Firmicus Maternus: Mathesis, with Benjamin Dykes

[@TheModernHermeticist]

I'm working on the medieval Hermetic Book of Six Principles of Things and Firmicus is a really important source, so thank you as always for all this.

[@ewadsworth]

Modern Hermeticist in the house!!🎉 🤘🏽

[@TECHN0]

Every time Ben Dykes is on, it’s a freaking delight!

[@ewadsworth]

💯

[@ryanmkeisling9089]

These last two are exceptional and erudite. Great work all around. Much appreciated!

[@astrohypepinkblackvivi]

Thank you Chris. And also many thanks to Benjamin. I love Benjamin translation book of Abu Mashar. This book reminded me a lot of an astrologer, teacher guru in the very "far past" of mine. We are all relive our past lives to repeat the cycle of reincarnation. The missions of our soul and karmic cycle need to be fulfilled to fruition. Especially with humans who bring knowledge to the masses collective humanity. Enlighten the human consciousness. Through writings, books and transferring knowledges. In my very humble opinion, Firmicus might have read the whole context of configuration charts and made his predictions for the whole life of the natives by his INTUITION. I have been doing this quite a lot for some times through out my astrology practices. This might be why he did not explain much in his books the techniques. Astrology have to be mainstream. Because it is more than an amazing tool to help humans improve their life.

[@tarjaenoranta1687]

I have been waiting for this episode and it's so good. Thank you both!

[@DraconicFeathers]

We're using the James Herschel Holden translation in my Year III Fundamentals of Astrology class with Austin Coppock, and this video still managed to add layers upon layers of illuminating insight and understanding of the Mathesis and the potentials of Astrology it illustrates. Book VII is very interesting!

[@robertwasylyk6537]

I had Holden’s version on my list, but as soon as I saw Ben’s, I bought it. So excited to get it (and glad I held out!)

[@Traceylgo]

Everything you record is so educational ✨❤️ thank you for being awesome!!! ✨😽😽

[@melissamoore521]

Completely the AWESOME! Noone else comes close!

[@rok_koritnik]

I'm glad Firmicus is finally getting the deserved recognition. And btw, I like his bombastic style 😉

[@MayasDream]

How wonderful to see you two together again. This is an excellent dialogue, a classic!

[@herkimerblue3772]

Great conversation, thank you, I look forward to Ben's future translations.

[@ewadsworth]

Exciting episode and translation! Thank you Ben! Looking sharp too 😁😉. Thanks Chris! Very fun to have these episodes accompany these books and translations! Motivating to dive into them.

[@jodiearrington]

This was another outstanding episode. I watched on Patreon and literally took notes (and bought the book!) I'm excited and looking forward to your episode about Heliadora!

[@trish4977]

Fabulous podcast as usual...and thank you Ben for all that you do, you are amazing and I've ordered the book...much love from the UK.

[@CatarinaAntunesYouTube]

this sure adds a considerable amount of complexity to what we knew about the hellenistic tradition

[@Its-Lulu]

Yet again I am here, ready to enjoy a fresh upload from yall 😎

[@gwenfalcon2046]

So fascinating; thanks for teasing out the finer points!

[@melissamoore521]

Namaste, and Thank you, with DEEP regards!

[@Cmrntylr]

I suppose I can read this plus the newer addition of Valens in the near future. I liked listening to this and hearing about moralism, then seeing a description that says I’d be a bad slave since I’d die in transport. 🥰 Systems! At some point I want to adapt a chart system where it’s immediately broken down into mitigations and read from there. I started it, then quickly learned I’ll have to memorize the system. So far, everything I thought would or started out as a headache is quite easy. The only part of the “I don’t want to ever get into this..” astrology systems I don’t use is the 12 signs of the sign houses; I’ve seen it used as a mitigation technique though. I, personally, like the terms/bounds where I don’t want to clutter it up anymore. One thing I like about modern astrology and you MAY be able to credit Christianity for it (a little) is how “bad” placements are not that bad in modern times. I’d make a bet that if modern US citizens could time travel to these periods; they’d be executed. I like to always remember when people discuss philosophers like Plato that plato was well aware of how Socrates died. It also brings up a topic where a professor was critiquing liberalism (we’re not getting into politics): as we know, conservative attitudes can get attached to tradition where they’re closed to anything that challenges it. The argument is a long history of liberalism to get attached to ideas where even empirical data is ignored when implemented, then respond by either manipulating data OR blaming. Absurd example: the titanic was unsinkable so it never happened. Once accepted, it’s not the fault of design of sinking but the way it was built or an error by the captain. Obviously, an unsinkable ship is wishful thinking as ideas only exist in an alternate reality. The point would be that they both share the exact same flaws despite being polar opposites. I’d assume that many astrologers don’t get asked questions where heavier delineations are needed, but doing things more makes complex things easier. I did some of what Benjamin mentioned in a more psychological context recently; it’s actually a fun game. Some like to refer to the 12th as “shadow”, which is fine but there’s a lot to unpack. A chart dynamic shows up and it’s part of why people pushed Jung on me so much. The shadow is formed, in part, by the child archetype and the more dangerous parts is the infantile nature of it. So my own is a domicile Leo sun (with Mercury). This implies good contents exist within it, people who know me extremely well are surprised by the positive traits. The negative can be recognizing negative Leo traits in others all “I can fix that…” Romantic relationships are more likely to get libra, so relationships are probably confusing to the other person. Sun/merc are in mars terms, mars is in libra with Venus in mercury terms. Pluto in libra (applying) is in Jupiter terms so it’s a little different. The ascendant is in mars terms, Saturn in 1st in mercury terms, uranus in 3rd also in mercury terms. MC in Saturn terms. Moon is in Aquarius 6th, but it’s in Venus terms in a trine. (Maybe not all types of bondage are bad.. 🥸, kidding) I do use sign mitigations since I’ve experienced them, they’re tricky. I actually suspect that’s why quadrant houses work very often. Shadow, a characteristic is like an adult with an arrested development where a psychological aspect is trapped in the terrible 2’s or 3’s.. it’s a part of the psyche that is hostile towards having to live in a civilized society and/or not quite wanting to grow up. It’s often easy to see with attitudes that are contradictory, but my natal placements in the 12th enjoys the contradictions of activists. The irony is, aspects of the self will always be pushed into the shadow which is why you see children who never learned adult boundaries or healthy coping mechanisms throwing temper tantrums on college campuses. It’s also why you’re seeing children grow up into their late 20’s and 30’s realizing that children are impressionable and do whatever they feel gets them accepted by adults who regret their behavior and may have life long consequences it. There was an interview with a social engineer who learned from therapy that they learned as a child that wetting the bed got him attention from his mother which reinforced his behaviors up to going to prison for credit card/crypto fraud/tax frauds (etc) to get attention from women. I’m surprised he liked mercury in the 12th, and then takes a sun/Mercury combo as a useless slave. I’ll pick up both this AND Valens sometime soon. My favorite mitigation that shows up culturally is the virgo/libra sympathy where there are so many movies about giving the awkward virgo a libra makeover. My dive into Joseph Campbell again actually brought up the “function” topic. The pedagogical function is the one that I’m probably leaning more towards which isn’t as developed as it could be. Partially since it’s extremely complicated. It’s probably why the bhavacakra is part of what pulled me into astrology to begin with. That would be a much more house focused system. This episode was better than the likes make it seem.

[@JEColquhoun1]

Thanks Chris this was great!

[@leviashanken2506]

I never read Firmicus but also know of those mitigations from Project Hindsight. I guess from Paulus, too, but there must be others.

[@athena144]

made my week !

[@ewadsworth]

🎯

[@leviashanken2506]

Entirely awesome! Is that book about his Christianity available in English?

[@leviashanken2506]

Polymath now means someone well educated in many disciplines.

[@Neapoleone-Buonaparte]

BRILLIANT!

[@gustavomarques2997]

51:45 isn't that like yogas in vedic astrology? Basically a pattern that is so evident that became recognized. Sometimes yogas can even teach you how to read certain basics (like the 5 great yogas of the 5 planets teach you what each planet is about and bestows you). By knowing the shades of gray you can also extrapolate the yoga to other situations

[@Silvertestrun]

Ty

[@pgastrolog893]

too badly that Amazon shipping isn't available in my country :/ just wanted to buy both Anthology by Valens (from Brennan and Riley) and this one, but it's only Mathesis that isn't available :/ Btw, great episode really, as always with Ben! I enjoyed his work on Abu Mashar's "About the Revolution of Nativities", especially the Introduction which is really insightful and provides good preparation for Abu Mashar. I was hoping for a similar experience with "Mathesis" but it is what it is. If anyone can change that in Amazon, or maybe someone who could help me get it? I would appreciate it very much!

[@iggy499]

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had access to the Vatican secret archives and found all these missing source texts 😉

[@melissamoore521]

eyes wide open!

[@SiriusDogStar369]

1:07:00 My son got attacked by a pit bull a couple weeks ago. It’s definitely no joke. Thank you

[@itsreallymewhitney]

Dude this si dope❤ i dant like thsnk yall

[@tiamat2792]

conviction education

[@astralcounterpoint]

Seems pretty simple, Firmicus was naturally inclined to religiosity.

[@leviashanken2506]

Maybe he's being clever, not sophistic, applying partile and platic to his description techniques.

[@Neapoleone-Buonaparte]

FIRMICUS NEVER WROTE THE BOOKS ATTRIBUTED TO HIM AFTER MATHEOSIS. THAT WAS CHRISTIAN PLAGIARISM used to twist his legacy.