The Astrology Podcast

A weekly podcast on the history, philosophy, and techniques of astrology, hosted by professional astrologer Chris Brennan.

The Astrology Podcast is a religion podcast hosted by Chris Brennan, with 300 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Chris Brennan hosts The Astrology Podcast, a religion show with 300 episodes published.

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  The Astrology Podcast

  Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and Ancient Astrology

  Aug 28, 20261h 55m

  Scholar M. David Litwa joins the podcast to explore the intersections of Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and ancient astrology. David is a historian of early Christianity and Greco-Roman religions who recently published a new translation of the Corpus Hermeticum. Together, we trace how these esoteric traditions developed and interacted in the ancient world, particularly in the cultural melting pot of Alexandria. We discuss the emergence of Hermeticism as a synthesis of Egyptian religion and Greek philosophy, and how early Christian Gnosticism subsequently adapted many of these cosmological frameworks. A major focal point is how ancient astrology, including the ascent and descent of the soul through the planetary spheres, was integrated into these religious movements. We contrast the Gnostic view of the planets as restrictive archons keeping the soul imprisoned with the more sympathetic Hermetic view of the visible cosmos as a second God and part of divine providence. We also take a close look at the Peratics, a unique Gnostic group that integrated technical Hellenistic astrology directly into their religion in order to map the soul's escape from the material realm. Finally, we unpack the historical tensions between fate, providence, and free will, examining how early Christians navigated astrological determinism before figures like Augustine firmly pushed back against the practice. This conversation highlights the profound impact that Hellenistic astrology had on the broader philosophical and religious landscape of the ancient world. This is episode 546 of The Astrology Podcast. David's Website and YouTube Channel https://mdavidlitwa.com https://www.youtube.com/@m.davidlitwa Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction & David's Background00:04:46 Alexandrian vs. Roman Christianity00:07:27 Astrology in the New Testament00:09:55 The Nag Hammadi Library00:13:35 Debating the Term "Gnosticism"00:20:57 Alexandria: Birthplace of Hermeticism00:22:52 Dating the Corpus Hermeticum00:27:29 Early Astrological Hermetica00:35:18 The Cosmos as the Second God00:46:15 Ascent of the Soul00:54:08 Planets as Malefic Archons00:59:42 The Gnostic Demiurge01:06:58 The Paratai & Astrological Salvation01:16:36 Astrology, Fate, & Free Will01:21:17 Baptism & Freedom from Fate01:30:21 Augustine's Anti-Astrology Bias01:38:09 "De-astrologizing" Hermetic Texts01:48:46 The Need for Astrological Literacy01:50:46 Conclusion & Resources Watch the Video Version of This Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UZl_fMgGRs - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3:

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  The Astrology Podcast

  Roland Orzabal on Astrology, Fate, and Tears for Fears

  Aug 19, 20261h 35m

  An interview with musician Roland Orzabal from the band Tears for Fears, discussing his new autobiography, Welcome to Your Life, where he tells his life story through the lens of astrology. In the late 1980s, Roland experienced a profound shift in his worldview, moving from the psychological belief that we are all born as "blank slates" to discovering the stunning accuracy of the natal chart. We discuss his deep dive into the subject and how understanding his Leo Sun and Capricorn stellium helped him navigate the intense pressures of global fame, the complex creative dynamics within Tears for Fears, and his challenging family history. What makes Welcome to Your Life so unique is that it serves as both a deeply personal, unfiltered memoir and an accessible introduction to astrology. During the episode, we pull up Roland’s birth chart to track the major transits of his life, from the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions that aligned with some of his biggest career milestones, to the heavy Pluto and Neptune transits that correlated with periods of profound personal loss, addiction, and eventual healing. Ultimately, this is a conversation about fate, free will, and how astrology provides a hidden language to make sense of our most difficult and triumphant moments. It was an honor to speak with a legendary musician who is also a dedicated, lifelong student of the astrological tradition. This is episode 545 of The Astrology Podcast. Get the Book The book came out on August 4, and it is available now in bookstores everywhere: Welcome to Your Life: Love, Death & Tears For Fears Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction and Roland's new astrological memoir00:03:16 Discovering astrology and primal therapy in the 1980s00:10:55 Interpersonal astrology and synastry with bandmates00:16:36 Perspectives on fate, free will, and major Pluto transits00:20:57 Looking at Roland's birth chart and key placements00:25:26 The non-linear, Mercury retrograde style of the book00:28:13 The loss of his first wife and the astrology of meeting Emily00:33:02 Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions and signing the first record deal00:35:41 The first Saturn return and the split with Curt Smith00:46:24 Weaving astrological teachings into a mainstream memoir00:50:18 The astrology behind Songs from the Big Chair and The Seeds of Love00:53:40 Progressed Sun in Libra and experiencing a major life shift00:56:09 Thoughts on the Gary Jules cover of "Mad World"00:59:50 Childhood, his parents, and fourth house Uranian themes01:08:16 Neptune squaring the Ascendant and recovering from addiction01:17:31 How birth charts correlate with personal belief systems01:24:41 Major astrological influences: Liz Greene and Richard Tarnas01:28:55 Releasing an album on 9/11 during the Saturn-Pluto opposition01:32:34 Closing remarks01:32:42 End cards Watch the Video Version of This Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7miA6G8eqQ - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3:

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  The Astrology Podcast

  The Origin of the Chaldean Order and Planetary Days of the Week

  Aug 16, 20263h 26m

  In this episode I propose a new theory about the origins of the so-called Chaldean order of the planets, as well as the assignment of the seven traditional planets to the days of the week. In ancient times, a specific sequence of the planets arose known as the order of the seven-zoned sphere, which goes: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In modern times, this is often called the "Chaldean order", because the 5th-century CE writer Macrobius referred to it as the "system of the Chaldeans." For a long time, it was mistakenly thought that this meant it came from ancient Babylonian or Mesopotamian astrologers, but we now know there is no trace of it in that tradition. In Macrobius’s era, the word "Chaldean" had simply become a generic term for "astrologer", so when he refers to it like this, what he really means is "the system of the astrologers." So, where did this system come from, and when was it introduced? While historians have long known that this planetary order was popularized during the Hellenistic era, the standard assumption has been that it was first developed by astronomers, or Pythagoreans, or some other group, and then only later incorporated into astrology. In some academic sources this shift, which radically moved the Sun to the center of the planets, is notably glossed over, largely because scholars don’t really know where it came from or how it happened. In this lecture, I propose the exact opposite: that this system was actually first popularized, and potentially even invented, by astrologers in Egypt in the 2nd century BCE, starting with the group of texts Hermetic surrounding Nechepso and Petosiris. From the 2nd century BCE forward, this order became widely adopted across different scientific, philosophical, and religious traditions, eventually becoming the underlying rationale for the names of the seven days of the week. My primary goals with this episode are to: 1) Demonstrate that this planetary order originated with the astrologers working in Egypt in the 2nd century BCE. 2) Demonstrate that the days of the week which are derived from it also may have originated with these same astrologers in Egypt during that same time period. This is episode 544 of The Astrology Podcast. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction00:07:36 Early Planetary Orders00:15:58 Plato's Order00:22:32 Eratosthenes & The Hellenistic Shift00:27:00 The Seven-Zoned Sphere00:39:57 Nechepso and Petosiris00:51:33 The Seven-Zoned Sphere as a Conceptual Construct00:52:00 The Hermetic Conceptual Constructs01:24:43 Stoic Philosophy & The Heart01:44:26 Supposed Pythagorean Connection01:48:54 Planetary Significations Derived from the Seven-Zoned Sphere02:21:22 Decans and Monomoiria02:31:56 Planetary Days and Hours02:58:28 Ptolemy's Cosmological Model03:11:07 Concluding Remarks03:23:28 Credits Watch the Video Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yIa5eyDdiI - – Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3:

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  The Astrology Podcast

  The Libra Rising Birth Chart of the United States

  Aug 7, 20264h 16m

  In this major new episode, I do a deep dive into the historical evidence for when the Declaration of Independence was finalized on July 4, 1776. There has been a mystery surrounding the birth chart of the United States for more than two centuries, but I recently discovered some new evidence that allows us to triangulate the approximate birth time much more closely than I previously thought possible. This was a massive research project that I suddenly stumbled into last month shortly after the Mars-Uranus conjunction went exact on July 4. I found new historical evidence showing that Thomas Jefferson regularly recorded the times he took temperature readings outside. This detail led me to re-examine all of the surviving primary sources, including the Journals of the Continental Congress and letters from John Adams. Through this, I conclude that it is possible to achieve much greater certainty about the probable time for the Declaration. In this four-hour video essay, I present a series of compelling arguments that the birth chart for the US should be set for the late morning of July 4, 1776, giving the country a Libra Ascendant. Key topics I covered in this episode: The Astrological Signatures of 1776: A look at how the Mars-Uranus conjunction in Gemini represented the severance and armed rebellion against Great Britain, while the highly auspicious Venus-Jupiter conjunction in Cancer symbolized the union of the thirteen colonies. Jefferson's Weather Log: How Thomas Jefferson's daily temperature readings help establish a clear timeline of when Congress was in session and taking breaks. Debunking the Sibley Chart: An explanation of the critical misunderstanding behind the popular Sagittarius rising chart. I show how Ebenezer Sibley actually cast a mundane ingress chart for London rather than a timed natal chart for Philadelphia. The Gemini Rising Myth: Why a 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM chart is historically implausible and makes for a poor electional chart. Historical Transits: A preliminary look at how major events in US history, such as the Civil War, the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the stock market crash of 1929, and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech align remarkably well with a Libra rising chart. This episode outlines all of my research findings in one place to help advance the long-standing debate over the true astrological chart of the United States. This is episode 543 of The Astrology Podcast. Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction00:05:53 Why July 4, 1776?00:49:31 Historical Evidence for the Time on July 2 & 4, 177601:10:18 The Vote for Independence on July 2, 177601:28:10 Finalizing the Declaration of Independence on July 401:57:05 The Proclamation on July 8 as Supporting Evidence02:03:34 Analyzing the Libra Rising Chart as an Inception Chart02:22:54 Preliminary Analysis of Some Major Events in US History02:50:23 What About the Gemini and Sagittarius Rising Charts?03:26:46 The Timeline and Transits of 177603:57:08 Concluding Remarks04:12:48 Credits Watch the Video Version of the Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP1yoSz32Ck - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3:

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  The Astrology Podcast

  August Astrology Forecast 2026

  Jul 29, 20262h 45m

  A deep dive into the astrology forecast for August 2026, with astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock. We spend the first hour talking about the astrology behind events that happened in the news in July, and then in the second hour we do a deep dive into the astrology of August. August is mainly centered on an eclipse season, which begins the first week of the month with a solar eclipse in Leo, and is followed later in the month by lunar eclipse in Pisces. Early in the month Venus enters Libra, which is the sign that it will later retrograde back to in October, and it begins its shadow degree phase by the end of August. A Mars-Saturn square begins building mid-month, and eventually culminates on the final day of August at the same time that a Jupiter-Saturn trine goes exact. This is episode 542 of The Astrology Podcast. Austin's Website https://austincoppock.com Chris' Patreon and Hellenistic Course https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast https://theastrologyschool.com Timestamps 00:00:00 Introduction00:00:51 August Astrology Quick Overview00:03:24 News Segment Begins00:06:01 Iran War Reignites on Mars-Uranus Conjunction00:18:03 Nuclear Stories00:22:35 Three Mars-Uranus Recurrence Transits00:27:25 Mars-Uranus Conjunction Countries00:31:34 Jupiter-Pluto Opposition00:45:14 US Birth Chart00:49:22 Austin Anecdote00:54:44 Chris's Projects00:56:33 Austin's Projects00:57:51 August Forecast Begins01:01:09 Eclipse Season01:09:58 Venus Retrograde Shadow Sign01:19:26 Mars-Saturn Square01:32:35 Chronological Breakdown of July Begins01:33:16 Venus Enters Libra Aug 601:35:51 Venus-Jupiter Sextile Aug 16/1701:40:17 Mars Enters Cancer Aug 1101:43:22 Solar Eclipse in Leo Aug 1201:51:30 Mercury-Jupiter Conjunction Aug 1501:55:56 Auspicious Electional Chart: August 1601:59:51 Mars-Neptune Square Aug 1702:02:35 Venus-Saturn opposition Aug 2102:05:40 Sun and Mercury Enter Video Aug 22 & 2502:06:16 Lunar Eclipse in Pisces Aug 2802:18:53 Mars-Jupiter Trine & Mars-Saturn Square Aug 3102:20:43 Saturn-Neptune & Barbault Basket Reflections02:33:56 Predictive Patience & Seed Moments02:40:22 Wrapping Up02:41:53 Credits Watch the Video Version of This Episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJeUvRzMwso - Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode Listen to the audio version of this episode or download it as an MP3:

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