On the Heavenly Spheres

I’m honestly very impressed by this book. The cover, ugly as it is, gave me pause, but I’m glad I worked through it. It takes the traditional approach to astrology, ignoring the planets discovered after 1700, and opens with the elements, genders, and modes that combine to produce the whole range of interpretations. Rather than dwelling on how to interpret a chart, it focuses on the mechanics of how the system works, with extensive detail on doing the calculations by hand, without the automatic outputs we have now — especially useful with the Arabic parts. I’ll admit I felt a bit lost in the last few chapters; most of it was clear, but fixed stars, Arabic parts, and accidental dignities and debilities added a little too much complication for me. I’ll read around to see how others handle this, and the interpretive side too — and if they don’t, I can rest assured that all the content is right here. I suspect this is an intermediate-level book, the logical next step once you’ve gotten your toes wet, and the appendices are great for showing why the authors are committed to the traditional model.