Dennis elwell

This interview was recorded in for my book, Astrology in the Year Zero. With the hope of bringing this a little more into focus, I would like to preface the interview by looking at three particular facets of his contribution. In the first place, when it comes to interpreting astrological charts Dennis was a virtuoso — blending a rigorous approach to technique with a creative, even playful, engagement at a symbolic level.

He worked as a journalist for many years, and the ease and fluency with which he expresses himself may sometimes disguise the depth of his thought.

Dennis Elwell (16 February – 13 November ) was a British astrologer, journalist, author and lecturer.

For instance, here is one of many insights in his book, Cosmic Loom , which has the power to take any astrologer down a philosophical rabbit hole:. Perhaps astrology would be further along the road had not man made the facile and arrogant assumption that the heavens must be speaking his language … the cosmos has concepts of its own which, by an effort of imagination, we can begin dimly to discern.

Thirdly, no account of Dennis would be complete if it failed to mention that he was a feisty and controversial fellow who crossed swords with many astrologers and critics of astrology over the years. When he was provocative and disputatious, he aimed to jolt his interlocutors out of comfortable habits of thought — to get us thinking and talking to one another and perhaps even setting off in pursuit of truth.

The interview for Year Zero provides a case in point. For Dennis,. It was as if we were invited to a convivial meal, only to find Hannibal Lecter among the guests. Although Dennis and I had very different ideas about the best way to deal with criticisms of astrology, he readily agreed that we should try to talk this through. For him, truth is not picked up like a pebble from a beach, but forged through engagement, participation, and sometimes grappling — with our fellow beings and with life itself.

For Dennis, creative and constructive engagement actually helps to form reality, since. What we experience is not external reality per se but our interaction with it, so that in a very real sense we are constructing our universe from out of ourselves …6.