Page 22 - Talented Astrologer • Volume 2 Number 1 • Winter 2019

to being an astrologer, Ebertin was a physician, so his primary area of interest was in medical astrology. Ebertin’s guidelines for interpreting planetarypicturesisTheCombination of Stellar Influences. The 90° dial has proven to be a practical and valuable astrological tool and an important addition to astrology.
In America, Marc Edmund Jones searched for meaning by looking at the pictures in the chart.
are inspired by astrology; they have no connection with actual astrology.
Jones’ other contributions to modern astrology involve the natal chart itself. In 1930, Jones invented aspect patterns,
first mentioning a “cosmic cross” and a “cosmic trine” (which later became the T-Square and Grand Trine). Other aspect patterns followed. Jones also ascribed meaning to the patterns and shapes the planets formed in the chart, categorizing them as Splay, Splash, Bundle, Bowl, Locomotive, Bucket, and Seesaw.
The appeal of Jones, an aspiring screenwriter, these patterns is undeniable. They purport to synthesize
began his astrological studies in 1913 at the age of 25. In 1915, he joined the Rosicrucian Society founded by astrologer and occultist Max Heindel, and began to teach classes there. In 1922, Jones began to teach astrology classes at what would later become the Sabian Assembly.
In 1925, Jones, accompanied by Elsie Wheeler, a psychic and one of his students, drove to Balboa Park in San Diego, where in the space of a single day, Wheeler envisioned the Sabian Symbols: images and symbols associated with all 360° of the zodiac. Jones eventually published his commentary on these symbols in 1953. The most that can be said of the Sabian Symbols is that they
the chart, or at least to create an overall context that makes it possible to fully understand the individual. Unfortunately, Jones fell into the all-too-common trap of confusing synthesis with simplification. Jones focused on the pictures in the chart, but still lacked the ability to read the chart itself. Attempting to synthesize and interpret a T-Square or Grand Trine gives you far less practical information than you get by interpreting the specific aspects individually.
Modern Astrology began in 1968 with the publication of Sun Signs by Linda Goodman.
Goodman’s book ignited a popular fascination with astrology. It sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and was largely responsible for the new pick-up line,
“Hey, baby, what’s your sign?” The problem was that Goodman’s book presented a simplified, pop-psychology take on astrology. No longer did the practice of astrology
22 Talented Astrologer