I am trying to learn more about a certain historical episode that Terence McKenna mentions in passing in his lecture "Monogamy, Marriage, and Neurosis" and possibly elsewhere.
"Astrology went through a crisis several hundred years ago where under the emergence under a new class of wealthy people, there became a demand for personal horoscopes. So astrology reconfigured its toolkit to be able to provide that."
I think in another lecture he goes into this stating that how before this period Astrology was used exclusively in statecraft, divining political destiny of nations, the health of princes and kings, and fate of the monarchy.
I'm thinking this has to do with the shifts in the "Estates of the Realm" and the political shake ups surrounding the Protestant Reformation, maybe the 30 Years War, or similar episodes. Can anyone speak to this or point me in the right direction for more research?
I've already tried /r/askastrologers and /r/terencemckenna and am getting almost zero traction on this.
Thanks and thank you to the Terence McKenna Wiki Project for helping me find the quote.
Seeing as you don't seem to get a more elaborate answer I'll try to contribute what I can and send you on your way so to speak. :)
I'm only a little ways into Taming the Prophets by Martin Kjellgren, but this book discusses the same topic as the one you've highlighted. Essentially, astrology as a concept back then was very different from the one we know today, to the point where they're almost mutually exclusive. The crisis that is mentioned is one that occurs as a result of structural change in Europe at the time.
I'm sure you're aware of Martin Luther and the various other schools that appeared during the 16th century and their effect on the Catholic church. These effects brought about a change in the clergy, and I'll limit myself to specifically Sweden here because that's what I'm familiar with, but I'm sure it happened elsewhere too. The clergy changed their approach towards to common people from being generally accepting but condemning of their lasting pagan ways, to a complete turnaround in attitude where many pagan activities (even among devout christians) were severely punished. The arch bishop of Sweden at the turn of the century 1500-1600 became so hated among the populace for his actions that he was removed from his seat.
The crisis then, is that astrology before this time was used as a means to predicting the future outcome of life, but it was an act that was restricted to a few people among the elite. Along with the reformation, a gradual change in European society brought these astrological predictions out from the small elite circle out in the greater society, where laymen started making predictions. These predictions was a direct challenge to the power of the Catholic church and was thus seen as a threat, but the church did no longer have a good way of dealing with it, hence the crisis.
I really like the book so far and I'd recommend that you pick it up if you can (it's fairly cheap). In it you'll find a great reference list to other sources (English and German for instance), which talk about the same things and that I'm sure you'll want to have a look at as well.
Kjellgren, M., Taming the Prophets, Sekel, Lund 2011. The author himself also recommends (among others):
Barnes, R.B., *Prophecy and Gnosis: Apocalypticism in the Wake of the Lutheran Reformation, Stanford University Press, Stanford, Californa 1988.