the-astrology-book

Asteroids
(Vedic astrology) and classical Western astrology as major topics of astrological interest,
and the complexification of asteroid studies as the result of the discovery of numerous
new objects, including hundreds of large planetoids beyond the orbit of Neptune.
As a result of translation and interpretive activities that matured in the last
decades of the twentieth century, both Jyotish and classical astrology emerged as
major sources of sophisticated astrological techniques that are simultaneously new
(from the perspective of astrologers who matured under the influence of modern psychologically
oriented astrology) and time tested. Both of these two traditions are not
only rich in astrological insights, but they also completely ignore the modern planets—Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto—as well as the new planetary bodies. Thus, not
only have Jyotish and classical astrology diverted interest away from new areas of
astrological research, such as asteroid studies, but many of the astrologers who have
become involved in this renaissance seem to have acquired an active prejudice against
considering anything that was not originally a part of these traditions.
As a result of the exploration of our solar system, particularly since the advent
of the Hubble space telescope, astronomers have discovered numerous new asteroids,
including a host of large bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. Some of these Plutolike
bodies, referred to as plutinos, are almost as large as Charon, Pluto’s moon, and in
at least the case of Ixion, significantly larger than Charon. Beyond adding numerous
new planetoids—which further complicates the field of astrology—these newly discovered
bodies have even caused astronomers to consider dropping Pluto from the planet
category. This hypothetical reclassification of Pluto would, in turn, call into question
modern astrology’s use of Pluto and of the other nontraditional planets and planetoids,
thus dovetailing with the negative perspective of many traditional astrologers.
Despite this situation, it nevertheless seems almost certain that asteroid studies
have a future as a significant field of astrological research. If nothing else, the four
major asteroids have become too well established in the mainstream of contemporary
astrological practice to ever be dropped. Additionally, the incorporation of asteroids
beyond the Big Four into multiple astrological software programs means that the necessary
tools are within easy reach of any aspiring astrological researcher. These factors
and others provide a solid foundation from which asteroid studies is likely to reemerge
as a major field of interest, particularly after the current fascination with traditional
astrology peaks.
All major Western astrology software programs allow one to incorporate Ceres,
Pallas, Vesta, and Juno into natal charts, progressed charts, etc, and in every way to
treat them on par with the planets. Astrolabe and Matrix also market separate report
programs for the four major asteroids. Add-on software programs for the other asteroids
can be obtained for the Solar Fire calculation program from Esoteric Technologies
and for the Kepler calculation program from Cosmic Patterns Software. At this
writing, the current (fifth) edition of Kepler allows one to calculate the position of
1000 asteroids for any chart. An add-on program for more than 20,000 asteroids is also
available. The asteroid add-on for Solar Fire allows one to calculate the positions of
10,000 asteroids. Additionally, Solar Fire can place any of these asteroids in an extra
chart ring—something one cannot do in current editions of most other programs.
THE ASTROLOGY BOOK
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