Combust
Encyclopedia
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- Other uses: CombustionCombustionCombustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
is a common noun whose verb form is combust or Heliacal Setting
- Other uses: Combustion
In astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, Combustion occurs when the unassisted view of a planet from the earth is obscured by the light of the sun.
Combust
The MoonMoon (astrology)
The Moon is the Earth's companion satellite. The Moon is large enough for its gravity to affect the Earth, stabilising its orbit and producing the regular ebb and flow of the tides. The Moon is also familiar to us for its different phases, waxing and waning in appearance in an unchanging cycle...
, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn become combust, during their direct motion, when their longitudinal arc is 12, 17, 14, 11, 10 and 16 degrees respectively from the Sun on either side. During retrograde motions, Mercury and Venus become combust when the said arc is 12 and 8 degrees respectively. Exact longitudinal arc depends upon declination of the Sun and the concerned planet. Daily ephemerides
Ephemeris
An ephemeris is a table of values that gives the positions of astronomical objects in the sky at a given time or times. Different kinds of ephemerides are used for astronomy and astrology...
do indicate the time and date of start and end of the combustion of different planets as seen from a specific place on the earth. The Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn remain combust for 2, 118, 11 to 20, 28, 53 and 57 days approximately during their direct motion, and during retrograde motion, Mercury and Venus remain combust for 21 to 33 and 5 days respectively. Mars Jupiter and Saturn do not combust when in their retrograde motion. It is astronomically termed as “heliacal setting
Heliacal rising
The heliacal rising of a star occurs when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon for a brief moment just before sunrise, after a period of time when it had not been visible....
”. Since Mercury remains 28 degrees from either side of the Sun and is hence combust most of the time (about 150 days in a year), it is difficult to apply the strictures of combustion to that planet. Furthermore, the Moon is combust two days out of every lunar month, although the period of the New Moon, when the Moon is in this condition, has always been regarded as a perilous one astrologically.
For technical purposes, in Western astrology, most ancient and medieval authorities considered a planet combust or burnt when its position was within 5-8 degrees on either side of the Sun. However, a planet will continue to be weakened by the Sun until it has elongated by 15-17 degrees from it. (Lilly says 17 degrees on p. 113 of Christian Astrology.) This positioning is said to be under the beams of the Sun, and although it may be stronger than being combust, it will still cause a noticeable weakening in a planet's effectiveness.
Cazimi
Cazimi (also spelled Casimi, and sometimes called Zaminium) is an ArabicArabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word meaning "heart of the Sun" or "in the heart of the Sun." It is an astrological term meaning a planet
Planets in astrology
Planets in astrology have a meaning different from the modern astronomical understanding of what a planet is. Before the age of telescopes, the night sky was thought to consist of two very similar components: fixed stars, which remained motionless in relation to each other, and wandering stars, ,...
that is in exact conjunction with or very near the precise center of the solar disc. A planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
that forms a conjunction with the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
within 17' (arc minutes) of partile (exactitude) is said to be Cazimi, literally engulfed and fortified by Sol
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and, as it also may be interpreted, "in the heart of the Sun." According to a psychological approach to astrology
Psychological astrology
Psychological astrology, or astropsychology, is the result of the cross-fertilisation of the fields of astrology with depth psychology, humanistic psychology and transpersonal psychology. The horoscope is analysed through the archetypes within astrology to gain psychological insight into an...
the Sun, representing the Ego, engulfs the energies of the planet in Cazimi and is said to imbue it with the intensely positive and life-giving energy and power of the Sun.
Vedic/Hindu Astrology
In the Vedic / Hindu system of astrology, a planet is said to be devoid of its strength when in combustion. This astronomical phenomenon weakens a planet most adversely. However, Mercury is said to be extremely weak if it is in the same sign as the Sun in a Navamsa divisional chart (the Navamsa is a harmonicHarmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
chart which divides each sign into 9 parts). A combust Moon is to be avoided in all good Jyotish election charts. A planet within one degree from the Sun is said to be the most powerless. In addition to adverse effects in the natal astrology, a combust planet is too weak to render beneficial effects during its favorable transits to the natal position.