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Dane Rudhyar
Dane Rudhyar (March 23, 1895 - September 13, 1985), born Daniel Chennevière, was an American author, modernist composer and humanistic astrologer. He was the pioneer of modern tran...view moreDane Rudhyar (March 23, 1895 - September 13, 1985), born Daniel Chennevière, was an American author, modernist composer and humanistic astrologer. He was the pioneer of modern transpersonal astrology.
Born in Paris, he turned to music and intellectual development at age 12 when a severe illness and surgery left him physically disabled him. He studied at the Sorbonne, University of Paris (graduating at the age of 16), and at the Paris Conservatoire.
His music brought him to New York City in 1916, and from 1917-1919 divided his time between New York City, Canada and Philadelphia. During this time he adopted the name “Rudhyar,” a cognate of several Sanskrit words including the name of the god Rudra. His interest was further stimulated by his association with Theosophy, which began when he was asked to compose music for a production at the society’s headquarters in Los Angeles in 1920.
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1926. He stayed in California, often commuting to New York, through the 1920s and in 1930 married Marla Contento, secretary to independent Theosophist Will Levington Comfort. Comfort introduced him to Marc Edmund Jones, who in turn introduced him to astrology. During this period he was also studying the psychological writings of Carl G. Jung, and Rudhyar began to think in terms of bringing astrology and Jungian psychology together. His first book on the subject, The Astrology of Personality, was published in 1936.
Over the next two decades he continued to write and lecture on astrology, and with the emergence of the New Age movement in the 1970s became more widely known in the field of astrology.
In 1969 he founded the International Committee for Humanistic Astrology; thus began one of the most fruitful periods of his life, turning out several books a year for the next decade. He also began to reflect upon the New Age movement and wrote several volumes on planetary consciousness and New Age philosophy.view less