An Introduction to Modern Astrology

Interintellect Maybe Gray and co-host Sadalsvvd invite you to explore the many myths and meanings that make up increasingly prevalent practice of astrology.

Though astrology dates back to the ancient world, a modern revival of astrological practices has been unfolding over the past several decades. With modern technology, the tools for these practices have become more accessible than ever and curiousity about the correlations between astronomical archetypes, current events, and individual lives and psyches has caught fire. In a culture which has been dominated by a mainstream scientific materialism worldview, this influx of mystical methodologies has presented a competing way of relating to the world.

These competing cultures have given rise to both hardcore scientific materialist skeptics and highly experienced practitioners of a wide variety of astrological approaches – but of those who exist between these extremes, many have only been exposed to a very low-resolution approach called popular astrology. This is the approach represented in horoscopes written in newspapers and magazines which invite readers to sort themselves into a single sign based on their birth date alone. This common and oversimplified representation of astrology gives rise to many misconceptions, including that we all relate to only one of the twelve archetypal zodiac signs, that only the planetary alignment during the month long period you were born in affects your personality and your life, and that astrology can only provide insights about people on an individual level. In fact, we are each affected by all twelve archetypal zodiac signs in ways that are unique to us, our lives and psyches are imprinted with the planetary alignment at the very moment we took our first breaths, and as the planets shift they continue to affect our individual experiences of ourselves and the world around us as well as the wider unfolding of events with impacts ranging from mundane to global.

In this salon we will explore…

• some of the basic components of the most common form of modern astrology,
• some of the practical applications of different astrological methods,
• some of the ways archetypal and astrological understandings of the world cause friction with mainstream scientific materialist views,
• some of the cultural forces which either promote or suppress the modern revival of astrological thinking, and
• some of the curiosities and questions you have about astrology that you’ve never had a chance to explore before!

Some resources that may help you to prepare for this salon:

• Look up your own birth chart!
• ASTROPILLED with Maybe Gray and Sadalsvvd ep 1 featuring @pareinoia
• ASTROLOGY DEMO with @sadalsvvd! on Philosophers on Twitch Playing Flight Simulator with Michael Curzi
• Richard Tarnas on Cosmos and Psyche on The Astrology Podcast with Chris Brennan
• You Are More Than Your Sun Sign by Lili Burrows
• Understanding Your Big Three
• A Brief Introduction to Astrology: Planets
• A Brief Introduction to Astrology: Houses
• A Brief Introduction to Astrology: Aspects

More resources you may find interesting and helpful:

• AEROSVVD! (Astrologers on Twitch playing Flight Simulator) Full Epsiode
• Astrology: Between Religion and the Empirical by Dr. Gustav-Adolf Schoener (translated by Shane Denson)
• Massimo Pigliucci’s four-part mini-series on Philosopher of Science Paul Feyerabend’s Defense of Astrology Part 1
• Massimo Pigliucci’s four-part mini-series on Philosopher of Science Paul Feyerabend’s Defense of Astrology Part 2
• Massimo Pigliucci’s four-part mini-series on Philosopher of Science Paul Feyerabend’s Defense of Astrology Part 3
• Massimo Pigliucci’s four-part mini-series on Philosopher of Science Paul Feyerabend’s Defense of Astrology Part 4
• The Internet Changed Astrology. Then Came the Memes
• The Will to Believe by William James
• Image credit

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