The Astrology Podcast Chris Brennan

Episode 403 features a look ahead at the astrological forecast for June of 2023, with astrologers Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, and Kirah Tabourn.

This month Venus ingresses into Leo and begins the pre-retrograde shadow period, Pluto retrogrades back into Capricorn, and Saturn stations in Pisces while Jupiter sextiles from Taurus.

Our lunations this month are a Full Moon in Sagittarius, and a New Moon in Gemini.

At the top of the episode we talk about some recent news and events, such as recent concerns over the safety of AI that were raised when Pluto stationed in Aquarius, as well as King Charles III being coronated under a Scorpio lunar eclipse.

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

Archetypal Explorer

https://www.archetypalexplorer.com

The Astrologers’ Websites

https://www.chrisbrennanastrologer.com

https://austincoppock.com

https://www.kirah.world

Auspicious Election for April

The most auspicious astrological date this month is June 18 2023 at 11:56 AM, with Virgo rising.

For other auspicious dates this month our elections podcast:

https://theastrologypodcast.com/elections/

Our year ahead electional report is now on sale for 50% off:

https://theastrologypodcast.com/2023report/

Patreon for Early Access + Bonus Content

https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast

Timestamps



* 00:00:00 June astrology overview

* 00:02:18 Welcoming Kirah and Austin

* 00:08:42 Pluto station and AI safety concerns

* 00:18:45 400 episode milestone

* 00:19:42 Writer’s strike

* 00:21:30 Aquarius, AI, and aliens

* 00:32:00 King Charles coronation eclipse

* 00:39:20 Ancient eclipse reports

* 00:45:35 Mercury retrograde stories

* 00:51:00 Firmicus Maternus

* 00:52:55 Ellen Black

* 00:55:50 Archetypal Explorer

* 00:59:10 June forecast begins

* 01:03:55 Venus retrograde shadow begins

* 01:33:40 Full Moon in Sagittarius June 3

* 01:46:15 Pluto returns to Capricorn June 11

* 01:47:45 Mercury in Gemini June 11 to 26

* 01:55:35 Jupiter sextile Saturn June 19

* 02:02:38 Auspicious date June 18

* 02:07:00 New Moon in Gemini June 17

* 02:18:55 Mars square Uranus June 25

* 02:25:55 Mercury cazimi June 30

* 02:33:00 Kirah’s projects

* 02:34:00 Austin’s projects

* 02:36:21 Chris’s projects

* 02:38:00 Patrons, sponsors, credits



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In episode 402 Demetra George joins the podcast to talk about the recent discovery of the earliest named astrologer from the Hellenistic tradition who was a woman, Heliodora, and the early history of women practitioners of astrology.

Heliodora was an astrologer who lived in the city of Terenuthis in Egypt around the 2nd or 3rd century CE.

Her tombstone was recently discovered by archeologists, who published a paper in 2021 which noted that she is the earliest known woman in the Greco-Roman tradition that is known by name to have been a practicing astrologer.

During the course of the episode we talk about what is known about Heliodora and the location and time period in which she lived, and we also discuss other historical women that may have had some connection with astrology and astronomy.

For more information about Demetra see her website:

DemetraGeorge.com

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

BibliographyRoger S. Bagnall, Cathy L. Callaway, and Alexander Jones,  “The Funerary Stele of Heliodora, Astrologer,” Muse: Annual of the Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri, 53/54, 2019-2020 (published 2021), pp. 28–45. [Link to PDF]

Nadia Anderson, Drawing Down the Moon & Aglaonice of Thessaly [Link to PDF]

Earlier Episodes

Previous episodes of The Astrology Podcast mentioned in this episode:



* Episode 86: Saturn as Feminine, and the Earliest Female Astrologer

* Episode 137: Elsbeth Ebertin and the Rise of Women in Astrology

* Episode 295: Queen Buran, Astrologer in 9th Century Baghdad

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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 402 transcript

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In episode 401 Dr. Benjamin Dykes joins the podcast to talk about his new translation of the astrological work of the 4th century astrologer Firmicus Maternus.

Firmicus was a lawyer and astrologer from the 4th century who wrote one of the longest surviving texts on astrology that has survived from antiquity, which is titled Mathesis.

Firmicus’ work is unique because it was written in Latin, and it preserves a lot of material from earlier Greek sources that did not survive into modern times, such as the works of Asclepius or Nechepso and Petosiris.

The text also contains huge amounts of delineation material, where Firmicus explains how to interpret different placements in a person’s birth chart.

During the course of the interview we discuss Firmicus’ life and work, Ben’s motivation for translating this book, and some of the interesting features of the Mathesis.

You can get a copy of Ben’s new translation of Firmicus here:

Firmicus Maternus Mathesis

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

Timestamps



* 00:00:00 A new translation of the Mathesis

* 00:09:52 The life and dating of Firmicus Maternus

* 00:19:50 Firmicus’ philosophy and religious views

* 00:30:40 Later conversion to Christianity

* 00:37:00 Mathesis as the first comprehensive astrological text in Latin

* 00:57:00 Mitigating conditions

* 01:10:00 Firmicus views on fate

* 01:31:28 The Thema Mundi

* 01:38:33 Firmicus using whole sign and equal houses together

* 01:49:29 Firmicus’ emphasis on the Moon

* 01:55:47 Apotelesmata and chart synthesis

* 01:59:35 Lots as houses/places

* 02:08:08 Fixed stars

* 02:13:32 Popularity of Firmicus in later tradition

* 02:17:53 Ben’s upcoming projects

* 02:19:14 Patrons and sponsors



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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 401 transcript

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In episode 400 astrologers Chris Brennan and Nick Dagan Best talk about the emergence of artificial general intelligence through the lens of astrology, and discuss if and when it may occur.

Usually when I reach major milestones every 100 episodes I’ll do a retrospective looking back, but this time I wanted to look forward into the future and see if we could predict where some of the trends are headed with artificial intelligence over the next couple of decades.

We focus in particular on the question of if researchers will be successful in developing what is called artificial general intelligence, which is like sentient human level intelligence in a machine, and if so when.

I’ve been meaning to do an episode on some of the new trends in AI ever since things started accelerating in December with the release of ChatGPT, and because of that I wanted to document some of the recent developments that have happened since then towards the beginning of this episode, and how they have overlapped with things like Pluto’s ingress into Aquarius in March.

After that we get into talking about some of the broader philosophical issues that are being discussed surrounding AI in the world today, like AI alignment, and the implications of creating a new sentience species on Earth.

Eventually later in the episode we look ahead at some major transits in the future over the next 20 years while Pluto is transiting through Aquarius, and try to anticipate when some of the most important turning points in this technology will take place.

This episode builds on a previous episode I did with Kent Bye in December 2021 titled Artificial Intelligence and Astrology.

You can find out more about Nick Dagan Best on his website at:

https://www.nickdaganbestastrologer.com

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 400 transcript

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In episode 399 astrologers we look ahead at the astrological forecast for May of 2023, with astrologers Chris Brennan, Austin Coppock, and Claire Moon.

May opens with a solar eclipse in Scorpio, as well as the second half of a Mercury retrograde in Taurus.

Later in the month Mars moves into Leo and then forms a T-square with Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Aquarius.

At the top of the episode we talk about some recent news and events, such as the discovery of a lost text by the 2nd century astrologer Claudius Ptolemy, or the identification of the earliest woman who is known by name to have been a practicing astrologer.

This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

Northwest Astrological Conference

https://norwac.net

The Behenian Fixed Stars Cards

https://www.medievalastrologyguide.com/starcards

The Astrologers’ Websites

https://www.chrisbrennanastrologer.com

https://austincoppock.com

https://www.aligninglightastrology.com

Timestamps



00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:52 Quick overview of May astrology

00:02:38 Welcoming Claire and Austin

00:04:14 New Ptolemy text rediscovered

00:07:28 Heliodora, earliest named woman astrologer

00:12:54 Fear of AI and calls for regulation

00:29:22 AI image generators and Saturn in Pisces

00:41:10 Jupiter-Saturn shift to air

00:49:52 Recent eclipse stories

00:56:41 Northwest Astrological Conference

00:59:50 Behenian Fixed Stars Oracle and Guide

01:04:15 Egyptian origins of astrological glyphs

01:12:48 May astrology forecast begins

01:13:48 Mercury retrograde and Pluto station

01:22:00 Lunar eclipse in Scorpio

01:32:20 Jupiter morning star in Aries

01:37:08 Venus square Neptune

01:43:12 Venus into Cancer

01:49:25 Mercury direct and Jupiter in Taurus

01:59:00 Mars-Jupiter-Pluto T-square

02:15:20 Sun square Saturn

02:20:48 Auspicious election on May 30

02:24:19 Archetypal explorer transits

02:27:05 Claire’s work

02:28:25 Austin’s upcoming work

02:30:28 Chris’ work and conclusion

02:31:12 Patrons, sponsors, and end cards



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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 399 transcript

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In episode 398 professor Ian Moyer joins the show to talk about the history and practice of astrology in ancient Egypt, and discuss some of the notable Egyptian contributions to the astrological tradition.

Ian is the author of the book Egypt and the Limits of Hellenism, which explores the ancient history and modern historiography of cultural and intellectual encounters between ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

At the beginning of the episode we talk about the early Egyptian use of the 36 fixed star decans for calendrical and timekeeping purposes, and how these eventually came to be used for the purposes of astrology.

Other topics covered in this episode include:



* The Naos of the Decades

* The rising decan as a precursor to the Ascendant

* Zodiacs in the temples of Dendera and Esna

* The use of astrology by Egyptian priests

* Demotic horoscopes

* Astrological glyphs derived from Egyptian

* Coffin lids with zodiacs



This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.

Timestamps



* 00:00:00 Introduction

* 00:09:42 The Egyptian language

* 00:18:42 The decans

* 00:35:10 The Naos of the Decades

* 01:06:25 Decans as precursor for the Ascendant

* 01:15:10 Egyptian hour priests

* 01:40:27 Academic sources for Egyptian astrology

* 01:45:27 What constitutes astrology in Egypt?

* 01:58:35 Cosmic harmony

* 02:03:25 Shai, Egyptian God of Fate

* 02:11:45 Mesopotamian astrology transmitted to Egypt

* 02:23:25 Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic Egypt

* 02:32:25 Zodiac of Dendera and Esna

* 02:56:20 The Thema Mundi

* 03:14:33 Coffin lids with zodiacs

* 03:29:05 Heliodora: Earliest known woman astrologer

* 03:33:24 Demotic horoscopes

* 04:00:55 Astrological glyphs derived from Egyptian

* 04:09:15 Reassessing the Egyptian contribution

* 04:23:50 The Hermetic tradition and origins of Hellenistic astrology

* 04:55:45 Determinism and magic

* 05:02:05 The lasting influence of Egypt on the astrological tradition

* 05:18:58 Credits and sponsors



Partial Bibliography

Anne-Sophie von Bomhard. The Naos of the Decades: From the Observation of the Sky to Mythology and Astrology. Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, UK, 2008.

Andreas Winkler. “Stellar Scientists: The Egyptian Temple Astrologers”. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History; 8 (1–2), 2021: pp. 91–145.

Andreas Winkler. “The First Zodiac Sign and the Daimon: The Advent of an Astrological Tradition and Seven Elaborate Horoscopes.” Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur, 51, 2022, pp. 267–323.

Andreas Winkler. “On the Demotic-Hieratic Horoscopes from Athribis.” Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 53 (3), 2022, pp. 328 –337.

Marina Escolano-Poveda. “Astrologica Athribitana: Four Demotic-Hieratic Horoscopes from Athribis (O. Athribis 17-36-5/1741 and ANAsh.Mus.D.O.633 Reedited).” Journal for the History of Astronomy 53, no. 1 (2022): 49–87.

Joachim Quack, “Egypt as an astronomical-astrological centre between Mesopotamia, Greece, and India,” in The Interactions of Ancient Astral Science, ed. David Brown, Bremen, 2018, pp. 69-123.

Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum. The Daimon in Hellenistic Astrology: Origins and Influence. Brill, Netherlands, 2015.

Otto Neugebauer and Richard Anthony Parker. Egyptian Astronomical Texts. 4 vols., Brown University Press, 1960.

Kim Ryholt, “New Light on the Legendary King Nechepsos of Egypt,” The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97(1), 2011, pp.61-72.

Stephan Heilen, “Some metrical fragments from Nechepsos and Petosiris,” in La poésie astrologique dans l’Antiquité, Paris, 2011, pp. 23-93.

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