Aphesis

Aphesis

What is Aphesis (Zodiacal Releasing)

Aphesis (from the Greek Aphesis — letting go, releasing) is a powerful predictive astrology technique from the Hellenistic period, revived in modern times thanks to translations of ancient texts by Vettius Valens. In contemporary English-speaking astrology, it is widely known as Zodiacal Releasing.

This technique allows you to divide a person’s life into clear periods and sub-periods to determine when specific themes of the natal chart (career, relationships, health) will become highly active, reach a culmination, or undergo a crisis.

How the method works The calculation of Aphesis always begins from one of the Arabic Lots (most commonly the Lot of Fortune or the Lot of Spirit), which serves as the starting point. A chronological countdown is launched from the zodiac sign in which the chosen Lot is located.

Each zodiac sign rules a specific period of life. The duration of the period in years is strictly tied to the planet ruling that sign, according to its “minor years”:

When the period of the first sign ends, rulership passes to the next zodiac sign in order.

Nested Sub-periods Like a fractal, each major sign period is divided into sub-periods that last for months rather than years (where 1 astrological month equals 30 days). Sub-periods, in turn, are divided into days, and so on (up to four levels of nesting). The distribution of time within sub-periods follows the same principle: the sign of Aries lasts 15 months, Taurus 8 months, etc.

Loosing of the Bond One of the most important features of the Aphesis method is the phenomenon of the “Loosing of the Bond”. When the cycle of sub-periods within a major period reaches the end of the zodiacal wheel and should start over, a jump occurs. Rulership does not pass to the first sign of the cycle, but to the sign opposite to the one currently ruling the major period.

Astrologically, this moment signifies a sharp, unexpected change of scenery, a sudden turn of fate, or a change in life course regarding the themes of the selected Lot.

Application

Implementation in the Zeus Program

The left column calculates Aphesis periods and sub-periods. The right column calculates sub-sub-periods and sub-sub-sub-periods.

The object for which Aphesis should be calculated is selected using the Object control. For the most part, the items in this control are Zodiac signs. This allows you to perform the calculation for any object simply by specifying the sign it is in.

The Periods slider allows you to expand the calculation time interval by cyclically repeating the full Zodiac wheel.

By clicking on a sub-period row, you can see its corresponding sub-sub-periods in the right table.

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