JFK PSSR - Mean or Apparent?

[Jim Eshelman]

I just came across another interesting example toward the question of whether PSSRs should be calculated by mean or apparent rate. (Steve, both calculations I give below should probably be double-checked.)

I want to find all the examples of PSSRs Fagan and Bradley published (all Apparent rate) and see if they really do hold up better that way. In the March 1964 issue of American Astrology, "Garth Allen" gave his backward-looking analysis of JFK's assassination. (Remember, he had predicted the assassination or something similar in the November 1963 issue.) One example he gave was Kennedy's PSSR (Apparent rate, of course), and here are the relevant facts from the chart he gave:

23°15' Cap t Saturn
24°51' Ari r Mars
26°03' Lib PSSR MC

8°02' Cap PSSR Asc
9°05' Can r Neptune

Bradley wrote: "...horror of horrors, to the shame of those whose business it is to protect our President in every feasible way, the President was permitted to visit a particular locality where, on the day of the visit, his natal Mars was crossing the meridian, squared by Saturn, at the same time his natal Neptune was on the Descendant.

Well... that sounds pretty great... except the orbs aren't at all impressive. Natal Mars is closer to 2° from PSSR IC than 1°, and, even if we allow that this is because of a minute or two error in the even-hour birth time, transiting Saturn isn't within 1° of square natal Mars either. (The Neptune hit is tight. Of course, if the MC is moved on a birthtime shift so the Mars is partile, then the Neptune isn't.)


Now, for comparison, I estimated the Mean rate PSSR and get the following:

23°05' Cap t Saturn
23°26' Cap PSSR EP
------------------------
27°31' Ari r Mercury
28°17' Lib PSSR MC
28°52' Cap s Saturn

Seems to me the Mean rate is quite on-target with this one.

PS - Something the article didn't mention is that transiting Mars was 0°01' from square PSSR Moon (I think he only looked at the angles, not the progressed chart). Also, the SQ was at least as on-target, with

26°18' Sco t Mars
26°41' Sco SQ Asc
27°13' Sco t Venus

[SteveS]

Janus JFK PSSR MC apparent 26,05 Lib
Janus JFK PSSR MC mean 29,35 Lib
Janus JFK PSSR EP mean 24,26 Cap
Jim wrote:

Seems to me the Mean rate is quite on-target with this one.

I agree Jim.

[Jim Eshelman]

Thanks, Steve. They were close.

The frequency with which Mean tops Apparent are getting too common. (I think so far there has been no case where Apparent has been better/closer AND the Mean hasn't at least adequately shown the event. Usually, the Mean has been better/closer.)

We're a long way from being done with this, but I at least want to make it easy for people to check this on their own. I just updated and simplified my PSSR calculation spreadsheet, especially making Mean rate easier than it was.
https://solunars.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=234

You can also get a damn close estimate of Mean rate PSSR in Solar Fire by defining a User Progression Rate of 0.003430114.

[SteveS]

Jim wrote:

We're a long way from being done with this, but I at least want to make it easy for people to check this on their own. I just updated and simplified my PSSR calculation spreadsheet, especially making Mean rate easier than it was.
https://solunars.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=234

You can also get a damn close estimate of Mean rate PSSR in Solar Fire by defining a User Progression Rate of 0.003430114.

Very Jim. It's good the PSSR's are being looked at with more detail. It is obvious the PSSR is an important layer of Sidereal Astrology.

[Jim Eshelman]

Since I said I would track through all the Fagan and Bradley examples of PSSRs, I should mention that Fagan used JFK's fatal PSSR as an example in the April, 1964 issue, and got an Ascendant of 28° Capricorn. He was quite pleased that it conjoined SSR Saturn.

I notice that this differs from the better calculations above, so the analysis is: His math was wrong, his chart is invalid. But by the mean rate we get PSSR MC square the same Saturn anyway.

[Jupiter Sets at Dawn]

I wonder... I remember the old Sidereal ephemerides, and trying to work from the Tropical ones available at the time. And some little discussion of which ephemerides were more accurate.

I know digging through what was available at the time, I got different results using different people's formulas. Might just have been my (lack of) math skills.

But.. was it a mistake in Fagan's or Bradley's math? Or was it something else? Or some of both? I know some ephemerides didn't give positions for every day. I remember the glad cries when The American Sidereal Ephemeris came out.

Was it American Astrology or Dell Horoscope that had an aspectarian and ingresses into tropical signs in the back? I know some of us tried to figure out our own Solars and Lunars from that. What a wonder Astro.com is.