Hamburg School of Astrology

The Hamburg School of Astrology, also known as Uranian Astrology, is a school of astrology based on the teachings of surveyor, astrologer and amateur astronomer Alfred Witte. It is characterized by use of astrological midpoints and eight imaginary planets to remedy the lack of success of traditional astrology.

History

The Hamburg School was established as an Association as "Astrologenverein Hamburger Schule" on October 31, 1925 in Hamburg.[1] In 1932 the first partner group was established in Düsseldorf by Theodor Keysers.[2]

Early collaborators of Alfred Witte were Friedrich Sieggrün and Ludwig Rudolph. They concluded that the 8 known planets were insufficient to make astrology work, and that there must therefore be additional planets beyond Neptune (Pluto had yet to be discovered). Witte postulated four trans-Neptunian planets, and in 1927 Sieggrün postulated another four. None of the these postulated planets actually exist.[3][4] Witte named his proposals Cupido, Hades, Zeus and Kronos. Sieggrün expanded the list with Apollon, Admetos, Vulkanus and Poseidon.

Ludwig Rudolph printed and published Witte's claims, the core of which were published in the Rules for Planetary Pictures (Regelwerk für Planetenbilder) in 1928. An increasing amount of the research of the Hamburg School revolved around astrological midpoints and use of the imaginary planets.

In the 1930s, the American Richard Svehla gave lectures on the Hamburg School in the United States, translated the Rules into English, and coined the term "Uranian Astrology" as the English name of the school.[5][6]

Witte and Rudolph were pursued by the Gestapo as enemies of the Third Reich. Witte committed suicide before he could be sent to a concentration camp, and Rudolph was interned. The Rules was banned and burned by the Nazis.

Reinhold Ebertin, a student of Hamburg School methods, eliminated the use of the imaginary planets while maintaining the core teachings of the Hamburg School, renamed it "Cosmobiology" (German: Kosmobiologie), and published it in The Combination of Stellar Influences in 1940, last updated in English in 1972.

After the fall of the Third Reich, the Hamburg School reconvened,[7] and Ludwig Rudolph played the key role in perpetuating the teachings of the Hamburg School. The Hamburg School astrologer Hermann Lefeldt combined Witte's hypotheses with more astrological traditions such as the use of astrological houses. However, other Hamburg practitioners maintained their focus on working only with astrological midpoints , abandoning traditional practices, including the 12 houses and rulerships.

Meanings of the imaginary planets

Alleged astrological meanings of the fictional planets are:

Kronos indicates authority, things that are "high up" like heaven, kings, leaders, sky, etc. Meaning of Kronos
Cupido means romantic love and can indicate marriage through transits to planets that indicate marriage/love in a natal chart. It also indicates artistic abilities and kinds of partnerships.Meaning of Cupido
Hades is similar to Pluto, and it can be an indicator of esoteric vocations or vocations dedicated to healing. It can also indicate emotional or mental issues and life wounds. Meaning of Hades
Zeus indicates creativity and ambitious achievement. It is also a symbol of fertility.Meaning of Zeus
Poseidon indicates spirituality, similar to Neptune, and its positive qualities are spiritual, Christ-like, enlightened and agapical love. It can indicates psychic abilities and spiritual wisdom.Meaning of Poseidon
Admetos indicates transformative power, similar to Hades. The difference between Hades and Admetos is that Admetos' power is internal and is hard to release out into the world, while Hades' power can be released by helping others. Admetos also indicates spiritual blockage and depth of knowledge.Meaning of Admetos
Apollon indicates wisdom throughout life, a balanced temperament, and prophetic dreams.Meaning of Apollon
Vulcanus indicates overcoming of lifetime handicaps, because Hephaestos (Vulcanus/Vulcan) in Greek mythology isn't as beautiful as other Greek gods; he was exiled from Olympus as a result, but later returned to craft things that helped the other gods. Vulcanus also indicates a brute force of masculine energy that wants freedom.Meaning of Vulcanus

Associations of Hamburg School Astrology (inactive)

Astrological Association "Hamburg School", German: Astrologenverein "Hamburger Schule", Hamburg/Germany, est. 1925
Witte Study Group Düsseldorf, German: Witte-Studiengemeinschaft Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf/Germany, est. 1932
Uranian Astrology Research Club, Cleveland, Ohio/USA, 1939
Astrological Study Society (Hamburg School), German: Astrologische Studiengesellschaft (Hamburger Schule), Hamburg/Germany, est. 1947
The Bangkok Astrological School, Bangkok/Thailand, est. 1972

Associations of Hamburg School Astrology (active)

The Uranian Society, New York City/USA, est. 1985 (first announced in 1980).
The International Uranian Fellowship, The Hague/Netherlands est. 2007
Nontaburi Uranian Astrology Associations, ฺBangkok/Thailand est 1999 https://www.facebook.com/nonthaburiastrology

Publications

L.Rudolph, Witte: "Regelwerk für Planetenbilder von Alfred Witte - Die Astrologie von morgen", 1st Edition, Witte-Verlag Ludwig Rudolph, 1928/1929
L.Rudolph, Witte: "Regelwerk für Planetenbilder von Alfred Witte - Die Astrologie von morgen", 2nd Edition, Witte-Verlag Ludwig Rudolph, 1932.
L.Rudolph, Witte: "Regelwerk für Planetenbilder von Alfred Witte - Die Astrologie von morgen", 3rd Edition, Witte-Verlag Ludwig Rudolph, Hamburg 1935.
First official English translation by Richard Svehla as: "Rulesbook for Planetary Pictures by A.Witte & L.Rudolph", Phoenix Bookshop, Cleveland/Ohio, USA 1939, Reprint 2014
Perpetual Ephemeris: Witte, Alfred: "Immerwahrende Ephemeride fur [...]Cupido, Hades, Zeus und Kronos [...]", Special Edition from "Regelwerk...", Witte-Verlag Ludwig Rudolph, Hamburg 1935.
Witte, Alfred: "Der Mensch - eine Empfangsstation kosmischer Suggestionen", compiled and commented by Hermann Sporner und L.Rudolph, Ludwig Rudolph (Witte-Verlag), Hamburg 1975.
Schnitzler, Ilse: "Lexikon für Planetenbilder", Ludwig Rudolph (Witte-Verlag), Hamburg 1957.
L.Rudolph, H.Lefeldt: "Witte: Regelwerk für Planetenbilder",[8] Ludwig Rudolph (Witte-Verlag), Hamburg. Editions: 1946-50, 1959, 1983, 2012
Second official English translation as: "Rulesbook for Planetary Pictures", Ludwig Rudolph (Witte-Verlag), Hamburg 1974, USA 1990
Brummund, Ruth: "Astropsychologische Charaktermerkmale", Ludwig Rudolph (Witte-Verlag), Hamburg 1972.
Brummund, Ruth: "Regelwerk-Neufassung", Udo Rudolph Verlag, Hamburg 1990.

References

Founding of Astrologers Association »Hamburger Schule« report by Ludwig Rudolph, 1925. Published in "Nachrichtenblatt" no. 9-10, p. 94, Dec. 1925/26
The "2.7. Witte Study-Community", Lecture "The Hamburg School (The early years)" by Michael Feist, p. 12
The Astrological Magazine, vol. 87, p. 65, 1998
Orson Scott Card, Philip Athans & Jay Lake (2013) Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, p. 240.
"The New German Astrology (Hamburg School)" and "The New Uranian Astrology", lectures by Svehla at the All-American Astrological Convention in Chicago, 1936.
"Preface of reprint" "Rules for Planetary Pictures by A.Witte & L.Rudolph", p. 10, Reprint of the first English translation 1939. Witte-Verlag Publishing, Hamburg, 2014
The association was re-founded as “Astrologische Studiengesellschaft (Hamburger Schule)” , engl. “Astrological Study Society (Hamburg School)”, December 27th, 1947, 6:38 PM (GMT), in Hamburg, by Ludwig Rudolph, Johann Rose, Hermann Lefeldt, Werner Ritter, Heinrich Schacht, Friedrich Heeger, Albert Berndt, Otto Wilms and Willi Hellberg. References: cover pages and articles in the Journal “Hamburger Hefte” 4/1998 and 3/1999. (In the 1960s, Otto Wilms introduced the "Hamburg School" method in Australia.)
Extended Version based on the 3rd Edition by A.Witte & L.Rudolph. The 4th Edition by Herman Lefeldt and Ludwig Rudolph included the Transneptunians by Friedrich Sieggrun for the first time.