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Books
of Spirit
By
Carl McColman
Astrology is a discipline that, in itself, can
easily consume a lifetime's worth
of spiritual and psychological exploration. This
is true not only because of the depth and
flexibility of astrology as a map of the human
experience, but also because of the many wonderful
classic books available (from authors as varied
as Steven Forrest, Erin Sullivan, Liz Greene,
and Robert Hand) - and then there are the
many new books appearing every year! Given the
depth of the discipline, it's always exciting
to see a truly remarkable book published: and
such is the case with WeiserBooks' newly published
General Principles
of Astrology
by the twentieth century's most notorious
occultist, Aleister
Crowley with Evangeline Adams. With
a list price of $80, this is not a book for the
average Joe or Jane who likes to follow their
horoscope in the newspaper; but for the serious
student of the inner life, this represents an
exciting and major new addition, not only to the
library of astrology but to Crowley's body
of work as well.
This isn't really a new book; it's actually a new edition of a manuscript Crowley wrote in 1915-16 as a ghostwriting assignment for Adams, a celebrity American astrologer. Adams heavily edited Crowley's work and divided it into two books, published as Astrology, Your Place in the Sun in 1927 and Astrology, Your Place in the Stars in 1930. This edition restores Crowley's manuscript as much as possible, including material never before in print. The book has a historical value as the first major study of the science to be published in America, as well as one of the first astrological texts to feature detailed information on Uranus and Neptune (Pluto was not discovered until 1930, and so is not included in this text). Editor Hymenaeus Beta's detailed introduction and notes illuminate the text, while the inclusion of almost 200 birth charts of famous, infamous, and not-so-famous figures bring alive Crowley's case studies. Those who know Crowley primarily through some of his less accessible magical writings will be delighted by the accessibility of the prose of this book. As a doorway into a great esoteric mind, and a fresh perspective on astrology, this is a monumental work. If you're not ready to surrender the better part of a Ben Franklin for the Crowley/Adams text, here are a few other noteworthy recent books on astrology: Gary
Goldschneider, The Astrology of Time
(Astria Books) is a new offering from one of the
co-authors of The Secret Language of Birthdays.
While coming nowhere near the depth of Crowley's
work, this is a fun little cocktail-party book
that looks at the energies of the year, week by
week, not in just terms of who's born when,
but in a more general sense of how different times
affect us all.
Stephanie
Jean Clement, Charting
Your Spiritual Path with Astrology
(Llewellyn) nudges the reader away from
the 'fortune-telling' stereotypes associated
with astrology, and focuses on the depth of spiritual
guidance available through the science. As a choice-oriented
text, it teaches the reader to identify
transpersonal potentials and possibilities within
the birth chart.
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