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Lilly

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

Lilly usually refers to William Lilly (1602–1681), an influential English astrologer best known for his work in horary astrology. His major text, Christian Astrology, systematically explains traditional methods for judging questions, natal charts, and annual developments. Lilly’s approach draws heavily on earlier Hellenistic, Arabic, and medieval European astrological traditions.

Astrological Meaning

In astrological study, Lilly is associated particularly with horary technique: casting a chart for the moment a sincere question is received and understood by the astrologer. His method emphasizes planetary dignities, house rulership, aspects, reception, timing, and whether a chart is suitable for judgment. He also discusses natal delineation and predictive practices. Modern practitioners may adapt his rules rather than apply them rigidly, especially when interpreting older terminology within contemporary life.

Why It Matters

Lilly matters because his writings preserve a detailed working model of traditional astrology and show how separate chart factors can be combined into a reasoned judgment. Studying his methods can strengthen understanding of planetary condition, symbolic rulership, and chart synthesis. His historical context is equally important: some assumptions in seventeenth-century texts do not translate directly to modern practice. Reading Lilly critically helps astrologers distinguish enduring techniques from period-specific language and social conventions.

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Astrology claim that they yield excellent results

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

The phrase “claim that they yield excellent results” is not a distinct astrological technique. It is evaluative language used in some astrological writings to describe planets, aspects, dignities, yogas, elections, or other chart conditions believed to produce especially favorable outcomes. The pronoun “they” must be identified from the surrounding passage before the statement can be interpreted accurately.

Astrological Meaning

In traditional astrology, favorable results are usually judged through several connected factors rather than through one isolated placement. These may include planetary dignity, house position, sect, reception, aspects, rulership, and the condition of relevant significators. “Excellent” might refer to greater ease, support, prominence, stability, or effectiveness in the life area under examination. The meaning therefore changes according to whether the text concerns a natal chart, horary question, election, transit, or relationship comparison. Such wording often reflects the confidence and conventions of its historical school rather than a universal rule.

Why It Matters

Recognizing this phrase as a claim rather than a guarantee encourages careful chart synthesis. A configuration praised in a source may still be modified by difficult aspects, weak rulers, timing techniques, or the person’s circumstances and choices. Readers should identify exactly which factors are being praised, check the tradition’s interpretive framework, and compare the statement with the whole chart. This approach preserves the useful principle behind the claim while avoiding overly literal or fatalistic conclusions.

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Terms of the planets

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

The terms of the planets, also called bounds, are a system of essential dignity used in traditional astrology. Each zodiac sign is divided into five unequal sections, with every section governed by one of the five classical planets other than the Sun and Moon. Egyptian and Ptolemaic term tables are the best-known versions, and their boundaries and rulers differ slightly.

Astrological Meaning

A planet placed within its own terms is considered to have modest authority and practical competence, even if it lacks stronger dignity by sign or exaltation. When a planet occupies another planet’s terms, the term ruler can describe conditions, permissions, limits, or support affecting how that planet acts. Interpretation considers the planet, sign, house, aspects, and the condition of the term ruler rather than treating the dignity in isolation.

Why It Matters

Terms add precision to traditional chart interpretation because they distinguish smaller zones within each sign. They can refine judgments about planetary strength, motivation, and available resources in natal, horary, and electional astrology. Although less influential than domicile or exaltation, this dignity may reveal whether a planet has enough standing to operate constructively within a particular situation.

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Triplicity

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

Triplicity is the traditional classification of the twelve zodiac signs into four groups based on the elements: fire, earth, air, and water. Each triplicity contains three signs. Fire includes Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius; earth includes Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; air includes Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius; and water includes Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. The term may also refer to the planetary rulers assigned to each elemental group.

Astrological Meaning

In classical astrology, every triplicity has specific planetary rulers, often divided into daytime, nighttime, and participating rulers. Their use varies somewhat among traditional sources and techniques. An astrologer may examine the appropriate ruler according to the chart’s sect—the distinction between day and night charts—to evaluate planetary support, dignity, or a topic’s capacity to develop. Triplicity rulership is generally considered a moderate essential dignity: less commanding than domicile or exaltation, but more supportive than having no dignity at all.

Why It Matters

Triplicity adds nuance to chart interpretation by showing how planets may receive support through elemental affinity and sect. It can help assess a planet’s resources, consistency, and ability to operate constructively without implying certain outcomes. The concept also connects elemental symbolism with traditional rulership, making it useful in natal, horary, and electional astrology. It should be considered alongside houses, aspects, condition, and other dignities rather than interpreted alone.

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Terminal Houses, The

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

The terminal houses are the fourth, eighth, and twelfth houses of the horoscope. Each completes one of the chart’s three-house groupings beginning with a fire house, so they are associated with closure, release, and transition. The term is less universal than the standard classifications of angular, succedent, and cadent houses.

Astrological Meaning

All three terminal houses are traditionally linked with the water signs by symbolic correspondence, although a house does not automatically become a water sign. The fourth concerns roots, home, ancestry, and the foundations or ending phase of a matter. The eighth addresses shared assets, inheritance, vulnerability, loss, and personal transformation. The twelfth relates to seclusion, hidden conditions, retreat, surrender, and matters operating outside ordinary awareness. Planets in these houses may express through private, inward, transitional, or emotionally complex experiences. Their interpretation still depends on the planet, sign, aspects, house ruler, and the condition of that ruler.

Why It Matters

Recognizing the terminal houses helps an astrologer identify where a chart emphasizes completion, emotional processing, or movement from one phase into another. They should not be treated as inherently unfortunate or as guarantees of literal endings. Used alongside traditional house rulership and planetary condition, the category adds a useful thematic layer without replacing a full natal, horary, or event-chart analysis.

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Temporal Houses

Astrology Encyclopediaadmin

Definition

Temporal Houses are a traditional way of classifying the twelve houses according to their relationship with the chart’s four angles and the implied movement of time. The angular houses are the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th; the succedent houses are the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th; and the cadent houses are the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th. Terminology and emphasis can vary among traditional schools.

Astrological Meaning

Angular houses are generally treated as immediate, prominent, and capable of direct expression. Succedent houses follow the angles and are associated with consolidation, continuity, resources, and developments that build over time. Cadent houses fall away from the angles and often describe transition, preparation, learning, adaptation, or matters operating less visibly. In some timing methods, these groups may also suggest relative speed or stages of development, but the planet, sign, rulerships, aspects, and specific technique must also be considered.

Why It Matters

This classification helps astrologers assess a planet’s accidental strength and understand how readily a topic may become active or noticeable. It adds structure to natal, horary, electional, and mundane interpretation without reducing a house to a simple judgment of strong or weak. A cadent placement, for example, may be subtle or indirect rather than unimportant.

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