A Philosophy of Astrology #5 ~ The Numbers

Cosmic objects often arrange themselves in a plane. Our Solar System is relatively flat. Saturn's rings are flat too. Pluto and Damocles may have dramatic orbits, but most rocks prefer to dance around in a tightly choreographed disc-like formation. Aspects like conjunction and opposition contribute to the shaping of disc-like structures.

A Philosophy of Astrology #4 ~ The Subjectivity

The astrological realm is filled with signs, symbols and stories. Each (semiotic) sign points to a field of potential meanings. Interpretation of signs happens inside the heads of astrologers. They all think differently, and interpretation is a subjective business.

A Philosophy of Astrology #3 ~ The Coherence

For thousands of years, astrologers worked with the Sun, the Moon and the visible planets from Mercury to Saturn. A relatively small selection of stars, often the brighter ones, was also considered. Nowadays new asteroids, stars and black holes are discovered automatically on a daily basis. Some are relevant for astrology.

A Philosophy of Astrology #2 ~ The Web

If we take the astrological claim serious, we assume that reality as it appears to us and life as we know it are in some sense synchronized by symbolic processes, that somehow transcend the physis~psyche duality. Call it a web of meaning, or even astrological order.

A Philosophy of Astrology #1 ~ The Intro

Astrology is a deep, and also a controversial subject. Skeptics claim that it's based on delusions, superstition or 'magical thinking' while believers are hearing the voice of the Gods. Paradigm wars aside, let's take a look at some of the basics of the astrological mindset.

Predicting the American election with asteroids

Predictive astrology is hard. Richard Tarnas explains it like this: "astrology is archetypally predictive". Meaning you can only predict in a general sense which kinds of qualitative influences are to be expected at a certain moment. You can see which dice will be rolling, but the numbers they're going to land on are anyone's guess.

The astrology of 2020

Chill out folks. Astrologers knew. And altho it's bad, it's probably not the end of the world. Let Richard Tarnas school you.

Asteroid tales ~ C.G. Jung's Red Book

Carl Jung's influence on contemporary astrology is considerable. He introduced new ideas that remain popular, like collective unconscious, archetype and synchronicity. In some sense Jung was also an astrologer, although he didn't do a lot of 'cookbook-astrology'.

Astrological tarot spreads

Astrology + Tarot can be a powerful combination. The house-based 'Astrological' or 'Zodiac' spread seems to be the most popular starting point. But if your astrology isn't based on the concept of houses, you might prefer spreads that use planets, asteroids or harmonics.

Greta Thunberg ~ Wounded healer

In Greta Thunberg's horoscope the Sun is conjunct Chiron, the Wounded Healer. That's saying a lot. Also a quirky Venus square Uranus and an empowering Jupiter trine Pluto. Planetary Golden Aspects are strong for Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. Asteroid themes include singleminded leader and hunter. Neither modest nor meek.

The aesthetic fallacy

Hard scientists love to project concepts like elegance and beauty on simple equations like E = mc². A revealing choice perhaps, but also quite absurd. Economic use of symbols is really about compressing a body of theory and data to its absolute limit. But if beauty = max compression, the most beautiful painting would be 100% abstract.

The retroactive effect of asteroid names

The movements of the stars, the planets and even the asteroids are of great interest to astrologers. To most stargazers, a piece of space-rock becomes more useful when it has been named. The name connects the physical object to the realm of meaning; an important starting point for astrological interpretation. But that's not the whole story. Many names of astronomical objects are in fact deeply weird.

Avicii vs. Pluto ~ some astrological resonances

Two years ago, we checked the birth charts of hundreds of musicians to learn more about a new astrological technique. Back then, Avicii's chart stood out because of an intense Pluto. The name Avicii actually means 'Lowest level of Buddhist Hell' and Pluto is of course the King of the Underworld. Here's a closer look at Tim Bergling's birth chart.

Renay Oshop ~ Scientific astrologer par excellence

Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as rigorous scientific astrology. Vedic astrologer Renay Oshop is (one of) the best. She uses modern techniques like AI to trace correlations between the rhythms of the planets and the rhythms of life. She also bends spoons. We had a nice chat recently about the universe, music and astrology.