Hellenistic Astrology:
An Overview
The Challenges of Translating and Interpreting Hellenistic Astrological Writings
The Relation of Hellenistic to Indian Astrology
Types of Hellenistic Astrology
Astronomical Issues in Hellenistic Astrological Practice
In preparation:
• The Subtlety of Valens' Understanding of the Workings of Fate
• The Concrete Meanings of Angularity, Cadency, and Succedency
• Individualization of the Nativity: Topical Placement, Sect Status, and Horizonal Visibility
• The Exact Hellenistic Meanings of Orientality and Occidentality
The articles published in this section are intended to present the results of our ongoing research and address issues of interest arising from that research. We will discuss certain central concepts and practices that are still employed in modern astrology but were understood differently in the original Hellenistic system. We will also argue for the importance of those that are currently missing in modern astrology. Several articles will single out certain important errors in the transmission of Hellenistic doctrine. This is also the place to begin the process of analyzing key passages to bring out the theoretical foundations underlying and motivating Hellenistic practice.
The reviews published in this section will critique some of the earlier and contemporary studies of Hellenistic astrology insofar as they overlap or intersect our own areas of focus. Although there is a fairly extensive modern literature on ancient astrology, much of this is confined to discussing astrology as a cultural phenomenon or treating of the cultural context in which it was practiced, although occasionally these treatments venture into the subject of astrological practice. A fair amount of attention has also been devoted to understanding the astronomical methods employed by the Hellenistic astrologers, particularly insofar as these were Babylonian in origin.
However, very little of this scholarship is directed at gaining an exact understanding of ancient astrological practice, although the editors of the modern critical editions of the Hellenistic texts took some preliminary steps in this direction. When modern researchers need to understand something of the nuts and bolts of astrological practice, they tend to rely on Bouché-Leclercq's L'Astrologie Grecque, which apart from its sarcastic tone, is not based on the most representative Hellenistic astrologers. Others consult Neugebauer and Van Hoesen's Greek Horoscopes, which is based on the numerous surviving horoscopes of the period, but is in fact more interested in the astronomical methods employed in casting the horoscopes than the astrological details. Both of these works contain numerous errors.