Parans And Their Connection To Diurnal Rhythms, Parans Shown in Diurnal Arc Charts
Robert Hand writes about parans and their connection to diurnal rhythms in his book, Essays On Astrology which was published in 1982.
Parans page 65 to 66
The second major datum that went into this hypothesis was my personal encounter with parantellonta, or parans as they are called. These are simultaneous bodily transits of two or more bodies over the horizon or meridian circles of a given place at the same time. However, it must be pointed out that a paran-related pair of planets does not have to be actually on the angles at a given time to be in paran. They merely have to be potentially capable of transiting the angles at that latitude at some time during the day. The fact of the matter is that with the possible except of the Moon, because of its rapid motion in the zodiac, all bodies that are in paran will transit the angles simultaneously somewhere within the twenty-four hours of their being in an exact potential relationship.
Primer of Sidereal Astrology, and in various articles appearing in American Astrology magazine. I was personally given some more data through my good friend, A.H. Blackwell of New York. From my experience with parans, through him and through my own work, it became obvious that they were extremely important and had a significance at least equal to conventional aspects.
A brief digression is in order at this point. Parans are not simply another name for mundane squares, oppositions, and conjunctions. Mundane aspects such as these refer to actual relationships in the mundane sphere at any given moment. Parans are potential relationship that will become actual when the planets transit the angles. At the moment that planets in paran transit the angles, they are in a mundane aspect, but otherwise they are only in a potential mundane aspect.
There are several kinds of paran. Two planets may rise together, meaning that they are conjunct in oblique ascension under the pole of the latitude of the birthplace. Two planets may transit either the upper or lower meridian together, which corresponds to a conjunction in right ascension. Two planets may set together, which corresponds to a conjunction in oblique descension under the pole of latitude. The first three parans I refer to as conjunction parans. Now, also, one planet may rise while another sets, which corresponds to an opposition between the oblique ascension of one body and oblique descension of the other. Or, one body may transit the upper meridian while the other transits the lower meridian, which corresponds to an opposition in right ascension. These two types of parans I refer to as opposition parans. Finally, one body may transit the meridian circle, upper or lower, while another rises or sets. These can be found whenever the right ascension of one body squares the oblique ascension or oblique descension of another. These I refer to as square parans. No other type of paran can be formed. For example, an opposition in oblique descension is not a paran, nor is one in oblique ascension. No can one have a paran when an oblique descension is conjunct an oblique ascension. Squares in right ascension are also not parans. Because there are only four angles to be transited, there are no paran trines or sextiles--only squares and oppositions. Another point: parans may have little resemblance to traditional aspects. Planets in a square paran may be in zodiacal trine! Planets in an opposition paran, usually oblique ascension to oblique descension, may be in a zodiacal quincunx! Paran conjunctions may be several degrees wide in longitude, but exact in oblique ascension, oblique descension or right ascension.
page 68 - 69
We are all familiar with the diurnal rhythms of twenty-four hours. It has been amply demonstrated by scientists that there are all manner of biological clocks that correlate with the diurnal rhythm. Yet we have never given the diurnal rhythm that much attention in astrology except with regard to houses. We have not paid attention to the diurnal rhythm as a dynamic element. We have looked at the movement of the planets through the signs dynamically, that is as cycles. Many of us have extensively studied the work of Dewey and the Foundation for the Study of Cycles, trying to find correlations between those cycles and astronomical cycles But the day cycle has always been looked at statistically, as in houses. However, in this model that I am not presenting, the day cycle is the single most important cycle in that it is the carrier of energies that are modulated by the zodiacal, synodic cycles of the planets.
In the first twenty-four hours after birth, the Sun, Moon, and all of the planets make a complete transit through the mundane sphere of the twelve houses. But they do not do so in phase. Depending upon the house positions of the planets, first one body will cross an angle, then another. Each body goes through in that first twenty-four hours a complete four-peak intensity rhythm in the manner described above as it transits the angles. If in the natal chart, any two planets hit angles simultaneously, there will be a constructive interference pattern between their two diurnal rhythms at that point and a paran exists.
The Hypothesis is this. Each of the natal positions in the horoscope sets off a diurnal rhythm, which has its own unique phase relationship to the diurnal rhythms of the other planets depending on the mundane or house relationship of the bodies to each other. These diurnal rhythms last for the entire lifetime of an individual, much like biorhythms, forming patterns of constructive and destructive interference with the diurnal rhythms of the transiting planets. We are used to the concept of the solar day and sidereal day, but now were are talking about a Uranian day, a Jupiterian day and so forth. At the stage of this inquiry, it is believed that the diurnal rhythms of the natal imprint are all exactly at the same length as the sidereal day correlated with the angular transits of the natal positions of the planets. However, transiting rhythms may vary according to the diurnal rate of the planet’s motion in the zodiac. It is also hypothesized that the natal rhythms should always be related to the birthplace, whereas the transiting rhythms should be related to the place of event. Parans, depending as they do upon the latitude of of the place, are latitude specific; that is a paran will exist one moment at one latitude and not at another.
page 98 -99
It is clear that planets have a fourfold rhythm of intensity. Each planet peaks in influence four times a day as it rises, culminates, sets and makes its lower culmination. Now lets suppose that the two planets are situated such that they will both transit angles simultaneously, possibly the same angle as in simultaneous rising, or different angles, as with one rising while the other sets or culminates. It would seem logical to suppose that if this situation arises, the two planets’ peaking cycles would be at least somewhat coordinated. Might this not link the energies of the two planets in a manner similar to an aspect? For example, if on a certain day Saturn rises with Mars culminating, then the Saturn rising peak will coincide with the Mars culminating peak, causing Mars and Saturn peak of energy to coincide, thus linking Mars and Saturn.
This is not merely a hypothesis. Not only have many modern astrologers checked this out and found that it works, but is in fact one of the most ancient of all astrological traditions. The Babylonians used these angle linkings long before aspects on the ecliptic. One has to remember that Babylonian Astrology was an observational one, and that the horizon and meridian circles (the circle going from north to south over one’s head) are much more easily seen outdoors than the ecliptic. Ptolemy discusses these linkings in the Almagest at great length. Unfortunately, not too much has been stated about these linkings, but there are enough ancient records left to indicate that they were considered to be important. They were called in Greek “parantellonta” in plural and “parantellonton” in singular. Modern astrologers have shortened the term to parans plural and paran singular. They appear to represent a direct and powerful linking of planetary energies, although it is not clear what differences there might be among the various types of parans.
The importance of parans for this discussion is that they take latitude and declination into consideration. The important thing is not that two bodies will conjoin two angles in longitude, but that together they cross the great circles (the horizon and meridian) that define the angles. It is important to note, incidentally, the following fact about parans. The planets in question do not need to be actually on the angles in a chart to be in a paran. They only need to be in such a relationship that, if the earth were rotated until these planets came to the angles, they would both cross the angles together. It has also been demonstrated that paran relationships between natal and transiting bodies--in other words, paran transits--can be important.
Another fact about parans is that they depend upon the latitude of location. The important thing is not that two bodies will conjoin two angles in longitude, but that they cross the great circle of the horizon or meridian. Thus paran transits are affected by changing geographic latitude.
How To Find Parans
The mathematics of finding parans is a bit complicated, involving extensive spherical trig. However, some of the major computer services have added them to their list of options. In particular, Neil Michelsen's Astro Computing Services in San Diego, California, does these calculations. The usual format is to give the sidereal time or the right ascension of the Midheaven at the time each of the bodies would rise, culminate, set and make the lower culmination. Thus there are four S.T.'s or RAMC's per planet. If any one of the four S.T.'s or RAMC's of any planet is conjunct any one of the four S.T.'s or RAMC's of another planet, they are in paran.
Declination, Parallels, and Parans
What is a parallel? We know what it is mathematically, of course, but we are not too clear about why it has significance. It has already been pointed out that declination is not the vertical dimension of longitude. It is the vertical dimension of right ascension. So why do parallels have significance? The answer, I believe, is connected with parans.
Because of the geometry of planetary transits over the angles, one cannot say that if Saturn rises while Mars culminates, Saturn will necessarily culminate while Mars sets. In other words, a paran on one pair of angles does not mean that there will be parans on other pairs of angles at the same time. There is an exception to this, however. If two bodies are also in parallel of declination when they are in paran, they will always transit the angles in pairs and be in paran on any pair of angles. Contraparallels also synchronize the rising, culminating, setting, and lower culmination patterns of pairs of planets, but not as perfectly as parallels. I suspect, therefore, that parallels of declination are of the same family of linkage that parans are and are not related to zodiacal aspects at all. Otherwise there is no reasonable explanation for parallels and contra-parallels that I can conceive of. Note that eclipses of the Sun are also parallels and that the Sun conjunct Moon while parallel Moon will transit all angles simultaneously. Thus an eclipse is both a zodiacal and a paran aspect. Maybe this is part of the reason eclipses are so powerful.
Considering what Robert Hand said about parans being linked to diurnal rhythms, I decided to check out parans by looking at the Z-Analogue Diurnal Arc Charts.
I don’t look at the parans that Robert Hand looks at - the ones devised by Oblique Ascension,Oblique Descension,Right Ascension that are in Solar Fire and most other Astrology programs.
I look at parans based on the body motion with true altitude. That is how Bernadette Brady’s Starlight program does parans.
An example is from a paran article at Kate’s Ambient Astrology site:
The above image is a "paran clock;" a tool which allows us to visually experience any paran relationship (mundane square) between two planets. Notice the exact angular relationship (though it looks like a conjunction) between Venus and Pluto - located at the top of the chart @ 10:30am PDT. Venus is culminating, "M" stands for Meridian, while Pluto is rising in the East, "E." Notice in the chart below Venus is culminating, but Pluto is not very angular by ecliptic degree. You can see below how the two-dimensional chart breaks down; it can't capture the actual spatial relationship between planets, it only captures them by zodiacal degree.
In the image below you can see Pluto is clearly on the horizon while Venus is culminating (at the MC). The horizon is the Ascendant, and is what astrologers refer to as the rising sign. Pluto's true relationship to the horizon isn't accurately portrayed in the chart above. Pluto isn't even in the Ascending sign in the chart above, but it is on the horizon.
I think this phenomenon, Pluto on the horizon while Venus culminates, would have been exceptionally important to the ancients, just as stars on angles were. Of course Pluto is invisible to the naked eye so they wouldn't have actually made this specific observation. But a paran can occur between many planets (and planets with fixed stars) and are visual statements that cannot be denied. Today we often miss seeing these truly angular relationships, because we view everything as if it were on the ecliptic (the Sun's path). It's good to jump off the ecliptic once in awhile...
http://ambientastrology.com/articles/2012/9/20/parans-resurfaced.html
I generated the Z-Analogue Diurnal Arc chart of Kate’s Ambient Astrology paran chart in article which highlights the Venus Culminating, Pluto Rising Square Paran.
There is an exact Venus square Pluto in the chart with Pluto Rising and Venus Culminating in the Z-Analogue Diurnal Arc.
