The Astrology Podcast

In episode 252 astrologer Nina Gryphon joins the show to talk about question of what is the correct birth chart for the United States, and to review some of the different possible charts that are available. While this sounds like a simple question, there are actually a number of different birth dates and birth times that are possible candidates for the founding of the United States as country, and each of these options yield slightly or sometimes extremely different planetary placements. The purpose of this episode was to provide a broad overview of the the issue, and to review some of the different charts that have been used or proposed by astrologers at different points in time. Most of the research for this episode was compiled by Nina, and we also wanted to give a special shout-out to astrologer Gary Lorentzen for his contributions and advice (update 4/29/2020: see his article The Astrology of American Independence), as well as the AstroDatabank entry on the chart of the US, and Nicholas Campion's Book of World Horoscopes. For more information about Nina, check out her website: NinaGryphon.com Below you will find some of the show notes that we prepared as the outline for this discussion, followed by links to listen to the episode at the bottom of the page. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Show Notes and Episode Outline   Introduction of the topic. National horoscopes New concept compared to traditional approach of assignment of signs to nations, regions, and cities. Prior approach focused on single signs assigned to cities, regions, countries. As first set down in book 2 of Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Also, lunation and cardinal ingress charts for particular locations such as the capital. Became common in the early Medieval tradition. Really problematic when nation-states and hard national boundaries were established in 19th century. Ingress chart for capitals not too far apart, say, Paris and London, or Bonn and Brussels might be almost identical. Earlier reliance on sign assignments circumvented this problem. Also sometimes foundation charts for cities. E.g. Baghdad. Bagdhdad elected by a group of astrologers. For most cities though the foundations were deep in the past. Astrologers would sometimes resort to rectification to try to figure out the chart. Rectified charts like Constantinople or Rome. Maybe this acts as a transition point. Elections and inceptions. The 20th century saw a real shift in emphasis towards natal astrology. Emphasis in predictive techniques such as transits and progressions. These techniques all require a timed natal chart to use. In many cases, the original national charts are impossible to obtain. There is often a question about when is a nation officially born? Astrologers often work with a significant chart from that nation’s history. Recognizing that it’s one in a chain of charts representing key moments in the long lifespan of a nation. Ideally, such charts have been shown to be useful for predictive purposes. Often these charts relate to a transfer of power or bestowing legitimacy on a person or group as leaders. In the life of a nation, many such moments may exist. United States’ chart of particular interest to astrologers worldwide. Well-documented history around the founding of the US, and founded in the modern era rather than antiquity, so a timed chart is at least theoretically obtainable. There is something decisive about the founding of the US, with a clear demarcation of when it broke away from England. The earliest national chart. Ebenezer Sibly published in 1787. May have kicked off increasing interest in national charts and a certain desire to demonstrate a preferred chart to be true and all others false. So what is the birth chart of the United States? Answer is not as simple as it may seem. Most astrologers tend to focus on July 4, 1776, which is celebrated as Independence Day in the United States, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But there are a number of other crucial moments around the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence that could also be used as moments of origin. Some astrologers even go back further to important events in the settling of America. There are also a number of different possible times even if you go with the July 4, 1776 date, which lead to different rising signs, and thus slightly or significantly different charts in terms of the house placements of the planets. We are going to go through each chart individually to give people an idea of the full scope of different possible charts that have been proposed. General point upfront: the two most popular charts historically have been the Gemini and Sagittarius rising charts, or variations thereof, although both are also somewhat historically impossible to varying degrees for different reasons. Major events that could be used as national charts for US Marc Penfield published the chart of the first permanent settlement in America (September 18, 1565, in St. Augustine, Florida). He sourced it to the American Federation of Astrologers. It has Uranus in Sagittarius on the Ascendant, which is 9 Sagittarius. Jupiter conjoins Virgo on the Midheaven, and the Moon is in Pisces. Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock. December 21, 1620, 6 AM in Plymouth, MA. Sagittarius rising, Moon in Sagittarius, and the Sun at 0 Capricorn. (Campion) Boston Tea Party, December 16 1773, with unverified time of 5:45 PM in astrological sources (Campion) First Congress, September 5, 1774, Philadelphia at 10 AM. Scorpio rising, with Moon and Sun conjunct in Virgo. (Campion) Start of the Revolutionary War, early April 19, 1775, with British and American troops facing off in the Battle of Lexington. Battle started around 5 AM, with Aries on the Ascendant and Sun there as well, with Moon in Sagittarius. (Campion) Declaration of War by Congress July 6 1775. Heavily advocated by the astrologer Helen Boyd, who used a 11 AM chart. (Campion) Alan White was really into this chart as well. He said that in Zodiacal Releasing it showed an L1 loosing of the bond on 9/11, which doesn’t happen in natal charts, but it can in the longer life of a country. GL (Gary Lorentzen): July 1, 1776, 07:08pm: the 1st majority YES vote for independence (9 yes, 2 no, 2 abstentions). Congress voted for independence on July 2 1776, but time is uncertain. John Adams wrote of July 2 that “this day will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I believe that it will be celebrated as the great anniversary.” Ray Merriman favors this chart, with 7 Libra rising and Saturn exalted in the first house. GL: July 2, 1776, between 11am-noon. A second vote was taken to accommodate Delaware who had to abstain on the first vote because they were missing a delegate. 2nd vote: 12 yes, 1 abstention. (Mercury was Rx, so they ended up taking a second vote, but it didn't change the outcome of the first.) John Adams does give an 11th hour of the morning for the 2nd vote on July 2. July 4 1774, the day that the wording of the Declaration of Independence was agreed. One of the more popular charts historically has been the Gemini rising chart set for around 2:15 a.m. Luke Broughton, the best-known U.S. astrologer of the time, in 1861 said that Gemini rules the U.S. and the ingress of Uranus (or Herschel) into Gemini, the Revolution began. When Uranus came to 9 degrees of Gemini, the U.S. declared its independence. Seems to have assumed that the degree of Uranus on July 4, 1776 was the rising degree. GL: Although Jefferson's Declaration was brought to the floor at 10 am on July 4th, according to John Adams they didn't start the vote to approve the language in the Declaration as edited until the '11th hour of the morning'. They went through the document and motion was made sometime between 11am and Noon. Some astrologers dispute Jefferson’s account of the debate on July 4, which precludes a time before noon. These charts are set for 10-11 a.m., giving a Virgo Ascendant. Discussed at length in Ronald W. Howland’s American Histrology. Marc Penfield highlights a chart with a 2:20 p.m. time based on John Hancock’s recollections of the Declaration coming out of committee. 8 Scorpio rising. Historical documents, including Thomas Jefferson’s writings, seem to support a late afternoon time for ratification of the Declaration of Independence, but the historic sources do not pin down a time for this moment. Sibly chart. Published by Ebenezer Sibly, a Freemason in England, in 1787. Chart was set for 10:10 p.m. London time, but set for Philadelphia. Also the chart is calculated for 9:50 p.m., but planetary positions are set for 4:50 p.m. Planets are set for local mean time, and house cusps are set for Greenwich mean time, which differ by one hour. Generally criticized as hopelessly confused. Susan Manuel hypothesizes that Sibly worked from the Aries Ingress and Cancer Ingresses preceding the Declaration of Independence, using the Cancer ingress angles, transiting positions as of July 4, as of noon in Philadelphia, but set for London, as the U.S. did not yet have a capital. Best viewed as a symbolically derived horoscope, rather than one for a historical moment. Proclamation of Independence July 8 1776, noon in Philadelphia. This chart has Libra rising, with Saturn exalted on the Ascendant, and the Moon in Aries. GL: July 8, 1776, 'high noon' (when the Sun was 90 deg to the horizon) the official public reading of the Declaration, and then big celebrations that followed. For the beginning of the celebrations, I use 12:28pm LMT. What sign placements are certain regardless of the time with July 4?

Episode 251 features an interview with astrologer Becca Tarnas where we talk about her work on the Red Book of Carl Jung, as well as the connection between outer planet cycles and recent world events. Becca practices archetypal astrology, and is the current editor of Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology, which recently released its seventh issue in January, titled Historical Roots and Current Flowerings. During the course of the interview we talk about her background in archetypal astrology, what it is like to be a second generation astrologer, why Jung's Red Book is important and relevant to astrologers, and how the recent Saturn-Pluto conjunction relates to events happening in the world now. Becca received her PhD in Philosophy and Religion at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, with a dissertation titled The Back of Beyond: The Red Books of C.G. Jung and J.R.R. Tolkien.  For those who were interested in the discussion about Jung's Red Book in this episode, I'd recommend checking out the longer lecture on her YouTube channel on The Astrology of Jung's Red Book. You can find out more information about Becca through her website: BeccaTarnas.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:50 Becca's background 00:02:08 Archetype definition 00:08:16 Becca's astrology journey 00:11:00 Did she rebel against astrology? 00:17:00 Her astrology education 00:21:17 Archai Journal 00:24:56 Archetypal astrology 00:28:00 Technical disputes? 00:30:40 Archai Journal issue 7 00:36:25 Jung's Red Book 00:44:50 Archetypes and the Red Book 00:50:37 Uranus Neptune and the Red Book 00:54:38 Why Red Book wasn't published sooner 00:58:21 Jung's break with Freud 01:00:00 WWI 01:01:13 Jung's chart 01:02:27 1913-15 Saturn Pluto conjunction 01:07:18 Outer planet cycles 01:09:50 Obama and Uranus Pluto 01:12:30 Mary Wollstonecraft and Uranus Pluto 01:17:27 Saturn Pluto cycles 01:25:06 2020 Saturn Pluto conjunctions 01:32:33 Generational gifts 01:33:58 Jupiter Saturn 1980's 01:36:04 2020 presidential primary 01:37:45 Saturn Pluto stress test 01:39:10 Late 1980's chart 01:40:28 9/11 Saturn Pluto 01:44:19 More about Saturn Pluto 01:53:00 Saturn return orbs 01:57:23 Saturn Pluto future dates 02:19:16 Becca's work and contact info Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of my interview with Becca Tarnas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ZalvvEID4 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 251 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 250 features a lecture by the late astrologer Alan White on an introduction to Hellenistic astrology, followed by an audio interview with Alan about his life and work from 2010. Alan began studying astrology seriously in the 1980s, and then in the mid-1990s he discovered Project Hindsight and developed a deep interest in ancient astrology. He created an introductory lecture on Hellenistic astrology using a flip chart that he presented at a number of astrological meetings in the 2000s, and one of these presentations in 2001 led to Demetra George teaching a course on the subject at Kepler College. Alan died at the age of 69 on August 18, 2011 after a long battle with cancer. I visited him a few months before he died, and asked him to record a version of his intro to Hellenistic astrology lecture, to have it on the historical record. The first 90 minutes of this episode after the intro consists of Alan's intro to Hellenistic astrology lecture, while the second half is an interview I did with Alan for my old podcast called Traditional Astrology Radio that was recorded and aired on December 7, 2010. Below I'm going to include the obituary I wrote for Alan after he died, since the old astrologers memorial website that used to have it has disappeared. You can also find high resolution images of Alan's flip chart in a gallery below. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Alan White (1942-2011) Born on January 1, 1942 at 11:37 AM in Washington, D.C. Alan White's birth chart Died on August 18, 2011 at 1:36 PM in Edenton, North Carolina. Astrologer Alan White passed away on Thursday, August 18th in Edenton, North Carolina after a long illness. He was 69 years old. He is survived by his wife, Jaan Stephens-White, and his three children, Jeanette, Christopher and Virginia. A native of Washington, D.C. Alan joined the Army in 1961 shortly after graduating from high school, and served in Vietnam from 1963-64 as a green beret with the 5th Special Forces Group. After completing his service in the military, he spent time focusing on his education, and held a series of jobs prior to retiring which included work as a mechanic, a travelling salesman and an astrologer. Alan’s interest in astrology began in 1963 when he bought a Zodiac watch in Saigon which depicted the phases of the Moon. Initially skeptical about the subject, he began studying it seriously in the 1970s, eventually attending his first astrological conference in the 1980s. Disappointed that many of the approaches to astrology that he had been exposed to at that point came off as too “airy-fairy,” he longed for a more concrete take on the subject. He found what he was looking for in 1995 when he discovered traditional astrology through Project Hindsight by attending the second PHASE Conclave in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Alan subsequently became an ardent supporter and eventually a close associate of the Project. He began giving introductory lectures on Hellenistic astrology in the late 1990s, and was an active member of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the NCGR in the early 2000s. In summarizing his philosophy of astrology, he was particularly fond of a statement by the Medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti that the purpose of astrology is to reconstruct the past, understand the present, and predict the future. In May of 2001 he was sent to Seattle to run a trade show booth for Project Hindsight at the annual Northwest Astrological Conference. The first class of students from the newly opened Kepler College of Astrological Arts and Sciences had just completed its first year, and the entire class was in attendance at the conference. One night at the conference Alan was sitting in the lounge talking with a group of Kepler students and regaling them with stories about Hellenistic astrology, and they became intrigued enough to encourage him to put on an impromptu lecture on the subject in an empty conference room that same night. The lecture was particularly successful, to the extent that the Kepler students encouraged one of their teachers who had also attended the lecture, Demetra George, to develop a course on Hellenistic astrology for the Kepler curriculum. Demetra subsequently travelled to the east coast and spent several months studying under Alan and Robert Schmidt of Project Hindsight during the winter of 2001/2.  She began teaching the course on Hellenistic astrology at Kepler in 2002, and many students were first introduced to the subject within that context. To whatever extent the subsequent revival of Hellenistic astrology today and in the future is the result of Demetra’s teachings or those whom she taught, it is thanks to Alan that this transmission was able to take place. In many ways this is his most lasting legacy and contribution to the astrological community. Alan's Intro to Hellenistic Astrology Flip Chart Here are high resolution images of the flip chart that Alan used in his intro to Hellenistic astrology lecture: Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:22 Alan's birth chart 00:04:35 The impact of Alan's lecture 00:09:00 Robert Schmidt and Project Hindsight 00:12:00 Alan's obituary 00:17:56 Part 1 of lecture 00:21:00 Astrology definition 00:22:10 Project Hindsight 00:23:10 Restoration of the Astrology of the West 00:24:13 History of astrology 00:29:04 Planets 00:31:20 Sun 00:32:19 Mercury 00:33:05 Venus 00:33:29 Mars 00:34:00 Jupiter 00:34:30 Saturn 00:34:56 Moon 00:36:24 Detriment 00:37:05 Sect 00:38:18 Houses 00:40:17 Part 2 00:40:27 Signs 00:48:21 Aspects 00:52:20 Mitigating Sympathies 00:53:35 Rulership 00:59:08 Solar phase 01:04:24 Lunar Concepts 01:10:25 7 Hermetic Lots 01:15:04 3 Grand Approaches 01:16:15 7 Hellenistic Techniques 01:17:22 7 Topical Methods 01:19:34 Time Lords 01:24:05 Transits 01:28:38 Thema Mundi 01:35:01 Ages of Pisces and Aries 01:36:37 Age of Aquarius 01:37:07 Outer Planets 01:51:39 Start of Chris' interview with Alan 01:52:42 Alan's background 02:02:00 Influence of Alan's military background 02:04:40 Alan and Robert Schmidt 02:05:20 Sun ruling Cancer 02:07:05 Modern astrology 02:09:45 Discovery degrees and outer planets 02:16:50 July 6, 1775 Chart of the US 02:28:18 Politics in astrology 02:30:55 Definition of astrology 02:32:22 Astrology and academics 02:38:30 Criticism of evolutionary astrology 02:41:30 Purpose of Sect 02:43:20 Lots 02:43:50 Planets and causation 02:46:18 Fate and Free Will 02:47:40 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3H2M6dMF5w - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 250 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 249 features a tribute to the astrologer Robert Zoller, who passed away in January, and was a pioneer in the revival of the study and practice of medieval astrology. Zoller's book The Arabic Parts in Astrology: A Lost Key to Prediction (1980) was one of the first books which helped to contribute to the revival of traditional astrology in the 1980s and 90s. Later he was one of the principal founders of Project Hindsight in 1992, alongside Robert Schmidt and Robert Hand, and he produced several translations from Latin under the auspices of that project, including parts of Guido Bonatti, Al Kindi’s On Stellar Rays, and the Liber Hermetis. He left Hindsight due to creative differences relatively early in the project, but continued teaching and promoting medieval astrology. He began offering a written certification course in medieval astrology, which a number of high profile astrologers graduated from, including Benjamin Dykes and Christopher Warnock. He later received some recognition for his predictions about the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, and was featured in a 2005 History Channel episode on the topic. He struggled with Parkinson's Disease, which developed in the 1990s and left him debilitated much of the time by the 2000s, thus slowing his creative output in later years. He passed away on January 24, 2020. The first part of this podcast episode features a discussion with Benjamin Dykes about Zoller's life and work. Ben studied and attained certification with Zoller, and since then has gone on to continue much of what Zoller started in terms of recovering the medieval tradition. The second half of the episode features an hour long interview that I conducted with Zoller on my old podcast called Traditional Astrology Radio on January 9, 2011. The audio quality is not very good, but the content of the interview does a pretty good job of covering the full range of Zoller's life and work. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5a4Y1U9IW8 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 249 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

In episode 248 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan discuss the astrology of the recent coronavirus pandemic, and later provide a general astrological forecast for April of 2020. This is our first episode together since we recorded the last forecast in mid-February, and the world has changed a lot since that time. We decided to focus on talking about the pandemic in the first half of the episode, and then eventually transition into the monthly forecast later on. A lot of our discussion about the coronavirus focuses on the Saturn-Pluto conjunction that went exact in early January when the pandemic was just ramping up, as well as the Mars-Saturn conjunction that is happening in the sky now. Later we briefly touched on some things like the doctrine of subsumption in mundane astrology, and the discovery of a new comet that may be visible soon. Honestly we covered so much in this episode that it is hard to summarize it all here, so you'll have to listen in. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Our Websites KellysAstrology.com AustinCoppock.com ChrisBrennanAstrologer.com   Planetary Alignments for April 2020 Venus moves into Gemini April 3 Enters shadow from April 9/10. Jupiter conjunct Pluto exact April 4 Full Moon in Libra April 7 Mars square Uranus same day Mercury into Aries April 11 Sun into Taurus April 19 New Moon in Taurus April 22 Pluto stations retrograde April 25 Mercury moves into Taurus April 27   Auspicious Astrological Date for April April is not a great month this year for good elections, and the best chart we could find was: 🪐 April 18, at 8:45 AM, Gemini rising We will present a few other elections for April on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections in the next few days. We also have a full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some better charts for later in the year. Watch the Video Version of Our April Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our April astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL399uI8cgk – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 248 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of Our April Forecast You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 247 features an interview with astrologer Arielle Guttman about her work on using myth as an interpretive device in astrology, as well as the importance of the synodic cycle of Venus, providing insight into the upcoming Venus retrograde. Arielle is the author of the books Mythic Astrology and Mythic Astrology Applied, as well as Venus Star Rising: A New Cosmology for the Twenty-First Century. During the course of the interview we talk about Arielle's background in astrology and how she got into it, her work with Jim Lewis on relocational astrology, the use of myth as a tool to help explicate archetypes in astrology, and her work on what she calls the Venus Star Point. The Venus Star Point in natal astrology is the conjunction between Venus and the Sun that occurred prior to your birth, which creates a sensitive degree in your chart, and also locks in a resonance between that phase of Venus whenever it reoccurs later in your life. Here is a handout from Arielle's website for calculating your Venus Star Point: Find your Venus Star Point PDF Handout You can find out more information about Arielle's work through her website: SophiaVenus.com Arielle came out to Denver to give a talk for our local astrology group during the second week of March, but this was just as the COVID-19 pandemic was breaking out in the US, so we switched her talk to a webinar on Saturday, March 14, and then recorded this podcast the following day. If you enjoy this episode of the podcast, the webinar the previous day went into a bit more detail about her work on Venus, and the recording is available as an episode of the Casual Astrology Podcast for patrons. This episode was co-hosted by astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:11 Arielle's books and background 00:10:46 Astrocartography 00:20:12 Asteroids 00:24:38 How myth is used in astrology 00:33:38 Using mythic astrology with clients 00:35:30 Myth of Ceres and Persephone 00:40:13 Stories of planets that aren't prominent 00:41:56 Transit of Pluto to Ceres 00:43:13 Hermes story 00:45:47 How mythic stories help clients 00:48:55 Archetypes 00:52:19 Mythology of Venus 00:55:00 The two sides of Venus 00:58:00 Two Venus statues 00:58:56 Complexity of Venus in astrology 01:02:20 2012 Mayan astrology Venus transit 01:04:15 Venus as evening and morning star 01:07:38 Importance of Venus kazimi 01:10:06 Mayan fascination with Venus 01:12:30 Masons and Venus pentagram 01:13:28 Rosary beads and Venus cycles 01:14:26 Meanings of Venus morning and evening star phases 01:21:09 Venus pentagram 01:23:53 Relationships on the Venus star 01:26:52 Venus retrograde pattern 01:30:54 Venus passing across the face of the Sun 01:31:35 The Venus Sun conjunction prior to your birth 01:32:00 Additional point for evening star Venus people 01:33:27 Venus Star Point 2020 in Gemini 01:34:40 Impact of Venus Star Point on your chart 01:35:33 People with same Venus Star Point as yours 01:40:25 When a person outshines their partner 01:42:30 Venus Star Point at the mundane level 01:52:09 What Venus retrograde means 01:58:50 Arielle's Venus Star Rising book 01:59:10 How to find your Venus Star Point link 02:04:30 Arielle's website and how to get a signed book 02:06:56 Her Mythic Astrology books 02:07:51 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYO7gjnOyco - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 247 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 246 features a discussion with astrologer Darby Costello about the four elements in astrology, and the way their archetypal meanings are applied to the signs of the zodiac. The four classical elements in the western tradition are: fire, air, water, and earth. The concept of the four elements originated in the Greek tradition with the pre-Socratic philosophers, and especially Empedocles in the 5th century BCE, with additional contributions later by Plato and Aristotle. The four elements have been applied to the triplicities since at least the 1st century BCE, and Chris published a paper in 2013 showing how the assignment of the elements to the signs of the zodiac was based on the planetary joys scheme. Darby wrote two books on the elements, titled Water and Fire: The Astrological Elements Book 1, and Earth and Air: The Astrological Elements Book 2. During the course of this episode we talk about how Darby got into astrology, the history and philosophy behind the elements, and how they are applied to the signs of the zodiac to create pairs of signs with antithetical elemental qualities. For more information about Darby's work visit her website: https://www.darbycostello.co.uk This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:43 Darby's books 00:03:10 Darby's background 00:14:10 Sources of the elements 00:20:49 Plato, elements, triplicities 00:30:50 Aristotle and natural place 00:34:56 Archetypal qualities 00:43:40 Hot, cold, wet, dry qualities 00:54:29 Water signs 01:02:17 Air and fire signs 01:18:15 Element imbalances 01:24:15 Cancer Capricorn 01:30:35 Virgo Pisces 01:39:30 Taurus Scorpio 01:57:26 Aries Libra 02:07:30 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of our discussion about the four elements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqfK1H0qtYw – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 246 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 245 features the astrology forecast for March of 2020, with astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan. The astrology of March features the tail end of the Mercury retrograde in Pisces and Aquarius, a Full Moon in Virgo, New Moon in Aries, and then ends with Saturn and Mars moving into Aquarius and forming a conjunction. We spend the first hour and a half of the episode on the astrology forecast for March, and then in the final hour we transition into talking about a recent discussion about the concept of essential dignity in the astrological community. This episode is available in both audio and video versions at the bottom of this page. For early access to new episodes and other bonus content, consider becoming a patron of The Astrology Podcast on Patreon. News, Announcements, and Links to Stuff Mentioned Here are links to some of the stuff mentioned in this episode: Kelly's website Austin's website Chris' online astrology courses #DignityBabes on Twitter #DignityBabes on Instagram Friend of Dorotheus T-shirt by @PhosphorAstro on Twitter   Planetary Alignments for March 2020 Mercury retrogrades back into Aquarius March 4 Venus moves into Taurus on March 4 Full Moon in Virgo March 9 Mercury stations direct in late Aquarius March 9 Mercury moves back into Pisces March 16 Sun moves into Aries March 19 Saturn moves into Aquarius March 21 New Moon in Aries March 24 Mars moves into Aquarius March 30   Auspicious Astrological Date for March The auspicious election for March that was chosen by Leisa Schaim is set for: 🪐 March 22, 2020, starting at 9:10 AM, with Taurus rising There are a three more electional charts that we found for March, which are available in our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections that was just released a few days ago. We also have a full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights one auspicious electional chart for each month this year. Watch the Video Version of Our March Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our March astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOnzAJPHL0k - Listen to the Audio Version of Our March Forecast You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

Episode 244 features an interview with Anthony Louis about the history of how Placidus became the most popular system of quadrant house division used in western astrology in modern times. In late 20th and early 21st century astrology Placidus is the most popular house system, and it is usually the default house system in most software programs, which makes it the system that most people begin their studies of astrology with. The question is: how did this come to be the case? Especially since there are other forms of quadrant house division that are available, such as Porphyry or Alcabitius houses, what led to the widespread acceptance of Placidus? It turns out, the origins of the Placidus house system and its popularization lie in the 17th century, and it was partially based on an an attempt to reinterpret a controversial passage from the work of the 2nd century astrologer Claudius Ptolemy. The genesis of this discussion was an article on Anthony's blog titled Why are Placidus Houses so Popular? Our goal here was to talk about some of the arguments outlined in that post, and go into some areas in greater detail, to understand the history of house division. While our previous episode on the origins of the different forms of house division in ancient astrology covered the early history of house division, the purpose of this episode is to fill in some missing pieces about the later history from the Renaissance era forward into modern times. You can find out more information about Anthony on his website: TonyLouis.wordpress.com Below you will find an extensive set of show notes that we used as the outline for our discussion. This episode is available in both audio and video versions at the bottom of the page. Episode Outline and Show Notes Here is part of the outline we created in preparation for this episode: Based on Anthony’s November 2019 blog article Why are Placidus Houses so Popular? Follow-up to original article: “Placidus: The Default Darling of Domification”, in Federation of Australian Astrologers Journal, Vol 49, No 2 (June 2019), pp. 21-26. Premise of the discussion: In late 20th and early 21st century astrology Placidus is the most popular house system In modern western astrology. It is the default house system in most software programs, like Astro.com As a result of that it is the system that people usually start with One of the questions that comes up is why is Placidus the default quadrant system? Holden makes a passing remark that Placidus became the default due to availability: “It has become a cliche in the 20th century that the Placidus system later became the 19th and 20th century standard because it was the only one for which affordable tables were readily available. This is partially true, but the same thing could be said for the initial success of the Regiomantanus system.” Holden, A History of Horoscopic Astrology, p. 150. Anthony took some issue with this because Placidus had been popularized earlier. While it was the primary system available by the 20th century, this was because it had been promoted widely since the 17th century. So how did this get started? Placidus published his book in 1650. Focused on primary directions and house division. He was interested in reconstructing Ptolemy’s approach. Part of the general back to Ptolemy movement. Also evident in Lilly and others. Ptolemy was the oldest Greek author available Viewed as the most authoritative. Ptolemy has a discussion of house division in his length of life chapter (3, 11). This is also where he introduces primary directions. The method of house division he advocates here has long been the subject of dispute. “This one chapter has occasioned more astrological controversy than any other ever written.” Holden, A History, p. 47. Ptolemy was like the Einstein of his day Even in the early Greek authors after Ptolemy there were different interpretations about what system of house division they thought he was trying to introduce in this chapter. Some of the later forms of houses came from trying to interpret Ptolemy. Regiomantanus was one of the authors that did that. “Regiomontanus claimed that his method was what Ptolemy had in mind when he wrote Tetrabiblos, iii. 10 This is certainly false, but Regiomontanus’s arguments were accepted by the majority of astrologers.” Holden, Ancient House Division II. “His house tables, accompanied by auxiliary tables for calculating primary directions, were very likely the first extensive set of mathematical tables of any kind ever printed, appearing as they did scarcely four decades after the invention of printing.” “Three things combined to make the Regiomontanus system a success. First, it provided a convenient printed set of house tables. Second, it was modern and scientific. And third, it substituted a system with alleged classical Greek sanction for a system supposed to have been invented by a medieval Arab. But these arguments would have been equally applicable to the Campanus or Placidus systems. Thus, it is fair to say that the success of the Regiomontanus system was due to external circumstances rather than to any inherent superiority.” Placidus was another author who popularized a system based on what he thought Ptolemy meant What was unique about Placidus is that he is thought to have been one of the first in centuries to correctly understand Ptolemy’s system of primary directions. However he misunderstood Ptolemy’s intended system of house division. At least, according to Holden. Holden and Schmidt thought that Ptolemy was describing equal houses essentially. With ranges that begin 5 degrees above the cusp of the Ascendant. This is how Hephaistio describes it at first But then an earlier commentator named Pancharius interpreted it differently Introduced a modified “Alchabitius” style (Holden says “modified Porphyry”). So interpretations of Ptolemy have generated multiple house systems. This is why Holden called this the most controversial chapter ever in the history of astrology. Even though the Placidus system bears his name, it may not have been the first time it was introduced. Ibn Ezra describes the same approach in the 12th century Holden says on p 162 that Magini “is said” to have described it, and that Placidus “presumably” could have got the idea from reading his book. So there was precedent, but Placidus popularized it. Impact of Placidus Didn’t impact Lilly’s Christian Astrology because it was published after Placidus. Lilly (1602-1681) used Regiomantanus houses as did his disciples John Gadbury (1627-1704) and Henry Coley (1633-1707). Placidus’ work was forbidden by the Catholic Church late in his life. Placidus was placed on the Index of Church’s Index of Forbidden books in 1687 (the same year that Kirby & Bishop published their abridged translation of Placidus) and the ban was renewed in 1709. Therefore Placidus mainly became available and popular in Protestant England By the end of the 17th century, Placidus became popular among English astrologers. Maybe because it was seen as a new or radical reinterpretation and innovation. Recovering lost wisdom that had been obscured, to improve the techniques. “According to his perhaps most famous statement, Placidus ‘desired no other guides but Ptolemy and Reason’.” Gansten, Primary Directions, p 19. Rapidly (?) became popular Similar in many ways to recent popularization of whole sign houses in our time There was an early translation of Placidus’ work into English. In 1687 Kirby and Bishop published The Marrow of Astrology, an abbreviated English translation of the magnum opus of Placidus (1650). John Partridge (1644-1715) became the biggest proponent of Placidus houses Wasn’t initially in his first book An Astrological Vade Mecum (1679) which includes tables of Regio houses, but in his second Opus Reformatum (1693) in which “he rejected the doctrines of the medieval astrologers in favour of Ptolemy and Placidus” (Gansten, Primary Directions, p. 21). A very vocal proponent He was the last major English astrologer of the 17th century R.C. Smith (‘Raphael’) published a popular astrological almanac with tables of Placidus houses in 1821, making the Placidus system widely available to the public. Ralph William Holden (1977) speculates that “it seems likely that his doing so was that the Placidus method produces cusps which are complicated to calculate when referred to any one given sidereal time, but which on the other hand are very straightforward to produce in table form.” (The Elements of House Division, p.91). After this point Placidus became the most popular system among English-speaking astrologers Lilly’s book was republished in an abridged form, without the Regiomontanus house tables The Zadkiel edition (1852) As the original version of Lilly fell out of print, Zadkiel became more important Alan Leo used Placidus, as it was the standard of practice in England in the late 19th century The early 20th century astrologers tended to use Placidus Placidus became the primary system that tables of houses were available for. When calculating a chart by hand, you need a table of houses to calculate cusps It simplifies some of the mathematics involved. In what is already a tedious process. Additionally astrologers tend to not be highly skilled in astronomy. With the advent of computerized astrology and websites Placidus was often the default. For Chris’ generation, Placidus being the default on Astro.com was a big deal. It means that this is the first system you start with The accuracy or inaccuracy of the interpretations then depend partially on it

Episode 243 is a recording of a workshop led by astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim about interpreting relationship indicators in the birth chart. This is a recording of a local meeting of the Denver Astrology Group, and it was meant to be an introductory overview to some of the techniques that astrologers employ when looking at relationships through the lens of natal astrology. There are three primary areas that we focus on for relationships in the birth chart: Planets in the 7th house The ruler of the 7th house The condition of Venus   During the course of the meeting we demonstrate the techniques by sharing some celebrity and client example charts from our private files, and several members of the audience also shared their personal birth charts so that we could hear how certain placements have worked out in the lives of individuals directly. This episode of the podcast acts as sort of a companion to other episodes we've done on relationships in the past, such as: 🪐 The Outer Planets and Relationships with Kay Taylor 🪐 Synastry: The Astrology of Relationships with John Green 🪐 Composite Charts, with Originator John Townley 🪐 Sexual Orientation and Astrology with Christopher Renstrom 🪐 Lynn Bell on the Astrology of Family Dynamics 🪐 Relationship Astrology for Modern Times, with Jessica Lanyadoo There are some concepts that we only mention in passing in this episode, since they have been touched on in other episodes, and also since this was just meant to be a more basic technical introduction. We would also recommend checking out some of the previous workshops we've done recently, such as the one on the annual profections timing technique, or the workshop on interpreting where transiting eclipses fall in your birth chart. To learn more about the approach to astrology demonstrated in this workshop, check out Chris' online course on ancient astrology, or Leisa's lectures on annual profections and sect. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:00 Relationships and the 7th House 00:12:35 Chart examples of positive 7th House placements 00:16:15 Carl Sagan - ascendant ruler in 7th 00:20:29 Joe Biden - Saturn in 7th, Ruler of 7th in 12th 00:25:18 Richard Nixon - Venus in 7th 00:27:11 Audience chart example - death of partner 00:33:56 Audience chart example - end of relationship 00:36:41 Saturn in 2nd ruling the 7th 00:40:50 Annual Profections 00:44:23 Ruler of 7th in 9th 00:47:53 Emmanuel Macron - Ruler of 7th in 5th 00:50:50 Venus as relationship significator 00:52:15 Venus Saturn 00:53:44 Venus Uranus 00:57:04 Venus Neptune 01:00:35 Venus Pluto 01:02:40 Lot of Eros 01:04:36 Audience chart example - Jupiter Mars in 7th 01:16:25 Audience chart example - Venus Saturn Pluto 01:21:28 Synastry 01:22:22 Audience chart example - 7th house profection 01:28:47 Meghan Markle - Ruler of 7th in 4th 01:31:15 Prince Harry - Profection example 01:33:41 Monica Lewinsky - Mars in 7th 01:34:22 Bill Gates - Ruler of 7th Saturn mitigations 01:36:58 Amanda Knox - Saturn in 7th ruling 8th and 9th 01:38:39 Prince William - Ruler of 7th in 7th 01:40:00 The Macrons' synastry 01:40:57 Audience example - Venus Neptune 01:45:12 Hitler - Ruler of 7th in 8th 01:46:08 Eva Braun - Saturn in 7th 01:47:25 Aretha Franklin - Saturn in 7th 01:49:06 Common relationship questions 01:51:20 Signs and relationships 01:52:20 Ruler of 7th in 1st 01:53:30 Placements aren't static 01:56:00 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of our discussion about relationships in the birth chart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipQMvTmMHyg - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 243 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below: