I see Tycho Brahe didn't just make astrological predictions based on the 1572 Nova but also the Comet of 1577. I will follow this reference up.

I rather slipped up on the colour association of green with Venus. It appears the colour has associations with Jupiter too.

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/jupiter_att.html

Anyone care to convert a sidereal ephemeris to tropical?
Daily positions would be excellent!

I did quite a bit of work on Al H. Morrison's asteroids in the 80's and 90's and I might mention he published an ephemeris for Halley's Comet on its last passing. His asteroid collection contained a number of orbit-crosser, of which a comet is the biggest orbit-crosser of them all. When the stock market crashed on Oct 19. 1987 I registered that the asteroid Toro was in the Heart of the Sun. So everyone went mad and pannicked.

I believe to remember that Halley's Comet transitted the MC of the chart of Norway when the won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time on May 4. 1985. Norway were infamous for coming last with zero-points. Their winning song in 1985 was called 'Let it Swing'! Well, that's exactly what a comet does, right?

There are not a lot of incidents of meteors striking the earth in memorable times, but enough of them that a Commet in the sky, even if you hadn't ever heard of one before, would be a frightening thing, if you had no real way of knowing if it would strike, and having a very real feeling of if it did you really couldn't hide, it is too big. I remember Driving home to the Light of Hale bop and thinking that if one didn't know anything about commets that it wouldnt'seem so beautiful. So the bad rep I suspect has its foundations.

this particular commet I dont think is coming as close as that one

however, if a planet travelling retrograde is supposed to act contrary to its nature, wouldn't a comet traveling backward seem to imply the same? that is it acting contrary to the nature of commets?

The Paris Peace Treaty between Britain and US ending the revolutionary war was signed in September and is a very virgo thing, as is the constitution, possibly parts fo the US constitution that were trampled upon by the last administration will be fully restored. Regulus and Saturn are both seen as kingly figures, possibly the comet joins two kingdoms?

Will the moon occlude the commet at all? that could have other implications? Visible by day or only at night? etc...

Green comet, maybe it foretells the comming of age of the green energy movement, trampling the conservative traditional oil regimes....

Moving quickly, but will it be something that flares up quick and dies out, or something that lasts? Possibly marking a great stride in thinking or learning? In the 1570's a great many schools were being built. Publishing was becoming a bigger enterprise. in 1491, on feb 20 a large comet appeared, look at all the huge changes in human behavior then, you have the printing press, the religion wars (also Pluto entering Virgo in a few years, so intereting similar combination) I think humanity has been one huge event after another ever since. possibly another great leap in thinking.

it will be interesting to observe.

Granny

Just to keep a bit of perspective here its worth pointing out that we get a naked eye comet about once every 2-3 years. Great Comets like McNaught every 10-15 years roughly.

Regarding Halley's comet I have read it might no longer be with us. At least in one piece!

In 1987 a Carmelite Nun named Sister Maria Gabrel claimed that Halley?s Comet would suffer an explosion in 1991. On 12 February 1991 two Belgian astronomers, Olivier Hainant and Alain Smette of the Southern European Observatory in Chile, discovered an outburst of Halley?s Comet, then 1,243 million miles away. It was surrounded by a cloud of 19,000 miles, where normally it would occupy only 9 miles, and was 6 magnitudes or 300 times brighter than normal.

They concluded that Halley?s Comet had collided with another body and
could now have fragmented entirely, unless it has become two or more
smaller comets. Its next return should occur in 2061 but this is now open to some doubt. Lets hope what is left is not heading straight for us!

http://infoman16.tripod.com/Articles/halley.htm

When Comet Hale-Bopp passed in 1997 the house next to where we lived caught fire. The neighbour next door woke us up in the middle of the night and said: "I am sorry to disturb you, but I think you should get up. The building next door is in full flame".
My response as a devoted astrologer and enthusiastic stargazer was: "Oh, that's quite alright - I was going to get up and watch the comet anyhow...!" He continues to remind me...

I manged to get on the nerves of a photographer that night. While the firemen were fighting to extinguish the flames, I discovered that if he took a picture from the right angle he could capture BOTH the flames devouring my neighbours house AND Comet Hale-Bopp in the background.

He wasn't interested... I'm crazy!

MarkC wrote:I rather slipped up on the colour association of green with Venus. It appears the colour has associations with Jupiter too.

Green comets should be of Mercury nature.
This is the translation of the text known as PseudoPtolemaus

http://heavenastrolabe.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/comets/

It should be the same as in Bonatti. It's a standard in ancient astrology. It should be something like that even in Nechempso Petosiris.
Margherita

Hello Margherita,

Ok. I will check Bonatti , Ibn Ezra and other texts in my library. I confess this is a subject I have given very little attention to up to now. I am sure you know your sources. Its just I wonder where Lilly got his different associations from then? The subject is quite interesting as a topic on it own. This has got me interested in studying more on this. Thanks.

Apparently The Sabeans of Harran, a community of Hellenized pagans, preserved Babylonian astrological teachings into the 10th century A.D. The city of Harran possessed seven gates and seven temples, each one dedicated to a Babylonian god, constructed according to a characteristic geometrical form and associated with a metal or a color (according to the text of Ibn Shaddad, 1216-1285). S?n (Moon: White), Nab? (Mercury: Brown), Ishtar (Venus: Blue), Shamash (Sun: Yellow), Nergal (Mars: Red), Marduk (Jupiter: Green), Ninurta (Saturn: Black).

Rumen Kolev suggests the Babylonians had the following associations for the seven planets: Moon: Blue, Sun: Yellow, Mars: Red, Mercury: variable, Venus: White, Jupiter: Orange, Saturn: Grey

http://cura.free.fr/decem/09kolev.html

I have also come across the following associations for comets from a 17th century source:

Saturn- dusky, leaden pale
Jupiter- splendid, brilliant, clear
Mars- fiery, red
Sun- golden
Moon- silver
Mercury- yellow
Venus- changeable

Here is an interesting article from Patrice Guinard discussing this and other matters relating to the planetary associations and colour: http://cura.free.fr/22plcome.html

MarkC wrote:Hello Margherita,
The city of Harran possessed seven gates and seven temples, each one dedicated to a Babylonian god, constructed according to a characteristic geometrical form and associated with a metal or a color (according to the text of Ibn Shaddad, 1216-1285). S?n (Moon: White), Nab? (Mercury: Brown), Ishtar (Venus: Blue), Shamash (Sun: Yellow), Nergal (Mars: Red), Marduk (Jupiter: Green), Ninurta (Saturn: Black).

Yes I know, and

It is divided into seven rings or huge circles named from the seven planets, and the way from one to the other of these is by four streets and through four gates, that look toward the four points of the compass. Furthermore, it is so built that if the first circle were stormed, it would of necessity entail a double amount of energy to storm the second; still more to storm the third; and in each succeeding case the strength and energy would have to be doubled; so that he who wishes to capture that city must, as it were, storm it seven times.

Philosophers of XVI century had not fantasy at all

In any case for some strange reasons I don't know comets are divided into 9 types, and they seem not follow exactly planetary rulership.
Tomorrow I will check some other text,

Margherita

Hello Margherita,

William Lilly definitely doesn't go along with the associations of planets and colours you have listed. Its maybe not as clear cut as you suggest?

Lilly wasn't the kind of astrologer to just make up his own associations. He must have been relying on older sources.

Here is what he says in Christian Astrology for the planets Venus, Jupiter and Mercury:

Of VENUS, her generall and particular Significations.
COLOUR. In colours she signifieth White, or milky Skie-colour mixed with brown, or a little Green. ( page 75)

Of the Planet Jupiter, and his Signification.
COLOURS: Sea-green or Blew, Purple, Ash-colour, a mixt Yellow and Green. (page 63

Of MERCURY, his generall and particular Significations.
COLOUR. Mixed and new colours, the Gray mixed with Sky-colour, such as is on the Neck of the Stock-dove, Linsie-woolsie colours, or consisting of many colours mixed in one. ( page 79)

William Lilly Christian Astrology, (1st ed. 1647, reprinted 1985 Regulus ).

In any case for some strange reasons I don't know comets are divided into 9 types, and they seem not follow exactly planetary rulership.

I dont know if you are interested but the ancient Chinese linked the colour of Comets to the planets too. Although naturally their approach to the astrology is quite different. They tracked Comets moving through 28 Lunar Mansions and their own system of asterisms.

In my lifetime Hale bopp is the only one that I've seen with Naked eye that really caught my attention. I think seeing an object like that as opposed to what looks more like a falling star is impressionable.

it was huge where I life, never seen another with naked eye like it.

G

MarkC wrote:Hello Margherita,

William Lilly definitely doesn't go along with the associations of planets and colours you have listed. Its maybe not as clear cut as you suggest?

Lilly wasn't the kind of astrologer to just make up his own associations. He must have been relying on older sources.

Good morning Mark,

but I have not listed any alternative association.
I'm just tring to write that comets follow a dfferent rule- the ninefold division- very used from MiddleAges to 1500-1600.
This is the list: Veru, Coaculum, Pertica, Miles, Dominus Aschone, Maculia or Aurea, Argentum, Rosa and Virga.
Anyway I don't know many information about comets and I never tried a forecast like Haly or Cardano, so I really I don't know.

And I don't think Lilly gave his associations of planets and colours out of the tradition, he always follows Ptolemy and other medieval authors.

Anyway it seems he used the syzygy chart too. Checking in my files I found this:

"The astrological judgement which succeeds I frame according the observation of Longomontanus from the time of the Full moon succeding the Comet-"

why he uses the following sizygy and not the preceding one I don't know, but maybe someone else can tell.

Margherita