Who Was John Addey(1920–1982)?
Theosophist and
astrologer, born on June 15, 1920, in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England.
Addey received his master's degree from Cambridge's Saint
John's College.
He grew interested in astrology while at Cambridge, and
after WWII, he joined the Theosophical Society's Astrological Lodge, where he met
C. E. O. Carter, with whom he had a long-term connection.
Carter founded the Faculty of Astrological Studies in 1948
to teach astrologers, and Addey was one of its first students, graduating in
1951.
However, after a few years, he began to distrust his art and
its scientific foundations.
He shifted his concentration to scientific study, with a
particular emphasis on longevity and persons with polio.
His discoveries prompted him to establish an astrological
"wave" hypothesis.
He went on to develop harmonics, a method of astrology that
emphasizes the integral divisions of the horoscope chart, by combining finished
and continuing statistical investigations of astrological effects with Hindu
astrology insights.
In harmonics, he saw a way to establish a unified
theoretical foundation to the numerous various astrological systems that were
sprouting in the postwar world.
Addey was instrumental in the foundation of the Astrological
Society, a professional association of astrologers based mostly in the United
Kingdom, in 1958.
The advancement of harmonic theory was his overarching goal,
which he articulated in a series of books in the 1970s.
Harmonics was first well welcomed by Addey's astrological
colleagues; but, when astrologers worked with Addey's ideas, they found them to
be too abstract and lacking in understanding to aid in the crucial process of
reading an astrological chart.
As a result, Addey's theoretical work was quickly forgotten,
yet his empirical findings remain a key component of current astrology's effort
to provide a scientific foundation for the practice.
Addey formed the Urania Trust in 1970 with the overly
ambitious aim of reintegrating astrology into astrology, an ambition on which
he has made practically little headway.
Addey was also the editor of the Astrological Journal for a
while.
Addey passed away in 1982.
John Addey's book, Astrology Reborn, is a good place to
start.
American Federation of Astrologers, Tempe, Ariz., 1972.
Harmonic Anthology, by ———. American Federation of Astrologers, Tempe, Ariz., 1976.
Harmonics in Astrology, by ———.L.N. Fowler, Romford, 1976.
Selected Writings, by ———. American Federation of Astrologers, Tempe, Ariz., 1976.
The Astrology Encyclopedia, by James L. Lewis. Gale Research, Detroit, 1994.