Rectification of Anthony Louis's Chart

Recently, I watched an interview with the astrologer Anthony Louis by Callum Wilkinson from Kepler College regarding primary directions. Anthony demonstrated the process of rectification using primary directions, using his own horoscope as an example.

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I became interested in what results primary directions in the Morinus style would yield for refining the time of birth. I contacted Anthony, and he kindly provided me with a list of key events from his life. The list turned out to be quite extensive, even more than the necessary minimum, so I selected the first 9 events for rectification.

Among the events were dates of university enrollment or graduation. I excluded them from consideration, as these dates are more dependent on university schedules than on the native's natal chart itself.

According to the birth certificate, Anthony was born at 9:09 AM local time.

Promissors and Significators

In primary directions, we use the concepts of a promissor – a point in the horoscope (often an empty degree) that holds the promise of specific events related to different areas of life. When a promissor approaches the significator of the corresponding life area (i.e., the significator of a house), the corresponding promise is fulfilled.

The more destructive or constructive potential a promissor contains, the more likely a vividly constructive or destructive event will manifest. Promissors that do not contain explicitly constructive or destructive potential usually do not promise events but open a window of opportunity for its realization.

Promissors are the antiscia and aspects of planets. According to Morinus's techniques, the strength of destruction or construction of an aspect is determined by the condition of the planet that casts an aspect, the form of aspect, and the sign where the aspect falls. Thus, Venus in Aquarius can cast a favorable square into Taurus and the unfavorable sextile into Aries.

Significators of a house are the ruler of the house, a planet in the house, or the cusp of the house.

Action Plan

I will begin the rectification by searching for directions that correlate with life events. First, I will look for directions that occur closest to the event date. If none are found, I will then search for corresponding directions within a six-month to one-year intervals from the event.

Next, I will compile a list of directions and events, along with the time difference between them. After that, I will start shifting the birth time forward and backward and observe how the discrepancies between the prediction (directions) and reality change.

I will be interested in finding a birth time where simultaneously:

• The average deviation between the prediction and reality across all events is minimal.
• And simultaneously, the spread in deviations for individual events is also minimal.

Let's start by searching for directions that correspond to the events.

Directions for Events

Birth of First Brother

I will start with the first event – the birth of a brother in December 1946. Anthony was only a year old. Typically, events in the lives of infants are hardly reflected in the horoscope, as they do not impact their conscious life. As expected, no directions confirming the birth of the first brother were found in the horoscope.

Birth of Second Brother

The second brother was born in December 1950, when Anthony was 5 years old. In September 1950, a trine of Venus, falling at 4 Sagittarius, approached the cusp of the 3rd house.

Venus is the ruler of the native's life. The aspect of Venus is a specific facet (aspect) of life, falling onto the cusp of the 3rd house – literally, a specific period of life related to the appearance of a brother. Since this aspect manifests in the affairs of the 3rd house, this direction realizes the appearance of a brother as such.

It is noteworthy that this direction is not strongly constructive. Morinus suggested considering planetary aspects as invisible copies (similar to antiscia) positioned on the zodiacal circle. The aspect of Venus falling in Sagittarius acts similarly to a Venus peregrine placed in Sagittarius, which has a mutual reception with its dispositor, Jupiter. This makes the aspect only slightly favorable.

In other words, this direction allows for the birth of a brother but does not explicitly promise it. Whether a brother is born during this period or not is mostly determined by the mother's horoscope. It is precisely in the mother's horoscope that we would expect to see a direction for the birth of a third son involving a strongly favorable promissor of a child.

Mother's Death

Anthony's mother passed away due to a heart attack in August 1953. In his interview, Anthony linked this to the direction of Saturn to the MC. Technically, this can also be read as the opposition of Saturn approaching the cusp of the 4th house. However, according to Morinus's techniques, where mother is described by the 4th house, Saturn cannot be the significator of her death.

For Saturn to play its natural role of death, it must be determined by the 11th house (the 8th house from the house of parents). That is, Saturn's rays must pass through the 11th house.

But this is not the case in this chart:

• Saturn does not cast an aspect or antiscion near the cusp of the 11th house. Meaning, the "invisible copies" of Saturn do not radiate its energies through the 11th house.
• The signs of Capricorn, Aquarius, or Libra, which also actively emit Saturn's rays, are not in the 11th house.

Therefore, Saturn cannot play the natural role of death relative to the 4th house of parents according to Morinus.

However, in March 1953, a sextile of Mars, falling at 27 Leo, approached the cusp of the 11th house. Since Mars casts an aspect to Mercury, we can say that Mercury and Mars are acting in conjunction, under the influence of their dispositor, the Sun.

Mercury and the aspect of Mars on the cusp of the 11th house indicate the death of a parent, as these planets emit their rays through the cusp of 8th from the 4th and are determined to cause the parent’s death. They both portend a swift death (by the nature of Mars) related to the heart (by the nature of the Sun). Either Mercury or the sextile of Mars could equally trigger the mother's death. In this direction, Mars played the decisive role.

The reason is that Mars is located in the 9th house. According to Morinus, a planet in a house accidentally takes rulership over the opposite house. Therefore, Mars accidentally rules the 3rd house, which traditionally signifies the illnesses of parents (as the 12th from the 4th).

Thus, we see a direction that clearly allows for the passing of a parent due to hart attack. I speak of the possibility of death, not its explicit promise, because the promissor – the sextile of Mars in the sign of Leo – is not a debilitated, i.e., strongly destructive, copy of Mars. Again, the potential for death is contained in the mother's chart. It is there that one should look for a direction involving a strongly unfavorable promissor of death. The son's chart simply shows windows of opportunity for the passing of parents at a specific time.

Father's Remarriage

The father's remarriage occurred in November 1956. In November 1956, the near antiscion of the Moon approached Venus – the significator of the native's life. Recall that on the three-dimensional celestial sphere, a planet has not one, but two antiscia – the points where its diurnal arc intersects the plane of the ecliptic. The near antiscion arises due to the so-called celestial latitude of a planet, which is usually not zero.

The Moon in this chart simultaneously signifies the father's partner, as a planet in the house opposite the 4th, and is the natural significator of women and wives.

Literally, a new woman – the father's wife – appears in the native's life. This direction, unlike the others, explicitly promises this event, as the near antiscion of the Moon is in the sign of Cancer, meaning it possesses extremely favorable potential. This foreshadows a generally positive influence of this woman on the child's life.

Anthony confirmed that although the introduction of a new woman into the family was challenging (especially for his brother), her influence on his life was overall positive.

Lottery Win and Educational Opportunity

In March 1961, the father the father won some money in the lottery, which provided the means for Anthony to afford tuition at a university.

In March 1961, the already familiar sextile of Mars at 27 Leo approached the ruler of the 11th house, the Sun. The 11th house signifies not only the death of parents but also money from the state. The Sun, as the ruler of the 11th, is itself a significator of large sums of money.

Mars in this chart rules the 2nd house of finances, is located in the 9th house, and its aspect at 27 Leo is connected to Mercury – the ruler of the 9th house and natural significator of science. Thus, Mars links financial state and education.

The moderately favorable aspect of Mars in the 11th house signifies a specific aspect of financial state and education, which is connected to a gift from the state. In this direction, we see this opportunity realized in the affairs of the 11th house, as this aspect approached the ruler of the 11th house and the natural significator of large sums.

I will note again that this direction allows for receiving a large sum from the state but does not promise it. The potential for this event likely lies in the father's chart – that is where one should look for a strong direction indicating a major win. The son's chart merely opens a window of opportunity and indicates the timing.

N.B.: You can see how the same aspect of Mars at 27 Leo contains different promises relative to different houses. Relative to the 4th house, it promises the swift death of a parent due to heart disease. Relative to the 11th house of state money, it promises financial inflow and an educational opportunity. When the promissor approaches the significator of the particular house, a corresponding promise realizes.

Turning Point in Career

Anthony wrote that in December 1969, The Selective Service Draft Lottery caused a major turning point in his career.

The only direction related to the 10th house that occurred around this time was the approach of the now-familiar sextile of Mars at 27 Leo to the ruler of the 10th house – the Moon – in November 1969. But to my surprise, Mars could not play the role of military service here, as it is not determined by the 10th house.

On the contrary, as we have seen, Mars, through its aspect, is connected to the ruler of the 9th house, Mercury, the significator of sciences and medicine, and is itself located in the 9th house in one of Mercury's dignities. I couldn't discern anything related to the army but persistently saw a turn in the scientific sphere. Therefore, I wrote Anthony to clarify this point, and here is what he told me:

This was during the Viet Nam war, which I was opposed to and believed was unjustified. My official stance was as a conscientious objector. At the time I was in graduate school working on a Ph.D. in mathematics on a NASA Fellowship. The lottery meant that I would be drafted into the army and sent to the war in the coming year. To avoid that, I had to interrupt my education and give up my NASA Fellowship. I took a job teaching, which gave me an exemption from military service because there was a shortage of teachers at the time. During the next 3 years I taught in a high school. During that period I decided to pursue a career in medicine rather than return to the Ph.D. Program. I began medical school in August 1971, so the draft lottery completely changed the direction of my career.

As you can see, my assumptions were fully confirmed. The chart indicated a change in scientific, rather than military, activity.

Marriage

The next event I considered was the marriage in December 1977. The only direction related to a significator of marriage was the direction of the antiscion of Mars to the Moon.

The Moon can very well play the role of the wife in this chart:

• Firstly, it is conjunct Venus – the co-ruler of the 7th house of marriage by sign inclusion (Taurus) and the natural significator of marriage.
• Secondly, the part of Taurus in the 7th house actively emits rays of the Moon's nature, since the Moon rules Taurus by exaltation. This means the Moon's rays not only mix with Venus's rays but also permeate the 7th house.

For these two reasons, the Moon can assume its natural role as the wife.

However, I was not at all satisfied with the far antiscion of Mars.

• Firstly, it fell in the sign of Cancer, making it debilitated and destructive.
• Secondly, Mars itself, relative to the 7th house, indicates divorce rather than the formation of a new partnership.

Therefore, I rejected this direction and asked Anthony for clarification. He replied that he met his future wife in 1976, and in the summer of 1977 they made the joint decision to marry.

However, no marriage directions were observed in the chart for those years. There was only a direction of this same antiscion of Mars to Venus in April 1976, roughly around the time of meeting. Therefore, I was forced to return to the direction involving the antiscion of Mars.

In rare cases in directions, we read a planet in a sign not as dignified or debilitated, but simply as a planet expressing itself on the backdrop of its dispositor. In this case, Mars in the sign of Cancer can literally be read as the ruler of the 7th house expressing itself through the Moon – the significator of the wife in this chart.

In this case, we read this antiscion as neither favorable nor unfavorable. We read it as descriptive. Mars has no other way to express itself through its dispositor, the Moon, except by being in the sign of Cancer.

Therefore, this promissor also only allows for marriage but does not promise it in any way.

Looking ahead at directions that merely allow events but do not promise them, it is very difficult to say whether the event will occur or not. These directions only open a window of opportunity, while the actual potential for the event comes from the natal charts of other people, from external random circumstances, or from the native's own free will.

In this case, the decision to marry was not dictated by the stars. It was the native's own decision, which simply realized itself at the nearest available window of opportunity.

Adoption of Children

Anthony adopted his first child in August 1981. In September 1981, the left sextile of the Sun – the accidental ruler of the 5th house – approaches the Ascendant. This aspect is neither explicitly favorable or unfavorable. This is another example of an event that is merely allowed to occur, but the decision to realize it was made by the native independently, although within strictly determined timeframes.

A second child was adopted in June 1984. In April 1984, the Sun – the accidental ruler of the 5th house – approached Venus, the ruler of the Ascendant. As in the first case, the Sun in Virgo is neither an explicitly favorable or unfavorable, meaning this promissor only allows for the appearance of a child within the indicated period.

Relocation

In January 1996, Anthony moved to a new house. In January 1996, the near antiscion of the Moon – the natural ruler of travel and the accidental ruler of the 4th house – approached the cusp of the 9th house, which corresponds to new, unexplored territories.

The Moon in this chart can play the role of relocation, as it casts a close aspect to the cusp of the 9th house. One can consider that an invisible copy of the Moon is located there, actively emitting the rays of the lunar nature directly through the cusp of the 9th house.

Since the near antiscion of the Moon fell in the sign of Cancer, this promissor is extremely constructive. It can be said that the relocation is the second major event that was truly predestined. Recall that the first such event was the appearance of the father's wife in the native's life.

Difference Between Events and Prediction

So, we have collected enough data to perform the rectification. Below is a table where I have recorded the events, the corresponding directions, and the difference between reality and the prediction in months.

Now I will start shifting the birth time by 1 minute forward and backward and monitor how the difference between the time according to the directions and the actual time of the events changes for all 9 events:

Note that directions to cusps are more sensitive to a 1-minute time shift.

Now I will calculate two values:

• Median Average – the actual average deviation of directions from reality.
• Standard Deviation for sample – shows the degree of spread between reality and directions in the set of 9 events.

If we now plot these parameters graphically, we will see two possible birth times:

The first potential birth time is indicated by the point where the blue line (median average) intersects zero. This means that at a birth time of approximately 09:07:30, on average, all directions align perfectly with reality. Some directions occur slightly earlier, some slightly later than the actual event, but the typical deviation does not exceed 4 months.

We can see that the further we deviate from the birth time, the greater the discrepancy between the directions and reality becomes. Some directions occur a 7 months before, others 7 months after the event.

However, with a birth time of 09:09, the typical deviation does not exceed 2 months. This moment is represented on the graph by the point where the red line is closest to zero. This corresponds precisely to the birth time listed on the certificate. Here, we observe the minimal deviation of the directions from the actual events, although on average, the directions lag behind the actual events by about 1 month.

Since the potential for the realization of directions is often initiated by earthy processes that require some time to unfold to lead to an event, an average lag of 1 month is a fully expected phenomenon.

Therefore, between the two possible birth times, I choose the second one – 09:09, which matches the official birth time. Thus, the time on the certificate can be considered correct according to rectification based on the Morinus’s directions.