Robert Schmidt Astrology

Whole-Sign "Houses", Equal Places, Quadrant Divisions:  No Problem in the Original System of Greek Astrology

Project Hindsight recently completed a new audio recording. It is an intense 12 ½ hour discussion with companion pdf on the issue of “house” division in Greek astrology.

The immediate occasion for this conversation was Episode 54 of Chris Brennan's Astrology Podcast, in which Mr. Brennan debated the issue of whole-sign houses with Deborah Houlding. This prompted Robert Schmidt to pull together the various insights he has had on this issue over the last many years and present them in the format of a conversation with Dale Nelson and Bill Johnston, two persons who themselves have had a long-standing interest in the problem of house division.

The intent of the conversation was not merely to discuss the issues involved in house division, but to resolve the problem. Robert Schmidt has accomplished this as far as the surviving Hellenistic sources allow. Effectively, the solution consists in understanding how whole-sign places ("houses") and the system of equal places from the ascending degree were conceived of together and were intended to complement one another from the outset. It is not a matter of choosing one system over the other. 

Without taking into account the subtle distinctions that arise when these two systems are properly combined, it is impossible to accurately delineate planets in houses in the manner intended by the founding Greek astrologers. 

As far as quadrant division is concerned, the so-called Porphyry system was originally introduced for the exalted purpose of qualifying one of the two lights as the predominator of the chart, which was needed in a variety of universal inquiries directed at the native’s life as a whole. To identify these quadrant divisions with specific topics in human life is to commit a conceptual faux pas. 

[Above is the original description.]

Included here are resources mentioned in Chris Brennan's recent podcast "Deborah Houlding and Whole House Denialism".

1. The contents of this lecture is the "House Systems Conversation" referred to at the end of his 7-hour podcast response to Ms. Houlding
2. "House Divisions Planetary Strength and Cusps in Hellenistic Astrology"
3. Schmidt's translations (Yes! They are available!)

Additional resources:

• Free Workshop - Intro to Hellenistic Astrology with Robert Schmidt. Robert addresses house systems in audio 1B
• "The So-Called 'Problem of House Division" 10 page sample of Robert's view on the issue in 2016