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A Rectification Manual: The American Presidency
A Rectification Manual: The American Presidency, Regulus Astrology LLC, 66 Witherspoon Street #336, Princeton, NJ 08542, USA, 2007. Softcover—796 pp.—$59.95 (ISBN 978-0-9801856-0-7). Available from: www.regulus-astrology.com. An electronic (PDF) version is also available for the same price. (ISBN 978-0-9801856-1-4).
Putting aside the question of whether life events can — or should — be accurately predicted, the revival of medieval astrological techniques in the last 20 years or so has made it obvious that modern astrology has lost much in the way of precision. For example, modern astrology has generally relied heavily on transits for timing events. Some might suggest that the rather dismal results from using only modern methods in predictive work have turned a generation of astrologers away from even trying to predict events. A Rectification Manual brilliantly and extensively demonstrates methods for bringing exactitude back into the field of astrology.
This book is a report of the anonymous author’s research into all the U.S. presidents’ (and the first ladies’) horoscopes. The goal herein is the computation of rectified birth times — to within 30 seconds— for all American Presidents; forty-three horoscopes are studied.
Astrologers (especially those who are familiar only with modern techniques) will be amazed by the author’s demonstration of his goal, i.e., birth times of all the presidents rectified to the minute. This massive textbook of medieval astrology (796 pages) covers the key points for understanding natal delineation, offers extensive techniques of prediction, and then demonstrates which techniques work most effectively for rectification. (Remember, this is to-the-minute timing.)
The author, having been mentored by Robert Zoller, is a serious student and practitioner of predictive methods. He uses — and refines and critiques — methods from Guido Bonatti, Al-Biruni, Firmicus, and Abu Ma’shar (among others) in his splendid and accomplished book, which is also eminently practical. The author does not dwell on theory but discusses techniques that actually work. Since the lives of the American presidents are well documented, the astrological methodology is supported by countless specifically timed historical details.
This is a serious work and a source book for years of study. Although there is a daunting list of “prerequisites” that the reader should be familiar with before embarking on this work, the author’s tone is accessible, and newcomers to medieval technique are welcomed. For example, he suggests what to do with the outer planets: “They are best left turned off in default settings for visible chart wheels so as not to confuse the delineation process.” He further adds that his “research confirms that modern planets do have effects; with Uranus producing the most reliable effects in directions to the angles.” (I include these remarks only to convey the author’s thoroughness and open-mindedness; the medieval techniques he demonstrates throughout the text are far more specific and exacting in describing life events.) Again, he employs all the major medieval techniques — including Fidaria, Directing through the Bounds, and the degree of the New or Full Moon prior to birth (Syzygy Ante Navitatem). He also uses the secondary progressed Moon and monthly profections in solar return prediction, the reverse formula for the Part of Fortune in nocturnal charts (as verified by the author), and Egyptian Bounds (rather than Ptolemaic Bounds).
The author understands modern astrological practices. He shows that the more recently developed secondary progressions and solar arc directions are useful; they are just not as precise as the older method of primary directions. He takes primary directions into an entirely new sphere by his discovery of what he has named the “Primary Direction Sequence,” which he describes as the “long lost Holy Grail of Rectification.” (In essence, the technique addresses the long-debated issue of latitude; his discovery takes into account both “zero and full latitude for the significator and promittor.” The application of this Primary Direction Sequence brings more specific results than merely considering the orb of influence of primary directions.) In the descriptions of the rectification process for each president, the author lists transits, solar arc directions, and primary directions, but it is the Primary Direction Sequence that most often pinpoints what the author calls the *LOCK*, or the aha! moment, when the pieces in the rectification process all come together.
Part 1, “Delineation,” is the shortest section of A Rectification Manual; it offers fundamental points of delineation, such as essential and minor dignities (i.e., bound and dwad), a discussion of house systems, and a very compelling chapter on Arcus Vitae (“Arc of Life”). Part 2, “Prediction,” includes chapters on Temporal Indicators, Planetary Period Methods, Directions and Progressions, Solar Returns (Delineation and Prediction; Profections and Time Lords; and Arabic Parts), Lunar Nodes and Eclipses, and Transits. Part 3, “Rectification,” covers setting up a database, the three stages of rectification, and case studies. In the chapter, “Rectification Case Studies,” the author details the steps he took to rectify five public figures of the Enlightenment (e.g., John Locke, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin). These examples allow him to weave in the significance of the 1702 Jupiter–Saturn conjunction, another important technique of mundane astrology that is useful in rectification, especially for the charts of public figures.
The Appendices (nearly half of the book) include Tests of Egyptian versus Ptolemaic Bounds; Tests of Sect Influence: Part of Fortune/Fidaria; and the Presidential Database, which gives the Natal Figures for each, Al-mubtazz Calculations, Rectification Details, and Longevity Study. The First Ladies Database is based on a smaller event database; the rectified times herein are proposed and not definitive.
As is apparent, this is a complex work that will reward the diligent reader. The author’s explanations are succinct and compelling; however, the book is also a fascinating notebook of ideas and suggestions for further study and verification of techniques. Many of the techniques revealed herein are not yet available with any software program. (The author does make suggestions, along the way, for programmers who might be interested in further developing and working with the material.)
A Rectification Manual is a comprehensive textbook on the application of medieval technique. Although the goal is, as mentioned above, the presentation of precise rectification, the author also beautifully shows other methods for natal delineation and prediction. There are innumerable examples of technique supported by real-life stories in the book. Let me mention just two: Andrew Jackson’s house fire in 1835, exquisitely timed by Arabic Parts and Directing through the Bounds; and George H. W. Bush’s 1997 parachute jump as a demonstration of the start of the End-of-Life Planetary Period, read by the natal 4th house.
If you are intrigued but not convinced that this book is for you, I invite you to visit the author’s Web site (regulus-astrology.com) and see the complete Table of Contents and an example rectification (William Taft).
Congratulations and warm appreciation to the anonymous author who is steeped in medieval astrological practice and has explained it so respectfully, clearly, and thoroughly for the rest of us
— reviewed by Mary Plumb
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