Alumni Events

Max Weber (1864 – 1920) spoke of 'the disenchantment of the world', meaning the dominance of western culture by the conviction that life in its entirety can be understood and controlled by the calculation of physical forces. Disenchantment, by definition, leaves no room for mystery or magic – the word entzauberung, generally translated as 'disenchantment', is literally 'de-magic-ing'.

Disenchantment entails a particular view of the nature of ‘self’. This will be explored in the presentation, together with the possibilities for a re-enchanted world and self. The permutations will be fleshed out with a consideration of approaches to astrology, particularly as they developed in the twentieth century. Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity, and Dane Rudhyar’s approach to astrology, will feature. Prior knowledge of astrology is not required; it will emerge during the talk that the dilemmas facing the astrologer are ubiquitous, so that there will be something here of interest to everyone in the Sophia family.