The Astrology Podcast

In episode 297 of the podcast astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for April 2021. The astrology of April features a shift of inner planets into the fire sign Aries, where Mars went retrograde in the second half of last year, as well as a New Moon in the same sign. The later part of the month features a shift of planets into the earth sign Taurus where they meet up with Uranus, as well as Mars moving from Gemini into Cancer, and a Full Moon in Scorpio. We spend the first 90 minutes talking about the April forecast, and then discuss some miscellaneous topics like how astrologers process after doing a consultation, and The Astrology Podcast celebrating 300 episodes. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Northwest Astrological Conference Our sponsor this month is the Northwest Astrological Conference! Norwac.net NORWAC is a virtual conference event which is taking place May 27-31, 2021. The conference will feature 30+ astrologers giving lectures and workshops, ranging from beginner to intermediate and advanced topics in astrology. April Astrology Alignments Here are the major planetary alignments for April: Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:38 April planetary alignments calendar 00:02:08 Recent Sun-Venus cazimi 00:03:14 Kelly's April overview statement 00:04:30 Austin's April overview statement 00:05:41 Chris's April overview statement 00:07:14 Beginning of April 00:09:17 Transiting south node stories 00:12:54 Mars moving past the North Node 00:15:32 Contrast between hot and cold 00:19:03 Mercury enters Aries on April 3 00:21:00 Mercury-Mars Mutual Reception 00:25:30 Sun Mercury cazimi on April 18 00:26:40 Shift from Pisces to Aries 00:28:33 New Moon in Aries on April 11 00:30:38 Mars trine with Jupiter 00:32:53 More about New Moon in Aries 00:33:28 Venus square Pluto on April 11 00:37:11 Overview of April Taurus ingresses 00:39:35 Venus enters Taurus on April 14 00:40:38 Venus-Uranus conjunction on April 22 00:46:10 Venus-Saturn square 00:47:25 Fixed signs 00:53:15 Mercury & Venus square Saturn 00:54:04 April electional chart 01:03:00 Mars enters Cancer April 23 01:15:18 An upside of Mars in Cancer 01:18:26 Remediation 01:25:42 Full moon in Scorpio April 26 01:33:48 Pluto retrograde April 27 01:36:54 April summary 01:37:14 NORWAC Virtual Conference May 27-31, 2021 01:43:26 Sacredness and privacy of a consult 01:49:40 Upcoming episodes 01:50:32 Horary 01:55:05 Episode 300 celebration 02:00:00 Upcoming events/classes 02:03:18 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of the April Forecast Watch the video version of our April astrology forecast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR-uWnqipSE - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 297 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 296 features an interview with astrologer Sue Ward about the considerations before judgement in horary astrology. The considerations before judgement are a set of aphorisms that were first outlined in the 17th century by William Lilly in his book Christian Astrology. Lilly introduces them as a set of considerations for answering horary questions and determining whether the question is "radical" or has a strong foundation. The considerations were passed along in later authors, and by the mid-20th century became a set of "strictures" that were believed to indicate whether a horary chart could be read at all or should be rejected outright. In the 1980s there was a revival of interest in the practice of horary astrology, and Lilly's work in particular, due to the reprinting of Christian Astrology in 1985. By 1992 some astrologers such as Maurice McCann noted that Lilly still read horary questions where one or more of the considerations were present, based on the chart examples in Christian Astrology. This raised the question of what the considerations were really supposed to be used for, and what their value was in interpreting horary charts, if any. Sue Ward wrote a series of influential articles on the considerations starting in 1992, in which she explored their purpose and presented a new take on their meaning. During the course of this she made a number of discoveries, including a notable observation about the working definition of void of course that Lilly used in practice. In this interview we set out to talk about Sue's work on the considerations before judgement, and to try to place it within the historical context of the revival of traditional horary astrology in the 1980s and 90s. You can find out more about Sue on her blog at: http://sue-ward.blogspot.com Twitter: @susanward or email: [email protected] This episode is available in audio and video versions below. Episode Outline / Show Notes You can download the episode outline here: Considerations Before Judgement Episode Outline This is a version of the show notes that Chris prepared prior to the interview. Bibliography Here is a bibliography of some of the works cited in this episode. Thanks to Philip Graves from the Astrolearn Astrology Library for his help with researching this episode and scanning some of Sue's old articles. Sue Ward, “The Void of Course Moon: An Important Discovery,” in The Horary Practitioner, Issue 15, October 23, 1992, pp. 6-8. Maurice McCann, “Lilliy Says… A Reference to the Considerations before Judgment,” Astrology Quarterly, Vol. 63, No. 1, Winter 1992, pp. 38-44. Sue Ward, “Lilly’s Method: a Response to Maurice McCann,” Astrology Quarterly, Vol. 63 No. 2, Spring 1993, pp. 22-31. Sue Ward, “Consideration Before Judgment Revisited,” The Horary Practitioner, Vol. 8, No. 22, July 1997, pp. 8-20. Peter Stockinger and Sue Ward, William Lilly: The Last Magician, Astrologer and Adept, Mandrake, 2014. Considerations Before Judgement Images Here are some images of the considerations before judgement as they appear in William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647), pp. 121-123: - Update (4/6/2021): For more on the considerations see episode 298 titled Revisiting the Considerations Before Judgement in Horary Astrology. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:30 Sue's background 00:07:25 Sue's study of horary astrology 00:10:44 Teacher Olivia Barclay 00:14:40 Notable students of Olivia 00:16:52 William Lilly and the revival of horary 00:27:43 Overview of Lilly's considerations before judgement 00:37:30 Considerations became "strictures" in 1970's 00:41:40 Maurice McCann's article on considerations 00:48:20 John Frawley's statements on the considerations 00:49:55 Sue's article responding to McCann 00:52:06 Importance of context in horary 00:56:58 Problem of preconceptions about history 01:00:07 Sue's reverence for Lilly's text 01:05:08 Criteria for horary questions 01:15:01 The downside to computer charts 01:16:56 The magic in the horary process 01:18:50 The astrologer's role in the horary chart 01:22:00 Publishing details of Christian Astrology 01:23:56 Sue's book about William Lilly 01:31:20 Consideration 1: Lord of the Hour and of the Ascendant 01:45:05 Consideration 2: Ascendant in first few degrees of a sign 01:48:22 Consideration 3: Ascendant is in the last few degrees of a sign 01:59:04 Consideration 4: Moon in the later degrees of a sign 02:05:14 Consideration 5: Moon in the via combusta 02:07:23 Consideration 6: Moon is void of course 02:33:25 Consideration 7: Cusp of the 7th house or ruler afflicted 02:43:27 Consideration 9: Saturn in the 7th house 02:45:57 Consideration 8: Saturn in the ascendant 02:46:39 Consideration 10: Lord of the Ascendant combust 02:49:08 Consideration 11: Lord of the 7th unfortunate, or in fall, or malefic bounds 02:48:21

Episode 295 features an interview with Ali A Olomi about the 9th century Queen Buran, who is the first woman we know of by name that practiced astrology. Previously in episode 86 I discussed historical references to women practicing astrology as early as the 1st century CE, and discussed the 5th century philosopher Hypatia as one possible candidate for earliest figure. In this episode we focus on the famous Queen Buran, who lived in Baghdad in the 9th century, and talk about how she is a much more reliable candidate for earliest woman in history who likely had training as an astrologer and used it in practice. Buran was the wife of the Caliph Al-Ma'mun, who reigned from 813–833, during the early Islamic Golden Age. Their wedding was so extravagant that it became known as something of a legend for centuries. Buran came from a notable family line of astrologers, and her great-grandfather Nawbakht al-Farisi was the head of a group of astrologers that selected the electional chart for the founding Baghdad. A legend survives about a prediction that Buran herself made using astrology that helped to avert an assassination attempt on the Caliph al-Mu’tasim. We spent a good deal of the episode contextualizing Buran's life in 9th century Baghdad, discussing the history of the Persian and Arabic astrological traditions in the early medieval period, and talking about some of the notable astrologers that were contemporaries of Buran such as Masha'allah, Sahl ibn Bishr, and Abu Ma'shar. Ali is a historian of the Middle East and Islam, who focuses in particular on esotericism, astrology, and folklore. He is also the host of the Head on History Podcast, and posts weekly threads on astrology and esotericism through his page on Twitter @aaolomi. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Episode Outline and Show Notes You can download the episode outline here: Queen Buran Podcast Outline This is a version of the show notes that Chris prepared prior to the interview. Bibliography Bibliography of some works cited: Kenneth Johnson, “Buran of Baghdad: An Astrological Woman in the Early Middle Ages,” in the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR) Geocosmic Journal, ed. Leigh Westin and Demetra George, Autumn 2006, pp. 29–33. George Saliba, “The Role of the Astrologer in Medieval Islamic Society,” Bulletin D'études Orientales, vol. 44, 1992, pp. 45–67. Ibn al-Sāʿī, Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad, ed. Shawkat M. Toorawa, NYU Press, 2015. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:12 Ali and his work 00:07:57 Early women in astrology 00:12:12 Transmitting knowledge through family lineages 00:17:49 Buran's name 00:20:07 Conflicting reports about her birth year 00:22:40 Possible chart for Buran 00:24:05 Whole sign houses used in Arabic horoscopes 00:35:00 Birth Chart of Ali ibn Abi Talib 14th Century 00:43:07 12th century solar return chart 00:45:02 Buran's background in the 9th century 00:46:20 Baghdad as cultural center 00:49:50 Electional chart of Baghdad 00:57:49 Electional astrology in Baghdad 01:03:00 Mars in the Baghdad chart 01:09:00 Baghdad city design 01:11:38 Translations of astrology texts 01:15:48 Alexandria 01:19:26 Ethnicity and ancient sources 01:22:09 House of Wisdom in Baghdad 01:28:53 Buran's family line 01:34:00 Persian tradition of astrology 01:40:57 Nawbakht the Persian (c. 679-777) 01:44:51 Buran's training in astrology 01:48:50 Buran's husband Al-Ma'mun 01:56:29 Buran and Al-Ma'mum's lavish wedding 02:01:10 Connection to astrologer Sahl ibn Bishr 02:04:50 Sahl's influence as an astrologer 02:08:02 Sahl works for Buran's father 02:14:50 Importance of Dorotheus 02:17:29 Al-Ma'mum's death 02:19:00 Buran's poem to mourn her husband 02:20:48 Buran's life after his death 02:24:38 The legend of Buran's astrological prediction 02:27:33 Other women astrologers 02:30:25 Social stratification of the astrologers 02:33:20 Al-Qabisi's test of astrologers 02:36:25 Astrolabe technology 02:40:20 Buran's advanced techniques 02:52:20 Buran's later life and legends 03:02:25 Ali's podcast, Patreon, and Twitter 03:08:33 Shout-out to artist Matias Del Carmine 03:09:00 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on Buran through YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ7-8KTblPw - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 295 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 294 features a discussion with astrologer Israel Ajose about the meaning of the Moon in astrology, and some different techniques that incorporate the Moon in the western astrological tradition. This is the first in a series of new episodes on the significations of each of the planets, and I decided to start with the Moon because it is the closest celestial body to Earth. In order to ground the episode in the astrological tradition we read through several different passages from ancient and modern astrologers to see how they described the meaning of the Moon in astrology. We then used this as a jumping off point for further discussions, and in order to look at some of the different techniques that use the Moon as their focal point in western astrology. The passages that we read from different astrologers include Vettius Valens, William Lilly, Reinhold Ebertin, Robert Hand, Richard Tarnas, and Demetra George. Israel Ajose is a practicing astrologer from the UK, and is the President of the Astrological Lodge of London, which is the oldest astrological society in the English-speaking world, having been founded in 1915 by Alan and Bessie Leo. Israel previously appeared on episode 213 of The Astrology Podcast where I interviewed him about the Astrological Lodge in person while on a trip to Europe. You can find out more about Israel on his website: SacredPlanets.com Follow Israel on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and his YouTube channel. This episode is available in audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:49 Moon sign vs Sun sign 00:10:11 Rising sign vs Sun sign 00:13:10 Earthiness of the Moon 00:17:10 7 spheres diagram 00:20:26 Causal influences of moon 00:24:24 Moon glyph and dignity scheme 00:26:20 Valens' Moon significations 00:33:23 Moon in Thema Mundi 00:34:30 Joy of Moon in 3rd house 00:37:52 Moon and mother 00:40:09 Body parts and the moon 00:42:12 Israel's natal chart 00:43:00 Night charts and the moon 00:49:26 Domicile rulerships 00:51:00 The Moon as receptor 00:56:23 Possessions and fortune 01:02:10 Valens 3rd house significations 01:08:26 Mother figures and the Moon 01:11:20 William Lilly moon significations 01:16:30 Condition of the Moon 01:20:15 Moon Phases 01:26:30 Application and separation of the Moon 01:29:30 Void of Course 01:43:20 Paulus Alexandrinus on separation and application 01:46:30 More on Void of Course 01:54:50 Moon phases in the birth chart 02:01:21 Eclipses 02:05:21 Reinhold Ebertin significations 02:07:24 Moon and the Soul 02:11:28 More Ebertin significations 02:20:45 Moon and Women 02:23:45 Robert Hand significations 02:27:21 Jung and Freud 02:30:40 Richard Tarnas significations 02:42:00 Demetra George significations 02:48:00 Secondary progressed moon 02:52:33 7 Ages of Man and lunar ascendant 02:55:42 Moon sign horoscopes 02:58:46 Israel's 11th house moon 03:00:44 Astrological Lodge of London 03:02:00 Israel's website 03:04:17 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on the astrology of the Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOYp51hkDI4 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 294 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 293 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrology forecast for March of 2021. March features the end of the sign-based square between Mars and Saturn that began way back in mid-2020, plus a shift of planets into mutable signs, and the beginning of a new Venus synodic cycle. Towards the end of the episode we talk about a few miscellaneous topics that came up on the podcast this month, such as the meanings of the north and south nodes, the different definitions of the void of course Moon, and whether astrology is a form of divination like tarot. This episode is available in audio and video versions below. Archetypal Explorer Our sponsor this month is Archetypal Explorer, which offers a visual astrology program for the savvy enthusiast: ArchetypalExplorer.com Current Offerings From Kelly, Austin, and Chris Here are links to some of our current offerings this month: KellysAstrology.com AustinCoppock.com SphereAndSundry.com TheAstrologySchool.com (prices of Chris' courses going up later in March) Planetary Alignments for March 2021 Here are the planetary alignments for March: Coming off of the Full Moon in Virgo Feb 26 Saturn barely more than a degree separating from Uranus Mars into Gemini March 3 New Moon in Pisces March 13 Mercury into Pisces March 15 Sun into Aries March 20 Venus into Aries March 21 Mercury squares Mars March 23 Sun conjunct Venus March 26 Full Moon in Libra March 28 Auspicious Astrological Date for March The most auspicious astrological date we could find in March is: March 1, 2021, at approximately 10:30 AM local time, with Gemini rising There are a few other charts for March that are available in our private subscriber-only electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:06 March 2021 overview 00:04:50 February 2021 review 00:17:21 Mars-Saturn square finally over 00:22:04 Kelly's take on March 00:22:28 Austin's take on March 00:23:15 Mutable sign qualities 00:26:50 Sun and Venus in Pisces 00:27:14 Venus under the beams 00:34:52 March 1 00:35:22 Final Mercury-Jupiter conjunction 3/4 00:37:32 Mars in Gemini 00:38:55 Mercury in Pisces 00:39:40 Mercury Square Mars 3/23 00:40:30 March auspicious electional astrology chart 00:46:17 Update on Chris' astrology courses 00:48:33 New Moon in Pisces 3/13 00:52:40 Halfway point of eclipse cycles 00:57:40 Mercury enters Pisces 3/15 01:00:00 Mercury-Neptune conjunction 01:07:55 Archetypal Explorer 01:11:44 The Sun and Venus enter Aries 3/20-3/21 01:14:40 Venus-Sun conjunction in Aries 01:17:40 Full moon in Libra 3/28 01:23:10 Malefic contrary to sect benefits? 01:25:45 More about Full Moon in Libra 01:27:20 More about Venus Sun in Aries 01:30:28 Mars trine Saturn 3/21 01:35:49 Mars North Node conjunction 3/25 01:46:10 The pacing of March 01:49:11 More about Rahu 01:52:35 Astrology community and popularity 01:57:40 Void of Course Moon 02:15:41 Seeking a name for a double transit 02:21:30 Tarot and astrology as divination 02:26:00 Upcoming events 02:31:06 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of our March astrology forecast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHJdclBYtpM - 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 292 features a discussion between astrologers Yasmin Boland and Chris Brennan about the three different ways of defining what it means for the Moon to be void of course in astrology. This discussion is largely based on definition of void of course that I wrote for The Astrology Dictionary back in 2012, where I noted that there are three different ways that the Moon is defined as being void of course in the western astrological tradition. Yasmin specializes in the astrology of the Moon in particular, and wrote a popular astrology book in 2016 titled Moonology, and asked to record a discussion with me about the different ways that void of course is defined. I agreed as long as I could also release it as an episode of The Astrology Podcast, and it ended up being a pretty good discussion not just about the void of course Moon, but also the transmission of astrology and how astrologers define and receive different concepts. You can find out more about Yasmin on her website: Moonology.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode on Void of Course Watch the video version of this episode on the void of course Moon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ4WQExbelI - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 292 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 291 features an interview with T. Susan Chang about some of the parallels between astrology and tarot cards as forms of divination. Susan is a professional tarot card reader, and the purpose of this discussion was to explore some of the ways that astrology is similar to tarot as a form of divination, versus some of the ways that it is different. We tried to answer some questions like: how can tarot inform our understanding of what astrology is as a phenomenon? What makes divination divination? What are some different types of divination? What models of reality support the practice? In some ways this was a nice followup to episode 53 of the podcast with Geoffrey Cornelius on The Moment of Astrology, where we talked about whether astrology is a form of divination or a natural science. Susan is the co-host the Fortune's Wheelhouse esoteric tarot podcast, as well as the author of the new book 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey Through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot. You can find out more about her work on her website: TSusanChang.com 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 on astrology and tarot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ccU6ShBhq0 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 291 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 290 astrologer Ronnie Gale Dreyer joins the show to talk about the early history and meanings of the nodes in astrology, both in the western and Indian astrological traditions. As discussed in episode 127, in the late 20th and early 21st century the nodes came to be associated with one's past and future life in modern western astrology, but these associations are absent from the tradition if you look back more than a century or so. The premise of this discussion, then, is what did the nodes mean in the older traditions of astrology if they didn't have to do with past lives? Ronnie is the author of the book Vedic Astrology: A Guide to the Fundamentals of Jyotish, and she is also a Sanskrit scholar who is currently working on a translation of a 4th century Indian text on applying astrology to the lives of women. Together we set out to explore and discuss the early history of the nodes in eastern and western astrology. You can find out more information about Ronnie on her website: RonnieDreyer.com The painting featured in the cover art for this episode is by astrologer Shu Yap, and depicts the Samudra Manthan story, which we mention at one point in this episode as being connected to Hindu legends surrounding the origins of the nodes. You can follow Shu on Instagram: @interpsycle_astrology 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 00:01:00 Ronnie's book and background 00:14:45 History of women in astrology 00:20:39 The nodes and past lives 00:30:54 Interaction between Eastern and Western astrology 00:36:39 Mythology of Rahu and Ketu 00:39:19 Ancient mentions of the nodes 00:48:58 Parashara and nodes 00:57:30 Nodes, malefics, and outcasts 00:59:00 Nodes, the ecliptic, eclipses 01:01:30 Valens on the nodes 01:05:40 Rahu like Saturn, Ketu like Mars 01:07:40 Delineations from Phaladeepika 01:10:00 Houses 3, 6, 10, 11 and Rahu 01:14:18 Houses 4, 5 and Rahu 01:16:00 Rahu and Ketu as malefics 01:20:59 Houses 7, 10, 9, 11 and Rahu 01:24:40 House 12 and Rahu 01:25:00 Houses 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and Ketu 01:29:56 Houses 9, 10, 11, 12 and Ketu 01:32:44 Dragon and the nodes 01:34:49 Exaltations of the nodes 01:37:44 Opinion According to the Chaldeans 01:43:30 Turning point of nodes in history 01:47:25 Persian tradition 01:48:35 More about the dragon 01:51:30 Guido Bonnati on the nodes 01:58:58 More on the Vedic nodes 02:02:25 Rudhyar and evolutionary astrology 02:11:38 Three traditions of the nodes 02:16:21 Outer planets and the nodes 02:19:47 How Chris uses the nodes 02:22:38 Nodes and eclipses 02:27:54 Ronnie's work and website 02:28:44 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on the Moon's nodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjRw8465OhE - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 290 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 289 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for February of 2021. February features the first of three exact Saturn-Uranus squares this year, plus a stellium of planets in Aquarius, and a Mercury retrograde in Aquarius. We spend the first 30-40 minutes giving an overview of some of the major themes that have been occurring since our last forecast in mid-December, and then we get into a more detailed breakdown of the transits for February. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. 2021 Auspicious Elections Report and Astrology Calendars The Astrology Podcast has released our annual electional report and calendars! 2021 Electional Astrology Report 2021 Astrology Calendar Posters The Mountain Astrologer Magazine Our sponsor for this episode is The Mountain Astrologer magazine: The Mountain Astrologer magazine Current Offerings From Kelly, Austin, and Chris You can find out more about our work on our websites: KellysAstrology.com Kelly: Guiding Lights: Your Ascendant Ruler and Sect Light Kelly's Astrology Guide Monthly AustinCoppock.com Sphere + Sundry ChrisBrennanAstrologer.com Chris' book on Hellenistic Astrology Chris' online course on ancient astrology Auspicious Astrological Date for February The most auspicious astrological date we could find in February is: February 21, 2021, at approximately 11:00 AM local time, with Gemini rising There are a few other charts for February that will present on our private subscriber-only electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:14 Visuals of February 00:04:42 Overview of February 00:05:07 Saturn Uranus square 00:06:03 Mars in Taurus January 6 00:08:10 Saturn Uranus themes 00:13:41 Stock market volatility 00:24:06 January 6 riots/insurrection 00:30:19 Mars Uranus Inauguration day 00:32:28 Saturn Jupiter conjunction 00:37:33 Aquarius assembly/stellium 00:45:55 Mercury retrograde in Aquarius 01:06:57 Venus enters Aquarius Feb 1 01:13:41 Sun Mercury conjunction Feb 7 01:14:24 Mercury retrograde into Mars Feb 10 01:15:37 New Moon in Aquarius Feb 11 01:18:52 Venus Jupiter 01:22:23 The morality of Aquarius 01:23:36 Aquarius in birth charts 01:31:11 Mercury conjunct Venus Feb 12 01:31:30 Mercury conjunct Jupiter Feb 14 01:32:10 1st Saturn Uranus square Feb 17 01:36:42 Sun enters Pisces Feb 18 01:37:02 Mercury direct Feb 20 01:37:25 Venus squares Mars Feb 19 01:39:37 Auspicious election chart 01:44:30 Venus enter Pisces Feb 25 01:46:45 Full Moon in Virgo Feb 27 01:52:38 The Mountain Astrologer magazine 01:56:48 Upcoming projects Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of our February astrology forecast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkvgBTy9Rzc - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 289 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 288 features a discussion where an astrologer tries to explain what astrology is about to two people who are curious about the subject but somewhat skeptical. Last week Ian and Shaye from the comedy podcast Camp ReEducation reached out to me to see if I would be on their show, where they do interviews with people from different fields and try to familiarize themselves with new topics and reexamine their preconceptions. I agreed to do it as long as I could also release the recording as an episode of my podcast, and it ended up being a good discussion about trying to figure out how to explain astrology to a couple of non-astrologers who are skeptical about the subject but willing to listen and ask questions. Figuring out how to communicate what astrologers do to the general public has always been one of my interests, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try doing that with them, and I think it ended up being a great discussion. You can find out more info about Ian and Shaye and their podcast at: CampReEducation.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of my talk with the guys from Camp ReEducation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG3ETNYNTXs - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 288 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 287 features a lecture by Chris Brennan on the concept of reception in traditional astrology, and how it can be used as a powerful mitigating factor in birth chart interpretation. Broadly speaking, reception occurs when one planet is placed in a sign ruled by another planet, and the ruler of the sign aspects the guest planet. Since the signs of the zodiac were originally conceptualized as the homes or dwelling places of the planets, reception was conceptualized as what happens when a host planet welcomes and supports guests staying in its home. Medieval astrologers often treated reception as a powerful mitigating factor, which could make aspects from benefics even more positive, or alternatively make difficult aspects from malefics more constructive. In the first part of the lecture I talk about the history and philosophy behind this concept, while in the second half I present a bunch of contemporary chart examples to demonstrate how the technique works in practice. This episode is available in both video and audio versions below. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:50 The problem: Why hard aspects are sometimes constructive 00:01:35 Modern vs. ancient approaches to mitigating factors 00:02:45 Reception defined as a mitigating condition 00:03:29 Prerequisite: Signs of the zodiac as homes of the planets 00:04:14 The guest-host metaphor for planets 00:06:51 The traditional rulership scheme 00:07:51 Firmicus Maternus on the guest-host relationship 00:10:20 Basic definition of reception 00:12:19 Aversion: When signs do not aspect each other 00:14:28 Reception as the next best thing to a planet being in its own sign 00:16:07 Early textual references to reception 00:18:00 Formalization of reception in the early Medieval tradition 00:20:49 Mutual reception: Exchanging signs 00:21:26 Three types of mutual reception 00:30:44 Reception as familiarity or a "family tie" 00:35:30 Reception as hospitality (xenia) 00:36:40 Medieval astrologers on reception as a mitigating factor 00:40:48 Abu Ma'shar on reception and illness 00:44:53 Prerequisite concepts for chart examples 00:52:07 The concept of overcoming 00:58:08 Worst-case scenario: Maltreatment without reception 00:58:34 Chart example 1: Sibling's death 01:02:18 Chart example 2: Che Guevara 01:05:01 Chart example 3: Loss of a friend 01:08:57 Chart example 4: Ted Kennedy 01:12:41 Chart example 5: Maurizio Gucci 01:16:36 Chart example 6: Carrie Fisher 01:22:50 Chart example 7: Robin Williams 01:29:13 Chart example 8: Aretha Franklin 01:36:22 Chart example 9: Dr. Dre 01:51:36 Chart example 10: Kurt Cobain 02:05:25 Concluding remarks 02:06:04 Reception is not the only mitigating factor 02:07:52 Recommended book and course 02:09:47 Closing remarks and credits Watch The Video Version of this Episode on Reception Here is this video version of this episode on the concept of reception in astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwNTivlTws8 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 287 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 286 features an interview with astrologer Banu Guler about the popular astrology app that she founded called Co-Star. Co-Star is an app for iPhone and Android that calculates your birth chart and provides some basic interpretations, as well as daily transit notifications. The app was launched in late 2017, and quickly became one of the most popular astrology apps in the world, with Co-Star estimating that approximately 20% of young people in the US have downloaded the app. Despite its popularity, the app has also been the subject of criticism within the astrological community, for things ranging from the appropriateness of certain delineations, to questions about the extent to which astrologers were involved in its creation. Last month Banu did an impromptu Ask Me Anything thread on the astrology page on Reddit, to answer some questions about the app. I myself noticed the AMA and asked some questions, and I was impressed enough with the answers that I asked Banu if she wanted to come on the podcast to talk about the history of the app and address some of the controversies. It ended up being a really interesting two-hour conversation where we talked about a range of different topics. You can find out more about Co-Star on their website at: Costarastrology.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of my interview with Banu on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN0AtSHxN6Q - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 286 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 285 astrologer Chris Brennan presents a set of year ahead horoscope forecasts for 2021 for all twelve signs of the zodiac. The horoscope for each sign is about 15 minutes long, and they are meant to be looked at from the perspective of your Ascendant or rising sign, although you can also listen to the ones for your Sun sign or Moon sign as well. I mainly focus on the movements of the outer planets through the signs and houses, especially Jupiter and Saturn having recently moved into Aquarius, Uranus squaring Saturn this year from Taurus, and eclipses taking place in Gemini, Sagittarius, and Taurus. There are audio or video versions of each horoscope available below. The video versions are in separate videos on YouTube, and the audio ones are all in a single audio file, although I will put timestamps below so that you can jump to specific signs. 2021 Electional Astrology Report and Posters Released We recently released our 2021 Electional Astrology Report, as well as our 2021 Astrology Calendar Posters! Watch the Video Versions of This Episode You can watch the video versions of my 2021 horoscopes through the links below: Aries 2021 Horoscope Taurus 2021 Horoscope Gemini 2021 Horoscope Cancer 2021 Horoscope Leo 2021 Horoscope Virgo 2021 Horoscope Libra 2021 Horoscope Scorpio 2021 Horoscope Sagittarius 2021 Horoscope Capricorn 2021 Horoscope Aquarius 2021 Horoscope Pisces 2021 Horoscope Timestamps for the Audio Version Here are the timestamps for each sign for the audio version: 00:02:00 Aries 00:16:23 Taurus 00:30:08 Gemini 00:45:41 Cancer 01:02:43 Leo 01:19:31 Virgo 01:35:19 Libra 01:52:33 Scorpio 02:10:11 Sagittarius 02:26:45 Capricorn 02:43:19 Aquarius 02:59:12 Pisces 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 284 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look ahead at the astrology of 2021, and provide an overview of some of the major planetary themes that will play out over the course of the next twelve months. The astrology of 2021 opens in the wake of the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius, and features three exact squares of Saturn and Uranus, plus a series of eclipses in Gemini and Sagittarius. We spend the first 40 minutes talking about some of the biggest transits and shifts happening in 2021, and then we break up the year into quarters and talk about the astrological highlights of each month. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. 2021 Auspicious Elections Report and Posters The Astrology Podcast just released our annual electional report and posters! 2021 Electional Astrology Report 2021 Astrology Posters Sponsors Our sponsors for this episode are: Honeycomb Collective Personal Astrological Almanac + Wall Calendar The Mountain Astrologer magazine Kelly, Austin, and Chris You can find out more about our work on our websites: KellysAstrology.com AustinCoppock.com ChrisBrennanAstrologer.com Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of this episode on the astrology of 2021 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8LMySh6CuI – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 284 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 283 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim review some stories that were sent in by listeners about their recent Saturn return in Capricorn, and look at their birth charts to see what lessons can be learned from them. Saturn first moved back into Capricorn in December of 2017, and it is just getting ready to complete its transit through that sign of the zodiac this month, and it will leave Capricorn and move into Aquarius on December 17. In the first 30 minutes of the episode we spend some time reviewing our basic approach to interpreting Saturn returns and determining what they will coincide with in a person's life. Then we spend the rest of the episode going through a bunch of listener-submitted stories describing what happened in their lives over the past three years during their Saturn return. We tried to structure the episode by going through each of the 12 houses and dividing the stories based on which house Saturn was placed in in the listener's chart. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Saturn Return Resources for Further Study Here are some resources for further study about Saturn returns: SaturnReturnStories.com Leisa's Saturn Returns and Sect Lecture Episode 24: Understanding Your Saturn Return Episode 131: Saturn Return in Sagittarius Retrospective Chris’s book Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune Chris' online course on ancient astrology Timestamps Here are some timestamps for different parts of the discussion: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:57 Review of basic principles of Saturn returns 00:26:44 First house examples 00:42:18 First/Twelfth house examples 01:05:08 Second house examples 01:25:43 Third house examples 01:36:18 Fourth house examples 02:07:30 Fifth house examples 02:11:48 Sixth house examples 02:25:55 Seventh house examples 02:35:37 Eighth house examples 02:43:56 Ninth house examples 02:51:20 Tenth house examples 02:55:18 Eleventh house examples 03:03:55 More twelfth house examples 03:16:40 Saturn in Aquarius coming up 03:25:57 Further resources for study 03:28:44 Conclusion Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of this episode on Saturn returns in Capricorn here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzb1X2lXwpY - 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 282 features an interview with astrologer Robert Weinstein about his work using astrology to study fluctuations in the value of the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin. Robert wrote an article in The Mountain Astrologer magazine last year on the astrology of Bitcoin, and originally approached me last summer about doing an episode on the topic, although I wasn't quite ready at that point. My interest in the topic was renewed recently though when the value of Bitcoin hit a new all time high on November 30, which happened to coincide with a lunar eclipse in Gemini that we talked about in our astrology forecast last month. So we decided to sit down yesterday and record a sweeping three-hour discussion on the connections between astrology and Bitcoin, and some of the studies Robert has done on it. We spend a large part of the first hour just talking about what Bitcoin is and how it originated, in order to introduce it to a beginner audience, and then in the second and third hours we get more into the birth chart of Bitcoin, and review some past instances where price fluctuations have coincided with transits to the Bitcoin chart. Eventually we also talk a little bit about the future, and some of the changes expected in currencies with Uranus moving through Taurus, as well as some of the long term transits for the chart of Bitcoin in general. For more information about Robert check out his website: SourcePointAstrology.com You can also follow him on Twitter: @AstroCryptoGuru This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for different topics we talked about: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:23 Robert's background 00:04:00 Financial astrology 00:10:08 Bitcoin price fluctuations and astrology 00:14:30 Lunar eclipse + new Bitcoin record 00:16:17 What is Bitcoin? 00:23:15 The birth of Bitcoin 00:32:28 Mining Bitcoins 00:36:45 Early trading and accumulation of value 00:46:42 Birth chart of Bitcoin 01:04:20 Volatility due to Saturn-Uranus opposition 01:09:10 First Bitcoin transaction chart 01:10:57 More observations on Bitcoin birth chart 01:15:54 Studying fluctuations in price 01:22:32 Uranus in Taurus: currency changes 01:30:40 Mt. Gox Hack: Pluto conjunct Bitcoin Sun 01:41:00 Oct 2017-Feb 2018 High Price Correlations 01:55:34 Saturn in Capricorn depressing price in 2018 02:04:30 Uranus re-enters Taurus 2019 begins price rise 02:15:27 The south node and decrease 02:25:25 March 2020 crash 02:31:30 April 2020 onward rebound 02:35:35 Nov 30 lunar eclipse & new all time high 02:37:00 Late 2020 transits 02:39:19 The future 02:46:43 Other cryptocurrencies 02:49:17 2021 transits and long term trends 03:01:08 How to follow Robert's work 03:04:45 The four things that could crash Bitcoin 03:06:30 Needing to be good at both astrology and finance 03:11:10 Wrapping up Watch the Video Version of This Episode You can watch the video version of this episode on the astrology of Bitcoin here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdSLTMlLx8s - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 282 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 281 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for December of 2020. December features a solar eclipse in Sagittarius, and a great Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius. We spend the first 30 minutes of the episode recapping how some of the astrology of November worked out, and then we dive into the astrology of December. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Honeycomb Collective Calendars Our sponsor this month is the Honeycomb Collective personal astrological wall calendar. This is a fully personalized astrology calendar that shows transits to your natal chart each day, as well as other information such as your solar return or zodiacal releasing periods. Find out more at Honeycomb.co December Astrology Alignments Lunar eclipse in Gemini on Nov 30 Mercury moves into Sagittarius Dec 1 Mars starting to move forward again after retrograde Solar Eclipse in Sag on Dec 14 Venus into Sag Dec 15 Saturn into Aquarius Dec 17 Jupiter into Aquarius Dec 19 (6 of the visible planets change signs in the same week) Sun conjunct Mercury Dec 19 Mercury into Capricorn Dec 20 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction on December 21 Full Moon in Cancer on December 29 Auspicious Astrological Date for November The most auspicious astrological date we could find in December is: December 19, 2020, at approximately 9:30 AM, with early Aquarius rising There are a few other charts for December that we presented in our private subscriber-only electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:50 Animated astrology chart for December 00:01:50 Review of what happened in November 00:02:20 Review of Mercury retrograde station on election day 00:02:20 Review of Mercury retro station on election day 00:10:08 Pam Ciampi's prediction about election day 00:15:34 Jupiter-Pluto conjunction + Mars station review 00:32:42 December forecast begins 00:35:08 Lunar eclipse in Gemini 00:47:25 Solar eclipse in Sagittarius 00:58:12 Vaccines and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction 01:05:15 Minor transits in December 01:07:24 Jupiter and Saturn move into Aquarius 01:14:47 Saturn in Capricorn retrospective 01:20:40 Saturn in Aquarius for 3 years 01:23:15 Does the Age of Aquarius begin now? 01:36:25 Auspicious electional chart for December 01:45:45 The great conjunction as a long-term cycle 01:49:00 Mars-Pluto square 01:54:00 Mars gaining speed & planetary speed in general 01:56:50 Saturn-Pluto conjunction finally ending 02:01:25 Cardinal signs finally catch a break 02:05:00 Full Moon in Cancer on December 29 02:10:50 Snapchat releases native birth chart feature 02:13:00 2020 is over? 02:18:28 News and announcements 02:21:10 Cat watch 2020 02:23:20 Ending Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of our December astrology forecast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FriDvqjggds - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 281 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 280 features a lecture by astrologer Chris Brennan where he gives an overview of the history and transmission of western astrology over the past 4,000 years. The talk begins with the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian astrological traditions, and then traces the development of astrology through the Hellenistic, Medieval, Renaissance, and modern periods. This is based on a lecture that Chris has been giving at conferences since 2006 about how Uranus-Neptune conjunctions have historically coincided with periods in which there is a major transmission and revival of older forms of astrology, which are then synthesized with whatever the prevailing paradigm is at the time. Part of the purpose of the talk is to contextualize some of the current trends in our own time period, and the recent revival of older forms of astrology. Chris recently appeared on The Strology Show podcast with Kirah Tabourn to talk about the recent revival of traditional astrology in modern times, and that episode would be great to watch after this episode of The Astrology Podcast if you would like some more information about the traditional revival. 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 00:02:36 Mesopotamia 00:07:44 Invention of natal astrology 00:16:21 Egypt (Decans) 00:20:58 Conquest of Alexander the Great 00:24:23 Emergence of Hellenistic Astrology 00:32:04 Thema Mundi, Rulerships 00:36:19 Aspects 00:37:42 Houses 00:39:08 Planetary Joys 00:41:45 Elements and Zodiac 00:43:00 House significators 00:44:48 Core of the New System 00:47:00 Roman Empire in the 2nd Century CE 00:47:42 Transmission to Persia and India 00:51:40 End of Hellenistic Tradition 00:54:20 Expansion of Islamic Empire 00:55:17 Early Medieval Astrology 01:01:30 Four Traditional Branches 01:05:34 Transfer of Light 01:06:51 Late Medieval Astrology 01:12:10 Renaissance Astrology 01:17:12 Late Traditional Astrology 01:23:30 The Astrological Recession 01:29:06 Rebirth in 20th Century 01:33:12 Modern Astrology 01:43:00 Revival of Traditional Astrology 01:54:33 Uranus Neptune Conjunctions 01:59:30 Chart of historical timeline 02:05:03 Value of Studying the Tradition 02:10:40 The Current Revival 02:15:40 Contributions of Each Tradition 02:21:58 The Hermetic Nature of Astrology 02:26:25 The Future 02:32:34 Further Reading 02:36:10 Concluding remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode on the History of Astrology Here is the video version of this episode on the history of western astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWDq6zJVX34 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 280 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 279 astrologer Michael J. Morris joins the show to talk about using astrology within the context of the lives of transgender people. We spend the first part of the episode talking about some basic things that astrologers should know in terms of cultural competence in order to work well in consultations with transgender clients In the second half of the episode we get into more of a technical discussion about how different placements in the birth chart can manifest in the lives of transgender people, eventually going through each of the twelve houses and talking about different possible manifestations. We also tried to ground the discussion by using several example charts of notable transgender public figures. You can find out more information about Michael on their website: michaeljmorris.co Twitter @morrismichaelj Instagram @cowitchcraftofferings Below you will find some links to resources that we mention in the episode, followed by links to the audio and video versions of this episode. Recommended Reading A few books were mentioned or discussed in this episode: Susan Stryker, Transgender History, 2nd ed., 2017 Brynn Tannehill, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Trans, 2019. Chani Nicholas, You Were Born For This, 2020 Kate Bornstein, Gender Outlaw: Men, Women, and the Rest of Us (1995) Alok Vaid-Menon, Beyond the Gender Binary (2020) Janet Mock, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More (2014) Other Resources Some other resources mentioned in the episode: Irina Tudor's Queer Astrology Data Research Project Twitter and Patreon Queer Astrology Conference Chani Nicholas’s readings for Laverne Cox and Janet Mock on Star Power on Netflix. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on transgender issues in astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ_tw6diCBo - 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 278 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim look back at the astrology of the 2020 US presidential election, and reflect on what we learned as astrologers, now that the outcome is known. In the first part of the episode we discuss the much-anticipated Mercury retrograde period, which stationed direct on election day, and coincided with delays in determining the outcome of the election. Then we review some technical factors in the birth charts of the candidates that worked in showing the outcome, and discuss what we learned from some of the different methods that astrologers employed. Later we discuss a few other topics such as the role of bias and the media sources an astrologer draws on to provide them with context, the need for weighting or ranking surveys of astrological predictions, and then also some reflections on the nature of astrological prediction. 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 Introduction 00:02:50 Election day Mercury station 00:15:15 November 6 Mercury Saturn square 00:18:23 November 7 Moon in Leo 00:19:40 Mercury retrograde summary 00:20:20 Transition delay 00:21:50 Nov 18 Mercury clears shadow 00:22:22 Nov 12 Jupiter-Pluto conjunction 00:28:35 US Sibley chart 00:35:19 Pluto 00:38:37 Chris' political astrology background 00:42:42 Eclipses 00:47:22 Biden's chart and Dec 14 eclipse 00:52:10 Nov 30 lunar eclipse 00:53:30 Trump's chart 00:54:45 Pence's chart 00:58:46 Harris' Zodiacal releasing 01:08:30 Harris' chart 01:14:12 Trump and 2016 election 01:15:23 Trump's ZR periods 01:21:58 Biden's profections 01:30:50 Trump's transits and profections 01:43:40 Biden's secondary progressions 01:51:44 Inauguration chart 01:54:40 Tiffany Trump's chart 01:58:50 Melania Trump's chart 02:01:38 Prediction techniques 02:23:06 Critical thinking in astrology 02:27:10 Horary in political astrology 02:29:24 First vote chart 02:30:20 Prediction misconceptions 02:40:11 Final remarks Watch The Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of our episode on the 2020 US presidential election: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMs8XOUmAY - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 278 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 277 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for November of 2020. The astrology of November features Mercury stationing direct on November 3, which happens to be election day in the US, plus Mars stationing direct in Aries mid-month, the final Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, and a lunar eclipse in Gemini. We spend a bit of time reviewing some of the things that have been happening in the news over the past with the Mercury retrograde in Scorpio, and also touch on some of the astrology of the 2020 US presidential election. Finally we also discuss the resurgence of the pandemic in the US and Europe recently, and how the third wave in the US is currently on track to match with the third Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to the recordings. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Archetypal Explorer Our sponsor this month is Archetypal Explorer, which is an online astrology program for natal and mundane astrology. The site features a suite of visual and interactive tools for studying astrological transits, and includes interpretations from Richard Tarnas’ book Cosmos and Psyche Find out more information or sign up for a free trial at: ArchetypalExplorer.com Many of the transit graphs used in the video version of this episode of the podcast were provided by Archetypal Explorer. November Astrological Alignments Full Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus on October 31 Mercury stations direct in Libra on November 3 Square Saturn Mercury moves into Scorpio on November 10 Jupiter conjunct Pluto on November 12 Mars stations direct on November 13 New Moon in Scorpio on November 14 Sun into Sagittarius on November 21 Venus into Scorpio on November 21 Neptune stations direct in Pisces on November 28 Lunar eclipse in Gemini on November 30 Auspicious Astrological Date for November The most auspicious astrological date we could find in November is: November 28, 2020, at approximately 12:35 PM, with Pisces rising There are a few other charts for November that we presented in our private subscriber-only electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:54 Animated November transits 00:02:04 November astrology calendar 00:03:05 Cardinal sign emphasis 00:05:53 Full Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus October 31 00:08:57 November as continuation and culmination 00:11:43 Third Jupiter-Pluto conjunction 00:17:00 Mercury retrograde in Scorpio recap 00:28:25 Trump's transits and health in early September 00:40:54 Mercury stationing direct in Libra on November 3 00:51:30 When will the outcome of the election be decided? 01:13:10 Jupiter-Pluto conjunction on November 12 01:22:35 Mars stationing direct in Aries November 13 01:38:20 New Moon in Scorpio November 15 01:48:52 Venus into Scorpio and Sun into Sag Nov 21 01:55:05 Lunar eclipse in Gemini on November 30 02:03:18 Auspicious electional chart for November 28 02:09:48 Archetypal Explorer 02:13:01 Mars retro in Aries MMA story 02:14:13 Kitten watch 2020 02:17:15 Zodiac The Vote 02:22:20 Kelly's November events 02:23:15 Austin's November events 02:24:58 Podcast producers 02:27:15 Ending Watch the Video Version of Our November Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our November astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w14OWptjds0 - Listen to the Audio Version of Our 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:

In episode 276 astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo joins the show to talk about Mercury retrograde and what it means in astrology. Mercury retrograde periods occur when the planet Mercury begins moving backwards in the zodiac for about three weeks every few months. Astrologers generally associate Mercury retrograde periods with miscommunication, delays, technological snafus, and other issues in the areas associated with Mercury. During the course of the show we talk about the significations of Mercury, the astronomy of Mercury retrograde periods, shadow periods, and share some stories about how we have seen these periods manifest in the past. Astrologers have been talking about Mercury retrograde a lot recently since one is happening in the three weeks leading up to election day in the US on November 3, and it seemed timely to talk about the phenomenon in general, as well as how it might relate to the election. Jessica recently launched Zodiac the Vote, which is encouraging people to get out and vote, and providing guides to make it easier to avoid possible Mercury retro snafus: ZodiacTheVote.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 Introduction 00:00:98 Zodiac The Vote 00:06:56 Introduction to Mercury 00:20:26 Introducing Retrograde Motion 00:28:42 The Shadow Period & Referencing an Ephemeris 00:48:50 The Station 00:55:30 Experiencing Mercury Retrograde 01:22:13 The Social Phenomenon of Mercury Retrograde 01:30:50 Retrograde Transit Variations 01:34:15 Personal Chart Impact via Transit 01:49:30 Working With Mercury Retrograde 02:10:50 November 2020 Mercury Retrograde 02:18:05 Zodiac The Vote Cont. 02:30:44 Contact Information for Jessica Lanyadoo Watch The Video Version of Our Mercury Retrograde Episode Here is the video version of our Mercury retrograde episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu0CCgzNlng - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 276 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 275 astrologer Kirah Tabourn joins the show to talk about the concept of dividing groups into of people into generations astrologically, and looking at the different sub-generations of millennials based on their Saturn sign. At the start of discussion we talk about how modern astrologers divide different demographic cohorts based on what sign of the zodiac Pluto was in when they were born, such as the Baby Boomer generation that tended to coincide with Pluto in Leo. Later we focus on the millennial generation in particular, which tend to have Pluto in Scorpio, and discuss how it can be divided into sub-generations based on the sign that Saturn is located in. This discussion is based on a series of articles that Kirah wrote on her blog last summer on the Saturn signs of millennials. Kirah is the host of a new astrology podcast called The Strology Show, which you can find on her website: https://www.thestrology.com/thestrologyshow This episode of the podcast 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 00:00:53 Kirah's work 00:04:17 Pluto generations 00:07:17 Baby Boomers and Gen X 00:13:50 Pluto in Scorpio generation 00:18:51 Saturn sub-generation dates 00:20:33 Why Saturn as marker 00:32:00 Saturn in Scorpio 00:45:28 Saturn in Sagittarius 00:59:52 Saturn in Capricorn 01:22:50 Saturn in Aquarius 01:49:49 Saturn in Pisces 02:09:18 Saturn in Capricorn story request 02:10:11 Tabourn's announcements 02:14:17 Conclusion Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on astrological generations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l2bQ6U4MGk - 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 274 of the podcast Chris Brennan gives a detailed overview of the concept of sect in astrology, which is the difference between day and night birth charts. Sect is a fundamental concept that was used in Hellenistic astrology, but it has only been recovered by contemporary astrologers over the past 30 years through translations of ancient texts. The purpose of this talk is to give a broad introduction to sect, first by establishing how pervasive the concept is in ancient astrology, and then to demonstrate how it works in practice through chart examples. This episode was recorded as a live stream with an audience of patrons who support the podcast through our page on Patreon each month: https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast To learn more about sect, check out Chris' book on Hellenistic astrology, or his online course on ancient astrology. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Slides Here are the PowerPoint slides for the talk: Sect in Astrology Slides Alternatively watch the video version to see the audio synced with the slides. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:26 Day and night 00:05:09 Sect definition 00:06:45 Diurnal and nocturnal teams 00:07:57 Sect as foundational concept 00:09:43 Domicile scheme 00:12:37 Aspects 00:14:20 Exalations 00:15:05 Exaltations, sect, and aspects 00:16:59 Planetary joys 00:22:58 Triplicity rulers 00:24:14 Lot of Fortune 00:25:56 Master of the Nativity 00:28:24 Annual profections and sect 00:30:24 Important and pervasive concept 00:33:33 How to tell if chart is day or not 00:41:02 Twilight 00:42:59 George Lucas' chart 00:46:32 Barack Obama's chart 00:48:35 Using sect in practice 00:50:05 Benefics and malefics 00:53:43 Sect alters the mood of the planets 00:57:25 Most positive and negative planet 01:02:49 House placement of positive and negative planets 01:19:12 Example night chart 01:29:36 Ernest Hemingway's chart 01:33:02 Example day chart 01:36:04 Johnny Depp's chart 01:39:40 Lisa Marie Presley's chart 01:42:34 Maurizio Gucci's chart 01:44:11 Elliott Smith's chart 01:46:55 Britney Spears' chart 01:52:30 Planets ruling the ascendant 01:55:24 Alan White's chart 01:59:54 Ted Kennedy's chart 02:04:08 Michael J. Fox's chart 02:10:00 Benefic and malefic in same sign 02:10:41 Kurt Cobain's chart 02:16:00 Christopher Reeve's chart 02:19:25 Philippe Pozzo Di Borgo's chart 02:24:07 Mitigating factors 02:27:28 Rejoicing conditions 02:33:24 Aretha Franklin's chart 02:39:54 Chart of a doctor 02:41:55 Other ways sect is useful 02:51:27 Concluding remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode on Sect Here is the video version of our episode on the astrology of sect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XfPLTQuB9M – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 274 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 273 astrologers Leisa Schaim and Chris Brennan answer some questions about astrology that were submitted by listeners of the podcast. Some of the topics we covered in this episode include whether you should learn natal or horary astrology first, how to determine the sect of charts where the birth was close to sunrise or sunset, the ethics of reading the birth charts of children. We also discussed placements in the difficult houses, such as the 6th, 8th, or 12th house, as well as other topics such as the importance of counseling skills for astrologers, how to not fear difficult transits in the future, and how astrology has changed or impacted our lives. Later we also touched on why the wrong chart is said to still work sometimes, as well as the role of bias in astrology. 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 Introduction 00:00:25 YouTube channel milestone 00:02:28 Should you learn horary or natal astrology first? 00:09:39 Importance of counseling skills 00:23:15 Important things happening during difficult times 00:50:01 Determining sect when born close to sunrise or sunset 01:06:55 Benefics or Ascendant ruler in difficult houses 01:25:07 Does the wrong chart work? 01:37:04 Ok to work with kids' charts? 01:57:14 The role bias plays in astrology 02:23:36 How has astrology changed your life? Watch the Video Version of Our Astrology Q&A Episode Here is the video version of our astrology Q&A episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2nEgDlv4vA - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 273 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 272 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for October of 2020. The forecast for October features Mars retrograde in Aries squaring Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter, as well as a Mercury retrograde station opposite Uranus, and a Full Moon conjunct Uranus. With all of the Uranus and Mercury retrograde signatures, our working title for this month is October Surprise. Later in the episode we talk about some ambivalence surrounding the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, community news, and how to deal with an untimed birth chart. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to the recordings. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Honeycomb Collective Personal Astrological Almanac Our sponsor this month is the Honeycomb Collective Personal Astrological Almanac! Honeycomb has just released version 2.1 of their popular almanac, which includes the official release of their Hellenistic plugin, a new asteroids plugin, and a new community artwork feature. Find out more at Honeycomb.co Astrological Alignments in October of 2020 At the end of September Saturn stations and Mars squares Saturn (29th) Full Moon in Aries on October 1 Pluto stations direct in Capricorn October 4. Mercury-Uranus first opposition October 7 Mars square Pluto on October 9 Mars retro halfway cycle with Sun opposition October 13 Sun maltreated between Mars and Saturn 13th - 18th Mercury stations retrograde opposite Uranus on October 13/14 Mercury in its shadow since September 23 at 25 Libra New Moon in Libra on October 16 Square Pluto, Saturn, opp Mars Venus Neptune opposition October 18 Venus trine Jupiter right after on October 18/19 Mars square Jupiter October 18/19 Mercury opposes Uranus 2nd time October 19 Sun into Scorpio October 22 Mercury cazimi in Scorpio October 25 Venus moves into Libra on October 27 Auspicious Astrological Date for October Elections are kind of rough in October, and the best date we could find was: October 4, 2020 starting at 4:55 PM local time, with Pisces rising There are a few other charts for October that we will present on our private subscriber-only electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:35 October astrology animations 00:02:49 Mars-Saturn square + Mars retro recap 00:17:58 Full Moon in Aries October 1 00:32:25 Pluto stations direct in Capricorn 00:37:56 Mercury retrograde opposite Uranus 00:47:18 New Moon in Libra 00:59:39 Jupiter-Saturn conjunction ambivalence 01:20:12 Full Moon in Taurus conjunct Uranus 01:26:05 Electional chart for October 01:38:36 Honeycomb Collective Almanac 01:41:22 Possible life on Venus 01:44:00 New President and VP of AYA 01:49:34 Remembering Dia Nunez 01:58:00 Reading untimed birth charts 02:07:32 Upcoming stuff Watch the Video Version of Our October Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our October astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBJjAYA2IrU - Listen to the Audio Version of Our 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:

In episode 271 astrologer Melanie Reinhart joins the show to talk about her pioneering work on the minor planet Chiron in astrology. Melanie is the author of the book Chiron and the Healing Journey, which was originally published in 1989, and is now in its fourth edition. Chiron was discovered on November 1, 1977, and Melanie was one of a number of astrologers who soon after began researching its astrological meaning. During the course of the interview we talk about Melanie's background in astrology, the Greek myths surrounding Chiron, and how it shows up in people's lives depending on where it is placed in the birth chart. For more information about Melanie see her website: MelanieReinhart.com Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to recording. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Show Notes and Episode Outline Introducing Melanie, talk briefly about her bio, background, accolades Born in Zimbabwe Practicing astrology since 1975 Author of Chiron and the Healing Journey (1989) Charles Harvey Award for exceptional service to astrology in 2004 Chiron was discovered on November 1, 1977 By astronomer Charles Kowal Chiron glyph is a key, but also a K for Kowal Orbits between Saturn and Uranus New class of bodies called centaurs Bodies orbiting between the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt Variously classified as asteroid, minor planet, dwarf planet, comet. Some astrologers quickly became interested in researching it. Zane Stein one of the first astrologers working on Chiron Erminie Lantero The Continuing Discovery of Chiron in April 1984 Demetra George Asteroid Goddesses published June of 1986 Barbara Hand Clow’s chiron book published 1987 Melanie’s book was first published in 1989 How did you first get interested in researching Chiron? What was the process of starting to understand the meaning of Chiron? The mythology associated with the name as a meaningful starting point Use of Greek myth associated with name for interpretive purposes What is the myth of Chiron? Wounded healer, melding of animal/instinctual and human parts of us Astronomical properties also having symbolic significance Orbiting between Saturn and Uranus “Very small, only 180km in diameter, Chiron can also describe those things that, being so small, may seem insignificant, but in actuality are powerful.” How do you currently define Chiron’s role in astrology and in charts? Chiron as a bridge between two worlds House position as an area of life that is “initially blocked, wounded or functioning poorly” A cluster of events, patterns and circumstances which repeat In spite of our efforts to change things Person can play the role of the Healer, the Wounded One, or the Wounder Theme of doing for others what we cannot do for ourselves. Theme of sacrifice Separated from something that we feel we can’t live without Feeling of exile Has your conceptualization of Chiron’s meaning changed any over time? What was changed or added in revised editions of the book? First edition published 12 years after discovery Now in 4th edition Stays in different signs for irregular amounts of time Highly elliptical orbit 50-51 year cycle, so Chiron return is around that age 8 years in Pisces and Aries Only about 2 in Virgo and Libra Elliptic orbit means the squares can occur anywhere from 5 to 23 But the return is always around 50 Listener questions from Zamboni Funk, Diana Schaap, and Claire Moon Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:30 Reinhart's background 00:12:07 Chiron's history 00:17:28 Chiron books 00:19:28 Her Chiron journey 00:24:30 Why talk about Chiron? 00:29:23 Chiron mythology 00:49:28 Wounded healer 00:59:10 Chiron return 01:10:45 House placements 01:29:40 Her book 01:38:07 New Chiron insights 01:41:59 Four other centaurs 01:44:40 Techniques 01:51:38 Orbs 01:55:14 Other Chiron themes 02:03:31 Review of her book 02:04:55 Conclusion Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode with Melanie Reinhart on Chiron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mOaVT8pLao – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 271 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 270 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim discuss which techniques you can use in natal astrology to interpret a birth chart even when you don't have a birth time. Western astrology has focused very heavily on using timed birth charts since about the 1st century BCE, and there are many techniques in natal astrology that can only be employed if you know a person's exact time of birth. While in many western countries the birth time is usually recorded on a person's birth certificate, not everyone knows or can obtain their birth time, which means that there are some techniques that simply cannot be applied to their chart. In this podcast we set out to discuss which techniques can be applied to a person's birth chart even if their birth time is unknown, and what we discovered along the way is that there is actually a lot that you can still do without a birth time. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download the recording. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Episode Outline and Show Notes Introduction What techniques can be applied to a natal chart when there is no birth time? Assuming that rectification is out of the question. Both interpretive techniques for the birth chart on its own and timing techniques. I put out a survey on Twitter and Facebook, so thanks everyone who answered Preliminary Matters First we have to start by explaining why a birth time is important. Western natal astrology is very much centered around knowing the time of birth. The time of birth is needed to calculate the Ascendant or rising sign From the Ascendant one calculates the houses, which designate areas of life. Other techniques like the Lots or Arabic Parts depend on having a birth time By extension some timing techniques like zodiacal releasing require a time Even the basic method of annual profections requires the rising sign If a person is born close to a cusp the Sun can change signs in a day Moon moves about 13 degrees in a day, so changes signs every 2-3 days Rising sign changes every 1-2 hours The original word for the Ascendant is Horoskopos or Hour-Marker Horoscopic astrology is any type of astrology that uses the Ascendant Try to Find Your Birth Time First First things first, make sure you’ve exhausted all options for finding your birth time Try really hard to find your birth time Talk to your parents or other relatives who may know Trying to find your birth certificate Baby book Family bible Either the original copy of your birth certificate or order a copy from the state Get the long form birth certificate State sometimes makes digital copy that may not have the time Birth certificate usually more accurate because parent’s memories notoriously unreliable Even if you can’t find the time, see if you can narrow down what part of the day it was Knowing it was definitely daytime or nighttime will tell you the sect of the chart If you narrow it down to a few hour span it is easier to rectify the rising sign See ep 169: Rectification: Using Astrology to Find Your Birth Time Try building a time machine If most of this fails then proceed as follows Setting Up the Chart Some people use a Sunrise chart Selecting the time that morning when the Sun was on the Ascendant Solar houses But if they were born at night, lunar houses might be more appropriate? (We forgot to mention this issue in the recording) We prefer to use a noon chart (set the chart for 12:00 PM the day of the birth) Because then you know the Moon can only be 6 degrees off Signs and aspects correct, but disregard the houses House placements depend on the Ascendant and birth time Also ignore Lot of Fortune and other lots Natal Interpretive Techniques Without A Birth Time The zodiacal signs that the planets are located in should be pretty stable Focus on aspects between planets Both aspects by sign and aspects by degree Close degree based aspects more important Planets earlier in the order of signs play dominant role in relationship Aspect patterns are true regardless of birth time for the most part See ep 266 Aspect Patterns in Astrology, with Carole Taylor Planets as general significators for different topics Venus relationships Sun core identity Moon emotions Mercury communications Mars assertion Jupiter growth Saturn consolidation Outer planets generational Lunar phase should be known roughly How much the environment you were raised in matters Timing Techniques Transits Can use for the most part, but Sun/Moon may be slightly off Won’t know what houses they are in Will now transiting aspects to natal placements Life stage transits Saturn return Saturn squares and opposition to natal placement Uranus aspects Uranus square and Uranus opposition Whole sign and degree based aspects Profected house topics You can know what profection year you are in without knowing rising sign Profecting from planets for topics Profect from sect light if you know day or night chart Can profect from bot

In episode 269 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for September of 2020. September is one of the more crucial and tense months that we identified back in our year-ahead forecast, due to Mars stationing retrograde in Aries and squaring Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto in Capricorn. This month will also see Jupiter and Saturn stationing direct in Capricorn, and beginning their final run through that sign between now and December. We spend the first hour and a half talking about the astrology of September, and then transition into a discussion about other miscellaneous topics including the ominous significance of comet NEOWISE, the 2020 US presidential election, the birth chart of Kamala Harris, the sabotage of the US postal service, and Austin's new kitten who has a timed birth chart. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to the recordings of the episode. This episode is available in both audio and video versions. Archetypal Explorer Our sponsor this month is Archetypal Explorer, which is an online astrology program for natal and mundane astrology. The site features a suite of visual and interactive tools for studying astrological transits, and includes interpretations from Richard Tarnas’ book Cosmos and Psyche Find out more information or sign up for a free trial at: ArchetypalExplorer.com ISAR Conference in September The International Society for Astrological Research is hosting a two day online conference September 12-13, 2020! ISAR2020.org The first day will feature several astrologers giving talks on the upcoming Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, and the second day will feature a discussion about the US presidential election. Planetary Alignments for September 2020 Full Moon in Pisces on September 1st / 2nd Moon sextile Uranus, Sun trine Venus opposes Saturn exact September 2, coincides with Full Moon Venus enclosed by Saturn and Mars for a couple days Venus square Mars exact early on Sept 4 ends enclosure Mercury moves into Libra on September 5 Venus moves into Leo on September 6 Mars stations retrograde in Aries on September 9 Stations with 3 degrees of square with Saturn Mars won’t station direct until November 13 Jupiter stations direct in Capricorn on September 12 Venus square Uranus September 15 New Moon in Virgo on September 17 Mercury squares Jupiter simultaneously Lunations this month at the bendings, halfway between eclipses. Sun moves into Libra on September 22 Mercury squares Saturn on September 23 Mercury opposes Mars September 24 Mercury enters its shadow on Sept 23 at 25 Libra (!) Mercury moves into Scorpio on September 27 Saturn stations direct in Capricorn on September 29 Mars squares Saturn the same day, September 29 Saturn stations within 3 degrees of Pluto. Closest they get again. Auspicious Astrological Date for September Our featured electional chart for this month is a Mercury in Virgo election: 🪐 September 2, 2020 at 7:00 AM local time, just after sunrise We also presented a several other elections for September on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections. We also recently discounted our full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some auspicious charts later in the year. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction and overview of the month animations 00:02:45 Major themes for September 00:07:30 Full Moon in Pisces September 1/2 00:16:05 Mercury moves into Libra, Venus into Leo 00:20:00 Auspicious electional chart for September 00:27:08 Mars stations retrograde in Aries September 9 00:33:11 Mars square Saturn 00:43:31 Transits to USA Sibly chart: schools, USPS 00:51:43 Beirut explosion at Mars-Jupiter square 00:55:56 Jupiter stations direct in Capricorn 01:01:15 Venus square Uranus 01:04:25 New Moon in Virgo 01:07:22 Sun moves into Libra September 22 01:09:30 Mercury enters shadow period September 23 01:15:45 Saturn stations direct in Capricorn, Mars squares 01:26:44 Comet NEOWISE 01:30:58 Archetypal Explorer astrology program 01:34:58 Transition to miscellaneous topics 01:35:25 ISAR conference happening in September 01:39:00 Kamala Harris' birth chart & US Presidential election 01:59:28 Cat astrology 02:16:07 Shadhan and Abu Ma'shar predict the USA? 02:21:00 Tajika astrology 02:22:50 Upcoming classes + end of episode Watch the Video Version of Our September Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our September astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y2npcBO85E – Listen to the Audio Version of Our 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:

In episode 268 of the podcast Dr. Martin Gansten joins the show to talk about his new translation of a 17th century Sanskrit text on Tajika astrology, which focuses on annual predictive techniques derived from medieval Arabic sources. Martin is a historian of religion as well as a Sanskrit scholar, who specializes in the study of the history and transmission of ancient astrology. Earlier this month he published The Jewel of Annual Astrology: A Parallel Sanskrit-English Critical Edition of Balabhadra’s Hāyanaratna. Balabhadra Daivajña was a court astrologer who lived in India in the 17th century. His book called the Hāyanaratna was written in 1649 CE, and his goal was to write a comprehensive survey of the approach to making yearly predictions that is unique to the Tajika tradition. The Tajika tradition was founded sometime around the 13th century when a compilation of medieval Arabic texts on astrology were translated into Sanskrit, probably starting with an author named Samarasimha (c. 1274 CE). This began a tradition of astrology in India that looks very similar to medieval western astrology, which incorporates techniques and concepts such as the solar return chart, annual profections, dignities, as well as complex aspect doctrines such as transfer of light and collection of light. Martin was able to trace the origins of some of these concepts in the Tajika tradition back to the text of the 9th century astrologer Sahl ibn Bishr, although in some instances misinterpretations of the text may have led to the development of new concepts and doctrines. We ended up spending much of the episode talking about the Tajika tradition as an interesting and important instance of the transmission of astrology from one culture to another, and ultimately perhaps as useful example in our own time when astrologers are attempting to recover and interpret ancient texts. You can find out more information about Martin on his website: MartinGansten.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Download the Text Discussed in This Episode Martin's book is available as both a print book as well as a free PDF from the publisher, due to a grant that he received in order to help translate the book: The Jewel of Annual Astrology Part of the purpose of our discussion was to act as a guide to reading the book, and understanding some of the background behind it. Download the Show Notes Our show notes for this episode provide an extended outline of some of the main discussion points, and you can download them as a PDF here: Tajika Astrology Podcast Episode Outline This outline was compiled by Chris Brennan in preparation for this interview, and any errors or inaccuracies are his own. Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode with Martin Gansten on Tajika astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0NVcMv9xx0 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 268 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 267 astrologer and scholar Levente László joins the show to talk about his new translation project for ancient Greek astrological texts, and to discuss some of the translations he has completed so far. Levente is classical philologist from Hungary, and he recently launched the Horoi Project, which is a crowdfunding project to translate ancient astrological texts that survive from the Hellenistic and Byzantine astrological traditions: https://www.patreon.com/horoiproject/ During the course of the episode we talk about four translations that Levente has been working on recently, and read some excerpts from each of those texts. The four texts discussed are 1) a work of definitions used in Hellenistic astrology by Porphyry and Antiochus of Athens, 2) a text on how to interpret a birth chart by Rhetorius of Egypt, 3) another text by Rhetorius on electional astrology, and 4) some anecdotes by the 9th century astrologer Shadhan about his teacher Abu Ma'shar. A PDF of each of the translations discussed in this episode is being released for free today to coincide with this episode, and you can find the links to each below. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Download the Texts Discussed in This Episode Levente has released preliminary translations of each of the texts discussed in this episode, and you can download the PDF files below: 🪐 Porphyry, Excerpts from Antiochus’ Introduction 🪐 Rhetorius, On the Systematic Interpretation of Nativities 🪐 Rhetorius, On Inceptions 🪐 Shadhan, Discourses with Abu Ma'shar on the Secrets of Astrology The Shadhan text is only about 1/3 complete, but future updates will be sent out every couple of weeks to subscribers through the Horoi Project page on Patreon. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introducing Levente and his translation project 00:17:12 Antiochus and Porphyry translation 01:22:20 Rhetorius on steps for interpreting a birth chart 01:49:04 Rhetorius on inceptions and electional astrology 02:01:51 Shadhan on the sayings of Abu Ma'shar Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on translating ancient astrological texts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzRI-9NU024 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 267 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 266 astrologer Carole Taylor joins the show to talk about aspect patterns in astrology, such as the T-square, grand trine, and yod. Aspect patterns occur when three or more planets are aligned with each other in a chart through close geometrical configurations. Carole is the author of my new favorite introduction to astrology book, titled Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life, which contains a brief chapter on aspect patterns. We spent the first 30 minutes of the episode talking about Carole's background in astrology and her book, and then at about 35 minutes we transition into talking about aspect patterns. Here are the aspect patterns we talked about in the episode with timestamps: 🪐 00:00:00 Introducing Carole and her book 🪐 00:34:45 Aspect patterns discussion begins 🪐 00:43:00 T-square 🪐 01:20:35 Grand Cross 🪐 01:43:20 Grand Trine 🪐 01:52:30 Kite 🪐 01:57:20 Yod There were a few aspect patterns that we didn't get to, such as the Mystic Rectangle, but overall it provided a pretty solid introduction to the topic. 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 on aspect patterns with Carole Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtB59WV29jA – Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 266 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 265 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for August of 2020, as well as the birth chart of Walter Mercado. The astrology of August features Mars moving into its shadow and making the first of three sets of squares to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, as well as a Full Moon in Aquarius square Uranus, and Mercury and Venus finally moving out of their long trips through Cancer and Gemini. We start of with the forecast for August right at the top of the episode, and then in the second half we discuss the recent documentary on the famous astrologer Walter Mercado on Netflix titled Mucho Mucho Amor, and specifically the question of what the correct birth chart and rising sign is for Mercado. The issue with Walter Mercado's birth time is that his birth date is usually given as March 9, 1932, however according to AstroDatabank astrologer Eduardo Castellanos obtained a birth record that says that Mercado was actually born on April 25, 1931 at 6:00 AM in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Even the birth time for April 25 is rounded though, and the Ascendant is close to the cusp between Aries and Taurus, so we spend a bit of time debating whether Walter Mercado had Aries or Taurus rising. Below you will find the other episode notes, followed by links to the recording. This episode is available in both audio and video versions. Fresh Voices in Astrology Summit 2020 Our sponsor this month is the Fresh Voices in Astrology Summit, which is a 2-day virtual event happening August 15-16, 2020! The event is being hosted by Kirah Tabourn, and features 12 gifted astrologers sharing presentations on topics they're passionate about. The summit is FREE to watch for 48 hours, and you can also sign up for an all access pass, which gives you VIP access access to recordings on demand and other perks. FreshVoicesInAstrology.com Instagram: @astrologyvoices & Twitter: @astrologyvoices Planetary Alignments for August 2020 Mars moved into its shadow in late July (15 Aries) Mars begins squaring Capricorn planets (first pass of three due to retrograde) Square Jupiter at 19 degrees on August 4 Square Pluto at 23 degrees on August 13 Square Saturn at 26 degrees on August 24 ** Venus left shadow July 28 Full Moon in Aquarius on August 3 (not an eclipse!) Square Uranus Mercury in Leo August 4 Finally out of Cancer after extended visit due to retrograde Venus in Cancer August 7 Thus concludes long Venus in Gemini period that started April 3 The Venus retro that started May 12 Uranus stations retrograde August 15 Sun conjunct Mercury August 17 New Moon in Leo August 18 Mercury moves into Virgo August 19 Sun moves into Virgo August 22 Auspicious Astrological Date for August Our featured electional chart for this month is a Sun in Leo election: 🪐 August 13, 2020 at 6:25 AM with 23 Leo rising We also presented a few other elections for August on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections. We also recently discounted our full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some auspicious charts later in the year. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 - Beginning of forecast 00:00:48 - An overview of the August forecast 00:18:54 - The August auspicious election chart. 00:26:26 - Sun in Leo square Uranus in Taurus on 8/1 00:37:36 - Venus enters Cancer on 8/7 00:46:20 - Mercury enters Leo on 8/4 00:53:04 - Uranus station and Mercury's exact conjunction with the sun 00:56:14 - The New Moon in Leo on 8/18 00:58:02 - Mercury enters Virgo on Aug 19 and the sun enters Virgo on 8/22. 00:59:52 - Mercury opposite Neptune on 8/29. 01:01:38 - Mars square Saturn on 8/24 01:28:00 - Fresh Voices in Astrology conference 01:37:01 - Discussion about the Walter Mercado documentary Watch the Video Version of Our August Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our August astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBrPQN4iZho - Listen to the Audio Version of Our July 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:

In episode 264 of the podcast Chris Brennan and Benjamin Dykes discuss the origins of the concept of detriment in ancient Hellenistic and Medieval astrology. Years ago I noted that that the origins of the concept of detriment are somewhat mysterious, because it is mentioned infrequently by the Hellenistic astrologers, and not usually defined along with the other classical "essential dignities" of domicile, exaltation, and fall. Then suddenly in the work of Rhetorius of Egypt, the last major Hellenistic astrologer who lived around the 6th or 7th century, detriment is present as a full-blown concept and is treated together with the other essential dignities. In my book Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune, I surmised that this meant that either A) detriment had developed as a new concept by the late Hellenistic tradition, or alternatively B) that Rhetorius was simply formalizing a concept that had been taken for granted by some earlier astrologers. At the time that I published my book in 2017 I felt like I had found enough references to the concept in the earlier Hellenistic tradition to indicate that Rhetorius didn't invent the concept out of nowhere, but instead he was drawing on an earlier tradition. My focus, then, became on establishing a set of English terms to refer to the concept, since the Greek term enantiōma that Rhetorius used just meant "opposition" or "contrariety". I ended up settling on the terms "adversity," "exile," and "antithesis." Some of this process was discussed in episode 44 of The Astrology Podcast. Then a couple of weeks ago I came across and article written earlier this year by Anthony of Seven Stars Astrology titled Detriment: A Questionable Distinction. In this article Anthony, who is familiar with my earlier work on this issue due to taking my Hellenistic course and reading my book, did a survey of Hellenistic and early medieval references to detriment in order to show how infrequently the concept is mentioned, and to call into question the conclusion I made about its development in my book. While some interesting points were made in this article, it was clear that some references to detriment in the earlier Hellenistic tradition were being overlooked or not recognized for what they were, or in some instances downplayed as possible interpolations. This prompted me to go back and do my own survey of references to detriment in the Hellenistic tradition with Levente László of the Horoi Translation Project, and we found a number of new references that had not been noted in any previous studies. We are releasing the results of that survey today to coincide with the release of this podcast episode, as an additional handout to accompany the discussion: References to the Concept of Detriment in Hellenistic Astrology These references leave no doubt that the concept of detriment originated in the earlier Hellenistic astrological tradition, going back to at least the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. Anthony declined an invitation to join me on the podcast to discuss this topic. When I spoke to Benjamin Dykes about it, he sent me a document he had been preparing for his upcoming course on medieval astrology where he did a survey of references to the concept in the early medieval tradition. Sign up for the newsletter on Ben's site to get a notification when the course is available: BenDykes.com Ben classified the references into three groups in terms of how the medieval astrologers were conceptualizing detriment: Inner division and contrariety Corruption, disintegration Foreign things, strangers, others Ben agreed to join me on the show to discuss this issue, and to review some of the different references that we found, in order to get a better understanding of the origins and use of this concept in traditional astrology. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:22 Hellenistic detriment history 00:12:24 Hellenistic references 00:19:34 Oppositions 00:37:57 The four elements 00:43:38 More Hellenistic references 00:58:37 Arabic terms 01:02:48 Medieval passages 01:30:41 Historical summary 01:35:00 Lack of unified view 01:44:52 Positives of detriment 01:58:39 Detriment in Indian tradition 01:59:50 Dykes' course Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on the origins of the concept of detriment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zem-4tFArEo - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 264 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 263 astrologer Bear Ryver joins the show to talk about intersectionality as a framework for approaching astrology, working with clients, and the astrological community. Intersectionality is a term that was first coined in a legal context by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, to explain the way in which people can experience multiple overlapping forms of discrimination at the same time. The term has since been expanded in order to understand how the intersection of race, class, gender, and other characteristics overlap, and how this affects power, privilege, and access in society. Bear gave a talk on the application of intersectionality to astrology at the Northwest Astrological Conference in May, and I invited him to join me on the podcast to talk about the role of intersectionality in the astrological community today. You can find out more about Bear on his website: PsycheAndSoulAstrology.com You can also get access to his NORWAC talk on intersectionality and other lectures through his page on Patreon: Patreon.com/bearryver 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 on intersectionality with Bear Ryver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWRxmxvh-6c - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 263 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 262 features an interview with astrologers Basil Fearrington and Kathy Rose about the life and work of the astrologer Noel Tyl. Noel Tyl was one of the most prolific astrologers of the late 20th and early 21st century, having authored around 30 books. He passed away last year, on December 31, 2019, the day he turned 83 years old. I almost did an interview with him last fall, but it didn't come together, and I regretted having missed the opportunity. In order to make up for it I decided to interview two of Noel's most prominent students, Basil and Kathy, who continue to teach his methods. In the first part of the episode we talk about Noel's biography, and in the second part we talk about his approach to astrology and what made it unique and distinctive. Thanks to Matthew Ouimet for his help putting together the outline for this episode! Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to listen to the episode. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Show Notes and Episode Outline Introduction Noel Jan Tyl (1936-2019) Born December 31, 1936, at 3:57 PM EST in West Chester, Pennsylvania Died December 31, 2019 at 11:11 AM in Arizona Died on his birthday, at 83 years old. One of the most prolific astrologers of the late 20th century. Biographical Background on Noel’s Life Born December 31st, 1936, at 3:57 pm EST in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Big guy: 6ft 11in tall Excelled academically and athletically Accepted to Harvard Became aware of astrology after college at age 28 (Saturn return) Went to Zoltan Mason’s bookstore in New York Cit Tyl self-taught through books His first published book was “Astrology as Identity” in 1973. Wrote while in Germany and submitted to Llewelyn Subsequent series: Principles and Practice of Astrology (12 vols) Published 30+ books in his life. Strong connection with Llewellyn publishing company. Developed and taught his Master’s Course Founding member and early Presiding Officer of AFAN Involved in organizing the first United Astrology Conference (UAC) in 1987. Received Regulus Award at UAC in 1998 for Enhancing Professional Image Noel Tyl's Approach to Astrology Humanistic astrological focus What was most important was having a meaningful conversation with the client. Influenced by psychological need theory taught by professor Henry Murray at Harvard Who were Noel’s primary influences as an astrologer? Alan Leo Marc Edmund Jones - personal connection? Dane Rudhyar Reinhold Ebertin Crafted an approach that was both technical and psychological His opposition to the use of the terms benefic and malefic Aspects Focus on hard aspects Minor aspects Didn’t use the inconjunct. Quindecile: 165 degrees - intense focus or obsession Quintile: 72 degrees - creativity Aspect patterns Grand trine T-square Grand square Others involving quadrant or hemisphere emphasis Hemisphere emphasis Singleton planet Houses Placidus houses He did not dismiss all traditional house meanings Focused on what was psychologically and behaviorally important. 2nd house as how you view yourself as a resource; self-worth and self-esteem Rulers of the houses, using modern sign rulers Saturn retrograde interpretation Peregrine as unaspected planet Timing techniques Transits Solar arcs Secondary progressed Moon Midpoints Via Cosmobiology of Reinhold Ebertin He thought the WWII era delineations of Ebertin were too pessimistic “Updated” them Vocation Weekly vocational exercises on his forum Aries point Learning More Some books by Noel: Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology (1994) Solar Arcs (2001) Prediction in Astrology (1995) Vocations: The New Midheaven Extension Process (2006) Astrology of Intimacy, Sexuality, and Relationship (2002) The Astrological Timing of Critical Illness (1998) The Creative Astrologer: Effective Single Session Counseling (2000) Noel Tyl's Guide to Astrological Consultation (2007) The Principles and Practice of Astrology (12 vols) Biographical Resources: Basil Fearrington: Noel Tyl – The Passing of a Legend in Astrology TYL unfiltered: A revealing conversation with Astrologer Noel Tyl Basil’s blog: https://newwayastrology.tumblr.com Digitized 18 of Noel's favorite lectures in MP3 format Email Basil for lectures: [email protected] Kathy’s website: http://www.roseastrology.com Recordings available from the Empowered Astrology Seminar For recordings email Kathy: [email protected] The TYL MasterWork DVD Series: http://www.tylmasterwork.com Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:00 Basil Fearrington's background 00:06:20 Kathy Rose's background 00:11:04 Noel's chart 00:16:45 Noel's background 00:26:37 Noel's writing 00:30:08 Noel's 11th house theory 00:32:36 Noel's approach 00:49:31 Noel's primary influences 00:56:45 Therapeutic approach 01:00:00 Dislike of benefic and malefic 01:08:40 AFA lectures 01:10:44 Hard a

Episode 261 features astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan giving an overview of the astrological forecast for July of 2020. The astrology of July features Mars starting its long transit through Aries, Saturn moving back into Capricorn, a lunar eclipse in Capricorn, and Mercury squaring Mars most of the month. We begin the episode by reviewing the astrology of the second quarter of the year, focusing on Saturn's ingress into Aquarius where it began squaring Uranus, which should give us some preview of what Saturn's return to Aquarius will look like in December and after. Two of the main transits of July are Saturn retrograding back into Capricorn and Mars beginning its long six month journey through Aries, which in many ways brings us back to some of the same themes and energies that were present in the first quarter of the year. Tensions are heightened in July though, as a side effect of the second half of the Mercury retrograde period is that Mercury will be squaring Mars pretty closely for most of the month. At the same time we begin the month with the second of three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions in Capricorn, as well as the final lunar eclipse taking place in Capricorn. Below you will find links to news and announcements, the show notes, and then links to stream or download this episode of the podcast. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. News, Announcements, and Sponsors Queer Astrology Conference, July 10-12, online Donate to BLM & related causes: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate Honeycomb Collective Personal Astrological Almanac Horoi ancient astrology text translation project Timestamps We spend the first hour and a half reviewing the past few months. The forecast for July starts at 1:28:00 Planetary Alignments for July Mars just moved into Aries in late June Prelude to the squares and the retrogrades starting Aug - Sept Jupiter conjoined Pluto for second time on late day of June Mercury halfway through retrograde on late day of June Saturn retrogrades back into Capricorn on July 1 Lunar eclipse in Capricorn July 5 Really amplifying the Jupiter-Pluto-Saturn conjunction in Capricorn Culmination of solar eclipse in Capricorn way back in December Mercury squaring Mars all month Exact July 8 Again July 27 Mercury stations direct in Cancer July 12 New Moon in Cancer July 20 Closely opposing Saturn at 28 Capricorn Sun moves into Leo July 22 Jupiter sextile Neptune July 27 Auspicious Astrological Date for July Our featured electional chart for this month is a Sun in Leo election: 🪐 July 29, 2020 around 7:30 AM, with Leo rising We also presented a few other elections for July on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections. We also recently discounted our full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some better charts later in the year. Watch the Video Version of Our July Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our July astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYbSJf6XYwo – Listen to the Audio Version of Our July 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:

In episode 260 astrologers Leisa Schaim and Chris Brennan discuss the first steps you should take when trying to interpret a birth chart, and which astrological factors you should focus on in natal astrology. New students of astrology often learn a number of different techniques, but they are often unsure of the order and priority that you should give to different factors when you are first looking at a new chart. Since there are many different approaches to astrology, astrologers will tend to develop different approaches or prioritize different things, and this became clear in a thread we started on Twitter in preparation for this episode. Our goal with this episode was to outline our approach to what we prioritize when looking at a new chart, although many of these factors are generally consistent with most major traditions of western astrology. See the show notes below for a full breakdown of the steps that we recommend. This episode is available in both audio and video versions at the bottom of this page. News and Announcements The Astrological Association of Great Britain is hosting an online astrology conference this week, June 26-28, 2020! The title of the conference is Serving The Future, and it will feature 6 workshops, 4 plenaries, and five tracks with speakers from around the world. You can sign up to attend the conference live or purchase the recordings on the Astrological Association's website. Show Notes Here are some of the topics we discussed, with links to related resources: Preliminary Remarks What is the first thing you look at when you pull up a new birth chart? What are the main things you should look at in every chart? One of the things I realized from the responses was it depends what you are looking for. What is the context? What information are you seeking to find? What is purpose of particular consultation? What draws your eye? Having a set system versus every chart presenting something unique. What techniques speak to the chart as a whole in some way? Or what placements will indicate overriding themes in the person’s life? Some techniques are tradition specific. First steps then depend highly on what the trad you follow emphasizes Our steps on what to prioritize: Rising sign/Ascendant Subnote: the birth time, whether it looks rounded Ruler of the Ascendant: house, sign, aspects Sect - day or night chart Sun: sign, house, aspects Moon: sign, house, aspects Most positive benefic based on sect (Jupiter by day, Venus by night) Most negative planet based sect (Mars by day, Saturn at night) Stationary planets (within about a week before/after birth) Notable chart patterns: a stellium, T-square, etc. Planets conjunct the degrees of angles, and angular planets by sign Elemental or modality emphasis Close aspects, applying aspects, hard aspects Topics of consultation: General significator planet, house, and house ruler Timing: Annual profections What is the profected house for the year? What is the ruler of the year? Transits involving that house or ruler Transits Slow moving transits currently happening What houses are Saturn and Jupiter transiting through Proximity to Saturn return or other Saturn angles Close outer planet transits Recent retrogrades Houses recent eclipses fall in Glance at progressions Any recent planetary stations Proximity to new or full moon Zodiacal Releasing: Spirit, Eros Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:55 Looking at what stands out 00:09:26 Tradition-specific approaches 00:11:50 Sun, moon, rising 00:12:50 Birth time and ascendant degree 00:16:20 Day or night chart 00:17:25 Sun and moon locations 00:19:00 Ruler of ascendant 00:23:53 Houses ruled by sun and moon 00:24:40 Planets in first house 00:27:07 Analyzing the big three 00:29:56 Moon and emotions 00:36:09 Positive and challenging planets 00:46:28 Judy Blume's chart 00:52:47 Stationary planets 00:57:09 Chart patterns 01:01:14 Planets conjunct degree of the angles 01:07:00 Elements and modalities 01:11:49 Close and hard aspects 01:13:39 Summary 01:17:02 Chart example Scorpio rising 01:22:08 Chart topics 01:25:50 Chart example Taurus rising 01:33:35 Chart example Virgo rising 01:39:45 Timing techniques 01:40:22 Annual profections 01:42:42 Transits 01:44:22 Saturn and life stage transits 01:46:42 Eclipses 01:49:03 Secondary progressions 01:51:12 Zodiacal releasing 01:53:46 Context importance 02:00:00 Final remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on how to read a birth chart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF0xkRzJTRc - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 260 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:

On episode 259 of the podcast astrologer Sam Reynolds joins the show to discuss the issue of racism in America, and to talk about some related topics that have come up in the astrological community in the past two weeks. These discussions resulted from the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the resulting protests across the United States. In the first part of the show we discuss some of the underlying issues in the country related to systemic racism and police violence, while later we transition into talking about some of the discussions and activism that have sprung up in the astrological community recently. Along the way we touch on broader themes about what it is like to be a black astrologer in America, efforts Sam has made to bring greater diversity to the astrological community, and what can be done to help these efforts in the future. Sam has given a couple of related related talks in the past year, including The Astrological Destiny for African Americans for the Fresh Voices in Astrology summit, and a talk titled Race, Justice, and America's Pluto Return for the Association for Young Astrologers. You can find out more about Sam's work on his website: UnlockAstrology.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions at the bottom of this page. Show Notes Here are some of the topics we discussed, with links to related resources: George Floyd Donate to George Floyd Memorial and Family Funds Nick Dagan Best's Venus retrograde research The Astrology Podcast Ep 39: Venus Retrograde: Challenging Consensus (2015) Venus Retrograde: Cycles of Injustice (2007, content warning: graphic images) Deon Mitchell: Should White Astrologers Talk About the Riots? The appropriateness of post-mortem astrological analysis of notable figures Breonna Taylor Donate to Breonna Taylor family fund Spiritual Solidarity fundraiser for Black Lives Matter and related causes Organized by Six @BlackWomenCry on Twitter Spiritual Solidarity on Twitter @TheSSCoven and hashtag #SpiritualSolidarity International Society for Black Astrologers Facebook group Donations and Resources Please consider making a donation for the victims, protesters, and related organizations: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate - Sam's recommended reading list: Anti Racism Resources for White People Social Change: Everyone Has a Role to Play Research-Based Solutions to Stop Police Violence Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of my discussion with Sam Reynolds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioLirMV7KaA - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 259 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 258 of the podcast astrologer Diana Rose Harper joins the show to talk about her work in using natal astrology as a form of radical-self care. This discussion was based on a talk that Diana gave at the Northwest Astrological Conference last month titled Fierce Compassion: Natal Astrology as Radical Self-Care. Radical self-care is a way of thinking about self-care that goes beyond the most surface level of self-care that most people think of when they hear that term today. The focus is getting at the causes or the roots of why certain forms of self-care are required in this day and age. This involves digging into the things that influence our sensation of worthiness as well as our judgement of other people's worthiness in our lives and in society in general as well. Within this context, self-care that is not only about you, but also about the world around you, and provides a structure to help support individuals in being the good people they aspire to be, in a way that is more foundational and enduring. This episode expands on some themes discussed in episode 19 of the podcast with Ben Dykes, titled Objective Versus Subjective Reality in Astrology. Later in the episode Diana and I spend some time going through the 12 houses to consider each of them within the context of radical self-care. Diana's full NORWAC talk is available for purchase on her website: Fierce Compassion: Natal Astrology as Radical Self-Care There are also two free handouts that give exercises for radical self-care and links to resources: Exercises for Radical Self-Care Resources for Radical Self-Care You can find out more information about Diana on her website and social media: Website: ddamascenaa.com Twitter: @ddamascenaa Instagram: @ddamascenaa Patreon: @ddamascenaa 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 00:02:18 Diana's background 00:13:00 Why self-care is important 00:16:00 What people take for granted 00:25:23 Things outside our control 00:32:30 Deserving/Undeserving 00:34:50 Predestination 00:38:50 Saturn return misconceptions 00:41:30 Gender and gender presentation 00:44:48 Intersectionality 00:47:00 Privilege, talents and skills 00:51:10 Privilege in houses 1-5 01:03:06 Types of privilege 01:12:07 Context of the chart 01:16:40 Privilege in houses 6-12 01:43:30 How to use your privileges 01:53:10 Diana's website resources for self-care 01:54:30 Diana's future work and tarot zine 01:57:10 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of my interview with Diana Rose Harper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHl3iInnxp8 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 258 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 257 astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological alignments coming up in June of 2020. The month features the second half of the Venus retrograde in Gemini, as well as eclipses in Sagittarius and Cancer, Mercury stationing retrograde, the second of three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions, and Mars entering Aries where it will stay for the next six months. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps The first 45 minutes of the show is miscellaneous discussion topics, mainly what happened at NORWAC. Forecast begins at about 47 minutes into the episode Planetary Alignments for June Retrograde Venus-Sun conjunction June 3 Lunar eclipse (full Moon) in Sagittarius June 5 Mercury stations retrograde June 18 Sun moves into Cancer (solstice) June 20 Solar eclipse (New Moon) in Cancer June 21 Neptune stations retrograde June 23 Venus stations direct June 25 Mars moves into Aries June 27 Jupiter conjunct Pluto June 30 Sun conjunct Mercury June 30 Auspicious Astrological Date for June Our featured electional chart for this month is a Mars election: 🪐 June 29, 2020 around 12:30 AM, with Aries rising. We also presented a few other elections for June on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections. We also have a full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some better charts later in the year. Watch the Video Version of Our June Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our June astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJvgV26WDXY - Listen to the Audio Version of Our June 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 256 of the podcast features an interview with astrologers Laura Nalbanian and Nicholas Polimenakos about the recent Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), which was moved online recently for the first time in its 36 year history due to the pandemic. NORWAC is normally an in-person conference that takes place in Seattle on Labor Day weekend at the end of May each year. It was originally founded in 1984 by Laura's mother, Maggie Nalbandian, who was profiled in episode 75 of The Astrology Podcast. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic that broke out earlier this year, Laura was not able to hold the conference in-person, but instead made the decision to move it entirely online. The conference ended up being a success, and the purpose of this interview was to talk about what happened, and what it was like moving an in-person conference to an entirely online one. Lecture recordings from the conference are now available on the NORWAC website: Norwac.net 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 on NORWAC 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTQyole7SNc – 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 255 of the podcast astrologers Chris Brennan and Benjamin Dykes unveil a new discovery about the origins of the exaltations, derived from a lost Hermetic text preserved by Abu Ma'shar. Last summer Keiji Yamamoto and Charles Burnett released their long-awaited translation of The Great Introduction to Astrology by the 9th century astrologer Abu Ma'shar. This was the first time this text has been translated into English in its entirety. I received my copy on July 30, 2019, and the most interesting thing I found was that Abu Ma'shar frequently cites a lost Greek text attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. This appears to be the same text called the Panaretos that the 4th century astrologer Paulus Alexandrinus drew on for his treatment of seven planetary Lots, although Abu Ma'shar shares much more from the text than Paulus did. The most interesting pieces of the Hermes material preserved by Abu Ma'shar is that it contains a set of rationales for the domicile and exaltation schemes that are unique, and it seems to preserve what may be the original conceptual rationales for both of those schemes. The exaltations chapter in particular provides a much more detailed explanation for the exaltations than any I've ever seen, and it is also unique because it provides an astronomical rationale for the exaltations degrees, not just the signs of exaltation and fall. I first talked about this discovery in episode 26 of the Casual Astrology Podcast, which was released on September 18, 2019. I urged Ben to look into it to help confirm the discovery, and over the past several months he worked on his own translation of Abu Ma'shar from the Arabic, which he finished and shared with me on May 8, 2020. Ben was able to confirm that most of the math for the exaltation degrees seems to work out, and so with that confirmation we decided to record this episode to present this discovery and talk about it on May 13, 2020 around 5:15 PM MT. We begin the episode by providing some background information on the text, and then eventually transition into a summary of the arguments presented by the text for how to derive the exaltations of the planets and their degrees. Interestingly, the arguments for the domiciles and exaltations presented by this text are firmly rooted in the tropical zodiac, and this raises some major questions about previous assumptions that the exaltations had their origins in the sideral zodiac and the earlier Mesopotamian tradition. The discovery also raises questions about the extent to which Hellenistic astrology, and western astrology in general, partially represents a sudden invention or technical construct that was put together sometime around the 1st century BCE. This is kind of visually intensive episode, and our friend Paula Belluomini made a number of diagrams to help illustrate the concepts, so I would recommend watching the video version of the episode if you can. Ben plans to publish his translation of the Great Introduction by Abu Ma'shar sometime in the next few months, and you can signup for the email list on his website to receive a notification when that is released: BenDykes.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 00:01:50 New Abu Ma'shar translation 00:07:23 Hermes 00:12:16 Ptolemy 00:15:24 Domiciles and Exaltations math 00:17:50 Planetary joys, thema mundi 00:21:05 Exaltation locations 00:24:45 Exaltation degrees 00:28:00 Origins of exalations 00:29:54 Exaltations, Sect, and Aspects 00:33:00 Hermetica mandela 00:39:26 Dendera zodiac and exaltations 00:42:50 Tropical Rationale 00:48:00 Chapter V.7: reason for exaltations 00:52:00 Increase/decrease in light paradigm 00:54:03 Sun in Aries exaltation 00:55:14 Moon in Taurus exaltation 00:57:37 Saturn in Libra exaltation 00:59:50 Mars in Capricorn exaltation 01:00:20 Jupiter in Cancer exaltation 01:01:35 Angular houses in thema mundi 01:03:00 The excellent places 01:03:51 Death in the 7th house 01:06:34 Venus in Pisces exaltation 01:10:45 Qualities of signs and planets 01:13:34 Mercury in Virgo exaltation 01:21:05 Diagram of brightness of planets 01:23:27 Rationale for degrees of exaltations 01:55:45 Exaltations of the nodes 02:02:27 Additional exaltation commentary 02:19:20 Is the rationale conclusive? 02:26:09 Concluding remarks 02:28:57 Benjamin's course Watch the Video Version of This Episode on the Exaltations You can watch the video version of this episode on the exaltations here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHRBCSfV300 - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 255 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 254 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim discuss a recent article in the New York Times that claimed that astrologers did not predict the recent worldwide crisis, and some of the related issues with coverage of astrology in the media, as well as the practice of mundane astrology. The starting point for this discussion was an article that was published in the New York Times on May 9, 2020 titled Will Coronavirus Kill Astrology? The author primarily focuses on the Sun-sign astrologer Susan Miller, and the central argument is evidently that astrologers not only did not predict the Covid-19 pandemic, but they did not predict that it would be a difficult year for the world in general in their forecasts for 2020. During the course of the episode we discuss the article and its claims, question the validity of some of its conclusions, and then discuss some broader issues about the practice and perception of astrology. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Mundane Astrologers Discussed in This Episode In this episode we discuss the works of two mundane astrologers, André Barbault and Richard Tarnas. André Barbault was a French astrologer who died in October of 2019. In 2012 he published an article titled “Survey of Pandemics” (Aperçu sur les Pandémies) in which he studied the outer planet alignments that coincided with major pandemics in the past century, and then used that information to make a prediction that the next such alignment around 2020-21 could coincide with a major pandemic: "Going back to the pandemics and going back to the past century, the four crises of 1918, 1954, 1968 and 1982 are obvious, the two considerable being the first, the famous "Spanish flu" which is said to have claimed 25 million lives, and the last one in which AIDS, which is even more devastating and continues to be deadly. Since then, there has also been a small influenza surge in 2009, against the last lowest cyclical index (2010). We may well be in serious danger of a new pandemic at the 2020-2021 mark, at the lowest peak of the cyclical index of the 21st century, with the quintet of outer planets gathered over a hundred degrees, a conjunction Jupiter-Saturn-Pluto can more specifically, and even specifically, lend itself to the "tissue" of this imbalance. Nevertheless, this configuration can also transfer its core of dissonances to the terrain of geophysical disasters, without ultimately sparing the international affairs scene, Nature and Society being indiscriminately affected." This prediction was published in The Astrologer journal (L'Astrologue), issue number 177, in the first quarter of 2012. The full text of the original article is available on André Barbault's website, the translation of the paragraph above was made by astrologer Mark Cullen in a Skyscript forum thread, and I'm working on a full translation of the article into English that will be released soon. Update: You can read a full translation of the article or download a scan of the French original here: André Barbault, A Survey of Pandemics (English translation) André Barbault, Aperçu sur les Pandémies (original French article) In this episode we also discuss the study of mundane astrology that was published by Richard Tarnas in his 2006 book Cosmos and Psyche, which also had some interesting studies of how certain pandemics have coincided with conjunctions of Saturn and Pluto, which is a conjunction that many astrologers noted was occurring again just this year in January: "Another such defining [Saturn-Pluto] conjunction was that of 1348-51 that coincided with the eruption and spread of the Black Death, which similarly devastated Europe and set in motion cultural and economic shifts that permanently transformed European life in the late medieval period. The Black Death, or bubonic plague, began in China in 1333 in coincidence with the preceding Saturn-Pluto opposition and reached a climax in Europe in the 1348-51 period during the conjunction. A comparable pattern can be discerned in the AIDS epidemic, which first widely emerged and was identified during the Saturn-Pluto conjunction of 1981-84, and which reached pandemic proportions worldwide, especially in Africa, during the following Saturn-Pluto opposition of 2000-04." (Cosmos and Psyche, p. 217) During the course of the show we discuss whether studies like this demonstrate the opposite of the claim made by the New York Times article, why hit pieces like this are so common, and whether there is anything astrologers can do about them. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:53 Coverage of astrology in the media 00:07:00 NYT hit piece on astrology 00:11:06 Who the media interviews 00:15:35 Mundane vs individual astrology 00:29:10 Complexities of mundane astrology 00:32:10 Experts in mundane astrology 00:36:08 Richard Tarnas' work o

In episode 253 astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological forecast for May of 2020. Most of the action this month happens in the second full week of May, when Saturn stations direct, Mars completes its conjunction with Saturn by moving out of Aquarius and into Pisces, Venus stations retrograde in Gemini, and Jupiter stations retrograde conjunct Pluto in Capricorn. At the top of the show we spend about an hour catching up and talking about news that has happened since last month, Chris' recovery from being sick with Covid, astrology conferences running into issues this year, and reflecting on weird conspiracy theories surrounding the virus. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. News, Announcements, Links The Northwest Astrology Conference has been moved to an online conference, and is happening May 21-25, 2020. Kelly Surtees' website Austin Coppock's website Chris Brennan's online courses Become a Patron of The Astrology Podcast Timestamps The first hour of the show is discussion topics Forecast begins at 1 hour and 10 minutes into the episode Planetary Alignments for May The month opens with Mercury conjunct Uranus Venus/Neptune square for 1st time on May 3/4 Sun-Mercury conjunction in Taurus on May 4 Lunar nodes switch to Gemini/Sag on May 5 (True Nodes) Full Moon in Scorpio on May 7 Saturn stations retrograde in Aquarius on May 11 Mercury moves into Gemini on May 11 Mercury squares Mars May 10/11 at 28 just before ingress Mars leaves Aquarius and moves into Pisces May 13 Venus stations retrograde at 21 Gemini on May 13 Jupiter stations retrograde at 27 Capricorn on May 14 Sun/Jupiter trine exact May 17 Sun into Gemini May 20 Venus retro/Neptune square exact May 20 New Moon in Gemini on May 22 Mercury moves into Cancer on May 28 Auspicious Astrological Date for May May is again not a great month this year for good elections, and the best chart we could find was: 🪐 May 2, 2020 around 9:30 am, with Cancer rising. We also presented a few other elections for May on our private subscriber-only podcast on auspicious elections. We also have a full year-ahead electional astrology report for 2020, which highlights some better charts later in the year. Watch the Video Version of Our May Astrology Forecast Here is the video version of our May astrology forecast episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y0H0R0SL_E - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 253 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of Our May 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:

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 se

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 H

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: