At the time of the disaster we find the following arcs of direction measured in the prime vertical to be in operation—
Moon opposition Uranus,
Sun conjunction Uranus,
Moon parallel Mars,
while the Moon by secondary direction, that is, accounting one day after birth for each year of life and two hours for every month, was in 26° of Aries, exactly the longitude of the catastrophic planet Uranus at the time of birth!
Compare this horoscope with that of the ill-fated Captain of the Titanic. According to the local record Captain Smith was born at Handley, Staffs., on the 27th of January, 1850. Here again we find the luminaries in opposition to one another as in the horoscope of Mr. Stead, and both are afflicted by the aspect of Mars. The time of birth was probably at about five o’clock in the afternoon, when the planet Neptune would be in the 8th House and Saturn and Uranus in the 9th division of the heavens. Sixty-two days after birth the planet Uranus had reached the Mid-heaven of the horoscope, and on the day of the disaster Mercury was in transit over the same point, while the great symbol of death and destruction, an eclipse of the Sun, fell in 27° of Aries on the 17th of April, close to the Mid-heaven of this horoscope and on that of Mr. Stead’s horoscope. Further, the Moon at the birth of Captain Smith was in the 4th degree of Leo and on the day of the disaster Uranus was transiting the exact opposition in Aquarius 4. Moreover, at the time of the sailing of the Titanic from Belfast to undertake her ill-fated maiden voyage, the 5th degree of Cancer was rising, and on the day of the disaster Mars had reached this exact degree of the zodiac, being in 4° 56´ of Cancer at Noon.
No case that could be submitted more fully and completely illustrates the folly of disregarding the symbolism of the heavens, or more forcibly accentuates the need of human conspiracy in regard to cosmical agencies. Man has harnessed some of the most potent forces of Nature and has constrained them to his service, but for some as yet undiscovered reason he prefers to remain in ignorance of the laws which relate him to his greater cosmical environment. We have imagined that by controlling these natural forces we have asserted our mastery over destiny. The heavens from out the immeasurable depths of space are the silent witnesses of our folly and arrogance. The same stars that fought against Sisera fight ever against the man who is ignorant of the laws of the universe which condition him. We are fated to the extent that we are ignorant of those laws, and culpable to the degree that we disregard those that we know. The sea, the vessels that are afloat upon it and all their human freight, are as nearly touched and as surely disposed by interplanetary action and cosmical forces as are the molecules of air and water that constitute the winds and waves. Never a ship was keeled or launched but into it were compounded the elements that respond to the great heart-beat of Nature. That man should use all his faculties to the greatest possible advantage to himself and through himself to the race at large, that he should put forth all his powers in the effort to master the forces which appear to be in conflict with him, would appear to be his supreme duty and his highest guerdon. But there is a more convenient and less dangerous way. Instead of defying the forces of Nature he can make use of them, instead, of ignoring the laws of Nature he can adapt himself to them. This is called the covert agreement. It is the ancient wisdom, the simple way, and those who anciently observed it found it to be effectual for good. Those ancient Britains who thought Canute to be so great that he could set back the ocean tides were of that order of Titans who would measure their strength with the Almighty. We, who have understood the laws governing the tides, have gained a mastery over them by the simple means of adaptation. In this instance we have adapted ourselves to Nature. It is possible to extend the process to include the election of times and seasons for any purpose whatsoever. Solomon, who is regarded by the average man as an inconsequent babbler of effete doctrine, affirmed that there is a time for every purpose under the heavens. A closer study of this doctrine of elections—as the proper choice of time for specific purposes is called in Astrology—would lead men to take a conscious part in the conspiracy of well-doing, by the adjustment of action to purpose and of both to astral and cosmical conditions. This would be infinitely better than “taking one’s chance,” and certainly more in conformity with the spirit of true religion. But before we can do this we shall have to instruct ourselves more generally in the symbolism of the universe and the reading of those symbols which from the beginning were set and appointed to us for “signs and for seasons, for days and for years.”
A knowledge of cosmical symbolism and of the facts of planetary interaction is that to which science will inevitably be compelled, and which sooner or later it will recognize as essential to a true concept of the relations of man to his greater environment. And when this system of Anthrocosmology shall have been established, as assuredly it will be, then will humanity perceive in all humility that God, and not Britannia, rules the waves, and that the planets are his agents.
CHAPTER X
THE LAW OF CYCLES
It has already been shown that from most ancient times the Law of Periodicity was known and expounded. We find reference to it in the Vishnu Puràna which deals with the great periods of cosmic manifestation and activity, called Manvantaras, and the corresponding periods of obscuration and quiescence known as Pralayas. These are shown to have an astronomical basis and to have been directly related (a) to the period of Precession known as the Great Year of Plato, and (b) to the inclination of the Earth’s axis to the plane of the Ecliptic. For whereas the Precession, from whatever source arising, is found to be approximately 50´´ per year, the diminution of the Earth’s axial inclination is found to be 50´´ per century. Thus the Precessional Year is 25,920 years, and the other 2,592,000 years in extent.