Bern Jurecic – Chronology of Astrology in Slovenia

Writing the history of the development of the astrological scene in the Republic of Slovenia is not the easiest task. The environment we are talking about is small, largely closed and at the same time very traditional, where among the characteristics that could be attributed to the Slovenian environment is primarily egalitarianism, due to which most initiatives never develop well – unless some creator does not go abroad. Due to the small size of the country, there is not enough demand (clientele) to enable quality competition and thus increase the quality of astrological supply, education and work.

Looking back half a century, there are not many mentions of astrology in the sources as well as no individuals who can boast of pioneering work in this field. It wasn’t until the 1970s that some wrote anything about astrology or zodiac signs, but these were completely sporadic actions and without any continuity.

In the 1980s, astrology developed more and more in some other environments of the then common state Yugoslavia, especially in Serbia and Zagreb. These influences slowly penetrated our area as well, and towards the end of the last decade, the first astrological books were published. Thus, in 1988, a popular book called “Horoscope”, edited under the nickname Clement Somnambulo (actually an editor at a publishing house) saw the light, but this edition, apart from general presentations of signs of both Western and Chinese astrology (and even their combined influences), did not contribute to astrological knowledge.

Immediately afterwards, four quality books appeared on our bookshelves; first, in 1990, a small booklet by Ivana Šalamun with the simple title “Astrology”, which tackled the field briefly, concisely, and extensively enough as a basis for further astrological research. The year 1991 was especially fruitful in this field, first followed by the book “Astrology – the science of character and destiny”, written by the late Slovenian psychiatrist and astrologer Viktor Gerkman. In it you can find some in-depth records of signs, planets, and other astrological principles, which still have no comparison in the Slovenian astrological literary field. The third contribution to the development of the quality of Slovene astrology was the translation of the Encyclopedia of Astrology by French author Catherine Aubier, and almost at the same time the translation of the Great School of Astrology by the Parkers, translated by the then most prominent Slovene astrologer, Ema Kurent.

Due to the small size of the market, astrological editions in Slovene then mostly disappeared, largely because the market was small as well as well supplied with professional literature in the Serbian language, where from 1991, the publishing house Dječje novine printed a whole series of astrological books, and Serbian language was then sufficiently known in our country, so that importing of this literature was more profitable. Above all, there was an excellent textbook in several volumes by world-famous authors Marion March and Joan McEvers, but there was also a lot of other astrological literature.

In the early 1990s, periodicals from this field began to be published, especially the magazine Karma, to a lesser extent Aura and a little later Mysteries. Especially in the first two, quite a few Slovenian astrologers were given space to publish, including the author of this text. Matjaž Regovec also came out of this circle. He studied astrology in London and founded an astrological institute in 1993, whose activities cover the field of psychological astrology (especially education) and which still operates under the name IPAL, although the institution is quite closed and without noticeable collaboration with the rest of the astrological scene.

Ema Kurent’s Astrological School “Astrological Academy Stella” is a kind of crown of the work of this prominent and world-famous astrologer, who has been very active on the scene since 1988. She organized the first astrological education in Slovenia in the autumn of 1989 and wrote a handy textbook. Her professional work includes publishing books, annual astrological manuals Moon’s Guide, long-term publishing, during the supply of astrological texts in special editions of the largest Slovenian magazine publisher Delo, then teaching, writing articles in international publications, appearing at world astrological meetings, and regular work with clients. Her education and acquired knowledge are unprecedented in Slovenia, but recently the focus of her work has largely focused on working abroad, and as far as the topic is concerned, today stand out areas of declinations and horary and mundane astrology (prediction of natural disasters). She is also the author of an excellent book on horary astrology, which in the 2019 was also published in English, Horary Astrology – Your ultimate horary textbook with 124 example cases.

In these three decades, quite a few astrological conferences were held in Slovenia, mostly by the IPAL Institute, but these were held quite internally and without wide public recognition. The author of this text, together with the Astrological Society of Slovenia, held three international conferences in 2010, 2011 and 2021, the last of which was organized online due to the situation in the world. In addition, we also held a “day of Slovenian astrology”, where only local astrologers lectured, mostly from the circle of ISAR certified.

The American astrological organization ISAR has been present in Slovenia since 2009, mainly through the educational work of its current president Aleksandar Imširagić and through the Stella Astrological Academy, which has been the ‘ISAR Affiliated School’ since 2012. The result is also nine astrologers with ISAR CAP qualifications, two of which, the aforementioned Ema Kurent and the author of this text, do not come from this circle, as we have received this qualification before. It is also worth mentioning a few dozen astrologers from the IPAL Institute and many graduate and certified astrologers from the Stella Astrological Academy. In addition, greater activity can be observed by individuals who have not reached an internationally valid qualification but have – at least some of them – been educated in both established astrological schools or have also completed their schooling.

The astrological scene in Slovenia is therefore fragmented and takes place with relatively little cooperation between individuals, completely in line with the national characteristics of the population. As a result, the general public is less aware of astrology, which even a small handful of actors who try their best cannot significantly change.

Bern Jurecic, ISAR CAP, ISAR GD for Slovenia

(April 2021)