In his first outing, Dr. Jones bemoans the state of astrological history. Since then lots of books have come forth to fill in those gaps, but many are rather expensiv but of their niche audience, and others since their publication, hard to find. The problem is, the history of astrology is rather obtuse subject and so his reference to the Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, is welcome.
History required?
The short answer is NO. A historical overview of how astrology came about and who created what, is not required until, and unless, you want to get certified. There are three methods in the US for astrological certification: C. C. Zain’s Church of Light, the American Federation of Astrologers (AFA) and the newcomer, National Council for Geocosmic Research (NGCR). Only the last two give you initials after their name. The Church of Light, an esoteric society like the Golden Dawn, BOTA and the Sabian Assembly promote with their organization, thus in those societies you become a “Hermeticist” or a “Legate.” 1 The Sabian Assembly, under Marc Jones, required astrological training but did not give out a “certification” per se, unless you want to count graduation to the next level within the Assembly. With his demise in 1980, that was discarded.
All three of the aforementioned groups supply you with their recommended text. but only the CoL has it included in their readings. 2 Both NGCR and AFA make you buy supplemental text to pass the coursework i.e. for the AFA it is of course the late James Herschel Holden’s HISTORY OF HOROSCOPIC ASTROLOGY: From the Babylonian Period to the Modern Age, 2nd edition that is still reasonably priced at $25.00 on Amazon; the AFA wants $30.00. If you want certification from the AFA, that is extra. Their coursework is $455.00; NGCR’s last I checked was double and the Church of Light half.
How much you learn about the subject is better, and this is my own bias, than nothing, because knowing nothing opens you up to faulty information. I saw that personally at a conference I attended where the information by the presented was very biased and untrue. Do you need the intricacies and the details? Not really. That’s for historians and philosophers to discuss, and banter about,.
What the general astrologer, who is doing their own horoscope and that of close friends and family, needs is just an overview and Dr. Jones’s recommendation serves well for that purpose.
Jones’s view
ASTROLOGY, as here presented, is the form of practice on which the majority of astrologers and their students agree, both in America and Europe. Its essence is the use of a horoscope made for the precise place, the exact minute and hour as well as the day, month and year of birth for the particular individual.
It uses the methods of calculation and interpretation that have their roots in Claudius Ptolemy (an Egyptian astrologer of Greek descent who wrote in the 2nd century A.D. and created the geocentric system that is the foundation of our art), Didacus Placidus de Titus (the father of the Placidian House System 1647-1657), William Lilly (1602-1681), and Lilly’s pupil, John Gadbury (d. 1691).
While there is no adequate history of astrology for the most part, its true record is the biographies and writings of its distinguished devotees.
The most serviceable historical sketch is an informative article on “Astrology” by Charles Singer of London in the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, Volume II, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, 1931.
We are very happy to provide the aforementioned entry for general interest. Click on the image below to read the two pages in Flickr in a larger and more readable format.
Footnotes:
Footnotes:
- 1The Sabian Assembly, under Marc Jones, required astrological training but did not give out a “certification” per se, unless you want to count graduation to the next level within the Assembly. With his demise in 1980, that was discarded.
- 2Both NGCR and AFA make you buy supplemental text to pass the coursework i.e. for the AFA it is of course the late James Herschel Holden’s HISTORY OF HOROSCOPIC ASTROLOGY: From the Babylonian Period to the Modern Age, 2nd edition that is still reasonably priced at $25.00 on Amazon; the AFA wants $30.00.
Footnotes:
- 1The Sabian Assembly, under Marc Jones, required astrological training but did not give out a “certification” per se, unless you want to count graduation to the next level within the Assembly. With his demise in 1980, that was discarded.
- 2Both NGCR and AFA make you buy supplemental text to pass the coursework i.e. for the AFA it is of course the late James Herschel Holden’s HISTORY OF HOROSCOPIC ASTROLOGY: From the Babylonian Period to the Modern Age, 2nd edition that is still reasonably priced at $25.00 on Amazon; the AFA wants $30.00.
