Zodiacal Releasing

zoh-DY-uh-kuhl rih-LEE-sing

Definition

Zodiacal Releasing is a Hellenistic timing technique that divides a life into chapters, each governed by a different planet (a time-lord). It "releases" time from the zodiac sign of your natal Lot of Fortune or Lot of Spirit. From there, each sign's ruler in turn takes charge for a run of 360-day years equal to that planet's "minor years": Sun 19, Moon 25, Mercury 20, Venus 8, Mars 15, Jupiter 12, Saturn 30 (Capricorn carries 27). Each long period nests smaller ones inside it — Level 2 in months, Level 3 in days — by the same proportional rule.

In Tradition

In Hellenistic astrology, Zodiacal Releasing is one of the main time-lord techniques handed down by Vettius Valens, who lays it out in Book IV of his Anthologiae, alongside profections and primary directions. Greenbaum reports that the Lot of Fortune is read for periods hard on the body, and the Lot of Daimon (Spirit) for periods hard on your actions and reputation — with each smaller sub-ruler giving the day-to-day texture while the larger ruler sets the overall flavour of the chapter.

In Practice

You start by choosing which lot to release from — Fortune for the body, livelihood, and circumstance; Spirit for career, mind, and chosen action — then lay out the major periods from that natal sign onward through the zodiac, giving each sign the year-count of its ruler. Level 2 sub-periods divide each major period the same way, in months; Level 3 does it again in days. "Peak periods" arrive when sub-periods reach the angular signs (the kentra) counted from the natal lot. A "Loosing of the Bond" (lusis tou desmou) happens when a long major period ruled by the Sun, Moon, Mercury, or Saturn finishes a full trip around the zodiac and, instead of circling back to its starting sign, jumps to the opposite one — a moment historically linked to major life turns. Crane illustrates the technique with case histories including Martha Stewart and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Historical Origin

The technique is fully laid out in Vettius Valens' Anthologiae Book IV, chapters 4–10 (c. 145–175 CE). Its technical name is the Greek aphesis (ἄφεσις, "release, letting loose"). It was largely lost in Western practice after late antiquity and recovered in the late twentieth century through the Project Hindsight Valens translations (Schmidt) and the later work of Robert Schmidt, Robert Hand, Demetra George, Joseph Crane, and Chris Brennan.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading