Heliocentric astrology is a method of

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, 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 o ...

based on birth charts cast using the

heliocentric model Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...

of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

, with the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

at the center.

Description

Most forms of astrology are

geocentric In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...

. The geocentric

horoscope A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...

is drawn with the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

at the center, and the

planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...

are placed around the cartwheel in the positions that they would appear in the sky as seen by a person who is looking at them from the center of the Earth. The

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

word "

helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

" means the Sun. Heliocentric astrology draws birth charts with the Sun at the center, and the planets are placed around the cartwheel in the positions that they would appear if someone looked at them from the center of the Sun. Geocentric astrology relies heavily on the

ascendant The ascendant (Asc, Asc or As) is the astrological sign on the eastern horizon when the person was born. According to certain astrological theories, celestial phenomena reflect or influence human activity on the principle of "as above, so belo ...

midheaven A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an ast ...

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, planetary aspects (

astrological aspects In astrology, an aspect is an angle that planets make to each other in the Horoscope; as well as to the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant, Lower Midheaven, and other points of astrological interest. As viewed from Earth, aspects are measured b ...

) and placements of birth planets in the houses and signs. But heliocentric astrology does not have houses (due to not having a location on the surface of the sun to compute houses for), the ascendant or midheaven, and there are no

lunar node A lunar node is either of the two orbital nodes of the Moon, that is, the two points at which the orbit of the Moon intersects the ecliptic. The ''ascending'' (or ''north'') node is where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic hemisphere, w ...

s or

retrograde motion Retrograde motion in astronomy is, in general, orbital or rotational motion of an object in the direction opposite the rotation of its primary, that is, the central object (right figure). It may also describe other motions such as precession or ...

in heliocentric birth charts. Instead, heliocentric astrology depends primarily on planetary aspects and configurations for interpretation. For this reason, no astrologer uses heliocentric astrology to the exclusion of geocentric astrology. But supporters of heliocentric astrology believe that it can reveal much that geocentric astrology cannot and therefore recommend that all astrologers add heliocentric astrology chart analysis as a supplement to geocentric astrology.

History

The first astrologer to consider applying the new heliocentric model of

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

(1473–1543) was

Andreas Aurifaber Andreas Aurifaber (born Goldschmidt, 1514 – 12 December 1559) was a German physician of some repute, but through his influence with Albert of Brandenburg, last grand-master of the Teutonic Knights, and first Protestant duke of Prussia, became ...

(1514–1559). In the early 1650s, under

the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Com ...

Joshua Childrey Joshua Childrey (1623–1670) was an English churchman and academic, antiquary and astrologer, the archdeacon of Salisbury from 1664. He was a "country virtuoso" (in the sense used at the time, implying intellectual distinction), and an avowed Bac ...

(1623–1670) was working with

Thomas Streete Thomas Street (also spelled Streete) (1621–1689) was an English astronomer, known for his writings on celestial motions. He has sometimes been confused with Thomas Street the judge, who lived from 1626 to 1696. The crater Street on the Moon is ...

on astrological tables. He published two short astrological works: *''Indago Astrologica, or a brief and modest Enquiry into some principal points of Astrology'', 1652, and *''Syzygiasticon instauratum; or an ephemeris of the places and aspects of the planets as they respect the ⊙ as Center of their Orbes. Calculated for 1653'' (1653). In the ''Indago Astrologica'' Childrey, though in other ways a convinced Baconian, argued that Bacon's

geocentric model In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, an ...

of the cosmos was incorrect. Subsequently he was associated with a group who wished to reform astrology along lines (the

and the

Baconian method The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Sir Francis Bacon, one of the founders of modern science, and thus a first formulation of a modern scientific method. The method was put forward in Bacon's book ''Novum Organum'' (1620), ...

) that would make it compatible with contemporary

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...

Vincent Wing Vincent Wing (1619–1668) was an English astrologer and astronomer, professionally a land surveyor. Life and publications Vincent Wing was born at North Luffenham, Rutland on 9 April 1619. The eldest of four sons of Vincent Wing (1587–1660) ...

's ''Harmonicon coeleste'' (1651) was a related initiative. Others involved were

John Gadbury John Gadbury (1627–1704) was an English astrologer, and a prolific writer of almanacs and on other related topics. Initially a follower or disciple, and a defender in the 1650s, of William Lilly, he eventually turned against Lilly and denounced ...

and

John Goad John Goad (1616-1689) was head-master of Merchant Taylors' School in London. Life Goad was the son of John Goad of Bishopsgate Street, London, and was born in St. Helen's parish there on 15 February 1616. After a preliminary training in Merchant ...

. There were supporters of this direction from within the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, including

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

and John Beale. In 1899, a book dedicated to the heliocentric form of astrology, ''Heliocentric Astrology: Or, Essentials of Astronomy and Solar Mentality'' by Holmes Whittier Merton, was published. A recent reprint is available.

References

Citations

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Online Books by Holmes Whittier Merton
at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Online Books Page. {{Astrology-footer Astrology