Traditional or Classical astrology works quite well for the most part but does not include the later discoveries of the astronomers. The invisible planets - Uranus, Neptune and Pluto address and represent aspects of modern human experience that did not exist in the classical period. There is a much better understanding of stellar mechanics and the behavior of comets and meteors and of the universe in general. Modern astrologers however, have become faddish and abandoned theory for a completely empirical approach with the notable exceptions of Ebertin, Johndro, and Barbault. The approach we take integrates modern discoveries in a classical context which extends traditional theory in light of modern scientific theories and discoveries. Fusion astrology preserves the rigor and reliability of classical theory while integrating the more recently discovered planets, cosmobiological and other indexes, the relativity theory geodetic coordination systems based on the fixed stars, and the concepts and tools of statistics (a discipline which was formally recognized at the discovery of Pluto in 1930) . It also pays particular attention to the cosmic wildcards represented by novas, comets and meteors consistently integrating their significance as well. Modern popular astrology often dwells excessively on the psychological and sacrifices the power of concise prediction on the altar of absolutely free will. Fusion and Classical astrology recognize the Will and support its fulfillment in the determination of timed and informed action, they also recognize that elements of Fate and Fortune are involved as well. Optimizing opportunities is a primary function of astrology whether in unraveling the outcome of a question or determining how to make the best use of a birth chart or suggesting strategies to remedy its defects.

Of course all forms of astrology rest on an implicit cosmology and related philosophical perspective. For the classicists this is primarily neoplatonism and the concept of the Great Chain of Being perhaps also influenced by the Kabbalists and Pythagoreans. For the moderns it is empirical science, parascience, modern psychology and existentialism. Fusion astrology relies on an updated cosmological Qaballa and a refinement and extension of classical theories in light of modern science with a distinctly alchemical flavor. Why should the underlying philosophy and cosmological models be of any great interest, one might ask. The basis of astrology is an almost holographic correspondence theory - each part of the universe reflects the whole. The significance of the parts and their modes of interaction in the larger universe of stars, planets, and such has definite correspondence with events on smaller scales. These can be observed in the reflections of these events for the individual, the business, the city, the state. Astrology considers the smaller universe to carry the pattern of the larger at the time it comes into being. We can trace the beginnings of classical astrology to about 400 BCE although its roots go back much further. The refinement of classical to traditional or Renaissance astrology to the Thirty Years War period (1618-1648). Modern astrology dates from the Victorian era around the beginning of the 20th century. Johndros fixed star theory dates from 1929. Wittes Uranian school (the precursor to cosmobiology) dates from the 1920s. Cosmobiology dates from 1942 with Ebertins escape from Nazi Germany. Fusion astrology dates from the nova of 1987. There are also novas in 1604 connected with Renaissance astrology and in 1942 connected with cosmobiology. Novas, as may be noted in the section on portents, are often connected with a paradigm shift; that is we see and interpret the world differently after a major nova than we did before. Very often this results in breakthroughs in thinking, social norms, and technology.

These are the beginnings of the major Western schools of astrological thought and some notes on their underlying philosophies. They all rely as do non-western schools such as the Vedic or the Chinese, on the notions of correspondence theory and cosmology. Their underlying philosophies do color their interpretations and sometimes affect their accuracy. There is also sometimes a danger or benefit in the generation of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Understanding the Birth Chart by Kevin Burk is a step in the direction of fusion which also gives good explanations of many traditional methods.