Philosophy
For the entirety of recorded human history, we have been gazing up into the stars looking for patterns and truths. Our curiosity about the cosmos has persisted through Time and all her friction: hostile cultural tides, book burnings, translation after (mis)translation, the waxing and waning tides of taste, and countless good-faith transformations in which seek to update this art for an ever-changing world.
​
These days, astrology seems to often be the subject of many an eye-roll and is all too frequently lumped in with a generalized New-Age spirituality—a false conflation that makes is easier to dismiss, no? Most people are familiar with some form or another of Modern Astrology, which attempts to make sense of an individual's personality, character, and psychology through their natal chart. This line of inquiry is valid, and has its place, and yet it is a much different practice from the astrology of our ancestors.
​
TKTKTK
As far back as the 20th century BCE the Babylonians had already drafted the landmark text of celestial omens, the Enuma Anu Enlil which
​
Somewhere in the 20th century, well-meaning esotericists and spiritualists sought to make the art of omens more accessible and to marry it to the burgeoning science of psychology. Astrology then became a game of archetypes. Of ​keyword associations. It flattened the natal chart from a chronology into a two dimensional snapshot of what one's personality ought to be like.
​
Meanwhile, texts, lost to time and locked away in the classical languages of the old world, began to rise from the ashes of time as translators and stewards of knowledge birthed their way into the modern age.
​
You may have encountered this type of astrology in a Sun-sign based magazine horoscope TKTKT. While this type of astrology is useful and valid, it's very different from the astrology of our ancestors.
​
Though, while scientism and rationalists attempt to neatly synthesize our understandings, recent findings seem to routinely disprove our ideas about the world around us and quite often, philosophers of science are called upon to try to theoretically rationalize phenomena that wyrd women, cunning folk, and esotericists throughout the ages have intuitively known as fact.
​
But I digress.
​
​
Hellenistic Astrology is a precise art which builds upon millennia of philosophical and scientific thought
If you've arrived here via Co-Star, The Pattern, or human design, then you know how spookily accurate a more nuanced look into your chart can be. These apps and practices all use a more traditional form of astrology which attempts to look more holistically at the natal chart.
It is based on the belief that the positions and movements of celestial bodies at the time of a person's birth can reveal important information about their personality, strengths, weaknesses, and potential opportunities and challenges. Their fate
​
In hellenistic astrology, the astrologer creates a detailed chart of the sky at the moment of a person's birth, known as a natal chart. This chart is used to identify the positions and aspects of the planets, signs of the zodiac, and houses of the chart, as well as the roles of various points in the chart, such as the Ascendant and Midheaven. The astrologer then interprets the various patterns and configurations in the chart, taking into account the principles and techniques of hellenistic astrology, including the use of dignities, receptions, and other astrological concepts.
​
Hellenistic astrology is different from modern psychological astrology in a few key ways. Modern psychological astrology is focused on the inner psychological experiences and personal growth of the individual, while hellenistic astrology is more concerned with the individual's place in the world and their relationships with others. Modern psychological astrology also tends to use a more humanistic and psychological approach to interpretation, while hellenistic astrology uses a more traditional and technical approach.