INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAXIMIZING USE OF THE URANIAN BEACON / URANIAN INSTITUTE WEBSITE

MAXIMIZING YOUR VIEW OF THE WEBPAGES

All pages are best viewed in "Full Page" mode.   If you are viewing through the Explorer program, tapping the F11 key on your keyboard will take you back and forth between full screen and partial screen views.`

USING DISPLAYED CHARTS FOR STUDY WITH TEXT

It is possible to start up a second copy of your internet server (Explorer, or Netscape) and thus open two copies of a webpage at the same time.  If you do this, you can center the chart under study on your screen and then toggle back and forth between the chart and the text displayed on the second copy of the webpage by pressing the "ALT" and "TAB" keys simultaneously.

ABBREVIATIONS

A variety of systems of astrological abbreviations have been proposed here and there.  On the Beacon, we had at one time proposed an international system which is intermediate between major European languages; however, we have returned to an English-based abbreviation system to go with English text, as many readers found the non-English factors confusing. 

Thus, d is used to indicate solar arc directed positions.  Some authors place the d before the pertinent planets, and others after.  On the Beacon, we have placed it before the planets so that they are immediately distinguishable from radix (natal) or transiting positions.

t indicates transiting positions.

r indicates radix, or natal, positions, when they need to be distinguished from directed or transiting positions.   If no letter precedes a planet or planetary picture, it is assumed that the position is a radix/natal position.

The planets and signs are indicated with two-letter abbreviations.   The most problematic contrast arose over distinguishing Cancer from Capricorn.  The conclusion was to follow "C" by the only letter that clearly differentiates the two, thus Cancer is CE and Capricorn is CP.   The planet names are similar enough in all languages so that they are minimally problematic.  Note also that SA is Saturn and SG is Sagittarius.

The following table summarizes:

TIME RECORDING

All times are given in 24-hour notation, in accordance with international and scientific and technical standards, and consciousness of the need to work with standards which promote international cooperative study and research. "PM" times can be converted simply by subtracting 12 hours.  The hour and minute are separated by an "h", the international convention that normally indicates 24-hour notation, and differs from the : used in traditional 12 hour/AM/PM notations.  [Note that the USA is one of the very few countries where the 24-hour clock notations (as well as the metric system)  are still not yet used widely in daily practice].  More detailed times may be indicated in such formats as 14h52m12s.

Time zones are indicated by the international notation 1hE or 1hW, as examples, the first meaning 1 hour East of Greenwich (UT), and the second meaning 1 hour West of Greenwich (UT).

LT means Local Time, or Sun Time.  (The Abbreviation LST was abandoned, since it is frequently also used to indicate Local Sidereal Time, used in computer and manual calculations of the MC and AS.)

We have chosen astrological charts and graphs drawn on the Special Uranian astrology program by Aureas Software.  Aureas Software has been a leader in astrological research in Europe for a number of years, and merits use of its program for our presentations, due to their consistent and ongoing dedication to astrological research.

CREDITS

A very special thanks goes to Uranian Astrologer Ruth Brummund for sharing her many insights in German, translated into English by the Beacon webkeeper for us all to learn from.   Ms Brummund has been an outstandingly prolific contributor to Hamburg School Astrology through the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, and brought Uranian Astrology up to date with international developments.  It is a very special honor to present Ms Brummund's latest articles on the Beacon.

There is still debate over whether astrology is an art or a science or both.  Our perspective on the Beacon is that despite resistance from more traditional and dogmatic members of the scientific community, astrology has its place in the sciences, perhaps more closely aligned with social and behavioral sciences.   Scientific method can potentially serve to clear out antiquated dogma still parroted among astrologers and make astrology more reliable and respectable.  It can, unfortunately, also be used by the devious to defame astrology; yet this should not deter us from continuing with legitimate research.   Astrology has had to contend with the abuses and prejudices of the ignorant for centuries.  Yet it has survived because, when properly practiced, it is valid.  At the beginning of the 20th century, fields such as psychology and sociology still dealt with similar resistance.  Nonetheless, they were accepted due to the serious application and research of their scholars and practitioners.  Perhaps it is time for people of similar mentality to take the lead in the field of astrology, and upgrade the quality of our field.

[It should also be noted that the use of the Moon and Star symbol, similar to that used in the Islamic religion, on a number of Beacon pages, is purely coincidental and is not to be construed as an endorsement of any specific world religion, one way or another.]

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