Note: The best way to learn to speak language is by being thrown into a world where it is spoken. And the best way to study astrology is to learn to use an Ephemeris, a book which gives the daily placements of the planets over time. I use the Neil F. Michelsen ephemerides:
- The
American Ephemeris for the 20th Century 1900-2000, revised edition
(ACS, 1988, ISBN: 0917086996) and
- The American Ephemeris for the 21st Century 2000-2050, Expanded Second Edition (ACS, 1997, ISBN: 0935127593).
Use the ephemeris to compare the transits of the planets in the heavens with the natal positions of the planets in your own chart and those of your friends. With all the astrological programs out today, it should be no problem getting a computerized version of any natal chart.
In other words, experience is your best teacher. Second, and it is a distant second, comes books.
I have read hundreds of books in the past three decades; the following ones are among those that remain on my bookshelves, even though I have moved many times and may never read them again. (I do lend them to others.) This list is somewhat old. I have not read many newly published astrological books in the past few years.
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First astrological book I ever read, back in 1973
Dane Rudhyar, The Astrology of Personality
(Aurora, 1990). ISBN: 0943358256.
I am so fortunate to have begun my journey into astrology with Dane Rudhyar! And I'm so glad I began it with The Astrology of Personality, perhaps his most introductory work, and yet also a marvelous entryway into the personal and collective ramifications of the positions and transits of the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). Rudhyar is credited with being the father of 20th century humanistic and transpersonal astrology. See www.Khaldea.com for a website devoted to Rudhyar and writings about him. (My "Ludwig Wittgenstein, Dane Rudhyar and Me" is archived there.)
Rudyhar wrote many fine books, most of which are either still in print or can be found used. He was a renaissance man and his astrological writings are very philosophical, so be prepared to have your head swim in abstract waters.
Best all-around introductory books by a living author
Steven Forrest's books are unusually well written, as well as being clear and well edited. (Over the years I have bought many copies of The Inner Sky, and each time I loan it out I never see it again.) The Inner Sky is his general introduction to astrology, and The Changing Sky covers transits and progressions.
(ACS, 1989). ISBN: 0935127046.
(ACS, 1999, second edition). ISBN: 0935127674.
Other classic primers
Grant Lewi, Heaven Knows What
reissued by Llewelyn in 1995. ISBN: 0875424449
Noel Tyl has a series of books on the astrological basics, mostly published in the 1960s and 1970s.
Robert Hand, Planets in Transit
(Schiffer Publications, 1980). ISBN: 0914918249.
More meditative
Beredene Jocelyn, I doubt these are still in print, but might be found used.
Meditations on the Signs of the Zodiac
(The Naylor Co, San Antonio, TX, 1966, Library of Congress Card No. 6527567) and
(Continuum, 1981, ISBN: 0826400523).
For those interested in depth psychology
Liz Greene is an American who has lived in England for most of her adult life. She has written many books, some of them with Howard Sasportas. Her
Saturn: A New Look at An Old Devil
(Weiser, 1976, ISBN: 0877283060),
is a classic on Saturn's transits as a developmental process. Other titles include:
(Weiser, 1988, ISBN: 0877286744)),
(Weiser, 1987, ISBN: 0877286736),
The Jupiter/Saturn Conference Lectures, with Steven Arroyo
(CRCS, 1984, ISBN: 0916360164) and
Neptune: the Quest for Redemption
(Weiser, 1996, ISBN: 0877288577).
I recommend Greene for her extraordinary insight into the depths of our unconscious minds, and yet I also warn readers as to what I sense is a more than a tinge of fatalism in her worldview. She can be accessed at www.astrology.co.uk.
Alice Howells is an astrologer whose works have a Jungian flavor to them.
Jeff Green's books are also deeply psychological, and find their basis in past lives. Green identifies the soul as Pluto, which is an unusual point of view. He wrote three books on Pluto:
Pluto: An Evolutionary Journey of the Soul, Vol I and II
(Llewelyn, 1986, ISBN: 0875422969).
A third in this series is
Pluto: The Soul's Evolution through Relationships
(Llewelyn, 1997, ISBN: 1567183336).
Jeff Green's approach is fascinating. He has a decisive method for accessing the characteristics of past lives and how they reflect in the present. I have no idea whether or not to “believe” in his approach or conclusions, but I do sense that he is speaking from a deep place. See www.jeffreywolfgreen.com.
Henry Darling and Ruth Hale Oliver, I mention this book, probably no longer in print, because it was the first book I ever read that looked at coorelating certain mental conditions with astrological aspect pictures.
Astropsychiatry
(CSA, 1968, Library of Congress Card No. 6729385).
A few other interesting astrological authors
Martin Schulman is an interesting and deeply metaphysical writer whom I have grown to appreciate more in the last few years. He has written a number of books, including
The Moon’s Nodes and Reincarnation
(Weiser, 1975, ISBN: 0877282889) and
The Ascendant: Your Karmic Doorway
(Weiser, 1988, ISBN: 0877285071).
Erin Sullivan has written several lucid books, including
(Arkana, 1991, ISBN: 0140192840) and
The Astrology of Family Dynamics
(Arkana, 1996, ISBN: 1578631793).
Arkana is a Penguin imprint. I generally find books published under this imprint worthwhile. Another is
Melanie Reinhart, See www.planetwaves.net.
Chiron and the Healing Journey
(Arkana,1999, ISBN 0140195734).
Steven Arroyo, Astrology, Karma and Transformation
(CRCS, 1993). ISBN 0916360547.
For those interested in the feminine face of astrology
Demetra George, Demetra is one of the pioneers in asteroid studies. Her work is substantiated by research into myth and tradition.
(HarperCollins, 1992, ISBN: 0062503707) and
(ACS, 1994, ISBN: 0935127151).
And, for those who want their socks blown off
The following authors are highly original, and their work has affected me a great deal while reading it, and sometimes even stayed with me. (My way of deciding on whether a particular astrological technique works is to simply notice: do I incorporate it into my world view and practice? Do I continue to use it over time?)
Barbara Hand Clow, Barbara is a courageous and at times outrageous thinker who pushes out the envelope of what is permissable to think in ways that few dare to follow. Extremely provocative reading. She also has some remarkable books out on her own past lives.
Chiron: Rainbow Bridge between Inner and Outer Planets
(Llewelyn, 1993). ISBN: 087542094X. See also
(New edition out in September 2001. ISBN: 1879181746) and
( Bear & Co, 1995). ISBN: 1879181304.
Antero Alli is another courageous astrologer, especially in his remarkable and original use of language. See Antero’s www.freewillastrology.com. See his
(Vigilantera Press, 1990, ISBN: 0961682914) and
(New Falcon, 1991, ISBN: 1561840092).
Pamela Crane, this book is out of print but can be ordered used from Amazon. A different zodiac, based on the nodes of the Moon. Fascinating. Seems to indicate karmic patterning.
(The Aquarian Press, England, 1987, ISBN: 0850305594).
Philip Sedgwick, the galactic center, black holes, quarks, etc. His work can be found on www.StarIQ.com.
The Astrology of Transcendence
(Seek-It Publications, 1980, ASIN: 0930706064; out of print, can be bought used on Amazon). See also his
Sun at the Center, a primer on heliocentric astrology.
(Llewelyn, 1990, ISBN: 0875427383),
Ingrid Naiman, a medical astrologer, has self-published a number of extraordinary books on medical astrology. See her www.astroheal.com.
Robert Schmidt, philosopher, researcher, and the founder of Project Hindsight, is exploring the roots of astrology by translating original authors from the Greek and Latin. I have barely touched his work, most of which is still in booklets and taped workshop sets. I’m waiting for his forthcoming book. See www.projecthindsight.com.
Geoffrey Cornelius, has written what is perhaps the most provocative book on astrology that I’ve ever come across. It appears to destroy what most astrologers consider the foundation of astrology while centering it even more deeply in magic. In his
(Arkana, 1994, ISBN: 0140193693)
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