The psychologisation of natal astrology in the twentieth century

This thesis discusses the idea that natal astrology was psychologised in the twentieth century through an examination of ‘psychological astrology’. It is the first in-depth exploration of psychologisation in the English-speaking world through textual analysis of astrology books. It takes as a starting point the argument from Wouter Hanegraaff that magic survived the disenchantment of the world due to a process of psychologisation, which broadly means that magic has adapted along psychological lines to become a different sort of magic to that previously found before the period characterised by disenchantment. The main reason for this adaptation is to acquire legitimisation from a subject, psychology, deemed to be scientific and acceptable in the modern world. The thesis asks whether the issues raised by Hanegraaff’s psychologisation thesis, and wider ideas on psychologisation, apply to the natal astrology of the twentieth century, focusing on the form known as psychological astrology. The question is tackled through textual analysis of the works of the three major astrologers identified by existing scholarship as having contributed to the twentieth century development of psychological astrology: Alan Leo (1860-1917), Dane Rudhyar (1895-1985) and Liz Greene (1946- ). Significant consideration is also given to the major psychological influence on Rudhyar and Greene: the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). Wider definitions of psychologisation considered include Christopher Plaisance’s extension of Hanegraaff’s work through his four-fold typology of psychologisation as applying to esoteric discourse. In exploring conceptions of psychologisation and modernity as presented within the works of the key psychological astrologers, the thesis demonstrates that the label of psychologisation may be partly applied to psychological astrology. However, this form of astrology does not represent a fully adapted, disenchanted form seeking legitimisation but is an adaptation for modern people for philosophical reasons and principally to maximise the use of astrology to enhance free-will and psychological development. In doing so it can be characterised as more enchanted than disenchanted.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Andrikopoulos, Laura

• BF Seicoleg
• Q Gwyddoniaeth (Cyffredinol)

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2388