Horary and Electional Astrology
Horary astrology casts a chart for the moment a question is asked and answers it with a "yes" or a "no." Electional astrology solves the reverse problem: choosing the moment to begin an undertaking. This is the most formalized branch of astrology, with strict rules and testable predictions.
How horary works
The chart is cast for the moment the astrologer understood the question. From there, strict rules apply:
- The querent is signified by the ruler of the first house, and the subject of the question by the ruler of the relevant house (the seventh for a partner, the tenth for work, the second for money).
- The astrologer checks whether these planets form an aspect, and which one. An applying aspect means "yes," a separating one means "no."
- There are "considerations before judgment": for example, if the Ascendant is in the first three or last three degrees of a sign, the question is considered asked at the wrong time and the chart unfit for judgment.
The tradition goes back to Arabic and medieval authors; in the 17th century William Lilly set it out in detail.
Electional astrology
The reverse problem: choosing a time for a wedding, a deal, surgery, a business launch. The astrologer looks for a moment when the planets responsible for the matter in question are well placed.
This is exactly the same logic as the Chinese tradition of date selection and muhurta in Indian astrology.
There is a practical risk: the search for the "perfect date" sometimes leads to a necessary undertaking being postponed for months. Scheduling surgery by astrological dates is a particularly bad idea.
Why We Don't Have a Calculator
Horary requires not just a chart but a sequence of formal decisions: which house governs the question, which planet is the significator, whether a consideration before judgment has been triggered. All of this could in principle be turned into an algorithm, but the rules differ between schools, and the final say always rests with the astrologer.
If you need a quick "yes or no" answer, we have a fair generator with open 50/50 odds, which, oddly enough, is the more transparent tool.
An Honest Look at the Method
What makes horary astrology interesting is that it makes testable claims: "Will the lost item be found?", "Will the deal go through?" Such predictions could be tested statistically, and a few attempts have been made; they produced no systematic confirmation.
Horary astrologers themselves usually appeal to experience and to whether the question was asked properly, which makes refutation difficult: a failed result is explained by a badly posed question.