Classroom Transcript: 05/04/2005
LectureHall.txt
Madalyn Hillis-Dineen Lecture on “What’s New in Solar Fire 6”
Belinda> Hi Madalyn
Belinda> Hi Ena
Ena> Hi Madalyn & Belinda!!
Ena> :-)
Ena> I'm eating the tail-end of my lunch!
Ena> Is Madalyn here?
Belinda> i had pototoe chips
Ena> Tuna sandwich!
Madalyn> Hi -- I'm here...
Belinda> two people are in your classroom - Madalyn
Madalyn> Should we begin
Ena> Hi Madlayn...I'm going out and changing the front page to say Lecture in Session!
Belinda> Hey Matt - i see you found it
Matt> Not without your help. I told Juno and Tricia to do the same.
Tricia> Thanks for redirecting me Matt!
Matt> You're welcome. Belinda told me.
Ena> Hello Matt, Tricia!
Madalyn> Hi everyone and thanks for coming.
Madalyn> Ena, should I begin now or wait another moment or two?
Ena> Well...
Ena> You could wait a moment...Maybe start in about 5 minutes or so! :-)
Ena> We can find out about whose here now...
Madalyn> I never asked you how long this should be...
Ena> Tricia, where are you from? That's your call, Madalyn! :-)
Madalyn> Okay....
Ena> Usually about an hour.
Madalyn> I'd like to know if anyone already owns Solar Fire or not.
Tricia> I am from Caledon Ontario
Matt> Not I
Ena> Where are you from Matt?
Tricia> I own Solar Fire 5
Belinda> i own solar fire deluxe
Matt> Austin, TX
Ena> Then this is the place for you Tricia! Welcome to the States, Tricia!
Ena> Great Matt! Texas's Hill Country!
Matt> You bet
Tricia> Thanks, Its good to be here!
Ena> I guess I could Welcome you to the States, too, Matt! ;-)
Belinda> lol
Matt> The Republic of Texas will do fine.
Ena> It's great to have you-all at this *really* international Lecture! :-)
Matt> Will there be audio and video?
Ena> Hello Juno!
Madalyn> Hi Juno.
Juno> Hello! How do I indicate it's from me, Juno?
Ena> Not today, but it's coming to OCA, Matt!
Madalyn> Juno, do you currently own any version of Solar Fire?
Juno> No.
Matt> Thx
Ena> We see it Juno, but you don't...
Madalyn> Even though you can't see your name, we can.
Juno> Thanks.
Madalyn> Okay... I think I'll begin.
Ena> The author's of this software supposed that we'd know who we were! ;-)
Ena> Okay Madalyn! Good show!
Madalyn> It seems that we have two people who are Solar Fire veterans and two who are not.
Juno> Yes, I use Winstar currently.
Tricia> I am not really a veteran. I want to take your course
Madalyn> So... for Matt and Juno... Solar Fire is an all purpose astro calculation program that's encyclopedic in scope.
Madalyn> Tricia... I'll probably give it again in the Fall or maybe this summer.
Tricia> Great, thank you!
Madalyn> It has all sorts of features including calculations for natal, transits, progressions, directions, returns, composite charts.
Madalyn> It also has interpretations for natal, transits, synastry and now, new in SF6, interpretations for progressions.
Madalyn> There are astro-locality features, harmonic charts, a planetarium, an ephemeris generator, a graphic ephemeris, dynamic time maps...
Madalyn> everything you could think of...
Madalyn> So... it was amazing that a version 6 could hold so many new features but it does.
Madalyn> So here goes... I think I'll list all the new features and then elaborate a bit on them.
Madalyn> There's a chart file search for research as well as an electional or time search.
Madalyn> Aspect highlighting and filtering
Madalyn> the ability to store life events;
Madalyn> new vedic options;
Madalyn> new chinese astrology options;
Madalyn> a chart preview on the main screen
Madalyn> Void of course moon listing
Madalyn> age harmonic charts
Madalyn> whole day planetary hours tables
Madalyn> new declination/latitude options;
Madalyn> new direction options;
Madalyn> improved animated chart function;
Madalyn> improved graphic ephemeris;
Madalyn> progressed interpretations as I already mentioned;
Madalyn> 1000 extra asteroids;
Madalyn> precessed and converse transit charts
Madalyn> new user defined point order
Madalyn> new "more" and "apply" buttons
Madalyn> Okay... first I'll describe the Chart file Search feature.
Madalyn> SF6's new chart file search gives you a powerful and quick way to locate all charts in a given category. It can search through hundreds or even thousands of charts and pull out charts with virtually any kind or combination of astrological signatures. These range from a simple planet, asteroid, hypothetical body or house cusp in a given sign on up to any of 25 multi-planet aspect patterns (t-squares, grand trines, yods, heles, rosettas Thor’s Hammers, grand quintiles and more). You can search for two points in a given phase relationship, a point that is in aspect to any specified zodiacal position, or a point at, above or below a given longitude, latitude, right ascension, declination, azimuth, altitude or speed.
Madalyn> In addition, the Chart Search offers a rich selection of classical criteria -- 7 types of horary consideration; any point that has a given dignity, ruler or almuten; or the ruler, almuten, antiscion or contra-antiscion of a point being a specified planet or having a specified dignity.
Madalyn> You can also search for any word or character string in the chart comments, making it possible to see whether people who have similar life themes have similar charts. Or you can look for astro twins by searching for similar birth dates, times and Ascendants. Or search on “days to birthday” to find clients who are soon due for a solar return reading.
Matt> Can i use ANd/Or/Not?
Madalyn> Besides searching for hundreds of single criteria, you can use “And/Or/Not” connectors to combine any number of criteria, and you can save these complex criteria files for future use.
Juno> This all sounds really amazing. Can you elaborate on the ability to "store life events?" Not sure what you mean by that. Also, what is "user defined point order"?
Madalyn> I am going to elaborate on them all, one at a time...
Juno> Thanks.
Madalyn> The electional or time search lets you specify criteria similar to those in the Chart Search. Solar Fire 6 then lists all time periods when these criteria are in force. This helps you find the optimum time window for starting a project. It also makes it easy to find all periods in history that have a specific combination of astrological conditions.
Madalyn> The aspect highlight features is an enormous help in making sense of the aspect lines in the center of the wheel. Earlier Solar Fire versions enabled you to color-code aspects. Now you can also specify increasingly wide lines as an aspect approaches exactness, and dotted lines when an aspect separates. In a natal chart, this makes the most important aspects really stand out. In the animated chart, it dramatizes each aspect’s build-up, perfection and separation as the planets move forward in time.
Madalyn> The aspect filtering feature lets you temporarily cut out the kinds of aspects that you’re not looking for so that the patterns that you are looking for stand out clearly. You can filter out all aspects beyond a certain orb, all separating aspects, all soft aspects, all aspects that don’t involve a specified planet or harmonic, etc. -- even all aspects that aren’t part of any of the 21 specific aspect patterns that Solar Fire 6 can recognize. Whether you’re viewing a chart wheel, aspect grid or animated chart, it’s very easy to turn the filter window on and off and to switch to from one filter to another as the need arises.
Madalyn> Previous versions of Solar Fire allowed you to store chart comments or notes. In v. 6, you can now store unlimited life-event times, places and descriptions with any natal chart. Gives you a convenient place to store this info, and keeps it instantly ready for casting transiting, progressed and directed charts for life events without your ever having to re-enter the event data. Also, in the animated chart view, you can click on any event and jump right to its exact date and time.
Madalyn> SF5 added north and south indian style charts as well as dhasas and bhuktis. In v. 6 you'll find, a new detailed nakshatra table, 8 more ayanamsas ( making a total of 15, plus user-defined) and now 20 types of Vedic divisional or harmonic charts (harmonics 1 through 12, plus selected harmonics up to 60 and Iyer and regular types of 11th harmonic chart).All this plus the existing dasa/bhukti tables, Vedic unidirectional and sign-to-sign aspects, North and South Indian square charts, and Hindu Bhava and Whole Signs (rasi) houses gives you all you need to do basic Vedic. (Plus, as an added convenience, you can now instantly toggle between the sidereal and tropical versions of a chart.)
Madalyn> SF 6 introduces Chinese astrology features to Solar Fire for the first time. Detailed or short tables give the Chinese lunar mansion of each point in the chart. There’s also a Year Pillar table that is correctly calculated for each lunar-based Chinese year. This gives the birth year’s animal, Chinese element and yin/yang polarity.
Madalyn> The new chart preview makes it easier to find the chart that you’re looking for. When you click on a calculated chart or you select a chart in your files, Solar Fire 6 instantly displays the whole chart in a small but readable wheel design right there on the main screen. Great for a quick look-up.
Madalyn> Our users clamored for and got the new void of course moon periods as an option in Solar Fire’s powerful dynamic hit lists and Time Maps. It’s easy to print out a handy list for reference during the coming week, month or year. You can even mix Void periods in the same list with other considerations like retrograde periods, lunations, planetary ingresses and transiting aspects.
Belinda> how is voc defined?
Madalyn> The new Age Harmonic Charts are an innovative and potentially powerful technique to add to your forecasting repertory. Solar Fire 6 lets you instantly cast a harmonic chart based on a person’s exact age down to the day, hour and minute (or the age plus 1 year). You can then see transits to this chart in Solar Fire’s dynamic hit lists and graphs.
Madalyn> Void of course is defined as the last Ptolemaic aspect (Conjunction, square, opposition, trine or sextile) that the moon will make before entering a new sign.
Belinda> does the VOC take into account declinations
Belinda> i guess not
Madalyn> I don't think so...
Madalyn> Let me quickly check the manual to make sure...
Madalyn> Yes... I was correct... just the ptolemaic aspects and only the planets through Pluto...
Belinda> ok thanks
Madalyn> Another feature that our users wanted was the whole day Planetary hours table which show all the changes of the planetary hours on a given day calculated for the latitude and longitude of a specified locality.
Juno> Is there a Wm. Lilly defined voc option?
Madalyn> How did William Lilly define VOC?
Madalyn> oops... William
Juno> If the moon will make an aspect within I think it's 12 or so degrees after it enters the next sign it's not considered to be voc.
Madalyn> No...
Madalyn> Declination and latitude are definitely the hot "new" (actually really old) topics in astrology. SF6's new declination/latitude options include graphic declination and latitude strips in page designs; new Longitude Equivalent Declination charts (a Charles Jayne-inspired technique that converts the longitudes of every chart point to the longitude that the Sun would be in if it were at that declination); and (also as recommended by Charles Jayne) directions (as well as transits and progressions) in declination or latitude both in the dynamic hitlists and directed charts.
Madalyn> There are a number of new direction options too. Besides offering solar arc and other directions not just in the usual longitude but also in declination or latitude, the dynamic hitlists now include Van Dam primary directions (in addition to the existing mundane primaries). Also, both the hitlists and the directed charts now include solar arc and other directions in whole, half, double or reverse arcs.
Belinda> this is really a cool feature
Belinda> that was on the chart options for declinations
Madalyn> The new and improved (I feel like a Tide commercial) animated chart has a fully functioning dial pointer. Also, it now lets you view pop-up interpretations, export calculated charts, and jump instantly to the regular chart screen.
Madalyn> Yes... I realized that, Belinda.. it is cool. I especially like the strips...
Madalyn> I also really like that you can now export the calculated charts from your animation window...
Madalyn> makes electional work so much easier...
Madalyn> I also loved the improved graphic ephemerides which now have handy Forward and Back buttons that let you scroll through time as far as you wish without exiting from the graph screen. Also, you can now see a readout of the precise degree, date and time represented by the cursor’s position on the graph. And, just as you can do in the hitlists, you can now have graphic ephemerides showing half, double or reverse arc directions, and directed (as well as transiting and progressed) declinations. You can create graphic ephemerides in any modulus you wish, and if you want to insert the graph into a word processing or other document, you can right-click to send it to the clipboard or save it as a file.