Hi dear Skyscript people,

Recently I've been delving deeper into the topic of climes (bands of latitude around the equator) or chorography (geographical regions assigned to signs of the zodiac). I've mainly been reading Ben Dykes' Astrology of the World Vol.1, the chapter on these topics.

As far as I understand, climes stand for those bands of latitude around the equator.
Or alternatively, chorography stands for assigning rulership by sign or planet, for different countries and/or geographical areas. To make a point, we have those notes in traditional sources, of this or that country being assigned to this or that zodiac sign or planet (say Islamic countries to Venus).
I must admit though, that these lists feel outdated. They usually include parts of the old known world, without including areas of post-columbian exploration, like Australia, South America, East Asia, etc.
Thus, I'm not sure we could easily adapt the use of these techniques to modern times.

Also, contemporary astrologers usually work with country foundation/independence charts, when they do mundane.
It seems to me like a contradiction to what traditional astrologers did in the history of our field, when a certain country was associated with a certain sign or planet. Say, Abu Mashar assigning Syria to Virgo or Ethiopia to Capricorn, or Ptolemy assigning Aries to England, France and Germany.

So, my questions are:
Did you ever use, or experiment with climes/chorography, and did it prove useful or accurate?
Do you think it's just a relic of the tradition, or maybe this technique could be renewed and revived?
Any other ideas or thoughts on the subject would be welcome.

Now that the UK elections are over (Happy for Labour ),
I'm giving this topic a bump.

Would love to hear your insights, if you have any.

I don't have a lot to say about this. I keep an awareness of the better-known associations and factor those in at some level, but I would never rely on them heavily. For example, it is just very natural for me to know that Aries is associated with England, Capricorn with India, the region of Saudi Arabia with Venus, or Bhagdad with Jupiter, etc. I have always wanted to research this more effectively but have never been able to do that. The bottom line for me is that some regional or city associations do seem to capture the essence of a place in some way, especially those attached to very ancient cities, but I am sure you are right that the lists often seem a bit outdated and the logic is not always obvious.

Thanks Deb,

I've also posted this topic on the astrology International forum, and received an interesting reply from a UK based user, Etherea:

The other point is that geographical locations exist independently of nation states, which boundaries have changed or become subject to varying empires (Ottoman, Roman, etc) or (today), trans-national bodies such as the UN or EU, BRICS or whatever. So I can see the logic of something that supersedes those borders and applies different astrological criteria. Then, that would put an individual national chart into a greater perspective from which we could read a lot more about the fortunes of that country.

If anyone else would like to contribute, that would be great.