Michael Stoop : Lunar latitude and the nodes
In Babylonian astrology the latitude of the Moon is of the highest importance. It's needed for the calculation of eclipses. Therefore we find a lot of texts describing the calculation of lunar latitude. O. Neugebauer published original texts and tanslations of several of these calculations [1].
Astrological use
The lunar nodes are directly connected to the lunar latitude. The Ascending node indicates where the Moon wil switch from negative latitude to positive latitude. And the descending node indicates the opposite direction.
According to Rochberg [2] [3] Babylonian astrologers distinguished four positions.
- Moving to the ascending node, the Moon has negative latitude.
- Passing the ascending node, the Moon has positive latitude and it's increasing.
- Moving to the descending node, the Moon has positive latitude but it's decreasing.
- Passing the descending node. the Moon has negative latitude and it's decreasing.
Interpretation
Interpretation - as far as we know - is restricted to positive or negative tendencies. In a horoscope from -234 [4] it reads:
The moon sets its face from the middle (nodal zone) toward positive latitude.
If (the moon) sets its face from the middle toward positive latitude, prosperity and greatness.
Other known horosocpes simply display the position regarding the latitude and lunar node.
Research
John Buzzard has written a program to calculate the category of lunar latitude for any horoscope. This makes it easy to do research to the meaning of this interesting phenomenon.
Notes
- [1] O. Neugebauer, Astronomical Cuneiform Texts, Princeton/London, 1955.Volume I, pp. 190-193 (200 Section 6), 215-216 (200b Section 4), 216 (200c), 218-219 (200d Section 3 and 200e),222-224 (200i Section 1), 245-246 (204 Section 1). For a general introdcution into the calculation of the Lunar Latitude pp. 47-55. [back]
- [2] Francesca Rochberg, The heavenly writing, Cambridge 2004, pp. 140-142. [back]
- [3] Francesca Rochberg, Babylonian Horoscopes, Philadelphia 1998, pp. 42-43. [back]
- [4] ibid. pp. 83-85. [back]
