Charting Your Course In Life

“What is now proven was once only imagined.”
English poet, painter and visionary, William Blake

Welcome to the portal to Celestics.org. I trust this introduction will orient you to the premises and practices of forensic astronomy, a ground-breaking innovation in the field of astrology. It is long and demanding, but it could not be otherwise considering the novelty and scope of this system. If it piques your interest, you can receive the beginner’s package by clicking here: MP [3] Sampler draft

Thanks for your time and attention!

John Lamb Lash, the originator of Star Base Celestics.

Astrology Without Stars

It has often been said that what matters in life is the journey, not the goal. That may be true, but is it not more inclusive, and perhaps more true, that both the journey and the goal matter? That they both can matter? If that is so, it is worth asking if there could be a map for the journey, custom-made for your individual path in life, presenting a view ahead to the destination, the goal?

Astrology has survived through the ages in many lands and cultures. Its enduring popularity is due to the belief that it is a unique tool for understanding one’s destiny. In other words, a tool for decoding the pattern of personal destiny. If so, that is not an easy task. The astrologer who reads a horoscope must interpret patterns derived from complex permutations of four factors: houses, signs, planets, and aspects. Ideally, if the astrologer is competent and correct, these patterns can reveal, not only personality traits and complexes, but also it can theoretically plot the direction toward personal goals in career, creative achievement, relationships, fame and fortune. At best an astrological reading can reveal the destiny of an individual, presumed to be written in the stars. After all, destiny derives from the Latin de-sidere, “from the stars.”

Astrology can work on its own terms. It can serve as a tool for guidance in personal growth and definition of goals, but it has its limitations. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the stars…

 

Original promotion brochure for Celestics, 1999

The belief that human destiny is somehow written in the stars is perennial. Its historical origin cannot be dated. The earliest accounts on record, found in Babylonian star lists from 3400 BCE, show that astronomy and astrology were joined at the hip like Siamese twins; but over time they separated. Few people in the world today, including most professional astrologers, know that conventional Western astrology has parted ways with astronomy and no longer involves the stars. In Quest for the Zodiac (1999), I noted astrology is not wrong on its own terms, but it is wrongly defined as “the language of the stars.” In fact, there is only one star in the conventional horoscope: the Sun, the central body of the solar system.

Structure of the Horoscope

The typical horoscope may appear as obscure as a Babylonian cuneiform tablet, but it is not difficult to make out once the basics are explained. It shows positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets in twelve regions of the sky (the signs), distributed across twelve spatial divisions around the birthplace, the houses, plus the aspects, a set of angular relations between planets (shown by lines). Calculated by arcane rules of spherical trigonometry, both signs and houses are geometrical sectors of the sky surrounding the place of birth. Both sectors exclude the actual panorama of visible stars.

Horoscope of Don McLean,  American singer and song-writer,
known for “Vincent” and “American Pie”

What you are seeing: In the outer circle, the twelve uniform 30-degree divisions of the sign zodiac indicated by their symbols. In the inner circle, the interfacing twelve non-equal divisions of the houses, numbered counter-clockwise, 1-12. On the left is the AC, short for ascendant. This is the rising sign to the east at the birthplace and at the moment of birth: 20 degrees of Virgo. Notice the planet Venus in 10 Virgo in the 12th house, just above the AC. Below it in the 1st house are the Sun and three planets in a tight group. The lines show angular relations between pairs of planets, called aspects. The astrologer reads the sign/house overlay, planets in signs, planets in houses, and planets in aspects to detect and decode psychological complexes.

Every horoscope comprises four basic components: 12 signs, 12 houses, 10 planets (including the luminaries, Sun and Moon, which are not planets), and 9 principal aspects. Do the math: (12 X 12) X 10 X (9 aspects X 10 planets in 45 pairs). The totality of possible unique permutations runs into over 100,000 distinct lines. A horoscope is a very complicated affair.

What’s Missing

The event of any birth is recorded in a calendric notation. For Don McLean, born on October 2, 1945 at 4:15 AM in New Rochelle, New York, USA, the notation is 10/2/45/4:15 AM. (American style places the month before the day). This calendric notation is an exact match to the astronomical data in the horoscope. Anyone using an online tool such as Stellarium.org can enter the birth information and visually see the astronomical data that matches it. The starry cosmos records every birth in a precise array of Sun, Moon, and planets in the sky. But that is not what you see in the horoscope above. But why not?

Because the horoscope format does not show real-sky locations. Instead, it shows locations in the two circles of signs and houses, as explained above. The horoscopic rendering of the calendric notation 10/2/45/4:15 AM entirely ignores positions relative to the observable star-patterns in the sky. The twelve astrological signs do not and have never represented star-patterns. A sign is a starless, invisible sector of the sky, like a time zone pictured without the landscape beneath it.

More explanation of the starless signs in MP [2] Need to Know EDIT

Celestics introduces the difference between signs and constellations. A constellation is a visible pattern of stars. Signs are invisible. Very few people who take interest in astrology know this, and even professionals who practice it cannot explain the difference.  In reality, there are two zodiacs: the starless format used by astrologers, and the format of observable star-patterns used in Celestics, variously called the constellational, stellar, or the real-sky zodiac. The diamond-pointed panorama of visible constellations is the format of Celestics. It is called forensic astronomy because it investigates the hard data encoded in the celestial bodies distributed in the real-sky constellations.

Conversion to StarBase

StarBase is the custom-designed software for Celestics. It converts the calendric data directly into a graphic format with all celestial bodies in the horoscope projected into their actual locations in the surrounding sky. To make this conversion, StarBase generates the Rimsite:  a graphic model of the set of constellations surrounding the earth located (sited/sighted) on the rim of the ecliptic. (See MP [2] Need to Know EDIT for the definition and illustration of this term.) In all there are 88 named constellations in the total celestial sphere, but most of them are located above or below the defining line of the ecliptic which is a circular grid of 360 degrees, like a protractor — a circular ruler used in geometrical studies and drafting.

The Rimsite is one of the four basic tools of Celestics. It shows the accurate positions of background stars and the visualisations associated with the star-patterns, and places all celestial bodies in those mythological figures.

Horoscopic natal data projected into the Rimsite (Don McLean)

Notice the Sun on the right, close to the three o’clock position of the display. Close to it (in conjunction) are the planets Mercury, Jupiter, and Neptune, located in the sign Libra. That is the cluster you see in the 1st house in the horoscope of Don McLean. But here it is visually in the constellation of the Virgin. To be more exact, aligned to the chalice (Grail) in the right hand of that figure. Scan across the Rimsite from left to right and you see Earth (in red) opposite in the constellation of the Fishes, or Whales.

*On the different names for the constellations contrasted to the well-known signs, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc, see MP [5] ZODIAC Edit .

The Sun-Earth Polarity

The inclusion of Earth in StarBase is an outstanding and far-reaching innovation. Of all the 16 entries in the manifold, its coupling with the Sun is unique. These two bodies always stand 180 degrees apart forming a dyad, as no other bodies do. Decoding the manifold begins with the Sun-Earth dyad, called the Primaries. The Sun designates “the  myth you live.” This is a meme for the way you experience life as an adventure of discovery that excites your passion to explore what the world offers you. The meme for Earth in a constellation is “the myth you love.” You love life-itself, of course, if you are sane and grateful for the opportunity to be alive in the first place. But the adventure of living does not end there. It is not an end in itself. Out of the adventure life presents, you can derive a sense of purpose, even an ultimate goal, the highest desire you hold for what to make of your unique existence. The heartfelt sense of purpose comes to expression in the myth you love. It reveals how you can ultimately contribute something to life that was not there, could not be there, without you to offer it.

After the nine celestial bodies, the other seven entries in the manifold are a star, a satellite, four points on the lunar orbit, and a cometary body. Scan the Rimsite image above again to be sure you get the information right.  There you have a complete and correct description of the solar system, something that can be taught, and should be taught, to children in grade school. The basic astronomy to be learned in Celestics consists of nothing more than this: To know and name the working parts in the structure of the solar system. It is called systemic data because it describes the structure and organization of the solar system.

*More on systemic data in MP [2] Need to Know EDIT

Cosmic Animations

So, what you are looking at in the optics of the Rimsite is crystal clear. But what are you seeing? Here is the Rimsite with the figures named in the vocabulary of Celestics.

Do the complete tour of the Rimsite:  three animal forms (Ram, Bull, Lion), four human forms (Virgin, Manitu, and Twins, counting as two), a crustacean (Crab), an arachnid (Scorpion), two fishes joined at their tails by a cord (Whales), two chimeric figures, the centaur (Archer) and the seagoat (Goatfish), and one mechanical object (Scales, or Balance). Is this a “circle of animals,” the standard translation of the Greek zodiakos kyklos? Clearly not. The only animals are the Ram, Bull, and Lion, so how can the zodiac routinely be described as a circle of animals?

And there is more. Did you notice that the count above only goes to twelve images? But there are thirteen in all. The Rimsite includes a male figure that looms over the entire display. How can he be ignored! He stands central and uppermost in the sky. Traditionally named Ophiuchus, this star-pattern is called the Snaketamer in Celestics. Yes, you may have the Sun, Moon or another entry of the manifold in the Snaketamer. With that figure included, there are 13 principal constellations on the Rimsite. But that is still not quite the total of zodiacal images.

I have argued that the Greek zodiakos kyklos is more accurately translated “cycle of animations” than, “circle of animals.” Zodiakos contained the root zoe, “life, that which is alive and animated.” These huge figures that you can see in the night sky are indeed animations, like a massive CGI spectacle. But unlike CGI animations and holographic AI projections, the constellations are charged with vital and emotional power. They are not vacant, virtual icons. Each image impacts you when you see it in 3-D and even when you see it represented in art, painted or drawn. Celestial atlases are full of such imagery that matches star positions to visualizations.

Screen shot from Stellarium showing the constellation of the Watercarrier, one of many variations of graphic renderings  to fit the star pattern (called the signature).

In Celestics this figure is called Manitu (named in the blue chart above). This name occurs in Native American lore and in the Hindu figure of the Manu, the culture-hero. The Sanskrit root man- means “thinking, using the mind.” The Manitu is a guide with special powers. In Scandinavian myth, this is Mimir who guards the well of memory symbolized by the urn or amphora. Every mythic image tells a story or more often, several stories. Every good story has a moral. It carries instruction for individuals and humanity at large.

One lesson of the Manitu is that memory is not only a reference to the past, it is a beacon pointing to the future. Note how the left arm of the Manitu extends over the neighboring constellation, the Goatfish; sometimes pictured as pointing in the direction that the Goatfish looks. Many of the mythic figures in the zodiac are interactive. The entire sky is a living tableau. The cosmic animations are thriving with instruction and inspiration.

The narratives and lessons encoded in the zodiac operate in scalar projection where cosmos and psyche interact. As without, so within. The same stories, themes, and lessons represented in the zodiac on the grand scale, unfolding over millennia of time, scale down to individual life-patterns and real-time, existential situations. Imagine that.

Cosmic Timing

The Watercarrier is a topic of huge popular interest due to the meme of the “Aquarian Age.” But this figure does not correlate to the starless sign, Aquarius. The composite stars do not match or interface with that astrological sign although, unfortunately, the themes, attributes, and associations of sign and constellation tend to be confused and conflated.

The Celestial Source Code

I hope to have shown so far that the math and astronomy involved in Celestics are clear and simple. The manifold contains 16 entries. That is the totality of systemic hard data. What about the panorama of the real-sky zodiac? So far you are seeing 13 constellations. But as I noted above, there is more to come. The menu page for MP [5] ZODIAC Edit treats in more detail what I will briefly explain here.

The full-spectrum of the Rimsite includes three additional features. One of them can be seen in the blue format above. Notice how the horse body of the Archer drops below the ecliptic line, and there is a gap in the space before the Goatfish comes into view. This region, running about 13 degrees in extent, is called the empty space or Great Void. It is not another constellation because there are no bright stars in the region to support a graphic figure. Yet it has great significance, nonetheless. You might be born with the Sun, Moon, Earth or other assets there. How would that work out for you? I personally know a number of “Great Voiders.” They all share a ruthless perspective on the human condition and the plight of humanity, the species that has forgotten its origins and lost its way. The Great Void is the black pilled zone of the zodiac. 

Additional to the Great Void are two other constellations unique to Celestics. One is the Cache located at the knees of the Virgin, bordering on the Scales (not shown). It can be pictured as a small treasure chest. The other is the Celestial Anchor. This is a construction in the shape of an anchor attached by one arm to the head-stars of the Twins, with its other arm attached to Sirius (brightest star in the sky), and the stem stretching across to the Pleiades. The drop-down menus in MP [5] ZODIAC Edit explain how these novel constellations are derived and what they mean.

Now, total up the full range of cosmic animations: 12 original figures, + 1, the Snaketamer, + 1, the Great Void, + 2 more, the Celestial Anchor and the Cache = 16. Both the number of assets in the manifold and the number of zodiacal locales where they can occur is 16. That being so, the complete number of combinations taken two-at-a-time is 16 X 16, 256. That is the totality of code lines in the OS of Celestics. Compare that to the over 100,000 possible lines in a horoscope. StarBase is a tremendous simplification of celestial code.

The 16-base format of Celestics recalls the genetic code of DNA, which is also 16-based. There are 4 X 16 = 64 triplets in the double helix spiral of the human genome. Likewise, there are 64 hexagrams in the I Ching. StarBase is something like a stellar-genetic code system that also has the properties of a divinatory tool like the I Ching. The method that defines your destiny pattern also allows you to divine it, to know yourself in depth and fathom the deep dimensions of the life itself.

In computer programming, 256 lines is not a lot of code. Some programs run to millions of lines. But even with this vast reduction of programming code, you do not have to learn to read all those lines. Each manifold selects a set of 16 lines from the total. That is all that concerns you in learning how to decode your destiny pattern. Those 16 lines are like the 16 numbers on your celestial lottery ticket. But what makes it a winning ticket?

The Supreme Motive

The ancients called the planets wanderers, from the Greek word, plane, “to stray, wander.” To the casual observer, the planets look like stars, although they can change in size and brightness depending on their distance from Earth during orbit. But the fixed stars of the constellations do not move significantly over millennia. Observers pick out the planets by noticing how they move each night against the background of the fixed-star zodiac.

All 16 assets in the manifold are emotive and motivating in different ways. Over both the short term and the long term, motivation is always in play for the human animal, and non-human creatures as well. The authentic person is honest about his or her motivations, but many others are not. Moreover, it is extremely common for people to go through life in a blind way without a paramount motive that underpins and directs all the others. That would be defined in an ultimate sense of purpose, a final aim or goal. Of course, every individual is goal-specific. Different people seek to achieve different outcomes in their lives, defined by career, creativity, social status, and other factors. That is common sense.

But can there be anything more to the dynamic of human motivation? Is there, perhaps, some kind of transcendent element to be realised by personal effort even though it plays out in a transpersonal way, exceeding the limits of mortal existence?

In Not in His Image (Ch. 19, A Unique Message of Love, p 258), I ventured to say:

“Human beings have a deep unfaltering intuitive sense that tells us that love cannot be the basis of morality, although it is the central and directing factor in moral (conscious, responsible) expression. The basis of morality is our sense for life, our devotion to the life force.”

The source of the life force is nature and the ground of it is Earth, the home planet. The claim to be a loving person is fake unless it can be proven by acting from love as the supreme motive. Here and there over the years, I have also ventured to say that beauty is supernatural. Beauty is divine, and the realisation of that truth comes with the admission that the natural world is the most beautiful manifestation in life, and of life. Beauty is also the supreme criterion of truth. A poet once wrote, “Beauty is Truth and Truth is Beauty / That is all you know on earth / And all you need to know.”

Remember the meme for Earth in Celestics: “the truth on which you stand.”

If Celestics can teach you anything about yourself, it is that you can only become more beautiful through genuine self-knowledge. That is the antidote to the toxic narcissism of our Age. A little-known British philosopher, Shaftesbury, made the astonishing assertion that the human morality is totally independent of following dictates of behaviour. Rather, the basic motivation to be moral without rules arises in the same way as the sense of beauty. Call this the moral-aesthetic principle. Your ultimate purpose in this world, once you know it and navigate wisely toward it, assures that your life will be beautiful. No matter what else it turns out to be.

In conclusion, I assure you that I realize that a lot of what I’ve put out here is new, and can be quite challenging at first sight. (The dominant asset in my manifold is Mars :: to challenge!) This long introductory message is a stand-alone item without drop-down texts. It raises many questions and leaves a lot more to explain. The remaining five menu pages continue to elaborate all aspects of Celestics and the drop-down pages attached to them go into detail the premises, tools and technique of forensic astronomy. My highest desire is that you enjoy the adventure of discovery you find on Celestics.org.

Pirate standing on vigil. (Credit: Mark Beerdom. Not sure it this is a genuine painting or CGI simulation. Unfortunately, this is often more and more the case.)

Thanks for your attention and determination.

John Lamb Lash, author, mythologist, and visionary teacher, originator of StarBase,  the source code of Celestics

contact: mail@celestics.org