Photo by Nick Bundy, via Andrea Allen (cc)
I don’t do link posts very often. However, as an unabashed nerd I am growing a collection of areas that I find interesting but are terribly obscure, involve a painful amount of calculation, or both. Here are a few articles on various nerdy astrological topics:
Why Are So Many Computer Geniuses Born in 1955?
This is a short analysis by British astrologer Robert Currey of the charts and career paths of several computing industry pioneers, including Bill Joy, Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, and Bill Gates.
Steven Forrest has published an excerpt from his book Yesterday’s Sky that explains the mathematical and astronomical aspects of the moon’s nodes. So if you’re wondering what exactly a “node” is, or how the positions of the lunar nodes are calculated, this is a great read.
The Synodic Cycles of Pluto, Ixion & Quaoar
In very basic terms, a synod is when two planets or planetary bodies come into alignment, with respect to the sun- a “heliocentric conjunction”. Thus, a synodic cycle is the period of time between these conjunctions of bodies. The cycles vary depending on the planets involved. This piece is a detailed (and easily skimmable, if you found my description dry) look at the interactions among the outer planets and bodies at the edge of the solar system.
New areas of astrology are refined through observation and research, so work like this is significant and necessary to distill accurate interpretations of recently discovered bodies and phenomena.
Eclipses happen when the sun and moon conjunct one or both lunar nodes; the astronomical phenomenon of the sun, moon, and earth lining up in a way that blocks the sun’s light is expressed very visibly in an astrological chart. When a planet squares the lunar nodes, known as being on the bendings, it is forming a very different relationship to the moon.
Astrologer Rob Tillett has dubbed the sun’s periodic squaring of the lunar nodes the moon wobble, and has made a very extensive study of the geological, political, and other phenomena that take place when the sun forms a stressful aspect to the nodal axis.
The typical astrological chart calculates the positions of the planets with respect to the earth- that is, what we see in the sky when we look up. Heliocentric astrology calculates the positions of the planets with respect to the sun; if you were on the surface of the sun the same sky would look very different. These charts read very differently, with no house system, cardinal directions, or physical location of the sun plotted in the chart. This article is a brief overview of the philosophy and method of heliocentric charting.
Note: I have very little experience with this branch of astrology and no first-hand experience of its applicability; I find it interesting from a mathematical point of view. Your mileage may vary.
