PAA Level IV Rectification Requirement (updated April 2017)
Candidates for Level IV certification must rectify a chart before starting their chosen track. The candidate should select a chart of an individual whose birth time is unknown with a range of from 2 to 24 hours of uncertainty. Please state if you personally know or don’t know the subject.
A self-assigned code number should appear on the written rectification materials. The candidate’s name should not appear on any test materials submitted, but should be listed on a separate sheet of paper only.
Upon completion of the rectification, all the materials pertaining to it should be sent to the PAA Education Director.
The defense of the rectification exam should consist of the following:
1. a one page copy of the biography, including six to ten life events with dates.
2. a two page explanation of your rectification procedure, listing the techniques that you used. This must include at least three different, but commonly used, timing techniques, i.e. transits, secondary progressions, solar arc directions, primary directions, and eclipses/lunations. Your rectification work should be based on the use of specific timing techniques relative to events in the life and not techniques that are interpretive and therefore subjective. If you wish to use other timing techniques than those listed here, contact the PAA director first. Be sure to indicate all the main steps in the rectification process from beginning to end. If you make tables or diagrams, be sure to include them in the text where appropriate.
3. a three to fifteen page defense of how you arrived at your result. At least two of the techniques chosen should be applied to each of a minimum of six events. They need not be the same ones for all events.
4. a one to three page description of how the symbolism of your rectified chart fits the biographical sketch. This would include analysis of the rising sign, Midheaven, house placement of planets, etc. This section is interpretive and more subjective, but try to be as precise as possible and explain your reasoning.
5. an optional one to three page section that may include other techniques used for verification (i.e. solar and lunar returns, relocations, synastry, profections, fixed stars, time lords, other arc measurements, etc.) that support your rectification.
6. a complete rectified chart with date, time, and place of birth.
The exam should be organized and transparent to readers.
The written parts of the rectification exam should be organized, to the point, and communicate clearly to those who will be evaluating your work. All text should be done in word processing and printed (or typed). Hand-written work is not acceptable. Text should be either 1.5 spaced or double-spaced. References used should be footnoted and cited properly by author, title and publishing data. These may be listed at the bottom of a page or on the last pages of the exam.
The exam should not be excessively long. A typical rectification exam is about 12-20 pages in length. Please try to limit your work to no more than 25 pages including charts and tables. Please be clear and precise – excessive details may not be helpful to reviewers.
Each statement of evidence for the accuracy of the rectified chart must include the following information: AspectING body/point, zodiacal position; aspectED (natal, progressed, relocated, etc.) body/point, zodiacal position; orb; declination. Please do not use astrological shorthand or unusual fonts. Events rectified should be stated in an organized way.
• For example: Divorce, September 19, 1965
• Transiting Uranus (15° Virgo 22’) square natal Ascendant (15° Gemini 28’), orb of 6 minutes
• Uranus (often referred to as “the planet of divorce”) symbolizes radical or drastic change often in the form of a reversal aspecting the Ascendant (which is the partnership axis).
Copies of all charts and tables (or listings) necessary to accomplish and judge the rectification must be included and placed in the text where appropriate, or linked by footnote. These would include progressed charts (or listings) in support of progressed positions cited, listing of all solar arcs when applicable, relocation charts, charts of significant other persons where synastry is used.
Examination for Professional Research Astrologer:
Scientific, Technical, Statistical Option (updated May 2017)
General description: exploration and research of areas of astrology utilizing generally accepted scientific (physical or social) and/or statistical methodologies.
First, a proposal must be submitted to the PAA Education Director along with the required fee. The proposal should include:
• Proposed topic and title (50 to 100 words)
• Proposed hypothesis (50 to 100 words)
• Proposed methodology (50 to 100 words)
You will be notified of acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection. When accepted, you can proceed to research the topic as agreed upon.
The final result should be a research paper of no less than 15 pages, nor more than 40 printed or typewritten and double-spaced pages in length using 12-point type, although exceptions may be granted. It should be modeled on the standard scientific paper and include a title, an abstract, a description of the study with references to similar previously published studies (if these exist), a description of the methodology and type of measurements used (this includes software and statistics), a discussion of the findings and a conclusion. Graphs, tables and diagrams should be labeled and each should contain its own descriptive text (i.e. in italics or 10 point type to distinguish it from the main body text). Wherever necessary references should be cited either by footnote or by author and year of publication in parentheses (use just one method of citation consistently). A list of references should be placed after conclusions. In this paper you are expected to state hypotheses and explain methodology very clearly and you should discuss any meaningful results and findings, be they negative or positive. The paper should be acceptable for publication in an astrological research journal.
For the conventions of manuscript preparation, footnotes, bibliography, etc., it may be helpful to refer to a style manual for academic papers such as the MLA Style Manual or the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
The research paper should be submitted in duplicate to the PAA Education Director. It will then be evaluated for acceptance or rejection by two examiners who must agree on the final result.