MANLY P. HALL, Astrologer, Mason, Mystic, etc.

On our recent travels in Texas I found another old astrology-related book in an antique store. The Best of the Illustrated National Astrological Journal covering the years 1933 to 1935, edited by E.A. Wagner, published in 1978. As might be expected, much of the content is dated and/or has been superseded by more modern trains of thought and styles of presentation. Still, it's an interesting curiosity.

An article, by Manly P. Hall, caught my eye. Everything he wrote here, with slight modification, could be applied to the USA in 2011! Our current problems, no longer related to machines, now stem from corporations.

An excerpt from the longish piece:

The Mechanistic Complex by Manly P. Hall (1933)

The autocrats ruled antiquity, the aristocrats dominated the Middle Ages, while the mechanocrats have a stranglehold upon modern civilization. Consider feudal america - a land of filching knights and robber barons. Competition has broken up the unity of the nation and transformed the lane of the free and the home of the brave into a vast battlefield of economic exploitation.

The petty princes of medieval Europe sallied forth from their castles on strategic hills to maraud the countryside. today great industrial magnates from their strongholds upon the high crest of wealth ravage the fertile plains of the nation. The armies of the robber barons of old were composed of "robot" serfs, fed and clothed that they might have strength to extend the boundaries of their scheming liege.

The modern brigand has discarded weak, puny man and is now served by an army of machines. Modern competition is a war of giants. Great grinding mechanisms, whirling with ever increasing velocity, compete in a wild banditry of production.

Humanity is forgotten, races are forgotten, nations are forgotten. The bonds of state and community, which are the warp and woof of civilization are forgotten. Every man's hand is against his brother. Ambition rides in the vanguard of each faction. .....Great industries relentlessly destroy their competitors and justify themselves by the code that life is a survival of the fittest. Why should man be more gentle and considerate of machinery than he is of a fellow human creature?............but machinery is habit-forming......A machinery-obsessed, wealth-mad creation is dashing headlong into oblivion.

The name Manly P. Hall is familiar to me from past forays into esoteric writings. I've never been strongly drawn to matters esoteric, especially anything connected with theosophy, reincarnation, the masonic community or theories about a New World Order and the Illuminati, all of which were a feature of Mr. Hall's lifestyle and writings. Such subjects do provide rich fodder for novelists and other authors and lecturers but, in my view, little in the way of simple truths applicable to everyday life. Manly P. Hall wrote about astrology too. I have his Astrological Keywords.

For any passing reader unfamiliar with Manly P. Hall and his works, some background:

Manly Palmer Hall (March 18, 1901 – August 29, 1990) was a Canadian-born author and mystic. He is perhaps most famous for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, which is widely regarded as his magnum opus, published in 1928.

He has been widely recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of religion, mythology, mysticism, and the occult.

Carl Jung, when writing Psychology and Alchemy, borrowed material from Hall’s private collection.

In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) in Los Angeles, California, dedicating it to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems........ In his over 70-year career, Hall delivered approximately 8,000 lectures in the United States and abroad, authored over 150 books and essays, and wrote countless magazine articles. (From: http://www.manlyphall.org/)

Above: Manly P. Hall, at age 89.

Data for the natal chart of Manly P. Hall, as shown below, comes from Astrodatabank, who give the time of birth (6.02 AM) only a DD rating: "dirty data" - not reliable. I've used this time of birth even so. I have a nasty suspicion that this time might have been suggested by those who'd wish to place his natal Moon into Aquarius rather than allowing a later time of birth putting Moon in Pisces along with Ascending degree, Sun, Mercury and Venus. Aquarius lends a hint of the clear intellectual among all that foggy Pisces imagination, dreams and visions! (My opinion only, of course.)

What stands out?

South node of the Moon (a sensitive point in the chart)is at 25 Taurus - the degree of Fixed Star Algol. Algol can sometimes be found prominent in the charts of those who have some unfortunate circumstances surrounding their lives or deaths - or those who are exceptionally intense and passionate in their endeavours; extreme creativity and some connection to "the dark side" can be noted too. Although Mr. Hall lived to age 89, according to some on-line sources there were rumours that he had been assassinated. Though why someone would consider murdering a man of that age, whose time was limited anyway, is beyond me!

Heavy emphasis on Pisces - the dreamer, potentially addictive (to dreams or other substances), creative, sensitive, mystical.

Saturn in Capricorn, sign of its rulership, is the strongest positioned planet in this chart, and conjunct Jupiter represents something of an enigma. Limitation conjoins excess; restriction conjoins exaggeration. Dreams and creativity conjoin business/career (Saturn).

Neptune, modern ruler of Pisces, in Gemini lies in challenging aspect to natal Sun and, if time of birth here is correct, in harmonious trine to Moon. Such aspects to personal planets draw Neptunian traits (creativity, nebulousness, illusion) into an individual's personality.

Hall was of the Pluto/Neptune in Gemini generation which spawned some incredibly talented characters. There's no doubt at all about the talent of Manly P. Hall as a communicator, or his passion for his subject. However, talent allied with passion for a topic does not necessarily result in accurate conclusions.