The problem of forecasting the weather has been a challenge of all societies, ancient and modern, that exist in climates where agricultural productivity varies considerably from year to year. Astrology was one of the tools that many societies used to approach this problem, whether through lunar observation, or later, the more sophisticated analysis which included the planets as well. Whether through the omens of the Babylonians, the natural philosophical concepts of Aristotle, the lunaria of the Middle Ages, the idea of understanding weather and weather prediction continued to engage many minds. In this course, our primary text is the 17th c. opus on the subject by John Goad - but his work was considerably enlightened by the earlier work of Kepler and others.

It would be completely possible, and probably entirely fascinating, to create a course on the applications of classical meteorology from the Babylonian period forward. There is certainly enough classical material. So you, the student, might well ask why I didn't do that. First, I have to say that I find ancient meteorology fascinating in its complexity, and in seeing how various people attempted to create a language to both record meteorological phenomena, and then to predict them. There is every reason to believe that the history of the development of meteorology followed exactly the same trajectory as astrology, beginning with observation and classification, followed by the development of methodologies for applying observational data sets to produce predictive models.

This being the case, why should this course emphasize 17th c. sources, which are so far from the original courses, so to speak?  The answer is: firstly, we have several very interesting  17th c. sources to work from. Also, by the 16th c., we begin to find records of local weather observation. Perhaps the most famous such example was the weather observation by Kepler himself, which is referred to frequently by Goad. It can be extremely useful to be able to correlate the astrological material and predictions with actual data sets. Unfortunately, we don't have the observational basis for the development of the hemerologies and brontologies of earlier eras.

One of the open questions for us today, as regular users of satellite data and weather channels, whether on television or the internet, is just how frequently we would want to predict weather astrologically - or under what circumstances. If you think that daily weather forecasting is a lost art, consider that the astrology computer program Millennium has just such a weather prediction module. However, the Farmer's Almanac and such publications are merely distant cousins of the astrological almanacs of the 17th c. and later - and these works tend to present seasonal predictions, such as this particular winter being especially cold and west in the US Northeast, for example. The EEBO collection under the Marion March Electronic Library gives you ample opportunity examine a host of almanacs, which also gives you quite an idea of exactly how astrological weather prediction was supposed to operate.

But beyond these applications, I would like to raise a question, or propose a hypothesis. Metaphorically, "weather" can stand for many things quite beyond wind and rain. "Weather" is quite possibly an excellent stand-in for those phenomena that are constantly changing - like the weather, and also that possibly respond to the same kind of season influence charts - like lunations, eclipses or ingresses. Thus, we may choose to explore the applicability of astro-meteorological methods to phenomena like the stock market, which could be seen as a type of investor weather, for example.

In designing your own personal involvement with the course, I encourage you to consider using a dataset such as market data in your studies. I do want to make clear that, in your exercises, you are not graded up or down on the basis of whether your particular datasets "work," in the sense of producing positive correlations with whichever method we are studying in the particular lesson. The point of all the exercises is to learn how to apply the methods, not to get the "right" answer.

This Course assumes a basic knowledge of classical natal and interrogatory astrology, as taught in Introduction to Classical Astrology and Classical Studies in Horary. You do not have to take those particular courses in order to have that knowledge, but they might help!

Lee teaches primarily at Kepler College. In her private courses, she takes that experience in cutting edge on-line instruction technology and applies it to a less academic and more practical setting. Her take on adult education? Strictly business! She won't waste your time on exercises that don't teach you how to do the method she is presenting. And that is the purpose of a teacher, after all - not to impress you, not to overwhelm you - but to give you an introduction to the material in a way that you leave the course better educated - which means not only knowing more about the material, but being able to ask questions, and explore more on your own.

But the real value of this Course is not the lessons, but the opportunity to learn from your own examples. These become the subject for a mentoring environment where personal feedback accelerates your learning. This Course gives you the opportunity to work with Lee, not simply read Lee’s books and Course materials.

By the final session, the student should be able to make predictions of mundane developments. To pass the Course, the work submitted must demonstrate a consistently high quality. Lessons may be submitted in either English or French, and may be submitted by e-mail, snail mail, or through the course site.

Syllabus for the Full Course:

1. Introduction to the Philosophy of Astrometeorology and Our Samples
2. First Crack at the Moon
3. The Moon, Part 2
4. Sun, Mercury and Venus.
5. Mars with Sun, Mercury, and Venus.
6. Aspects of Saturn to Inferiors. Cold as a Concept
7. The Aspects of Jupiter to Inferiors
8. Saturn and Mars. Wars and Pestilence.
9. Jupiter and Mars. Earthquakes and Distempers.
10. The Master Piece. The Weather Project.

Note: This course would be difficult to complete without astrological mapping software. The two primary packages available are Solar Maps, and WinStar.

Required Reading:

* These items are available through the Marion March Electronic Research Library at Kepler College.

+ Provided as part of the course

* Cock, William. [Meteorologia, or, the True Way of Foreseeing and Judging the Inclination of the Air and Alteration of the Weather in Several Regions ... By William Cock ...]. Early English Books, 1641-1700 / 310:05: [London : Printed for Jo. Conyers at the Black Raven in Duck Lane, 1670], 1671.

+ Goad, J. Johannis Goad Angli Astro-Meteorologica Sana: Sive Principia Physico-Mathematica, Quibus Mutationum Aeris, Morborum Epidemicorum, Cometarum, Terr*-Motuum, Aliorumque, Insigniorum Natur* Effectuum Ratio Reddi Possit. Opus Multorum Annorum Experienti^a Comprobatum. microform. prostant venales apud Samuelem Tidmarsh juxta Bursam regalem in vico vulg`o dicto Cornhill, Londini, 1690. English language text provided as part of the course.

* Digges, Leonard. A Prognostication Euerlastinge of Righte Good Effecte Fruictfully Augmented by the Auctour, Contayning Plain, Briefe, Pleasaunte, Chosen Rules to Iudge the Weather by the Sunne, Moone, Starres, Comets, Rainebowe, Thunder, Cloudes, with Other Extraordinarye Tokens, Not Omitting the Aspects of Planets, Vvith a Briefe Iudgement for Euer, of Plenty, Lacke, Sickenes, Dearth, Vvarres &C. Opening Also Many Naturall Causes Vvorthy to Bee Knovven. To These and Other Now at the Last, Are Ioyned Diuers General Pleasau[N]T Tables, Vvith Many Compendious Rules, Easye to Be Had in Memory, Manifold Vvayes Profitable to All Men of Vnderstanding, Published by Leonard Digges Gentleman. Early English Books, 1475-1640 / 496:06: Imprinted at London : By Thomas Marsh, 1578.

Ptolemy, Claudius. 2nd Century A.D. Tetrabiblos. Translated by F. E. Robbins. Harvard University Press: Cambridge. 1971. The Ashmand or Hindsight translation is also acceptable.

* Florio, John, and F. I. Perpetuall and Naturall Prognostications of the Change of Weather Gathered out of Diuers Ancient and Late Writers, and Placed in Order for the Common Good of All Men. Newly Translated out of Italian into English by I.F. Early English Books, 1475-1640 / 459:12: London : Printed by Iohn Wolfe, and are to bee sold at his shop ouer against the great South dore of S. Paul, 1591., 1591.

Recommended Reading

Kindi, Gerrit Bos, and Charles Burnett. Scientific Weather Forecasting in the Middle Ages : The Writings of Al-Kindi : Studies, Editions, and Translations. Sir Henry Wellcome Asian Series. London; New York; New York: Kegan Paul International ; Distributed by Wiley, 2000.

Taub, Liba Chaia. Ancient Meteorology. Sciences of Antiquity. London ; New York: Routledge, 2003.