You can now find me at AIRR, the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers.
Brother Christopher is now a member at AIRR (Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers)
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Intro to Geomancy: Generating the House Chart
In the European practice of Geomancy, the next step is to generate a house chart. The house chart is a chart taken from Astrology. This is often the reason why Geomancy was called the “Daughter of Astrology” in European works describing Geomancy.
This process is also where you will see some variation of methods. While the shield chart method is old and pretty consistent, the house chart was an innovation with various authors using various methods.
The House chart uses twelve houses. These houses loosely correspond with the 12 signs of the zodiac, but don’t confuse the houses with the signs. They are not the same. While in astrology, the houses can be smaller or greater than 30 degrees, but the order of the houses and their general location never change. In geomancy, there are no degrees, just a format that uses a 12 part division. You can literally use any structure you want to display this division, but most geomancers that I have come across use a classic house chart structure that was used in the middle ages and renaissance. Such as the image in this article.
THE BASIC METHOD
This method is the easiest and most straightforward of methods. Take the shield chart you have already generated. Starting with the 1st mother, that becomes house one, the 2nd mother is house two, the 3rd mother is house three, etc. Continue this until you fill all the houses, ending with the last niece as house twelve. The witnesses and judge and sentence are not placed into the house chart.
AGRIPPA’S METHOD
In the 4th Book of Occult Philosophy, Agrippa lays out a method of placing the figures into the house chart.
The mothers are placed in the cardinal houses, that is houses 1 house 10, house 7, and house 4. These houses are associated with the cardinal directions (house 1 is east, house 10 is south, house 7 is west, and house 4 is north) and so the 1st mother goes into house 1, the 2nd mother into House 10, the 3rd Mother into house 7, and the 4th mother into House 4.
The Daughters are then placed into the Succedent houses. The 1st Daughter goes into House 2, the 2nd Daughter goes into House 11, the 3rd Daughter goes into House 8, and the 4th Daughter goes into House 5.
It is the Cadent houses where Agrippa diverges from the shield chart, having you generate new figures for the cadent houses. Agrippa indicates that the remaining houses should be derived from their triplicity rulers, that is in Astrology, there are 4 triplicities, based around the elements. The fiery signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagitarrius, The Earth Signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, the Airy signs of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius, and the Watery signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. He applies this to the houses as well. Which Aries, being the first sign, is aligned with the first house, Taurus, the 2nd house, Gemini the third house, etc… This makes an alignment between the houses that the 1st, 5th, and 9th house are the fiery triplicity, the 2nd, 6th, and 10th house are the Earthly triplicity, the 3rd, 7th, and 11th houses are the Airy Triplicity, and the 4th, 8th, and 12th houses are the water triplicity. Agrippa’s reasoning is that this should remain consistent, so to populate the last four houses in the chart using Agrippa’s method as follows::
To fill the 3rd house, you would add together the figures in the 11th house and the 7th house.
To fill the 12th house, you would add together the figures in the 4th house and the 8th house.
To fill the 9th house, you would add together the figures in the 1st house and the 5th house.
To fill the 6th house, you would add together the figures in the 2nd house and the 10th house.
Basically look at the houses that have been filled as part of the triplicity and those two added together create the figure for the remaining triplicity house.
This will create new figures for the cadent houses, which will be different from the figures in the shield chart. There is more that Agrippa does relating to the house chart, but his method is unique in this area, and not commonly found in generating house charts.
MY METHOD
My method is a variation on the Agrippa method. I like the harmony of the Mothers equating the cardinal houses, the daughters being the succedent houses, but creating new figures for the last houses seems awkward to me, especially when you already have 4 figures ready to fill that role from the shield chart, i.e. the nieces. I place the 1st niece into the 3rd house, the 2nd niece into the 12th house, the 3rd niece into the 9th house, and the 4th niece into the 6th house. I feel that this connects the shield and house chart more fully, and I personally find the answers are more accurate, but this is my personal innovation as I didn’t care for the basic method as much. It worked, but it made it easy to predict exactly what figure would go in what house, whereas applying the mothers, daughters and nieces to respective positions in the house chart of cardinal, succedent, and cadent houses just seems very elegant to me.
Additional methods
Just as in the shield chart you could get the sentence, there are some additional methods that you can do with the house chart. These are taken from astrology as well, but are different from their astrological source.
The Index – The Index is an indicator of hidden things in the house chart. Depending upon where in the house chart it is located, or the nature of the question being answered, what the hidden thing indicates will vary. To determine the house location for the Index, you need to take all the single dots in all the figures in the houses and add them together. Once you have that sum, divide it by 12. Whatever the remainder is, that is the house where the index is located. If there is no remainder, then the index is located in the 12th house.
Point of Fortune – This is an indicator of good luck and fortune in the house chart. Similar to the index what that means exactly depends upon the question and where in the chart it is located. To determine this location, you need to add all the points of the figures in the house chart. Take that number and divide it by 12. Whatever is the remainder indicates the house where the point of fortune is located. If there is no remainder, then the point of fortune is in the 12th house.
There is an interesting relationship I discovered between the Index and the Point of Fortune (PoF). They will also be in houses that when added together, make twelve. So, if you have calculated the Index and it is in the 2nd house, the point of fortune will be in the 10th house. This also means that if the Index is in the 6th house, the Point of Fortune will also be in the 6th house, and both will also occupy the 12th house as well. There is also a great tendency for these indicators to usually be in even numbered houses, but I have had an odd numbered house show up on occasion.
Happy May Day and Beltane
Beltane Festival Today!
It starts at 2 pm. I’ll be doing readings. $20 for 15 minutes, $40 for 30 minutes, and $70 for an hour.
There will be other vendors, an altar, and more.
Come and down!
Intro to Geomancy: Creating the Shield Chart
The primary method of geomantic divination is done through creating a specialized table commonly known as a shield chart. The shield chart is made up of 15 sections, with various sections having specific names.
The first section is made up of four figures, called the mothers. The mothers are the only randomly generated figures in the chart, created by various methods. The oldest historical method was to use a smooth field of sand, which would then have dots tapped into by the geomancer or the client seeking answers. The dots would be counted, and the resulting odd or even count would generate a line of the figure. So either 16 lines would be tapped out at all once, one for each line to make up the four mothers, or a line would be tapped out one at a time, slowly creating this figure. Over time this process would get streamlined, either by using a field to write on, whether it was paper, or a board coated in wax, or a chalk board, or by using specialized tools that would have so many dots allocated on them. Unlike tarot or similar methods of divination where certain signs are unlikely to repeat, it is entirely possible for geomantic figures to repeat in the four mothers, or really anywhere in the shield chart.
Once you have generated the four mothers, those four figures are used to generate the next figures, called daughters. The method for doing this is that from the head lines of all the mothers, that becomes the head neck body and feet of first daughter. The neck lines of all the mothers becomes the head neck body and feet of the second daughter. The body lines of the all the mothers become the third daughter, and the feet lines become the fourth daughter.
Once this process is complete, the rest of the chart can be generated. This is done through a process of simple addition. The process is like this. Two signs, side by side and add the lines together. If the result is an even number (2 or 4) then you put two dots. If the result is an odd number (3) then put a single dot. For example:
You apply this process as follows. The 1st and 2nd Mothers. The 3rd and 4th Mothers. The 1st and 2nd daughters, and the 3rd and 4th daughters. This produces the section known as the nieces.
Then you add the nieces together in the same way. 1st and 2nd nieces, and the 3rd and 4th nieces. This produces the figures known as the witnesses.
The two witnesses are added together, and this produces the Judge. While historical examples often show that the Judge was the final figure, some geomancers would add the Judge to the 1st mother, which generates a figure known as the Sentence, or the Result of the Result. I often use this additional figure and I see many others use it as well.
The shield chart is the primary method for doing geomancy divination. The next post will discuss the house chart, a method that was added in Europe, but little used elsewhere.
With the shield chart you can effectively answer any question posed with little difficulty. Quite simply, the answer is the Judge. Especially for a yes or no question, the judge if it is a favorable figure, would indicate a yes, while the unfavorable figure would indicate a now. Since there are only 8 judges possible (Populus, Via, Carcer, Conjunctio, Amissio, Acquisitio, Fortuna Major, Fortuna Minor) the favorability or unfavorability will depend upon the question. Although in most cases, the figures of Acquisition and Fortuna Major will almost always be favorable indications.
There are additional methods that assist with interpreting the shield chart, but that will be for a future post. If you are interested, I highly recommend just practicing generating the shield chart and making yourself familiar with the process.
Beltane Festival April 30, 2022
Beltane Festival at Points of Light in Long Beach!!!
When: Saturday April 30, 2022 2-6 Pm
Where Points of Light, 4358 East Sterns Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90815
Come down and Turn the Wheel with Points of Light. There will be vendors, readers, and an altar set up where you can participate. The shop will also be open as well.
Look forward to seeing you all there.
RSVP At the link below
Intro to Geomancy: Geomantic Signs
In Geomancy, we use sixteen signs that are interpreted to give indications. These signs are made up of four lines in which there are either one or two dots. It is essentially like binary code, in that you could consider the single dot indicates something as being “on” or active and the two dots is the equivalent of “off” or “inactive”. This combination of dots shapes the figures.
The four lines are considered like a body, with a head line, neck line, body line and feet line. That is top line, second from the top, the second from the bottom, and the bottom line.These are also associated with the elements, with the head/top line equated with fire, the neck/second from the top is Air, the body/second from the bottom is Water, and the feet/bottom line is Earth.
This combination of active and inactive lines in the four sections creates the sixteen signs of geomancy.
These combinations have given values to certain signs, interpreted in various ways. One of these ways is elemental. Depending upon the active elemental lines, the figure has been assigned a certain element correspondence.
These same signs have also been assigned to the seven classical planets of astrology, which has also given them an additional set of elemental correspondences. While the elemental values given upon the active lines in the figure are fairly consistent, the addition of the planet qualities are not as consistent, and so this elemental quality changes depending upon the author. This variation between elements caused the planetary elemental quality to be considered the outer elemental quality, while the more consistent elemental value is considered the inner elemental quality.
The arrangement of the figures also creates several more categories of signs. A stable and mobile sign, entering and exiting signs, and partial and impartial signs.
A stable sign is one that indicates long term influences, and events that aren’t changeable.
A mobile sign is one that indicates short term influences, and events that are more changeable.
An entering sign is similar to a stable sign, while an exiting sign indicates a mobile sign. Some signs are neither exiting or entering, and need to be considered in relation to the signs around them.
Because these signs are made of combinations of one or two dots, some of these signs have even numbers, and some are odd numbered. The even numbered signs are considered impartial, and these numbers are the only ones that become judges. If you get an odd numbered sign as a judge, it means that you have miscalculated the shield chart and should go back. It makes it a kind of failsafe, knowing that an error has been made. That is why the even numbered signs are considered impartial, representing objective, factual conditions that are apparent to anyone. All the odd numbered signs are thus considered partial, and represent subjective and emotional states.
The sixteens signs are as follows:
Puer (Latin for Youth, or a Adolescent Male) – Inner element Air: Outer element: Fire Planet: Mars Sign: Aries Mobile Exiting, Partial
Puella (Latin for Maiden or an Adolescent Female) – Inner element: Air Outer Element: Water Planet: Venus Sign: Libra Stable Entering Partial
Albus ( Latin for White) -Inner Element: Water Outer Element: Air Planet: Mercury Sign: Gemini Stable, Entering Partial
Rubeus (Latin for Red) – Inner Element: Air Outer Element: Water Planet: Mars Sign: Scorpio Mobile, Exiting, Partial
Amissio (Latin for Loss) – Inner Element: Fire Outer Element: Earth Planet: Venus Sign: Taurus Mobile, Exiting, Impartial
Aquisitio (Latin for Gain) – Inner Element: Air Outer Element: Fire Planet: Jupiter Sign: Sagittarius Stable, Entering, Impartial
Populus (People or Crowds) – Inner Element: Outer Element Water: Planet: Moon Sign: Cancer Stable, Both, Impartial
Via (The Way or Road) – Inner Element: Outer Element: Water Planet: Moon Sign: Cancer Mobile, Both, Impartial
Carcer (Latin for Prison) – Inner Element: Earth Outer Element Earth: Planet: Saturn Sign: Capricorn Stable, Both, Impartial
Conjunctio (Latin for Conjunction) aka a Meeting or Crossroads – Inner Element: Air Outer Element: Earth Planet:Mercury Sign: Virgo Mobile Both Impartial
Fortuna Major (Latin for Greater Fortune) – Inner Element:Earth Outer Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo Stable, Entering, Impartial
Fortuna Minor (Latin for Lesser Fortune) – Inner Element: Fire Outer Element: Fire Planet: Sun Sign: Leo Mobile, Exiting, Impartial
Laetitia (Latin for Joy) – Inner Element: Fire Outer Element: Water Planet:Jupiter Sign: Pisces Mobile, Exiting, Partial
Tristitia (Latin for Sadness) – Inner Element: Earth Outer Element: Air Planet: Saturn Sign: Aquarius Stable, Entering Partial
Caput Draconis (Latin for Head of the Dragon) – Inner Element: Earth Outer Element: Earth Planet North Node of the Moon: Sign: Virgo Stable, Entering Partial
Cauda Draconis (Latin for Tail of the Dragon) – Inner Element: Fire Outer Element: Fire Planet: South Node of the Moon Sign: Sagittarius Mobile, Exiting, Partial
You will also notice another pattern with the signs, based upon how I presented them above. The combinations above show opposite pairings. Youth and Maiden, White and Red, Gain and Loss, etc… You will also notice that these signs are either Reversions or Inversions of each other. This expresses a relationship between these signs that when they are found together may influence your reading.
One of the practices done in generating a chart (which we will cover in another post) is the adding of the signs together. This creates a third sign from their combination, creating new active and inactive lines. It also expresses a relationship between those signs that is a little tongue and cheek. For example, Puer and Puella when added together creates Conjunctio or Meeting. This could be interpreted as literal meeting of a man and woman, or as “sexual union”, depending upon the reading.
I will be doing readings at Points of Light Beltane Festival, April 30, 2022, from 2 to 6 pm. Located at 4358 E Stearns St, Long Beach, CA 90815. There will be other vendors and readers, as well as a public altar to observe the turning of the wheel of the year. See you there!
Intro to Geomancy
One of the types of divination or fortune telling I use is called Geomancy. It is a very old method of forecasting future events, that in the medieval period and renaissance, was second only to Astrology, and in many ways much more accessible. Mainly because it wasn’t as complicated as astrology and didn’t require as much knowledge, education and well, funding in order to learn and practice it.
Geomancy’s origins are actually in what we now call the Middle East. While we don’t know exactly where it came from, the basic method was developed in those lands, and it is actually a translation of the arabic name for it that we call it geomancy. ‛ilm al-raml (a more exact translation would be the science of the sand) was translated into Greek as geomanteia, which from latin and into English became geomancy. This is of course, not to be confused with the other geomancy, which would be reading literal omens by looking at rocks, the earth, and natural events, which was included in groupings of pyromancy, hydromancy, aeromancy etc…
I came across geomancy purely by accident, seeing a book being published in my local bookstore and finding i’s cover and back interesting. It was hooked by the unusual method of doing geomancy, compared to the familiar methods of cartomancy using Tarot and playing cards, which parallel reading and casting runes in some ways, and many other methods of divination. In a sense, the more comparable, but in no way the same, methods would be I-Ching readings, divination using astragalli, or knuckles bones, or diloggun.
Later, this method of divination would fall out of favor, and as playing card games arose, it would be forgotten almost completely. However, as only medieval manuscripts would be translated, the plethora of geomancy books that were written would ensure that it would be noted. With the occult revival of the 19th century, this caused geomancy to be revived in a limited scale. The Order of the Golden Dawn actually had a means of practicing geomancy as a means of divination, and it’s pamphlets that initiates received detailed the complicated process of making a set to practice geomancy, essential creating a ritual sandbox where marks would be made and formed into a reading. However, those early translations were often very mechanistic and lacked the depth that later translations would provide, and so this geomancy would be often overlooked. Although interestingly, an often overlooked source of geomantic education was the much recommended Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson, which in its first chapters on divination described a simple method of casting a geomantic chart and the meanings of the signs, although without much detail beyond that.
There are now many more books about geomancy, and quite a few academic publications about it, from a history of the occult perspective, to understanding it culturally in its different iterations around the Middle East and Africa, and more. If you want a practical manual that can help you get started and give detail to really work it, I recommend The Art and Practice of Geomancy by John Michael Greer. I also run a group on Facebook called Geomantic Campus, which has various files of translated works describing Geomancy to those who are interested, among other things.
Alignment and Beginning the Spiritual Path
Spiritual alignment is a big thing in today’s practices. Many books will give instructions in various systems that are about aligning your metaphysical anatomy. Alignment with certain spirits is also pointed to a desirable state, such as certain guides or the Holy Guardian angel, or spirits of various traditions that “rule” over the practitioner. One could embrace one practice, or embrace multiple practices. Very seasoned and experienced practitioners will often have regular practices that help to keep them aligned, from meditation, visualization, energy work, etc…Many authors, practitioners etc will report that oftentimes just doing the work of alignment will produce many desirable effects.
For the beginner however, looking to start on their path, often the process of moving into alignment is a difficult process. Looking for a new way to satisfy the spiritual longing that they feel, which is no longer being supplied by previous experiences or practices. How does one find alignment and their way to move forward?
My experience was primarily through self taught and practice through reading, and putting what I read into practice, in order to have those experiences. Reading a lot of books can be useful for those that enjoy reading, but not everyone likes that, or may find it challenging.There are other sources of information, this is the Age of Information after all, and being able to turn to multiple sources or finding sources that will support your best learning style. Books are just one source, and just like any other source, problematic or questionable information can be promoted through books. This also applies to blogs (such as yours truly) but youtube videos, tiktoks, twitter, podcasts, websites and more. You can find quality information and you can also find problematic information. The process of searching, and experimenting with practices from these sources in and of themselves can be a process of alignment. You may jump around a lot, trying out new and different practices that appeal to you in the moment. You may find one practice that appeals to you, and dedicate yourself to doing it regularly. I honestly recommend most people to try out as many things as possible, especially if they are just curious or starting out. Some people may recommend only to read certain books or only to listen to certain podcasts, etc, but I find that personal experience is the best teacher. Even if at the beginning you get involved in questionable stuff, you can learn from that experience and recognize the problems, and see them in other material before. You can develop discernment and critical thinking and analysis to separate out the garbage from the gold, or the material that aligns with you from the material that doesn’t align.
If you’re lost or wandering, and you’re looking for a spiritual path, here is a ritual to help you find your path. The ritual is done during the full moon. The reason for using the moon in this spell is because the part of the symbolism of the moon in astrology is helping travelers, which in a metaphorical way applies to opening roads and helping people on their path, whether it is a literal path, or a spiritual path.
For this ritual you’ll need
- Water
- Wine
- Bread (rolls are easiest to use)
- Incense (any kind, sticks or cones included)
- White candle (tealights, a short taper, a votive or a large vigil candle)
- Olive oil (or any oil in a pinch)
- Bowl (optional)
At night, under the full moon, when the moon is rising in the sky, or at its zenith, stand in the moon’s light. You can do this outside on the ground, or inside by a window, under a skylight, or if you have some kind of atrium. If you’re outside, dig a shallow hole. Look at the moon and praise it, for its light, its fullness, how it governs the tides etc… Pour out some of the water, and some of the wine. Take the bread and tear it in half and offer up both halves. Light the incense and wave it attractively around for a bit.. Anoint the candle with oil. Place the candle in a holder and light the candle. Make a gesture that indicates you’re offering this to the moon. Visualize the offering growing and multiplying until it covers the earth. Tell the moon thank you for its presence, and for its blessings, and ask it to open and guide you to the spiritual path that is right for you. Drink some of the water, some of the wine, and eat some bread. Relax under the moon’s light and visualize its light filling your body, from your head to your toes, and aligning you with the spiritual currents that are right for you. Perhaps visualize yourself floating gently on a calm river, the current taking you towards your spiritual destination. Do this as long as you feel you want to. When you feel finished just refill the hole, clean up, and go home. If you did it at home, clean up, and take the contents of the bowl outside and dispose of it at the base of a large and healthy tree.
After this you may receive dreams, or signs, or just find things falling into place for your spiritual path, etc.… This may take many forms, but the strongest indicator is when you feel a clear and strong sense that an event that occurs is a sign, and that the information is very clear, and doesn’t require a lot of intense questioning to make sense of. If a dream isn’t clear, just document it, and go on. Many small events may also occur which will slowly shift you towards your path.
RUNEWORKER 