ally that Great Years are given when the alcocoden is angular, the Mean Years when it
is succedent, and the Least Years when it is cadent. Yet, in addition to this, Al-Biruni,
following Ptolemy, still tries to predict the exact time of death by directing the hyleg
to the place of the Apheta. His complete method, therefore, is twofold and seems to
be a fusion of two techniques originally used independently of each other.
He employs solar returns and progressions as well as the divisor (Ruler of the
Year by profection of the ascendant) for discovering the important events in the
native’s life each year. He directs by profection (down to the week) and by term from
year to year. He discusses rectification by the animodar of Ptolemy and the trutine of
Hermes. Feeling assured that he has set forth the knowledge necessary to a beginner,
he warns readers not to exceed the limits of the knowable and thereby bring scorn and
derision upon themselves.
Such then is Al-Biruni’s Tafhim.It is certainly one of the classic works in
astrology and should be closely studied by all interested in the history and practice of
traditional astrology. It opens a window onto the astrological and mathematical exper-
tise of one of the world’s finest astrological minds. Al-Biruni was highly regarded in
his day, and his work was preserved and transmitted. As mentioned, it was a source for
Guido Bonatti’s thirteenth-century Liber Astronomiae,which was itself highly influen-
tial. Except for its failure to provide practical examples, the Tafhimconstitutes a veri-
table treasure trove of astrological lore.
—Robert ZollerSources:
Albiruni’s India.Translated by Edward C. Sachau. Delhi: S. Chand & Co., 1964.
Al-Khayyat, Abu ̄ ‘Ali. The Judgements of Nativities.Translated by James H. Holden. Tempe, AZ:
American Federation of Astrologers, 1988.
The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology.Translated by R. Ramsay Wright.
London: Luzac & Co., 1934.
Dorotheus. Pentateuch(published as Carmen Astrologicum,by Dorotheus Sidonius). Translated
by Pingree. Leipzig, Germany: B. G. Teubner, 1976.
Hoyt, Edwin P. Arab Science.New York: Thomas Nelson, 1975.
Ptolemy, Claudius. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos. Translated by F. E. Robbins. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1964.
———. Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos.Translated by J. M. Ashmand. London: Foulsham & Co., 1917.
Shumaker and Heilbron. John Dee on Astronomy: Propaedeumata Aphoristica 1558 & 1568.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978.
ALCOHOLISM
Alcoholism and other forms of escapist drug addiction are associated primarily with
the planet Neptune and, secondarily, with Pisces, the sign ruled by Neptune. Neptune
is associated with sensitivity to the subtle dimensions of existence. When strong and
positively situated in a natal chart, Neptune can manifest as musical sensitivity, mysti-
cal sensitivity, and so forth. When negatively aspected, however, Neptunian sensitivi-
ty will manifest as deceptiveness or escapism.
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [19]
Alcoholism