Written during my skeptical period. Well, I´m a Capricorn, what did you expect, Piscean spirituality?
I
don't believe in astrology. It's a silly superstition. It doesn't matter that
Isaac Newton was an astrologer, or that Ronald and Nancy Reagan used it to win
the Cold War. It's a silly superstition nevertheless (almost as silly as the
SDI).
However, if you are interested in all and everything about astrology, this book is as good as any. It's essentially an astrological encyclopaedia, containing all the information a budding astrologist might need. So whatever you do, don't send it to Richard Dawkins!
To start off, "Parker's astrology" contains the inevitable information about sun signs (birth signs). For the nth time, we learn that Arians are enthusiastic and goal-directed, Gemini are fickle, Virgoans are shy and practical, and Pisceans are out there. No news here.
There is also an extensive section on the planets (in astrology, the sun, the moon and Pluto are also planets). What does Venus signify in the first house? What's the meaning of a negative aspect between Mars and Saturn? What if Uranus is close to the ascendant? And what about "the Saturn return" or "the progressed sun"? Almost every conceivable planetary position in the horoscope is covered.
A more technical section shows the reader how to cast a horoscope. An ephemeris, sidereal times and information on houses for northern latitudes are included. In contrast to some of the negative reviewers (who do believe in astrology), I actually managed to cast and interpret a horoscope with the aid of this book. Unsurprisingly, the horoscope confirms that I'm crazy! It also contained the following piece of advice: "At your age, it might be socially disastrous to have an affair with a high school girl". Well, thank you. Otherwise, love signs are only briefly covered, which may disappoint some readers.
Here and there, there are more obscure pieces of information. Did you know that Oxford, Mexico City and Mecklenburg are ruled by Capricorn? Poor Richard. I mean, he's an Oxford don. Potatoes are also ruled by Capricorn, and so is hemp and the coastal region of ex-Yugoslavia! And, naturally, goats. By contrast, Aquarius controls Moscow, Israel, Iran, orchids, lime fruits and aluminium alloys.
Much of astrology these days is very new agey. "Parker's astrology" takes a more traditional approach. No Jungian archetypes, no nebulous intuitions. Planet X in sign Y means Z, period. The authors clearly aren't Pisceans. This "cookbook approach" is rejected by many astrologers, to whom astrology is rather a new agey self-help technique. By contrast, the case studies included in this book are very fatalistic. If you have a lot of negative aspects in your horoscope, it's more or less inevitable that you become a gambler, an addict or very fat. By contrast, positive, successful and balanced people have a lot of positive aspects in their horoscopes. Ironically, the worst critics of "Parker's astrology" might actually be...other astrologers.
This review is based on a Swedish translation of the 1991 edition. However, the 2001 English-language hardcover edition seems to be essentially the same book, with some new information on Chiron (a dwarf planet or asteroid) and comets.
However, if you are interested in all and everything about astrology, this book is as good as any. It's essentially an astrological encyclopaedia, containing all the information a budding astrologist might need. So whatever you do, don't send it to Richard Dawkins!
To start off, "Parker's astrology" contains the inevitable information about sun signs (birth signs). For the nth time, we learn that Arians are enthusiastic and goal-directed, Gemini are fickle, Virgoans are shy and practical, and Pisceans are out there. No news here.
There is also an extensive section on the planets (in astrology, the sun, the moon and Pluto are also planets). What does Venus signify in the first house? What's the meaning of a negative aspect between Mars and Saturn? What if Uranus is close to the ascendant? And what about "the Saturn return" or "the progressed sun"? Almost every conceivable planetary position in the horoscope is covered.
A more technical section shows the reader how to cast a horoscope. An ephemeris, sidereal times and information on houses for northern latitudes are included. In contrast to some of the negative reviewers (who do believe in astrology), I actually managed to cast and interpret a horoscope with the aid of this book. Unsurprisingly, the horoscope confirms that I'm crazy! It also contained the following piece of advice: "At your age, it might be socially disastrous to have an affair with a high school girl". Well, thank you. Otherwise, love signs are only briefly covered, which may disappoint some readers.
Here and there, there are more obscure pieces of information. Did you know that Oxford, Mexico City and Mecklenburg are ruled by Capricorn? Poor Richard. I mean, he's an Oxford don. Potatoes are also ruled by Capricorn, and so is hemp and the coastal region of ex-Yugoslavia! And, naturally, goats. By contrast, Aquarius controls Moscow, Israel, Iran, orchids, lime fruits and aluminium alloys.
Much of astrology these days is very new agey. "Parker's astrology" takes a more traditional approach. No Jungian archetypes, no nebulous intuitions. Planet X in sign Y means Z, period. The authors clearly aren't Pisceans. This "cookbook approach" is rejected by many astrologers, to whom astrology is rather a new agey self-help technique. By contrast, the case studies included in this book are very fatalistic. If you have a lot of negative aspects in your horoscope, it's more or less inevitable that you become a gambler, an addict or very fat. By contrast, positive, successful and balanced people have a lot of positive aspects in their horoscopes. Ironically, the worst critics of "Parker's astrology" might actually be...other astrologers.
This review is based on a Swedish translation of the 1991 edition. However, the 2001 English-language hardcover edition seems to be essentially the same book, with some new information on Chiron (a dwarf planet or asteroid) and comets.
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