The Astrology Podcast

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:

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

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

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

Episode 244 features an interview with Anthony Louis about the history of how Placidus became the most popular system of quadrant house division used in western astrology in modern times. In late 20th and early 21st century astrology Placidus is the most popular house system, and it is usually the default house system in most software programs, which makes it the system that most people begin their studies of astrology with. The question is: how did this come to be the case? Especially since there are other forms of quadrant house division that are available, such as Porphyry or Alcabitius houses, what led to the widespread acceptance of Placidus? It turns out, the origins of the Placidus house system and its popularization lie in the 17th century, and it was partially based on an an attempt to reinterpret a controversial passage from the work of the 2nd century astrologer Claudius Ptolemy. The genesis of this discussion was an article on Anthony's blog titled Why are Placidus Houses so Popular? Our goal here was to talk about some of the arguments outlined in that post, and go into some areas in greater detail, to understand the history of house division. While our previous episode on the origins of the different forms of house division in ancient astrology covered the early history of house division, the purpose of this episode is to fill in some missing pieces about the later history from the Renaissance era forward into modern times. You can find out more information about Anthony on his website: TonyLouis.wordpress.com Below you will find an extensive set of show notes that we used as the outline for our discussion. This episode is available in both audio and video versions at the bottom of the page. Episode Outline and Show Notes Here is part of the outline we created in preparation for this episode: Based on Anthony’s November 2019 blog article Why are Placidus Houses so Popular? Follow-up to original article: “Placidus: The Default Darling of Domification”, in Federation of Australian Astrologers Journal, Vol 49, No 2 (June 2019), pp. 21-26. Premise of the discussion: In late 20th and early 21st century astrology Placidus is the most popular house system In modern western astrology. It is the default house system in most software programs, like Astro.com As a result of that it is the system that people usually start with One of the questions that comes up is why is Placidus the default quadrant system? Holden makes a passing remark that Placidus became the default due to availability: “It has become a cliche in the 20th century that the Placidus system later became the 19th and 20th century standard because it was the only one for which affordable tables were readily available. This is partially true, but the same thing could be said for the initial success of the Regiomantanus system.” Holden, A History of Horoscopic Astrology, p. 150. Anthony took some issue with this because Placidus had been popularized earlier. While it was the primary system available by the 20th century, this was because it had been promoted widely since the 17th century. So how did this get started? Placidus published his book in 1650. Focused on primary directions and house division. He was interested in reconstructing Ptolemy’s approach. Part of the general back to Ptolemy movement. Also evident in Lilly and others. Ptolemy was the oldest Greek author available Viewed as the most authoritative. Ptolemy has a discussion of house division in his length of life chapter (3, 11). This is also where he introduces primary directions. The method of house division he advocates here has long been the subject of dispute. “This one chapter has occasioned more astrological controversy than any other ever written.” Holden, A History, p. 47. Ptolemy was like the Einstein of his day Even in the early Greek authors after Ptolemy there were different interpretations about what system of house division they thought he was trying to introduce in this chapter. Some of the later forms of houses came from trying to interpret Ptolemy. Regiomantanus was one of the authors that did that. “Regiomontanus claimed that his method was what Ptolemy had in mind when he wrote Tetrabiblos, iii. 10 This is certainly false, but Regiomontanus’s arguments were accepted by the majority of astrologers.” Holden, Ancient House Division II. “His house tables, accompanied by auxiliary tables for calculating primary directions, were very likely the first extensive set of mathematical tables of any kind ever printed, appearing as they did scarcely four decades after the invention of printing.” “Three things combined to make the Regiomontanus system a success. First, it provided a convenient printed set of house tables. Second, it was modern and scientific. And third, it substituted a system with alleged classical Greek sanction for a system supposed to have been invented by a medieval Arab. But these arguments would have been equally applicable to the Campanus or

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

Episode 242 features an interview with astrologer Demetra George about her pioneering work on the asteroids in astrology, and why she feels they are interesting and important for astrologers to use. Demetra published the book Asteroid Goddesses in 1986, which was one of the first works that established an approach for incorporating the asteroids into modern astrology, and this helped to popularize their use over the past three decades. In her 2008 book Astrology and the Authentic Self she outlined a synthesis of modern and ancient astrology that showed how the asteroids could be incorporated into the framework of traditional astrology. Previously we recorded a biographical episode about Demetra's life, but our goal with this discussion was to provide a solid introduction to her work on the asteroids and why she thinks they are useful and important. You can find out more information about Demetra on her website: Demetra-George.com She has a number of audio recordings of lectures on the asteroids that she has given over the years, and also offers an asteroid personal report. Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to the recordings. This episode is available in both audio and video versions. Asteroids Episode Show Notes Eleanor Bach published The Asteroid Ephemeris in 1973. Story about how she gave the book to Demetra at a conference. Demetra spent 10 years writing Asteroid Goddesses, published in 1986. Goal was to demonstrate the usefulness and validity of the approach. Other practitioners that contributed to popularization of asteroids Lee Lehman, Al Morrison, Mark Pottenger, Martha Lang Wescott, Melanie Reinhart, Zane Stein, Barbara Hand Clow, Alex Miller, Nona Gwynn Press, Zip Dobyns, Roderick Kidston, Dave Campbell The theoretical premise of the meaning of the asteroids as derived from the name. The name having symbolic significance. Not accidental. Synchronistic correspondence. Astronomers initially used the names of gods and goddesses. Later names of ordinary and famous people Places, trees, flowers, concepts. Myth as an important tool in delineations / consultations. When an asteroid or body is prominent in the chart, the myth becomes prominent in that person’s life in some way. Mythological deities are symbolic expressions of inner structures of the psyche. The re-emerging feminine. Initial asteroids named after feminine goddesses. Balancing out predominantly male assignments of planetary names/gods. Only the Moon and Venus were feminine. Partial premise is that discovery of outer planets signaled new epochs in history and shifts, why not asteroids? Discovery coincides with an awakening of an aspect of consciousness. The big 4 asteroids: Ceres, Pallas Athena, Vesta, Juno. Discovered 1801-07 100 asteroids discovered by 1868, 1,000 by 1921, 700,000 by 2015 The glyphs for the first four asteroids. Issues regarding coming up with other glyphs. Meanings of the first four big asteroids. Ceres / Demeter Pallas / Athena Vesta / Hestia Juno / Hera Chiron - discovered in 1977. Lillith There are three different Lilliths Talks about it more in later book Finding Our Way Through the Dark (1995) Incorporating the asteroids into a more traditional framework. Astrology and the Authentic Self as a great synthesis of modern and traditional. Later daimon conceptualization of the asteroids. Personal name asteroids Locations or place asteroids Grouping asteroids that have similar themes. There are so many asteroids now, how do you sort and prioritize which ones are more or less important to a person? From Astrology and the Authentic Self: Different levels of importance: high, moderate, low, nil. High: conjunct of opposite luminaries, conjunct ruler of ASC or four angles. Moderate: Square luminaries or conjunct/opposite inner planet. Low: asteroid completes an aspect pattern, or trine/sextile luminary or ASC ruler. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:41 Demetra's history with the asteroids 00:02:06 Meeting Eleanor Bach and the first asteroid ephemeris 00:04:31 The significance of the first ephemeris 00:05:45 The story behind the name Demetra 00:07:13 Early work using mythology in consultations 00:09:37 Writing the book "Asteroid Goddesses" 00:11:49 The community's initial resistance to asteroids 00:12:46 The women's spirituality movement's interest in asteroids 00:14:28 Asteroids and the re-emergence of the feminine 00:17:53 The first four asteroids named after goddesses 00:18:21 The gender imbalance in the planetary pantheon 00:20:45 Are asteroids a serious form of astrology? 00:21:26 The reclassification of Pluto and Ceres 00:23:07 The premise that an asteroid's name is synchronistically meaningful 00:24:45 Example: Prince Charles's chart 00:28:11 Mythology as the starting point for interpretation 00:31:32 Why mythology dropped out of the astrological tradition 00:35:09 Other astrologers who popularized the asteroids 00:37:08 The launch of "Asteroid Godd