Astrology: The only introduction you’ll ever need

1 THE ASTROLOGER’S UNIVERSE

Whatever is born or done this moment of time has the qualities of this moment of time.

C.G. JUNG

Time is the flowing Image of the Eternal … and the planets are the instruments of Time.

PLATO, THE TIMAEUS

THE STUDY OF TIME

Behind the light-hearted horoscopes of the popular press lies a hidden wisdom that can transform our understanding of ourselves and the nature of reality. For real astrology, from which this popular entertainment derives, is a language, science, art and craft that deals with the ever-changing qualities of time. Astrology studies the paradox that in each moment of space-time there is a point of access to the Eternal. It shows that each moment, such as of our own birth, is a seed containing a specific blueprint for the unfoldment of the infinite potential of one facet of the Great Jewel of Eternity.

Normally we take time for granted; we think of it as something neutral and simply a measure of duration. But in fact, according to the astrological and Platonic tradition, time is the great formative dimension of life. It is the dimension of time which, by means of the planetary cycles, dictates and unfolds into manifestation the changing patterns of Divine Ideas that shape our individual mind-set. It is the cycles of time, such as the daily shift from dark to light, and of the seasons, which govern the ebb and flow of daily life and at the same time the rise and fall of civilizations and the evolution of consciousness.

If this is your first astrology book, make a note of the time, date and place you obtained it. As you progress in your study of time, you will be amused and instructed by looking back at a map of this moment of space-time to see how it relates to your own birth chart, the unfoldment of your own consciousness of your infinite yet very specific potential.

A NOBLE SECRET

It is deeply unfortunate that for much of the general public the word astrology instantly means the Lottery’s Mystic Meg and breathless mediums peering into crystal balls. As the great French surrealist poet, critic and philosopher André Breton (1896–1966) lamented:

I see astrology as a very great lady, most beautiful, and coming from such a great distance that she cannot fail to hold me under her spell. In the purely physical world, I see nothing that has assets to emulate hers. She seems to me, besides, to hold one of the noblest secrets of the world. What a shame then, that nowadays – at least for the common masses – a prostitute reigns in her place.

Since Breton wrote that, the media’s trivialization of the ‘very great lady’ has become even more widespread. In consequence, no one who has not studied a book on real astrology could possibly understand why some of the very greatest minds and creative individuals down the centuries have preoccupied themselves with its study. From Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus and Proclus to St Thomas Aquinas, Kepler, Galileo, Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, W.B. Yeats and Jung and many, many more, the Royal Art and Science has proved to be a source of deep fascination, inspiration and guidance. And, despite the contemptuous guffaws of scientific orthodoxy, it still continues to enthral the minds of some of our finest contemporary thinkers, and to be used, behind the scenes, by some of the world’s leading figures. So what is astrology’s noble secret?

Astrology’s noble secret is rooted in the fact that she preserves an ancient understanding of the temporal cosmos as:

 the flowing image of the Eternal God Thought;

 a living, intelligent, purposeful entity in which part and whole dance together in resonance to the music of the spheres;

 a hierarchy of levels of order in which the higher levels order the lower and in which the apparent random activity here on Earth below can be seen to be orderly behaviour when viewed from the heavens above.

We explore the key principles of this understanding of the cosmos in the next chapter. But first we need to look briefly at some of the key steps in the history of the evolving consciousness of the relationship between above and below, between time and eternity.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Prior to Newton, most thinkers in Western universities, and in most Eastern cultures, believed that all life on Earth was regulated and controlled by the movements of the celestial bodies. This was not a superstitious belief but a position developed from reason and experience over 2,000 years, and one that is still maintained by thinking astrologers today. This does not contradict the laws of physics, which describe the material causes of things, because astrology is concerned with those metaphysical laws that describe the formal causes of things. Whilst some early astrologers certainly thought in terms of physical ‘influences’, the philosophers thought in terms of the cosmos as ‘a living body of ideas’. How did this world view develop?

EARLY ORIGINS – ORDER OUT OF CHAOS

The early history of astrology can be only a matter of conjecture. What we do know is that the very earliest records in most cultures and civilizations reveal an essentially astrological world-view. Around 7,500 BCE in Europe, reindeer antlers were being used to note the phases of the moon, whilst the development of writing in Mesopotamia around 3,500 BCE was initially primarily concerned with recording celestial phenomena and their significance. Likewise, all major ancient buildings, such as the Ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the Egyptian and Mayan Pyramids, and Neolithic circles like Stonehenge, seem to have been constructed to align society below with the heavens above.

As early humankind came to consciousness, what became apparent amongst the seeming arbitrariness of life was the regularity of the cycles of day and night, of the waxing and waning of the moon and the movements of the planets across the star-studded sky. It was seen that these regular and predictable cycles of heaven could be related to natural phenomena such as the recurring seasons, the flooding of rivers, outbreaks of disease and years of feast and famine. Likewise the birth of distinct types of people and different kinds of destiny were observed to correspond with particular patterns of the planets.

Astrology appears to have emerged independently in different cultures around the world. Whilst some of these astrologies certainly cross-fertilized one another, each seems to have had the same basic insight about the intimate relationship between above and below. Likewise the essential significance of the planets and stars is very similar in different traditions. Mars is always associated with fire, anger and war, whilst Venus is seen to be an essentially beneficent creature of beauty.

The earliest written records of astrology are found in Mesopotamia where celestial events such as eclipses and the conjunction of planets were observed to be omens of coming events. The discovery of the cycle of the seasons and the fact that different times were good for different kinds of activities may well have encouraged pastoral settlements. It certainly enhanced the efficiency of agriculture in Egypt as the rising of certain stars just before the Sun could be used to time the flooding of the Nile.

ASTROLOGY IN THE BIBLE

The Bible, which is replete with astrology, preserves the deep understanding of the importance of time. Thus at the outset, Genesis 1:14–15, we find God on the fourth day saying:

Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years …

Much later, in Ecclesiastes 3, we find the view summarized in the 16-line poem beginning:

To everything there is a season

And a time to every purpose under the heavens

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance …

THE THREE WISE MEN

Astrology is central to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The Three Wise Men of the Bible who ‘followed the Star’ were of course astrologers, a translation now used in The New English Bible. The particular ‘star’ the Magi were following was almost certainly the dramatic conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in Pisces, the sign of the fishes. This occurred three times in 7 BCE, which is now agreed to have been the most likely year of Christ’s birth. Such a thrice-repeated conjunction was of especial significance to the ancient astrologers, and the symbology of the fish is ubiquitous in early Christianity. Christ, the ‘fisher of men’, was known as ICTHUS (Jesus Christ Son of God). To this day bishops wear a fish-tailed mitre. What is also clear from the Bible is that there have always been ‘false prophets’ who have used astrology for dubious purposes.

UNDERSTANDING THE COSMIC ORDER – THE GREEKS

Early astrology may have emerged in part from observation, but certainly it seems reasonable to conjecture that the basic insight of the correspondence of above and below will have derived from the intuitive inner illumination of priests and shamans who saw this reality within themselves. The Greeks, starting with Pythagoras (c. 600–540 BCE), who emphasized the importance of number as the basis of the world, began to put in place a systematic model of an astrological universe. This was first fully articulated by Plato in the Timaeus. This ideal, transcendant model, interwoven with its rational, empirical, Aristotelian complement, was the basis of the prevailing world-view until the 17th century.

The history of the progress of this world-view would require another volume. A few of the important individuals and events are summarized below.

Some Highlights of Astrological History

Pythagoras (c. 580–c. 500 BCE) teaches that number is the creative basis of the cosmos and that each planet has its note, together producing the Music of the Spheres.

Empedocles (c. 490–430 BCE), Greek philosopher, proposes that all things, including human personality, are made up of the four elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water.

Hippocrates (c. 460–377 BCE), physician and astrologer, the ‘Father of medicine’, relates the four elements to the four humours as the basis of disease.

Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) elaborates the basis of astrology in the Timaeus; c. 387 BCE founds his philosophical Academy in Athens which lasts until 529 BCE.

409 BCE – First known individual horoscope.

356 BCE – Alexander the Great’s mother instructed by the astrologer Nectanebus as to when to give birth to the future Emperor: 22 July 356 BCE c. 11 p.m. in Mella, Macedonia.

Zeno (c. 342–c. 270 BCE), Syrian Stoic philosopher, teaches the cyclic nature of the universe and the importance of understanding the birth chart to free oneself from fate.

Berossus (fl. 280 BCE) opens a school of astrology on Kos around 280 BCE.

Hipparchus (c. 190–120 BCE), Greek astronomer/astrologer, discovers the precession of the equinox, develops the rulerships of the parts of the body by the zodiac.

Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE–50 BCE) attributes seven planets to parts of head, soul and body and develops concept of seven-year rhythm in life.

Thessalos (fl. 50 BCE), physician and astrologer, sets out rules for herb gathering.

Ptolemy (c. 100–180 BCE), astrologer-astronomer, writes his Tetrabiblos (c. 150 BCE) summarizing most of the astrological knowledge of his age.

Plotinus (c. 205–c. 270 BCE) – his Enneads, edited by the astrologer Porphry (c. 232–c. 305 BCE), set out the foundations of Neo-Platonism in which astrology can flourish.

lamblichus (255–330 BCE) incorporates the mystery teachings of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Chaldeans into Neo-Platonic thought.

Firmicus Maternus writes eight-volume astrology text Mathesios libric c. 335 BCE.

Paulus Alexandrinus c. 370 BCE writes an Introduction to Astrology.

Proclus (410–85 BCE), philosopher and astrologer. His Theology of Plato elaborates on the role and significance of the planetary gods.

Simplicius (531–79 BCE) writes Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus and about the relationship of the soul to the body and astrology.

529 BCE Closure of the Platonic Academy in Rome by Justinian after 1,000 years forces Neo-Platonists with their understanding of astrology into exile in Asia Minor.

625–c. 700 BCE The rise of Islam and spread of Islamic Empire brings the Neo-Platonic and Jewish and Indian teachings back into the West.

770–73 BCE Caliph al-Mansur has the Indian Siddhanda translated into Arabic, so beginnng Moslem astrological tradition.

Abu Ma’shar (787–886 BCE) writes his Introduction to Astrology.

Al-Biruni (973–1048 BCE), mystical astrologer.

Ibn Junus (died 1009 BCE), produces the Hakemite Planetary Tables.

1010–1027 BCE Liber Planetis et Mundi Climatibus – the first European astrological text.

Guido Bonati (1210–1300), court astrologer to Frederick II, develops mid-points.

Roger Bacon (1216–94) sees the heavens as the organizing cause of all things.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) sets out the place of astrology in the scheme of things.

Petrarch (1304–74) reawakens the world to the cultural riches of the Graeco-Roman culture.

1398, 19 September Chancellor of Sorbonne in Paris attacks astrology.

Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) in his De vita coelitus comparanda expounds on the value of astrology in daily life.

Regiomontanus, Johann Muller (1436–61), astrologer and ‘Father of German astronomy’, recovers and translates key Greek astronomical/astrological texts.

Pico della Mirandola (1463–94) denounces the abuses of astrology.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), founder of heliocentric astronomy, an astrologer.

Paracelsus (1493–1541), doctor, philosopher and astrologer, teaches that medicine without astrology is pseudo-medicine.

Michel Nostradamus (1503–66), physician and astrologer to Catherine de Medici.

Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), astronomer, sought to reform astrology.

Francis Bacon (1561–1656), philosopher and Lord Chancellor of England, advocates the use of astrology in medicine and weather-forecasting.

Galileo (1564–1642), astronomer and practising astrologer.

Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), astronomer and astrologer; discovers laws of planetary motion; works to demonstrate and reform astrology.

Dr John Dee (1527–1608), scholar, astrologer, spy (original 007), chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I – elects her coronation chart.

William Lilly (1602–81), the first astrologer to write in English, forecasts Great Fire of London.

Placidus de Titis (1603–68), scholar, physician and astrologer.

Elias Ashmole (1617–92), scholar and astrologer, founder of Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727) ends his days studying alchemy, a subject steeped in astrological method.

From about 1700, astrology began to fade from the map of mainstream knowledge, eclipsed by the excitement of discoveries in the material sciences which became the focus of intellectual exploration. The serious study of astrology survived amongst individual students and practitioners rather than in academia, though there were individual intellectuals who publicly espoused it. This was especially the case in Germany where the great German poet, writer, scientist and polymath Goethe (1749–1832) studied astrology and opened his autobiography with details of his birth chart which he considered a good description of his basic nature. The philosopher August Wilhelm Schegel (1767–1854) taught that ‘astronomy will have to become astrology again’, and the last university professor of astrology in Europe, Johann Wilhelm Pfaff (1774–1835), called for its recognition as a legitimate science in his The Rationale of Astrology. Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860), the philosopher, moved from a hostile position in his early work to a more sympathetic view in his On Age Difference. In the USA Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82), the philosopher with Neo-Platonic leanings, was sympathetic to astrology, describing it as ‘astronomy brought down to earth and applied to the affairs of man’.

When the study of astrology faded, it was still part of mainstream thought; but when it began to re-emerge as a subject for popular study in the late 19th century, it was as a result of the efforts of relatively few maverick individuals working from outside the boundaries of orthodox study. Throughout the 20th century it has gradually developed and progressed into its present highly sophisticated form as the result of the work of a series of dedicated individuals and organizations. Some of the highlights of this story are shown below.

The Renaissance of Astrology

Richard Garnett (1835–1906), Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum, advocates the use of astrology.

1880 A.J. Pearce (1840–1923) edits Urania and other journals. His The Textbook of Astrology takes a pragmatic and experimental approach to its development.

Walter Gorn Old/Sepharial (1864–1929) writes many books on astrology.

1888 Paul Choisnard/Flambert (1867–1920) starts statistical research in astrology.

1890 Alan Leo/William Frederick Allen (1860–1917) and F.W.Lacey found the monthly Modern Astrology (1890–1943). Leo goes on to publish a series of books with strong theosophical slant covering most known areas of astrology.

1915 13 July, 7.15 p.m., Alan and Bessie Leo found The Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical Society, the ‘mother’ of British astrology.

1926 The first issue of the Lodge’s Astrology Quarterly edited by Charles Carter (1887–1968), philosopher and experimentalist who wrote widely on astrology.

1928 The first Cosmobiology Yearbook published in Germany. Alfred Witte in Hamburg publishes his Regel für Planetenbilder (Rules for Planetary Pictures).

1930 31 August, Sunday Express publishes R.H. Naylor’s article on Princess Margaret’s birth – the start of astrology in the popular press: soon spreads world-wide.

1936 Dane Rudhyar’s The Astrology of Personality starts psychological astrology.

1939 Karl Ernst Krafft – Traite d’Astro-biologie; American Federation of Astrologers founded (May).

1940 Reinhold Ebertin in Germany publishes the first edition of Kombination der Gestirneinflusse (Combination of Stellar Influences).

1948, 7 June, 7.58 p.m., The Faculty of Astrological Studies founded to provide a systematic education for astrologers – world-wide via correspondence courses.

1955 – Michel Gauquelin publishes L’Influence des Astres demonstrating statistically that planetary positions at birth are related to future eminence in different professions.

1958, 21 June, 8.22 p.m., The Astrological Association founded by John Addey (1920–82), Brigadier General R.C. Firebrace and Joan Rodgers; Rudolf Tomaschek (1895–1966), Professor of theoretical physics at Munich, Chair of Cosmobiological Academy Aalen, publishes Observations on the Basic Problem of Astrology.

1959 The Astrological Journal of the Astrological Association first published.

1970 In London The Urania Trust, Educational Charity, created by John Addey et al.

1973 The Mayo School of Astrology founded by Jeff Mayo.

1974 In the USA, Neil F. Michelsen founds Astro-Computing Services and Dr Gregg Howe founds Astro-Numeric Services for astrologers.

1976 John Addey’s Harmonics in Astrology; Liz Greene’s Saturn.

1977 In the USA, astrology software for home computer from Michael Erlewine (1941– ) and Robert Hand (1943– ); Geoff Dean’s Recent Advances in Natal Astrology.

1981 Astrology ceases to be illegal in Britain with the Repeal of the Vagrancy Act.

1983 In Zürich, Bruno and Louise Huber found the Astro Psychological Institute, API (8 June); in London, Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas (1948–93) found The Centre for Psychological Astrology – CPA (12 June); and Geoffrey Cornelius and Maggie Hyde the Company of Astrologers (14 November).

1985 Jim Lewis develops Astro*Carto*Graphy; first International Astrological Research Conference in London under the auspices of Professor H.J. Eysenck (1916–97).

1988 The Urania Trust creates the Astrology Study Centre in London and publishes first issue of the international Yearbook Astrology.

1990 In the USA, Project Hindsight launched by Robert Hand and Robert Schwarz to recover the ancient origins of astrology by the translated early Greek, Latin and Arabic text.