Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Winter Astrology Reading: Five Astrologers Share Their Faves



Recently, the owners of my favorite spiritual bookstore in Sacramento, Sunlight of the Spirit, asked for my recommendations in stocking some “good astrology books.” I was more than happy to oblige, but it occurred to me that the list would be a bit slanted as my sole personal opinion. That’s when I decided to invite some of my other friends and colleagues to get in on the act.

The next natural step? Share the list with The Radical Virgo readers. I had no idea that Gavin Carruthers would mention the importance of “reading some good books” on astrology in my interview of him in my last post. These synchronicities were like stars aligning to bring you this bookworm Winter Solace article!

Your Book Panel


Participating astrologers in this collective reading list were Gavin Carruthers (US/Arizona), Joyce Mason (US/California) Georgia Stathis (US/California), Anne Whitaker (UK/Scotland), and Lana Wooster (UK/England). While we admittedly comprise a small opinion pool, I believe our combined years of experience and diverse perspectives have resulted an interesting and eclectic list.

How the List Works

Books are listed alphabetically by author. For your convenience, titles are linked to Amazon, the author’s site, or other online stores where they are available, in case you want to purchase them. The number of stars indicates how many people on the panel recommended that particular title as part of their “half dozen or so” favorites.

I limited the main list to 25, figuring I’d lose you much beyond that number. I hope you’ll bookmark or print out this post and keep it, not just as a winter reading list, but also as a reference for years to come. Personally, I can’t wait to dig into some of the books that are new to me!


Your Astro-Bibliography

*Arroyo, Stephen ~ Chart Interpretation Handbook (1990)

****Arroyo, Stephen ~ Astrology, Karma and Transformation (1992)

*Arroyo, Stephen ~ Person-to-Person Astrology (2007)

*Baigent, Michael; Campion, Nicholas; and Harvey, Charles ~ Mundane Astrology (1992)

*Bell, Lynn ~ Cycles of Light

**Carruthers, Gavin ~ Astrology Course on DVD (2010)  (Not a book, but offered for those who prefer a different medium.)

 **Cunningham, Donna ~ Astrological Guide to Self-Awareness (1994) Original paper edition is out of print. Updated e-version (2005), with chapter by Joyce Mason on Chiron, can be purchased at Moon Maven Publications

*Cunningham, Donna ~ Healing Pluto Problems (1986)

**Cunningham, Donna ~ E-books: Any of Donna’s collection of practical e-books, including Outer Planets as Vocational Indicators (The Outer Planets and Inner Life, V.1), Outer Planet Aspects to Venus and Mars, (The Outer Planets and Inner Life, V.2), Aspects Between the Outer Planets (The Outer Planets and Inner Life, V.3), Counseling Principles for Astrologers, and Astrological Analysis: Selected Topics in Chart Interpretation.  Buy one of Donna's e-books by Saturday, January 23, and your purchase price will be donated to Haiti relief efforts.

*George, Demetra and Bloch, Douglas ~ Astrology for Yourself (2006)

*Greene, Liz ~ Astrology for Lovers (formerly Star Signs for Lovers) (2009)

*Greene, Liz ~ The Outer Planets and Their Cycles (1996)

*Greene, Liz ~ Relating (1978)

**Greene, Liz ~ Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil (1976)

*Hall, Judy ~ The Karmic Journey (1991)

Harvey, Charles ~ Anima Mundi: The Astrology of the Individual and the Collective (2002)

*Kempton-Smith, Debbi ~ Secrets from a Stargazer’s Notebook (1999)

*Levine, Joyce ~ Breakthrough Astrology (2006)

*Marks, Tracy ~ Astrology of Self-Discovery (2008)

* Oken, Alan ~ Alan Oken's Complete Astrology (2006)

*Organization for Professional Astrology (OPA) ~ How to Start, Maintain, and Expand an Astrological Practice (2001)

*Orr, Marjorie ~ The Astrological History of the World (2002)

*Rudhyar, Dane ~ The Lunation Cycle (1967)

*Schulman, Martin ~ Karmic Astrology: Joy and the Part of Fortune (1978)

**Stathis, Georgia ~ Business Astrology 101: Weaving the Web Between Business and Myth (2001)


Special Section on Chiron


Since Chiron is my specialty--and many people look for information on Chiron here on The Radical Virgo-- I’m listing three books that have influenced me in my Chiron studies:


Mini-Biblio on Chiron 

Clow, Barbara Hand ~ Chiron: Rainbow Bridge Between the Inner and Outer Planets (2002)

Reinhart, Melanie ~ Chiron and the Healing Journey (1999)

Stein, Zane ~ Chiron: Essence and Application (See bottom of sidebar)

And, of course, here’s another chance for shameless promotion of my new Chiron e-book and its hearty recommendations by other astrologers:

Mason, Joyce ~ Chiron and Wholeness: A Primer (Purchase here in Radical Virgo sidebar)



List Synthesis


In order to be properly Virgo-ized, the list must be synthesized! This post is illustrated with the book that “got the most votes,” Stephen Arroyo’s Astrology, Karma, and Transformation. You’ll see several authors’ names repeatedly—Stephen Arroyo, Liz Greene, and Donna Cunningham. These are by no means the only astrology books of merit out there. However, if you’re looking for a place to start or catch up on your astrology reading, I think you can’t go wrong with this list or any of the authors whose names appear multiple times.


Publication dates can be helpful in terms of getting “the latest” ideas on planetary influences … or the newest insights about more recently discovered bodies like Chiron and the other centaurs. However, many of the oldies are still goodies.


Other Astrology Blogs


Some of the greatest sources of current astrological information are astrology blogs. You’ll see some of my favorites in the sidebar, but you might want to bookmark this link to the Top 100 astro-blogs on PostRank and visit it often.


I can’t rave enough about Donna Cunningham’s Sky Writer. This is a frequently updated blog, and Donna’s treasure trove of vast experience as an astrologer, writer, and wise woman with a great sense of humor shine through her easy-to-grasp and completely engaging articles. She often introduces fabulous new talent as guest bloggers. I consider it a can’t-miss.


Your Turn


Please let me know in the Comments if this kind of post is helpful to you. If yes, I may do others like it in the future. And if you have other favorite astrology books, please share them with The Radical Virgo community.


Now curl up in front of the fire and have yourself a good read!


~~~

5 comments:

Susannah said...

Oooh, most of my favourite authors there!

I am a big fan of Stephen Arroyo, Liz Greene, and Donna Cunningham.

I also recommend all your work on Chiron too.

I will check out the others that I am not familar with.

My personal favourites would also include:

The Inner Planets : Building Blocks of Personal Reality by Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas

The Luminaries : The Psychology of the Sun and Moon in the Horoscope by Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas

The Development of the Personality by Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas

Dynamics of the Unconscious by Liz Greene, Howard Sasportas

Also two books by Richard Idemon - The Magic Thread and Through the looking Glass.

Astrology, Psychology and the Four Elements by Stephen Arroyo.

Your Secret Self: Illuminating Mysteries of the Twelfth House - Tracey Marks.

Thanks for this post and for introducing me to some books not already on my groaning bookshelves!

Joyce Mason said...

Susannah, thanks for commenting and joining the party by sharing your astro-book faves, too. So far both your comment and one I got posting a link to this article on Facebook talk about the "groaning bookshelves" side effect of loving astrology. I can be proud that my latest is an e-book and doesn't add to the weight. As I said on FB, perhaps we should all wear red flags on our shirttails for the heavy load of books we carry 'round, just like a truck bearing a wide or large load. The fact that most of them are reference books makes them harder to donate or otherwise pass on, unlike novels we often read only once. May mythical shelf elves help us squeeze them all in!

Lana said...

Dear Joyce
Your previous post, the interview with Gavin Carruthers, kicking off with a question about his philosophy of Astrology, set me thinking do we gravitate towards certain books because of our innate philosophy of life, or are we sometimes open to a book completely turning our thinking around 180 degrees? It does sometimes happen, and I am sure that some of the books selected have been life-changing in that way. Thanks very much for this treasury of books, and for all the meticulous Virgoan research (you’ve saved us a lot of time and hard work!) With Jupiter entering my 11th house of friendships and networks today, I’d like to thank you for those, too!
Love
Lana

Joyce Mason said...

Lana, what an interesting question! I'm sure the answer differs from person to person. I think I gravitate toward books that develop and expand my own philosophy. I share your gratitude about friendship and networks, especially those I've made through astrology. I have natal Uranus in the 2nd House. Now back in the star saddle, so to speak, after a seven-year hiatus, I wonder how I ever thought I could live without it! Certainly not in the long-term. I deeply value the things Uranus represents, especially friendship, networking, and astrology.

Thanks, again, for your part in our team effort and astro-biblio-odyssey!

Anne Whitaker said...

Hi Joyce

thanks so much for your sterling efforts on behalf of both seasoned, middling and beginning astrologers - something for everyone here, and extremely well put together. Congratulations! Hope you are lying down now in a quiet room, resting your writing wrists ( a current preoccupation of mine as you know!)

Anne