Dr. David Wallace-Hare

My name is David Wallace-Hare. I'm a Devon-based, Sasanian-Hellenistic astrologer (Middle Persian Star-Gowishn "Star Teller") and Classicist specialising in the reconstruction and practice of Sasanian-Hellenistic astrology within a Zoroastrian cosmological framework.

My practice is sidereal and gives particular importance to fixed stars as active celestial forces. I specialise especially in contested sign rulership and the lunar nodes. In contested signs, Saturn, Mars, and Mercury do not simply receive automatic rulership of their traditional signs: their claim can be challenged by specific fixed stars and other planets present in the chart via aspect contest upon entering a sign. The lunar nodes are read separately through their relationship to the Sun and Moon and through the houses in which they fall and have great significance for the chart.

I use Hellenistic techniques including houses, aspects, exaltation, and planetary dignity, adapted to the different cosmological framework of the Zoroastrian tradition. The result is a non-fatalistic astrology concerned with celestial conditions, human agency, and the choices a person makes within the cosmos.

I am a Professional Member of the International Sidereal Astrology Association (ISAA).

I hold a PhD in Classics from the University of Toronto, where my dissertation, Mountain Industries and Votive Dedications in Roman Aquitania and Hispania, examined how communities working in Rome's riskiest and most uncertain trades, mining, quarrying, silvopastoralism, and beekeeping, turned to votive religion for guidance and protection, inscribing vows to gods tied to their specific trades and landscapes.My academic research spans ancient religion, economy, and technical (especially agricultural) texts more broadly (like the archaeology of beekeeping: https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789699937 ), published internationally, including and most relevant a study of one of the earliest known artistic depictions of catasterism, the ancient theme of mortals transformed into stars (more below).

My astrological practice builds on this same foundation. I work primarily with the sidereal zodiac and whole sign houses, situating these techniques within the wider philosophical and religious traditions from which they developed. I am especially interested in Hellenistic and Zoroastrian star-lore and exploration of how the planets and stars were understood as living intelligences. My long-standing interest in how people made religious choices in the face of uncertainty has also shaped my preference for astrological traditions that emphasise free will over more deterministic approaches.

My published research spans ancient religion in the Mediterranean and Europe, the ancient and medieval economy, ancient fable, and technical texts (like agricultural manuals), it also includes a study of one of the earliest known artistic depictions of catasterism, the ancient theme of mortals transformed into stars:

"On the Theme of Katasterismoi: An Attic White-Ground Lekythos with the Figure of Krotos," with Rui Morais, Frank Hildebrandt, and John T. Barnes, in Myths, Gods & Heroes: Greek Vases in Portugal (2022). This chapter examines a rare Classical-period vase depicting the satyr Krotos, companion of the Muses, whose transformation into the constellation Sagittarius is preserved in Hyginus and Pseudo-Eratosthenes' Katasterismoi. Drawing on literary sources and comparative iconography, from the constellations on the Shield of Achilles in Homer to Near Eastern astral traditions, the chapter argues this vase may be the earliest surviving artistic representation of catasterism.