Polaris is a piece of rectification software, written by Isaac Starkman for the PC, which uses topocentric primary directions as the basis for the rectification procedure.

 

I hope everyone appreciates that this is not on offer now and the software is provided "as is" - without any guarantee or warranty.

 

That is the good news - the not-so-good news is that Polaris only runs on Microsoft Windows XP and on a 32-bit PC..  The upshot of this is that an astrologer seeking to use this program has three options:

 

(a)  Buy a 32-bit Windows XP PC - probably a laptop; you can still find these on amazon, eBay or maybe a local computer shop or jumble sale.

This is, by far and away, the easiest option (though you may have a problem trying to get your Windows XP laptop to communicate with a modern printer).

 

The remaining two options involve running Windows XP on a Windows 7, 8.1 or 10.  Luckily Windows XP is so old that Microsoft makes it freely available nowadays and there is a program called Virtualbox which allows you to run it on Windows 10.  This installs what is called a virtual machine (i.e. a program that emulates the Windows XP environment).  The options vary as to how you get the Windows XP operating system into the virtual machine.

 

(b)  Use Microsoft's Windows XP Mode (on a 32-bit PC) - in this option, you install Windows XP from the virtual hard disc that you download from Microsoft and install the operating system from there.

 

(c)  Use a Windows XP installation disc (on a 32-bit PC) - if you don't have one to hand, you can download it from the web and burn it onto a CD.

 

Full instructions are provided for all the options.

 

Once you have Windows XP working, the installation of Polaris is very quick and easy.  Unless you go for option (a0, most of your time is going to be spent getting Windows XP working on your PC.

 

Below I have provided two links to zip files on my Google drive (copy and paste them into your browser; please email me if the links don't work):

 

Documents.zip ... this contains the full manual for Polaris 1,1 for Windows, together with some additional materials that will help anyone not familiar with Isaac Starkman's work on rectification.

Also included are the instructions for the various installation options described above.  (See below.)

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vu24wCFYl3FRZIaLxmGm93dlZRQx5KRM/view?usp=sharing

(19.3 MB)

 

 

PolarisInstallation2.zip ...  contains all the files needed for installation.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TKoId8sNYPExWCpl99CSTh2P8n0iSlAk/view?usp=sharing

(3.2 MB)

 

 

Isaac Starkman (starki579@gmail.com) is willing to offer his help to any serious astrologer - including the checking of their personal natal chart rectification, provided the approximate birth time is knows.

 

If you have problems with this site, e.g. if the links on this web page are not working, please contact me.

 

Andrew Khabaza

London, UK

ajak@khbusiness.co.uk

30 October 2019

 

Increasing Polaris' Calculation Speed (added February 2022)

 

The operating system Polaris was designed for dates from 1996.  In those days, maths co-processors were expensive optional extras - nowadays they are standard equipment.

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This means that when we run Polaris in a VitualBox, it doesn't use anything like the full processing power of our modern-day CPUs and some calculations can take e very long time (over 24 hours).

 

However, Sjoerd Visser (sjoerd.h.visser@hccnet.nl) has been doing some research on this and has found a way round it.

 

Oracle - who make the VirtualBox software we use - sometime ago introduced what they call Guest Additions.  These are VirtualBox add-ons that allow programs running in VirtualBox to use some of the extra processing power we have today.

 

For example, Sjoerd found that a Polaris rectification (with calculations every 4- or 8-seconds throughout the specified time window) might take 25 hours; using Guest Additions this comes down to 7 minutes!

 

Here is a link to Sjoerd's page Running 16-bit Polaris under Oracle's VirtualBox (*highly recommended*):

http://vissesh.home.xs4all.nl/mystiek/astrology_research/Polaris/polaris.html

and a link to the Astrology Research Group of the Netherlands:

http://astrology-research.nl/adb_stats/

 

How to Install VirtualBox's Guest Additions

 

If the PC you use can run VirtualBox 6.1.32, you can download the entire package from:

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

• Choose the "Windows hosts" option in the VirtualBox 6.1.32 platform packages section.

• The User manual is available in html or downloadable pdf format - see the link a little further down that oage.

 

Or you can use the link in Sjoerd's article:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/UserManual.html#guestadditions

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Documentation

 

The documents supplied (in Documents.zip) are as follows:

 

Rectification with Topocentric Primary Directions.pdf    This is an introductory article on rectification using topocentric PDs and also introduces the prenatal epoch and dual test.  If you are new to this material, begin here.

Polaris Software Review.pdf   An independent review of the software from the astrology magazine, Considerations (1997).

Polaris 1.1 Manual (English).pdf   The full manual for the software, including operating instructions and numerous examples.

Polaris 1.1 Manual (Spanish).pdf

Predictive Astrology, Juan Estadella, 3rd Edition, 2019   This is a major work on predictive astrology (332 pages) which references Polaris but also includes and introduction to all the techniques that Starkman uses.

Marr & Starkman Excerpts.pdf  Two excerpts from key texts that discuss the interpretation of the planets in this field.

 

Installation Option (a) Windows XP PC.pdf    These are the detailed instructions for each of the installation options mentioned above.

Installation Option (b) Using Windows XP Mode.pdf   

Installation Option (c) Windows XP Installation Disc.pdf

 

Marr & Millard.zip

Below is a link to another zip file that contains the following books as pdf's:

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https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zL-QA-YYYf4IRtNemzbmH6Jy5IoN8UVe

(60 MB)

 

Prediction I (Prediction - Using Common & Prenatal Cycles), Alexander Marr (1981)

Prediction II (Directions & the Art of Rectification), Alexander Marr (1985)

Prediction III (Synastry; The Ascendant-Lunar Horoscope; the Prenatal Epoch; Fixed Stars), Alexander Marr 1986 [unfortunately, this volume was printed on quite poor quality, thin paper, which has led to all sort of bleed-through problems where you see "shadow images" of diagrams on preceding and succeeding pages]

Political Astrology, Alexander Marr (1988)

The Genetics of Astrology - A Study of the Topocentric System, Margaret Millard (1988) [p.106-114 contain a technical description of the topocentric house system]

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In addition to these, I have been able to include:

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Astrologers, Kings, Politicians & Others - 60 lives Rectified & Analyzed, Alexander Marr (1990)

Astrologers, Kings, Politicians & Others - 40 Lives Rectified & Analyzed, Alexander Marr & Isaac Starkman ((1995)

These last two books take the theoretical foundations laid down in Prediction I/II/III and apply them to a wide variety of examples.

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