Translations of Kepler’s Astrological Writings Part I, Section 1.3. Kepler’s Delineations of his Family’s Astrology

Abstract

Here we find Kepler’s comparisons of his, his wife’s, his son’s and his step-daughter’s birthcharts. It consists of two tables: the first lists the planetary and angle positions of each of the four family members, classified into cardinal, fixed and mutable signs; it is followed by a commentary. The second table compares similar aspects in the charts under discussion, also with commentary. Finally, Kepler speculates on a conception chart, almost certainly for his son Heinrich, again with commentary. The text is particularly interesting because it gives insight into the way that Kepler went about interpreting a chart, and into the way he compares charts (the modern astrological term for this is ‘synastry’). Unfortunately, since it was clearly written only for Kepler’s use, it is quite terse and difficult to decipher. However, there are parallels between this text and a series of letters Kepler wrote to Michael Mastlin, in which Kepler compares his own and his son Heinrich’s charts, as well as Mastlin’s and his son August’s charts (see Part I.1.4 in this volume). No date of composition is given; it may have been written around the time of Heinrich’s birth in early 1598 or, alternatively, after the death of Barbara Kepler in 1611 (see p. 61, ‘Son’s mother is going to die’). Taken from Gesammelte Werke 21, 2.2, pp. 41-45. Note: because of the table format, I have left the astrological glyphs as they appear, without writing them out. In the commentaries to the tables, I have written out the names, with the glyph used shown in square brackets. [GW 21,2.2, p. 41].