Preface
1. An introduction to harmonics
2. The planets
3. Oneness
4. Twoness
5. Threeness
6. Sixness
7. Fiveness
8. Sevenness
9. Introduction to the higher prime numbers
10. Elevenness
11. Thirteenness
12. Seventeenness
13. Nineteenness
14. Twenty-threeness
15. Twenty-nineness
16. Thirty-oneness
17. Progression of prime numbers
18. Interpreting the whole chart
19. Conclusion: The spirit of numbers
20. Conclusion: Astrology
Appendix 1: How to do it
Appendix 2: Table of harmonic aspects
Appendix 3: Harmonic aspects for charts given iin Chapters 3-16
Notes and references
Index
David Hamblin, who describes himself as being in the autumn of his life, has had an ongoing love-hate relationship with astrology. Back in the 1960's he was initially attracted to the psychological aspects of astrology. He was then greatly influenced by John Addey's book on Harmonics (above) and wrote the first good follow-up to it, the out-of-print and much-missed Harmonic Charts (Aquarian Press, 1983) before deciding that perhaps astrology wasn't really real and that he shouldn't be having anything to do with it. Which he voiced in Gary Phillipson's excellent Astrology in the Year Zero, of 2000. Hamblin's problem was that he could find no rational justification for astrology. Which is the problem with a rational world, that it wants and expects explanations when so often none can be had. I myself have rectified this and will be impressing my (very rational) explanation of astrology upon the world as the years pass: Fundamental astrological energies come from the earth itself. These earth-based energies fluctuate over time in harmony with the rest of the planets. Much the same way the sheer volume of sound at a rock concert comes from speakers powered by the local power company. Not from the players themselves, who merely direct and supervise an external (to them) electrical flow. So it is with the earth and planets, but I digress.
Not content with easy or final answers, Hamblin is now back with another book, this one on astrology and number. In a pure sense, numbers are harmonics, which makes this a book on harmonic astrology. Unlike Addey (or David Cochrane), Hamblin here does not chop the natal chart up and then recombine to get something new. He has a different and I confess a somewhat vague method of determining what prime number, from 1 to 31 (or 6, a product of 2 x 3) a chart vibrates to. Hamblin gives calculation instructions in the Appendix. Those of you who have difficulty in calculating natal charts will probably have difficulty with this.
The main chapters in this book delineate the prime numbers as related to specific natal charts. Chapter 18, on interpretation, reverses the scheme. In 18, Hamblin starts with charts of British Prime Ministers and then deduces their appropriate number. I took a short cut: My chart is dominated by oppositions, the full Moon chief among them. So I went directly to Twoness, where instead of reading about love-wisdom of the metaphysicians, I read Hamblin's notes on confrontation, opposition, division and separation. Which is pretty much how I understand planetary oppositions. For each prime number there are numerous examples, each will full birth data, but none with actual charts. You can, of course, easily set up the charts for further study. For each prime number, Hamblin gives concluding remarks, where he sums up factors common to all the charts with that number in them. These are quite well done.
As a whole, the book is on the esoteric side, but is most excellent.
Wessex Astrologer, 326 pages.