Refranation

Definition

Refranation is one of the ways a horary chart says no. Two significators are moving toward an aspect, but before it completes, one of them — usually the faster — turns retrograde and pulls back out of the meeting. The medieval Latin is refrenatio, literally "a reining back"; the older Greek term is anapodismos. Unlike prohibition and abscission, no third planet is involved, and unlike frustration, the slower significator does not perfect elsewhere — in refranation the matter fails through the motion of one significator alone.

In Tradition

In the Arabic, Persian, and Latin horary tradition, refranation is read as a distinctive no — one where the matter falls apart through one of the parties themselves rather than through outside interference. The retrograding planet tells you who pulls out: the querent if the Lord of the Ascendant retrogrades, the quesited person or thing if its lord does. Bonatti, Lilly, and the wider medieval and Renaissance tradition treat it as decisive — when it is present and nothing strong offsets it, the matter does not perfect.

In Practice

Astrologers spot refranation by tracking whether either of the two main significators will turn retrograde within the aspect's orb before it becomes exact, consulting the ephemeris — the table of planetary positions — for the relevant dates to confirm the retrograde station. The party shown by that planet is read as the one withdrawing, changing their mind, or backing out — the "reining-back" image. Some traditional astrologers, including Lilly and Frawley, extend the idea into electional astrology: when the Moon is moving toward a planet that changes sign (and so falls out of orb) before the aspect completes, they treat it as a related disqualification. Refranation by the faster planet is the more common case, since faster planets reach retrograde stations more often within the short spans a horary question covers; refranation by the slower planet is rarer, and more decisive when it does happen.

Historical Origin

Refranation is attested in the Arabic horary tradition under various Arabic and medieval Latin terms, passed down through Sahl ibn Bishr, Masha'allah, and Abu Ma'shar into Bonatti's Liber Astronomiae (13th century). Lilly preserves the doctrine in Christian Astrology (1647) within the larger framework of perfection and impediment. Holden lists refranation alongside the other Arabic horary modes in A History of Horoscopic Astrology. Its modern revival comes through Project Hindsight and the Dykes Arabic-translation series.

Etymology

Origin: Latin. Meaning: From refrenatio, "a reining back," from refrenare, "to bridle" (re- "back" + frenum "bridle"). The image is of a horse being pulled back just before reaching its destination..

Further Reading