Rectifying a Chart with the Prenatal Epoch

Introduction
This is how one rectifies a natal chart using the Prenatal Epoch as was explained to me (Todd
Carnes) on the newsgroup alt.astrology.moderated by Michael Rideout in May 2005. Any mistakes in
this information are mine. Michael had nothing to do with it. :)

Method
I. Find the index date.
A) Count back 10 Lunar Months from the date of birth.
B) Another way is to count back nine months, using the day you were born on, and then look in
the ephemeris to find the date when the Moon was at the same position as in your natal
chart.
II. Determine whether the pregnancy was longer or shorter than the average (273 days).
A) If the Moon was waxing above the horizon, or waning below the horizon, it was shorter.
B) If the Moon was waxing below the horizon or waning above the horizon, it was longer.
III. Determine whether the Moon & the Ascendant switched places, or whether the Moon &
Descendant switched places.
A) Moon Waxing: natal Moon = conception Ascendant and conception Moon = natal
Ascendant.
B) Moon Waning: natal Moon = conception Descendant and conception Moon = natal
Descendant.
IV. Keep adjusting the date and time of the conception and the time of birth to arrive at the closest
possible interchange between the Moon and Ascendant(Moon Waxing) or between the Moon &
Descendant(Moon Waning).
V. Once you have your potential rectified date & time verify the resulting chart to see if the are
valid in accordance with the following criteria.
A) The time for the rectified chart should conform within reason to the recorded time of
birth.
B) The conception chart should should predict the native's gender correctly.
1. The conception Ascendant and the conception Moon should be conjunct degrees which
correctly correspond to the native's gender.
The degrees are determined by the critical degrees, which are the cusps of the 28
Lunar Mansions and have the following genders:
00A00 = F, 12A51 = M, 25A43 = M, 08B34 = F,
21B26 = M, 04C17 = F, 17C09 = F, 00D00 = F,
12D51 = F, 25D43 = M, 08E34 = M, 21E26 = M,
04F17 = M, 17F09 = F, 00G00 = M, 12G51 = F,
 25G43 = F, 08H34 = M, 21H26 = F, 04I17 = M,
17I09 = M, 00J00 = M, 12J51 = M, 25J43 = F,
08K34 = F, 21K26 = F, 04L17 = F, 17L09 = M
2. If they occupy degrees that indicate both genders, then the Moon should occupy a
quadrant which corresponds to the native's gender. The Quadrants are as follows:
Quadrant I = Ascendant to Imum Coeli = F
Quadrant II = Imum Coeli to Descendant = M
Quadrant III = Descendant to Medium Coeli = F
Quadrant IV = Medium Coeli to Ascendant = M
C) The conception chart should give an accurate description of the native's fortune and
character.
D) The rectified chart should produce accurate directions.
VI. If the 4 criteria in step 5 are not met, then the chart is said to be fictitious and it must be
adjusted by swapping the Moon and horizon as follows then repeat steps 4 and 5:
A) natal moon = conception Ascendant and conception Moon = natal Descendant ... or
B) natal Moon = conception Descendant and conception Moon = natal Ascendant
VII.If the 4 criteria in step 5 are met, you have your rectified chart.

Example
The following is a post from the newsgroup discussion previously mentioned in which Michael
walks me through rectifying my own chart. (edited slightly to remove extraneous entries not pertinent
to the example).

Newsgroups: alt.astrology.moderated
Subject: Re: Rectifying with the Prenatal Epoch
Date: 25 May 2005 03:50:09 GMT

You've posted the following birth data in this newsgroup:

October 9, 1966
2:52 pm EST
82:00:45 W, 39:56:30 N
Counting back 9 months (or 10 Lunar returns) before your birth, we get a
preliminary date of January 8 or 9, 1966.

You have the Moon waning, so we want to swap the Moon and Descendant.
You have the Moon waning above the horizon, so we must go backward a little before
the preliminary date to position the conception Moon at the natal Descendant (i.e.,
the period between conception and birth was longer than 273 days).
Your natal Descendant is at 4:47:47 Leo. If we move the Moon back to about that
position, we get a tentative date and time of January 8, 1966, 5:26 am EST.
That gives a Descendant of 13:14:36 Gemini, and your natal Moon is at 15:39:22 Leo.
If we move the Descendant ahead to about that position, we get a new tentative time
of 9:25:53 am EST.
This is the point where we start to "rectify" the birth time. The new tentative
conception time has moved the conception Moon to 7:19:05 Leo, but your natal
Descendant is at 4:47:47 Leo, so now we need to adjust your birth time. If we move
the natal Descendant to about 7:19:05 Leo, we get a "rectified" birth time of
2:59:52 pm EST.
We keep tweaking the birth time and conception time until we get the closest fit
between the conception and natal positions. That is, now the "rectified" natal Moon
is at 15:44:06 Leo, so moving the conception Descendant again gives us a conception
time of 9:26:06 am EST.
Fortunately, we need to make only one more change, bumping the birth time another
second to 2:59:53 pm EST. This gives us the following:

Conception: Birth:
January 8, 1966 October 9, 1966
9:26:06 am EST 2:59:53 pm EST
82:00:45 W, 39:56:30 N 82:00:45 W, 39:56:30 N
Moon 7:19:13 Leo Descendant 7:19:20 Leo
Descendant 15:44:01 Leo Moon 15:44:07 Leo
The only way to get more exact matches would be to adjust the times by fractions of
a second, so we're done.
As for whether the rectified time is "reasonable," the rule in the reference I'm
using (HTTP://www.rosicrucian.com/zineen/pamen034.htm) says that "It [the Epoch]
must confirm the time of birth within the limits of an ordinary observation." I
interpret this to mean that the resulting "rectified" time should be fairly close
to the observed, or recorded, time of birth. Sometimes we end up with a "rectified"
time that is an hour or so different than the recorded birth time, but in your case
the difference is only 7 minutes and 53 seconds, so I'd say that the Epoch
"confirm[s] the time of birth within the limits of an ordinary observation"--
although just how large or small "the limits of an ordinary observation" might be
is subject to debate!
In any case, I think if we were to use either of the variations-- n.Moon=c.Asc and
n.Desc=c.Moon, or n.Moon=c.Desc and n.Asc=c.Moon-- we would end up with "rectified"
times that are even further from the recorded time of birth, so our tentative
"rectified" time looks good.
If we test the conception chart against the "law of sex," I think we get the
conception Ascendant at 15:44:01 Aquarius near a female degree, and the conception
Moon at 7:19:13 Leo near a male degree, so we need to use the quadrant of the Moon
to settle the issue. The Moon is in the 2nd quadrant of the conception chart, which
is a male quadrant, so the conception chart indicates that the fetus was male,
which it was. So the second rule is satisfied: "It [the Epoch] must define the sex
of the subject according to certain rules."
The third rule, or test of validity, says that "It [the Epoch] must show the
general character and fortunes of the individual." You will have to examine the
conception chart for yourself to decide if it gives a fairly good description of
your "general character and fortunes."
And finally, the fourth rule says that "It [the Epoch] must furnish directions in
accord with the events of life." This presumably means that directing the
conception chart should give directed aspects which conform to significant life
events-- but it also follows that the "rectified" birth chart should respond well
to transits, progressions, and directions. For example, you might look at the
following:
t.Uranus conjunct n.Asc (4:47:47 Aquarius):
May 8, 1996 (SR)
Jan. 27, 1997
Oct. 2, 1997
Oct. 14, 1997 (SD)
Oct. 25, 1997

versus

t.Uranus conjunct r.Asc (7:19:20 Aquarius):

Mar. 15, 1997
July 13, 1997
Jan. 4, 1998

Which of the above two set of dates corresponded most closely to significant events
that would fit the meaning of transiting Uranus conjunct your Ascendant? Note that
since transiting Uranus stationed very close to your "official" natal Ascendant in
October of 1997, that whole month should have been fairly noteworthy if the
"official" time is the better of the two. But if the "rectified" time is the better
one, then October of 1997 might not have been as significant as the dates in the
second list.
Or you might look at the following:

t.Pluto conjunct n.MC (26:17:04 Scorpio):

Dec. 9. 1993
June 1, 1994
Oct. 6, 1994

versus

t.Pluto conjunct r.MC (28:11:50 Scorpio):

Mar. 1, 1994 (SR)
Nov. 26, 1994
July 2, 1995
Sep. 14, 1995

Again, which set of dates conforms most closely to any significant events related
to your career, professional reputation, etc.?
I hope this has helped to clarify your understanding of the prenatal epoch and how
to use it to "rectify" the birth chart. But keep in mind that it's a controversial
method, and it hasn't been proven to work.

Contact Information
If you would like to contact me with questions, suggestions, to point out errors, etc...., I can be reached at
toddcarnes@gmail.com.

Todd Carnes