Zodiacal Releasing (Aphesis) #

The ZodiacalReleasingFactory computes zodiacal releasing (aphesis), a Hellenistic time-lord technique (Vettius Valens). Periods unfold from a Lot’s sign in zodiacal order: each sign rules for its “general years”, subdividing into months, days and finer levels, with the “loosing of the bond” jump applied as the sequence circles back. Peak (angular) periods are marked relative to the Lot of Fortune.

A known birth time is required (the technique is built from the Ascendant and the Lots).

Basic Usage #

from kerykeion import AstrologicalSubjectFactory, ZodiacalReleasingFactory

# Offline mode: explicit coordinates, no GeoNames lookup
subject = AstrologicalSubjectFactory.from_birth_data(
    "Jane", 1990, 6, 15, 12, 0,
    lng=12.4964, lat=41.9028, tz_str="Europe/Rome", online=False,
)

zr = ZodiacalReleasingFactory.from_subject(subject, lot="fortune", levels=2, target_date="2026-06-04")
print(zr.lot_sign, len(zr.periods), "top-level periods")

for period in zr.periods:
    print(period)

Methods #

`from_subject(subject, *, lot="fortune", levels=2, target_date=None, life_cap_years=...)` #

Build the zodiacal-releasing periods for a subject.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`subject`	`AstrologicalSubjectModel`	–	The natal chart (requires a known birth time / Ascendant).
`lot`	`"fortune"` / `"spirit"`	`"fortune"`	Which Lot to release from.
`levels`	int	2	Subdivision levels to compute (1–4). L1/L2 are built in full; deeper levels only along the target-date path.
`target_date`	str (ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`) or None	None	Date used to mark the current period chain. When omitted, only full levels (≤ 2) are built.
`life_cap_years`	int	100	How far the L1 timeline extends, in years of life (`DEFAULT_LIFE_CAP_YEARS`).

When target_date falls beyond life_cap_years, the L1 timeline is extended to cover the target date plus a ten-year margin, so the current path is always resolvable. A shorter cap is never applied in that case.

Returns: ZodiacalReleasingModel

Raises: KerykeionException for an unknown lot; an unresolvable Lot (missing birth time, so no Ascendant/Sun/Moon); an unparseable target_date; a timezone-aware target_date (pass a bare ISO date such as "2026-06-04"); or a subject with no single moment in time to anchor the timeline — a midpoint composite. Returns and Davison charts are accepted: they resolve through their ISO timestamp.

Data Models #

`ZodiacalReleasingModel` #

Field	Type	Description
`lot`	str	The Lot released from (`"fortune"` / `"spirit"`).
`lot_sign`	str	Sign of the Lot (the L1 starting sign).
`lot_degree`	float	Absolute longitude of the Lot in the subject’s zodiac.
`periods`	list[`ZRPeriodModel`]	The top-level (L1) periods, each with nested levels.
`current_path`	list[`ZRPeriodModel`]	The chain of active periods (L1→Ln) at `target_date`, when one was supplied.

`ZRPeriodModel` #

One period at a given level of subdivision. Periods nest: an L1 (years) period contains L2 (months) sub-periods, and so on.

Field	Type	Description
`sign`	str	Three-letter code of the sign ruling the period (`"Ari"` … `"Pis"`).
`ruler`	str or None	Traditional (domicile) ruler of that sign.
`level`	int	Subdivision level (1 = years, 2 = months, 3 = days, …).
`start`	str	Start date (ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`).
`end`	str	End date (ISO `YYYY-MM-DD`).
`years`	float	Nominal length in years at this level (the sign’s general years divided by `12 ** (level - 1)`).
`is_angular`	bool	`True` for a peak period: the sign is angular (1st/4th/7th/10th) from the natal Lot of Fortune, the reference used for every released lot.
`is_loosing_the_bond`	bool	`True` when the period begins after a “loosing of the bond” jump to the opposite sign.
`subperiods`	list[`ZRPeriodModel`]	Nested sub-periods one level deeper (possibly empty).