Pisces: Pure white and glistening.
The color of the fixed stars were taken as an index to their nature: as, a star of the color of Mars is of the nature of Mars;
and so on. Placidus said the yellow color of the Sun indicates radical heat; the white of the Moon, of passive power and
radical moisture; the blue and yellow of Venus and Jupiter, of combined heat and moisture, the moisture predominating in
Venus and the heat in Jupiter; the red of Mars, of intemperate heat and dryness; and the lead color of Saturn, of intemperate
cold and dryness. Wilson dissents by saying that "whatever blue is the color of, Venus has more of it than Jupiter." v. Signs.
Combust. Said of a planet when in extreme closeness to the Sun, the limits variously placed at from 3° to 8°30'. The
characteristic effect to which the term applies is probably confined within an arc of 3° and is more pronounced when the
planet rises after the Sun. Older authorities, including Milton, have described it as weakening, except in the case of Mars
which was said to be intensified. The probabilities are that the effect of the combust condition is to combine the planet's
influence more closely with that of the Sun, until it is no longer a physical emotion capable of independent control, but an
integral part of that consciousness of Destiny that the Sun imparts. Thus Mercury combust imparts to the mind a capacity
for concentration upon what it deems its own destiny, but robs it of its receptivity to distracting or diverting influences.
Hence it is no bar to the achievement of its own objectives insofar as the ability to achieve them is within its own powers,
but it robs the native of the cooperation of those whom he alienates by his particular species of obtuse deafness to any or all
argument that runs counter to his own concepts. Edison and Kant both illustrate this interpretation. Venus combust may
take away the strength to achieve, but when in a particularly close conjunction with the Sun it produces the condition
sometimes termed nymphomania - described by Bolitho concerning Lola Montez. Mars combust is always the man who
fights for what he wants; and so with each planet according to its intrinsic nature.
The distinction is an important one, in that a person with an entirely unaspected Mercury is one who usually develops a
complex by way of an escape mechanism, while one whose Mercury is within 5° to 10° of the Sun is seldom afflicted with
any manner of mental derangement.
Wilson says "there seems manifest a difference in genius and propensities of natives, according to the distance of their
Mercury from the Sun; and that those whose Mercury is combust have little wit or solid judgment, though they will
persevere in business and frequently with good success." Also that a good aspect to the Moon, if angular and increasing in
light, will in great measure remedy this defect, making one "judicious and penetrating."
It should not be confused with the phrase "under the Sun's beams" which applies to, let us say, the degree of non-
combustion, and is perhaps embodied in the doctrine that a planet within the Sun's aura - which extends to 17° on either
side - is within orbs of a conjunction therewith. In other words, while the orbs of the planets, with regard to aspects, are
variously from 3° to 10° according to the nature of the aspect, the solar orb, by conjunction or opposition, can be as much
as 17°.
Comets. Erratic members of the Solar system, usually of small mass. Luminous bodies, wandering through space, or
circulating around the Sun, and visible only when they approach the Sun. They usually consist of three elements:
nucleus, envelope, and tail. The superstitious once considered them to be evil omens. Those pursuing an elongated orbit
are periodic and return at fixed intervals. Those with a parabolic or hyperbolic orbit are expected never to return.The astrological significance of comets has been the subject of much study, but so far no definite conclusions have been
reached. Suggestion has been advanced that Donate's comet, which made its first appearance of record in June 1858 and
attained its maximum brilliancy on October 9th, was a factor in the nativity of Theodore Roosevelt, born October 27,- It is presumed that comets presage history-making events; but operating through individuals whose birth coincides
with their appearance, their effects are so delayed as often to be overlooked. Donati's comet was one of the most
beautiful of comets. Its tall was curved. The nucleus had a diameter of 5,600 miles.
"When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." - Shakespeare.The year of F. D. Roosevelt's birth was also marked by the appearance of one of the brightest comets of record, which