Solunars by Aldebaran Sidereal Academy

Jan 20, 2016

In his obituary in American Astrology, Donald Bradley's birth data were given as May 16, 1925, 2:04 AM, Bruning, NE.

When he actually died in April 1974, Gary Duncan called me in my home in Greencastle, IN to tell me. At that point he was no longer bound to keep Bradley's birth data confidential, and he gave it to me as 2:40 AM. This was thrown into question later when 2:04 was published, and I discussed it with Gary. He was puzzled and asserted that he was sure Uranus was closer to the Ascendant than the 2:04 showed. I went ahead with the officially published time.

However, I recently reconstructed the lunar return examples of the unnamed young man in Chapter 6 of Solar & Lunar Returns (long known to be Bradley's own SLRs), and they all arise from the 2:40 AM time.

Therefore, it's clear that, at the time he wrote Solar & Lunar Returns, Bradley held his own birth time to be 2:40 AM, and this is also the period when Gary got the data from him. Whether the 2:04 published by American Astrology was a typo, an intentional distortion at Bradley's request, or a time he eventually came to believe was correct, I'm unsure. I'm giving the natal chart here for the time he believed to be his birth time most of his life, which I suspect is his correct time.

When he moved to Long Beach, CA, he had
MC 13°29' Scorpio
Asc 0°01' Aquarius

This placed his Sun just over 1° from square Ascendant, and Neptune 2° below Descendant. Besides finishing growing up in that general area, this is where he established his astrological career, went to work for Llewellyn George, became an established writer, did the original Profession & Birth Date and Solar & Lunar Returns research and publishing, etc.

When he moved to New York, NY, he had
MC 24°21' Sagittarius
Asc 8°57' Aries

His Mercury, though ecliptically seeming to be above Ascendant, is 1°24' below it, the strongest planet. Jupiter and Saturn are rather widely foreground. This is where he had his greatest institutional success, especially his work at New York University on the weather project.

(I'm not sure when he moved, but in the fall of 1954 he was apparently still on the West Coast. He once wrote that his September 1954 SLR had a Venus-Saturn conjunction on the angles - he cited this as a disfigurement aspect, and his diaries disclosed a very infected ingrown whisker - and that aspect only shows angular in his September 11, 1954 SLR for Southern California. However, the event of his apartment being robbed in NYC was January 1, 1963. The weather studies were being published as early as September 1962, so had been actually performed and professionally evaluated earlier than that.)

When he moved to Tucson, AZ, he had
MC 20°17' Scorpio
Asc 10°45' Aquarius

Moon is 0°43' from Eastpoint, and Neptune is very widely foreground. This is where he settled into his position as editor and columnist for American Astrology (while doing other consultation for scientific journals). He eventually worked in person with Cyril Fagan, after Fagan relocated from Dublin. Bradley also experienced his repeated rounds of the lung cancer that eventually killed him (making a bit of medical history along the way as the first man ever to have a double mastectomy).

SteveS wrote:Curious—do you know if Bradley was a heavy smoker?

Yes, quite heavy. (See Mars in Gemini / Mercury in Aries.) BTW, taking up heavy smoking is a routine behavior of people deeply committed to Alcoholics Anonymous, as he was. I'm not clear whether he was a heavy smoker before that, but it would have been typical of a man born in 1925.

Here is his grave memorial

Donald Allen Bradley
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.c ... d=48715577

and a lovely picture of him (provided by Maxine Cheri Clark-Harris) from high school when he was just 18 years of age. He was quite beautiful in appearance wasn't he?

Ankaa star conjunct his Sun in PV mundoscope, known for giving physical beauty among other things, check my thread on fixed stars in mundo, of course he was a Taurus Sun, double Aquarius (asc and moon) noted for their constellational beauty...

6-15-1943 Senior Picture, Wilson High School, Long Beach, California.

Thank you for posting this UncleAries.
Regards,
Flo

It's one of those examples that shows "there's something to this astrology and personal appearance" thing: Don was a Taurus-Aquarius. Gene Lockhart, a Scorpio-Leo, bore a striking resemblance to him at the same ages.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:33 am Don was a Taurus-Aquarius. Gene Lockhart, a Scorpio-Leo, bore a striking resemblance to him at the same ages.

Could you share a link or two to any picture of Gene Lockhart when young? I had no luck with Google.

TheScales_BothWays wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:56 am

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 9:33 am Don was a Taurus-Aquarius. Gene Lockhart, a Scorpio-Leo, bore a striking resemblance to him at the same ages.

Could you share a link or two to any picture of Gene Lockhart when young? I had no luck with Google.

I've never seen a picture of Gene. I never took one, and don't remember anyone ever capturing him in a picture.

By the way, you had asked about pictures of the trip. You can find, publically viewable, an album called 2017 October Colorado here: https://www.facebook.com/jeshelman

Jim Eshelman wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2017 11:32 am By the way, you had asked about pictures of the trip. You can find, publically viewable, an album called 2017 October Colorado here: https://www.facebook.com/jeshelman

Thanks Jim! Your pictures are spectacular.

I thought it might be fun to see what an automated Sidereal interpretation module could do for the chart of a Sidereal pioneer. BTW, Bradley has a young man had a cottage industry of generating written horoscope interpretations. He had one page on each chart factor (sign placement, aspect, etc.) that he wanted to consider - mimeographed these in large quantities - he'd calculate the chart, pull the sheets, staple them, and give them to a typist to retype for him. (I think he had about three typists doing this work, according to my recollection of Gary's recollection.) If it was unusually complicated, e.g., too many factors to count on "read from the top down," they'd give it back to him to customize before typing.


MOON

MOON IN AQUARIUS
Instinct for interconnection (all things) & breadth (diverse interests) as sources of genius. Intellectually rebellious, curious, investigative, futuristic. Science, analysis, discovery. Free spirit + social responsibility. Sexually curious; strange marital conditions. Humane: sympathetic to others’ troubles. Social idealist, reformer. Avoids “herd mind.” Occultists. Space, astronomy, astrology, sci fi, etc.

MOON IN THE 12TH HOUSE
Secluded (hermit). Difficult emotional complexes, inferiority feelings, moody; an "I’m not OK but you’re OK" syndrome, or "You’re probably better than I am." Passive or defeatist attitude, drifting. Frustration of nurturing needs and emotional interchange. Vulnerable to pain.

ASPECTS OF MOON
TRINE SATURN Orb 0°38' Applying
Hardworking, self-driving. Encourages others. Usually emotionally reserved, private. Resistant to others' rules & control (passive-aggressive response). Parent issues persist (nourishment-deprivation). Judgmental, intolerant, distrustful. Can be pessimistic, feeling inferior, anxious, depressed.

TRINE PLUTO Orb 2°36' Applying
Avoids habitual conformity & conventional conditioning; willing to "march to a different drummer" with little concern for others' rules. Maverick, outsider, gently resists authority. Restless, can uproot on little notice. Deeply inquiring mind.


SUN

SUN IN TAURUS
Charming, good-hearted, tolerant, forthright. Loves peace, beauty, nature, comfort, simplicity. Devoted friend, keenly understands people. Willingly vulnerable, open; feels things powerfully. Erotic (sexually, sensually, philosophically). Deeply loving parent. Prolific in all areas of creativity.

SUN IN THE 2ND HOUSE
Keen sense of ownership; possessiveness; self identified with resources. Sense of power from harnessing resources.

ASPECTS OF SUN
TRINE JUPITER Orb 2°29' Separating
Generous, kind, warm, amiable, tolerant; needs acceptance & friendship. General dislike of problems: Has difficulty persevering against real adversity (though most problems resolve easily). Prodigal, loves leisure, overly reliant on luck. Philosophical or religious mind.

SEXTILE URANUS Orb 0°17' Separating
Go their own way, unapologetically following their own paths. Easily bored. Loves freedom. Progressive, future-oriented, uninhibited by convention. Self-perspective usually founded in objectivity. Often deeply interested in occultism.


MERCURY

MERCURY IN ARIES
Forthright, verbally & intellectually bold, independent thought, opinionated, with strong force of conviction. Enjoys frankness over diplomacy. Slow to retreat. Boldly states views to persuade (orators). Analytical, utilitarian, practical, common sense. Impatient, excessive nervous irritation, restless.


VENUS

VENUS IN TAURUS
Gentle, kind. Feels intensely (moody). Lives in a romantic or fantasy world. Affectionate, devoted, desires tenderness, sympathetic. Eros dominates. Wants to enjoy love & all pleasure from its many forms. Devoted: friendship important. Indulgent, gratifies desires readily. Artistic-aesthetic. Graceful. Avoids harsh, vulgar, violent, painful.


MARS

MARS IN GEMINI
Bright, inquiring; forthright, decisive (strong opinions). Argumentative (debate, stirs conversation; eloquent?). Pragmatic (not idealistic). Methodical. Scientific mind hones facts, can commit mind to research (scientists). Strength from being heard; otherwise over-compensates. (May "know better than anyone else," need to be right.) Substance abuse.

ASPECTS OF MARS
SEMISQUARE NEPTUNE Orb 0°47' Applying
Thrives amidst stirred passion & drama. Supercharged imagination. Surges into temptation; impatient with frustrated gratification; requires rapid conformity of reality to wants (usually gets it). Zealous enthusiasms. Dramatic aggressions; anger patterns triggered by frustration. Sexually magnetic (yet sexual demons & doubts). Great stamina for long-term vision.


ASPECTS OF URANUS
CONJUNCTION THE ASCENDANT Orb 1°35' Applying
Strongly individualistic, independent, going their own way. Needs freedom & breathing room (physical, intellectual) and frequent renewal (through new interests & experiences, shedding inhibitions, shaking loose stale conditions). Responds strongly to the new, unexpected, thrilling, colorful, exciting. Pragmatic realist anchored by naked truth (seeker who forges an ideal from experience of the actual). Clownish, fun. Prefers disclosure over mystery.

Jim Eshelman wrote: Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:59 am BTW, Bradley has a young man had a cottage industry of generating written horoscope interpretations. He had one page on each chart factor (sign placement, aspect, etc.) that he wanted to consider - mimeographed these in large quantities - he'd calculate the chart, pull the sheets, staple them, and give them to a typist to retype for him. (I think he had about three typists doing this work, according to my recollection of Gary's recollection.)

The first things I wonder is whether these interpretations were sidereal and whether they still exist somewhere.

The second thing is that I (VERY) briefly worked for a very small business in the early '70s doing much the same sort of compilation work; I did the horoscope calculations. They couldn't bring up enough customers to stay in business.

-Derek

I don't know if they were Sidereal, but I doubt it. After all, he actually wanted to make money off this

Timing is vague... they were both young... it might have during the '40s, but could possibly have slid into the first half of the '50s. Bradley was in Long Beach (or thereabouts), but that goes up to about the mid-'50s.

Jim, I sure would like to know when Bradley started & finished writing "Taking the Kid Gloves off Astrology." Would you happen to know?

SteveS wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:23 am Jim, I sure would like to know when Bradley started & finished writing "Taking the Kid Gloves off Astrology." Would you happen to know?

They began to be published in American Astrology beginning with the October 1955 issue, which would have gone on sale the first week of September.

I'm sure he was gathering ideas for this for years, so the time frame starts earlier than the outright writing. OTOH, it also goes later, because I imagine he was still writing the last installments while the first were being printed.

I'd estimate spring-summer 1955 as when te actual outline and writing were mostly done. This would be under his 1955 SSR. I'm not sure where he was living in '55 - it might still have been Long Beach, or he might have gone to NYC by then. (I'd guess Long Beach, but neither SSR looks very impressive.)

The only possible major impulse for what I consider one of his most brilliant writings is Secondary Sun exactly progressed into 00,00 Gemini. Do you know when he discovered his SVP?

SteveS wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 10:04 am Do you know when he discovered his SVP?

I reconstructed that somewhere here. The work began to be published in May 1957 (newsstand April '57). I think fall '56 is a good estimate.

FWIW, I do believe Robert Hand brilliantly figured out and rediscovered a long forgotten ancient astrological technique of the Dodekatemoria, which is a 13 harmonic Natal Chart. I note with Bradley’s Dodekatemoria 13th harmonic Natal:

Mercury (Gemini) partile 90 Uranus forming T Square with Jupiter; and Sun 1,20 conjunct Aldebaran. COSI says about some of the tones with Mercury combo with Jupiter & Uranus:

…success in the solution of technical or mathematical tasks, a far seeing mind, gathering of ample knowledge, a resourceful orator.

I do believe Bradley to be a true astrological “orator.”

But my favorite from COSI for Mercury-Uranus tones:

…cosmobiologist.

I consider a true “cosmobiologist” to any school of astrology--not just the German Schools of Astrology, and being/becoming a true born astrological PHD.