Episodes

In episode 494 I share several Venus retrograde repetitions that have happened in the news recently, and summarize what I learned from closely tracking the Venus retrograde recently. Since Venus finally departed from Aries and completed the extended retrograde period earlier this month I wanted to do one final episode to wrap up some lingering 8-year repetition stories that I had found, and also to share some conclusions I drew from this research over the past 6 months. I needed to do this episo...

In episode 493 I interview some patrons and students talk about how the recent Venus and Mars retrograde periods went for them, and to demonstrate a principle I discovered about how retrogrades can describe the unfolding of a sequence of events over an extended period of time. One of my unique perspectives on Venus and Mars retrogrades is that they are not just the period when the planet is moving backwards, but instead represent an extended stay in one or two signs of the zodiac. This long tran...

In episode 492 Professor A. Tunç Şen joins the podcast to discuss his book, Forgotten Experts: Astrologers, Science, and Authority in the Ottoman Empire, 1450-1600, which is on astrologers working in the Ottoman court in the 15th and 16th centuries. The conversation offers a detailed picture of the lives and social dynamics of astrologers who operated at the highest levels of power in the Ottoman court. A significant focus is the establishment of a formal unit for court astrologers, or munajjim,...

In episode 491 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim look at the astrological forecast for June of 2025! We spend the first hour of the episode talking about the astrology of news and events that have occurred since our last forecast, and then in the second hour we transition into talking about the astrology of June, starting at 1 hour and 3 minutes into the episode. June opens with Venus and Mars wrapping up their extended retrograde periods by moving into new signs finally, with Venus mov...

In episode 490 professor M. Willis Monroe joins the podcast to discuss the history of astrology in ancient Mesopotamia. Willis is a historian of the ancient Near East and scholar of Cuneiform Studies with a focus on the science and scholarship of first millennium Mesopotamia, and he did his doctoral thesis on the use of zodiacal subdivisions in cuneiform sources. During the course of the episode we give an overview of the origins of western astrology in ancient Mesopotamia, starting with the ear...

In episode 489 astrologers Chris Brennan and Leisa Schaim discuss their views on astrology, fate, and destiny. This is part of a new series exploring our personal view on the philosophy of astrology, and in particular exploring the relevance of some ancient Stoic concepts related to fate and determinism. While most of the episodes of the podcast are usually more technically oriented, the purpose of this series is to begin to articulate some of the philosophical and spiritual views that we have d...

In episode 488 astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock look at the astrological forecast for May of 2025! May opens with the tense Mars-Pluto opposition separating but still in close alignment, and this gets reactivated when Pluto stations in Aquarius and the Moon swings in and acts as a trigger at various points. Venus returns to Aries where it retraces its steps and begins the process of fully winding down its long retrograde period, and Mars is similarly finishing up its broader retrogra...

In episode 487 astrologers Chris Brennan, Lindsey Turner, and Nick Dagan Best review a number of stories in the news recently that coincided with the Venus retrograde. This is a followup to episodes 475 and 477 where we talked about what Venus retrograde in Aries has coincided with in history, and part of our purpose with this episode is to document repetitions where stories from the past became relevant again today under the current retrograde. In the first half of the episode we focus on 8 yea...

In episode 486 astrologer Chris Brennan interviews some listeners of the podcast to talk about the recent retrogrades of Venus and Mars and what changes they coincided with in their life. Mars is recently coming off of its retrograde in Cancer and Leo, while Venus is wrapping up its retrograde in Aries and Pisces, so it felt like a good moment to check in with some people and see how these retrogrades played out depending on where the transits happened in the chart. During the course of the disc...

In episode 485 astrologer Elly Higgins joins the show to discuss the 8-year repetitions of Venus retrograde in Aries and how they tie into queer history over the past century. In this episode we start with the Venus retrograde in Aries of 1905, and then work our way forward in 8 year increments, discussing how important moments and turning points in queer history keep coinciding with this retrograde. In the process we ended up finding a bunch of repetitions, many of which give insight into the V...

In episode 484 astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock look at the astrological forecast for April 2025. April see the continuation and eventual conclusion of many of the alignments that started in March, with the effective range of the Aries eclipse extending through the first week or so, and then Mercury and Venus wrapping up their retrograde cycles and stationing direct in the second week of April. The second half of the month becomes intense when Mars moves into Leo and forms an opposit...

In episode 483 astrologers Chris Brennan and Nick Dagan Best discuss what happened in the past when the planets Saturn and Neptune form conjunctions every 36 years, and how these alignments often coincide with important turning points in history. We spend the first three quarters of the episode going through the seven most recent Saturn-Neptune conjunctions in history in detail, starting with the 1989 conjunction and then going backwards in 36 years increments to 1952/3, 1917, 1882, 1846, 1809, ...

In episode 482 features an interview with astrologer Berna Lee about the history, philosophy, and practice of Chinese astrology. Berna is a graduate of the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology program from the Sophia Centre, with a thesis examining the theory and practice of astrology in modern Hong Kong, and she is a 45th generation Chinese astrologer. During the course of the episode we discuss the historical development of Chinese astrology, and the different eras in which specific technica...

In episode 481 astrologer Chris Brennan gives a recap of some of the highlights of the 2025 Oscars ceremony from an astrological perspective. Venus stationed retrograde in Aries the day before the Oscars, and so we expected some firsts, some controversies, and some snafus, and it did not disappoint! Listen in for a full recap of all of the highlights! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Introduction: Oscars & the Venus Retrograde 00:01:03 - Historical Themes: "Firsts," Snafus, and Controversies 00:01:56 - Con...

In episode 480 of The Astrology Podcast astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock look at the astrological forecast for March of 2025. March is one of the most active and important months of 2025, which includes Venus and Mercury going retrograde in Aries, eclipses in Virgo and Aries, and Neptune moving into Aries at the very end of the month. We spend the first hour of the episode talking about the astrology of news and events that have occurred since our last forecast, and then in the secon...

In episode 479 of The Astrology Podcast, astrologers Chris Brennan and Nick Dagan Best delve into the repeating historical patterns underlying Mars retrograde in Cancer periods, specifically within the context of United States history. During the course of the episode we explore how these retrogrades, which occur roughly every 15-17 years, coincide with significant events and recurring themes in American history. By examining past instances of Mars retrograde in Cancer, our goal is to provide pe...

Episode 478 features and interview with astrologer Jason Holley about Experiential Astrology, which is a dynamic approach that attempts to embody the symbols of astrology through creative and interactive methods, including making the chart come alive by acting it out in a group setting with Astrodrama. Experiential astrology has its origins in some of the experimentation with different psychological methods that were happening in the astrological community in the 1970s and 80s, and Jason highlig...

In episode 477 Chris Brennan discusses a number of recent stories in the news and how they are repetitions of events that occurred during past Venus retrograde in Aries periods, demonstrating how the 8-year cycle of Venus can connect events from the past with the present. This is a followup to the Venus retrograde in Aries in history episode last month, where Nick Dagan Best and I went through and noted a bunch of important events that happened during past Venus retrograde in Aries periods. Ever...

In episode 476 astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock discuss the astrological forecast for February 2025, and talk about news and events from the past month through the lens of astrology. For the first 90 minutes of the episode we talk about news that happened in the news since our last forecast, and then in the second half of the episode we do a deep dive into the astrology of February. The astrology of February opens with Uranus and Jupiter stationing direct in Taurus and Gemini, and th...

In episode 475 astrologers Chris Brennan and Nick Dagan Best discuss what every Venus retrograde in Aries period has coincided with in history over the past century, identifying patterns of 8-year repetitions in the past that are tied in with the present and future. The premise of this episode is that we have a Venus retrograde in Aries and Pisces coming up over the next few months, and it seems to coincide with a really important part of the year in March and April where we are expecting some m...

In episode 474 astrologers Chris Brennan and Nick Dagan Best discuss Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler as time twins who were born a few days apart both with Venus retrograde, and how subsequent Venus retrogrades coincided with important turning points in both of their lives. Hitler and Chaplin were born in April of 1889 only 4 days apart, and so their birth charts are remarkably similar, including both having Venus retrograde in Taurus. The issue of time twins or people who are born around the s...

In episode 473 astrologer Chris Brennan talks to listeners of the podcast who share stories about 5th house placements in their birth chart. This is a precursor to an upcoming episode being researched on the meaning of the 5th house in astrology where we will focus on looking at celebrity example charts, and in this episode the goal was to interview some listeners of the podcast and talk with them about their 5th house placements directly. This episode was recorded on November 24, 2024 with a gr...

In episode 472 astrologers Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock discuss the year ahead astrology forecast for 2025, and make predictions about the planetary alignments in the coming year! 2025 will be a big year of change, with all of the outer planets moving into new zodiac signs this year, marking the beginning of a new era. This will be the first year that Pluto spends entirely in Aquarius, and then in March the planet Neptune will move into Aries, followed shortly by Saturn also entering Aries i...

Episode 471 features astrologer Chris Brennan's year ahead horoscopes for 2025, with an astrology forecast and predictions for all twelve signs of the zodiac for the coming year. These horoscopes are meant to take some of the major transits that we will discuss in our big year ahead astrology forecast and personalize them, by talking about them within the context of each sign. I would recommend listening to the zodiac sign that matches your rising sign if you know your birth time, although you c...