Display posts from previous
Sort by

2 by Sue
From memory, Picatrix gives 18 deg Libra to 3 deg Scorpio. Picatrix is a lot earlier that 15th century. Eleventh or twelfth I think. I read something just a few days ago that gives something similar but I can't for the life of me remember where. I will try to find it again. I should have written it down but it wasn't relevant to what I was researching at the time.

4 by Kim Farnell
The Picatrix reference is close as dammit. If we allow a little fudge space. I'm not quite sure why this bugs me so much, but 15 - 15 degrees always did sound a little tidy.

It's been pointed out to me that Al-Burini is a bit flexible about where it is - "The combust way is the last part of Libra and the first of Scorpio. "

And Bonatus takes it up to 5 degrees of Scorpio.

Yes, I think it is a fixed star thing. But I'm not sure which ones. Zuben Elgenubi is tempting for the ending, as it is the southern scale of Libra and would have been at about 3 degrees of Scorpio when the Picatrix was written. Can't work out where to start though.

Kim

5 by Ben
Hi,

My guess is that it originally had to do with the fact that, in antiquity, the pans of Libra were often identified with the claws of the constellation Scorpio. If so, then we would be speaking of a planet traveling through Scorpio's claws. Of course, if this were the origin of the via combusta, then by precession the claws would shift their location with respect to the tropical signs -- thus accounting for the different tropical zodiacal degrees associated with it. Right now the main stars of the claws are fully in tropical Scorpio, I believe.

Ben
www.bendykes.com
Traditional Astrology Texts and Teaching

6 by yuzuru
I believe another important factor is the term rulers, as the last degrees of libra and the first 6 of scorpio are ruled by the terms of mars, a malefic, and as we all know, Libra is the fall of the sun (exaltation of saturn) and scorpio is the fall of the moon (ruler is mars).

Y

7 by Sue
I've been trying to think of where I saw the reference I mentioned earlier. I have a feeling it might have been Ficino (which is 15th century too) but I can't be sure. I remember reading somewhere that via combusta was considered to be much shorter in the Middle Ages but they didn't give any degrees. This could have something to do with the popularity of Picatrix. If it was in Picatrix there is a good chance that there will be something similar in Asclepius, which is part of the Corpus Hermeticum. Ficino was the first to translate the CH into Latin but Asclepius was well known prior to this. I don't have time to check this out right now and I am just thinking aloud but it is a possibility.

As far as I can see, Bonatti always considered it to be 15? Libra to 15? Scorpio. Al Biruni only ever mentioned the last part of Libra and the first part of Scorpio that Kim referred to above. I suppose this could be considered to mean 15? Libra to 15? Scorpio but I would have been more inclined to see it as maybe the last 5? or so.

Demetra George said in a lecture I attended that it is considered to be the via combusta because the Sun and the Moon are in their depressions (as she called them) in these signs, which is what Al Biruni says. But are they not also in their depressions for the other 30 degrees? An Indian woman at the lecture said that the Indians celebrate when the Sun moves out of via combusta each year.

8 by Sue
Hi Yuzuru,

This is what Al Biruni has to say. Maurice McCann uses this, among other things, in his explanation of why the most malefic part of the fiery way is 25? Libra to 6? Scorpio.

9 by Sue
Okay. Found it. :' I was right. It was Ficino. He is talking about the Moon and saying things like 'Do not let the Moon be impeded by Saturn or Mars...' In the same paragraph he says 'Let her not be in the burned path from the 28th degree of Libra to the third of Scorpio, nor in the eighth [place], nor in the ascendant, nor in the terms of Mars or Saturn.' This is from 'Three Books on Life', the Kaske and Clark translation, book III, chapter VI, page 271.

Now I can get back to my real work. :)

10 by Andrew Bevan
I have been practicing "The Fiery Way" as from 15Libra to 15Scorpio, with 15Libra being an Uranian degree and 15Scorpio being the heart, or rather the tail, of the Scorpion. The latter being the breakingpoint between the Saturnian and Uranian rulership according to Johndro. (My thoughts on this matter reveal a mix up of new and old doctines). 15 Scorpio is the edge that things must pass though when entering into our realm of existance or consciousness. However, 18Libra to 3Scorpio mirrors the path opposite the exaltation degree of the Sun and the Moon. That's beautiful, too. On the exaltation degrees I have some material at www.astronor.com/exaltations

11 by Sue
I have just read a journal article written by Bernard Goldstein and David Pingree in 1979 on the astrological almanacs from the Cairo Geniza. These are dated between 1132 and 1158. They were originally written in Arabic but transliterated into Hebrew characters. These documents were originally acquired by a Jewish person but the documents only mention Muslim and Christian festivals. Anyway, why I am mentioning this here is that it mentions the 'fiery way', which they place between 19? Libra and 3? Scorpio.

12 by Andrew Bevan
And those things signified by a planet withing 2 degrees the opposition of the Sun are brought to ruin. This coincides with the orb between the exaltation degree of the Sun (18AR56, which is the square root of the 360 degree circle) and the exaltation of Saturn at 21LI (or should we say 20LI56?). It's beautiful! My vote is for the fiery way to lie from 19LI to 3SC!
!! Read first: forum policies
Recent topics
Post Reply

Return to “Traditional (& Ancient) Techniques”