Midpoints in Astrology: Historical Origins

About this episode

The episode explores the historical origins of the astrological technique of midpoints, tracing its development and suppression over the centuries.

In the episode I trace the history and origins of the astrological technique called midpoints back to two students of Placidus who lived in the 17th century, and then tell the story of its recovery and popularization by German astrologers in the early 20th century. For the past twenty years, the history of midpoints has been shrouded in mystery. Many astrologers have speculated about its origins, with myths tracing the technique back to the 13th-century astrologer Guido Bonatti, the 2nd-century astrologer Claudius Ptolemy, or assuming it was invented from scratch by Alfred Witte and the Hamburg School around the 1920s. After spending a while researching the history, I'm excited to present the conclusions I came to and help set the record straight. It turns out that the midpoint technique actually originated in 1675. That is when two students of the famous astrologer Placidus, named Francesco Brunacci and Francesco Maria Onorati, introduced the concept of what they called "equidistances" in an appendix to the second edition of their teacher’s work, Physiomathematica. However, this technique almost didn't survive. Throughout the episode, I discuss how the midpoint doctrine went…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Brennan

Topics covered

• astrology
• midpoints
• historical origins
• Placidus
• German astrologers
• suppression
• astrological techniques

Keywords

• midpoints
• astrology history
• Placidus
• Francesco Brunacci
• Francesco Maria Onorati
• Catholic Church
• Nazis
• astrological techniques

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Catholic Church, Inquisition, Nazis

Books & works: Physiomathematica

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