Copyright: copyright 1999 Vega Software
Citation: copyright 1999 Vega Software


General Settings

These settings control the appearance of the clock and the methods of calculation.

Default Location

Enter the latitude and longitude of your location. This information is required to calculate the house cusps, and should be as precise as possible.

Daylight Saving Time

If you are in an area that uses daylight saving time, and it is currently in operation, click the box that says 'It's summer..' that appears under the location setting.

Ephemeris

Choose the standard astrological Geocentric planetary positions, or alternatively the Heliocentric positions. The Tropical zodiac is always used.

Note that if you choose the Heliocentric setting, the position of the earth will display using the glyph for the sun.

Show Planets

Select which planets to show on the wheel.

Sign Colours

Colour the glyphs or the sign sections according to elemental colours. Note that the background setting will only work on large wheel sizes, otherwise colours will bleed into the rest of the clock.

House System

Choose Placidian, Koch or Equal houses.

House Cusps

Show no cusps, angles only (Ascendant/Descendant and Midheaven/IC) or all house cusps.

Zodiac

Choose standard Tropical Zodiac or Sidereal Zodiac (using Fagan-Bradley Ayanamsha).

Planet Appearance

Use the slider to set the planet size. This is proportional to the size of the clock window. Click on the Colour button to set the colour of planets on the clock.

Show Degrees/Minutes

Set whether to annotate the planet's positions on the wheel.


Aspect Settings

Use this page to determine how aspects between transiting planets, and aspects from transiting to natal planets, will be calculated and shown.

Use Aspects

Choose which aspects will be calculated. Selecting 'custom' allows you to define your own aspect.

Show Aspects From

Select which aspects from which aspects are calculated. Aspects are calculated from faster planets to slower planets, then the Node, Chiron, the Ascendant and the Midheaven. In the Transiting Aspects display screen, if you only wish to show aspects between planets and the angles, select all the options in this box. On the Natal aspects screen, this indicates which transiting planets will be compared to the natal planets.

Show Aspects To

Select which aspects to which aspects are calculated. In the transiting aspects display, only those planets which are slower-moving (later in the list) than those in the from selection will be significant. In the Transiting Aspects display screen, if you only wish to show aspects between planets and the angles, select only the Ascendant and the Midheaven in this box. In the Natal aspects screen, this indicates the natal planets to which transiting planets will be aspected.

Orbs

Select the orb to use for all the aspect screens except the scan, which has its own orb option.  A good orb is 0°30'. To be sure to catch all the aspects from the angles, you should not use an orb less than 17'.

Custom Asp

Set the degrees to use for the custom-defined aspect. The symbol c will show the aspect.

Use Texts for Aspects

If you check this box, aspects will be displayed in words rather than symbols.

No duplicates in scan

If you check this box, the scan will only list the first occurence of every aspect. The narrower your orb in the scan, the close the aspect time will be to the exact moment of the aspect.

Log Transits to Transits

If you check this box, transits in the Transiting aspects screen will not be erased when they go out of orb, and will be listed with the date and time of the aspect.

Log Transits to Natal

If you check this box, transits in the Transiting aspects screen will not be erased when they go out of orb, and will be listed with the date and time of the aspect.


Natal Settings

These settings are for the positions of the Natal planets for Transit to Natal aspects.  Use the list boxes to set the positions of the planets, node, Chiron and angles.

Load Settings from AstroPro

If you have AstroPro 5, you can load any chart into AstroPro, and then press this button to automatically retrieve the positions of the planets from AstroPro. Use the 'My Chart' menu item on the File menu to load your chart then simply press this button for a two-click listing of all the planets!


What is AstroClock
What is AstroClock, and Why?

AstroClock is a live astrological wheel which shows the current position of all the planets according to the astrological Tropical Zodiac, as well as the house cusps according to your choice of house systems.

AstroClock allows you to observe the dynamic, changing nature of the relationship between earth and sky, and in the process learn a whole lot more about what is happening around you.

Why use AstroClock?

Apart from the obvious interest and fun uses of AstroClock, we have discovered that our many thousands of users have used the clock for more serious purposes. It has great use as an instant horary chart which can be applied to phone calls or any other event that occurs in or around your office. Just by observation, you can learn the relationship between planetary positions and events on earth. Some users even use AstroClock successfully to help them determine the proper times to trade on the stock exchange. (Astrology has long been successfully used for this purpose, but now it can be done much more simply with AstroClock!)

AstroClock also allows you to instantly see current and upcoming transits to your own chart (or any other) as they unfold.


The Quick Guide to AstroClock

To Get Up and Running

FIRST, PLEASE HAVE THE COURTESY TO SEND US YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. IT IS THE ONLY PAYMENT WE ASK FOR USERS OF THE FREE VERSION. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE SPAM, YOUR ADDRESS WILL NOT BE GIVEN OUT, AND THE ADDRESS WILL ONLY BE USED TO INFORM YOU OF UPGRADES TO ASTROCLOCK AND TO ANY SIMILAR PRODUCTS WE PRODUCE.

BAN THE SPAM!

SEND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO clock@vega.co.za. Thank you!

Set Your Location and Summer Time

Once you have installed AstroClock, go to the Settings dialogue and enter the latitude and longitude of your location. AstroClock will not work properly if you don't!

If you are in an area that uses daylight saving time, and it is currently in operation, click the box that says 'It's summer..' that appears under the location setting.

AstroClock uses the system information to determine your time zone. Your location must match the settings in your computer, otherwise the clock will display incorrectly.

Set Calculation Choices

If you don't like our default settings for calculation type and planet display, use the rest of the General settings page to set these to your likeing.

Set Your Aspect and Natal Choices

If you are using the PRO version of AstroClock, go to the Aspect, Show/Aspect Line Settings and Natal settings pages to decide which asepcts you want displayed, how you want them displayed, and the co-ordinates for a natal chart if you want to also display transiting aspects to a natal chart. The Freeware version allows you to try these features the first few times you use it.

If you use AstroPro 5 or later, you can automatically load a natal chart ... see the Natal page for details.

Once You're Going

When you close the AstroClock window, it is still accessible from the system tray. The system tray displays the glyph of the current Ascendant. Click on it to show the clock, or right-click on it to show the menu.

The menu is always available from the usual menu bar, or by right-clicking the clock or system tray icon. Try the menus to see what AstroClock can show you...

Make it All JUST SO

Arrange the position and sizes of your Clock and Transit windows - AstroClock automatically remembers them when you exit. In fact, all settings are automatically saved unless you press the Cancel button on the settings dialog.

POWER USERS: Add Features to AstroClock, Add AstroClock features to other Programs, or Create your Own!

AstroClock will provide the current planetary positions to any program that requests it with a simple OLE (ActiveX) command. You can use MS Office, VB, Delphi or almost any other programmable or scriptable software to access this information. You could do this:

•	Create another window, similar to our transit ones, with yet more information that might be relevant for you - for example, if a planet is on a fixed star, or some significant point, which your program has defined.

•	Create a worksheet in Excel which uses the current planetary positions to plot a graph, perhaps in relation to a commodity or sequence of events. Your Excel chart could even be live!

•	Create a server-based application on an NT server* which uses that information in a similar (or different!!) way and posts it on a Website.

•	How about this: create a Word template that (using a timer) waits until a planet or angle gets to a particular position and then writes a document using that information, and emails or faxes it to a number of recipients!

All of these, of course, require that your target users have their own legal copies of AstroClock PRO!

Read the page on the AstroClock ActiveX Server for more information on how to use the feature.


Showing Aspects

There are two aspect windows which you can leave on your desktop, even when the clock itself is hidden.

The aspects and orbs may be set on the Aspect settings page.

Aspects to Natal

This window shows the current aspects from the transiting planets to a natal chart defined in the Natal settings page of the options dialog. The aspect list is updated every minute, and as long as aspects are in orb they are listed.

Transiting Aspects

This shows aspects between the transiting planets themselves (including the angles).

Aspect Lines

These are shown in the centre of the wheel and use the same settings as the other transiting aspect options.

Settings Which Affect these Windows

The orb setting most crucially affects these windows - an orb less than 17' may miss some of the angles' aspects. The greater the orb, the earlier the aspect will begin to show, although since the orb is listed this does not affect your use of the information. Also, read the Aspects page to see how the 'from' and 'to' planets are differently treated for each of the windows.

All the transit  windows, including the scan report, are affected by the 'show as text' setting, which toggles between displaying glyphs and displaying text. You can also display text using the toggle button on the aspects windows.

Scanning A Day for Aspects

To help use the information in a useful way, you can check the aspects for any day in advance. Use the 'scan transits' menu item to select a date and orb to use. Orb considerations are the same - the greater the orb, the earlier the aspects will show. This is particularly significant if you don't show duplicates in the list.

You can print the report using the menu item on the Transit scan list.

Settings Which Affect the Scan

It is mostly the 'No duplicates in scan' option on the Aspect settings page that determines the length and content of the scan report.


ActiveX/OLE with AstroClock
The AstroClock ActiveX Server

 Add Features to AstroClock, Add AstroClock features to other Programs, or Create your Own!

AstroClock will provide the current planetary positions to any program that requests it with a simple OLE (ActiveX) command. You can use MS Office, VB, Delphi or almost any other programmable or scriptable software to access this information. You could do this:

•	Create another window, similar to our transit ones, with yet more information that might be relevant for you - for example, if a planet is on a fixed star, or some significant point, which your program has defined.

•	Create a worksheet in Excel which uses the current planetary positions to plot a graph, perhaps in relation to a commodity or sequence of events. Your Excel chart could even be live!

•	Create a server-based application on an NT server* which uses that information in a similar (or different!!) way and posts it on a Website.

•	How about this: create a Word template that (using a timer) waits until a planet or angle gets to a particular position and then writes a document using that information, and emails or faxes it to a number of recipients!

All of these, of course, require that your target users have their own legal copies of AstroClock PRO!

How to Get the Info from AstroClock

The procedure for getting the information is very simple, but will vary according to which scripting or programming language you are using. Essentially, you do this:

1. Declare a single precision variable.

2. Declare an OLE or Variant variable.

3. Create the OLE Variable using the object called 'ClockScript'.

4. Get the property from the Clock object which represents the planet you are interested in. They are numbered from 1-14, and are of course single precision numbers in the form of absolute longitude of the planet's position, expressed in decimal.

The syntax of the command is clockvariable.GetPlanets (number) where clockvariable is an object variable and number is an integer. The property returned is a single-precision number. The brackets are optional according to the syntax of the calling language.

The planets are 1-10; Node is 1; Chiron is 12; Ascendant is 13; Midheaven is 14.

Click here for an example on how to get all the positions.

Creating and Distributing Add-Ons and Apps

The target user of your add-on or independent software must be running AstroClock PRO for your software to work.  While you are entitled to distribute the AstroClock Freeware version, you may not distribute PRO licenses or licensed copies of AstroClock. Your users must purchase licenses of their own!


Examples

These examples show how to receive all planetary positions.

Delphi

procedure GetPositions;

var

I:Integer;

Planets:array[1..14] of single;

Clock:OLEVariant;

begin

Clock := OLEVariant.Create('AstroClock.ClockScript')

for I := 1 to 14 do Planets[I] := Clock.GetPlanet(I);

end;

Visual Basic/VBA

Sub GetPositions()

Dim Clock as Object

Dim Planets(14) as Single

Set Clock = CreateObject("AstroClock.ClockScript")

For I = 1 to 14

Planets(I) = Clock.GetPlanet I

Next

Set Clock = Nothing

End Sub


Upgrading to AstroClock PRO
Upgrading to the AstroClock PRO

All the aspecting features of AstroClock are only available on the PRO version. When you order the PRO version, you will receive a tiny license program (usually by email) that will transform your clock into the full PRO version.

International Orders

AstroClock PRO is $12. To order, send your credit card number and expiry date (VISA and MASTER cards only) to us at clock@info.co.za, or fax them to Int+27-21-461-0992, or mail them to Vega Software, 1 Fairview, 13 Chelmsford Rd, Vredehoek, Cape Town 8001, South Africa.

Licenses will be sent by email. If you do not have an email address and require delivery on stiffy, an additional $3 will be charged and you will receive the disk by email.

South African Orders

AstroClock PRO is R60. To order, send your credit card number and expiry date (VISA and MASTER cards only) to us at clock@info.co.za, or fax them to (021) 461-0992, or mail them to Vega Software, 1 Fairview, 13 Chelmsford Rd, Vredehoek, Cape Town 8001.

Licenses will be sent by email. If you do not have an email address and require delivery on stiffy, an additional R5 will be charged and you will receive the disk by email.

For all enquiries, help etc, contact us at clock@vega.co.za

Program support is only available for users of AstroClock PRO.


Show/Aspect Line Settings

This page sets how aspect lines will be shown on the clock.

Use Aspect Lines

Checking this box puts aspect lines in the centre of the screen (PRO version only). Unchecking this box will place the house numbers in the signs.

Show Aspect Lines

This list allows you to select which planets have aspect lines drawn to them.

Line Appearance

Use the drop-down list to select each aspect in turn, and use the 'Colour' and 'Style' drop-downs to select the appearance of each type of line.

Void of Course Moon

This controls how VOC moon is handled

Check for VOC enables the setting. The moon is considered VOC when it makes no 30-degree aspects before it leaves the sign it is in.

Show system tray icon - when the moon is VOC the system tray icon changes to an X-ed moon.

Change clock colour - if the clock face is visible, changes the colour of the clock face when the moon is VOC.