
Episode 287 features a lecture by Chris Brennan on the concept of reception in traditional astrology, and how it can be used as a powerful mitigating factor in birth chart interpretation.
Broadly speaking, reception occurs when one planet is placed in a sign ruled by another planet, and the ruler of the sign aspects the guest planet.
Since the signs of the zodiac were originally conceptualized as the homes or dwelling places of the planets, reception was conceptualized as what happens when a host planet welcomes and supports guests staying in its home.
Medieval astrologers often treated reception as a powerful mitigating factor, which could make aspects from benefics even more positive, or alternatively make difficult aspects from malefics more constructive.
In the first part of the lecture I talk about the history and philosophy behind this concept, while in the second half I present a bunch of contemporary chart examples to demonstrate how the technique works in practice.
This episode is available in both video and audio versions below.
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A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 287 transcript
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Reception: A Mitigating Condition in Birth Charts

A weekly podcast on historical, philosophical, and technical topics related to astrology, hosted by professional astrologer Chris Brennan.

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In episode 443 historian of ancient astrology and magic Kristin Mathis and astrologer Drew Levanti join me to talk about an ancient Greek mystical tradition known as Orphism, and how it influenced ancient astrology.
Orphism is an ancient Greek mystery cult founded by a legendary figure named Orpheus, who is said to have been a poet, musician, and mystical figure.
It is a mystery religion because members of the Orphic cult had to be initiated, and were sworn to secrecy with oaths.
The Orphics believed the soul was immortal and subject to reincarnation, and part of the goal of becoming initiated into the mysteries was to help ensure a better life in the future.
There was an emphasis on remembering one’s divine origin, and the use of poetry and music as ways of accessing the divine.
The study of this topic is important in terms of ancient astrology because Orpheus is listed as one of the legendary founders of Hellenistic astrology by Firmicus Maternus, and there are traces of Orphic influence in astrological texts by figures like Valens and Critodemus.
Kristin and Drew’s work focuses in particular on the Orphic Hymns, and during the course of the episode we read some excerpts from some of Kristin’s translations of the hymns for the planets and the stars, which invoke the deities associated with those celestial bodies.
Join us for a captivating exploration of Orphism and its enduring influence on the rich tapestry of ancient astrology.
Kristin and Drew’s Websites
https://www.kristinmathis.com
https://archeastrology.com
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The Orphic Mysteries and Ancient Astrology


In episode 442 astrologers Chris Brennan and Sam Ogden discuss the rulers of the houses in astrology, and what it means for the ruler of one house to be in another house in a birth chart.
The rulers of the houses is an ancient and important element of birth chart delineation, but it is often overlooked in modern times.
It is more of an intermediate level technique, because it involves combining different basic concepts surrounding the fourfold system of planets, signs, aspects, and houses.
Understanding the rulers of the houses is crucial for chart synthesis, because it is through this technique that you start to see how the basic concepts work together, as well as how different parts of the chart are connected.
In the first part of this episode we discuss how to interpret what it means when the ruler of one house is in another, such as for example when the ruler of the 4th house is in the 9th house, and then later we talk about how to time the activation of the rulers of the houses using the annual profections time-lord technique.
This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
Chris’ Hellenistic Astrology Course
https://courses.theastrologyschool.com
Sam’s Website
http://www.brothermoonhealing.com
Timestamps

* 00:00:00 Introduction
* 00:06:28 Traditional rulership scheme
* 00:08:28 Whole sign houses
* 00:10:45 Planets as rulers of houses
* 00:14:35 Rulers of houses in houses
* 00:20:48 Rhetorius examples of rulers
* 00:29:50 Considerations for studying rulers
* 00:26:05 Significations of the houses
* 00:39:30 Ruler of 2nd in 11th example
* 00:43:00 Ruler of 2nd in 4th example
* 00:47:56 Ruler of 3rd in 8th example
* 00:51:20 Ruler of 4th in 9th example
* 00:54:00 Ruler of 4th in 8th example
* 00:57:00 Ruler of 5th in 9th example
* 01:09:45 Ruler of 6th in 10th example
* 01:12:12 Ruler of 7th in 9th example
* 01:14:23 Ruler of 8th & 9th example
* 01:21:00 Ruler of 10th in 3rd example
* 01:25:33 Ruler of 10th in 6th example
* 01:29:00 Ruler of 10th in 8th example
* 01:33:51 Ruler of 10th in 11th example
* 01:38:50 Ruler of 11th in 5th example
* 01:46:10 Ruler of 12th in 10th example
* 02:00:18 Considerations recap
* 02:01:10 Annual Profections
* 02:04:40 Timing the activation of the rulers
* 02:05:50 Activating the house
* 02:07:00 Ruler of 2nd in 8th activated example
* 02:11:00 Ruler of 3rd afflicted example
* 02:12:30 Ruler of 7th and 8th in 2nd
* 02:16:55 Ruler of 8th and 9th in 7th
* 02:20:25 Ruler of 9th in 10th
* 02:22:15 Activating the sign containing a ruler
* 02:22:38 Ruler of 3rd in 8th activated
* 02:24:15 Ruler of 12th in 4th activated
* 02:26:12 Ruler of 8th in 2nd activated
* 02:27:00 Ruler of 4th in 9th activated
* 02:28:42 Reflecting on the implications
* 02:36:50 The time of birth
* 02:44:55 Concluding remarks
* 02:46:46 Learning more about rulers
* 02:47:30 Sam’s consultations
* 02:49:53 Call for listener examples
* 02:50:57 Credits, sponsors, end cards

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The Rulers of the Houses in Astrology

Astrologers Chris Brennan and Diana Rose Harper look ahead at the astrology forecast for April, and discuss the major astrological alignments that will occur in one of the most important months of 2024.

News in the first hour, then forecast begins at 00:57:50. 

The astrology of April features a solar eclipse in Aries that will cross the United States, a tense Mars-Saturn conjunction in Pisces, a positive Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus, a chaotic Mercury retrograde in Aries, and finally a comet that will cross the zodiac in Taurus.

Northwest Astrological Conference

https://norwac.net

Diana's Website

https://ddamascenaa.com

Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast


Astrology Forecast April 2024


In episode 440 astrologers Chris Brennan and Sam Ogden discuss the Antikythera Mechanism, which is a complex mechanical device that was recovered from an ancient shipwreck, and how it may have been used for astrology.
The Antikythera Mechanism was discovered in the year 1901 by a group of sponge divers who found an ancient shipwreck near a Greek island named Antikythera.
They had found a Greek merchant ship that sank around the year 60 BCE, and divers were able to recover a number of ancient statues, pottery, as well as a corroded mechanical device with lots of gears.
Over the past century a series of researchers have slowly reconstructed the device, and recently advanced X-ray scans have allowed scholars to look inside to see how it worked.
We now know that it was a complex astronomical device that depicted the movements of the cosmos, and it was also a sort of mechanical calculator or computer that could compute positions of the planets in the past or future, predict when eclipses would occur, and more.
The discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism is important because it is far more advanced than what was previously thought possible in terms of technology around the 1st century BCE, and similar devices were not reinvented in Europe until after 13th century.
For our purposes as astrologers the most interesting piece is how the Antikythera Mechanism ties in with the history of ancient astrology, and that there is in fact some evidence the device was used for astrological purposes, as well as that there was at least one astrologer who is said to have owned a similar device.
In this episode we situate the device within the context of the history of astrology, talk about its possible astrological uses, and also discuss how the mechanism may helps us to reconstruct the origins of Hellenistic astrology as a result of the planetary order depicted on the device.
This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
Sam’s Website
http://www.brothermoonhealing.com
Sources and Further Reading

* Alexander Jones, A Portable Cosmos: Revealing the Antikythera Mechanism, Scientific Wonder of the Ancient World, Oxford University Press, 2017.
* Tony Freeth and Alexander Jones, “The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism,” ISAW Papers 4 (February, 2012).
* Tony Freeth, D. Huggon, A. Decanalis, et al, “A Model of the Cosmos in the ancient Greek Antikythera Mechanism,” in Scientific Reports, 11, 5821 (2021).
* Tony Freeth, “Wonder of the Ancient World,” in Scientific American Magazine, Vol. 326, No. 1 (January 2022), p. 24.

Timestamps

* 00:00:00 Introduction
* 00:00:17 Antikythera Mechanism overview
* 00:06:39 Alexander Jones’ book on the device
* 00:10:59 Discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism
* 00:19:54 Chart for the discovery
* 00:27:54 Reconstructing the device
* 00:30:40 Dating the shipwreck and Mechanism
* 00:34:00 Geography: Antikythera, Rhodes, and Epirus
* 00:40:00 Transmission of Mesopotamian astrology
* 00:44:58 Archimedes
* 00:50:45 Planetary order dating
* 00:54:53 Order of the Seven Zoned Sphere
* 01:04:53 Planets and other dials on the device
* 01:15:15 How astrologers may have used the device
* 01:31:25 Astrologer’s boards
* 01:48:42 Dimensionality in the cosmos

The Antikythera Mechanism and Astrology


In episode 439 astrologer Britten LaRue joins the podcast to discuss unshaming the signs of the zodiac, which involves re-conceptualizing qualities that are viewed as negative, and radically accepting what we invalidate in each sign.
We open the episode by discussing the topic of shame in astrology, and some of the problems involved with treating certain qualities in the signs as problematic, and the effect that can have on people.
Then we proceed to go through each of the 12 signs of the zodiac and discuss at least two ways in which certain signs can be unshamed, starting with Aries and then going all the way through to Pisces.
Britten is the author of the new book Living Astrology: How to Weave the Wisdom of all 12 Signs into Your Everyday Life, which just came out on March 5!
This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
Britten’s Website
https://brittenlarue.com
Timestamps

* 00:00:00 Introduction
* 00:29:20 Aries
* 00:47:15 Taurus
* 01:02:15 Gemini
* 01:21:13 Cancer
* 01:42:00 Leo
* 02:02:55 Virgo
* 02:18:50 Libra
* 02:35:10 Scorpio
* 02:47:34 Sagittarius
* 03:09:13 Capricorn
* 03:24:02 Brief interruption I forgot to edit out (LOL)
* 03:29:04 Finishing Capricorn
* 03:30:15 Aquarius
* 03:44:12 Pisces
* 04:04:03 Britten’s book and workshops
* 04:13:44 Credits

Watch the Video Version of This Episode
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Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 439 transcript
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Reception: A Mitigating Condition in Birth Charts

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