The first episode of the astrology podcast has been released! You can download the MP3 or stream it right from the website at the bottom of this post.
Since this is the first episode I went ahead and introduced myself, and then spent the rest of the time discussing my plans for the show, in order to give the listener some idea as to what they might expect from the podcast in the future.
The purpose of The Astrology Podcast is to provide intermediate and advanced level discussions about topics related to astrology, ranging from explorations of specific techniques, to treatments of issues pertaining to the history and philosophy of the subject.
During the course of the show I gave an overview of some of the different areas that I plan to cover, and provided some examples of specific questions and discussions that will be explored once we get to those shows.
Topics That Will be Covered in Future Episodes
What follows is a breakdown of the different areas that were discussed, as well as some of the questions that were raised about the various issues:
1. The philosophy of astrology
- What is the definition of astrology?
- How does astrology work?
- What are the implications of astrology from a cosmological perspective.
- Issues of fate versus free-will.
- How much is fated?
- Do we have as much free will as we think that we do?
2. Astrological techniques and concepts
- I’m interested in exploring and discussing both modern and ancient astrological techniques in different episodes.
- I think that astrology is going through a period of synthesis, and so I would like to discuss the merits of different traditions and approaches, in order to give people a taste of a variety of different techniques and viewpoints.
3. Ethical issues
- Issues with prediction. Is it ok to predict?
- If an astrologer sees something in a person’s chart, what is their obligation to tell the person about it? Are they obligated? Or does the possibility of a negative reaction trump the sense of obligation?
4. The history of astrology
- Where did astrology come from, and how were certain techniques developed?
- Shows on notable astrologers from the past.
- Historical debates that are occurring in the community today.
5. Interviews with other astrologers
- Bringing on other professional astrologers for interviews.
- Ask them serious questions about their work, and their views on astrology.
6. Astrology news segment
- A segment where I talk about recent news and events that have occurred within in the astrological community, or news that is relevant to astrologers in general.
- For example, some recent news that took place in the past month:
- UAC took place in New Orleans last month.
- Final Kepler graduation.
- Presidential panel predicted that Obama will win.
- Lot of coverage by Reuters, USA today, Headline News, etc.
- Austin Coppock took over as president of the Association for Young Astrologers.
And as I stated at the end of the episode, I’m open to suggestions about other topics that should be covered in future shows. So if you have an idea, please let me know.
Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available:Â Episode 1 transcript
Download or Stream the Podcast
You can either download the show as an MP3 or play it directly from the website by using the buttons below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:56 — 32.5MB)
Chris,
Great Podcast. I agree with your fate/ freewill observations. I’d like to hear more about your Stoic philosophy and how it ties into astrology for you.
Here’s to predictive Astrology
Thanks!
Chris
Thanks! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I definitely plan to delve more into some of the philosophical issues in future podcasts, and I will definitely touch on Stoicism quite a bit at various points, as well as the other philosophical schools, of course.
Hi Chris, glad to hear a new show from you. Always interesting.
I would like to hear you discuss the use of the different zodiacs in astrology. A discussion between someone who strongly favours the use of the sidereal zodiac and yourself (I think you use the tropical zodiac? Correct me if I’m wrong) would perhaps be of interest.
I’m also very interested in Vedic/Indian astrology, and I would enjoy hearing you talk about how you see differences and similarities between Hellenistic astrology and Jyotish, again, perhaps with a guest.
Those are both great topic ideas! I would really like to do an entire show on the tropical vs sidereal zodiac issue, and discuss some of the related topics that came up during the zodiac controversy last year.
Another show talking about Indian astrology on its own would also be great, and of course I would love to do one comparing the eastern and western traditions. The interaction between Hellenistic and Indian astrology can be kind of a touchy issue for some people though, so I would need to tread kind of lightly, and I’m not sure off-hand who would be a good guest to have on in order to discuss that. Maybe my friend Kenneth Miller from Kepler, who I’ve talked with before about this topic, since he has kind of an interesting middle of the ground take on it.
As a side note, when it comes to some of these topics would you tend to prefer shows with guests at all times so that there is more of a dialogue, or do you think that the occasional solo show would be ok? I’m trying to gauge whether the solo show format works at all for the listener, or if it isn’t engaging enough. If anyone else reading this has comments about this then please feel free to chime in as well.
I like the solo format for its ability to present information in a clear, structured way. And I like the guest format for the interesting bits of information which only arise from a dynamic meeting of minds.
Thanks!
Solo is good, but a guest always adds a certain dynamic ‘to and fro’ quality.
Dear Chris, I very much enjoy your podcast. Although I have to admit I am a newbie to astrology, some lines of thought that you have touched upon I can relate to and I certainly appreciate any podcast in which the host is not afraid to express his own opinion and delve deeper into controversial issues. Please keep up the good work! Greetings from Belgium!
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, and thanks for the feedback! There should be some new episodes coming soon.
Hi Chris.
It’s nice to put a voice on a face!
I am listening your Equal Houses podcast right now
(you sound a bit tired but your voice is just perfect for radio)
and after that I’ll be right back here to your first podcast which seems to be really interesting.
Nice job you are doing on the FB group too, keep it up!
Cheers,
Athan
Very interesting
Just listening to your predictions for
2020. And. WOW
Wow WOW
Thought I wouldisren to this as well
Thanks to you and your team
It’s always best to start at the beginning, so rather than listen to #346 (though I have listened to and loved various podcasts), I am rather keen to listen to this one, which I’m sure I’ll enjoy – Chris, you are greatly loved in the astrological community and rightly so – thanks for these ten years of marvelous podcasts!
I have always been into astrology but recently decided to dive in and try to learn it myself. I began researching western, then came across sidereal, and then decided to also research Mayan a little bit. Then I decided I didn’t know which one to dive into because I don’t know which one is correct, so I started researching the history. I still didn’t know which one to follow so I just keep looking into them all but decided to go back into western first. lol. I really enjoyed this podcast though because now I don’t feel bad not choosing a side but trying to understand them all. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to listen to all of your podcast, it will take me some time to catch up though lol