Zodiac Book Reviews

I’ve been keeping a list of the books I’ve read since 19 July 2015, and I have selected one for each sign.  How many of these have you read?  And have you any recommendations for your sign?

Aries 

Dolores Cannon (2001) The Convoluted Universe – Book One. Ozark Mountain Publishing

This is the first book in a set of five, all enthralling in their breadth of vision and experience.  Dolores Cannon was a regression therapist, who developed a system of Quantum Healing (the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique).  She was a no-nonsense, pioneering and fearless Arien, who died in 2014 but left behind a wealth of writing on her life’s work.  As well as Sun in Aries, she had the Moon, North Node and Uranus in that sign.  Her karmic mission of exploration of human consciousness is shown by the close conjunction of the Uranus and the North Node in her 8th House of Spirituality.

”In ‘Keepers of the Garden’ Phil said many souls that had never known Earth lives had volunteered to come to help the Earth at his time in its history. They were the infusion or transfusion of new blood, the ones who have never known violence. Because they do not have this in their soul’s history they can help to change the vibration of the Earth and raise it to a higher dimension where such things as violence are impossible.”

Taurus

Judy Collins (2011) Sweet Judy Blue Eyes – My Life in Music. Three Rivers Press.  New York 

A high proportion of my reading matter is autobiographical/biographical works, and this is the first of several  in this selection.  Taurus is the main sign for singers (Libra being the other).  This selection has three other singers, from other signs, but don’t let that confuse you, Taurus is still the main sign for singers with extraordinary voices (Barbra Streisand and Ella Fitzgerald also hailing from that part of the zodiac).  Judy has her Sun in Taurus close to her Midheaven (Careerpoint).  I always felt that the smoothness of Judy’s voice, in say “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”, betokened a life of serenity and harmony.  I was surprised to find, reading her autobiography, a much more turbulent life picture with more love and loss than I expected.  This was a well-written and absorbing account of her life up to 2009, which found me even more appreciative of her work and talent.  She is also a songwriter:

“My father always promised us
That we would live in France
We’d go boating on the Seine
And I would learn to dance

We lived in Ohio then
He worked in the mines
On his dreams like boats
We knew we would sail in time”

Gemini

Chris Griscom (1987) Ecstasy is a New Frequency – Teachings of the Light Institute. Bear & Co.

I first read Chris Griscom’s book in 1988, but include it here because I read it every so often to renew myself.  I can honestly say it is one of the books that changed my life.  Here we have another regression therapist (the first being Aries Dolores Cannon), so another theme in my reading.  The book represents trainings and talks from her Light Institute in Galisteo New Mexico, delineating Structures of Consciousness, and spin points to higher consciousness such as the Inner Child and the Higher Self.  One of her important concepts is the power of the emotional/astral body and the need to raise its quality by feeding it with spiritual content.  Chris Griscom has 5 planets and the Ascendant in Gemini, as evidenced in the well-thought-through structures she gives to consciousness.

“You are all multidimensional beings.  You are brilliant light-souls who have a frame of reference for being out of body, for being in light body, for knowing all things.  In fact, you have the capacity within your very being to heal yourselves, to heal each other, to perform miracles.”

Cancer 

Debbie Harry (2019) Face It: A Memoir.  HarperCollins

I often find that, for me at least, the best autobiographies are those with a high quotient of emotional honesty, and women tend to do this better (sorry, guys).  As a Cancerian of course Debbie Harry is very much in touch with her emotions, and that may be one of the qualities which makes her such a compelling singer.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from her account, but it was far more raw and raunchy than I imagined.  I should have realized from her raw and raunchy image, and her self-confessed emulation of Marilyn Monroe, that would be the case.  It was an enjoyable read, and would be recommended reading of a madcap life, for fans of Debbie: it includes her drug-taking, her relationship with bandmate guitarist Chris Stein, and some scary moments. Debbie was born to perform, and to represent a strong femininity, with the Sun exactly conjunct the North Node in her 10th House of Career.

“I was saying things in songs that female singers didn t really say back then. I wasn t submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.”

Leo  

Anne Jirsch (2020) Future Vision Your Working Life.  Watkins

Anne is a leading light in the U.K. of the futurist movement.  She also was a past-life regressionist, whose work suddenly evolved into the future when she started to work with a group of soldiers, and they were surprised to see in advance the destruction of the twin towers in New York of 2001.  Her first book on the subject “The Future is Yours” was published in 2007.  Since then she has trained thousands of people in Future Life Progression (including myself), and she has led explorations far into the future of the planet.  Anne is a Leo, and as such has the leadership qualities of that sign.  One of the qualities of Leo is that holistic sense of vision – a high proportion of Film Directors are born in that zodiac sign.  The 2020 book emerged as covid changed the pattern of our working lives, and so was spot on for timing.  Anne’s techniques bring the ability to spot emerging patterns in society and work with them to help our own evolution and those of humanity.  The book details ten strategies to help you get ahead.

“Just imagine if you had tools to give you the edge, to steer you in the right direction and filter out erroneous information, leaving you to focus full on exactly what you need to know.  Imagine being able to anticipate the future and know here you are heading, what you need to be doing, ad even creating your own innovations”.

Virgo

Clive Myrie (2023) Everything is Everything – A Memoir of Love, Hate & Hope.  Hodder & Stoughton

Popular journalist, newsreader and presenter Clive Myrie has written his life story, but also given an account of the history of the Windrush generation and the difficulties of the black community over the decades.  He has his individual interesting story to tell, particularly about his exploits reporting on war torn areas he travelled to.  But his Windrush story is very much echoed in two other books I read around the same time, “Why we kneel and how we rise” by Michael Holding (reviewed under Aquarius, and the “Life and rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah”, providing a consistent story of society’s failure to deal with racism.  Clive has the Sun, Uranus, Pluto and Mercury in Virgo, and his book has the hallmarks of that sign, attention to detail and integrity.  He’s not just a pretty face: with Mercury conjunct Pluto in Virgo, he’s a deep thinker.  With 5 planets in Earth, 5 in Water, 0 in Fire, 0 in Air and 6 in Mutable, he’s Grounded, Emotional, Instinctual, Calm, and Adaptable.  There’s a lovely quote from Martin Luther King in his book:

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

Libra

Marianne Williamson (1992) A Return to Love – Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles. HarperCollins

I have chosen this book for Libra, as its guiding principle is Love.  I read it many years ago, before I started my list.  But Nelson Mandela shared the quote from the book below in his inaugural speech, and it is often wrongly attributed to him.  Marianne Williamson was born to a Jewish family, but her work has been based on elucidating the difficult work “A Course in Miracles” which was transcribed by Helen Schucman, with an emphasis on it teachings on love.  Marianne is not a Libran (she is Cancerian), but her universal message speaks to the heart of human life: “Divine love is the core and essence of every human mind”.  In the course of my life time of New Age searching, my husband has only ever twice accompanied me to a workshop. The first was to a feng shui day, and the second was to a Marianne Williamson workshop in London in 2008, after he had read her book.  In recent years, she has entered the realm of politics, with the aim of bringing the principle of love into the forefront of that arena.  In this current climate, where there is much evidence of hatred bubbling over, her message is more needed than ever.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?”

Scorpio

Sohom Das (2022) In Two Minds [Shocking true stories of murder, justice and recovery from a forensic psychiatrist]. Sphere

I chased up this book after seeing Psychiatrist Sohom Das being interviewed on daytime television, and I am glad I did as it was a complete eye-opener.  I have often wondered how those who work in this sphere do what they do, and this book answers it in graphic detail, but told with humour.  He recounts his training years, and his responses to each new challenge he encountered.  Sohom Das was born in November, so could be Scorpio or Sagittarius, but Scorpio rules Psychiatry, and the even more specialized Forensic Psychiatry (the treatment of people with mental health problems who are in prison, a secure hospital or the wider community).

“Remember, psychiatry shouldn’t be over-complicated. Unnecessarily diagnosing always labels but rarely helps the individual. Simplicity is key.”

Sagittarius

Britney Spears (2023) The woman in Me. Simon & Schuster

Britney Spears’ birth chart is dominated by the sign of Sagittarius, with Uranus, the Part of Fortune, Mercury, the Sun and Neptune all in that sign. We heard over the years the painful story of how she was challenged by the conservatorship of her father as guardian, but reading her story in her own words (after her liberation) takes your sympathy and compassion to another level – the experience of incarceration and disempowerment was far worse than your could imagine.  And on top of that, the exploitation of her talent and money-making is unbelievably cruel.  That she survived all that is remarkable.  She has been praised, in writing the book, for her “candour and humour”, both qualities associated with Sagittarius.  It’s not just “another tale” of the perils of starting as a child star. Britney’s response to the film “Framing Britney” prepared us for this memoir:

“Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens”.

Capricorn 

Mike Houghton ( 2015) I’ve always kept a Unicorn. Faber & Faber

Singer Sandy Denny did not live long enough to write her own autobiography, but Mike Houghton has produced a good account of her life here.  She is one of my all-time favourite singer-songwriters.  My favourite album of hers, “Solo”, was on constant replay at one point in my life, and the title of the book comes from the title track:

“Do you play solo?
Ain’t life a solo?
I’ve always lived in a mansion
On the other side of the moon.

I’ve always kept a unicorn
And I never sing out of tune.”

The unicorn is a mythological animal which can be associated with Sagittarius and Capricorn.  Though Sandy produced a prolific musical output, before going solo notably with Fairport Convention, there always feels to be a sense of what was missed from her early death precipitated by a fall on the stairs (not to mention drink and drugs).  I feel wistful when I think of this, but am grateful of the clarity and subtlety of her voice on such classics as “Fotheringay”.  Capricorn figures strongly in her chart, with Mercury, the Part of Fortune, her Descendant, the Sun and Mars all in that sign.  There’s a faint hint of melancholy in her life and work, and the search for a meaningful relationship.  The strife around her relationships is shown by the exact conjunction of the Sun and Mars in Capricorn in her 7th House of Close Relationships.  The book is a beautiful insight into her life and what made her tick. 

“She talks about being ‘zombie-esque’  and ‘sheepish’, ‘easily led’ and ‘easily persuaded’ but ‘without any deep conviction’. ‘Capricorn,’ her birth sign, she scrawls, ‘epitomises this quality, hence the adjective capricious’ – the last word is underlined.”

Aquarius 

Michael Holding (2021) Why we Kneel and How we Rise. Simon & Schuster

This set of choices, for some reason (and I may return to the subject in a later blog) seems to have some running themes!  Regression therapists, female singers, and black history.  Alluded to under Virgo (for Clive Myrie) this book carries many of the same themes (together with Benjamin Zephaniah’s autobiography also read recently).  As an Aquarian, social justice is vital to Michael Holding, a well-respected and esteemed former cricketer (in fact, I borrowed the book from hubby’s bookshelf).  Written in 2021, it elucidates well the reasons behind the Black Lives Matter movement.  The movement itself was founded in 2013, but it was the shocking murder by a policeman of George Floyd that awoke people to the injustice of the treatment of the black population by the police force, as applicable here in the U.K. as in the U.S.  Though social justice and activism are the raison d’etre of the Aquarian personality, Michael regrets to some extent that as a successful cricketer he did not notice or act earlier in life on behalf of this cause, but this was due to the fear and vulnerability of their place in society.  With this thoughtful book, he emphatically puts this right.

“And what is wrong with being ‘woke’? It seems people don’t quite understand what woke means the Oxford English Dictionary defines is as being ‘alert to injustice in society, especially racism’. Please call me woke for ever.”

Pisces

Lorna Byrne (2008) Angels in my Hair. Arrow Books, Random House

Lorna Byrne, Angelologist, has written a few books, but by far the most valuable is her own original telling of her life story, of someone with a unique talent: the ability to see angels.  She is not a Piscean, she is actually an Aries (which is associated with the eyes and vision), but the subject matter of Angels is very much a Piscean area.  She does have Mercury in the neighbouring sign of Pisces, which points to a mind that may communicate with other worlds.  My friend June and I did once take a trip to a workshop of hers in London, and found her to be a gentle soul of great sincerity.  The book tells how it was clear from a tiny child that her mind worked differently to others, and she was thought to be retarded.  Her gift however could not be suppressed, and as time went on she found it to be an asset rather than a hindrance in her life.  What is astonishing is the frequency and detail in which she sees Angels.  I have often thought an illustrated book would be wonderful, as her descriptions are riveting.  Many Angels have designated areas of expertise, such as working with the environment, or cheering sad souls.  But she calls a section of them “unemployed angels”, who she recommends calling on for any need.

“As a baby, my mother noticed that I always seemed to be in a world of my own.  I can even remember lying in a cot – a big basket – and seeing my mother bending over me.  Surrounding my mother I saw wonderful bright, shiny beings in all the colours of the rainbow…

Hosus looked – and looks – like an old fashioned school teacher.  He wears a swirling robe which is blue most of the time (but can change colour), and a funny-shaped hat and he carries a scroll in his hand.  His eyes are radiant and sparkle like stars and he looks like a young professor: a man full of energy and with great authority and wisdom.”

Aspects

We have 10 Aspects this week, including 5 squares!  Today’s offering is the first square, Uranus square Mercury.  Be prepared for glitches as you open up your devices first thing.  Back up your computer files (mental note to take my own advice!), and consider I.T. loopholes.  Speech may be controversial.  Use your intuition to be one step ahead – the Universe may be trying to show you new pathways, and possible new perspectives.  Here’s hoping this blog makes it through!

Tomorrow (Monday, 19th) is a monumental day, featuring 6 aspects.  It’s an occasion to roll out the timetable, in order to facilitate your pathway.  Please forgive my idiosyncratic method of  delineating times.

1.58 a.m. – Sun conjunct Retrograde Mercury at 26 degrees Leo trine the Galactic Centre

It is a good day generally to apply your mind with clarity,  concentrate and focus,  and make important statements.  The focus may be on your own growth and potential and physical wellbeing.  Mentally you may see things clearly, if egocentrically.  Creatively, this is a very helpful conjunction: If you are writing a play, for instance, the perfect line could come to you.  Coming in the early hours of the morning, ideas may keep you awake, or your dreams may be crystal clear.  The connection with the Galactic Centre may make the effect extra powerful, in what is already lined up to be an eventful and powerful day.

5.53 a.m. – Jupiter square Venus

You may be confronted with an awkward social situation.  Behaviour may be gauche or a little inappropriate, and that may have consequences.  You may be socializing when you don’t feel like it, or feel that you have to force jollity.  There will be a meaning to it – there always is!  Even if it is one remark which makes you think deeply, or helps you to realize what you don’t need.  Social non-conformists won’t care, but conformists may lament the lack of sticking to the rules.

8.30 a.m. – Saturn opposite Venus

This means having to let go in relationships or having to make economies in finance.  The message of the power of love may be more difficult to sustain in the face of testing under this aspect.  But the cure for the situation is even more love.  The message in finance is having to examine your values, needs and necessities.  Social media over breakfast may make awkward reading.  “Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson would be a preferable read!

16.45 Hrs – Uranus square the Sun

You may have a breather over lunchtime to digest the first three aspects!  This mid-afternoon aspect may make you aware of possible loopholes through which the element of the unexpected can enter.  Disruption can occur, but unexpected twists and turns may give you new ideas for future reference.

18.26 Hrs – Full Moon at 27 degrees Aquarius

You may find some tension building towards this Full Moon, not least from the complexity of the day.  We might be torn by looking at an issue emotionally, then from a detached perspective, then back and forth.  This may produce heightened tension, or a stand off  between the individual and a group.

21.46 Hrs – Saturn square Jupiter

This is the main event, no matter how you may view the others!  It doesn’t come round very often, and represents an important dilemma, e.g. whether or not to have a Ceasefire in the Middle East, or in the local neighbourhood.  It represents difficult decisions, such as the fiscal ones so often talked of by Rachel Reeves (or in your own balancing of finances).  If it is not about your own internal wrangling, you and others need to bring good will to the table of negotiation.  You may use all the lessons of the previous five aspects of the day as a summing up of the situation, before making your mind up.

On to Thursday (22nd) which brings the entry of the Sun into Virgo.  It may seem too early (and you don’t have to completely let go of the holiday season!) but the need for knuckling down conscientiously to work and study schedules is reinforced with this ingress  The Sun in Virgo will underline the need for a sense of focus and purpose, and bring people together in common objectives.  Efficiency and Economy will be watchwords for how we organize the second half of our year.  There may be a new resolve to institute health and fitness regimes, and work rotas and practices.  Perhaps think about enrolling for training in new skills, in  September courses.  It may also be helpful for decluttering attempts.

Last square of the week is Mars square Venus, on Friday (23rd), which is hot (whatever the weather or climatic condition).  You may find during the day that you feel inclined to let your hair down a little, inhibitions loosened.  This square may also have a bearing on the battle of the sexes (within, or interpersonal).  If you are creative on an artistic or musical vibe, you may introduce a little cheekiness into your work.

We end the week on a constructive note, for on Saturday (24th) Mercury sextiles Mars.  Physical and mental energies can co-ordinate well.  If you are cycling a great deal to keep fit, you may find the wind behind your sails.  You may be able to cycle just that bit faster or longer, and your fitbit may register record stats.  You may also find shortcuts to your usual way of doing things.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – I.T. glitches
  • Tomorrow – mental clarity; social awkwardness; letting go; the unexpected; emotional high tide; big decisions
  • Thursday – setting up schedules
  • Friday – sensuality
  • Saturday – brisk action
Date: Aug 18th, 2024 · Comments RSS · Tags: Book Review