Half, Third, and Two-Thirds Doctrine

Definition

This is Valens's rule for timing an outcome when several time-lordships act together rather than one alone. When the chronocratorships of the aspects combine — no single planet holding the lordship by itself — the result arrives in one-half, one-third, or two-thirds of the summed time. The operation is applied to totals of rising-times and planetary periods, and it gives a fractional span within which the predicted event comes to pass.

In Tradition

Valens directs that, when combined chronocratorships are taking effect, the result falls in one-half, one-third, or two-thirds of the time, provided no single lordship holds it alone. He works the totals from the positions of the angles and the stars near them, the Lots, and the new and full moons, judged by their aspects. Take his own example, made for a prediction of thirty-seven years. He sums 27 (the rising-time of Gemini), 8 (the period of Venus), and 20 (the period of Mercury in Virgo) to reach 55. Two-thirds of that total comes to 36 years and 8 months. The fraction converts the combined-lordship total into the operative span.

In Practice

When more than one time-lord governs a stretch together, and none holds it alone, do not read the whole summed period — take a fraction of it. Add the relevant rising-times and planetary periods, then apply one-half, one-third, or two-thirds to the total to find when the matter comes due. Valens's worked case shows the method: 27 plus 8 plus 20 makes 55, and two-thirds of 55 is 36 years and 8 months, his answer for a thirty-seven-year prediction. Use it inside the broader chronocrator framework, drawing your figures from the angles, the Lots, and the lunations as Valens does, and treat the chosen fraction as the dial that times the combined effect.

Historical Origin

The doctrine is given by Vettius Valens, Anthology Book VII (in Mark Riley's translation, pp. 132-134), where he states the half/third/two-thirds rule for combined chronocratorships and supplies the worked example summing 27, 8, and 20 to 55, of which two-thirds is 36 years 8 months.

Etymology

Origin: Greek. Meaning: half / one-third / two-thirds.

Further Reading

• Vettius Valens, Anthology
• Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology