If you want to know how to calculate a chart from scratch, you need this book! Astrological Chart Calculations preserves and teaches the methods of the most basic astrological chart calculations and tells the story of its history. It addresses the disconnection between the actual process of mapping the sky and the arithmetic that is required to calculate a horoscope, a process required by some astrological certification exams. It presents the key concepts behind the celestial sphere, the keeping of time, the development of trigonometry and the nature of house systems. It is a general reference useful to any student of astrology, and anyone who has a reasonable grasp of algebra and geometry should be able to follow the explanations and worked calculations. It is hoped that a deeper knowledge of this traditional art of astrology, that is the challenge of mapping the sky and the mathematics of preparing a chart, will allow students to glean not only deeper insights into the subject, but also a unique contact with astrology’s long history.
This is the ideal companion to What Astrology is and How to Use it.
Bruce Scofield
Bruce Scofield began a lifelong study of astrology in 1967 and since the mid 1970s has been an astrological consultant specializing in psychological a...
Show moreOne for the nerds this month – a brilliant deep dive and explanation of how the unfamiliar astronomy and maths become the astrology charts that we’re so familiar with. Released a few years ago, this book missed my radar. As with many FAA astrologers, once the calculation exam was done and dusted, it’s time to hang up our calculators and move on to the more exciting facets of interpretation and dynamics. However, writing calculation articles for the FAA Journal has drawn me back in this area of knowledge and I was embarrassed to realise that I could no longer work my way through chart calculation. Hence a rapid recap through my existing materials, and the purchase of this book by Bruce Schofield – a US based astrologer who has been learning and practising since the late 1960s. Currently on the board of Kepler College, he is dedicated to teaching the skills that are rapidly being forgotten in the computerised age. His passionate belief is that astrologers should know and understand the systems that underpin their craft.
This book is more than a simple ‘how to cast a chart’. It’s a thorough explainer around the history of calculation and the maths that enabled current charts to exist. While at times some of the details of trigonometry were too hard for my small brain, it was an interesting fresh insight into calculus formulas that I had struggled with during my HSC. If only I’d realised what my profession would be 30 years later! Perhaps more helpfully, Schofield explains the various systems that are required for calculation – clearly describing how the Equatorial system derives the houses, and how the Ecliptic system plots the planets. House systems are explained well, as are the invention of logarithms.
It was interesting to read and fully understand the tools which I had only known superficially in order to pass my calculation exam. Much of the book then explores calculating a chart in great detail. This is the ‘grind’ component that is needed to be mastered and the way he explains the various steps is a helpful sidebar to any simpler texts that you may already be trying to decipher. Perhaps you can ‘do’ that part of the calculation, but you’re not sure exactly what it is you’re doing or where you’re going wrong. This book will give you the knowledge to take your skills from basic to expert. For anyone currently cramming for the FAA Calculation Exam this August, this is essential reading. Or for people who want to deepen their astronomical understanding of astrology or who just love a bit of nerdy maths chat, then this book is for you. By the end, I was back in charge and easily able to complete calculating charts.
Wendy Blume
This book on astrological chart calculations teaches basic astrological methodology. The first edition was compiled in 2002 from class notes and articles that Bruce Scofield wrote. This second edition expands the book to include many new topics that give an understanding of what lies behind an astrological birth chart in terms of space and time within historical references. It is a general reference which the student may find useful, especially if one has an understanding of algebra and geometry with regard to the mapping of the sky and general mathematics. It covers chapters such as: space/ time management; history of trigonometry; chart calculations using both algebraic equations, logarithms and a calculator with trigonometry functions.
Bruce Scofield believes that knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of chart calculation is very relevant. As he states : “Most of us drive cars or use electronic gadgets every day, but only a very few have any idea of how they work . . . we trust the repair of these things to the experts . . which is not a good analogy for astrology”.
The essence behind this book is the mathematical ritual of preparing a chart, which allows students to not only glean deeper insights into astrological chart calculations, but also to allow contact with and remembrance of astrology’s long history.
Federation of Australian Astrologers Journal
