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Sunday, August 17, 2014

Ifá - Home

Ifá - Home

The Yoruba belief in orisha is meant to consolidate not contradict the terms of Olódùmarè. Adherents of the religion appeal to specific manifestations of Olódùmarè in the form of those whose fame will last for all time. Ancestors and culture-heroes held in reverence can also be enlisted for help with day-to-day problems. Some believers will also consult a geomantic divination specialist, known as a babalawo (Ifá Priest) or Iyanifa (Ifá's lady), to mediate in their problems.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Astrological signs

The concept of the zodiac originated in Babylonian and was later influenced by Hellenistic culture. According to astrology, celestial phenomena relate to human activity on the principle of "as above, so below", so that the signs are held to represent characteristic modes of expression or primary energy patterns indicating specific qualities of experience, through which planets manifest their dimension of experience.  

In Western astrologyastrological signs are the twelve 30º sectors of the ecliptic, starting at the vernal equinox (one of the intersections of the ecliptic with the celestial equator), also known as the First Point of Aries. The order of the astrological signs is AriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornAquarius and Pisces

 In Western and Asian astrology, the emphasis is on space, and the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets in the sky through each of the zodiac signs. In Chinese astrology, by contrast, the emphasis is on time, with the zodiac operating on cycles of years, months, and hours of the day. A common feature of all three traditions however, is the significance of the Ascendant - the zodiac sign that is rising (due to the rotation of the earth) on the eastern horizon at the moment of a person's birth.


While Western astrology is essentially a product of Greco-Roman culture, some of its more basic concepts originated in Babylonia. Isolated references to celestial "signs" in Sumerian sources are insufficient to speak of a Sumerian zodiac.Specifically, the division of the ecliptic in twelve equal sectors is a Babylonian conceptual construction.
By the 4th century BC, Babylonians' astronomy and their system of celestial omens were influencing the Greek culture and, by late 2nd century BC, Egyptian astrology was also mixing in. This resulted, unlike the Mesopotamian tradition, in a strong focus on the birth chart of the individual and in the creation of horoscopic astrology, employing the use of theAscendant (the rising degree of the ecliptic, at the time of birth), and of the twelve houses. Association of the astrological signs with Empedocles' four classical elements was another important development in the characterization of the twelve signs.
The body of astrological knowledge by the 2nd century AD is described in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, a work that was responsible for astrology's successful spread across Europe and the Middle East, and remained a reference for almost seventeen centuries as later traditions made few substantial changes to its core teachings.
The following table enumerates the twelve divisions of celestial longitude, with the Latin names (still widely used) and the English translation (gloss). The longitude intervals, being a mathematical division, are closed for the first endpoint and open for the second - for instance, 30° of longitude is the first point of Taurus, not part of Aries. Association of calendar dates with astrological signs only makes sense when referring to Sun sign astrology.
Various approaches to measuring and dividing the sky are currently used by differing systems of astrology, although the tradition of the Zodiac's names and symbols remain consistent. Western astrology measures from Equinox andSolstice points (points relating to longest, equal and shortest days of the tropical year), while Jyotiṣa or Vedic astrologymeasures along the equatorial plane (sidereal year). Precession results in Western astrology's zodiacal divisions not corresponding in the current era to the constellations that carry similar names, while Jyotiṣa measurements still correspond with the background constellations

The twelve sector division of the ecliptic constitutes astrology's primary frame of reference when considering the positions of celestial bodies, from a geocentric point of view, so that we may find, for instance, the Sun in 23º Aries (23º longitude), the Moon in 7º Scorpio (217º longitude), or Jupiter in 29º Pisces (359º longitude). Beyond the celestial bodies, other astrological points that are dependent on geographical location and time (namely, the Ascendant, the Mid-heaven, the Vertex and the houses' cusps) are also referenced within this ecliptic coordinate system.



SignAriesTaurusGeminiCancerLeoVirgoLibraScorpioSagittariusCapricornAquariusPisces
Celestial longitude
interval (λ)
[0°, 30°[[30°, 60°[[60°, 90°[[90°, 120°[[120°, 150°[[150°, 180°[[180°, 210°[[210°, 240°[[240°, 270°[[270°, 300°[[300°, 330°[[330°, 360°[
SymbolAries.svgTaurus.svgGemini.svgCancer.svgLeo.svgVirgo.svgLibra.svgScorpio.svgSagittarius.svgCapricorn.svgAquarius.svgPisces.svg
GlossThe RamThe BullThe TwinsThe CrabThe LionThe MaidenThe ScalesThe ScorpionThe ArcherThe GoatThe Water-bearerThe Fish



For Further Reading 


 Astrology for Yourself: How to Understand And Interpret Your Own Birth Chart 



Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology: The Easy Way to Learn Astrology


Llewellyn's Complete Book of Astrology: The Easy Way to Learn Astrology






Sign Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Celestial longitude interval (λ) [0°, 30°[ [30°, 60°[ [60°, 90°[ [90°, 120°[ [120°, 150°[ [150°, 180°[ [180°, 210°[ [210°, 240°[ [240°, 270°[ [270°, 300°[ [300°, 330°[ [330°, 360°[ Symbol Aries.svg Taurus.svg Gemini.svg Cancer.svg Leo.svg Virgo.svg Libra.svg Scorpio.svg Sagittarius.svg Capricorn.svg Aquarius.svg Pisces.svg Gloss The Ram The Bull The Twins The Crab The Lion The Maiden The Scales The Scorpion The Archer The Goat The Water-bearer The Fish Polarity and the four elements[edit] The concept of the zodiac originated in Babylonian astrology, and was later influenced by Hellenistic culture. According to astrology, celestial phenomena relate to human activity on the principle of "as above, so below", so that the signs are held to represent characteristic modes of expression. or primary energy patterns indicating specific qualities of experience, through which planets manifest their dimension of experience. In Western astrology, astrological signs are the twelve 30º sectors of the ecliptic, starting at the vernal equinox (one of the intersections of the ecliptic with the celestial equator), also known as the First Point of Aries. The order of the astrological signs is Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. In Asian astrology, the emphasis is on space, and the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets in the sky through each of the zodiac signs. In Chinese astrology, by contrast, the emphasis is on time, with the zodiac operating on cycles of years, months, and hours of the day. A common feature of all three traditions however, is the significance of the Ascendant - the zodiac sign that is rising (due to the rotation of the earth) on the eastern horizon at the moment of a person's birth. While Western astrology is essentially a product of Greco-Roman culture, some of its more basic concepts originated in Babylonia. Isolated references to celestial "signs" in Sumerian sources are insufficient to speak of a Sumerian zodiac. Specifically, the division of the ecliptic in twelve equal sectors is a Babylonian conceptual construction. By the 4th century BC, Babylonians' astronomy and their system of celestial omens were influencing the Greek culture and, by late 2nd century BC, Egyptian astrology was also mixing in. This resulted, unlike the Mesopotamian tradition, in a strong focus on the birth chart of the individual and in the creation of horoscopic astrology, employing the use of the Ascendant (the rising degree of the ecliptic, at the time of birth), and of the twelve houses. Association of the astrological signs with Empedocles' four classical elements was another important development in the characterization of the twelve signs. The body of astrological knowledge by the 2nd century AD is described in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, a work that was responsible for astrology's successful spread across Europe and the Middle East, and remained a reference for almost seventeen centuries as later traditions made few substantial changes to its core teachings. The following table enumerates the twelve divisions of celestial longitude, with the Latin names (still widely used) and the English translation (gloss). The longitude intervals, being a mathematical division, are closed for the first endpoint and open for the second - for instance, 30° of longitude is the first point of Taurus, not part of Aries. Association of calendar dates with astrological signs only makes sense when referring to Sun sign astrology. Various approaches to measuring and dividing the sky are currently used by differing systems of astrology, although the tradition of the Zodiac's names and symbols remain consistent. Western astrology measures from Equinox and Solstice points (points relating to longest, equal and shortest days of the tropical year), while Jyotiṣa or Vedic astrology measures along the equatorial plane (sidereal year). Precession results in Western astrology's zodiacal divisions not corresponding in the current era to the constellations that carry similar names, while Jyotiṣa measurements still correspond with the background constellations. The twelve sector division of the ecliptic constitutes astrology's primary frame of reference when considering the positions of celestial bodies, from a geocentric point of view, so that we may find, for instance, the Sun in 23º Aries (23º longitude), the Moon in 7º Scorpio (217º longitude), or Jupiter in 29º Pisces (359º longitude). Beyond the celestial bodies, other astrological points that are dependent on geographical location and time (namely, the Ascendant, the Midheaven, the Vertex and the houses' cusps) are also referenced within this ecliptic coordinate system.