British author on astrology who became famous under his pseudonym, "Sepharial." Originally named Walter Richard Old, he also wrote under the name Walter Gorn Old. He was born on March 20, 1864, at Harndsworth, Birmingham, England, and educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham.
At an early age he studied books on Kabala and astrology, and became friendly with astrologer Alan Leo (1860-1917). He went on to study a variety of subjects, including medical dispensing, Orientalism, and ancient languages.
He moved to London in 1889 and joined the Theosophical Society, where he became a member of the inner group, known as the Esoteric Section, around Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. He was very interested in astral projection. Old left the Society after Blavatsky's death.
Beginning in the 1890s, Old wrote extensively on astrology and his books remained popular through the twentieth century. In addition to his basic astrological texts, he developed a system of astrological prediction for the stock market and successfully predicted futures in basic commodities. His most profitable income came from his astrological horseracing systems. He died December 23, 1929, a year before newspaper astrology columns became popular in England. Old also wrote a number of books on general occult themes.
Sources:
Old, Walter [Sepahrial]. The Book of Charms and Talismans. N.p., 1974.
——. Book of the Crystal and the Seer. N.p., 1897.
——. Book of the Simple Way of Laotze. N.p., 1904.
——. The Kabala of Numbers. 2 vols. N.p., 1913. Revised ed., 1928.
——. A Manual of Occultism. N.p., 1910.
——. Prognostic Astronomy. N.p., 1901.
——. Second Sight. N.p., 1911.
——. What Is Theosophy? N.p., 1891.
