Anna Tessmann

Celestial Reflections: an Outline of Contemporary Astrology

Anna Tessmann - Independent Researcher; Member of the Association for the Study of Esotericism and Mysticism (Heidelberg, Germany). anya_tessmann@hotmail.com

The article offers a short historical-analytical survey of some general trends of modern Western astrology, by discussing changes and continuities of astrological worldview with short excurses into a number of astrological systems found in the modern Russian religious landscape.

Keywords: astrology, esotericism, religion, C. G. Jung, society, Europe, Russia.

Astrology in the light of studies of modern Western Culture

PHILOSOPHER Theodore Adorno, analyzing in his essay "Destroying illusions about the stars" (The Stars Down To Earth: The Los Angeles Times Astrology Column, 1957) an astrological column by Carroll Reiter in one of the largest conservative newspaper publications in America - The Los Angeles Times - in 1952 - 1953, noted with annoyance that astrology is considered as "something ingrained and socially recognized, as an indisputable element of our culture, although somewhat ashamed of its own dubiousness"1. Half a century later, this statement remains no less relevant: astrology, being already part of a different, postmodern context, still continues to be an integral part of Western mass religiosity. However, it is unlikely that the following statements of the philosopher can be accepted unconditionally. By exposing the critical-

1. Adorno, Th. W (1994) The Stars Down to Earth and Other Essays on the Irrational in Culture. London and New York: Routledge, p. 56.

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According to a content analysis of short recommendations on the signs of the zodiac for three months, Adorno became very concerned about the spread of"second-hand superstition "2, the so-called" tabloid", commercial astrology, the development of which, to the detriment of rational thinking, seemed to him an intellectual catastrophe, a triumph of the"half-educated". Astrological predictions, which he viewed from the point of view of the sublimation of certain human needs (such as, for example, "passive sexual pleasure" and "submission to the unbridled power of absolute power"3), in Adorno's eyes are "a symptom of the retrogression of society"4. In his opinion, people who trust astrology (most of whom are women) are characterized by infantilism and narcissism, they fully share the established patriarchal order and are advocates of authoritarianism, unable to take a critical attitude to what is happening in society. If, in Adorno's eyes, newspaper astrology is a flawed anachronism that leads to tragic consequences(apropos Adorno probably only vaguely realized how numerous this category of people is in general), then the few studies in the framework of cultural disciplines (primarily religious studies and esoteric studies) that study modern religions, rituals and mythologies reveal completely different parameters of astrology. In such studies, we are not talking about the effects of popular astrology, which, I must say, is only a component, and not at all a determining part of the worldview of its recipients, and not about evaluating astrology from the standpoint of ratio, but about its tradition and construction in the local cultural space. Astrology as an object of academic study is also far from the definition often repeated by its adherents - "the science of the stars" - because, taking the hermetic postulate as its basis, it does not use the scientific method, but only appropriates astronomical calculations for its interpretive purposes. Thus, astrology is a special type of worldview that operates in a certain symbolic language. In addition, astrology is interesting for the academy-

2. Adorno, Th. W. (1972) "Aberglaube aus zweiter Hand", Gesammelte Schriften. Bd. 8/Soziologische Schriften I, ss. 147 - 176. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

3. Adorno, Th. W. The Stars Down To Earth, p. 58.

4. Ibid., p. 166.

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There is a truly rich variety of existing astrological systems and schools.

What is astrology today as an object of study? According to most researchers, astrology is best understood as a "type of divination" 5, "divination technique" 6, "astral form of divination"7. At the same time, some emphasize its dual character: on the one hand, as a "form of divination" or "secret science", and on the other - as a pseudoscientific system based on the empirical method8. As for modern astrology, anthropologists Roy Willis and Patrick Curry define it as "a dialogue with the divine in a postmodern, post-Christian, and re-animated world"9, and the German-Dutch historian of religions Koku von Stukrad defines it as a "hermeneutical discipline" that must be considered in the context of modern Western Esotericism10. According to the Swedish-Danish historian of religions Olav Hammer, astrology is "a collection of propositions and divinatory practices, sometimes associated with articulated (types of) worldviews, expressing specific modalities of human existence using a canonical language based on elements of celestial mechanics"11. In fact, it "is a general term for poten-

5. Kelly, A. A. (1990) "Astrology in the New Age", in J. Clark and A. A. Kelly (eds) New Age Encyclopedia, p. 37 - 40. Detroit and London: Gale Reserchlnc.

6. Willis, R. and Curry, P. (2004) Astrology, Science and Culture: Pulling Down the Moon, p. 1. Oxford &N. Y: Berg.

7. York, M. (2005) "Astrology", in Br. R. Taylor (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, pp. 123 - 124. London &N. Y.: Thoemmes Continuum.

8. См. например: Ebach, Jü. (1988) "Astrologie", in H. Cancik, B. Gladigow und M. Laubscher (Hrsgg.) Handbuch religionswissenschaftlicher Grundbegriffe, Bd. 1, ss. 82 - 90. Stuttgart, Berlin und Koln: VerlagW. Kohlhammer. German religious scholar Gustav-Adolf Schoener claims that modern astrology itself behaves "indifferently" in relation to scientific knowledge, since it does not explain the relationship between man and the cosmos. См. Schoener, G. A. (2012) "The Difference between Methods of Natural Sciences and Methods of Religious Studies on Modern Astrology", in S. V. Pakhomov (ed.) Sbornik materialou Piatoi mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii "'Istoria i diskurs': istoriko-filosofskie aspekty issledovanii mistitsizma i ezoterizma" (2 - 5 December 2011, St. Petersburg), pp. 136 - 144. SPb.: RkhGA.

9. Willis, R. and Curry, P. (2004) Astrology, Science and Culture: Pulling Down the Moon, p. 1.

10. Stuckrad, K. von (2003) Geschichte der Astrologie: Von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart, ss. 17, 365. Miinchen: C. H. Beck.

11. Hammer, O. (2005) "Astrology V: 20th Century", in W. J. Hanegraaff et al. (eds) Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, pp. 136 - 141. Leiden: Brill.

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In his study "The History of Astrology" (Geschichte der Astrologie, 2003), Von Stuckrad defines astrology as an interpretive system, emphasizing the pronounced discursive potential of modern astrological practices: due to their "neutrality" and "abstractness", astrology has become one of the most important disciplines of esotericism13. Russian cultural and astrologer Roman Brol suggests separating astrology in a broad and narrow sense and distinguishing between the concept of" astrology "a set of historically determined practices that replace each other, such as: astromancy, astrology of omens, calendar astrology and"astrology in a narrow sense" 14. He is inclined to interpret the latter, following the famous American astrologer Robert Hand (b. 1942), as "a symbolic correlation between events of different scales"15. The essentialist definition of astrology is also opposed by the German sociologist Edgar Wunder. In the monograph "Religion in a Post-confessional society" (Religion in der postkonfessionellen Gesellschaft, 2005) he attempted to explain astrology as a typical "implicit", "non-institutionalized" form of modern post-secular religion16, as well as a "non-specific, globally applicable interpretive system"17. Wunder notes that modern forms of astrology "differ so significantly from previous ones that it seems inappropriate to talk about traditional reserves of knowledge (Wissensbestande), most likely we are talking about modern, independent innovations that do not have any continuous socio-historical traditions (Traditionslinien)"18. For further research in the field of astrology, the position of Wunder seems to me the most promising, although it should be noted that having-

12. Ibid., p. 137.

13/ Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, s. 16.

14. Brol R. V. " Astrology in the history of world culture: an approach to study// Polygnosis, 1999, No. 2, p. 123.

15. Ibid., pp. 125-126.

16. Wunder, E. (2005) Religion in der postkonfessionellen Gesellschaft: Ein Beitrag zur sozialwissenschaftlichen Theorieentwicklung in der Religionsgeographie, s. 287. Miinchen: Franz Steiner Verlag.

17. Ibid., s. 293.

18. Ibid., ss. 293 - 294.

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These innovations still rely on some well-established continuity, such as, for example, the Western iconographic tradition in the representation of zodiac signs.

Continuity and changes in modern Western and Russian astrology

If we talk about modern astrology in the most studied cultural space of Western countries, then, agreeing with Hammer, we can say that the XX century is characterized by the coexistence of many new and old "astrology". These astrological teachings, while retaining common esoteric tenets-central to which is the hermetic formula of correlation between the earthly world and the cosmos ("what is below is above"), which explains what is happening in the world through invisible relationships - differ in types and methods of interpretation.19 In addition, it is now clear that this diversity of astrological practices is due to the prevailing intra-cultural preferences.

As many researchers have already noted, the only European country that has preserved a continuous astrological tradition from the Enlightenment to the present day is England.20 In other countries, astrology, being in disgrace under the onslaught of natural sciences, began to gain strength only at the end of the XIX century, apparently under the influence of astro-esoteric impulses from England, where a solid astrological periodical was published. The most famous were the publications of Alan Leo (pseudonym of William Fredrick Allen, 1860-1917), such as, for example, The Astrologer's Magazine21. After the discovery of the entertainment potential of the "horoscope for every day" by the American press at the beginning of the XX century, the fashion for popular astrology was imported to European countries, and also, probably, to the Russian Empire. In the following decades, astrology experienced fierce opposition from both political (in this case, within the framework of the Soviet anti-religious campaign) and religious (for example, from the Russian Orthodox Church) groups.-

19. Hammer, O. "Astrology V: 20th Century", pp. 136 - 141.

20. Ibid., p. 136; Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, s. 287.

21. Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, s. 306.

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measures, Catholic clerics in France) authorities 22. After the Second World War, together with a surge of interest in parapsychology, in old and new religious and esoteric traditions, astrology took root in the pan-European cultural space completely, and in the 1960s, with the emergence of the hippie movement and the development of the "cult environment" associated with the latter, it experienced a creative upsurge. After all, it was the new religious movements that went down in the history of religions under the general name "religions of the New Century" that, since the 1960s, spread the eschatological idea associated with the interpretation of the precession of the earth's axis and the shift of the vernal equinox point from the sign of Pisces to the sign of Aquarius as the beginning of the era of transformation of human consciousness.

If we talk about the post-Soviet space, then most likely, the interest in astrology, which was so clearly manifested in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the mass media, originated much earlier. The surge in the 1990s was facilitated by the fact that astrology as an organized practice originated in the Soviet era, in the late 1960s and 1970s.23 According to some recollections of eyewitnesses and fragmentary information in the astrological press, in the 1970s, underground astrological courses were created in large Soviet cities, which were conducted by auto-didactic astrologers in small groups.

Now it seems quite obvious that astrology has had to adapt to the context of postmodern culture in order to go beyond the marginal phenomenon. Von Stuckrad considers the "gradual recognition of the psychological paradigm" and the fruitful integration of astrology in the New Age environment to be the defining conditions for the existence of postmodern astrology.24 Being in close contact with other religious and spiritualistic traditions, such as theosophy, neo-paganism, alternative medicine, etc. , and also influenced by popular theories in science (especially in psychology and phi-

22. Minois, G. (1998) Geschichte derZukunft: Orakel, Prophezeiungen, Utopien, Prognosen, s. 714. Diisseldorf und Zurich: Artemis und Winkler.

23. Tesman A. Astrological forecasts in the mass-media space of modern Russia//Proceedings of the International Scientific Symposium "The Path of Gnosis: Mystical and Esoteric Traditions and Gnostic Worldview from Antiquity to the Present Day "(April 10-13, 2013, Moscow)/Edited by S. V. Pakhomov. St. Petersburg: Russian Academy of Arts, 2014 (in the process of publication).

24. Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, s. 344.

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zika) astrology was, in turn, subject to numerous semantic transformations25, which led to the emergence of new astrological systems, such as spiritualistic astrology. As a clear example of the integration of astrological knowledge into other New Age trends, it can be pointed out that the personality horoscope has become used in alternative healing, along with the main methods, as a way to clarify the diagnosis, and also, no less importantly, as a factor determining the further treatment of the client. One more arbitrary example is the Human Design System, founded in the late 1980s by Robert Alan Crackover (alias Ra Uru Hu b. 1948) and established its branches in many countries of the world, where astrology organically enters into an esoteric synthesis with other teachings, such as Kabbalah, the doctrine of astrology. chakras, I ching, genetics and physics.

Olav Hammer developed six characteristics of the transformation of astrology in Modern times, which predetermined the postmodern situation. In the course of further discussion, I will try to comment on them by comparing the Western trends of the last two decades with the development of astrology in the post-Soviet space.

Hammer offers an extensive discussion, so for the sake of simplicity, I have tried to summarize the six features as follows: (1) astrology was integrated into the syncretic creeds of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the most fruitful of which were theosophical occultism and Jungianism; (2) classical forecast astrology has given way to personal astrology; (3) the emergence of a variety of astrological interpretations due to new technologies led to a disagreement among astrologers about symbols, techniques, and the order of horoscope interpretation; special types of astrological divination began to arise, such as mundana, financial astrology, and a return to traditionalism; (4) although astrology has had to abandon outdated cosmological concepts, the inability of philosophical, astronomical, and physical models to justify its own method has forced it to partially return to the old correspondence theories; as a result, there is a haphazard mixing of old theories with theories of mechanical causality, Jungian theories of synchronicity, and others; (5) astrology has been able to provide a new approach to the development of the

25. Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, s. 344 - 345.

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in response to this criticism, astrologers made attempts at empirical justification; (6) the creation of organized astrology training and gender changes, as a result of which women make up the majority of practitioners of astrology, which predetermined the situation of postmodernism26.

(1) Perhaps the statement that all modern Western astrology is based on the ideas of Carl Gustav Jung's psychology (1875-1961) and theosophy is the current consensus among astrologers27. In the latter case, theosophical teaching, first of all thanks to Alice Bailey (1880-1949) and her "esoteric astrology", determined a new point of reference: the beginning of the age of Aquarius. This idea, as well as the integration of Jungian ideas about archetypes that "'pop up' through the images of zodiac signs, touching (sic) the rationality of our time with the emotional-energetic (sic) initial, which the modern world is experiencing a shortage of"28, according to astrologers themselves, are also characteristic of the Russian astrological landscape.

(2) Twentieth-century astrology considers itself a personality astrology, that is, an astrology that can explain human behavior and character to a greater extent than the correlation of celestial phenomena with terrestrial ones (the latter is a typical question statement in classical astrology). Despite the fact that in astrology there has recently been a return to traditionalism, the process of" psychologizing " the horoscope seems to be irreversible. Personality and its "soul profile" are more important for the modern astrologer and his client than predicting earthly events. However, social astrological forecasting, also known as mundane astrology, is still one of the most popular branches of newspaper and magazine astrology, and therefore part of the entertainment industry.

26. См. Hammer, O. "Astrology V: 20th Century", pp. 137 - 138.

27. See for example: Schoener, G. -A. (2002) "Astrologie als Religion?", in P. Antes (Hrsg.), Vielfalt der Religionen, ss. 342 - 343. Hannover: Lutherisches Verlaghaus GmbH; Campion, N. (2009) A History of Western Astrology, vol. II, pp. 251 - 263. London and N. Y.: Continuum; Stuckrad, K. von. Geschichte der Astrologie, ss. 336 - 340.

28. Schepanovskaya E. M. Sovremennoe sostoyanie i status otechestvennoy astrologii [Current state and status of Russian astrology] //Proceedings of the Fifth International Scientific Conference " History and Discourse: Historical and Philosophical Aspects of Mysticism and Esotericism Studies "(December 2-5, 2011, St. Petersburg). Saint Petersburg: Russian Academy of Arts, 2012, pp. 69-70.

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(3) One of the other characteristics is the emergence of a wide range of astrological interpretations under the onslaught of new technologies. Thanks to the fact that modern astrology is created by many independent experts who use the opportunities of cheap printing and popular media, astrologers can easily spread their own ideas. Dissimilation of ideas, in turn, leads to a situation where there are many different interpretations of the horoscope at the same time, with a rather large difference of opinion about the necessary elements of astrological analysis. As an example, there are about 12 different house systems used in modern astrology (Ptolemaic [equinodomal] system, Porphyry system, Alcabitus system, Campanus system, Regiomontanus system, Morinus system, Placidus system, Koch system, topocentric system, meridian system, Jamaspa system, etc.) 29. So, in Avestan astrology, at least three house systems are used (the Placidus system, the Koch system, and the Jamaspa system plus the so-called "sacred" one), which are used both separately and in combination with each other - depending on the task at hand and the type of client's personality. The range of disagreements among astrologers is quite wide: they relate to the number of celestial bodies required for horoscope analysis, the breadth of orbis for determining aspects of planets, methods of horoscope rectification, etc. In general, it should be noted that the diversification of methods leads to the effect of internal specialization: medical, mundane, financial and even animalistic branches in astrology arise! At the same time, there is also a return to forgotten theories and a reworking of more archaic ideas.

(4) If we compare the worldview that astrology used centuries ago - for example, the Aristotelian paradigm of the sublunar and celestial worlds or the geocentric model of the solar system - then it has long given way to new cosmological doctrines. On the other hand, modern models developed by physics and astronomy have proved to be useless for astrology from a practical point of view. This led to the fact that astrology remained partially true to the old theories of correspondences, thinking in analogies, which, of course, for me-

29 / See: Maslikov S. Y. Astrology and Computers. Tomsk: Zodiac Publ., 1998 [http://solncev-ru.chat.ru/Ac_.html].

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This is in sharp contrast to the fact that many modern esotericists share the theories of instrumental causality of physicists. Nevertheless, older theories are often mixed haphazardly with theories of mechanical causality, Jungian theories of synchronicity, and other attempts to develop interpretive models.

(5) One of the most difficult tests that astrology faced in the twentieth century was, according to Hammer, the criticism of astrology, which caused numerous attempts by astrologers, as well as their opponents-sociologists, to empirically substantiate the astrological method. Astrology has ceased to be a part of a culture where its statements are unconditional and not subject to any doubt, where astrology is actively used in the process of making state decisions. In modern Western countries, cases where astrological predictions have been applied in a similar way (such as advising major politicians like Princess Diana or Ronald Reagan) are controversial. Modern opposition to astrological statements usually follows more empirically oriented approaches and does not have an abstract philosophical character, as it was before. Modern critics - among them there are active fighters against esotericism, who call themselves "skeptics" - raise such difficult questions for astrology as the presence of different destinies for people born at the same time ("astrological twins"), as discrepancies between the tropical and stellar zodiacs, etc. P. They point to the failure of astrologers in controlled experiments, when astrologers are unable to correlate horoscopes with personality profiles with greater success than is done in terms of simple probability. Such discussions entail attempts on the part of astrologers to consolidate their practice in empirical research; the most famous of these attempts was statistical research conducted by Michel Gauquelin (1928-1991).

Finally, the final sign of the transformation of astrology that Hammer cites is (6) the creation of organized learning and gender bias. Taking into account the fact that practicing astrologers in former, pre-modern times were engaged in their craft as independent agents, modern people have the opportunity to study astrology in special astrology courses, become members of astrological organizations, spread their ideas and advertise

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get your own practice through specialized journals. Probably, the" feminization "of astrology is also connected with the" worldliness " of astrology and the availability of astronomical calculations by means of computer programs. Previously, astrology was seen as a secret science, usually practiced by men in male communities, but modern astrology is well integrated into the "cult environment", which is largely made up of women, and therefore is increasingly practiced by women. In Russia, however, one fairly stable gender feature can be noted: if the majority of students of astrology courses are women,then the founders of astrological institutes and schools are primarily men. 30
Astrology in Popular Culture: Collective therapy or a political tool?

Summing up the above, it should be noted that the processes of preserving traditional forms in combination with abstract transformations of astrology should be considered in different perspectives. These processes have occurred and continue to occur on two levels: social and intra-astrological. In the socio-historical sphere, astrology has gone beyond the practice of small elite communities. Thanks to the commercialization of the spiritual search market, astrology has become an affordable commodity that can be purchased at astrology courses in the relevant "academies"and" institutes " 31 by purchasing astrological literature or a computer program for calculating the horoscope. On the other hand, at the content level, the corresponding processes are related to the nature of interpretation (appeal to the individual and his fate, hermeneutical pluralism), when the method of analogies blurs the boundaries between different systems.

Of course, for the analysis of astrology in certain regions, cultural prerequisites are still important. So probably define-

30. Cf. Tesman A. Astrological forecasts in the mass-media space of modern Russia (in the process of publication-plan for 2014).

31. Usually, such paid education, which ends with exams and the presentation of a diploma of an astrologer-specialist, lasts about three years, during which students participate in multi-day seminars. The system of multi-year training is typical for both Western countries and Russia. In addition, there are various forms of distance learning.

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The determining factor for post-Soviet astrology was the situation of a long-term shortage and sudden oversupply of astrological literature on the book market in the 1990s, which was radically different from the situation in which new astrological systems were being formed in the West. Finding Western works on astrology in Soviet libraries and translating them into Russian, astrologers were forced to exchange opinions in closed marginal communities, unable to speak publicly. Thus, astrology acquired the status of "dangerous knowledge". It took decades for Russian astrologers to comprehend the body of astrological literature that was created in Western countries during the XX century. This situation of heterogeneity of astrological and esoteric literature circulating simultaneously contributed to the eclectic nature of horoscope analysis.

In the early 1990s, with a radical change in state policy towards religion in Russia, among other things, there was a noticeable surge of interest in esoteric knowledge and, above all, in astrology. At first, astrological forecasts were in demand by the public not only on an individual level, but when everyone interested could find recommendations in special newspaper and magazine columns with horoscopes for each day. Along with the latter, world astrological forecasting concerning the future development of Russia, its political partners and opponents was no less popular. Although in the 2000s there was a slight decline in interest in astrology and the loss of its authority among the population, astrological interpretations and predictions have become an integral part of public esoteric discourse over the past two decades. At the same time, thanks to the active performances of astrologers-mass media stars (such as Pavel and Tamara Globa, Mikhail Levin, Alexander Zaraev, etc. on television and in large audiences, mundane astrology-predicting events at the global and country level-continues to support geopolitical narratives and political stereotypes, reflecting public sentiment and likely influencing the formation of collective perceptions about the country's future.32
32. Tesman A. Astrological forecasts in the mass-media space of modern Russia.

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Concluding the review, I will give some figures. Almost all European statistical studies of recent decades show a high degree of awareness of the population in popular astrology. In West Germany, for example, about 98% of people can correctly name their own zodiac sign, and there has been a significant increase compared to the early 1950s, when about 69% were aware of it.33 In Russia, the percentage of the population able to determine their zodiac sign is lower. For example, when asked by VTsIOM in 42 regions of Russia (1,600 people were surveyed) in 2009 whether Russian citizens know which zodiac sign they are patronized by, about 88% of respondents answer positively. According to 57%, the characteristics of the corresponding characters correspond to their personality (partially-38%, completely-19%). Women (64%) are more likely to notice this correspondence than men 34.

If we take into account that the population receives astrological information from the mass media, then the astrological forecast should be recognized as an important tool for influencing the mood of the masses.

Research of modern astrology in perspective

Despite the fact that many works are devoted to the history of astrology, especially the analysis of ancient literature - major representatives of this historical school are, for example, the German and American classicists Wilhelm Gundel (1880-1945) and David Pingree (1933-2005) - the history of modern astrology, in fact, remains completely unexplored. It is hard to imagine how many Western and Eastern traditions that easily come into contact with each other today through new communications form new and not always expected semantic syntheses. Fixing such new astrological transformations seems necessary. One of the reasons why such work is difficult is the lack of professional training of an astrology researcher, which should combine excellent knowledge of a wide range of astrological systems and schools, as well as practical use of the method.

33. Wunder, E. Religion in der postkonfessionellen Gesellschaft, s. 287.

34. Wed. Life under the zodiac sign: who and what do Russians believe in? All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) 1134 (15.01.2009) [http://wciom.ru/index. php? id=459&uid=11 217].

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with a high level of cultural expertise. An additional difficulty is the objective "translatability" of astrology. In the astrological community, despite its long history (or rather, despite it), there is no consensus on the meaning of the components of astrological interpretation. In addition, "horoscope hermeneutics" involves the use of a specific language and certain cultural constructs peculiar to local cultures. On the other hand, the above difficulties are hardly as desperately insurmountable as it seems at first glance: the options for arbitrary interpretation in astrology are still limited and due to certain preferences in the context of a particular culture, and the collective work of various experts using modern methods of content and discourse analysis, in my opinion, would make it possible to draw up a complete list of at least a database on the directions of modern astrology. A clear understanding of modern astrology would allow us to trace inter-astrological transfers between Western and Eastern systems.

Regarding Russian and Russian astrology, we have to state that there are more questions than answers. This state of affairs concerns astrology not only of the modern period, but also astrological trends of the last two centuries. Questions about the relationship between Western and Russian schools have yet to be answered. in the era of the emergence and spread of theosophical teaching, or, for example, about the place of astrology in the periodical press of the late XIX-early XX century. Also, the practice of astrology of the Soviet period requires careful study. Exploring the esoteric underground of the 1960s and 1970s with its gurus and visionaries, and the fascinating search for new ways to interpret reality in a closed society, seems essential to understanding the impulses that gave rise to the diversity of the 1990s and 2000s.

Bibliography

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Life under the zodiac sign: who and what do Russians believe in? All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) 1134 (15.01.2009) [http://wciom.ru/index. php? id=459&uid=11 217].

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Tesman A. Astrological forecasts in the mass-media space of modern Russia //Proceedings of the International Scientific Symposium "The Path of Gnosis: Mystical and Esoteric Traditions and Gnostic Worldview from Antiquity to the Present Day "(April 10-13, 2013, Moscow)/Edited by S. V. Pakhomov, St. Petersburg: Russian Academy of Arts, 2014 (in the process of publication).

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