Astrology Takes the Semiotic Turn: CURA Promotes New Theories of the Fates

March 21, 2002 9:51 AM

Astrology Takes the Semiotic Turn: CURA Promotes New Theories of the Fates
    Almost a year ago, we discussed the case of Sorbonne PhD and famous French astrologer, Elisabeth Teissier (1, 2). She caused a stir with her argument that astrology was a "human" science on par with anthropology and philosophy.
    It seems her case bolstered the hand of other practicioners. CURA (Centre Universitaire du Recherche Astrologique) has an extensive collection of writings on astrology both ancient and modern. More recent papers examine astrological patterns as sign systems, a conceptual heuristic made popular by anthropology and later studies of popular culture. There's also some use of statistical methods, and concepts from cognitive psychology. It seems there's some movement in both directions; Semiotica recently published a paper that's very popular among the astrosociologues (1).
posted by rschram (3 comments total)

Semiotic Turn.. Astrosociologues.. Semiotica -- Memepool time.
posted by stbalbach at 1:57 PM on March 21, 2002

Excellent! It's about time we saw some proper academics based in Europe writing the history of astrology.

This article for practitoners looks fun:
Potentials and Contraindications of Therapeutic Astrology
"By engaging in dialogue with clients about the central themes of their charts, we discern their level of consciousness and functioning so that we are able to counsel them effectively ... It is true that astrology reintroduces a mythic perspective, revealing the archetypal nature of the people and situations that inhabit our lives ..."
posted by sheauga at 6:28 PM on March 21, 2002

the discovery that schitzophrenia could be linked to the amount of sunlight the mother gets during gestation lends some weight to the idea that there may be seasonal differences in the 'personality' of the infants.
posted by asok at 10:47 AM on March 22, 2002