Books by the Fire: Winter Astrology Reading 2011

© 2011 by Joyce Mason

All Rights Reserved

January 2010’s, Winter Astrology Reading: Five Astrologers Share Their Faves was a popular post all year long! There’s nothing like curling up with a good astrology book when the weather outside is frightful, preferably in front of a blazing fire. In fact, the idea felt so good, I thought we’d try a second round of winter book recommendations, and if your interest holds, we’ll make it an annual tradition. (For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, these tomes make equally good beach reading—don’t forget your plastic bag to protect your reads from sand and surf! OK, sometimes I’m a traditional Virgo.)

This year, I got extra help. I belong to an astrology bloggers group on Facebook. I asked my colleagues to recommend their favorites. As with last time, I have decided not to link astrologers to their specific recommendations. They are all fine practitioners and authors themselves and a thumbs-up from any of them on this biblio has equal footing—in my book.

For your convenience, the titles are linked to Amazon for more info—or if you can’t resist purchasing. (Typical conversation among astrologers: “I need to build an addition onto my house for all my books.” This is why I got a Kindle.)

Favorite Books

(An asterisk* means it was mentioned twice by members of the panel.)

Arroyo, Stephen – Relationships and Life Cycles

Arroyo, Stephen – Astrology, Karma and Transformation*

Ashman, Bernie – Sun Signs and Past Lives

Blaschke, Robert – Relationship Analysis

Brady, Bernadette – Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark *

Cunningham, Donna – Healing Pluto Problems

George, Demetra – Asteroid Goddesses

George, Demetra – Astrology and the Authentic Self

Green, Jeffrey Wolf – Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul

Green, Liz – Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil

Hall, Judy – The Hades Moon *

Hand, Robert – Horoscope Symbols

Herring, Amy – Astrology of the Moon

Huber, Bruno and Louise – Lifeclock: Practical Techniques for Counseling Age Progression in the Horoscope

Jones, Marc Edmond – An Astrological Mandala: The Sabian Symbols

Koval, Barbara – Time and Money

Lunstead, Betty – Transits: the Time of Your Life

Lunstead, Betty – Astrological Insights into Personality *

Marks, Tracy – The Art of Chart Interpretation

Rushman, Carol – The Art of Predictive Astrology*

Spiller, Jan – New Moon Astrology

Spiller, Jan – Astrology of the Soul

Sullivan, Erin – Retrograde Planets

Sullivan, Erin – Saturn in Transit

Tarnas, Richard - Cosmos and Psyche

Tenzin-Dolma, Lisa – Take Control with Astrology

Tompkins, Sue – Aspects in Astrology

Favorite Astro-Authors Mentioned by Name

Arroyo*, Hand, Rudhyar, George, Blaschke, Tyl, Leo, Carter, Forrest, Tarnas, Green, Sullivan, and Levine/Jawer.

Our Distinguished Panel of Astrologers

I hope you’ll get to know these wonderful star people on their blogs and websites. If you know them already, here’s a chance to get to know them even better. They’re very well read. Here’s your chance to return the favor!

Abela Jucy Arthur, Maria DeSimone, Shannon Garcia, Diane Lang, Mandi Lockley, Beth Turnage, Jo Tracey, Leah Whitehorse, Philip Young, Ph.D., and Melody Scott Zindell.

My Current Reads

And just in case you’re curious, I’ve been proving I’ve got Uranus in Gemini by reading Blain Bovee’s Sabian Symbols in Astrological Analysis on my Kindle and in paper,  Alison Chester-Lambert’s The Future in the Stars: The Astrological Message in the Stars for 2012 and Beyond about the newly discovered dwarf planets, the category to which Pluto was demoted. (I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds that laughable. Has Pluto ever been small in your life?)

Happy Learning!

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Photo Credit:  © Darya Petrenko | Dreamstime.com

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!


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