An Ephemeris
is a day-by-day listing of
the astrological positions
of each planet. Ultimately,
many important astrological
techniques boil down to comparing
your birthchart to the Ephemeris
and knowing how to pull information
out of these tables. To most
people, this is just a boring
table of numbers. To me, an
Ephemeris is a fascinating
story just waiting to be discovered.
Using an Ephemeris in conjunction
with lunar aspects can give
you a very high advantage
with divinations and your
life overall.
The
planetary positions listed
are for 0:00 CST (midnight),
my local time zone. That is
the same as 6:00 GMT.
Astrological
Positions
The
positions of the planets,
etc. are described by where
in the zodiac they lie. The
zodiac is divided into 12
signs of 30 degrees each,
and each degree contains 60
minutes. Hence a position
like 4Vi40 means "4
degrees and 40 minutes of
the sign Virgo". In general,
a position is written "ddZZmm",
where the 1 or 2 digit number
dd is the degrees,
ZZ is a two letter
abbreviation for the zodiac
sign (see below), and the
last 2 digits mm are
the minutes.
The
zodiac position 0Ar00, also
known as the "spring
equinox" or "the
first point of Aries",
corresponds to the position
of the Sun on the first day
of spring (around March 20th
or 21st).
Abbreviations
for the Astrological Signs
Ar
= Aries = 0° Ta = Taurus = 30° Gm = Gemini = 60° Cn = Cancer = 90°
Le
= Leo = 120° Vi = Virgo = 150° Li = Libra = 180° Sc = Scorpio =
210°
Sa
= Sagittarius = 240° Cp = Capricorn
= 270° Aq = Aquarius =
300° Pi = Pisces = 330°
Waxing
Phase - New Moon to
Full Moon - individual
initiative
Angle
Qualities
0-180
Growth,
development, expansion,
moving to a goal. A
sense of optimism, extravagance.
Willingness to take
risks, explore, begin
enterprises.
0
Initiation
of seed idea. Death
and rebirth. Beginning
of movement.
60
The
establishment of the
idea in the world. Strong
growth.
90
Crisis.
Testing and strengthening
in order to overcome
obstacles.
120
The
idea flowers and is
accepted, and begins
to motivate others.
180
Reaping
the fruit, but where
do we go now?
Waning
Phase - Full Moon to
New Moon
Angle
Qualities
0-180
Consideration
of society - loss of
the self.
240
Motivating
in society
270
The
need to justify the
idea within the world
and reassert itself.
300
The
idea consolidates itself
into daily life of the
world.
360
Death
of the old cycle and
rebirth of the idea
in a new guise.
Other
Lunar Phases
Degree
New
Moon
The
beginning of the cycle,
the seed is sown.
45
Crescent
Moon
New
Moon to First Quarter
is a time of new beginnings,
new thoughts and ideas
that take a tentative
hold in the mind. The
Crescent Moon shows
how the Seed of the
New Moon is likely to
take hold so that no
other ideas can take
root at the same time.
The sprouts start to
show through the ground,
so that there is public
awareness of the action.
90
First
Quarter
Physical
manifestation, a time
of action, building
up the Ego, pushing
ideas. Rapid growth.
135
Gibbous
Moon
Understanding
and working with the
energy. Being able to
believe and have faith
with the process that
is going on. The results
of the actions are in
sight, but they are
not yet right.
180
Full
Moon
Time
to reap the rewards,
for good or evil. Not
a time for new ideas,
but a time to recollect,
to receive. The peak
has been reached: there
is nowhere else to go.
225
Disseminating
Moon
The
harvest is over, there
is no more, no challenge,
so there is a desire
for change in work.
The Waning Phase is
more reflective, life
has moved on.
270
Third
Quarter
A
reorientation or re-arrangement
of skills. Life is reviewed,
so there is just as
much pre-occupation
of the past as to what
the future holds. Actions
work best by restructuring
old skills rather than
new ones.
315
Balsamic
Moon
The
last phase. Security is
important as circumstances
change. Friends change.
This is the time to clear
out the old and bring
in the new. Gaps begin
to appear into one's life,
which brings a sense of
unease - there is a natural
tendency to withdraw from
life. Nature conspires
to increase this feeling.
The preparation for the
New Moon
Time
Zones
What
"time of day" it
is depends on where you are
on the Earth's surface. When
it's high noon in one place,
the spot on the opposite side
of the globe is experiencing
midnight. To help standardize
this notion of "different
times", the idea of "time
zones" was introduced
in the 1880's. The basic concept
was to divide the Earth's
surface into 24 zones (one
for each hour of the day),
where each zone keeps the
same time. Adjacent time zones
will differ by one hour, e.g.,
10:00 Eastern Time corresponds
to 9:00 Central Time. The
entire time zone scheme is
anchored at the Prime Meridian
(0° of longitude) that
runs through the Greenwich
Observatory in England. The
time standard kept at this
longitude is called "Greenwich
Mean Time" (or GMT),
although the technical name
"Coordinated Universal
Time" (UTC) is more acceptable
these days. Every 15°
of longitude both east and
west from the Prime Meridian
is considered to be a new
time zone.
While
simple in theory, this scheme
has been corrupted over the
years, mostly for political
reasons that have nothing
to do with the science of
keeping time. Also, the idea
of "Daylight Saving Time"
(DST) was introduced in many
places (to give more daylight
in the evening hours during
summer). Places that observe
DST will turn their clocks
ahead one hour during the
summer (usually early April
to late October).
The
following table lists some
common time zones and how
they relate to GMT. In particular,
the local time corresponding
to a given time zone relates
to GMT through a value I call
"dtz" via the formula:
local time = GMT + dtz
For instance, Central Standard
Time (CST) has a dtz of -6
hours, so 12:00 noon GMT is
the same as 6:00 in the morning
CST, that is 12:00 GMT - 6
hours = 6:00 CST. If Daylight
Saving Time is in effect,
dtz increases by one hour,
so 12:00 GMT = 7:00 CDT.
