Bounds (Terms)

greek: Ὅρια (Horia) · latin: Termini

Definition

The bounds, also called terms, are a Hellenistic level of essential dignity — the layers that show where a planet has rulership-strength (Greek horia, Latin termini). They cut each zodiac sign into five uneven segments, each ruled by one of the five non-luminary planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. Three main bound-tables circulated in antiquity — the Egyptian bounds, the most widely used and preserved by Valens and Dorotheus; the Chaldean bounds; and Ptolemy's own revised bounds (Tetrabiblos I.21).

In Tradition

In Hellenistic doctrine the bounds rank as the fourth level of essential dignity, above face/decan and below triplicity. Brennan and Crane, following Vettius Valens, Dorotheus, and Ptolemy, give special weight to the bound-ruler of the Ascendant degree as a primary clue to temperament and physical appearance. The bound-ruler met along a primary direction — a timing technique that advances the chart degree by degree — becomes the time-lord (chronocrator, jarbakhtar in the Persian-Arabic transmission) for that period of life.

In Practice

You first choose which bound-table to use: the Egyptian bounds preserved by Valens and Dorotheus are the standard for traditional practice, while Ptolemy's revised bounds (Tetrabiblos I.21) suit Ptolemaic-leaning practitioners. The Sun and Moon are never bound-rulers in any of the three classical systems. A planet in its own bounds gains a little essential dignity, typically 2 points in Lilly's scheme, far less than domicile or exaltation — and the segments are uneven, so under the Egyptian bounds Jupiter rules 0-6 degrees of Aries while Mars rules a later stretch. The bound-ruler colors any planet in its segment: a Saturn-bound stretch of Aries reads more constrained and slower than a Mars-bound stretch. In Arabic-Persian longevity work, the bound-ruler of the hīlāj degree — the chart's life-point — is chosen as the kadhkhudāh, the giver of years; and successive bound-rulers met along a primary direction supply the run of time-lords for the directed years.

Historical Origin

The Egyptian bound-table is preserved in Vettius Valens' Anthologiae III (c. 145-175 CE) and Dorotheus of Sidon's Carmen Astrologicum (1st c. CE). Ptolemy's revised bounds appear in Tetrabiblos I.21 (c. 150 CE). The Chaldean bounds survive only in fragmentary Hellenistic sources. The doctrine is consolidated in Firmicus Maternus' Mathesis II (4th c.) and Hephaistio's Apotelesmatics, and reaches medieval practice through Bonatti's Liber Astronomiae (13th c.) and Lilly's Christian Astrology (1647).

Etymology

Origin: Latin/Greek. Meaning: Boundary, limit, territory.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading