Oskar Schmitz

Vocation

German professional astrologer and author of "Der Geist der Astrologie," the advocate of a humanistic astrology. In his student years Schmitz was a follower of the controversial writer Stefan George (1868-1933). George tried to bring about a lyrical renewal in Germany, founded the "Blätter für die Kunst" and gathered a circle of students around him. Schmitz later got to know George personally in Paris. In Munich he met the writer Countess Fanny zu Reventlow (1871-1918), famous as the "Schwabing Countess", as well as the cosmologist Ludwig Klages (1872-1956). Schmitz became an enthusiastic participant in the hustle and bustle of the Schwabing bohemian scene. With his brother-in-law Alfred Kubin (1877-1959), the well-known Austrian graphic artist and illustrator, he travelled throughout Europe, North Africa and Russia. In later years, he dealt intensively with topics from politics and society, especially with the work of Carl Gustav Jung and contemporary astrology. In 1926 he became his student, and worked as an analyst under the guidance of Toni Wolff and Jung in 1928. The then well-known astrologer Friedrich Schwickert, who wrote numerous standard works on astrology under the pseudonym "Sindbad", had a great influence on Schmitz as his personal astrology teacher. Schmitz contributed to the fact that astrology was taken seriously in academic circles of the middle class. When in 1926 the well-known philosopher Hans Driesch publicly took a stand for astrology and declared that astrological correlations are philosophically justifiable "causal correlations", a publicly heated and bitter discussion ensued. The editors of the then renowned cultural journal Süddeutsche Monatshefte subsequently published a special issue of "Astrology", in which opponents and supporters alike had their say, including Schmitz and the well-known historian Gundel. Schmitz died on 18 December 1931 at Frankfurt/Main and left behind numerous writings on cultural policy, essays, plays and novels. Thomas Mann, for whom Schmitz wrote horoscopes, as for his brother Heinrich, considered Schmitz to be an "outstanding clever writer". Link to Wikipedia (german)