Norse Astrology

[Franz Josef Stern]

Good day everyone. I would like to introduce you to a new branch of astrology - Norse astrology. This branch takes its place with the star-studies of other cultural traditions: Greco-Roman, Indian, Chinese, American Indian, and Tibetan.

I believe that this astrological discipline is appropriate for those of Northern or Central European heritage, or for those dissatisfied with traditional Greco-Roman astrology.

Norse astrology shares some common ground with Greco-Roman, but there are significant differences:

• It is based in the 24 historic Norse runes, which provide more detailed descriptions than 12 signs.
• The 8 houses are based on the ancient pagan solar wheel, reflecting the sun's daily and yearly path.
• The gender-balanced planet energies are embodiments of the Norse pantheon.

There are many topics that I would like to discuss in comparing and contrasting Norse and Greco-Roman astrology, but instead, I invite you to visit my web site, www.althoroscopes.com, to learn more about this alternative. I would appreciate any constructive feedback that you might have regarding this new discipline.

Thank you,
Franz Josef Stern

 

[piercethevale]

Good day everyone. I would like to introduce you to a new branch of astrology - Norse astrology. This branch takes its place with the star-studies of other cultural traditions: Greco-Roman, Indian, Chinese, American Indian, and Tibetan.

I believe that this astrological discipline is appropriate for those of Northern or Central European heritage, or for those dissatisfied with traditional Greco-Roman astrology.

Norse astrology shares some common ground with Greco-Roman, but there are significant differences:

• It is based in the 24 historic Norse runes, which provide more detailed descriptions than 12 signs.
• The 8 houses are based on the ancient pagan solar wheel, reflecting the sun's daily and yearly path.
• The gender-balanced planet energies are embodiments of the Norse pantheon.

There are many topics that I would like to discuss in comparing and contrasting Norse and Greco-Roman astrology, but instead, I invite you to visit my web site, www.althoroscopes.com, to learn more about this alternative. I would appreciate any constructive feedback that you might have regarding this new discipline.

Thank you,
Franz Josef Stern

Thank you Franz!
I'm looking forward to it. btw...I have a thread titled "A Runic Explanation of the Zodiac?" here at this Forum...so titled, as to the observation and evaluation given me by my good friend, Suryakant, who is entirely of Nordic ancestry, and says it is...in some ways if not entirely...you should find it interesting and I would like to hear your impression of it and any comments or insights you could provide. ptv

 

[Mark]

I am intrigued by the system of astrology presented on the site linked above. I was quickly disheartened, however, by the intense, repeated straw-man-ing of Greco-Roman astrology. Many of the things said about Greco-Roman astrology are simply outright false (such as the claim that the signs of Greco-Roman astrology literally represent animals instead of archetypes). Then there are other "fuzzy" mistakes, like assuming that delineating houses and signs at the midpoint is somehow different than by the cusp. When you change your method of measuring, you simply change your interpretations to match. You're still measuring the same thing. For example, you can label the degrees of Aries as -7 to 7 of one rune and -7 to 7 of the next rune. All we've really done to get from one to the other is mathematically convert our measurements to their precise equivalents and adjusted our interpretations to reflect the new system.

To compare the 24 rune midpoint system to the 12 sign cusp system, each sign would get 2 runes (e.g. splitting Aries into 1st Aries and 2nd Aries, etc.) which would highlight a culmination phase and a manifesting phase of each sign (each phase referenced as a rune). While this may be a good practice, it is not unique to Norse astrology and some have already applied it to Greco-Roman astrology. The more interesting part is what qualitative value might be added by Norse interpretations.

In brief, I'm not dismissing the validity of the astrological information presented. In fact, I'm interested to learn a bit more about it. I just wish the website could present the information without slandering other types of astrology. It's obvious that the site is also meant to sell astrological readings, so I assume that much of the difficulty comes from the sales spiel. Is there perhaps a way you could espouse the benefits of Norse astrological methods without referring to any other types of astrology? Quite frankly, the site as it is right now will only convince someone who knows nothing about astrology... or is that just your target demographic?

 

[Franz Josef Stern]

On my web site, I am making the case for Norse astrology. In Western civilization, it is only natural to make this case by comparing and contrasting it to the predominant Greco-Roman or Hellenistic model. There are models based on other traditions (Indian/Vedic, Chinese, American Indian …) and the practitioners of these models make the case why their models are more appropriate for their clients. I think that Norse astrology is a good, possibly better, model for those of Northern and Central European heritage. Individuals may decide for themselves which model is best for them. I suspect that most will find Norse astrology a better model in one domain of life, and Greco-Roman better in a different domain.

The frame of reference (the measurement of degrees) reflects a substantial difference from Greco-Roman astrology. The central degrees of a rune or house are those with the purest and strongest effect. The degrees at the edge of a rune of house are more diluted, taking on the attributes of the neighboring house or rune. This structure is best described by defining the central degree as zero, and counting forward and backwards from there. This system of numbering degrees best reflects this reality.

In the mapping between the 24 Norse runes and 12 Greco-Roman signs, 12 runes are completely within the center of a sign. The other 12 straddle two adjacent signs. The system starts with Dagaz at the northern summer solstice, overlapping the end of Gemini and the beginning of Cancer. Fehu is next, totally within Cancer. Thurisaz overlaps the end of Cancer and the beginning of Leo, and so on.

On my web site, I also present preliminary evidence for the validity of Norse astrology. I present thumbnail sketches of natal horoscopes for nine public figures from across the world. I also discuss how the placement of the Norns, Loki, and Tyr have defined the two world wars of the 20th century, the rise and fall of communism in Europe (the Berlin Wall in particular), the 1948 Chinese revolution, the partition of India and Pakistan, and the 1969 lunar landing.

 

[waybread]

Hi Franz-- Thanks for introducing this fascinating topic! And for all the thought you have put into it.

I have a lot of interest in both astrology and Northern heritage. I have studied runes and northern mythology, but can't say I've mastered any of it, notably because I have no fluency in a Germanic language. (Not counting the "mongrel" English language.) At one point in my life I had quite a remarkable "psychic journey" into Northern lore, however. (I grew up in North America, but it began with an exploration into my German and Frisian roots.)

I've skimmed through your website too quickly, but would just like to offer a few (hasty) thoughts.

1. It appears that to really learn about Northern astrology, we have to purchase your astro-products. Or am I missing something?

2. As you know, there are several furtharks (rune alphabets, German, Frisian, Scandinavian) and they have varying numbers of runes. The number 24 seems really attractive, however, as it makes a neat match-up with the 360-degree zodiac, the Vedic lunar mansions, and the conventional 12 signs.

Other possible contacts would be the so-called feminine and masculine signs in Hellenistic astrology and the 4 elements. The Vanir apparently were earth and water gods; the Aesir, air and fire gods.

Perhaps we are looking at a common Indo-European heritage, as it spread across most of Europe and into northern India. Although these migrations pre-dated astrology, the earlier cultures had some basic ways of understanding themselves and their pantheons.

3. Are you familiar with the articles of Jodie Forrest? www.forrestastrology.com . She wrote several articles on links between the Norse deities and the planets as understood in modern western astrology. These appeared in The Mountain Astrologer.

4. Classical Greek astrology doesn't deal so much with degrees, as people in Hellenistic times lacked the ability to measure the heavens precisely. So when someone like Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos) talks about opposing planets, really he means planets in opposing signs.

5. I was curious about your choice of match-ups between northern and Roman planets. We might start with equivalencies for days of the week:

Monday= "moon day"
Tuesday= "Tiw's day" (Tiw or Tyr = Mars)
Wednesday="Wodan's day (Wodan=Odin) Mercury (cf: Mercredi in French)
Thursday= Thor's Day (Jupiter) (cf. Jupiter/Zeus called "the Thunderer")
Friday= Freya's Day (or Frigga? Venus. Freya is a pair with Freyr. cf. Ger. Frau)
Saturday= Saturn's Day (no clear equal, but Njorthr/Njord seems like a decent one)
Sunday= Sunna

These are pretty much the conventional wisdom, so a strong case would have to be made for changing them.

Odin seems more like Mercury, and was so understood to early authors on northern culture. Note that he gives up an eye in his quest for knowledge! I believe the English word "wit" and the German wissen (to know) have the same root as Wotan.

But I don't think Odinism is a wise direction. The Northern gods do have the capacity to speak to people (in my experience) but it may not be Odin who does this. In my case, the goddess who is sometimes called Hel became a powerful force in my life at one point. For sure, she is badly misunderstood and maligned today. Wodan/Wotan/Odin is simply not the Allfather to me. He is not a creator god in the Judeo-Christian sense. If memory serves, he was sometimes considered to be an ancestor. Nor was he the principal god of different Germanic subgroups, as local place names and archaeology indicate.

Odin's 8-legged horse would have to be the 8 phases of the solar year, just as Hel's 3-legged horse would represent the 3 major moon phases. Then Baldur also indicates seasonal change, although it is hard to plug him into the planets.

But this just scratches the surface. Norse deities seem to appear in pairs more so than in the Hellenistic pantheon. Freya and Freyr, Njorthr and Skathi (or Nerthus), Odin and Frigga, suggest the possibility of understanding planets as having two gendered natures--not just the masculinist ones handed down to us.

5. I think your "Why Norse Astrology is better" section needs rethinking.

* Some Hellenistic constellations are universal archetypes in some cultures (Aquarius represented as the water jug, Virgo as an angel) and some Norse runes indicate animals, perhaps starting with the 1st two.

*Independence from "the drifting stars" would seem to defeat the purpose of astrology. A study of the history of runes reveals that they have undergone change across time and cultures, and notably today as they have become adopted by New Age authors.

*What is the historical basis for giving runes degree numbers?

*Archetypes are ubiquitous across cultures, including the 2 under discussion.

*Houses have regular sizes in both the whole sign and equal house systems of western astrology. At one time, some traditional astrologers used an 8-house system (see Firmicus Maternus) but it dropped out of favour. See also Dane Rudhyar on The Lunation Cycle.

Anyway, there's more to be said, but this is enough for one post!

 

[Franz Josef Stern]

Thank you for your detailed feedback and references.

For me, the definition of houses and runes in Norse astrology comes from historical sources. I found Nigel Pennick’s book “Runic Astrology – Starcraft and Timekeeping in the Northern Tradition” (1990, The Aquarian Press) to be an invaluable resource. He describes the mapping between 24 runes and 12 signs. And he also discusses the eight stations of the sun in its yearly and daily cycle.

Pennick also discusses the planet-deity relationships that you describe. He extends the traditional 7 planets to 9 by assigning Urd (a Norn) to Uranus and Aegir (the sea god) to Neptune. I do not find these associations convincing, so I developed alternative associations from several principles.

Mani (Moon) and Sunna (Sun) are weak archetypes. Mani and Sunna have few attributes or history beyond that of their respective labels. To me, the luminaries must represent the most complex and developed male and female archetypes, and these are Odin and Freyja. And in contrast to Hellenistic heritage, the Moon is male, and the Sun is female. (Japanese culture assigns the same genders to the luminaries). And as I thought about it, these associations seemed fitting – Odin the eternal wanderer, and Freyja, splendor of the gods.

Another important principle was gender balance. As male and female energies play an equal role in our world, so must Norse planetary energies be equally balanced. Some associations were obvious (at least to me) – Thor as Mars, Loki as Uranus, Frigga as Venus. Perhaps the association most at-odds with Greco-Roman culture is assigning Skadhi to Mercury. And after I made the planetary associations, a pattern leapt out. All the female archetypes lay on one side of the solar circle, the male archetypes on the other.

Hel is an under-rated, unfairly-maligned goddess in the modern interpretation of the Norse mythos. In reality, she is more like a mother-earth or Gaia figure. It seemed appropriate to pair her with Heimdal as the archetypes of the Moon’s declinations. She is the southernmost point on Odin/Moon’s path, representing what makes us comfortable and earthbound. Heimdal, guardian of Asgard, is the northernmost point, representing our striving away from earth and toward heaven.

I struggled with the Aesir vs. Vanir issue, but could not come to a firm conclusion. Balder is a strong archetype, but I could find no clear role for him. I speculate that perhaps he and his brother Hodur are represented by the twin sub-planets Pluto and Charon.

I have taken the advice of you and others, and reworked the web page on why Norse astrology is better. It now discusses the advantages of Norse astrology and avoids an adversarial comparison to Greco-Roman astrology.

I believe that I have posted sufficient information about Norse astrology on my web site, or at least my interpretation of it. I suspect that this field will develop as others enter the field. If you want a personal natal horoscope from me, then I must charge for it. I think that the personalized natal horoscopes that I provide offer value that cannot be found in other automated horoscopes (you see the reasoning behind each conclusion, percentile ranks are provided, alternative chart designs …), but those features are off-topic here.

Thank you to everyone who provided constructive feedback about Norse astrology.

Franz Josef Stern

 

[waybread]

Thanks for replying, Franz.

Pennick's book is essentially a popular book on the runes, whereas there is a substantial body of academic scholarship on them. Even so, you are probably familiar with the difference between the "elder" and "younger" futharks. Edred Thorsson has a Ph. D. in Germanic languages/medieval studies and has written several popular books on runes. You are probably also familiar with the books of Hilda R. Ellis Davidson on northern mythology.

Then I don't know what you make of Guido von List!!

Do we really need to match up mythology for the sun and moon?

Note that in Graeco-Roman mythology, Apollo and Diana/Artemis have myths that really match up poorly with the sun and moon in astrology, let alone in daily life.

Have you read Robert Graves, The White Goddess? There are all kinds of Germanic folk narratives that do not neatly fit into the very few myths that have survived about the Germanic pantheon from sources like the Icelandic sagas. We get some of it from the Grimm brothers' works on folklore, and even in Wagner's opera Tannhauser.

I think the northern pantheon need to be looked at esoterically. For example, Wotan (Wodan, Odin) represents the critical thinking faculty in pursuit of knowledge, as in the German verb wissen and the English word "wit". ("I wot" is an obsolete archaic term for "I know.") But he has two brothers whose functions have disappeared from recorded memory: Willi, the personification of one's will, and Ve, from which we get our English word "awe." Put them together and we get three major features of the human mind.

If the Germanic ideal of heaven were the afterlife of Valhalla, with warriors fighting all day and drinking all night, what rational person would want it? Rather, we find the various northern gods with their own halls, presumably welcoming the spirits of their own faithful after death.

The idea of Asgard and our souls longing to ascend to it seems very Indo-European.

If I were to make an astrological match for Hel, I would probably pick the IC, but as a "dark" goddess, she also has lunar connotations. She appears under various names and narratives: Mother Holle, Berchta, the Lady, Queen Mab, the Faerie Queene, Titania of Shakespeare, among others. As such, she is not evil as she has been made out to be, and is hardly Loki's daughter, as she pre-dates him. She is probably pre- Indo-European; as Indo European myths generally describe the conquest of an older culture and deposing their gods.

Loki is a trickster figure who occurs in mythology in many, many societies around the world. The tricker is the rabbit of many African myths, and the coyote of the American Southwest. In Roman mythology, it is the negative face of Mercury as the trickster in his youth. Thus Mercury is a dual character: the more positive face of Mercury appears in the Hellenized Egyptian Hermes/Thoth.

Baldur the Beautiful may be a masculine face of Venus, but more probably he is simply the northern version of the dying god who is reborn--just like Ba'al of the Phoenicians, Adonis of the Greeks, Osiris of the Egyptians, and Tammuz/Dimmuzi of the Persians. This god was originally a god of vegetation and seasonal change, but over time the esoteric meanings of death and rebirth took precedence.

One thing that occurs to me re: astrology is that the discipline as we know it developed in countries where the night skies are really clear, at least part of the year. This would seem less so in northern Europe. According to the Grimm brothers' 4-volume set on northern folklore, there just wasn't a lot of lore on heavenly bodies--at least not by the late 18th century.

Anyway, good luck with this, Franz!

 

[tikana]

hey all

is there a historical record of old norse people using astrology? Something that goes back to pre Poetic Edda days?
As far as i know Runes were used for magic and for oracles.
I just went through an entire Poetic Edda, didnt see 1 word mentioning astrology

thanks
T

 

[piercethevale]

Franz, I realize I gave reference to a thread of mine in which I deleted the posts when I was P'd enough to leave for good..but, had a change in attitude.
I did repost the best of it at ACTastrology.com.
Here's the initial one...I would value your opinion both to the 'Runic' implications and the overall theory itself regardless of origin.

___________________________________________________________


"Greetings,I thought that I'd throw another theory of mine into the mix.
It has to do with a hypothesis of mine that I and a few assosciates think makes very good sense. When I completed it [at least as complete as I have managed to date] my friend Suryakant, a yogi, whom is of Norweigan ancestry, said: "This is 'Runic'."
It involves, primarily, the 'Triplicities'. This would be in additiion to the present theories.
All elements represented in the Zodiac should be thought of as 'On the Earth', 'Above the Earth' and 'Below the Earth'.

The Signs Leo, Cancer, Gemini and Taurus are elements 'On the Earth".
The Signs Aries, Pisces, Aquarius and Capricorn are the elements 'Above the Earth'
The Signs Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra and Virgo are the elements 'Below the Earth'

This makes sense. Of the element, Earth, Taurus is known to rule the plains, valleys and pastures, hence, 'On the Earth'. Capricorn rules the mountains, hence 'Above the Earth'. Virgo the caves, 'Below the Earth'

Now about the Fire signs. Leo rules fire by combustion and although it in turn is ruled by the Sun, the Suns' heat is not felt until it strikes the surface of the Earth, hence, 'On the Earth'. Aries rules electrical fire and that is, in its' most natural and common state, lightning, hence, 'Above the Earth', That leaves Sag., which rules fire by friction and it would have to be 'Below the Earth'. [Fire below the Earth created by the frictions of movement below us]

As for Water. Cancer represents all waters 'On the Earth', Pisces, 'Above the Earth', meaning it rules the rains, which in turn without there would be no streams or rivers, and Scorpio 'Below the Earth' which gives support and is in turn supported by the old notion that it rules swamps and things of that nature that are fed by underground water sources.

For the Air signs. Gemini is known to represent the exhalation of breath and would be considered 'On the Earth'. Libra the in between breath, 'Below the Earth' and Aquarius, the inhalation breath, 'Above the Earth' This makes sense as per the legend that Aquarius is the "Water Bearer" as it's considered 'Air above the Earth' and Pisces, as explained above, 'Water above the Earth' [Rains]...I believe you should see what we are getting at here. That Aquarius is the upper atmosphere that is required to dispense rain.

As I explained at the Astrodienst Astrologers f0rum, there is a program that aired the day after I came up with this explanation. It was on the 'History Channel' here in the States on cable television. This program was about modern weapons and discussed a Russian sub that was built to withstand great depths and had an exceptionally strong hull.
This submarine sank in water so deep that its hull collapsed eventually. The narrator said that when the hull did finally collapse that the men inside couldn't have suffered very long as there would have been an explosion created by the friction of the water rushing in under such extreme pressure that the air in the sub would ignite! Water igniting Air!!!

Now take this "Runic" arrangement and note the following.

A Submarine is somewhat of a cave...Virgo.

The Air inside the Sub, not unlike the air in a cave...Libra.

Water rushes into the cave...Scorpio.

Leads to fire by friction...Sagittarius.

I would also like to have you consider the book of the Bible Genesis for this analogy.

In the beginning there was only the 'waters of the deep'...Cancer.

The breath [wind] blew over the waters...Gemini

The lands appeared...Taurus.
One last thing to add here is my proposed re-arrangement of the duplicity of positive and negative signs.

As it is currently accepted you end up with postive and negative always opposing one another in the Zodiac. This is un-natural, as Tesla proved Edisons generator [Direct Current] was and was thus in-efficient.
Tesla claimed to have gotten the inspiration for his Alternator [Alternating Current] from the universe around him.

Thus the Zodiac should be divided half and half not unlike the Yin-Yang diagram. We believe Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sag. and Cap. to be the 'positive' signs and the remainder to be the 'negative'

Of course this leads to the conclusion that there are positive and negative types of both sexes...and a host of other new considerations. [I have another posting on this, theory of mine as to what I derived from Tesla about energy polarity elsewhere in this forum in a thread on Masculinity and Femininity]
The point here is that possibly all laws of the physical universe can be found in a proper explanation of the Zodiac.

Thus leaving one to conclude that Astrology is not only a science but the Mother of all Science."
_________________
_________________

 

[piercethevale]

2nd post

...and as a final thought on this I am reminded of what Dane Rudhyar wrote:


...."excerpt from the 'Rudhyar Archival Project', "Uranus Versus Saturn, the Value of Inconsistency"[I beleive this is okay as per the copyrights].

"When we say of a person bringing up an argument to prove a point that he is "consistent," we mean that his speech reveals a continuous sequence of known causes and expected results, of accepted premises and rational deductions. The continuity of his thinking is evident, and the arguments are contained within the framework of a well-tested logic. The trouble with such a procedure, however, is that it produces only results of the same order as the experiences which originally helped to devise the procedure. In a very real sense, the nature and quality of one's search condition in advance what one will find. If we use Saturnian means to solve a problem, the solution will not leave the realm of Saturn. Likewise, all the discoveries of modern science are conditioned by the scientific methods and quantitative techniques used in the process of discovery. The universe we see today is the universe as our "scientific" mind allows us to see it. It assuredly is not the universe in all its reality! It is the universe seen through the Saturnian consistency of our logical ways of thinking."

[some hours later] I realized in reading the initial post that mention was made of 'MESO', a term I have never heard before applied in the manner it was.
I mean, I have heard and am quite familiar with 'microcosom' and 'macrocosom' but had never given any thought to it beyond that. I had to ponder for a moment what "meso" meant...and then I realized it's representative of what is manifest to us on this plane.
Thus the whole concept of 'Macro', 'Meso' and 'Micro' is the same as "Above the Earth", "On the Earth" and "Below the Earth"...is it not?
Also I've found connections between scientific fact of observable processes of nature and the application of musical tonality to the Zodiac. That is, my explanation of musical tonality as to how it corresponds with the Zodiac. [I can provide the explanation and examples if asked to.]
I see Astrologers as divided into two groups: Those that are mechanically proficient and those that are 'seers' i.e. those folks that can vizualize the overall 'Gestalt' of the astrological situation...and possibly a third group that can do both....I see myself as belonging to the second group...but I am aspiring to be part of the third group.

 

[piercethevale]

and the last two posts

Greetings. I would like to add this post [copied from one I have elsewhere on the 'net'] to my 'Runic' theory posted above in this forums' thread.
I was watching the History Channel here in the States the other night and caught a program on the formation of the Earth.
In this program the narrator talked about how when underground water hit seams of molten lava underground it solidified those seams into 'strata' and they eventually were thrust upwards into mountains.

...underground water > Scorpio
...underground molten lava > Sagittarius
...above the Earth mountains > Capricorn

...AH! The plot thickens!

...ps, check out my thread in the 'Numbers and Astrology" sub-forum titled "The Seven and the Five"
http://actastrology.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=177
as to what developed from that theory has some scientific application/implication which you all may find of some interest.

...also, it's been my observation, and it's been pointed out to me, that as a result of this 'arrangement' of the nature of the Zodiac it is implied that the waters "Above the Earth" [Pisces], are just as influenced by the Moon as the waters "On the Earth" [Cancer]...an interesting conjecture!

 

[piercethevale]

...in support of evidence for this 'Runic Theory', I offer this post from a thread at the Sabian Forum...about the oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico

By Runic Astrological theory [I've got a post of this Runic thing here at this forum], [Elements Above the Earth, On the Earth, & Below the Earth] Virgo rules Earth-Below the Earth. i.e., e.g. 'Caves' {notice the womb implication} and oil is an earth element /substance from cave like pockets. Saturn is presently in the last degrees of Virgo. Aries rules Fire-Above the Earth i.e. e.g. 'Lightning'...but also all electrical fire. As Uranus is about to enter Aries I suspect the fire and was some sort of electrical fire that got out of hand or just downright caused an explosion. [Pisces is a water sign, of course, but by Runic theory it rules Water-Above the Earth [hence 'Rain/Snow'..which without there would be no streams/rivers...which has become mistakenly identified with Piscean rulership...Cancer rules all Water-On the Earth.]
This combo of Saturn 'The Lesson Giver...the Distributor of Karma' in opposition to Uranus, "The Great Awakener...The Deliverer of Sudden Change' has caused some mayhem...that's for sure...whether it proves to have been caused by somthing 'electrical' remains to be seen...I'll certainly be following the story.
..and in added observation, as my brother, Daniel, once said to me [taught me]..."The last degree of a Sign is where all the lessons of that Sign come to bear pressure...a tough degree [the 30th] for anyone to have a Natal Planet in their birth chart" [Esp. Moon in Capricorn!]...as this event occured so close to the last degree of Virgo and Pisces simultaneously ...it certainly does make sense.
[update...2 days later}
..well, the latest theory on the Oil platform explosion/fire is due to a bubble of methane gas...Libra represents Air Below the Earth..and Saturn was briefly in Libra [Air Below the Earth] before returning to Virgo...it keeps adding up ...!

 

[waybread]

Tikana, I don't think there is evidence of astrology in Norse/Germanic culture. The signs, for example, come down to us from Babylon and Egypt. There is clear evidence for a northern "wheel of the year" dating back to prehistoric archaeology; as well as some star lore. Orion, for example, was called "Frigga's dress" according to the Grimm brothers' collection of Germanic folklore. The Vikings were known for their navigational skills, which included sailing by the stars.

But I don't think they used heavenly bodies to explain human behaviour.

Of course, there is no reason why someone couldn't draw upon northern lore to develop a New Age form of Germanic/Scandinavian astrology.

I note that this culture ranged from northern Scandinavia and over to Iceland (with brief outliers in Greenland and Newfoundland,) south to Austria and Switzerland, west to Belgium (Flanders) and east into German settlements in Poland and beyond. It is not clear how consistent their mythology and folk beliefs would have been. Much of what we know about northern mythology was preserved in Icelandic sagas--hence, Norwegian roots.

 

[antony]

ok hello every one into norse astrology :
it is nice that you have taken an interest in the norse ;
there are a few books that i have seen two examples are

i could show you but i do not know how to insert the chart :
1 nigel pennick runic astrology 1990s
one that starts with the rune fehu in cancer at the 29th of june : comes from a collection of traditions that he put together i know this as we stood and chatted on how he put the thing to gether ! it was based on time keeping in the northern tradition so has some credability
2 Donald Tyson to be honest what id this based on ? where did he get this from ?
3 there is an mb computer system based on what ? againe where do they get this from
4 there was or is a norse astrology based on the halls of asgard in the prose Edda and the house of the zodiack freya aswynn leaves of yggdrasil book 1990s how

5 i have been working with these since 1990 ans a practice and i have come to know the variouse ways that these work and where they can be improved
6 there is a asreonomy not astrology used by viking sea men on exploration and farmers by observation with the eye on the actual stars at night and weather patterns the hight of the sun not a circle but that the sun rises east and sets west and is not astrology in that sense.

ok here is how i have come to use them now :

1 the runes chart : with day south and cancer ignor that here
2 make day rune east or where then sun rises 1st house assendant
3 rune berkana becomes mid heaven 1oth house
4 rune jera meaning west : note that not youl but harvest time !
5 rune kano is now north : note that yule is the time of giving giftts not september and libra
6 the hart is now assention day declaraton ntd mid heaven tyr
with 4th house cancer gifts
7 the easy way is have the chart above you turn it 90 degree
8 observe ! chinese tigher ox rat etc do you know that they follow the house system ? tiger is a warring tiger aries ! labour ox turus wathey rat gemini
9 in runes this is feho ur turus as = comminication a genini thing and rad = short journys ! etc

i don see a spell check :

now in the halls and stars gemini is skadi thunder home and feng shui it is north east : the star seen at night in february : and not piscies the sun sign

 

[antony]

hey all

is there a historical record of old norse people using astrology? Something that goes back to pre Poetic Edda days?
As far as i know Runes were used for magic and for oracles.
I just went through an entire Poetic Edda, didnt see 1 word mentioning astrology

thanks
T

you are right you know ! the gods have absolutly nothing to do with astrology !
the stars are sparks in the dome of vimirs skull
the only thing is there are myths about them for esxample thor and the giants
examples are
1 the star gemini is eyes of the giant skadi a jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains.
2 orion is frigga disraff
3 the star near libra and bootes corna boreaus next to hercules is the story that thor but it there when a giants toe broke off
there great bear is odins wagon and the little bear is the ladys wagon and so on ;
balder is not the sun king : there is no sun king !
jupiter is not thor and odin is not murcury

and were is the spell check ?
i think i have made my point

 

[piscesmoon262]

Good day everyone. I would like to introduce you to a new branch of astrology - Norse astrology. This branch takes its place with the star-studies of other cultural traditions: Greco-Roman, Indian, Chinese, American Indian, and Tibetan.

I believe that this astrological discipline is appropriate for those of Northern or Central European heritage, or for those dissatisfied with traditional Greco-Roman astrology.

Norse astrology shares some common ground with Greco-Roman, but there are significant differences:

• It is based in the 24 historic Norse runes, which provide more detailed descriptions than 12 signs.
• The 8 houses are based on the ancient pagan solar wheel, reflecting the sun's daily and yearly path.
• The gender-balanced planet energies are embodiments of the Norse pantheon.

There are many topics that I would like to discuss in comparing and contrasting Norse and Greco-Roman astrology, but instead, I invite you to visit my web site, www.althoroscopes.com, to learn more about this alternative. I would appreciate any constructive feedback that you might have regarding this new discipline.

Thank you,
Franz Josef Stern

This is a very intriguing! Thank you for sharing

 

[GipeS]

Hello!

I apologize for any mistakes, I do not know much English ...

I am extremely interested in the topic Runic Astrology ! I am a practicing astrologer, and runes to come through the Slavic tradition, through a search of the Slavic origins of astrology ... Unfortunately at the time of Peter the 1 - valuable manuscripts were destroyed and very little information ! As a result, have to restore the system through the astrological mythology, folk rituals , stories and art ...

As for the runic astrology , that is, specify the connection with the annual runes wheel and this is without a doubt !

I have studied many books on the subject , and came to some confusion ! And the fact that too many authors on different vision of the annual wheel - "Kolo ", according to correlate different Zodiac signs and runes ! ?

As a result of this putannitsa , just do not quite understand how to use the system !

Here, I have collected the material is devoted to astrology, runes : http://www.znaxar.net/blogs/tuda-ne-znayu-kuda-i-to-ne-znayu-chto/-runicheskaja-astrologija.html

One could add to this list, such as author Guillaume, with his book "Les Runes Et Les Etoiles" (1980). This author sees a direct mark of Runes in the constellations of the Milky Way!

Several different vision of this typeface, but again the same in relation to the constellations with Jean Vertemonta in the book "Dictionary of Indo-European mythology", though he cites matching runes - nakshatras ...

I would be very happy to cooperate with you , for me it is important to find people close to the spirit and going in the same direction! I feel that the relationship runes with astrology is, but it alone is very difficult to find the truth !

I would also like to ask you about the exchange ! I need a book Nigel Pennick - "Runic Astrology Starcraft and Timekeeping in the Northern Tradition", I like you threw the book in electronic form Guillaume - "Les Runes Et Les Etoiles", or any other information given by me to share !?

The problem is not the money for the purchase of books, but in the fact that in Russia there is no such literature ! ... Of course there are many works by European authors, but that's specific to the runes and astrology is not! Books such as Guillaume - "Les Runes Et Les Etoiles", D.Tyson - "Runic astrology", I ordered through friends in Germany! And it's a very long time to my regret ...

Thank you, with respect and consideration !

 

[waybread]

Gipe, re: the Pennick book, are you able to order it through amazon.com or abebooks.com?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=nigel%20pennick%20runic%20astrology

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Pennick,+Nigel&kn=astrology&sts=t

 

[GipeS]

Gipe, re: the Pennick book, are you able to order it through amazon.com or abebooks.com?

Thank you for your participation, I did so yesterday!

==========================

Dear colleagues, I hope that the topic is still relevant and alive!? However, where the author was lost - Franz Josef Stern?

In any case, I will try to share with vvsemi that found, misrepresented the number of studies and Russian astrologers and runology ...

* To the address below, you can read the article of the Russian astrologer Avestan Alexei Valyaeva "ZODIAC AND runic circles": http://gor8902as.ucoz.ru/forum/3-333-2 # 9142 or here: http://www.znaxar.net/blogs/tuda-ne-znayu-kuda-i-to-ne-znayu-chto/-runicheskaja-astrologija.html

* Russian language course, but I think Google translator will help in reading!

 

[akshat005]

Hi to all, Thanks for sharing this valuable information about new branch of astrology." Norse astrology" with us here. All your feedback and references are good to know more about it. Keep updating to us with these type of new things of astrology world.