Rae Orion - Astrology For Dummies

These are only a few of the websites that offer free natal charts. To assess some of the others, just Google “free birth chart” or “free natal chart” and shop around.

Nothing in the astrological world is more fun that being able to cast charts for anyone at a moment’s notice. Astrological software is endlessly diverting, but it isn’t cheap. If you decide it’s worth the investment, here are a few recommendations.

To this day, despite the genius of the late Steve Jobs and the unstoppable expansion of Apple products into every coffee shop on the planet, Macintosh users — and we are legion — have remarkably limited choices for astrological software. Supposedly, by the time this book is published, that will have changed. May it be so. Meanwhile, I recommend these programs:

TimePassages: Henry Seltzer, the founder of Astrograph Software, designed this software as a universal tool, usable with both Mac and Windows. In addition to calculating birth charts, transits, comparison charts, and more, it offers one irresistible feature, especially for novices. After you generate a chart, you can click on anything within it — a planet, a house cusp, an aspect line running between two planets, or a symbol on the aspect grid — and an interpretation will pop up. Not sure what it means to have Moon in the tenth house,? Or a Grand Trine, which he is also fortunate enough to have? One click generates a paragraph of explanation. For a free demo, go to https://www.astrograph.com .

Io Programs: Time Cycles Research Programs offers this software for the professional, but you don’t need to be professional to use it. Io Edition, their core program, calculates charts; Io Interpreter provides analysis; Io Forecast, Io Solar Return, and Io Lunar Return peer into the future; Io Body and Soul offers a holistic astrological approach to health and wellness. And there are additional options. You can reach Time Cycles by e-mail at astrology@timecycles.com , or on the Web at www.timecycles.com .

Solar Fire. This ambitious, top-of-the-line program has long been available for Windows only. By the time this book is published, I’m told, it will also be available for Macintosh computers. To find out what Solar Fire can do (short answer: it can do almost everything), read on.

If you decide to invest in astrological software but feel the need for counsel from a recognized expert, there’s only one way to go: Contact astrologer Hank Friedman, longtime software reviewer for Mountain Astrologer and other periodicals. The consultation is free, and he sells all the software at a discount. You can e-mail him at stars@soulhealing.com or visit his website at https://www.soulhealing.com . There you will find information about software, links to free software demos, more than a hundred fifty free tutorials on western and Vedic astrology, and an impressive array of recipes involving chocolate.

The software options for PC are too numerous to do justice to here. I asked Hank Friedman to make a few suggestions. His recommendations include the following:

Solar Fire Gold. A huge range of capabilities makes Solar Fire the most popular program for professional astrologers. It supports virtually any kind of calculation imaginable, and its graphic design features are spectacular. You can customize everything. In addition to natal charts, transits, an astrological encyclopedia, and all the usual features, you can work with eclipse cycles, hypothetical planets (yes), geocentric or heliocentric charts, relocation charts, Vedic astrology, Medieval astrology, mundane astrology, financial astrology, esoteric astrology, midpoints, over a thousand asteroids and minor planets, and eighteen(!) varieties of prenatal chart.Using Solar Fire, you can cast a horoscope for anyone born from 5401 BCE to 5399 CE. That’s a lot of years and a lot of information. If you suspect that this is more than you could possibly want or digest — and, trust me, I’m only showing you a partial catalog — you could decide to consider Solar Fire aspirational and pass on it, at least for now. On the other hand, if that list, truncated though it is, excites your curiosity, go to Hank’s website at www.soulhealing.com asap, and read all about it.

Janus 5. This versatile software is not as powerful as Solar Fire, but it costs less and still has more capability than most people will ever need. In addition to traditional natal astrology, transits, and so on, it offers Vedic astrology, electional astrology, horary astrology, relocation charts, and much, much more. Hank Friedman calls Janus 5 “a Swiss army knife of a program.” You can’t get more useful than that. For more information, go to www.soulhealing.com .

Mundane astrology addresses politics, history, and national concerns. Electional astrology is the art of choosing dates for events such as the start of a campaign, a wedding, or the opening of a business. Horary astrology is the art of answering questions, whether they are vitally important or utterly trivial.

It’s great to have a serious piece of software installed on your laptop, but having it in your pocket or on your iPad can be even better. There are many apps, at many price points. Here are two worth considering:

AstroGold. Made by the same people who brought you Solar Fire, this is a professional piece of software with options galore. A great app to have if you’re interested in doing astrology at an advanced level, it is available for Android, iPhone, and iPad, and is fully compatible with Solar Fire’s desktop version. To get it, contact Hank Friedman at www.soulhealing.com or, if you’re using an Apple device, go to the iTunes store.

TimePassages Pro. This is a well-designed App for anyone who wants to create charts on the fly, and you can download it free. (Right now it’s available only for the iPhone, but an Android version is in the works.) You get your birth chart, a daily chart showing where the planets are now, and lots of supporting interpretations. There’s a small charge to add charts, or you can skip those incremental fees and spring for a full upgrade to Timepassages Pro. As of this writing, it costs $29.99 — and it’s totally worth it. I probably look at this app every day. Where is the moon? Is Mercury still retrograde? Should my friend J. make an offer on that house? And what’s going on with my doctor (yes), who just asked me to look at his chart? TimePassages Pro to the rescue.

Like bell-bottom jeans or gladiator sandals, astrology fades in and out of fashion. When I learned astrology, it was in the air and on the pop charts. For the first time, an astrology book — Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs — had climbed atop the New York Times best-seller list, and all the people I met, including those who claimed to be skeptics, seemed to know their sign. I landed a part-time job casting horoscopes for a metaphysical bookstore and another — believe it or not — teaching astrology at an alternative public high school. It was the heyday of astrology, I thought.