The Astrology Podcast

In episode 277 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for November of 2020. The astrology of November features Mercury stationing direct on November 3, which happens to be election day in the US, plus Mars stationing direct in Aries mid-month, the final Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, and a lunar eclipse in Gemini. We spend a bit of t...

In episode 276 astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo joins the show to talk about Mercury retrograde and what it means in astrology. Mercury retrograde periods occur when the planet Mercury begins moving backwards in the zodiac for about three weeks every few months. Astrologers generally associate Mercury retrograde periods with miscommunication, delays, technological snafus, and other issues in the areas...

In episode 275 astrologer Kirah Tabourn joins the show to talk about the concept of dividing groups into of people into generations astrologically, and looking at the different sub-generations of millennials based on their Saturn sign. At the start of discussion we talk about how modern astrologers divide different demographic cohorts based on what sign of the zodiac Pluto was in when they were bo...

In episode 274 of the podcast Chris Brennan gives a detailed overview of the concept of sect in astrology, which is the difference between day and night birth charts. Sect is a fundamental concept that was used in Hellenistic astrology, but it has only been recovered by contemporary astrologers over the past 30 years through translations of ancient texts. The purpose of this talk is to give a broa...

In episode 273 astrologers Leisa Schaim and Chris Brennan answer some questions about astrology that were submitted by listeners of the podcast. Some of the topics we covered in this episode include whether you should learn natal or horary astrology first, how to determine the sect of charts where the birth was close to sunrise or sunset, the ethics of reading the birth charts of children. We also...

In episode 272 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for October of 2020. The forecast for October features Mars retrograde in Aries squaring Saturn, Pluto, and Jupiter, as well as a Mercury retrograde station opposite Uranus, and a Full Moon conjunct Uranus. With all of the Uranus and Mercury retrograde signatures, our working title for thi...

In episode 271 astrologer Melanie Reinhart joins the show to talk about her pioneering work on the minor planet Chiron in astrology. Melanie is the author of the book Chiron and the Healing Journey, which was originally published in 1989, and is now in its fourth edition. Chiron was discovered on November 1, 1977, and Melanie was one of a number of astrologers who soon after began researching its...

In episode 270 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim discuss which techniques you can use in natal astrology to interpret a birth chart even when you don't have a birth time. Western astrology has focused very heavily on using timed birth charts since about the 1st century BCE, and there are many techniques in natal astrology that can only be employed if you know a person's exact time of birt...

In episode 269 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for September of 2020. September is one of the more crucial and tense months that we identified back in our year-ahead forecast, due to Mars stationing retrograde in Aries and squaring Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto in Capricorn. This month will also see Jupiter and Saturn stationing direct in...

In episode 268 of the podcast Dr. Martin Gansten joins the show to talk about his new translation of a 17th century Sanskrit text on Tajika astrology, which focuses on annual predictive techniques derived from medieval Arabic sources. Martin is a historian of religion as well as a Sanskrit scholar, who specializes in the study of the history and transmission of ancient astrology. Earlier this mont...

In episode 267 astrologer and scholar Levente László joins the show to talk about his new translation project for ancient Greek astrological texts, and to discuss some of the translations he has completed so far. Levente is classical philologist from Hungary, and he recently launched the Horoi Project, which is a crowdfunding project to translate ancient astrological texts that survive from the He...

In episode 266 astrologer Carole Taylor joins the show to talk about aspect patterns in astrology, such as the T-square, grand trine, and yod. Aspect patterns occur when three or more planets are aligned with each other in a chart through close geometrical configurations. Carole is the author of my new favorite introduction to astrology book, titled Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your...

In episode 265 astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan look at the astrological forecast for August of 2020, as well as the birth chart of Walter Mercado. The astrology of August features Mars moving into its shadow and making the first of three sets of squares to Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn, as well as a Full Moon in Aquarius square Uranus, and Mercury and Venus finally moving...

In episode 264 of the podcast Chris Brennan and Benjamin Dykes discuss the origins of the concept of detriment in ancient Hellenistic and Medieval astrology. Years ago I noted that that the origins of the concept of detriment are somewhat mysterious, because it is mentioned infrequently by the Hellenistic astrologers, and not usually defined along with the other classical "essential dignities" of...

In episode 263 astrologer Bear Ryver joins the show to talk about intersectionality as a framework for approaching astrology, working with clients, and the astrological community. Intersectionality is a term that was first coined in a legal context by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, to explain the way in which people can experience multiple overlapping forms of discrimination at the same time. The term...

Episode 262 features an interview with astrologers Basil Fearrington and Kathy Rose about the life and work of the astrologer Noel Tyl. Noel Tyl was one of the most prolific astrologers of the late 20th and early 21st century, having authored around 30 books. He passed away last year, on December 31, 2019, the day he turned 83 years old. I almost did an interview with him last fall, but it didn't...

Episode 261 features astrologers Kelly Surtees, Austin Coppock, and Chris Brennan giving an overview of the astrological forecast for July of 2020. The astrology of July features Mars starting its long transit through Aries, Saturn moving back into Capricorn, a lunar eclipse in Capricorn, and Mercury squaring Mars most of the month. We begin the episode by reviewing the astrology of the second qua...

In episode 260 astrologers Leisa Schaim and Chris Brennan discuss the first steps you should take when trying to interpret a birth chart, and which astrological factors you should focus on in natal astrology. New students of astrology often learn a number of different techniques, but they are often unsure of the order and priority that you should give to different factors when you are first lookin...

On episode 259 of the podcast astrologer Sam Reynolds joins the show to discuss the issue of racism in America, and to talk about some related topics that have come up in the astrological community in the past two weeks. These discussions resulted from the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the resulting protests across the United States. In the first part of the show we discuss some of t...

In episode 258 of the podcast astrologer Diana Rose Harper joins the show to talk about her work in using natal astrology as a form of radical-self care. This discussion was based on a talk that Diana gave at the Northwest Astrological Conference last month titled Fierce Compassion: Natal Astrology as Radical Self-Care. Radical self-care is a way of thinking about self-care that goes beyond the mo...

In episode 257 astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological alignments coming up in June of 2020. The month features the second half of the Venus retrograde in Gemini, as well as eclipses in Sagittarius and Cancer, Mercury stationing retrograde, the second of three Jupiter-Pluto conjunctions, and Mars entering Aries where it will stay for the next six m...

Episode 256 of the podcast features an interview with astrologers Laura Nalbanian and Nicholas Polimenakos about the recent Northwest Astrological Conference (NORWAC), which was moved online recently for the first time in its 36 year history due to the pandemic. NORWAC is normally an in-person conference that takes place in Seattle on Labor Day weekend at the end of May each year. It was originall...

In episode 255 of the podcast astrologers Chris Brennan and Benjamin Dykes unveil a new discovery about the origins of the exaltations, derived from a lost Hermetic text preserved by Abu Ma'shar. Last summer Keiji Yamamoto and Charles Burnett released their long-awaited translation of The Great Introduction to Astrology by the 9th century astrologer Abu Ma'shar. This was the first time this text h...

In episode 254 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim discuss a recent article in the New York Times that claimed that astrologers did not predict the recent worldwide crisis, and some of the related issues with coverage of astrology in the media, as well as the practice of mundane astrology. The starting point for this discussion was an article that was published in the New York Times on May...

In episode 253 astrologers Kelly Surtees and Austin Coppock join the show to talk about the astrological forecast for May of 2020. Most of the action this month happens in the second full week of May, when Saturn stations direct, Mars completes its conjunction with Saturn by moving out of Aquarius and into Pisces, Venus stations retrograde in Gemini, and Jupiter stations retrograde conjunct Pluto...