Joy Archer:
Best Astrology Books

There were a lot of lists of "Bests" at the end of the last year. So I have 
decided to get into the game and add my opinion. You certainly realize that 
anything a person writes is colored by their own individual "prism". This "prism" 
is the result of their culture, education, and history of things that worked for 
them and things that didn’t work for them.

If you are new to astrology and happen to have your own natal chart in front of 
you, the most common expression I have heard over the years is, "It’s Greek to 
me!" That is very perceptive because Astrology is a language of symbols in 
various combination in Signs and Houses and in relation to each other. An 
experienced Astrologer can read that language just as you may be able to read 
English, French, or Russian.

So I am going to suggest some Astrology books that will help you understand your 
chart in case you don’t have access to an experienced Astrologer. My own 
Astrology library is well over 350 books. Have even sold some over the years in 
order to lighten the load. My library of other books is much higher and books 
are heavy when you move.

Number one on my list is by Isabel M. Hickey, "Astrology A Cosmic Science". If 
you can afford only one book this is the one. It is a classic! Have used it for 
so long it is in my head, but I would fight to keep any of my books written by 
Isabel Hickey because she is a heroine of mine. Isabel Hickey had a free forum 
on Wednesday nights for teenagers in Boston during the rough and tumble 1960’s. 
She was a very wise and generous person. She also taught Astrology to priests in 
the Boston area. This is especially admirable for me because about the same time 
she was doing this, a Catholic priest in New Jersey, at my husband’s bidding 
came to my home and requested I burn my Astrology books. The real horror, looking 
back, was I was so docile that I complied! Then about 8 months later a female 
friend said, "You can’t burn the ideas out of your head." How true! So I started 
to buy my Astrology library a second time. Needless to say I still have my books 
but not my controlling husband.

The second book I would advise you buy is also a classic, Grant Lewis' "Heaven 
Knows What". It has been updated with Pluto aspects. When I first studied 
Astrology it was out of print but I luckily found it at the local library. I 
warned the library it was a rare book and at risk of disappearing and sure enough 
it did in a few months. Blessings on Carl Llewellyn Weschcke of Llewellyn 
Publications for reprinting this marvelous book.

This book explains the combination of the Sun and Moon placement in your chart. 
Everyone should at least be aware of their Sun, (most are), Moon, and Ascendant. 
The moon can be obtained out of any Ephermis, but you need your correct time of 
birth to know the correct Ascendant.  

The importance of this triad of Sun, Moon and Ascendant is clearly explained in 
my third choice, a book by Betty Lundsted, "Astrological Insights Into 
Personality". This books explains Astrology with a psychological insight. If you 
have these three books on your shelf, you have a very powerful library of 
Astrology.

When I first began to study Astrology in this life, most of what was available 
was Alan Leo and O. E. Carter and other authors from England. I met Linda Goodman 
when she was writing her first book, "Sun Signs". Her book was the starting point 
of the explosion in popular Astrology books by Americans. After her book, there 
followed many fine young psychologists who became accomplished Astrologers. Most 
notably are Steven Arroyo and Liz Green. I would highly recommend any book 
written by these two scholarly authors. The following are also excellent authors 
and I would recommend ANY book by them: Ronald Davison, Robert DeLuce, Steven 
Forrest, Marc Edmund Jones, and Barbara Watters.

Of special note is the wonderful series written by Marion D. March and Joan 
McEvers. It is "The Only Way to .... Learn Astrology". Last count I think there 
were six volumes. Just because another author is not mentioned here in this brief 
article does not mean they are not worthy of a read or owning. I highly recommend 
following your heart and hand to the book that falls into it!  

Many thanks for reading this far. I would like to reward your patience. This 
offer will be in effect until I write my next article. If you e-mail me at 
joyarcher3@juno.com with your birth data I will e-mail your natal chart back to 
you for free. (NOTE: This offer is no longer available. As stated it was 
available until my next article and my new article was published on June 7, 
2000.) My excellent software from Matrix allows me to print over 100 different 
kinds of wheels, but I will send the one that has the aspects listed on the lower 
left side. You read this like a chart telling you the distances between cities. 
You can print it and then head out to your local library or bookstore and begin 
the exciting journey of discovering yourself!

Archer’s Parting Shot: It is quite amazing how many towns in the American West 
are named "Falling Rocks"!