Pao
I forgot about that one! lol you guys are right which explains why i have tons of books and nowhere to put them all!
Help me choose a book please
seaweed
"The Only Way" series is pretty good, but not extremely "approachable" (maybe most frustrating part is there are several chapters in book one that must just be memorized prior to getting to dive into chart interpretation--if you're a kinetic learner, it's a bit frustrating), but a solid series, esp. books 1-3, weaker books are 5 & 6. They've just been reprinted, recently, although I think their original printing was 1976, or thereabouts (and March and Mc Evers look a bit older then, so they may not be around for Amazon...)
Dave's right, you'll likely buy a lot of books then weed out the ones you don't like as much. Momentum seems to be the key, getting the ball rolling, so find books that really light a fire under you, books w/ solid info that's *memorable* to get started. Naturally, where your interests lie will guide you--are you looking to learn about transits, chart construction/interpretation, lunar influences or start out with a quick overview--a sense--of how everything plays together?
The question is, where do you want to begin?
(Some sitting on my bookshelf include...)
Most Comprehensive:
I'd give "The Only Way" series about (well, bks 1-3 or 4, I'd give them 3.5-4.5 of 5 stars, books 5-6 closer to 2.5-3 stars---they're modeled off a comprehensive course, but aren't very dynamic) Good for a total overview, though.
Most Fun, Useable, Diverse:
"Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook" and "Parkers"--Friendly, approachable, memorable, useful---4.5-5 stars. They're cheerful, jocular, and Parker's gives a mini course on the history of astronomy/astrology as well as *many* case studies, an ephemeris and many auxiliary tables. "Stargazers" is goofy and fun, but useful--tons of tables: Merc Rx, Eclipses, Void of Course, "Red Light/Green Light" Days for the signs, etc.--both books are useful fom day one (but, caveat emptor, Parkers explains chart construction (Esp. conversion into Sidereal Time) in a more convoluted style than The American Atlas/International Atlas (these 2 plus a book of tables would be a necessary buy if you want to chart by hand anyway, that plus an ephemeris, unless want to use the free 6,000 yr ephemeris from Astro.com--although having an ephemeris on hand is a *real* time saver and The American Ephemeris has the moon's void of course times.)
My fave for learning/watching daily transits:
Planets in Transit, by Robert Hand (a recommendation of Dave's and, if you surf your daily horoscope over at Astro.com, they quote him directly (although sometimes truncated) although they may only give the description of only one transit for non-subscribers---so, with this $30 book, you can read up on your other transits without subscribing. Not only that, but his books are easy to search with dictionary-like tabs separating the planets.
For beginnning chart interpretation:
Planets in Birth, by Robert Hand (Astro.com also has a free horoscope birth interp. by hand, but this goes a bit deeper--esp. enjoyable are his theories on astrological theory at the beginning of his books.)
Best bought 2nd hand:
"The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need"--good in bits, very good explanations of aspects and explaining how a chart is constructed from a "this is what the sky looked like when you were born and how" point of view, but a bit muddy articulating Greek vs Roman mythology. Sign descriptions are good, but I'd tip my hat to Parkers and Stargazers first.
And a good basic mythology book--kids books are great for this: very visual, memorable, flowing naratives and brief enough to get the "gist" of the cast of characters, esp. when dealing with planets and constellations. By getting to know their personalities, it's easier to remember several of their essential qualities.
And the Sakonian/Acker book gets rave reviews, particularly for its theory of the ascendant coloring the experience/perspective entire chart, rather than relegating it to just another mentionable aspect.
Nice additional reading for free:
Astro.com's "Understanding Astrology" section--lots of nice bits by Dana Gerhardt and Liz Greene. Topics range from basic to advanced.
I hope you don't mind the brief book review (like tarot books/decks, the closet's half-full of ones that haven't jibed as well but keep around for a turn of phrase, but don't keep out regularly.) Those that have disappointed me most have been those that do that whole "everybody born on this day--regardless of year or time of day or location, etc--have all these traits in common"--for me, at least, part of the allure is the in the personalization of a chart, for me, at least, it's where the depth is.
If you get a chance to, your local library might carry several of these perrenial favorites (giving you a chance to sample before buying.)
Beyond the basics, I'd really defer to Dave--he really is the Astrology guru here & his suggestions have radically expanded the way I study--Thanks, Dave!
And when you find some good books, post them here : ) Everybody's looking for a new great read! : )
Take Care!
Dave's right, you'll likely buy a lot of books then weed out the ones you don't like as much. Momentum seems to be the key, getting the ball rolling, so find books that really light a fire under you, books w/ solid info that's *memorable* to get started. Naturally, where your interests lie will guide you--are you looking to learn about transits, chart construction/interpretation, lunar influences or start out with a quick overview--a sense--of how everything plays together?
The question is, where do you want to begin?
(Some sitting on my bookshelf include...)
Most Comprehensive:
I'd give "The Only Way" series about (well, bks 1-3 or 4, I'd give them 3.5-4.5 of 5 stars, books 5-6 closer to 2.5-3 stars---they're modeled off a comprehensive course, but aren't very dynamic) Good for a total overview, though.
Most Fun, Useable, Diverse:
"Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook" and "Parkers"--Friendly, approachable, memorable, useful---4.5-5 stars. They're cheerful, jocular, and Parker's gives a mini course on the history of astronomy/astrology as well as *many* case studies, an ephemeris and many auxiliary tables. "Stargazers" is goofy and fun, but useful--tons of tables: Merc Rx, Eclipses, Void of Course, "Red Light/Green Light" Days for the signs, etc.--both books are useful fom day one (but, caveat emptor, Parkers explains chart construction (Esp. conversion into Sidereal Time) in a more convoluted style than The American Atlas/International Atlas (these 2 plus a book of tables would be a necessary buy if you want to chart by hand anyway, that plus an ephemeris, unless want to use the free 6,000 yr ephemeris from Astro.com--although having an ephemeris on hand is a *real* time saver and The American Ephemeris has the moon's void of course times.)
My fave for learning/watching daily transits:
Planets in Transit, by Robert Hand (a recommendation of Dave's and, if you surf your daily horoscope over at Astro.com, they quote him directly (although sometimes truncated) although they may only give the description of only one transit for non-subscribers---so, with this $30 book, you can read up on your other transits without subscribing. Not only that, but his books are easy to search with dictionary-like tabs separating the planets.
For beginnning chart interpretation:
Planets in Birth, by Robert Hand (Astro.com also has a free horoscope birth interp. by hand, but this goes a bit deeper--esp. enjoyable are his theories on astrological theory at the beginning of his books.)
Best bought 2nd hand:
"The Only Astrology Book You'll Ever Need"--good in bits, very good explanations of aspects and explaining how a chart is constructed from a "this is what the sky looked like when you were born and how" point of view, but a bit muddy articulating Greek vs Roman mythology. Sign descriptions are good, but I'd tip my hat to Parkers and Stargazers first.
And a good basic mythology book--kids books are great for this: very visual, memorable, flowing naratives and brief enough to get the "gist" of the cast of characters, esp. when dealing with planets and constellations. By getting to know their personalities, it's easier to remember several of their essential qualities.
And the Sakonian/Acker book gets rave reviews, particularly for its theory of the ascendant coloring the experience/perspective entire chart, rather than relegating it to just another mentionable aspect.
Nice additional reading for free:
Astro.com's "Understanding Astrology" section--lots of nice bits by Dana Gerhardt and Liz Greene. Topics range from basic to advanced.
I hope you don't mind the brief book review (like tarot books/decks, the closet's half-full of ones that haven't jibed as well but keep around for a turn of phrase, but don't keep out regularly.) Those that have disappointed me most have been those that do that whole "everybody born on this day--regardless of year or time of day or location, etc--have all these traits in common"--for me, at least, part of the allure is the in the personalization of a chart, for me, at least, it's where the depth is.
If you get a chance to, your local library might carry several of these perrenial favorites (giving you a chance to sample before buying.)
Beyond the basics, I'd really defer to Dave--he really is the Astrology guru here & his suggestions have radically expanded the way I study--Thanks, Dave!
And when you find some good books, post them here : ) Everybody's looking for a new great read! : )
Take Care!
AJ
anyone have something newly read to add to the must have list?
edited to add, do any of you use a book like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Llewellyns-Daily-Planetary-Guide-Glance/dp/0738706949/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
As a pure rube it looks like a must have
but then I like lots of books.
edited to add, do any of you use a book like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Llewellyns-Daily-Planetary-Guide-Glance/dp/0738706949/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
As a pure rube it looks like a must have
but then I like lots of books.Vadella
I also love Parker's Astrology. Poor me only got to the enjoy the book a month before I let a friend borrow it and I moved far away. lol Haven't bought another since but have been meaning to.
