Astrolog for OS/2
Astrolog for OS/2 is a free-to-use astrology calculation, charting and analysis software based on the famous Astrolog program by Walter D. Pullen. To learn more have a look at the readme file, or view this screenshot showing the chart of former US President George W. Bush (Tropical points, Synchronized houses, Lahiri ayanamsa).
Project Future
Astrology seems destined to lead all other branches of knowledge out of the blind alley of unspiritual rationalism and materialism.– Dr. Cunibert Mohlberg, Vatican Institute of Archaeology
Astrolog for OS/2 will see continued development with at least quarterly updates. Work on its cross-platform replacement has been delayed. If you want to see the new software sooner rather than later please make a donation of any size and indicate your preferred platform(s).
Version 2.0
Thanks to significant changes that the previous 1.2 version is not compatible with, I have decided to bump the major version number for the next release. Some of the changes and new features in version 2.0 are as follow.
- Automatic Chart Analysis: A basis for consistent and highly accurate chart interpretation suitable for research and reliable end-user reports. The first stage of this analysis will produce an Integrity Score synthesizing location-independent factors such as Sankhya Yoga, essential dignity, cuspal placement, planetary sovreignty, combustion, and dispositor chaining. The second stage will produce a location-dependent Fortune Score based off the horoscope sign and the accidental dignity of planets by house and focus. The two scores will combine to give a general idea of the character and life to be expected. The analysis will also pinpoint the most important planets, the good and the bad as well as the strength of each, for a more detailed picture.
- Extended Chart Information: Time with seconds (in the original version animation could step a chart a second at a time, but the seconds were neither displayed nor saved on file), Time Precision (birth records in some places frequently have the time rounded to the nearest hour), Tags (can associate a chart with multiple categories), Event Type (birth, marriage and death will be predefined), Long Name (somewhat generic, but will probably be birth name for birth events), Accuracy (rodden-based ratings for information accuracy: AA, A, B, C, D, X and XX), Source (gives optional details about the original known source of the information such as the name of a biography), Notes (whatever notes you may want to keep). Event type, tags, accuracy and time precision will be future chart selection criteria.
- Quick Data Entry: A new chart information dialog with a Parse button makes it a lot easier to copy and paste information from the web, email or other sources. In practice this both speeds up data entry and can also avoid some typing and other input errors. You are now able to enter name, date, time, time zone, place, latitude and longitude all in one place.
- Localization: As a first major step towards full localization dates and times will be localized. This means that the program loads date and time formats as defined in the currently configured locale object, which can be found in the System Setup folder. The program will accept input as all-numeric, as well as with the month spelled out in full or abbreviated.
Pre-Alpha
A pre-alpha version will be finished and released regardless of funding. However, continued development after that is uncertain. Progress towards 2.0 final can be very fast or very slow depending on your support. With no financial support I will be forced to devote so much of my time elsewhere that any further development will be held up indefinitely.
Technological Previews
A number of technological previews will precede the first pre-alpha. These releases are not intended for general use, but solely for technical review of the new extended file format, the new chart information dialog, localization of dates and times, as well as experimental and incomplete implementations of automatic chart analysis, ACA. These previews are ready to use, but there are numerous implementation holes, and a lot of work remains to be done before the first pre-alpha release.
Development Schedule
God willing, version 2.0 will be ready in early Spring 2011. Before then there will be multiple prereleases, including a great number of technological previews, followed by at least one pre-alpha, which may be available before Christmas this year. Development beyond the first pre-alpha will depend on your financial support.
The latest technological previews feature a completely rewritten analysis module, which is already close to what will be the complete first stage of Automatic Chart Analysis (ACA) in the pre-alpha. It records individual factors for each planet as well as diagnostics. Sankhya Yoga is a major analysis factor. For the undignified sankhya yogas this is effectively a reduction factor and will almost always reduce overall chart integrity. For the dignified sankhya yogas a dignified ruler may sometimes raise the integrity score.
The next release will focus on results for individual planets and incremental improvements to the implementation of various chart analysis factors, the Cuspal Placement, Sankhya Yoga and Planetary War factors in particular. Chart categories will also be color-coded. Your comments and feature requests are very welcome!
Long-term
In the long-term it will be necessary to replace Astrolog for OS/2 with a completely new groundbreaking and professional grade software. It will stand apart from currently available offerings in many ways including the following.
- Zero cost to download, install and use (commercial astrology software costs hundreds of dollars).
- Cross-platform (commercial astrology software rarely runs natively on more than one operating system).
- Open source and a free software licence allow the user to freely extend, customize and redistribute the software.
- Portability to other platforms courtesy of the Qt cross-platform development framework.
- Usefulness to astrologers and lay people alike (astrology for the masses and not only the professionals).
- Consistently working astrological features (too many features blur the picture).
- Easy to use thanks to a fully up-to-date graphical user interface, including modeless settings dialogs, context menus, etc.
- Chart analysis with a focus on the bottom line such as profile matching and genuinely useful character discriptions.
The software will be available on OS/2 and at least one of the following operating systems: MS Windows (XP/7), Mac OS X, and GNU/Linux. The exact range will depend on the funding received.
By making a donation to this project you can make sure the software will be available for your particular platform and operating system! Development will start as soon as Qt 4.6 has been completely ported to OS/2 and the first pre-alpha of Astrolog for OS/2 has been released. Both events are expected to take place this year!
Funding
To fund the new software I have chosen the pay-for-development model. For supporters this means you pay only once and can use any number of copies of the software without restrictions. It also means that you only have to pay according to your means and interest in the software and may get away with paying less than those hundreds of dollars asked for by the big names in commercial astrology software, or you can be as generous as you like and get well-deserved credit for being one of those foresighted people who brought not only yourself but the whole world some really groundbreaking astrology software.
All donations, regardless of size, give full access to all advance project updates. Features will get implemented according to overall strategy and funding, so do not hesitate to mention any particular feature of interest to you. You can make a secure payment through PayPal using a credit or debit card, your own bank or PayPal account (if you have one). In the field for Optional Instructions be sure to indicate your preferred operating system or platform.
Latest Release
Version 1.2 Alpha 6 delivers Synchronized Houses (sidereal whole sign houses combined with tropical planets). This brand new astrological house system is sure to make you go wow! Finally you will be able to interpret planets by their house position, just as you find them.
Version 2.0 will add Automatic Chart Analysis (ACA). As of TP21 the software includes an effective chart integrity score. The first pre-alpha will deliver a highly accurate overall score, as well as scores for individual planets, that will make chart interpretation a lot easier and more consistent.
The latest technological preview – TP49 – comes with an unusually great number of improvements to the analysis module, including a bugfix in the sankhya yoga algorithm, a more effective combustion factor, and a new brightness factor – all contributing increased statistical significance. The module already appears to produce strikingly accurate results for the vast majority of charts tested. If there is anything you are not pleased with I beg you to let me know. Only one major planned improvement remains to be implemented and it should only affect a select number of charts (those with multiple planetary wars in one and the same sign).
| Description | Download |
|---|---|
|
Astrolog for OS/2, v1.2 Alpha 6c,
released 2007-06-26 |
astrolog.zip (476 kB) |
|
Astrolog for OS/2, v2.0 TP21,
released 2009-10-31 |
astrolog2tp21.zip (483 kB) |
|
Astrolog for OS/2, v2.0 TP22,
released 2010-01-08 |
astrolog2tp22.zip (487 kB) |
|
Astrolog for OS/2, v2.0 TP39,
released 2010-04-21 Bug alert! |
astrolog2tp39.zip (486 kB) |
|
Astrolog for OS/2, v2.0 TP49,
released 2010-05-15 |
astrolog2.zip (496 kB) |
Bug Alert
A bug has been discovered in TP39 that affects sankhya yoga analysis. Only charts with yogas below Dama are affected. For some charts with dignified planets representing sankhya yogas above the one indicated for the current chart the unintended reduction of dignified influence can be very great. As a result of fixing the bug statistical significance has increased.
Astrolog Chart Collection
There once was a small collection of astrological birth charts available to test Astrolog for OS/2. The collection contained mostly timed birth data for public figures in the Astrolog Chart Information file format. For alleged copyright reasons it is no longer available for download. The chart collection will return with mostly untimed data (copyleft) upon the release of the latest version of the software. It will then also include most of the test and control data referenced in the documentation of the currently available technological previews.
| Description | Download |
|---|---|
|
Astrolog Chart Collection,
v1.15,
released 2007-09-24 |
charts.zip |
Make a Donation
Whether you appreciate Astrolog for OS/2 or would like to see new astrology software developed you are welcome to make a donation. Also a small amount will give enough of a moral boost to drive progress for months to come. If you would like to see development for a particular platform or request a definite feature please consider making a larger donation.
All donations, regardless of amount, will give you full access to all advance project updates. You can make a secure payment through PayPal using a credit or debit card or your own account. Recently PayPal has also added the ability to pay using a bank account. In the field for Optional Instructions be sure to indicate your preferred operating system!
| Description | Payment |
|---|---|
| Donation (USD 15) | |
| Donation (USD 30) | |
| Donation (other amount) |
Support
Astrolog for OS/2 is supported freeware. You may use the email address below for reporting bugs, request features or share your mind on anything else concerning this software.
