the-astrology-book

Cancer
subject in depth as well. As a result he worked as an astrological consultant (1977–84)
and developed a considerable career as a teacher of astrology (1980–84 at the Camden
Institute in London) and writer (he is the author of a number of popular works), alongside
his scholarship in the history of astrology. His background in history and politics
also enabled him to develop a second critical speciality in the astrology of history—
mundane astrology. His collaboration with Michael Baigent and Charles Harvey resulted
in Mundane Astrology, the authoritative work on the subject, published in 1984.
In 1997 Campion launched Culture and Cosmos, the first ever peer-reviewed
journal on the history of astrology and in 2000 he began to devise and teach the first
year of the new B.A. degree in astrological studies at Kepler College, near Seattle, on
the history of astrology (with Demetra George, Lee Lehman and Rob Hand). Separately,
in 1998, Campion began doctoral research in the Study of Religions department
at Bath Spa University College in England on “the extent and nature of contemporary
belief in astrology.” A year later he initiated negotiations between the College
and the Sophia Trust, leading to the creation of the Centre for the Study of Cultural
Astronomy and Astrology, teaching (with Michael York and Patrick Curry) the
first ever M.A. in the subject (from October 2002).
In 1992 Campion was awarded the Marc Edmund Jones Award for scholarly
and innovative work. This was followed in 1994 by the Prix Georges Antares, in 1999
by the Spica Award for professional achievement, and in 2002 by the Marion D.
March Regulus Award for Professional Image and the Charles Harvey Award for
Exceptional Service to Astrology. He was president of the Astrological Lodge twice,
from 1985–88 and in 1992 (and was editor of the Lodge’s quarterly magazine,
1992–94), and of the Astrological Association 1994–99.
Campion’s attitude to astrology remains pragmatic and he is concerned more
with whether it produces results in any given situation or not, rather than whether it
has a physical mechanism or a metaphysical reality, or can be demonstrated to have a
universal validity. His fascination for it is based mainly on the fact that it is a contemporary
cultural phenomenon, a way of looking at the world that predates modern science,
Greek philosophy and Judea-Christian religion.
Sources:
Baigent, Michael, Nicholas Campion, and Charles Harvey. Mundane Astrology. Wellingborough,
Northamptonshire, UK: Aquarian Press, 1984.
Campion, Nicholas. The Book of World Horoscopes. Wellingborough, UK: Aquarian Press, 1988.
———. The Great Year: Astrology, Millenarianism, and History in the Western Tradition. London:
Arkana, 1994.
———. Nick Campion’s Online Astrology Resource. www.nickcampion.com.
CANCER
Cancer (Latin for “crab”), the fourth sign of the zodiac, is a cardinal water sign. It is a
negative (in the value-neutral sense of being negatively charged), feminine sign ruled
by the Moon. Its symbol is the crab, and its glyph is said to represent the two claws of a
crab. A moody sign, Cancer is the source of the term “crabby.” Cancer is associated
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