Fagan, Cyril - Zodiacs Old and New

Cyril Fagan
Zodiacs Old and New
Format: PDF

Fagan's exposition of the original zodiac, currently known in the west as "sidereal". Explanation of the exaltations.

Quote:

THE TROPICAL (MOVING) ZODIAC OF CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY

It is not known when Claudius Ptolemy was born or when he died, but according to his Almagest he made observations of the stars between A.D. 127 and 151 when the longitude of the VERNAL POINT IN THE HYPSOMATIC ZODIAC WAS IN ARIES 1 deg 11' and 0 deg 51' respectively. Presumably it was some time during this period that he penned the Tetrabiblos, the SOLE authority for the tropical (moving) zodiac that is common use to-day. It is clear, therefore, that during his life time the Sidereal (Hypsomatic) and the Tropical zodiacs were to all intents and purposes identical. (They exactly coincided in A.D. 213). Consequently when he tells his pupils in the "Tetrabiblos" that the zodiac should commence with the vernal-point (Tetrabiblos II, 10) his admonition was quite apposite to his own time.

THE GREAT BLUNDER OF THE MIDDLE AGES

Ptolemy's "Great Construction" and "Four Books" were translated into Arabic and with the Moorish invasion were introduced into western Europe during the Dark Ages. This was probably western Europe's first introduction to classical astrology. From the Arabic the books were rendered into Latin by the doctors of the church. Not knowing that they were originally written at a time when the vernal-point had regressed to the beginning of Aries these learned fathers, like Proclus, took Ptolemy's categorical statement that the zodiac commenced with the equinoctial point at its face value, and thus was initiated the greatest blunder that has ever been made in the history of astrology.