THE MYSTERY OF THE VIA COMBUSTA
Introduction to a subject

In the course of implementation of the My Sky project which purpose to astrologically study a form of all zodiac constellations with numbering of the main stars, faced need of an explanation of effect of the Milky Way. How this astronomical phenomenon could pass by astrologers and not to leave a print in treatments?

It turned out that the print is. In all respects such concept as "Via Combusta".

The idea came from Aristotle's compositions. It appears in the work "Meteorology" he reports that some Pythagoreans considered the Milky Way a circle on which the Sun moved earlier and burned out it. Aristotle had similar "fiery" opinion and believed that the Milky Way was caused "by ignition of a fiery exhalation of some stars which were big, numerous and close located".

That is approximately around 500-300 years BC the similar ideas in a type of "the Way Burnt by the Sun" wandered among philosophers some of which could be interested in astrology. It is impossible to draw conclusions that this idea did not exist before, however this situation well explains the mechanism of its "emigration" in astrology.

If to allow probability that initially the Via Combusta was understood as Milky Way, then it is necessary to explain how there was a division of these concepts.

The first reason, most likely, stratification of huge layer of time, by my calculations which will be in this material the Milky Way could be considered burned in the area of 2280 BC and up to our era in some cultures. The term "the burned way" removed to modern astrology already from authoritative astrologers, like Al Biruni, and it is considered now one of traditions, axioms which does not need to be comprehended.

Army of astrosectarians which as you know, guards any tales and myths to the death therefore any delusion in this environment can wander eternally. Besides, the creative human nature and the word "Burnt" could not but inspire on creation of new fairy tales, on search of mysterious and intimate borders of this Way on the basis of feelings, manipulations with degrees of the Zodiac and juggling by any suitable to Libra and to the Scorpio concepts.

Let's list all found delusions and imaginations about the Via Combusta:

- "The Via Combusta is considered from 15 ° Libra to 15 ° the Scorpio". It has old roots, the names Al Biruni, Lilly, Bonatti, Cornelius and hundreds of others stands behind it, including modern, the same coordinates are in the encyclopedia Devor. Numerous followers of this concept attribute to the Burnt Way all the worst and "business will not come true" and "cards are not radical", all planets "weaken there", and "querent is not capable to assess a situation adequately". This theory, by itself, found justifications.

These explanations were well formulated by the Irish astrologer of Maurice McCann (the member of AFA, AFAN, NCGR, ISAR, Astrological Association of Great Britain), for example; which believes that Via Combusta arrangement in signs Libra and Skorpio are connected with the fact that in these signs the Sun and the Moon are in zodiac signs of their falling. In addition to it classical evil planets are strong here (Mars operates the Scorpion, and Saturn ekzaltirut in Scales). As this logic corresponds to a subject of burning it is unknown. That the riddle can "burn" in air Libra and in a water Scorpion. (Note 1)

- from the same gray-haired times reached and other opinion supposedly the Burnt Way stretches from degree of falling of the Sun to degree of falling of the Moon, namely from 19 ° Libra to 3 ° Scorpio. For example, Ibn Ezra had this opinion.

- according to the Russian astrologer P. Globa of quality of the Via Combusta are connected with the myth about the destroyed planet the Phaeton which blew up in the Scorpio, having created a certain adverse field. At the same time Globa places Via Combusta in an interval 22 ° -30 ° the Scorpio, symbolically correlating this area to the 13th constellation, the hidden and magic Ophiuchus.

- there is an opinion of the Russian astrologer A. Moskovsky as if our ancestors so designated a congestion of fixed stars in initial degrees of the constellation of the Scorpio, the star Antares was the center and Via Combusta lay in 10 ° on both sides from Antares.

- a very interesting version was put forward by astrologers of the first half of the 20th century (Alexandre Troyanovsky and Alexandre Volguine), in their opinion Via combusta is placed.. in the sign of Gemini, since it is diametrically opposite to Antares and is located near the unfavorable Aldebaran. Exact quote from Troyanovsky: "Especially dangerous are 18-30° Gemini - "Via Combusta", where the good planets become hostile.".

- there are also such original versions of the milky Way as the German author W. Becker - his way in the region of 13° Libra - 9° Scorpio.

- as the most exotic opinion it is worth recognizing opinion of the Russian astrologer E. Kolesov. Its Via Combusta occupies special sites of the Zodiac in Air signs (the last 10-12° of Gemini, Libra and Aquarius), besides, in "the Via Combusta" he calls the interval from 13 ° Libra to 13 ° the Scorpio.

* Possibly number 13 ° appears in these systems not without influence of popular numerology of the European sample. Naturally, "13 - the unhappy number" and it, of course, needs to be correlated to "the unhappy Via Combusta"

- also quite logical opinions are found. For example, the author of "The encyclopedic astrological dictionary" A. Saplin connected the Via Combusta with brightness of the Milky Way. He specified borders of the Burnt Way - from 15 ° the Sagittarius to 10 ° the Capricorn.

Development of the Milky Way theme

So, we have the Pythagorean opinion about the burning of space by the sun around the milky Way. There is a brilliant inspiration from A. Saplin of the milky way, linking brightness with Via Combustia in the area from 15 ° Sagittarius to 10 ° Capricorn. There are guesses of some astrologers about the participation in this game of the sign of Gemini. This information needs to be developed and refined. And we must answer the question why in ancient times the scorched path was located in the area of the signs of Libra and Scorpio.

First, and this is an obvious conclusion from the correspondence of the Milky Way to the burnt one: the zone of the Milky way / burnt path must pass in two sections of the Zodiac, both on the North and South sides. The milky Way crosses the entire circle of the Zodiac and this is easy to see (planets on the date 4.09.2020):

Development of the Milky Way theme
Crossing the Ecliptic by the Milky Way

We see not only that there are two zones of influence of the milky Way in the zodiac, but also that from the side of Antares (this is in the southern celestial hemisphere) this zone is wider and more influential. Note that in the image of the milky Way, I deliberately increased its brightness, for clarity. When estimating the actual width of the milky Way, the brightness will be reduced.

Now let's look at the coordinates of the milky Way near Antares separately:

coordinates of the milky Way near Antares
Milky Way near the star Antares

It is clear, that borders of the Milky Way conditional, and, in my opinion, more or less distinct it is possible to see in an interval from 15 ° the Sagittarius to 15 ° the Capricorn. As a reference point I took an star from the Sagittarius of HIP 93423 which is interesting that it is directly on an ecliptic, and counting from it 30 ° (towards the Scorpion) covers required visible area of the Milky Way.

The same zone includes also the Center of our Galaxy which is projected on 27 °08 Sagittarius, exactly there, by the way, there are most active processes of star formation and dust formation in our galactic system, in the same place there is a supermassive Black hole of Sgr A * (it is said as "A Sagittarius A with an star").

Let's pass to the second, Northern part of the Milky Way. At once it is possible to tell that it is not so bright, its light for the observer is more scattered. It is possible to take to consideration an interval in 15 ° ecliptics and to treat it in softer form, than the opposite Southern end of the Milky Way.

Southern end of the Milky Way
The Ecliptic and Milky Way near the star Aldebaran

There are two reference stars here, and quite bright ones, Zeta Taurus and Epsilon Gemini, between their projections onto the ecliptic, almost exactly 15°.

So, fifteen degrees is quite enough, this is the interval of 25° Gemini - 10° Cancer.

In this place it is necessary to make the note. Here we have other color of the Milky Way, other brightness and it can assume also other interpretation. Yes, so far we can consider it as weaker, diluted version of the first part of the Milky Way. However, there are hints on the fact that this site of the Zodiac has more difficult character rather favorable around 3 ° -10 ° Cancer under the influence of at once three stars of the Gemini - Tejat Prior, Tejat Posterior and Alhena, and dual around 26 ° -2 ° Cancer under the influence of powerful Betelgeuse (29 °02 Gemini - 2020, the Note 2).

Betelgeuse is seen as showing either negative or positive qualities in the planet in contact with it and its location in the horoscope. And 25 ° Gemini is under the strong effect of the Zeta Tauri (ζ Tau), which is almost white, favorable, although it is known that Ptolemy placed it on the horn of Taurus - that is, some effect of aggressiveness is present. There is another point, near the Zeta Tauri located Crab Nebula (exact projection 24 ° 24 Gemini), the remnant of a supernova in 1054, this should increase, theoretically, distorting, adverse effects as from any classical nebula. However, nebulae, as their study shows, are also different (Note 3).

Table of coordinates of the milky Way in the tropical and sidereal system (ayanamsa Lahiri 11.09.2020, 24°08 ' 44, the result is rounded to the nearest integer number of degrees):

  Tropical Sidereal
Southern part of the MW 15° Sagittarius - 15° Capricorn 21° Scorpio - 21° Sagittarius
Northern part of the MW 25° Gemini - 10° Cancer 1° Gemini - 16° Gemini
Interpretation Of The Milky Way

When it comes to the milky Way, it's important to understand some basic things. First, it is not a nebula that consists of dust, gas, and plasma. This is a cluster of many stars in our Galaxy. And if nebulae in astrology are usually associated with a uniquely unfavorable influence, then a mass cluster of stars United in one Galaxy, of which we ourselves are a part, may have a different effect.

So we can't put an "equal" sign between nebulae and the Milky Way, because they are different concepts.

Second, the nature and principle of formation of the Milky Way corresponds to the character of ordinary fixed stars, it moves as a result of precession along with the entire sphere of fixed stars in the sky. This indicates that the Milky Way, also known as the Via Combusta, should be considered exclusively in the sidereal coordinate system, as a condensed group of stars. A Via Combusta cannot be tied to a tropical system and "leave "over time, just as any fixed star cannot" leave " anywhere.

Apparently, the first thing to give up when interpreting the Milky Way is the name "Via Combusta" and the methods of interpretation used by previous generations of astrologers. In fact, we have a mass delusion, attempts to see the "Burning Way" where it is not.

These are harmful fantasies, nothing more. We need to remove the"charges" from the 15°Zodiac sector. Libra - 15° Scorpio on the basis of the lack of astronomical justifications, without which astrologers simply do not have the actual information material to translate it into human language. This does not change the fact that Saturn exalts in the sign of Libra, and Mars controls Scorpio, and perhaps the Libra/Scorpio border crossing has special properties, where Libra no longer has a choice, and Scorpio must follow strict external laws (Saturn exalts in Libra). In horary horoscopes, Scorpio always forces you to exercise more caution, for this you do not need to additionally come up with "Burning Way".

Interpreting the Milky Way poses more interesting and real challenges for astrologers.

First, it must be recognized that this is a shining cluster of stars, this is a space in which, in addition to stars, there are clouds of gas, other dust, black holes, little-studied sources of radiation like pulsars. The Milky Way Galaxy is bound by gravity, has a common magnetic field - this is a fairly coherent, integral phenomenon. In the constellation Sagittarius, where the Center of our Galaxy is located, there is an intense star formation, in fact, this is the birthplace of stars, the maternity hospital of the Galaxy. The origins, the parents of our Galaxy, are also connected with this region. It is no coincidence that the point of appearance of our Galaxy corresponds to the theme of mother's milk, newborns are fed.

The Milky Way has a rich mythological background.

In Ancient Egypt the goddess of the sky Nut was often represented in the form of the Heavenly Cow, there is a Book of the Heavenly Cow popular in the period of the New Kingdom of Egypt in which there was a speech about destruction of the people who rose against god of the sun of Ra. Divine punishment was made by means of an eye of Omniscience which went down on the earth in an image of the goddess Hathor.

Hathor is an ancient Egyptian primeval goddess from whom all others were derived. She is usually depicted as a woman with the head of a cow, ears of a cow, or simply in cow form. In her form as Hesat she is shown as a pure white cow carrying a tray of food on her head as her udders flow with milk. Hathor, along with the goddess Nut, was associated with the Milky Way during the third millennium B.C.

The connection between the Milky Way, cow and milk is obvious.

The Sky goddess Nut/Hathor in Ancient Egypt. "The Huge mother of stars" – so it was called by the inhabitants of ancient Egypt.

In ancient Greece, the Milky Way was called the "milky circle", and was considered one of the 11 other circles that define the sky - these are the zodiac, meridian, horizon, equator, tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Polar and Antarctic circles, and two colored circles passing through both poles. The legend of the milk spilled on the sky is linked, in the most popular version, with the goddess Hero, who did not want to feed the illegitimate son of Zeus from an earthly woman..

And in general, the origin of the word Galaxy, comes from the Greek word for milk. Thus, there are plenty of associations between the Milky Way and the liquid that nourishes newborns.

Interestingly, the ancient Hindus considered the Milky Way to be the milk of an evening red cow passing through the sky. The cow as a whole has a sacred meaning for Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, but, of course, for India it is the most significant animal that personifies abundance, purity, holiness.

In Sanskrit, the Milky Way is called "Ganges of Heaven", in Japan, "Heavenly River".

Comparison with a river is also relevant in Chinese and East Asian mythology (Vietnamese, Korean), where the Milky Way was associated with the silver river.

Among Armenians, Arabs, Jews, Persians, Turks, Bulgarians and Kyrgyz, the Milky Way is steadily associated with scattered straw, with a straw path.

The Kazakhs, Finns, Estonians, Erzyans (Finno-Ugrians), Lithuanians, some Uralic and Turkic languages ​​associate the Milky Way with the flight of birds, the bird path. The Swedes call our galaxy Vintergatan (Winter street).

The Nenets, Khanty, Yakuts, Evenks, Eskimos of southwestern Alaska imagined that the Milky Way was a ski trail.

Pilgrims in Spain, on their way to Compostela, call the Milky Way "The Road to Santiago" because it serves as a guide for them along the way.

Something similar can be found in England, where the Milky Way is called the Walsingham Way, after the Walsingham Mother of God shrine, which is located in Norfolk, England. It was believed that this is either a guide for the pilgrims who flocked there, or an image of the pilgrims themselves.

Astrological interpretation of the Milky Way

I will list the ideas that need to be synthesized in order to successfully interpret the Milky Way. This is the idea of feeding a newborn, the idea of supporting a new life, the idea of plurality and mass, the idea of creating a light effect, the idea of a general flow and directional movement, the idea of birth, the idea of a landmark in the spiritual world. Perhaps it makes sense to mention the ancient association with a Burning Way.

So, my version of the interpretation of the Milky Way is as follows: this zone is associated with the idea of ​​birth, gradual strengthening, maturation, integration into the general flow of energy and development of our Galaxy in general and earthly civilization in particular, it is the source of the oldest energy in our Galaxy, the place of contact with the progenitors of the Galaxy. There is a theme of diversity, a theme of many possibilities that are difficult to realize due to the many ideas. The southern part of the Milky Way (Antares side) is more tinged with immaturity of ideas, many multidirectional possibilities than the North (Aldebaran side). The North side, according to old astrological traditions, is always more favorable than the South, it has the idea of ​​moderation, a sense of proportion.

The Milky Way entirely contains the idea of ​​unification, kinship, carrying light, impulse to birth within our Galaxy, therefore, for example, planets and stars located in the interval of 25 ° Gemini - 10 ° Cancer will always be connected "by one chain" with planets in the area of ​​15 ° Sagittarius - 15 ° Capricorn, we can talk about the similarity of the combination of the energies of these planets by a common movement and purpose. How this will be realized in horoscopes will have to be answered in time. The first thing that comes to mind is that the planets located in the Northern and Southern parts of the Milky Way should have an effect of kinship, similarity of interests, and the oppositions of these planets (for example, 28 ° Gemini - 28 ° Sagittarius) should be softened and ennobled.

There is another key to tuning to the Galactic Center. If this is the birthplace of the stars of our Galaxy, then it gave birth to our Sun too. In astrology, the Sun is a symbol of the Father, hence the Center of the Galaxy is a symbol of Grandfather.

* Additions to the interpretation of the Galactic Center

The Galactic Center, now at 27°02 Sagittarius, is the quintessential, most striking manifestation of the southern part of the Milky Way. This is more compressed, directed, powerful energy from a star formation source, energy that is difficult to control. Perhaps we are talking about energy, which can be for the good of a person only if the interests of a person are subordinated to the Higher Galactic. I found the enthusiastic opinion of an astrologer from Canada Paul Hewitt: "The Center of our Milky Way Galaxy is proving to be a fascinating and practical addition to my clients' charts. Having studied it for 12 years now, my observations would indicate that it is probably the second strongest spot in any astrology chart, following the Sun. It is a stunning source of energy, motivation, and aspiration. The Galactic Center is the Sun of our Sun. It is the source of most of the gravitational energy present in our galaxy, and probably the source of most of the energy in any chart, transformed through our own Sun."

Perhaps the truth is somewhere near. According to astronomers calculations, the Galactic Center could really shine in the sky comparable to the Moon on a full moon, if it were not hidden from the eyes by dense dark gas-dust clouds that absorb visible, but transmit intense radio and infrared radiation.

The reasons for the many variations of the Via Combusta

The discrepancy between astrologers in determining the boundaries of the Burnt Way is explained by the loss of knowledge that this is a projection of the Milky Way. At the same time, the width of the Burnt Way in its most popular version and the Milky Way in the Southern section near Antares coincides - 30 °.

In the era of the Pythagoreans, with whom our conversation began, about 500 years BC, the boundaries of the Milky Way were projected onto the ecliptic (relying on the already known reference stars) within 10 ° Scorpio - 10 ° Sagittarius.

In a more ancient era, from where the ideas of using the Milky Way in astrology could theoretically go, this zone shifts even further, towards the modern sign of Libra:

- 1500 BC borders were 25 ° Libra - 25 ° Scorpio

- 2500 B.C. the borders were 11 ° Libra - 11 ° Scorpio

Exact correspondence of the Milky Way borders and the ancient astrological borders of the via Combusta 15 ° Libra - 15 ° Scorpio was observed in 2270-2280 BC.

Ruslan Susi, 09.09.

* Since the topic is so deep that it requires new clarifications and research, this article can be considered incomplete, and it will be updated.

NOTES

1. Almost always, however, within the Via Combusta it is customary to make an exception for degrees near the lucky star Spica.

2. About the star Betelgeuse. Recently, publications of astronomers have appeared about Betelgeuse, who believe that this star may explode in the near future and become a supernova, the brightness of which for several months will be comparable to the Moon. Naturally, this event is unique, to some extent it can be compared with the explosion of a supernova in 1604, but that explosion occurred at a distance of 20 times further than Betelgeuse is in our time.

3. About nebulae. In astrology, nebulae are used as an unfavorable factor, often associated, for example, with poor eyesight. However, in astronomy, nebulae have a different character. Namely, they are divided into light and dark (!). If a nebula absorbs light, then it is dark, if it emits or reflects light, then it is light. Read more about nebula classification. Inside the Crab Nebula, for example, a pulsar rotates at a rate of 30 revolutions per second, creating a constant stream of X-rays. In astronomy, the Crab Nebula is used as a calibration source for radiation detecting instruments. The influence of pulsars in astrology has not yet been studied. According to astronomical criteria, the Crab Nebula is emitting, light.