Charles Harvey
From Old Moore to Plato:
sustaining the highest aspirations of astrology
Born: 22nd June 1940, 9.16 am. BST, Little Bookham, Surrey
Died: 22nd February 2000, 2.50 am. GMT, Bath, Avon
While tabloid starsigns have been astrology's public persona in recent decades, Charles Harvey, a thoughtful Cancerian, has been quietly changing the parameters of the ancient art. He died peacefully in February this year at the age of 59 after a year of illness.
Born in a 14th century house called Half-Moon Cottage in Little Bookham, Surrey, Charles Edward William Harvey began life with an eccentric, tyrannical father. A scholar in mediaeval architecture and history, Harvey senior was a pagan who wore a long green cape for New Year rituals and held anarchic views on the hollowness of academia. Harvey junior attended a grammar school near Leatherhead, but had a disrupted education and a troubled youth, and he ran away at 16. When he found his way to Plato and astrology, he found his true home.
Astrology's survival in the last two centuries has been largely in the hands of passionate amateurs. Harvey was devoted to restoring its position as a serious, professional discipline. He shared with his mentor, John Addey, a neo-Platonic vision which roots astrology in a realm of eternal Ideas, believing that astrology's harmonic periods and cycles reveal "the moving image of eternity".
Harvey was the lynch-pin of the UK astrological community for over thirty years. He was President of the Astrological Association (1973-94), the UK's largest umbrella organisation, and Vice-President of the Faculty of Astrological Studies (1977-86), an internationally recognised teaching body. He was a founder trustee of the Urania Trust (1970), an astrological charity, and co-director of the Centre For Psychological Astrology since 1992.
He gave freely of his time and was known for his enthusiasm and generosity which brought out the best in others. He often quoted Alan Leo's turn-of-the-century catch-phrase from Theosophical astrology, 'unity in diversity'. At the Astrological Association, its long-time Vice-President, Chester Kemp, believes that Harvey's great achievement was to create "a place of truth for many diverse schools of thought". This attitude is shown in his birthchart. The Sun is in the nurturing sign of Cancer, in the 11th house of groups, with a humanitarian Moon in Aquarius in the 6th house of service.
He promoted the research of the French statisticians Francois and Michelle Gauquelin on the correlation between planetary positions and professions, and was instrumental in the Dean/Mather work on 'Recent Advances In Natal Astrology' (1977). This unprecedented resume and critique of astrology raised the debate about astrology as a science. He instigated the research journal "Correlation" and an annual, international research conference. The first in 1979 featured Hans Eysenck who had become convinced of the empirical evidence for a correlation between planetary positions and personality. Harvey was close to the German astrologer, Baldur Ebertin, promoting the mid-point system, and collaborated with Baigent and Campion on mundane astrology, the study of nations and politics. He also published on financial astrology with Michael Harding, and with his wife Suzi, also an astrologer, he wrote two books for
newcomers to the subject. She shared with him his deep concern with astrology's usefulness to the world, and his hope that it would enable people to live more meaningful and creative lives.
Harvey's efforts also brought UK astrology its first "starter home" in 1989, the Urania Trust building in London's Caledonian Road. The Astrology Study Centre housed a library, lecture facilities and book shop. It was a sad regret to him that recent circumstances have made it untenable as a centre, but the project retains enormous future potential.
He was a tireless and charming ambassador for astrology, and was frequently called on to deal with astrology's bad reputation. When the Faculty's summer school had to decamp from Winchester to Jesus College Oxford because of objections to astrology, he mused, "we have been thrown out of Winchester into the arms of Jesus".
His everyday work ranged from an anonymous stint as Old Moore, of almanac fame, to discreet consultancy work for an international clientele. In 1996, he accepted a full time position as consultant to one of his long-term clients, the director of a prestigious international telecommunications company. He used the company horoscope to help mediate discussions and bridge conflicts between different departments, as well as educating various employees in the language of astrology.
In 1998, a generous benefactor enabled him to initiate the Sophia Project under the aegis of the Urania Trust. This aims to advance the study of "real astrology in higher education", and already it is finding small niches for serious astrology in cash-starved universities. Things have come full circle and Sophia could achieve what his father distrusted, a place at the heart of academia.
With his love of 'the good, the true and the beautiful', Charles Harvey has steered organised astrology through the last quarter of the twentieth century, and into the new millennium, sustaining its vision and its highest aspirations.
He is survived by his wife Suzi, sons Giles and Alexander, and daughter Natasha.
Maggie Hyde |
