degree where it turned retrograde. The CD includes articles, instruction, examples,
and ephemeredes of more than a century of planetary stations and shadow points.
Muise lives with her husband, Ralph, in Lacey, Washington. She is an interna-
tional lecturer, teaches astrology and metaphysics, and has a private counseling prac-
tice. Her Monthly Astrology Report,which includes a transit forecast and a symbolism
report, is sent by email subscription.
Sources:
Muise, Roxana. A-Year-at-a-Glance: The 45 Degree Graphic Ephemeris.Torrance, CA: South
Western Astrology Conference, 1986.
———. The Fourth Sign.Lacey, WA: SWAC Press.
———. The Shadow Ephemeris.Lacey, WA: SWAC Press.
MULA
Mula (the root) is one of the Nakshatras (lunar mansions) of Vedic astrology. The
goddess of destruction, Niritti, presides, and the planet Ketu rules over this Nakshatra
found from Sagittarius 0° to 13°20’. This is said to be a good time to create something
anew, like a garden; an individual may be a better politician and have better fortune
during this period, but also may be more unstable or self-destructive.
—Pramela ThiagesanMUNDANEASPECT
A mundane aspect is an aspect (an astrological angle) between two points in space—
for example, between two planets—that is measured along the celestial equator. This
distinguishes mundane aspects from the aspects relied upon by most astrologers, who
usually consider only angles that are measured along the ecliptic (the circle of the
zodiac). Mundane aspects are rarely used by contemporary astrologers.
MUNDANEASTROLOGY
Mundane astrology is the branch of astrology dealing with history, society, and poli-
tics. Traditionally, it had two main functions: First, to understand the past, and, sec-
ond, to predict the future. Both functions, though, are subsumed within a greater pur-
pose—to manage the present. Indeed, within the context of apocalyptic fears of politi-
cal disintegration or global catastrophe, mundane astrology’s key task has always been
to preserve peace, order, and stability. This, at least, was the goal of its cosmology. This
is not to deny the existence of more immediate selfish motives, such as the need to
gain political advantage over one’s rivals. Thus, there may be astrologers who operate
according to one agenda, while their political patrons work to another.
As defined by Charles Carter, the most prominent British astrologer of the
mid-twentieth century, in his book An Introduction to Political Astrology,“The aim
then of Political Astrology is the study of all that pertains to the life of politically
incorporated body, or nation. It must comprehend the cultural and intellectual life,
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [473]
Mundane Astrology