Astrology software

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Sample output from an astrology program. The table above the natal chart shows the birth time, location, and the positions of the planets in the signs and houses. The other table lists the aspects and their respective orbs. Jimmy Wales horoscope, Maitreya 7.svg
Sample output from an astrology program. The table above the natal chart shows the birth time, location, and the positions of the planets in the signs and houses. The other table lists the aspects and their respective orbs.

Astrology software is a type of computer programs designed to calculate horoscopes. Many of them also assemble interpretive text into narrative reports. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

Astro Computing Services (ACS) in San Diego, founded by Neil Michelsen in 1973, published a computer-generated astrological ephemeris in 1976, The American Ephemeris. [5]

When personal computers generally became available, astrologers and astrology hobbyists were able to purchase them and use astrological or astronomical calculation software or make such programs themselves. Astrologer and computer programmer Michael Erlewine was involved early in making astrological software for microcomputers available to the general public in the late 1970s. In 1978, Erlewine founded Matrix Software, and in 1980 he published a book with all the algorithms and data required for owners of microcomputers to make their own complete astrological programs. [5] At first, astrology software was opposed by American astrologers who did not approve of computers in their field. However, acceptance grew as it became clear how more efficient and profitable such software could be. [5]

A few hundred fixed-purpose astrology computers were made, one of which was used by Nancy Reagan's astrologer beginning in about 1981. [6]

Astrology software has been made available in the open-source model, starting with the release of Astrolog in 1991.

Features

Computer astrology programs today typically make accurate planet position calculations, display and print these positions using astrological glyph symbols in graphic charts, save and retrieve individuals' data to and from database files, compare the planet positions of different charts to find the astrological aspects between them (e.g. for compatibility), calculate the dates of important events in the future for a chart, and research the saved chart database. Some generate colorful geographical maps with lines showing where the planets rise and culminate at a significant time, usually the time of birth or the time of inception of an organization (called astrocartography). Astrology programs usually come bundled with an electronic atlas, allowing the review of the longitudes, latitudes, and time zone observance histories for cities and towns. [7] [8] Many assemble interpretive text about the various element combinations in a chart into comprehensive printed reports. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Astrology Pseudoscience claiming celestial objects influence human affairs

Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects. Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BCE, and has its roots in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Arab world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.

Zodiac Area of the sky divided into twelve signs

The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The paths of the Moon and visible planets are within the belt of the zodiac.

Horoscope Astrological chart or diagram

A horoscope is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ōra and scopos meaning "time" and "observer". It is used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology.

Western astrology System of astrology used in the Western world

Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. Western astrology is historically based on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian traditions.

In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position over time. The etymology is from Latin ephemeris 'diary' and from Greek ἐφημερίς (ephemeris) 'diary, journal'. Historically, positions were given as printed tables of values, given at regular intervals of date and time. The calculation of these tables was one of the first applications of mechanical computers. Modern ephemerides are often provided in electronic form. However, printed ephemerides are still produced, as they are useful when computational devices are not available.

House (astrology) Division of the horoscope into 12 sectors

Most horoscopic traditions of astrology systems divide the horoscope into a number of houses whose positions depend on time and location rather than on date. In Hindu astrological tradition these are known as Bhāvas. The houses of the horoscope represent different fields of experience wherein the energies of the signs and planets operate—described in terms of physical surroundings as well as personal life experiences.

Sidereal and tropical astrology Forms of Astrology

Sidereal and tropical are terms used to describe two different definitions of a year, applied in sidereal solar calendars or tropical solar calendars. In astrology, they refer to two different systems of ecliptic coordinates used to divide the ecliptic into twelve "signs". Each sign is divided into 30 degrees, making a total of 360 degrees.

Electional astrology Pseudoscience that claims that the position of stars affects optimal scheduling

Electional astrology, also known as event astrology, is a branch found in most traditions of astrology according to which a practitioner decides the most appropriate time for an event based on the astrological auspiciousness of that time. It differs from horary astrology because, while horary astrologers seek to find the answer to a question based on the time the question was asked, electional astrologers seek to find a period of time which will result in the most preferable outcome for an event being planned.

Bruno Huber was a Swiss astrologer and psychologist. In 1968, with his wife, Louise Huber, he founded Astrological Psychology Institute, which became an internationally renowned school of Astrology. It was run according to humanist and psychological principles, based on Dr. Roberto Assagioli's theory of Psychosynthesis. The school initially offered personal teaching, and then professional Diploma training from 1973. Huber schools were subsequently established in UK and Spain. The Hubers’ teachings were gradually crystallised into books, which have subsequently been translated into many languages. Their holistic method of Astrological Psychology has a worldwide following.

Arabic parts Astrology: mathematical calculations of three horoscope entities

In astrology, the Arabian/Arabic parts or lots are constructed points based on mathematical calculations of three horoscopic entities such as planets or angles. The distance between two of the points is added to the position of the third to derive the location of the lot.

Michael Erlewine Archivist of popular culture

John Michael Erlewine is an American musician, astrologer, photographer, TV host, publisher and Internet entrepreneur who founded the music online database site AllMusic in 1991.

Horoscopic astrology Astrology defined by the Ascendant

Horoscopic astrology is a form of astrology that uses a horoscope, a visual representation of the heavens, for a specific moment in time in order to interpret the inherent meaning underlying the alignment of the planets at that moment. The idea is that the placement of the planets at any given moment in time reflects the nature of that moment and especially anything that is born then, and this can be analyzed using the chart and a variety of rules for interpreting the "language" or symbols therein.

Sun sign astrology Astrology focussed on the Sun sign

Sun sign astrology, or star sign astrology, is a modern simplified system of Western astrology which considers only the position of the Sun at birth, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs, rather than the positions of the sun and the other six 'planets'. This sign is then called the sun sign or star sign of the person born in that twelfth-part of the year. Sun sign astrologers take this basic twelve-fold division and relate all the current movements of all the planets to each other, using traditional rules to divine meanings for each sign separately. Because the Moon has the fastest apparent movement of all the heavenly bodies, it is often used as the main indicator of daily trends for sun sign astrology forecasts.

Babylonian astrology First known system of astrology

Babylonian astrology was the first known organized system of astrology, arising in the second millennium BC.

Hellenistic astrology Ancient Greco-Roman astrology

Hellenistic astrology is a tradition of horoscopic astrology that was developed and practiced in the late Hellenistic period in and around the Mediterranean Basin region, especially in Egypt. The texts and technical terminology of this tradition of astrology were largely written in Greek. The tradition originated sometime around the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE, and then was practiced until the 6th or 7th century CE. This type of astrology is commonly referred to as "Hellenistic astrology" because it was developed in the late Hellenistic period, although it continued to be practiced for several centuries after the end of what historians usually classify as the Hellenistic era.

Locational astrology is any of various types of astrology that factor in specific locations of the Earth. The different types also carry a range of astrological techniques.

Astrolog

Astrolog is an open-source astrological software program that has been available online free of charge since 1991. It has been authored by Walter Pullen since its creation, and was originally distributed via postings to the Usenet newsgroup alt.astrology.

Robert Hand American astrologer and writer

Robert Sterling Hand is an American astrologer, historian, author and scholar.

Astrodatabank is a wiki website containing a collection of astrological data. The freely accessible database features the birth details and associated birth charts of public figures and mundane events. The collection was started by astrologer, Lois Rodden in 1979. Astrodatabank is currently owned and maintained by the Swiss company Astrodienst and is published in English.

The use of death horoscopes in Tibetan Buddhism is an old practice that still sees application today. There are several types of horoscopes used in this religion, including a birth horoscope, a life forecast, an annual horoscope, a marriage horoscope, and a death horoscope. When casting the death horoscope, Tibetan Buddhists place great importance on the corpse, especially within the first three days following its death. There are several purposes for a death horoscope, and carrying out this practice must be done carefully. Additionally, a death horoscope is intended as a loving act for the dead, and a precautionary measure for the family of the deceased. Many Tibetans believe that when a death occurs within the family, other family members’ lives are jeopardized, so this practice may be considered essential to both the living and dead. Tibetan Buddhists also believe that their deceased loved ones may spend a short period in hell to pay for sins in their past life.

References

  1. Baronoff, Susan Marya (1992-04-16). "Technology Dawns on Age of Aquarius: Looking to Future of Profession, Astrologists at Trade Show See Computers—and Washington". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04.
  2. Mansfield, V. (December 1983). "Microastrology: Casting a Horoscope With a PC". PC Magazine. 2 (7): 597–607. Astrological techniques lend themselves to microcomputers because these computers can do the necessary calculating of planetary and house positions to at least one tenth of a degree. The difficulty arises when the computer is used for the interpretive and interactive phase of astrology.
  3. Brimelow, P. (1984-05-28). "Heavens Help Us". Barron's; "The most important development for astrology today is the computer. Computers are able to easily perform the intricate calculations involved in drawing up a chart.".
  4. James H. Holden (August 2006), "Modern Astrology", History of Horoscopic Astrology, American Federation of Astrologers, pp. 184–227, ISBN   978-0-86690-463-6
  5. 1 2 3 Lewis, James R. (2003). The astrology book: the encyclopedia of heavenly influences. Visible Ink Press. ISBN   978-1-57859-144-2.
  6. Dern, Daniel P. (July 2012). "Does Your Beloved Tech Artifact Belong in a Museum?". IEEE Spectrum.
  7. Foreman, Patricia L.; Peter Ashe (1992). Computers and Astrology: A Universal User's Guide and Reference. Good Earth Publications. p. 304. ISBN   978-0-9624648-1-2.
  8. Friedman, Hank (1984). Astrology on Your Personal Computer. Sybex Inc. p. 225. ISBN   978-0-89588-226-4.
  9. Nine of the ten software programs reviewed Archived 2011-04-17 at the Wayback Machine by TopTenReviews.com in 2011 provide interpretive reports.