Dear Friend,
Proceeding with our comparison of Mars and Venus, let us not make the mistake of thinking that Venus is altogether lovely and Mars totally evil. Each has light and shadow, and ours is the privilege of living in best or the worst of their phases. The intrinsic nature of Mars is "dynamic energy"; from him comes ambition to accomplish; he furnishes the power for the world's work. Necessarily the hustle and bustle incident to the expression of this constructive energy cause friction between man and man. Thus anger and hate are engendered by the Mars energy in operation along various lines. Mars never generates this discordant element directly; it is produced by our method of using his energy, and it is as much a mistake to blame Mars for our temper as it is to blame well prepared food for causing indigestion when our stomach is out of order. In the latter case the stomach should be blamed for not performing its duty properly and for spoiling the good food instead of utilizing it in the economy of the system. Similarly, when the Mars ray works through us as passion, we are to blame for not better using this great constructive force.
Then again, how wonderfully everything is balanced in the Kingdom of God, the solar system, and how necessary these opposites! If we had only the Venus ray, we could never really learn to love the good and the beautiful, for we distinguish only by contrast. If nothing around us were ugly or evil, the desirable qualities of the opposite condition would not appear so marked. People who aim to cultivate exclusively the Venus faculty of love and beauty find their esthetic sense revolting more and more at the sordid phases of life, which they bewail but in a helpless manner because they have mistakenly repressed the Mars ray and killed out their temper. Mars energy drives people to face disagreeable situations and overcome difficulties that would discourage people dominated by the Venus ray. Blended, the Venus ray softens the harshness of Mars, and thus the highest good is reached.
In Astrology Independent Study Module No. 5 we learned how to place certain signs and degrees of the zodiac upon the various cusps of the twelve Houses by means of Sidereal Time. In Self-Study Module No. 3 we learned how to calculate the Greenwich Mean Time which is used for the purpose of figuring out the exact positions of the planets in the horoscope. We will now proceed with our work on the experimental horoscope for July 23rd, 1912, in which we found that the Greenwich Mean Time was July 23rd, 10:56 A.M.
Right here is a very important point to be noticed when calculating horoscopes for birthplaces east or west of England, namely, that by addition to, or subtraction from, the local time of birth, which is necessary to convert it into Greenwich Mean Time, the date for which we are to calculate may be changed.
This day we call the G.M.T. Day,and it begins on the noon before our calculated Greenwich Mean Time, and lasts 24 hours until the noon following.
Thus, if a child is born in San Francisco on July the 23rd, at 8:00 P.M., we add 4 minutes for each of the 120 (approximate) degrees the birthplace is west of Greenwich. That makes a total of 8 hours, and gives us a Greenwich Mean Time of 4:00 A.M. But, mark this well: it is 4:00 A.M. on July 24th. That is to say, at the time when the clock of San Francisco pointed to 8 on the evening of July 23rd, the observatory clock in Greenwich marked the hour of 4:00 in the morning of July the 24th.
Let us now suppose that another child is born in a place 120 degrees east of Greenwich at 4:00 o'clock on the morning of July 23rd. In that case, we subtract 8 hours from the local birth time, and that gives us a Greenwich Mean Time of 8:00 P.M., on July the 22nd. In other words, at the time when this child was born and the clock in its birthplace marked 4:00 A.M., on the morning of July 23rd, the observatory clock in Greenwich had only reached 8:00 P.M. on the 22nd of July. In that case, the G.M.T. Day would begin at noon on the 22nd of July, which is the noon before our calculated Greenwich Mean Time. It would extend to the following noon, July the 23rd. And we would have to calculate the motion of the planets in that interval to fit them into the horoscope of the child. But in the case of the child born in San Francisco, the G.M.T. Day would begin at noon, on the 23rd of July, it would extend to noon July 24th, and the planets' motion in that interval would be the basis of our calculations. Therefore, it is always absolutely necessary that the day of the month should be stated, as well as the Greenwich Mean Time calculated. Thus we place special emphasis on July the 23rd, 10:56 A.M., in stating the Greenwich Mean Time of the horoscope we are working on.
The motion of each planet differs from that of every other planet, but the Greenwich Mean Time is the same for them all, and therefore a constant factor in the horoscope. The method of correction consists in finding how far each planet travels between the Greenwich Mean Time of birth and the nearest noon (please mark this, the nearest noon), and adding its motion during this interval to the longitude of the planet given in the Ephemeris, if the Greenwich Mean Time is P.M.; but subtracting if the Greenwich Mean Time is before noon. This may be done by simple porpotion, and students who have become proficient enough to know how far it is safe to depend upon that quick but less accurate method, use it a great deal. For the beginner, however, it is advisable to learn the more exact mathematical method, even if it may seem confusing at first. To do this, it is necessary to learn the use of logarithms, which are not so formidable as the name would seem to imply. A table of these logarithms will be found on the last page of our Ephemeris for any year.
This table is so divided that it answers equally well for degrees and minutes of the zodiac and hours and minutes as applied to time because, as we have already seen, one degree in the zodiac has 60 minutes, the same as an hour on the clock-dial. At the top of the outside narrow columns which are marked Min. are the figures from 0 to 59; these indicate minutes. At the top is a line of figures from 0 to 23; these are marked hours or degrees.
This logarithm table may be used for two purposes:
1. To find the logarithm of a certain number of hours and minutes, or of degrees and minutes.
2 Given a certain logarithm, the table enables us to find its value in hours and minutes or in degrees and minutes.
Thus by the use of this table we can convert a certain number of hours and minutes into their corresponding logarithm, or we can find the equivalent of a logarithm in degrees and minutes, or in hours and minutes. This is accomplished by the simple method illustrated in the following examples:
Suppose we wish to find the logarithm of 5 hours and 25 minutes. Place the top edge of an envelope on the table of logarithms so that the figure 25 in the two narrow outside columns is just above the top edge; place the index finger of the right hand on the figure 5 in the top line, which indicates the hours or degrees. Run that finger down the column, and just above the edge of the envelope you will see the number 6465. This is the logarithm of 5 hours and 25 minutes.
Next we will find the logarithm of 10 hours and 47 minutes. To do this, we place the top edge of our envelope just below the figures 47 in the two outside columns, and our index finger on the column No. 10. We run our finger down this column, and just above the edge of our envelope appears the number 3475. This is the logarithm of 10 hours and 47 minutes. (Or 10 degrees and 47 minutes.)
We will next try to find the value of the logarithm 5740. To do this, we must search in the table for that logarithm or the nearest thereto. A search reveals the fact that it is placed in line with the number 24 of the minute column and in column No. 6 of the degrees. Therefore, the value of logarithm 5740 is 6 hours and 24 minutes.
We will next find the value of logarithm 1.1627. We find this in the column marked 1 at the top, and in line with No. 39 in the minute column. One degree (or hour) and 39 minutes is therefore its value.
Having thus learned to use the table of logarithms, we will apply it in the calculation of our present horoscope by finding the logarithm of the interval between Greenwich Mean Time and the nearest noon. Please remember the word nearest in this connection, and do not make the mistake of finding the logarithm of the Greenwich Mean Time itself. It is the logarithm of the interval from that time till noon that is wanted. Long experience has taught us the absolute necessity of drumming these things into the student's mind, for it is easy to adopt a wrong method but difficult to understand afterwards how the horoscope is out of line with the facts.
As the Greenwich Mean Time is 10:56 A.M., on July 23rd, the clock must still travel 1 hour and 4 minutes before it reaches the noon mark of that day. Therefore this is obviously the nearest noon, and 1 hour and 4 minutes is the interval. Placing our envelope so that 4 in the minute column is just above the top edge and running our index finger down the column marked 1 at the top, we note just above the edge of our envelope the logarithm 1.3522. This is the logarithm of the interval, and will be used in the calculation of all planets' positions in this horoscope. Thus we have disposed of the preliminary calculations which apply to all the planets, and the necessary correction may then easily be made for each of the individual planets. This matter we will take up in our next Astrology Independent Study Module.
In the back of an ephemeris for any year is found a logarithm table. This table is so divided that it answers equally well for degrees and minutes of the zodiac and for hours and minutes of time.
You will see at the top on the outside left of the table a narrow vertical column which is labeled minutes. There are found the numbers 0-59. Also at the top, horizontally placed, is a line of figures 0-23; these are marked hours or degrees.
This table can be used for two purposes: to find the logarithm of a certain number of hours and minutes, or of degrees and minutes, or, given a certain logarithm, the table enables one to find its value in hours and minutes or in degrees and minutes.
If a certain time is given, the hour is located in the top numbers 1-23, and the minutes are located on the far left side in the column 0-59. Where the column under the hour intersects the horizontal column extending from the minutes, is found the logarithm of that hour and minute.
If a certain logarithm is given, and the time or degrees is wanted, then the above process is reversed. The closest logarithm in the table to the one desired is used as the valid logarithm. Then from that number, the column extending upwards to the top column of hours or degrees will locate just that, the hours or degrees. The line of figures extending from the left of the logarithm will give the minutes in the far column on the left side of the table.
(You are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments to us. Please be sure to include the course name and Independent Study Module number in your e-mail to us. Or, you are also welcome to use the answer form below. You will find the answers to the questions below in the next Astrology Independent Study Module.)
In questions under 1 you must make correction of Standard Time to True Local Time.
1. When birth occurs at Chicago, Longitude 88 West, on August 25th, 1912, at 8 P.M.: [optional]
a. What is the Greenwich Mean Time?
b. When does the G.M.T. Day begin and end?
c. Which is the nearest noon?
d. How long is the Interval from Greenwich Mean Time to nearest noon?
e. What is the Logarithm of Interval?
2. When birth occurs at Leningrad, Longitude 30 East, 1 A.M., January 20th, 1912: [optional]
a. What is the Greenwich Mean Time?
b. When does the G.M.T. Day begin and end?
c. Which is the nearest noon?
d. How long is the Interval from Greenwich Mean Time to nearest noon?
e. What is the Logarithm of Interval?
