Advanced Techniques:
Part One
Astrology has been practiced for thousands of years as humans tried
to find some sense of order out of the chaos that they encountered
in the world about them. Throughout these years, Astrology has adapted
to scientific insights as these became evident to mankind. Different
schools of Astrology have evolved. We have Heliocentric, Geocentric,
Siderial, Tropical, Vedic, Chinese, and combinations of these, to
name a few. Surprisingly, in the hands of competent Astrologers,
all of the schools of Astrology seem to work.
Astrologers have been able to incorporate into their science the
"newly" discovered planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
Some Astrologers also work with the "newly" discovered
Asteroids. (When the science is thousands of years old, even a few
hundred years since discovery qualifies Uranus as "new.")
As of now, the various schools of Astrology have established within
themselves a relatively standard baseline for all of their Astrologers.
I call this baseline "Classical Astrology."
Take, for example, the school of Geocentric Tropical Astrology.
This is the most commonly followed school, and the most commonly
practiced Astrology in the United States today. This school incorporates
the known planets through Pluto, treats the Sun and Moon as planets,
uses twelve zodiacal signs with zero Aries starting at the Vernal
Equinox, uses twelve houses (here there are many choices: Placidus,
Koch, Campanus, Morinus, Regiomantanis, Porphyry, Meridian, and
Equal) and works with a well-defined set of Aspects (Conjunction,
Opposition, Trine, Square, Sextile, etc.) The Midheaven, the Ascendant,
and the Nodes of the Moon are also employed in the classical Geocentric
Tropical school.
Some Astrologers successfully confine their study to the system
described above. Others, as stated before, incorporate and find
meaning in the Asteroids, in Chiron, in Fixed Stars, and in Comets
as they approach the Earth. Other Astrologers experiment with non-standard
aspects and with less popular house systems and find merit in these
variations on the classical approach. Just as there are Astrologers
who add items to classical Astrology as noted above, there are also
Astrologers who use fewer items. There is a school of Astrology
which does not include the use of the Moon's Nodes. I know some
competent Astrologers who believe that we have not had enough time
to fully observe and understand Pluto, and do not include Pluto
in the horoscope. I know another competent Astrologer who does not
use Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto, claiming that what was good enough
for the Ancients is good enough for him.
All in all, there is more Astrological knowledge than any practitioner
can employ for any one client. The Astrologer must pick and choose
from this bounty. And bounty it is! Even within the bounds of Classical
Geocentric Tropical Astrology, we have techniques as diverse as
Harmonics, Astro*Carto*Graphy, Geodetic Equivalents, Johndro Charts,
Composite Charts, Solar and Lunar Returns, and various predictive
techniques.
From time to time, there have been a few Astrologers blessed with
the genius intellect who have looked beyond the safety of staying
within the bounds of their classical school and who have developed
new insights.
One such genius was Alfred Witte. He was a well-trained Classical
Astrologer who found the popular body of knowledge, useful as it
was, still was unable to fully describe the chaos of World War One
and the turmoil of post-war Germany. He and his students resurrected
some ancient forgotten techniques such as midpoints, and invented
some new ones, such as the use of a movable dial and Planetary Pictures.
Their work became known as the "Hamburg School of Astrology."
From their work there evolved the basis for the "Uranian System
of Astrology" and from the "Uranian System of Astrology"
emerged a simpler system known now as "Cosmobiology."
Both the "Uranian System of Astrology" and "Cosmobiology"
employ many of the concepts of Classical Geocentric Tropical Astrology
and those who use the newer systems typically use them concurrent
with the classical analysis.
In the articles to follow, I shall describe some of the techniques
of the Uranian System of Astrology and of Cosmobiology.
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