Sabian Symbols & Degree Books, page 1

Just like me to surprise you. There is not one set of degree symbols - the famous Sabians - there are many, some of them quite ancient. These can be divided into various types. Here's what we have so far, collect them all!

On Page 1: The Sabians. The principle books are, of course, by Jones, who invented them, Rudhyar, who organized them for Jones, and Roche, who is a retired administrator of Jones's Sabian Assembly. The others are independent commentaries & analysis of the Symbols. There will be more in the future. Enjoy!

Page 2: Other degree symbol sets

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

	THE SABIAN SYMBOLS IN ASTROLOGY - Marc Edmund Jones, $28.95 First published in 1953 & for a time out of print, this classic book is a ground-breaking commentary on each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac: The symbolic picture, psychological significance, key-word abbreviations, positive/negative influences and relationships between symbols. Also included are detailed explanations of the origin of the symbols & their use in natal, horary, mundane and rectified charts. Illustrated with over 1000 horoscopes of famous people. An essential book for every student of astrology. 437 pages including indices for Sabian symbols, keywords, and general references. Aurora Press, paper.

	AN ASTROLOGICAL MANDALA: The Cycle of Transformation & Its 360 Symbolic Phases - Dane Rudhyar, $12.00 This is Rudhyar's reinterpretation of Marc Edmund Jones's Sabian Symbols. Starting with the same material, Rudhyar amplifies & clarifies the Symbols. He explains the concepts behind them, shows how they link to a 360 symbol set & organizes them into hemicycles, acts, scenes, levels & phases. He also shows the numerical structure of the zodiacal series & explains their use as oracles. In the process, Rudhyar greatly improves on Jones's original concept. Includes notes on how Jones created the original symbols in San Diego in 1925. Appendix: An exchange of letters with Marc Edmund Jones. 392 pages. Vintage/Random House, paper.

	THE ASTROLOGY OF PERSONALITY: A Re-formulation of Astrological Concepts & Ideals, in Terms of Contemporary Psychology & Philosophy - Dane Rudhyar, $21.95 In this famous guidebook for the advanced humanist astrologer, Rudhyar speaks of a crisis in astrology caused by the vast growth of interest in this ancient science. Astrology is not about predicting events, but to bring order out of chaos. As a bonus, those looking for his Astrological Mandala will find an abbreviated version of his take on the Sabian Symbols in chapter 10. 431 pages including author profile. Aurora Press, paper.

	SABIAN SYMBOLS, A SCREEN OF PROPHECY - Diana Roche, $34.00 Contents: Preface; Introduction; 1. The origin & history of the Sabian Symbols: The early influence of Charubel; The Mesopotamian connection; The plan; The event; Early work on the Sabian Symbols; The Sabian Symbols in Astrology; Today 2. Methods & Techniques: Determining which degree to use; Transiting planets; Chart angles; New & full moons; The Sabian Symbol at sunrise; The Sabian Symbol at moonrise; Chart rectification; Horary charts; The astrological formula: Polarity, Quadrature, Triplicity, First & second halves of signs, Five degree units of each half sign; The hidden genius of the formula: Fivefold dimension of self-expression; Divinatory Techniques: Framing the question, Calculator method, Mental focus, Drawing slips, Using a clock, Using dice, Using playing cards, Journals & scrapbooks, Using your imagination 3. The Sabian Symbols in practical & everyday use: Cycles; Signatures; Literal interpretation; Astrological charts; Subtlety; Divination 4. Negative or reversed symbols 5. The Sabian Symbols: Aries to Pisces Chapter notes; Index to Sabian Symbols; Index to keywords; General index. Comment: A new look at the Sabians by the head of the Sabian Assembly. Illustrated with Marc Edmund Jones's original hand-written Sabian notes, from that long ago day in 1925 in San Diego. This is the most comprehensive book on the Sabian Symbols to date. Includes: In depth, user-friendly text, daily guide for each symbol, reproductions of original index cards of Dr. Jones, thousands of additional keywords, new divinitory methods & techniques, helpful themewords & phrases, indexes for images, keywords & themes. The clearest exposition, the easiest of the three books to use. Trafford Publishing, 430 paper.

	Astrology a language of life, vol. 2: SABIAN ASPECT ORBS - Robert P. Blaschke, $18.95 Contents: Acknowledgements; Foreword; Introduction; 1. The conjunction; 2. The opposition; 3. The trine; 4. The square; 5. The quintile family; 6. The sextile; 7. The septile family; 8. The octile family; 9. The novile family; 10. The decile family; 11. The undecile family; 12. The inconjuncts; 13. The obscure harmonics & other applications. Appendices: 1. Table of 360 Sabian Symbols to aspect orb correspondences; 2. Lecture, class & workshop tapes by the author; 3. Astrology software programs; 4. Computer chart services; 5. Contacting the author. Bibiography; Index. Comment: Here's how to put Sabian symbols in your aspects: Find the number of degrees between two planets in a chart. Convert that number to one of the Sabian Symbols of Marc Edmund Jones, where 1 Aries is the beginning, 30 Pisces (360) is the end. Use the overview format given by Rudhyar in An Astrological Mandala. (See Sabian Symbols.) Presto: A Sabian symbol for the aspect & new insight into the two planets. Example: Sun at 14 Aries, Moon at 29 Scorpio. Degrees of separation: 225. The 225th Sabian: Children Playing Around Five Mounds of Sand. That’s the Sabian aspect orb for the two planets. Not only does every aspect tell a story, but also, every degree of separation is its own unique aspect. This book covers dozens of aspects, both waxing & waning, all from a Sabian point of view. A unique book. Earthwalk School of Astrology, 243 pages.

	SABIAN SYMBOLS & ASTROLOGICAL ANALYSIS - Blain Bovee, $19.95 Contents: Forword, by Noel Tyl; Introduction; 1. Aries - Libra; 2. Taurus - Scorpio; 3. Gemini - Sagittarius; 4. Cancer - Capricorn; 5. Leo - Aquarius; 6. Virgo - Pisces. Appendices 1 & 2; Bibliography. Comment: The layout in this book is similar to that by M.E. Jones: Symbols are arranged in pairs of opposing degrees, eg, 1 Aries with 1 Libra, 23 Cancer with 23 Capricorn, etc. This book makes use of the original words on the original cards (as found in Diana Roche's book, above). The text accompanying each pair then liberally deconstructs every word in the phrases, comparing & contrasting via the "five degree cycle", etc. Llewellyn, 300 pages.

	THE ZODIAC BY DEGREES, 360 New Symbols - Martin Goldsmith, $29.95 Contents: Forword by Steven Forrest; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Aries; Taurus; Gemini; Cancer; Leo; Virgo; Libra; Scorpio; Sagittarius; Capricorn; Aquarius; Pisces; Afterword; Notes; Sources. Comment: The author is a friend of mine, I met him while living in Santa Fe. His real name is Steven E...... He used to play my piano for hours on end (wish I could play half as well). He brings to the Sabians a serious & scholarly outlook (see his notes), but to what end is unclear. As with other writers (post Jones), he claims his understanding of them is objective, but feels free to change things when when the original symbol does not fit his objectivity (6 Scorpio among them). Unlike Bovee & Rudhyar, he does not group degrees by any means at all, unlike Roche & Rudhyar he does not break individual symbols down into sub-categories, nor does he offer keywords. For Goldsmith, the degree is the degree. One degree to a page, for each he gives descriptive phrases & a long list of example charts. Weiser, 369 pages.

Page 2: Other degree symbol sets

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