Evangeline Adams and the Advent of Astrology in America

Описание: Christopher Renstrom joins the show to talk about the work of the early 20th century astrologer Evangeline Adams, and the popularization of astrology in America.

In the first hour of this discussion we talk about the practice of astrology in America in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and the factors that led to its rise, including spiritualism and the Theosophical Society.

Eventually we get to our main topic, which is the life and work of the early 20th century astrologer Evangeline Adams, who the historian James Holden says was the most famous astrologer in America in the first third of the 20th century.

During the course of the episode we talk about the famous anti-fortunetelling court case that Adams was involved in in 1914, her work with Aleister Crowley as a ghost writer for some of her books, and eventually how she reached the height of her popularity with a syndicated radio show in the early 1930s.

Most of the research behind this episode is based on a book by Karen Christino titled Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America, which was originally published in 2003, and released in a revised edition earlier this year:

https://amzn.to/2wdyx4x

Karen was not available to do an interview, but she suggested that I talk with Christopher, who has done a lot of research on the development of astrology in America.

Christopher recently gave a great lecture titled Trash Astrology: A History of Pop Astrology in America, which chronicles the popularization of astrology in the United States:

https://www.rulingplanets.com/shop/me...

This is episode 206 of The Astrology Podcast. You can read the full description or download the audio version on the podcast website:

http://theastrologypodcast.com/2019/0...


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Timestamps

00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:01 Development of astrology in America
00:03:55 Evangeline Adams's 1914 trial for fortune-telling
00:08:26 The revival of astrology in modern times
00:14:58 Benjamin Franklin's connection to astrology
00:17:56 Astrology in the background of American culture
00:23:01 The rise of Spiritualism
00:34:02 Theosophical Society and the comeback of astrology
00:42:50 Luke Broughton, famous American astrologer
00:44:47 Evangeline Adams's early life and mentors
01:01:40 Practicing astrology in Boston
01:05:40 Catherine Thompson, an early teacher
01:14:06 Moving to New York and the Windsor Hotel fire
01:30:48 Legal troubles and the 1914 sting operation
01:47:40 The trial and its outcome
01:57:23 Partnership with Aleister Crowley
02:09:02 Later career and peak popularity
02:17:42 Evangeline Adams's legacy and influence
02:26:10 The advent of the Sun Sign column
02:34:45 Conclusion