Five Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Mondays, July 20 - August 17, 2026
7:00 - 8:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$160 Paid Patreon Members / $175 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Sun sign obsessions and many New Age interpretations overlook astrology’s deeper grounding in darkness. The practice is not as innocent as it may seem.
From the demonic, disease-bringing decans of the Testament of Solomon, to the Vedic and Mesoamerican star cults of devouring mother figures—not to mention the bloodthirsty sun that demanded human hearts in Mexico, or the lethal solar myths of Egypt—planets and stars were often understood less as benevolent guides and more as ominous, even dangerous forces. Much of this hidden history emerges in the lore of eclipses, among the most foreboding celestial omens.
This class will explore both the literal darkness embedded in astrological practice and its neglected, occluded histories.
Over the course of five weeks, we will examine the chart as negative space as well as components traditionally associated with darkness, such as the 8th and other dark houses, certain zodiac signs like Aquarius and Capricorn, and even the role of black holes in ancient and contemporary astrology. We will learn about demonic stars and planets, and how eclipses twist the luminaries. We will conclude our journey with a study of the mysticism of darkness, particularly as articulated in Persian Sufism through the concept of “black light." The course is open to all levels of experience, including those entirely new to astrology..
J.M. Hamade aka starnightdwell (they/them) is an author, researcher, artist, and educator based in Brooklyn, and of Lebanese and Mexican descent. Their work bridges contemporary creative modalities with archaic forms of knowing. Through practice as well as scholarly investigation, their areas of focus have been situated in the fields of lunar+stellar lore and archeoastronomy, Islamic esotericism, Hermeticism, Mesoamerica and the dæmonic imagination.
Hamade has taught and lectured widely on these subjects, with notable platforms including Morbid Anatomy, Spiritus Arcanum, Watkins Books, ISAR, NCGR, The Golden Dome School, and the Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival. This includes guest appearances on podcasts such as Rendering Unconscious, What Magic is This?, Spirit Box, Glitch Bottle, The Frightful Howls You May Hear, Within Orb, and Radical Elphame.
Their first full length book, Procession of the Night Theatre: An Exposition on the Lunar Stations (Revelore Press 2024) follows half a decade long research into the astrologies and magics of the lunar zodiac, initiated by their co-authorship and illustration of Ahmad al-Buni’s Shams al-Ma’arif: An Arabic Grimoire in Selected Translation (Revelore Press 2021) which deals extensively with like-mysteries. More published materials include essays, interviews, and illustrations with The Ingress, Hadean Press, The Mountain Astrologer, CAELi Review, Viridis Genii, and academic publications.
Images: Birkeland Anode Globe (Fig. 259),” ca. 1903, Kristian Birkeland; Saint Nicholas of Tolentino,” ca. 1601, Juan Pantoja de la Cruz; Engraving from History of the Two Worlds,” ca. 1617, Robert Fludd
Five Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Mondays, July 20 - August 17, 2026
7:00 - 8:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$160 Paid Patreon Members / $175 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Sun sign obsessions and many New Age interpretations overlook astrology’s deeper grounding in darkness. The practice is not as innocent as it may seem.
From the demonic, disease-bringing decans of the Testament of Solomon, to the Vedic and Mesoamerican star cults of devouring mother figures—not to mention the bloodthirsty sun that demanded human hearts in Mexico, or the lethal solar myths of Egypt—planets and stars were often understood less as benevolent guides and more as ominous, even dangerous forces. Much of this hidden history emerges in the lore of eclipses, among the most foreboding celestial omens.
This class will explore both the literal darkness embedded in astrological practice and its neglected, occluded histories.
Over the course of five weeks, we will examine the chart as negative space as well as components traditionally associated with darkness, such as the 8th and other dark houses, certain zodiac signs like Aquarius and Capricorn, and even the role of black holes in ancient and contemporary astrology. We will learn about demonic stars and planets, and how eclipses twist the luminaries. We will conclude our journey with a study of the mysticism of darkness, particularly as articulated in Persian Sufism through the concept of “black light." The course is open to all levels of experience, including those entirely new to astrology..
J.M. Hamade aka starnightdwell (they/them) is an author, researcher, artist, and educator based in Brooklyn, and of Lebanese and Mexican descent. Their work bridges contemporary creative modalities with archaic forms of knowing. Through practice as well as scholarly investigation, their areas of focus have been situated in the fields of lunar+stellar lore and archeoastronomy, Islamic esotericism, Hermeticism, Mesoamerica and the dæmonic imagination.
Hamade has taught and lectured widely on these subjects, with notable platforms including Morbid Anatomy, Spiritus Arcanum, Watkins Books, ISAR, NCGR, The Golden Dome School, and the Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival. This includes guest appearances on podcasts such as Rendering Unconscious, What Magic is This?, Spirit Box, Glitch Bottle, The Frightful Howls You May Hear, Within Orb, and Radical Elphame.
Their first full length book, Procession of the Night Theatre: An Exposition on the Lunar Stations (Revelore Press 2024) follows half a decade long research into the astrologies and magics of the lunar zodiac, initiated by their co-authorship and illustration of Ahmad al-Buni’s Shams al-Ma’arif: An Arabic Grimoire in Selected Translation (Revelore Press 2021) which deals extensively with like-mysteries. More published materials include essays, interviews, and illustrations with The Ingress, Hadean Press, The Mountain Astrologer, CAELi Review, Viridis Genii, and academic publications.
Images: Birkeland Anode Globe (Fig. 259),” ca. 1903, Kristian Birkeland; Saint Nicholas of Tolentino,” ca. 1601, Juan Pantoja de la Cruz; Engraving from History of the Two Worlds,” ca. 1617, Robert Fludd
