Bailey is best remembered for his work on the “prenatal epoch” (determining
an individual’s time of conception), a topic he became interested in after reading
some pieces by W. Gorn Old (Sepharial) in Astrologer’s Magazine.Bailey communicat-
ed with Sepharial as he developed his own theory. The basic technique for determin-
ing the conception date from the birth date goes back to antiquity and can also be uti-
lized to rectify a birth time. Bailey and Sepharial developed the method further, but
their work evoked strong opposition from certain other astrologers. Bailey studied the
prenatal epoch in hundreds of cases, many of them collected from public records and
others obtained with the help of obstetricians. Considering the period in which it was
written, The Prenatal Epochwas a well-researched and well-developed book. However,
astrological interest in this topic has waned considerably since Bailey’s time. He died
on June 4, 1959.
Sources:
Bailey, E. H. The Prenatal Epoch.N.p., 1916. Reprint, New York, S. Weiser, 1970.
Holden, James H., and Robert A. Hughes. Astrological Pioneers of America.Tempe, AZ: Ameri-
can Federation of Astrologers, 1988.
BARRENSIGNS
The barren signs are the signs of the zodiac traditionally said to deny children (i.e., to
indicate sterility) when placed on the cusp of the fifth house, the house of children.
These signs are Gemini, Leo, and Virgo. A number of other signs are regarded as being
somewhat barren. The traditional barren planets are Mars and Saturn; some astrologers
now add Uranus. The fertile signs and planets are referred to as fruitful. The classifica-
tion of the zodiac into degrees of barrenness and fruitfulness has been largely aban-
doned because contemporary astrological research has failed to verify this traditional
interpretation. However, some modern astrologers hold the modified view that barren
signs limit the number of children, rather than actually deny them. The traditional bar-
ren signs are still regarded as unfruitful in agricultural astrology, however.
Sources:
Gettings, Fred. Dictionary of Astrology.London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985.
Lee, Dal. Dictionary of Astrology.New York: Paperback Library, 1969.
BEER
Beer, asteroid 1,896 (the 1,896th asteroid to be discovered, on October 26, 1971), is
approximately 6.6 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 3.8 years. Beer
was named after the prominent astronomer, Arthur Beer, who was a spectroscopist
and spectrophotometrist. J. Lee Lehman, perhaps unaware of the astronomer Beer,
gives this asteroid a “literal” interpretation, associating it with addiction, particularly
addiction to alcoholic substances.
Sources:
Kowal, Charles T. Asteroids: Their Nature and Utilization.Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Ellis
Horwood Limited, 1988.
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Beer