I have previously questioned whether Hellenistic style astrology has any real practical application for us in the 21st Century. Joseph C. Crane, M.A, author of  Astrological Roots: The Hellenistic Legacy, contacted me and has agreed for me to quote from his website.

In particular, Joseph has shown an example of the practical application of Hellenistic methods in “A Practical Beginning to Hellenistic Astrology.” In this article he uses the life of Rudy Giuliani and goes through the Hellenistic method to explain how it shows two important facets of Giuliani’s life, his prominent career as a leader, and his “noteworthy” personal life.

Joseph has done an excellent job wading through the complex Hellenistic techniques to come up with some answers, and as he says,  “The purpose of this article is to let the reader dip into the Hellenistic tradition to get a sense of its style and to decide whether to include some of it in his or her astrology practice.” I am going to show how another method can explain Giuliani’s prominent career and personal life as a comparison. To keep the playing field level, I will only look at the traditional planets, and use only one method, fixed star interpretation, an astrological method being used at the same times in history as Hellenistic astrology. Just one method, not a full interpretation.

Noteworthy Personal Life

Sun conjunct Ain in the Hyades star cluster< “Staggering increase in sexual urge, a dissolute life, excessive and licentious ways. With Sun: Evil disposition (used to be a term in astrology for homosexuality).”
Mercury on Almach “a liking for change, diversion and amusement”.
Venus on Alcyone “Not a good omen with regard to relationships to the opposite sex (homosexual). with Venus: Immoral, strong passions, disgrace through women”.
Saturn conjunct fixed star Betelgeuse in the Orion Constellation “With Saturn: Shrewd, cunning, craftily dishonest, treacherous to friends, eventful life with many ups and downs, eventual wealth but little comfort, unfavorable for domestic matters.”

Using the Hellenistic method, because the Sun is 8 degrees from Venus, “According to Hellenistic doctrine, a planet in this condition – within fifteen degrees of the Sun — is weaker than it otherwise would be and could manifest in a distorted or inconsistent way….Being within the Sun’s beams weakens an otherwise dignified Venus, giving a strong hint of instability or unpredictability.” Also, based on the Lot of Venus being in Virgo, governed by Mercury, “The testimony by Mars and Jupiter in the 12th, however, indicate a tendency to extreme (and possibly self-destructive) emotions and behavior in the sphere  of relationships and marriage.”

So from the fixed stars we get increased sexual urge, excessive, licentious, liking for change and amusement, immoral, disgrace through women, treacherous to friends, unfavorable for domestic matters, homosexuality. From Hellenistic astrology we get a distorted and inconsistent love nature (Venus) with instability or unpredictability, a tendency to extreme (and possibly self-destructive) emotions and behavior with relationships.

Prominence and Leadership Qualities

Sun conjunct Ain “Striving for prestige leading to power politics”.
Mercury conjunct Almach “honor, eminence…The popularity of these people will bring benefits from others.”
Venus conjunct Alcyone “eminence…ambition and endeavor, which gives preferment, honor and glory”.
Saturn conjunct Betelgeuse “indicative of great fortune, martial honors and “kingly” attributes…Placed in the angles (conjunct MC), preferment, luck, success and everlasting fame are promised.”

I’ll let you guys read through the Hellenistic interpretation of this one, it really is very complex and still does not give anywhere near the accurate description given by the stars. I am not criticizing Joseph or his interpretation. I am however very critical of Hellenistic methods. Extremely technical and long-winded, they go in a round about way and I think you can make just about anything fit because of the multitude of rules and regulations.

You can see what I am getting at by looking at the noteworthy personal life interpretation earlier. Just one method without any aspect analysis gave a far more accurate description than was obtained by using all the Hellenistic methods available.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

I see Hellenistic astrology as a corruption of ancient astrology because it is based on fixed zodiac signs with no real relationship to the cosmos. The ancients, the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Celts saw the planets against the backdrop of the stars, just as all indigenous cultures do today. By moving away from this essential relationship with the cosmos, Hellenistic astrology ignored the fundamental principle “as above, so below”. Now mainstream astrology is stuck with the hangover of Hellenistic astrology, people believe that the 12 sun signs give influence to planets and we still have all the rules about planets being strong or weak depending on which sign they are in.

How does an imagined 30 degree division on a piece of paper impart any energy to a planet? We know that the fixed stars are a source of energy, we can see then and can measure their various forms of electromagnetic energy, just as we can for the planets. We can even measure the energy coming from celestial objects we cannot see. The most recent scientific research supports the idea that the central core of the Earth is a single gigantic Iron crystal, nearly the size of our Moon.

We know Iron has great electromagnetic properties and that crystals also have special qualities. This gives us an explanation of how astrology actually works. Energy from celestial bodies, the sun, planets and stars are picked up by this giant crystal under our feet. That combined energy is processed and emitted back to us. The energy is always changes due to the motion of the planets in relation to each other and to the fixed stars, so the energy we get from our central crystal is constantly changing, explaining the changes we experience in our personal lives and in the mundane world.

So right now Mars is stationary direct within a degree of last July’s massive Solar Eclipse degree. That eclipse, the longest for the rest of our lives, was on the fixed star alpha Monoceros. In 363 AD there was another massive Solar Eclipse, the longest Solar Eclipse between 744 BC and 2186 AD. That eclipse was also on the fixed star alpha Monoceros, the “One Horned”, and it marked the end of Paganism in the Western World and cemented Christianity in the Empire. With the asteroid Atropos also with Mars now, I think it is time to cut the link to the Patriarchal domination of the past. We don’t really need to rely on strict rules and regulations in astrology. Time to bring back the magic!

Data for horoscope: Rudy Giuliani, Astrodatabank