I just remembered I made this thread. I'm going to try and illustrate why I think antiscia are useful, at least with Sabian symbols... not sure how useful they are with transits and such. I'll just give one example from each pair of signs to try and demonstrate this:
Virgo 15:
PHASE 165 (VIRGO 15°): A FINE LACE HANDKERCHIEF, HEIRLOOM FROM VALOROUS ANCESTORS.
KEYNOTE: The quintessence of deeds well done.
Aries 16:
PHASE 16 (ARIES 16°): NATURE SPIRITS ARE SEEN AT WORK IN THE LIGHT OF SUNSET.
KEYNOTE: Attunement to the potency of invisible forces, of nature.
These two symbols are antiscia, and the obvious connection here to me is that Virgo 15 and Aries 16 both involve things that given to us, in one case by nature, and in another case by our ancestors. There's no suggestion in either symbol of individual agency or assuming control over life. One is the natural legacy of our parents or culture, and the other is the natural legacy of nature itself, things we can only see when we're open to a nonrational, intuitive way of thinking that isn't as dependent on goal-oriented energy and striving. Virgo 15 is also open to this, but more at an emotional/cultural level of accepting one's station in life rather than on a spiritual/intuitive level. Though, the form of the nature spirits seem to take can be culturally influenced, and to some extent all the different characterizations of nature spirits retain similar basic characteristics in spite of cultural differences. So there's a link here between cultural inheritance and natural rhythms. Nature influences the shape of culture, yet culture also affects our perspective on nature.
Cancer 15:
PHASE 105 (CANCER 15°): IN A SUMPTUOUS DINING HALL GUESTS RELAX AFTER PARTAKING OF A HUGE BANQUET.
KEYNOTE: The need that exists at an early stage of human growth to materialize the concept of fulfillment.
Gemini 16:
PHASE 76 (GEMINI 16°): A WOMAN ACTIVIST IN AN EMOTIONAL SPEECH DRAMATIZING HER CAUSE.
KEYNOTE: A passionate response to a deeply felt new experience.
The connection here is that in both cases, the mind has seen something and wants to materialize it. The diners want to make concrete some kind of spiritual ideal, and the "woman activist" wants to make others understand her cause and passionately argue for it... why? Presumably, so that something will eventually be done in service of it, that is the ideas the cause represents would eventually be made material reality. Those ideas could be a sort of spiritual ideal for the activist, so the connection kind of makes sense if you consider the symbols carefully.
Leo 15:
PHASE 135 (LEO 15°): A PAGEANT, WITH ITS SPECTACULAR FLOATS, MOVES ALONG A STREET CROWDED WITH CHEERING PEOPLE.
KEYNOTE: The more or less sensational release of energies in a form dramatizing the unconscious aspirations of man's primitive and instinctual nature.
Taurus 16:
PHASE 46 (TAURUS 16°): AN OLD TEACHER FAILS TO INTEREST HIS PUPILS IN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
KEYNOTE: The inadequacy of past knowledge in time of crisis.
The connection here could be that people are often moved primarily by spectacle and novelty, and thus listening to someone pontificate about well-worn concepts, no matter how relevant they might be, is uninteresting to most until the old knowledge can be repackaged into a form that will appeal to the masses, until a big event or demonstration confirms that old knowledge and draws attention to it yet again, refreshing and renewing it. It's a hint of what sort of things might distract people from learning, and yet also why novel and spectacular ways of communicating the same old ideas can captivate people when an "old teacher" going over old ideas might fail to do so. It could even be the case that in some cases people tend to enjoy a pageant or show without understanding the traditions and ideas that it represents, just enjoying the spectacle without understanding the deeper meaning.
Pisces 15:
PHASE 345 (PISCES 15°): AN OFFICER INSTRUCTING HIS MEN BEFORE A SIMULATED ASSAULT UNDER A BARRAGE OF LIVE SHELLS.
KEYNOTE: The need for thorough rehearsing before any complex and inherently dangerous social ritual in which power is used or evoked.
Libra 16:
PHASE 196 (LIBRA 16°): AFTER A STORM A BOAT LANDING STANDS IN NEED OF RECONSTRUCTION.
KEYNOTE: The need to keep in operation steady links between the vast Unconscious and the ego-consciousness.
One of these symbols involves preparing to deal with a potential crisis that one might face when too far away from civilization, like on a battlefield or in the wilderness. The other involves dealing with the aftermath of destruction, possibly leaning on training or preparation to deal with a situation where one is cut off. In some ways intense training helps to prepare the mind for crisis situations where one might need to repair something quickly without guidance or support from elsewhere. To put it simply, it seems connected to the reason why the army has a corps of engineers, not just soldiers. What's funny is just the other day, I was writing a fictional story about a war, and one of the things that happened in it was that one nation on a separate continent destroyed ports it feared the enemy might use, and the nations on that continent worked together to try and restore the ports so they could have trade again. The link between these two symbols seems to hint at the possibility that the "storm" won't always be natural... sometimes it can be something man-made like a war that destroys the boat landing, and in general that society itself can provide training to help prepare for the potential crisis represented by Libra 16.
Aquarius 15:
PHASE 315 (AQUARIUS 15°): TWO LOVEBIRDS SITTING ON A FENCE AND SINGING HAPPILY.
KEYNOTE: The blessing bestowed upon personal achievements by the spiritually fulfilled consciousness of the Soul.
Scorpio 16:
PHASE 226 (SCORPIO 16°): A GIRL'S FACE BREAKING INTO A SMILE.
KEYNOTE: The fervent reaching out on the part of the young of heart to new experiences.
Well, this one is pretty obvious, actually... the girl is potentially smiling because she's excited by the thought of accepting relationship, and the lovebirds sitting on the fence have achieved union and live with inner happiness and the sense of fulfillment. It could be that Aquarius 15 is what the girl in Scorpio 16 has in her head as her ideal outcome that makes her want to smile at the thought of accepting relationship and being open.
Capricorn 15:
PHASE 285 (CAPRICORN 15°): IN A HOSPITAL, THE CHILDREN'S WARD IS FILLED WITH TOYS.
KEYNOTE: The responsibility of society to ensure the welfare and total health of the new generation.
Sagittarius 16:
PHASE 256 (SAGITTARIUS 16°): SEA GULLS FLY AROUND A SHIP IN EXPECTATION OF FOOD.
KEYNOTE: The easily acquired dependence of psychic desires upon the stimulation of social circumstances.
This pair of symbols is interesting because it talks about the balance between the need to care for children and the duty society has to do so, and the ease with which this can turn into a dependency that stifles the natural instincts that would normally push an animal to struggle or hunt. It seems to be about the entire tension between human infants being helpless for much of their lives and thus needing to be dependent for part of their lives, with the danger of damaging the kind of natural instincts and drives that could give them the drive to contribute to society and be more independent later on. With animals in particular, this could even indicate why humans want to feed animals and take care of them... they like the idea of caring for beings that are less capable than themselves, because it's what they do with their own children. Feeding them comes naturally, there's something "cute" about animals often. Sometimes there is a tendency to infantilize animals and treat them like baby humans rather than respecting their instincts and drives.
So, hopefully people can see why I would wish to take this kind of approach, and why I would sometimes be tempted to look at any given Sabian symbol in terms of the symbol of its antiscia to see the bigger picture or what's behind it in a way. I mean, people do already sometimes consider the opposing degree, and the symbols immediately before or after... in this case, I'm just taking note of another, less obvious kind of connection between two seemingly separate symbols.
