Uranian astrology software that wasn't frozen in the 2000s
ZEUS is a professional astroprocessor with a full Hamburg School toolkit — dials, planetary pictures, arc resonances, sensitive points and the eight TNPs — for Windows and macOS, Intel and Apple Silicon Macs alike.
The Hamburg School toolkit
Uranian astrology lives on symmetry: midpoints, planetary pictures, formulas. A program either supports that workflow properly or it doesn't. In ZEUS the toolkit is native, not an add-on module:
- Rotating dials with a pointer — the everyday instrument of dial work, with symmetrical objects highlighted;
- Planetary pictures table — half-sums, sums and differences of planets on the selected dial, with highlighting by a given arc and export to PNG and TXT;
- Arc resonances — pairs of planets connected by a universal or arbitrary arc, with orb control;
- Sensitive points — the classic A + B − C calculation relative to the pointer position, with sorting and formula filters;
- Six Hamburg horoscopes — object positions across the six main frames of the school;
- The eight TNPs — Cupido through Poseidon — available in every calculation: natal, transits, progressions, directions.
Details with screenshots — in the HSA section of the manual.
How ZEUS compares with the established dial programs
The classic choices in this niche — Janus with its Uranian module, Aureas' Special Uranian, Astrolabe's Nova Chartwheels — are capable programs with decades of history. They also share two traits: they are Windows-only, and their interfaces and release cycles date back a long way. Where that matters, ZEUS differs:
- macOS as a first-class platform. The established dial programs require an emulator or a virtual machine on a Mac. ZEUS installs as an ordinary Mac application and runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.
- A free web companion. The online 90° dial runs in any browser — for a quick chart away from your desk, or for a student who isn't ready to install anything.
- Actively developed. Regular releases, a modern interface with light and dark themes, HiDPI/Retina support.
- Pricing without lock-in. No subscription, no auto-charges: $20/month, $48/three months, $149/year — and a free 21-day demo before any payment. Established packages in this niche typically sell one-time licenses at several hundred dollars.
And beyond the dial work, ZEUS remains a general-purpose professional astroprocessor: natal and mundane techniques, traditional and Vedic tools, over 22,000 asteroids, a 3D celestial sphere, astrocartography and interpretation texts — see the full feature list.
How to start
- Open the free online dial and build a chart you know well — five minutes, no registration.
- Download the desktop ZEUS and use the 21-day demo with the full Hamburg toolkit.
- If it fits your practice — pick a plan: one-time payment, no subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Does ZEUS work on a Mac?
Yes — on Intel and Apple Silicon (M-series) Macs alike. This is rare in the Uranian niche: the established dial programs are Windows-only, and on a Mac they require emulators or virtual machines. ZEUS installs and runs as an ordinary macOS application; a native Apple Silicon build is in development.
Which Hamburg School tools does ZEUS include?
Rotating dials with a pointer; a planetary pictures table computing half-sums, sums and differences on the selected dial; arc resonances with universal and arbitrary arcs; sensitive points by the A + B − C formula relative to the pointer; object positions in the six Hamburg horoscopes; and the eight transneptunian points in all calculations, from natal charts to directions.
How much does it cost?
A one-time license payment with no subscription and no automatic charges: $20 for a month, $48 for three months, $149 for a year. Before buying there is a free 21-day demo, and the online dial is free without any time limit.
Can I try the Uranian tools before installing anything?
Yes — the free online dial runs in the browser: a rotating 90°/45° dial with a pointer, midpoints and all eight TNPs, with transits, progressions and directions. No sign-up. The desktop program picks up from there with the full toolkit.
Is ZEUS only for Uranian astrology?
No. It is a full professional astroprocessor — natal, mundane, horary, traditional and Vedic techniques, over 22,000 asteroids, 3D celestial sphere, astrocartography, interpretation texts. The Hamburg School toolkit is one of its strongest sides, not its only one.