Social science in the light of the solar system

Index

Page

Introduction 9

Nature of the Planets 31

Indications of the Signs 33

Methods of Developing a chart 37

Winters 153

Musicians 181

Inventors 206

Land, Engineering and Building 212

LaAv and Medicine 222

War 268

Sports 278

Business under 12th Sign 281

Numbers 287

Dreams 293

EXPLANATION

It may be observed that two chapters have been crowded out of this volume. We hope however to publish three volumes, the 2nd dealing with the inmates of prisons, asylums, hospitals &c, and the third with rulers and public events; or what is commonly known as mundane astrology. We trust that an ephemeris, will shortly be published in connection with these books. The ephemeris commonly employed and known as the geocentric ephemeris can not be used. By our system there are no retrogrades and no aspects excepting the conjunction. An opposition is regarded as equivalent to a conjunction, and many more conjunctions are formed by this method.

Every thing that would not stand a severe practical test has been discarded. Some swear by Ptolemy and some by anything they see in print, but give us the imperishable truth, founded upon a rock if we do have to dig for it.

This being the first edition errors will doubtless be found in it. Any errors in calculation will gladly be corrected if the publisher is notified.

Introduction

We are not going to write a preface and introduction to this work, because we wish every word of it to be read, and where there is both preface and introduction, either one or both is sure to be skipped. We not only wish every word to be read, but we believe that it requires to be carefully read, not less than three times. Some students call Planetary Influence, a deep study, and so it is, but we have endeavored to simplify the language as far as possible avoiding all technical and high sounding terms, and using illustrating charts abundantly, so that we think with several careful readings any one may become master of the contents without reaily hard study. Some may master it thoroughly with one reading; they may even see more than the writer; we hope they will. There is nothing that requires to be memorized excepting the indications of the Signs and indications of the planets in the Signs. The book will prove much pleasanter reading if these are first fixed upon the mind. Those who possess Butler's Solar Biology may proceed to work out their birthdates from the Ephemeris contained in it, according to the directions we have given. By applying to the Esoteric Publishing Co., Applegate, California, the Ephemeris to 1915 will be sent for a few cents additional. We should strongly advise every one into whose hands this book falls to learn to work out their own Charts. Don't go to some one who will charge you a dollar or five dollars for a reading; it might not then be correct, and besides you want to thoroughly understand it yourself, so that you can w^atch it every day, and learn where the good points in your Horoscope are, and when you can be most successful along any given line. With the instructions given in this book, the outline may be worked out in thirty minutes.

10 . INTRODUCTION

We have only been able in this work to touch upon the different phases of the question. We might take any one of the chapters we have written and enlarge upon it. Many of them would demand a volume in order to do them justice. We hope however to devote another volume to the inmates of our as3dums and penitentiaries, if birthdates can be secured. If any light can be thrown upon the mysteries which life holds in these places, it is certainly needed. As we have noticed further on, we do not believe that events can be accurately foretold; if we can in any manner, or in any degree, change our own lives, then events cannot be accurately foretold. We are not making any pretention to fortune telling, but we do positively maintain, and have endeavored to prove, that there is a powerful influence emanating from the unseen, and regulated by the position of the planets, which brings prosperity and adversity, just as we come under good or bad influences. We have noted in a large number of Horoscopes the points which brought success and promotion and the points which brought failure and miser}'. Those whose good and bad planets form conjunctions around the Horoscope do not have the same ups and downs in life as those who have the good planets in one section and the bad planets in another. The former are meeting with obstacles and overcoming them all their lives, while the latter are liable to rise to great heights, only to be cast down again.

We are taking up this study in the order of the Signs. Religion, education, love, marriage, and divorce, coming under the 1st. sign. Money and heaven come under the 2nd. sign. Under the 3rd. we bring writers, musicians painters and actresses: although actresses and singers belong more properly to the 11th; for convenience however we have classified them all together under the 3rd. Travelins: also comes under the 3rd. Under the 4th we bring inventors, land, engineering and building, law and medicine: although law belongs more properly to the 3rd Sign.

INTRODUCTION 11

As we have not devoted very much space to either, we have classed them together. Under the 5th. we bring children, philanthropists and rulers. Under the 12th we bring war, sports, and business coming under the 12th Sign. We merely introduce the questions of crime and insanity; to these we hope to devote an entire volume, provided we can secure birthdates. After glancing over a dozen or more books on criminology, we have failed to find a single birthdate; no one seems to have suspected that the planetary conditions at birth had any connection with these afflictions.

Our aim in publishing this book has been to place within easy reach of all persons young and old the means of studying their own lives in the light of the Solar system.

We have never given an astrological reading, and probably never will. We can each study our own lives much better than any one can stud}' them for us.

If any person desires to be critical, we do not object, knowing that a man's enemies are frequently his best advertisers. Hoping these simple talks upon the subject before us may be received in the spirit in which they are given, we leave them with you; as we have received the message, so have we delivered it to you; To those who have not investigated the question of planetary influence, and are not inclined to believe in it, we would say: Do not condemn us without a trial, and to those who are laboring in the work of reform we would say: The stars are with you. Under the motto, "fiat-justicia ruat caelum," press on avoiding as far as possible acts of violence and undue excitement. God still rules, and justice will be done though the heavens should fall.

UNFOLDING OF THE TRUTH 13

CHAPTER I. Unfolding of the Truth

Prior to the year 1905, we regarded so-called fortune telling by the position of the stars as merely a pleasant pastime, much the same as reading by cards; although for a number of years we had noticed that certain difficulties which beset our path appeared periodically. We had even gone so far as to blame the Moon when things went wrong. In the year 1905, however, we met a man who believed strongly in planetary influence, and our first serious thoughts on the subject came as a result of our conversation with him. We never met the man again but resolved if there was anything to be learned along that line we would seize the first opportunity to break in upon it. Shortly afterward we called upon a lady practitioner in Astrology. She gave a palm reading, and when asked for an astrological reading took our birth date and told us that we should choose our friends from certain signs and avoid those under certain signs. "Fire and water," she said, "would not mix," and that was the extent of the reading. When she saw that we appeared skeptical, she produced a small volume and read a page or more corroborating what she had said. We left her apartments feeling that fools and their money were easily parted. We then ransacked the stores and libraries for books, and probably read a dozen or more, but from two books we received what proved to be valuable information. Xo one book contained anything more than fragments of the Science.

In reading Butler's Solar Biology we discovered that he had published an Ephemeris giving the position of the planets as they would appear from the Sun which is the centre of the Solar System. He claimed that certain phases and conjunctions of the Moon indicated certain traits of character which appeared in the talents and disposition of the child, but he asserted that this Ephemeris could not be used in the art of prognosticating, or foretelling the future. The Ephemeris universally used by astrologers so far as we have seen, records the position as the planets appear from the earth.

Now we want you to get the difference between the two clearly and definitely fixed on the mind. You will see that the planets as they would appear from the Sun as the centre of the Solar System complete a perfect revolution in the Zodiac in a given time, with the exception of the Moon, and the Moon we do not regard in the same light as the planets. The position of the Moon is given as it would appear from the earth. The Sun is regarded as practically stationary, its progress in its orbit being so slow as to produce no appreciable change in thousands of years. It is placed several degrees in Aquarius and always there.

This is known as the Heliocentric position of the planets and is much simpler and more easily understood than the ordinary Ephemeris showing the position of the planets as they appear from the earth. As seen from our point of view, Venus and Mercury complete their revolution between the earth and the Sun, consequently they never appear excepting in a certain section of the Zodiac. They pass through so many Signs and then retrograde. Uranus and Saturn also retrograde according to the Ephemeris. The}' don't really retrograde but they appear to from the view we get of them. Now this produces a condition that is at once complex and confusing, and we reasoned the question out after this manner. If the position of the planets indicate anything, then one Ephemeris is the right one to use and the other is wrong. God's laws are not haphazard or unstable. Either the Heliocentric Ephemeris is the only one to use or it signifies nothing. God's laws are also direct and simple. He never builds a complex structure where a simple one will answer as well. This fact gave us a leaning toward the Heliocentric Ephemeris. We then conceived the idea of forming a circle indicating the Zodiac and marking off'

UNFOLDING OF THF TRUTH 15

the twelve Signs. From a very useful little book, we don't recall the title, we gathered the indications of the Signs which have generally been used in Astrology, and also got the idea of the Transits and the fact that each day in the Transits counted a year in the Nativity. This done we proceeded to work out our own birth date from Butler's Ephemeris. What was our surprise to find that it corresponded with our own life as we knew it, showing by the position of Uranus, Saturn and Mars where our greatest difficulties lay, and the position of the Moon indicating the time when we had suffered most from these afflictions. We proceeded to work out others and soon found the mathematical part of the work easy. However we had much to learn regarding the effect of certain conjunctions in certain signs, and have yet much to learn, but we feel that the foundation is surely laid. We tussled for a long time with the various aspects, square, opposite, etc., but decided there was nothing in them. We believe that planets changing at the same time in different Signs work as strongly as a conjunction, if not more so. We also think it may be that planets, for example 6° in Aquarius and 6° in Aries, maj r act as a conjunction but will not guarantee the fact. We haA-e tried to secure information from various practicing Astrologers, but found on ordering a trial reading that often their work counted for nothing. One man who advertised extensively in the papers all over the world sent us a trial reading and it was absolutely without sense or reason.

He based most of his calculations on the supposition that Mars governed the Sign of Scorpio and the Moon governed Cancer and so on. This theory we had long since discarded as ridiculous. The planets which occupy the Signs rule the Signs. A Sign devoid of planets is like a house without a tenant. Fire and water Signs we see no sense in; Mars governs fire and Xeptune governs water. The}' are quite capable of filling the office without any assistance from Signs. Many persons have the idea that you are born under a lucky or unlucky star. Such a thing is impossible. You are born under all the stars. You know your own troubles best and that is why you think you are born under an unlucky star. An equal distribution of trouble we regard as the one great end attained by the regulating influence of the planets. Some astrologers advertise a cure for all the ills to which flesh is heir. They can insure a happy marriage, business success, faithful friends and anything you desire. They are surely enjoying a pipe dream. It may be possible that all these troubles can be eliminated but we have no reason to think so. We have neither seen nor heard of any one who reached middle age, without experiencing serious trouble of some kind. They may in their brighter moments overlook them, and imagine they have been having a swell time, but we have not seen it. It is conceded that men and -women of genius balance up 'their success with an extra dose of suffering. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," was written long ago and is equally true today. Money cannot buy happiness. We cannot all occupy the same position, but we can all be equally happy. Some one must do the so-called dirty work, but every man should be respected in the position which he occupies. Caste and snobbery plainly emanate from a weak mind, and should be placed where they belong.

While we regard a certain amount of suffering as a necessity, we do not however regard wickedness as a necessity. That we believe lies with the person and those who constitute his environment. A person is sometimes compelled to do that which is wrong. The Bible tells us that with the temptation God will also make a way of escape and we believe that God will not hold such persons as sin through ignorance or compulsion responsible for their act. The same Christ who prayed "Father forgive them for they know not what they do," as he hung on the cruel cross will sit on the judgment throne.

UNFOLDING OF THE TRUTH 17

The fact of Planetary influence being proved beyond the shadow of a doubt opens up a wide field for conjecture. We call it Planetary influence for want of a better name. God's law is written in the Heavens in an unmistakable manner but just how it is communicated to the mind is another question. The Bible favors the idea of guardian angels and ministering spirits and devils. We are even told that we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses. Some one has also suggested that the stars may be angels. We read that the righteous shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. Again we will wonder if the whole solar system exists for our special benefit. Astronomers tell us that the Moon must practically be regarded as a dead world; Mercury always keeps the same face toward the sun and gets seven times as much heat as the earth. The day and the year on Venus are supposed to be the same length. There is not enough water on Mars to fill one of the great lakes of the earth. Uranus and Neptune are so far from the Sun that heat and light would be almost entirely wanting. Jupiter has no well defined crust and the conditions there are chaotic. Saturn is in much the same condition. If this description is correct none of the planets are habitable at the present time and few of them ever will be habitable. Taking this fact into consideration it would not be assuming too much to claim that the Planetary system existed for the benefit of earth's inhabitants. The earth being situated at the best distance from the Sun would be chosen as the Arena. If God as the Creator of the Universe sent his ''Only Beloved Son" to suffer and die for the redemption of the human race it would not be assuming too much to say that a large portion of the starry canopy existed for the purpose of adding glory to the earth's surroundings more especially if we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses; they may also enjoy the glory of the firmament. The wmole Solar System was created at one time according to {the account given in Gen. 1, 16; "And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also." Verses 7 and 8 would leave us with the impression that Heaven itself hovered between the earth and the clouds. "And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were over the firmament from the waters which were under the firmament and it was so, and God called the firmament Heaven."

"A world there lies around, A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye, May bring us there to be."

CHAPTER II. Does History Repeat Itself?

In glancing over the Ephemeris for the years 1913, '14 and '15, we find that a heavy conjunction occurs in 1915; the Sun, Moon, Earth, and all the planets come into the conjunction in January. This discovery leads us to search for a time when a similar phenomenon occurred ; about the year 1830, we find a similar condition although the conjunction does not appear to be so close. When the distance between planets is less than 30°, w T e call it a conjunction, -and w T hen one passes another, it takes the form of an ecliptic conjunction. It would be possible for the Earth, Moon, and all the planets to pass the Sun at the same time; w^e do not know that this has ever occurred and we do not know that it ever will occur, but the present conjunction is going to run close. We presume something similar has taken place about once in eighty or eighty five years, from the time of the creation of the w r orld ; although the conjunction might not be nearly so strong. For lack of an Ephemeris we cannot investigate further back than 1830, but we find a striking analogy between that period of history and the present time.

Chart No 1 gives the position of the planets for January 15, 1915; Saturn is 30° from the Sun, but the others are huddled together so close that we can scarcely find space for their names. Saturn will pass the sun in 1917 or 1918, and a full conjunction may be formed in 1919; it would be impossible to say positively without a proper Ephemeris for that date ; but 1920 will see the conjunction broken up. At times it will be very strong during the next seven years, but we would expect 1915 and 1919 to mark important periods in history.

No. 1

Mo. a.

Chart Xo. 2 gives us an idea of the position in 1830, although the planets never form a conjunction so strong as that which is just ahead. In this chart they are like "pigs in clover", when one comes in another goes out ; however it is strong enough to produce very decided results ; a glance at that period will prove interesting.

In Europe we find Turkey and Greece engaged in conflict. Greece gained her independence after six years of warfare which started with a rising in the Morea in 1821, and was finally settled May 7th, 1832. Many times during these wars the whole of Europe became embroiled and a revolutionary spirit and feeling of unrest pervaded not only all Europe but Northern Africa as well.

Of Mexico we learn that in 1825 her independence was acknowledged by every foreign power excepting Spain; war followed. Of this war it is said that it was stained with excesses and atrocities on both sides ; every commander being allowed to hunt down and slaughter the insurgents like brutes. History tells us that from 1824 to 1826 the nation was embroiled in an interminable series of revolutions, having to face at the same time serious national issues.

In order to form an idea of the condition of the United States during this period we copy a list of headings from a well-known history. It reads as follows : "Hot tariff disputes, Republican party dissolved, Gag rule, Anti-Slavery petition, Angry scenes in the House, Secession of Southern members, Financial embarrassment, The Administration arrainged, Distress of the poor, New York fire, Flour riots, Mob spirit increasing, New strikes and riots, Anti-Slavery tumult, Gag rule adopted." A writer also gives the following word picture of the situation. "The mob spirit of 1834 seemed in the next few years to increase rather than to diminish. Society seemed everywhere unhinged, and the demon of blood and slaughter was let loose upon it. The columns of the weekly press teemed with news of murders, riots and executions. Mobs were taking the law into their own hands and settling local disputes after nature's own fashion. Lynch law r in the Mississippi region strung up the robber, gambler, and pickpocket on the nearest tree. Irish riots over O'Connell and the Battle of the Boyne, Xigger riots, Xative American riots, riots at the primaries and the polls, riots of the poor against the rich. The struggle between labor and capital which our modern enterprise engenders began with this period." In addition to this 1832 was known as the Cholera summer. The Anti-Mason party also flourished from 1826 to 1832. This party prospered for a time, but triangular elections became very burdensome; in some cases a State would remain for months without a Governor, and as the work which it aimed to accomplish was undertaken by the ruling administration, it gradually dropped out. Andrew Jackson was nominated in 1832 by a Democratic Republican Convention, and his inauguration took place amidst great excitement; a veritable mob of ten thousand surrounded the White House and mingled freely with important personages, Jackson himself riding on horseback to the White House after the ceremony. The situation is summed up as follows by a historian. "It was the people's day, the people's President, and the people would rule."

Turning to England, where the situation was even more acute. The following has been gleaned from a letter written about that time, "During the reign of Geo. IV., there was great distress in the country. Hunger and want of work made wild war and the price of food was enormously high, bread being sold in slices. The rich became richer and the poor became poorer. When manhood suffrage was mentioned, it was considered to be the mere ravings of a madman. Anything like the squalid misery, the slow mouldering putrefying death by which the weak and the feeble of the working classes were perishing it never befell my eyes to behold nor my imagination to conceive, and the creatures seemed to have no idea of resisting nor even repining. They took it down with oriental submission as if it was God and not the landlord that was laying his hand upon them ; and when their honorable representative in Parliament gave a description of their suffering, "liar" was the best word applied to him by the organs of tyranny. The voice of the multitude reduced to the borders of starvation was long raised in vain."

Work in the factories was referred to in the following terms, "If the employer were a selfish man, the workers were used merely as instruments of profit by him, and it did not matter how soon they were used up, for there could always be found numbers enough who were eager to take their places, and were willing to undertake any task on any terms for the sake of securing a bare living."

Xow for a glance at the work which was accomplished in this period of English history. Between 1829 and 1832 a fierce fight took place over the passing of the Reform Bill ; this bill gave the working classes much better representation in Parliament, adding half a million voters to the list. A Reform Parliament took the place of the old one, and a number of Reform measures were passed, but not without a terrific struggle. Riots took place and many times the militia were called out to quell disturbances. Many memorable speeches were made in the New r Parliament, and good men and true were raisd up to champion the cause of the oppressed against the hand of the oppressor. They waged many fierce battles, but victory was theirs every time. After the Reform Bill came the Abolition of Slavery in the colonies ; Labor Legislation by which the right of the government to dictate to employer and employed was established, and law T s protecting women and children were enacted. A better system of relief for the poor was also provided, and a commercial monopoly known as the East India Company was abolished, which left the benefits to be derived from foreign trade open to all the king's subjects.

One point made by historians is worthy of notice. It is this : not one of the evils which were supposed to result from these reforms ever came to pass. The Reform party was completely exhausted, and a new administration was formed. William Ewart Gladstone and Queen Victoria soon came to the front, and an era of prosperity followed. Although William IV. was King during this trying period, he took very little part in the fights that were waged. Pitt, Fox, Burke, Wilberforce, and many other statesmen have handed down to us specimens of the greatest oratory to which the world has ever listened.

But while terrible battles were being waged in many countries, there were those who were quietly struggling in some obscure corner to master the forces of nature. Inch by inch steam and electricity were being bound until they should become the servants of man. Neptune in close conjunction with the Sun and surrounded by many planets worked with great power and gave an impetus to everything where water was concerned. Neptune, as you are aware, governs the sea and everything pertaining to water. Mars and Neptune control steam. The Sun controls electricity, and the action of the Sun itself is strengthened by a conjunction with many planets. A great impetus was given to canal building at this period, and the Erie Canal was opened Oct. 26th, 1825, amidst great rejoicing, nine days being spent in celebrating the occasion. Many canals were planned about this time, but the railway train soon began to outrival the Canal. The Suez Canal was completed and the Panama Canal was also under consideration. George Stephenson succeeded in greatly improving the steam engine, and the first railway was opened in J 830 with most imposing ceremonies. Morse, the father of telegraphy ; Field, the hero of the Atlantic cable ; and Ericcson, who invented the screw propeller, were also struggling through many adversities and discouragements. Oftentimes they met with sneers from those who should have appreciated their efforts, but they lived to see their inventions revolutionize the world.

Summing up our investigations, we find the period between 1825 and 1835 to have been a time of great excitement and great distress, but a period of great achievements and great intellectual ;power. In a close analysis of life, we find that it is in the hour of distress that we come closest to the unseen, and that it is from the unseen that all great ideas, great discoveries, and great revelations come. A friend of Herbert Spencer once remarked that it was strange that he seemed to have no wrinkles in his forehead, and he replied, "I never sit down to study any question out. An idea comes to me and I let it rest, then perhaps in a month, six months, or a year, it comes to me again in a more complete form." That is the experience of all great thinkers ; they do not create the ideas ; they are gifts from the unseen. When Harriet Beecher Stowe was writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, the editor who published her story suggested that it was going to be too long, and she replied that she could not stop writing until she had finished. She doubtless felt that it was being dictated to her by some unseen power. Great ideas are usually born in agony of Soul. Of John Watson, author of "The Bonnie Brier Bush", it is said that he took curious fits of depression and at these times stuck very close to his books ; in a day or two he emerged into clear sunshine. The Psalmist David affords us a good example of the fits of depression and exultation which become the portion of great writers. In a time of agony are our Souls born into the world; in agony do our Souls burst into the glory of the unseen; just so every great thought and every great movement is born into the world in anguish of Soul. The agony of the Cross ushered in the era of Christianity; the ten commandments were given amid the thunderings and lightnings of Mt. Sinai ; great distress of mind often marks the period when the Soul is born again; a new plant grows out of the putrefaction of the seed ; the darkest time comes before the dawn, and the darkest time brings us into closest touch with the unseen.