The term "evolutionary astrology" was first used by Ray Merriman in his book Evolutionary Astrology: The Journey of the Soul Through States of Consciousness.[1] Jeffrey Green and Steven Forrest began to publicize and explore some of the main tenets of evolutionary astrology with the publication of their books Measuring the Night, Volumes One and Two. Previous to the publication of Measuring the Night, Forrest and Green had been independently applying similar approaches in their work, without knowledge of each other, until an “ethical crisis involving another astrologer” brought them together in 1997.[2]
In his book Yesterday's Sky, Forrest acknowledges the progression of the development of the evolutionary astrological framework as occurring simultaneously within a group of astrologers working independently of each other in the 1980's, including Jeffrey Wolf Green, Stephen Arroyo, Alan Oken, Martin Shulman, David Railley, and A.T. Mann.[3] He writes, "Simply said, a synchronistic wave was passing through the collective and many of us surfed it." And the philosophical origins may extend further back still, visible in the historical progression of psychological and spiritual viewpoints applied to astrology by thinkers such as Madame Blavatsky from the Theosophical movement, Alice Bailey, and Dane Rudhyar.
Evolutionary astrologers Steven Forrest and Jeffrey Green outline their version of the evolutionary astrology definition at General-Astrology/what-is-evolutionary-astrology. As there is no governing body overseeing the development of the evolutionary astrology philosophy, astrologers may use the term and apply different methodologies.
To be fair, it should perhaps be mentioned in passing that this idea did not start in the West. In India, Jyotishis, who practice Jyotisha, also known as Vedic astrology and Hindu astrology, have an evolutionary approach. They, too, look to the natal chart for evidence of past lives (and karma), and future lives. Jyotisha, rooted as it is in Indian spirituality, also offers various solutions to karmic problems; these are known as upayas. In addition, Jyotishis can often perceive the length of life of the native. Traditional Jyotishis--including Westerners who have gone to India or who have studied this approach--do not use Pluto (they do not use Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto). Some neo-Jyotishis, especially Americans, do use the outer planets. They do not use Chiron and it remains to be seen if they will use Sedna. Jyotishis look more to the houses, called bhavas.
A foundational idea employed by Steven Forrest in the context of a natal astrology reading, considers each planetary placement to represent a wide spectrum of possibilities of behavior rather than one set of predictable outcomes. This idea is found in other astrological paradigms such as psychological astrology.
While the application of these techniques vary among astrologers, many significantly hinge evolutionary astrology readings on Pluto and the moon’s nodes as the pivotal pieces and entry points to discovering the story of the soul’s incarnation and to illuminate the current incarnation purpose.