Translation of Light

Definition

Translation of light is one of the ways a horary chart says yes when two significators cannot aspect each other directly. A faster, lighter planet moves away from one slower planet straight on to a second, carrying the nature of the first across to it — that go-between "translates" the light. The Arabic term is an-naql, "transfer"; the medieval Latin is translatio luminis. Sahl writes that the translator "practically conjoins them and bears the nature of the first to the other." The Moon and Mercury, the fastest visible planets, are the most common translators.

In Tradition

In the Arabic, Persian, and Latin horary tradition, translation of light is the standard companion to collection of light — together they are the two main indirect yes-modes for when the significators cannot reach each other directly. Sahl ibn Bishr presents translation in his Introduction to Astrology §5.5: the lighter planet carries the first significator's nature over to the second. The translator usually stands for a messenger, a piece of news, a go-between, or an unexpected link that brings the matter together.

In Practice

Astrologers find the two main significators — usually the Lord of the Ascendant and the lord of the relevant house — and check whether they are moving toward each other directly. If not, they look for a faster planet that has just moved away from one significator and is now moving toward the other, within orb. That translating planet must be lighter — faster — than both significators, and the timing of its separation and application gives the order in which events tend to unfold. The translator's receptions and dignities color the outcome: a benefic translator in good shape tilts toward a favorable result, while a malefic translator can still perfect the matter but adds complications. In Bonatti's stronger version, the significator the translator moves away from should receive the translator in one of its dignities for the result to be solid. Translation is weighed alongside direct aspect, collection, and the other yes-modes when judging horary questions.

Historical Origin

Translation of light is attested in Arabic horary doctrine in Sahl ibn Bishr's Introduction to Astrology §5.5 (9th century), in Masha'allah and the ʿAbbasid horary school, and in Abu Ma'shar's Great Introduction. Bonatti gives a systematic Latin account in the Liber Astronomiae (13th century), and Lilly carries it into English in Christian Astrology (1647). Holden documents translation among the sixteen Arabic horary modes catalogued by Sahl (H&P p. 127). Its modern revival comes through Project Hindsight (Hand, Schmidt, Zoller) and Dykes.

Etymology

Origin: Latin. Meaning: From translatio (a carrying across), from transferre (to bear across). The image is of light being physically transported from one planet to another by an intermediary..

Further Reading