Ancient Astrology Theory and Practice: Matheseos Libri VIII Paperback – March 31, 2005

The third book (or chapter) is a true gem of accuracy from the ancient world - it is a pity that the whole thing could not have been preserved - I would love to know what Firmicus once thought of my 8th House Moon. The third book is the one that a modern astrologer will find most useful and accessible - and the brevity and sharpness of some of the descriptions are state-of-the-art, even some 1700 years later. This is the book that describes the meaning of all seven planets in each of the 12 houses, with a different meaning for each depending on whether the nativity is a day or night birth.Mercury is given far more prominence than in modern western astrology. A sub-section of the 3rd Book deals exclusively with the conjunctions of Mercury with the other planets. Perhaps "conjunction" isn't the right way to describe this - the translation is a planet occuring in the same house with Mercury. In practice, I have found the descriptions more accurate for conjunctions. Another subsection deals with meanings for the waxing or waning Moon moving to or away from each of the major planets. Some of these observations are easier to follow than others. The modern astrologer has to do a bit of a mental shift, and this may be putting it mildly.In the later books, the accuracy starts to deteriorate. The Ascendent degrees in Book 8 are useless, the fixed stars mentioned in the same book have precessed at least 14 degrees, and many of them are not those considered most important today.As for the rest of the book, the reader gets a true feel for the brutality of life back then - a whole section devoted to slaves destined for mistreatment by their masters, other sections devoted to configurations denoting babies exposed at birth and those configurations of babies cut out of the womb, resulting in the death of the mother. Yet another section for incest of every kind, and so many different configurations supporting all these various types of incest.As with all things 1700 years old, the modern reader has to do a little work to put himself or herself inside the mind of the author and try to understand what he was trying to convey. For example, my 5th House Mercury in a night nativity suggests professions such as "teaching in a wrestling school". In fact, I teach poor, inner-city youth - a "wrestling school" is a wry but accurate description of it.The translation is excellent - Jean Rhys really opens up a clear window on a distant astrological world. This reader found herself wishing for more of a grounding in classical astrology, so that more of the text would have been accessible - footnotes would have been an invaluable addition. There are endnotes, but the reader ends up tackling them separately.Although not my primary purpose for reading this book, I also got somewhat more of a feel for the steel core of Stoic philosophy - the joy in a brutal reality in which so many horrendous things are manifest to express the glory of God. The modern mind can argue the sadism of this philosophy, and still realize that the Stoic astrologer Firmicus probably didn't see it this way. There is a fascinating glimpse of this in the introduction where Rhys explanis that Firmicus probably distrusted all of the mystery religions because they promised a change in outcome - and the true Stoic couldn't stand the heresy.Well worth the money spent!

I have been a serious student of astrology for about 10 years. This book, in the beginning, was one very fundamental to me in making accurate predictions, as I could simply look up certain astrological configurations in this book. All astrology is predictive by its nature. As I have become more educated, my appreciation of this book grows even stronger. At first, you will simply seek to memorize the accurate delineations. (Many extreme examples are given in this book, often in a metaphorical rather than literal way, so as to show the fullest extent of fate. No sugar coating here; sugar coating is a function of modern astrologers.) At this point, I read the books with an eye to the underlying principles that are ultimately the most informative, and allow the astrologer to understand the keys to which his or her own delineations could be written. For instance, what is essence of the reason that the waxing Moon should be harmful with Mars during the day, and the waning Moon harmful during the night? With a special attention to the syntax of astrology, this book presents yet another deepening of one's astrological knowledge. With any good esoteric text, reading between the lines is the key. Sometimes it is not what is stated, but what is *not* stated that becomes a progenitor for unfolding realizations.I would recommend this book to modern astrologers who actually want to make exact predictions instead of projecting wish-fulfillment-for-the-well-being-of-others unto an exacting science they know nothing about. Practitioners of ancient astrology, concerned with the essence of things, are already aware of the power of this book. Moreover, to the modern astrologer, I must warn you, this book may be the knife in the back of your current ways of thinking. This book can be like a bridge to the real astrology. However, it was written in Latin and thus has already somewhat departed from its Greek origins. Yet for many people this book will be as a wind upon your back, furnishing the climate and providing motive power to help you reach your destination.

This is the most complete treatise in horoscope interpretation to survive from the ancient world. Maternus covers calculations regarding length of life, occupation, etc. Many of the calculations may be familiar to contemporary astrologers but many will not be. Many of the arguments for or against astrology that Maternus discusses sound very familiar today.A number of people are likely to find this book to be of interest. Maternus's views on philosophy seem to permeate this book, and consequently the work is of great value in studying the nature of philosophy in late antiquity as an auxiliary source. This book is also of interest generally to those studying religion within the Roman empire. Finally practising astrologers, though not beginners, are likely to find this book to be of interest.Some elements of Maternus's work seem conflicted and confused, and one wonders if he was leaving himself extra tools to shape his predictions.

A good book for those not familiar with the old astrology, a good introduction.

Great book

interesting read! thanks

Great book.

great