Considerations Before Judgment
In contemporary horary practice there is a significant emphasis placed on determining if horary charts are readable or unreadable before attempting to give a judgment on them. This seemingly standard practice has become more prevalent over time, where students are told to immediately dismiss charts that display one of the disqualifying characteristics.
While this is based on real classical technique, the dire nature of these placements has been overstated by contemporary practitioners. We can see this most clearly in the renaming involved. The placements that William Lilly called "considerations before judgment"1 (implying that these are things to pause and give thought to before interpreting the chart) have, by the time of Barbara Watters, come to be called "strictures against judgment"2 (implying "don't you do it!").
The placements that are cited as considerations or strictures are typically:
Degree of the ascendant is early or late. Typically the first or last three degrees of a sign.
Disagreement between the hour lord and the ascendant sign.
Moon Void of Course.
Saturn in the first or seventh houses.
The placements above are usually instrumental in determining if a chart is readable or not in contemporary horary practice, but there are other considerations in the tradition that do not get this treatment and often go unmentioned. These less-notable placements include: the querent's significator Combust by the Sun, the Moon in the last degrees of a sign, and the condition of the seventh house and its lord.
Masha'allah's Errors
The original considerations are found in the works of Masha'allah, an 8th century Persian Jewish astrologer. In his text On Hidden Things he lists four considerations in the chapter titled How the Astrologer Can Go Astray.
First, if the astrolabe were false, or he took the shadow in an uneven place, or with a crooked plank.
Second, if the questioner did not know how to ask.
Third, if he did not know whether the Sun had receded from the midheaven or not.
Fourth, if the benefics and malefics were equal in assent then he could go astray - that is, he could be deceived in the strength of the benefics or malefics.
Masha'allah's list of considerations appear overtly more technical than practical as many are concerned with either the equipment used to make astronomical measurements or the precision of the observations. Both of these could result in charts depicting incorrect information, thus leading to an incorrect judgment. The other two considerations are a bit less technical but contain that same spirit of conflicting or incomplete information; either from the client being unable to properly voice their concerns, or the planets being unable to give a clear answer one way or another.
Guido Bonatti's Tricksters
The apparent originator of most of these considerations is Guido Bonatti, though Lilly credits the considerations involving Saturn to al-Kindi. According to his 146 Considerations, Bonatti says that one of the ways astrologers make errors in their judgments is when the querent does not ask seriously or they try to trick the astrologer for whatever reason. He then goes on to tell us how to verify that such a trick is taking place.
Bonatti tells us that when he found the ascendant was early or late, so that it was inbetween both (the three degree rule appears to be an adaptation from Lilly himself) he would press his querent for honesty and sincerity. Many admitted their deceit, he says, but his statement following this suggests that there were still several who asked legitimate questions at this time because they did not leave;
"For in such cases I used to say, 'Pray, friend, do not trouble me unless you ask seriously, for I suspect that you would put a trick upon me, by not proposing this Question as you ought: however, if you will give me trouble for your pleasure, be pleased to give me likewise satisfaction for my pains'; and immediately, if there were and deceit intended, away they went."
With this in mind, it seems more likely that Bonatti used the between sign ascendant to verify his suspicion of an insincere question. He would then ask his querent if they were really coming to ask him seriously and if they were willing to pay for his services (presumably the medieval equivalent of "put your money where your mouth is"). If they convinced Bonatti that they were, in fact, being sincere, the consultation would continue.3
There is a second technique Bonatti used in discovering if a chart was radical. This is a word that is used in contemporary practice to essentially mean "real", "verified" or some other word of similar meaning. Classically, a "radical" chart is one that is rooted or symbolically attached to some other chart.
In this technique, Bonatti would look to the hour lord and see if there were some likeness between it and the sign on the ascendant. There were many different ways in which this sameness could occur; the hour lord could be the domicile or exaltation lord of the sign ascending, they could be of the same temperament, the hour lord could be in the same triplicity as the ascending sign, and so on.
Though not explicitly stated, Bonatti seems to be trying to get the cosmos to be in some form of harmony with the question as it is being asked. By having the hour lord (a general indicator of the quality of time) and ascending sign (a unique indicator for a specific situation) in some degree of sameness, the universe confirms that this question is being asked in a proper celestial environment. However, it should be noted that this is never the first test applied to a chart. This method only verifies an astrologer's suspicion, it is the astrologer's own good practice and good judgment that should determine if questions should be investigated further for appropriateness.
In his book on horary, Bonatti only gives us one example chart that is from his own work. This chart was asked by a military general concerning their victory against the Luccans. This chart is significant in that the hour lord and the ascending sign do not agree in nature.
The chart above is cast for September 12th, 1261 (JC) at 11:51am in Lucca, Italy.4 It was a Monday. It was the sixth hour which belongs to Venus on Mondays. Venus is not hot and dry like Sagittarius, it does not rule Sagittarius or its triplicity, and Venus is not herself placed in a fire sign. By contemporary standards, this chart should not be readable. Bonatti read it and according to his account his information accurately portrayed the event as it unfolded. So why did Bonatti read this chart if it broke his rule about radicality?
Most likely, Bonatti had no reason to doubt the querent's intentions. This was asked by an individual who had worked with Bonatti before and the question was clearly very important. In the first of his 146 Considerations, Bonatti tells us what must occur for a good horary chart to form.
"The First, of the mind, when a man is stirred up in his thoughts and hath an intent to enquire; a Second, of the superior and celestial bodies; so that they at that time imprint on the thing enquired after, what shall become of it; the Third, of the free will which disposes him to the very act of enquiring; for although the mind be moved to enquire, 'tis not enough unless the superior bodies sympathize therewith; nor is such motion of the stars enough, unless by the election of his will the person does actually enquire."
The querent must be internally moved to ask a question. There is typically a period of reflection on the matter that must occur, but in the event of an emergency the urgency of the situation can serve as this stirring of the thoughts. This reminds the astrologer that they are not supposed to take trivial questions, but similarly encourages them to engage with their querent to understand the situation before determining if it is a light question.
The second thing that must happen is the planets have to respond and imprint upon the situation. This is the criteria that astrologers are most fit to judge and is likely the basis for Bonatti's hour lord and ascendant agreement rule. If the horary chart fails to properly signify or identify what is known to be happening, there is something wrong. An example would be if someone asked a question about a lost cat, but the significator of the cat did not properly signify it physically, temperamentally, or as a species. In such a case, there may be an issue with the chart's data or the story being told.
Finally, the querent must exercise their free will and ask an astrologer. Without initiating this action, the sympathy of the celestial bodies means nothing because the querent will not be able to get information from them. Similarly, without a form of sympathy or imprinting from the celestial bodies, it doesn't matter how important the querent thinks their question is.
By understanding Bonatti's philosophy it's easier to see how he used his considerations. First he would need a reason to suspect someone was insincere in their question and then depending on if the chart showed some sort of symbolic issue, he would know for sure whether this was the case. In the chart example above, even though the hour lord does not agree with the Ascending sign, Bonatti had no reason to suspect the querent and the condition of Jupiter and Mercury5 accurately described the conditions of the two armies.
With this in mind, it becomes easy to see how Lilly's additions to the considerations followed Bonatti's philosophy of what constituted a proper horary.
William Lilly's Additions
William Lilly also discussed the considerations before judgment and kept them largely within the spirit of Bonatti's originals. The most significant alteration was his introduction of specific degrees. Lilly writes that the first three degrees and the last three degrees of a sign are what constitute an early or late ascendant. These quantifiers are not in Bonatti's original, but are a logical extension of his principle.
Aside from the early and late ascendant and the conditions concerning agreement between the lord of the hour and the ascending sign, the other considerations listed have no bearing on the presumed ability to read the chart (not counting the Saturn or seventh house considerations which specifically effect this for the astrologer). These other considerations have direct manifestations in the outcome of the question.
The Moon void of course suggests the desired outcome doesn't happen or happens painfully slowly unless the significators are strong. Moon in the last degrees of a sign (except for Leo) place her in the terms of the malefics and brings damage to the question. Saturn in the first destroys or delays the matter, and so on.
Lilly's most interesting comment in regards to the considerations comes in his discussion of the early ascendant, in which he says;
"...you may not venture judgment, unless the querent be very young, and his corporature, complexion and moles or scars of his body agree with the quality of the Sign ascending."
- Book 1, Chapter 19
All throughout Christian Astrology, Lilly compares the physical appearances of his querents to the characteristics of the signs on the ascendant. He even makes note to discover marks or scars they had. To Lilly, this appears to be another way to fulfill the second condition of Bonatti's philosophy.6 The astrologer can be sure the celestial bodies have imprinted themselves on the question and taken it up if the ascendant properly describes the querent's body, just like a natal ascendant would describe the body of its native.
Further along, Lilly makes another interesting statement regarding an observation he often made:
"I have found that whoever propounds a question to the astrologer...they have a sign of the same triplicity ascending in their question, agreeable to the nature of the ascendant in their Nativity, and many times the very self same sign and degree is ascending upon an horary question which was ascending in the Nativity..."
-Book 2, Chapter 42
For Lilly, confirmation of the planets' involvement could not only occur through proper signification of the narrative of the question or the physical appearance of the querent, but also by mimicking some aspect of their natal chart. While he only specifically mentions the ascendant in this quote, there are places throughout the book where he makes references to positions of horary charts within the nativity. We see an example of this in chapter 38 of book 2 where Lilly expresses his joy in finding the ascendant of his horary to be on the degree of his natal Jupiter.
Chart Examples
Several of the charts in Lilly's work Christian Astrology contain placements that would be considered strictures against judgment in contemporary horary practice. The fact that they are included and delineated should provide sufficient evidence that the significance of these strictures or considerations has been inflated.
If Find the Party Inquired of At Home - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree.
If He Should be Rich - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree.
If I Should Purchase Master B. his Houses - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree.
If the Querent Should Ever Have Children - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree. Early Ascendant.
A Lady, if Marry the Gentleman Desired - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree.
A Servant Fled - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree
Money Lost - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree
Fish Stolen - Hour Lord/Ascendant disagree
All together there are 14 charts within Christian Astrology that have some radicality issue involving the Ascendant. So not only do we see that this is something Lilly did in fact do, but something that he did a lot.
Conclusion
By exploring the original philosophies and the work of the astrologers who developed these rules we are able to see them more clearly and better ascertain their function. It is clear that the rules regarding radicality of a chart were never meant to be one-size fits-all dismissals of any question that appears on our desks. Hopefully, by gaining a better insight into these techniques, the conversations regarding these placements can shift into something more constructive and more closely aligned with their authors' intentions.
1. William Lilly, Christian Astrology, Book 1, Chapter 19
2. Barbara Watters, Horary Astrology and the Judgment of Events
3. For an example of how one moves forward with charts that have several considerations, there is an example of such a thing in Episode 5 of the Horary Podcast available on the Blog page.
4. The chart is rendered using Placidius houses to verify the lord of the hour. Bonatti did not use Placidius, favoring Alchabitius semi-arc himself.
5. In Bonatti's figure Mercury is placed at 17°. While in its domicile and exaltation, Mercury is also combust and in a cadent house, so Bonatti characterizes it and Jupiter in Capricorn as being weak.
6. Lilly translated Bonatti's 146 Considerations, so he would have been very familiar with them.