A Tiny Universe’s Companion

About the Book

A Tiny Universe's Companion accompanies A Tiny Universe, a textbook on astrology which is based on one version of the Birth-Chart of the Universe known as Thema Mundi.

Companion expands on the fi rst book by exploring a number of techniques which were refined by astrologers several centuries ago, but have since lost their significance in modern times. Practices such as the division between day and night which creates the accidental dignity of Planetary Sect, and the forgotten rule of Contention (munakara) which warns of the danger of crossing boundaries, are both reminders of the impact of Sect on the seven original planets.

A first century predictive system originating in Persia called Firdaria has been re-introduced in the past few years and is once more gaining in popularity. Firdaria relies heavily on the principles of Sect to direct the individual's lifespan via different planetary periods along with the sequencing of planets according to the Chaldean Order. This method is examined in detail in the final chapters of

Companion using modernized interpretations of text from 1st Century astrologer Vettius Valens, and Johannes Schoener from the 16th Century C.E.

Planets' rulership over the twelve houses is a cornerstone of traditional astrology's chart interpretation and a ruling planet's condition determines its success or failure in managing the aff airs of its house. Issues such as mediocre quality, troublesome relationships, poor placement, or lack of sight (aversion) suggest stress for the planet and indicate difficult repercussions in the areas of life for which the ruling planet is responsible. Patterns which normally lie unseen or dormant within the chart become animated through rulership, and with the reintroduction of lost models, the chart, and life on Earth once more become reflections of the larger Universe.

About the Author

Joy Usher is an Australian astrologer who has been consulting, teaching and lecturing in astrology for the past 25 years. She has studied traditional techniques in astrology since the early 1990s and has incorporated traditional methods in the consulting room and the classroom since 2002. Joy Usher is co-principle of the astrological school Astro Mundi which has been operating in Adelaide since 2002. Astro Mundi runs attending, and online classes, with national students, and past and present international students from New Zealand, Canada, England, Spain and the Netherlands. Over the past two decades Joy has lectured at conferences and held workshops in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States. She was a regular contributor to the Astrological Monthly Review in the early 2000s and co-wrote Scala Coeli: The Ladder to Heaven, a series of essays on astrology with Mari Garcia in 2012. Joy lives in the Barossa Valley in South Australia.