How did Placidus grow to be the preferred home system?

Episode 244 comprises an interview with Anthony Louis concerning the story of how Placidus grew to become the preferred quadrant division system utilized in western astrology in fashionable occasions.

In astrology of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Placidus is the preferred home system, and it’s often the usual home system in most software program packages, making it the system most individuals start their astrology research with.

The query is: how did it come about? What has led to the widespread acceptance of Placidus, particularly since there are different types of quadrant home division, similar to porphyry or Alcabitius homes?

It seems that the origins of the Placidus home system and its popularization date again to the 17th century, partly as a consequence of an try and reinterpret a controversial passage from the work of the 2nd century astrologer Claudius Ptolemy.

The origin of this dialogue was an article on Anthony’s weblog entitled Why Are Placidus Houses So Well-liked?

Our purpose was to speak about a number of the arguments introduced on this put up and to delve into some areas in an effort to perceive the historical past of home division.

Whereas our earlier episode on the origins of the assorted types of home division in historical astrology coated the early historical past of home division, the aim of this episode is to fill in some lacking items about later historical past from the Renaissance to fashionable occasions.

Yow will discover extra details about Anthony on his web site:

TonyLouis.wordpress.com

Under is an intensive collection of present notes that we used as a top level view for our dialogue.

This episode is obtainable in each audio and video variations on the backside of the web page.

View episode sketch and notes

Right here is a part of the define we created in preparation for this episode:

Based mostly on Anthony’s November 2019 weblog article Why Are Placidus Houses So Well-liked?
- Comply with-up to the unique article: “Placidus: The Default Darling of Domification” within the Federation of Australian Astrologers Journal, Quantity 49, No. 2 (June 2019), pp. 21-26.
Dialogue premise:
In astrology of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Placidus is the preferred home system
In fashionable western astrology.
It’s the usual dwelling system in most software program packages similar to Astro.com
In consequence, it’s the system that individuals often begin out with
One of many questions that arises is why Placidus is the usual quadrant system.
Holden makes a passing notice that Placidus grew to become the usual as a consequence of availability:
- “Within the 20th century, it has grow to be a cliché that the Placidus system later grew to become the usual of the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of it was the one one for which reasonably priced tables had been accessible. That is partially true, however the identical is true of the preliminary success of the Regiomantanus system. “Holden, A Historical past of Horoscopic Astrology, p. 150.
Anthony had an issue with it as a result of Placidus had been popularized earlier.
Whereas it was the first system accessible within the 20th century, it was as a result of it had been extensively used because the 17th century.
How did that begin?
Placidus printed his e book in 1650.
Focuses on foremost instructions and home division.
He was focused on reconstructing Ptolemy’s method.
A part of the overall again to the Ptolemy motion.
- Apparent in Lilly and others too.
- Ptolemy was the oldest accessible Greek writer
- Is taken into account probably the most authoritative.
Ptolemy has a dialogue of the division of the home in his chapter on lifespan (3, 11).
- Right here he additionally introduces the principle instructions.
The tactic of home division, which he advocates right here, has lengthy been controversial.
- “This one chapter has triggered extra astrological controversy than some other that has ever been written.” Holden, A Story, p. 47.
Ptolemy was just like the Einstein of his time
Even within the early Greek authors after Ptolemy there have been totally different interpretations of what system of home division they had been making an attempt to introduce on this chapter.
Among the later types of homes got here from an try and interpret Ptolemy.
Regiomantanus was one of many writers who did that.
- “Regiomontanus claimed that his methodology was what Ptolemy was as much as when he wrote Tetrabiblos, iii. 10 That is definitely improper, however Regiomontanus’ arguments have been accepted by the vast majority of astrologers. “Holden, Outdated Home Division II.
- “His home tables, accompanied by auxiliary tables for calculating the principle instructions, had been probably the primary in depth mathematical tables of any type ever to be printed, and showing like this barely 4 a long time after the invention of printing.”
- “Three issues collectively made the Regiomontanus system successful. First, it offered a useful printed set of home tables. Second, it was fashionable and scientific. And third, it changed a system with supposedly classical Greek sanctions for a system that’s mentioned to have been invented by a medieval Arab. Nonetheless, these arguments would have been equally relevant to the Campanus or Placidus techniques. It’s honest to say, then, that the success of the Regiomontanus system is because of exterior circumstances moderately than inherent superiority. “
Placidus was one other author who popularized a system based mostly on what he believed was Ptolemy
What is exclusive about Placidus is that he was in all probability one of many first in centuries to appropriately perceive Ptolemy’s major path system.
- Nonetheless, he misunderstood Ptolemy’s supposed system of home division.
- At the least based on Holden.
Holden and Schmidt believed that Ptolemy described primarily an identical homes.
- With areas beginning 5 levels above the highest of the ascendant.
- That is how Hephaistio first describes it
- However a earlier commentator named Pancharius interpreted it in a different way
- Introduction of a modified “Alchabitius” type (Holden says “modified porphyry”).
- So interpretations of Ptolemy gave start to a number of home techniques.
- Due to this, Holden known as this probably the most controversial chapter within the historical past of astrology.
Whereas the Placidus system bears his title, it could not have been the primary time it was launched.
- Ibn Ezra describes the identical method within the 12th century
- Holden says on p. 162 that Magini is claimed to have “described” it and that Placidus “in all probability” had the thought to learn his e book.
- So there have been precedents, however Placidus popularized them.
Results of Placidus
Did not have an effect on Lillys Christian astrology as a result of it was printed after Placidus.
- Lilly (1602-1681) used Regiomantanus homes as did his college students John Gadbury (1627-1704) and Henry Coley (1633-1707).
Placidus’ work was banned by the Catholic Church late in his life.
- Placidus was listed to the Church’s Listing of Forbidden Books in 1687 (the identical yr Kirby & Bishop printed their abridged translation of Placidus) and the ban was renewed in 1709.
- Therefore, Placidus grew to become accessible and standard primarily in Protestant England
On the finish of the 17th century, Placidus grew to become standard with English astrologers.
- Possibly as a result of it was seen as a brand new or radical reinterpretation and innovation.
- Recovering misplaced knowledge that was covert to enhance methods.
- “In accordance to what’s maybe his most well-known assertion, Placidus” wished no leaders aside from Ptolemy and motive “. Gansten, Main Instructions, p. 19.
- Rapidly (?) Turned standard
- In some ways much like the current popularization of complete sentry homes in our time
There was an early translation of Placidus’ works into English.
In 1687 Kirby and Bishop printed The marrow of astrology, an abbreviated English translation of the Magnum Opus by Placidus (1650).
John Partridge (1644-1715) grew to become the best proponent of Placidus homes
- Wasn’t in his first e book at first An astrological vade mecum (1679) This consists of tables from Regio homes, however in his second Opus Reformatum (1693), wherein “he rejected the teachings of medieval astrologers in favor of Ptolemy and Placidus” (Gansten, Main Instructions, p. 21).
- A really vocal advocate
- He was the final nice English astrologer of the 17th century
R.C. Smith (“Raphael”) printed a well-liked astrological almanac containing tables of Placidus homes in 1821, making the Placidus system typically accessible to the general public.
- Ralph William Holden (1977) speculates that “the Placidus methodology is prone to produce cusps that are difficult to calculate when referring to a specific sidereal time, however which could be very straightforward to supply within the desk kind.” (The weather of the home division, p.91).
After that time, Placidus grew to become the preferred system amongst English-speaking astrologers
Lilly’s e book has been republished in abridged kind. with out the Regiomontanus home tables
- The Zadkiel Version (1852)
- When the unique model of Lilly was out of print, Zadkiel grew to become increasingly more essential
Alan Leo used Placidus as was widespread in England within the late 19th century
The astrologers of the early 20th century tended to make use of Placidus
Placidus grew to become the first system for which dwelling tables had been accessible.
- In case you are calculating a chart by hand, you will have a desk of homes to calculate the bumps
- It simplifies a number of the math concerned.
- In an already prolonged course of.
- Additionally, astrologers have a tendency to not be extremely expert in astronomy.
With the arrival of computerized astrology and web sites, Placidus was usually the default.
- For Chris’ era, it was an enormous deal that Placidus was the usual on Astro.com.
- Which means that this would be the first system you’ll begin out with
- The accuracy or inaccuracy of the interpretations then relies upon partly on it
- Counteracting this usually means rejecting what you discovered first.
These are a number of the the explanation why Placidus has grow to be the preferred dwelling system in fashionable occasions.
The tip.

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