 Johannes Kepler (27 Dec 1571 – 1630) was an astrologer, astronomer and mathematician. Historian, John North claims ‘had he not been an astrologer he would very probably have failed to produce his planetary astronomy in the form that we have it.’ [1] However, Kepler’s views on astrology were ambivalent.
Kepler earned a living reading horoscopes for the rich and powerful, produced Yearly Almanacs with astrological and other phenomena, introduced three new aspects[2] to astrology and connected the tidal cycle with the Lunar Nodes[3]. In 1601, he wrote De Fundamentis Astrologiae Certoribus in which he “defends on physical grounds concerning the foundations of astrology…”
Yet, Kepler was also critical of astrologers at a time when judicial astrology appeared to be no more than fortune-telling in an increasingly rational academic world. He described himself to his mentor, Michael Maestlin as a ‘Lutheran Astrologer’ [4] and claimed that ‘Many of the rules of this Arabic art amount to nothing’. In line with the changing times, he wanted a reformation of astrology but, he implored theologians, physicians and philosophers not to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’. [Tertium Intervens, 1610]
In 1606, Kepler wrote to Oxford scientist, Thomas Harriot:
"I am informed that misfortune came to you from astrology. I ask you if you believe that it could be powerful enough to have such power. Ten years ago, I rejected the division into 12 equal signs, the Houses, dominations (i.e. rulerships), triplicities etc. and I am retaining only the aspects (angles) and am transferring astrology to the science of harmonics."
On the face of it, these widely quoted comments promote a popular myth that Kepler did not ‘believe in astrology’ and sought to destroy the ‘superstition’ but had to practice astrology simply to pay the bills. However, Kepler's public comments may not have been a genuine reflection of his personal view of astrology:
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Kepler was seeking information from Harriot on his experiments in refraction. He was also aware of Harriot’s criticism of astrology and was clearly attempting to recast astrology within what he thought might be a more acceptable Harmonic-Pythagorean framework. [5]
- Kepler continued to publish his Almanacks with astrological predictions up until 1624, but he also expressed concern to Michael Maestlin that he feared that they would harm his scientific reputation.
- In 1603, Kepler saw significance in the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction falling in a different element. This confirms that he had not abandoned the triplicitities (and hence the associated zodiacal signs) in the previous century as he had claimed.
- In 1999, an astronomer found a horoscope drawn up by Kepler. [6] It clearly shows the positions of the houses and the signs. It was for an Austrian nobleman who was born in 1587. Kepler’s client would have had to have been less than 10 years old and Kepler 25, for his claim to Harriot to be true.
- After the death of his son in 1611, Kepler corresponded with Michael Maestlin at the University of Tübingen. In two private letters, Kepler discussed the horoscopes of his family and the astrological reasons for his son’s death. [7] This private exchange, where no financial gain was involved, reveals that Kepler’s interest in astrology was unquestionably sincere.
So Kepler positioned himself as a sceptical astrologer. The parts of astrology which Kepler claimed to reject (Signs, Rulerships etc) were later reinterpreted following the discoveries of the outer planets from 1781.[8] In many ways, Kepler was no different from many professional astrologers today who don't accept all the theories and disapprove of attention-grabbing and crowd-pleasing [9] astrology, which nowadays takes the form of Sun-sign columns in the media.
Robert Currey
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Many people judge astrology on the basis of a second hand opinion. It doesn’t seem to matter whether this individual is an expert or not. Inevitably, over-enthusiastic astrologers and sceptics have tried to rewrite history so that the opinions of great individuals appear to favour their world view. While it is important to establish historical truth, the conclusions of someone who did not know of the scientific advances of the 21st century or who has not studied astrology empirically cannot be used as a case either in support or against astrology. So this is a resume as to how astrology fitted into the life of one the greatest mathematical geniuses of his era.
 Main Astrology News Page. Information, stories, theories and facts.
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 Horoecope drawn up by Johannes Kepler.
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