Our program teaches
how to address two questions
asked by every person of an astrologer:
The practical goal of our program is to teach the skills required to practice the art of interpretation. Interpretation means the ability to discuss the character and actions of a person based on the astrologer’s ability to artfully combine the various different components in the chart. Interpretation or the ability to artfully combine is called synthesis, that is, it is the talent to envision the horoscope as an integrated whole.
This approach of viewing the chart as a whole unit was a system practiced by the brilliant 17th century French astrologer and physician, Morin de Villefranche. (His teachings were taught most recently by his leading United States practitioner, the recently deceased Zoltan Mason of New York City.)
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Morin and His Astrologia Gallica
Morin’s approach to astrology is
codified in his voluminous
twenty-six book masterpiece entitled Astrologia Gallica. Published in 1661, this 800+ folio page book written in scholarly Latin covers
the entire gamut of astrology from philosophy to natal interpretation to
predictive techniques, but it is Book XXI that is the
volume’s crown jewel. Book XXI is the savant's most priceless gift
that he has passed on to posterity as it teaches the skills needed to synthesize or
envision the horoscope as a complete integrated unit.
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The Program's
Textbook - Book XXI - The Key to Synthesis
Our primary text is Astrosynthesis, Morin's 21st Book as edited by Zoltan Mason. This slim book of fewer than 200 pages rigorously and faithfully covers the material as advanced by Morin. (This text is out of print but we have been fortunate to acquire a limited number of copies.)
The caption on Book XXI’s title page reads, “The Active
Determinations of the Celestial Bodies and the Passive Determinations of the
Sublunary World”. In this single obscure statement Morin's genius summarizes his entire approach to horoscope interpretation. Our program explains this
compact statement as we gradually and systematically unfold and expand
upon the text over four quarterly sessions of twelve weeks each. Each
quarterly session covers the book's material but in ever greater depth and
detail.
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Morin wants the reader to understand that all the planets do not influence us in every area of life - rather, the planets impact us in very specific ways, ways that can be measured both in terms of QUANTITY and QUALITY of influence. For example, we can determine very specifically in a person's chart the amount of Saturn's influence and we can also measure with precision the strength of its influence relative to the rest of the planets. Furthermore, we can demonstrate its constructiveness, that is, whether Saturn's influence is used only for base and coarse purposes or also for more subtle ethical purposes. This understanding emerges from Morin's so-called, "Theory of Determinations".
The usefulness of having the ability to measure the influences in such a fashion cannot be overstated. Every human being has present in their chart all 12 signs and all 10 planets. What varies from one person to the next is the mixture of the influences. As in any composition, the outcome or result depends on the amount, proportion, and quality of the ingredients present. Morin's approach gives us the tools needed to measure this variety of composition in humans that gives rise ultimately to the endless possibilities of a human's character, abilities, and destiny.
Measurement starts by and judgment hinges upon assessing the nature and capacity of the person's Ascendant (also called the Rising Sign). Morin also emphasizes repeatedly that a person's Ascendant is the most important consideration in a horoscope as it represents the life of the physical body and the characteristic disposition of the individual.
The first two Quarters of our program place a great emphasis of an examination and appreciation of the Ascendant’s character, strength, and potential as it is fundamental, for without such understanding, the rest of the chart will be taken out of context. We elaborate at great length on Morin's implication that horoscope interpretation begins with a thorough analysis of the Ascendant. On Page 22 of Astrosynthesis he states,
“The extent of its (the signs and planets) action is determined first, by the subject (the Ascendant) upon which it acts, and second, by this subject’s capacity to receive and to react to the impression”.
Through a series of lessons, we demonstrate that if this important consideration is overlooked or neglected, all other chart considerations are meaningless as we will not have grasped how the person receives and reacts to the influences of the stars. Beyond this pivotal consideration, Morin also provides the roadmap to his systematic process. At the bottom of Page 22 of Astrosynthesis, he says explicitly,
“At this point we must also make it clear that in particular that point of the sign which rises on the horizon, called also the Ascendant has a more powerful significance for the life and person of the native than the Ruler of the Ascendant or a planet in the First House. Moreover, the Aspects received by the Ascendant itself are in this connection more powerful and significant than those received by the Ruler of the Ascendant. Furthermore, all that has just been said concerning the Ascendant applies equally to the Midheaven”.
It is upon this statement by Morin that Zoltan Mason based his relentless drumbeat in his weekly classes about the need to prioritize the importance of the different parts of a chart. Mason would always say, "What you mention first should be more important than what you mention second" and then he would go on and stress the importance of the Ascendant and the Midheaven when he analyzed a chart in class.
Zoltan Mason's contribution to Morin's Methodology The first Quarter of our
program serves as an introduction to Morin's teachings and explains also in great detail how Mason extended Morin’s approach. Zoltan Mason taught that
after we examine the Ascendant and the Midheaven, we should in the
same manner described by Morin, analyze the Moon, the Sun, and then observe any
other unusual considerations. Our aim for the student
is to have the student understand how this judicious process leads to horoscope synthesis. The dynamism of a chart is the result of the
interaction of the Ascendant, Moon, and Sun with all other considerations
playing a participating but supporting role. This can only be seen when one can
synthesize. We
demonstrate how to build individually, an image of each of the chart's subunits, then combine them, and finally arrive at a vision of the
horoscope as a whole. This is the goal to be achieved by the student based
on the skills taught in our program.
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The Art of Forecasting and its basis
The ability to predict
is an acquired art that begins with a
good understanding of the natal chart. What is possible for the person is
seen in the natal; what is not seen in the natal will not occur during the
lifetime.
Forecasting techniques answer only the question of when
to expect events. With foreknowledge and discipline, many events may be
avoided or if desired, realized. What we can avoid or what we may bring about
depends to a large degree on how much of a free will we have and how
much a particular event is under our direct control. For those things over which
we can exercise control, there is more of a possibility to bring about the
desired result and less so when those things are not.
The Program's Goal for the Student In the final analysis,
answering the question, "What may a person expect during this lifetime, and to
some extent when", is based on understanding of what prompts the person to act.
Astrology is the study of motivation and drive, viz: What attracts the person and what pushes the person as well as how strongly are they attracted and how strongly are they pushed?
As the old adage states, "The stars impel, they do not compel". Foreknowledge and training make us appreciate this.
The aim of our program is to make the student grasp this point, for upon this
understanding, a person's expectations and life events as well as their realizations are based.
Program Organization & Student Requirements
The program is divided into four QUARTERS but has been designed to cover much of the curriculum in the first three quarters. Quarters that follow cover the same content in greater depth and detail. Each Quarter is twelve weeks in length. You can take each quarter at your own pace but if you elect to take one quarter after another, the program takes about one year to complete.
Forum on Astrology assumes no knowledge of Astrology on an individual's part. We start at the very beginning with the basics. You can start the program anytime, you're never late. It starts when you enroll.
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