Vettius Valens' Indicators of Violent Death

© 1997 David Stricker


In determining violent death, Valens gives six different indications from the chart. (Vol. VIII of Greek Track, p.14) - Project Hindsight

  1. "When the lord of the Conjunction or Whole Moon* of the nativity should happen to be in aversion to the zoidion or should fall amiss* while being witnessed by a malefic, it indicates violent death."
  2. "Similarly also, if Hermes should be opposed to the Whole Moon while being witnessed by a malefic, it produces a bad cause of death."
  3. "And if Kronos or Ares or Hermes should be present upon zoidion of the fortieth day, it indicates violent death." Valens discusses the 40th day of the Moon in Book I, p. 37-38. Basically what he is doing is looking at the sign that the Moon is in on the 40th day after birth. Then he is looking to see if there are aspects to this place by benefics or malefics.
  4. "Similarly also, when malefics happen to be upon the descendant or pre-descendant, they also produce violent death and causes of ailments and bad deaths."
  5. "And the eighth place from the Horoskopos (the Ascendant) also possesses the same power in relation to the causes of death.."
  6. "and similarly with the 8th place from the Lot of Fortune (He calls this the deadly place in his examples). It is necessary then, to examine upon what zoidion the Lot (of Fortune) and its lord happen to be. For these zoidia the cause of death are shown ahead of time, since when the Moon (which is fortune) is conjoined cosmically with the Sun in Aries, it caused an eclipse and subtraction of light in the 8th zoidion, in Scorpio, whereby it has been called its depression."

Valens then describes how each zoidion is destroyed by the one that is eight signs away. He then adds some other considerations.

"But in a different manner, it will be necessary to employ as well the causes of injury and ailments for each zoidion in order for the quality of death to be easily surveyed. And the co-presence or witnessing of each one of the stars joins in introducing a cause for death out of its own nature. It is necessary then to consider how the places and the lords are situated and by what stars they are witnessed, either by congenial ones or opposing, and to make a judgement accordingly. For when the malefics are present upon the places or are witnesses for the rulers, they produce violent deaths. But when benefics are, they produce deaths through allegations or toil or injury or ailments or the onset of fevers."









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