The 28 lunar mansions · 9th of 28
Al-Ṭarf الطرف
The glance. A theme of pause and caution: a time to look carefully before acting.
- Its stars
- κ Cancri and Alterf (λ Leonis), the 'glance' of the Lion
- Where it lies
- 12°51′ Cancer to 25°43′ Cancer, as Baghdad counted it
- How often
- The Moon passes through about every 27⅓ days and stays roughly a day
- Next visit
- Calculating…
Born with the Moon in Al-Ṭarf
You look before you leap. 'The glance' was a station of caution, and you have a watchful, perceptive nature that notices what others miss.
Gifts
Perception, prudence, sharp instincts
Watch for
Hesitating so long that the moment passes
A theme your life returns to. Your theme is good timing. When you trust what you have already seen, you choose the right moment better than most.
A night in Al-Ṭarf
The astrologers of Baghdad chose the night for a task by the Moon's mansion. For Al-Ṭarf the old lists say:
Good for
- quiet, ordinary work
Better left for another night
- sowing
- journeys
- entrusting goods
- partnerships
A thought for the night I pause and look twice before I commit to anything today.
The readings are modern, drawn from each station's traditional name and meaning. They describe tendencies, not events, and are offered for reflection and fun.
Sources
- Al-Bīrūnī, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (1029), the chapter on the lunar mansions. Translated by R. Ramsay Wright (1934).
- Picatrix (Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm), Book I, chapter 4: the 28 mansions and the works begun in each.
- Ibn Abī l-Rijāl (Haly Abenragel), The Distinguished Book on the Judgements of the Stars, Book VII: elections by the Moon's mansion.
- Star identifications follow Paul Kunitzsch, Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber (1961), and the usual modern lists.
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