Alumni Events

Spring Alumni Lecture

Donation fund-raiser




Dr Garry Phillipson

Disenchantment, Re-Enchantment and Astrology

Tuesday 28th Mar 2023, 18.30 - 20.00 BST

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.



Registration is now closed.



Garry Phillipson

Garry Phillipson is a part-time tutor with the Sophia Centre. He completed his PhD in 2020. He is the author of Astrology in the Year Zero and has written and spoken about astrology, and strategies for its comprehension, in many settings.