Interpretation of The Charts
See also: Geomantic figuresThe shield chart most likely provided an early visual guide to generating the figures, and the interpreted answer would center on the fifteenth and sixteenth figures, the Judge and Reconciler. Skilled geomancers observe the whole chart, interpreting (among other things) meanings of the figures based on where they place in the chart, the numerical significance of the total points, and the similarities produced by added figures. Generally, the Judge represents the answer to the question, the Right Witness describes the querent's side of the query, the Left Witness represents the quesited's side, and the Reconciler represents the effect of the outcome (or Judge) upon the querent. The skilled geomancer can dedeuce root causes to the situation, hidden influences, the outcome and its aftermath, and general trends and events in the querent's life through interpreting the chart.
One division of the shield chart for interpretation involves triplets of the figures called triplicities. Each triplicity contains two of the Mothers or two of the Daughters and the Niece that results from them. They can be interpreted in a manner similar to the Witnesses and Judge, in that the right parent represents the past, the child the present, and the left parent the future; another way to interpret such a triplet views the right parent as the querent's side, allies, resources, and opinions, the left parent as the quesited's side, and the child as the interaction of the two sides.
| Triplicity | Figures Involved | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| First Triplicity | First Mother, Second Mother, First Niece | The querent's health, disposition, outlooks, and habits. Current trends in the querent's life. |
| Second Triplicity | Third Mother, Fourth Mother, Second Niece | The influences in the querent's life at the time of the reading. Factors that shape the querent's life and the situation surrounding the query. |
| Third Triplicity | First Daughter, Second Daughter, Third Niece | The places most frequented by the querent, including the home and the workplace. People and objects found at those places. Family, partners, and housemates of the querent. |
| Fourth Triplicity | Third Daughter, Fourth Daughter, Fourth Niece | Friends, associates, coworkers, colleagues of the querent, as well as people in authority over the querent. Situations and factors caused by external sources. |
Another method of evaluating a geomantic chart involves taking the total sum of all points from 16 figures within the shield chart. In order to evaluate how quickly the queried situation would resolve, Pietro d'Abano suggested that the total sum be compared to the sum of all points in the sixteen geomantic figures, which is 96. If the sum of the chart is 96, then the resolution of the query will be "swift, and neither slow nor doubtful;" in other words, that all things that could be acted upon in the situation described by the query would resolve without delay nor ahead of schedule. If the sum is less than 96, then it will resolve quickly, and in a degree proportional to the difference between 96 and the total. Conversely, if the sum is more than 96, then it will resolve slowly.
European geomancers provided an alternate method of interpreting the figures through the house chart, which feature the twelve astrological houses. Here, they assign the figures from the shield chart to the houses in the house chart; the order used differs between different circles of occultists. While European geomancers still used the shield chart to generate the figures and provide most answers, they augmented geomancy with astrological techniques in the house chart. Based upon the query, they could provide a deeper insight into the querent's life, factors shaping the query itself, and the extent of the situations involved. They took note when several houses shared the same figure; as this figure passes from one house to the next, it generally indicates that the same situation or event affects each of those houses.
Pietro d'Abano discusses the primary modes of perfection used in geomantic interpretations with significators in his geomancy essay. In astrological geomancy, the significators are chosen based upon the identity of the querent and the identity of the quesited. Generally, except when the querent asks about a situation about a subject with no immediate connection to themselves, the querent's significator is located in the first house (see Derivative house). The quesited's significator is identified based upon the focus of the query: this is based upon the relation of the query to the astrological houses. Some questions require more than two significators, such as in a query involving several primary factors (e.g. two parties quarelling over an estate). Queries that have a yes-or-no, or possible-impossible, answer can easily be answered with these modes of perfection. If the chart perfects, the answer is "yes"; otherwise, in the case of denial of perfection, "no". The nature of the figures themselves should also be considered; if a chart perfects with negative figures, for instance, the matter will resolve but the querent may not like the result. On the other hand, if the chart does not perfect but the figures are good, then the matter will not resolve even though the querent can make do successfully without it.
| Mode of perfection | Interaction of the figures | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Occupation | The querent's significator and the quesited's significator are the same figure. | A natural connection between querent and quesited. The matter will resolve by the querent's own nature without extra effort. |
| Conjunction | One of the significators moves to a house directly beside the house of the other significator. | The querent and quesited meet each other. The significator that moves shows which party must work to attain the resolution: if the querent's significator moves to the quesited's, then the querent will need to work for the resolution. Otherwise, the quesited will work things out without need from the querent. |
| Mutation | The two significators appear next to each other elsewhere in the chart. | The resolution will come by some unexpected or unusual manner. Try new avenues that wouldn't normally be expected. |
| Translation | The same figure appears in houses directly beside the houses of the significators. | The resolution will come through a third party. A mediator will help bridge the gap between the querent and quesited. |
| Denial | No connection exists between the two significators. | The lack of perfection in a chart. The querent and quesited cannot reach each other. No resolution. |
In addition to modes of perfection, geomancers often took note of aspects between those figures that passed to other houses, and especially ones that made aspects to the significators. Often, when a chart denied perfection, geomancers would observe how the significators aspected each other; the aspects here retain similar meanings from astrology.
Christopher Cattan advocates using the strength of the astrological houses in determining the resolution. By observing the nature of the figures (good or ill, depending on the query) and what type of house they fall in (angular, succedent, or cadent), he judges the total effect of the figures on the query. The figures that fall in cadent houses have little to no effect, those that fall in succedent houses have a transient effect, and those that fall in angular houses have the strongest and most lasting effect upon the query.
Other examples of astrological technique used in geomancy include assigning zodiacal rulerships to the geomantic figures, linking geomantic figures to parts of the body based on zodiacal rulers, and assigning planetary spirits, intelligences, and genii to the figures based on their ruling planets.
Read more about this topic: Geomancy
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