From the Preface....
My intention is to help astrologers gain a better understanding of what and where astrology is, how it got here, where it is going, and where we can take it. I want to provide an integral model for astrology, one that takes into account both diverse astrological approaches and a variety of nonastrological factors. Astrologers are great at doing astrology, but we have to learn to talk to other disciplines, too. In order to make the most of our efforts, we also need to know who to talk to.
The starting point for this project is the recognition that our understanding of the world is in the midst of a significant paradigm shift. For a couple of hundred years, a materialist paradigm has reigned in Western culture, peaking in influence in the middle of the 20th century. The materialist view gives absolute importance to matter—physical reality is the real reality, and the realms of thought, feeling, soul, and spirit are considered secondary, illusory, and perhaps even nonexistent. During the height of the materialist era other viewpoints essentially went underground, and although they were not necessarily officially suppressed, their influence was minimized by most of our culture.
Then, in the 1960s—what I am going to call the New Paradigm began to emerge. Many New Paradigm theorists were encouraged by the advances in physics that had been ongoing since the early part of the century. Humanistic and transpersonal psychologies, chaos and complexity theories, and other disciplines challenged the prevailing materialistic conceptions within the sciences; hence they challenged the entire materialistic worldview. As these fields gained momentum, it was as though isolated streams of thought that had been trickling along separately began to converge into a river.
At the same time, astrology also began to flower. In both astrology and New Paradigm disciplines, what was beyond the fringe began to work its way inwards, towards mainstream culture. Significantly, the New Paradigm and astrology appear to have followed a parallel course, but have done so while maintaining considerable distance from each other. As many New Paradigm disciplines gain wider acceptance, astrology is in danger of being left out.
That’s not to say that astrology isn’t popular; it clearly is. But it is not popular among the very people who are clearing the way for the acceptance of astrology and other challenges to the materialist view. Consider how rare it is to see even the most prominent astrologers speaking at a meeting on transpersonal psychology, consciousness studies, or global change, and you will see what I mean.
