Change is the anthem of the Universe and in Los Angeles, California, in 1929 occultism and astrology were undergoing radical change.
Responding to the new Aquarian Age scientific vibration Elbert Benjamine was transforming the study or hidden forces – occultism – and the way astrology – the great occult science – was being investigated, researched and understood.
For the first time ever new astrological facts were being discovered through the statistical study of birth charts and in March 1930 Brotherhood of Light Annual Elbert Benjamine explained what he was doing.
The scientizing of astrology
‘The occultism of today, while utilizing the reports of the psychic senses and the research of the ancient magi, is no less progressive than material science. Such progress is made possible, both in material science and in occultism, by the discovery of new facts. Theories, in all branches of human knowledge, must be continually modified to include additional information.
Theories, to be of value in a progressive age, must be flexible. The atomic theory of matter had to be broadened and lengthened to embrace the electronic theory.
The idea that occult forces operate mysteriously at a distance has had to give place to the conception of finer forces being broadcast something after the manner of the radio, from one object to another. And with the discovery of the unconscious mind, the method by which these finer energies affect your life and destiny has been made plain.
The effect on human life and destiny of any occult force is now believed to be the result of the changes it sets up in your astral body. And changes in your astral body tend to reproduce themselves in your physical body.
They give your finer (astral) body different vibratory rates, and these in turn attract different types of events. They cause you to feel differently without knowing why, and because you feel differently you think differently and act differently. Thus your life is altered.
Just how these changes in your finer body take place and the manner in which, through them, definite positions of the planets affect your life in a certain way forms a very interesting theory. And theories, even when provisional, are a necessity to any science.
But modern occultism is far more devoted to facts than to theories.
The birth charts of as many people as possible, in whose lives some given event is known to have happened, are collected. When in all these charts, or in practically all of them, some unique position of the planets is noted, the number of charts in which this position coincides with a given event is stated in terms of a percentage. This is not theory, it is mathematical fact.
Then as many charts as possible are collected having this unique configuration of the planets. Inquiry into the lives of these people is made to ascertain in how many cases the given event happened. This also is stated in terms of percentage, and is not theory but mathematical fact. These two sets of figures, then, form the basis for the judgement of other birth charts.
A like method is followed in determining the time when events of a certain type will happen. The charts of as many people as possible are collected, together with the date on which the given event took place. The progressed positions of the planets on that date are then calculated and tabulated. Certain types of progressed aspects are then seen to stand out significantly.
The number of birth charts in which a particular progressed influence is operative at the time of the event is then expressed in terms of percentage. This is not surmise. It’s a mathematical statement that out of every hundred times this event takes place in human life, a specific astrological position has been formed in a certain number of these instances.
Then the birth charts are collected and the event ascertained each time this specific astrological position occurs. This is also expressed in terms of a percentage. No guesswork here, but mathematical certainty.
A complete survey of human life by this careful method has not been completed, so astrologers still must base their judgement in regard to certain matters on ancient precedent and less critically compiled data.’
The astrology revolution
This explanation was given to the Brotherhood of Light membership in 1930 because Hermetic astrology, and the study of occult forces, was changing fast. Theories, claims and unsubstantiated beliefs were now being investigated using scientific statistical research.
It had never been done before and in June 1929, the publication of the first research report by the Brotherhood of Light Astrological Research Department – What makes a movie star? – launched the Astrology Revolution.
That’s when Hermetic astrology got scientific; theories and beliefs based on guesswork and speculation were replaced by evidence-based facts; and the astro-data provided by a birth chart became much more accurate and reliable. It was a truly great moment in astrological science.
In 1929, when modern occultism got scientific, science demystified the occult.
Science demystified astrology – the birth chart – and the occult energies that influence your life and character development.
Fanciful notions and dubious ideas about astrology were now being scientifically tested to verify their authenticity. But the importance of the research into astrological energies and occult forces by the Brotherhood of Light Astrological Research Department is poorly understood, even today.
Orthodox science, back then and now, displays spectacular ignorance when it debunks astrology without investigation. It’s a shameful situation and a gross misuse of power and public trust. And students who intellectually admire the information often fail to use it in the practical way that it’s meant to be used.
You need to know that scientific investigative research made modern occultism – the use of astrological energies and the psychic senses in your self-development – functional, reliable, beneficial and safe.
Astrology for Aquarius – sharing our knowledge
