Who Are the Key Players in Astrology?

Astrology has evolved over the many centuries of its existence from a fatalistic, even superstitious ritual meant for kings and rulers to a viable art form incorporating changes through the centuries in the development of our understanding about human nature.

Lets take a brief but loving journey through the history of astrology and look at some of the key players in the development of the field. After all, you have to know your players!

Astrology as we know it came into being in ancient Chaldea/Bablyon (roughly modern Iraq) around 1645 BC with the first horoscope dating around 410 BC. Astrology as we know it means the procedure of consulting the stars to pick favorable times for doing things, answering questions, forecasting mundane events and analyzing individual destiny by a horoscope. Interestingly, the Rising Sign was first used for predictions, though sometimes the Sun, Moon or Part of Fortune was used as well.

Ptolemy
Astrological progress was also made in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Ptolemy (85-165 CE) in Greece was perhaps our first famous unique astrologer and of course he is known for many other things as well.

Copernicus and Galileo
Skipping ahead through the Dark Ages in Europe, there were two famous men who emerged during the Renaissance who practiced astrology, Copernicus (1473-1543) and Galileo (1564-1642). Both these men are famous in the scientific field, but at one time there was a comfortable and natural association between astronomy and astrology, the exoteric and the esoteric of the stars, if you will. In 1524 the credibility of astrology was severely and permanently affected when predictions about the great conjunction that year failed to come true.

Oddly, the resurgence of interest in astrology today can be dated to the birth of Englands Princess Margaret in 1930. That year the London Sunday Express ran an astrological profile of the princess that was so popular, it peaked a general interest in astrology and from this developed your newspapers daily horoscope, not that daily horoscopes have much to recommend them.

This is a beautiful little bit of circular history (the more things change, the more they stay the same) because originally astrology was used only for royals. Others like serfs, slaves and peasants did not have much to their fate other than a life that was nasty, brutish and short. But the fate of a nation hung on the destiny of its ruler and his or her horoscope was a critical interest to all.

Evangeline Adams
The first astrologer of modern interest is the very interesting indeed Evangeline Adams (1868?-1933). Adams, who lied about her birth date, was considered the Mother of Modern Astrology. She was a colorful figure who practiced in New York City during the first half of the 20th century. Adams became famous because she predicted a hotel would catch fire. When she was put on trial, she insisted that astrology itself be put on trial. Astrology won! Adams asked for the horoscope of the judges son and told him things about his own son that convinced him of the veracity of this field. Adams life is fascinating and there are many biographies, anecdotes and discussions about her in magazines like The Mountain Astrologer and online. Among her clients are reputed to have been John Pierpont Morgan and Enrico Caruso.

Dane Rudhyar
Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985), considered by some to be the greatest astrologer who ever lived, was a tremendous force in the development of humanistic and spiritual astrology in the 60s and 70s, beginning the interface of astrology with psychology that so enriched our field. Rudhyars essays and discussions are well worth reading today. Of particular interest in my opinion are his writings about the relationship between the Sun and the Moon. Rudhyars book: Lunation Cycle: Key to the Understanding of Personality is a classic addition to any astrologers library.

Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson
An unforgettable force in the field of astrology of a very different nature was Ivy Goldstein-Jacobson (1893-1990). With her professional precision and purity, Goldstein-Jacobson restored the tools and techniques of modern astrology. Perhaps her most famous book is Simplified Horary Astrology.

Reinhold Ebertin
Reinhold Ebertin (1901-1988), his mother Elsbeth and his son Baldur, have been a major force in both German and international astrology since the beginning of the century. Ebertins work with midpoints has been influential in developing an understanding of transits and prediction. His book to read is Combination of Stellar Influences.

Isabel Hickey
Isabel Hickey (1903-1980) made a lasting impression on our field during the first half of the 20th century as well. Ms. Hickeys most popular book is called Astrology: A Cosmic Science. It was one of the first astrology textbooks to teach a spiritual rather than fatalistic approach to chart interpretation.

The Gauquelins
Influential in other ways were two French psychologists Michel (1928-1991) and Francoise Gauquelin. The Gauquelins set out in the 50s to prove whether or not astrology was accurate. Although their results were not amazing, they did establish some correlations in favor of astrological predictability and perhaps more importantly, produced great amounts of statistical data which are still used by astrologers today to develop their theories of prediction.

Linda Goodman
Linda Goodman Although often downplayed within the professional astrological community Linda Goodman (1925-1995) was a tremendous popular force in the revival of interest in astrology in the second half of the 20th century. Unsteady in her writing, Goodmans first books, Sun Signs and Love Signs were stupendous. Later books wandered far afield. Like many professional astrologers, my first exposure to the field was with these two books. I kept Love Signs by my bedside for many years, looking for the perfect Capricorn lover.

Sydney Omarr
Sydney Omarr (1926-2003) is mentioned because he is perhaps the best known of his genre, astrologer to the stars! Omarr was an outstanding nationally syndicated columnist during much of the 20th century. He wrote My World of Astrology. His annual Sun Sign prediction books are popular sellers every year among his faithful followers.

Lois Rodden
Lois Rodden (1928-2003) made a major contribution when she developed a system of rating sources for birth data which revolutionized our field. Believe it or not, prior to this astrologers never cited the source of their birth information! Rodden began a practice of citing sources such as birth certificate, family Bible, hearsay, biography or autobiography, for example, giving a rating to each source as to its accuracy. Because of Rodden, many astrologers now routinely cite the source of their birth date when writing about famous people or historical figures and undoubtedly our field has more credibility because of this.

Two major astrologers working in the 21st century are Rob Hand and Liz Greene. Both are available at www.astro.com.

Rob Hand
Rob Hand is an astrologer in Reston, Virginia specializing in a philosophical and classic approach to astrology. Hand has written a number of encyclopedic texts which are a must for your reference library, such as Planets in Transit, Planets in Youth (one of my favorites), Planets in Composite and others. Hand is spearheading a project to translate ancient astrological texts from Latin, Green, Sanskrit and other languages in order to present information about astrology by translators who are sympathetic to its nature. Visit www.projecthindsight.com for more information.

Rob Hand was one of two prominent astrologers (Michael Lutin is another) who predicted 911. I believe that Hands ability to do this particular thing is based on the 9th house influence in his astrology chart, his knowledge of history and his development as a philosophical thinker. There is nothing like knowing history (ones own, anothers or the collective) to enhance ones abilities to see patterns and make connections for the future.

Liz Greene
Liz Greene is a British Jungian analyst/astrologer currently based in Switzerland. Greene brings in-depth Jungian psychological insights to the field of astrology, is a superb and prolific writer and has produced unsurpassed volumes on the nature of the outer planets Saturn, Neptune and Pluto as well as many other books of interest in interpretating astrology. Anything Liz Greene writes is well worth reading.

Martin Schulman
Martin Schulman, a contemporary astrologer about whom I have found little biographical information, introduced the concept of karma into astrological interpretation with a series of books on the Moons Nodes including Karmic Astrology: The Moons Nodes and Reincarnation and Ascendant: Your Karmic Doorway. Schulman is in a class of his own.

Astrologers are an independent, eclectic, futuristic and dynamic group of people. We welcome all who are interested into our field. Most astrologers are self taught (it is our nature) but you will find small classes available wherever you live if you look carefully! In addition the Kepler College of Arts and Sciences was founded in 2000 in Lynwood, Washington. Kepler College is the only college in the western hemisphere authorized to issue BA degrees in Astrological Studies. The entire curriculum is based on astrology. If this is an approach you would like to take, try www.kepler.edu.

If you would like some excellent books about classical astrology and its development through the ages, visit http://www.astroamerica.com/index.html .

Nancy R. Fenn is a professional astrologer in the San Diego area. She enjoys working creatives, intuitives and visionaries to discover their mission in life.

Medical Electional Astrology

Electional and horary astrology are two areas of astrology that deserve more attention from students and professionals than they sometimes get.

Related in interpretation but different in intent, horary and electional astrology are two forms of astrological chart analysis that are similar by analogy to the relationship between deductive and inductive reasoning.

In horary astrology, a question is asked at a specific time and a chart is cast for that moment. Then the chart is interpreted according to the rules of horary interpretation to yield an answer.

In electional astrology, someone wants to choose an auspicious or lucky time for an event in the future that can be planned, such as a marriage, signing real estate papers, or, in the case of Ronald Reagan, a presidential swearing-in ceremony. The astrologer begins by speculating with the client on a desirable time in the future and then casts a chart for that time and date. This chart is interpreted according to the guidelines for electional astrology in order to determine if this is the best possible date to insure success.

In reviewing a tentative electional chart, the astrologer must decide whether or not the date and time are satisfactory. In truth, since it is not possible to get a perfect electional chart, s/he usually winds up casting half a dozen charts and trying to choose the one that makes the most sense.

Ivy M. Goldstein-Jacobson is the High Priestess of Horary and Electional Astrologer. She has done the most recently to develop and refine the art of this kind of interpretation. Mrs. Jacobson lived from 1893 to 1990. Another expert in the field is William Lilly. He wrote in the 17th Century!

Mrs. Jacobsons wonderful books are now back in print and available on several Internet sites. Many are available secondhand through amazon.com Mrs. Jacobsons book on horary is called Simplified Horary Astrology.

Another essential tool for interpreting charts this way is Rex E. Bills The Rulership Book, also widely available on the Internet. The Rulership Book tells you what sign rules just about anything you can think of from Israel to the kitchen sink. This information is critical to horary and electional chart interpretation.

Lets look at some of the basic steps for reading an electional chart for an operation. Suppose a client has come to asking when is the best time for surgery to remove her uterus.

1. The first thing is to identify the rulership of the area of the body being operated on. We establish this through Bills Rulerships book or general knowledge -- the uterus is a reproductive organ and is therefore ruled by Scorpio and the planet Mars.

The rest of the interpretation follows these general guidelines.

2. The 8th house signifies surgery (Jacobson: The 7th rules the doctor or physician: the surgeon who usually cuts away a part that then dies is ruled by the death-8th.)..

3. The 1st house signifies the patient.

4. Mercury represents the instruments the surgeon will use.

5. The recovery process is signified by the 6th house.

Examine the rulers of these houses and the planets that inhabit them to see what kind of aspects and information are revealed, positive or negative.

For example, if Taurus rules the 6th house, the ruler of that house is Venus. Look to see where Venus is in the chart and how it is aspected in order to find out how the recovery process will go.

Electional astrology requires us to set aside neutral New Age interpretations of planets and aspects and to label certain planets and aspects as the ancients did: benefic planets are good; malefic planets are bad.

The malefic planets are Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Any planet in any aspect to these planets is considered afflicted. This is bad.

The benefic planets are Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. These planets can aspect each other positively with conjunctions but negatively with squares and oppositions, in which case they are considered afflicted.

The Moon is of critical importance in electional astrology. We look primarily to see what sign the Moon is in and what aspects it makes before leaving the sign.

The best signs for the Moon are Taurus and Cancer. The worst sign for the Moon is Scorpio. For a good ending to surgery, the Moon should not be Void-of-Course (nothing will come of it) and it should make a good aspect before leaving its sign.

Jacobson introduced a Part of Surgery, similar to the Arabic Parts (such as the Part of Fortune with which most of us are familiar). The Part of Surgery is derived by adding the cusp of the first house to Saturn and then subtracting Mars. Look to see if the resulting point in the chart is positive and well aspected.

There are some definite NOs in electional interpretation:

1.the Sun and Moon cannot be in the sign ruling the part of the body to be operated on (in this case Scorpio)

2.the Ruler of the 1st, the Patient, cannot be in bad aspect to the Ruler of the 8th, the Surgeon, or the surgeon cannot help the patient and nothing will come of the operation

3.the Moon cannot be in the same sign as Mars or applying to a quincunx with Mars

4.the Ascendant, its ruler, a planet in the 1st or 8th houses, the Sun, Moon or Mars cannot be in conjunct with one of the evil fixed stars.

If youre not sure what the evil fixed stars are, these are the greatest offenders; Hamal, the Death Wound, at 6 Taurus; Caput Algol or Medusas Head at 24 Taurus; Aldebaran at 8 Gemini; Serpentis, the Cursed Degree, at 9 Scorpio; Antares, evil presages and danger of fatality, at 8 Sagittarius and Scheat, death by drowning (including pneumonia) at 29 Pisces.

Expect to see some affliction on the angles of the chart. After all, if Saturn, Neptune, Uranus or Pluto were not hovering at an angle, there would be no indication of serious surgery pending. However, more than one of these planets indicates a need to pick another time.

There are some further distinctions to this kind of electional medical chart interpretation, but these are the basics.

After you have the chart analyzed, you might do a few more for around the same time period and see if you can get better results. There is no such thing as the perfect time for an event.

Some astrologers are not willing to do electional astrology readings for fear of taking on the responsibility. It is wise to prepare a potential client for the fact that 85% or more of the success of the operation relies on the intelligence and skill of the doctor and the odds given. The rest of the process can be enhanced by timing and that is what a good electional chart can do.

What Ive found with my clients is that their intuition is good and in most cases is already directing them to an appropriate date and time for success.

Nancy R. Fenn has been an astrologer and intuitive consultant in the San Diego for over 25 years. She enjoys working with creatives, intuitives and visionaries to help them discover their mission in life. Nancy's mission in life is to raise consciousness about introversion as a legitimate personality syle. Visit Nancy on the web at www.theintrovertzcoach.com