Non-developer builds astrological storytelling tools with Claude API

Project Overview

A 77-year-old non-developer built two web applications using Claude as their primary collaborator over six weeks. The creator developed Fortune Cast in two days initially and has been iterating since.

Technical Implementation

Fortune Cast functionality:

• Calculates real planetary positions for today (Sun, Moon, Saturn, Neptune) using Meeus ephemeris algorithms in vanilla JavaScript
• Reads transits against user's natal chart
• Pulls Sabian Symbols for transiting Sun and Moon
• Calculates lunar phase
• Determines Whole Sign house placements via Nominatim geocoding
• Calculates personal day numerology

Ember Cast functionality:

• Works without birth data
• User provides one thing they're carrying (object, wound, word unsent, color, hunger, unresolved decision)
• Claude finds the story it was always trying to become in a different world

Claude's Role

Claude assisted with:

• Architecture decisions
• Debugging
• Prompt design
• Philosophy behind prompt design
• Understanding why the system worked when it worked

The key constraint that made it work emerged from conversation with Claude: "embody rather than explain." The creator notes: "the bones don't show — they just determine how the character moves." Claude writes first-person stories in any era, place, or character, with astrological mechanics never appearing in the text.

Technical Stack

• WordPress
• PHP proxy
• Anthropic API
• Vanilla JavaScript
• Nominatim geocoding

Key Features

• Both tools are completely free
• Nothing stored (no data retention)
• Every reading different because "the sky doesn't repeat"
• One reader feedback: "I can't call it coincidence. The most beautiful slap in the face."