Many other curious things might be called to your attention, even to the order of these planetary rulings in the foetus, and embryo before birth.

For this lesson I will give a primary idea of reading, just as a hint of how to use the wheel. Suppose the date of birth is April 16.

Of course, I can tell without looking at wheel or anything else, that the 15th of April is somewhere near the 25th degree of Aries. That comes to me by practice. All quick and ready conclusions come by practice. No one can do anything easily except by practice. I learned to walk and to talk, and to eat and drink in a civilized manner by practice. Sleeping is about the only thing that I can think of that comes to us without practice. Our body, or our brain are nothing but machines. If we want to get good work, or good results from either of them, we must learn to use them by practice. There is no royal road to mental knowledge nor to physical power except by practice, yet, some at birth are equipped with better mental or physical machines to practice with, than others are. Thought is but a mode of mechanism, man is a spiritual machine. We are now trying to learn the calibre and the "make," of the mental not the physical machinery of a person born April 15, without year or hour. All men (or mentalities) on that day are mental machines of the self same make; from the self same manufactory in the heavens, no matter who the mortal workman was that produced it, nor what particular filigrees, or extra accoutrements he has put with it, or with what carelessless he performed his work.

The metal used in the construction of every mental machine made on the 15th of April, is from the same great eternal mental caldron of the heavens, watched over and guarded by the sun and his chief compounder of metals, (Vulcan) who invariably sends to earth each particular day, the self same Basic qualities of Sun's rays, called "Manna."

Whoever eats of this "manna," to multiply or to increase the life of man on earth in mental or mortal state, must partake of the self same "manna" that others partake of on the self same day, because there is no other.

To understand what Astrology is, this philosophical digression from the straight course of the lesson, is of far more importance to comprehend than all the mathmetical tables, and horoscopes and plannets born under, and is of greater value than all the thumb rules, or the morbid evacuation of As-trologic lexicons, copied and recopied by compilers who quite often fail, even to comprehend the meaning of the words therein used. No doubt the intention of these gleaners are good, and, their efforts are to good purpose in awakening the slumbering spirit in man, but, "hell is paved with good intentions."

It is better to get at the Truth, if we can, without the perplexities of the hell state, or at least it is better to pass on from that state as quickly as the mind is able to grasp the straight and the narow pathway to Astrologic Truth, and to get away from those delusive paths that promise dollars to the purse, for the purpose of piling misery upon the soul. The laws of Truth do not differ much from the laws of Error, but, "a miss is as good as a mile." Now to the lesson:

I said that by practice I would immediately say April 15, would be about the 25th degree of Aries, but if I stop a minute to think I would say 24th degree, because the sun, as shown on the wheel enters Aries, each year, on the 21st of March generally. It varies a little. To prove this we look on the wheel in the Circle of Days, and we find April 15, is the dividing line between the 5th and 6th ring, from the Cusp of Aries. Each ring represents 5 days, then 5 times 5 is 25, showing that April 15 is the 25th day after the sun enters Aries. Now, the sun moves forward one degree per day, therefore if it is 25 days since the sun crossed the Cusp of Aries, then the sun must be in the 25th degree of Aries, on the 15th of April. But is it? To be more sure I look at the wheel at the Cusp of Aries, and it says 21 March under the picture of the lamb, therefore it is the 21th. But some people cannot do it this way. So we use a straight edge running out from the left nostril of the photo, and that hits it near enough for those who cannot do fine work.

We know it is in Aries, anyway, and the Tablet for Aries says "Independent"

Now we know the foundation quality of the person born on April 15, and, no matter what his horoscope or his stars may say for good or for bad after that, we know that he will use everything that they give him in some sort of an independent way, and quite differently from the same gifts in the lives of other people of the Zodiac. Of course an independent man will use a dollar, or a club, quite differently than a servile cowed down slave, hence it is impossible to judge the good or the evil of dollars or clubs, without first knowing what kind of a fellow, is going to use them. Then, again, perhaps an independent fellow might not need as many dollars nor as many clubs as one who is dependent upon such things. Herein lies the key to the law of judgement in Astrology, and True Astrology is the judgement, and not the figure of the heavens. If you have no power to judge, then ten thousand figures and ten thousand books would never do you any good in Astrology.

The one word, "Independent,"suggests a host of ideas to anyone who knows how to apply it. There are various kinds of independence; so we next want to know what kind of independence this fellow has, born on the 15th of April. So we see what the De-canate is on the outter edge of Aries.

The 25th or 24th degree of Aries, is right over the 3d Decanate, and the Decanate is marked Venus.

Well, the Decanate is ruled by Venus, so the independence is of the Venus type. But, of what type is the independence of itself; that kind that rules the whole sign.

Look into the little three-cornered space, over the symbol of Aries, and it says, "Lord Mars." That means that Mars rules the whole of Aries, but the last Decanate is sub-ruled by Venus, just as a governor rules a state, while a city in that state is sub-ruled by a mayor. The mayor has to obey the laws of the state, although chief of the city. So Venus sub-rules the particular kind of martial independence which the person born March 15, possesses. Instead of saying "sub-ruler," in Astrology, we use the term "Modifyer."Therefore Venus modifies the martial independence. In reality there is no ruling of these places by any planets, unless the planets are actually in those places, but the quality of the planets and the places they are said* to rule, are of similar nature. Ancient Astrologers, instead of using such volumes of words, as we today use to express a few ideas, used a Very few signs by which they could express volumes of ideas. By looking at the signs on the wheel and the Lords of the Signs, and then at the Tablets of the Signs, and we get a complete idea of the nature of the signs and also of the planets.