Episode 79 of the podcast features a discussion with astrologer Christopher Renstrom about the recent debate in the astrological community over whether there are placements in a person’s birth chart that can indicate one’s sexual orientation.

Christopher gave a talk at the second Queer Astrology Conference in 2015 titled “The Problem of the Gay Signature: Unearthing the Queer Archetype in Astrological History and Culture,” and more recently he presented the same talk as a webinar for Rubicon.

For more info about Christopher’s work visit his website www.RulingPlanets.com.

Below you will find the show notes, followed by links to download or stream the recording of this episode.

Giveaway Prizes for June

This is the first episode of June, and in it I announce the prizes for the giveaway that we are doing for patrons of the show at the end of the month.

The prizes this month include a free one year subscription to The Mountain Astrologer Magazine, and a free pass to the upcoming ISAR astrology conference in California in October. For more details see the giveaway description page for June.

Show Notes

* Christopher Renstrom gave a talk at the second Queer Astrology Conference in 2015 titled “The Problem of the Gay Signature: Unearthing the Queer Archetype in Astrological History and Culture.”

* Partially inspired by Perter Clamp’s article The Astrology of Homophobia.

* The fundamental question in our discussion is whether homosexuality can be seen in the birth chart?

* This has become a point of debate in the astrological community, with some astrologers saying yes you can, and others arguing that no you can’t.

* This is an important but delicate topic, and one that people feel strongly about, for good reasons.

* Our goal to explore different opinions about the topic, in the same way we’ve explored other topics of debate in the community in the past.

* The main emphasis of the debate, summarized by Christopher at the end of his QAC lecture:

* Are some of the conventional “gay astrological signatures” obsolete and irrelevant now?

* Or do they actually still work, but just need some serious tweaking?

* Those that say “no, there are no signatures” object to the underlying implication that used to be present in many astrological texts that the signature(s) would show up either because there was something “wrong” about homosexuality or because they viewed it as something “weird” or “deviant”.

* Some objectors liken it to the question of whether you can see gender in a birth chart, or whether you can see race, which astrologers generally agree you can’t.

* Those that say “yes, you can see it in a chart” argue that many aspects of our character, desires, and other proclivities can be described in the birth chart, and it would be odd if this area wasn’t addressed or was somehow off limits.

* Some who object feel that it can’t be seen because then it would implicitly acknowledge or accept a heteronormative viewpoint, which they reject.

* Others might see a natal signature for homosexuality as confirming arguments that it being gay is something you are born with from birth, rather than a choice.

* Some object by saying that sometimes “gay” or “straight” is not always a clear dis...