Skyscript Astrology Forum

I don?t very often review books and I don?t like book reviews written by friends, colleagues or advocates that gloss over the faults and magnify the strengths. But I recently reviewed Astrology For Today by Joanna Watters (who I don't know) and I really did like this as a book to recommend for beginners.
The review is online at http://www.skyscript.co.uk/aft.html

I?d like to publish more independent reviews (Tom ? how about your Cosmic Loom review?)
If anyone else come across a book that they feel has a special merit making it worth recommending to others, please post them in this forum and I?ll add what I can to the site.

I?d also like to know ? if you had to give up all your books but one ? which would you keep, and why? I'm thinking of compiling a list of the top ten astrology books - any nominations?

I?d also like to know ? if you had to give up all your books but one ? which would you keep, and why?

I'd rather cut off my right arm than give up my books. But if I didn't have a computer or was on a desert island I would have to say the ephemeris. At least I could cast a chart to find out whether I was going to get off the island.

The book I use most at this time is Christian Astrology but then I've been waiting to find the time to get stuck into Greek Horoscopes (Neugebauer & Van Hoesen). And I haven't finished reading Ptolemy and Manilius either. Damn. Are you sure I can only have one? Okay, CA.

I'd choose CA because it contains pretty well everything you need to know about horary, everything else being adjuncts. It's also a great historical document. And of course it would be the edition annotated by Deb because it answers most questions I would probably ask when reading the original text.

Hey, I'd cut off your right arm before I'd give up my books, just not an option! ya'ller crazy!

And book in general or astrology book? you want to make me decide between rob hand and my ephemeris and .... hey you didn't say anything about notes.... I have more notes than books as far as horary is concerned...

couldn't do it, rather die than live without my library.

MissB

And book in general or astrology book?

Preferably not on cookery bearing in mind the subject of the forum and the fact that I did mention astrology.

I?m looking for nominations for ?great? astrology books. They may have to be considered in terms of category.

Should we include the ephemeris? I?d say no because a) it doesn?t have an author and b) it?s not a great read. (But maybe there could be some kind of collective honour in recognition of ?The Ephemeris? and all its good works).

Should we include Rob Hand? I?m not sure it?s correct to call Rob a book, he may not like it.

Should we include Beth?s personal notes? If we don?t get many more nominations, I?m afraid we might have to.

Okay, Rob Hands Planets in Transits, though anything he does is great I think. His book on transits is excruciatingly exact. Its my favorite.

MissB

if you had to give up all your books but one ? which would you keep, and why?

If you don't mind if I reverse this question,

If I had to give up any of my books, which one would be first????

Answer:
Solar Arcs, Noel Tyl (1st)
Synthesis & Counseling in Astrology, Noel Tyl (2nd)

I really don't like his style; he goes into these long dialogues which would work if we were reading a play, but we're trying to learn something, and his little antedotes in between the dialogues really don't work for me! Plus, he is so full of himself.........

Sorry to side-track the thread, but I could not resist. Maybe this should be a post on its own - "Worst books on astrology and why".

I can?t think of a ?worst book? because I?m not an avid reader so tend not to read them unless they are good. I?d probably label 95% of them as fair, middling or awful in that reading a little bit of them disinclines me to read more.

But I?ve just thought of another classic since I?ve been quoting it lately ? The Combination of Stellar Influences by Reinhold Ebertin. It used to amuse me how Charles Harvey would sing the praises of this book endlessly. But I think it is a good one, and has become a standard source of reputable reference so it?s one I?d recommend on my list of ?must have in your toolbag?.

Regardless of Tom?s review I?m going to put forward Dennis Elwell?s Cosmic Loom because whether you go along with his thoughts or not, everyone should read this book. I?ll also nominate John Frawley?s Real Astrology for the same reason and save Tom the bother. Both of these books are challenging and stimulating and will open your mind to perspectives that ought to be explored.

As you can see, the rules have changed ? you are now allowed to keep more than one. If it could only be one then for me it would be Christian Astrology. I know this for sure because one day when I did threaten to leave home with my one little suitcase I packed my laptop and CA ? I figured I could live without anything else. But I could never go anywhere and leave my copy of Lilly behind.

I notice you very diplomatically avoided any comment on the Tyl book!

My dessert island book list would have to be Synthesis and Counseling, The Creative Astrologer, Prediction in Astrology and Solar Arcs by Noel Tyl, The New way to learn Astrology by Basil Fearrrington, The Real Astrology by John Frawley and all 20 copies of the Astrologer's Apprentice to keep me smiling and last but not least Christian Astrology by William Lilly.

From traditional to modern I hear you say, how can this be. My studies began around 1978 starting with text books from Jeff Mayo, Margaret Hone, John Filbey, Rob Hand, and later Deb's magazine the Traditional Astrologer (she set me on the horary road) and many, many, more books by well known Astrologers, I have a loft space full of them but if I had to choose just one then it would have to be Synthesis and Counseling. (sorry Basil if your looking) I attended Noel's seminar in Edinburgh last September and learnt much from him. His need theory works for me, but so does horary as taught by lilly.........................strange isn't it.

Taurus

couldn't do it, rather die than live without my library.

I chose to live and fled and let my library be burnt in the war. But, you know, at the time there were no astrology books in my library and no astrology in my life. So if I found myself in the same situation again but this time with my new (mostly astrology) library I'd take

- efemeris (I use them even today, though I have astrology programs installed)
- Frawley (Real Astrology, Real Astrology Applied, Transcript from one seminar on natal astrology and from one on horary held by the same author)
- Sue Tompkins - Aspects in Astrology (wrote something about it on an other topic in this forum)
- Ebertin "Combination of ...." plus "Transits"
- Tyl's edition "Communicating the Horoscopes" (written by 9 renowned astrologers with various approaches to natal charts)
- Carl Payne Tobey: Correspondence Course in Astrology (printed from net . You could say he "invented" planet x as a rulef of Taurus and planet y as the ruler of Gemini, but the explanation of the signs with their psychological backgrounds is really gripping! )
- an author from my country: Mile Dupor: Ne vjerujte, provjerite (title translation - Don't just believe it, check it yourselves!)
- Vivian Robson's fixed stars (more informative than impressive)
- I'd save Lilly and Robsons Electional astrology and Deb's Temples on my disks, but must say I keep reading Lilly bit by bit and I'll have to take my dictionary, too.
And that's it.

Like Taurus7 and many others, I've been learning astrology from the most various astrological sources you can imagine. It was only Leo I couldn't make myself read.

As for Tyl's "Synthesis and Counseling in Astrology", I had it and I would lie if I say I didn't learn anything from him. It's just that we as individuals have favourite and less favourite authors in the sense that someone reaches us quickly and while reading we feel delighted, even enlighened in a way and strongly approve of what he/she has to say and someone else doesn't make us accept his thoughts in such a way, so I gave this book to my friend and let her keep it, since I know Tyl is among her favourite astrologers.
One more thing - my list of favourite books seems to have been in a constant change since I started learning astrology. At first I was very impressed with Jungian psychology , so, of course I adored K.Hamaker- Zondag and her book "Psychological Astrology" and a minute ago, when I wanted to check the title, I could hardly find it on my shelf. Then there was Arroyo with "Astrology, Carma and Transformation" and "Natal Chart Interpretation" (I don't know if that's the exact title, but don't make me look for it now) after which I fell in love with Liz Greene and "Saturn..." and so on and so on... . Though I did learn from these astrologers, my list of books to take with me in the case of any emergency would remain without everything metnioned below the dictionary.

There are books that must be read at least once, and others that should remain constant companions. Amongst my favourite companions:

Lois Rodden, Astrodata series
Nick Campion, Book of World Horoscopes
(agree with CA + COSI + Hand, Planets in Transit + ?the ephemeris? of course ? where would we be without it??)

Amongst those that must be read at least once:
Liz Greene, (Neptune or Saturn ? you need to read at least one, not necessarily both)
Deb Houlding, Temples of the Sky
Olivia Barclay, Horary Astrology Rediscovered
Geoffrey Cornelius, The Moment of Astrology
(agree with Elwell & Frawley)

the books that have been most instructive to me were

anything by Karen Hamaeker-Zondag (for absolute beginners)

Steven Forrest's The sky within,

Dane Rudhyar's Astrology of Personality,

and various stuff by Liz Green.