Building on the previous Astrology as Time Machine blog…
In some ancient cultures the High Priest would be akin to the modern day Architect. The High Priest would be the one to set and direct the location and orienting of a structure. Yes, he would be intrinsically familiar with the identity of a place, it’s genius loci. Yes, he would be familiar with sun angles and even potentially with how light works like a masterful clock as it shadow-light cascades through well-thought-out spaces. And, he would also most probably wholly rely on Astrology to set the time when he ventured out into the city or onto the land to set his omphallos, his sacred staff… with which he would set the structure. Call it a ground discovering ceremony prior to the design and consequent ground breaking ceremony.
As The Sun Also Rises, The High Priest Sets…
The High Priest and his entourage of architectural scribes, oftentimes 4 of them, would venture out into the city or onto the land. He would walk to the place that felt auspicious for a building to be located. He would settle in to that place as he felt into it. When he felt he his feet were planted in the right place, he would take a shoulder-width sidestep… and plant his omphallos in that place he felt the genius loci magic, that special quality of a place. At attention the whole time, taking in his every move, the scribes would then wholebody focus in on his torso and his movements. Stepping back over to his omphallos, and standing on the North side of it, the High Priest would then begin to slowly turn around it like a sundial and compass needle at once, he himself feeling both inside.
The Priest’s Elliptic Ecliptic Stance-Dance
And, when the High Priest stopped and took his affirming big breath as he settled his energies down into to the earth and flew them up into the heavens from his staff, the scribes would play their instant orbit quick-game. Two of them moving out longways from him on an axis directly through his heart until he motioned them to stop. The other two would move shortways front and back from him centering their axis as well through his heart until he motioned them to stop. These four points would be then connected by the continuous curve of an ellipse. And, geometrically an ellipse is actually composed of 2 pairs of identical arcs in opposition-pairing for 4 arcs total. Longer flatter arcs at each the bottom and top cupping to one another, and shorter, more circular arcs at each side cupping to each other… each pair mirroring their counterpart and tangentially touching their neighbor arcs.
These arcs are actually…
These arcs are actually all circular. They are each a segment of a circle. Each pair simply has a different radius than the other. And, they meet together tangentially so that they appear to be one, seamless arced line. Just an fyi for all you fellow Jungians who play with squaring the circle and quaternities. Ellipses have what is called an eccentricity. The eccentricity of an ellipse is the degree, literally, to which it is actually a circle viewed in perspective. For example… a 15-degree ellipse is a circle leaned down to 15 degrees from the horizontal, and what is seen looking through or to it. A 60-degree ellipse is what is seen when a circle is leaned at 60 degrees from the horizontal. AND, when each pairs’ radius is the same, the eccentricity = 1. And, in that unity where the ellipses eccentricity is 1, it is no longer an ellipse. It has become a circle. Pretty cool that unity pulses even in how geometry is composed.
Simpler, with not so much whatev kinda jargon like a drafting lesson
Another way to visualize this which is much simpler? Visualize the ellipse as the shape projected on a vertical plane from a leaning circle. And, since the drafting term of “projection” can have beautifully ambiguous psychological crossover implications … which leads to another way to see this. Shine a light on a circle that is leaned down. Its shadow that is cast will be the ellipse. Uh oh. We have a homonym of a shadow in play here. Kinda frickin coolio! I get so much psychology mileage out of architecture. And, it’s not just the architecture. The actual methods of the drafting and drawing methods themselves have some interesting cross-over terms with psychology. Projection. Translation. Perspective. Axis. Equilibrium. Mirror. Area like a sphere of influence. Line. Arc. Tangent. Center. Hmmm… Where’s the center? Well, the center is not always necessarily in the middle in nature. Think of the nucleus of a cell. Your heart. That’s something to chew on. Center vs middle. So, if sin is bad, is cos good? da bum bump chzzzzz.
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- a helpful drawing template
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- Ellipse as projection or potential shadow of the (circle of) Self?
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- Can you see the 4 arcs together forming this ellipse?
The Hearth
This place in space where the axes crossed through his heart would be noted as to where the Hearth or center would be located in the home or structure or complex. The long length of the structure would be oriented along the left-right axis (usually East-West though not always). The front and Main Entry of the structure would be designed on the side the High Priest’s chest faced, the back of the structure to his back.
Though, let’s demystify this architectural site meeting just a hair. You see, the High Priest usually knew of how the sun travels through the sky and affects structures throughout the day. So, the longways, side-to-side axis would typically be oriented at 15 degrees from the true East-West axis. I won’t go into that further to save you from a Passive Solar Spatial Design Course. Suffice it to say it works wonders for a structure’s feel which enlivens its function. Call it synchronizing the light and shadows via the structure being seen as a clock.
Scribes new world
How We Experience Unseen Astrology?
I feel to be the chief form-giver of this whole process is something typically unseen. That is the “when” of this process of locating and orienting a structure. The High Priest’s knowledge of siting or placing a structure certainly came into play as did views and drainage. As did elevation changes in the land and land-forms and site features. As did genius loci and climate and prevailing wind direction. As did as did as did etc, etc. What is key here is… WHEN the High Priest set out and did all this. When he set out to do all this. When he set out for this siting/placing of a structure. And, when he would place the omphallos.
And, When…..
And, when would he set out on his way to place the omphallos to set the structure? And, then when would he actually set the omphallos in the ground and square his sun-dial-Self compass-shoulders to orient the structure in its location?
His Astrologers, himself oftentimes one of them as his own wise counsel, would have determined the most auspicious time for him to set out, and to explore the place for how long as the energies came to be auspicious, and then when to settle into the space of the area of the hearth, and when… once all was in place… when to set the omphallos and compass-square-up his shoulders. Lotta “whens” there for what pretty much simply equates to… Once upon a time a Divine Dood took a walk with his staff. He gets to this uber coolio spot and BLAM he plants his staff in the earth. And, then these 4 Divine Priest Paparazzi scurried about and drew an ellipse in the sand about him. And, they are all important “whens” in the mini-time sequence of events that in their overall compose the whole process.
The When~Win Situation
Once upon a time Astrology provided the time WHEN the High Priest’s compass and square introduced the Hearth to pulse in the genius loci of a place. You can still of course use Astrology to best place a structure every day… You! Check your chart. Don’t check your chart for tomorrow, it’s too late in regard to effective syncing for planning. Play your cycles in the big clock of your life so you can better shift your focus and redirect your scale to other gear to engage more resonant Astrological energy as it becomes present. Doing this you may begin to notice more how you naturally orchestrate your momentum in different gears. Then, you are doing your part to more fully begin to allow your Astrologer’s Readings to more fully come to effectively inform YOUR whens. It’s a When~Win situation working long-form with your Astrologer. You don’t have an Astrologer? I would suggest to remedy that. I can recommend…
And There You Have It
And, there you have it. There you have a great many of the unseen things that come into play BEFORE the design of a structure even begins, before a shovel ever touches the ground. Well, for Architects who care enough to understand their High Priest-driven lineage it does. Play your own When~Win situation with your Astrologer to more effectively plan for a more auspicious orchestration of your momentum… of your cycles of momentum… with setting the structure of your life over time. Like in an ellipse, the math is more important than you know. If you see clearly, though, it is in your surroundings, too. Say “when” to your Astrologer to create your own When~Win situation.
Ciao For Now … is now a When.
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JJ
March 22, 2013 at 12:44 am
I bought a similar drafting template with squares, triangles, circles, ellipses and hexagons–ye olde general purpose metric template. Love the darn thing, use it for lots of stuff. There is something about templates….swoon.
I love the idea of astrology in history, and also alchemy, I just like reading about the history or the various experts and their lives. I have a couple of books on alchemy, particularly the artwork. I like the artwork of astrology too but have no patience or interest with the charting and such.
Which reminds me, I have a biography of Paracelsus by Philip Ball (an excellent author) called “The Devil’s Doctor: Paracelsus and the World of Renaissance Magic and Science” that I still haven’t read after several years, so I vow to read it. I don’t suppose you have read that?
mystereum
March 22, 2013 at 5:33 pm
I haven’t read that, JJ. And, now I want to read that! Thanks Much for the referral to the what-looks-to-be-a-great-title Paracelsus biopic.