What's the most important thing people should know about astrology?
What makes Time Passages software unique in the marketplace?
I originally got interested in Astrology through the practice of Tarot. There is an intimate connection between the two, as each of the 22 Major Arcana has an astrological correlate. I was immediately struck by how accurately the astrological symbolism worked for the charts I studied, for friends and family and later for those that I encountered in my practice. From being more of a scientist or a rationalist by educational training, it opened up my worldview to the mystical side of life.
For one thing I was at the time dissatisfied with the software that was out there. As I got further into the project, my motivation became to spread the awareness that Astrology really works. I thought that if anyone could see this for himself or herself, by displaying the information about their birth chart, it would make it clear to them that magical reality is more present in our daily lives than we normally think. To that end I created the easily accessed and quality written interpretations that are the hallmark of the TimePassages software. I believe that this startling information can even help with our present world condition by increasing consciousness regarding our true situation.
Actually the best explanatory principle for Astrology was articulated by the pioneering psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, who coined the term Synchronicity, an "acausal" principle; in other words, there is no cause and effect explanation, at least according to our present level of understanding. He used this principle to account for symbolic manifestations in daily life, including Astrology. It's a mystical notion, that there could be a relationship linking two events, with no causation between them. In ancient times the same idea was expressed with the aphorism "As above so below" indicating that a person was a microcosm for the universe surrounding him at birth. Dane Rudhyar declared that the quality of the moment in time was reflected in the heavens and equally in the character of the person or the event born in that moment. I sometimes think of the astrology chart as a Tarot reading for the instant of birth using the position and symbolism of the planets as the cards. In any way that you look at it, it is a mystery, at least in terms of our present state of knowledge about the ways of the universe. But since Astrology does work, the mystery is itself enticing, opening up our minds to the wonder of existence.
Predictive in the event-oriented sense is only a small part of the way Astrology is practiced in the West. These days we are much more concerned with the inner meaning of the events in our lives, where are they taking us; and where in fact are we heading in our life, each one of us? These are the important subjects, the crucial questions for today. Because we have grown weary of the institutions that seem totally irrelevant in modern times we really need to know where to find meaning in today's world, for without meaning the human animal perishes. This includes our business and governmental institutions, and unfortunately some of our religious institutions, although they try to hang on, shoring up the barricades against the obvious decline, and the struggle is all the more poignant right now, with the assault on morality and values that we are seeing. It is in trying to find a sense of life purpose that Astrology can help. With a close look at the birth chart and the underlying symbolic content of challenging events we can begin to form one sort of answer to the question of life direction and ultimate meaning in our lives.
Astrology was practiced in Babylonian times. The Greeks codified it as we know it in the West today, although many difference exist between this ancient form and modern Western Astrology. Planets discovered in the 18th, 19th and 20th century have been added, most importantly Uranus, Neptune and Pluto but including also the asteroids, the planetoid Chiron, and the dark inner core of the Moon's orbit called Black Moon Lilith. Many variations to the basic Western model also exist. The primary departure in our times has been the development of psychologically based Astrology working with the tradition of C. G. Jung as espoused particularly by Dane Rudhyar, who pioneered the modern movement that he termed Humanistic Astrology.
That it works, that it can tell us something real, beyond materialism. Because it makes no sense that it works, in the rational mind approach, and therefore Astrology reveals the limits of the rational mind and opens us up to the Esoteric, a spiritual way of seeing and being.
I developed the Basic Edition of TimePassages to make Astrology available to a wider audience. Although we feel that TimePassages Standard Edition at $129 is a tremendous value and provides the necessary tool to explore Astrology, that price point is high for the interested person who isn't sure about their commitment to something that's new for them. With the Basic Edition, anyone can afford to explore the subject matter of Astrology, with accurate charts using their own birth data, or for an unlimited number of friends and associates, and easily upgrade to the more complete versions of the TimePassages software. The Basic Edition provides all the interpretive power of far more highly priced software, with the click of a mouse, a paragraph at a time. Once people can see the power of Astrology for themselves, their world will never be the same. That's what we're after.
We actually do provide an educational path into Astrology, with a User's Manual and Introduction to Astrology, an Astrological Diary – very useful to gain a personal understanding of this subject matter – and a glossary of terms and bibliography of useful books on the subject. In addition, the user-friendly nature of the software allows anyone to explore charts easily and quickly, including general information regarding the astrological symbolism.
Two major factors: the ease of use and the quality of the interpretations. In these areas TimePassages far exceeds other astrological software. We also serve a complete spectrum of users from novice to expert. The information is professionally complete and accurate as well as easy to access, and there are many professional astrologers who prefer ours for the speed with which they can see what's happening in a particular chart. I have been told that it is especially handy for working with clients live or over the phone or in the context of radio, for that reason.
Self-knowledge; the understanding of what methods Astrologers regularly use in practicing their art; the revelation that Astrology really works, and the tremendous shift in world-view that accompanies that epiphany. By looking into their own chart they can gain self-knowledge, and by checking out the charts of others around them they can help these other seekers with their own growth and transformation.
The Standard Edition of TimePassages contains all the tools that the layman needs to explore Astrology, and may do for some active practitioners as well. You can create and explore and generate reports for natal charts, transit bi-wheels, progressions, and create transit surveys for a 6-month or 12-month period of time. The features available in the Advanced Edition, our flagship product, are Solar Return and Lunar Return charts, relocated charts, which are similar to Astro*Carto*Graphy or locational astrology, and comparison bi-wheels and composite charts for relationship inquiries. You can also purchase separately our Compatibility Report add-on that provides interpretations for the comparison charts.
All the time. There is a new Composite Report coming out. Also, while all this year we have been busy providing the Basic Edition and some important features such as making the parallel and contra-parallel aspects easier to access in the software, now our attention will turn toward the advanced user, with midpoint tables, editable interpretations and a graphic ephemeris. These features will be available in the 5.0 version Advanced Edition of the software, or, in the case of the editable interpretations, for those users who have purchased the Commercial License to sell reports.