It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. First, I lost time for articles and videos when my client schedule picked up in 2020, and then I lost time for clients and The Astrology Livestream when my work on a secret project picked up in early 2024. As of this week, the cat is finally out of the bag: I’ve formed a new astrology software company called Thema Mundi Technologies and we will be releasing an AI-powered astrology software this year called Nechepso. Here is our public demo of an early version of the AI component of the software:
Introducing Nechepso, My New Astrology AI Software
Take our survey here to let us know your thoughts and feelings on astrological AI!
To a lot of people following my work, this probably hasn’t been a huge surprise. In 2023, over the course of several pre-The Astrology Livestream livestreams with Nick Dagan Best, I openly discussed projects I was able to take on with AI, and we talked about our dream of being able to “talk” to the ephemeris. Here were some of the crazier things I was able to do with OpenAI’s ChatGPT that led up to the creation of Nechepso.
Venus Heliacal Phenomena Visualizer
In June and July of 2023, by using ChatGPT, Microsoft Visual Studio, Google Sheets and Google Maps, I was able to write a script that would query the Swiss Ephemeris for Venus’s heliacal phenomena for a large number of places simultaneously and plot them over the world. This created what I think might be the first visualization of heliacal phenomena as a global event. You can read more about that here. We plan on including these kinds of visualizations in Nechepso, to be able to quickly tell whether a planet is actually astronomically visible or not, rather than relying on the more arbitrary 15° rule.
AstroGlyph
In August 2023, by using ChatGPT and Microsoft Visual Studio, I was able to make a Chrome Extension that allows you to easily copy/paste unicode astrological symbols. I made this because I’d always been tired of having to go to some random site to copy/paste glyphs online. It took a lot of work to figure out, but I was amazed that I was able to develop and publish something developed purely by working with ChatGP. It was an important proof of concept to me, that it wasn’t just theoretical, but concrete: AI could help me actually build things for other people to use and enjoy. I got it approved by Google in September and you can buy it for $5 on the Chrome Web Store here.
Planetary Divisions Explorer
Also in August 2023, I completed an update to my Planetary Divisions Calculator and renamed it the Planetary Divisions Explorer. Using ChatGPT, I figured out how to incorporate API’s in order to allow people to generate their natal chart positions by entering their birth data directly into the spreadsheet. I was also able to instantly calculate ascensional times for any birth location. I also added greater visualization options. It was going to be a huge robust update. The problem is that it was simply too large to load and too slow to operate. It was at that point that I realized I would need to go beyond spreadsheets and make something more dynamic and comprehensive. The bad news is, I’m not selling this spreadsheet calculator anymore. The good news is, it’s going to be in Nechepso and it’s going to be fast, beautiful and amazing. It will even be able to provide dynamic interpretations of what the combinations of periods should mean and spot patterns between them based on your input.
AI Ephemeris
In October 2023, by using ChatGPT, Python and the Swiss Ephemeris, I was able to make a simple program that could query the ephemeris in natural language. Here was the moment I (sort of) got it working.
Smartass. I finally got it to do what I wanted it to do though:
Notwithstanding that the query didn’t include a time which affects the Moon’s position and the precise positions of the planets, these are still very generally accurate. It could also do more complex queries as well:
These are also pretty much correct, notwithstanding the exact times and calendrical date being affected by time zones. So yeah, I’m talking with the ephemeris. I went back and forth on publicizing this because I wanted to develop it further. I’m sure anyone reading this with any actual knowledge of computer programming is stifling their laughter. But you have to remember that the reason this is crazy to me is that I don’t know anything about coding. I should not have been able to do any of this.
I know my way around spreadsheets, but I don’t know any formal syntax for any programming language, save for some random html I memorized from 7th grade. While I was still figuring out which degree I should take in college, I explored computer science. I scraped through an introductory class on it with a C. I got a D in a Java class. For the final exam I had to write some code in Java to roll a dice to generate a random result and I wrote:
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(“I don’t know, please let me pass”);
}
}
So you can see how far AI has allowed me to go, and I began to see ways it could go even further. In December 2023 I began serious discussions with my friend John Streaker, an award-winning programmer for Trading View, and a fellow certified astrology nerd. I introduced him to Nick Dagan Best, and we all hit it off, and so on January 18th 2024 when mid-Taurus was rising, we formed Thema Mundi Technologies, an astrology software company producing the next generation of astrology software. So far, AI had given me this Promethean fire and I’d used it to make some sparklers. With our growing team, we’re going to take this Promethean fire and have a neighborhood barbecue, complete with a firepit for a bonfire to roast s’mores in and a fireworks show to top it off.
The team I’m part of at Thema Mundi Technologies has some huge plans for Nechepso, and even bigger plans beyond that. I don’t think anyone is ready for some of the things we’ll be working on. You’ll have to wait for the first week of June for our next huge announcement. But for now, be excited that Nechepso is happening and it’s going to be amazing!
If you want to help the project in any way, the best way you can do that is by taking the survey here to let us know your thoughts and feelings about astrology software and AI.
Amazing work Patrick, congrats on your new company. This is the start of something big for astrology. I can’t imagine how far you’ll be able to take this. Best of luck with it!:) I love the nod to Nechepso:)
I invested in your software I’m enthusiastic as you are looking forward to New creations I do know astrology and this will be very helpful I’ve also had thoughts why some astrologers are not doing more with their knowledge I’m glad you have the advantage of taking action Amber
my way around spreadsheets, but I don’t know any formal syntax for any programming language, save for some random