thanks martin! that is helpful and gives much greater clarity... cheers james

Hello Martin,
Just finished reading your book on Annual Predictive Techniques. Brilliant!
Love your methodological approach and breath of knowledge. Right now, I am reviewing my life with your approach on terms. (in sidereal).
A long time ago, I had an astrologer friend of mine who rectified my chart using Primary Directions (the only forecast system he used along with transits and solar returns and that was prior to computers!). I was off by 1 degree and I have since rectified it by 7 longitudinal minutes with midpoints.

I have 2 questions for you.
1) How do you think Firdar should be understood with regards to Primary Directions? Are they totally separate or is there a junction point somewhere?
2) How important would you view Parans between planets and/or Fixed Stars?
I am thinking of the approach and work of Bernadette Brady. I have in my chart a Paran Sun/Moon approaching by Primary Directions. Is the midpoint significant in your approach?

Thank you and blessings for 2021!
Ouranos

Ouranos wrote (question for Martin):

1) How do you think Firdar should be understood with regards to Primary Directions? Are they totally separate or is there a junction point somewhere?

As a side note, it is probably worth mentioning that Ben Dykes believes that Fardar calculations were a corruption that don't fit well with other techniques. Here is his quote:

12: Fardars

Almost all of the material about fardars is in the short Book IV which to me is something of a giveaway that, like the lord of the orb, they are an alien system not well integrated with the other techniques. The fact that they employ the Nodes also suggests that they were invented in India, or among Persians familiar with Indian thought.

Benjamin N. Dykes, Persian Nativities IV, Cazimi Press 2019, p. 115

Thanks, Ouranos, I'm glad you found something of value in the book. I have to agree with Ben Dykes (as quoted by Therese) that the fard??r (etc.) system doesn't fit into the interlocking techniques of directions, profections and transits. I haven't really worked with it.

As for co-risings (paranatellonta), I personally only consider them when the stars are actually rising (or setting, or culminating) in the radix, by direction, or in the revolution. There are a few instances mentioned in the book; see pp. 124, 138, and 146. (No, I didn't memorize them; I looked them up now.) I'm not really familiar with Brady's work, and no, I don't use midpoints.

Thank you Therese for the reference to Ben Dykes on the matter.

Thank you Martin for the clarification on your approach.
With regards to Bernadette Brady's work which comes from the astrologer Anonymous of 379, which seems to echo how you work with fixed stars.
https://www.astro.com/astrology/in_fixstar_e.htm
and further, the Italian astrologer Patrizia Nava
http://www.astrologiaoraria.com/articoli.html
Her article on "Ephemeral cards and fixed stars"
and
"Bright and Helpful Stars" published by F. Cumont in the first tome of the fifth volume of Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum Graecorum (CCAG), pag. 194-211., also included in Rhetorius’ works (Rhet.) in the VI century (D. Pingree, The Astrological School of John Abramius, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 1971, pag. 209)

Kind regards,
Ouranos

Managed to buy the more affordable kindle version
I have two things - I find the Muntha to be useful and defines the flavour of the year - Muntha though is not dealt in any detail in the Tajik tests.
There is a saying in Urdu- zar( wealth/Gold), Zoru(wife) and Zameen( land) are all held by zor (strength/power) otherwise you lose them.
The meaning of jar(zar) seems to be changing over time.

I'm glad to hear the Kindle version serves some purpose (though from an aesthetic point of view, I sympathize with Scottish bookseller Shaun Bythell who shot and mounted a Kindle -- you can do an image search for that!). I'm sorry if the printed book is a bit expensive by Indian standards; it's an unavoidable consequence of it being produced in Europe.

If you are looking for material on the munth?? (Arabic muntah??) or degree of the profected ascendant itself, as opposed to its ruler (the Perso-Arabic ruler of the year), try my edition/translation of Balabhadra's H??yanaratna (The Jewel of Annual Astrology), pp. 429-449. In addition to Nīlakaṇṭha, Balabhadra quotes some earlier T??jika authors whose works may not be available even in Hindi translation, such as Samarasiṃha and Tejaḥsiṃha. And the book is free!

Martin Gansten wrote:I'm glad to hear the Kindle version serves some purpose (though from an aesthetic point of view, I sympathize with Scottish bookseller Shaun Bythell who shot and mounted a Kindle -- you can do an image search for that!). I'm sorry if the printed book is a bit expensive by Indian standards; it's an unavoidable consequence of it being produced in Europe.

If you are looking for material on the munth?? (Arabic muntah??) or degree of the profected ascendant itself, as opposed to its ruler (the Perso-Arabic ruler of the year), try my edition/translation of Balabhadra's H??yanaratna (The Jewel of Annual Astrology), pp. 429-449. In addition to Nīlakaṇṭha, Balabhadra quotes some earlier T??jika authors whose works may not be available even in Hindi translation, such as Samarasiṃha and Tejaḥsiṃha. And the book is free!

Ironically, Blythell's book is available in kindle format too - the kindle version seventeen rupees costlier than the printed book. He had his revenge on kindle.

pankajdubey,

long time no see! happy new year... you can pick up a copy of the book - confessions of a bookseller much cheaper on abebooks - another outlet gobbled up by amazon.. i see a copy for £ 7.54 with free shipping from the uk to canada... the link is a bit too long to share here...


martin,

thanks for these conversations... i went and visited your website this morning.. it seems to have been updated with more commentary from you in a few different sections.. i was intrigued by the section on 'astrology and religion' and what you had written their...

regarding the section of the jewel of annual astrology and the section of the book you mention - pages 429-449, i just finished reading this section... thanks for pointing that out... in a comment at the very end of the section on page 449 i am curious if you would care to comment on the use and context of precession... thanks - here is the quote -

"Y??davasūri states [another] special rule [in T??jikayogasudh??nidhi 8.29]:
When precession has been added to the ascendant of the nativity,"

any comments on this - i am curious.. thanks - james

Yes, my website was auspiciously reincarnated a few months ago. As for Y??davasūri, he was relating (as a sort of sidenote) the opinion of Romaka ('the Roman[s]', probably meaning one or more Byzantine astrologers, as the Byzantines identified as Romans and were known as such in Arabic), which involved using the tropical domicile ruler of the profection as ruler of the year. Byzantine astrologers typically used Ptolemy's tropical tables. To Y??davasūri, sidereal values were the default, so the tropical positions would be derived by adding the ayan??ṃśa or precessional value to the sidereal. I discuss this briefly on pp. 50-51 of Annual Predictive Techniques.

thank you martin!

james_m wrote:pankajdubey,

long time no see! happy new year... you can pick up a copy of the book - confessions of a bookseller much cheaper on abebooks - another outlet gobbled up by amazon.. i see a copy for £ 7.54 with free shipping from the uk to canada... the link is a bit too long to share here...


martin,

thanks for these conversations... i went and visited your website this morning.. it seems to have been updated with more commentary from you in a few different sections.. i was intrigued by the section on 'astrology and religion' and what you had written their...

regarding the section of the jewel of annual astrology and the section of the book you mention - pages 429-449, i just finished reading this section... thanks for pointing that out... in a comment at the very end of the section on page 449 i am curious if you would care to comment on the use and context of precession... thanks - here is the quote -

"Y??davasūri states [another] special rule [in T??jikayogasudh??nidhi 8.29]:
When precession has been added to the ascendant of the nativity,"

any comments on this - i am curious.. thanks - james

@james_m
Happy new year to you as well.
Got busy with photography as a hobby then lately with managing COVID etc.
The kindle book is equivalent of 7USD so ok for now.

I came to know if hayanratna from Martin in 2011 or so ,when he was looking for other commentaries on this and neelkanthi .I searched in the digital library of India which, at that time had a rudimentary downloader and erratic connection.
I do agree with Pingree’s assertion that kanyakubja is most likely Brahmin. It is almost that if you say kanyakubja it is presumed kanyakubja Brahmin even though it relates to an area.
I liked the material on muntha but some other things in that translation caught my eye.
Using- 4th house as that for happiness in that example of
The Tambīra Configuration (3.14).

It uses the 4 th house for both parents but the fifth house specifically states - unions( annotated as- sexual) different from what is often not recommended in now-traditional western astrology.
The tambira configuration itself is very interesting.