How Mercury Retrograde Works

Mercury retrograde animation in the heliocentric theory

It shows Mercury moving across the horoscope. When the red dot moves in the opposite direction, Mercury is said to be retrograde. In this animation, the yellow disc is the Sun. Mercury orbits the Sun, and the red dot shows its position seen from Earth.

Ptolemy’s question and the geocentric theory

The Moon and the Sun do not move retrograde. Why do the five other planets go direct and retrograde?
The conclusion Ptolemy reached was that the five planets move very complexly.

It is an animation of planets’ motion from the geocentric theory’s perspective. It shows the motion of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and the Sun, with the Earth at the center.

Mercury’s motion as seen from Earth

A simulation of Mercury’s motion around the Sun at noon every day from October 2024 to December 2025 shows how we see from Earth. [by Stellarium]

Horary Astrology Step by Step

The third book I translated, “Horary Astrology Step by Step,” by Petros Eleftheriadis, my horary mentor, is published in April 2024. This is the afterword I wrote for the Japanese version.

“Takeshi, I hope the question is important to you.”

As usual, when I contacted Petros sensei about the subject matter of the final exam, he replied immediately.
To complete the Traditional Horary course (QHP), I had to complete a final assignment, predicting the future using a Horary chart. I chose one of the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches as my last assignment. Looking back, I did not understand as much the importance of that reply as I do now.
What does it mean by “the question is important to me”? Continue reading “Horary Astrology Step by Step”

The Houses: Temples of the Sky

In December 2023, the second book I translated was published, “The Houses: Temples of the Sky” by Deborah Houlding. This book first appeared in 1997 and was republished in 2007 by The Wessex Astrologer Ltd. I am pleased to have completed translating this book into Japanese with the support of Taigensha (Natural Spirit Ltd.).

Deborah Holding, the author, studied at Qualifying Horary Practitioner. Similarly, I pursued learning within the very same program. Though our paths never directly crossed, this translation has forged a connection. Continue reading “The Houses: Temples of the Sky”

New Book: Traditional Predictive Astrology for Modern Astrologers

This December, I published a new book from Taigensha Co.,Ltd. This is the first book to explain traditional astrological prediction methods in Japan. It guides modern astrology enthusiasts with at least two years of experience and those beginning to learn traditional astrology. The purpose of this book is two-fold: to reread one’s birth chart while learning the four predictive techniques. It also shows the discrepancies between modern and traditional astrology and rearranges them as two different divination techniques. Continue reading “New Book: Traditional Predictive Astrology for Modern Astrologers”