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The Logic of Geomantic Houses
In The Art and Practice of Geomancy, Greer writes that the houses follow a subtle but definite logic;
true though this is, I've spent a lot of time trying to puzzle out what, exactly, that logic is.
Here is my best guess so far:
- Me
- Closely held things (possessions, money, self-esteem, close advisors, secrets you keep from everyone else, etc.)
- Nearby things (the local environment, neighbors, communication, common knowledge, etc.)
- Things beneath (things relating to the earth (agriculture, real estate, etc.), one's roots, the past, etc.)
- Nearby benefits (pleasures, made things, etc.)
- Nearby limitations (the body, diseases, hired help, etc.)
- You (partners, opponents, "the other party", etc.)
- Things let go of (death, wills, legacies, magic, etc.)
- Distant things (faraway places, dreams, specialized knowledge, religion, etc.)
- Things above (things related to the sky (weather, astrological forces, etc.), authority, gods, one's ambitions, the future, etc.)
- Distant benefits (friends, benefactors, hopes and wishes, etc.)
- Distant limitations (societal hindrances, things hidden from you, the unknown, fears, etc.)
Obviously, the opposite houses have complementary meanings. But there's also relationships to the four triplicities of the shield chart here (I+II=IX, III+IV=X, V+VI=XI, VII+VIII=XII). I am still grappling with these for the moment.
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I don't know offhand all the Hellenistic authors who discuss the technique. I know Firmicus Maternus has a section on it, although in the translation by Jean Rhys Bram, the translator gets seriously confused, and tries to turn the eight houses into 45° segments which would then cover the entire zodiac. This is a mistake, as Chris Brennan clearly shows in his Hellenistic Astrology textbook. (The Rhys Bram translation of Firmicus is riddled with errors; if you can find an alternative, I'd recommend doing so.)
More generally, I recall Brennan having a nice discussion of the oktatropos in his book, and so beginning there, and proceeding on to the sources he cites, might be a worthwhile approach.
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I'm starting to read it now—it's introduction is lengthy, but I have a fascination with history so I expect it to be a while before I get into the meat of the practical sections—but I ran across this chart detailing the oktatropos which certainly feels like a relation to the scheme I'm working on, where the IX through XII are "derived houses" without an inherent meaning.
Thanks for the pointer!