Magyarul
Modified November 21, 2009
Morinus is an easy to use astrology software under GPLv3 license. It uses the swiss ephemeris so it's very accurate (5000BC - 5000AD). It runs on every Operating System where Python and wxPython are available(Linux, Windows, MacOS).
In the options menu you can set the:
Horoscopes and options can be saved and reloaded and you can invoke a popup menu by right-clicking on any of the windows except for the window of the radix because it has its own menu-bar. Primary Directions can also be saved to a text file.
This is the simple way, just download the binary and extract it. You can start the program by clicking on morinus.exe. However, this way the program will use the built-in Moshier-ephemeris(3000BC-3000AD) and the asteroid data won't be available. You can remedy this if you download the Swiss Ephemeris, extract it and copy the files into the MorinusWinEng/SWEP/Ephem directory. Tested on WinXP(SP2, SP3), Vista and Win7.
You can download it from here. You will also need to download the ephemeris files(e.g. seas_24.se1, semo_24.se1, sepl_24.se1 ...) because the planetary positions are calculated from these. The ephemeris files should be extracted to Morinus/SWEP/Ephem/ directory (the file fixstars.cat is already there). However, the ephemeris files are not necessary because the program can still use the built-in Moshier ephemeris(can compute positions in the range of 3000BC-3000AD) which needs no ephemeris files because it calculates the planet positions and it's also very accurate but not as accurate as the Swiss Ephemeris or JPL (the difference is below one arc-second for the planets and a few arc-seconds for the moon.)
MacOS: it seems that wxpython-implementations differ(Linux, Windows, MacOS), I couldn't test the program on MacOS but users tell me that the source doesn't run, so the Windows-binary should be used instead with either Parallels or Crossover. As soon as I get access to a MacOS-computer or a python expert who uses MacOS solves the problem I will upload the modfied source.
Linux: Of course the Windows-binary(MorinusWinEng) can also be used on Linux with Wine(Windows Emulator).
More than 6 months ago I tested the source on Red Hat(Fedora), Debian and Ubuntu with Gnome and KDE.
There was one problem: with KDE the dialogs were too big because for some reason the space between the dialog items(checkboxes, radiobuttons, etc) was too big. This is why I don't recommend using the program with KDE.
For those people who think that Linux is not ready for desktop:
WINDOWS VISTA AERO VS LINUX UBUNTU BERYL.
The source hasn't been updated to python 3.0 yet.
Python, wxPython(unicode) and the Python Imaging Library(PIL) need to be installed. You can check if you already have python installed by opening a commandprompt(StartMenu/All Programs/Accessories/CommandPrompt) on Windows or teminal on Linux and typing python(and then press ENTER). You can also check PIL: if you have e.g. ImageFont.py on your machine then you have PIL installed. Of course on Linux you can always install these from packages which is a much better way. For example installing wxPython on Ubuntu 9.10(Karmic Koala):
apt-cache search wxpython
and from the list we install:
sudo apt-get install python-wxgtk2.8
wxPython needs glib and gtk+ installed on Linux(these should be installed automatically due to the dependencies). PIL is installed on Ubuntu but if it wasn't:
apt-cache search python imaging library
and from the list we install:
sudo apt-get install python-imaging
The python extension modules for linux(sweastrology.so (32-bit)) and windows(sweastrology.pyd (32-bit)) are already built (in Morinus/SWEP/src/), they need to be copied to the Morinus directory or to /usr/lib/pythonVERSION/lib-dynload/ on (Ubuntu)Linux and PYTHONINSTALLATIONDIR/DLLs/ on Windows. PYTHONINSTALLATIONDIR is usually C:/Python/ or C:/Program Files/Python/.
End of installation.
You may want to build these extensions by yourself:
Type:
python setup.py build
in the Morinus/SWEP/src directory.
In order to do that you may need to consult the documentations.
You can start the program in the Morinus directory with:
python ./morinus.py
on Linux and you can omit the ./ on Windows. Invoke a commandprompt(StartMenu/All Programs/Accessories/CommandPrompt) on Windows or a terminal on Linux to enter the above mentioned command (first change to the Morinus directory).
Only the enabled options(items, radiobuttons, checkboxes) will be calculated. (e.g. if you want to see only the Terms: select "Zodiacal"-radiobutton then select only the Terms in the Promissors column, press OK and then F12) The intermediate housecusps will be calculated acc. to the selected PD-system(e.g. Regiomontanian-housecusps in case of Regiomontanian PDs). Currently the PDs to the intermediate housecusps are the same in case of Placidian(underthepole) and Placidian(semiarcus). Select Regiomontanian or Campanian PD in the Options/PD-Dialog to have a Regiomontanian-speculum in the Positions-table. The selected terms in the Options/Terms dialog is used in the PDs. The Placidian(underthepole) is only an approximation to the Placidian(semiarc). PDs to the Asc, MC are the same in every system(Placidian, Regiomontanian, ...). In mundane PDs the aspects are not calculated on the Ecliptic but in the houses. Only the midpoints, mundane aspectual directions other than conjunction and opposition and directions to house cusps are different in case of Regiomontan and Campanian PDs. The program doesn't know J-B Morin's aspect correction (Regio-PDs). Bianchini assigned different latitudes(calculated from the latitude of the promissor) to the aspects(conjunctio:latitudeofpromissor, sextil:latitudeofpromissor/2, quadrat:0, trigon:-latitudeofpromissor/2, oppositio:-latitudeofpromissor) and he always used the latitude of the significator. If the "Topocentric" is selected in the Appearance I dialog then topocentric positions will be used in the PDs. If "Sec. Motion" is checked then the PDs of the Moon will be adjusted accordingly(real-time Moon). If "User" is checked then the point defined by the ecliptic coordinates will be directed to the selected significators. For example in case of 16Capricorn 25min 46sec: 286 should be entered in the Deg. field of the Longitude. "User" will be shown in the PD-lists. If "User2" is checked then the selected promissors will be directed to the point defined by the ecliptic coordinates. For example in case of 16Capricorn 25min 46sec: 286 should be entered in the Deg. field of the Longitude. "User2" will be shown in the PD-lists. If only User is selected in the Primary Directions dialog then its speculum will be shown in User-Speculum. If only User2 is selected in the Primary Directions dialog then its speculum will be shown in User-Speculum. If both User and User2 are selected in the Primary Directions dialog then User's speculum will be shown in User-Speculum. The ayanamsha only affects the Terms in PDs, so e.g. not the "User" or User2-point. The Asc, MC are preferred to the Desc, IC. This means that if "Moon --> DESC" is not shown then try to select the opposition aspect and the appropriate zodiacal option: "oppositio Moon --> Asc" should be shown. The mundane MidPoints are the ones Makransky calls Rapt Parallels, the zodiacal with latitude MidPoints are calculted acc. to Plantiko's algorithm.
M.J.Makransky's book was mainly used because it was written for programmers(in my opinion).Download
Recommended reading:
Martin Gansten: Primary Directions - Astrology's Old Master Technique (History of PDs)
Rumen Kolev: Primary Directions I, II, III
http://www.babylonianastrology.com/
http://www.starmedia.ne.jp/english/placidus.html
Kolev says in Primary Directions I: The Topocentric primaries are modified Placidian under the pole of the significator directions and their hits are almost the same(+-2 months mean deviation).
Not PD related but being a purely traditional program, Mercurius is worth mentioning.
Currently the almutens are calculated acc. to the arabs and Ibn Ezra. There are three types of Almutens:
All three almutens are calculated acc. to the Essential settings in the Options/Almutens/Chart and the Accidental settings are also taken into account in case of the Almuten of the Chart. The Almuten of the Chart is calculated according to the planets strength in the five hylegical places(Sun, Moon, Asc, Fortune, Syzygy). "Total Shares" come form calculating the number of the numbers in a column(e.g. 3+2 means two shares because share is rulership and this means two rulerships(one acc. to triplicity and the other is acc.to term)). A lot of astrologers used only the Essential settings in their Almuten of the Chart calculations. The program cannot tell you which planet is the AlmutenOfTheChart because there can be a planet that has only the second highest score but it aspects the ascendant with a partile aspect then this planet should be chosen as almuten of the chart. The accidental settings can be easily excluded from the Almuten of the Chart calculations by unchecking "Use". Any option can be set to zero and it won't be calculated. As far as I know Ibn Ezra used the accidental settings(except for the Day/Hour rulers). Sun-phases: oriental positions only and only in case of the mars, jupiter and saturn: 18-30 degree from the Sun[Weak], 30-40[Medium], 40-80[Strong], 80-100[Medium], 100-120[Weak]). Robert Zoller uses the Ruler Scores(Day/Hour). About the Essential settings: if OneRuler is selected then only one planet gets the score of the tricplicity and in case of daytime the first triplicity ruler will be that planet, in case of a nighttime chart the second one. The day/night orb in the ArabicParts editor will be taken into account if both OneRuler and UseDay/Night orb are selected. Topical Almutens example by Schoener, (Almuten of Substance):
You can always get help by clicking on the question-mark of a dialog and then on an item(text, edit-box). The astrological symbols are defined in Morinus.ttf. It contains the symbols(truetype fonts) and can be edited with e.g. Fontforge(Linux) and e.g. Fontographer(Windows). wxPython can't handle ttfs this is why we need to use PIL. The file /Res/placedb.dat contains the place-database and the file Morinus.opt contains the saved options. The program loads the /Res/Morinus.jpg file. This can be any image so you can change it: rename one of your .jpg to Morinus.jpg and overwrite the original. The .hor, placedb.dat and Morinus.opt are ordinary files so e.g. can be sent as email attachments.
The fixstars.cat file is not identical to that of AstroDienst, because the duplicated fixstars were removed from it(the nomenclature name counts). A line in the fixstars.cat looks like this:
Vega ,alLyr,ICRS,18,36,56.3364,38,47,01.291,1.3402,28.747,-13.9,0.12893, 0.03, 38, 3238
where Vega is the traditional name and alLyr is the nomenclature name. A lot of fixstars have no traditional name. The nomenclature name comes from a greek letter and a constellation: alpha Lyra. The program uses the nomenclature name. The fixstars.cat file can be edited: you can reorder the lines or change the traditional name. For example, you want to see Vega at the top of the Fixstars dialog: just move(don't copy) the line to the top of the file.
Formerly the program added/subtracted the given timezone to/from GMT according to the place being east or west from Greenwich. This wasn't true if the place was to the west from Greenwich but it was in the GMT+1(+1:00) timezone(Spain, western France and some parts of Africa). This is why GMT+/GMT- was added to the Zone. Now it needs to be given by the user.
The traditional aspects: conjunctio, sextil, quadrat, trigon, oppositio. They don't cross signs(e.g. 29Aries and 1Taurus is not a conjunction, 29Sagittarius and 1Taurus is not a trigon because the signs are not of the same elements). Partile aspects are on the same degree(e.g.15deg 59min Capricorn and 16deg 01min Taurus is not a partile(exact) trigon). The "Exact" in the Orbs menu will be ignored. (If the Traditional checkbox is selected)
If the topocentric option is selected then the topocentric positions will be shown and used everywhere(Tables, Charts(radix, revolutions, ...), PDs).
Mundane Lot of Fortune in mundane Placidian PDs: RA(lof) = OA(asc)+RA(moon)-OA(sun); DECL(lof) = declination of the Moon.
The mundane positions table shows the mundane positions of the planets(in the houses). E.g. Saturn is 12.26. This means that it is in the 12th house and at the 26% of the house calculated from the begining of the house.
Arabic Parts are calculated as follows: Part = A+(B-C). If "Diurnal" is checked then it means that the formula given is valid only for diurnal charts and should be reversed in case of nocturnal ones: Part = A+(C-B). This will be shown in the Arabic Parts table. Ascendant can be set: e.g. if it is HC6 then the Asc will be HC6 the second housecusp will be the Desc and so on. "!" means the lord of something: e.g. HC6! means the lord of housecusp 6. Only the seven planets are taken into account. Morinus distinguishes between night and day. You can include an orb for this. The civil dusk for instance, where it is still possible to read a newspaper outside, even if the Sun is already "below the earth" ranges up to 6 degrees below the DC. Nobody would call this "night". Same thing with dawn.
In case of a Full Moon syzygy you can select in the Appearance I dialog which position to use.
The Peregrin color is used for several things: parallel sign in PDs, LoF(if colors are acc. to dignities), Exact Transits.
In case of a problem, close the program and remove Morinus.opt then restart the program.
The Options menu items (Automatic Save, Save and Reload) are for managing the Options. If Automatic Save is checked then the program will immediately save the options-settings after you change them. If you don't check Automatic Save and you changed the options-settings then you have to save them anytime you want by clicking on Save(if you don't save the settings before closing the program they won't be saved). The changed options will be saved in the Morinus.opt file. You can discard all your changed/saved options-settings by clicking on Reload. (e.g. change the color of the Frame of the radix horoscope to red, press Ok and you will see it in red color, now press reload).
Select the Language you want then press Ok in the Languages dialog and Save the options. Restart the program. Reload or deleting the Morinus.opt file restores everything(restart the program to have the default language).
The helpfiles are in the Res folder. They can be edited, but only basic html can be added.
Morinus has no installer. Windows programs usually have installers: when the user clicks on the .exe file the installer starts and asks the user where to copy the program(e.g. C:/Program Files...) and creates an icon on the desktop. These programs have uninstallers as well. The data(the path(e.g. C:/Program Files...)) is written into the Windows Registry during the installation. Morinus doesn't get installed on your system(Operating System, or winchester!?). After downloading the MorinusWinEng.zip file and unzipping it there will be a MorinusWinEng directory created. Clicking on the Morinus.exe file starts the program, so there is no installer. Deleting the MorinusWinEng directory is like uninstalling. Of course you can also create a link to Morinus.exe and copy it to your desktop, so you will have an icon of Morinus on your desktop. So, on Windows I recommend using the D:\ drive e.g. D:\MorinusWinEng or D:\Astrology\MorinusWinEng.
Minimum recommended screen resolution: 1024*768.
Recommended reading:
Free astrology books:
Skyscript free books
Sacred Texts
Astrologia Gallica
Abu Ali Al-Khayyat: The Judgments of Nativities
Aricles:
Ptolemy's cosmos
A vedic astrologer's opinion about Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and asteroids
Skyscript
Dignities/Receptions
Primary Directions: the story of calculations
The Decans in Astrology
Casting charts on the southern hemisphere(!?)
Casting charts on the southern hemisphere2(!?)
I would like to thank(in alphabetical order) to:
robert dot pluto at gmail dot com