TimePassages versus Astrolium compares the most popular modern-psychological astrology app against the practitioner workspace. Henry Seltzer's interpretive text is genuinely excellent — decades of careful writing, the best learning library in any astrology software. Astrolium is what you switch to when astrology becomes how you make a living.
For Astrolium pricing, see the $29 per month Adept plan. For the full feature stack, see features, predictive timing, and the synastry feature. Compare also with Solar Fire and Astro Gold.
TL;DR — learning tool vs working tool
TimePassages is the best tool we know for learning astrology. Astrolium is the workspace you want when astrology becomes how you make a living. Henry Seltzer's interpretive text is decades of careful writing — there is no equivalent in any other program, including Astrolium's own. If you are a hobbyist or a student, TimePassages is excellent. If you have started running paid sessions and you are juggling Notes, Calendly, Canva, and a spreadsheet, that is the moment Astrolium starts paying for itself.
Calculation accuracy — same engine, different scope
TimePassages and Astrolium both run on Swiss Ephemeris. Planetary positions match Solar Fire and Astro Gold to the arc second across all 4 programs. The interesting question is what each program builds on top of that engine.
Where TimePassages goes deeper
- Interpretive text. This is TimePassages' core competence. Henry Seltzer's writing on natal placements, transits, and progressions is the most carefully crafted interpretive corpus in any astrology software. Even after 30 plus years, it is the reason people keep their TimePassages license.
- Modern psychological orientation. The interpretations are modern — Jungian, archetypal, growth-focused. If that is your school, TimePassages is home.
Where Astrolium goes deeper
- Hellenistic and traditional time-lord techniques. Profections, Zodiacal Releasing, Firdaria — first-class in Astrolium, absent from TimePassages.
- Bound or term tables. Hand/Schmidt by default; Egyptian, Ptolemaic toggleable.
- Asteroid catalog. 20,000 plus named asteroids; TimePassages ships the major ones.
- Quad-wheel and Davison. Both shipping in Astrolium, neither in TimePassages.
Your TimePassages charts will render in Astrolium with identical positions. The interpretive text will not follow — you will get Astrolium's concise text plus the AI assistant. Many migrating users keep TimePassages installed specifically as their interpretation library and use Astrolium for daily work.
Workflow — learning loop vs working loop
TimePassages is excellent for the loop "look at chart → read interpretive text → understand it more deeply." That is a learning loop. The working-practitioner loop is different: "client books → review their last session → prep the chart for today's themes → run the session → send a follow-up."
TimePassages 9 plus Pro prep — about 6 minutes, 4 apps open
- Open TimePassages. Find Anna in the charts list. About 15 seconds.
- Find session notes. Switch to Notes, Notion, or Google Doc — wherever you keep them. Find the row for Anna. Re-read. About 1 minute.
- Build today's transits view. Today panel → set Anna as natal. Read transit text. About 30 seconds.
- Progressions report. Reports → Progressed positions. About 20 seconds.
- Profections. Compute by hand or skip. About 30 seconds.
- Print or screenshot. Export PDF for the chart. Compose a deliverable in Pages or Canva. About 3 minutes.
- Session. Screen-share TimePassages plus your PDF plus your notes app.
- After. Type session summary into Notes app. Save.
Astrolium prep — about 30 seconds, 1 tab open
- Open browser tab. Click Anna's name in the roster. About 3 seconds.
- Anna's panel opens. Last session notes, intake, every chart you have built for her.
- Tri-wheel auto-rendered. Profection year highlighted. ZR sub-period in the rail.
- Drag the timeline scrubber to a moment of interest. Watch transits plus ZR plus profections recompute live. About 5 seconds.
- Click "share with client." Anna gets a live link before the call.
- Session. One tab. Notes are in the same panel.
- After. Click "send PDF summary" — auto-generated, branded, in her inbox.
The fairness caveat: TimePassages' transit text gives you a kind of warmth and language Astrolium's concise text does not. If your sessions lean on reading interpretation aloud or quoting it in deliverables, that is a real loss. Astrolium's AI assistant can generate prose in your voice if you train it; it is not the same as Seltzer's hand-written corpus.
Pricing — what you pay over 5 years
TimePassages plus Pro — $200 plus add-ons
- Base license: $200 (Mac or Windows)
- Pro upgrade: about $90 (advanced features)
- iOS app: about $30
- Major upgrades: about $80 every 3 years
- Estimated 5 year total: $400 to $480
No subscription. Owns your data forever (locally). Interpretive text bundled.
Astrolium Adept — $29 per month
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$348 per year, all features included, ever
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14 day free trial, no card required
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Estimated 5 year total: $1,740 over 5 years (or $1,450 annual)
Cloud sync. Continuous updates. Cancel anytime — data exports as JSON, .SFCHT, and PDF.
For a hobbyist who reads charts a few times a month, TimePassages is much cheaper. The math flips when you are charging clients: a single Astrolium-saved hour per month at your hourly rate beats the subscription handily.
Migration — moving from TimePassages
TimePassages stores charts in its native format on disk; AAF export is straightforward.
- Export your charts as AAF. TimePassages → File → Export → choose 'all charts as AAF'. Save the AAF bundle. AAF is a universal astrology format Astrolium reads natively.
- Drop the file onto Astrolium import zone. Settings → Import → drag-drop. Astrolium parses AAF, .SFcht, .AG, and CSV in one pass.
- Match charts to clients. Auto-grouping by name pattern; you confirm or override. A 100 chart migration completes in under 3 minutes.
- Verify a sample. Astrolium renders 3 random charts in both programs and shows you a side-by-side. Reach out if anything looks off (it has not yet).
- Decide about the Seltzer interpretive text. TimePassages' text does not transfer — it is licensed, not portable. Astrolium uses its own concise text plus AI. Many users keep TimePassages installed as a reference library.
- Run a real session. The 14 day trial is enough time to see whether the workspace surface is what you have been missing. Every new Pro subscription includes a free 45 minute migration session.
Where TimePassages still wins
1. You are a student or modern psychological astrologer
Henry Seltzer's interpretive text is the best learning library in astrology software. If reading and absorbing well-written interpretations is what you do with your tool, TimePassages is unbeaten. Astrolium's text is concise; the AI assistant is good, but it is a different shape.
2. You do not run a paid practice
TimePassages is a chart calculator plus interpretation library. If you do not have clients to manage, Astrolium's CRM and session surface would be overhead, not value.
3. You want pure offline reliability
TimePassages is a real desktop and mobile app — fully offline. Astrolium has offline read but writes need network.
Continue exploring
- Solar Fire vs Astrolium — the desktop Windows comparison
- Astro Gold vs Astrolium — the native Mac comparison
- Predictive timing feature — the live scrubber detail
- Pricing — plans, Free tier