I was at a meetup for Astrologers a while back and I asked a person who practiced Horary Astrology if she used William Lilly’s methods to interpret charts. She said no. She found his book to be too jumbled. I was disappointed to hear that. As a practitioner of Horary Astrology, I have found Lilly’s book, “Christian Astrology,” to be indispensable in some cases. I thought maybe if I made it easier to follow, more Astrologers would use it as a reference. Below is a simplification of Lilly’s rules on whether to stay or move from a place. I often refer to these 9 rules for questions about moving. I have found it to be quite accurate.
STAYING
1. Do not move if the Ruler of the 4th house is Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, or Jupiter and it is in the 7th house.
2. Do not move if the Rulers of the 1st and 7th houses are “good planets;” Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, or Jupiter, and the planet is in good condition; that is to say, it is direct, and of swift motion, and in good aspect to the other good planets.
MOVING
3. Move if the Ruler of the 7th house aspects Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, or Jupiter and the Ruler of the 4th aspects an “evil planet”.
4. Move if the Ruler of the Ascendant recently separated from a Square or Opposition to the Ruler of the 6th, 8th, or 12th house.
5. Move if the Moon recently separated from a square, opposition, or conjunction to Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto; especially if it Rules the 7th or 4th house.
6. Move if peregrine or retrograde Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto is close to the ascendant or in the first house.
7. Move if Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, or Jupiter is peregrine in the 4th house.
8. Move if Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto is in the 4th house.
9. Move if the Ruler of the 2nd house is weak by sign or house.
REASONS FOR MOVING
The reasons Lilly gave for moving were associated with rulers of houses:
If the Ruler of the 6th house was close to the Ascendant, or afflicting the Ruler of the Ascendant, Lilly judged the person’s health was very bad where he currently lived or he was sickly, or tormented with ill servants, causing his work to suffer.
If the Ruler of the 12th house afflicted the Ruler of the Ascendant or the Moon, Lilly said the person asking the question had backbiting, evil, or slanderous neighbors, or people that didn’t live far from him who scandalized him.
If the Ruler of the 2nd was unfortunate, or in Square or Opposition to the Ruler of the Ascendant, or if the Part of Fortune was in the 12th, 8th, or 6th house, Lilly said the person asking the question went backwards in the world financially and his estate was consumed.
If the Ruler of the Ascendant was afflicted by the Ruler of the 10th house, Lilly informed the person asking the question that his Reputation was lost, his Trade decayed, or had he no Trade.
If the Ruler of the 4th house was unfortunate, or the 4th house itself was unfortunate, Lilly judged the house in which the person asking the question lived, was unlucky and few previous occupants thrived while living there or that the repairs to the house had weakened the inquisitor or the house was not in a good spot for his Trade.
If the Ruler of the 7th house afflicted the Ruler of the Ascendant or ruler of the 2nd house, Lilly said the inquisitor’s neighbors across from him had all the Trade and were better furnished with commodities.
WHERE TO MOVE IF MOVING
Lilly wrote he received thanks and rewards for steering people in the best direction to move. He observed that the sign and house position of the most fortunate and strongest planet of the entire chart, and the planet having the friendliest aspects to either the Ruler of the Ascendant or Ruler of the 2nd house, gave the best direction in which to move.
William Lilly’s book
Ingressus 