Skyscript is pleased to offer a preliminary airing of chapter 1 of Martin Gansten's eagerly awaited Primary Directions: Astrology's Old Master Technique.
Finally, astrologers can look forward to a text on primary directions which understands the confusions of beginners, whilst dealing with the arguments of experts. The first chapter is headed 'The Basics: What Are Primary Directions?' and this is a great extract for allowing us to understand more about the technique as a whole, and to get a sense of the approach Martin takes, and how clearly he is able to convey his information to the reader.
It will, of course, leave you hungry for more, so check out the sidelinks on this page which offer more details about the book, and ther 2-day course on Primary Directions which Martin will be personally presenting in the UK in August.
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More about the Book:
The technique known today as primary directions is one of the most ancient and renowned methods of astrological
forecasting, and also one of the most powerful. From classical antiquity throughout the Middle Ages
and Renaissance, and even into the twentieth century, all the great names of western astrology have worked
with primary directions. It was the predictive technique of Dorotheus and Ptolemy, of Masha.allah and Abu
Ma.shar, of Regiomontanus and Placidus, of Morin de Villefranche and William Lilly. To understand the Old
Masters of astrology, we must understand primary directions.
Students of traditional astrology have often been deterred by overly mathematical presentations
from approaching the important subject of directions. This comprehensive study explains the principles of
primary directions in an accessible form, illustrating them by practical examples. It also draws on many original
source texts to outline the historical origins and development of the technique, and shows how it has been
reinterpreted and occasionally misunderstood. A full glossary and appendices with software reviews as well
as formulae for manual calculations complement the text. The craft of the Old Masters can still be learnt.
Martin Gansten is both a practising astrologer and a historian of religion specializing in astrological and divinatory
traditions. His previous scholarly contributions to the field focus mainly on the Indian subcontinent and
include translations of Sanskrit astrological texts. He lives in Sweden, where he lectures and teaches various
aspects of traditional astrology, including primary directions.
The article made available for download is copyrighted to Martin Gansten and is offered here for private, non-commercial use. It may not be reproduced without permission. Published online May, 2009.
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