13 Useful Astrology Books
Reference
1. A good ephemeris. Computers have been a boon to astrologers, but sometimes there’s no substitute for whipping out the old ephemeris and looking up transits. I really like my old Rosecrucian one (for the 20th century) and the 2000 – 2009 supplementary one I bought. It seems to be available in hardcover
for 2000 – 2050, but for now I’m stumbling along with a spiral bound version for 2000 – 2009. Anyway, ephemerides are available calculated for either midnight or noon GMT. I always buy noon, because with the 8 hour offset between the Pacific Time zone (where I live) and GMT, the placements shown are closer to what they are where I live at the beginning of each day.
2. The Rex Bills Rulership Book – The little book of correspondences, with delicious, comprehensive lists of which planet/house/sign rules everything. (Except, curiously, chocolate. I’m assuming Venus, with a twist of Neptune.)
Basics
3. The Inner Sky by Steven Forrest. No surprise there … my favorite astrology author and my favorite beginner’s guide.
4. Only Way to Learn Astrology Vol 1, March & McEvers. A great companion to the Forrest book, because it runs stuff down in a pretty clear cut series of lessons, complete with little quizzes to make sure you’re keeping up. Rock on.
5. Making the Gods Work for You, by Caroline Casey. Because I love her. And because it’s a terrific primer on planets.
6. Houses of the Horoscope, by Bill Herbst. How did I live without this book for so many years?
7. Aspects in Astrology by Sue Tompkins. Aspects seem to be the dividing line between those with a casual interest in astrology and the serious student. They’re hard to grasp, and this book is my hands-down favorite treatment of the subject. I refer to it in preparing for almost every reading.
8. Linda Goodman’s Love Signs. But not, perhaps, for the reasons you think. Here’s why: Goodman was an engaging writer, yes, who clearly knew her astrology… but while you’re figuring out why the heck your Cancer boyfriend keeps drooling over Aquarians, you’re also learning the fundamentals of aspects in a sneaky, completely pain-free way.
Cycles and Prediction
9. Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark, by Bernadette Brady. Progressions, Transits, Eclipses, Lunations, and creative ways to break it all down and put it back together again. Really fabulous.
10. The Changing Sky by Steven Forrest. An accessible yet systematic approach to reading the chart.
11. Planetary Cycles, by Betty Lundsted. I love this little book, which breaks down the major aspects and cycles of each stage of life.
Almost every client who comes to me is trying to figure out how to cope with Saturn or Pluto issues, so it’s worth having a couple of books devoted strictly to these biggies.
12. Saturn in Transit, by Erin Sullivan. It’s not the easiest read, but it’s a fascinating treatment of Saturn and the Heroic Journey. I refer to it constantly.
13. Jeff Green’s Pluto books are justly popular, but I have to go with Forrest’s The Book of Pluto. His approach just speaks to me more. Nice delineations of natal and transiting positions.
So, what are some of your favorites? Tell us in comments!
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