———. Transits.Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, 1976.
Kimmel, Eleonora A. Patterns of Destiny: Suddenly Interrupted Lives.Tempe, AZ: American Fed-
eration of Astrologers, 1985.
CRAB
Crab is a popular name for the sign Cancer. Its association with moody Cancer is the
ultimate source of the term “crabby.”
CRESCENTIA
Crescentia, asteroid 660 (the 660th asteroid to be discovered, on January 8, 1908), is
approximately 42 kilometers in diameter and has an orbital period of 4 years. Its name
is the personification of a Latin word for increasing or growing, and is related to the
crescent Moon in its waxing phase. In a natal chart, its location by sign and house
indicates where and how one is most likely to experience expansion. When afflicted
by inharmonious aspects, Crescentia may show decrease, or less-than-desirable
increase. If prominent in a chart (e.g., conjunct the Sun or the Ascendant), it may
show an exceptionally expansive person.
Sources:
Kowal, Charles T. Asteroids: Their Nature and Utilization.Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Ellis
Horwood Limited, 1988.
Room, Adrian. Dictionary of Astronomical Names.London: Routledge, 1988.
Schwartz, Jacob. Asteroid Name Encyclopedia.St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1995.
CROWLEY, ALEISTER
Aleister Crowley, a famous English occultist and writer, was born on October 12,
8715, in Leamington, Warwick, England. He was a wealthy eccentric who inherited a
fortune and was educated at Cambridge. He joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, founded the Magical group, and wrote numerous books. He was married many
times, outraged polite British society, and died of a drug overdose.
Crowley lived in the United States during World War I and had a brief associ-
ation with Evangeline Adams during which he proposed a joint book on astrology—a
project never manifested. Crowley did write an astrology book prior to leaving Ameri-
ca in 1919, but this manuscript was not published until 1974. Despite the character of
the author, Crowley’s Complete Astrological Writingsis suggestive and merits reading.
He also wrote a short piece, “How Horoscopes Are Faked,” under the pseudo-
nym Cor Scorpionis (Latin for “scorpion’s heart”) that appeared in a small-circulation
New York periodical in 1917. This article was a thinly disguised attack on Adams,
whom Crowley accused of practicing astrology for profit (Crowley was wealthy and
did not need to work for a living) and other sins. The piece was clearly sour grapes,
written after the book project was rejected. Crowley died on December 1, 1947.
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Crowley, Aleister