The Porphyry, Alcabitius and Regiomontanus House Systems Examined英文文献资料.pdf

Maria J. Mateus has kindly submitted this article to the archival project. Explaining the differences in house systems is not the easiest task. Maria has prepared an excellent article on the subject. I find it coherent, well researched , adequately demonstrated, yet succinct. Thanks Maria! [PJC] The Porphyry, Alcabitius and Regiomontanus House Systems Examined By: Maria J. Mateus This paper is copyright © 200 1 It is difficult to ascertain exactly when the concept of house division began, but there is some evidence that the most primitive form of house division may have been influenced by the Egyptian divisions of the ecliptic and date back to between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC -- when horoscopic astrology was being developed in Alexandria during the Hellenistic period. The Egyptians imagined the path of the Sun-god along the sky as symbolic of his birth, life, death and rebirth. At sunrise in the east, the sun- god is born and develops to reach maturity when he is directly overhead at noon. As he ages, he begins to descend overhead to die over the western horizon at sunset. From there, the sun continued his journey through the underworld or duat, through the nadir of the heavens at which point he transforms into a developing infant to be born again at sunrise. The sky therefore, was divided into four quadrants called cardines in Latin, which were points of intersection where the ecliptic cut the horizon and meridian. This influence may explain why the birthchart reflects the Egyptian convention of orienting their maps in a southerly direction, since East is typically placed on the left. There are different house system classifications, depending upon how one differentiates them. One way is to separate the Quadrant systems from the Non-quadrant systems. Another classification system incorporates three categories:1) the Ecliptic-based methods which include the Equal-House, the Whole Sign Houses, and the Porphyry systems; 2) the Time-based