Walter Pullen - Well Known Astro Software and Oracle Deck Creator

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Michael Sternbach
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Walter Pullen - Well Known Astro Software and Oracle Deck Creator

Post by Michael Sternbach »

Hi Eclectics

Today, I have the honour and pleasure to present to you an interview with Walter Pullen, whose fabulous astrology freeware I recently reviewed here and who told us about his awesome oracle deck here.

I had known and been using Walter's Astrolog (meanwhile available in version 6.30) for about 20 years. After I happened to meet him on the astrology forum Skyscript not long ago, I seized the opportunity to not only invite him to join this forum, but also to suggest an interview via email. To my delight, he readily agreed to both.

So here goes the Q&A:

How did you get involved with astrology?

My investigation into astrology started in 1990 due to a general interest in spirituality. In the late 1980's the so-called "New Age" movement became popular, which helped inspire me toward the more spiritual aspects of life. I've always appreciated outer space and the potentials of extraterrestrial life, and I've also always liked graphics and geometry, so astrology was a natural alignment of these various interests.

Do you have experience with most, if not all the celestial bodies and techniques included in Astrolog? Which astrological topics are you especially interested in?

Yes, I have to have at least a technical understanding of the bodies and techniques in order to implement them in Astrolog. I do have my personal preferences though. For example, I work more with Western tropical astrology as opposed to Vedic sidereal astrology, although I try to support both methods equally. I'm also interested in Esoteric Astrology (as expressed in works such as "Esoteric Astrology" by Alice A. Bailey) which is basically a more spiritual and less material approach to the science.

What's your background in IT?

I have a degree in computer engineering, and have worked as a computer programmer for many years. The natural result of combining computers with astrology is producing astrology software.

What made you launch the Astrolog software project in the first place?

Back in 1991, I really wanted to be able to cast astrology charts automatically on the computer. I was in college, so had access to Unix based university computers. The internet at the time was a non-commercial community in which all software could be downloaded and used for free. Looking online, there were no Unix astrology programs available. Therefore, I took it upon myself to meet this need and create one, and uploaded the first version of Astrolog in September, 1991. Soon after I made a PC DOS version, and then the MS Windows version.

What's the story behind your oracle deck?

Astrology is a form of divination, which means I'm also interested in related divination techniques such as Tarot cards. I've always been interested in mazes and labyrinths, so I was inspired to create a maze and labyrinth themed oracle deck as a way to combine the two. The result is "The Labyrinth Oracle: Cards for the Spiritual Path". The deck does have connections to astrology: Its three suits (Arches, Flags, and Obelisks) are modeled after the three modes in astrology (Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable). There are 109 cards total, which are (excluding the special final card) divided into 12 groups of 9 each, which is similar to the 12 signs of the zodiac divided into a 3x3 decanate of decantes. For more about the Labyrinth Oracle see: http://www.astrolog.org/oracle.htm

What are your other esoteric pursuits?

Beyond astrology and divination, I've authored a book titled "Evolution of the Spirit: Our Journey Through the Universe", which is a summary of the spiritual path. See http://www.astrolog.org/spirit.htm for details about it. I also appreciate mazes and labyrinths, and see them as a physical manifestation of the spiritual "path". I like walking labyrinths as a meditation, and making labyrinths and mazes on the beach or on the computer. Beyond Astrolog, I wrote a labyrinth and maze creation and simulation program named Daedalus, which like Astrolog is also a free program with its source code available: http://www.astrolog.org/labyrnth/daedalus.htm

Thanks and blessings,

- Walter :)

Thank you, Walter, for this comprehensive interview. And best wishes for all your endeavours!

Michael :icon_e_smile:

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Joan Marie

Re: Walter Pullen - Well Known Astro Software and Oracle Deck Creator

Post by Joan Marie »

Nice interview Michael. It's pretty amazing what Walter has created.

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Serpentwand
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Re: Walter Pullen - Well Known Astro Software and Oracle Deck Creator

Post by Serpentwand »

Yes, Astrolog looked really thorough and impressive. Top quality freeware is a really useful and generous contribution to society :thumbup: .

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