“Say not, ‘I have found the truth’, but rather, ‘I have found a truth.’  Say not, ‘I have found the path of the soul.’  Say rather, ‘I have met the soul walking upon my path.’  For the soul walks upon all paths.  The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.  The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.”  - Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923. The quest for the soul’s purpose is as old as man and equates to the many myths surrounding the search for the Holy Grail, the Philosopher’s Stone and others of that ilk. We all yearn for knowledge of our soul’s true purpose here on earth to be revealed to us; the one tool available which can come close to that, which can provide a brief glimpse into the soul’s contract, is that of the ancient celestial science of astrology. The birth chart is unique to each individual and is thus able to provide answers to this question for the individual.

While most of us prefer to blame others or our circumstances for the restrictions placed on our potential, it is often we who are the wardens. There are most certainly those who are born into, or placed in dire circumstances which are almost impossible to overcome, but this does not hold true for many of us. The late Leo Buscaglia sums it up succinctly when he says "get out of your way", a phrase we would all do well to heed.

The debate of free will is an age-old one and the study of astrology clarifies this in a tangible and certifiable manner: if something is not allocated potential in the birth chart, it cannot manifest in the life. While many people struggle to come to terms with this in today’s age of relativism and modernism, astrology proves it quantifiably.

This section contains articles on a variety of topics - from relationships and health to politics and sport - which provide enough scope to be of interest to a broad spectrum of people. These articles should instil a respectful attitude towards the craft as it is meant to be applied, as well as pique the curiosity.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day to day they pour forth speech, night to night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech, there are no words, their voice is not heard; yet their music carries throughout the earth, their words to the end of the world”. Psalm 19.

This article does not address the tangible origin of astrology according to factual testimony. There are greater minds than mine who have published comprehensive material on the origin of astrology based on artefacts, tablets and other items discovered in the “ancient” world, originating in places such as Babylon and Assyria. Nor is this article aimed at proving the worth of astrology, as I see no reason to justify the existence of our craft. It is a philosophical look, from my perspective, at how I make sense of astrology within my religious frame work.

Arabic Parts

Abu Ali Al-Khayyat describes parts as “a sensitive point in the zodiac determined by calculating the distance between one point and another point and adding the distance to a third point. [....]" In classical astrology, they were called lots because they were used to determine the prospects for a particular thing. In astrology of modern times, they are usually called Arabic Parts because only the Part of Fortune is mentioned by Ptolemy, and all the other parts are mistakenly assumed to have been invented by the Arabs.” Another ancient authority on Parts, Al-Biruni, lists 97 Parts which can be applied to the nativity. There are many books written today on “the soul’s contract” or “how to find your inner purpose”, the list goes on ad nauseum, and once again we are humbled by the knowledge of the ancients. Again this subject is not a new one posed by the ever-so-enlightened modern man, but in our modern times a very obvious factor is missing.

Introduction

Confusion exists in the world of astrology as to what the definitions of the different disciplines and their fundamental differences are and terms that are not understood are very loosely used thereby adding to the confusion. The terms medieval and traditional astrology are viewed as synonymous when in fact they are not - in principle medieval is part of traditional astrology. Every tradition must change if it is to remain alive and astrological tradition is the same as any other tradition - in different places at different times certain parts of the overall picture become more relevant. An example of this pertaining to astrology is the house systems. Whole sign house systems were employed by the nomadic people – how on earth could fixed houses have relevance when there was no permanency to their physical abode? Only when man became sedentary could fixed cusps apply and although whole sign house systems are now redundant based on their original use, this does not mean that their efficacy was questionable.

To fully understand traditional astrology, the student needs to enter the realm of theology/philosophy through the mind of Thomas Aquinas; religion via the great theological mind of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger; history through authors such as Patrick Curry and Benson Bobrick and the genre of science through Maimonides; the essence of the craft is not derived from astrological text books. Most of books listed under this recommended reading section are not only for students of astrology: although they all have bearing on the study of the craft they can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in this ancient, soul-filled Tradition.  

Astrology is the study of the movement of the celestial bodies and their correlation with all life forms on earth. There is nothing alternative, new age, or diabolical about astrology; it has been used since Biblical days to assist man in making critical decisions pertaining to all areas of his life and its efficacy has been proven through the ages.Astrology is the oldest of the occult sciences (involving the supernatural) and is the origin of science itself; in relation to other sciences, astrology certainly holds the moral high ground. From astrology are derived astronomy, mathematics, medicine and botany, to name only a few derivatives.Throughout history leading theological, medical and literary figures were either astrologers or consulted with astrologers: Hippocrates, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer, Milton and Newton to name a few. Before the mythical 'Age of Enlightenment' (1700's), astrology was a language understood by all.

Geoffrey Chaucer for example, who was a skilled astrologer as well as a poet, could describe a character by his temperament, "cholerick" perhaps, knowing that just that one word would give his readers a good idea of not only his character's general behaviour, but also his appearance. Anyone contacting an astrologer for assistance should receive answers that are practical and which can be implemented in daily life: there is nothing vague or intuitive about the craft.

Culture...... is one of the most widely used, and abused, words in English. Its meaning blurs and varies according to its context and who is describing it 1, and it has been called one of the two or three most difficult words in the English language2.

It is important to make a concerted effort to understand the essence of the culture of groups, societies, clubs and organisations to which you belong as often the fundamental principles that define the culture are vague or even in themselves undefined and the lines of communication are blurred as a result.

It is assumed that because a group of people is allotted the same title – in this case that of “astrologer” – that the culture of that group is clear to all and the assumption is that all who subscribe to that collective subscribe to the same culture. But unless the culture is clearly defined by those very people after time is invested on the reflection thereof, it is foolish to simply assume that everyone is on the same page. As Plato said “The eye cannot see itself”, but the problem with culture is that it is not synonymous with intelligence and therefore is amenable, at least, to functional self-referentiality and definition3.