Ten Astrology Books You Need In Your Library Right Now! PLUS: MOON ZOOM
So many wonderful astrology books out there. So many shitty astrology books out there. What's a novice to do?
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DISCLAIMER: This list is wildly subjective (well, what isn’t it life? Even someone’s supposed objectivity originates within their subjective Weltanschauung). Hardcore objectivity only exists in science and maybe some Émile Zola novels (well, at least Zola thought so).
This (the list) will undoubtedly irritate some astrologers. But what’s contemporary astrology without various camps going for each other’s throats?
Still: Apologies.
Let’s go. (Oh, and no particular order here, thus the bullet points).
• Astrology for Lovers | Liz Greene
I lied. This is the first book I recommend to astrological novices, be they curious spectators or someone preparing to commit as a serious student. Even those well-versed in astrology will read this and go, “Goddamn, how does she do it?” Unfortunately, I always have to do a waiver about the book’s title. It’s corny and designed to grab the attention of folks drawn to astrology to maneuver their love lives. But after being born, eating, sleeping, and preparing for death, love forms the bedrock of our time on Earth. So there’s that. But, of course, this being Liz Greene, astrology’s premiere Jungian astro genius, the title is simply the tip of an iceberg that reaches deep into the ocean of Greene’s stellar marriage of psychology, myth, and the astro logos. The first two chapters present an easy-access grasp of astrology that would take less deft authors an entire book to deliver. Order here.
• The History of Western Astrology Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 | Nicholas Campion
These two books are the OMG books of astro-history. Books that unwind your modern mind so it can drift like a zephyr back to the origin of astrology. Which, of course, is already floating, slightly obscured, in the mists of time. So like attracts like. These books are the equivalent of sitting in the living room of Campion’s mind while he lays it all out for you with the skills of an anthropological Magu. My mind stands in awe at the beauty of the book’s syntax and mind-bending insights into Western astrology’s long arc of influence. I adore Campion—one of the astro community’s most golden figures. Long live Nicholas Campion. Order here. And here.
• The Planets Within: The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino | Thomas Moore
Oh dear, where to begin? And where does it all end? How about within the incessant mystery of what makes astrology ‘work.’ Marsilio Ficino, the astounding brainiac of the 17th-century Florentine Academy, taught that the imagination is humankind’s direct link to the essence of all things. Ficino broadens and deepens our understanding of astrology as a hands-on art. This book belongs under the rubric of ‘the timeless,’ not to say that it stands beyond time, but that its luminosity is ever-fresh, reminding us that astrology is, first and foremost, a study of light. Ficino writes poetry under the guise of empirical, magical observation. Wow! Should you ever feel parched and brittle from the dulling effects of popular astrology’s manner of reducing everything into stereotypes and cliches, this is your antidote. Order here.
• The Houses: Temples of the Sky | Deborah Houlding
The astrological houses are the unwanted gift that keeps on giving and confounds just about everyone who attempts to decipher their meaning and history and why they are situated as they are around the horoscopic wheel. Houlding dispels instantly the old Zip Dobyn’s Astro Alphabet approach to the houses, where the sign Aries, the planet Mars and the first house of a chart become an identikit that verges on parody when considering how nonsensical this notion is. (Stephen Arroyo, I’m thinking ‘bout you). But you don’t really see the impropriety of the mish-mashing until Houlding digs in and goes around the wheel of the chart and explains why things are situated the way they are. Houlding, like Campion, has a long, rich history of advocating for comprehending astrology’s roots. Her Skyscript website is one of the handfuls of sites you should bookmark for repeat visits. And that’s saying a lot, given that 99.9 percent of astrological cyber destinations are awful. Order here.
• Cosmic Loom: The New Science of Astrology | Dennis Elwell
Warning: Over the past 15 years, since first stumbling into the glowing nimbus of Dennis Elwell’s Aquarian brain, I’ve read this book three times. Every pass has elevated me into a new stratum of astrological wonder. Each chapter is the equivalent of a rich essay, something akin to what you’d read in, say, Atlantic magazine. If you long to hunker down and into beautifully articulated close studies on astrology, this is your book. In typical Aquarian fashion, Elwell dispels the easy answers or dumbed-down language that haunts almost all astrological writing today. You leave this book with a solid respect for the art (although Elwell couches it all as a ‘new science’—again, very Aquarian, but whatever). This book will hit your brain like a shaft of light from untried, unexplored astrological dimensions. Brilliant. Order here.
• Astrology In The Year Zero | Garry Phillipson
You know how when you smoke a joint and then your mind starts cascading through thought waves about whatever you’re contemplating (or staring at)? And then, bit by bit, different insights or reveries unfurl into even more intriguing angles or takes. Well, Phillipson’s book is similar. Not that a stoner compiled it, but it moves and grooves through dozens of different takes on astrology. Be they pro or con. Phillipson interviewed scores of different astrologers—former astrologers or budding astrologers—from Sun sign columnists to those skirting the edge of quantum physics—and, well, damn, you’re not going to encounter a better read for finessing your mind on the subject. I advocate embracing opposing views. Genuine inquiry includes all facets of the disco ball. To do so makes me think with more objectivity about whatever I’m thinking about. And in this case, it’s astrology. You won’t be disappointed. Order here.
Traditional Astrology for Today: An Introduction | Ben Dykes
Artists, regardless of the style of art they find themselves drawn to, must first master the basics of drawing, perspective, and composition. Once under the belt, they can jump into whatever style suits their nature. But they should first know how to render and relate to the world they're attempting to represent, abstract, or deconstruct. This same principle applies to astrology. There are scores of different astrological schools today, but just one historical precedent. Ben Dykes’ slim volume packs the punch of books triple its size. It’s a rich and concise scholarly journey through the origins and techniques of Western astrology. He also does an admirable job of defining the distinctions between psychological astrology and the traditional school’s event-based approach. Regardless of the school of astrology you align with, it behooves you to explore the source, and Dykes’ breezy, bright, and charming book is the modern way to go. Order here.
Astrological Signs: The Pulse of Life | Dane Rudyhar
Choosing just one Rudyhar book to recommend is impossible. The man was a blazing dynamo generating scores of books that modernized and remade astrology into a psycho-philosophical wonderland. I chose this book because it’s a short read and demonstrates Rudyhar’s ability to articulate astrology’s cyclic and holistic dimensions clearly. With Rudyhar, everything in astrology is participating within cycles that—from the singular to the boundless—unite us as Earthlings—each part, each individual participating in the whole. In this book, Rudyhar evokes the East’s yin-yang symbol to show how each sign represents a state of experience with two basic forces active. Use this book as a catalyst to begin winding through Rudyhar’s mindblowing contributions to the field—call me in a decade or two to let me know what you discovered. Order here.
Flirting With The Zodiac | Kim Farnell
UK astrologer Kim Farnell’s wonderful book is a concise history of Sun sign astrology. Farnell explains that Sun sign astrology is not, as we’re often led to believe, a contemporary phenomenon. In a way, it’s been around as long as astrology, which is to say forever. For example, she presents us with an extract from the Dead Sea Scrolls, which happens to refer to someone being born under the sign of Taurus.
“…and his thighs are long and slender, and the toes of his feet are slender and long. He is from the second column. He has a spirit with six parts in the house of light and three parts in the house of darkness. This is the sign which he is born: the period of Taurus. He will be poor. This is his animal: a bull.”
So obviously, Mark Zuckerberg, the richest Tauri on the planet—and with squat legs like stumps—wasn’t born back in the third century BCE. Farnell’s book winds its way through ancient history to modern times and soft lands in the Sun Sign Hall of Fame, with awardees like Sydney Omarr and Shelley von Strunkel. With an entire chapter devoted to the queen herself, Linda Goodman. A delightful read. Order here.
Aspects in Astrology | Sue Tompkins
If the signs and houses of the horoscope represent the skeleton and the planets, the various organs in a body, the aspects are the circulatory system that enlivens and sets each component of the chart into motion. You won’t find a more concise and thorough book than Sue Tompkins's deep dive into this tricky facet of chart delineation. The art of astrology requires a command of synthesis. Seemingly contradictory or complimentary forces are bonded in the chart, depending on their inclinations. How to interpret these relationships and convey their meaning to yourself or your client? Tompkins's book is an excellent primer. She offers a style of inquiry that the beginning student and the advanced astrologer will find inspirational—a must for your library. Order here.
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Thanks for this list. The first book I bought was Linda Goodman's Love Signs. I'm dating myself, but what a great book and hysterical to this day.
Thank you 🙏🥰