Recently, someone pointed out something in geomancy that no one else seems to have noticed, not even the heavyweights like Christopher Cattan or Thomas Heydon. It turns out that, mathematically, some geomantic First Mothers cannot become certain Daughters. Which also means they can’t go on to occupy certain houses through movement.
This is not a matter of interpretation or symbolism, it’s baked right into the binary maths of geomantic generation. And the implications for readings are huge.
A Quick Recap: Mothers and Daughters in Geomancy
In classical geomancy, you start with four “Mothers” — figures generated either by marks, dice, or randomisation — and from them, you derive the Daughters. Each Daughter is formed from a vertical slice of the Mothers:
-
First Daughter: the first line of each Mother
-
Second Daughter: the second line of each Mother
-
Third Daughter: the third line of each Mother
-
Fourth Daughter: the fourth line of each Mother
Some Mothers Just Can’t Generate Certain Daughters
Due to the nature of the geomantic figures, four-line binaries of single or double dots, the maths of how Daughters are generated from Mothers reveals strict limits on what is even possible. Some figures, if they are the First Mother, simply cannot appear as certain Daughters. I have been fiddling around with the AI to get the maths to identify what is possible. Here’s the breakdown:
-
Amissio cannot become the 2nd or 4th Daughter.
-
Acquisitio cannot become the 2nd or 4th Daughter.
-
Albus cannot become the 3rd Daughter.
-
Cauda Draconis cannot become the 4th Daughter.
-
Caput Draconis cannot become the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Daughter.
-
Carcer cannot become the 2nd or 3rd Daughter.
-
Conjunctio cannot become the 2nd or 3rd Daughter.
-
Laetitia cannot become the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th Daughter.
-
Puella cannot become the 2nd Daughter.
-
Puer cannot become the 3rd Daughter.
-
Rubeus cannot become the 2nd Daughter.
-
Tristitia cannot become the 4th Daughter.
-
Fortuna Minor cannot become the 3rd or 4th Daughter.
-
Fortuna Major cannot become the 3rd or 4th Daughter.
Only Via and Populus — the most symmetrical figures — can become any Daughter. Their structure allows for all combinations when sliced, which is why they can “move” freely.
So What?
Here’s why this matters. In many geomantic systems, including Cattan’s and Heydon’s, certain movements between houses, such as from the First to the Seventh (occupation), or to the Eighth (conjunction), depend on the idea that figures can reappear in later houses as part of a movement narrative.
But if a figure cannot mathematically appear as a Daughter (and therefore cannot appear in certain houses when the shield is cast), then any reading that assumes such a movement is impossible.
And yet Cattan and Heydon give rules and interpretations for these scenarios. Either they were working with looser rules, or they simply never noticed. To be fair, neither do I and I am not mathematically inclined enough to make sure of my adding up. However, it could be important so I thought I should flag it.
The Practical Implications in Readings
When a figure is not able to become a certain Daughter:
-
You’ll never see it in that Daughter’s position if you generated the chart strictly.
-
You’ll never see it moving to certain houses via those Daughters.
-
Any movement-based technique (occupation, conjunction, mutation) relying on that is invalid or at least, suspect.
Take Amissio, for example. If it’s the First Mother, you will never see it in the 2nd or 4th Daughter. That means it cannot occupy the 8th or 10th house depending on how you align your chart. So a reading suggesting Amissio moves into those houses through Daughter-derived movement is flawed.
Via and Populus: The Only True Free Agents
This also casts new light on the roles of Via and Populus. Their symmetrical nature — Via (all active), Populus (all passive) — means they can be any Daughter. They can go anywhere. And that’s not just poetic — it’s mathematical.
If you see these figures appearing as the First Mother, your reading has full range of motion. But if you see Cauda Draconis, for instance, expect limitations — not all movements are on the table.
Should We Panic?
Not really. But we should be more mindful.
Many geomantic traditions include a fair amount of inherited interpretation, ideas passed down without a hard look at whether they hold up mathematically. This is one of those moments where the cold binary of geomantic logic forces us to rethink what movements and figures are actually possible in a shield chart.
Final Thought
If geomancy is to remain a divinatory art with integrity, we owe it to the system (and to our clients) to keep one foot in tradition and one in precision. And sometimes, that means re-reading the classics with an eyebrow raised..
Comments are closed