Klima

Definition

Klima (Greek klima, "clime") is a band of terrestrial latitude used as a working parameter in Hellenistic astrology and astronomy. In ordinary use it names a region of the Earth tied to a ruling planet or sign; in the more mathematical accounts — Ptolemy, al-Biruni — it is specifically a line or band of latitude. The Hellenistic system split the inhabited world into seven standard klimata, each with its own table of rising times. Klima is the source of the modern English word "climate." The plural is klimata.

In Tradition

In Hellenistic technique the klima is the latitude setting that makes rising times — and so quadrant house division and several time-lord and length-of-life calculations — depend on location. The same arc of the ecliptic takes different amounts of time to rise at different latitudes, so any method keyed to rising times gives different results in different klimata. Picking the right klima for the birthplace is treated as a first step for any calculation that rests on the ascensions.

In Practice

The astrologer first works out which klima matches the latitude of the birthplace, then uses the rising-times table for that klima rather than a one-size-fits-all table. Valens' worked examples name specific klimata — the first klima at low latitude near Syene, the second at the latitude of Alexandria — and he says plainly that one must use the correct klima to judge whether a Lot or point falls at an angle and is therefore active. Procedures that convert arcs of the ecliptic into time, or into years of life, give different numbers depending on the klima: a length-of-life figure found by directing through the bounds, or an angular-versus-cadent judgment of a Lot, both turn on the klima's rising times. Quadrant house systems that divide by ascension likewise need the klima. Modern reconstruction and software simply use exact geographic latitude instead, but the old concept explains why Hellenistic rising-time tables come in sets keyed to latitude bands rather than as one universal table.

Historical Origin

The klima comes from Hellenistic mathematical geography and astronomy and is standard in the astrological technical literature. Vettius Valens' Anthologiae (c. 145-175 CE) uses named klimata in its rising-times and length-of-life procedures, and Hephaistio of Thebes' Apotelesmatics treats it within the same framework. The seven-klimata scheme and its mathematics are also carried through Ptolemy and the later Arabic transmission, including al-Biruni's Kitāb al-Tafhīm.

Etymology

Origin: Greek. Meaning: Slope, incline; band of latitude, clime.

Further Reading

• Vettius Valens, Anthologiae
• Hephaistio of Thebes, Apotelesmatics
• Al-Biruni, Kitāb al-Tafhīm