Skyscript Astrology Forum

Hi guys,

I know this is kind of a dumb question, but sometimes I get confused. Let's use an example. If a person is born in May 1st, do we count May 1st as the first day, or is it the zeroth day?

The implication is that, if we start counting from May 1st, making it the first day, then the seventh day (or the last day) will be May 7. However, if we count May 1st as the zeroth day, then the seventh day will be May 8.

Similarly, if we count backwards, using May 1st as the first day, the seventh day before it would be April 25. On the other hand, the other method will have the seventh day in April 24.

The difference may be trivial in most cases, but I just want to make sure to be as accurate as possible.

My preference is to treat the date as the zeroth day, that is, the second method. What about you guys?


Larxene Xenohart

A simpler way to understand this: the 7th day is one week later, so the same day of the week in the following week. This often has a significance (for example in critical periods) for being a quarter of the 28-day lunar cycle: the day in which the Moon squares its radical position.

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Deb wrote:A simpler way to understand this: the 7th day is one week later, so the same day of the week in the following week. This often has a significance (for example in critical periods) for being a quarter of the 28-day lunar cycle: the day in which the Moon squares its radical position.

Hello Deb,

Wow, that's interesting. Yeah, so we are supposed to count the date of birth as the zeroth day, as I expected. I didn't know it was connected to the critical periods (7 and 9) nor that it was related to the average of the two lunar cycles (synodic and sidereal cyles).

Thanks for the information.



It's been awhile, Marius.

I must admit that I don't know why it's "7" days, though Deb gave me some hints: it may be related to the motion of the Moon. I have seen the numbers 3, 7 and 9 occur several times in Valens and Maternus. This needs more research.

But, hey, why do you personally think that it's 7 days?



Larxene Xenohart

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Hey Marius,

Sounds interesting! Reminds me of the orb that some astrologers use for the Sun. Speaking of that, sometimes when I see a discussion of orbs, it's not always clear whether X degrees means +/-X degrees from the planet, or +/-trunc(X/2) from the planet.

Anyway, feel free to share your future findings.

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Hey Marius,

I wasn't actually asking you that question. I was just giving my thoughts on "orbs". Anyway, thanks for the information, I agree it is not an easy topic (but astrology in general isn't "easy") and some places do not make a lot of sense (tons of contradictions everywhere). We just have to sort through them slowly, and to study as much as we can, and lastly apply the techniques.



Larxene Xenohart