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.
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. That is the Sun, the central body of the solar system.
The Horoscope revealed
The typical horoscope may appear as obscure as a Babylonian clay tablet encoded ith cuneiform cyphers, 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. For short, this is the signframe. In the inner circle, the interfacing twelve non-equal divisions of the houses, numbered counter-clockwise, 1-12. This formats locates the planets in the space surrounding the exact place of birth at the time of birth. The signframe overlays the houses. 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 displayed in the sign/house overlay. 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. Why not?
Because the horoscope format does not show real-sky locations. Instead, it shows locations in the two circles of signs and houses, seen 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 many 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. It uses the format of the starfield, not the signframe.
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 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)
showing planets and other features in the starfield of the surrounding sky
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, it aligns to the chalice in the right hand of that figure. Scan across the Rimsite from left to right and you see Earth opposite in the constellation of the Fishes, or Whales. The Rimsite names the planets without using the familiar symbols. The conventional symbol for Earth is a circle with a cross or + inside. More accurately, the symbol is a circle with one half darkened to show that at every moment half of the mother planet is in sunlight and the other half is in darkness, facing outward toward the night sky.
*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. 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, designated by the location of Earth in the starfield. 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
That Circle of Animals
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.
Notice that the names that identify the figures in this model do not match the familiar names for the astrological signs, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and so on. The thin circular line running through the constellations is the ecliptic (more below). Now, scan with your eyes and do the complete tour of the Rimsite: three animal forms (Ram, Bull, Lion), four human forms (Virgin, Manitu, and Twins), 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 entire star zodiac routinely be described as a circle of animals?
Divine Imagination
Celestics is so named because it places the features of the horoscope in the actual, observable celestial environment. The location of the Snaketamer highlights this perspective and brings attention immediately to the focal point of our cosmic setting. The darkened area where the Archer and Snaketamer stand is the region of the Milky Way seen when looking toward those constellations. In the opposite direction, the Milky Way crosses the star zodiac at the feet of the Twins, beyond the horns of the Bull. The Milky Way we can see with the naked eye is a slice of the third spiral arm of the home galaxy viewed from within it. This is actually about 3% of the entire galaxy consisting of an estimated 200 billion stars.
Galactic Centering
The position of the 13th constellation at top, front and center in the Rimsite, brings attention to galactic structure. From our perspective on the home planet, situated in the solar system, itself situated in the third galactic arm, the line of sight toward the center of the galaxy can be identified. It is precisely at the point near the right foot of the Snaketamer and above the stinger of the Scorpion.
Sightline to the galactic center, located above the stinger of the Scorpion
Notice how the Archer takes aim across that point, as if using it to hone in on its target. In fact, the stars that define the forward aim of the Archer make a perfect line pointing to the galactic center (GC), marked by a small triangle. Keep looking and you see that the Archer aims toward a specific star in the lower body of the Scorpion. This is not the prominent heart-star, Antares, but the one just below it. Meanwhile, the Snaketamer wrestles with a massive serpent and struggles to maintain balance with one foot on the heart-star and the other on the stinger.
These figures compose a magnificent tableau that tells a story, a mythic narrative. The method of forensic astronomy uses such narratives, displayed all around the starfield, to decode the patterns of human destiny. Note also the inclusion of the only mechanical figures in the real-sky zodiac, the Scales or Balance. With its upper left claw, the Scorpion reaches up and jars or jounces the crossbeam of the Scales. What kind of story does that suggest to you? Could it be that the Scorpion upsets the Scales, thus disturbing the balance of cosmic law? Or could it show that the Scorpion resets the Scales to restore cosmic order?
If the mythic narrative in this tableau intrigues you, you can learn how it involves you through the practice of Celestics.
The Full Spectrum Zodiac
All in all, there are 88 constellations in the celestial sphere that surrounds the home planet in all directions. The organization of these star-patterns into distinct groups (tableaux) can be done in various ways. What is so unique about the constellations pictured in the Rimsite? In that case, the cosmos itself does the organization. The Rimsite shows the star-patterns distributed along the rim of the ecliptic. You can see that rim in the grey model above. What is the ecliptic? It is the apparent path taken by the Sun through the constellations in the course of each year. But Earth rotates around the Sun, not the Sun around Earth. So, it is more correct to define the ecliptic as the edge of the orbital plane of Earth. In short, the Earthplane.
When projected into the distant heavens, the ecliptic line selects certain constellations out of the total 88 in the celestial sphere. The other patterns standing above or below that line are called extra-ecliptic. So far, you see that it selects thirteen, but this is not the full spectrum of the ecliptic constellations used in Celestics. Look again at the detailed tableau of the Archer, Snaketamer, and Scorpion. Notice how the main body of the centaur, the horse part, drops below significantly below the ecliptic rim. It crosses only the head of the Archer Looking left from the elbow of the Archer toward another figure, the Goatfish, you can see an empty zone. This is called the Great Void. Inspection of the night sky shows that it contains no bright stars, or almost no stars, and it presents no signature (star-to-star formation) to catch your attention. Observation and studies show that this area, although absent of stars, is as significant as a constellational pattern composed of stars.
Add the Great Void to the Rimsite and you have 14 constellations — but hold on, that is still not all, not the full spectrum of the Rimsite. There are two other constellations (not shown) situated along the boundary of the ecliptic rim. These are called the adjunctive constellations, meaning they provide an addition or supplement to existing data. One of them is a small treasure chest located at the base of the Virgin close to the right pan (as viewed) of the Scales. This is the Cache.
By the way, note that the Virgin is kneeling, not standing. That star-pattern is the largest in extent of all the ecliptic figures, covering 45 degrees or 1/8th of the entire panorama. The Cache at her knees has a distinct star on the latch that locks it: Kambhalia, called the Alchemist’s Star. This is lambda Virginis in the Greek-letter catalogue of astronomers. Its position in the signframe is 8 Scorpio, and it longitude on the perimeter of the star register is 218 degrees of ecliptic longitude. These two methods of noting stellar positions are different, but the position noted is the same for both. (More on this double notation in NEED TO KNOW and ZODIAC.)
Additional to the Cache, the other adjunctive figure is the Celestial Anchor located across the sky in the area of the Twins. This constellation is an exceptional case in which the ecliptic pattern of the Twins links to the extra-ecliptic region by an extension that involves Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and goes to the Pleiades on the hump of the Bull. In other words, the Anchor attaches to the Twins and from there spans across the sky. I explain the construction and meaning of this extraordinary figure in ZODIAC.
Given the addition of the Cache and the Anchor, now calculate the total of star-patterns in the Rimsite. It comes to sixteen. The table of systemic data in NEED TO KNOW contains sixteen entries. This is the number of data-points in the manifold, the basic tool of Celestics that replaces the horoscope. It is called a manifold because is contains a diversity of entries, not only the Sun, Moon, and planets — including Earth! The mathematics of StarBase is child simple. The manifold shows 16 entries that can occur in 16 locales as you see in the Rimsite of Don Mclean above, although some entries can occur in the same zodiacal locale. 16 X 16 = 256. That is the magic number of Celestics.
Encoded Narratives
To conclude this introduction, let’s return to that fabled circle of animals. In Quest for the Zodiac, I argued that the Greek zodiakos kyklos is more accurately translated “cycle of animations” than “circle of animals.” Zodiakos contains 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. They impact you when you behold them, as they have done for countless observers over untold millennia of time. That impact carries the effect of cosmic mirroring. As without, so within. What you see in these figures is a reflection of patterns and activities in the inner dimension of your psyche. Each single figure and the tableaux they compose present themes and narratives that you continually enact in the course of your life. But can you describe what they are and how they work? And how would you live differently, perhaps, if you could?
Finally, here is another example of how the constellational animations encode themes and narratives that direct your life. You may have noted an unfamiliar name among the mythic images of the Rimsite. That would be Manitu. This name replaces the one traditionally used for the star-pattern of the Watercarrier or Waterbearer. This is not the sign Aquarius although popular conceptions assume it so.
Screen shot from Stellarium showing the constellation of the Manitu. It illustrates how a mythic figure can be visualized to fit the star-to-star pattern that catches the eye of the observer (the signature).
The Manitu 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 the special role of providing of mental and moral orientation to the human animal, as well as connecting the human species with “animal powers” of other, non-human species. In Sumerian myth, this is Enki or Ea, “god of the sweet-water paradise.” In Scandinavian myth, it is Mimir who guards the well of memory symbolized by the urn or amphora. In the sky lore of the Lakota Sioux, it is White Buffalo Calf Woman with her basket of sacred medicine plants (alternative visualization of the urn). Every celestial image can be pictured in mythic imagery drawn from various cultures, but the encoded meaning is consistent across those racial and cultural variations.
Note again how the zodiacal figures are interactive. They present living tableaux. The left arm of the Manitu points in the direction of the Goatfish and extends over the composite stars of its curving tail. To its right (eft as viewed), you see the nose of one of the Fishes (also called Whales) swimming it its direction — as if attracted by the currents streaming from the urn. One lesson of the Manitu is that memory is not only a reference to the past, it is a faculty that can detect currents from the future. How can this be so? Simply due to the fact that memory of the past and prevision of the future are both functions of the same faculty, imagination. The instruction of the Manitu provides a “rite of passage” toward the future and a moral compass for getting there.
To hold true to what worked in the past and carry it ahead adapted to the conditions of the future, is the only course ahead for the safe passage of humanity. Preserving the best of past experience, all that was learned and worked out successfully, and adapting it the future without to losing the plot in pointless innovation and “progress” is a foundational principle of Celestics. It is essential to the sanity and well-being of each individual as well as to humanity at large. This principle is called the order of prevenience.
At the end of the day, there are a few ways to define the constellations. My favorite is: projections of divine imagination. Certainly, they are human constructions, but not only that. In trendy terms, they are cosmic archetypes. The entire sky is a living tableau of interactive archetypal figure. 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. What unfolds in divine imagination rooted in the higher dimension of superhuman powers also operates in the human psyche. 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. And you can learn how they do. Imagine that.
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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