The Astrology of Comets Part 2 – Placing the Comet in the Chart

The Astrology of Comets Part 1 – Divine Fire From Sky

In the first part of this series I went over the ancient and modern understanding of comets. Based on this, I determined that comets are most similar to the element of Fire on the metaphysical level. This corresponds somewhat to the ancient understanding, but it also expands on it in way that leave more positive interpretations for comets.

But before I go over the what a comet means by sign or house in a chart, there are a few specific rules about placing a comet in the chart that one must follow. Most of these rules relate to the fact that comets are temporary influences in our world and are not meant to be permanent like the planets. Therefore, certain conditions need to be apply before placing the comet in the chart.

Also, there is concept that a comet can have an influence similar to one or more planets. This does add meaning to the comet, but at the same time there can be some debate about how to determine that influence. There are several different methods to do this and this is sure to provoke discussion.

When to Place the Comet in the Chart

In ancient times comets where not interpreted until they where seen [1]. This is typically when they reached magnitude 5 or brighter. In the modern era, we typically can detect comets as they approach Jupiter, well before they are visible to naked eye. And then is there is a whole class of comets called Sun Grazers which are not detected until they light up on SOHO as they make their closest approach to the Sun. Most of these completely burn up and truly become Combust the Sun!

This means that hundreds of new comets are discovered every year. Most don’t even approach a magnitude where they would be visible even by using binoculars. So the modern is astrologer needs a method to determine which comets are the most important and should be placed in a chart.

In Mundane Astrology, all three authors mentioned that comets are interpreted by where they appear visibility in the sky [1]. Only H.S. Green mentions that comets in the early 1900s could be photographed by telescopes before and that might work out. In The Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology, Vivian Robson specially says the comet must be visible to be effective [2]. This agrees with both Raphael and C.E.O. Carter in mundane Astrology [1].

In addition, there is one piece of information about a comet that is not known at the time of its discovery. This is how bright it will get? Scientists can only estimate this based on the size of the comet nucleus and compared with known comets. For Neowise F3 C/2020 it wasn’t even estimated to be visible to the naked eye when it was first discovered. They thought it would only brighten enough to be visible by binoculars.

It should be well known that the brighter comets have the most effect on the world. The brighter the fire, or plasma in case, the stronger it is. Since we don’t generally know if a comet will be bright enough to be seen by the naked eye, we should be using that event to begin placing a comet in the chart.

We probably should not be using the first telescope viewing of it, when so few people observe it. Consciousness has an impact on reality. If you take more people being conscious of the comet as it having a greater effect on the world then you should use the first naked visibility chart to determine its true effect.

Of course this does mean that once a comet is no longer visible, it no longer has an effect in the chart.

Ranking a Comet’s Effect by Visibility

In Mundane Astrology, Carter states the comet is most effective when it is at it’s brightest [1]. Jonathan Flanery states a similar opinion, that comets are most effective when at perihelion, or the point in its orbit closest to the Sun [3]. Comets are typically at their brightest where they are at perihelion.

So while the first naked visibility of a comet is where we should begin, the maximum brightness of a comet has the most effect. This information is better applied by transit to determine how effective a comet is while visible in the sky. Since visibility is a the key factor for comet significance one can generally determine if the effects of the comet will be week or strong based on its magnitude.

The following are mine own considerations for determining the strength of effect of a comet in any chart. Here we are using the apparent magnitude based as seen from Earth to determine a comet’s strength of effect upon the world.

Modern magnitude is generally measured on a logarithmic scale that using the star Vega as a reference point. Vega is said to have a magnitude of 0. The modern scale can have negative values of magnitude since some stars and most planets can be brighter. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, has a magnitude of -1.0.

In a rural area without light pollution, naked eye visibility under good conditions is generally magnitude 6.5. In an Urban areas, only stars up to magnitude 3 are visible under good conditions. The magnitudes of the planets vary greatly, but at a minimum they don’t drop below magnitude 2.0. At the maximum, they can be very bright, especially Venus, Jupiter and Mars which can reach magnitude -3.0 or greater. The Moon’s apparent magnitude can even reach -14.20.

So with this information we can construct a simple scale on the strength of a comet. From magnitudes 5.0 to 3.0 the comet is very weak. From magnitude 3.0 to 1.0 the comet is weak. From 1.0 to magnitude -2.0 the comet has moderate effect. From magnitude -2.0 to -5.0 the comet is strong. Anything above -5.0 would be very strong in effect.

Additionally, I would use these orbs of effect for comets based on the magnitude of them when looking at aspects to other planets. From magnitudes 5.0 to 3.0 use an orb of a 30 minutes. From magnitude 3.0 to 1.0 use an orb of a 1 degree. From 1.0 to magnitude -2.0 use an orb of a 2 degrees. From magnitude -2.0 to -5.0 use an orb of a 4 degrees. Anything above -5.0 use an orb of a 8 degrees.

Color Scheme Hypothesis For Interpretation of Comets

Because comets were originally thought of as an atmospheric phenomenon, early interpretations relied on the shape and color of the comets to determine its nature. According to The Little Book of Comets And Astrology by Kim Farnell, throughout most of history the meaning of a comet greatly determined by its shape and color [4].

However, most of the the shape interpretations in the book, which are copied from Pliny’s Natural History, also rely heavy on the color of the comet. From reading the descriptions, it seems like the shape interpretations was based on the effects of past comet sightings. This is essentially what auspice divination does. I am not sure modern astrologers should be held to the past interpretations of auspices to use in modern astrological readings. Given this fact, I am inclined to the not use interpretations based on the shape of a comet even though there is some historical precedence for this.

Color of the comet was much more commonly used for interpretations [3, 4, 5 , 6, 7]. This has a better track record in astrology as many past astrologers were able to link color to specific planetary energies. Color correspondence to planetary energies was common in medieval magical texts as some spells used specific colors to invoke the energy or planets are certain times. According to the Picatrix Book 3 chapters 3 & 7 these are the color scheme of the planets [8].

Farnell gives slightly different color scheme on corresponding the color of a comet to a specific planet. The color correspondences are [4]:

These two source mostly agree with one another. I suspect both schemes originated in the Hellenistic Era, since Farnell uses Pliny as a main source and the Paictrix is mostly derived from Hellenstic sources. If one is using Medieval or Hellenistic Astrology, think either color scheme would be very good in describing the planetary correspondence of the comet.

But for Modern Astrologers it may not work out as well since there was a shift in rulerships that occurred with the discovery of the Outer Planets. Color correspondence for the modern planets can be found in The Rulership Book by Rex E. Bills [9]:

Sun – Gold, Yellow, Orange, Saffron, Yellow-Brown

Moon – Silver, White, Pale-Yellow,

Mercury – Blue, Pale Blue, Grey, Orange, Purple, Violet, Yellow

Venus – Pale Blue, Blue-Green, Green, Indigo, Pink, Purple, Turquoise, Violet, White, Yellow

Mars – Crimson, Red, Bright Red, Fiery Red, Scarlet, Magenta

Jupiter – Blue, Deep Blue, Navy Blue, Indigo, Violet, Wine Color

Saturn – Black, Blue, Deep Blue, Navy Blue, Indigo, Gray, Ash Colored

Uranus – Florescence, Electric, Mixed, Changeable

Neptune – Blue Green, Iridescent, Opalescent, Deep White, Florescence, White

Pluto – Black, Murky, Angry Colors, Luminous Colors

The Rulership Book by Rex E. Bills

As one can see this color scheme is very different. This type of shift is not without precedent because most linguist know different cultures see colors differently. Not every culture has words for all the different colors. Hunter gathers culture typical only recognize a few different colors, while more Industrial cultures like ours, have many more words to describe the colors. Additionally, even if we have words for the same colors, different cultures group them very differently.

Therefore, when using the color of the comet to determine it’s planetary correspondence make sure you are using the appropriate color scheme. For example the more ancient color descriptions found in the Picatrix or Farnell’s book would be more useful for interpretations with Hellenistic or Medieval Astrology System.. If you are a modern astrologer and are using the outer planets, then go for Bill’s color scheme as it is one adapted to modern astrology.

One final point on using a color scheme is that comets can change color during the transit. So a comet may start off as the color of the Moon or Venus, but later on change colors to that of Mars or Saturn. So any astrologer using color to determine a comet’s planetary energy will need to keep up on the current astronomical observations if they are using by transit.

Fixed Star Hypothesis For General Comet Interpretation

Jonathan Flanery thought up of a different hypothesis for determining the planetary correspondence of a comet. This one is based not a the color of comet, but instead of the region of the sky it comes from [9]. Because most comets have a highly elongated elliptical orbit and they come from the Oort Cloud they actually do come from a specific point in the sky. So it might be possible to determine the meaning the of the on the sign they originate from.

We could then take the astrological meaning of any nearby star to the origin point if the star has an astrological meaning associated with it. For those that do know know, every major star in the sky is described of have the energy of one or two of the classical planets. Not every star has this meaning though so this method my be limited.

Unless one expand this concept a little further. If ones cannot locate the appropriate fixed star, instead use an online ephemeris to determine the zodiac degree it came form. Then based on the ruler or exaltation of the zodiac sign assign the corresponding planet to the comet.

Even if it is far away from the ecliptic. Most fixed stars are far away from the ecliptic, yet they are assigned to specific degrees of the Zodiac. This would probably be useful for the comets that originate from the ecliptic too.

Discover Chart Hypothesis For General Comet Interpretation

For the most recent comet, NEOWISE F3 C/2020, I have seen several astrologers use the official discovery chart of comet to determine its planetary correspondences. This is a tempting thing to do since most astrologers commonly use discovery charts of the outer planets and major asteroids to determine its meaning. For comets there is little historical precedence for this. I am not sure this is best method to use in determining planetary correspondences.

The method use is to place the comet or asteroid in the chart at the moment of discovery. Then they look for the major aspects to the other planets in the chart to determine the correspondences. This can produce some interesting results, but on the other hand there is only so much information one can gain from this method.

For newly discover minor planets beyond Pluto, this method is supplemented by many astrologers checking their own personal lifetime transit charts to help determine its meaning. Due to the unique orbit of comets this isn’t really possible. This combined with very little historical precedence for its use leads me to not favor this hypothesis as much as the other two.

Case Study Comet NEOWISE F3 C/2020

Let’s look at the comet NEOWISE F3 C/2020 under these three methods. First the Color Hypothesis. The comet had a golden color tail, along with a blue ion tail and a red separation tail. Under the ancient color scheme that would indicate the Sun, Mercury or Mars. Under the Modern color scheme that would indicate the Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn.

Neowise F3 C2020, based on the the orbital data, the comet origin point is around 1^st degree Scorpio. This would mean the comet has the characteristics of Mars. It originates near the star d-Centauri in the constellation of Centauri. This star is has no assigned astrological meaning and neither do the nearby stars. So we only have Mars as an option here.

Neowise F3 C2020 was discovered on March 27, 2020. According to Jamie Partridge, this comet discovery charts indicates the major aspects to the planets are an opposition to Saturn and Mars, and a square to Uranus [7]. This means that the comets corresponds to Mars, Saturn, and Uranus.

The one planet in agreement between all three system here is Mars. Saturn is a close second. Both ancients and modern color schemes indicate the Sun too. So it is possible to use correspondences to these planets in creating the interpretation for Comet NEOWISE F3 C/2020.

The Astrology of Comets Part 3: Basic Natal & Transit Interpretation

The Astrology of Comets Part 4: Mundane Interpenetration & Electional/Horary Considerations

Sources:

[1] Green, H.S.; Raphael; Carter, C.E.O; Mundane Astrology: The Astrology of Nations and States; Astrology Classics Publishing; 2004; ISBN 1-933303-11-5

[2] Robson, Vivian; The Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology; Astrology Classics Publishing; 2005; ISBN 1-933303-13-1

[3] Flanery, Jonathan; “Unexpected Visotrs: The Theory of the Influence of Comets”; http://www.skyscript.co.uk/comet.html; Accessed 8/4/2020

[4] Farnell, Kim; The Little Book of Comets and Astrology; Self Published; 2020; ISBN 9798628223536

[5] “Comets”; http://neelastro.in/comets/; 3/1/2016; Accessed 8/4/2020

[6] Chang, Rod; “Comets in Astrology – Possible Meanings of These Celestial Events”; first published by The Astrological Association of Great Britain; 10/30/2014; https://www.astro.com/astrology/aa_article141030_e.htm; Accessed 8/4/2020

[7] Partridge, Jamie; “Comet NEOWISE July 2020”; https://astrologyking.com/comet-neowise-predictions/; 7/23/2020; Accessed 8/4/2020

[8] The Illustrated Picatrix; Translated By John Micheal Greer & Christopher Warnock; Renaissance Astrology; 2010-2015; ISBN 978-1-312-94181-6

[9] Bill, Rex E., The Rulership Book; American Federation of Astrologers, Inc.; 1971, Current Printing 2007, ISBN 13-978-0-86690-431-5

Edited on 8/16/2020 to correct spelling and grammar issues