INTRODUCTION Astrology, as a spiritual science, explains the relationship between man and the Universe and it reveals the wonderful plan by which the whole of creation evolves towards increasing perfection. It guides man and helps him to find his proper place in the Universe, to discover his own life's purpose and to awaken his noblest aspirations and ideals. It also gives him a greater understanding of others, so that he may accept them, help them and love them more. The inner understanding gained through the study of spiritual Astrology opens the door to Universal Brotherhood. In order to fully understand it, Astrology must be studied in the light of the Western Wisdom Teachings, especially the Law of Rebirth and the Law of Cause and Effect. Perfect order reigns supreme in the Universe. Everything has a cause and nothing happens by mere chance. What we are at the present time is the result of what we have done in the past, while what we do now shapes our future. The Teachings of The Rosicrucian Fellowship, designed for the people of the West, are based on first-hand knowledge. They offer an answer to those who cannot believe anything that does not permit a rational explanation. They bring a message of peace and encourage a sense of fellowship with all of those who, while on different paths, sincerely seek the Truth. The Rosicrucian Teachings aim at the development of "right thinking, right feeling and right action", all of which are the product of "self-mastery". The motto of the Rosicrucian Philosophy is: "A Sane Mind, A Soft Heart, A Sound Body." Its keynote is: SERVICE. The Rosicrucian Fellowship is an international association of Christian Mystics, founded in 1909 by Max Heindel, with International Headquarters in Oceanside, California, U.S.A. It was created for the purpose of promulgating a definite, logical and sequential teaching concerning the origin, evolution and future development of the World and Man, showing both the spiritual and scientific aspects and allowing for a union of Science and Religion. ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP COURSES AND PUBLICATIONS The Rosicrucian Fellowship has been teaching Rosicrucian Philosophy and Astrology for 85 years and publishes all the necessary materials for this study. The Rosicrucian Teachings make no statements that are not supported by reason and logic, but they are not offered as the last word on the subject. They are not dogmatic, but offer facts and principles about which the student must think and work to develop his own conviction and evolve his own understanding. There are no dues or tuition fees. All expenses of the organization are met by free-will offerings and the sale of books and other materials. Students have the opportunity to help in this great Work as the heart dictates and the means permit. The Rosicrucian Fellowship offers correspondence courses in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, all on a free-will offering basis. We offer: A Course in Rosicrucian Philosophy in two sections: The Preliminary Philosophy course of 12 lessons is based on The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception by Max Heindel. The Supplementary Philosophy course of 40 lessons deals with the practical application of the Rosicrucian Philosophy. These two courses will prepare the student for more advanced work. A Course in Spiritual Astrology in three sections: The Preliminary Astrology course of 26 lessons covers the basics of chart erection and the spiritual principles of delineation. The Senior Astrology course of 12 lessons covers an in-depth method of delineation. The Senior Extension Astrology course of 13 lessons covers progressions, transits and other methods of astrological timing. Astrology is offered as an effective tool in the development of the higher faculty of the mind, namely, Intuition. This sacred science is taught to everyone except hypnotists or those professionally engaged as a medium, fortune teller, palmist or astrologer. We hope that the spiritual science of astrology will not be used to make money, but to help in the spiritual guidance and healing of suffering humanity. A Course in Bible Interpretation: This 28 lesson course gives the student the basic keys of esoteric interpretation leading to a deeper understanding of the Holy Scriptures. "...In the first place let it be understood, as previously said in speaking of the Christian mysteries, that the four Gospels are not merely accounts of the life of a single individual, written by four different people, but that they are symbolical of different Initiations. Paul says, 'Until Christ be formed in you'. Everyone will some day go through the four stages that are depicted in the four Gospels, for everyone is unfolding the Christ spirit within himself." - Teachings of an Initiate by Max Heindel, page 192 The following basic textbooks by Max Heindel are available: The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (702 pages). This spiritual classic contains the basic tenets of the Rosicrucian Philosophy. It offers the general public an explanation of the great mysteries of the Universe and Man and relates them to the basic Laws of Nature. This book enables people to harmonize the Mind (science) with the Heart (religion), an alliance which is of fundamental importance. Simplified Scientific Astrology (198 pages). A complete textbook on the art of erecting a horoscope. It also includes a philosophic encyclopedia of Astrology and a table of planetary hours. Message of the Stars (734 pages). Written in collaboration with Augusta Foss-Heindel. Contains a complete method of interpretation and delineation of the horoscope for character analysis and provides a simplified method of progressing the chart. It also includes an explanation of Medical Astrology which is illustrated with 36 example horoscopes. Astro-Diagnosis (482 pages). Written in collaboration with Augusta Foss-Heindel. Astro-Diagnosis is the science and art of obtaining knowledge regarding the spiritual causes of man's infirmities as shown by the horoscope. Explanations in regard to reading the horoscope for the purpose of diagnosis are included. This book is unique in the field and includes 100 astrological charts which were selected from the many hundreds of case histories analyzed by the authors. Tables of Houses, International Edition, covering latitudes 1 Ä 66, (North or South). The popular Placidian system of houses is calculated entirely by computer. A World Atlas lists 3000 major cities and an American Atlas lists 4000 cities by state. These and other books and astrological supplies are available in many bookstores or directly from The Rosicrucian Fellowship. For more information and a free catalog contact: The Rosicrucian Fellowship, International Headquarters, 2222 Mission Avenue, P.O. Box 713, Oceanside, CA 92049-0713, USA. Or visit us on the Internet at www.rosicrucian.com. THE 1984 IAU SYSTEM AND THE JPL DE200/LE200 EPHEMERIS Resolutions adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1976, 1979 and 1981 form a coherent system of changes to astronomical constants and time scales. The principal changes are to the masses of solar system bodies, the position of the Vernal Point, general precession in longitude, the 1980 IAU Theory of Nutation and the deflection of light in the Sun's gravitational field. By resolution of the IAU, a new time scale, Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TDT), replaces Ephemeris Time (ET) for use with planetary and lunar ephemerides. The adopted system of astronomical constants and time scales has necessitated a complete recomputation of the fundamental ephemerides of solar system bodies. The new standard planetary and lunar ephemeris, developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in collaboration with the U.S. Naval Observatory and designated DE200/LE200, has been in use since 1984 in the official government astronomical almanacs of the U.S. and many other countries of the world. Since 1984 and beyond further work has been done by many individuals and organizations and the resources have now become available to put this new knowledge to work in a computer program that develops an ephemeris on your personal computer using either Windows 95 or Windows NT. HOW THE ROSICRUCIAN SOFTWARE EPHEMERIS WAS MADE Comments regarding our book ephemerides: Since the JPL DE200/LE200 standard ephemeris is too short for a 21st century ephemeris, The Rosicrucian Ephemeris 2000-2100 for Noon TDT, International Edition, is based on its predecessor the JPL DE102/LE102 ephemeris. The DE102/LE102 was first rotated to the J2000.0 IAU standard epoch. As such, it deviates from the DE200/LE200 by insignificant amounts. The data was then reduced to geocentric apparent longitude and declination and all phenomena were computed in full conformance with the 1984 IAU standards. This includes conversion from Barycentric Dynamical Time to Terrestrial Dynamical Time, allowance for the deflection of light in the Sun's gravitational field, and use of the complete 1980 IAU Theory of Nutation. The true node of the Moon was computed from the osculating elements of the Moon's positions as contained in the DE102/LE102 ephemeris. The resulting positions of longitude and declination retain the full accuracy of the DE102/LE102 ephemeris before being rounded. The other astronomical phenomena were computed to the nearest second of time before being rounded. Eclipses were computed by Bessel's method. Eclipse computations follow the practice of the Astronomical Almanac. Our philosophy with regard to this new ephemeris software: We have included the ability to calculate many different types of ephemerides. Among the various choices are tropical, sidereal or ayanamsa ephemerides for midnight or noon Greenwich time (UT). Heliocentric or geocentric positions for the Sun, Moon and the eight known planets are available. Longitude, latitude, declination and right ascension positions are available for geocentric positions and longitude and latitude positions are available for heliocentric positions. The positions given for all bodies are not modified for the effects of nutation, light-effect or planetary aberration as the spiritual forces that work through the planets are not affected by space, time or the speed of light, hence true positions are needed. THE DELTA-T TIME CORRECTION Because of the nature of spiritual astrology it is not required that consideration of the so-called Delta-T correction factor be included in the calculations. The factors that make up Delta-T are not completely understood. As such, no one can tell in advance what Delta-T will be for a given year. The variance of time between Universal Time (UT) and Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TDT), which is only measured after-the-fact and not beforehand is perhaps up to one minute difference. The fastest body in astrology is the Moon and she moves no more than 35 seconds of arc or so in one minute of clock time. This small movement is of no real significance in the analysis of a horoscope. Therefore we have eliminated factors which are of no real consequence. The sidereal time given in the calculations is the mean sidereal time expressed in UT. The student uses UT time to compute the sidereal time, Ascendant and house cusps. DEFINITION OF THE DATA All positions in The Rosicrucian Ephemeris, Software Edition, are true positions computed in Universal Time (UT) and referred to the mean dynamical ecliptic and equinox of the date defined by P. Bretagnon's VSOP87 planetary theory. The full set of terms used in VSOP87 have not been used in order to cut down on calculation times that would otherwise irritate the end user and not add substantially to the accuracy of planetary positions. The numbers of terms used give accurate planet positions to 3 - 15 seconds of arc or better. Basic Astronomical Terms The ecliptic is a great circle along which the Sun appears to move around the Earth each year. The celestial equator is a great circle which is the projection of the Earth's equator upon the heavens. The intersection of the celestial equator with the ecliptic as it goes from south to north of the equator is called the Vernal Point or 0 degrees Aries. The Vernal Point defines the beginning of the tropical zodiac, also called the intellectual zodiac. The meridian of a place is a great circle arc perpendicular to the equator and passing directly overhead. Sidereal Time (S.T.) - The Sidereal Time given daily for midnight or noon UT is the 1984 IAU standard Greenwich Mean Sidereal Time (GMST). It is the angle between the Greenwich meridian and the Vernal Point (apparently revolving westward with the heavens daily) measured in hours westward from Greenwich on the celestial equator. Longitude - The planetary longitudes and declinations are given daily for midnight or noon UT. The longitude of a planet is its angle from the Vernal Point measured eastward in degrees along the ecliptic. The Moon's True Node is the longitude of the point where the Moon's instantaneous orbit crosses the ecliptic from south to north. Declination - The declination of a planet is its angle measured in degrees north (N) or south (S) of the equator. Aspectarian Section The Aspectarian gives the day, hour and minute UT of major aspects, planetary ingresses, eclipses, Moon phases and changes of direction in planetary movements. A major aspect is an angular relationship between two planets as defined in the following table: Major aspect Definition ------------ ---------- Conjunction 0ø of longitude Sextile 60ø of longitude Square 90ø of longitude Trine 120ø of longitude Opposition 180ø of longitude Parallel same declination, both N or both S Contraparallel same degree of declination, one N and the other S A planetary ingress is the hour and minute when a planet enters a new sign of the zodiac. For example, when the Sun enter Aries, it is the moment of the Spring Equinox. An "R" appears in the Aspectarian whenever a planet's longitude is changing from direct (increasing) to retrograde (decreasing). The planet is then said to be stationary retrograde. A "D" appears in the Aspectarian whenever a planet's longitude is changing from retrograde (decreasing) to direct (increasing). The planet is then said to be stationary direct. The phases of the Moon list the day, hour, minute and longitude of the Moon. These are defined as follows: Name Moon longitude - Sun longitude New Moon 0ø Quarter 90ø (1st quarter) Full Moon 180ø Quarter 270ø (3rd quarter) Eclipses are shown along with the phase of the Moon. A solar eclipse can only happen at a New Moon. A Lunar eclipse can only occur at a Full Moon. Solar Eclipses are of three types: Total - when the Moon completely covers the Sun. Annular - when the Moon covers the Sun, but the Moon appears smaller than the Sun from the Earth's surface, so that a ring of sunlight surrounds the Moon. Partial - when the Moon only partly covers the Sun. Distance from Sun-Moon to either Node Type of eclipse ------------------------------------- --------------- within about 18.50 degrees solar eclipse MAY occur within about 15.33 degrees solar eclipse WILL occur within about 11.25 degrees total or annular eclipse MAY occur within about 9.60 degrees total or annular eclipse WILL occur The Moon's shadow is always very small and follows a narrow path across the Earth. At any moment in time during a solar eclipse only a small part of the Earth is in shadow. The total or annular part of a solar eclipse lasts for at most only a few minutes in any one place. On average, each place on Earth is covered by a total solar eclipse about once every 360 years. Lunar Eclipses are also of three types: Total - when the Moon is completely immersed in the Earth's umbral shadow. Partial - when the Moon is partly immersed in the Earth's umbral shadow. Penumbral - when the Moon enters the Earth's penumbral shadow but does not enter the umbral shadow. In the penumbral shadow, some light from the Sun still shines on the Moon. In the umbral shadow, no light from the Sun shines on the Moon. The Earth's shadow is always very large near the Moon. During a total eclipse, this shadow covers the entire Moon as viewed from any place on Earth and may continue to cover it for nearly an hour in some cases. Sun-Moon opposition near either Node Type of eclipse ------------------------------------ --------------- within about 12.25 degrees lunar eclipse MAY occur within about 9.50 degrees lunar eclipse WILL occur within about 6.00 degrees total or partial eclipse MAY occur within about 3.75 degrees total or partial eclipse WILL occur The last aspect of the Moon may be easily seen by checking when the Moon changes sign, then backing up to her last aspect and the time it was exact. Void of course conditions can be seen for longitude or declination. From the time of last aspect until the Moon enters the next sign, the Moon is said to be void of course. The Tropical and Sidereal Zodiacs The Vernal Point and the Tropical Zodiac are affected by precession and nutation and move westward about one degree every 72 years in relation to the fixed stars, which make up the Sidereal Zodiac. Although spiritual astrology only uses the tropical zodiac, we include the sidereal zodiac for those who are interested. The Synetic (Sidereal) Vernal Point (SVP) is the longitude in the tropical zodiac of sidereal 0 degrees Aries as determined partly by empirical research and partly by archeological research in the Fagen- Bradley School of Western Sidereal Astrology. This system fixes a sidereal zodiac in which at a remote epoch the star Aldebaran was at 15d 0m 0s of Taurus. Since this epoch, Aldebaran has been affected by its own proper motion, but the sidereal zodiac so specified has been affected only by precession and nutation. Sidereal 0 degrees Aries in this zodiac was approximately equal to the position of the Sun at the Spring Equinox of 221 A.D. The precise definition is: SVP = 5d 57m 28.64s Pisces - precession in longitude - nutation in longitude from JD 2433282.423 UT1 (31 December 1949 at 20:09:07.2 hours). To obtain the sidereal longitude of a celestial body using the SVP, add 360ø to the tropical longitude and subtract the SVP. The True Ayanamsa is the longitude of tropical 0 degrees Aries (the Vernal Point) in a sidereal zodiac based on assigning to the fixed star Spica the position 0d 0m 0.7s Libra in the sidereal zodiac at a remote epoch, but the sidereal zodiac so specified has since been freed from the proper motion of Spica, so that it is affected only by precession and nutation. The Ayanamsa coincided approximately with the position of the Sun at the Spring Equinox of 285 A.D., but its precise definition is: True Ayanamsa = 22d 27m 37.65s + precession in longitude + nutation in longitude from JD 2415020.0 TDT (31 December 1899 at noon). To obtain the sidereal longitude of a celestial body using the Ayanamsa, subtract the Ayanamsa from the tropical longitude of the body. The True Obliquity of the Ecliptic is the angle between the ecliptic and the celestial equator. Its formal definition is: True Ecliptic Obliquity = 23d 26m 21.448s + secular terms + nutation in obliquity from the 1980 IAU Theory of Nutation from JD 2451545.0 TDB (01 January 2000 at noon). The Rosicrucian Fellowship 2222 Mission Avenue PO Box 713 Oceanside, CA 92049-0713 (760) 757-6600 (760) 721-3806 fax