Alan Leo

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Alan Leo

Alan Leo, born William Frederick Allan (1860-1917), was a British astrologer, author, and publisher, and a member of the Theosophical Society. He has been called "the father of modern astrology".

Early life

William Frederick Allan was born on August 7, 1860 in Westminster, England.

Theosophical Society involvement

Alan Leo was admitted as a member of the Theosophical Society in Hampstead on April 14, 1891, less than a month before the death of its founder, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. His address was given as 9 Lyncroft Gardens, London, N.W., and he continued living at that Hampstead location until his death. Walter Gorn Old, one of Blavatsky's Inner Group and General Secretary of the Theosophical Society in England, introduced him to Theosophy.

Marriage to Ada Burch

Ada Elizabeth Murray Burch was born in April, 1858 in Salsbury, Wiltshire as the daughter of Samuel and Murray Burch.

Miss Burch was admitted as a member on September 29, 1892 at the very active Bournemouth Lodge. In 1893 she was married to John Joseph Spark, but in 1894 petitioned for nullification of the union, which was granted on June 17, 1895. Evidently she preferred an asexual union, which she later found with her second husband. After she married Alan Leo around 1896 they became members of the Blavatsky Lodge in London. In 1897 the Leos helped to establish the Hampstead Lodge. She served as President and he as Secretary, and the lodge’s official address was their home at 9, Lyncroft Gardens, Finchley Road, N.W. Mrs. Leo also presided over the Surbiton Centre.

Henry Steel Olcott wrote of Miss Burch in 1895, before she married Mr. Leo:

Among my notable visitors of that time was Miss Brich, F.T.S., of Southampton, now so widely known as the wife of my good friend, Alan Leo, editor of Modern Astrology, and one of the most interested members of our Society in London. The lady has a decided gift for palmistry and, I believe, for psychometry as well. I know quite a number of persons who have been astonished at her power to trace out the varying incidents of their lives in the lines of their hands....

For my part, I hold to the idea which I have expressed before, that, seeing that the Eastern and Western systems of palm-readings are quite different, and yet that equally successful tracings of the subject’s life events have been made by proficients in both of the schools, it is not so much the hard-and-fast system of interpretation of the palm-lines as the possession of a psychical insight which enables the palm reader to trace out the vicissitudes of the subject’s life. This Mrs. Leo seems to have.

Later life

In 1914, Leo was charged with fortune-telling, but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. Three years later, he was charged again, and this time he was convicted on July 16, 1917. He paid a small fine and court costs, but the stress took a toll on his health. During the next six weeks, on holiday in Bude, Cornwall, he wrote extensively on how to restate astrological work as character readings and to take out the element of inflexible destiny. On August 30, 1917, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. His colleague H. S. Greene completed the final work.

Boxed set of Alan Leo books on CD

Writings

Alan Leo was quite a prolific writer. On average he completed a book every three months,

Articles in periodicals

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists 46 articles by or about Alan Leo. Mrs. Bessie Leo also wrote for Theosophical periodicals, at least 16 articles in all.

Alan Leo also wrote for many other periodicals. In January, 1909, for example The Co-Mason printed his article on "Astrology and Co-Masonry."

Books

Alan Leo acted as publisher for most of his own books, using the Modern Astrology Office and his home address. The works are listed here in alphabetical sequence:

• Alan Leo's Dictionary of Astrology, edited and completed by Vivian E. Robson. London 1929. Available at Google Books.

• The Art of Synthesis. Originally published 1912 as "How to Judge a Nativity" in the Astrology for All series. London: Fowler 1968. Available at Google Books.

• Astrology for All series of seven books began by with the stated objective of restoring the Astrology of the Chaldeans:
  • Astrology for All: To Which is Added a Complete System of Predictive Astrology for Advanced Students. London: L.N. Fowler & Co., 1899. Available at Internet Archive and Hathitrust.
  • Astrology for All: Individual and Personal Characteristics as Represented by the Sun and Moon. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1910. Fourth edition of Part 1 of the Astrology for All series. Available at Hathitrust.

• The Astrologer and His Work.

• Casting the Horoscope. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1912. Available at [Google Books.

• Character Is Destiny.

• The Complete Dictionary of Astrology.

• Esoteric Astrology, London: Modern Astrology Office, 1913. Several editions and printings, including Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, 1989. Original subtitle: "a study in human nature." Available at Hathitrust and Google Books.

• Everybody's Astrology.

• Horary Astrology. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1909. Available at Google Books.

• Horoscope and How to Read It.

• The Horoscope in Detail. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1906. Written with H. S. Greene. Available at Hathitrust.

• How to Judge a Nativity. 2 vols. 1904. Reprint, London: Modern Astrology Office, 1928. Available at Google Books.

• Jupiter: the Preserver.

• The Key to your own Nativity. London: Modern Astrology Office, 1910. Available at Google Books.

• Mars: the War Lord.

• Planetary Astrology.

• Practical Astrology. David Mckay, publisher

• The Progressed Horoscope. London, L.N. Fowler & Co.: 1906. Subtitle of 1906 edition: "a sequel to How to judge a nativity, wherein the progression of the horoscope is exhaustively considered, to which is added 'The art and practice of directing,' a complete treatise on primary directions, by Heinrich Däath."Available at Hathitrust and Internet Archive.

• Saturn.

• The Soul of Astronomy.

• Symbolism and Astrology.

• The Symbolism of Astrology.

• 1001 Nativities. Publisher: L.N. Fowler & Co; 2nd edition (1917).

• Thousand and One Notable Nativities.

• What is Astrology?. London, 1907. Available at Hathitrust.

Additional resources

• Alan Leo Natal Horoscope at Khaldea.

• Harris, Philip Sidney. "Leo, Alan" in Theosophy World. Originally published in Theosophical Encyclopedia Quezon City, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 2006.
• Farnell, Kim. Modern Astrologers: The Lives of Alan and Bessie Leo. 2019.
• Leo, Bessie. The Life and Work of Alan Leo: Theosophist—Astrologer—Mason. London : Modern Astrology Office, 1919. Foreword by Annie Besant. Available at Hathitrust.

Video

• Alan Leo and Early Modern Astrology, with Kim Farnell. An interview with Kim Farnell about her new book titled Modern Astrologers: The Lives of Alan and Bessie Leo. June 12, 2019. Episode 209 of The Astrology Podcast.