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Asteroids & Chiron, page 2


Asteroids, page 1


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SATURN, CHIRON & THE CENTAURS: To the edge and beyond - Melanie Reinhart, $34.99

Contents:

Acknowledgments

1. Saturn: time, heritage & substance
Introduction
Themes & mythic images:

Metalogue; Saturn/Kronos in Greek mythology; The planetary glyphs; Gestating, chewing & swallowing; Mean time; Literalism; Inevitability; External Saturn, law & order; Internal Saturn & containment; Prime cause?; Structure & substance; The golden age; Metalogue; The pregnant moment; Authority
The cycle of Saturn:
The prototype; Saturn's cycle; The first cycle: 1st quarter; The first cycle: 2nd quarter; The first cycle: 3rd quarter; The first cycle: Last quarter & Saturn return; Karma; Summary of first Saturn cycle; The second cycle: 1st half; The second cycle: 2nd half; The third Saturn cycle; Recent Saturn
The sick old king & the fool:
Parsifal; The fool; Saturn in alchemy; Saturn, Pan & the senses; Grass roots work
Domicile & related matters:
Mars: exalted in Capricorn; Jupiter: fall in Capricorn; Moon: detriment in Capricorn; Saturn: dignity in Capricorn; Saturn: exalted in Libra; Saturn: detriment in Cancer; Saturn: fall in Aries
Saturn through the houses: The group task; The debriefing; Saturn through the houses

2. The Centaurs: Chiron, Pholus & Nessus
Introduction
New astronomical perspectives:

Chiron reclassified again; Trans-Neptunians & Trans-Plutonians; A centaur among the centaurs; Exit from the underworld; Light bearers in deep space; The cycle of Chiron; The Saturn-Uranus connection
In the womb of the universe:
As without, so within; Conception & implantation; Gestation; Birth; Nucleus & periphery; Postnatal development; Wandering womb; The centauric parallel; The caduceus & the healing snakes; Two's company; The religious instinct
Chiron revisited:
The instincts of fire; The mythology of Chiron; Chiron inner; Chiron outer; The doorways; The Chiron-Pluto connection; The transit cycle of Chiron; An overview; Group discussion; Sleeping beauty
Pholus: "The lid comes off":
The mythology of Pholus; Hercules & the poisoned arrows; Pholus & sacred knowledge; The Saturn-Neptune connection; The release; Pholus: natal themes & transits; Kairos; Addiction; Silenus; Group discussion
Nessus: "The buck stops here":
Brief astronomy; The mythology of Nessus; The Saturn-Pluto connection; Bargains with the dead; The set-up; The captivating captive; Whose body is it anyway?; Bad blood; Lust & vengeance; The buck stops here; Nessus: natal themes & transits; Group discussion
The Centaurs: Final thoughts
Centaur stories:
Tina Jones: Seeking to hold the reins of dawn
Yvonne Stuart: A journey with the Centaurs
Philippa Jakob: My Chiron journey
The naming of Nessus

Technical information

A selection of named centaurs; Orbital data of Pluto, Chiron, Pholus & Nessus: 1900-2100; Centaur ingresses, 1800-2050; Ephemeris of Chiron, Pholus & Nessus

Bibliography
Notes

Comment:

This is a sequel to Chiron and the Healing Journey (below). This book consists of lecture transcripts, given in the mid 1990's at the behest of Liz Greene's Centre for Psychological Astrology in London. I've always found lecture transcripts to be a bit raw for my taste and would wish the author would re-write them into a coherent book.

As Centaurs were brand-new at the time, much of the transcripts consist of speaker & audience thinking aloud as to what they could mean, using the mythology of the names that had been given to them. Gotta start somewhere, I suppose.

In Part 2, new, previously unpublished material starts with Centaur Stories. Which are first-person accounts relevant to the theme of the book. The first one, "Tina Jones" is a woman remembering how her mother didn't want to give birth to her & how this led to all manner of guilt feelings years later when Tina took up Primal Therapy. The birth chart is given, but "data not shown by request". With Pluto at 0 Virgo, the Sun at 3 Virgo, the Moon at 28 Virgo and the ascendant at 28 Leo, chart data is easily reconstructed: About the 27th of August, 1957, just before dawn, probably in London.

There are useful tables & ephemerides in the back.

Starwalker Press, 318 pages.


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CHIRON & THE HEALING JOURNEY - Melanie Reinhart, $37.00

Contents:

Acknowledgments
Preface to the third edition
Introduction

Part 1: The astronomy
1. Our changing solar system

Part 2: Mythic images
2. Shamanism
3. Classical Greek mythology

Part 3: Chiron in the horoscope
4. Chiron's themes
5. The question of rulership
6. Chiron by sign & house
7. Chiron in aspect
8. Kairos: transists of Chiron
9. Chiron in context

Part 4: Spirit of the age
10. Chiron & the collective

Epilogue

Appendices:
1. Astronomical information
2. Details & sources of chart data
3. Abbreviations

Bibliographies:
General
Chiron specific
Computer software
Copyright permissions
Resources for self-healing

Notes
Index

Comment:

Eric Francis, of Planet Waves likes this book.

The first two sections, on astronomy & mythology, take up the first 70 pages of the book. Of that, thirty pages are devoted to myth.

Astrology proper starts on page 71. As Chiron means different things to different people, here it what it means to Ms Reinhart:

Chiron is not a planet (pg. 71). It is a Centaur (pg. 23). Centaurs, of which Chiron was the first to be discovered, are members of the Kuiper Belt, which at the moment seems to be an astronomical catch-all. In the first chapter Reinhart gives basic information for a number of these bodies.

"The Chiron configuration describes the person's individual 'path'. . . (pg. 78)

"Chiron leads us to the Inner Teacher to whom we owe our primary allegiance." (pg. 78)

"So, Chiron often describes the nature of a person's contribution to life, positive or negative, when it symbolizes that for which he or she will be remembered, heroicized, famed, immortalized or indeed condemned." (pg. 80

"Chiron's position relates to our sense of purpose, where we feel a genuine urge to express our true individuality in the service of life & its continuity." (pg. 81)

"Chiron may describe the nature of wounds & major influences upon us during our early formative years." (pg. 82)

"The Chiron configuration often describes what connects an individual with his or her inner suffering, and offers a route through healing." (pg. 82)

"Finally, as Chiron also symbolizes the Inner Wounder, it may also show how we inadvertently inflict pain on others or carry suppressed aggression towards them." (pg. 83)

"Areas of the psyche that connect to the Chiron configuration may be very vulnerable." (pg. 83)

"The Chiron configuration often describes a cluster of events, patterns & circumstances that repeat, in spite of our efforts to change things." (pg. 85)

"Often Chiron symbolizes things we can do for others, but which we may not be able to do for ourselves." (pg. 86)

"Finally, Chiron often describes the concretization of a quality of being; it may be translated into something literal that must be done, achieved, or pursued." (pg. 100)

It goes on like this. So to sum up: Chiron is a path which leads us to a teacher whom we cannot escape. Beyond that, it tells us what we will do with our lives, it hurts us when we are young & defenseless, it is a source of constant suffering yet somehow gives succor, shows how we inflict pain on others, but, somehow, not upon ourselves. All of which we are likely to repeat, helplessly, since, whatever it is, it is literally forced upon us.

For a contrast I went to Martha. She defines Chiron's natal position as the place, by house & sign, which makes you "different", where you reject society & its norms. Retrograde Chiron she associates with a life of "teenage rebellion". Mars/Chiron is defined as quarrels & fights (Mars) over not following the rules (Chiron, the rebel). I presume the sextile would make one "touchy". Martha Lang-Wescott defines Uranus/Chiron as conflicts with peers because they're too conservative or authoritartian. I presume the opposition would result in armed camps, eternally prepared for war. But that's Martha.

The Bibliography in the back of Reinhart's book has several sections. The first, the General section, includes astrology books among other unrelated entries. I find books by Jeff Green, Liz Greene, Michael Meyer, Lois Rodden (for chart data), Dane Rudhyar (six books), Howard Sasportas & Richard Tarnas. The bibliography also has a Chiron section. In it are all the other notable books on Chiron.

The first edition of this book was published by Penguin Arkana in 1989. This revised, fully updated third edition is from 2009.

Starwalker Press, 462 pages.


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lehman3

THE ULTIMATE ASTEROID BOOK - J. Lee Lehman, Ph.D., $18.95
Contents:
Introduction
1. Introducing the asteroids

Part 1: Motivations
2. The mind asteroids: Psyche, Pallas, Athene, Minerva
3. Asteroid power plays: Hildago, Icarus, Attila
4. Concepts: Pandora, Pax, Armisticia, Utopia, Fanatica, Harmonia, Prudentia
5. Escapism: Bacchus, Paradise, Ganymed, Beer

Part 2: Mythology
6. Moon & sky goddesses: Artemis, Diana, Lilith, Walkure
7. Earth & fertility goddesses: Gaea, Ceres, Demeter, Persephone, Hekate, Astarte, Aphrodite
8. Sky & heaven gods: Apollo, Lucifer, Helio, Quezalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca
9. The amusing muses: Erato, Urania
10. Heroes & villians: Odysseus, Arthur, Lancelot, Galahad, Parsifal
11. Heroines & leading ladies: Circe, Medusa, Medea, Kassandra, Godiva
12. Egyptian lore: Isis, Osiris, Anubis, Horus

Part three: Sex, passion & intimacy:
13. Sappho: Sex
14. Eros: Passion
15. Amor: Intimacy
16. Relating: Sappho, Eros, Amor, Juno, Pecker

Part four: Mundane, theme & variations:
17. Business
18. The asteroid nodes
19. Conclusion

Appendix 1: Listing of nearly 3000 asteroids by their nodal position.
Appendix 2: Ephemeris, 1920-1999, every ten days, for Sappho, Eros, Amor, Attila, Kassandra, Godiva, Lancelot.

Comment: For those who want asteroids by the dozen, this is the book to get. A do-it-yourself approach to asteroids. Learn to experiment: Customize charts with a unique combination of asteroids. Lehman gives four ways to approach asteroids:

1. By common name. The asteroid Apollo may relate to the Apollo space program, or to any company named "Apollo", or, for that matter, to a certain early 20th century French author.

2. Find asteroids by the various myths associated with them. Lehman cautions that the interpretation of myths changes over time.

3. Use historical information that relates to the name. The asteroid Apollo, in this sense, relates to an historical, one-of-a-kind national program which, once it succeeded, vanished into the mists of time.

4. Use asteroids in a variety of charts to see what turns up. An approach dependent on one of the three previous approaches.

Typically, the author determines the sensitive areas of a given chart, and then use Mark & Rique Pottenger's asteroid program (which will calculate more than 400 asteroids) to find asteroids that fall in those sensitive degrees.

Lehman groups asteroids by affinity. Her commentary about them is introductory in nature & looks to me like a prototype of Martha Lang-Wescott's Mechanics of Future Asteroids. Which is to say this is a good place to start on an understanding of these tiny, but influential bodies.

Whitman, 352 pages.


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Chiron

CHIRON, NEW PLANET IN YOUR HOROSCOPE, the key to your quest - Richard Nolle, $18.00
Contents:
Introduction
1. An astronomical discovery: Astronomy of Chiron
2. Tale of the Centaur Chief: Mythology of Chiron
3. Chiron time: Chiron's historical milieu (discovery & orbital cycles)
4. The astrologer's astrologer: Astrological synthesis of Chiron's astronomical, mythical & historical archetypes
5. On the way to Pelion: Discovering Chiron in your birth chart through hemisphere, quality, retrograde, element, etc.
6. Sign of the Centaur Chief: Chiron by sign
7. Spelunking the Chironian: Chiron by house
8. Chiron cycles: Chiron by aspect
9. Not the last chapter: A Chiron medication

Appendices: 1. Chiron sign table, 1890-1999; 2. How to get your Chiron horoscope; 3. Selected bibliography.

Comment: In the Introduction, the author says,

This book is written from the perspective of a deep personal conviction that the Minor Planet Chiron is in many respects the key to understanding one's natal horoscope..... But in this whole vast universe of astrological functions, there is only one that is archetypally linked to the teaching & learning of astrology. That one and only function is Chiron.

I do not mean to make the claim that one's understanding of astrology is worthless without Chiron - only that it is incomplete (pg. viii)

One of the earliest studies on Chiron, cited by many later writers. Explains Chiron's astronomical characteristics, extensively examines its mythology, reviews historical trends associated with its discovery - and its anticipation, looks at the orbital cycle.

AFA, 149 pages.


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CHIRON EPHEMERIS WITH KEYS TO INTERPRETATION (1680-2051) - Rudy Flack & Helen Adams Garrett, $18.00
Contents:

Charts & Tables
What is Chiron (rulership, health)
Chiron's energy for interpretation (Chiron blesses the signs, Chiron in the signs & houses)
Aspects
Declinations & Chiron (an amusing example)
The calendar was wrong!
Chiron ephemeris
Facts & stats.

Comment: Garrett's refreshing point of view is much appreciated with Chiron. She gives all credit to Zane Stein's pioneering work. Regrettably, the Keys to Interpretation section comprises a mere 19 pages, one would have wished for more. The bulk of the book is a quite lavish ephemeris for the staggering period from 1680 to 2051 (every 10 days), which will no doubt encourage historical research with Chiron. Includes declinations. The 4 page article, The Calendar Was Wrong! is informative, though not in any way related to the rest of the book.

A is A Publishing, 157 pages.


ASTEROID MYSTERIES & MESSAGES - Diane & Rudy Flack, $14.00
Contents:

The asteroids - the layout
Turning the cards face up
Valid questions
Reading the cards
The fourth card
A dropped card
The asteroid cards
The Trans-Neptunian points and Chiron cards
Blue timing cards
Notes from archaic teachings
Some example readings.

66 pages. A is A Publishing, 66 pages, comb-bound with deck of cards.


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One last note on the prehistoric Chiron:

Wemyss, Maurice - The Wheel of Life, volume 3. One of a series of five volumes. Wemyss (born 1892, died 1950-60?) invented his own system of sign rulership. Inspired by Witte, he also invented hypothetical planets, the most notable being "Wemyss-Pluto". Of interest is his hypothetical planet, Jason, ruler of Sagittarius, located between Saturn & Uranus with a 45 year orbit. On page 149 is a sketch of its orbit which in a few cases matches Chiron's supposed orbit exactly. Jason had a fairly regular orbit, Chiron has a very eccentric one. The bulk of this book is on Professions & Occupations. Just thought you'd like to know Chiron was anticipated some 30 years before its actual discovery.


Asteroids, page 1




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