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Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn in Astrology

Books about planets are among the most common books in astrology. Here are books about Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & everyone's favorite, Saturn.

Planets: The Moon Mercury-Saturn Uranus-Pluto Leftovers!

Indicates a book on our Top Ten list. If you would like to find more books like it, click on the star.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MERCURY IN THE HOROSCOPE - Frances Sakoian & Louis Acker, $7.00
"It is generally agreed that the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes man from all other species is his ability to think, to reason, to plan, and to use tools. All of these characteristics are under the rulership of the planet Mercury." Contents: Descriptions of the effects of Mercury linked with sun, moon, planets, and signs; Mercury in the air, fire, earth, and water elements; Retrograde Mercury; Mercury in the houses. 41 pages. CSA Printing & Bindery, small paper.

THE MERCURY RETROGRADE BOOK - Therese Francis, $12.95
Subtitled, Thriving during Mercury retrograde. Useful. Here's the book we all need but won't admit it. Get this book & during the next Mercury retrograde, don't just hide for 3 weeks, do the useful things suggested in this book: What to do before it retros, what to do while it's retro (by sign & by house), what to look out for afterwards, in the 2 week "shadow" (eg, the time it takes to catch up to where it was when it went retrograde). Intended for the novice, but packed with helpful hints. Crossquarter Breeze, 112 pages.

LEARNING DISABILITIES, An astrological approach to successful living - Dorothy B. Santangelo, $14.95
Contents: Dedication; Acknowledgments
1. Jeff's story
2. Perceptual problems
3. Understanding Mercury
4. Utilizing the qualities
5. The elements 6. Mercury through the astrological signs
7. Mercury through the houses
8. Perception: A. Speed of the moon; B. Sun/Mercury position; C. Combined influence of Sun/Moon/Mercury
9. Mercury retrograde
10. Short circuit: Casimi & combust
11. Mercury conjunct the planets
12. Additional aspects to Mercury
13. Analysis worksheet
14. Case histories, charts & worksheets:
1. Nelson A. Rockefeller
2. General George S. Patton
3. Joey Crinita
4. Anonymous male
5. Anonymous female
6. Anonymous female
The lady's request: An allegory
Appendicies: Mercury ephemeris, 1925-2015, every seven days. Analysis worksheets.
Comment: Ms. Santangelo's third son, Jeff, had difficulty learning to read & write. So much so that he was labeled a problem child. This annoyed his mother, who then became a "problem parent". (We all know where this is going.) Eventually he was labeled a dyslexic, which I doubt helped all that much. His mother, an astrologer, discovered the planet Mercury as her panacea. She also became an expert in the treatment of learning disorders (this book offers some excellent advice). In the end, Jeff turned out to have both excellent memory & skillful hands & is now, according to his mother, happy & well-adjusted. There is more in the world than mere literacy.
Introductory chapters on Mercury are intended for those with little astrological knowledge. She then observes that a fast moon (faster than 13 degrees, 10 minutes on the day of your birth) makes your perception fast. When Mercury rises ahead of the sun, it makes the mind eager. When it rises behind the sun, it makes the mind deliberate. Santangelo then delineates the various possibilities of moon speed & Mercury position. These are not original observations, but they are also not common.
And that's pretty much it for her analysis of Mercury & learning disorders. Sort of left me wanting more, so I plunged in (do I ever hesitate?)
Jeff's chart is of interest: September 22, 1968, 10:00 pm, Queens, New York. Ten degrees of Gemini rises, there is a staggering stellium in Virgo-Libra in the 5th & 6th houses. Chart ruler Mercury is conjunct Venus (the final dispositor) & both are opposed by a debilitated Saturn, which is exactly square to the 3rd & 9th house cusps. Jeff was born some fifteen hours after a total solar eclipse, which is highly significant. None of this his mother mentions.
In An Encyclopaedia of Psychological Astrology, Carter gives these notes on "Mental Deficiency"
The fundamental indication is Saturnine affliction to the 3rd house either by his being posited therein, his being in affliction with its ruler, his afflicting it by cuspal opposition , or by Saturn being on the cusp. Very often there is additional affliction by one or more of the other malefics, but it is to be observed that the Moon and Mercury are by no means always afflicted; in some cases they are strong. The same may be said of the Sun & the asc. Venus is very frequently in square to Mars or Saturn, and the watery triplicity is nearly always connected with the 3rd house by sign or planet. (pg. 127)
Altogether, it would seem that Jeff was a text-book case & that when Jeff's learning problem came to a head in the mid 1970's, Santangelo could not find a copy of Carter's book to use as a reference. Forced to rely on her own wits, she has given us this useful look at learning disablities.
Rex Art Publishing, 186 pages.

MERCURY RETROGRADE: Its Myths & Meanings - Pythia Peay, $15.95
Contents: Acknowledgments; Part 1: The Myth: 1. Mercury retrograde: A healing myth for our times; 2. Astrology: A short history of a perennial philosophy; 3. He who lights the way for mortals: The classical myths of Mercury; 4. The astrological Mercury; 5. The astronomy & astrology of Mercury retrograde.
Part 2: The Path: 6. On the threshold of two worlds; 7. Now let us be silent; 8. The muse of memory; 9. Creative magic; 10. Return to the world.
Appendices: A. Glossary of basic astrological terms & symbols; B. Recommended resources on Mercury & basic astrology; C. Mercury ephemeris, 1910-2025; D. Mercury retrograde at a glance (EST); Bibliography; Index.
Comment: I don't know if I need to say much about a book that claims Mercury retrograde to be "a healing myth for our times", that shop-worn phrase of the intellectually feeble. The book has many passages such as this, the opening of chapter 9, Creative Magic: There is one true thing about Mercury retrograde - it is one of the most imaginative periods of the astrological year. A brief explanation follows, it ends with, ....if we can dance with the detours and take ourselves more lightly - then we can take flight on the wings of fancy. Everything about Mercury retrograde, from the altered sense of time to the boon of additional time, conspires to inspire the artist within. (pg. 144) I read Lilly & Culpeper & Carter, then I read this, I throw up my hands.
Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 275 pages.

VENUS: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths - Anne Massey, $17.95
Contents: List of figures & charts; Foreword by Donna Van Toen; Introduction
1. The essence of Venus
2. The beauty of Venus
3. The sacred geometry of Venus
4. Venus stations
5. The cycle of harmony
6. Where does Venus hold court?
7. Venus in aspect
8. Charming costumes
9. Venus retrograde: the magnifying glass
10. Venus in love
11. Venus & marriage
12. Venus & societal change
13. Other feminine archetypes: Ceres, Vesta, Juno, Pallas Athena, Lilith
Acknowledgments
Appendices: 1. Astrological data; 2. Venus cycles data; 3. New & full Venus listings; 4. Four pentagrams
Bibliography
Comment: Books like this keep me on my toes. I had been disappointed by several of the previous titles in Llewellyn's "Special Topics" series, so when Llewellyn applied it to a book about a planet (generally the least-well written books in astrology), I simply passed it by. A customer brought it back to my attention, and I am grateful.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to the subject (pg 15: Marilyn died in 1962, not 1961). Chapter 2, an introduction to the cycles of Venus. Chapter 3, Sacred Geometry, which is to say that, viewed from the Earth, Venus appears to describe a pentagram, or five-petaled rose, in its highly regular cycle of retrogrades & stations. Starting with any Venus-Sun conjunction, successive conjunctions will describe a 5 pointed star, and in exactly the same fashion as if you were to draw it with a pencil on paper, which I must confess suprised me. Massey defines these five points by element (fire, earth, air, water). For the fifth, she uses "spirit" (pg. 34). The Chinese would have used Metal, and I would be interested to hear Massey on this point.
Chapter 4, Stations, retrogrades, the "new Venus", fertility, Hollywood stories. Chapter 5, The Covenants of Venus (the original title to this book). New & full Venus, your Venus phase. Chapter 6, Venus through the houses.
Chapter 7,, Venus in aspect. In this chapter, the focus is primarily on conjunctions, but have a look at this:
The wiring in our old house provides quite an interesting perspective. When we turn on the dishwasher, one of the three spotlights in a track light turns on & off until the dishwasher has finished its cycle - perhaps akin to a "loose" or minor aspect. We also have one switch that turns on the light in a bedroom while simultaneously shutting down a power outlet in another (this went unnoticed for about a decade) - perhaps akin to the subtle aspects, which are ours to discover? (pg. 93)
Chapter 8, Venus through the signs (surprisingly weak writing). Chapter 9, an astrological overview of retrograde Venus. Chapter 10, delineations, by sign, of Venus & love. Unlike the once-over in chapter 8, the writing here is quite good, some of the best I've seen. Venus herself comes through strongly. Chapter 11, Venus & marriage, starts off with Venus & suffrage. The ascendant as a marriage indicator, Part of Marriage, marriage & second (Venusian) thoughts.
Chapter 12,, occultations of Venus (its transit across the disk of the sun) as indicators of societal change. For nearly a thousand years, and for more than 800 to come, all such occultations have occurred in either Gemini or Sagittarius. Chapter 13, notes on Ceres, Pallas Athena, Juno, Vesta & Lilith, the secondary moon of the Earth.
For what it covers, this is an excellent book. It is notably short on mythology, which is okay with me, as I think mythology gets far too much play in astrology. I wish she had spent more time on the twelve houses, and I wish she would have taken a pile of Venus's aphorisms (such as those in the back of Robson's Astrology & Sex and analyzed them, as her methods are very good & I expect her results would have been illuminating. I am most impressed with her understanding of orbital mechanics, as this is fundamental to a good grasp of the planet (of any planet) and is all too often lacking.
Llewellyn, 201 pages.

EXPLORING JUPITER, The Astrological Key to Progress, Prosperity & Potential - Stephen Arroyo, $17.95
Steve's new book on the biggest planet. Contents include Learning & the rulers of the mutable signs, Gemini/Sagittarius & Virgo/Pisces polarities, Jupiter & Neptune, Balancing Jupiter & Saturn, Gambling & pushing your luck, Jupiter/Venus contrasts, Jupiter & success, Jupiter & emotions, Positive & negative expressions, Jupiter in signs & houses & in aspect to other planets (of course!), Sagittarius & Pisces rising, Jupiter transits, etc. In addition to his own comments, the author also includes brief quotes from C.E.O. Carter, Jeff Mayo, Ronald Davison, Isabel Hickey, and Moore & Douglass to contrast his own thoughts. 299 pages including bibliography. CRCS, paper.

Weiss

Schostak

SURVIVING SATURN'S RETURN: Overcoming the most tumultuous time of your life - Sherene Schostak & Stefanie Iris Weiss, $14.95
Contents: Acknowledgments; Introduction
1. Persona (Aries); 2. Attachment (Taurus); 3. The Mind (Gemini); 4. Home (Cancer); 5. Creativity (Leo); 6. Purification (Virgo); 7. The Other (Libra); 8. Transformation (Scorpio); 9. Higher Mind (Sagittarius); 10. The World (Capricorn); 11. Community (Aquarius); 12. The Source (Pisces); Conclusion: Why we need a Saturn now; Additional reading; Index.
Comment: A book on Saturn return, intended quite clearly for 29-something females (sorry guys). From a marketing standpoint, this is quite hopeful. Most 20-somethings that I've met haven't settled down enough / haven't had enough hardship in their lives as yet, to make astrology interesting. An unpleasant Saturn return will do it well-enough, but by the time you stumble upon astrology (presuming it's astrology you stumble upon), the return itself is over & you're looking backwards. Such was my experience.
In a few places the authors confuse sun-sign and/or ascendant sign values with their proper subject, which is Saturn-sign values. There is Saturn-as-daddy which I find annoying. (Saturn-as-daddy happens when Saturn falls in certain houses in the natal chart. It is not a sign-based variable. This is a common mistake.) Aside from these two caveats, the writing is good, the help offered, it seems to me, is actually helpful. More help can be found by reading Saturn's house placement as if it were Saturn's sign. For Saturn in the 3rd house, read Saturn in Gemini, etc. Now if we can get this book into the hands of those who could profit by reading it.
The authors run Saturn return workshops in New York, a websearch will find them.
McGraw-Hill, 230 pages.

SATURN: A new look at an old devil - Liz Greene, $15.95
Contents: Introduction; In the water signs & houses; 2. In the earthy signs & houses; 3. In the airy signs & houses; 4. In the fiery signs & houses; 5. Aspects in the birth chart; 6. In synastry; 7. Conclusion.
Comment: This is the book that launched Liz Greene's literary career. Written shortly after she moved to London in the mid-1970's, first published in 1976. At which time the author's name, as shown on the front cover, was "Dr. Liz Greene".
Weiser, 196 pages.

Planets: The Moon Mercury-Saturn Uranus-Pluto Leftovers!

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Weiss Schostak	SURVIVING SATURN'S RETURN: Overcoming the most tumultuous time of your life - Sherene Schostak & Stefanie Iris Weiss, $14.95 *Contents:* Acknowledgments; Introduction 1. Persona (Aries); 2. Attachment (Taurus); 3. The Mind (Gemini); 4. Home (Cancer); 5. Creativity (Leo); 6. Purification (Virgo); 7. The Other (Libra); 8. Transformation (Scorpio); 9. Higher Mind (Sagittarius); 10. The World (Capricorn); 11. Community (Aquarius); 12. The Source (Pisces); Conclusion: Why we need a Saturn now; Additional reading; Index. *Comment:* A book on Saturn return, intended quite clearly for 29-something females (sorry guys). From a marketing standpoint, this is quite hopeful. Most 20-somethings that I've met haven't settled down enough / haven't had enough hardship in their lives as yet, to make astrology interesting. An unpleasant Saturn return will do it well-enough, but by the time you stumble upon astrology (presuming it's astrology you stumble upon), the return itself is over & you're looking backwards. Such was my experience. In a few places the authors confuse sun-sign and/or ascendant sign values with their proper subject, which is Saturn-sign values. There is Saturn-as-daddy which I find annoying. (Saturn-as-daddy happens when Saturn falls in certain houses in the natal chart. It is not a sign-based variable. This is a common mistake.) Aside from these two caveats, the writing is good, the help offered, it seems to me, is actually helpful. More help can be found by reading Saturn's house placement as if it were Saturn's sign. For Saturn in the 3rd house, read Saturn in Gemini, etc. Now if we can get this book into the hands of those who could profit by reading it. The authors run Saturn return workshops in New York, a websearch will find them. McGraw-Hill, 230 pages.