Comets
Many people call 2013 “the International Year of Comets” as there will be two comets visiting us this year. How do astrologers regard comets, an astronomical object which has an unpredictable orbit? Will these objects bring forth disasters and catastrophes like the old tales tell? Where do these old tales come from? Is it true that comets would never be associated with something positive? I always wondered what comets mean to astrologers. In my twenty years of astrology study, this question had once haunted me for a short while. Journalists also raised questions related to comets when I wrote an astrology column. However, I couldn’t find out the answers from my teachers or any publications. However, in the beginning of 2013, when the news reported that there would be the chance to observe two comets this year, one of which would be very bright, that old question came up once again – how do astrologers regard comets?
Comets in astronomy
In astronomy, a comet is an object which has an elongated elliptical orbit. Some comets are visible in the sky at regular intervals within a short period of time for example, the famous Halley’s Comet is visible from earth every 75 to 76 years), and some of them have a long orbital period. Some comets come to visit the sun every hundreds of thousands of years.
According to astronomy research, comet nuclei are composed of ice, dust and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia. Comets are from the distant, cold and dark space, approaching the Sun under the effect of gravity. When comets come near the sun, they enter our observable range. Temperature increases as comets get nearer to the sun, and tails start to appear under the effect of radiation and solar wind as the frozen gases and ice start to evaporate , resulting in an illuminating tail – this is a comet’s trademark. Many comets will be burnt and then split into pieces or even disappear when they go passed the Sun, and great comets will split into several smaller ones, some of which will disappear after they go pass the perihelion.
In Western languages like French (comète), German (Komet) and English (comet), the word “comet” is derived from the Latin word “cometes”, which is the latinisation of the Greek κομήτης (komētēs). It means “comets”, but its literal meaning is “long hair”. This Latin word originates from the Greek word κόμη (komē) whose original meaning is “the hair on one’s head”.
Views of ancient astrologers
How do ancient astrologers regard comets? Ancient Greek held various points of view towards the object. Although different schools all treated comets as certain abnormal phenomenon, these scholars, including Aristotle, were keen to find out the reasons behind this, and they often held a special view on comets. Most of them believed that comets were just some illusions caused by disturbances that happened in the upper layers of the atmosphere. They thought it was due to extremely hot, arid and windy weather and this is why ancient astrologers often attributed the occurrence of hurricanes and droughts to the appearance of comets in their observation. Because of its brightness and its association with hot, arid weather which led to hurricanes, rainstorms and droughts, ancient astrologers often regarded comets as “big fire” in the sky. Another early astrological study suggested that comets appeared when several planets formed a conjunction. Whether comets were disturbance in upper layer of the atmosphere or gathering of astronomical objects invoked arguments and discussions.
In Roman Times, the philosopher and statesman, Seneca, opposed all these suggestions. He believed that comets are a kind of star although it was not possible to predict or measure their movements or locations, and they were some object that astrologers did not have the ability to predict. It is just that comets were discovered one day.
According to the records of ancient astrologers, comets brought forth many other phenomenon besides hot and arid weather. In BC 340-341 and AD60, there were hurricanes when comets passed by, and in BC 373-372, there were earthquakes and tsunamis as comets slid through the sky. Aristotle believed that when there were several comets appearing with a year, it would usually be an arid and stormy one – he believed that comets were an indicator of climate.
However astrologers argued about the causes or reasons behind comets, and the only consensus was that comets were regarded as a symbol of natural disasters such as meteors, droughts and severe winds. Manilius, a poet, described meteorites as “a token of doom”.
From the Roman Empire onwards, comets became the symbol of another kind of disaster, the human-related one – death, riots, wars and slaughters; the death of a king or a noble would be the one among them which caught most attention. It is said that the family of Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite, witnessed a meteorite in the sky before the Trojan War and treated it as a warning for them to leave their homeland. They left Troy and, as a result, escaped the war that destroyed their homeland.
Comets played a special role in Rome in BC44 when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Augustus, who succeeded to the throne, announced that the soul of Caesar had already ridden on the comet towards heaven. Since Augustus would not be able to take the throne without Caesar’s death, he saw comets as his lucky star, and he even put the symbol of the comet on his gold coinage. However, whenever there was a comet in the sky, Augustus would become very sensitive, and he forbade any predictions from astrologers regarding comets.
Comets’ implication regarding the death of an emperor could be influential to the nobles, and could be a useful tool to insurgents. During the reign of Nero, who was a famous tyrant, insurgents would announce or expect that it would be Nero’s turn whenever there was a comet. Seneca, who I previously mentioned, was the motivator behind such force. He longed for the death of the tyrant whenever comets appeared, but the truth was that Nero not only had not died, but he also slaughtered his political opponents; and Seneca was eventually killed by Nero after announcing a disrespectful prediction towards the king.
From ancient times to the medieval, comets were seen as the symbol of evil power which brought forth natural disasters, human-related disorders and slaughters, and history deepens people’s fear towards comets’ infamy.
In AD684 when Halley’s Comet passed by, a rainstorm sustained for around three months, and there was an outbreak of Black Death.
In AD1066 when Halley’s Comet passed by again, Harold II, the King of England at that time, fought with William I, the Duke of Normandy, for the throne and died in the famous Battle of Hastings; this is how William the Conqueror succeeded the English throne. Halley’s Comet kept on bringing forth its implication regarding “the death of an emperor” in this way.
Even in 1910 when a comet visited, there was a rumour spread around about comets releasing toxic gases; as a result, many people tried to invent different methods to avoid such circumstance. Although the tail of a comet would release carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, there were no reports of direct victims yet.
However, it does not mean that we should deny comets’ implication of human-related and natural disasters. We can still observe the happenings of catastrophes when comets passed by. In 1882 when a great comet passed by, a cyclone in the Arabian Sea caused flooding in Bombay harbor, leaving about 100,000 dead; and there were two comets witnessed in January and April of 1910 when Jack Johnson, an African boxer, defeated a White opponent which in turn triggered riots across the States. In December 1927, a comet visited the Earth, and there was a sudden flood along the Thames a month later which killed 14 people, followed by an unpredictable hailstorm which killed another 11 people. In 1966, Uranus was in conjunction with Pluto and formed an opposition with Saturn and Chiron when Comet Hyakutake passed by. It was when the bloodiest Cultural Revolution took place in China in which several million people were killed and Chinese cultural and historical relics were destroyed. In April 2013, we could still see the comet when the Boston Marathon bombings happened.
Comets are associated with taboos in people’s heart. Whenever people see comets, they immediately believe that something unlucky, disastrous and extreme is going to happen. However, what do astrologers consider when they give predictions regarding comets?
How ancient astrologers predict a comet’s influence?
First, consider the sign and its element which the comet passed by. For example, fire signs are usually associated with fire hazards, wars and slaughters, water signs with rainstorms and tsunamis, earth sign with droughts and food shortage, and Air signs with hurricanes.
Second, consider fixed stars or the image of the sign. For example, Taurus could be related to issues related to cattle, Pisces could be about issues with oceans and fishery, and Sagittarius could be about wars. Comets’ effect could also be related to what the sign or fixed stars they currently located symbolise. Traditional astrologers even believe that every country has its own representing sign; therefore, when comets are in certain sign, countries represented by that sign could suffer disasters. For example, when a comet was in Taurus in 1678, William Lilly [Lillies New Prophecy, Or, Strange and Wonderful Predictions relating to the year, 1678. As well as from the Great Blazing-Star [London] 1678, 3-4] pointed out that it would affect Poland, Russia, Sicily, Norway, Algeria, Lorraine and Rome.
Third, consider which planet(s) form a conjunction with the comet. For example, when a comet passed by Mercury, it may bring forth issues related to transportation and bridges.
Fourth, consider which house the comet visits. This is a rather special case, in which astrologers need to cast a chart when they witness the comet. For example, the famous astrologer Tycho Brahe cast a chart by this method and predicted a disaster which would kill thousands of people.
Fifth, consider the colour. When astrologers observe comets, they would pay attention to their colours and thus determine their properties. If it has the same grey tone like Saturn, astrologers would believe that this comet would bring forth incidents which have similar themes or properties of Saturn. Sometimes, comets would change colour from time to time, like from white to grey. In 1680, William Knight documented that the comet he observed that year had a grey tone like Saturn initially, thus leading to issues related to lack of resources and politics. Several months later, it turned bright and it implied themes and issues related to Jupiter. Although no suffocating stress or pressure was related, there was a rise of problems related to religion and law, and this was not the last time this comet changed its colour. It finally turned red, and Knight believed it was an obvious implication about thefts and robberies. Tycho Brahe also applied such skill on observing comets.
Finally, consider the direction which the coma points to as it often implies the direction where disasters happen. Sometimes, the tails may point to two directions. If it points to a sign on the zodiac, the country it represents may also be involved.
The shape of comets differs from one another. Sometimes it looks like a fireball with a short coma. It was described as “a long sword” implying war and assassination when it has a long coma. Sometimes, the tip of the coma is described as a “dagger”, and it was said that a great person would be borne when a comet was as bright as the sun.
2013’ comets
If we pay attention to Comet Panstarrs which glided through the sky in early 2013 when we work on our mundane astrology study, we would once again discover the existence themes and issues related to comets. We could witness Comet Panstarrs with our eyes from 12th February 2013 which went through Aquarius and Pisces and entered 0 degree of Aries on 9th March. When we found it for the last time in the sky, it was in Aries.
- 12th February, North Korea carried out its third nuclear test which triggered another North Korean crisis. North Korea and South Korea terminated their cooperation, this was when the comet was in Aquarius, a sign related to shock, split and isolation.
- 15th February, a meteorite hit southern Ural region of Russia, which injured about 1500 people and damaged about 4000 buildings.
- 28th February, when the comet was about to enter Pisces, the Pope Benedict XVI suddenly resigned with unknown reasons. 3days later Comet Panstarrs passed his Asc on 16 degrees Pisces and his Mc ruler Jupiter on 20 degrees Pisces.
- 5th March, Hugo Chavez died. Comet Panstarrs hits his MC.
- 13th March, the Catholic Church elected the new Pope. A new leader was born on the day when the comet was at its brightest and in Aries. Several days later, the Cypriot financial crisis broke out. Pope Francis I have Moon in 10 degrees Aquarius , and His Venus ( Mc ruler ) in 7 degrees Aquarius also affected by by the comet Panstarrs.
- End of March, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicated. She has Moon Jupiter Venus Sun in 8, 9, 10 deg Aquarius, Mars (chart ruler) in 0deg Aries, Saturn ruler MC in 1deg Aries all are affected by the comet Panstarrs.
These incidents and events correspond with the discussion of astrologers in the past.
Let’s observe the predicted path of Comet Ison. Approximately from 10th November to 29th December, the comet will glide through Libra, Scorpio to Sagittarius, and the planets affected include Mercury and Saturn, the North Node in Scorpio will be the next. We should pay attention to: transportation and bridges governed by Mercury; government, institutions, law and mining governed by Saturn judiciary and marriage governed by Libra; death, scandals, oil and financial Corporations governed by Scorpio; and law and religion governed by Sagittarius. According to William Lilly’s definition, we should pay attention to Austria, Portugal and Spain, Catalonia in particular ( a Spanish region which longed for independence). China, on the other hand, is a country of Libra. Perhaps we should pay special attention to issues related to these themes and places.
I personally have some interesting experience related to comics. Comet Panstarrs started to be seen by people on 12th February, and that was just before my birthday. The comet was in the beginning of Aquarius where my natal Venus locates. My love life coincidentally confronted a tremendous shock, and an unpredictable new relationship started soon after it. In March when the comet passed through Pisces where my natal Mercury locates, I started to be attracted by comets, and I therefore sought opportunities to observe them and read a lot of studies and publications that documented their effects in astrology. However, to my chagrin these are very few in number. A television programme broadcast by the BBC that month, narrated some different interpretations of comets. Comets always bring new ideas to us.
Finally, after the discussion of Western points of views, I would like to share with you some Chinese’s thoughts regarding comets. Chinese called comets “the broom star” and usually associated them with bad luck, but we should remember that brooms are used to sweep away unnecessary stuff. Brooms are for the use of cleaning. We have to sweep away unnecessary stuff to find new room. We could say that such incidents are inevitable – new chances are brought forth through the destructive forces.
Chinese called comets “hui xin”. “Hui” is equivalent to “wisdom” in Chinese. Interestingly, in Chinese we always say “wield the sword of wisdom to cut away the attachment”. Wisdom is like a sword, and comets are obviously a symbol of a treasure sword. From images, symbolisation to what we observe in life, could it be possible that comets are an implication of the birth of new wisdom? Could it be an indication about where we should impart our wisdom? Could it be a chance for us to cut certain bonds and attachments so that we can let new things come into our lives?
Appendix 1 – Comet Panstarr (C/2011 L4) date and position generated by Nasa HORIZONS System
| Date (UTC) | Magnitude | Position in Zodiac |
| 2013-Feb-12 00:00 | 5.14 | 1 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-13 00:00 | 5.02 | 3 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-14 00:00 | 4.90 | 4 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-15 00:00 | 4.77 | 6 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-16 00:00 | 4.64 | 8 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-17 00:00 | 4.51 | 10 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-18 00:00 | 4.38 | 13 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-19 00:00 | 4.24 | 15 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-20 00:00 | 4.10 | 17 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-21 00:00 | 3.95 | 19 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-22 00:00 | 3.81 | 22 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-23 00:00 | 3.66 | 24 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-24 00:00 | 3.51 | 27 Aquarius |
| 2013-Feb-25 00:00 | 3.35 | 0 Pisces |
| 2013-Feb-26 00:00 | 3.20 | 2 Pisces |
| 2013-Feb-27 00:00 | 3.04 | 5 Pisces |
| 2013-Feb-28 00:00 | 2.88 | 8 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-01 00:00 | 2.72 | 11 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-02 00:00 | 2.57 | 13 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-03 00:00 | 2.41 | 16 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-04 00:00 | 2.27 | 19 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-05 00:00 | 2.13 | 21 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-06 00:00 | 2.02 | 24 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-07 00:00 | 1.92 | 26 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-08 00:00 | 1.84 | 28 Pisces |
| 2013-Mar-09 00:00 | 1.79 | 1 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-10 00:00 | 1.78 | 3 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-11 00:00 | 1.80 | 4 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-12 00:00 | 1.86 | 6 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-13 00:00 | 1.94 | 8 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-14 00:00 | 2.05 | 9 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-15 00:00 | 2.18 | 10 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-16 00:00 | 2.32 | 11 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-17 00:00 | 2.47 | 12 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-18 00:00 | 2.63 | 13 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-19 00:00 | 2.78 | 14 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-20 00:00 | 2.94 | 15 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-21 00:00 | 3.10 | 16 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-22 00:00 | 3.26 | 16 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-23 00:00 | 3.41 | 17 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-24 00:00 | 3.55 | 18 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-25 00:00 | 3.70 | 18 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-26 00:00 | 3.83 | 19 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-27 00:00 | 3.97 | 20 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-28 00:00 | 4.10 | 20 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-29 00:00 | 4.22 | 21 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-30 00:00 | 4.34 | 21 Ares |
| 2013-Mar-31 00:00 | 4.46 | 22 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-01 00:00 | 4.57 | 23 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-02 00:00 | 4.68 | 23 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-03 00:00 | 4.79 | 24 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-04 00:00 | 4.90 | 24 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-05 00:00 | 5.00 | 25 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-06 00:00 | 5.09 | 26 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-07 00:00 | 5.19 | 26 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-08 00:00 | 5.28 | 27 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-09 00:00 | 5.37 | 27 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-10 00:00 | 5.46 | 28 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-11 00:00 | 5.54 | 29 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-12 00:00 | 5.62 | 29 Ares |
| 2013-Apr-13 00:00 | 5.71 | 0 Taurus |
| 2013-Apr-14 00:00 | 5.78 | 1 Taurus |
| 2013-Apr-15 00:00 | 5.86 | 1 Taurus |
Appendix 2 – Comet Ison (C/2012 S1) date and position generated by Nasa HORIZONS System
| Date (UTC) | Magnitude | Position in Zodiac |
| 2013-Nov-10 00:00 | 6.97 | 3 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-11 00:00 | 6.8 | 5 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-12 00:00 | 6.62 | 7 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-13 00:00 | 6.43 | 10 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-14 00:00 | 6.23 | 12 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-15 00:00 | 6.03 | 15 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-16 00:00 | 5.82 | 18 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-17 00:00 | 5.59 | 21 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-18 00:00 | 5.36 | 24 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-19 00:00 | 5.11 | 27 Libra |
| 2013-Nov-20 00:00 | 4.84 | 0 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-21 00:00 | 4.55 | 4 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-22 00:00 | 4.22 | 7 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-23 00:00 | 3.85 | 11 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-24 00:00 | 3.41 | 15 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-25 00:00 | 2.88 | 19 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-26 00:00 | 2.18 | 23 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-27 00:00 | 1.14 | 27 Scorpio |
| 2013-Nov-28 00:00 | 0.86 | 2 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Nov-29 00:00 | 4.07 | 8 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Nov-30 00:00 | 0.17 | 6 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-01 00:00 | 1.55 | 6 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-02 00:00 | 2.36 | 5 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-03 00:00 | 2.93 | 4 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-04 00:00 | 3.36 | 3 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-05 00:00 | 3.7 | 3 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-06 00:00 | 3.98 | 2 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-07 00:00 | 4.21 | 2 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-08 00:00 | 4.41 | 1 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-09 00:00 | 4.58 | 1 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-10 00:00 | 4.73 | 0 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-11 00:00 | 4.86 | 0 Sagitarius |
| 2013-Dec-12 00:00 | 4.98 | 29 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-13 00:00 | 5.08 | 28 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-14 00:00 | 5.17 | 28 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-15 00:00 | 5.26 | 27 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-16 00:00 | 5.33 | 27 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-17 00:00 | 5.4 | 26 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-18 00:00 | 5.47 | 25 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-19 00:00 | 5.54 | 24 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-20 00:00 | 5.6 | 23 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-21 00:00 | 5.66 | 22 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-22 00:00 | 5.73 | 21 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-23 00:00 | 5.79 | 19 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-24 00:00 | 5.86 | 17 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-25 00:00 | 5.93 | 15 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-26 00:00 | 6.01 | 11 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-27 00:00 | 6.09 | 7 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-28 00:00 | 6.18 | 0 Scorpio |
| 2013-Dec-29 00:00 | 6.27 | 21 Libra |
| 2013-Dec-30 00:00 | 6.36 | 6 Libra |
| 2013-Dec-31 00:00 | 6.47 | 15 Virgo |
| 2014-Jan-01 00:00 | 6.57 | 22 Leo |
| 2014-Jan-02 00:00 | 6.68 | 2 Leo |
| 2014-Jan-03 00:00 | 6.8 | 18 Cancer |
| 2014-Jan-04 00:00 | 6.92 | 9 Cancer |
© Rod Chang 24 July 2013 London UK