An important magical and plot element in our story has to do with when people were born (or, with Ren, the many ways she lies about when she was born), so we designed a whole branch of numinatria around the numerical calendrical significance of people’s birth dates. What you might call ‘astrology’, though a friend commented recently that it’s not actually astrology. While the planetary objects in our setting have associations with these calendrical numbers, it’s the numbers that matter. And now I hear Tanaquis sputtering, “Obviously! Planets don’t influence our lives. Numbers do! Far more rational!”

So, what’s up with these numbers? Well, numinatria is an esoteric magic system of numerology and sacred geometry. The numbers 0 through 10 and their corresponding shapes/planets/colors/etc. have magical associations and divine power through the Seterin godhead, the Lumen. Numinatrian ‘astrology’ is based on the Seterin calendar, which divides the 365 day year into ten months of 36 days each, and five intercalary days around the summer solstice (the Seterin New Year). These intercalary days split the month of Colbrilun, representing the division of Illi as both 0 and 10 and the break in the cycle that is death, the return to the Lumen, and rebirth.

Astrological charts, sometimes called trines, are composed of three parts: the Prime (based on the birth month and time of day), which represents the personality of the individual or state of the situation in question, the Alter (based on the birth date and placement in the month), which represents the life path or trajectory of the person or situation in question, and the Trisect (based on the birth year), which represents how the person or situation fits in the larger world context. Remnants of an old Vraszenian tradition similar to the “Monday’s Child” poem associates personality with the day of the week someone was born on. It has nothing to do with Seterin astrology, but many Nadežrans still put some faith in this system.

This all means that we’ve settled on birthdates for many of our main characters — there’s a scene in The Mask of Mirrors where they even share these dates (or, in the case of several characters, lie about them). For example, Ren’s (true!) birthday in the Seterin calendar is 29s Equilun 964. In our Gregorian calendar, that transposes to 31 December 1999.

That was not deliberate, but it seems… very fitting, doesn’t it?

Anyways, here’s Ren’s full birth chart and reading for the last day of the year, a fitting celebration for finishing the draft of the third (and final) book in the Rook & Rose trilogy!

Ren

• Date
  • Gregorian Calendar: Dec. 31, 1999. For Realz.
  • Nadežran Calendar: 29s Equilun 964 (191)
• Calculations
  • Prime: Quinat, influenced by Quarat
  • Alter: 2^nd day, 4^th iteration, Tuat (Quarat)
  • Trisect: Ninat, Sessat, Quarat
  • Moon Phases: Corillis, First Quarter (fading); Paumillis, Waxing Crescent (fading)
  • Charting Notes: Quad 3 sunwise spiral. Quinat on inner ew side, Quarat on outer sw side. Quarat inside Tuat in Quad 4. Ninat, Sessat, Quarat on outside.
• Reading:
  • Ruled by Quinat – The Hand that Holds the World
    • Associations: Power, Healing, Excellence
    • Metal: iron
    • Gem: ruby
    • Color: red
    • Animal: horse
  • The individual
    • Quinat: This person is committed to excellence. They strive for it in all things and can become frustrated when their goals exceed their grasp. They have the capacity to heal the ills they see in the world, if they can look beyond their own ambitions.
    • Quarat (influence): This person appreciates the wealth that life has granted them, yet also knows that fate gives with one hand and takes with the other. Nothing in this life is permanent or guaranteed.
  • The path
    • Tuat: The path is an ever-looping one that leads us back to where we started, only to find that we are the ones who changed.
    • Quarat (influence):  The path leads to wealth and luck — both good and ill. It is best to share good fortune and let bad fortune pass quickly.
  • The world:
    • Year – Quarat: The world turns with the seasons; bounty is followed by privation, but eventually even bad luck will flip to good.
    • Decade – Sessat: The great events and great people that shatter and shape the world might be the chisel, but the small choices, insignificant individuals, and invisible social structures are the hammer that gives it strength.
    • Century – Ninat: This is the final truth of the world: People die, regimes fall, empires crumble. From the ashes springs new life.
  • Interesting Tidbits: Although Ren is ruled by Quinat, there is a lot of Quarat threaded through every aspect of her chart, indicating that she is someone who seeks wealth and bounty – though she won’t always keep it – and is very in tune with the movements and patterns of luck and fate.
  • Weekday: Andusny (Ižranyi/dreamweaver bird) – enlightened dreamer, deluded flake