Ancient Philosophy and Astrology

08/25/21 • 139 min

11 Listeners

In episode 316 of the podcast Dr. Justin Sledge and Chris Brennan talk about the relationship between astrology, philosophy, and religion in the ancient world. Our main focus is on discussing the ways in which astrology influenced some of the different philosophical and religious schools in the Greco-Roman world, from the Hellenistic era through the time of the Roman Empire and into the early Medieval period. We also discuss questions like what was the philosophy underlying the practice of astrology in antiquity? To what extent did ancient astrologers articulate a personal philosophy? What was the purpose of practicing astrology in the ancient world? During the course of the discussion we ended up touching on topics such as what is the mechanism underlying astrology (whether it works through signs or causes), issues surrounding fate, free-will, determinism, as well as the role of various schools such as Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Christianity, and more. This was originally an interview for Justin's Esoterica YouTube channel, where he interviewed Chris based on his book Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune, but afterward we agreed to release the discussion as an episode of The Astrology Podcast simultaneously because it ended up being such a fantastic discussion that is very relevant to both of our audiences. Find many more videos on ancient philosophy and mysticism on Justin's channel: YouTube.com/ESOTERICAchannel/ This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:50 The Hellenistic World 00:07:50 Astrology and coping philosophies 00:08:50 Mundane astrology 00:09:18 First birth charts dating to 410 BCE 00:13:57 How a Hellenistic astrologer would define astrology 00:19:00 Fate in the Hellenistic world 00:21:33 Stoic philosophy and Hellenistic astrology 00:29:02 Internal and External Fate in Astrology 00:32:20 Impact of Plato's Timaeus and Myth of Er on astrology 00:39:20 Names of gods applied to planets 00:47:21 Astrology of causes: Aristotle and Ptolemy 00:56:00 Stoic eternal recurrence model of the universe 00:58:16 Ptolemy and determinism 01:02:55 Backlash against determinism from Christianity 01:16:10 How Justin would teach Greek philosophy 01:18:10 How astrology was used to justify the birth of Jesus 01:20:00 The birth chart of Jesus controversy 01:21:30 Length of life technique 01:24:10 Astrological magic tradition 01:28:05 Increase in popularity of astrology 01:33:24 St. Augustine's criticism of astrology 01:38:12 Different levels of astrology in society 01:39:38 Ronald Reagan's astrologer 01:40:40 Levels of magic in society 01:43:30 Technical Hellenistic manuals translated into verse 01:44:55 Lost 1st century BCE source texts 01:47:33 Astrological texts in verse 01:53:34 Dorotheus verse example 01:55:10 Origins of horary astrology 02:02:15 Astrology straddling line between science and religion 02:05:03 Astrology a practical technology 02:06:40 Future discussion: philosophical challenges to astrology 02:07:29 21st century practice of astrology 02:08:11 Addressing ancient skeptical critiques of astrology 02:14:20 Closing Remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on ancient philosophy and astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1YnPGVLlAM - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 316 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

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Venus in Astrology: Meaning and Significations

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In episode 315 astrologer Becca Tarnas joins the show to talk about the meaning of Venus in astrology, and how ancient and modern astrologers conceptualized it. Venus is traditionally thought to signify things like beauty, love, relationships, desire, sensuality, romance, harmony, pleasure, art, marriage, and other topics. This is the fourth installment in our series on each of the planets, where we do a deep dive into their meaning in astrology. We anchored the discussion by reading through a series of excerpts about Venus from different ancient and modern astrologers, including Vettius Valens, Abu Ma’shar, William Lilly, Reinhold Ebertin, Steven Forrest, and Richard Tarnas. We then used these passages as jumping off points for an extended discussion about some of the deeper meanings of Venus, and the role that it plays in birth chart interpretation. You can find out more about Becca on her website: BeccaTarnas.com This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:49 Vettius Valens Significations 00:07:17 Venus as Benefic 00:10:34 Venus Glyph 00:11:35 The seasons of Taurus and Libra 00:15:55 Venus, the Moon, and the feminine 00:22:16 Redefining planets based on current cultural norms 00:24:00 Tradition isn't static 00:24:48 Aphrodite 00:30:04 Archetypes manifesting through different cultures 00:33:50 Venus the brightest star 00:38:00 Venus Mars relationship 00:41:48 Diagram of Venus opposite Mars 00:42:58 Venus and Jupiter in night sky 00:45:00 First Principles 00:50:10 Venus' connection to religion and breath 00:53:44 Myth of Annona 00:58:54 Venus Synodic Cycle 01:06:15 Abu Ma'shar Significations 01:20:00 Venus on the Ascendant 01:22:05 Venus aspects and beauty 01:24:53 Venus and Music 01:28:33 Venus and Relationships 01:31:55 Venus Saturn 01:35:05 Venus Mercury 01:37:16 Venus Sun 01:38:35 Venus Moon 01:41:31 Fred Rogers Chart 01:42:50 Venus Mars 01:47:06 Venus and Friday 01:50:21 Venus Jupiter 01:51:40 Beyonce's Chart 01:58:33 Venus Saturn 02:00:54 Venus Uranus 02:02:13 Katy Perry's chart 02:08:23 Venus Neptune 02:10:55 Tolkien's chart 02:13:46 George R. R. Martin's chart 02:16:37 Venus Pluto 02:17:17 Frida Kahlo's chart 02:21:22 William Lilly Significations 02:33:56 Reinhold Ebertin Significations 02:41:02 Gary Kasparov's Chart 02:43:37 Steven Forrest Significations 02:49:00 Venus placement variations throughout life 02:52:04 Richard Tarnas Significations 02:58:41 Becca Tarnas Significations 03:00:45 Becca's Chart 03:09:31 Becca's website 03:10:02 Becca's upcoming courses 03:12:15 Closing remarks Watch the Video Version of This Episode on Venus Watch the video version of our episode on the meaning of Venus in astrology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x0srgNjvzU - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 315 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:

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September Astrology Forecast 2021

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Episode 317 features our astrology forecast for September 2021 with astrologers Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, and special guest co-host Rick Levine. The astrology of September features Mercury stationing retrograde in Libra, a new Moon in Virgo and a Full Moon in Pisces, and ingresses of Venus into Scorpio and Mars into Libra. This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Archetypal Explorer Our sponsor this month is Archetypal Explorer, which is an online astrology program that allows you to visualize transits through colorful graphs: ArchetypalExplorer.com Sign up today for a 7-day free trial of the program! September Astrology Here are the major astrology transits for September: Mars opposes Neptune September 2 Mercury trine Saturn September 4 Venus square Pluto on September 5 New Moon in Virgo on September 6 Sun trine Uranus on September 7 Venus moves into Scorpio on September 10 Mars moves into Libra on September 14 Venus square Saturn on September 16 Full Moon in Pisces on September 20 Sun moves into Libra on September 22 Venus opposite Uranus on September 23 Mars trine Saturn on September 25 Mercury stations retrograde in Libra on September 27 Sun trine Saturn on September 29 Venus square Jupiter on September 30 Auspicious Astrological Date for September The most auspicious astrological date for September is: September 9, 2021 at 6:15 PM with 24 Aquarius rising There are several other charts for September that are available in our subscription electional astrology podcast. Timestamps Here are some timestamps for topics covered at different points in the episode: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:30 September astrology calendar 00:01:30 Welcoming Rick and Austin 00:04:09 August astrology retrospective 00:05:24 Fall of Afghanistan around Uranus station 00:12:05 Milk crate challenge 00:22:20 Uranus station and OF debacle 00:30:33 First week of September astrology 00:31:28 Mars-Neptune opposition September 2 00:39:20 New Moon in Virgo September 6 00:52:26 Auspicious election on September 9 00:56:37 Weeks 2 and 3 of September 00:57:18 Venus moves into Scorpio September 10 01:05:45 Venus squares Saturn + opposes Uranus 01:08:30 Mercury trine Jupiter and more 01:09:29 Mars in Libra 01:28:40 Archetypal Explorer 01:30:50 Full Moon in Pisces September 20 01:48:10 Mercury retrograde in Libra 02:03:14 Final thoughts on September 02:07:05 Mid-term elections 2022 astrology 02:08:18 Rick's YouTube channel 02:08:52 Austin's upcoming stuff 02:09:57 Chris' upcoming stuff 02:11:07 Ending Watch the Video Version of This Episode Here is the video version of this episode on the September astrology forecast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMQclhkMSSA - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 317 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below: