Alan Leo, born William Frederick Allan, (

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, 7 August 1860 –

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Corn ...

, 30 August 1917) was an English astrologer, author, publisher, astrological data collector and

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

. He is often referred to as "the father of modern

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

". His work stimulated a revival of astrology in the Western world after its decline at the end of the 17th century. Leo was a devout theosophist and he worked many of its religious concepts such as

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

into his astrology. He used the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

's vast international connections to publish, translate and disseminate his work across Europe and America.

Astrological technique and influence

Leo, who took the name of his sun-sign as a pseudonym, is credited with starting the movement towards a more psychologically-oriented horoscope analysis in astrology, being the first astrologer to argue for a loose interpretation of possible trends of experience rather than the specific prediction of events. His influence has been described as marking a 'turning point' in horoscope delineation, because, as astrological historian James Holden explains: In 1890, Leo invited George R.S. Mead to found an occult lodge in Brixton, South London. Towards the end of his life, in 1909, and again in 1911, Leo travelled with his wife Bessie Leo to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where he studied

Indian astrology Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is one ...

. As a result of his studies in India, he later attempted to incorporate portions of

into the western astrological model. Leo's book ''The Art of Synthesis'' (1912) was a probable influence on

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

's work ''The Planets''. In this book, Leo gave the planets descriptions such as "Mars the Energiser". In 1915 Leo founded the Astrological Lodge of London.Hone, M., ''The Modern Text-Book of Astrology; revised ed.'', p.295. (London: Random House, 2004) .

Legal controversies and death

In 1914, aged 54, Leo faced prosecution against the charge that he "did unlawfully pretend to tell fortunes" through astrology. The case was dismissed for lack of evidence, but it led to Leo's belief that astrology needed to be revised to be legitimised.Deborah Houlding, 'Prediction, Providence and Power of the Self', ''Traditional Astrologer Magazine'', vol. 17, September 1998; online a
Skyscript
(retrieved 11 July 2012) His advice to fellow astrologers was: In 1917 Leo stood trial again on a similar charge. Despite his insistence that he told only "tendencies" and not "fortunes", he lost his case and was fined £5 plus costs. Leo was convicted of fortune-telling on 16 July 1917. He died a few weeks later from an

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

( cerebral haemorrhage), at 10:00 am on 30 August 1917, whilst on a holiday at

in Cornwall, which was intended to restore his health after the ordeals of the trial. He had used the 'holiday' as a period in which he rewrote hundreds of pages of astrological text to "recast the whole system and make it run more along the lines of character reading and less as the assertion of an inevitable destiny", despite being warned by his wife that "he needed rest badly after the worry and anxiety of the law case", and was overworking himself and heading for a breakdown. After his sudden death the rewriting of his work was completed by his friend and colleague H.S. Greene. Greene also remarked on how the 1917 prosecution had caused worry for Leo during the process of the trial.

Works

*
The Astrologer's Magazine
', edited by Alan Leo
Vol. IV (1894)Vol. V
series 1895–. *
How to Judge a Nativity
'. 2 vols. 1904. Reprint, London: Modern Astrology Office, 1928. *
Astrology for All
' series 1903–. *
The Progressed Horoscope
'. London: Fowler 1906. *
Horary Astrology
'. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1909. *
The Key to your own Nativity
'. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1910. *
The Art of Synthesis
'. Originally published 1912 as "How to Judge a Nativity" in the ''Astrology for All'' series. London: Fowler 1968. *
Casting the Horoscope
'. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1912. *
Esoteric Astrology
', first published 1913. Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, 1989. *
Alan Leo's Dictionary of Astrology
', edited and completed by Vivian E. Robson. London 1929. *
Thousand and One Notable Nativities: Astrologer's Who's Who
'. Publisher: L.N. Fowler & Co; 2nd edition (1917),

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leo, Alan 1860 births 1917 deaths 19th-century astrologers 20th-century astrologers Astrological data collectors English astrologers English astrological writers English male writers English Theosophists