Bernadette Brady

The art of detachment, the role of the horoscope in the practice of astrology

Abstract

Horoscopes are central to western astrology. The horoscope provides the representation of the heavens for the time and place of the individual's birth but, this paper argues, their actual contribution to astrology extends well beyond this simple task. In the seventeenth century Baruch de Spinoza reasoned that if one could find a personal vehicle of detachment that was 'outside time' - sub specie aeternitatis - one could use it gain greater wisdom in dealing with emotions. Ethnographical research has shown that this notion of a Spinozian vehicle of detachment is mirrored by astrologers in their use of their own horoscopes.

The natal horoscope, for the astrologer, is a unique, detached image of the self that contains all time, the past, present, and future. As such the horoscope providesfor the astrologer what they consider to be consistent, non-emotional insights concerning life and as the student of astrology engages further with the subject, so the horoscope grows into the 'other self', a life-long companion, a place to turn to when in need. It is this potential of and the fascination with the 'other self' that acts as a strong pull towards the subject but also encourages the individual to maintain a connection to the subject for the rest of their life.

Biography

Bernadette Brady has a PhD in Anthropology (2012) and MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology (2005). She is currently a tutor in the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, UK. Her research interests are in the cultural significant of astrology both historically as well as in contemporary life, the cultural influence of stars and the religious and cultural significant of star phases. Apart from journal papers her latest work is Cosmos, Chaosmos and Astrology (Lampeter: Sophia Centre Press, 2014). She currently lives in Bristol, UK.