Company is a special relationship between two geomantic figures when they stand in an established pair of houses. Company does not arise between any two neighboring houses. It arises only where an odd-numbered house is followed by the next even-numbered house.
Therefore, Company is possible only in the following pairs of houses:
- I and II;
- III and IV;
- V and VI;
- VII and VIII;
- IX and X;
- XI and XII.
If the order is reversed—first an even-numbered house, then an odd-numbered house—Company is not formed. Therefore, there is no Company between the following pairs of houses:
- II and III;
- IV and V;
- VI and VII;
- VIII and IX;
- X and XI.
In short, Company exists only within the proper pair: an odd-numbered house followed by the next even-numbered house.
The Four Kinds of Company
There are only four kinds of Company in geomancy:
- Perfect Company;
- Planetary Company;
- Inversion Company;
- Head Company.
Other resemblances between figures do not, by themselves, create Company.
1. Perfect Company
Perfect Company arises when the same figure appears in both houses of a proper pair.
Example of Application
- Amissio in the eleventh house and Amissio in the twelfth house.
This is the most direct form of Company: the same figure is repeated in both houses of the pair.
2. Planetary Company
Planetary Company arises when two different figures stand in a proper pair of Houses and both share the same planetary nature.
Figures by planetary nature:
- E Moon: Populus, Via;
- B Mercury: Albus, Conjunctio;
- C Venus: Amissio, Puella, Caput Draconis;
- A Sun: Fortuna Major, Fortuna Minor;
- F Mars: Puer, Rubeus, Cauda Draconis;
- K Jupiter: Acquisitio, Lætitia, Caput Draconis;
- L Saturn: Carcer, Tristitia, Cauda Draconis.
Example of Application
- Puella in the first house and Caput Draconis in the second house, because both figures have the nature of C Venus.
The Figures of the Nodes and the E Moon
The figures of the Lunar Nodes must be handled carefully. Caput Draconis and Cauda Draconis are not lunar figures merely because the Nodes are astronomically connected with the E Moon. In Company, they are read according to their benefic or malefic nature.
- Caput Draconis has the benefic nature of K Jupiter and C Venus.
- Cauda Draconis has the malefic nature of L Saturn and F Mars.
Therefore, Caput Draconis may form Planetary Company with figures of K Jupiter or C Venus, and Cauda Draconis may form Planetary Company with figures of L Saturn or F Mars.
But neither Caput Draconis nor Cauda Draconis forms Planetary Company with the lunar figures Populus and Via.
3. Inversion Company
Inversion Company arises when two figures in a proper pair of houses are inversions of one another; that is, one figure becomes the other when turned upside down.
Pairs of inverted figures:
- Lætitia and Tristitia;
- Rubeus and Albus;
- Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor;
- Caput Draconis and Cauda Draconis;
- Puer and Puella;
- Acquisitio and Amissio.
Populus, Carcer, Conjunctio, and Via remain themselves when turned upside down. Therefore, when one of these figures is repeated in a proper pair of houses, it is read as Perfect Company, not as a separate Inversion Company.
Example of Application
- Fortuna Major in the ninth house and Fortuna Minor in the tenth house.
Here the relationship is not based on identity or shared planetary nature, but on the fact that one figure is the inverted form of the other.
4. Head Company
Head Company arises when two figures in a proper pair of houses have the same upper line: either one point or two points.
Figures with one point in the Head line:
- Lætitia;
- Fortuna Minor;
- Cauda Draconis;
- Puer;
- Puella;
- Amissio;
- Carcer;
- Via.
Figures with two points in the Head line:
- Tristitia;
- Rubeus;
- Albus;
- Fortuna Major;
- Caput Draconis;
- Acquisitio;
- Populus;
- Conjunctio.
Examples of Application
- Puella in the fifth house and Puer in the sixth house; Populus in the third house and Tristitia in the fourth house.
Here the relationship is not created by the whole figure, nor by shared planetary nature, but by the matching upper line—the Head of the figure.
What Is Not Company
It is important to distinguish Company from other relationships between figures.
Complementary Figures
These do not form Company.
A pair is complementary when each of the four lines has been changed into its opposite: one point becomes two points, and two points become one point.
In other words, all four levels of the figure are changed:
- Head;
- Neck;
- Body;
- Feet.
Examples of complementary figures:
- Lætitia and Caput Draconis;
- Tristitia and Cauda Draconis;
- Rubeus and Puella;
- Albus and Puer;
- Carcer and Conjunctio.
Even if two complementary figures stand in a proper pair of houses, they do not form Company merely by being complementary.
Company arises only by one of the four rules: Perfect Company, Planetary Company, Inversion Company, or Head Company. Complementarity is not a fifth kind of Company.
Uses of Company
Company is an additional tool of judgment. It does not replace the main judgment of the chart, nor does it override the primary significators.
Its function is to refine description, show the involvement of other people, indicate movement from present to future, or, in certain cases, suggest a possible way by which the chart may be perfected.
1. Additional Description of the Quesited
A figure in Company with the Quesited may further describe the person, object, or matter signified by the Quesited.
The main figure gives the primary image. The accompanying figure adds a secondary layer of meaning.
Examples of Application
- If the seventh house describes another person, the figure in that house gives the main image of that person. If the figure in the eighth house is in Company with it, that figure may add further details of appearance, temperament, or behavior.
If the figure in Company is connected with the significator of the Quesited, it may also signify a person, object, or circumstance that has power or influence over the Quesited. In that case, the Querent may need to act through whatever is represented by that accompanying figure.
2. The Involvement of Other People
Company may show that more than one person, a group of people, or a related circumstance is involved in the matter.
The accompanying figure may signify someone who affects the outcome, helps, obstructs, or otherwise has a role in the matter asked about.
If the figure in Company is connected with the significator of the Querent, it may indicate a third person who helps the Querent bring about the desired result.
A chart may show the involvement of more than one person in several ways:
- through figures of K Jupiter and B Mercury, which correspond to double-bodied zodiac signs: Lætitia, Albus, Acquisitio, and Conjunctio;
- through Populus, as the figure of the crowd, the mass, or a group of people;
- through the different kinds of Company.
3. Possible Perfection of the Chart
Some traditional sources state that a figure in Company with the significator of the Querent or the Quesited may help perfect the chart; that is, help bring the matter to the desired outcome.
This rule should be used cautiously. It does not always work reliably in practice, and it depends on the context of the question, the figures involved, and the reception between them.
4. Present and Future
In each proper pair of houses, the odd-numbered House may be read as the present, and the even-numbered House as the future.
For example:
- the first house—present;
- the second house—future.
In this way, Company may show movement from the current state of the matter toward its later condition.
Addition of Figures, or Reception
Figures in Company may sometimes be added together. The resulting figure shows the reception between them: an additional meaning created by their interaction.
This is not required in every chart. It may be done whenever more information is needed, but the result will not always be relevant.
The usual order of reading is:
- the main figure gives the primary image;
- the accompanying figure modifies or refines that image;
- the figure produced by addition shows the interaction between the two figures.
Most often, the main figure in the House shows the nature of the person in the context of the question. The accompanying figure adds a modification: physical, psychological, behavioral, or circumstantial. Reception shows how these qualities combine.
Company in Describing People
When a chart describes a person, Company helps us avoid reducing that person to a single figure.
The figure in the main house shows the primary type. The figure in Company adds further traits. Reception shows how those traits combine.
Thus, a person may outwardly correspond to one figure, while in character, speech, temperament, or behavior showing a noticeable mixture of another nature.
Company in Describing Objects
Company may be used not only to describe people, but also to describe things.
If the question concerns a gift, purchase, property, possession, or specific object, the main House shows the object itself. The figure in Company refines its quality, while reception adds another layer of meaning.
This can help describe the object more precisely: its appearance, use, properties, value, or connection with the person who gives or uses it.
Combined Companies
Sometimes the same pair of figures, standing in a proper pair of houses, may form more than one kind of Company at the same time.
This happens when two rules are fulfilled simultaneously: for example, the figures share the same planetary nature and also have the same Head line.
In such cases, the bond between the figures is stronger or more emphatic, but it must still be read according to the context of the question and the meaning of the houses.
Examples of Application
- For example, Acquisitio and Caput Draconis, when standing in a proper pair of houses, form both Planetary Company and Head Company: both figures have the nature of K Jupiter, and both have two points in the Head line.
- Another example is Albus and Conjunctio. If they stand in a proper pair of houses, they also form both Planetary Company and Head Company: both figures have the nature of B Mercury, and both have two points in the Head line.
