Welcome to Esoteric Astrology with Bonnie Wells

Esoteric astrology includes and goes beyond the astrology with which most of us are familiar. Whereas most widely practiced forms of astrology refer primarily to the personality levels of the human being, esoteric astrology seeks to incorporate the personality within a broader contextual framework linking the personality with the soul. Esoteric astrology specifically addresses the substructures underlying one's belief systems, attitudes and life processes; it is thus more concerned with causes (energies and forces) than with effects (events).

Esoteric astrology has come to be specifically associated with Alice A. Bailey and other members of the theosophical movement. The word "esoteric," however, simply means "hidden," and refers to that which is not apparent at first glance. Broadly speaking, therefore, esoteric astrology refers to any systematized endeavor to reach beneath the surface significance of a chart in order to plumb its deeper meanings.

The field of esoteric astrology has developed through the contributions of pioneering thinkers, from H. P. Blavatsky (founder of the Theosophical Society) to Alice A. Bailey and many others. Their thought and writings have helped to externalize what is known as the western mystery tradition, often referred to as the Ancient or Ageless Wisdom Teachings.

Astrosophy is a discipline developed on the foundational teachings of Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy (also known as spiritual science) by Willi Sucher, and further developed by Robert Powell and others. Like the astrological thought associated with theosophy, astrosophy concerns itself specifically with the experience and expression of the soul, and thus holds an esteemed place within the family of esoteric approaches to astrology.

Esoteric astrology encompasses highly individualized meanings and multiple levels of interpretation and synthesis; because it incorporates many layers of study and dovetails with other levels of astrology, it is a complex and specialized field in which comprehensive preparation supports sensitive interpretation.

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• In theosophical esoteric astrology, the Ascendant signifies the soul, the Sun the personality, and the Moon those instinctual traits we bring forward from the past.

• In astrosophy, the prenatal epoch - that period between conception and birth - is central. It describes the process by which the descending soul passes through the celestial spheres associated with the seven classical planets (including Sun and Moon) on its way to rebirth. Subsequently, the human being cyclically recapitulates the stages of the prenatal epoch, so that important karmic lessons can be learned and integrated.

• Some notable theosophists (such as Charles Jayne) also emphasized the importance of the prenatal epoch and devised ways to chart the soul's progress through it, but this process was most clearly elaborated in the work of astrosophers Willi Sucher, Robert Powell and others who built upon foundations laid by Rudolf Steiner.

• Robert Powell's system of astrosophy is called Hermetic Astrology, honoring the gift of Hermes Trisgmegistus, who brought wisdom to the ancient world and illuminated Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy

• Theosophical esoteric astrology posits that the planets, as great celestial beings, undertake cosmic initiations. Those who have taken the higher cosmic initiations are known as sacred planets.

• Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Vulcan are sacred planets; Mars, Earth and Pluto are not, nor - in this context - are Sun and Moon, who are said to "veil" the higher energies associated with the sacred planets, Uranus, Neptune and Vulcan.