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Alan Leo & the revival of modern astrology



Alan Leo (born William Allan), lived from 1860 to 1917. He was an outstanding astrologer, but much more than that, he was an organizer and proselytizer for the art. He took the many existing pieces (those of Raphael, Zadkiel, A.J. Pierce, W.J. Simmonite, etc.) and brought them into a coherent mass. To him, and him alone, we owe the revival of astrology in the 20th century. He founded two magazines, The Astrologer's Magazine, (1890-94), as well as the celebrated Modern Astrology. He wrote numerous books & printed those of his friends, among them Sepharial, H.S. Green, Charubel, and many others.

He was a Theosophist, as were almost all the leading intellectuals of his time (we'd be delighted if more of you read Blavatsky) and founded the Astrological Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Leo was famous in his day & twice attracted the attention of the authorities. He was accused and acquitted of fortune-telling in 1914. He was again accused in 1917, losing in July of that year. He was fined some 25 Pound Sterling (about $2500 in current money). Weeks later he was dead from a stroke. Some think the strain of the second legal case brought on his death. The young Charles Carter was his successor.

The impact of his court cases was to be far-reaching. Advised by counsel that predicting vague generalities would spare him further legal harassment, in the last years of his life he turned from "event oriented astrology" to character description & psychological tendencies which unfortunately led to the astro-psychology rubbish of the present day.

(These notes prepared from James Herschel Holden's A History of Horoscopic Astrology, AFA, 1996, and, Geoffrey Cornelius's The Moment of Astrology.)
THE PROGRESSED HOROSCOPE: Alan Leo's book on forecasting: Progressions, returns, transits & primary directions - Alan Leo, $29.95
 Contents: Preface; Introduction; Horoscope of the author

Part 1: The Progressed Horoscope:
1. Heredity, environment, character
2. Character is destiny
3. Why directions sometimes fail
4. Fate & freewill
5. The author's system
6. The progression of the horoscope
7. How to calculate the progressed horoscope
8. How to calculate directions
9. The progressed horoscopes of Queen Mary & Mrs. Annie Besant
10. Considerations to be borne in mind when reading directions
11. Subdivisions of signs

Part 2: The Effects of Directions:
12. The progressed ascendant
13. Solar aspects
14. Mutual aspects
15. Lunar position & aspects
16. Directions to the midheaven & ascendant
Concluding note to Part 2

Part 3: Solar Revolutions & Transits:
17. Solar revolutions or birthday maps
18. Transits over Sun, Moon & planets
19. Transits through houses

Part 4: Primary Directions:
Example horoscope: Mrs. Annie Besant
Preliminary note to primary directions
Speculum for Mrs. Besant's horoscope
20. Trigonometrical formulae & tables
21. The speculum
22. Mundane directions to angles
23. Solar & lunar mundane directions
24. Mundane parallels & rapt parallels
25. Zodiacal directions to angles
26. Zodiacal directions between Sun, Moon & planets, without latitude
27. Zodiacal directions between Sun, Moon & planets, with latitude
28. On equating arcs of direction. Measures of time

Appendices:
1. The progressed horoscope in detail
2. The relation between primary & secondary directions: a suggestion
3. How to calculate the actual day on which a given aspect falls due
4. A simple way of calculating primary directions to angles
5. The unity of all systems of directing

Index

Comment: First published in 1905, this is a comprehensive book on progressions, with solar returns, transits & primaries thrown in for good measure. As was typical of many of his day, Leo writes to exhort us to our better natures. He does not merely describe what may happen to us, rather, in many of the delineations, he encourages us to do better under trying circumstances.

Progressed delineations include parallels, conjunctions, semi-sextiles, semi-squares, sextiles, squares, trines, sesquiquadrates, inconjuncts & oppositions. Leo derived these obscure aspects from a decade of intense chart reading. He includes progressed Sun & Moon to natal planets, as well as progressed Mercury, Venus & Mars to natal planets, which include Neptune. For aspects of the progressed Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Neptune, Leo observes these move so slowly they cannot form aspects that were not already within orbs at birth. Leo also delineates the ascendant, as it changes signs (and triplicities in the signs), the directed ascendant & midheaven aspecting natal planets, and the progressed Moon through the houses, as well as through the signs.

For non-British readers, Queen Mary was the consort of King George V. She lived from 1867 to 1953. Annie Besant (1847-1933) was, at the time Leo wrote this book, the leading Theosophist. She went on to become an early leader for Indian independence, for which she is still remembered in India.

I have long thought this to be the best of Leo's major books. Of them, Charles Carter once said, They were not well put together but one could find a very great deal of information in them if one knew where to look. So, look carefully!

Click for an excerpt.

Astrology Classics, 353 pages.



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207 Victory Lane, Bel Air, MD 21014
Tel: 410-638-7761; Toll-free (orders only): 800-475-2272

 Home Author Index Title Index Subject Index Vedic Books Tarot E-Mail: Dave


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