Astrological Methods Archive - Dr. Christof Niederwieser

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The Group Horoscope – Introduction

1. April 2023/by Dr. Christof Niederwieser

First published in “The Mountain Astrologer”, December 2017
German version originally published by ASTROLOGIE HEUTE magazine No. 180, April 2016

For many centuries, individual horoscopes have been central to astrology. As a rule, particular points in time are analyzed, whether concerning human beings, states, organizations, or mundane constellations. Currently, however, only two horoscopes can be conveniently related to each other. Groups of three or more individuals quickly become difficult to master when conventional tools are used, and such groups therefore elude a systematic analysis.

What is essential for a systematic approach, however, is the synthesis of relations within a group. Whether a family, a circle of friends, the department of a company, a party executive committee, a government, the G8 Summit, a football team, or a rock band, a group is always more than the sum of its individuals or of the relations between any two members within it. To this end, I have developed a new astrological method that allows a synoptic view of up to 20 horoscopes: the Group Horoscope or Niederwieser Relationship Chart.

In this article, I present the basics of this innovative technique. I also demonstrate its practical application, using an example from my daily work as an astrological business consultant: This case concerned the research and development department of a medium-sized company, which had lost its talent for innovation. Finally, the article introduces a wide range of further applications of the Group Horoscope.

Previous Tools of Group Analysis

Suppose a client tells you the following: “Something’s wrong in our research department. We have capable engineers and technicians who all work assiduously and are dedicated to their project plans, but at the end of the financial year we lack innovative product developments. Can you help us?”

Once you are given the birth dates of the employees in this department, the madness begins: Astrology provides excellent tools for decoding the individual character, the strengths and weaknesses of a person or an organization; likewise, the relations between two horoscopes, including their evolution over time (transits, progressions, directions, etc.), can be analyzed by having recourse to the traditional tools. However, decoding the essence and dynamics of groups astrologically is a much more difficult process. Dealing with three or more persons becomes extremely laborious.

For situations such as these, astrologers have elaborated various approaches. Sometimes the network of relations is reduced to the sum of relations between two members: You can relate the head of the department to every single employee, or you can analyze problematic relations between any two co-workers who don’t get along. But what is inherently wrong with the department will not be fathomed.

Other astrologers may spend hours delving into all the individual horoscopes, juxtaposed in front of them on a huge desk or on a wall. With this kind of approach, you can reach your aim instinctively, but you run the risk of neglecting important correlations, while spending far too much time on the matter.

Then there are the long established tools of partner analysis: On the one hand, the Composite Chart uses the half-sums (or midpoints) of the single horoscope factors of each partner to create a new horoscope. On the other hand, the Davison Relationship Chart calculates the arithmetical mean of the time of birth and the coordinates of the place of birth of two horoscopes. Both methods also have their group variants, the Multi-Composite Chart and the Multi-Davison Relationship Chart. That way, as many persons as necessary can be added at will, a conventional chart being produced at the end of the process. While these horoscopes clearly show the essence of the group as an entity, individual horoscopes totally disappear from the chart. It is impossible to initiate changes through organizational development or systemic therapy (a special form of psychotherapy that focuses on the social environment of the client).

Finally, astrology software often offers multi-synastry, an extension of synastry. This type of graphic representation is perfectly suitable for two or, at best, three horoscopes. Although more than three are possible, they quickly become confusing, thus making them unsuitable for a clear synthesis.

Example: Group Horoscope of an R&D Department

The Niederwieser Relationship Chart

Several years ago, I developed a new chart that is suitable for groups of up to 20 members: The horoscopes of all participants are inscribed in the same zodiac, and each individual is assigned one specific colour so that they can be distinguished from one another. When ten or more persons are involved, the colours are supplemented by geometric figures in which the planets are inscribed (e.g., planets within circles, triangles, squares, etc.), making it possible to distinguish them easily at first glance.

I recommend placing 0° Aries on the left as a fixed point. Alternatively, adherents of Uranian astrology can still use 0° Libra, of course. If I want to highlight the relation of a particular person to the rest of the group, I will use the conventional view and place that person’s Ascendant on the left, with the remaining horoscopes built around it.

To facilitate the navigation in Group Horoscopes, I recommend using a coherent colour scheme. I, for one, always use the colour black for the focal person (the client, the head of a department, etc.). The colours of the remaining members of the group can be assigned according to the element of their Sun sign (or of their Ascendant or Midheaven): red hues for fire signs, blues for water signs, greens or browns for earth signs, and yellows or greys for air signs. This colour scheme is shown in the Group Horoscope for the above-mentioned research department. It is also possible to use warm hues for women, cool ones for men, or to adjust the colour lightness according to the age of the person concerned (e.g., darker tones with increasing age).

Suitable colouring frequently depends on the group structure. If a group consists of a large number of people belonging to the same age group or the same sex, or having the same dominant astrological element, the latter examples will obviously not be appropriate for the colour scheme. If the group features various sub-groups — for instance, a focus on certain products (product segment A, B, C) or functions (engineering, research laboratory, prototype-building, design, patents, etc.), as in the case of the above research department — this may be the most adequate criterion. There are no limits to the variants. You need only to make sure that your colour choice reflects your intuition, that it enables you to navigate quickly and reliably across the Group Horoscope.

Generational Imprint

In the basic chart form, all factors are inscribed in the inner circle. In order to improve the visibility of the generational imprint, I place Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto in the outer circle. That way, the generational task of the group members (how the group is connected to the zeitgeist) is made evident. The inner circle thus features the personal dispositions: Ascendant and MC (when known), Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and North Node — while the outer circle shows the cultural lens: how the group is embedded in trends and generations (the trans-Saturnian planets). If necessary, I also add the relevant minor planets, such as Eris for matters of competition, Nessus in cases of harrassment at work or Makemake in creative groups.

A separate collective graph can also present an additional advantage, because for several decades there has been an overbalance on the right half of the zodiac. For the age group professionally active today (birth years c. 1950–1995), Pluto is positioned between Leo and Scorpio, Neptune between Libra and Capricorn, and Uranus between Cancer and Capricorn. If all factors were inscribed in the inner circle, it would give the impression that these signs are overrepresented. A separate collective diagram has the useful side effect that the chart becomes clearer and more comprehensible.

Generationenprägung der aktuell berufstätigen Jahrgänge

Generational Imprint of the current Working Cohorts

The Focal Person in the Group Horoscope

In groups, there is very often a central person whom others gather around. Most of the time, this is the founder or head of the group. In the above-referenced chart, we can see the department of research and development of a medium-sized company. As is often the case with astrological business consulting, only the person’s day of birth is available, and thus we do not know the person’s chart angles. The head of the department is mapped out in black. The Sun, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn in Capricorn attest that he is a very capable administrator, a diligent, extremely reliable boss committed to the values of the company and devoted to its management. The dominance of Capricorn makes him an ideal representative of his department, with an acute sense of each employee’s roles and responsibilities. He treats his co-workers with respect and upholds fairness in the workplace. The Moon and the North Node in Leo attest to his open heart for the people in his department. He grants them a lot of freedom, fights for high salaries and bonuses, and keeps inconveniences from them. “My staff members should be able to concentrate on their projects and must not be disturbed while they work!”

The head of a department often plays a central role in the recruiting process; many of them choose candidates through the lens of their own horoscope, selecting somebody with whom they have affinities and to whom they are sympathetic, rather than somebody who would meet the best requirements for the job. I have often noticed that particularly long-time heads of departments build their co-workers around their own horoscope, as an extension of their own personality, so to speak. In this Group Horoscope, notice the striking fact that substantial clusters are formed around the department head’s Venus and Moon; many employees’ planets snuggle up to them.

A Research Department without Innovation

The central task of an R & D department is to develop innovations. The company’s products should constantly be adapted to the needs of the customers, according to cutting-edge technologies. Ideally, the department functions as a pioneer and invents new technological solutions never before imagined.

This central task is represented by what I call “the innovation zone of the zodiac” — the signs of Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries. The creative potential of the undiscovered, from which new ideas timidly sprout like tender saplings, is located in Pisces. If new paths are to be tried, someone has to venture into these mists and seas of the unknown. Following the path of causality (in the sequence of the zodiac), Aries propels this novelty into appearance and storms out into the world. He is a pioneer pushing the idea forward by playfully exploring and testing, approaching the possibilities of implementation through trial and error. As the driving force of innovation, he brings new impulses into the group and starts new projects at its vanguard — often in a chaotic zigzag.

Following the path of finality (in the zodiac’s opposite direction), Aquarius flies through the world of these innovations like a bird, making sightings of the current inventions, trends, and ideas circulating in the scientific community. He is always on the lookout for the extraordinary, for constructive new ideas he can use for the improvement of his own developments. In astrology, inventive talent is often denoted by Aquarius or its ruler, Uranus. This is but half the truth: He is only the messenger collecting the innovations born in Pisces and using them for building his inventions.

A research department should therefore have an emphasis on Aquarius, Pisces, and Aries in order to have the capacity to develop true innovations. In the Group Horoscope, this sector is practically empty. It is instantly noticeable that this R & D department will hardly be able to invent successful, innovative products.

Through his Jupiter in Aquarius, the head of the department may have a marked interest in the newest discoveries of the science world, and would be willing to spend more time with research. But he is burdened with organizational obligations to such a degree that this Jupiter is practically paralyzed. Aside from that, the other Capricorn worker (in green) occupies the innovation zone with the Moon in Pisces and Mars in Aries. Because of this person’s lower educational level, he never made it further than technical draughtsman, spending his time perfecting existing sketches and draughts. He lives out his urge for experimentation in his private workshop.

The remaining team members keep to trodden paths. Their product innovations are mostly new combinations of established products in new colours, new materials, and new packaging. The enormous concentration of the department’s planets in Leo is particularly striking. This is even mirrored in its premises. The company’s other offices are cramped; however, thanks to “historical coincidences,” the research and development department is housed in a very big office with lots of space, where every employee has been able to build his own comfort zone. While hectic nervousness is king in the other departments, here people walk through the corridors at a dignified pace. There is a dictum in the company, in accordance with the Leo cluster: “In our company, R & D does not stand for research and development, but for recreation and downtime.” Although this dominance of Leo can be an excellent constellation for a marketing department, its contribution to the central aims of the research department were negligible.

Approaches to Systemic Solutions

Ideally, such group deficits can be compensated by recruiting new employees who have planetary clusters in the vacant zodiac areas. But the budget necessary for such a step may not be available. Still, there are always solutions for improving the situation within the bounds of possibility. In this particular case, several screws had to be adjusted.

Some of the organizational tasks were delegated from the head of the department to the Leo employee (in red), who revealed himself to be an excellent organizer and went about his new task with great dedication. Thus, the department head had more time to keep up with the newest technological developments and participate more intensively in the research itself.

The employee (in green), who has his Moon and Mars in the innovation zone, was entrusted with a project in the domain of foundational research. Despite his age, he was also given the opportunity to undergo further training and to regularly visit trade fairs and conferences. Similarly, he has grown into his new role and now repeatedly surprises the team with unconventional ideas and pragmatic solutions that nobody would have expected from him before.

Finally, since the in-house toolmaking department had to be closed due to internal restructuring measures, the workers’ council had negotiated the transfer of at least three of the ten employees concerned. In an astrological pattern analysis, I immediately noticed two Aquarius workers born in 1962, with enormous planetary clusters in this sign.

In private conversations, one of them turned out to be a rebellious spirit, the source of regular conflicts, according to the head of the toolmaking department (he was later fired). The other had participated in the punk movement in his youth and had never graduated from high school. Although starting a family had not been among his priorities, it had nevertheless accidentally happened and tamed him; the company had subsequently recruited him as an unskilled worker. Due to his faculty for quick perception and witty ideas, he had managed to obtain the position of deputy head of the toolmaking department. Privately, he had gathered an impressive amount of knowledge over the years and baffled me with explanations of molecular structures and quotes from Nietzsche, among other things. It was worth a try. Thus, he was made an assistant in the research department, where he thrived and became much more motivated. The company has even registered a patent in his name!

Other Applications of the Group Horoscope

I conceived the Group Horoscope in regard to the specific requirements of human resources and organizational development. I also rely on it regularly for market analyses, competitive analyses, and for the positioning and repositioning of products and brands, for instance. The potential applications extend much further, though; the Niederwieser Relationship Chart is a helpful tool wherever interconnections of three or more horoscopes have to be analyzed.

One important domain is systemic family analysis. The Group Horoscope can quickly reveal the family structure and internal relational patterns. It is fascinating to follow the family members’ ancestors and their entanglement over several generations. The Group Horoscope is also extremely helpful regarding love and relationship issues: For those who repeatedly end up with the wrong partner, a Niederwieser Relationship Chart involving all previous partners is very useful. It quickly reveals the search patterns that one has followed unconsciously.

A third example would be mundane astrology: The synthesis of many horoscopes is often indispensable, but has so far been very time-consuming, particularly in this domain. Group Horoscopes of the most important geopolitical states and politicians, of the parties or the government in a particular country, or of the leading companies in a particular sector represent a massive improvement in ease of analysis. At one glance, you can realize who has been most affected by the recent Saturn–Neptune square, for example, and who is the most probable “carrier subject” of this constellation (mundane constellations need carrier subjects to realize their potentials into actual events).

I will present this and numerous other applications of the Niederwieser Relationship Chart in more detail in the future. In the meantime, I would like to encourage you to experiment on your own with your circle of friends, family, co-workers, even important points in time in your own life. Although astrology has been centred on single persons, organizations, and events, now the vast world of synoptic view lies open before you.

Group Horoscope SOFTWARE

Since 2022 there is an innovative software, that enables you to calculate and analyze any kinds of Group Horoscopes very easily: The CHRONLEX Astrology Software, developed by Dr. Christof Niederwieser and Torsten Wernecke. CHRONLEX is cloud-based and works on any devices or operating systems.

Group Horoscope SEMINAR

In 2018, Dr. Christof Niederwieser has given a seminar at the Conference of the FAA (Federation of Australian Astrologers) in Melbourne. There he introduces into the 4 different steps of the interpretation system:

Collective Analysis: What makes up the group as a whole?
Role Allocation: How are the individual members positioned in the context of the group?
Group Dynamics & Relationship Patterns: How are the members networked with each other? How do they interact?
Focus Perspective: How does an individual member see the rest of the group from his or her personal perspective?

You can watch the entire 200 minutes video recording HERE.

CHRONLEX: The Astrology Software of the Air Age

13. July 2022/by Dr. Christof Niederwieser

With the new CHRONLEX astrology software, interconnections between the different horoscopes can finally be made visible and analyzed. The groundbreaking tool for the Air Age!

The Rediscovery of Astrology in Modern Times

19. February 2022/by Dr. Christof Niederwieser

In the West, astrology experienced its heyday during the Renaissance. Astrology was considered the royal science at the universities and courts. In the course of the 17th century, astrology was increasingly viewed critically by the emerging natural sciences. In the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), the increasingly sensationalist forecasts of astrologers still gave people comfort and support. But from the 1650s onwards, a rapid decline set in. The art of astrology seemed increasingly antiquated compared to scientific discoveries in physics and technology. In 1666, astrology was finally banned from universities in France and shortly afterwards sent to the realm of superstition throughout Europe. Thus astrology sank into a long twilight sleep until it was rediscovered at the end of the 19th century. Thus was born the astrology of our modern times.

Rediscovery by Theosophists and Rosicrucians

Alan Leo

The English theosophist Alan Leo (1860 – 1917) is often called the father of modern astrology. He cleared out classical astrology and vested it in a contemporary garment. Compared to traditional astrology, his doctrinal structure was considerably simplified and easier to understand. In addition, Leo shifted the focus away from predictions of fate and towards psychological character interpretation. With his data collection “1001 Notable Nativities” he laid the foundation for empirical astrology. It contained the horoscopes of 1,001 famous personalities and historical events. For decades, this work was considered the data bible for researching astrologers. But Leo was also a resourceful businessman and was the first to recognise the potential for success in trivialisation. By reducing the complexity of a birth chart to the position of the sun, he was able to reach an audience of millions for the first time. “Star Sign Astrology” with its twelve human drawers was born and with it the popular newspaper horoscopes. He was also the first to produce horoscopes using text modules. With these two innovations, horoscopes were no longer elaborate custom work. They could be produced on an assembly line and sold cheaply to a mass audience.

Evangeline Adams

In the Anglo-Saxon world, the first modern astrologers were mainly members of esoteric circles and spiritual associations, especially the Theosophists and the Rosicrucians. The best known of them were the Rosicrucian Max Heindel (1865 – 1919), the Theosophist Alice Bailey (1880 – 1949) and C.C. Zain (1882 – 1951), founder of the “Church of Light”. A prominent figure of this early phase was America’s first female astrologer, Evangeline Adams (1868 – 1932). She attracted a lot of media interest and made astrology really popular with her numerous striking predictions. She is said to have foreseen the fire of the Winsor Hotel in New York in 1899 as well as the stock market crash of 1929, the Second World War or the death of King Edward VII. Her clients included numerous celebrities such as the opera singer Enrico Caruso or the famous financial guru John Piermont Morgan, to whom the saying is still often attributed: “Millionaires don’t use astrology – billionaires do.” In 1911 and 1914 she was impeached for fortune-telling. In court, she convinced the judge of her astrological skills, so she was acquitted. In the media, which had followed the trial with keen interest, this was interpreted as scientific proof of astrology. Thus Adams became the first major media astrologer. She received her own radio broadcast and in 1930 also her own newspaper column.

Astrology in the German-speaking world

Around the turn of the century, rediscovered astrology reached the German-speaking countries. One of the first pioneers was Karl Brandler-Pracht (1864 – 1939). He published his first work “Mathematisch-instruktives Lehrbuch der Astrologie” in 1905. In the following decades he founded astrological societies and research groups in many Austrian, German and Swiss cities, as well as several journals. Brandler-Pracht is considered the grand signor of modern German-language astrology. Many well-known astrologers of the first half of the 20th century were students of his.

Grand Astrologers of the Interwar Period: Karl Brandler-Pracht, Frank Glahn und Johannes Vehlow

After the First World War, astrology entered two decades of enthusiastic optimism. Numerous doctors and professors were seriously engaged in it. They were sure that it would only be a matter of time before astrology could be proven by modern technical means and established as a science. Many astrologers from that time are still legendary today, for example Johannes Vehlow (1890 – 1958), who compiled a systematic collection of astrological knowledge from antiquity to the present with his eight-volume monumental work “Lehrkursus der wissenschaftlichen Geburtsastrologie” (from 1925). However, his house system, which places the Ascendant in the middle of the 1st house, was not able to assert itself. Also Frank Glahn (1865 – 1941) was very influential. His first astrology book “Erklärung und systematische Deutung des Geburtshoroskopes” (Explanation and systematic interpretation of the natal chart) was published in 1923. While the merit of Brandler-Pracht or Vehlow is above all the collection and compilation of traditional knowledge, Glahn shone through innovative techniques and new inventions. The house rhythms, still popular today, for example, can be traced back to him.

Uranian Astrology (“Hamburg School”)

The most groundbreaking technical approach was founded by the surveyor Alfred Witte (1878 – 1941) with the Hamburg School, later known in the Anglo-Saxon world as “Uranian Astrology”. He presented his system in several articles from 1919 onwards and was soon the talk of the scene. In the course of the First World War, Witte had calculated thousands of horoscopes of comrades and had to realize that crucial events such as bombings, wounds or marriages were often not visible at all in the horoscope with the classical methods. He compared the birth pictures of people with similar experiences, as well as of people with the same birthdays, and found that the same zodiac positions were triggered at the times in question. These positions moved slowly. So Witte assumed that they must be planets beyond the orbit of Neptune that had not been discovered yet. Using the fall curve of the known planets, Witte calculated the distance and orbital period of these points and came up with the orbits of his four additional planets: Cupido, Hades, Zeus and Kronos. Witte called these undiscovered celestial bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune “Transneptunians”.

Whenever someone from the front went home to attend a big family celebration, Cupido was triggered. Death, destruction, decay, filth or harlots and thieves were indicated by Hades. The point that triggered lightning attacks, steam engines or gunshot wounds Witte called Zeus. Kronos stood for rule and authority, for the high and sublime. The following list shows in short bullet points the orbital periods and significance of the transneptunians found by Witte. They were later extended to eight by Witte’s student Friedrich Sieggrün (1877 – 1951).

	*Umlaufzeit*	*Bedeutung*
Cupido	262 years	Family, Marriage, Art, Community
Hades	361 years	Solitude, abscence, dirt, disease
Zeus	456 years	Leadership, procreation, targets, fire, machines
Kronos	522 years	Self-Reliance, State, Ruler, Grandness
Apollon	576 years	Fame, success, expansion, science
Admetos	618 years	Inhibition, separation, standstill, rotation
Vulkanus	663 years	Greatest force, power, energy, violence
Poseidon	740 years	Spirit, Idea, Insight, Light, Enlightenment

The Transneptunians of Uranian Astrology (“Hamburg School”)

Witte’s second innovation were the “Planetary Pictures”. Classical astrology only knows relationships between two planets, whenever they correspond to certain angles, the aspects. Witte’s planetary pictures instead consist of three or more planets, provided that one of them lies exactly in the middle between the other two. The introduction of these midpoints, together with the transneptunians, allowed much more differentiated statements than traditional astrology. Thus the houses and signs of the zodiac, the two basic problems of astrology, could be largely neglected in the interpretation. The “Planetary Pictures” were the new focus of the horoscope.

Especially in times without computers, this meant aconsiderable additional effort in calculation. On the other hand, the Hamburg School had the reputation of achieving by far the most exact forecasts and the highest accuracy. With the help of numerous experiments, their students proved the superiority of their system over the other astrological schools. They calculated the birth of a child to the day or predicted exactly the winners and victors of boxing matches. Or they cast horoscopes to find the place of disappeared persons. To what extent such hits were the exception or the rule remains open. In any case, hopes were high that Witte’s system would soon establish astrology as an exact science. Therefore the Hamburg School used to put its astrological rules in mathematical formulae. Their bible was the “Regelwerk für Planetenbilder” (“Rulebook for Planetary Pictures”, first edition 1928). It contains hundreds of formulas such as:

Moon + Cupido – Aries = Weddings. General social clubs. Public balls and societies.
Venus + Uranus – Mars = Hot but refined sensuality. Sudden acquaintanceships that turn intimate.
Lunar Node + Hades – Zeus = Being sharply rebuked for shortcomings. Coming into contact with the police as a result of crime. Being affected by fire.
Sun + Kronos – Neptune = Confused authority. Incompetent leadership. Experiencing deception or rejection by leaders or self-employed persons. Destroyed by state power. Deposition of princes. If = Mercury: the confused leader or the intuitive leader.

Uranian Astrology remains a curiosity even today within the astrology scene. On the one hand, many of its followers enjoy a high reputation, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, where Witte’s teaching is still known today. On the other hand, the extremely mathematical approach never gained widespread acceptance. It was too complicated and detailed for a mass movement. Many astrologers were also disturbed by the strongly deterministic character of Witte’s disciples. Their claim to practice an exact science left no room for free will. Everything and everyone was precisely calculable. However, one should not overlook the fact that this strong orientation towards fate was very widespread in astrology until well into the post-war period.

Excerpt of Uranian Astrology Calculations, Alfred Witte (1924)

The Transneptunians brought the most rejection to Uranian Astrology. The existence of these eight additional planets was deduced from the analysis of thousands of horoscopes. But to this day, none of these bodies could be astronomically discovered. Moreover, it made many astrologers suspicious when the ninth planet Pluto was discovered in 1930, but it did not correspond to any of the Witte planets. Since 1992 tens of thousands of Transneptunian Objects have been discovered in the Kuiper Belt. But the Hamburg Transneptunians have no correspondence except for their names. Therefore they are now rather called “effective points” and no longer planets. Thus, the Hamburg School still leads an exotic existence, even though its achievements are considered undisputed in the astrology scene. The Midpoints and the Mirror Points, two techniques (re)discovered by Witte, have become commonplace in astrology.

Ebertin’s Cosmobiology

One of the most famous astrologers of the 20th century originally also had been a follower of Uranian Astrology: Reinhold Ebertin (1901 – 1988). He was the son of Germany’s first professional astrologer, Elsbeth Ebertin (1880 – 1944), who wrote the annual astrological forecast “Ein Blick in die Zukunft – Unabwendbare Geschehnisse in nächster Zeit” (A Look into the Future – Inevitable Events in the Near Future) in the interwar period. In 1928 he founded the Ebertin publishing house and published the journal “Neue Sternblätter” (“New Starpaper”), which was renamed “Mensch im All” (“Man in Cosm”) in 1933. This quickly became one of the most important mouthpieces of German astrology. Ludwig Rudolph, one of the main representatives of Uranian Astrology, or the well-known chirologist and physiognomist Ernst Issberner-Haldane published numerous articles in it. From 1932, the weekly magazine “Der Seher” (“The Seer”) appeared and soon reached a circulation of over 50,000.

Ebertin’s fame was also due to his organisational talent. In 1932 he organised the “Congress of Astrological Pioneers” with over 600 participants. It brought together all the leading figures in the astrology scene of the time. One of the aims of this congress was to critically examine the overflowing flood of astrological methods and to filter out the most successful techniques. To this end, Ebertin set 75 practical tasks over the course of time. Each astrologer, each school could solve them with their preferred methods. An evaluation of the techniques was then made on the basis of the correct or incorrect results. On this basis, the “Ebertin method”, later also called cosmobiology, developed in the course of the 1930s. The first edition of Ebertin’s main work “The Combination of Stellar Influences” was finally published after the war and is still considered a standard work of astrology today.

The “Ebertin Method” is less an independent approach to interpretation than an eclectic summary of the most generally accepted methods. From each school Ebertin integrated what seemed most useful to him and made numerous simplifications. This is the reason for the great success of his cosmobiology. From the Hamburg School, Ebertin adopted the Midpoint technique and the 90-degree disk. He rejected the Transneptunians, however. In addition, he turned away from the one-sided event and fate orientation of Witte’s teaching and emphasised the psychological side much more. To avoid the problem of the various house systems, his method dispenses with them completely.

Astrologer Persecution in the Third Reich

Thomas Ring

Like many astrologers of the interwar period, Ebertin initially tried to come to terms with the Nazi regime. He was a co-founder of the “Geistige Front, Reichsvereinigung für wissenschaftliche und praktische Menschenkenntnis, Berlin”. His journals contained articles on Germanism, racial physiognomy or “The Hitler salute as a Sign of Character” as well as horoscope analyses of Adolf Hitler, which astrologically confirmed his mission as a great leader. However, the association tried in vain to establish a professional body for astrologers in the “Kampfbund für Deutsche Kultur” (“Militant League for German Culture”). Although Nazi greats such as Hess and Himmler were very fond of the occult, astrologers were soon blacklisted in the Third Reich. In 1939, the “Astrologische Zentralstelle” (“Astrological Center Office”) was abolished and astrology was banned. After Rudolf Hess fled, numerous astrologers were arrested and deported in a great wave in 1941. Tons of astrology books were confiscated and burned. Many astrologers, such as Karl Ernst Krafft or Hubert Korsch, died in the concentration camps. Alfred Witte avoided arrest by committing suicide. Thomas Ring only narrowly escaped deportation when the well-known Freiburg parapsychologist Hans Bender (1907 – 1991) appointed him director of the Parapsychological Institute at the University of Strasbourg, thus helping him to leave the country.

To this day, the German astrologers of the interwar period are legendary. Like in hardly any other country, astrology had developed rapidly and aroused great interest even in scientific circles. Astrologers had already imagined themselves at the gates to the universities. But the Third Reich brought a double break. On the one hand, astrology was stigmatized by the public as a dubious occult practice due to its flirtation with the Nazi regime until 1939. On the other hand, many of its most important representatives and works were wiped out by the reign of terror.

The cosmobiology of Reinhold Ebertin survived the Third Reich best. In the post-war period, he succeeded in rebuilding his publishing house and making his teachings popular in America and Australia as well. Ebertin was active as an astrologer until the 1980s. In contrast to many German colleagues, he was also very active internationally and thus laid an important cornerstone for modern astrology. Since his death, however, his teachings have lost much of its radiance. The Ebertin publishing house finally went bankrupt in 2005. After the Second World War, Uranian Astrology (“Hamburg School”) was continued mainly by Ludwig Rudolph (1893 – 1982) and later by his son Udo. However, the great days were over. The great revolution in astrology faded. With its innovative approaches, Uranian Astrology had initiated modern times astrology after the First World War. But today it seems strangely antique and alien to theour modern mind.

The original version of this article including all sources can be found in the following book:
Niederwieser, Christof (2020) PROGNOSTIK 03: Trends & Zyklen der Zeit, Rottweil: Zukunftsverlag, S. 132ff