldest known sky viewing artifacts we have are the stones that are located at Nabta Playa plateau in southern Egypt. These stones trace the movements of stars, and if liberal interpretations are to be believed, the time it would take to track their movements are thousands of years. In other words, the way the stones interact with what was actually happening in the sky would have transpired over several thousands of years, meaning the movements of those stars would have to have been watched over that same duration! The stones at Nabta Playa date back to 6,400-4,900 B.C.E., even though the movements of the celestial bodies being watched were longer cycles. Fact 4: Examples of electional astrology, also known as using astrology to check favorable celestial conditions, exists in stone tablets in Sumeria, dating back to approximately 2155-2140 B.C.E. It was also soon after this time that the first horoscope was cast in the same area of the world. Until that time, astrology had only been used to forecast the timing of events, and was not used on a person by person basis as it is now. Fact 5: The Bhagavad Gita, which is arguably India’s main holy book, was written approximately 3000-1500 B.C.E., and it contains veiled astrological references. It is a selection of a larger work known as the Mahabharata, and it focuses on discussions between Arjuna and Lord Krishna. Fact 6: Stonehenge came into being approximately 3100 B.C.E., and as we all know, is also arranged in alignment with celestial events. Fact 7: The world’s oldest known calendar is located on the wall at Kom Ombos in Egypt, but it only dates back to approximately 200 B.C.E. So why is all of this important? These are the actual proven facts that have to do with astrology, period. These are the pieces of proof that exist when it comes to validating the longevity of astrology as a working science. By knowing the facts, we can put ourselves in a position to split fact from belief, which also puts us in a position to understand how astrology is both a soft science and a hard science, just like any other science in the world that ends in –ology. These are not the only facts, though, as more and more evidence is being uncovered all the time and in ever increasing severity. These could easily be seen as the evidence of the use of astrology, and from astrology was born astronomy. The Metaphysics of Astrology The study of metaphysics is the study of physics that are currently beyond our understanding, and is thus a very broad and diverse subject. There are many layers to metaphysics and many different perspectives. These cover everything from the twelve laws of karma, and their kith and kin the universal laws, all the way to understanding how to tune one’s vibration into the spirit world, which is related to mediumship. The dimension of metaphysics that astrology most visibly interacts with is the branch of metaphysics that is related to interaction with the world around us. It can thus be summarized by what is known as the butterfly effect, which teaches us that everything is related, even though we may not be able to physically see it. This knowledge has been passed down through the aeons through mystery schools, and until recently, was secret knowledge. With the rise of occultism over the last 200 years, this information has become more publicized and is now common knowledge for most seekers. From the Emerald Tablets to the Butterfly Effect, science has proven that all things are connected. We will come back to the Emerald Tablet later in this book. There is also the fact that on a cellular level all of us are composed of stardust, and hence all of us are cosmic with cosmic ties. Once again, this has been proven by science to be true. This is worth noting because it reinforces the potency of astrology. A good perspective is that when one chooses to put astrology to work for them they are tapping into an energy field that is vibrant, alive, and very fluid, yet is also as tangible as any of the four classic elements. For example, we do not know the technical rate at which Mercury vibrates, but we do know that it is fast acting on us because its orbit is so quick, and due to its location. It is amplified by the Sun to a certain extent. Hence speed and vibration are tied together as well. We may know how long it takes for Mercury to go around the Sun. We also know how long it takes for Mercury to revolve on its axis, but as to its actual vibration, that is still an unknown quantity. We also know that other planets such as Uranus or Neptune, affect us in different, usually broader ways because of their distance from us, and how long it takes them to move through space in the same way that Mercury does. Often time metaphysics is not looked at in the same light as other sciences, but that is a large mistake. To have a category that is more or less a catch-all of observed phenomena that mainstream science cannot explain is a brilliant manifestation of scientific method being imprinted on the collective subconscious of the human species. Over the years, metaphysics has grown and become more refined, making it more technically sound. It has received a huge boost in the last three hundred years or so, ever since the Christian Mysticism movement of the 18th century C.E. Due to this, a clearer understanding is constantly occurring regarding astrology, and thus there are many new dimensions to it that are constantly being addressed. As our collective consciousness is elevated, so, too, is our understanding of our place within the cosmos and our interaction with it. In the last few years there has been a lot of information that has come to light that further cements the scientific basis for astrology. The first point is the discovery of gravity waves. Early in the twentieth century, Albert Einstein posited the theory of gravity waves, but like many of his ideas, this was put on the shelf for the indefinite future due to scientific culture. However, in 2016, it was discovered that they do exist. In short, gravity waves have been detected reaching earth from a distant source deep in space, and it is believed they originated from a major event in deep space. Basically, think of it like ripples in a pond with the gravity waves being the ripples. There are a few major points this reveals to us. The first is the obvious: space/time can ripple when a major event occurs. The second is that our scientific instruments are still being refined and developed, which means that gravity waves are proof that there are many different types of energies out there modern science cannot detect. The third point is that we now know these exist, correct? Well, if these exist, how many other forms of energies that move like waves through space exist? Obviously, I don’t know the answer to that, but neither do scientific “authorities.” What this means is that we can now view aspects between planets and space bodies in a more scientific way; ironically enough, validated by gravity waves. For example, if Mars is one kind of energy, then Venus would be another, and sometimes they flow together, and sometimes they don’t. I emphasize this here because