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Practical Astrology review by Bonnie Cehovet, TE
Edited by James Wasserman Weiser Books 2008 ISBN #978-1-57863-423-1 "The Weiser Concise Guide To Practical Astrology" is part of the Weiser Concise Guide Series - an excellent addition, written by Priscilla Costello, and edited by James Wasserman (with an introduction by James Wasserman also). Esoteric wisdom, such as astrological wisdom, does no one any good if it remains with elite practitioners. It must be brought down to the level of the layman, but brought down with integrity so that we aren't addressing yet another version of "Astrology For Dummies". Costello has divided this book into two parts: Part One addresses the basics of astrology (planets, signs, houses, and aspects), while Part Two addresses practical application (understanding a chart, using Oprah Winfrey's chart as an example). In his introduction, Wasserman touches upon something that I find very important - that when having a reading done, the person seeking the reading is having to open themselves to an extent that they may not feel comfortable with, and that readings can be the equivalent of a minefield for the spiritually unaware. As with all divination systems, astrology is a rich and complex language based on symbols. The aim of this book is to take astrological principles frm the world of the esoteric to the world of the mundane - without losing anything in the translation! Costello defines astrology as "… the calculation and meaningful interpretation of the positions and motions of he heavenly bodies, and their correlation with human experience." The seven classical planets, along with Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, make up the main letters of the astrological alphabet, according to Costello. She goes on to say that the planets are carriers of psychic energy, responsible for ghe unique makeup of each individual. There is a short section explaining each of the planets, what they are, and how they affect us. In this manner they come down out of the sky and into our lives. Next Costello addresses the twelve astrological signs, There is wonderful introductory material, as well as information on Polarities; the Qualities, or Crosses; and the Elements, or Triangles. The fun starts when the planets are placed in the signs - here we start to see why people are the way they are! From there, Costello moves on to the twelve houses that make up a chart, the energy that they carry, and how to interpret them. Quite a unique part of this section was the story of the evolution of the House sytem through a historical perspective. The importance of the planets as they move through the houses is presented in a very understandable manner. Practically a lifetime ago, when I tried to study astrology (no computers then, and I did not have much patience, so my studies were very basic), what stuck with me was what the planets meant in each of the houses, and looking at the completed chart from the perspective of right hand and left hand side, above the horizon and below the horizon. Aspects are something that I personally have always had a problem with - so it probably is a good thing that I have my chart interpreted for me! Costello does an excellent job of making sense of conjunctions, oppositions, trines, squares, quintiles, sextiles, semi-squares, semi-sextiles, sesqui-quadrates, and quincunx (or inconjuncts). There is a quick run-through on how to interpret a chart at a glance, and a wonderful section on interpretation making use of Oprah Winfrey's chart. I found this to be a highly useful book, and I am sure that you will too!
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