Methanespirit
August 22nd, 2001, 09:17 AM
Right Ascension (RA) is an astronomical term used to locate the placment of all that is in the heavens, using a 24-"hour" referencing system which is taken from a projection of the earth's equator out into space. Astrologers also use it to find the point of the Midheaven (MC) in any chart, otherwise known as the "RAMC". The starting point of the RA system is located at the exact place in the heavens of the Autumn Equinox. The Autumn Equinox is that specific day, hour, minute, and second of civil time, that the Sun's center appears to cross the earth's equatorial projection, as it slowly travels into the southern hemisphere on the first day of Autumn (northern hemisphere). The moment this happens is called 00:00:00 hours of RA.
For Astrological purposes, the use of RA is deceptive in that the point of the equinox creeps westward a fraction of a degree each passing year. The popular, standard (Tropical) Zodiac, is based on the RA of 12:00:00, that is also called the "0 degrees point of Aries". (This system of referencing the Astrological signs is called the the "Tropical Zodiac" because it occurs in the tropic regions of the Earth.) If you were to gather information about the points in the heavens of the equinoxes, going back about 2000 years, that at that time the Spring Equinox and the 0 degrees of Aries did coincide. This creeping (incremenal progression) of the equinotical points is caused by the Earth's (appx) 26000 year polar wobble, requiring about 26000 years for the earth's rotational axis to make one circuit of the polar regions. Since the time of Ptolemy, (AD 221), who originally referenced 0 degrees of Aries with the Spring equinox, the systen has survived among Astronomical circles to the current time. And since all Astrological ephemerides are derived from Astronomical records and projections using RA, the positioning of the Astrological signs has also moved westward in reference to the stellar constellations bearing the same names as the Zodiacal signs. Should one go outside and view, say the constellaton of Taurus, from the position of the Pliades star cluster, that point, to 30 degrees eastward is called "Gemini", the next successive sign, even though there is still 25 degees of the constellation Taurus remaining. The star Castor is near the end of the constellation of Gemini, but according to Tropical Astrology, this point is called (about) 25 degrees of the Zodiacal sign, Cancer. In fact, the popular idea of the "Age of Aquarius" is based on the time that the equinotical point occurs in the 29* 59' 59" of the constellation of Aquarius, even though that would still be called 0 degrees of Aries. As of the time of this writing the Spring Equinox occurs at the 5* 14' 36" of the constellation Pisces (just east of the western-most fish of Pisces), and there is still a long time to wait before it reaches the constellation of Aquarius.
For Astrological purposes, the use of RA is deceptive in that the point of the equinox creeps westward a fraction of a degree each passing year. The popular, standard (Tropical) Zodiac, is based on the RA of 12:00:00, that is also called the "0 degrees point of Aries". (This system of referencing the Astrological signs is called the the "Tropical Zodiac" because it occurs in the tropic regions of the Earth.) If you were to gather information about the points in the heavens of the equinoxes, going back about 2000 years, that at that time the Spring Equinox and the 0 degrees of Aries did coincide. This creeping (incremenal progression) of the equinotical points is caused by the Earth's (appx) 26000 year polar wobble, requiring about 26000 years for the earth's rotational axis to make one circuit of the polar regions. Since the time of Ptolemy, (AD 221), who originally referenced 0 degrees of Aries with the Spring equinox, the systen has survived among Astronomical circles to the current time. And since all Astrological ephemerides are derived from Astronomical records and projections using RA, the positioning of the Astrological signs has also moved westward in reference to the stellar constellations bearing the same names as the Zodiacal signs. Should one go outside and view, say the constellaton of Taurus, from the position of the Pliades star cluster, that point, to 30 degrees eastward is called "Gemini", the next successive sign, even though there is still 25 degees of the constellation Taurus remaining. The star Castor is near the end of the constellation of Gemini, but according to Tropical Astrology, this point is called (about) 25 degrees of the Zodiacal sign, Cancer. In fact, the popular idea of the "Age of Aquarius" is based on the time that the equinotical point occurs in the 29* 59' 59" of the constellation of Aquarius, even though that would still be called 0 degrees of Aries. As of the time of this writing the Spring Equinox occurs at the 5* 14' 36" of the constellation Pisces (just east of the western-most fish of Pisces), and there is still a long time to wait before it reaches the constellation of Aquarius.